Local

Look at this darling little dress shop I snapped a photo of from the car while we were in Scotland. There wasn't anything particularly unique about it. When I took it, we were on our way to the airport on the way home and I was kicking myself for being stupid and not taking photos of more darling little shops like this one. Almost every shop there is a little specialty shop. There were darling. But the darling was everywhere, so I kind of didn't take special note of it until we were on our way home and I realized how much I would miss all the cute quaintness of it all.

There was a dress shop like this in my hometown when I was growing up. It was called Deb n Heir - a play on the word "debonaire" which is what we called it. We bought all our dress clothes there and most of our other clothes. It was pretty pricey. It's still there and it's still pricey. We did not have a ton of money growing up but my mom took a part time job so that we could always have new clothes from Deb n Heir. All the little old ladies who worked there knew us well. Knew our sizes. Often they would call my mom to tell her they had new merchandise and that she should really come and see. I spent a lot of hours in that store either trying things on myself or waiting while my sisters tried things on. I feel as though I spent a lot of time in dressing rooms as a child.

It's nice to shop in places where people know you by name or at least know what you are probably looking for. I love quaint little shops and in my fantasy world I would only shop in cute little stores owned by people who knew me by name. Stores that looked like this





We had stores like this in my hometown growing up too. One was called Johnsons Drug and it had a little luncheon counter. I ate a lot of marshmellow and banana milkshakes, grilled cheese sandwiches, homemade french fries and pickles there. Oh, and egg salad sandwiches. I'm getting hungry just thinking about their food. The waitresses name was Lennae and she wore one of those little pink waitress outfits like on that show "Alice". She always brought me an order of pickes right away when I sat down.

Sometimes I feel like we really don't get to have this kind of experience anymore. But there are places in Phoenix that I love and that are quaint and where at least some people know my name. The guys at Kohler's Hardware on 16th street know me. So do the ladies at Mediteranean House Restaurant around the corner from there. The woman at the Stock Room on 7th street knows us (especially she always remembers Kirk because of his pen fetish). And there are cute places where I just like to shop or eat, well, mainly because of their quaint factor (but also, often because they are great). One of my very favorites is La Grande Orange at 44th street and Campbell, LGO has delicious pasteries, sandwiches, salads and pizza and is just darn cute. I adore the tuna and the crepes with fruit and creme fraiche.


Next up is Tammy Coe Cakes at 7th street and Roosevelt
Tammy Coe cakes are also at LGO, but her solo location is Roosevelt & 7th. She and her husband live upstairs from the shop, you can sit outside and watch the scenesters. They have delicious bread made by her husband. The thing I love about stopping in to the Roosevelt location is it isn't as rushed or busy as LGO and you can always grab a cake really easy and be out of their quick if you need. Sometimes they have more selection of cakes and cupcakes towards the end of the day than LGO too - get the ooey gooey coconut cupcakes. Plus again, cute factor.




(I know, it looks like it's more about the dog than Tammie Coe, it's the best I could do)

Next is Willo Bread & My Florist Cafe at 9th avenue and McDowell , it's darling, great olive bread at Willo and you can pick up some yummy local produce and hummus too. My florist is great for a lunch with you girlfriends or a nice night out. We love to go on weekend nights when the pianist is playing. They call her the human ipod because she can play anything. Try the Cheese Sandwich made french style on a baguette, it sounds kind of weird but it's pretty great. Get the cheese and fruit appetizer with cranberry chutney, it's seriously good! Outside of Willo they have a big row of white adirondak chairs where you can just chill in the morning if you want. If I lived in the encanto area I would walk here all the time. Some friends of ours almost bought a house in the Encanto Willo area just so they could walk to My Florist and Willo Bread!

Next Pane Bianco, Central Avenue, Between Indian School and Camelbback, sort of kitty corner to Central High (how's that for a lame address, to lazy to look it up). Pane Bianco is seriously delicious. You can't eat inside, it's too small, you have to eat on the porch outside where there are giant picnic like tables. Sometimes you have to share these tables with a stranger, but that's okay, you will not mind. All the food is ridiculously good because it is an extremely limited menu. You get your choice of a couple sandwiches a day (maybe 3), some focaccio bread with a few things melted on top, a couple of salads, whatever local produce is available that day, maybe one dessert (but it will be something like Janie's homemade rice pudding). There are no fountain drinks either. It's bottled water, bottled sparkling water, bubble-up in the old fashioned green bottle (made with real cane sugar) and I think they are offering cream soda now in a brown bottle. What's to love then you ask? They are making the bread all day in the giant pizza oven behind the counter and it is seriously warm, tasty and delicous. My favorite order is available everyday, the other sandwiches change as per the whim of the owner, "Focaccia bread with local sliced tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, with basil leaves". Delicious. Ask for a side of salt, they'll give you a little container of french sea salt to sprinkle on. YUM.

