Resolution

You're probably thinking, it's a little late to be talking about New Years resolutions.  Well maybe you're right.  But that's not really what this is.  This is a little something I came up with tonight that I think will help me be a happier person and a better mom, wife, friend, stranger on the street.  I went to a class at Parents Nursery School tonight because it is my obligation to do so as a member of the co-op.  As with most nights after leaving the school, I feel both a small sense of camaraderie (about the trials and tribulations of parenting) as well as inspired to apply what I like about the new and old ideas discussed to my own parenting.  I think tonight was especially inspiring because I rode my bike and had a drink / appetizer with a friend before the meeting.  The ride home was lovely.  A peaceful and quiet night sky and Orion staring down at me...

I recently had a real change of heart about being apart of this co-op.  I am so grateful of this experience for many reasons, but one of the most powerful ones for me right now, is that I am 'forced' to participate in parent educations nights.  It's not that I wouldn't have otherwise wanted to educated myself as a parent, but now I'm expected to do so as a part of the school (much easier to do so when it's expected of you) and it's really opening my eyes.  The two other wonderful parts of this experience are 1) Penelope loves school and seems to be learning and growing in all kinds of healthy ways and 2) It's truly a lovely community of families who are unique, international, caring, giving, and who are all going through similar things.  This is especially nice given the fact that I recently moved to a place where I have no existing community and friends.  Don't get me wrong, I'm worn to a nubbin at the end of my work or 'volunteer' day, but all of the good stuff outweighs this, somehow.


Back to the resolution.  Just a small, but powerful little thing:  I'd like to reduce the number of times someone (anyone who notices me) sees me during the day where I'm looking hurried or annoyed.  To me, an improvement in way, would signify that I'm learning to slow down and be a little more present.  I'm confident this would improve the quality of my life and everyone around me.   Wish me good luck.

Fabric binge

The fabulous Harts Fabrics store in Santa Cruz was having a big sale on the morning of Superbowl Sunday.  I guess they figured that most of their clientele weren't big football fans.  Anyways, I went down with my brother, Jason, Penelope and Amelia.  Jason offered to come with me to watch the girls as long as I got him back before the game (what a nice brother!).  It was probably a good thing that I had limited time otherwise I would've broken the bank and spent the entire day there.  I ended up with mostly really great fabric for little girls clothing, but picked up a little bit of some Japanese Echino 'glasses' fabric to make a throw pillow cover for my sofa.  Here it is!  

View from the top

We finally went to check out the Hoover tower at Stanford.  We lucked out with a very sunny and clear day and had a spectacular view over the valley, up to San Francisco and to San Jose some 250 feet up in the air.