Adventures... and what to wear...

Last year at this time I got to have a little adventure in being single (i.e. a Singles Conference). You may remember, I thought the best part was getting to play dress-up (see here).

Well, a year later I find myself continuing in the adventure of being single and lo and behold, there was another Singles Conference.

So, I got to play dress-up again.

This year on Friday night I went for "tall, dark, and um... feminine?"

My daughter (who is my glamour photographer) said that I looked like a spy. A very cool, fashionable spy. I took that as a compliment. Someone actually told me recently that I must be a spy and that working at the museum is just my cover, because really, who has ever heard of a Quilt Museum.

Here is my attempt at looking spy-like. Don't laugh. Well, not too hard. You know I do love a good "tough-girl" movie, I do own a floor-length black trench coat, and I do totally want to rock at Tae Kwon Do.

Saturday night I wore a dress. Actually, it was the same red dress I wore last year. I love this dress - why spend money on another one? Besides, another friend told me to wear what I wanted. And I wanted to wear my red dress. (I don't think I've actually worn it since last year!)

OK, this last one still has some "tough-girl" in it. :-) Hey, you've got to be tough in this kind of adventure story!

My Heroes

These are my heroes. They are my heroes for a multitude of reasons, but today I celebrate them for a very special reason. They have been together for 40 years.
They have always been and will always be my greatest inspirations. They are beautiful examples to me of how to be best friends in a real-life way!

I feel so very blessed to be their daughter and not really sure why I got so lucky. But I am grateful every day for my heroes, their adventures, and my role in their amazing story.

Thank you Mom & Dad.

Wonder-full

This picture was taken of me a few weeks ago when we were at the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park. I'm pretty sure I was looking up at the blue whale skeleton and marveling at how huge it is!

I find myself with this look on my face a lot lately. I feel such a sense of wonder for so many things around me. I love to just stop every now and then and take in where I am. So many times I am just overwhelmed at how lucky I am. It's really wonder-full!

Getting in the Summer Fun

I can't believe that tomorrow is the first day of school! It's so wrong to go back in mid-August! But the kids and I have been doing all sorts of fun stuff to celebrate the end (sniff) of summer.

We went to the de Young Museum in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park one day.

We saw a special exhibit of Impressionist paintings on loan from the Musee d"Orsay in Paris. They were amazing!

We didn't see Monet's garden paintings, but here's a pose of my daughter and me in the de Young's gardens. :-)

On another day we drove up to the North Bay and went to Stinson Beach. It's a great place (even though it is overcast and cold in August!)

This is as far as we got into the water! Then we warmed up with a great game of sand soccer!

On another day, my parents came up and took us to the Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park. It was completely reconstructed a few years ago and the new place is amazing!

The bottom level is the aquarium. Here we are in front of (and underneath!) the rainforest tank.

This is up on the Living Roof.

Then, just for fun (and for my daughter!) we went to the San Francisco Zoo!

(Look! It's Susan, Lucy, and ASLAN!)

As usual, I rode off into the sunset (or at least around and around on the carousel.) I'm still in denial that summer is over. I'm still going to have more fun in the sun (when it comes back to the Bay Area)!

Garlic and Wizards and Kids, Oh My!

I've lived in the bay area for nearly 10 years now and every year I say I'm going to the Gilroy Garlic Festival. Then somehow I don't make it there. This year I was determined to go! And we finally made it! Here are the kids in front of Mr. Garlic. :-)

And of course I had to try the GARLIC ICE CREAM! Wow! It was quite a trip! Starts out sweet and then there's a kick of garlic spicy-ness. Pretty fun!

After the festival, we headed out to the central valley to visit my parents and grandmother AND my brother and his family who were also visiting.

Here is my FAVORITE baby! Can I keep her? Please?

Here's my "baby" having fun with her little cousin.

And no family gathering is complete without the men making something amazing in the kitchen! First it was cinnamon rolls and then it was sushi! The Jedi Food Masters are instructing my young son. :-)

We also had the chance to see the show my mom's theater company put on, "The Wizard of Oz" and it was super! I have ruby slipper envy. And probably some singing-on-stage envy too!

What a great weekend!

My Girl

It's so hard to believe that my little girl is another year older! And not so little anymore.

For her birthday she wanted to redecorate her room. She picked out this cool bedding set and her grandparents, great-grandma, and I bought it for her.

She had the added fun of performing in "The Music Man" on her birthday. She was amazing! She is an all-around amazing young woman! I am one lucky mom.

Summer Reading List

While my kids plow through books they HAVE to read this summer for Honors English in the fall... I get to read to my heart's content! (I don't have to feel bad because I remember well those days of summer reading lists!)

Here's what I've been reading by the pool...

1. The Fetch - Laura Whitcomb - A fascinating story that hinges on the mysterious disappearance of Anastasia Romanov. It's sort of like the author's idea of what "really" happened, with a supernatural twist.

2. The Last Knight (book #1) - Hilari Bell - Fun and funny adventure of a knight and his squire. A twisty plot and great one-liners. Always fun to read a book with a male voice.

3. A Countess Below Stairs - Eva Ibbotson - Another story set in the Russian Revolution (I was on a kick this month I guess). This story follows a Russian countess as she flees to England and becomes a maid on a large estate. Great story!

4. The Hound of Rowan - Henry Neff - Thank you to my cousin Melissa for blogging about this series. It's very Harry Potteresque but a great story all it's own.

5. The Second Siege - Henry Neff - The second book in the series. Loved following the hero and his sides as they battle the bad guys. Classic story line but very well done.

6. Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac - Gabrielle Zevin - A fun and poignant look at what it would be like to wake up at 17 and not remember the last 6 years. Great characters and introspective themes about who a person is.

7. Wishing Moon - Michael Tunnell - Ever wonder what happened to the magic lamp when Aladdin was done with it? This is the story! I really loved this book (of course the Arabian Nights are one of my favorite!) Great protagonist, great themes, great story.

8. Only the Good Spy Young - Ali Carter - Thank you to my sister Megan who lent me her copy. I read it in 3 days. :-) I love this series that follows the girls at the Gallagher Academy where they learn to be spys (among other things!)

I still have lots of summer left and the stack of books by my bed is getting small. Send recommendations! I've got to work on my tan!