Saturday night utensil choices

Why bother with the fork when you can eat with your hands a whole lot quicker!

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Trip to Griffith Observatory

On my list of 101 things to do in 1001 days, number 7 (Family trip to Griffith Observatory) was one I had been greatly looking forward to for many many reasons.

Quick Background Memory: As a child of separated parents, my brother and I lived with my Mother and spent many weekends with my Father. My Father's sister, Aunt Mary Kaye, lived with her two daughters in Burbank-- so mini family reunions were often par for the course... and since we were already all the way out if Burbank (in my kid-sized world that was FAR FAR AWAY from Tarzana, where I lived), we would do many things in the area. As such, my love of the Griffith Observatory grew.

Fast Forward about 28 years... and it was time for Rob and I as the parents to pass that love on to Em and Ro.

The history of Griffith Park is over 100 years in the making and holds both learning and entertainment options for everyone of every age; just as Colonel Griffith J. Griffith wanted it to be and become when he bequeathed the land to the City of Los Angeles in the late 1800's. The Los Angeles Zoo, the Greek Theatre, Travel Town Railroad Museum, the Museum of the American West... and about 4000 acres of natural terrain all reside in the Griffith Park family. Name an activity (walking, horse back riding, hiking) and we've done it here!

The Observatory had been closed for several years, reopening at the end of 2006 with limited, advanced, timed-entry reservations only for the first year... yes, it's that popular! We patiently waited for the hub-bub to die down as well as for Em and Ro to grow up a little... and finally this year, off we went on a hot, sunny, summer day for a visit. The Observatory is now over twice the size it once was (they built two new floors down into the mountain) but still retains its' signature 1930s architecture with copper clad domes and white plaster.

One of the main features I used to be fascinated by was the Foucault Pendulum... apparently Em loves it too. The ceiling from which the brass pendulum swings was painted by artist Hugo Ballin.
Ro's favorite sections were about the sun...After looking at everything inside, we went outside for a quick snack and to let the munchkins roam free on the large grass lawns.

Here's Ro looking up at Newton, one of six astronomers featured just outside the entrance to the Observatory.

We had such a wonderful time, we went back a few weeks later with friends!!

Pics from Camp GetAway

Just a few pics from the Camp GetAway weekend!

All packed and ready to hit the road... my Mom was very happy and excited! We made excellent time and were at camp with plenty of time to unpack and admire the scenery.

Caught! A rare photo of me right before the craft class I was teaching began.

An intricate stencil... a trio of butterflies. I'm sorry to say I do not have a finished photo of this shirt... all the hard work made the shirt come out beautifully!!

A few of the campers and their shirts in various stages of completion. Campers came and went throughout the day patiently waiting for paint to dry and fitting in other projects such as archery, canoeing and of course, the ever important spa treatments!! My high school "reunion" friend, Kerri is on the far right... we got to be bunkmates too. Hi Kerri!!

The walkway from the lodge up to the camper cabins and the craft room. This path is nearly pitch black at night (hey... it is the forest) causing caution to all campers to have a flashlight and buddy with you at all times... in case of bear sightings. I never saw one luckily.

After a fantastic weekend, this was the view that greeted me as I came up the driveway. Excited munchkins and a wonderful hubby are right behind that door.

My mom and I had a wonderful time as usual and loved spending every minute up at Camp GetAway meeting and laughing with old friends and making new ones!! If you have any pictures you would like to contribute, please feel free to email me. Also, I have more pics than this if interested... just drop a line or comment.

And now, I am off to do some crochet work on my Divine Hat for the HSKS6 Dueling Club... my duel is against Fleur Dolohov of Hufflepuff. This should be a fun challenge!!

Dr. Twilight and Nurse Zone from Eye of Beholder episode

Okay, since no one guessed what TV show my mom and I are going to be characters from for our Saturday night party at Camp GetAway, I'm revealing it now and making a new contest for anyone who reads my blog to enter.


