Up, up and away

Today I sent off two pieces of art work, and I'm receiving money for them!  This is a super exciting prospect for me, what if I could do this on the regular?

One of the pieces came together at a friend's kitchen table during one of our weekly crafty-time get togethers.  I never considered I would be offered cash for it.  I'm pretty honored and, well, flabbergasted really.

I have a complex where I see how much awesomer everyone else's art is and therefore that makes mine worthless.  It's obviously not true, and that's a really neat possibility for me.  Here are the pieces I sold, it was sorta weird to send them away from me, knowing I'd never see them again.  But I'm resolved that most of the money I can make selling art will go into Rosie's college fund and our retirement, so the sting is lessened.

E's turn for the grill....

Here's the man.  And his answers.

1. What was your first impression of me?  I’m not counting the 17yr old you, when we met Mason’s crazy cousin with the light-up wheels and shitty driving.  NYE party: whoa, cute chick and she brought me cookies! Score. Then I got demolished and hit on someone else.  3rd impression: cute mellow chick is still talking to me after last week’s party! Wonder why?
2. How accurate was your impression?  Cute and mellow and still makes me cookies, and still wonder why she’s into me… pretty spot on.
3. What is your idea of a truly romantic evening?  Your Hawaii beach scene totally works.  So do candles and wine and flowers.
4. If I promise not to get upset, can you tell me something you'd like to change in me but don't have the nerve to say?  Wish you came from lots of money.  I’d love if you could teach me to be mellow and grounded.  As far as changing you, I look forward to seeing you drop 20lbs again.  The recent FB pic of us is so hot.
5. If you weren't in the profession you are, what's your dream profession and why?  Always wanted to be an architect.  Last week’s Leadership Auburn intensive at the art gallery had me remember drafting and how fun it was.  Seeing something I designed built, going from my head to really existing, and people in it, would have been amazing.
6. Name three qualities that attracted you to me when you were getting to know me.   Grounded – not addicted to makeup, or labels, or expensive shit.  Adorable giggle and smile and sporatic snorts. Liked to make out in cars.
7. Where is your dream destination and why?  Maui.  It’s like Monterey except more awesome, cleaner, better weather, never hella hot like here.  I’ve always missed living by the ocean.
8. What's your favorite movie of all time and favorite scene in it?  Joe Dirt, when the dog freezes his nuts to the porch.  Only because it’s the scene I remember quoting the most, word for word, until you told me to shut up. 
9. Which fruit/vegetable do you think I resemble and why?  Kiwi.  Soft and kind of furry, not flashy on the outside, awesomely sweet inside.
10. Can you remember your earliest childhood memory of happiness/fear? Happy: reading my birthday cards on my 4th and wowing everyone. Fear: sleeping in the back bedroom in SLO after hearing the news report of whatever famous burglar was running amok in CA in the 80s.
11. Your favorite uncle/aunt/cousin and why:  Jeremy’s always been mellow and grounded and never tried to impress or be tougher or bigger or better than me. Felt closest to him since I can remember.  Proud of him for buying his first house, cried with him when he lost it, love getting his random mellow texts about kidraising and look forward to seeing him hopefully move back up here.
12. What qualities draw you to people to base friendship on?  Being transparent vs a bullshitter.  Integrity, sarcasm, jokes and laughter.  Liking beer!
13. Can you give me a mock session of how you'd discuss sex-ed with a child?  Shit. I think I’ll have you handle it, as I just got anxiety thinking about it for 5 seconds.  I’m so freaked about Ro discovering stupid boys.
14. Your first crush: what drew you to her?  Christina Pinzon.  Liked her cute face and brown hair and her toothy smile, and she talked to me using normal words and not like I had cooties (3rd grade?)
15. Your first date, where'd you go and how long did it last?  Kim took me out, she drove a beater … bmw I think. We did dinner and made out by the beach.  I am so old I have no idea how that relationship started.
16. How did you cope with break-ups in the past?  Not well?  Still have the H I carved in my hand when Hannah and I fell apart.  Noticed eventually I was a serial monogamist and could NOT be by myself for any length of time.  Longest stretch I did since turning 15 was the year before we met.  Not that I’d be ok if dumped again.
17. What's the best decision you ever made?  Taking the money I’d gotten from getting rear-ended on Hwy 65 and buying a plane ticket to Italy to see you.  Don’t think I would’ve kept it together for 3mos after dating 3weeks otherwise.
18. What decision do you regret the most?  Have to pass on this one. 
19. Proudest moment?  Introducing our new Rosanna to Adam/Mason/Russ/Glenn & Gwen.
20. You've won the lottery: name 3 things you'd do, 5 things you'd buy, go!  Trip around the world, pay Reese & Tammy back for our wedding, take Mel back to Italy.  Buy: OTP’s building and parking lot to make it awesome, Audi R8s for everyone I know, the house from the movie Hostage, a house on property in Italy, 1224 Buena Vista in Pacific Grove where I grew up.
21. House is on fire and you can only grab 5 things:  Mel, Ro, Jazz, my phone, our wedding album.
22. Who would you like to be born again as?  Rosanna’s great-grandson, to see how 2150 is.
23. An argument your parents had, that you'd like to avoid with your partner is: ??
24. The most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you was: Hit in the head with a rock on the field, 6th grade.  Or blew that bottle of red wine all in my face and eyes and on my white shirt, sometime last year at OTP.
25. Who are you closer to, Mom or Dad?  Growing up, mom.  Now that I feel all old and achy and tired and grumpy and realizing how similar we are, dad.
26. Favorite song/lyrics: Nelly – Country Grammar.  Takes me back to summertime about age 19, not a care in the world.  Late night cruises to hit on chicks with Erik, cheap gas, no responsibilities.
27. Quick, a magic genie is giving you three wishes:  make me always present, bring me comfort in silence, allow me to die before my kids.
28. What most upsets you in a relationship?  Staleness, separation, sleeping clothed.
29. What makes you the most happy?  Coming home from work, waking up from nap, having my girls around me.
30. What is your perception of how people see you? Unreadable, mellow, grey hairs, loving boss, great hubby.

