Who knew?

That TV had truly stooped so low? That it has become a vehicle for useless chit chat and brain clutter.. I rarely watch tv. Mosty, because I don't like to waste time sitting still.. I have too many things to do whether its run Maya to a class, cook dinner, bake, blog, read, craft, etc. I mean we only have 24 hrs in a day.. I can't waste them... Besides occasional peeks at Maya's shows to make sure they are appropriate I just don't have a compeling reason to be in front of the tube.. I gave up on TV shows long ago and although I always tape Oprah I rarely am caught up and can control how much I see.... If ever the TV it is on the channel is dialed into Food Network since its good for backgrond noise (and occasional ideas)..but I digress...Today after work for some odd reason, like not wanting to go out in to 100 degree weather, I was channel surfing.. First off, I recognized nothing.. the few times I did stop I was floored at how dumb the commercials were.. Honestly, is that what sells? to whom? I stopped for a few moments on some random shows and literally was disgusted.. All the drama, phoniness and lack of real substance.. I told Martin I could feel my brain cells dying..I firmly believe its the most important muscle we have and it needs constant excersize.. He just gave me one of those "whatever" looks.. but really.. All I could think of was no wonder its called the Idiot box.. its a waste of time! It makes people vegatables and sucks them in for nonsense...Please someone tell me otherwise..send me something worth watching..something of creative, educational or artistic value.. Heck I will even go for a good family sitcom.. There were days when everyone could and would watch a show.. where you didnt worry about the content or who was in the room.. Yeah, I know.. I am an ole fogie.. I was born 40 as Arthur always tells me.. Oh well. I wasn't impressed.. I hope it was just an odd summer of useless filler stuff but somehow I doubt it..Until the real shows come forward to enlighten and engage, I will stick to my books, magazines, and hobbies.. My brain is much happier when its been chanllenged. Like a flower without water a bored brain will wilt from lack of proper stimulation...

Alex

What a weekend...

it has been another one of those not quite long enough weekends.. Its been hot, its been fun and most of all its been a good summer weekend filled with friends and family..

It started early since Missy had her dress rehearsal and I can't belive its already Sunday!

The show was a sight.. picture dozens of little girls from 4 to 8 in bright costumes with tutus and even feathers.. Watching the dear in headlights faces of some of them was enough to make you giggle.. Others took to the stage without batting a mascara cover lash... Can't wait for the real thing this Friday night..

Friday was also the day the Bell family finally drove back home.. Thank goodness because I have been missing my girl time... My partner in crime for all things has been MIA for 2 weeks. Oh sure she took great barn pictures for me and brought us some goodies (THANK YOU!) but the Bells were gone.. No Grace, Lily, auntie Carl or auntie Deanna for 16 days! Seriously there is only so much we can bear. I know my husband felt the loss as he had to put up with me more than normal.. No sneaking off for coffee, no playdates with the girls..no hanging out in the studio..In Martin's word, "No grasshopper". I was itching for their return..I honestly had to restrain myself from showing up at their doorstep to welcome them home.. I am very proud of myself, I waited until the next morning.. I literally woke Deanna up because I couldn't wait any longer. Maya and the girls dissapeared on us. The played in the pool in the 95 plus degress whether.. they ate 2 meals..the guys even made a trip to the gun shop and us, well we chated, we cooked, and we comiserated about the projects..oh yes and we drove to the quilt shop for more fabric.. Deanna held back during her whole trip and I don't think I have bought any fabric since she left, we were overdue! Welcome back Bells.. glad your home..

After our visit to the Bell home we headed over to the Hernandez house for a photography stint.. I was officially asked to take pictures and I was glad to be of service. Angie and Gonzalo have been great to us over the years..it was a small favor for people who will let me come over for a dip in the pool whenever we ask..For those of you who know that 100 degress is nothing in the summer here at the ranch you know how much that means.. Bev and Kenya were over there which was great since it meant Maya got some extra auntie cuddles and attention while mom played photographer.

