Gathering

Recently I drove, yes stupidly by myself, from Oakland to Idaho. I must admit when I crossed the border into Idaho from Nevada I was so ecstatic to see the golden wheat fields. Not only because the landscape in Nevada leaves something to be desired but the fact that I had only 2 more hours left of the 13 hour drive.

I promptly set my iPod to play "Idaho" by Gregory Alan Iskakov, a song I had been playing in heavy rotation prior to the trip (it is a gorgeous song, check it out).

The reason for this drive was for a Family Reunion. My immediate family has a hard time getting together, there is always someone missing and it usually takes a wedding (one of the siblings only) to get us in the same place.

It was a fabulous time filled with laughter, a lot of food, hiking, floating down a river, and very little sleep. I loved every moment reconnecting with everyone. I really LOVE my Family, I am a lucky girl to have the best Parents and Siblings.

The clouds on Saturday were heavy and gorgeous. A view from my Sisters deck.

My Niece C and Sis-in Law L. C is such a girlie girl. Rearranging her room daily to weekly (something I did when I was young) and making/selling her own hair accessories, coordinating outfits. She is so much fun to be around.

Sis in Law B with Baby I. Look at the blue eyes.

The Kids. They are all so different but get along so well. Love them!

A and I. She is becoming quite an amazing young lady.

Road block, we were sitting in stopped traffic on our way to Island Park, this pond was full of Lilly pads, it was a pretty view.

Nothing like a mid morning hike. There were plenty of wild raspberries, so yummy.

Half the family, floating down the river. My Sister was determined it was a race. We weren't racing (OK only occasionally to catch up). I could have spent all day doing this. It was so relaxing!

N is obsessed with slides, princesses and long hair. She told me that when I finally grow my hair long that I would be pretty. Oh the logic of a little girl.

The trampoline a favorite pass time for all of us.

After spending time with the family I drove down to Utah to meet up with a some cousins and a couple of friends. I ate so much in 2 1/2 days that I thought I was going to explode.

An amusing thing happened when I was meeting my friend Deborah. The place we planned on meeting closed so we decided instead of getting in our cars (a UT thing to do) and drive across the street, that we would walk. Once we got to the other place it was closed also, so we walked back. There was this man and woman sitting on the patio of the first place that were freaked out by this. He was worried that we had left a "bomb" because of our "suspicious" activity. We got a kick out of it. Oh Murray UT you make me giggle sometimes.

Amazing Amber flew up from St. George to meet up with Brooke and I. She suggested that we go to Beehive Tearoom, it is such and great place and is a fun place to gather with friends. We were even able to drag Melissa along. It was a little refinement before the Soccer game. Brooke and Amber had never been to a MLS game, I think they are fans now, only because of the hot men. Afterwards we had to eat again. I think at that moment I was done eating for a while.

All in all it was a fun trip and I wish that I had more time to see even more of my friends. Maybe next trip.

Favorite moments:

*Listening to Baby I giggle

*N explains what playing "PG-7 is"... "Well it's like PG-13 but for 7 year olds". Still confused on how to play. He is obsessed with the fact he can't watch any of the super hero movies because they are PG-13.

*Family photo time

*Thai food with the sisters

*Dropping in on Aunt Kae and Uncle Duane unannounced and getting the best hugs next to my parents. I love those two!

*Pulled Pork Tacos...can you say YUMMY.

*Laughing, Laughing and more Laughing until your sides hurt

Oh and a nice gift that mother nature gave. Some sort of rash, I woke up Friday morning with it. I think it is heat rash. Yes my legs are slowly recovering, for now I am dealing with it, but I would love to shave my legs.

Sun Flowers

I love buying fresh flowers. These Sun Flowers are currently brightening up the dining nook. It was fun to test out the new camera and take a few pictures.

Dracena my Love

Dracena Park is one of the most beautiful and serene parks in the area. I clearly remember the first day I stumbled upon it. It was gorgeous spring morning and I was just finishing up my jog/walk, when I decided to turn down a road I had not been before. Through the sound of Muse piping into my ears I could faintly hear the sounds of birds. I quickly removed my earphones and absorbed the sounds of nature.

I quickly became envious of those who live on Dracena Rd, to be across from such a gem, I vowed that one day, just maybe, they would let me join their club.

For now it is my reward, to sit and relax with a book or to just pass through, sets all of my senses to bliss.

We did have a minor falling out a while ago. This is where I fell, yes right there on the road. It mocked me, took a piece of me and I took a piece of it (really should have that bump looked at). We have made up however and now it is love all over again.

Spellbound

For the next little while this is what I will be obsessing about, isn't it so pretty...

Finally I made a decision, largely based on a really great price on Amazon, and bought a new camera. Just in time for my Family Reunion, oh my nieces and nephews are going to hate me by the end.

I am so excited to get to know all of the great things it will do for me. My vocabulary will improve substantially since I will no longer be conduced to swearing fits every time I attempt to take a photo.

For now I patiently wait for the battery to charge and then I get to play.

This is also officially the last photo I will take with my Olympus, it has treated my well until a year ago, which is fine it's about 7 years old. Rest in peace little camera.

**Alert** Vanity Post

"I'm a model you know what I mean
And I do my little turn on the catwalk
Yeah on the catwalk on the catwalk yeah
I do my little turn on the catwalk" I'm Too Sexy, Right Said Fred.

