A Glimpse of the Future?

Good god, I hope not. Adorable little skater boys attract aggressive teenaged girls who pierce their faces and dye their hair pink and all sorts of unspeaking things. That is, if I remember high school correctly. 

Still, it's pretty neat that my five year old can take skate boarding lessons. Another fun fact from the County Fair! The fellow in the above photo from Action was really good with the kiddo and made him feel safe and excited about a brand new sport that will most likely mean a broken arm at some point were he to get serious about it. Considering how scared and freaked out he tends to be about other more traditional kid activities (swimming, riding a bike), it was refreshing to watch him get all padded up and be escorted up the skate ramp. Maybe next summer. 

Maybe. 

So Long, Fair

The kiddo and I spent two glorious afternoons at the County Fair last week. We were joined by a bevy of kindergarten classmates and neighborhood pals, and a splendid time was had by all. The kiddo managed to win a veritable treasure trove of crappy carnival prizes, which are now his most prized possessions (and a huge eyesore in our home). Exactly one candy apple and half of a cherry sno-cone were consumed (the other half, of course, spilled on me when we rode the big kid coaster together. And no, I'm not sure why I imagined that it somehow would not spill on me.), and we managed to adopt exactly ZERO kittens and chihuahuas at the Humane Society adoption booth. Not an easy task, to put it lightly.

The weather was amazing both days, and I got the chance to catch up with old (grown-up!) friends, and get to know some new ones better. It was great to watch the gaggle of 5 and 6 year olds run around together and explore the kiddie rides, the midway games, and the exhibits--I only wish I had remembered to bring my LC-A for more fairtastic shots.

The California State Fair is coming up next month... Anybody game for a road trip?

Happy Father's Day!

Certainly one of the best dads I'VE ever met, Max has been my partner in the joy and suffering that is parenthood for more than five years. Even-tempered and emotionally resilient, he has consistently been a kind, loving, and involved father to our lucky kiddo. May Samson win the genetic lottery and inherit Max's charm, smile, and beard-growing ability.

Happy Father's Day as well to my own dad, a man of many words, more advice than you knew you need (but did indeed need), and some of the best jokes I've ever heard in my life. Its called The Aristocrats!

grow the nanobots up

I really enjoyed watching They Might Be Giants at the Warfield tonight. They're always a blast to see live, and it was really nice to go alone and spend qt with myself. I had a me date.

Two straight days of the county fair with my five year old compadre and all of this extracurricular activity has gotten me completely pooped. I feel like I could sleep for 12 hours.

my new favorite google feature

I can't get enough of the new G+ motion thingie. Its loads of fun!

It's just like a feature I used to use on Lomography.com with the photos from my Quad-cam. But better, of course. I'm looking forward to making tons of these at the lake in New York next month.

You look dry. Let me help you with that.

Just in case you don't have a small dog handy to lick you all over, I present the Fizz. 

You're welcome. 

Wicked iPhone

Baby Samson had the right idea. The iPhone is not for using. It is for trying to use, for getting frustrated at, and occasionally for eating. But it would appear that the main function of the iPhone is to mock me. 

I was sucked in by the sleek, shiny smartness in 2007, for sure. And it was great. When it was on its last legs (clearly, I took good care of it), I gave the android a try. That was not awesome. But I powered through until Siri's siren song called me back to iPhone land once more. Now that android has gotten so much better and straightened out a good deal of it's inherent bugginess, I plan to give it another chance--if it'll have me. I swear this is the last time I let the Macness of the iPhone get the best of me.

I don't care if we ever get back

Today was the kiddo's last baseball game of the season. While I won't miss the 8:30 Saturday morning arrival times on the field, I will miss sitting in the grass and watching the kids slowly (and not so slowly) go from excited and attentive ball players to goofy, wandering 5-6 year old kids. Let me tell you, there's nothing longer than a 3-inning T-ball game.

Although he still wants to be a professional baseball player when he grows up (Buster Posey, actually. He wants to be Buster Posey when he grows up.), his focus at game time is tough to manage. Thank heavens that is coach's job and not mine. All I have to do is clap loudly (my mom taught me how to do that) and yell "run run run" at the appropriate time (again, Mom, thanks).

It's going to be a long 9 months until next season. Time to start checking out the local batting cages!

Life's a beach

We had a terrific time at the beach today. Great friends and lots of pretty fog, we were able to avoid the hot hot hot that had been forecast for the area. Turkey Sandwich and Fizzy were exceptionally well behaved, especially when they met a horse for the first time. Fizzy treated it like any other living thing--she barked at it, repeatedly. Turkey barked some too, but mostly she switched back and forth between crouching low and looking distrusting and trying to smell the horse's behind. Later on, a few large groups on horseback came through, but non them really even seemed to notice any of the dozen or so dogs enjoying the day with their humans on the beach.

The fog and chill didn't stop Samson and his pals from playing in the surf, digging, finding Dr. Suessian sea weed and having a wonderful time. The Pacific Ocean is a magical thing and today was certainly a day where I was very glad to have it play such a prominent part in my life. Our blood is supposed be 83% water, so I guess it makes sense to be so incredibly attracted to it.

Sum-sum-summertime

The weather has been unreal--today was one of those days where even my legs see the sunlight. We did all the good -ing stuff: bike riding, dog walking, snow cone-ing, BBQ-ing. Simply terrific and nominated for an encore tomorrow. We're planning to head to the beach and dig some serious moats. We have a very tried and true method of creating semi-submerged volcano-dam-river type structures, and results are always a very happy and sandy kiddo, plus 2 tired out dogs. The perfect recipe.

