Monday, September 28, 2009

Musical Monday

I love Glee. I love the choir geeks finally ruling.

This scene actually made me a little ferclempt.



Awesome.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Happy 17th Birthday!

It's kind of funny when the first birthday your kid spends with you is his 17th, but we're okay with doing things slightly less than conventionally around here.

17 things I really like about Warren:

1. His genuine laughter.
2. His beautiful green eyes.
3. His desire to be a better person.
4. The dedication he puts into acting.
5. His spiritual intuitiveness.
6. His willingness to face and deal with his awful past.
7. His rosy cheeks.
8. His love of history.
9. That despite the fact that someone ruined the concept of Mom and Dad for him, he's willing to try again with Todd and me.
10. That he's learning how to be a friend in a way he's never had to before.
11. He's quick to recognize when he's wrong, and quick to apologize.
12. He's learned that he can be a very successful student.
13. and is learning how to apply that knowledge.
14. He loves the scriptures.
15. He tries.
16. He can be very sweet.
17. His love of music.

Happy Birthday, Warren!

Monday, September 21, 2009

2009 Emmy's/Musical Monday

I don't care about the Emmy's. I don't think I've ever watched more than a few minutes of them and the last time was back in high school. But I was tempted to watch last night, since Neil Patrick Harris was hosting.

Then I remembered all the nonsense I'd have to sit through, and decided to just catch the highlights on youtube this morning. I bring you the following gems, such that this could even be considered a Musical Monday.







AND



"Like the Ottoman Empire, the music industry, and Zima, we're here to stay."

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Men, Part 2 (and women, too.)

Maybe it's just the hormones talking, but I'm a little annoyed with people lately. Yesterday, I went to the hospital for an ultrasound of my gall bladder because I've been having all sorts of symptoms that add up to attacks and issues with it.

Anyway, yesterday I took my medical order papers (from my ob/gyn,btw) in to the technician. She asked me to expose my belly so she could squirt that awful goo all over to do her test. As I'm laying on the bed, she notices that I have maternity pants on. "Oh," she says, "Did you just have a baby?"

Here's the thing. It seems like a fairly vital piece of information for the technician to be aware of since she's about to perform an ultrasound on my organs which because of said baby are smushed up all over the place. So, I say, "Um. Actually, I'm 5 and a half months pregnant."

"Oh, really?" she says. And then proceeds to do the test. But not before she asks me what I'm there for. Again, all I can think is, "Did you READ the papers I brought you? Isn't that part of your JOB?!" But I explain to her anyway, because at this point I feel like I should probably walk her through it since I have no confidence that she knows what she's doing.

I will say that it was over quickly and I was out of the hospital much quicker than I'd anticipated.

However, I came home and pinged a friend of mine who was on gmail. Anyway this was a snippet of the conversation that followed:

me: when you saw me, I looked pregnant, right?
this was not a difficult thing to discern?

him: hrm
possibly just fat
I'm not sure how to distinguish the two
me: I think I need to kill you now.
It is on these days that I think it is really too bad that all of my gay boy friends have jobs and work during the day. There are many times when you just want a man-friend who will both listen and not be a complete idiot.
On a bright note, yesterday all of my female friends noted my fabulous cleavage, but I think it was more because they'd read my blog than anything else.
I suppose I should blame my peevishness at the world on the hormones.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Men

A conversation from last night as Todd was rushing in from work and I was rushing out the door to curriculum night at the school.

Me: (Wearing a new maternity shirt.) Check out my fabulous cleavage in this shirt! (Because if you are going to have a Buddah-like belly, you might as well accentuate the positives, right?)

Todd: Oh. Yes. Very nice.

Me. You do realize that me having to point out my fabulous cleavage gets you in way more trouble than the times you have no idea that I've cut my hair, right?

(In fairness, once I didn't notice that he'd vacuumed out the car. Nine years ago. It took me a week to realize it was cleaner. He was a little offended, but has since probably forgotten about it, because he's good like that. I've tried to pay attention since then, mostly because I am ALL for rewarding that type of behavior!)

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Naked Beach

There is a beach that I always go to in San Francisco. (The one pictured at the top of this blog, in fact.) It has great views of the GG bridge and beautiful rocks, both for collecting and climbing on.

