Little Room

Rio's Nursery was a difficult endeavor to say the least.
We had just come out of the depths of a failed adoption
and I needed to do something.
I wanted some hope.
So I figured if we built it a nursery, our baby would come.
One small problem: I had no idea if our baby would be a girl or a boy.
I set off to design a welcoming space for our child
and I was thrilled with the result.
And you know what? She did come shortly after.

Long story short -
I was proud of the room I had created for my little darling and as we departed our old house, I wanted to find a way to keep that room with me forever.
So I took a million pictures and then
submitted it to Ohdeedoh 
on a whim.
And today
they featured Rio's Nursery!!!

Rio looked at it online and said, "Awwww, what a boo-ful (beautiful) room! Oh, it's so boo-ful!"

What more could I ask for?

Back In Your Head

 

 Right after my last post

my computer bit the big one.

I tried in vain to resuscitate it...

I didn't want to deal with having to spend the money

or possibly losing all my stuff

or having to learn something new.

But here I am

on a new iMac.

Merry Christmas, Mark and Alicia.

So now I'm trying to find all my photos

since the dates got scrambled in the transfer.

And I'm getting annoyed that the return button won't work...

what am I doing wrong??

"I just want back in your head."

See what I've been missing.

Find out how you've been.

Remind me to store some photos on the PC

in case this should ever happen again.

The Pretender

I get my love of music from my father.

It all had meaning to him

and he would talk about either the history, the band, or the beats...

He taught me how to listen to certain classical pieces when I studied 

in order to keep my heart rate at the optimal pace for learning.

I got my first real record player

when I was 2.

Every year we used to drive

from Pennsylvania to Florida.

Back then cars didn't have dvd players

and we kids did not have ipods.

Heck, cassette players hadn't even come out yet.

They came out when I was 5 and I didn't have one until I was 8 or 9. 

I'm totally dating myself, I know.

So whatever your parents played on the radio 

was what you listened to.

My dad would make himself a mix tape 

every year

from his records.

We had to listen to those songs over and over again

for two days straight.

Sometimes I hear one of the songs play

on t.v. or somewhere

and I am instantly transported

to the back-seat of our old Datsun.

But I have to admit

they were good songs.

Thanks, Dad.

Go ahead, make yourself a feel good mix:

The Pretender - Jackson Browne

Charlie Brown -  The Coasters

Only The Good Die Young - Billy Joel

Don't Think Twice, It's All Right - Bob Dylan

Low Budget - The Kinks

50 Ways To Leave Your Lover - Paul Simon

Pinball Wizard - The Who

Rocky Raccoon - The Beatles

The Great Pretender - The Platters

What songs bring you back?

She Smiled Sweetly

Why do my thoughts loom so large on me? 

They seem to stay, for day after day 

And won't disappear, I've tried every way 

But she smiled sweetly 

She smiled sweetly 

She smiled sweetly 

And says don't worry 

Oh, no no no

 

Where does she hide it inside of her?
That keeps her peace most every day
And won't disappear, my hair's turning grey

But she smiled sweetly
She smiled sweetly
She smiled sweetly
And says don't worry
Oh, no no no 

"There's nothing in why or when 

There's no use trying, you're here 

Begging again, and ov'r again" 

That's what she said so softly 

I understood for once in my life 

And feeling good most all of the time 

But she smiled sweetly
She smiled sweetly
She smiled sweetly
And said don't worry
Oh, no no no
Oh, no no no
Oh, no no no 

Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots

One of my best friends died

unexpectedly

and way too soon for me to deal with.

My friend who was only ever as far away as my feet.

She was my baby before I had Rio.

She continued to be my baby afterwards

just in a different way.

She followed me wherever I went

and was a constant source of joy in my life.

I don't think she would have wanted to stop living life

so young

when there was still so much fun to be had.

That makes me angry.

and it makes my heart hurt.

I love you, Shimi.

Never Enough

Halloween was full-fledged event this year.

DJ Lance stopped by and almost blew Rio's mind.

She's still talking about how DJ Lance is going to come back.

Our friend Mike had better keep that costume handy

for the occasional appearance.

Rio was Storm from The X-Men. 

A super hero, of course. 

We can't go visit Uncle at the comic book shop any other way.

I decided I would make her costume myself to save a little dough.

I think I spent more than if I would have simply purchased the darn thing!

But it was a learning experience...

and at least I was domestic for once.

We went trick-or-treating at Grammy's house.

Grammy's was the only stop that really mattered.

Then we attended a halloween wedding being held at my brother's shop.

It was a DC theme (in the world of geeks, you're either Marvel or DC.)  

