2011 Photobook

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we celebrated

and it was fun.

my family behind me

i sat in commencement the same way i have sat in every class for the past five years- close to the front, with my family behind me.  i couldn't see them, i never can, but i knew they were there.  they were there, like they always are, cheering my name and applauding me on.  some of them sat in the hard arena seats taking pictures and trying to keep the children entertained, some of them watched a live stream of the ceremony from afar, while a few others sent their love from another time and space. 

graduation was a culminating experience, not just of my college career, but of the generations of support that propelled me to this point.  a lot of wonderful people have invested in me and i will do my damndest to make good on that investment.    

       

announcement

 

 

 

'we finally did it! 

together with her family 

marisa miley 

has earned the degree of 

bachelor of arts 

 in 

english 

from the university of la verne

 saturday, may twenty-sixth 

two thousand twelve'

you'd ugly cry too

if your sister had this painted for you.

'my birthday surprise'

 

because i can't seem to get it done, i have delegated blogging to the children. the girls co-authored their version of today's events-

'i wok up in the moning. i at drakfist. my mom and dad and me were spost to go to scool, he said grandpa brok down so he went on the frewa and playd a trik on us. my mom kam and piked us up and my bruthr said we are going to diznyland. my sistr was friking owt.' -miley, age 6

'when we got to disneyland we went to go get me a pin. then we went on rides, cool rides like astro blastr and dumb rides like hanted maschen.' -mia, age NINE!

brian's favorite event of the day: the girls yelling at him on the freeway 'you better take us back to school. we're going to get an unexcused tardy!' and star tours. he loved star tours.

my favorite event of the day: listening to the birthday girl wish for 'world peace' in snow white's well. i liked star tours too.

 

 

 

 

intimate stories worth sharing

phone pic from last weekends rodeo

i have been frustrated by the media coverage swarming the september eleventh anniversary. it frustrates me that it takes a tsunami, a hurricane, or a terrorist attack to remind us that we are all in this together.

in association with the september eleventh memorial museum, npr is producing a storycorps special recording survivors stories, usually memorializing their lost loved ones, that is worth all the media coverage it can get. their goal is to have a story recorded for every life lost on sepetember 11, 2001.

these intimate stories have a profound impact. last week i heard a fire captain father talking about both his sons who died in the attacks, a 34 year-old police officer and a 36 year-old fire fighter. one of his sons called him on 9/10 as he was headed to work, he told him he loved him before they hung up. the other son called just as the towers were hit, he told him he loved him before they hung up. the father- "not very many people can say that the last words they said to their son or daughter was 'i love you.'"

if your reading this, please know, i love you.

deep in the heart (day three)

me & g

day three found us on the mosaic front steps of my aunt lyn's house for the pomeroy family reunion. as a kid, i always dreamed of having an artsy home like my aunt. i still do. every maxi skirt, watercolor painting, and buddha statue scream her name. there was an iron tree sculpture being installed in the backyard as we left. lyn was decorating it with empty wine bottles from the event to memorialize the day she worked so hard to put together for everyone. there isn't anything nondescript about my aunt either. it must be genetic.

in this family, creative juices flow as freely as the wine. there are artists of every trade- painters, writers, sculptures, graphic designers, musicians, dancers, yogis, landscape architects, and movie producers. our colorful lot spent the hot day enjoying texas barbecue in front of rented industrial fans. we admired tommy's beard, michelle's baby bump, and my long lost cousin's sense of humor.

quote of the night

text message from brian to tiff: your sister, the english major, just asked me how to spell penis.

teacher with a triumphant smile

mr. suggs and students at the nhra motorsports museum

it's hard to believe that it's been a year since brian started teaching autoshop. he survived! and he's going back for more. we took a brake under the shade tree from car washing this afternoon and i asked him some questions. with much eye-rolling, he provided some answers.

me: do you like teaching?
him: it's too early to tell.

me: what was your favorite part of last year?
him: teaching the adults, the ones that really wanted to be there.

me: what was your least favorite part?
him: the bureaucracy (he started saying 'the bull shit' before rephrasing)

me: do you have a favorite moment from last year? (his answer surprised me. i love it when that happens!)
him: when i taught the adult class about personal portfolios. it was all about keeping an updated resume and cataloging certificates. i shared my personal portfolio that got me the teaching job. none of them knew how to do it. they were really into it. it was a valuable tool for them, especially considering half the class needed me to sign unemployment papers verifying that they were attending vocational classes.

me: do you have a least favorite moment?
him: when that stupid kid accused the class of stealing his ipod. he was seriously after me to frisk each and every student until it was found. he wouldn't let up and the school police were busy elsewhere. that was annoying.

me: what will you do differently in your second year?
him: i won't be everybodies friend. i'll be firmer and more structured.

me: what will you do the same in your second year?
him: separate the students into "pit crews" with specific jobs for each crew member when we're working in the shop. head to head competitions between the pit crews worked.

me: any more thoughts on the subject?
him: it's really not as hard as everyone says. (pause) i couldn't have done it without my wife (said with an upturned nose and a triumphant smile)!

deep in the heart (day two)

niece abigail, held by aunt b, hugged by cousin mia

day two was not the day for pictures. it was the day for reconnecting. it was the day for breakfast dates, dinner dates, and margarita dates with women i love. women that can snatch a restaurant check with ninja-like skill- even at subway! at subway, they sneak up on you in line all sweet like. they pretend to be interested in what your up to. and then whamo! your food is bought and paid for and anut b is strutting her casual victorious way out the door.

these women of mine have sensitive hearts the size of their state. they ask you how you are and you answer them honestly. you talk about things that really matter. you trust them with things you don't trust to anyone. day two was full of heart.

