Family Time!

Super fun weekend with the fam! Had to love the moment when we're all hanging out by the pool at my sister Brynna's apartment complex, and I met her neighbor, a nice 20-something year old guy.

Him (jokingly, I think): So, are you as mean as your sister?

Me (totes serious, of course): Actually, I'm meaner.

Him: Really?

My whole family sits there nodding in agreement to confirm my claim. No protests!




















With my favorite kid in the whole world! We were splashing each other with water from fountain.





























With the B-Note














Plus Mom..

Things I love about being with my family on Christmas

This year, my aunt arrives late-ish on Christmas morning with a plastic sack. She tells each of us to reach in and pull out one item. What does it turn out to be? Kazoos. Her boyfriend had bought us all kazoos to use while opening gifts (to add to and/or replace our usual response of clapping for an opened gift - good or bad). Well, we couldn't wait for that. We immediately launched into "singing" Christmas carols in unison with our kazoos, and then we followed that up with rounds of Row, Row, Row Your Boat. We went a bit kazoo crazy, if you will. I love it!

For all who celebrate Christmas, I wish you a very happy holiday! I just finished wrapping my gifts at 10:22pm, which, I have to say, is typical of my procrastinating self. It's fun, though, and I'm excited for everyone to open them. This year I also made a donation to Toys for Tots on behalf of my family, because they are hurting so much in the bad economy. I know everyone has their struggles right now, but it's overwhelming to think about all the people who are going without during a really difficult time.

My ankle is on the road to recovery, thank you. It's still really bruised and swollen a bit, but it's starting to feel more normal. It's all snow, snow, and more snow here, which has been fun and cozy. Mom, Trav, and I made a snow man with roses for eyes in the side yard. Trav and I built a fort (slash castle, slash tent, slash dog house...) next to the Christmas tree out of a card table and blankets. We've spent a lot of time there. We also like to make up little songs and play lots of games involving pretend. We watched Wall-E, and now Trav and I seek out sheets of bubble wrap to pop like Wall-E and Eve. We read books at night, and I give all his bedtime buddies a talking to about behaving themselves while Travis rests. I adored having this time with the Trav man. We've bonded.

I've been a bit domestic lately in my faux single mom state. Well, Mols arrived today, so I'm no longer like a single mother, but I was a bit domestic. I made Christmas treats and even cooked dinner for the family one night. Nothing fancy, of course, but the point is, I cooked. My kitchen is the most unused room in my apartment at home. Now that my duties are over I can go back to my carefree, snarky, single girl ways pronto. I'm working on it.

So, I watched It's a Wonderful Life for the first time while here, and I have to ask if I'm the only one who sympathizes with George's mental breakdown after every attempt he makes to ditch Bedford Falls is stomped on? It was frustrating to watch, so it seems completely understandable that he'd go a little nuts, even if his life was pretty good anyway. For one thing, it's feels like a long movie (I don't know how long it really is), so I was feeling kind of mental after a while during, but, B. mainly I can't blame a guy for wanting to expand his horizons by escaping a podunk town for a while and getting an education. I wanted to shout, Go to Europe, George! Go to colllege! See the world! And, come on, I hardly believe that the lovely Mary would end up a dowdy librarian in BF if George hadn't swooped in to marry her. And, I wondered why all the angels were men. Hmmm. I realize this movie was probably great in it's time. I'm glad I finally saw it. But, for me, it's a Wonderful Life was not so wonderful.

There hasn't been much out in movie land lately that I'm excited about, which is a bummer. I'm really looking forward to seeing Revolutionary Road, but that's about it.

I have lots of things planned for the new year! Classes (I'm signed up for winter!), Paris, giving online dating a whirl again (already in works), really learning at least a little French before my trip (I brought my stuff here, but it hasn't happened with all the three year oldness around me). I plan to report on these things soon whether you're interested or not. But, for now, my presence is requested in the pool table room to play some stick.

Merry Christmas!

Hello, hello! I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving! I made mashed potatoes using herbs from my garden (very exciting!), bought $12 worth of Humboldt Fog cheese and a bottle of champagne, packed up the car, and drove down to Portland to spend the long weekend with my sisters and Trav. Trav's dad, Joe, and friend Jake joined us for a delicious dinner (chicken for them, tofurky for us), and we spent an enjoyable time eating, talking, and playing a fun card game that was new to me late into the evening. After drinking mimosas and wine throughout the day, and finishing the night with vodka mixed with Hansen's raspberry soda, Mols and I got a bit punchy. We laughed hysterically over things that could only be funny to us, such as the sexy shoulder shake and saying "Oil can!" out of the sides of our mouths a la the tin man from the Wizard of Oz.