Okay this one is a little different but bear with me...

Next Up:

Nogales Dogs, parking lot of the music store at 20th street and Indian School, after about 7 pm.

Nogales Dogs opens around the time the music store is about to close. They have a portable hot dog stand, set up some tables, and they are good to go. You should go and get some Nogales Dogs and some Mexican Coke. If you speak spanish, all the better. I do not, but we manage to muddle through the transaction together. The hot dogs are ridiculously good, cooked wrapped in bacon, they come with queso, chopped onion, diced tomato, grated cheddar, mayo on a homemade bun, and you can get jalepenos if you want. They are sort of like a chicago dog went south of the border. I never would have stopped and tried it except I kept seeing them out there all the time and tons of people stopping. Then a friend who is seriously germ phobic stopped and said they have their county license up and are inspected. Plus she thought the food was awesome. Try it when you're feeling adventurous and cheap. We can feed the whole family for less than the cost of going to McDonald's. Oh, and if you're feeling flush get the Mexican Coke.


And now places I plan to try soon: Matt's Big Breakfast on about 2nd street between Roosevelt and whatever that next presidential street to the west is. It's suppose to be super delicious but everytime we try there is a line out the door of people waiting with newspapers.

And this place looks pretty awesome! It's called the Welcome Diner and it's around 10th street and Roosevelt. I think it can only seat around 9 people at a time, it's a counter only. If you've already been let me know, but I'm definitely making this one of my next places to try:



So What have you discovered that you love?

The Spanish Conquistadors

Bad Day for Meth Lab #3 by Kelly McLane

My own personal history with art begins on a big plush red couch in a furniture store. I am "lalygagging" on the couch contemplating half rolling, half throwing myself from that couch onto a another couch and eyeing the space inbetween, trying to calculate if I might fall through the crack and if so, how hard will it be to extract myself, and if so, how mad will my mom be? While I am going through this internal dilemma, I watch my mother wander about the great big warehouse-like furniture store looking not at the furniture (because we already have recently purchased the requisite 70s couch in the style of the early spanish conquistadors, replete with appropriate wraught iron decor through-out the house) but at the artwork on the walls. My mom peruses print after print after print looking for just the right thing. I think "just the right thing" would match the conquistador decor, it should have a lot of red and black and maybe gold in it. Maybe flowers would be nice. She never finds what she is looking for. The walls in our house remain white and barren for years. But everytime we pass a furniture store I know my sisters and I will have time for a game of hide and seek beneath the glass tables stashed about between the gold and avocado furniture, because I know my mom will have to look for the perfect picture to hang above her couch. This is my introduction to the world of art. An auspicious start to be sure. Later, I will learn to love art. But it's a long drawn out process from the comfort of the plush 70s couches to a love for Edward Hopper.
Cape Code By Edward Hopper

Hopper is one of my favorite artists, but my first recognition of a desire to know more about an artist or art in general was being drawn to buying a calendar of Monet paintings when I was still in high school. I read a little about Monet and liked his work, although I don't think I entirely understood what I liked about it. But it sparked an interest. When I went to college I sincerely desired to know more about art and to ends I took a art history class.
Nympheas by Monet

I loved that class so much, that art history seemed like the best major ever, but it's really hard for a girl raised on thinking art comes from furniture stores to imagine what one would do with a major in art history, so I didn't entertain that thought for long. But the class exposed me to some really great paintings and a rudamentary knowledge of the subject. For the first time I realized artists weren't just trying to make something pretty, they were usually trying to say something - which is when I became fascinated with the language of art. This painting by Van Eyck probably started my fascination with the subject. Once I realized you can spend an entire hour of class talking about one painting and still not explore all it's subtle text, I was hooked.

The Wedding by Jan Van Eyck

And apparently on some subconcious level I was unaware of, I became interested in artists as well. I didn't even really know Kirk was an artist when I started dating him but I did start dating him at this same time. I also dated this guy below while Kirk was on his mission. The relationship didn't go very far but I did truly appreciate the fact that he was a talented artist (as an aside, I only recently discovered some of that "mormon art" you sometimes see in people's homes is produced by this guy I dated back in the 80s). His name was Derek Hegsted (or is, I suppose) and I was impressed by the fact that he called himself an artist. It seemed sort of audacious. But accurate. I don't know, I was drawn to that aspect of his personality I guess.

