Happy Willow

Wordless Wednesday- Coffee

2010-07-28T09:14:00.000-07:00

Color Lust

2010-07-26T11:46:00.000-07:00

Inspiration struck while reading a post from one of my favorite blogs N’East Style, written by an amazing woman Christine. Today, Christine’s post introduced me to an amazing designer Angela Adams. We have been thinking and looking for ways to make our space more- more organized, more livable, more fun, simply more. After reading N’East Style I realized that what we need, really need, is more color!
For now I am am going to have to rely on Esty.com and my own limited artistic skill to add that much needed color in our lives; but someday- someday we are going to be able to invest in a lush, playful carpet by Angela Adams, that brings nature inside and quenches my lust for color.

Writing Exercise

2010-07-23T10:47:00.000-07:00

Integrity, Motivation, Capacity, Understanding, Knowledge, Experience

The ordering of these six words speak to what I value in friends and co-workers. If I were able to choose the people to surround myself and my family I would first want them to have integrity-honesty to me falls under the same term.

Motivation is the cornerstone to accomplishment; It doesn't matter how much capacity, understanding, knowledge, or experience you have if you never do anything with it.

Capacity or the basic ability to understand and grow is in some ways not something an individual can control but it is important to the degree that they are able to encompass integrity. Understanding I am defining as the ability to reason and take in information, which is crucial for gaining knowledge, so therefore must proceed it. Knowledge is important but only insofar as how one use it. Having Knowledge in-an unto itself is not enough. Experience is only as go as how it informs ones actions and increases the knowledge that one possesses.

Heading East (Part 2)

2010-07-08T15:30:00.000-07:00

The first leg of our flight was pretty short. We jumped off the plane and ran to our next flight. (Gotta love short layovers.) We didn’t have time to grab food but figured they would be selling lunch on the plane. The plane was pretty packed and a young man sat between my SIL and me. (Poor guy) Luckily, Todd ended up being super nice and humored us.

Todd was on his way to NY to surprise his girlfriend for her birthday. How sweet is that? It was his first time on the east coast and was being picked up by his girlfriends mom. (Who hadn’t met yet...he is braver than me.) He and I exchanged iPhones to play some new games, and his iphone is in yesterday’s Wordless Wednesday photo. (Taken with my iPhone...lol) Anyways Todd was a great sport and the flight was enjoyable....even if all they had for sale for lunch was lame snacks. LAME

We had a car waiting for us at the baggage area and we headed off to my grandmother’s house for the night. My grandma lives in NJ and the plan was to spend the night at her house, take the bus into the city, stay for two nights, and head back to my GG’s house for another night. Leaving early the next morning. Best Laid Plans....

Somewhere between the middle of the second flight and the ride to my GG’s I realized I was not up to going to the city. My stupid bladder was killing me and I was in complete turmoil about what to do. This trip had been planned for years and I was going to ruin it. (Or my lame ass bladder was going to ruin it.)
We arrived at my GG’s house just in time to have dinner. Woot Woot! Anyone who grows up in NY knows that food just tastes better on the east coast. Even NJ has amazing chinese and italian food. My GG had already picked up some yummy chinese food and pizza. (‘cause she is the best.) Dinner was wonderful even though my mind was going a mile a minute trying to figure out what to do about going to NYC.

After dinner I spoke to my mom and my GG and told them I was feeling miserable. Holding back the tears welling up in my eyes, I explained that I really was just not up to running around in the crazy heat feeling miserable. My GG brightened and said,” you can stay here with me.” To see how happy it would make her for me to stay in NJ with her made everything better!

Both my niece and my SIL were sad that I wasn’t going to join them in NYC, but could tell I needed the rest. In the morning they got up and headed to the bus while I got ready to spend the day with an amazing women, my grandmother.