Oh yeah I did bring that jewel of a song to your subconscious and now you will have it on repeat all day. You can thank me later.

A couple of weeks ago my friend Masha needed to take photos of people for her photography class and since I fit in the "people" category I offered to be a "model". Considering that I am not always comfortable in front of the lens it took a while to get me to relax. You can see it in the progression of photos.

She did make me look good and now I have a myriad of profile pictures.

Some of my favorites below.

Mt. View Cemetery

One of my most favorite places to be in Oakland is Mt. View Cemetery. In fact I love it so much that when people come to visit I take them there. It is beautiful and rather large. I can roam around for hours. I usually gravitate to my favorite Angel and then move on from there. I love to read the headstones, peruse the mausoleums, walk the windy roads or just sit and read a book.

Playing Dress Up

The other day the Christensen girls came over to play. When I asked AC what she wanted to do, she promptly and quietly said "I want to dress up like you". I was taken aback a bit, asked "You mean wear my clothes?" and then led her to my closet.

She pulled out her favorite pair of shoes, grabbed a necklace that she noticed I wear a lot, pulled down a scarf and raided the bracelets. KC came in found her favorite pair of shoes, suggested the sunglasses and the look was on.

It kills me that my shoes fit KC...I am going to have to find a lock for my closet.

I have to admit I was touched. I think we all have a sense of style and when a little girl wants to emulate how you dress (hopefully it is appropriate) it is a sincere form of flattery. I was more than happy to throw open my closet door and let them have at it. It certainly was one of the many highlights of what turned out to be a very busy yet fulfilling day.

By the way I think the tie dye shirts add a little something, considering the proximity of Berkeley. They had just made them a few days before.

Oh look a food post...

Granted this may be one of those filler posts and just plain boring to read. I mean come on who wants to read about what I eat or don't?

I have a tendency to think I am not going to eat out as much and stay home and cook. I also think that I will eat just a bit healthier. I buy a lot of produce and I also throw away a lot of produce. I know, a crime, considering that I have access to amazing produce.

As you can see the broccolini below even started to flower a bit, that is when I decided instead of throwing it away to get off my lazy butt and do something about it.

It made a lovely salad that I enjoyed every day for a week. Maybe next time I won't wait until it is almost bad and use the produce immediately.

Baseball and Fireworks

Every year the Oakland A's have a few fireworks games right before the 4th of July. Even though I am not a huge baseball fan I was told that this was a great fireworks show. A-gril and I took the really long way to the game, which was fine by me, and showed up later than expected.

I have this tendency to attract the obnoxious in movie theaters, airplanes and now at baseball games. The theater can be practically empty and someone will inevitably sit right next to me. My friends joke about it and when there is more than one with me they will flank me on both sides. Well this held true at this game. The guy sitting in the seat next to me was drunk, wanted to warn me not to knock down his "talls" that were residing under my seat and thought that a way to impress me was to scream obscenities toward the field so that I would swoon at his general knowledge of baseball. After a few minutes of this I decided it was better to wander around and visit the many friends in attendance.

The A's lost, but because they were playing Colorado I could claim it as a win, having once lived in that great state.

After the game they clear the stands and everyone ques up to sit on the field. We managed to get a great spot thanks to Sam and waited and watched for thousands of people to find a small blanket spot on the grass.

One of the few photos A-gril will let me post.

The show was great and practically on top of us. It was a fun time to share blankets with Sam, Marielle, Erick and Jessica. Hadley surprisingly didn't freak out with the fireworks and rather enjoyed them.

It turned out to be a fun night and maybe next year I will attend again, it was worth the $8.

Like most women...

I have a hard time having photos taken of me (no problem taking photos of others). There is always something to pick apart. The lack of chin to neck ratio which inevitably shows multiple chins. The body image issues, this is to large, this is to small, that is just plain flabby and my favorite that wasn't there before.

This weekend while camping my dear friend Masha pulled out the new camera and was testing several settings, promising that she would not post any of the photos on FB or the like. We all became her subjects.

I am proud of myself because this photo has the 3 things that will make most women run when a camera is presented. We had just returned from swimming in the lake, I have no make up on...that alone makes me shun camera's, lake hair and a Swim Suit.

Thanks to Masha's skill she actually made me look decent. At a time I am not feeling so hot about the shape I am in, something about turning 35 makes you work for it, I needed this for my well being.

Instead of her posting it, I am, if only to start getting over my issues.

Picnic in the Park Anniversary

A year ago I wanted to get a whole bunch of friends together for a spontaneous dinner. There isn't a lot of room in the green so I suggested we meet at a park nearby. It has turned into an event. Now once or twice a month we meet on a Sunday afternoon for food and conversation. 

I can't believe it has lasted this long and I am sure that we will continue to meet for another year. I have loved being able to get everyone together and meet new friends.  A few of our friends have moved away (Macbeth's and Syme's...sniff ) and we miss having them around. 

It has been a group effort to keep the tradition alive. If it weren't for the word of mouth, gathering of emails and great food, It might not have lasted.

I am so happy to have such amazing friends who love Picnic in the Park as much as I do!

I love these two! Every time she would stop to talk to him, she would put her arms behind her back.