Homework Assignment and Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings

Well, I've put off writing my heartwarming salt story for so long, that now it feels like homework...

...so let me put it off for just another minute longer to tell you about a fantastic concert I went to the other night :) Talking about concerts is so much more fun than doing homework!

I'm not sure if anyone's noticed, but I'm kind of a soul music fanatic - soul music as in the 'classic' soul/R&B of the 60' and 70's, not to be confused with contemporary R&B. Ya dig? Wednesday I went with a friend to see Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings (Matt was so nice to take over my duties again). Sharon Jones is truly a throw back to the way soul used to done!!! And the Dap Kings, her band, are brilliant! They are known for having backed-up Amy Winehouse on several songs, including 'Rehab'. But dang if Amy Winehouse doesn't just give me the creeps with her tacky black widow hair, those scary Cleopatra eyes and her self-harming ways! It's not the Dap King's fault though. They can't help it that Amy's a crack head who needs a lifetime of rehab. Sharon Jones on the other hand has herself together, and they're her band.

Anywho, the show was one of the best and most fun I've ever attended. Case in point, check this out. Sharon does the dance moves she did growing up - she's 53, which means this is inspiring:

She danced like this most of the night! She pulled people up on stage to dance throughout the night as well, but if someone was boring, she kicked him/her off :D

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Then she did one of my my all time favorite songs, 'A Change Is Gonna Come'

This song (by Sam Cooke) is one of the greatest of all time in my opinion. It was very dramatic and wonderful - although I don't really think Obama is going to put any money in my pocket ;-)

A friend I hadn't seen in years came with me. Actually, she lived across the street from us and I labeled her house in my Google Earth post a couple weeks back. She's Tracy. We've recently been in contact again thanks to facebook :) We had a great time catching up on our lives and visiting, and even though we've grown to be political and religious polar opposites, she's kind of like a family member you haven't seen for a long long time, but makes you feel like home because you did so much together as kids and she knows you so well. She was a huge part of my childhood, and it was lovely seeing her again - plus, she loves this kind of music too. Thanks for the fun Miss T!

So, it was a wonderful evening, and if you made it through all the videos, you're invited to come the next time I go see SJ&TDK :) And there will be a next time!!!

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Okay, fun's over - on to my homework...

When my poor mother was released from the hospital, she was in a bad bad way! The infection that had gone into her blood and caused kidney failure had left her profoundly weak, and her asthma had become a problem from lying in bed so long. But they always send people home as soon as they're not on their death beds anymore, so home we went (to Susanville).

Okay, that's enough of that - I'm boring myself, sheesh...will finish it soon and liven it up a bit...

Flair Achievement

Tonight I had every intention of writing my riveting and epic tale of low sodium gastronomic achievement, but instead I made my very first flair :)

How 'bout a roundhouse kick to the face in those bad boys Chuck Norris

My heartwarming tale of low sodium culinary delight coming soon...

Chia Obama to be Available in Two Different Looks

OMGoodness! No Cool Story over at More Cowbell has informed me that Chia Obama will come in two different looks: determined and happy. I definitely prefer the 'determined' pose

but I'll probably end up getting both! I'm thinking it might be a good idea to buy them all up Dwight Schrute style...they'll be available March 20, 2009 - mark your calendars!!!

And thanks NCS for the video :)

I can't wait to start my indoor garden :)

Click here for some fascinating Chia Pet history

Chia Obama

Hey, look! Two posts in one day...

I don't think I can live another day with an Obama Chia Pet!!!!!

