I love Austin Vol. 1

I am in love with Austin.  No.. not just love.  I would marry Austin if I could.  I fantasize about Austin almost daily.  I dream of my life with Austin and it includes cowboy hats, shit-kickers and teens who regularly use the phrases "Yes'm" and "No Sir".  This is just the first in a series of I Love Austin posts - because Austin had me at hello. 

Yahoo says you're the top city for jobs this year: Lots of tech jobs, entrepreneurs, and setting up well for the clean tech industry.  What more could you want from a city?

US News proclaims you one of the best cities to live in : Citing that if you're a free spirit, music junkie, BBQ lover or have what it takes to "keep Austin weird" than this is the place for you!  We were meant to be Austin, can you doubt it?

Oh Austin.  Will we ever be together? 

Seriously... Thoughts?

Lonely in SoCal...

I have friends.. no really.. I do.  I just don't have any friends that live.. here.  As I've stated, I live in sunny SoCal, my nearest friend is about an hour away.  My farthest friend is an all day plane ride away.  I have friends in Santa Monica, near Irvine, in San Diego, Temecula, Seattle, Yuma, AZ, near Chicago, in Boca, near DC and finally.. Boston.  And these aren't just acquaintances I'm talking about.  These are my good friends.. my close friends.. the friends I would call up and go to the movies with or cry on their shoulders if I needed it. The friends I would trust with my kids, my secrets, and to play the "Who do I look like?" game with.  The friends I have dirt on.. and who have dirt on me.  They're the friends I would invite over for dinner parties, or just hang out with.  They're the friends who'd make holiday plans with me and my kids.. maybe we'd BBQ.. maybe we'd order in. These are the friends that would have a pool that my kids could play in.  These are the friends who would have kids that would play with my kids so my kids could grow up knowing their parents weren't complete social outcasts.  This is how it should be.. But it's not.. They all live Too.Far.Away.  And plane tickets are spendy.

Can we hurry up with that transporter already?


Seriously... Thoughts?

ps - I miss you guys.

Distorted Body Image

If you're a woman, chances are, you have a distorted body image.  I want to blame the media.. the models.. the A-List size 0 super stars who never gain a pound.  You know those women who have babies - twins no less - and who are back to a size 0 days after giving birth.  Yeah.. those women.  I'll blame them for the distorted body image.

In an attempt to balance what I think I look like with what I actually look like, my best friend Cris and I made up a new game called "Who do I look like?"  I know you're jealous of our naming skillz.  The game is simple, you go to a well traveled area like the mall, park, or an amusement park and find a comfy place to people watch.  Then, if it's my turn to play,  I'll sit quietly eating my ice cream while Cris scans the crowd for someone who has my same body type.  When she finds one, she'll point her out exclaiming "THAT is what you look like!"  It's important to exclaim so the other person will really believe that's you're body type.  Fostering a sense of trust is key here and lying to save your friend's feelings isn't part of the game.

You'll be shocked at what you actually look like.  I see myself in the mirror every day, and I still never believe I look like those woman. They're way skinnier with better curves, less flabby arms and certainly smaller saddlebags than I have.  But Cris plays to win, so I know she wouldn't lie.

Unfortunately, I don't get to play this game very often.  My best friend Cris lives in Boston and doesn't get out to visit much.. and The Hubs refuses to play.

Smart Man.

Seriously... Thoughts?

I am Full of Hate

Last night we gathered around the TV to watch Graham Norton (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006xnzc) because that's how we rock a Sunday night.  The Hubs was in his traditional chair and the 15 year old and I were cuddled up together on the couch.

We DVR.. have you heard of that?  It's this handy invention where we record our favorite shows which allows us to go to bed early, and watch 'em when we want.. or have time.. or when The Hubs insists we HAVE to watch some of these shows NOW NOW NOW.. or other shows won't record!  It's suppose to be less stressful..and more convenient but really.. like most modern conveniences.. it's not.

So here we were deep into the funniness that is Graham, when our recorded show freezes.  This happens when the signal is interrupted while recording.  I hate this..so I proceeded to declare.

"I hate this!"

To which my 15 year old replies "You hate a lot of stuff tonight."

Shocked I can only reply "I am full of hate."

Then the recorded show resumed and we continued to cuddle.  The end.

Seriously.. Thoughts?

Robin Hood?? Is that you?

Today was archery practice day.  We started archery practice three Sunday's ago and the fact that I can manage to get my arrows anywhere near the paper target is a miracle.  That's why we go to practice right? Despite my lack of proficiency, I love it.  I love the romance of it.. the medieval feel of it all.. the trees, the friends, the fun... the hope that Robin Hood will swoop out of the trees at any moment with Little John singing a diddy like in the Disney Movie.. but I digress...

Me on the far left.. with my 15 year old in the middle and my friend Joanne on the end.  Have I mentioned girls RULE!

Now.. the basics of archery are simple...

Get an arrow...
Use all your measly weakling strength to pull back the bow..

Now.. aim at that little target WAY over there...
And pray like the dickens you don't seriously embarrass yourself by putting your arrow in the dirt.

And I hit the bullseye and lived happily ever after.

All fairy tales should have a happy ending right?

Seriously... Thoughts?

Pesky Kids

Hi Mom!  Like my hair?

Oh this??

This is where I go to think..

Have I mentioned I'm Good Lookin'?

(I hate it when he's too cute to ground..)

Seriously.. Thoughts?

First Haircuts

My boy was starting to look a lot like my girl..

Cute.. but with three older sisters.. I didn't want this to become a trend.. we had a boy damnit!

So.. we went and got this done..

And this..

And now.. my boy looks like this

I'm teaching him to say "I'm good lookin'"..

he cracks me up!

Seriously.. Thoughts?

Seriously.. You're Blogging?

Okay, so I'm taking the plunge into the world of blogging. It's not that I really think I can keep you all riveted in your seats waiting oh-so-impatiently for my next post.. or even that there will ultimately be a "you all", but I've always hoped to be a bit of a writer, and since "everyone" has a blog and you know I'm a big-fat follower.. here's mine!

(And yes Mom.. if everyone else jumped off a bridge, you know I'd be doing the swan dive too!)

So.. a little about me. I live in SoCal almost against my will. I came down for a visit about 10 years ago and forgot to leave.. oops! I've been divorced and then remarried 6 years ago to an amazing man. I inherited two beautiful girls with my re-marriage who I've committed to with my whole heart. And then we went ahead and had two of our own. At 21, 15, 4 and 2 we run the full gambit of child development angst in our house!

We live in my husband's family home which was built in the early 1930's with a whopping 1200 sf where we manage to squeeze in 3 kids, 2 adults, a big dog, 2 cats and 2 lizards.. to say we're cramped is an understatement. And the chaos that ensues is overwhelming on a good day.. impossible on a bad one. But it's my family.. my world. .my chaos!

I'm an avid multi-tasker.. blog? anyone?. I have my "real" full-time job as a web director for an upscale LA boutique. My "for fun #1" job as a photo digitizer/restorator/archiver/keepsake maker. My other "for fun #2" job is a doing photo manipulation for an architect firm in Chicago for a friend of mine. I'm learning archery and photography.. as well as knitting. I used to watercolor and oil paint and I keep saying that I'll get back to that.. in my spare time. I pretend to sew.. but everyone knows I stink at it but are nice enough not to say it out loud. I am the Queen of List-Making! I'm also a mom, a stepmom, a wife, a friend, a daughter, a sister, an aunt and at times, an overwhelmed crazy woman.

My life is full..

Seriously.. Thoughts?