Our friends were The Flash and Black Mask. 

I was Black Canary and Mark was Green Arrow.

If you read comics, you'll totally get all of this.

If not, I look like a hooker and Mark looks like a homeless Veteran.

But it was fun.

Another halloween for the books!

Girl Of An Age

We were in Asheville, NC last weekend to attend Mark's cousin's wedding.

It was amazingly beautiful!

The trees were brilliant and the weather was mild enough for us Floridians to enjoy the cool breezes without shivering to death.

The ceremony was in a field by a river.

There were fairies scattered here and there among the guests.

The fairies carried baskets filled with wings, wands, 

and glow sticks for the children.

Rio was in heaven.

Despite a rocky start where she kept yelling, 

"Nook! A horsey! A big, big horsey!"

as the bride arrived in a horse-drawn carriage.

And then she met Harrison.

He came over and asked if Rio would play with him

and then proceeded to make himself at home with our family.

He was terribly cute

and I wouldn't mind if Rio wanted to marry him

in a similar outdoor setting

when she turns 30.

People Are Strange

Especially 2 year olds.

Every Day Is Halloween

Rio and I just finished decorating for Halloween.

This is my favorite holiday.

I've spent the last couple of months desensitizing Rio to all things scary.

Witches are now super cool

ghosts are radical 

and pumpkins are where it's at!

I routinely hear, "Nook, Mom! A Piser! {Spider}"

My neighbor said our display was "a little dark, don't cha think?"

Last time I checked, it wasn't called Rainbows and Puppy Dogs Day.

Wait...that might actually be a fun holiday.

I'll write to my state representative...

see if we can get that baby on the books.

There's my baby girl playing with a snake.

It makes a mother proud {sniff, sniff}

Now we'll see if she'll sit on Santa's lap this year without screaming.

If he was a gargoyle, she might not have a problem.

And Your Bird Can Sing

My little chickadee can sing.

I thought I had a tiny dancer on my hands

but it turns out she's the cutest little singing diva

this side of the Caloosahatchee.

(I had to look that up real quick to see if that river is anywhere near me and it is! wow!) 

So I am spending my days singing Itsy Bitsy Spider

or Eensy Weensy Spider...which is it?

and of course The Alphabet

and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

and Wonder Pets...how did she learn this song??

and the list of nursery songs goes on.

So how do I get her to learn some Mamas and Papas?

We could be belting out some awesome duets if she would just stop dancing 

whenever I play my music

and start learning the lyrics.

Longtime

We don't have many date nights.

And we certainly don't have many getaways.

None, in fact.

We keep Rio close.

Just in case.

We can't stand to be too far away.

And 10 minutes is really far in an emergency.

So when we were invited to a company banquet

on the other coast -

a 3 hour drive across the state -

we didn't know what to do.

Luckily, my mother is an angel

and always up for an adventure.

She traveled with us and explored the beaches and scenery

with Rio

while we had a night out.

The banquet was lovely 

the company casino was fun

(they gave us each $1000 in play money.)

I told Mark,

"You're here and you're mine

I haven't seen you in a long time."

--EMF

Date night

and keeping our baby girl close by =

sweet perfection.

Just The Way You Are

"When I see your face
There's not a thing that I would change
Cause you're amazing
Just the way you are
And when you smile,
The whole world stops and stares for awhile
Cause girl you're amazing
Just the way you are"

--Bruno Mars

Mambo Craze

Dondo the Magiclown

Our friend, the clown, and his gal are down for a visit.

Our days are filled with jokes, one liners, goofing off, showing off, 

a little dancing, and a lot of laughter.

You can take the clown out of the circus, 

but you can't take the circus out of the clown.

He is performing wherever we go.

Balancing any object he can find on his nose.

And for some reason, he's been into 60's lounge music lately. 

I can always get behind that.

Cheers, Dondo! 

Thanks for the laughs.

You always come at just the right time!

"A little weak, a little pale today

Looks like it's time for that certain holiday."

                                                            --De-Phazz

Dog Days Are Over

Is the weather finally shifting?

Did I actually feel a breeze tickle my cheeks?

Could we emerge from our air-conditioned den?

 Sunny with a touch of bearable.

That's right, child, go towards the shade.

Take a little rest.

Okay, Okay, Okay

You can go on the swings

for-EVER

That's more like it.

Sunshine and smiles.

"Happiness hit her like a train on a track

Coming towards her - stuck still - no turning back

She hid around corners and she hid under beds

She killed it with kisses and from it she fled...

The dog days are over

The dog days are gone

The horses are comin' so you better run.

