on the heels of that afternoon spent listening and talking to matt logelin, awful news trickled in from the grapevine about a friend i hadn't really been in touch with recently.
i knew she was expecting again, with a baby boy who was joining two big sisters. and a couple of days ago, he was born - beautiful and healthy. her facebook posts were joyful and exuberant, filled with all the excitement of a new baby.
but then the posts turned somber. it turns out that the very next day, she suffered a brain hemorrhage and is currently in a coma. my god. i'm numb just typing those words. apparently, the doctors have reported that she's been somewhat responsive and that things are looking good, but she's still not out of it yet.
i haven't been able to stop thinking about her and her family since i heard. i keep blinking back tears and checking her facebook page in hopes of an update. she's so beautiful and loved, and her husband and kids need her so much.
hug your loved ones today, and if you're so inclined, think good thoughts for my friend.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
being a creep pays off. sometimes.
a couple of months ago, i half-jokingly tweeted a post wondering what i could possibly bribe my friend matt logelin with to attend one of our book club meetings. a few of my "twirlies" commented back that it would be beyond awesome if that happened.
you can guess where this is going, right?
not long after my initial tweet, he responded and said something along the lines of "no bribery needed, if i'm available, i'm there." and we all flipped the eff out. ha!
anyway, when i attended book signing #2, i chatted with matt a little bit and he made good on his promise - we chose a date, he gave me his e-mail address, and i followed up with him not long after. i was so excited to report back to my friends that we were confirmed - i was hosting the next meeting, and of course our book of the month was the wonderful two kisses for maddy, with the author slated to attend.
as the date approached, i started getting a little nervous. i just didn't know what to expect or how it would turn out, especially as some of the RSVPs to my evite started changing from "yes" to "no." ack! and what if he was totally bored, or thought it was just super duper lame? of course, knowing what a cool guy matt is, i should've known better, but still - my partyzillaness was rearing its ugly head as usual.
my fears were, of course, unfounded. we had a terrific turnout after all, with just the right amount of book clubbers in attendance. and, as my friend cocoaellewoods said, how could it possibly be anything but awesome with us there? heh.
as always, there was tons of food.
i even remembered to pick up some pretty flowers.
oh, and i'd been so anxious that i woke up super early that morning. i got up and decided to make a batch of those oreo-stuffed chocolate chip cookies, only i decided to make them with mini oreos this time.
and then i thought it would be fab to make my tater tot breakfast casserole in bite-size pieces.
a run to trader joe's and the grocery store yielded a little toddler snack bar - i'd invited junior book clubbers to this meeting, including matt's maddy. i was hoping that his girlfriend, brooke, would be there too, but maybe next time.
a couple of my friends came bearing gifts. i'm still waiting for the right moment to bust open this awesomeness from amber, who'd just gotten home from a lovely hawaiian babymoon. i love so much that she thought of me while on vacation - and literally running through the airport, no less.
and ashley brought these just for me. so sweet (pun intended)!
my friend dailygluttony came with her adorable son, mini-DG - and a platter of homemade spam musubi.
the kids were settled into what's going to eventually become the library-slash-office (previously the ILs' bedroom). for now, it's a playroom for everyone that opens right out into the back yard, where they were free to play with the water table, bubbles, and sidewalk chalk. i was so busy running around that i didn't take any pictures of them out there, but when it got too warm they came inside for snacks and a movie.
it was nice to have them all in one room together, playing, munching, and very entertained by the movie. it gave us grown-ups a chance to chill together in the living room (within hearing distance) and chat with our guest speaker.
just as i'd expected, the bean was enthralled with the tiny babies in attendance. poor grace couldn't make a move without her new shadow, who was excited to do anything to help with her sweet newborn.
my kid is definitely getting the hang of the fine art of photobombing.
since the hub had made himself scarce for the afternoon, i had no choice but to set up the tripod so that we could get a group shot. and, uh, i had to test out the remote to make sure it worked.
and it did! yay!
so, so, so grateful to matt and maddy for making the trip out to BFE and joining us for our book club gathering! it was really fantastic to listen to him speak, answer our questions, and just chat with us about whatever came to mind. i can't say it enough - he's really just such a super duper nice guy.