Yeah. New to the card game, I lost quite a bit at first. The loser is supposed to shuffle, but I don't like to shuffle, and in my buzzed state I refused to do so, leaving poor Jake to deal the cards every time.

Oh, and I showed everyone my book, which I'll tell you about in a minute.

Friday night, we all took Trav to see the Zoo Lights. We left after the zoo closed, and as we pulled out of the parking lot, Trav started to wiggle around and promptly announced that he had to go to the bathroom. With no bathroom in sight, the four adults consulted and determined that we could pull over to the side of the road near the freeway entrance so he could go. But, when I came to a stop, he took one look, apparently decided roadside whizzing was undignified, and stated that he could wait until we got home. Are you sure? Yeah! So, off we went, with Trav asking a couple of times when we'd be home. About halfway there, we all were chatting, and Mols and Joe missed telling me a turn. As I circled around a few blocks to get back on track, driving through a quiet street, we slowed down to consult on the best way to go. Suddenly, a little three year old voice from the backseat called out with urgency, "I'm having an emergency!" I quickly veered to the side of the road and screeched to a halt. Mols speedily unhooked Trav from his seat, Jake hopped out the passenger side, moving the seat up so Trav and Joe could climb out, and they hightailed it over to a quiet spot where Trav relieved himself on some pavement.

I'm having an emergency!

So, the book. Last weekend, our Israel group got together for the first time since returning at the end of August. One of the totally amazing students, who took picture after picture everywhere we went, put together a book (you have to understand, a *real* book-book!) of photos of all of us in Israel. It. Is. Gorgeous. Well, minus the fact that in every picture with me is either from the back or the side or only includes a part of me (like, let's say, my boob when I'm sitting next to someone at lunch), AND/OR I'm either looking away, looking bored, making a funny face, or eating something. But, you know. Whatever. Besides that, it's fabulous, and it's not stopping me from showing it to absolutely everyone and giving what's turning out to be my "lecture" on the trip. It triggers a lot of memories, so I can just talk and talk! Most of my friends are now aware of this. If you know me, beware if you see me armed with it and heading your way. I even made the big boss at work take a look, although I condensed down the lecture since he's a very busy man. The book is dedicated in memory of the lovely Rosemary, which is completely perfect.

Friend Casey pointed out that I could have something special with the boob shots. I could do some garden gnome type thing at various international destinations. "Look, here's my boob in Paris next to some French guy. Here's my boobs at the wailing wall. There they are at the Taj Mahal!" We'll see.

Speaking of friend Casey, remind me one day to tell you about the email exchange I had with him and his friend, J, about the perceived bennies of dating divorced women with kids. As you can imagine, I had a lot to say about THAT! It was intense. At one point, one of the boys even brought Guitar Hero into the discussion.

Ooooo, and read Casey's story here at Thieves Jargon!

Welcome Charlie!

As you may recall, Charlie is the new addition to the R. family. My parents rescued him from foster care when we were all in Portland for Trav's birthday. He seemed like a nice guy. But, there was another side lurking under the surface. That alone means he fits right in with us! I guess he's a bit of a handful with his persistent and constant need to play, his lack of discipline, his penchant for tearing around the neighborhood without a care, and his resistance to behaving like a normal dog. The way I see it, these traits make him even more likable (who here doesn't lack discipline?), but I may be singing a different tune when I spend significant time with him around the holidays.

On a day that's a bit gray, things that make me happy are:

- Pumpkin-spice scented candles

- Learning that when Molly and Trav went to the pet store to buy a Beta fish, Trav promptly named him/her That Guy. I want a fish named That Guy! Molly got him to change it to Blue, though, so now Monice and I are encouraging her to get Trav to say, "You're my boy, Blue!!"

- Thinking about the impromptu dance party my sisters, Trav, and I had while I was visiting them. My sisters and I watched the Sex and the City movie while Trav was napping, and he woke up at the end, so we all started dancing around the kitchen and living room for about 10 minutes to the closing credits music. What I want to know is, do all families do stuff like this and just not talk about it?

- Remembering Monice and I hiding under our hats while standing with all the teenie boppers in the front rows of the Nada Surf show at Bumbershoot. Thinking about that always makes both of us smile.

- The song "Human" by the Killers.

- Trav announcing to Molly and me that he's "a talker." It's so true! Runs in the family, but it's non-stop with him.