Run fast for your mother; run fast for your father

Run for your children all your sisters and brothers

Leave all your love and your longing behind

You can't carry it with you if you want to survive."

--Florence and The Machine

She's Electric

 She's electric 
She's in a family full of eccentrics
She done things I never expected
And I need more time

And I want you to know
I've got my mind made up now
But I need more time
And I want you to say
Do you know what I'm saying?
But I need more ....
Cause I'll be you and you'll be me
There's lots and lots for us to see
There's lots and lots for us to do
She is electric, can I be electric too? 

--Oasis

We Like To (Dinner) Party

September 27th and 28th are busy days in my family.
Five people mark their birthdays on those days.
So we like to party.

My grandmother, my uncle, and my brother shared their birthdays 

at a dinner party at our new house.

Unfortunately, because we were hosting a soiree we couldn't make it to our nephew or cousin's birthday festivities. 

Usually we're hitting several parties in one day!

My uncle and aunt made ribs (that were insanely good) and Mark made The Pioneer Woman's Brown Sugar Bourbon Pork Skewers & Dirty Rice (yum!) 

The food was finger-lickin' good!

I made chocolate chocolate chip cake with homemade whipped cream frosting - at my brother's request.

Rio was not thrilled with anything on the menu except for the whipped cream, which my brother handed her by the spoonful. Nice.

Then we played Sedarahc otherwise known as reverse charades. The whole team has to act out a difficult word while one person tries to guess. The teammates cannot communicate with one another.

I believe they were trying to act out "Diaper Change" in this picture.

It was a riot.

I think everyone worked off all the food we consumed.

It was a lot of fun and lasted until midnight.

We like to party to celebrate.

But for all these people to be born at the same time

it is apparent that a lot of people in my family like to party 

around Christmas...

if you catch my drift. {wink, wink}

I Will Walk 500 Miles

Let's go out!

The Rhythm Of The Saints

Every sunday people gather at the beach to watch the setting sun.

It's one of the best things about living on the west coast of Florida -

amazing sunsets.

Drummers (and other musicians) enter into the most incredible jam session

and they continue non-stop for hours.

The center of the circle is filled with dancers.

The rhythm of the drums seems to take over their bodies.

There are plenty of kids

women who can dance while hula-hooping

men of varying ages 

and the belly dancers...

serious belly dancers.

Someone gave Rio a feather.

She had a feather in one hand and her princess wand in the other.

She danced until the sand became much more interesting

to throw around.

That's about the time we left. {wink}

The Obvious Child

I met my cousin's girlfriend last night.

She was a wonderful conversationalist.

I love talkative people.

She loved Rio.

She was fascinated by her adoption story.

And her take on everything was eerily similar to mine.

But we always come back to the one thing that remains the most remarkable:

She was the obvious child.

She is the obvious child.

And will forever be.

She was meant to be folded into my arms.

I'm so thankful

to be her mother.

Car Fiction

We have to go.

Go where?

Somewhere cool, air-conditioned to be sure.

Some place fun and exciting.

That doesn't involve water.

Is there such a place?

I don't think so.

Oh yeah, I forgot.

The toy store fits the bill.

Right, Baby Doll?

Money For Nothing

There is an auction house in town that holds mid century modern auctions every couple of months.
My mom babysits and we make a day of it with our friends, Mike and Joey.
We've gotten some awesome deals and we usually make out like bandits.
Plus it's super fun (and a little nerve-wracking) to throw your hand up in the air with your number card to bid!
We have fun guessing what things will sell for
and checking out who's buying what.
You can tell a lot about a person from the things they purchase.
Especially things they work hard to outbid someone else on.
Take this item for example:

I feel weird even posting this picture - 

and that's after I added the Conch Shell!

Now, I'm no art expert but....

(Mike is a graduate of The Ringling College of Art and Design and his mouth was agape in shock and horror from the moment he saw this piece. Who better to judge art than an artist, right?)

what is up with this painting?? 

Maybe it's the wide-eyed look of the guy, maybe it's the awkward placement of the arms, maybe it's the bizarre head on the bird - is that a bird?

And to top it off there were 3 of these things - different subjects 

but all nudes.

And would you believe that each one sold for over $200!!!

To three different buyers!!!

I'm still laughing about it.

But anyway, to each his own. 

Now on to my thrilling purchase:

I got this mod pendant lamp. I love it!

It was in a lot of two identical lamps but I only needed one.

Fortunately, Joey and I have similar taste and he wanted the other one.

We bid for the lot and split the cost - win/win!

Good friends, cool crap to buy, and watching people make interesting purchases - what a day!