i hope he writes that second book he hinted at to us. or, that a movie really does get made out of this one. those would make for some fabulous GTGs, don't you think?
you can guess where this is going, right?
not long after my initial tweet, he responded and said something along the lines of "no bribery needed, if i'm available, i'm there." and we all flipped the eff out. ha!
anyway, when i attended book signing #2, i chatted with matt a little bit and he made good on his promise - we chose a date, he gave me his e-mail address, and i followed up with him not long after. i was so excited to report back to my friends that we were confirmed - i was hosting the next meeting, and of course our book of the month was the wonderful two kisses for maddy, with the author slated to attend.
as the date approached, i started getting a little nervous. i just didn't know what to expect or how it would turn out, especially as some of the RSVPs to my evite started changing from "yes" to "no." ack! and what if he was totally bored, or thought it was just super duper lame? of course, knowing what a cool guy matt is, i should've known better, but still - my partyzillaness was rearing its ugly head as usual.
my fears were, of course, unfounded. we had a terrific turnout after all, with just the right amount of book clubbers in attendance. and, as my friend cocoaellewoods said, how could it possibly be anything but awesome with us there? heh.
as always, there was tons of food.
i even remembered to pick up some pretty flowers.
oh, and i'd been so anxious that i woke up super early that morning. i got up and decided to make a batch of those oreo-stuffed chocolate chip cookies, only i decided to make them with mini oreos this time.
and then i thought it would be fab to make my tater tot breakfast casserole in bite-size pieces.
a run to trader joe's and the grocery store yielded a little toddler snack bar - i'd invited junior book clubbers to this meeting, including matt's maddy. i was hoping that his girlfriend, brooke, would be there too, but maybe next time.
a couple of my friends came bearing gifts. i'm still waiting for the right moment to bust open this awesomeness from amber, who'd just gotten home from a lovely hawaiian babymoon. i love so much that she thought of me while on vacation - and literally running through the airport, no less.
and ashley brought these just for me. so sweet (pun intended)!
my friend dailygluttony came with her adorable son, mini-DG - and a platter of homemade spam musubi.
the kids were settled into what's going to eventually become the library-slash-office (previously the ILs' bedroom). for now, it's a playroom for everyone that opens right out into the back yard, where they were free to play with the water table, bubbles, and sidewalk chalk. i was so busy running around that i didn't take any pictures of them out there, but when it got too warm they came inside for snacks and a movie.
it was nice to have them all in one room together, playing, munching, and very entertained by the movie. it gave us grown-ups a chance to chill together in the living room (within hearing distance) and chat with our guest speaker.
just as i'd expected, the bean was enthralled with the tiny babies in attendance. poor grace couldn't make a move without her new shadow, who was excited to do anything to help with her sweet newborn.
my kid is definitely getting the hang of the fine art of photobombing.
since the hub had made himself scarce for the afternoon, i had no choice but to set up the tripod so that we could get a group shot. and, uh, i had to test out the remote to make sure it worked.
and it did! yay!
so, so, so grateful to matt and maddy for making the trip out to BFE and joining us for our book club gathering! it was really fantastic to listen to him speak, answer our questions, and just chat with us about whatever came to mind. i can't say it enough - he's really just such a super duper nice guy.
i hope he writes that second book he hinted at to us. or, that a movie really does get made out of this one. those would make for some fabulous GTGs, don't you think?
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
her milkshake brings all the boys to the yard
yesterday, as we were sweating it out in the summer heat, i decided to make a treat for me and the bean. i told her we were going to make our own mint chip milkshakes, and she was intrigued.
"what's a milkshake, mommy?" she asked. and i was only too happy to show her as i busted out the makings for our delicious, cool snack.
she totally lit up at the sight of the ice cream, and begged me to let her scoop it into the blender. of course, some might have magically found its way into her mouth.
after i poured in some fat free milk - that makes it healthy, right? - i told her to flip the switch.
she was quite startled by the racket that came from that thing.
but she got over it pretty fast - you know, in the time it took for me to pour some into a cup for her. first, she inspected it (which took about a nanosecond).
then, a taste.
"this is the BEST milkshake i ever tasted, mommy!" uh, yeah - it's the only one you've ever had, love.
and her new favorite thing: "look at my milkshake moustache!"
i was lucky to get a coupla sips of that shake for myself. i was afraid i'd lose a limb if i tried to get more. heh.
you think i'm kidding.