(Derek Hegsted in his studio)

This is when I became really fascinated with artists as people. I read everything Warhol for a while. Warhol seemed like the quientessial artist personality and I wanted to understand that. I still like Warhol. He's not the world's greatest artist but he was certainly talented, and interesting, and smart and prescient.
Self Portrait by Andy Warhol

And it was really cool when I was finally able to go the National Gallery and see some of his work. And the work of hundreds of other famous artists. I got to see some of those Monet's up close, which is way better than seeing them on a calendar. And for some reason this painting by Da Vinci really arrested me - it's so much better in person, and there's some quality in it that really drew me in and kept me interested in art on a whole other level.
Portrait of Genevra de'Benci by Leonardo Da Vinci
There are so many great artist in the world, it's overwhelming to start thinking about what you love about one artist over another, or even to justify why you like a particular artist. I have my favorites, and I have others I appreciate and I have others who I admire, but don't particularly respond to the work. It's always an adventure to discover new artists and new work and learn to appreciate artists who have been around for a long time. Below is a Hopper and if I really think about American artists, I think I'd have to put Hopper at the top of those I really respond to in just a pure visceral way that is difficult to describe. The other painting is a Hockney. A lot of Hockney's work sort of bores me and I have a difficult time "getting" but this one is really great and in spite of being such an iconic piece, really stands up over time as a sort of brilliant modern work.
Sunday Morning by Edward Hopper



Spash by David Hockney

These days I am more interested in local artists and new artists. These are some of the artists I really like lately. Really, there are too many to represent fully here, this is only a small sampling.


Ron Richmond



Brian Boner



Brian Kershisnik



Steve Yazzie






Lu Cong



Melani Coraddi




And of course, one of my favorite artists, the one I am married to, Kirk Hays. We went to the artwalk in Scottsdale last night and First Fridays last Friday - and I never cease to be amazed at the wealth of language just outside our doors waiting to speak to us.

It sure beats the heck out of laying around on red plush couches wondering when your mom will ever find that perfect "pretty" Spanish Conquistador that matches the furniture.

Location, Location, Location

Growing up in Rexburg Idaho made my childhood feel exceptionally long. Frankly, I thought it might last forever, and I wasn't really interested in being a child forever. High School seemed to take forever. There's lots of time to think. And what I thought was that, I really didn't want to live there forever.

Later on, I lived in Utah for quite a while. I liked Utah, and I liked Salt Lake specifically. In fact, I thought we would stay there forever.



We lived on a lovely tree lined street near downtown, close to everything we loved and we were content. Or, at least I was. Once Kirk started thinking about law school everything changed. He got into a lot of east coast schools and we particularly considered Columbia, Georgetown, University of Virginia and Cornell. So we took a little trip to visit the schools to help us make a decision. Columbia really was the best school in terms of reputation, and to some extent, the scholarship we got there was the best too. So it seemed like the likely choice, but you know, just to be sure, we took a look at it. Here's Columbia and Morningside Heights in NYC:


Looks great right?!

Except it didn't look like that to me the day we were there. It looked like this:







And this was just too much. I couldn't picture it. I couldn't imagine living there, working there. I couldn't imagine surviving there. And so that was that, we settled on University of Virginia instead:





And after 3 years of law school and missing the West and the sky and for a lot of other reasons, we headed back, closer to Utah, but not quite, to Phoenix, which feels like home now:





And I really love it.

But sometimes, I read something like this and I really wonder. If I had been more mature, would I have loved New York? Would our life have been very different? Or roughly the same? I don't know. Sometimes I go back to that time in my head and I wonder if we made a hasty decision. The scholarship money was better, we met a ton of church members that day on campus, one was even copying his primary lesson on the law school copy machine - how's that for a sign? But I was so overwhelmed by it all. And in the end, leafy trees and a prettier setting won out.

Maybe it wouldn't have mattered in the end. And I'm really not one for regrets, they are really useless.

But I hope my own kids will feel the freedom to go wherever their adventures might take them - even if that means I might miss them. Selfishly, I feel the same way my mom did "please stay here". But deep down, I really hope they'll always be able to amazing things, and never be afraid.

