Finding a Happy Medium

under construction

If you haven't noticed I've been neglecting my blog. I just haven't been able to get excited about it. Last week I remembered something I learned at college in a memoir writing class.

"If you don't like writing in your journal it's probably because you're writing in a big intimidating book with the word JOURNAL printed on it." 

The professor recommended finding a smaller book with a cover that expressed something about you. Or using a book without lines on the pages. Or getting a special pen that you only use for writing in your journal. I took the suggestion, and guess what? I became a journal writer. Now I'm not very consistent, but I write more than I used to.

Why am I telling you all this? Because I think the same thing applies to my blog. I read so many creative and fantastic looking blogs that have really great content, that when I look at my own I get discouraged. I've been trying a few new templates, (one I absolutely HATED). I'm contemplating doing weekly features to give the content more structure. I welcome any comments or suggestions. And don't be surprised if you check back and I have a completely new look.

Lots and Lots of Waiting

What do you do when someone you love (Dad) has major surgery? Other than help take care of him, and take care of the primary caregiver (Mom)? Since Dad was in the hospital 9 days and Mom only left the hospital twice to wash her hair (Dad had a shower in his room) I spent a lot of time just sitting at the hospital while Dad and sometimes Mom slept. Quiet activities were a necessity.

Here's what I accomplished:

Two baby afghans. The pink for one of my Moody cousins who is due to have her first baby any day. (And the first great-grandchild for Dick and Jean). The blue one for my old college roommate who is also having her first baby this summer.

I started a "Welcome Home"/recovery/Father's Day afghan for Dad. When I told him that my next crochet project was for him he said, "That'll be SWEET!" He chose the color and pattern.

When I wasn't crocheting my life away I was reading. Here's a list of what I read. (And a few reviews, too).

Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy. I read this book in high school, but couldn't remember a thing about it. I've wanted to re-read it for a few years now and was quite pleased that I could get it on iBooks for free. It is extremely depressing. Well written, but I wouldn't recommend it. I was telling Mom about it and Dad says from his ICU bed, "What book is this? Just so that I know never to read it."

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Lyman Frank Baum. They say that books are ALWAYS better than the movie, not in this case. Where are the ruby slippers?

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll. Didn't like 'em. Through the Looking-Glass was the better of the two, but I'd rather see the movie or the cartoon.

Three strikes and you're out. I needed something I could enjoy. So I read Rilla of Ingleside by Lucy Maud Montgomery, last in the Anne of Green Gables series. Loved it.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, not too long, but eh.

The Importance of Being Ernest, was a play. If you like the movie with Colin Firth you'll like reading it. The screenplay is very close to the real thing. The Canterville Ghost, also by Oscar Wilde (no relation) was funny and quite good. And short.

I read a couple of Agatha Christie's and tried to read Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, but had to give up after the first page. This was another "read it in high school" experiments. I don't know what version we read as sophmores, but maybe I'm just getting stupid. Anyway, I saw no point in torturing myself further.

And I started Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. My FAVORITE book. I've read it every year since my junior year in high school. Except last year when I loaned it to my brother. He didn't read it. My family has a conspiracy against me: no one will read it. Their loss.

And that is how I survived the most stressful, emotional, terrifying, never-ending, exhausting time of my life.

The REAL Thing

June 6, 2011

Surgery prep 7:00 am

Surgery 10:00 am

Waiting. 

Cousin Jaymie said, "Your mom's face says it all."

After a 10.5 hour surgery, 2 days in ICU.

A private room with a view of Point Loma.

First walk down the hall.

"Baby steps," Dad says,

"I'm doin' the work."

After 9 days of no solid food, all Dad wanted was a Coke.

And a chocolate chip cookie doesn't hurt.

Roast beef and mashed potatoes as a farewell lunch. 

And chocolate pudding.

We're checking out.

June 14, 2011.

Dry Run

Some of you may know my dad was scheduled for surgery this past Wednesday. MAJOR surgery. What a fiasco. The poor guy fasted for two days and took the antibiotics he was prescribed. After two hours of prep, he was just about to be wheeled into the operating room, when the head surgeon cancelled the surgery. Apparently the nurses aid screwed up the medications, didn't get them called in on time, so dad couldn't take them. He didn't even know what he was supposed to be taking because the moron also didn't give him a checklist. He had FIVE medicines to take to make sure his intestines were sterile. Sooooo, we're going through the entire ordeal again, for real this time, Monday June 6.

Organs to be removed: Bladder, Prostate, Lymph Nodes, Urethra, Appendix.