Today Maya and I had a long anticipated playdate with the Garcia girls.. Maya and Charley had been inseparable at preschool. They were best pals and had been missing each other this summer since Charley was blessed enough to not have to go to Kids Kamp in the summer. We met for Lunch at Maya's favorite burger place, Red Robin.. They girls were squirmy and giggly in other words they were 5 yr olds.. After that it was to Old Town for a kids production of Beauty and the Beast.. Maya and Charley clapped so hard I thought their palms would be red.. It was a neat production and we were lucky to catch it on the one and only day it ran.. The kids were trying so hard, their voices were lovely and the show was a hit all around.. Maya even mentioned how she would like to play Belle.. I hope she is willing to start as a spoon or a villager, but knowing my girl nothing will stop her until she gets the role she wants..

Sunday Blessings,

Alex

Beauty Shop

Maya is all girl.. She loves dresses, all things pink and anything sparkly.. I am sure it was a generational skip that I had nothing to do with.. We have had a few glimpses into what the future holds after all her princess tea party for her fifth birthday was a mini-quincenera.. We are still recovering..

As much as I try to keep her a baby..she is quickly becoming a kid..no longer a toddler.. So whatelse does a super girly girl want? Nail polish!!! We have only allowed it a few times.. We seem to be loosing the battle... Apparently, the girls at summer camp were having a pampering hour.. Maya came home yesterday asking for permission to have her nails done.. Its summer.. sure...

Today, Ms. Lisa, at summer Kamp did her nails.. She came home with a pink and purple creation.. She was grining from ear to ear.. she showed off her nails to anyone who we saw and even told her friends via phone that she had a "pinkish purplish polish" on her nails..

Tonight after bath I had to put her hair in rollers. Her dress rehearsal is tomorrow and they want them in full garb.. Tutu, special tights, purple laces, makeup and hair.. Since her hair is stick straight it meant mom had to roll her hair in old fashioned pink foam curlers.. The fun part was pleading with her to hold still while I dried her hair. No matter that I used the cold setting, she acts as if I am toturing her. A little drama for good measure.....

Tomorrow she will have a full head of bouncy curls.. Let's hope they make it through the rehearsal..
Alex

What Cha Doing?... Wednesday

Today I am just trying to gather my thoughts.. I am plotting craft days.. I am thinking of which project must be done by when. Christmas is less than 6 months out! I am avoiding a second walk and I am trying to be productive while I listen to the water run.. Missy is in the tub..

I already took my morning walk. Today it was a lonely walk since my neighbor didn't meet me.. Its okay.. I walked to the gym and did 20 on the elliptical.. I broke a decent sweat while I heard scary news stories and glazed over at the confirmation hearings.. I feel like a lazy cat on a cozy afternoon except that I know I should take an evening stroll or water my dying door step plants..Its 7:15pm and its still daylight and oh yeah HOT.. I am sure its still at least 80 outside..We are nice and fresh in the house with the ends of the AC blowing through..

It's hump day and pay day.. I wrote out the bills already- yes the old fashioned way with checks.. I just don't have the energy for anything else.. I want to cacoon until October..But life must go on.. there are things to do and work to be done.. Maya and I have a Junie B Jones book to finish.. My super sweet Knit Two book is waiting for me in bed.... A comfy read for bed time..

Gotta run, Missy is ready for her scrub..

Happy Hump day!

Alex

It's my life continued...

It's Tuesday again! Ms. Julie and her family history series has me hooked.. It's been neat to think of some of my family history.. to see the fabric of my life in reverse and appreciate the pieces of the puzzle that add up to me in the here and now...

This week we are still focused on the home..I will again focuse on the apartment at Oak terrace which was were we lived the longest.
1) Can you remember what you daydreamed about as you looked out of your bedroom window?
I didn't day dream about any one thing.. but I do remember just sitting on my bed wondering if I could study enough for school, read my books fast enough or fit any more posters on the wall.. Since my brother and I shared a room I was always trying to figure out how to arrange it to maximize the floor space. Looking outside of my window I would have only seen more apartments..

