life and then some

AIDS LIFECYCLE 2013 - 245 Days to go!

2012-09-30T12:42:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was my first ride with Team Popular members. We met at the Malibu Country Mart and rode 15 miles north on PCH over rolling hills. Gorgeous day. Lots of cars. So much learned about riding from my teammates. Team Captain David is a five-time ALC participant and strong fundraiser. Watching him ride feels like watching a Tour de France cyclist. He’s a great coach. Bestie

Driving the Chevy Volt

2012-04-27T12:20:00.001-07:00

I'm such a tech-dork I actually took a video of the Chevy Volt's data system in action, while driving. The video is ultra low-tech. And shaky. I was driving after all. You get to see the "healthy driving" bubble in action, hear how quiet the car is, and see some of the data displays in action. Yea, I'm a geek.

Our Week With The ChevyVolt Likes and Dislikes

2012-04-26T19:15:00.000-07:00

Through a friend we scored a week-long test drive with a 2012 Chevy Volt. No mileage restrictions. No real restrictions at all in fact -- other than have fun! It was a tremendous opportunity to live with a car for a week. Not just to experience how it drives but how it fits into your life. We had a blast driving it. And for everyone who followed our tweets and Facebook posts about the

ROAD TRIP!!! With the #ChevyVolt (and two kids)

2012-04-04T19:53:00.000-07:00

ROAD TRIP!!! We couldn't think of a better way to test a car...to really see how it would fit into our life...to get a feel for what it's made of...to see how that battery-to-gas thing works...We're taking this puppy straight up the gut of California! LA -> Fresno -> Blackhawk and back again. Four days. In a car stuffed with two ABBA-loving, Harry Potter obsessed 9 year olds, two adults,

My First Two Hours With the #ChevyVolt

2012-04-02T18:01:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the generosity of the folks at GM, we're getting a week long test drive with a 2012 Chevy Volt. We've had it for two hours. As of this very moment every member of the family is having a little love affair with the car. Here are some of my first impressions of the car (which I've now driven all of 11 miles around town). It was delivered to me with 11 miles left on the battery and

Stealing My First Charge #chevyvolt

2012-04-02T17:25:00.002-07:00

I've had the Chevy Volt in my possession for about an hour and a half. I'm pretty proud that I already found a place in my office parking garage to plug in.

Me and My Monkeys

2012-01-27T18:17:00.001-08:00

MTV VJ's: Oral History

2012-01-12T12:04:00.001-08:00

This is the best news ever. Some people have their Kardashians, I had my MTV VJs. http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/mtv-vjs-land-book-deal-for-oral-history_...

observation

2012-01-06T17:39:00.001-08:00

See the full gallery on Posterous It struck me odd that they have their own cruisers. Why, I wonder...

my sister-in-law made this

2012-01-05T11:59:00.001-08:00

Every Christmas we celebrate by replicating another country's traditional holiday meal. This year - from our kitchen - we explored Spain. Of course, we always add a little flair. This year, my sister-in-law (our family's Ace of Cakes) made a replica of Gaudi's Parc Guell out of gingerbread. This photo is taken before the kids destroyed it...I mean, ate it.

2012: the year that will be

2012-01-04T15:28:00.001-08:00

I love a new year. I love the feeling of celebrating the one that was and welcoming the newbie. Every January offers me an opportunity to recalibrate and charge headlong at a new set of goals. "I'll finally lose that extra weight." "I'll set up 10 projects this year." "I'll be a better mom [in ways that are many, varied and half-realistic]." It's invigorating. It's hopeful. And then

When Harry Met Sally 2 / Grampires

2011-04-07T11:49:00.000-07:00

So proud of this little short Funny or Die short I was part of! It's a fine example of what can happen when a bunch of creative, talented people are able to do their thing. When Harry Met Sally 2 with Billy Crystal & Helen Mirren from Billy Crystal

Post Mother's Day

2010-05-13T11:16:00.000-07:00

I was just sitting here having a little memory of Mother's Day. I'm pretty sure there are love hearts floating out the top of my head. When I look at my beautiful girls I am simultaneously humbled, filled with pride, and bursting with joy. I know I've won life's lottery.

