call us crazy

but we're going camping this weekend to a place where it the daytime temp will be at least ninety degrees. i can't wait! not actually a big fan of heat as it makes me feel sluggy and sickish but i do love me a road trip and camping with the mister. since we're staying two nights i am bringing a tablecloth and some other happy, pretty things to make our camp look more a-go-go. there will be quilts involved and perhaps some happy pillows and most definitely the ukes and a deck of cards and some music.
we'll be frugaling it on he road which means we splurge on our usual campout/road trip snacks like peppered salmon and dried fruit and hot dogs from joe's. i'm making up a loaf of gingerbread as well and we have the fixins for s'mores and hot chocolate though this time around i didn't get my act in gear to make up our own chocolate mix. i'll do that for the next trip.when we a-go-gos go we like to leave super early and noodle along. sometimes i'll yelp out food places and look for points of interest by using flickr as a search tool. we often stop for photo ops and overall it is pretty easy going. the ipod is loaded up with audio books from both david and amy sedaris as well as oodles of podcasts from npr. when we travel through icky cities we listen to music and such when the scenery is pretty we drive along in quiet. it's a good thing we get along and balance each other out. we hit the hay early but we wake up before sunrise so we get to see all the pretty morning. when there is shade, we definitely nap and if there is water we take a plunge.
i can't wait! are there any tried and true traditions you have when you hit the road or camp out? the pics are from various road trips...just to make this look al ittle more interesting.

blogging for blogging's sake

sometimes i think that the grand moments in a day are so perfectly perfect that i will always remember them and then, a moment passes or a day or a month and i find that they slip through and fade away. i think i need to remind myself more often of the simple, everyday things that make my life sing. i'll be posting more moments like that here so that i won't forget.

for now i want to remember lazy sweet conversations with friends as we sit on slightly damp grass with our hair being tickled by the breeze. the sweet "slurp, slurp" sound of a tiny Bea drinking her pretend tea. the ultra bright renderings of breakdancing cupcakes, tree gnomes and roller skating fezzes of an eight year old genius, and the slightly manic, always amusing motions of everyday chores as executed by this lady who is a star in my book, a magnificent beglittered star complete with sparkly birds, green forest fauna and an apronful of laughter and smiles. i adore you.

adventures in bench monday

in which i take five pictures. one on an actual bench. nothing like having a loved one along. happy bench monday!

the week in review: may 18-24

what did i do the week after graduation? i ran errands, pretended to clean the casa, saw a movie, had a camera poked up my nose and worked a garage sale.

i had lunch with gelatog and our friend adam. while waiting for them to arrive, i met this lovely flickr user and her friend. i hit the ENT and had my throat numbed and polyps looked at and i more than made up for last week's coffee drought. this awesome lady took me to the movies where we delighted in caramel corn and yes, more coffee, we also went to this place for excellent waffles and then took her kidlet crew to this place for ice cream friday.

the weekend was spent prepping and hosting a garage sale for the mama-a-go-go where i wandered around taking polaroids of vintage dixie cups, barbie vans and sunkist crates. i made a most awesome picnic lunch for everyone and think i can have a career as a sandwich artist. happy end of may everyone! today, we are going bike shopping, just as soon as this l.a. marathon sort of ends and the streets are a bit more clear. for now we are neighborhood bound.

check me out over at Craftzine

Craftzine has a summer camp this summer and I have a post up on gluten-free clay beads for you and your kidlets. Hop on over to read more about it and don't forget to keep an eye out all summer for oodles of more fun projects.

how we jump

unless of course there is no timer involved then that is a whole different process!

what is it about pink?

this past weekend was the great pink-a-palooza for the young miss za. her fifth pink party was a japanese tea themed party (with, um...a castle bounce house). here's a sneak peek at all the prettiness. keep an eye out on the adventures of ander and zaza for more detail. we may even talk about it on the 'do as it was just that purdy.

another week, another bench monday

more fun photos can be seen in the Bench Monday group over on flickr

the week in review: may 11-17

well folks, last week was a whirlwind. i finished up my final papers and graduated from college. who woulda thunk it? the weekend was spent reading for fun, writing for work, and co-hosting a most perfectly pink birthday bash. happy summer!

it's official!

i'm a college grad! lookie my graduation cap, handmade by the mister. i'm not taking part in the ceremony but i still get my cap and tassel...these are from the heart!

