A hopeful farewell

MMMM...Buh Bye...ttyn.

Quick Little Trip

So I was feeling quite guilty that I did not take or do anything special with the boys during the entire Christmas vacation, er Holiday Break. I came up with the brilliant idea of taking them to Flagstaff to sled. They, of course were all for it and they got to skip a day of school to boot. I dug out mismatched gloves from a box called "winter stuff" in the back of the closet, bought 2 double sleds, insulated socks, a pack of ten hand warmers and off we went. Vince wasn't what I would call too jazzed about the whole little adventure, sledding is too closely related to roller coasters which he will take no part in. As always he didn't complain and came along smiling all the way. The boys and I on the other hand were ready to climb to the highest slope and shoot down at warp speed. Andrew wanted to double up with me while Alex preferred to go it alone. We were freezing but having a great time and then of course someone got hurt. Alex managed to flip mid air out of his sled and crash land onto his stomach. Any normal mother viewing this happen would have probably panicked, and I feel guilty that I didn't but he didn't land on his back or land in a way that I could see he broke a bone. He was fine, just twisted his back a little bit and was probably more embarrassed than anything else. He got up and decided he wanted to leave which was fine with me because I realized that sledding is really only fun for about 30 minutes anyway. As we were walking away Andrew said "Mom, he is such an over exaggerator".

I so do not feel like blogging right now so I will simply post some of the pics and bid adieu.

Saturday in the park, I think it was the Fourth of July

Actually it was a Friday and it was the Fourth of July. Backtracking a bit to last summer, I wanted to post some of my favorite pics from our Napa and San Francisco trip. Napa, or as my partner in crime Vince calls it, Disneyland for adults, was gorgeous. We ate and drank like kings. Noteworthy was Market,a lovely restaraunt located in the picturesque town of St. Helena. Here we ate decadent crab cakes drizzled with an avocado sauce to die for. All of the winery's are beautiful but I quickly realized that the sommelier makes all the difference in the experience. The best was an older gentleman at Chimney Rock. He was so cute and friendly and after we tasted, and loved the white Evelage Blanc he told us how that particular wine was served at the Sex and the City movie premier party at the request of the director. Opus One did not have the same warm atmosphere but the wine is simply the best. And St. Supery had such a great sommelier that we joined the wine-of-the-month club. Napa was fabulous.

I love San Francisco, it is a perfect city. Glorious weather year-round and the friendliest people you will ever find in a big city. As I mentioned we were there on July 4th and the city was buzzing. I am always struck when visiting how quietly it buzzes, it's so laid back and wonderful. We started out at Vesuvio, a Beat Generation historical landmark located just across the street from the City Lights bookstore. We ate sushi, drank sake, ate seafood, drank wine, window shopped, took self portraits, people watched and listened to a band play in the park. It was delicious.

New Beginnings

Dear Diary,

I never had a diary growing up. This is how I have rationalized now, at 34 glorious years of age, the need to blog. Girls that kept diaries were enigmas to me. "Really, you keep a diary?", I would ask curiously as instant admiration(jealousy) came over me. Oh believe me, the idea of keeping a diary was appealing and I believed that in order have a respectable adolescence experience the need for one was above all else. But yet....I never had one. Well, I had one or two or three with good intentions of making daily entries but I think they each have one page filled out. Much like the scrapbookers of today, the diary keepers were elusive creatures to me. A true Gemini, I lack the commitment and all of my grandiose ideas are as fleeting as the careers of American Idol winners.

Being commitment-challenged means not having a solid hobby, not to mention a proper book or cd collection. Will my children someday wonder what I liked to read, listen to or what art and photographs moved me? Being that they are of the male variety chances are slim, but you never know. Also, having Alzheimer's at my age seems kind of young. I took my son to the park today, the same park I would take both of my sons to play when they were babies and toddlers. I closed my eyes and tried my best to remember what they sounded like and which one liked to swing more than the other and I couldn't do it. Posting photos and stories of my children will be, by far, the most gratifying and treasured part of keeping this blog.

Okay, let's see if we can get to page two.