Paper Cup Poet

fragile and beautiful

  I spent the day in Midtown, doing interviews, taking a nice long walk and thinking about life.  Although my kids were with daddy my thoughts kept circling back to them and also to the fragility and beauty of life.

This pink tree about sums it up.  The day was grey (perfect) but not cold and the trees were doing their spring thing and even the camellias were in bloom. 

I have always loved this gated community across the street from McKinley Park.  Little funky cottages all lined up with a patch of grass a huge tree and one phenomenal, slightly weathered gate.  I realized today that I have spent a good portion of my life walking around Sacramento.  I love the old houses, the park, the camellias, the people, the churches and the corner of 35th and H.  Walking is my savior.  I used to think it was yoga, but now I am sure it is walking.

Me thinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow.  ~Henry David Thoreau

teen angst

  I know that I am no where near teen years, but...I could not love PBteen more.  When their catalog arrives I get all weird/greedy and take it with me to the bathtub like a forbidden bodice ripper.  Then I drink in all the details and pick the room I would demand if I were a teen with spendy parents.  This woodland themed room is perfect.  I would leave the white tree up all year long.

If I re-do my guest/office suite in something like this will anyone snicker? 

**Grown up time** Walking my kids yesterday at a bird sanctuary a woman stopped me to say "oh how cute!"  She then asked, "are you their Grandma?" 

rain, rice pudding and the recession

  the rains came.  It poured its heart out for most of the day and the kids and I tucked in with movies, crafts and kitchen endeavors.

rice pudding done with arborio rice is perfect in the crock pot.  It's thick and creamy like risotto only sweeter.  I may have eaten two big bowls of this in my pajamas while watching Sex and The City reruns.  At the end of my day which is generally 13-14 hours of straight work I now collapse on the couch like a good American and eat carbs. 

The joke in our house now is "I blame the recession!"  I say it for everything.  This week driving through the neighborhood I see Chili's closed unexpectedly, then I see workers popping the Applebee's letters of the roof a block away.  Then another block away a brand new Red Robin just opened. Odd stuff. 

**Recession proof stuff:  education (always worthwhile), reading, baking, working hard, taking long walks, telling jokes, canoodling, dreaming, planning, not listening to nay sayers, refusing to become bleak.

future bloggers of America

  April has been telling me lately that she is shooting pictures for her "blog"...she is so funny.  Here she says to Ryan "say cheese and I will put you on my blog." Don't you think blog is a dumb sounding word?  I prefer web diary.

I have kicked my coffee habit.  Yep.  Soda too.  I am loving tea.  I feel calm, not jittery, good in the morning, not like the hag-mommy I was.  It's good.  My headaches are gone and I swear my eyes look clearer. 

Rain and storms are coming!!  Happy dance.  My big one is at her grandparents this weekend.  Hoorah.  I have almost finished my mosaic table.  There are brownies on the stove!  All excellent stuff.

**List of favorite colors right this minute** charcoal, hot yellow, turquoise, ballet pink, navy and most especially what the paint chip calls "twilight sky".  I buy paint primarily for the name on the chip, is that wrong?

stargazers

  my favorite lily -the stargazer.  I never knew this but apparently they represent purity and innocence.  Marc has always bought these for me.  Right now my kitchen and bathroom are perfumed with the most heavenly scent. 

Speaking of gazing upon stars:  Babyscopes (on Astrology.com) are pretty cute...here is April's

Aries:

Filling in with the horoscope for your little tyke is our old friend the owl: Whoo, whoo, whoo? Whooooo! Who whooo whoooooo whoooooooooooooooooooooooo?!? Whooo-whooo, whooo; whooo whooo whooo

new day

  over the 3 day weekend (which was really good) I did something almost unspeakable:  I gave up coffee.  This is not easy or pleasant for me as a mom of two small toddlers who rarely gets a good night's sleep.  Especially lately.  I am not happy about this. 

So, it's been 3 days, and I am still hanging in there sipping my tea and fighting headaches.  I am seriously grumpy.  I know I can do it as I did through both my pregnancies and nursing my babies, but still...coffee?  This is hard.

Onward....this honey from Santa Cruz (Beestung) that my mom buys from her hairdresser is really nice.  Lemons from our prolific tree are good too.  I am eating a big square of excellent dark chocolate every night, so that is something. 

OH WHO AM i KIDDING...TEA SUCKS...I WANT CAFFEINE, I NEED A LATTE STAT.  I MISS STARBUCKS!

happy heart

  have a cupcake!  Our Valentine's Day was lovely.  Storms came in, rain and wind and it was so cozy.  Marc did all the cooking and bought special little treats for me and the kids.  We watched Madagascar 2 and just hung out. 

**Baking with toddlers** those little round "ball" sprinkles are never a good idea.  Never.  Also, the glitter gel is best squeezed directly into mouths, forget the cupcake.  Expect a floor/kid cleanup time to run you around 2 1/2 hours.

i heart...

  we always have STRING LIGHTS on our pot rack.  We had an outlet installed in the ceiling just for our lights, it's a very important thing to Marc and me to have string lights at all times. 

 ARTICHOKE HEART chicken!  Do make this!  I made it up but it's basically a little mayo, sour cream, artichoke hearts (chopped), minced garlic, parmesan cheese and jack cheese all combined (the same stuff I make dip with) and then just plopped down on the chicken and topped with bread crumbs, lemon slices and fresh rosemary!  It was romantic (for chicken) and my kids totally ate it.

  chocolate cream cheese cupcakes from Bon Apetit.  These were actually made last Sunday, so tomorrow I will  do CUPCAKES again for sure. 

i also heart:  Marc, April, Ryan, marshmallow fluff, the cake dome emerging from a cupboard, felting, organized closets, all this very good rain and my kids singing John Denver's Country Road to me in the car. 

tapioca in the crock

  I finally am doing desserts in the crock pot.  First up, tapioca.  While not very pretty it was so good.  And fairly healthy I think in a super-carbo, gluteny kind of way.  Recipe is from Aton Brown/Food Network, would link it, but it's not working.

Speaking of not working!  I am still searching.  Job Market is not really a market but more of a desolate vacated type building.  And freelance writing has come to a halt too.  This is a total bugger.

List of things I will buy (to help stimulate the economy) if someone will hire me:  new jeans, new yoga clothes, running shoes, all the Orla Kiely for Target collection, Heath Ceramics dinnerware, one fabulous professional handbag, sushi, rib eye steaks and a lovely, well deserved vacation.

demands of the man

  Because as great as he is he cannot read my mind, this much I know.  I strove for things that didn't cost any money, or very little and were totally and completely doable. 

Him:  So, are you going to learn to make Indian food for the day?

Me:  Uh, no.  You sir are going for take-out.

Him:  Just one flower?

Me:  Yes, I figured a whole dozen would be pushing my luck.

Him:  What type, exactly of chocolate are you shooting for?

Me:  Something dark and something good.

**This is marriage**