Grow

Yesterday we planted a garden in our backyard with the help of Jason and Becky.  It took about 3 hours to buy prep and get it all planted.  We planted tomatoes, pickling cucumbers, a variety of peppers, onions, and a bunch of herbs.  It was a great afternoon filled with sunshine and family.  Grow garden grow.

Is it spring yet?

 My newest sewing project.  I guess I'm ready for spring.

  

Much needed getaway

Thanks to a very generous offer from Becky & Jason to watch our girls, Jiffer and I went on a little mini vacation to the Napa Valley last weekend.  We had a fantastic time (except for the part when the fire alarm went off in our hotel at 7:15am - but I'll get to that later).  When we arrived at Hotel Avia in downtown Napa, we got to witness the first 'snow' (if you can call it that in 50 degree weather) in this area since 1976.  It lasted less than a minute...and then we saw it snow again on our way into the first winery we visited Swanson Vineyards.  We did some tasting at the Sip Shoppe at Swanson.  They call it a candy store for adults.  Yes indeed.

  

After that, we went to Round Pond, an incredibly beautiful family owned estate producing not only wine, but olive oils and vinegars.  We were served some pretty incredible food and wine pairings.  They, of course, had no problem catering to my vegetarian diet (thank you California).  One of the bites I had involved a crostini and kale pesto.  Yum.

Back at the hotel, we enjoyed a complimentary wine tasting and chair massage.  It was almost a perfect trip.  Time for us to 'reconnect' as a couple in a beautiful setting with delicious food and wine.  Jiffer and I were especially excited about the sleeping in part.  We haven't done that more than a handful of times since 2007.  A little after 7am, defining smoke alarms sounded and we had to evacuate the hotel.  You've got to be kidding me.  Our ONE, yes one morning to sleep in.  False alarm.  Whoops. 

Thanks Becky & Jason.  We owe you.

Some beautiful sights

My mom came in town recently and we used her visit as a good excuse to do a couple of small trips to the beaches of northern California.  We did a day trip to Half Moon Bay exploring Moss Beach and having lunch in downtown.  There is a little hike that leads you to a grove of beautiful Cypress trees and some other beautiful tree (not sure of the name) and overlooks the beach.  This is the second time the girls and I visited this area.

 

I love this series of our family - Penelope's become quite the photogenic one

We also went on a two day trip to Point Reyes.  Point Reyes was amazing!  I'm not sure which was more beautiful.  The dramatic seashore or the beautiful rolling hills and dairy farms that we drove through to access the shore.  It reminded me of Ireland except their were tons of dairy cows roaming the hills instead of sheep.  We went to the North Beach which warns against getting too close to the water because they have 'sneaker waves' that are extremely dangerous.  The surf was spectacular.  We were told the waves were 17 feet tall.  The house we rented - The Blackthorne Inn - was very unique and cozy.  We would definitely like to go back again some day. 

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.