Interview me, baby

I completely stole this from another blogger because I completely love her blog and this is a cool idea.  A little back story: Ethan and I 'found each other' almost 10 years ago and were married over 5 years ago.  We had a child two years ago....

This is from the perspective as Ethan being the interviewer (stay tuned for flip side of that coin).

1. What was your first impression of me?  Popular guy, way out of my league and so, so dreamy.
2. How accurate was your impression?  You're still outta my league in some ways (I think that makes us a good team though) and I was right about the "so, so dreamy" part.
3. What is your idea of a truly romantic evening?  We'd go to a restaurant where we could order anything off the menu, then we'd take a walk down the beach ('cause we're in Hawai'i) and sit and talk about our lives at the edge of the dark ocean, wiggling our toes deeper into the sand.  Then we'd make out.
4. If I promise not to get upset, can you tell me something you'd like to change in me but don't have the nerve to say?  Hmm. I'm not sure there is something that I haven't told you...maybe...nope, you already know.
5. If you weren't in the profession you are, what's your dream profession and why?  I think I'd either be an artist or a caregiver for wild animals who can't be released into the wild.  I love to create and having a blank canvas is so exciting!  I also loved working for Wild Things when I did, it was fulfilling and challenging and I was always learning.  I was pretty cool too.
6. Name three qualities that attracted you to me when you were getting to know me.   Your smile was (is) outrageous, you cared deeply about other people, we did spontaneous things and felt like grown ups for it.
7. Where is your dream destination and why?  Not to be generic, but Hawai'i speaks to me.  I love the smell of the air and sound of rustling palm trees.  I love how sunsets don't seem like the end of the day, just another part of it.  I love how accessible and diverse the ocean is, then the beaches, then the foothills and then the mountain tops.  I love the mystery and presence of the stories.  I love the smell of the plumeria, intense and pervasive. I wanna go now, please?
8. What's your favorite movie of all time and favorite scene in it?  Juno - when she is getting an ultrasound with her step-mom and friend, and the ultra sound tech gets a little mouthy and the step-mom gives her and earful.  
9. Which fruit/vegetable do you think I resemble and why?  A mango.  It's hard to tell when they are ripe with out squeezing them a bit, like you- you wear a muted face and I have to probe to get your weather forecast.  Also, they are hard to get a lot of fruit off of because they are complicated and interesting inside.  You're forever surprising me and keeping me on my toes.
10. Can you remember your earliest childhood memory of happiness/fear?  Fear: my dad wanting to drive me around the block on his motorcycle.  Happiness: getting Finny as a kitten.
11. Your favorite uncle/aunt/cousin and why:  This one is designed to get me in trouble...probably my Uncle Kent.  He always went out of his way to interact with me as a kid: terrorizing me with Fred (my teddy), T.P.ing houses, scaring us at night with scary movies on (turning off the breaker to freak us out) and also taking quiet time to chat with me about my life.  
12. What qualities draw you to people to base friendship on?  I think if a person can drop their act and be real with me, that's a big deal.  Like: have fun and be wild without worrying what I'll think, and also be willing to share honestly and not just the glamorous stuff.