"what's a milkshake, mommy?" she asked. and i was only too happy to show her as i busted out the makings for our delicious, cool snack.
she totally lit up at the sight of the ice cream, and begged me to let her scoop it into the blender. of course, some might have magically found its way into her mouth.
after i poured in some fat free milk - that makes it healthy, right? - i told her to flip the switch.
she was quite startled by the racket that came from that thing.
but she got over it pretty fast - you know, in the time it took for me to pour some into a cup for her. first, she inspected it (which took about a nanosecond).
then, a taste.
"this is the BEST milkshake i ever tasted, mommy!" uh, yeah - it's the only one you've ever had, love.
and her new favorite thing: "look at my milkshake moustache!"
i was lucky to get a coupla sips of that shake for myself. i was afraid i'd lose a limb if i tried to get more. heh.
you think i'm kidding.
Monday, June 27, 2011
verrrry pinteresting
so you know i've been obsessed with pinterest for a few weeks now. seriously, it's so addicting and i find myself browsing through other people's virtual pinboards at random moments like when i'm bored in the car, or sitting in the bean's room waiting for her to fall asleep. thank goodness for the iPhone app, even though it sucks and crashes constantly. it works just well enough to keep me occupied when i really need it.
and so last week when i saw a tweet about a pinterest meetup, i was interested enough to re-tweet it and see if anyone else was willing to check it out with me. happily, my friend lilcee responded pretty quickly, and so it was set despite the fact that neither of us had any idea what to expect. when i told the hub about it, he was super skeptical. "what do you do at this thing? walk around and share your virtual pinboards with people you don't know?" it sounded so lame when he put it that way. and i had to admit, i had no freaking clue. but i was excited to find out.
i was shocked when the teen expressed interest in coming with us. although i guess i shouldn't have been - her buddy rock-ell has a summer job and isn't around to hang out during the week. plus, the venue for the meetup, urbanic paper boutique, was down in venice beach and the weather was bound to be nicer than the 90 sweltering degrees we were stuck with at home. we sat in a little bit of traffic and drove around some to find a parking spot on tiny abbot kinney boulevard, but we finally made it. and it was nice and overcast - chilly, even. excellent.
we wrote our names down (real, twitter, and pinterest user) on a nametag, stuck 'em on, and went inside to investigate.
the shop was super duper tiny, but very well stocked with all of the coolest, cutest stuff.
i was almost glad i was flat broke - i could've spent a fortune in there. awesome japanese washi tape that i've only seen online!
products normally found at paper source, carried here under their parent company's brand name (waste not paper):
fun party goods that i wanted to scoop up just to have around - and maybe to save for the bean's birthday bash 4.0.
cool custom invitations, wedding favors and other fabulous party paraphernalia.
we met and made small talk with enid, the official pinterest representative at the shindig. but it was so crowded in the tiny shop that i didn't have the energy to ask if we could get a picture with her. oh, well. and then we made our way outside into the back, where there were even more super well-dressed, wine-chugging, cookie-munching chicks crammed together. at least outside, the air was cooler and fresher and easier to breathe. we managed to grab a few snacks and then just gave up and headed out.
lilcee was super excited to meet the lady behind oh joy! she's quite well-versed in the cool, hip local bloggers and while i hadn't ever seen this blog until - oh, the car ride down to venice - i enjoyed meeting her as well. we managed to get the teen to snap this shot of us with her and audrey, the owner of urbanic.
please excuse my weird head tilt, badly styled hair and dress that seemed so cute but actually makes me look like i'm about five months pregnant. bah. joy, on the other hand, IS pregnant - adorably so. i swear, i'm always the doofiest-looking chick in group photos. ugh.
on our way back to the car, we peeked at this, which had caught my eye as we sashayed to the meetup:
i'd really been hoping that it was a place to take trapeze lessons, but it looks more like some sort of garden or art museum. i'm so bad at this kind of stuff. and next door was an interesting-looking shop, but it was closed.
after debating a bit between crossing the street and having dinner at lemonade or having some familiar and oh-so-delicious garlic chicken at versailles, we opted for the latter. a few of our friends gave lemonade less than glowing reviews, not to mention that a pasadena outlet is opening sometime this summer. so we figured we'd get our chance to go eventually.