♫ Cha cha cha chia ♫

Feeling the Love and Handicap Parking Righteousness

Do you know I feel very honored this week? First was my lovely homecoming and subsequent joy over the makeover on Eva and Sophie's room, coupled with the satisfaction of Matt having not been a perfect mother (but he was very close). Oh, and seeing my family again and being fawned all over too ;-) Then the Crash Test Dummy made me her featured follower of the week, and each time I look at her blog, there I am :) I just love seeing my name in lights like that - and you should all check out her blog because you'll smile a lot, and sometimes maybe tear-up a little. Then, yesterday, I went over to my friend Julie's blog, and she had an entire post dedicated just to ME! I just about fell out of my chair, only it's flanked by arm rests, so I didn't. Did you know that Julie drives a mean getaway minivan when your out toilet papering with your girlfriends? Too bad she went and moved way out to Ferntucky! Thank you for the very flattering post Julie (it really went to my head). Then, on top of all of that, J-Lo showed up in my comment box tonight after a six week maternity leave from blog stalking, and mentioned that she rocked her sweet little Joe Cypress to sleep listening to Aretha Franklin's 'You Send Me' that is on my current playlist. I just feel like my birthday keeps going on and on and on....

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Look what I found in my car after I arrived home from my mother's on Monday...

...her handicap parking placard.

Did you know that there are no handicap parking placards available on e-bay? I checked because I wondered if I could make enough money to get a Nikon D-90. I was surprised there weren't any up for auction, but then I read the small print.

You do the math - it just doesn't add up to being worth it. That's twice the price of my dream camera ;-)

So, the placard was relinquished to my mother today, and without even having been taken advantage of one single time while out shopping. Yes people, that's the kind of superior human being I am. I had it for three days and never used it. Not once. I've always aspired to be a role model, and now I truly am. I'm just not the kind of person who takes advantage of excellent parking spots with her ill mother's handicap parking placard, or who would auction it off on e-bay for anything less than the amount of the fine that would have to be paid for using it illegally. I didn't even send Ella in to grocery shop for me and stay in the car pretending to be a handicap person who doesn't feel like getting her wheelchair out, that's how righteous I am. Don't you kind of love it when that happens though? When a handicapped person parks in a handicap spot, but stays in the car while the able bodied person goes shopping? That's nerve!

Tonight I'm in Susanville again with my mom. She was having some pain and her doctor wanted her to come to Reno to check her out (I followed her home afterward). Apparently the infection which caused one of her kidneys to fail is still lingering, so she's back on some antibiotics, but is still much improved from last week. I'll probably only be here for one night.

Now it's late and I don't have time to write about how I became an expert low sodium chef last week. Too bad! It's a riveting story, but it'll just have to wait until next time...

Ciao for now peeps :)

He Really Does Love Me

Either that, or he was really tired of looking at the mess spilling out of Eva and Sophie's room when he reached the top of the stairs. I happen to think it was because he loves me though. When I came home last night from being at my mom's for nine days, I was greeted with a completely organized and revamped kid's room! Oh how my heart soared!!! I mean really high! I feel like a new person, like a weight has been lifted, as if I can do anything in the entire world to which I set my mind - like clean my closet and finish the garage. Oh the joy! All the clothes have been gone through, the old and unused toys gotten rid of, the closet cleaned, drawers organized, and under the bed cleaned out.

But you know what else was wonderful about my homecoming? There was a huge pile of clean laundry on the bed to be folded, a huge pile of dirty laundry needing to be washed, homework unfinished, a spelling test failed because it hadn't been studied for, boxes and boxes of cold cereal that made up the bulk of their nine day diet, and several appointments missed. See, he did something extraordinary that made me very happy and has motivated me to finish some things that need to be finished already, but then he didn't do such an extraordinary job with everything else as to put me to shame. So nice of him to not have been a perfect mother - that would have been depressing. It was just the right balance of keeping the kids alive/happy (okay, way better than that), getting them almost everywhere they needed to be, and doing something for me that I'd been dreading and putting off for a long time. It was so lovely, I let him know exactly how glad I was to be home :)

Birthday Weekend Blowout, Rachel's Travel Guide Edition, Part 3, the Finale

Image overload warning!!! But I need to get this birthday bash over with already, so I'm doing it all in one post. And I just don't believe in photo brevity anyway. Brevity may well be the soul of wit, but it's not the soul of a pictorial - or my blog :)

I'm still in Susanville by the way. My mom is gaining her strength back slowly but surely, and I'm caught up on all the chick flicks I've been meaning to watch! And then some. I should be going home on Monday.