- A coupon for free body butter at the Body Shop! Yay!

- Finding the cutest pair of red shoes for under $20 at a consignment shop in Portland.

- Reminding myself that the elections will soon be over, hopefully with a good outcome. I'm hopeful and optimistic, although I'm not excited about the hours it's going to take me to fill out my ballot. It's a dosie this year. Yowza.

I'm going to keep adding more as I think of them. I write down stuff that makes me happy in a journal at home. I call it my Joy Journal to be silly. Today, the blog is my Joy Journal.

Photo Madness

In one shot I'm taking a nice pic with Trav...
















...in the next suddenly I'm Jessica Rabbit.

















My sisters and I pose for a pic...

















...this is us a mere moment before.
















My sis and I thought it'd be nice to have a pic together by some pretty foliage, so we ended up...

...nuzzling leaves and...

















...crouching down by car tires and...

















...cutting off parts of our heads and...

















...finally getting it close to right while sitting on a sidewalk in front of someone's house. People walked by looking at us like we're crazy. I don't think I've laughed so hard in a long time.




















Trav and I can't quite get it right...













































...so finally we both give up.















:-)

I think I'm getting a cold. I've been in close contact lately with peeps who have colds, and now I have the congested, scratchy throat, tired feeling that only happens at the start of a cold. Hmph!

But, in spite of my somewhat sickly state, I have fun things to report.

Now that my beloved Sunset Bowling Alley is closed (boo. Am very sad), I've discovered a new one in Shoreline called Spin Alley. Spin Alley is hilarious to me, because not only is it a bowling alley, it's also a post office. I don't understand the thought process behind the bowling alley/post office combo, but my next bowling partay is going to have a mail theme. The good news is that they seem better organized and like I may be able to plan an actual party with a reservation there. That was not Sunset's strong point. Every time, I ended up at the counter arguing with them about how they effed up my rezzie (or attempted rezzie), while all twelve party people ended up crammed into one lane. Good times.

Friend Jen has decided that Megalomania has a whole new meaning: I heart Meg = Megalomania. I enjoy the sentiment, but the fact is that she thought of it while heading to the bathroom at work. In her message to me she said it "just came to her" as she was on her way to take a whiz. Hmmmm. Thanks.

I have to say that I've been loving the lovely girls in my life even more than usual lately. Maybe because they all make me laugh so much. They are the best!

My mom and sisters are pretty funny, too. Mols now refers to my rental car as the "Hoopty" and it's caught on. After a dinner out the other night, Em gave me a ride to my fabulous car. She'd never seen it, so I had to shout out, "There it is! There's the Hoopty!" so she could come to a screeching halt in front of it. Em laughed and laughed. In the response to my news about driving around the C300, friend Shannon emails, "My brain can't even create that mental picture..." Really. I'm counting down the days until I can ditch the Hoopty.

Hilariously Awkward Conversation with Mother

I finally caught up with my mom by phone after a couple of weeks of not connecting. In response to her questioning about a recent and unexpected romantic night out with boy (this is what happens when you and your mom become more like "friends"), I finally admitted that, in our time together, boy and I kept things pretty innocent and did not get "serious" (my mom's wording, but you know what I mean).

Mom: "I see. Who made that decision?"

Crap! Instant major dilemma in head. How do I explain this one? The answer feels complicated somehow. Primarily, I don't want to admit that boy behaved more responsibly than me. I rambled on for a while about how it was a mutual decision. We discussed. Boy was perfect gentleman, no pressure, and blahbitty blah.

Mom sits there in silence. Waiting. She sees through me. I crack.

Me: "Fine! It was the right choice, but it was really tough for me, OK?!?!"

Mom (laughing): "Uh huh. I'm sure you're right that it was a good decision. I must say that I'm sorry to hear that YOU weren't the one putting a stop to things, though."

Hmph. Really. There must be limits on the things you discuss with your mother. I'm not going there again.

Hall & Oates IM Convo With Em

Em: So, I usually have a stack of CDs on my desk at work, and I guess this guy has been taking them and ripping them when I'm not here. So, to thank me he brought over a bunch of CDs of his for me to rip. And there were six Hall and Oates CDS. I was like, um...thanks.

Me: Hall and Oates - wtf???

Em: I know! I asked, did you get these from the library? He said, "No, I own them."

Me: You even gave him an out with the library question.

Em: I know! I mean, I can get into a little Maneater every now and then...but I'm not going to buy all their albums.

Me: This story is killing me.