It also tends to have lots of naked people down on one end. My children think this is the funniest thing they've ever heard about, and even before we left for SF, Nathaniel asked if we could go there and if he could be naked, too.

I should note that I think the idea of a nude beach in a place that is always cold and always windy and has even colder water is silly. Just plain silly. But also, I like that my son is still free enough of body image issues that he would consider doing such a thing. So, like any mother trying to avoid the question, I said, "We'll see."

Nathaniel playing in the water on the more conventionally clothed side of the beach. This water is so cold that it numbs one's toes nearly upon contact.
This is my friend Damian who picked us up and drove us to the beach. Which makes him an accomplice. (He looks in the picture as if he is just barely tolerating me taking it...which is probably not too far off. He should have been grateful, though. Usually when we're at points of cold water, I make sure he gets good and wet. I was really nice this time. Mostly because I was tired, but still.)
See? Great view of the bridge! That's probably why everyone and their dog gets their engagement photos taken on this beach. I've yet to be there when there's not a professional photographer there. The couple being photographed while we were there had wandered a little too far down towards the this side of the beach, though, and had to dodge the naked guy who was walking back and forth along the surf and right into their pictures.
I would just like to say, I would LOVE to get that wedding announcement. Can you imagine? Cute couple looking all lovey dovey with the Golden Gate Bridge and a 40 something, average looking, naked white man behind them. Picturesque, indeed! I would be equally excited to attend their reception. If they've got the guts to send out that wedding announcement, I'm thinkin' the party could be a little more than just a chocolate fountain and wedding cake!
Here are the pretty rocks while the sun is setting.

And here is the picture that I plan on pulling out to show every single girl that Nathaniel ever even thinks about bringing home to introduce to me. My son, building a "sand toilet". I can't wait until he's 16!

By the way, in case you're wondering how Nathaniel received permission to be naked on what he now calls "Naked Beach", he wore me down until I finally said, "Fine. But you have to be the one to tell your father about it."
Well, what did you expect from someone who sends her kids to the hippie-commie preschool where even clothing is optional? (Though they do ask kids to at least wear underwear while at school, strictly for hygiene, but underwear nonetheless.)

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Tourist-y

On Sunday, Nathaniel demanded that we walk around and see some of the sights he'd read about. First, we took a cable car from our hotel up up up to Pacific Heights where the closest LDS church was. After church we decided to walk down to Fisherman's Wharf (which I loathe) so Nathaniel could see the sea lions who hang out at Pier 39. Nathaniel was the photographer along most of the way and took pictures of anything he'd read about in books. I don't remember what this building is called. Anyone?
(The TransAmerica Pyramid. Thanks, Tricia!)

Coit Tower

The fog rolling in over the Golden Gate Bridge. You can just see a little bit of the top.

The top of Lombard Street. I was wearing heels and my feet were already killing me, so there was no way I was going to walk down it. Fortunately, Nathaniel didn't seem to mind. He had some sort of mental check list that we had to accomplish. And once we'd seen it and he'd taken a picture, he was good.

The Bay Bridge. Which was closed for Labor Day weekend. Because, ya know, nobody EVER drives anywhere during Labor Day weekend.

That's Alcatraz WAY off in the distance.

Nathaniel, my little tourist.

"That's a HUGE anchor!"

Finally, the sea lions.
And then we schlepped back along the crowded wharf to take a cable car back to the hotel, but the line was ridiculously long. My feet and pregnant belly and I consulted with one another and decided to take a wonderful, blessed cab. Our cab driver had a sense of humor, too. While going down one of those terrifyingly steep hills, he yelled, "Oh, no! The brakes are out!!!"
Hysterical.




Saturday, September 12, 2009

The Reception

The reception was held at the SFMOMA gallery down on the harbor. There was wonderful music, great Ethiopian food, and fabulous conversation. In other words, everything you could want for an evening with friends!
Here are both sides of the family.
Marc's Mama (who flew all the way from Germany!) talking to the bride and groom.
Marc and Nathaniel dancing.
Nathaniel posed and took this picture.
Sukhvinder's cousin, Sanj, from England. He is absolutely delightful and I would have smuggled him home in my luggage if they didn't have those pesky weight limits.

