Category Archives: Life

Life

Five Things Friday: Inspired by Wes Anderson Cocktail Parties, French Street Artists and More…

This weeks Five Things Friday is a wonderfully random adventure.

1. If I lived in Sydney I would do everything I could to attend this Wes Anderson themed Cocktail Party.

From the Frankie Magazine Website:
“There will be Steve Zissou inspired burlesque, Wes-themed DJing, goodie bags for the first 50 through the doors, and of course, cocktails! The best dressed will also win a monogrammed bams & ted suitcase, a la Darjeeling Limited.”

Since I am about a million miles away from Sydney, I think I’ll have to console myself this weekend by watching Rushmore for the 37th time with a Royal Tennenbaums chaser.

2. Got a spare 25 minutes? Spend it watching this TED talk by JR, a French Street Artist who pastes massive photos human faces on public “canvases”. Don’t have 25 minutes? Then watch it in shifts. You won’t be sorry.

3. If I were even a little bit crafty, I would make this frame tent for my boys…

4. This blog post reminds me of why I miss traveling to work on public transport: Lessons We’re Learning Riding Mass Transit. (via Zen Habits blog)

5. Of course I could cut down on my commute dramatically if had one of these in my back yard. (Via Poppytalk Blog)

Plans for this weekend include Karaoke, a fun bike ride and a quite a bit of painting in our back room. I hear the sun may even come out for us in Portland.

Happy weekend.

Celebrating Fatherhood

Unless you’ve been living under a rock in America, you’ll know that today was Fathers’ day. A day that, thanks to it’s close proximity to U.S. graduation, earned the unfortunate marketing phrase “Dads and Grads.” It’s sad that Dads don’t get their own marketing phrase. Fathers’ Day falls in September in Australia and does not conflict with any other major holidays. I’m sure that’s by design.

But I digress. Today was about celebrating the dad in our life – the Yin to my Yan – the one who makes this whole parenting thing a true partnership and provides balance. The one who makes up for my weaknesses with his strengths.

The man who will get down on the floor and wrestle. Who will talk through an issue when I just want to put them both in time out. Who persists with the bike riding and the T-ball and everything else that I (honestly) don’t have the energy for. That’s what makes this whole parenting together thing so perfect.

Happy Fathers’ Day to the man who helped me bring two wonderful little boys into this world. I truly could not do this without you.

This photo is also my entry in the latest I Heart Faces challenge, “Let’s hear it for the boys.” Ok, now I have that song stuck in my head for the next couple of days…

Cause for Celebration: 1000 Blog Posts

Turns out that I passed the 1,000 blog post mark this week while I wasn’t paying attention.

This is post 1,004. Wow.

That’s a whole lot of stories, photos and ramblings… And I have a couple of readers so it’s more than just talking to myself.

This adds just one more item on a list of things Kei and I will be celebrating at date night tonight, a list that includes:

  • a new job (for Kei)
  • the end of Pre-K (for Thomas)
  • a special family coming to visit us for the month of July (I’ll share more as we firm things up)
  • an almost-finished backyard deck
  • AND finally some sunshine in Portland (to enjoy that deck)

Life is good. I think I might treat myself to a cocktail. Cheers!

 

5 Things Friday: Children’s Books Worth Reading More Than Once (because you always read them more than once)

I became accustomed to reading the same books over and over again with child number one. But then along came child number two and those books that I grew bored with the first time around became just plain painful when reading them for the 80th time. So it comes as quite a treat when, every now and then, a childrens’ book comes along that just begs to be read over and over. And when my children and I find delight in that very same book, it serves as a magical break from those annoying books adapted from TV shows, or WAY too much Dr. Seuss (as much as I love him, his books are LONG and very repetitive).

To honor those special books that I wish my children would choose more often, I present my top 5 – although I could have easily expanded the list to 10 or 20, I’ll save that for future posts. Here’s my personal criteria for a good childrens’ book:

  • Good story – one that is original and clever and will not get old the 3rd (or 5th or 20th) time around.
  • Great illustrations that look like pieces of art – critical because I am Taurus and apparently we are attracted to pretty things.
  • A lesson or moral of some sort – Not absolutely critical, but it nice when the story carries the conversation with my children beyond just the book.
  • Not too long – this criteria alone cancels out Dr. Seuss.