Me: Oh-oh here she comes. Watch out boy she'll chew you up! (We then proceeded to randomly IM each other with lines from Hall and Oates songs for the rest of the day.)

Em: LOL! Have been giggling about it for days. I should have been like, do you have any Kajagoogoo?

Me: Seriously. Thanks for the Hall and Oates!

Em: I mean, I have CDs I wouldn't really want to bring in to work and advertise that I own them.

Me: Journey, anyone?

Em: But not H&O's whole catalog.

Me: Even one is questionable.

Em: Exactly. "Hey, I brought Wham in!!!"
...

Are you entertained?

One morning while I was still asleep, Mols told Trav, in front of Bryn and FS, that I was still resting or something. Trav misheard (apparently), looked thoughtful for a moment, and responded, "Yeah, Mommy. Bacon is bossy." Needless to say, B and FS were totally cracking up and nodding in agreement. That kid has my number, but the truth is that he is way bossier than I could even try to be. During my stay he was constantly insisting, "C'mon Bacon! Let's pway!...Let's pway, Bacon! Let's pway!...Bacon! Magnadoodle!...Bacon! Books!...Bacon! Tooshies!!"

Tooshies is a game I accidentally made up for him. Somehow Trav and I ended up sliding down the stairs on our bums one morning one painful step at a time, and I made silly comments as I landed on each one like, "Ow! That really hurts my tushy!" Zozo would copy what I'd say and giggle lots. Later that day he headed toward the stairs shouting, "Tooshies, Bacon!" and we ended up playing it several more times. Now that I'm gone, Molly gets roped into Tooshies, much to her dismay. She commented on how she loves how I teach him these things and then leave.

Trav is funny when he wakes up in the morning. He now has a little toddler bed, but he won't just get up to wake up his mom or wander around. Nope. Instead he sits up in there and bellows, "MOMMA! MOMMAAAAAAA! MOMMAAAAAA!" until Mols wakes up and shouts back for him to come into her room. It's noisy but adorable.

Molly and I rented the Darjeeling Limited and 2 Days in Paris Saturday night. I really liked both. The reviews I'd read for Darjeeling weren't so hot, many basically called the film self-important crap, so I wasn't expecting much. While I can see that perspective--there were definitely contrived to the core story lines--I thought it was full of endearing moments and beautiful scenery. But, I say if you weren't already a Wes Anderson fan when you watch this one, it's probably not going to make you one now. I enjoyed Owen Wilson as the incredibly bossy older brother. (Even he is bossier than me.) And, both he and Jason Schwartzman had great lines. I loved Jason S. running through the hall of the train, after macing his brothers, yelling "Stop including me!" Julie Delpy's writing in 2 Days is so good, and I absolutely adore her character for being unabashedly messy and strange, yet so likable and hilarious, even when you're sitting there cringing over her actions. I'm in to movies that feel like real life, and this one definitely captured kooky family dynamics and complicated human behavior in relationships. Plus...the balloons.

I returned home to find that Emily had left me Shoot 'Em Up as a gift. Yessssss! Now I can watch testy, sexy Clive Owen any time I want.

I'm in Portland for a long weekend to visit my sisters and Trav. Time with the girls and Zozo is always good for my soul. Today, during breakfast, Trav turned to me and busted out with, "You're Megan R." It was so funny and cute, because until now he'd always just called me Bacon (never adding in the R like some other people in my life do), and now he interchanges Megan and Bacon.






















This morning we spent a lot of time playing, and then we spent the afternoon, after a quick stop at the toy store, at the Portland Children's Museum. It's a really cool place with lots of neat activities for little ones. We had a fantastic couple of hours exploring! The purple on my face is Trav's artistic face painting creation.

It's a musical sensation! (Sorry so dark. The room was very dimly lit and Mols took this quick clip with her camera.)



Back to play time, peeps.

I'm hanging out at the Portland airport waiting for my flight home. Unlike Seattle, both San Diego and Portland airports offer free wireless (Portland's is way faster than San Diego, though), which is great for those of us wanting to delete a bunch of junk email from our work accounts or write blog posts or just surf the net to kill time. I ended up extending my stay in K Falls by a day, and I'm so glad I did, but it feels like I've been away from home for a really long time now.