Nathaniel took this picture, too. I like it.
Isn't he dreamy?
Okay, these two are adorable together. You can tell in each picture with the cake how very much they both like one another. Everyone can manage a good lovey dovey at a wedding, but to see two people have such regard from one another was special indeed.

Cutting the cake. I was a little disappointed Sunny didn't bring his sword for this. ;)
Look at that gorgeous braid!!!
Me, Sukhvinder, and Dayna
We met in 5th grade and universally agree to stay mum on exactly how long ago that was. It was so wonderful to be with these two lovely ladies again. They are wonderful, strong, funny, inspirational women and I feel blessed to know them both.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

The Wedding

On the day of the wedding, we met down in the hotel lobby to take a bus to the Gurdwara. The bus driver didn't actually have directions, so getting there was quite the adventure, but fun was had by all on the bus. Here is a picture of Nathaniel and I in our wedding clothing.




"Peek-A-Boo!"


So handsome.


On the bus!


I love this picture of Nathaniel enjoying a little food before the service began. I could claim it was taken anywhere in the world, really.


I don't remember this little girl's name, but seriously, how could I NOT take her picture?!


Marc and Nathaniel during the ceremony sitting on the boy's side of the room. Nathaniel was so well behaved through the whole ceremony. (Marc behaved well, also.)


Cute Boys!!


I don't know what it's called. I forgot to ask. But I like it.


Gurmukh and his wife Puneet performed for us. Somebody commented that they were really impressed with how Gurmukh played, and he replied, "Eh, ya know. These are the things you pick up growing up in NJ." To which I replied, "Dude, I grew up in NJ and I assure you, I never learned how to do that!" He was really good.


The Groom (check out his sword!) and The Bride and her cousin Sanj making one of the loops around the colorful thing that I forgot to ask the name of. They go around 4 times with an escort at each corner. At the last go-round they are married.


Sukhvinder and Sunny! (And somebody who I didn't meet, so I don't know his name.)


Sanj, Uncle, Sukhvinder, Sunny (again with the FABULOUS sword!), and Gurmukh



It was really wonderful to witness this wedding between two people who are so happy together. I've known Sukhvinder since we were 11 years old and it has been wonderful to see how coming together with Sunny has only enhanced her most wonderful qualities. I'm so pleased for these to special people! It was impossible to not be happy when in their presence.


Mehndi Party

The night before the wedding, Nathaniel and I headed over to Sukhvinder and Sunny's beautiful new place for the Mehndi party. This is the gathering where the ladies get their hands painted with mehndi, or a henna mixture.

Nathaniel noticed that it was really just girls getting painted, so he hung out on the couch with his Gameboy. Until...

He realized that most of the men were upstairs practicing tying their turbans, since only Gurmukh (the bride's brother) wears a turban regularly. Nathaniel wanted in on the action. They didn't quite have one long enough for him, but he loved having his mini-turban anyway.
Very regal.

So proud.


Apparently, hoding the end of the wrap over your mouth is a good way to keep it out of the way until the end, or Gurmukh is simply very sneaky and knew how to keep Nathaniel quiet for a few minutes. ;)
Meanwhile, most of the ladies were getting their pretty mehndi, but Sukhvinder definitely had the most. And she was so chilly, that it was taking forever for it to dry, so Gurmukh brought down his hair dryer to speed the process along. Her hands were covered on both sides and her feet, too. And until it dried, she couldn't eat or walk around. Poor thing!

So pretty!!
I had it done on the tops of both hands, too, but of course have no pictures of that. I received several comments on the interesting color of the designs of my hand. I kept holding up my hands and saying, "White girl, remember?"
Jokes aside, I felt so honored to be included and welcomed as a member of the family for all of the wedding festivities. Sunny and Sukhvinder and their relatives really went out of their way to make sure that Nathaniel and I were well taken care of and never felt lost in the sea of relatives.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Chocolate Pancakes for Breakfast

Nathaniel joined me as my "hot date" for my friend's wedding in San Francisco. This was his first edible introduction to my favorite west coast city!



A pretty fabulous way to start a trip, right?