Books I loved in the past year

This year it seems like I've read less books than usual. I chalk that up to the fact that with my new little internet business adventure, I have much less free time. Due to having less time, a couple of the books on this list were re-reads, not having time to go to Borders as much as I normally would, I grabbed something off the shelf in the family room when I was out of reading material. Here's what I enjoyed most:

1. Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver
2. Abundance a Novel by Sena Jeter Naslund
3. The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
4. Life of Pi by Yann Martel
5. I'm Not the New Me by Wendy McClure
   

Dobbler Scratch

Dobbler Scratch
Originally uploaded by ambimb.

How awesome is this photo?

Kirk's out of town so I was thinking about plopping down in front of Say Anything or Pretty in Pink tonight. Here's what Cusack said recently about Lloyd:
"With films like The Sure Thing, Say Anything and High Fidelity, Cusack developed a knowing, slightly nerdy screen image that was a forerunner of what Seth Rogen is flogging in Knocked Up. In these movies, Cusack became a symbol of hope, both for those men who figured it might not be so bad being a nerd after all, and for those women who found themselves dating one. "I'm aware of the affection those characters inspired," he says. "I feel close to Lloyd in Say Anything. He was like a super-interesting version of me. Only I'm not as good as him. Whatever part of me is romantic and optimistic, I reached into that to play Lloyd. Of course, now it's all gone. Now I'm just bitter."

I hope he really isn't just bitter. But it could be true.

In the same article John says that he's made maybe 10 good films - out of like 48. Which 10? He doesn't say. So let's formulate our own top 10 - (why am I using the royal 'we'? I don't know, maybe as some sort of pretense that I am not sitting up late composing silly lists about John Cusack?) I'll try to put them in order, but it's tough.

1. Say Anything (1989) - this will always be the quintessential Cusack film of all time, Lloyd Dobbler is our modern hero. Especially if you happened to be a teen in the 80s.

2. Grosse Point Blank (1997)- I LURVE this film. I can watch it over and over again. Plus, Cusack might be at his very cutest here. Throw in the fact that he wrote this one and it comes in handily at no. 2. Fabulous 80s music too.

3. Max (2002) - Few people have seen this one, and I was skeptical about a revisionistic tale involving a young Adolf Hitler, but it is possibly some of Cusack's best acting.

4. Better Off Dead (1985)- Cusack himself pretty much despises this one. He does not recognize his own cult leader like brilliance here. Utterly Quotable too.

5. The Grifters (1990)- Stunning. It's a gorgeous little disturbing film.

6. High Fidelity (2000)- I didn't even like this when I saw it the first time. My expectations were way off, I'd read the book first and I just couldn't get into it. But later, I realized it was genius. Awesome music too, all of which John chose for the film.

7. Identity (2003)- If I can watch a scary movie as many times as I've watched this one and STILL like it, that's saying something.

8. True Colors (1991)- This gets panned a lot. I really like it. John and Spader in the same movie? Especially back in the day when Spader was still yummy and hadn't gone all Boston Legal? John plays a bad guy to Spaders good guy? There's a twist. Plus, it was shot on the UVA campus, so the opening scene is just pure nostalgia for Kirk and I. They film on the lawn on campus where we took Holden trick-or-treating when he was a kid. It's a mindless film, but I like it a lot.

9. The Sure Thing (1985) - I like to think I fell for John when he played Lloyd. And I did. But I first noticed John in this movie and I remember my friend Kari and I walking out of this and asking ourselves "where can I find a boyfriend like that?"

10. America's Sweethearts (2001). Again, didn't like it at first. Expected something very different from what it was - BUT, this really delivers when you watch it over and over. Very funny, great comedic acting by John.

See what happens when Kirk's out of town?

That's what Life should be made of

That's what Life should be made of
Originally uploaded by BoSi Himself.

Dude. I should not have done it. I should not have really tried the Ben & Jerry's.

I like ice cream. I don't know if I love ice cream, but I like it very much. I hardly ever, almost never, buy it though. Because 1. I can totally live without it and 2. If I buy it, I'll just eat it right?

When I was a kid there was only like one brand of ice cream my mom would buy - it was a local dairy who stocked their ice cream in the grocery store. My mom only really liked maple nut ice cream. My dad only really liked vanilla with chocolate sauce. So I don't know, between the two choices I just never really was that thrilled with either flavor. I was more of a strawberry girl. And my mom would never buy strawberry so there you go.

As an adult I will get ice cream on a weekend - something to go do with my husband or with the kids or something. Kirk likes vanilla and sometimes I will get natural vanilla for him from the grocery store. But that's about it.