So maybe my trip wasn’t going to be ruined after all... (to be continued)

Wordless Wednesday iPhone Users Like Ginger Ale (Based on a random test of the people I sat next to on a plane...lol)

2010-07-06T21:12:00.000-07:00

Heading back east for the first time in about 4 yrs (Part 1)

2010-07-06T10:31:00.000-07:00

Heading back east for the first time in about 4 yrs was all I could think about for several weeks heading up to this last trip. Day dreaming about traipsing about New York City, seeing the sights with my mom, sister-in-law, and niece. Ah, yeah, that's right it would be a childless trip. (My only not work related childless trip since my son was born in 2001.) Best laid plans and all that... a day before we were to hop on a plane I woke up feeling miserable. Nice? Right? Just my luck.

If at all possible I avoid talking or discussing such things with people or posting about it on my blog...but really that is kinda silly. In 1998 or so I was diagnosed with Interstitial cystitis (which basically means my bladder hates me) after having various bouts of infections, being on antibiotics for yrs at a time, and trying different therapies I still seem to get a bladder infection the drop of a hat. Most of the time I just ignore my bladder if possible and when it is not possible I know I have an infection. When I woke up on Tuesday of last week I just knew I needed medication. Luckily, I have pain meds. and my niece was over watching the kids when I was really going downhill.

All I can do when I am in that much pain is take pain meds. and get in the bath with a book. So I called the dr.,pop-ed some pain meds. filled up a giant water bottle, postponed my lunch date, and went upstairs to take a long bath. For the awhile now I have been reading books on my iPhone with a Kindle App.

iPhone + Water = NO FREAKIN' WAY right?

Well, actually a plastic Ziploc bag over my phone made it possible for me to continue the book I was currently reading without destroying my phone. (Very MacGyver-esque I know.) Which was good because I was in no mood to try and find another book.

After an hour or so picked up meds. and hoped for the best and went about the rest of my day determined not to allow my lame body to ruin my day or my trip. Had a late work lunch, ran home picked up the kids, ran back to my DH work dropped off the kids, and headed to a street festival to help run a booth for work.

Around 9:30 met back up with my DH and cuties to head home and actually start packing....(way to leave things to the last minute). In my sleepy stupor packed my bags, tried to clean up a bit so the house wasn't a complete disaster and finally headed to bed.

We had a super early flight which was probably good. The kids were asleep when I left, which always makes it easier to leave.

I will admit I was annoyingly chipper at 5am and I am sure all the people in the airport were cursing my as a goofed around with my SIL, mom, and niece. No one was in the middle seat on the first leg of our trip. SCORE! (You should have seen my happy dance....lol) Second leg and more continued tomorrow....

Wordless Wednesday - Happy Father's Day

2010-06-23T16:09:00.000-07:00

Sometimes all it takes is a hand drawn picture....

2010-06-22T16:31:00.000-07:00

The life and work of a mom can be sometimes overwhelming, other times down right painful, and all it takes is (at least for me) is a small bit of kindness from one of my children to make it all worth while.

Last night was painful. I had spent the day running around drop of here, lunch with co-worker, run home to make calls, and try to catch up on e-mails. Have I mentioned that I just started a new job? Most of my time has been spent trying to come up to speed on systems and learning about the company. Combine that with the start of summer break and it makes for a very challenging time for both my kids and me.

By 8:30 pm both the kids were crazy...should have been in bed and I should have been reading stories, but I was on the computer trying to get one last thing done.... I was on the verge of exploding....

Bottom-line it was all on me, and I knew it. I had blown the evening bedtime ritual and was paying the price of it. Struggling to get a handle on my own temper and gain a bit of control, while I was wrapping up the project I was working on, my DD presented me with a gift.

My sweet DD seeing that I was unhappy drew me this picture.

DD pictures always have a story. The picture is set on Halloween night DD and I are dressed as a princess and queen respectively (note crowns and high heels). We are walking holding hands and talking about the beautiful night sky.

This simple gesture, small bit of kindness, made all of the rest of my feelings of frustration melt away!

Downsizing

2010-06-21T17:58:00.000-07:00

It has been nearly 2 years since we packed up and moved across the country from Chicago to California. Before we moved we purged as much as possible: Couches, TVs, toys, cloths, and whatever else we could part with. It was one of the best feelings in the world to rid ourselves of clutter and baggage.

