Ice cream and Awesome Pics

Ethan and Gavin were spectacular today. We spent an hour today in Central Park and both boys were SUPER eager to have pictures taken! There were soooo many good ones.

The coolest thing was, my own daughter Mia was pretty well-behaved, too. There was one little flub: at the beginning of the photo shoot she went sliding down a gravel hill (on purpose). She started shouting, “cancel the photo shoot! I’m hurt!” I just sort of chuckled at the typical Mia-wanting-the-spotlight comment. Luckily, Ethan and Gavin’s parents are BOTH nurses, so they tended to her scrapes while I snapped dozens upon dozens of awesome pics of the boys.

And even BETTER… I took Mia to Ben and Jerry’s afterwards to reward her for hanging out with us for an hour! They have the best new ice cream… I think it’s called “Late Night”… vanilla ice cream with salted caramel and chocolate-covered potato chips. Yes! Potato chips! It’s amazing. Just like the pictures of Gavin and Ethan! Wahoo!

The Basham kids posed for me today… they were really cute. I’m always so amazed at how sweet these two are with one another. I asked their mother what her secret is and she said it just happened… from the day Kieran was born, big sister Caitlin adored him.

Ahh… I wish we could get a teaspoonful of that over here at the Harmon house!

So I’m a little ADHD, so what?

Ever heard of the children’s series “If You Give A Pig a Pancake” and other books by Laura Numeroff? That is so ME.

If you give a Mom a cup of coffee, she’ll taste it and need to heat it up in the microwave. When she goes to the microwave she’ll notice it’s dirty. She’ll go to the laundry room to get some cleaner. In the laundry room she’ll see the iron-on transfers she was using for a Halloween costume. She’ll start cutting them out and ironing them on the costumes. The Halloween shirts will make her think of haunted houses. She’ll go in to the garage, get some plywood and a jigsaw, and start creating one. When she runs out of plywood, she’ll head for the store to go buy some more. On her way to the store, she’ll see a shoe sale at a really cute boutique. She’ll buy the prettiest shoes ever. The pretty shoes will remind her of a really cute picture she saw of a woman with really cute shoes on. She’ll go home and grab her camera. Her camera will have dozens of photos to download and photoshop so she’ll sit at her computer to work on them. Sitting at her computer, she will want a cup of coffee... 

Back with a Bang

Funny how hobbies rise and fall like the sun..

I used to blog, a year ago.

Then, I took a writing class and the teacher told me not to blog, but to save my work for possible publication. Well... that seemed like a good idea. I saved everything in folders. Never shared them. Never sent them out to get published, either. (well that’s no fun!)

Then, I took a photography class. That teacher told me:

create a blog.

So here I am. I’m baaaaa-aaaaaack!

Liquid Euphoria

Though I haven't exactly found euphoria yet after being on this juice diet for two days now, I do feel some changes:

1. Wednesday and Thursday I was feeling like crap. Sore throat, body aches, mild headaches. Since being on the juice diet. . . I feel much better. Yay. BUT-- was the change in health due to caffeine withdrawls? Perhaps.

2. And, like the book said, I have a strong desire to organize. Yesterday I took down all the Halloween decorations (and there were a lot-- 10 boxes, almost tops Christmas at 13), drug the 16-foot stage I built a few weeks ago all the way into the garage, then rearranged all the boxes to sit on top of it.

3. I have lost weight. I think 5 pounds in four days. And I'm certain that if I stick with the liquid diet I'll peek at 120, a number I haven't seen on the scale since college.

BUT..... I am starving. Cranky. Irritable. My skin itches. My stomach growls. I do not LIKE this 3-day cleanse at all. The juices are pretty yummy, with the exception of today's strawberry-grapefruit-mint concoction (I think there may have been too much grapefruit).

Then, there's the cost of all this, which isn't euphoric at all, but it does leave my head spinning. For example, my strawberry-grapefruit-mint juice cost me about $8.50. I, of course, used organic strawberries, at $6.99/pound, because if I'm detoxing, I don't want pesticides in my system, right? Sure. Whatever. But the "other" strawberries are friendlier with my wallet. And really, to waste all that produce on a drink I didn't even enjoy...

To eat at In-N-Out would cost about $5. Yuuuuuuum.

Liquid Euphoria. Hmmmmm.... I'll give it another day or two, until the heaps of greens in my refrigerator drawers run out. Then I'll replace them ... perhaps with BEER (my other kind of LIQUID EUPHORIA)!!!!

NO-vember

I am starting out the month with a detoxifying, three-day, juice-only cleanse. So far so good. No sugar, no alcohol, no caffeine, no processed foods. . .

Welcome to NO-vember.

I'm not doing it to lose weight, though shedding the bike tire stuck around my waist would be nice. I'm doing it to "start over"--rid my body of all toxins and just, well... see how I feel! Supposedly I'll feel more energetic, have better skin, and even gain a sense of euphoria.

Imagine that. . . a sense of euphoria. Without chardonnay? I'll have to wait and see.

I bought a juicer and have been in Whole Foods every day buying fresh veggies and fruits. The grocery bills are soaring. And for the heaping amounts of fruits and veggies I put into that machine (very expensive, organic-nly, might I add), only a few precious ounces come out at the other end. I gulp down the green goodness like I've just stepped off the set of Survivor. Tons of foliage equals sippy cup results.

But the book says it's cheaper than eating unhealthy and drinking alcohol. Maybe. But the latter is a hell of a lot more fun.

Quick Trip

I started to title this entry, "Quick Trip Home" then realized, Salinas isn't home anymore, is it?

I drove down Highway 68 with a lump in my throat. The autumn afternoon sun shone down on the massive maple leaves adorning the pastures on either side of the road. Mia and Cooper made their little innocent comments, "I remember this place," or "Mommy, did I grow up here?" as I fought hard to choke back the tears. As I passed miles of old barbed wire fences, I thought about blissful memories of the past thirteen years. The day was gorgeous. The air was crisp and golden. And I had to keep telling myself, "it isn't always like this."

I do love the weather in Santa Clarita. I love the heat. I love that there is actually a summer. And I love that summer stretches far into fall (and may even poke it's nose into winter). I love having a pool just steps from my back door. I love the stable where I board my horse. And I love my neighbors. God, I love my neighbors! (see previous post about hide-and-seek!)

But I miss the quaint, country charm of Salinas and the old buildings downtown. I miss the lush greenery. I miss that everybody knows each other somehow. I miss having ten acres of privacy and all of the smells and wild sounds and bright evening stars that go with the territory. I miss that Monterey and Carmel and all the shops and restaurants and wineries are only thirty minutes away. I miss having an elementary school that I don't have to worry about. And most of all, I miss my friends. God, I miss my friends.

Every time I return to Salinas I find myself doing two things: 1. I avoid driving to my old home like the plague, and 2. I am constantly outweighing the "pros" and "cons" of the two cities, just as I did here.

My old home will be rented out soon. Someone else will be living in the country retreat I spent years making a home. Someone else will be making memories on those tile floors, filling the large rooms with laughter and enjoying the sights and smells of the oaky knoll.

In a way it's a good thing. It just buys me more time to outweigh the "pros" and "cons" of each town.