The Top 5

1. The Way Back Home by Oliver Jeffers. 

I bought this book in Australia a few years ago and it quickly moved Oliver Jeffers to number 1 on my all time list of favorite children’s authors. While all of his books are wonderful and quirky, this one about a boy and a martian who help each other out when they become stranded on the moon is just wonderful. Bonus points for the Aussie/English version that we own because it uses words like Petrol and spanner which are translated in the American version.

2. Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems

I am so thankful that Mo Williams decided to release a couple of follow ups to this book because our copy of the original is literally falling apart at the seams. The story of a lost toy appeals to parents as well as toddlers and I love how he mixes illustration with black and white photos of New York. Favorite line of the book: Trixie was so upset “she went boneless.”

3. Zen Ties by Jon J. Muth

Almost every family we know has a copy of Zen Shorts, the first in this beautiful series of three books about a giant Panda called Stillwater. Zen Ties, the second in the series, is my favorite thanks to the appearance of Stillwater’s cousin who speaks only in Haiku. I love the use of Buddhist parables to teach a lesson and the slow, calm  pace of the book. Perfect just before bedtime.

4. I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato, Lauren Child

Charlie and Lola has been a favorite in our house for a long time but this book is a new addition. Charlie is the older brother who is always dealing with his “small and very funny” sister, Lola in wonderfully inventive ways. In this book, Lola is a very picky eater so Charlie tries to trick her into eating things by pretending they are something else (mashed potato is really cloud fluff). Fun books to read (especially when I put on my English accent) and this one earns bonus points for convincing Samuel to eat edamame (green drops anyone?). It’s also worth checking out the adorable TV series that’s available on Netflix, but make sure you buy the books that Lauren Child wrote herself, not the ones adapted from the series.

5. The Curious Garden by Peter Brown

I bought this book as a present from the Easter Bunny because of it’s Spring theme. The story is lovely but it’s the illustrations that really drew me in. Each time we read it together it seems we discover something new in the highly detailed and beautifully colored pictures. I think we’re definitely going to add a few more of Peter Brown’s books to our wishlist.

So there you have it – a few of my favorites. Please share your own in the comments and help me build our library. I’m on a quest to phase out the Thomas the Tank Engine book that plays music and every new addition gets me closer to my goal.

A shocking turn of events

My boy is about to commence his last two days of Pre-K. OK, so maybe I’m more shocked than anyone else, but I can’t believe that my baby is on the verge of beginning Kindergarten, which is called Prep where I come from. You see, in Australia, prep marks the beginning of elementary school (primary school) and I CAN STILL REMEMBER PRIMARY SCHOOL! (Thank you, Miss Fraser).

How did my child get so old? How did I get so old? Why is this happening to me?

Before I know it he’ll be six, and then seven…and then nineteen! It just doesn’t seem right.

And I am completely unprepared. Not only because I am in (a little) denial about the fact that my child is going to be an adult one day (too soon!), but also because his experience of school is going to be so completely removed from mine and I am going to be learning right along with him. I went to Primary school and High School. That was it. There was no middle school, no cafeteria lunches, no fraternities and sororities (ok, maybe I’m getting ahead of myself). My point is that it’s all foreign to me from here on out. I may as well be living in a different country (wait…).

So I have about three months to get used to the idea that I am soon to be the mother of a KINDERGARTNER. Rest assured, I’ll be taking lots of deep breaths and drinking a few glasses of wine to get used to the idea.

Oh, and here’s my photo entry for this week’s I heart faces challenge – bright and vivid. A photo of Thomas (my soon-to-be-kindergartner) taken on the last day of Samuel’s baby daycare before he moves into the pre-pre-K class.

June is really not a good time for mothers…

Just Beacuse (Best Face of May)…

Because he’s featured so rarely here on the blog and this photo was a little buried in my last bog post and, well, this was my favorite face photo of the month.

Because I think it deserved another post for the I Heart Faces best face photo.

But really, who needs a reason?