We moved not knowing that we would find ourselves in the same position again. We found out today that our already insane rent is going to increase. That, along with other factors (ie. switching jobs, loosing the job I switched too, and getting a new job making substantially less than before), have made it necessary to downsize again.

For us, downsizing will mean finding a smaller place and getting rid of as much accumulated stuff as we can. Tomorrow I will start to make bags of cloths that have been out-grown and drop them off for donation. I will ask the kids to go through the mountains of toys and weed out what they really don't want anymore (again in hopes of donating them). I will reacquaint myself with craigslist and start the process of finding a smaller more affordable (ha, in the bay area that really means little) apartment.

Normally the thought of moving would make me incredibly nervous and overwhelmed, but today I am more relaxed about the prospect. This might be because I couldn't physically, mentally or emotionally become more stressed or worried than I was before, or it could be that I am resolved to make this happen . . . without freaking out.

In either case, purging simply feels good.

Yup, my 18 year old niece is so much cooler than me, no big surprise.

2010-06-18T10:29:00.000-07:00

A while back I wrote about my domestic shortcomings....mainly that making meals to me is worse than, say getting a shot at the doctor's. I had hoped that the addition of a few snazzy new cookbooks and a meal plan would help me find my inner cook.

Ah, lets just say, maybe not so much.

Although meal planning is not my cup of tea and I would rather be doing almost anything else, I have to say it does take some of the stress out of the whole "MOM, what are we eating for X meal!" question. How do I know this you ask?

Well, while my munchkins are stuck home with me for the summer (I work from home), my amazingly wonderful niece is nannying for me and guess what. Oh, you will never guess. My niece planned the meals out for the week. She is feeding said munchkins lunch and as such made a plan...

So yeah, my 18 year old niece is more apt at domesticity than I am. Instead of being jealous of her mad skills, I am just so proud to be related to such an awesome person!!!

Netflix how do I love thee, let me count the ways....

2010-06-17T10:50:00.000-07:00

Netflix how do I love thee, let me count the ways....

We enjoy never having to go further than our mailbox to rent a video.
Streaming makes not having cable bearable for both my children and myself.
If I can't remember whether I have seen a movie, all I have to do is ... look it up.
In the middle of the night when some small person can't sleep, we can find something without commercials to watch.
Really, need I say more?

Wordless Wednesday

2010-06-16T09:36:00.000-07:00

Inspiration Where Have You Gone?

2010-06-15T09:54:00.000-07:00

I am sure we all have days like today, when it just isn't one thing but everything that seems to go wrong. Nothing terrible, nothing major, but just "Blah". That is exactly how I feel today.

I'm pretty sure that the root cause of it is stress, the start of summer blues, and again, the general Blah.
Yes, Blah is a technical term.
Blah: Lack of drive and generalized sluggishness followed by moments of why bother.

The past few weeks (or to be more accurate, years) have not been the easiest and being a mom can be a rather thankless job. Most days I can muster up at least a small amount of enthusiasm but today, it completely escaped me. So I ask, where did my inspiration go?

Maybe it is buried deep beneath the never ending laundry pile.
Trapped under the broom that never sweeps quite enough.
Hidden behind the last time I actually made a dinner that my children enjoyed and didn't come from the microwave.
Or it was lost with the realization that no matter what I do, my husband will always make more money, have more social interaction with adults, and be further in a career than me.

After a day like today, I need to take a bath, read a bit of my book, and sleep, all in the hopes that tomorrow will be a better day. If not maybe I will be inspired to view it as something more than just another Blah day.

Late Wordless Wednesday

2010-05-27T08:21:00.000-07:00

The Magic of Chinese Delivery

2010-05-25T10:43:00.001-07:00

The story begins with
(One little miss with a cold
+One mama that was not feeling much better
+ One son just getting over a cold)
- One daddy at work late
= Chinese Take Out!