2) What was your parents' room like? The beds, the bedspreads, the easy chairs? Did you spend much time in there with them? Were you allowed to rest in their beds when you were sick?
My mom and dad's room was clean and orderly while bare.. My dad was a Marine so everything was well organized. They had a queen sized bed with no frame. It was not really decorated although I do remember my mom having a few porcelain masks on the wall.. There were no chairs or other things to sit on. We were not really allowed in their room.. The door was closed most of the time..I only went in to vacuum because my dad like to see the vacuum tracks. Even if we were sick it was not a room we went into. My dad would say that we needed to contain our germs in our room so the rest of the house wouldn't get sick. I can only really remember one time going in to watch the end of Beaches with my mom and crying at the movie's ending.

3) Was there music in your house? Do you remember it being a quiet house or one filled with noise? It was a noisy house. Four people in a two bedroom meant that there was always someone making noise. My brother could be playing video games, or entertaining some of his friends..Mom cooked, cleaned and was always watching everyone else. Dad may have been organizing baketball cards, watching a game or ironing. There was always music. Each room could have music. I had my own stereo that was my 8th grade graduation gift. My dad loved music and was always playing one of his albums- yes Records! We listened to everything from his collection which was mostly R&B.. He played the SOS band, Al Green and Keith Sweat. If I never hear Keith Sweat again, I think I would still know all the songs from memory.. If I hear Al Green now I always think of my dad..If I hear dance music or disco I think of my mom. It was such a loud house I was shocked by the quiet when I was in college. I had to study in noisy places because that was what I was used to..
One memory from before my brother was born was of a little radio that my mom had on the window ledge. I remember I had a neighbor named Valerie in that particular apartment. At the time, I remember the Bee Gees and Christopher Cross streaming in from the little radio on the ledge in the kitchen.

4) Was there any place in your house that scared you? The basement? The attic? Or anyplace where you felt cozy, like halfway down the stairs?
Nope.. Again, living in a single story apartment we didnt have attics, basements or stairs.. Our couches were cozy and well lived in.. we often fell asleep on the couches. I have always been slightly superstitious so I didn't like open closets at night but other than that there was no where that was creepy..

Road trip on Route 66

We hit the road this past Thursday on our way to a mini-oasis.. Larry and his wife Terri were generous enough to host us for a weekend retreat to Bullhead City, Arizona.. The led us along route 66 on a known shortcut..

The drive there was fun and dotted with historic commentary from Larry over the walkie-talkie. Maya loved getting messages on the walkie and demanded to be responsible for it..The 4 hours flew by with a few strategic stops for gas and sight seeing. We made it to the Amboy stop and saw some beautiful desert skylines. The open road was a much needed reprieve from the daily hussle and bussel of our normal life.

Friday morning we set out for the Mojave lake.. the lake would be better for newbies and we had the whole day to enjoy. It was everything and more.. the bumpy road on the way down was a mini-Disney ride for Maya..On the way back up we would help tow a car out.. She could see nothing but desert and hills from her car seat.. The sights were amazing.. When we finally made it down the path we were faced with a shimmering and gimmering body of water that looked amazing in the morning sunlight.

After unloading the gear and the jet ski's we all took turns learning how to ride. It was great. The water was calm and the skis were forgiving to us novice riders..
Maya and Martin about to ride..

Saturday the guys went shooting. Martin has been wanting to go out shooting for a while but lately its only been on the paintball fields.. Larry, Tony and Martin left by 7am at which time it was already about 75 or 80 degrees and full sun.. Once they returned we headed out to the Colorado River and once again enjoyed the water on the skis. A quick thuderstorm forced us to hide under the pop up but didnt cut our fun. It was just another fun memory from the trip. Slight rain in 100 degree whether is nothing if not welcome.. The sun continued to beat down on us and the current on the river was much stronger than Friday's gentle lake..

