A Star is Born

Milan Lauren (Pronounced Luh-rynn) made her debut today at 1:15 pm. She weighed 6 pounds, 1 ounce (not bad for 2 weeks early). Tracy and baby are both doing well. She went in last night to be induced. The pics say it all:

Obligatory Social Customs

Just got back from "The Kiln", one of those paint your own pottery and have them fire it kind of places. It was girls' night for my roommate, Michelle and I. We had limited time. I walked in feeling overwhelmed with all the possibilities of cool things to make. After I pinpointed it to a person I wanted to make something for, it became much easier. Because of the time, I forced myself to do something cutesy and whimsical (not my usual style). I could have probably driven myself (and friend) nuts if I went with my usual detailed, realistic style. Can't wait to see the results. If you've ever done any of this pottery painting, you know that the colors don't look right until they're fired. A white can look pale green; a cobalt can look powder blue; a red can look like dirt. But when you get that finished piece, complete with glossy coat and vivid colors, it's a true surprise. Maybe I'll post the results when I get them in a few days.

Speaking of roommates, you're probably thinking, "I didn't know Tawnya had a roommate". I don't normally, but my friend Michelle from my days at York College is here for the summer. It's an interesting (and long) story about how that all happened, and I think I'll save that for another day.

Sunday, we had the baby shower for my sister. Less than a month away! If you're like me, you've gone to tons of showers and the sight of pastel baby colors is enough to induce the doldrums. I was determined that this was not going to be a traditional baby shower. Abbey and I went shopping for decorations and decided on a theme that wasn't even in the baby section. We saw all the Hollywood stuff and decided to go with "A Star is Born". The colors were black and gold. We rolled out a red carpet and sprinkled gold stars around for decoration. Ben's mom made a star cake, mom made some star-shaped chocolate mints and I made some champagne colored punch and chocolate dipped strawberries. They looked so good, but I didn't even try one since I hate strawberries. We played a game of match the celebrity with their baby picture. We had the guests decorate diapers with slogans and had Tracy judge them for originality.

When all was said and done, I was pooped, and decided non-traditional or not, showers are strange rituals (not that I'm against anyone throwing one for me when my time comes....I've definitely put in my time at other peoples' showers). I do understand the practical aspect of gift registries, but at the same time, it does seem strange to make a list of what you want people to buy you and then act surprised when you open the items on your list. (Incidentally I almost never buy from the list. That's too predictable. It's much more fun to give people the kind of stuff they didn't know they really wanted.)

The other thing I wonder about.....do people really enjoy going to showers or is it one of those things (like Mary Kay parties and Pampered Chef demonstrations) you do because you're a faithful friend? Does anyone actually look forward to a rousing game of baby bingo or the endless display of onesies and baby paraphanalia? Yes the punch may be a different color and flavor at each shower; the colors may be of a different shade of pastel; the baby stories being told may be slightly different but overall a shower is a shower is a shower. ..... Now I'm not knocking all you shower-goers out there (after all I'm one of them). I guess it's just one of those loyal ways we women encourage and support one another. Here's to all the women out there who go to these things no matter how busy they are, no matter how well they know the guest of honor, and no matter how much they dread this strange social custom.

As I've gotten older, I've come to the point that I don't do as many things out of obligation. I do go to showers for friends, but not for barely acquaintances. I do not buy things from door to door salesmen (as often as I used to). And I do not go to those home parties anymore unless I truly have an interest in the product. Once you've gone to one Party Lite party and learned all about the beauty of candles...how to hug them to help them keep their shape and how to trim the wicks so they last the longest, I do believe you've learned enough about candles to sufficiently pass the rest of your days on this earth.

3 Things

My friend Anita sent me this and it's pretty intriguing. Check it out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUDIoN-_Hxs

Also, I finished my post on the roadtrip. You have to scroll down a couple of days to see it.

Thirdly, when I've been on other computers, I've noticed that my nice sunflower picture with the title of my blog does not show up except at home. Leave me a comment about whether or not you can see it, and I'll see what I can do.