(number fourteen)

brian made me take a picture in this ridiculous hat

the empty gravel flower bed has intimidated me for two years. but no more! we planted fourty-seven pretty, (mostly)native, (mostly)drought-resistant somethings in the front (number nine). our dependence on home depot no-interest financing is to blame for shortcoming my environmentally friendly goal.

i wanted something simple and natural that would look at home in our rocky desert area. we placed some medium sized rocks we already had and one big fake one from the hardware store at the front of the bed to form a gentle border. around the rocks we planted mounding flowering plants and various grasses- my favorite. between the plants is a stepping stone walkway leading to nowhere, our very own winchester mystery house. eventually, it will lead to a backyard gate.

the growth in front makes me smile each time i enter or exit the house. it's the only project we've done that looks consistently better in person. mother nature'll trump the camera every time. hands down. no questions asked.

it looked like this before

not so much

mia's first day of first grade work made my day 'totally awesome.' miley's, not so much.

first grade giggles

kindergarten, first grade!

miley filled this morning with first day giggles. there were no jitters. she woke early with a smile. when i got out of the shower, there she was, fully dressed waiting patiently for me to zip up her jumper. not a shabby way to start the school year.

miley was very fortunate to have had such a positive school experience in kindergarten. first grade is looking to be just as promising- her teacher is the amazing mrs. c and all her besties are in her class.

keep on shining giggly girl, i'm so proud of you!

we arrived with three, left with one. next year, we'll be leaving with none!

third grade awe

kindergarten, first, second, third!

this is the first year that the girls will share a recess/lunch/bus schedule (can i get an amen!?). in the car yesterday i overheard them discussing it. it was more mia talking while miley ignored her than a discussion, but none the less, a direct quote is in order: miley, i will play with you one recess a day, but the rest of the time i don't want you all up in my face, okay?

what is so funny about it is that mia would love it if miley were constantly 'all up in her face.' mia loves her family, even in front of an audience (unlike her younger sister who learned embarrassment early).

each year i assemble mia's first day pictures in disbelief, awe at how much she's grown, and cry lucky tears over what a kindhearted (third grade!) girl she has become. this year has been no exception.

wobbly legs

 

i haven't taken a single picture in the last month of anyone, wearing anything, but a swimsuit. this week the suggies have dipped in chlorinated pool water, fresh lake water, and salty beach water. i love it. summer is here people, soak it up!

unfortunately, for many women this time is associated with swimsuit anxiety. not for me, no mam, i am over that garbage. but leave it to my middle monkey to have me doubting my confidence. while swimming with their cousins, miley looked at my sister-in-law, kim (who carries her calories in the same places i do), and casually said 'your legs wobble just like my moms.'

my mom (and my husband) are funny

drunk guy at the resort: heeeey, i like your shades.
laughing gloria in her bright pink sunglasses: you should see my car.

mom and her freshly painted car. look closely and you will see that the new interior matches the bright exterior. mia has affectionately dubbed it the 'lemonsine.' we came home from shopping the other night to a homemade 'taxi' sign atop the car and a laughing brian on the porch swing.

i'm so glad she's such a good sport. i actually think it's pretty cool that she didn't want a 'nondescript' colored car. and i think it's even cooler that she doesn't give a damn about what anyone else thinks about it. there isn't a single nondescript thing about my mother, even though that has the potential to be embarrassing, i wouldn't have her any other way.

giddy-up ya'll

quote image from polyvore via pinterest, family image via my sister's iphone

deep in the heart (day one)

the girls and i kissed our boys good-bye on the curb of lax and made our misty-eyed way toward security. miley and i walked barefoot through the metal detectors without a problem, but the tsa agent said that mia required a full-body scan to make sure she wasn't hiding anything under her hippie skirt. after a long wait, the girls excitedly boarded their first flight in memory.

we were attacked in the dfw baggage claim by an even more excited auntie tweece and crazy grandma. we split up into two rental cars and i attempted to follow my mom to the hotel. i stopped trying to keep up when she drove her pontianc vibe straight through a yellow and black stripped barrier arm. much to her chagrin, when we safely reached the hotel 20 minutes later, my chest was still heaving with laughter.

to the girls delight, john & liz arrived with their babies a few hours later. we set off on another crazy procession, this time three cars thick, in search of food. the joyride ended with me swerving into a parkingspace outside olive garden (lame, i know) cursing the absence of a gps. once inside, my agitation was replaced with the elation of being surrounded by some of my favorite smiling faces.

illegally acquired, universally admired

the short drive from dfw (d-f-dubya) to our dallas hotel quickly revealed a few things. one- navigating the cities highways, turnpikes, spurs, and beltways was going to be problematic. two- texans freaking love texas. the iconic state outline is everywhere: waving on flags, painted on buildings, and placed in flowerbeds. the picture above was taken at my mom's sister's house, but i spied the exact same stepping stone in a garden at my dad's brother's house.

i'm a californian, born and raised, but i've been surrounded by that contagious texas pride my entire life. our orange county home was full of riffles, cowboy boots, and genuine texas bull shit paper weights. my mom channeled her texan resilience into retaining her twangy accent despite living the majority of her years away from 'home.' it worked so well that i still find myself regularly using the word 'ya'll.' which is quite the useful word when you think about it.

we just got back from two family reunions and four days deep in the heart of texas...