Turkey Sandwich Batman Mac 'n Cheese

This adorable little thing turned two last week:

She has mostly grown into her ears. She has definitely become a young lady of distinction, and makes my heart sing with pride and joy. I love you, Turkey Sandwich!

My Fair Sunday

It's fair season! Which means Ferris Wheel season!

I love Ferris Wheels. I especially like the part where you sit and wait as the carny in residence loads and unloads passengers. You get to sit up high, surveying the land around you, the smell of funnel cakes wafting through air. Ahhhhhh.

This past weekend was the smaller of our two regular local fairs; next weekend the county fair starts--so of course the weather forecast is calling for record highs.

And thank you, Google, for making my life a million times funner than it was two weeks ago, before this auto-tool magically appeared in my G+. Now Ferris Wheels are EVEN BETTER!

Activate rare gem cat's eye for 25,000 coins

Me: "Oh shit, I still have to blog tonight."
Me: "No I don't. I don't have to do anything I don't want to. "
Me: "Come on. Get your ass in gear and write something. Anything. Just write something."
Me: "I suppose I could write about how much I don't want to write."
Me: "That's pretty lame. But you know what? I'm OK with it. Get it done so I can play some Bejeweled Blitz and go to sleep."
Me: "Done and DONE. "

A tagalong by any other name is still a friggin' hoedown

I'm not sure why, or what I ever did to hurt them, but it would appear that the Girl Scouts of America are out to get me. After I made it through Cookie Season (mostly) unscathed, I was secure in my belief that I had a nice 10 months or so of respite ahead of me. You see, the various Girl Scout Cookie themed ice cream flavors that are available in our nations grocery store chains aren't such a problem for me--thank freaking heavens.

But this? 

This is simply inhumane. And they're for a LIMITED TIME ONLY which, as we all know, means eat as many as you can right now because eventually there won't be any more. 

Fucking Girl Scouts of America and their delicious crack cookies. 

GoT PTSD

As my husband so eloquently put it, "Well god damn."

I won't be posting a proper blog tonight as I imagine I'll spend the next few hours in shock, staring at the HBO logo on my TV screen until it slowly fades away into nothingness, replaced only by the sadness the end of this last episode of Game of Thrones has caused me.

Stranger Danger

I don't tend to do so well at social functions, especially those that include people I don't know. No big surprise, and a feeling that many people can relate to. A small, private grade school, of course, is chock-full of such things, and this year of kindergarten has brought me to the outer limits of what I can handle in terms of new people, social events, and festivities with strangers. Classroom volunteering is great, I love to see the kids in action without their parents around. And most of the parents in our class are really pretty neat and interesting people. The galas and festivals and holidays and such are the struggles for me.

Recently, I volunteered at and attended one such event. I spent 90 minutes manning a rubber duck fishing booth at a carnival themed end-of-year celebration--and I barely made it out alive. Later that night, I was complaining about the events, the pre-established friendships among the people at the events, about how I felt mostly out of place and generally uncomfortable. I was a grumbly, arm-crossing, foot-stamping mess. I racked my brain for way to avoid such events next year. Then I started to feel sorry for myself, of course. And I wondered how everyone else handled event after event, mostly with multiple children, and how they managed and how they had fun doing it.

And that's when it hit me. These other parents weren't necessarily having fun either. They probably didn't want to fund-raise and distribute snacks and do whatever else we all have to do throughout the year in order to ensure a caring and thriving community for these kids. Some folks have made honest friendships, sure, and some people just really like to sell magazines or cookies or whatever, or be in charge of projects and be presidents of boards. But pretty much, just like me, everyone's just doing it for their kid--it's just that not everyone is as grumpy about it as I am.

Life imitating something

I bought tickets today to see They Might Be Giants in Santa Cruz in October. Plain Jane, general admission, regular old tickets.

But I'll be going with a VIP!

and that's all I have to say about that

I splurged for Max's birthday last week and got us a pair of VIP tickets to see PUSA at The Independent in SF. It was a great show, high energy and a real blast from the past. They played the whole first album and I find album shows to be a real treat. It ties in with my love of theme-based entertainment and gives me a sense of commeradere with the band without feeling like a crazed uber-fan. This last point is rather important to me. 

When Gigantic came out, I was thrilled and excited to see a full length film about my all time favorite non-Beatles band. They Might Be Giants were among the first bands to really utilize the web to spread their music and form an online community. As a junior high school student, wise beyond my years, I started a chat forum on Prodigy in 1989 so that I could discuss the genius and poetry of TMBG with other fans online. Gigantic, released in 2002, showed an image of obsessive, needy and highly unsocialized folks who felt that John Linnell & John Flansbugh were the Only People That Really Understood Them--and as much as I could relate to the elation that TMBG's music could bring, I felt horrified to think that I could ever be like one of those groupie-type fans. Not me. No way.

I've been wary of VIP events or any sort of meet-and-greet ever since. I think the PUSA event worked for me because I only actually know a couple of their albums. I don't have to hide my uber-fandom because I'm not an uber-fan, neither is Max. Its was exactly what a live music show in the city should be: a fun night out without the kid and plenty of strong drinks at weird Ethiopian bar.

Excuses excuses

I've had a little too much to drink tonight. Ok, I've had a little too much to drink most nights this past week. My blogging plans are paved with the best of intentions, but my follow through muscle is so atrophied that it might as well be a six pack of sugar-free jell-o.