So why on a whim at the grocery store the other day did I decide to try Pistacio Pistacio by Ben & Jerry's? I really can't explain it. It was a complete impulse buy. And then at the last minute the Willie Nelson's Peach Cobbler was calling to me too and I bought both. And here's the worst part...eventually, over the course of the weekend, I ATE both.

Yikes.

And guess what? They were heavenly. Seriously, ridiculously heavenly. I thought "who on earth are these hippie middle aged men from Vermont to be serving up nirvana in the form of some frozen cream"? It's horribly, horribly good. And heavenly...did I say that already? Did I mention Nirvana?

Anyway. With both containers successfully emptied I thought I could move on...get it out of my head. I got that little episode out of my system, no reason to buy that evil peach ice cream ever again (okay the pistacio was awesome but the peach...I think it's the one food I would pick when they pose that question "if you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life" I would totally pick that dang ice cream).

So I was at the circle K tonight and I accidently ran into my good friends Ben & Jerry. And they coerced me into buying another new flavor "Peanut Butter Cup". I've managed to safely lock it away in the freezer for now but my resolve is wearing thin.

This is bad, yes?

Pool Dreams

In the Shade of the Orange Tree
Originally uploaded by bandanamomaz.

Ever wonder how much something that sticks in your head affects your future?

There was a commercial when I was a young teenager; the link is here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=PyWM7kE5nds

(I tried embeding it but I am doing something wrong)

It's a very short commercial, a Chanel No. 5 commercial from 1979 - so I would have been 12-13 when this came out. I absolutely loved it. I can't describe what it was exactly - even as I watch it now on Youtube I am annoyed that the quality is not as good as it could be and it has the annoying Marshall Fields tag on it. The origianl commercial was somehow magical to me.

When we built our pool I told Kirk I wanted white plaster, even though almost everyone gets pebbletech now. I don't like the look of pebbletech - but the real reason why is this commercial. I wanted that deep blue that you can only get when the water reflects off the light.

I had not seen this commercial since at least the early 80s when I was making my request for white plaster a few years ago. But it stuck with me so much that it seemed uber important that it be done that way. And I stand by that decision. I have a much more emotional connection to the color of my pool than people with the less old-school version I chose.

I found that commercial on youtube and I realized something. The shape of the pool? It's the exact shape of the pool we have. Apparently I was even more influenced by this commercial than I thought.

It's just one of the little things in life that makes me happy - being able to look out my french doors while I am on the computer most of the day working, being able to see the pool.

Now if only I had been equally influenced by the shape the woman is in that commercial.

I can do without the guy in the speedo though.

But I do love Chanel No. 5.

80s

Originally uploaded by duchamp blinks.

And here's another level Marie Antoinette works on - and I guess mainly the movie, but in a way, the real Antoinette too -

It's like a giant replay of the 80s. And heaven knows I loved the 80s. Why? Because it was just fun. So much of everything we do IS NOT fun anymore.

I was teen in the 80s, so that right there made them a lot more fun for me than they probably were for a lot of other people. And mainly, I remember all the best parts about the 80s - it's not as if there weren't bad parts. But it was kind of weird innocent time in a way. The music was sort of all fluff and nonesense, but there was that punky edge everywhere to everything. My mom used to always wax nostalgic about the 50s and how they had so much fun and it was such a relaxed and fun time. I think in some ways the 80s were like that too - of course my mom didn't see that during the 80s, but there are similarities. We felt like we were a long ways away from things like War - oh, yeah, there was the cold war, but I think a lot of us kids thought that was our parents fears exaggerated - I don't think we really hated Russia the way our parents seemed to - we sort of figured out that Mikhail Barishnikov was from Russia and so...well, they couldn't be all that bad could they? So war seemed sort of ...well, really UNLIKELY and at the end of the day, we just wanted some fun music and some good shoes and to be able to dance.

It's sad to me that my kids are growing up in an era of what seems to be endless war and conflict. These are not new things - these kinds of things have happened all throughout history, but I was born during during the war in Vietnam and by the time I was old enough to understand what that was it seemed like a long, long ways off in the past. I honestly never imagined a future where my kids would live with the images of war on a daily basis. It's like they really don't get to have that luxury of not knowing. I liked not really knowing.

Marie Antoinette liked not really knowing. But then again, look what happened to her.

Punk was a movement meant to upset the balance of things, but what really upset the balance of things were ideas like "trickle down economics". Poor people became MUCH more poor during the 80s. Rich people started getting A LOT richer. Things began in the 80s which continue today, with the wealthiest people trying to hold on to a lifestyle which excludes more and more people every day.