Wildlife encounters

First day back to school. And no I'm not referring to the kids when I say "wildlife". We didn't have students yet today. I saw two young foxes in our sensory garden. While I was having a problem with bunnies eating the flowers and wishing for a solution, I wish the foxes would have showed up before most of the flowers were obliterated. Here are some shots I got of them. Yes, there a bit mangey, but surprisingly tame. And no foaming at the mouth.

Speaking of wildlife, I was over at mom's yesterday and gave the kids their Fiona ears/crown that I bought at Universal Studios. I love this picture. Wow! They are all 3 smiling AND looking at the camera!

The Long Trek

The big roadtrip.......Here's the rundown. Brace yourself; there are lots of pictures. I think I took over 300. I definitely pared it down for the purposes of this blog.

Day 1, Friday: Picked up Mary Jane and left Lawrence around 9 a.m. Because of the tornado in Greensburg, MJ's usual route had a detour, so we took in more of OK than we wanted to. OK turned out to be an unlucky state for us, as we had several near death experiences. First this truck threw up a huge rock and left this target shaped crack in my windshield. MJ was quick to get his picture (not that it matters, but we like to document highlights of the trip in photos).

Next we had a couple of Oklahomans decide to drive in our lane (head on). So the only redeeming part of Oklahoma this trip was this beautiful shot of horses on the open prairie. Makes me wanna sing "Wide Open Spaces".

We made it most of the way across New Mexico the first day. Stopped in Grants, NM.

Saturday, Day 2: Got up and drove the rest of the way to MJ's parents, arriving in Upland, CA around 4:00 pm. Here are some of the scenic highlights along the way: Near Albequerque, NM; Gas in Needles, CA; Nearing Upland; MJ's parents' home (through a very dirty windshield).

Sunday, Day 3: We spent Sunday relaxing with Mary Jane's family. They were very nice and hospitable. Upland was also very nice. It's tucked in a valley with a great view of mountains. We took in some shopping, including an excellent 99 cent store (I'm a sucker for a bargain). I spent a little bit of time sitting by the pool with book in one hand, cold drink in the other. It's nice to just relax and not have anything pressing to do.

Monday, Day 4: Memorial Day. MJ's Dad gave me his version of the nickel L.A. tour. Before leaving, he explained the rules: We stay in the car and I take pictures out the window. Since I'm from a landlocked state, he'd allow me 45 seconds to get out and stick my feet in the ocean. In actuality he gave a great tour. Just as MJ said, he was full of useless knowledge (turns out it wasn't so useless after all. Came in handy for the tour). We drove through Hollywood (not such a great part of town). At one point he pulled over and instructed me to jump out and take a picture of a star. Since he picked the spot randomly, I wasn't sure if I'd recognize any of the stars.....I was excited to see a name I knew, "Stefanie Powers" (I used to watch Hart to Hart in the good old days). As I was focusing in with the camera, MJ knocked on the window and motioned to the next star down. So, yeah, I have to agree with her, the star just beside it was a little more photo worthy.

We then stopped at the beach.....and, yes we did get more than 45 seconds. We spent closer to 45 minutes enjoying the surf and collecting shells. The Pacific was chilly. Another misconception I had about southern California. I had been to the Pacific Ocean in Oregon, but I thought this far south it would be much warmer than it was.

After the tour, MJ's dad made some awesome ribs for a Memorial Day dinner. It was another fun and relaxing day.

Tuesday, Day 5: This is the day that MJ and I went to her mom's school to give a short inservice on MMARS. Her mom is an OT, so we followed her around and observed her work with the kids. She also works at a school for kids with DD, except her students are quite a bit younger. There was a little bit of confusion as to when we were presenting and some of the teachers didn't even seem to know about it. So even though we had prepared a 2 hour presentation, we ended up having a 45 minute slot and were competing with the chili feed in the staff lounge.