Nothing seriously noteworthy has happened. Suffice it to say that I have a kind and respectful family, and, at times, an empathetic and well-behaved child. Our friends are worth keeping, our dreams are, erm, dream-able, and things seem to be moving in the right direction. Ish.

Delicious torture

I'm watching Heathers, and I'm simultaneously smiling and choking back vomit. It's hilarious and painful, and I'm ashamed that I've let 20 years go by without watching this movie. So many amazing quotes, a thousand memories--both wonderful and not so wonderful. Blogging is going to have to wait tonight. Its time to watch my youth in HD.

Guess who learned how to pump this weekend?

Next up, swimming, bike-riding, cursive, and then college!

Everyone's snuggling tonight

Especially this pile of cats.

We let the kiddo stay up late watch the Sharks game tonight, and he was sawing logs by the end of regulation. Such a sweet kid, he didn't have it in him to wait through a 15 minute intermission just watch the Sharks foul it up. Lucky for us, they came through--all it took was a two-man advantage. Hmmm.

A baby by any other name will still chew on her own fist

Tonight we celebrated our good friends and their new daughter (well, new-ish, she's already seven months old) with a baby-naming ceremony. She officially got her Hebrew name, and we got to hold her and bless her and wish for good things for her. It was lovely, and if I had any real guts I'd have stolen that delicious baby and taken her home. Honestly, she's one of those chunky babies with a big, gummy smile, and she giggles and clutches on to your thumb and makes you feel that all is right with the world.

And when she's around, it is.

Questionable decisions throughout history

Top 5 Reasons Someone Should Have Slapped Me During My First Year Of College

1. White-girl dreadlocks.
2. Boyfriend's dog was named Irie.
3. Cougar Hot Springs
4. Trampoline class.
5. Bought a used mattress.

Some pics from Israel

There's not much to say about our trip to Israel, other than the sea is amazing, the people are amazing, the food is amazing, and we had an amazing time. And here is some of the photographic evidence!

The 6 am flight from SFO to EWR. Lots of markers and two barf bags.

Ladybug season delighted the kiddo, especially at the beach. There were many rescue missions for ladybugs found in the water.

A fabulous restaurant in Tel Aviv aptly named Just Meat.

Getting our ancient on in Jerusalem.

It really was an astounding trip. After so many visits to Israel in the winter, it was fun to get a new experience in a new season. Hot but dry, Lag b'Omer (a holiday involving bonfires!), gorgeous flowers and birds and, well, just right.

Super Kid

Behold, the power of the five year old.

"Mommy, I really like your yarn. It's so pretty. I bet you could make a hat with it. You could make the nicest hat ever with your pretty yarn and your yarn sticks. Mommy, I bet you could make a hat for me."

And for the first time in more than 4 years, I'm knitting.

The sun!

It's been so beautiful since we got back last week, it's just a joy to be outside. We spent a good part of the week doing fun outside stuff, we even fit a trip to Coyote Point in on the kiddo's half-day. There are two river otters that live there, and I swear I could watch them swim, play and eat all day long. I've never been a zoo person--as much I love animals and seeing them up close is such a treat, the whole captivity thing is hard to swallow. But just try and stop me from watching river otters...I promise, you will not succeed.

There was lots of driving to and fro over the weekend, and it was definitely one of the times when I love Max's convertible. We were a picture of a happy family: little league, picnics and festivals with friends, a wonderful handmade Mother's Day gift and breakfast, and we even found time to clean the house. Just stick us on the cover of Perfection magazine.

Whoops

I think somebody laced my bed with some sort of ultra-powerful gravity field. It calls to me earlier than usual and sings me sweet siren songs. "Just lie down for a minute. You won't fall asleep. Just rest for a second, and then you can blog. Or do dishes, or laundry, or pay bills, or whatever silly chore you think is more important than me."

It's a half day at school today, so the kiddo and I are going to have a picnic and go visit the river otters at Coyote Point. The thick fog that surrounded our house this morning already seems to be burning off, so I'm looking forward to a sunny afternoon with the boy--maybe we'll even hit up the fro-yo shop on the way home...

Back to reality

We made it back with no major issues or anything. The only thing that's prevented me from posting since our return has been the wave of affection from the dogs & cats. That and the massive jet lag. If I make it through work, grocery shopping, and puttering, I'll upload a real post. Probably about the Sharks sweeping the Canucks.

The journey home

Now it begins. A 12 hour flight, a short break, then a six hour flight. Then we replace our flesh with dog saliva and our knuckles with cat purrs and head butts. Our eyes, red from air travel, will become pink and stingy from hours of cartoons and TV. We'll fall asleep before sunset and wake while the raccoons waddle home from their nightly trash can inspections. Half-awake, we will go to work and school and recount our amazing adventure with arms flailing, madly flipping through photos on smart phones.

Short and sweet

There are times when things are awesome, even if you are the
only one who knows it.

Right now? Its one of those times.

Souvenir

Today we took a trip to the mall to find a fancy hat for the wedding tomorrow, which has a--you guessed it--fancy hat theme. The kiddo decided to cash in on his souvenir, and we have now adopted a small, realistic, Siamese kitten, creatively named "Simey", that "breathes" non-stop and does nothing else. It's approximately the size of a 12 week old kitten, cuddled up in a small cat bed, eyes closed and "breathing" as 2 D batteries power some kind of pump which simulates a methodical, deep kitten sleep. That's it. That's what this toy does.

To my surprise, I found myself gently stroking the super soft toy all afternoon. It was soothing to me, and brought such a smile to the kiddo's face. I knew I missed my own kittens back home, but this ridiculously expensive you nearly brought me to tears.