Now, on to lots and lots of pictures :)

Cable car still adorned in its holiday decor. I wonder if that man is using the Nikon D-90 I've been dreaming of?

Looking down California Street from the sidewalk. The Cathay House Restaurant pagoda facade and The Bay Bridge are in view.

View of California Street from our table at The Cathay House.

We also had this to view, and also siting below this church, a little old Chinese man playing his little ehru. He was playing 'Auld Lang Syne' both times we passed him.

The Transamerica Building from Chinatown.

Matt finds souvenirs for the girls in Chinatown - soapstone Chinese zodoac stamps with their names personalized in Chinese

Hopefully, he didn't carve anything vulgar.

Grant Street

This shop looks inviting and beautiful, but most stores in Chinatown are filled to capacity with pure cheap junk - and guess where it's all made? Chinatown must hold a record for cheap junk per square foot. But it sure is festive!

The lanterns are lit at night

I could walk the streets of San Francisco all day just looking at fire escapes. I would save all the drama in my life for a fire escape if I had one. I would talk on the phone on my fire escape, read books, get a tan, think deeply, cry, be happy, commune with God, solve the mysteries of the universe, yell at the kids from it, maybe even take a nap on it - if I didn't have so many sleeping issues. After dark, it would be like The West Side Story meets Breakfast at Tiffany's west, and Matt would sneak up to see me and declare his love for me under the stars. Then we'd sing a sweet duet before he goes off and accidentally kills Bernardo while trying to stop a rumble between the Jets and the Sharks. Then I would grab a little guitar (Ella's) and sing 'Moon River', and then I would go save Cat in the rain. Then I would grab the laptop and blog about all the drama in my life from my fire escape. I don't think I would hang my laundry out to dry on it though, because I don't like hanging laundry out to dry. In fact, I don't like laundry at all.

A Street in the North Beach Neighborhood, just west of Chinatown

There was a wonderful little record store in North Beach. Do you remember that I love nesting dolls? But what I really wanted was that microphone! I could sing some pretty awesome karaoke with it!

A lovely bride with Sts. Peter & Paul Church in the background, North Beach

Pizza fans waiting their turn to eat the best pizza EVAH!

On the outside looking in (an Oingo Boingo flashback)

Can you believe he doesn't write, or even read poetry anymore? He only did that when we were dating to impress me, because he's sweet like that :)

There are no words. 'Nuff said...

An inviting alley

The next morning, on my actual birthday, breakfast was delivered to our door, Matt served it to me bed, we ate, and then took a nap :) But it was soon time to check out and go pick up the girls at Marv and Joanie's (in-laws). When we arrived in the afternoon, they had a delicious birthday meal ready for us - shrimp pasta, tri-tip, vegetables, salad and garlic bread. It was a lovely ending to a lovely weekend! Thanks Marv and Joanie for watching your grand-kids ;-) Was wonderful of you!

It's always a crap-shoot when you ask a stranger to take a picture for you

p.s. Nie Nie's new post made me cry

No Flair Respect for Bruce Lee

Tonight I was going to blog about taking my mother to a doctors appointment in Reno (I'm helping her recuperate in Susanville), her slow recovery, cooking low sodium meals for her, my short visit home, and American Idol. But, after browsing flair on facebook (I've just recently become addicted (to flair)), I noticed an inexplicable over abundance of Chuck Norris buttons...

...and a complete lack of any for Bruce Lee.