He's doing the medical prep. We're attempting to prepare emotionally (again). We also found out that the surgery is expected to take 8-10 hours, we were told 4-6. He will be in ICU at least 3 days. And he will be in the hospital recovering for 10-14 days, we had been told 5-7. Now we have a more realistic picture and it's a little bit scarier. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

*Sorry no pictures. I will be chastised for it. But when the real thing takes place I hope to keep folks updated on facebook, with some photos. (Obviously not of the actual surgery).

Tour of California

This year (unlike last year) we made the most out of The Tour of California. Cycling has a way of getting into your blood and making you love it more and more. Desiree and I even got Steele to take some time away from his crazy busy schedule and spend a couple of days with us following a few of the stages. There is nothing quite like witnessing a bike race in action. Like Desiree says, "It's like going to the World Series and sitting in the dugout." Or like another cycling fan who will remain anonymous, "It's like the Olympics, World Cup and the Super Bowl all rolled into one."

The time trial was held in Solvang, much better than last year when it was downtown LA. If you've never been to Solvang, it's worth the drive and the delicious treats. We arrived plenty early to get a good place at the finish line. 

There was a lot of waiting.

But in the meantime we saw Andy Schleck, who has been second place the last two years at The Tour de France.

Here is the eventual race winner Chris Horner after his time trial ride.

George Hincapie. Former three time USA Road Race Champion, as well as MANY other Classics and stage race wins. One of my favorite cyclists of all time. A truly great all around racer.

Oscar Freire. Three time World Champion. Three time winner of Milan-San Remo. A top sprinter. 

Johan Vansummeren. This year's Paris-Roubaix winner. And at 6' 5.5" the tallest man in the peloton.

Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin. The voices of cycling. No two men know more about the sport of cycling than these two. Their british accents and unique turn of phrase make them delightful to listen to. These guys travel all over the world commentating on this fascinating sport as no one else can. And we were lucky enough to hang out with them for a few minutes while they shot a race preview segment. That's almost like saying you got to hang out with Vin Scully, Howard Cosell and Harry Caray.

The next day the stage started in Claremont. We were at the start of this race. Here we are hanging out with Greg Henderson, winner of stage 2 and Ted King, a very funny guy. You can see the green jersey winner Peter Sagan a little further back. 

A super stinkin' fun weekend! Giving us practice for when we actually make it to The Tour de France and follow it for three weeks some July. In our dreams.

Old Hollywood . . . or Aunt Pitty

Heatless curls.

Some of you might be thinking, "Why would a girl who has naturally curly hair worry about heatless curls?" I saw a vlog not too long ago about how to achieve beautifully soft curls. She did it with dry hair, but I knew my hair would be waaaay to frizzy if I didn't start wet. And I was a little apprehensive about trying it since I recently hacked about a foot of my hair off. And the girl in the video had really thick hair. Mine is very thin. But I couldn't stop thinking about it. So here goes. 

Disclaimer: Photos are not up to my usual standard because I was taking them of myself.

Start with a part. And a headband. (Not too tight a headband because you'll be wearing it over night and you don't want a killer headache). And you will feel a little like Rambo. If you are starting wet use plenty of mousse. Mine is curl enhancing. If starting dry spray hair with hairspray before you start and generously after.

You don't want the headband pulling your hair down too close to your head. The idea is to keep everything loose and a little sloppy. Next take a section of hair from the front and wrap it once around the headband. Then take a second section that includes the tail of the first and wrap it around the headband one time.

Keep taking sections and wrapping them around the headband until you reach the back of your head. Then start on the other side and do the same thing. If you run out of space on your headband as you reach the back, gently push the wrapped sections forward along the headband towards your face. I started in the morning and planned on leaving my hair like this all day and over night. It's very comfortable and convenient because it keeps your hair out of the way. 

Next morning things had loosened up a little, but that's okay. My hair was dry and ready to be unrolled. I pulled down gently on the headband.

At first the curls seemed too tight, but I started finger combing the curls and the panic subsided.

I was really pleased with the results. So was my hair dresser sister. For me, it made my curl more controlled and softer. The look a cross between old Hollywood glamour and Aunt Pitty from Gone With The Wind. I took a few more photos with a couple different Sylvia-Louise headscarves. I will definitely be doing this again and again.

If you try this let me know how it turns out for you!

Playing Janice

My sister and I didn't play dolls or house. We played Janice. That's what we called it. Vanessa would come over from across the street and we would play Janice under The Three Trees. We'd spread blankets out and play for hours. In summer we were allowed to take over the patio and we'd build a house with tables and chairs, blankets and pillows. We had so much imagination. How wonderful would our life have been if we'd had these AMAZING table playhouses?

Check out Parties and Patterns for download info. I don't have kids, but I totally want one of these. Or three.