I can't wait to get home and force the girls to cuddle with me.

A very curious wedding

Well then. As soon as I, er, sober up, I'll be able to regale you with humorously quaint stories of Yossi & Orit's wedding today. From sword fights to a koi pond who's entire population is named Amelia, the wedding was fanciful and fun. A genuinely good time for kids of all ages. Thank you for including us!

A night out in Tel Aviv

Giant thanks to my amazing sister-in-law for taking me out for a night of ceviche and fancy drinks in her adorable and hip neighborhood! Fun was has, and weather agreed by bringing the temperature down 10 degrees or so. Before I fall asleep on her living room floor, I want to proclaim my love for all of the street cats of Tel Aviv.

happy birthday

We celebrated my brother-in-law's birthday in traditional Israeli fashion: Max Brenner!

Yes, those are shots of milk and white chocolate that my son is double-fisting. On top if the chocolate cake/banana split combo. And all of this is after the lunch at the ALL MEAT RESTAURANT net door. Next year, we'll celebrate with trips to the colon cleanser and the cholesterol doctor. 

cousin picnic

Today, in what must have been 112 degree heat, we met up with four out of nine of Max's maternal cousins. And their combined 18 children. Ranging in age from 2 to 20, they were amazingly polite, kind, and inclusive, and the kiddo had a hell of a time. He loved the older boys and their kipot (a special hat that practicing Jews wear to some degree) and had so much fun engaging with a large family--his family, but not in a way that he's ever experienced them before.

Every day, I find something to remind me that I'm not meant to have more than one child, and my reaction fluctuates between sadness, self pity, self loathing, anger, rage...you get the idea. My least favorite saying, but oh-so-usable in cases like this: it is what it is. Sigh.

As much as the kiddo brings to me in terms of challenge, fulfillment, pride, and amazement of my own abilities, I can't help but feel that we are missing something big. All at once, a baby, a sibling, a family member, a son or daughter...I don't know. But I definitely do know that cancer robbed me of the right to live a full and lengthy life and I no longer get to imagine things as the might be. Instead, I'm trying as hard as I can to do the best with what I have.

Kind of a different way of looking at life and parenting.

lag b'omer

For everyone out there who thought all Jewish holidays were only about rejoicing and celebrating the things that god or Moses or some other biblical character did for the Jewish people, welcome to the world of Lag B'omer. No synagogue or prayers or 4 hour long dinners, you simply collect wood and brik-a-brak, set out your plastic chairs or beach towels and proceed to LIGHT SHIT ON FIRE.

The perfect holiday for kids and man-children everywhere, last night we experienced our first family Lag B'omer on a cliff overlooking the Mediterranean, with the whole family, and roasted hot dogs and potatoes and marshmallows until the 5 year olds fell asleep, coated in charred sugar, nestled on Safta's lap.

It was so fun to experience a new Israeli tradition--after 13 years, it is sometimes hard to find something that reminds me how different from us Americans the land and people of Israel seemed before I joined an Israeli family. The wide-eyed awe and astonishment I felt during my first trip to Israel is a far cry from how I now approach a trip to Israel--which involves more eye-rolling than I'd like to admit. But tonight's festivities made me feel young again; for a few hours there, I was back in that place when I thought Israel was amazing and cosmopolitan and a great place to raise a family and not at all a humid, sweltering, dusty sprawl of annoying music and horrible fashion trends, before I had experienced the paralyzing fear of driving ANYWHERE in the country. I can usually overlook the horrible truth and embrace the seaside-y-ness, the amazing cheese and dozens of street cats, and tonight's bonfire reinvigorated my fondness for this place and it's corn-topped pizzas and myriad ice cream stands.

shalom

24 + hours and two barf bags later, we are safely on the ground. I will post more later when I am less jet lagged. OY.

Getting Ready 2

Well, we're definitely knee-deep in travel anxiety. From emotional eating to making mountains out of molehills in the health and wellness department, I'm exhibiting all of the classic signs of someone about to take a transcontinental flight with a five year old. At the same time, I'm super fucking excited to go on vacation! I've got some special little gifties for the kiddo on the airplane, and my very cool new office mate downloaded a bunch of movies to my Nexus 7 for me--such a nice and helpful thing to do! I guess I'm down getting ready.

Getting Ready

The kiddo and I are getting ready for our first lengthy trip in quite some time. We'll meet up with lots of friends and family, and I predict an amazing trip--both for the stuff that we're planning to do and see, and because we'll get to see lots of friends and go to the wedding of one very good friend in particular. This guy was one of the first of Max's friends that I met when I took my first trip to Israel in 2002, and he's always been a great guy to have in my life as an honorary Israeli. Mazal tov to him and his bride!

And now for your enjoyment, here is an old blog post from my December 2006 trip to Israel.

http://www.extrasuperfantastic.com/2006/12/crash-course-in-israeli-holidays.html

Lucky you!

screen time

I'm not sure why I've been forgetting to blog lately, but I'm guessing it's television related. I've been watching a lot of Power Puff Girls (kiddo) and Bob's Burgers (me). We've been minus a housemate since Friday, and I've noticed an uptick on the TV watching scale. Its not that we've been less active, but the dynamic is totally different between a 5-year old and a parent. I no longer out number him. And he knows it. And sometimes that means an extended cartoon marathon or cereal for dinner --them's the breaks.

Oh, deer

Tonight when we got home from the last string in a series of strings of outings, events and such, I took a chance. Instead of walking Turkey Sandwich and Fizzy up the stairs on their leashes, I let them bound out of the car and up the stairs freely, thinking to myself, they've been such good dogs lately, I can trust them.