I had Bruce Lee on the brain because I had been looking at my San Francisco pics (retrieved during my visit home) and came across this one

I spotted this amazing 'licensed' Bruce Lee t-shirt in Chinatown while making our way to North Beach Pizza. Its total awesome awesomeness overwhelmed me, and I couldn't help myself - I had to take a picture. I knew Bruce would have wanted me to. I was almost busted by a tiny Asian woman though, who came flying out to stop me, but Matt had given me a warning. We're sly like that.

Oh man, Bruce Lee was a babe!!! I love him in the open collar shirt with the criss-cross leather string. And not only was he a babe, he totally wiped the Colosseum floor with Chuck Norris' hairy chest in 'The Way of the Dragon'. So why the lack of flair respect for Bruce?

Check out :32 - Chuck Norris has wall to wall carpeting that goes all the way over his shoulders onto his back, and Bruce Lee grabs a handful of it. That right there just proves he could read Bella's mind way better than Chuck, and that it was he who taught the Jedi - not Chewbacca. Then at 5:36, a kitten tries to cast a spell on one of them. I'm not sure on whom, but it doesn't work if it was to help Chuck - his final effort is in vain.

So who are these people making all the Chuck Norris flair, and how is it they don't know that Bruce Lee is the reason vampires are so pale? Pale with fear...

New Project and the Miracle that is Google Earth

Google earth is a miracle. You really can zoom in on 'stuff', like my childhood home for instance, where my step-dad still lives, and where my childhood backyard is now littered with Buicks. In my youth, there were only 4, maybe 5 retired cars in the backyard, and an RV on the front lawn that was only just removed a couple years ago (it's mentioned in this post). Now there are 13 (I believe the car in the front driveway doesn't run, and there's one in the shade as well), and room for more it looks like. You could say he's OCD - to an unfathomable degree. But I'm not posting this talk about that, so much as I do to kick off a series about all the places (houses) I've lived, which is twenty, I think. I got on google earth a couple years ago and mapped out each place, but it's all on our other computer. I could ask my mom where I started (I don't remember exactly), but she's napping at the moment, and I'm itchin' to get started! So here, 134th Place in Hawthorne, California is where I begin.

We moved to this house when I was in the fourth grade, and moved out when I was in the tenth. I guess that means I only spent 6-7 years here, but it still feels like where I grew up in entirety. It's kind of like how you have the music of your youth (KROQ), a bishop of your youth (Bishop Burnell), a prophet of your youth (Pres. Kimball), the bike of your youth (red Scwhinn strand cruiser with handle bar pad for riding double), etc.. This is the house of my youth!

A closer look reveals the car of my youth, a yellow 1973 Buick Estate Station Wagon, lying in google earth repose behind the garage (to the left with rusted hood). It was retired to the backyard shortly before we moved out. And there it still sits. Oh the memories! They don't make 'em like that anymore! I posted some memories about that car once here.

And now my mom is awake and I'm off to cook something.

Oh, and I just might go hog wild crazy tonight watching American Idol - me thinks there could be a cat fight this season...

Part 3 of San Francisco has to wait until I'm home, where the rest of my photos are on the other computer.

Birthday Weekend Blowout, Rachel's Travel Guide Edition, Part 2 - Ferry Ride and Cable Car Advice

Tonight I'm posting this from Susanville, Ca., where I'm staying with my mother for a few days (at least). I brought her home from the hospital today, and she is now well on her way, it seems (we hope and pray), to recovery from kidney failure and a septic blood infection - yikes. I am now her nurse, but I'm much nicer than Nurse Ratchet - most of the time...

Matt will be handling things at home with the girls, and I hear they've LOADED up on the cereal!!! And not the healthy, may or may not, lower your cholesterol kind.

