pretty cargo bike

This bike is so rad. Don't you think? Click on that picture and maybe I'll win one or win the lottery and buy one!

oh mother!

I'm not really sure I believe in Mother's Day. I was that kid who asked every year when "Kid's Day" was only to have to same rote answer repeated annually that "EVERY DAY IS KID'S DAY." I have to admit that I now sort of understand why it wasn't a funny question in the first place. My own mother was so disenchanted with the entire concept that she specifically requested to work on the day while we went to my Dad's childless Great Aunt Ruby's for brunch. Looking back I'm pretty sure she was disenchanted with my Dad's family, but at the time it seemed really weird to be motherless on Mother's Day. In our very mother-heavy household Mother's Day has meant getting out of town for the past 5 years. Problem solved! We were happy mothers and the kids were clueless. That worked until last year when the sight of a family bbq/pancake breakfast clearly in honor off all the wonderful, loved mothers in the large and very happy family made me burst into tears at a Tahoe City playground. Something was missing. I wanted that - whatever it was that family had. That's what I wanted. I almost walked over and sat down at one of their picnic tables just to soak up all the mother worship that was swirling around the lovely lot of them. I settled for a strong cocktail with a view of the Lake and that was nice too. I keep thinking about the year BabyQ was 2 and my Gram mailed him an envelope with a twenty dollar bill and a note saying "buy your moms a pizza for Mother's Day." Man, I wish I'd kept that note. I miss her like crazy. If she were still alive I don't think it would be so easy to hit the road and pretend like it's not Mother's Day just so I don't have to deal with juggling my family, my mom, my step-mom and my very own childless great aunt. All of whom have individual needs and expectations around this most Hallmark of days. Not to mention my own obviously deeply buried feelings about that big, happy extended family pancake picnic with all the lovely balloons. Did I mention the balloons and the smell of maple syrup wafting through the pine trees?


{photo via danske on flickr}

funny bunnies

If you look very closely, you'll see that one bunny has a mouth full of chocolate and the other bunny is guarding his jelly beans very carefully just before tipping the entire lot into his mouth.





happy easter / happy spring

an excuse to s l o w down

I'm very slowly making my way through the archives of This American Life. I don't know if it's the kitschy harmonica music that links the segments, the fact that I've been battling strep throat and Ira Glass' nerdy mellow voice in the background is such a wonderful distraction to the shards of glass in my throat or that given all the bad news in the world, these simple stories - that almost always end up making me laugh - also serve as a great reminder that people are fucking weird {in the greatest way}. Weird and sweet and corny and sentimental and that everyone has a story to tell. It's helping me slow down and focus on my own story. It's way too easy for me to spin out of control, organizing errands, meals, dentist appointments, flu shots. And then I stop and tell myself how boring that is and how much more My Story has to offer. There are sweet preschool songs that I can't quite understand from his secret life at school and enthusiastic pronouncements that almost everything I suggest is "A GREAT IDEA." An almost six-year-olds brain, exploding with new words he can read. Words from the actual book laying in his lap and store signs comprehended and shouted out from the back seat as we streak through the blissfully rainy March streets.

something I love

I bought this ring a few months ago and I love everything about it. It makes me happy every time I look at it. {pretty good for $15} This site has amazingly fun jewelry and party supplies and is super reasonably priced. It's my new go-to site for little presents.

cheap & awesome

someone please buy this rug. It's my dream rug, only in my dream it's black and white. Okay this is my actual dream rug, but if Pottery Barn wants to rip it off and then put it on sale! - jeepers, somebody please buy it. If red would work for you (it won't work for me) then this is the rug for you. Modern, clean-lines and cheap! It would make such an awesome statement in the right room. Oh! Pottery Barn you're killing me, why didn't you make this in black and white and then put that one on sale too?

I heart spinach

As I'm careening through my morning routine on about cup 3 of lukewarm coffee I realize that my usual toddler shadow isn't attached to my personage as I dry my hair. Weird. I turn the blow dryer off and man, it's really quiet. Too quiet. Part of me (the part that can't believe I've been up for two hours and still have wet hair) thinks, just enjoy it. Be appreciative. Finish this one thing and then go investigate. The other part of me (the one that fears uncapped markers and toppled bookshelves) thinks wet hair is not such a big deal compared to a ruined couch or a quick trip to the emergency room before work. It's a long walk down the hallway to find my monkey sitting on the floor of his room, half dressed reading (okay talking out loud with a book in his lap) this book. All I hear as I get closer is "now, can I have dessert??" repeated a few times, clear as a bell. He looks up, sees me and asks for some spinach. It's 8:15 in the morning and dammit if I'm not tempted to walk back down the hall and whip some up. You should get this book. You should also get a three year old if you can. They're the best.