Mom, I can already hear you snickering.

It's not that they weren't good dogs, because they were. But at the top of the stairs, they found a deer and they, well, acted like dogs. And the deer acted like a deer. It bounded (yes I'm using "bound" again. It fits.) down the side of the stairs with Fizzy hot on it's tail and Turkey coming in from the side. Fizzy stopped at the landing, and I, by the grace of god, was able to catch Turkey's collar as she barreled through the ivy.

Unfortunately, the story does not end here. Because as soon as the kiddo and I escorted the dogs into the house, Turkey slid right back out the door, ran down the stairs, and completely tore ass down the road after the deer. So I sighed a big sigh, put my stuff down and got ready to walk down my street for essentially no reason, in false hope that she would listen when I called her, even if she weren't halfway to Los Angeles by then. When Turkey gets out, she likes to make the most of it.

This time, she was back before I even got down the stairs, and trotted up to me proudly wagging her tail. I got lucky. And I doubt we'll be seeing any deer for a few days.

Put your clothes on and call me

NEWS FLASH: I bought tickets to a rock n' roll show. AND I INTEND TO GO.

Right around Max's birthday next month, The Presidents of the United States of America are playing in SF, so I went crazy and got us VIP tickets. That's right, we get to attend the sound check, meet AND greet the band, plus we get autographed CDs and laminated lanyards. The REAL DEAL.

I'm really actually very excited and listening to them nonstop on Spotify today. It's a little bit high school, it's a little bit college years--and 100% good times to be had. What could possibly go wrong?

A good day for the crick

The kiddo and I met some friends at the park after school and had our first splooshing day of the year--a true sign that winter is over. It's one of our favorite local things to do: we go down to the little creek that runs through the park and chuck rocks into it. When we hit the deep parts, it makes a great "sploosh" sound. It's very satisfying, and today was a great day for it.

Honk if you're from Canada

Adorable little baby geese are out and about at the office! Hooray! So are the angry baby daddies!

Tops Threez

My Current Top Three Jennys

1. 867-5309
2. Jenn-nay! (Forest Gump)
3. Jenny from the block--don't be fooled by the rocks that she's got.

Mirror to your own soul

In the next room, Max and Samson are playing a goodnight game called ''neighbors.'' Created by the five-year-old, its a game where two neighbors discuss their days, what they've been up to, how the kids are, how work's going.

I have never been allowed to play.

From what I can tell, the kiddo just quit his job, and he's about to go on a 15 week trip to Israel. He has a new job at his neighbor's company, where they make soap cookies and kid-appropriate army books. His kids are finishing school tomorrow, and this will involve a great deal of cake.

I'm pretty sure that having a kid is the most terrible and wonderful thing that could ever happen to anybody. Anyone who's had a kid knows its really a crap shoot--no matter how much planning, preparation, praying or wishing one does, you still end up with a tiny version of yourself, one that regularly holds an emotionally jarring mirror up to your anxious face. At times, what you see in the mirror will fill your eyes with tears of pride. Other times, which is to say most times, it will scare the bejesus right out of you.

Alert the press!

My five-year-old son is TAKING A NAP. I am straight up shocked. This boy hasn't napped since he was 2. I am happily sitting in the car, parked outside of my folks' house while the kiddo drools on himself, head tilted back against the car seat. Nobody is complaining about my music choices. Nobody is claiming child abuse over my decision not to let them play games on my phone. The dogs are already inside the house, so the dog fart level inside the car is less of an issue than normal.

Shabbat shalom!

Day off

I've got the day off of work tomorrow, and IT'S ON. Lunch with one of my visiting besties, gift shopping for my new nephew and some special little kid birthdays--and the forecast calls for another clear, sunny 70+ day. I'm bringing some cameras along!

Uber Professional

I need to choose a photo for my "professional picture" at work. This is so the people I chat with on our "professional" network will know what I look like. All 2 of them. Who sit 5 feet from me.

Officemate

No blog post yesterday, I was in very important meetings all day and all night with this lady:

A fuller, more robust blog post will magically appear on the screen tonight. For realsies!

Happy Birthday!

As of this afternoon, the kiddo has a brand spankin' new cousin, and I've got a squishy little nephew on the other side of the country. I'm already counting the days (approximately 73) until I get to meet him. A new addition to my family gives me a special high--I can't stop thinking about how warm and soft he must be, how brave my brother and sister-in-law are to have him at home, and how lucky I am to have a whole new human I can send loving vibes to.

Scared myself a bit

I missed 2 days of blogging over the weekend. Yes, I was busy. And exhausted. And sleepy. There may have been a food coma involved. But I think it comes down to support I felt on the interwebs when I officially announced on Facebook, Twitter and G+ that I'm blogging again. I realized that some people might actually start ready this.

Yipe!

It's been three months now since I started blogging again. Almost every single day. Sometimes just a sentence or a link, sometimes some serious and internal stuff. I'm relearning how to use words that have been lost to me got 3 1/2 years. Even more so, I'm remembering who I am out here and how I express myself. What do I think and why? Does it even matter?

The waiting is the hardest part

My brother and his wife are expecting their second child any day now. There's nothing as awesome as a sweet little baby to cuddle and snuggle, to rock and sway, to pat their tush and then hand them back to their parents while you settle in for nice, long, uninterrupted sleep.

Aaaaaaah.

That being said, when I do get to meet the little devil, it will likely be in upstate New York at my mom's family's cabin, which is, shall we say, rustic. I'm pretty sure the wall are made of construction paper. So we all know this post will come back to haunt me about 7 times.