To be completely honest it doesn't take that much for me to be convinced that it is a Chinese Take Out night, (proof of this is that the person that answers the phone at our favorite delivery place knows my voice) but today was an exceptional example of the absolute need for me like many other moms to have a Chinese delivery place close by at all times.

Back to the story, last Wednesday (also known as little Miss's birthday) when my sweet son came down with a nasty cold. Mr. Sweet shared his cold with me and by Friday I was feeling miserable. The weekend was spend with bouts of sneezing, mild fevers, and many attempts to nap.

Fact: The worst part of a weekend with a sick mom is that all those errands that are left 'till the weekend inevitably are left undone.

Which brings us to Monday...when little miss woke up and came in to my bed to snuggle with a a mild fever and very stuffy nose. So Monday brought with it an empty fridge, a still under the weather mother, a sick little miss, and a beloved Chinese restaurant that delivers!

Thank you China Wok without you this day would not have been possible!

Are you now too cool for frozen yogurt?

2010-05-23T17:30:00.000-07:00

One of our friends moved back to China a bit a ago in search of adventure. We were all really sad to see him go and have missed getting to hangout with him. Luckily, we have been able to keep in touch on-line & such. Today I was reading his blog and let's just say that he sure has found adventure!

Check out his post about ending up on a Dating Show.

I randomly got on this TV show...

What I want to know is now that you are like a big celebrity and all, are you now too cool to go out for frozen yogurt? ;)

Well, if the answer is no next time you are back stateside we will have to have a repeat of your last visit! (Indian food and all!)

Late Wordless Wednesday

2010-05-20T23:49:00.000-07:00

It's Good to Be 5

2010-05-20T23:20:00.001-07:00

My very sweet little miss is now 5. Can you believe it? Really, I can't believe she is actually 5 already. Soon she will be in kindergarten and next college. Ok, we might have a few years before college. Still I find it is simply amazing how fast time has gone by. It feels like only yesterday she was an infant, snuggled up with me late at night, breastfeedingt and now she is a big girl.

So, you ask, "how did we spend this special day?" Well, we had grand plans to spend the day gallivanting all over doing tons of special things. Best laid plans an all- it turned out, due to the big brother guy being sick, our plans were slightly altered . My little miss took this change in the day rather well all in all. Secretly, I think she rather enjoyed having her big brother home with her on her birthday.

The better part of the day was spent at home playing with paper dolls, watching a movie, creating potions in the sink, all the things normally done on Wednesdays. (Wednesday's she doesn't have school.) Things got a bit more exciting around 5:30 when Grandma and Grandpa stopped by with her brand new special big girl bike!

After riding the bike for a bit with her daddy little miss hopped in the car headed straight to Build-A-Bear Workshop. Build-A-Bear has become a sort of tradition for little miss and her daddy to do on her birthday. She had her last birthday bear in hand to get a fancy new outfit along plans for with a new bear and outfit. (Sick big brother and I stayed home and hung out.)

Two fancy bears, a very happy birthday girl, and silly daddy headed to California Pizza for dinner and than home for cake. Upon seeing said cake little miss exclaimed, "Daddy that is my dream cake, how did you know that was the cake of my dreams?" It just so happens that the cake little miss dreamt the night about having the night before her birthday, was the exact cake happen chance her daddy picked out at the store.

So all in all a wonderful birthday was had, who needs plans anyway!

Wordless Wednesday- Color

2010-03-24T08:22:00.001-07:00

Wordless Wednesday - Walking

2010-03-17T06:42:00.000-07:00

Meal Planning

2010-03-16T07:15:00.000-07:00

Ok, I am not a bad cook more like a reluctant one. It would seem that when homemaking skills were given out or taught in school, I must have been absent. I wish some of the time that I was one of those mom's that got excited about grocery shopping and cooking for my family, but honestly, I just don't. In part this is due to what I like to call the Picky Kid's Syndrome. Now I bet you are wondering; what is Picky Kid's Syndrome?