Wednesday, Day 6: MJ and I took off for the La Brea Tar Pits. It's kind of odd to find this place in the middle of downtown LA. It's quite the interesting spot. The asphalt (actually NOT tar as the name suggests) has trapped thousands of animals (much like fly paper) over eons. Fossils of all kinds of critters have been found (saber-tooth tigers, mammoths, mastadons, sloths, etc.) and the excavations continue today. That's about as scientific an explanation I can give. For more information, visit their website: http://www.tarpits.org/

We had lunch at Marie Callendar's (and all this time I just thought it was a frozen dinner). I had my only celebrity sighting while in LA. I actually didn't recognize the man until MJ said something. It was Bill Cobbs, the African American guard in "Night at the Museum" (which ironically we had just watched with her parents).

Thursday, Day 7: MJ and I headed to Universal Studios. This was one of the highlights for me. That place was fun. First we took the tour of the backlots. We saw sets from several familiar movies and TV shows (Jaws, Desperate Housewives, the Grinch, War of the Worlds, etc, etc).

After the tour, we roamed the park. They had several shows. Waterworld was one of my favorites. I wasn't a big fan of the movie, but it was fun to watch all the special effects in live action with real actors.

This was Backdraft, also very impressive with its special effects taking place right before your eyes.
And of course I love animals, so the animal stars show was fun.
There were several awesome rides (The Mummy, Back to the Future, and Jurassic Park to name a few). And they showed a short Shrek film in 4-D, meaning our seats moved, we got squirted when Donkey sneezed and felt gusts of wind in the appropriate places. I think all movies should be 4-D (except horror movies).

Here are some random shots throughout the park.
Friday, Day 8: Our time in CA had drawn to a close already. We headed out for Flagstaff, AZ, checked into our hotel there and then drove up to the Grand Canyon. That was awe-inspiring. The pictures really do not do it justice. I could spend a week there, just taking in the views with different lighting throughout the day. At one point, I decided I wanted to go down this trail the donkeys use to see what it was like. I didn't go far. I can't imagine rambling down the trail atop a donkey, especially when I looked down. Mary Jane and I got split up at this point. I didn't see her for another hour or two. I was hoping she didn't have an asthma attack. I found her at the car. She heard an ambulance go by, and since she'd left me on the donkey trail, she was hoping that I'd have the wherewithall to tell the ambulance drivers to stop by the car and let her know I'd fallen off the cliff. So it was a relief to catch up to one another at the car.

Saturday, Day 9 (into Sunday, Day 10): One LOOOONNNNG Day. We headed out from Flagstaff that morning. We drove through the Petrified Forest National Park/Painted Desert. That was an interesting place. Here's a close up of a petrified tree that has turned to stone.
petraglyphs from a Native American civilization. So the original plan was to stop either in Liberal, KS or Tucumcari, NM for the night. We were both ready to get home, so we drove through the night and got home at 7:30 am CST. I kept the clock on California time as a psychological tactic to stay awake. Of course getting stopped in the middle of nowhere, KS by a highway patrolman for having a headlight out got my blood pressure up enough to keep me wide awake too. Here are some shots of a rainbow and beautiful sky in New Mexico.

So 3600 miles later, I'm thinking it was a very long drive, but you don't get to see things like that from an airplane. I was glad to get home and into bed and my pets were so glad to regain some normalcy around our house.

Art Club Results

Well in our limited time last night, we got creative. Abbey used her prerogative as an artist (and a girl) to change her mind. She drew a cat and other happy things in an abstract/collage type fashion. She entitled her piece, " One Cat on Love". There's the cat's face and she included other happy things like flowers, sunshine, lollipop, butterfly, rainbows, and a heart. No puppies or other animals in case the cat doesn't like them. Doesn't it just make you happy to look at it.

I guess my picture has a more somber tone comparatively speaking. I pulled out my morgue (a file where artists keep ideas) and found a picture I'd taken of a butterfly with a broken wing. So very originally, I titled this piece "With a Broken Wing". The Martina McBride song ran through my head the entire time I was working. My pic is very small (5"x5"), as I knew Abbey would finish before me. Amazingly, the reverse was true.

So art club was a great idea Abbey. It was great fun doing artsy stuff with you!

Abbey's report about Art Club: "It was fun, even though I changed my mind. I thought it was really fun spending time with Aunt Tawnya."