First, the reveal of our costumes!! My mom is going to be "Nurse Zone" and I will be "Dr. Twilight" from the Twilight Zone episode, "Eye of the Beholder". The costumes themselves are easy enough... look like a doctor and a nurse. But the faces... those were tricky!

We started with a plain plastic mask from Michael's and first made a molded mask with heavy salt dough-like modeling clay... the first attempt really looked super awesome but cracked and almost split in two as it dried. The added setback that the mask would be ridiculously heavy if we figured out the cracking issue meant we had to abandon this way of making the masks and switch to papier mache instead. Ultra light and easily moldable (with some patience) ... the final touches were pretty cool. Now all we needed to do was paint them. Since the original Twilight Zone episodes were all filmed in black-and-white, we made our masks black-and-white for authenticity. I also made a name tag for each of us with the original pictures you see here as our form of "hospital identification"... tee hee! A syringe for the nurse, a stethoscope for the doctor, and our costumes are complete!

I honestly can say, I'm very proud of how my mask turned out... I'm so not the painting or special effects type of artist so this was very fun and adventurous for me to make. We'll see how it plays out at the party. Em thought the mask was cool and keeps asking when Halloween is... so that's success for me! I can't wait to see how my Mom's turned out!!

And, I know it's not 100% perfect or accurate, but where's the fun in that?!

I have to get back to packing but wanted to put up the picture of the mask and reveal our characters.

The new contest will commence Monday or Tuesday when I'm back from camp and settled back in to a somewhat normal routine.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Top 10 Things I'm Looking Forward to at Camp GetAway

Next weekend is my trip to Camp GetAway!!!

Here are some of the things I keep thinking about and that make me more and more excited as the countdown continues... some are very silly.

#10- Cheese Curds for me and a Root Beer float for my Mom at the A&W right before we get to Camp... this is a sign for us that an indulgent weekend is just beginning!

#9- Being able to take a shower without Em and Ro coming to ask if they can get in the shower with me! Don't get me wrong... I love my munchkins, but shampooing and conditioning your hair should be nice and silent without the gentle guffaws of a 2 and 4 year old to break the bathing tranquility.

#8- Sleeping past 6:00 a.m. Also known as the "Mommy... did Daddy already leave for work!?! Can I go outside? Let's take a walk. Is Ro up yet? What's for breakfast?" wakeup call.

#7- Archery, canoeing, hiking and yoga!

#6- Hot tea and hot chocolate by the fireplace. If I can sneak a little crocheting in there also, all the better!

#5- The Saturday night TV-themed party and belly dancing.

#4- Seeing friends from past Camp GetAway weekends, and making new friends. Oh, and a mini high-school reunion to boot!

#3- Enjoying the fresh, clean, crisp, cool air! I love being in a forest setting and this is as close as I'll get to a run in with nature for a while.

#2- Teaching a craft class with my Mom! I hope everyone likes the fun ideas we've got up our sleeves.

AND... the number one thing I'm looking forward to (and really really REALLY need) ...

drumroll....

#1-My very own tranquil massage!

Six little days left... I'm airing out the sleeping bag and getting my gear ready to go... if you live in Southern California and see a white Dodge Magnum with "CAMP GETAWAY OR BUST!!" on the windows-- that'll be us.

Woo Hoo!!

Days of Summer

Backyard picnic table diving with the neighborhood kids
Hamburgers BBQing
Crisp lettuce, crunchy carrots, homemade dressing
Eating outside with friends... yummy yogurt and berries for dessert
Falling into bed, happily exhausted-- lungs full of cool, fresh, evening air

Days of Summer, 2008

Fall Preparations and Quesadilla Pizzas

Every morning, our home smells like freshly baked warm and yeasty bread or cinnamon and buttery muffins or chocolaty chip cookies.