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So, on with Part 2

We stayed in Tiburon at a little hotel we've stayed at before called The Waterfront Hotel. This time, we had a room with a view :)

View from our tiny balcony

Daytime view of the city from our hotel's deck

The Hotel is right on the water, as is obvious from the photos, and there is a ferry dock only a couple hundred yards away. Since it was such a beautiful day, we decided to take the ferry into to San Francisco, even though the last ferry was scheduled to come back at 4 pm. The views were worth our day in the city being shortened, especially since we had our car to go back later :)

Alcatraz

Transamerica Building

View up Hyde Street from the bay

View down Hyde Street from the back of a cable car

Further up Hyde

We didn't really have a plan for the day - we only knew that we wanted to eat delicious food! When we arrived, we decided to walk down to the Hyde Street cable car turnaround area. Hopping a cable car a block up from the turnaround is one of my favorite things to do in San Francisco. Let me tell you why, and by the way, this happens to be very valuable information for anyone who ever travels there. Pay me now, thank me later. I love it because there are always a bunch of poor saps waiting in line (yes, I was once a poor sap too), sometimes literally for hours (especially during the summer months), and none of them know that they can catch one at every intersection :D They think they have to have to buy a ticket at the booth near the turnaround, but they can buy one right on the trolley from the driver, and get on whenever the car stops, which is all the time, not even counting the cross streets. They don't ever fill the cars to capacity when the load them because they know they'll be picking people up along the way. There's usually room right on the back end, which is where you want to be for the best view of the bay. Does it make me a bad person that it warms my heart to hop a trolley and enjoy knowing that everyone on it is a suckah (like we were before we discovered this trick)?

Part 3 coming soon...

A Re-post, South East Reno's Wild Horses - My Pictorial

This is a re-post, my first. Every blogger does a re-post at some point, right? It's kind of an unwritten rule of blogging. It took me a long time to figure out how some people are able to publish their pictures much larger and clearer than the pictures the up-loader on blogger publishes - photobucket.com people! I'm kind of slow, I know, especially for a person who loves to post pictures. So I've redone these to look much better. You know, I feel like an artist when I look at them...maybe I am. I'm a little too proud of my work I think. I may re-size a few even larger. But now I have to finish putting Christmas away, visit my mother and fold a gigantic pile of laundry - a pile so large and vast, it strikes fear in my very soul just thinking about it.

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No one would really know it by this blog, but I'm not really a horse lover - per se. I never dreamed of having a pony as a little girl. I never collected horse figurines or had horse posters on my bedroom walls. I even horrified Ella by laughing during the movie Flicka, when Tim McGraw (easy on the eyes and ears, but a terrible actor) was going to shoot Flicka, and his daughter, dramatically strewn across the horse says, "it's okay, you can shoot us." That just killed me and I had to laugh out loud. I felt pretty bad when Ella looked at me with tears streaming down her face.

So, I've never really taken an interest in horses, until we moved out to this part of town where wild horses roam the hills. They're fascinating to watch, in my opinion. They're graceful, playful, maternal, protective, violent, territorial, curious and friendly. Unfortunately, I'm the only one in the family who thinks so :D No one else shares my enthusiasm :(

I've watermarked these pictures. Mostly it makes me feel kind of important, but I also want to make some money if National Geographic tries to use them. In fact, I'm pretty sure National Geographic will be contacting me soon, providing me with hundreds of thousands of dollars in new equipment, and offering me a featured $pread in their magazine. I'm sure you will agree ;-)

The wild horses tie Reno's landscape together so well I think!

Near the Toll Brothers development

Downtown Reno in the background

Over looking the Donner Springs/Hidden Valley areas, and Sparks

Siesta time

Upon waking

A few of them need some Rogaine

Over looking the Damonte Ranch High School Mustangs football field

Above the Reynon and Bardis development, Peavine Mountain in the background

Seen better days

My grandmother always hated it when my bangs would hang in my eyes like that. This black one is a bad a** stallion, and he was staring me down. I've named him 'The Black Hand'. But don't worry, I was ready to jump in my car

Above Damonte Ranch High School

Munching on the native grasses

Mt. Rose in the background

I see you

In the wetlands