I am the blog

I am very tired. And thusly, this blog has very little energy tonight. One might go so far as to say that it's not Extra Super Fantastic, but rather extra super fantastic. Or even, extra super fa.

It's been a long week, all post-vacation and what not. What not = a shaved kiddo head, among other things. Here's a song that fits this blog post and the way I feel to a tee.

Suedehead

How did you spend your day? Did you spend most of it agonizing over which was the best, safest, most effective way to rid your five-year-old of head lice? Me too!



We took the easy way out. No more combing, untangling, or screaming ("I've got a very sensitive scalp." he likes to remind me.). And we'll only have to buy shampoo like twice before he graduates high school.

There was no walk of shame when I went to pick the kiddo up at school after THE PHONE CALL. Today was the first day back after a 2 week vacation, and there were a decent sized handful of kids in the office, scratching their heads. At least we weren't the only ones, not even the only ones in his class, leaving much less of a chance for ostracization. It's not that we hadn't noticed his itchiness over the break, and I checked for lice many times. The problem is, I was looking for fleas. I was looking for something flea-sized, anyway, on his scalp. I've only ever had cats and dogs, and flea checks are a regular occurrence. But Samson is my first human pet, and it turns out that I simply didn't know what I was looking for or where. Once the professional head-examiner at school pointed out all the nits to me, it was like HOLY SHIT MY CHILD'S HEAD IS INFESTED and WE NEED TO BURN ALL OF HIS SHEETS AND CLOTHES IMMEDIATELY.

Thankfully, it doesn't really work that way. And best of all, I get to see the kid's forehead for the first time in 3 1/2 years.

The past is the future! Again!

Good news, you analog film fans of yester-year! I've brought the Lomo LCA out of retirement! After a test roll in Seattle, I dub the old girl ready to go. I used Kodak Ektachrome 100, and my oh my, just check out those blues!



Underground, below Pioneer Square:



Yay, the Space Needle:



I wasn't even sure the camera would still work; it's been in a box of camera crap and knitting junk for a good 4 years, and lord knows where I even got the film or when. But I'm inspired to keep shooting and to explore some of the other goodies in that box that's been on the shelf for way too long...ignored, scoffed at, and all but forgotten. Cross your fingers for the Holga, the Quad Cam, the color splash flash and brand spanking new Sardina which I got for my birthday but still haven't opened. Now, in unison, let's all squeal with anticipatory glee! Eeeeeeee!

Can't trust that day

The end of our epic vacation in Seattle + an average crappy Monday = KABLAMMO.

Top 5 Reasons Why Our Vacation In Seattle Was Super Awesome

1. Chowder.

2. Amazing weather.

3. Space Needle.

4. Chowder.

5. Record-breakingly good behavior from the kiddo.

Top 5 Reasons Today Pretty Much Sucked

1. Distinct absence of chowder.

2. Mean April Fool's trick played on me by my mean boss.

3. Markedly poor restaurant behavior by the kiddo.

4. Small dog rolled in large pile of goose poop at work.

5. Sister-in-law and highly rated boyfriend are leaving to go back to Israel tomorrow.

So long, Seattle

We had fun!

We are sad to go!

Chowder Land

Please accept this post as my official petition to officially change the name of the city of Seattle to Chowder Land. My full belly counts as 500,000 signatures.

Respectfully,
Uuuuuuuuugh, I ate too much chowder.

The great northwest

It has all fallen into place: fresh fish, coffee, towers, a well behaved 5 year old, and awesome weather. Thank you, Seattle!

Dip it good

Another celebration tonight, also known as another chance to really test my resolve on this diet. I mean food plan. I mean stint in hell.

Kiddo and I are sitting in the lobby of The Melting Pot, preparing to stuff ourselves completely and utterly full of meat, cheese, fruit and chocolate, plus whatever else we can find to stick on a little metal fork and dip into sauce.

Tomorrow we're off to Seattle. Let the needle be spacey and the fish tossed skillfully. 

Not tonight, I have a belly full of pork chop

It's been a long, long day and the bed is calling me. The pillow is calling my head. And my bed table is calling my glasses. Who am I not to listen when I'm called?

L'chaim!

Four glasses of wine.
It's enough to make someone
forget to blog. Whoops!

The seder was great!
Gefilte fish is the best!
I had three servings!

Kiddo was awesome.
Sang the for questions! For reals!
Nearly plotzed with pride.

Look! Picture below!
It's my boy, eating matzah.
What is not to love?

Old friends

A good friend has stopped by today, one of those top five kind of friends. He started out as a college buddy of my older brother and ended up being one of the closest friends I'll ever had. He lives in Minnesota, so it's a special treat to have him here in the Bay Area. The kiddo is especially happy for someone to play war with him. Right now, the Queen of Spades and King of Hearts hearts are having a torrid affair.

No blog tonight

US Ronald Reagan has found a new hang out spot. Makes it hard to do things like blog. Or move.

UCSF

A quick post tonight, just to say that today's appointment at UCSF went well. My neuro-oncologist there, Dr. Clarke, agreed with Dr. Recht from Stanford that everything in my noggin looks great, no signs of change in the tumor area, and I was good to go for the next four months. It was great to have the OK number two, plus I got to see one of the four nurses from the team that was overseeing the chemo trial I was on for all of 2011. They we're all great, but Margretta definitely has a special spot in my heart, and it's always a pleasure to see her. Great end to a great (albeit hectic as fuck) week.