Every trip to the grocery store adds on an extra bag of flour or sugar or butter for more upcoming baking... and more root vegetables to roast to caramelized goodness.

Every afternoon has a bit of Fall Cleaning of closets and drawers and cabinets. Summer reading books have already been banished to the top bookshelf making way for all things autumnal (reading "A Creepy Countdown" above).

Halloween costume suggestions by both Em and Ro change hourly... even one little leaf fallen along our evening walking path is excitedly celebrated!

It's "only" going to be 90 today... Fall is finally, hopefully on the way!! With all this hustle and bustle in the house, I've been trying to whip up quick meals and make the most of the cooler temps. Here's a fast recipe I'm sure many of you have already done... otherwise, how did California Pizza Kitchen come up with it!?!

BBQ Chicken Quesadilla Pizzas (seen here being munched down by Ro)
These are a wonderful family favorite! I round out the meal with sides of a fresh salad, corn, rice and beans... oh, and fresh brownies for dessert! This meal is fun and fast!!

Ingredients: All at room temperature. (Flickr pic is bigger)
Add freshly sauteed veggies like red onions, peppers and tomatoes as your family prefers.

What to do:
Put a large non-stick skillet, dry, on a medium setting on your stove top. Let the skillet warm up. Place flour tortilla in pan, then add about 2 tablespoons sour cream/BBQ sauce, then 1/3 cup cheese, then 1/3 cup leftover BBQ chicken & veggies. Let cook for about a minute.
Add another tortilla to the top, cook another 30 seconds. Gently flip over.
Cook another 1-2 minutes and remove to cutting board. Cut as you would a pizza. Repeat process until you're out of ingredients. Use the remaining sour cream sauce as a dip.

We made a total of four pizzas for 2 adults and 2 munchkins... there's a little leftover that I'll be shamelessly eating, cold from the fridge, right after I publish this blog.

In praise of public libraries

This is a quick pic of most of the books we currently have out from the Los Angeles Public Library... I did quickly get a more posed shot, but Ro wanted to grab his current favorite and so I snapped a pic of him reaching for it to use instead.

Way way back when I was a kid, the hobby of reading was the one I did more than pretty much everything else. From birth, my room was strewn with books. Books that were mine, books that came from my Mom's childhood , books that were my Dad's, Grandma books, etc. When I got older, I participated in book reading contests at school and started reading to my little brother.
I don't remember the day I went to the Tarzana library to get my very own library card, but I do remember being slightly annoyed that I could only check out three books. What the heck is that!? I would beg my Mom and Grandma to take me as often as possible. Of course, I did have other hobbies, but reading was the one thing I could do (and still do) everywhere. Riding in cars, at the beach, on the airplane, during a lunch break... you can't just carry a sewing machine around with you and pop it in your backpack like you can a tome.
So, when Em and Ro were born, really before they were born, I read to them. When I think back about it, I actually began preparing their library far before I was even pregnant... grabbing a board book here, ordering a volume there, researching different subjects and such while still single and newly married. I have always known reading was important to me and that gaining knowledge from books was one vital habit I wanted and needed to pass along.
Back to the library. I still read, review and research books to buy and have a steady list of "to-read" books on online sites such as Paperback Swap and Goodreads, but with the economy the way it is, I cannot just buy every book that catches my eye. Enter the Los Angeles Public Library! I LOVE my library! With the advent of the WWW, I love it even more! !!!!! Online reviews, databases, friends' recommendations... a zillion ways to find quality books for my family and I to read.
So this past Tuesday, I took Em with me to get him his own library card and continue my bookish family tradition. I will still continue to find books I would like to read to him and Ro, but now, I believe Em is old enough to come along with me and add his own tastes to the reading pile as well.
There are so many thoughts swirling in my head about reading. The importance of reading aloud to children, reading to get lost in another world, reading for research, seasonal reading, avoiding empty books... many other blogs for many other days.
Do you go to your local library? What other online book sites do you like?