something that my mom taught me that always sticks with  me is this…. everything you bring into your life should be pretty and interesting to look at.  if it doesn’t “move” you then move on…. she would sprinkle parsley on every single meal we had because, well….food always needed a dash of green.  she was always decked out in jewelry because, well…..adornment is so fun and interesting.  and always have fresh flowers, shrub cuttings or whatever is in your budget because…nature should be brought inside.  this lesson has served me well because i love interesting and pretty things – it can cost 25 cents or it can cost a million daughters.  it doesn’t have to be costly to be pretty.  if it appeals to me, well then i love it.  my latest treasure is a $3.95 coffee mug i got on the bargain table at anthropologie.  i feel better drinking my morning coffee in a pretty mug.  so pleasing.

it was 7pm, the girls had a friend over for a sleep-over and they got a wild hair to go bowling.  ugh.  honestly – i wanted to sit on the couch, drink a glass of wine and relax.  niels, always being the one to rally, said “OK” and off we went to the nearest bowling alley.  we ordered pizza, punch, popcorn, put on our bowling shoes and we got down to business.  and guess what?!  it was SO fun!  sometimes it’s good to push yourself a bit…. the best part was around 9pm when they turned on the black lights and lit up the alley with neon.  the pins glowed, the balls glowed, the lanes glowed – even our teeth!

this morning i had a photo shoot with three BFFs.  these ladies are great – they get together and have 48 hours of pure, crazy fun.  a photo shoot with me was on their agenda so we started our morning hopping on a double-decker bus, hanging out in some alley ways and sitting in front of an autobody shop on asian rugs and anthro pillows.  they were game and i was a happy camper (i’m trying to talk them into letting me post the pics on the blog).  one of the ladies is a shutterbug and i told her that pictures of me don’t exist.  they truly are nonexistent.  so she grabbed my camera, which happened to have a lens baby on it (i LOVE lens babies – so fun), and took these two shots of me.  she’s a natural!  thanks deni!

we had “back to school night” at the girls’ school the other night.  jette is in the fourth grade now.  she’s becoming introspective and reflective – it’s so cool to see her observe the world.  this is a little project they did.  it was hanging on the wall and so I snapped a pic with my phone.  of course i had to choke back the tears (and i didn’t realize she wanted to go hawaii so badly!).  i will probably keep this forever.  what’s your favorite “treasure” from your child?  can be anything…

today we took our bikes down to san diego bay and went exploring.  what about you?

saturday night.  surprisingly, we have little to do this weekend and it’s really nice.  usually our life is a mish-mash of over-scheduled days.  not that i am proud of this, but it’s the truth.  so weekends like this are valuable.  no plans, no agenda.  it’s saturday night and what should we do?  niels had the genius idea of a ben & jerry’s ice cream tasting event.  we hopped in the car, hit the closest grocery story and bought five ben & jerry’s flavors we don’t know very well (maybe we know one of them… probably too well!).  we had a taste-test extravaganza where each girl tasted the new flavor with eyes shut and tried to guess.  the favorite?  creme brulee!

i know there must be something wrong with me if i get sad when seasons end and news ones begin.  not because of the change, but because i realize i didn’t eat enough of the vegetables in season and soon they will gone, replaced by the vegetable du jour.  i panicked today because i realized i hadn’t eaten my fair share of summer squash.  so we had a yummy dinner of shrimp scampi and sauteed summer squash with basil, garlic and chili flakes.  i feel a little better.  time to the gorge on the tomatoes before it’s too late….

we have become a little lazy over the past few months.  not cooking as much, lack of routine, sleeping in, staying up late…. well it’s school time and it’s time to get back in the groove.  now that i have my scary speech behind me, i feel that i can focus and start catching up on the zillion things i have to do.  one of niels’ clients knows our love for thai food so she brought him a recipe along with all of the ingredients.  how cool is that?!  so while i made panang curry – britt played under the breakfast nook and made a “secret hide-out” (although it wasn’t too secret because i could see her watching me), jette did her homework (a collage on friendship.  fun!) and elle was at gymnastics.  it was a fun moment in time – relaxing and getting back into the routine.  home cooked meals, homework and family time.  each doing our own little thing.  it’s sad but true – i love routine.

today is the day.  the “taste of hope” a wine tasting and yummy food fundraiser for the city of hope, an amazing cancer research center and hospital.  i am serving as the women’s council’s “amabassador of hope” for 2010,  a huge honor and one i wasn’t sure i deserved.  i have been BEYOND stressed about this event.  knowing that i have to stand in front of 300 people and talk about my mom’s death and then my own cancer diagnosis…. well, i was scared.  i knew i would cry in front of everyone.  i’m OK with that since i do it all the time (girl scout moms – remember our trip to the retirement home!?).  but i was afraid i wouldn’t recover and turn into a pile of mush.  the night was AMAZING.  i was surrounded by so many friends – i really, really couldn’t believe the amount of support i had.  i realized i wasn’t going to be too scared because i was in the company of friends.  so kipton (yes, the bachelor pad hottie) was the MC and introduced me.  the first thing that happened?  i dropped my glass award and it broke!  yes – klutz.  comic relief can be helpful and then it was all downhill from there.  some highlights of the night (sorry the lack of photos – i was too busy schmoozing to take pix!  it will be covered in san diego magazine so hopefully i will have some images to share at a later time).

* at the last minute the girls were allowed to come.  since it was a +21 event, children were not allowed.  they had a great time and were a hit.  they ate about 10 cupcakes each.  they were in heaven! kipton even threw them a rose!

* i bought a fancy new outfit and 5 minutes before i left i changed into something more comfortable from my closet, but i wore the new shoes.

*  i lasted about 20 minutes in said shoes.

* my friends lisa, tricia and marne were there – we have been friends since we were 8 years old!  33 years of friendship.

* my mom’s friend roseann came to support me.  BIG tears.

* my family and friends from all phases of my life were there – so incredibly touching.

* i am joining the “women’s council” for the city of hope – a huge honor to work amongst these amazing women and raise money for the city of hope.

* i have to give another speech next year.  i’m already stressed.

you can still come to the taste of hope….please come!