10 days with no hot water

2010-04-07T18:47:00.000-07:00

(NOTE: Originally written on 2.4.2008 & decided to show up today!) As of Monday, we have hot water!!! Why in the world did we have no hot water for 10 days? Where do we live - a third world country?? Was there some sort of natural disaster that destroyed our hot water heater? Nope. The sole reason we were without hot water for so long -- with two sick 5 year olds -- was thanks to the

the first day of kindergarten

2010-04-07T18:43:00.000-07:00

(NOTE: This was originally written on 9.10.2008 & decided to show up today). I have a few vivid memories about Kindergarten. I remember standing on the porch - more than once - crying my eyes out and throwing the world's largest hissy fit because I did not want to go to school in the dress my mother had forced me to wear. My Mom was sympathetic to me the first few times but as my fits

My BACON EXPLOSION

2010-04-07T14:29:00.000-07:00

(NOTE: This was originally written a year ago - June 2009 - and for some reason decided to show up today) We hosted a pot-luck brunch yesterday and our contribution was the "Bacon Explosion", which we learned about thanks to the New York Times. It was so goooooooooddddddddd, I'm blogging about it!If you click on the title for this blog post it will take you to the home sit for Bacon Explosion

Misadventures With My Dad's Linksys Wireless Bridge

2009-09-01T15:00:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago we went to visit my dad in Henderson. It was hot! So when we weren't at the pool we were sitting in the air-conditioning completely mesmerized by his 60 inch HD TV. I noticed that as part of his fancy Samsung Blu-Ray player he could download Netflix directly into his TV. My Dad watches a ton of movies (what else is there to do in Vegas if you don't gamble??) and I've been

Dear Blog: Will You Take Me Back?

2009-08-04T15:15:00.001-07:00

I've neglected you, blog. I have. I got distracted by the pretty new kid in town. OK, ok, I dumped you for Facebook. I did. But who could blame me? FB - sorry to use a pet name in front of you -- was just so beguiling. I can post pithy little one-liners about my day or what's going on in my life. And people (who call themselves my "friends") post snarky and sometimes even meaningful

6 month check-in on the New Year's Resolutions

2009-06-26T21:47:00.000-07:00

It's been a weird week. Farrah and Michael in the same day. Two icons (not my icons but icons nonetheless) from my childhood buying the farm in the same day. It made me pause to evaluate. I have a good life so what it fueled was a 6 month check-in on my New Year's goals. I'm one of those people that loves New Year's resolutions. It's the opportunity to set new goals and also pat yourself on

The Prop H8 of it all

2009-05-27T21:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the CA Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8. I was driving Ella to school in the car listening to KPCC as the news came across the wires at 10am. We listened to the disappointed moans & groans of those on the courthouse steps as the news was delivered that Prop 8 stood. Then we heard the panicked questions, "What about the marriages? What'd they say about the marriages?!" We had to wait a

the missing "toof"

2008-09-10T19:52:00.000-07:00

On August 20, 2008 Ella lost her first tooth (or "toof" as she likes to say). For about a month she claimed the tooth hurt when she bit into things. And then she started to say it was loose. We inspected many times but couldn't see any true signs of loose toothness. But, hey, it's not our tooth so what do we know?! About a week before the big day, Ella began wiggling it like crazy! It completely

just like that

2008-06-23T16:58:00.000-07:00

Zoe and Ella learned to swim yesterday. It happened kinda like how the whole crawling-standing-walking thing did. There were mile markers in place and, if we had the whole two summers worth of swimming on video to analyze, we could probably document them clearly. But yesterday -- it all just clicked. It started earlier in the week when I had to make a late night run with them to Target

"What's 'Dirt', Mama?"

2008-02-27T12:16:00.000-08:00

Here’s the thing about Billboards and kids: they can spot them from a mile off and they notice every little nuanced thing. I was cruising around with Zoe & Ella this weekend when they noticed the (awesome) DIRT billboard. Ella, “What’s ‘Dirt’, Mama?” How does one explain gossip to a 5 year old? My quick thought process here: Oh my god! I could skip right over this and they’ll never pick up

Sprecher endorses Clinton!!!

2008-02-04T15:01:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends, Tomorrow is a big day!!! I know many of you are undecided about who you'll be voting for. I thought I'd take a moment to tell you why I am supporting Hillary Clinton and why I believe she is the candidate who can change our country's direction and get us on the right path. There are many, many problems that the next President is going to have to solve. I bet we each have one

"flakey flix & beer - food of the gods"

2008-01-29T20:47:00.000-08:00

In the midst of a competitive match of KerPlunk Monica dashed off to the kitchen and returned with a Flakey Flix for each of us. I immediately recalled one of our (drinking) life mottos from college -- Freshman year, first apartment with Melissa..."Flakey Flix and Beer! FOOD OF THE GODS!"I found myself tonight, uttering those words for the first time in nearly 20 years. "Flakey Flix and Beer.