PTC Time

Max and I are heading to kiddos kindergarten classroom this evening for parent teachers conferences. Here is my prediction for how it will go:

Teacher: Hello! Your child is a genius!

Me: OMG, I know, right?

Aaaaaand, scene. 

And the crowd goes wild

It just occurred to me that I never followed up to yesterday afternoon's post about the MRI I was waiting to have. Well, you can all breath now, the MRI was clean. Again. Of course I'm happy and grateful and everything else one might expect, but I'm still in the come-down period. It usually lasts a day or two, and it's just me trying to let go of the adrenaline and anxiety that builds up in the days (sometimes weeks) leading up to one of those tube trips. I kind of check out and get vacant, then super pissy for an evening, or short with the kiddo, and then we start the cycle over again. Only now, it will be every four months instead of every three months. Yay, more transition. 

Em Are Why?

Checked in for my MRI, ready for my afternoon loud nap. Finally starting to feel a little freaked out, wonky and anxious. Time for a little chat with god.

"Please let everything be ok. If something bad needs to happen, if the tumor has begun to grow, please let me be eligible for a new trial that studies the effects of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and cherry Icees on recurring GBM. Oh, and can you make sure the trial is in Hawaii?"

Getting ready

Count down to my first MRI of 2013. Tomorrow at 1:30, they'll be shoving me into a tiny tube that plays very loud electronica-death metal-drum circle music.

And then, two hours later, Dr. Recht will be shaking my hand telling me that he'll see me in 4 months. Have I mentioned I'm a medical marvel? Need proof? Check me out! Nearly 3.5 years post-diagnosis, bitches! I am the 4%!

Emerald Isle

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! To commemorate the wonderful country of Ireland, here are some photos of when we lived in Dublin, 2006-2007. Be awed!

This is an adorably round bird that I saw while hiking ("hill walking" they call it) on the Greystones trail along the Atlantic Ocean.

Beautiful forest land in Ballinastoe.

Wildflowers on the trail in Bray.

Jim Larkin statue in Dublin, affectionately referred to by me as Giant Hands Man.

I'm driving on the wrong side of the road! IN THE WRONG SIDE OF THE CAR!

Beautiful old building in Glenveagh, Co. Donegal.

Lesser of Two Evils

The Sharks game is going so poorly that I've switched to Lord of the Rings. Sigh.

Also, still tackling laundry. Didn't get very far last night--the vodka made sure of that. But I still managed to get up bright and early for kiddo's first T-ball game of the season. It was fantastic. Cheeky monkey even decided to steal home!

Grown Up Decisions

Tonight, my choices are blogging or laundry.

I choose laundry!

Sleepy time post

I did not sleep well last night. That + disassembling, re-assembling and moving IKEA furniture at work all day + high-energy kiddo = I'M EXHAUSTED.

I had a long, multi-segmented dream that I was back in college, in some town that was dingy and smoggy and had lots of industrial buildings. I was palling around with Ricky from Trailer Park Boys, who may have also been my roommate. He kept explaining things to me about how the town and school worked, like why there was a huge fence and an airport between the bus stop and the classrooms, but none of it made any sense. Go figure.

Getting pumped

I have an MRI scheduled for next week, plus two neuro-oncologist appointments and one with the radiologist. It's all part of the wait-and-see life that I live, stingily doled out in three-month increments. Stick me in the tube for an hour, tell me everything looks great, measure my balance, word skills and other cognitive functions, shake my hand, then tell me I'm a medical marvel and that you'll see me in three months.

About two weeks before each appointment, I start to get really anxious. My anxiety displays itself in a variety of fun and troublesome ways, nothing too obvious or treatable--and, I'm sure, blog fodder for future posts. This time around, I went and convinced myself (and many people whose calendars are in someway connected to mine) that my MRI was this week, not next, causing a big ol' scheduling traffic jam this week and next. Apologies to those
whose schedules (and in some cases, prayers & specific time-related good thoughts) were tangled up by my desire to be DONE WITH THIS.

Wait a minute, Chester

I was going to write a quick post about how ridiculous the lyrics to The Band's The Weight are, but then I started reading about it and...turns out they're not as ridiculous as I thought.

"The Beatles Get Kidnapped!" or, Why I Love Kindergarden

Tomorrow is Samson's sharing day at school. It's kind of like show and tell, but with rules. The item you bring to share must be "special to you or interesting to us." And it happens every week, so we spend a good amount of time examining the kiddo's prized possessions and discussing whether or not they are special or useful. We talk a lot about the origins, history and intrinsic "meaning" of his stuff, from baby gifts to special pieces of cement, to books and awards. After brainstorming today on what might be a candidate for sharing day--the 1971 50-cent piece that we brought back for him from Las Vegas, or maybe a special picture of him with our old dog Ozzy--kiddo decided that he wanted to make a book based on a drawing we had done together last May--a drawing that's been hanging on our fridge since the glorious day it was created. A drawing called "The Beatles get Kidnapped in Neverland."

I proudly present to you the kiddo's first complete book--the publishing rights are currently available, and soon to be a major motion picture!

It's a gripping four page story of--you guessed it--The Beatles getting kidnapped in Neverland, where they are rescued of course, and proceed to sail their ship to Pirate Island.

This is where the plot thickens.

On Pirate Island, they find the X that marks the spot and dig for treasure. Spoiler alert: they uncover the treasure and it is their instruments! Now The Beatles are happy, and they have a meeting to discuss their happiness.

Full color illustrations in crayon, marker, and black pen, perfect bound with Scotch tape.

Happy!