I had a fantastic time in San Diego with my friend Shannon. Not only does it feel like I've been away for ages, but it also feels like that trip was weeks ago. We made the most of our two days! Like I said in my previous post, it was really great, for once, having time together that didn't feel rushed, yet we found plenty to do to occupy our time. We talked and talked and talked, and we saw lots of cool stuff. We didn't rent a car, because the two of us in a car seems to always lead to "issues" like parking problems, sketchy directions (as well as sense of direction), and near misses of all varieties. Believe me, it's not pretty. We quickly became pros at the Trolley (with only a few minor mishaps) and encountered a series of quirky cab drivers who entertained us. Oh, and we gave the bus a whirl for one outing. Favorite line from the bus experience: "I think my quarter is in your pants!" More on that later.

In our two days, we explored the Gaslamp Quarter, tried a variety of different restaurants with varying success, ate yummy sundaes at Ghirardelli, visited Old Town, walked from Pacific Beach to Mission Beach (or vice versa, I'm not really sure), shopped, and spent several hours at Balboa Park on Friday. Balboa Park is really lovely and HUGE, so although we saw a lot of interesting stuff there, we didn't even make it to the zoo. However, we did make it to the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit at the Natural History Museum, which was a must for me once I found out about it. I came across a pamphlet for that exhibit during our adventures on Thursday and had it clutched in my hand the rest of the day, mentioning it at pretty much every turn. I think I drove Shannon a bit bonkers with that one, so it was a relief--for her, I'm sure--to finally get to see it.

Going to that exhibit just felt completely fitting, and I really enjoyed and learned so much from it. Shannon was the perfect person to experience this with, since she and I have had so many conversations about religion and spirituality over the years. Plus, over the last year and a half or so, I've had religion on the brain. It's come up for me in lots of different contexts and, although I have a handle on what I believe and why, grasping how it fits into the overall construct of Religion is very cloudy for me. Even though I don't have a desire at all to fit in to one particular belief system, I want to better understand the history and diversity of beliefs over time. I've grown more and more curious about this and what it means in terms of the big picture of human existence. I have questions, which are leading me toward further exploration and discovery. My hope is to have a sense of how religion--Christianity in particular right now--has developed and changed over the centuries, and, perhaps most interesting and somewhat baffling to me, why participating in a formal religious system is so important to so many people, when for me the simple act of believing (what it is that I believe) and my own inner knowing is what brings me peace and fulfillment. And, truth be told, I'm disturbed by many things that happen in the world in the name of religion and, overall, tend to believe pretty firmly that religion of the masses does more harm than good. For the most part, I just don't get it.

This isn't to say that I feel spiritually adrift in any way. I don't. My beliefs, unconventional as they may be, feel very right to me. Rather, I think, like most people, I'm a truth seeker. Even if I question the validity of the historical documentation we have, the idea of getting closer to the truth is intriguing and irresistible. I don't want to put a limit on this. I feel it's incredibly important to stay open to possibility, change in how I think, and new understanding throughout life, and I hope to always have questions.

This aspiration is what made seeing the Dead Sea Scrolls so great. It's another piece of the puzzle, and now I'm really interested in reading that interpretation of the bible. Over the last several years, my spiritual curiosity has driven me to learn about and practice meditation. It's sparked my interest in energy healing, yoga, tarot, karma, manifestation and the law of attraction, and I like to learn about these things through books, courses, movies, articles, blogs, etc. I'm excited about the possibility of attending an Abraham-Hicks workshop this summer. It's led me to read parts of the bible and, as conflicted as I feel about it as a whole, I adore, for example, sections on love in the First Letter of John and other passages of enduring love, hope and forgiveness. Also, I picked up a copy of the U.S. News & World Report Secrets of Christianity edition on my trip, and I've added the Gnostic Gospels and the Gospel of Judas to my future reading list.

Anyway...I went way off track my original plan for this post, and now, on this heavy note, I must board my plane. I know you'd rather hear more about my adventures in San Diego and the funny conversations Shannon and I had with cab drivers, restaurant hostesses, bus passengers, and store clerks. I know you can't wait to hear about how I, and a couple hundred other people, had to evacuate the Southwest terminal at the San Diego airport due to someone pulling the fire alarm shortly before it was time to board the flight to Reno. I'm sure you'd love the details of me, Mols, and Trav driving from Reno to K Falls at 1a.m., singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star in monster voices (Trav woke up at midnight during our journey and just stayed awake), and going through tiny little towns with creepy, ghoulishly lit, life-size nativity scenes on the main drag. We were spooked and focused on looking straight ahead only. I could tell you about bowling with my family and hanging out with my sisters at the Black Dog bar and "casino" in downtown K Falls on Saturday night. Woo. And I will. I really, really will.

More soon!