Keep her in your thoughts. Our beautiful girl is about to become a beautiful tripawd.

Photos: Courtesy of Ashley Weeks Cart

Another beautiful song that has become the anthem for getting me through this tough time.

I’d say that this is the sign of a damn beautiful friendship.

The problem is also that under current social, economic, and cultural conditions, no matter what one chooses, there will be costs:  for stay at home mothers, increased economic vulnerability and dependence on their spouses, which can decrease their exit options and thus their power in their marriages; for working mothers, the high costs of quality child care and difficulty keeping up at work with those who either have no children or have spouses at home taking care of them, which exacerbates the wage gap and keeps the glass ceiling in place.

In the heart of commencement season, this piece strikes a cord. This young woman was wise beyond her (too few) years:

This scares me. More than finding the right job or city or spouse – I’m scared of losing this web we’re in. This elusive, indefinable, opposite of loneliness. This feeling I feel right now.

Fellow Eph and pal on The Brash Hypocricy of Lanny Davis:

Anyway, I was content with my little joke, a glancing arrow shot lamely at the giant beast that is Washington’s disgusting culture. And I moved on. But then, yesterday afternoon, Lanny Davis tweeted a response.

This inheritance ensures a life of beet red faces, SPF 80 sunscreen, and the propensity to sweat buckets such that one appears freshly showered after even mild physical exertion. But it also guarantees stunning blue eyes, hair color that people pay hundreds of dollars to emulate, and life long youthfulness and adorableness. She could be doing a lot worse.

I can’t wipe the stupid grin off my face after watching this. I dare you to try and note smile like a total fool.

Her Ranger would be so proud.

For Mother’s Day, the girls and James gifted me a necklace from Alisha Louise. A sweet trio of hearts, representing me and my daughters.

I’m a sucker for enamel jewelry. Since about age 16, I’ve been growing a collection of enamel rings by Hidalgo (see one in the image below that was a gift from James for our 3rd dating anniversary way back in 2006). Something about the combination of rich enamel color paired with the cool metal has always appealed.

In my mother’s day card, James explained that the blue heart represented me, for my ties to the ocean. The yellow heart was for Addison, our Sunny, happy girl. The orange was for Courtland, a shade more fiery than yellow, but without all the aggression associated with red.

I love it so much that I emailed Alisha asking if she might offer a giveaway of one of her pieces to one of my lucky readers. And so readers, today is your day.

Here’s how you can win an item of choice from Alisha Louise. That’s right ANY item you choose:

• visit Alisha Louise

• leave a comment below telling me what your favorite piece is from her shop

• for an extra chance to win…
‘like’ Alisha Louise and me on Facebook, then come back here and tell us you like us, you really like us! in the comments

• another chance to win…
follow Alisha Louise and me on Twitter, then tweet the following phrase (then, come back here and share a link to your Tweet in the comments): Did you catch @tweetalacart & @alishalouise1 jewelry giveaway? I just entered!: http://blogalacart.com/2012/05/alisha-louise

• and one final chance to win…
subscribe to my blog, then come back here and let me know that you’re reading along in the comments.

Make sure you enter a valid email address in the email section of the comment box so I can contact you if you win! The winner will be chosen next Tuesday, June 5th at 12pm EST. Open worldwide. Total Value: Up to $120.

GOOD LUCK! 

Photos: Courtesy of Ashley Weeks Cart

Thanks, Universe, for defying the weatherman’s predictions of rain and storm. I needed the sunshine more than usual. In fact, I made an impulse decision to brighten and chop my hair on Saturday morning, because if my mood was going to be blue, at least my hair could be light and playful.

Fake it til ya make it.

We filled the weekend with hammock lounging and walking practice.

There was much snuggling and kissing and butt rubbing for Ursa. Girl loves a good scratch on the derriere, and we were more than happy to oblige. Anything to keep her spirits up while she’s in so much pain. 

On Memorial Day, we drove deeper into Vermont and sought out cool bodies of water to combat the steamy temps. Our first stop was along the Battenkill River, beside a historic red covered bridge. It could not have been a more picturesque Vermont scene, save for the absence of some grazing cows.

Courtland, the only native Vermonter in the group, delighted in splashing in the river and coating herself in sand and grungy leaf debris. The frigid water didn’t faze her in the least. She was like a bottle of champagne chilling on ice, literally bubbling over with joy.

Sunny was less interested in venturing into the water, and preferred to strut along the shore in her pink bikini. She is from L.A., after all. The 90210 to be exact. Oof.

I mustered up my thick New England blood and took a dip and played with the girls.

We had to capture the covered bridge.

Oh how I heart New England. Hard. We passed a “Field Club” while driving historic Rt 7A. I love that. Rather than a “Golf Club” or even a “Country Club,” it was called a “Field Club.” It’s tough to beat that level of authentic prep.

We took in the river scene before venturing on to a local quarry in Dorset.

I have very very fond memories of swimming in the Dorset quarry during a summer trip to Vermont as a child. The girls are definitely still too young to take advantage of all the fun (and safe, relatively speaking) cliff jumping that the quarry offers. But the water is positively crystal clear, and there were plenty of shallow pools in the marble rock for us to enjoy a cool soak and some cliff jumping spectatorship.

All in all, a lovely holiday weekend, even with Ursa’s surgery looming in the back of our minds. Her amputation is scheduled for Thursday. This weekend, between all the sun and fun, James and I did a lot of mental and emotional preparation for what lies ahead. The first two weeks of life with a canine amputee are going to be a return to life with an infant (so everyone says) and I have my biggest work event, a four day event on which my entire job is based, beginning in 10 days… so that’s less than awesome. But we’ll get through it. Somehow. I just want Ursa out of pain and through the surgery. Fingers crossed that all goes smoothly Thursday, and we’ll take it from there. One day at a time. I realize that I need to do more work than Ursa to wrap my mind around the consequence of amputation. For her sake, I need to get there so I can shower her with positive energy and love, and push my baggage and guilt and fear aside.

The blog is going to be a disjointed mishmash this week. Expect some covered in lies musings due to Ursa’s condition. Lots of snaps of Ursa and thoughts on canine amputation and bone cancer. And a handful of DIY posts and giveaways smattered in among the usual quick posts of inspiration, music, photography and thoughts. It’ll be very much a reflection of where my head is (i.e. all over the place). Thanks for reading along. More than ever, I would love to hear from you. Your comments and emails help buoy me.  So thank you for talking back.

Photos: Courtesy of Ashley Weeks Cart