Symptoms of Picky Kid's Syndrome
*Have you found yourself in the grocery store and are unable to remember what you are there to buy?
*Have you had the experience of after returning from the grocery store you are unpacking and putting the groceries away and realize that you have spent way too much and have no actual meals?
*You and your spouse are grocery shopping and they ask (passive aggressively) "So it looks like we have a lot of "snacks" and not a lot of meals"? In response to their inquiry you want to pull out your hair and cry.
*Do you find yourself eating cold left over french fries and fish sticks (or chicken nuggets) for dinner?

Signs of Picky Kid's Syndrome
-Tired mom
-Hungry frustrated mom
-A lack of desire to cook
-Grocery shopping seems like a new form of punishment designed to make you remember what a snotty teenager you were.
-A willingness to eat out almost anywhere just so you don't have to do the never ending amount of dishes that magically appear in your sink.

If you answered yes to any of the above you too might be suffering from Picky Kid's Syndrome.

Seriously, I used to like to make dinner and try out the occasional new recipe, but since my DH is often working late (at an awesome company that feeds him) and my children in most cases won't even try something I have cooked, I just gave up trying. DD will try things but often won't like them enough to take more than one bite. DS won't even try something new, nor will he eat a banana or any other fruit if it is bruised even in the slightest. Some might think that this is silly and they should just eat what ever I make or not eat, but that just isn't the kind of mom I am. I have two wonderful children and I respect that they might not enjoy what I do so I end up making them the few things that they are willing to eat. Unfortunately, that means that either I make two meals, one for them, and one for me (since DH's work has catered dinner, which I will touch on at some time soon, along with the magic notepad and pen) or I eat what they eat .

In practice what happens more often than not is that I make the kids food, work some while they eat, realize I am starving and eat the cold left overs. (Rather pitiful, huh?)

It is my goal to reawaken the inner cook in myself and find some new inspiration for cooking for my family and myself. So, I am ordering some interesting cookbooks including Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights: Recipes for Every Season, Mood, and Appetite & Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics: Fabulous Flavor from Simple Ingredients. My next step is to actually write down a meal plan and try to stick with it.
Wish me luck!

Wordless Wednesday- S.F. Love

2010-03-10T13:34:00.000-08:00

Cutting Hearts

2010-03-09T09:25:00.000-08:00

I guess it is just that time of year when everyone is sick...me included. As a mom having a cold is just not allowed. Working from home and being a mom is really, really, not allowed. So what does this mom due when she is feeling ucky and would like nothing more than to curl up in bed...well, for starters try to keep her very inquisitive almost 5 yr old DD busy so that she doesn't make gigantic messes. In an effort to keep little Miss.Mess Maker entertained I discovered that she didn't know how to make a paper heart.
Here are some pictures of the fun DD had while I tried to get some work done.

Just in case you forgot how to make a paper heart here is what you will need;

Paper and Crayons
Oops, almost forgot you will also need scissors to cut out your heart (no pun intended).
Next you will want to fold a single sheet of paper in half.
Draw your half heart on the side of the paper that is folded (not the side with the edges of the paper). We found that using a dark crayon made it easier to see when you the lines when you cut it out.
First heart! Not bad at all.

The second heart came out a bit better. DD found it easier when I drew the heart and she cut it out.
Lots of great hearts! DD made one into a card for a friend at school.

My new found love of Twitter

2010-03-04T13:06:00.000-08:00

When I first found Twitter a few years ago I was like, “Really? What’s the point?”. I rarely tweeted or read other’s tweets and only logged into my account once a month or so. That was my take until about a year ago when it became part of my work responsibilities to really understand social media and learn how to use the popular tools available.

Now I am happy to say that I finally get it . . . Twitter rocks! Twitter can be a great tool and fun to boot. Throughout my day I read through my feed, post updates, retweet, and try to connect with interesting people on-line.

Twitter has come a long way since I was introduced. The addition of the “@”, retweet, search with hash tags and #follow have made it a much more robust platform for engaging people.

Wordless Wednesday Birthday Fun

2010-03-03T07:11:00.000-08:00