Quite possibly the most fabulously perfect day off… ever!

A couple of weeks ago I took a day off just for me. It was nothing like the disastrous waste of a couple of days when I attempted to celebrate my birthday.

No, this one was illness free, perfectly planned and executed AND the sun came out in Portland. Perfect!

And I may have taken just a few photographs to document this practically perfect day…

My morning began at Peets, my favorite coffee place. A quiet, peaceful moment of alone time with my mocha was interrupted by a crazy man who decided to sit at my table. At first he tricked me by looking normal but then he started talking to me. Something about the Olson twins and a fire in the Chrysler building that lead, naturally, to a comment on  the dilemmas of a conjoined twin (one wants to move one way and one wants to go the other – what do they do?). After feigning interest for a while I managed to politely excuse myself and headed off to…

Powells!! Where I spent one full hour browsing photography books by myself . Bliss! And I only bought one book, as tempted as I was to walk away with about 10 pieces of fresh inspiration.

 

Next on the agenda was cashing in a gift certificate for a spa treatment that I was given nearly a year ago. Two wonderful hours of pampering with a foot rub and hot stone massage within, quite possibly, the most relaxing place in downtown Portland. When I left, my whole body felt like Jelly – which is a good thing…

Having finished my only appointment for the day I found myself with NO PLANS. And for a photographer, that means photo walk.

 

And then just when I thought my day was pretty perfect just the way it was, my husband called and suggested we meet for lunch.

I took a quick self portrait while I waited for him to arrive.

And tried to find the meaning in some public art.

Then Kei turned up and, after lunch, I took one of my favorite photos of him.

After saying goodbye to Kei, I decided to take the scenic route back to the Pearl (and my car) with a walk through the park blocks.

Blue Sky!!

A quick stop for some Frozen Yogurt which may become my summer addiction (if summer ever arrives, that is).

 

And more blue skies… I spent a lot of time looking up and soaking it all in.

Next up was a visit to Finnegan’s to pick up some birthday presents for my baby. I looked longingly at these dolls but walked away with this dragon instead – just one of the sacrifices for a mother with two boys. I also picked up some beginner colorforms and a harmonica, which turned out to be the biggest hit with both boys. Think I’ll have to go back and buy another one, if only for a little germ containment.

Finally, one more quick stop at Powell’s for a couple of children’s books, and my day was complete in more ways than one. As Mary Poppins would say, it was “Practically perfect in every way.”

Ladies’ Night

There are many reasons why I love taking photographs, but at the top of the list must be the feeling I get when I look through the contents of my camera and am instantly transported back to the moment when the photos were taken. These photographs definitely live up to that promise. We sang, we rapped, we tried to hit the high notes and the low notes (often unsuccessfully). Most of all, we had a fun night thanks to great company and few inhibitions.

Just a few of my favorites from the evening – all taken using my much-neglected flash. I really need to pull that thing out of the bag more often.

First Up: the birthday girl.

Five Random Things Friday

It’s Friday, it’s sunny and I am looking forward to the weekend. This week has been busy with a mini birthday celebration for my little man, then a sick birthday boy. And of course there was work, lots and lots of work. I need a glass of wine and a little time in the sun – I just hope the Portland weather holds out for just a few more hours so I can enjoy it to its fullest.

To kick off the weekend I thought I’d share a few random things that I came across this week. They made me laugh, feel inspired and remember that there is a life out there waiting for me when I manage to peel my eyes away from my inbox. These things make me happy.

1. Bossypants. Loaned to me by a friend and I’m half way through. Tina Fey is the kind of person I would want in my circle of friends. If this excerpt doesn’t make you want to buy the book right now then I recommend borrowing it like I did. Either way, you need to read this book.

2. A door sign that makes me want to sing.

3. When my 5 year old likes getting his picture taken.

 

4. Creatively sharing your POV. Saw this guy on a Hawaiian cruise a few years ago but didn’t know who he was (true story). Turns out he’s quite famous and very funny and clever – and all in support of a cause that I stand behind.

5. This photograph of my three year old and taking photos from under big umbrellas while we walk in the rain (although that’s not an invitation for the rain to come back…)

Have a great weekend.