Max keeps saying to Samson and me, "Happy first day of Spring!" What with Max being foreign and all, I calmly explain to him, no it's just daylight savings time. Spring begins on the vernal equinox on March 21. Then I look at the weather, see the work he did in the garden today, remember the fabulous baseball game that the kiddo and I played today at the park with Grandpa, and realize that we're sitting in the hot tub...and I shout "HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SPRING!"

Opening Day

I awoke just after sunrise to soft little hands and a quiet, whispering voice.

"Is it time for the parade yet?"

Although the Opening Day parade was scheduled to start very early (imo) at 8:30, it was still a good 2 hours before were even supposed to meet our team on the field.

Samson of course is very excited; it's his first year in our local league. Last year was awesome--wiffle T-ball in Foster City--but in the Belmont Redwood Shores league, he's old enough to play with an actual ball. And he wasn't the only one there who was super excited. It was my & Max's first Little League opening day events too!

Did I mention 13 teams in the T-ball division, 14 kids per team. That's somewhere around 182 five and six year olds. In the same place. At the same time. And there are 3 other divisions. That's a shit load of cheering parents.

Unstoppable Energy

Another after-school play date is currently underway in the living room.

One 5-year-old + another 5-year-old = LOUD and also TOTAL CHAOS.

The pirates are set up, as are the army guys, the knights, the Peter Pan set...it's some kind of mass action figure invasion, sponsored by Mattel and Play Mobil.

And the dogs have been locked out in the back yard.

And the cats are simply delighted.

And, of course, the kids are singing Shabbat songs all the while. Thankfully, as a more-or-less atheist, it just sounds like harmonious jibberish. However, since I was raised Jewish, I know very well what their songs mean (not to them, maybe, but still.). If you spoke Hebrew, you'd be listening to two adorable, innocent kids, shooting each other's action figures, while singing about the lord, our god, eternal and such, please bless our bread and wine as we usher in the sabbath bride. Yeesh.

Bad Move

Back when I was young, always and forever having a blast and living life to the fullest, I collected snow globes. I displayed them proudly on my desk at work, with a an old bookcase for the overflow. I didn't have hundreds, but there were probably a good four or five dozen. 

During one of the multitudes of moves I've made in the last 6 years, I've lost them. I keep that realization in the back of my head--I tend to bury it, quickly and successfully, whenever it pops up. It sucks, move on. But now that Samson apparently has such an affection for snow globes himself, I just have to continuously smack myself in the metaphorical forehead with the metaphorical palm of my metaphorical hand. I can't help but think I must have given them away or ditched them at some point, in a fit of sheer idiocy. What an amazing piece of my myself during a very awesome (who knew!) point in my life: my twenties.

Dream a creepy dream of Aloha

My tiny little baby of a sister-in-law is coming to visit soon, which is awesome. She wants us to come see a show in the city with her and her boyfriend...at TEN O'CLOCK PM ON A TUESDAY. That's when the show STARTS. What the hell does she think I am? Not super old? Even if we knocked over a Starbuck's on the way there and then did lines in the bathroom, it would still be out of the question. OUT. OF. THE. QUESTION.

I've been sick and bed-ridden the last two days, trading off my time between sleeping and feeling horribly sorry for myself. All of my dreams were a deeply troubling mixture of dark maroon and pungent orange, the unmistakable colors of DayQuil & NyQuil. And they smelled like cat breath. 

It felt mostly good to be back at work today, although it seemed cruel that my coworkers expected me to DO THINGS like ANSWER THE PHONE or REPLY TO THEIR EMAILS. The nerve. While protesting their demands by cruising Facebook, I saw that a friend of mine is looking for a cat sitter. For two weeks. At her home. IN HAWAII. Ah, I know which dream will be turned into frightful colors with NyQuil's rosy hue tonight!

Coming out of my hidey hole

I am still here. The blog is still on. The evil cold that followed me home from Las Vegas has prevented me from blogging these last few days, but I'll be back tonight. Swears.

Grazi, Palazzo

Is there such a thing as too much Vegas? Well, I think we all know that the answer to that is a big, resounding "DUH."

As this getaway comes to as close, I take pride in my highly refined ability to know when to say when to the City of Sin, and ensure that this is not a Too Much trip.

Now you can benefit from my time-tested wisdom so that you, too, can enjoy just the right amount of what Las Vegas has to offer.

1. Quantity, not quality. This applies to just about everything, especially alcohol. If 14 free well drinks are good, 16 are better.

2. When choosing a restaurant, look for the menu with the highest number of deep fried or crunchy items. This is applicable to both a romantic dinner out and a 3 am fill up. This method is less effective when gelato and fro yo are involved, in which case, you can replace "deep fried" and "crunchy" with "chocolate" and "caramel."

3. Is your kid expecting you to bring him home a souvenir? The pen and notepad from the hotel room totally count.

4. Save money by sleeping AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. You can't lose money at blackjack if you're snuggled up all cozy in your bed.

5. If you like to play slots, choose machines that have celebrity associations--and the more obscure, the better. For example, Wheel of Fortune is a great choice with Pat and Vanna watching down on you as you load another $5 into the cash slot, but the Caddyshack machine gives you a healthy double dose of Rodney Dangerfield and Bill Murray--plus a gopher! Extra tip: avoid jungle-themed machines. A crowded casino is no place for a tiger.

Viva some stuff!

Top 5 reasons Las Vegas is awesome

1. The dryness makes my hair look amazing
2. Ghostbusters slot machine
3. Shiny everythings
4. Free drinks!
5. Don't have to worry about potential outbreak of foot, hand & mouth disease at kindergarden until tomorrow