We headed back to the house ot our gear and hit the road. This time we would take the normal route back and add an hour.. It was a long 5 hrs.. Maya is such a good traveler she didnt ask if we were home until we were less than an hour from home.. Dad had treated her to McD's for a late dinner so she was all set with a new CD of KidzBop music..
The ride back was as lovely as the ride there.. the sights of the desert will always remind us of the trip to the lake and all the great fun we had with our friends..
Now back to life in our own desert...
Alex

Family history continued...

It's Tuesday and around here it's Family History night..The last two family posts have put so many great ideas and memories in my head.. I hope you are inspired to capture some memories for your family too.. That Julie and her idea's..stinkin cute, I tell ya..

The questions for tonight are focused on the home of your childhood..I never lived in a house so my story will be slightly different..

1) What did your home look like? Was is a house or an apartment? What color was it? Was it one story or two? Well we moved many times as a kid.. We always lived in apartments.. When I was about 6 we lived in one complex with a pool.. I knew then that I loved to swim.. I can't count the number of times we moved but needless to say we lived in a few places in LA and a few in San Diego before we settled in Vista, CA. To me Vista was home. It was the place where we had the most sense of normal. The apartments were called Oak Terrace. My cousin Monica and her husband lived in a unit a few over from ours. It was light brown with dark bown trim colored complex. We had a one story apartment with 2 rooms. I shared a room with Arthur..
2. What was your neighborhood like? Our neighborhood was actually set amongst a lot of other apartments and a few senior apartments.. It was a loud and friendly complex. It also had a pool which we spent a lot of time in.. We used to be able to walk to the market, the laundromat, Thrifty (before Rite Aid). The local LDS ward was down the street in front of a huge dirt lot that was never developed. We used to walk in that field and pick up licorice sticks..

3. Did you have a lawn? Did you have flower beds? Did you have a garden? Did you help care for the flowers or garden? The apartments had a long football field type lawn running across the front.. Directly in front of the apartments there were shrubs but not real flowers or gardens.. We did not do any type of lawn or garden work. That was all done by the apartment management.. My mom loves her house plants but that was about it.. We got a lot of use out of the grass lawn.. Arthur played ball and every other sport he could on that lawn..

4. Did you have a front stoop or porch? Nope.. Neither.. Which is probably why I am obsessed with porches... We just had concrete walkways that led to the door. It was just enough space to put out a welcome mat.

That's all for now..

Alex

Trying to sew

Last night's class was an All-American treat.. Julie our favorite paper crafter, decorating queen and quilter extraordnaire made the cutest little pillow for our class project..

This girl only knows Fancy and we love her for it.. I can't tell you how exciting it is to walk into a class when you know someone has put the thought and energy into it..This is Julie's Americana table set up..(oh and let me tell you about cherry chip cupcakes..YUM!)

Anyhow.. Back to my original story.. let me tell you it was a night of blunders for me.. I showed up to class without my machine's power cord. I wasn't thrilled with my fabric as it was a very modern take on Americana.. In the end, I think it will work but it took some convincing..To top it all off, I couldnt figure out how to gather my fabric for the ruffle..
Julie and I are on the same page.. we are sticking our feet into the "Sewing" versus "Quilting" arena..This was a sewing thing.. this was a make your brain see fabic in a different way..Not to mention discover how trurly useful your machine is..
Thankfully, class is around the corner from my cousin Monica's and I was able to ask Arthur to bring my machine over.. After fumbling around with her machine, I managed to get a few pieces together. The ruffle however, was not possible.. I ended up unpicking the entire thing last night.. will have to save it for Sunday.. I just looked up a sewing tutorial and that helped.. I think...

Wish me luck!

Alex

P.S. Have a great 4th of July!