it was a fun evening all in all. we didn't really mingle a whole lot with the other meetup attendees, but no biggie. i felt a bit intimidated and overwhelmed as i often do when going out somewhere in west l.a. - the chicks are always so well-groomed, dressed to the nines, aloof. and then there's me - four weeks late for an eyebrow wax, outfitted in old navy, with an eager, dorky ass perma-grin on my face. yeah, i don't fit in too well.
but you know what? whatevs. i'm okay with that.
and so last week when i saw a tweet about a pinterest meetup, i was interested enough to re-tweet it and see if anyone else was willing to check it out with me. happily, my friend lilcee responded pretty quickly, and so it was set despite the fact that neither of us had any idea what to expect. when i told the hub about it, he was super skeptical. "what do you do at this thing? walk around and share your virtual pinboards with people you don't know?" it sounded so lame when he put it that way. and i had to admit, i had no freaking clue. but i was excited to find out.
i was shocked when the teen expressed interest in coming with us. although i guess i shouldn't have been - her buddy rock-ell has a summer job and isn't around to hang out during the week. plus, the venue for the meetup, urbanic paper boutique, was down in venice beach and the weather was bound to be nicer than the 90 sweltering degrees we were stuck with at home. we sat in a little bit of traffic and drove around some to find a parking spot on tiny abbot kinney boulevard, but we finally made it. and it was nice and overcast - chilly, even. excellent.
we wrote our names down (real, twitter, and pinterest user) on a nametag, stuck 'em on, and went inside to investigate.
the shop was super duper tiny, but very well stocked with all of the coolest, cutest stuff.
i was almost glad i was flat broke - i could've spent a fortune in there. awesome japanese washi tape that i've only seen online!
products normally found at paper source, carried here under their parent company's brand name (waste not paper):
fun party goods that i wanted to scoop up just to have around - and maybe to save for the bean's birthday bash 4.0.
cool custom invitations, wedding favors and other fabulous party paraphernalia.
we met and made small talk with enid, the official pinterest representative at the shindig. but it was so crowded in the tiny shop that i didn't have the energy to ask if we could get a picture with her. oh, well. and then we made our way outside into the back, where there were even more super well-dressed, wine-chugging, cookie-munching chicks crammed together. at least outside, the air was cooler and fresher and easier to breathe. we managed to grab a few snacks and then just gave up and headed out.
lilcee was super excited to meet the lady behind oh joy! she's quite well-versed in the cool, hip local bloggers and while i hadn't ever seen this blog until - oh, the car ride down to venice - i enjoyed meeting her as well. we managed to get the teen to snap this shot of us with her and audrey, the owner of urbanic.
please excuse my weird head tilt, badly styled hair and dress that seemed so cute but actually makes me look like i'm about five months pregnant. bah. joy, on the other hand, IS pregnant - adorably so. i swear, i'm always the doofiest-looking chick in group photos. ugh.
on our way back to the car, we peeked at this, which had caught my eye as we sashayed to the meetup:
i'd really been hoping that it was a place to take trapeze lessons, but it looks more like some sort of garden or art museum. i'm so bad at this kind of stuff. and next door was an interesting-looking shop, but it was closed.
after debating a bit between crossing the street and having dinner at lemonade or having some familiar and oh-so-delicious garlic chicken at versailles, we opted for the latter. a few of our friends gave lemonade less than glowing reviews, not to mention that a pasadena outlet is opening sometime this summer. so we figured we'd get our chance to go eventually.
it was a fun evening all in all. we didn't really mingle a whole lot with the other meetup attendees, but no biggie. i felt a bit intimidated and overwhelmed as i often do when going out somewhere in west l.a. - the chicks are always so well-groomed, dressed to the nines, aloof. and then there's me - four weeks late for an eyebrow wax, outfitted in old navy, with an eager, dorky ass perma-grin on my face. yeah, i don't fit in too well.
but you know what? whatevs. i'm okay with that.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
“OMG, is that STILL on?”
why yes. yes, general hospital is still indeed on the air. and yes, i’m still watching! the annual fan club weekend happened over the summ...
