The clouds rolled back in with a vengeance yesterday afternoon. The kids and I were caught unawares, having been at a gymnastics birthday party that worked everyone into a sweat, but we emerged from the ritual pizza-and-cake to find that our spring temperatures had dropped and our t-shirts weren't going to cut it. I have a good spot here on my living room couch on Mondays. Through the sliding door next to me, the deck looks bright and pretty despite a gray sky (and windows that need a cleaning if this rain EVER STOPS), the bridge soars above the choppy Bay waters, and through the rails of ... [READ MORE]
Oscar Night in Wine Country
February 27, 2017 by Leave a Comment
I'm lying all curled up in a bed in a Hilton in Santa Rosa. For the record, I've been lying in this bed for THREE HOURS. For the record, it's 9:36pm. It's been grand. I literally cannot remember the last time I spent THREE HOURS -- three reasonably day-lit, dinner-bath-and-bedtime-ish hours -- doing so much of absolutely nothing. Besides watching the Oscars! Drinking wine! And doing an experimental "energizing Korean face mask" that my beauty-guru girlfriend gave me for Christmas! I feel simultaneously giddy and terrible. Surely, somewhere in this world, there is laundry to ... [READ MORE]
Being There
June 9, 2016 by 1 Comment
I'm feeling a little bit under-appreciated by my kids lately. Can I say that? Is that selfish? It's summer vacation, and unlike past years when I froze in the face of tackling childcare/camp/travel for twelve weeks, this year I stared it right in the face and planned -- if I do say so -- a pretty fah-bulous summer break for my kids, complete with Lego Camp for the kickoff, a camping weekend, and no fewer than 3.5 weeks in Tahoe including 4th of July fireworks. BAM. I am #winning at summer. Except that we are, oh, 4 days in, and my kids are not sharing the feeling. Instead of being ... [READ MORE]
Recipe Roundup No. 4: Summer Loving
June 6, 2016 by Leave a Comment
I was just remarking to someone that I'm super getting into cucumbers lately, and that is, of course, a kind of ridiculous statement. In my defense, we were eating cucumber salad at the time, but still. Who gets into cucumbers? I'm going to start this recipe roundup by getting real with you and owning the fact that all my efforts at self-care went flying out an 8th-story office window for the better part of April and May. Last week I stared in the mirror and realized that I looked a lot how I felt: creatively & professionally fulfilled, totally exhausted, obsessed with red lipstick ... [READ MORE]
Friday Recipe Roundup No. 3 (and on a Thursday!)
April 1, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Last Spring Break, back in 2015, I took it upon myself to spirit my kids to Tahoe, where it was very cold, but Babygirl insisted on walking around in goggles and a swimsuit because, Spring Break. The girl just felt it in her bones. It was quiet, and chill, and a whole lotta mom-and-kids crafting, and cooking, and Penguins of Madagascar, and Easer-egg dying, and of course Chutes and Ladders, and dressing Bitty Baby. This Spring Break, I am knee-deep in this professional proposition, which is really fun, and such a dynamic change of pace, and also...hard. We had an incredible Easter (like, ... [READ MORE]
Failure: An Anecdote in Three Parts
January 21, 2016 by Leave a Comment
I. Signs that you have not had enough downtime in the last six months or so: You get so excited just to be alone in an airport bookstore that YOU MISS YOUR FLIGHT. In my defense, the entire landscape of the SFO Terminal 3 has changed significantly since the last time I was on an airplane back in the Dark Ages. It’s all vast and light-filled and there are about 50 restaurants. Walking into it I was like a child who hasn’t seen the outside world before. Also, the flight left ahead of schedule by about ten minutes. (This, by the way, is why they advise you to be at the gate 30 minutes ... [READ MORE]
Cobwebs and Clarity
November 23, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Last week I quit something. I didn't feel very good about quitting, as I'm generally pretty big on commitment. But this particular commitment was the result of being a little bit flattered, and letting that feeling convince me to say YES when I absolutely should have said NO, or at the very least Not Now. It was the result of wanting to say Yes and not wanting to admit that my children are in two different schools on two different schedules (and it's killing me), and my day job has taken on new levels of demanding-ness (and it's depressing me). Commitment or no, there are times when you ... [READ MORE]