finally, some flowers

a few weeks ago, the mister and i trekked on up to the owens valley to visit Manzanar. on the trek home we took our time exploring that part of california for we do love our state. as luck would have it, we were traveling down the 14 freeway when i realized it maybe, kinda, sorta was still poppy season and the poppy reserves were nearby. so, with a left turn here and a right turn here and a bypass of other people with fancy cameras we finally found a spot to hang out. if only we had thought of it a week or so sooner...there's always next year! check out more pics from the weekend, here.

happy bench monday: round six

the week in review: may 4-10

let's see...in a nutshell:

*school
*crafting
*hiking
*visiting
*outdoor meals
*summer heat
*polaroid taking
*paper writing
*cookie baking
*movie watching
*laundry laundry laundry
*seed planting
*bike shopping
*nap taking

a pretty good week save for the icky throat woes and such. this week, last day of class and i'm a graduate in Human Development specializing in the child, education & play (though not officially because i'm all tapped out for paper writing.)

'roid week: day five

'roid week: day four

since i had class in pasadena, i thought i would wander and mayhaps shoot the neighborhood around school. it was too hot to wander so instead i trekked on over to this nifty little market that has the happiest paint job ever and snapped this while a group of young folk hanging out with a large snake watched me like i was a freak.

grandma

i can't believe it has been a year since you died. i'm still stumbling about trying to figure out who i am in this nutty world. i never realized how much i defined myself through you. even through the tough and so very difficult times, i loved you and felt my purpose was to be there for you, to advocate, to share and to keep you thinking and rethinking what you believed to be true about the world around you. this day marks a past year of loss for me. loss, confusion, anger, insecurities and more. on the heels of your death, came the dreaded hsg and confirmation that my insides are as screwed up as my outsides. it is no wonder i have had a hell of a year. the year is still not exactly what i was hoping, but i'm working on it. i'm working on me. i'm graduating next week and it is a bittersweet victory. i think i just need to focus on pushing through this cloud that has been swirling all around me. it has been like a silent storm that never erupted yet still kept me anchored in one spot afraid to live my life. i suppose i need to ignore that storm. i need to live my life whatever it may be. it scares the heck out of me. it does, but i will. i miss you.

picture this

because it really is all about me! well, at least for this moment, in my head it is. see, i'm graduating next week. graduating. grad-u-ate-een! holy crap, i'm graduating! not to get all sloppy, sobby but this is something i never ever in my wildest dreams thought i would do. i never dreamed i could actually go to college, the college of my choice even and then, to finish, to actually finish and have a degree i can walk with, that i can use, that i can apply to most anything? i am feeling overwhelmed, humbled and ecstatic...if that is even possible. (and at this very moment, as i type this, i am weepy city and all snurfled up) i'll not ruin the moment with the whole, i still have no idea what to do with my life bit.

instead, i will talk about parties. i'm not walking. personal choice. if my mamos was alive and here, i would rollerskate across that stage but with her gone and granny too, i don't feel it is something i could or would want to do. selfishly speaking, i would like a party. a camera party. a party where we all dress up and take pictures. where we caravan to photobooths all around. where i get all camera themed presents and we laugh until we're on the floor all cramped up with the giggles.

a party where there is pie and thai food and samosas and mojitos. where i set up a craft table and make you make me a camera, be it painted, sculpted or out of wood. a party where you, all of my favorite internet peeps are there...like the greatest meet-up ever! a party to end all parties full of fun, laughter and picture upon picture upon picture taken. wouldn't that be dreamy?

if only that could happen. who knows? maybe for my fortieth birthday, if i plan now we could pull it off. this isn't a plea for anyone to throw me a party so hush you, this is my dream and my make believe for the day. and if it behooves you to think about this, please, climb into a photobooth sometime next friday and take a picture for me. and please, oh please, don't forget to post it!

polaroid week: day 2

went out and about to find a good shot. wandered out into the intersection to capture the donut hut in burbank, california. happy polaroid week!

finally on the ball!

it's polaroid week and i caught it before it ended! whoo-hoo!

the week in review: april 27-may 3

the week was the very definition of cabin fever. i woke up sick on monday and carried it through like a basket full of eggs. i'm still sick but on the mend and i have reached the whiney, coughing, sore throat phase. enjoy my cabin fever pics...