Dear Mumsicle...

I very rarely spend holidays away from family; not even the "minor" ones like Mother's Day. But I've been on the road over a week now, on the other side of the world. Ironically I am in my mother's Native City. I am quite sure she'd be happy to trade places with me today. And if I could, I would grant her that Mother's Day wish.

Until they perfect teleportation my dear Mother shall have to be satisfied with a phone call and a blog post. And all the other Mother's in my life(and you know who you are) will also have to be happy with my electronic shout out.

Happy Mother's Day to you too Sis!!! Hope the kiddies give you lots of love & kisses. I will see you all soon!!

Summer Recap

It was the First Day of Autumn and I know I'm not alone when I say.....WHAT??!!!@#
Seriously, what the heck happened to summer? Every year, when June comes around, I get that 3rd grade feel of joy. WWWAAHOOOOO! SUMMERTIME!!!! But then I remember I don't have summer vacation. I have a 9-5 job.

With the nation's financial debacle on the horizon, taking one of those "Oh I summer'd in the Maldives" sort of vacation seemed frivolous. So I grabbed summer whenever I could. And now that Autumn is just around the corner, I can't help but reflect on all thats happened.

First Up. Skinny Dipping at the top of Horsetail Falls. Well, the skinny dipping came after my panic attack on the way up.

And you just can't talk about summer without mentioning the Olympics. Sake loved watching the ceremonies! She did I tell you! She did!

Then, what would a Northern Californian summer be without a little Overcasty Goodness at the Beach?
I also got to revisit the 80's, if only for 1 night...
Mid-August the planets lined up and the 2nd generation of Ips/Yips/Yehs reunited from east/west. Could I FIT more people in my place?
Oh hey! PIDGEON!!!

The Dog Day of Summer game at AT&T Park was definitely a highlight. Check out Sake on the Jumbotron!


I had a brush with Slo Food Nation.
D took me out for my first time surfing!(I forgot to tell D I'm not that strong in the water. But thats a story for another post. And this pic is merely a dramatic re-enactment..)

I developed a new obsession: Spring Awakening. But then again, sitting on stage watching these adorable kids sing and dance can do that to you!

Finally? The Brisbane Family Singers!! Ok. The Brisbane Fireplugs.

WOW! I had a great summer! How about you?

Vegas Baby!!

Vegas is a funny place to be with children.
Nudity pops up willy nilly in all shapes, sizes, forms.
It's hard to give a 5-year-old a moral differentiation between arcade games and those other, "grown up" games. (After all, they all involve money and crappy odds.)
And how can really explain the popularity of Lance Burton??

But there I was.. in a three-generational mambo on the Vegas Strip. With both my parents, a 5-year-old, and an infant in tow; Sin City sure took on a funny spin. .. First off, my sister and I didn't know what to make of the revamped pirate show at Treasure Island. What was once an action-packed (though cheesy) pirate adventure, turned out to be a free PG-13 burlesque show by Pussycat Doll Rejects. "My name is Cinnamon, but you can call me Sin."... Good gracious! How do you explain that to a pre-schooler? And should you?? Seriously, we all felt a little seedy after that. Not just because of the subject matter, but because some of the dancers were in worse condition than Britney Spears.

Non-moving objects sure seemed a lot more appealing after that!
















All in all, we had great fun, ate some fantastic food, and ultimately have some great stories to tell. But you know what they say....girlfriend... everybody, all together: WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS, STAYS IN VEGASSS!!


PS. LoSt is BACK!!! yay!!!! Who wants to come over and watch tomorrow night???!