I relate to those poor people - but if I'm being honest, I have to admit I'm hanging on to my wealth in the same way - I just don't have as much of it as the people I criticize the most.

But money has really become an abstract concept to me...over time. But that's probably a blog for another day.

But I did so love the 80s.

How great is it that Sofia Coppola put a pair of Converse in the background in Marie Antoinette?

Marie Antoinette

Marie Antoinette
Originally uploaded by hannahkarina.

The story of Marie Antoinette is interesting on several levels. It's kind of a reverse fairy tale - which is sort of tragic, but fascinating. Many little girls dream of growing up to be a princess. Marie always was a princess and grew up in Austria, then at 15 she was shipped off to France to marry Louis the Sixteenth, who was sort of a big nerd, but someday to be king of France. And in the meantime, while she was waiting to be Queen someday, she used her time really getting into fashion, decorating, and generally hanging out with her friends in the palace. I don't think she even really wanted to be Queen - she did in the sense that she had a religious conviction about it, but I don't think her desire ever was to really rule France. And once she did become Queen her fall was sort of a foregone conclusion, because by then, with all her exhorbitant spending during a time when most of the people in France were literally starving - well, it was a revolution. That's a huge simplification of what really happened.

But it's an interesting and cautionary tale I think about what it really means to be a princess...or a prince.

It's also kind of a tale about what happens when you get EVERYTHING you want. Not always good. Sometimes there are really awful consequences to that, which catch up eventually.

But ulimately you can't sort of help but feel a little sorry for old Marie Antoinette, who was really just a product of her time, and her circumstances. She unrealistically idealized the concept of peasant life, even to the point of building a small recreated Hamlet on the grounds of Versailles where she could have goats, and crops and cows and pretend to be common. But all the while she was doing that she had other people out there milking the cows for her and keeping everything up for her so she could flit around in her cotton frock and "pretend" to be a milkmaid. It's sort of pathetic. But it's not really her fault either. How would she know anything of a peasants life? She lived her entire life inside the walls of palaces and castles, only passing through the countryside in her fabulous carraige.

Sometimes this makes me think of people here in the United States, people who we vote for, people who end up ruling our country. Often, these people were raised wealthy enough that poverty is merely a concept. They have no practical experience with it.

It's easier to feel sorry for Marie Antoinette and hard for me to feel sorry for say, George Bush though. Mainly because Marie Antoinette had absolutely no choice in the matter. She could not refuse to be a princess or a Queen.

I have other thoughts on this too ---

Lately

Leonie Powder Revisited
Originally uploaded by eyecandyforthebrokenhearted.

I'm sort of obsessed with Marie Antoinette. It started with a great book I've been reading "Abundance". Then I finally saw the movie Marie Antoinette Directed by Sofia Coppola (who I love by the way). And she was apparently interested in Marie Anoinette in much the same way I am. Now a friend has recommended the soundtrack - which I know I did like while I was watching the movie but I was arrested by the movie and didn't pay a lot of attention to all the music specifically. But I absolutely ADORE this soundtrack. It's the greatest mix of good 80s music (siouxie & the banshee's) with some classical and great new indie (the radio dept.).

More thoughts on Marie Antoinette later.

Scone Palace Peacock

Scone Palace Peacock
Originally uploaded by bandanamomaz.

This is my most favorited image on flickr. It's also the photo published in this month's JPG magazine. A lot of people have asked to buy the photo so I've set up a new website highlighting all of our photgraphy at: haysphotos.com

Pacific Coast Highway

Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park 5531
Originally uploaded by AvarusMentis.

I have wanderlust today. I started planning a trip to California for Kirk and I. He can't get away until fall so mostly I will have to be satisfied with thinking about it for now...I love the pacific coast highway. It's a very magical place. It always seems impossible to me that people actually live there and can go to the beach or see the ocean...SMELL the ocean, every day. How could anyone ever be unhappy if you lived on the beach?

Normal Heights

Normal Heights, San Diego
Originally uploaded by tobo.

O.K., so Back to Normal...whatever that means.

Back to normal right now means I have almost caught up on 2 months of laundry (seriously), drive back and forth to dive meets, swim meets and sit at the pool for a while every day, go to the movies with kids, try to keep cool, try to keep the house clean, think about taking another class (just thinking right now, need a SHORT break), doing church junk I don't want to do, trying to find time to have lunch w/ friends and failing in that pursuit most of the time. So yeah....normal summer stuff.