13. Can you give me a mock session of how you'd discuss sex-ed with a child?  I'm gonna take my Aunt Cindy's advice and be completely honest from the get go, and I'm gonna add to every sentence, "When you get married....".  Let's not forget the golden part of her rule: only answer the question they ask.
14. Your first crush: why drew you to him?  His name was Adam.  He was older and popular.  He had blonde hair and played basketball.  He was taller than me (gasp!).  A few girls found out I liked him and confronted me about it and I practically hyperventilated while denying the whole thing.  My mom invented a code name for Adam at home so we could talk about him in front of my little brother without the squirt possibly embarrassing me.  "Sergio".
15. Your first date, where'd you go and how long did it last?  My first date was when I was a Sophomore (so, 16 years old) and he was a Senior (oh-la-la) at another school.  My friend insisted on setting us up on a blind date.  So she, her boyfriend, this guy (Andrew) and I had a double (and blind) date at Sizzler.  The relationship lasted for a year.
16. How did you cope with break-ups in the past?  I didn't.  I was the break-upper and was not into the relationship enough to care, so the break-ups never affected me much...other than to make me feel freer.
17. What's the best decision you ever made?  The best (and hardest) decision I ever made was pre-screening my boyfriends to see if they were going to let me be a stay-at-home mom.  The hardest was with you, because I really liked you and I knew if you said, "no" then it was over.
18. What decision do you regret the most?  Hmm, this is hard for me because I feel like even the crappy decisions have resulted in me being here, in this life I have now (which I LOVE).  How about....not taking school more seriously.  
19. Proudest moment?  Creating life.
20. You've won the lottery: name 3 things you'd do, 5 things you'd buy, go!  I'd create a giant family reunion and fly everyone to a tropical location, the whole thing'd be on me.  I'd get my teeth fixed.  I'd throw money at savings and college for my kiddo.  I'd buy: the pink slip for the van, the pink slip for the BMW, a house, health insurance and a kitchen table.
21. House is on fire and you can only grab 5 things:  Rosanna, Ethan, Jazzy Belle, wedding ring and my glasses.
22. Who would you like to be born again as?  A well loved cat.
23. An argument your parents had, that you'd like to avoid with your partner is: the one that can't be resolved.
24. The most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you was: I honestly don't know.  I think I've let all that crap go.
25. Who are you closer to, Mom or Dad?  My mom, she's been my primary parent forever.  If my Dad had chosen to be closer, then it might be both of them because my Dad relates to me in ways my Mom doesn't (and vice-versa).
26. Favorite song/lyrics: Probably "Lie In Our Graves" by Dave Matthews Band.  It is wildly fulfilling to my soul.  It's magical.  The instrumental in the middle makes me happy. 
27. Quick, a magic genie is giving you three wishes: to always be content in the moment I find myself in, be a compassionate wife/mother, to love healthy choices.
28. What most upsets you in a relationship?  When things don't go the way I think they should.  I'm a controller.
29. What makes you the most happy?  When we both agree on a path or a choice for our lives and we are both excited about it.
30. What is your perception of how people see you?  Quiet, opinionated, unapproachable. 

Up next....Ethan's answers!  If he'll let me :)

My kid, the coolest

I have trouble bragging about myself.  I am told when someone compliments me, that my correct response should be, "Thank you", instead of ramblings to discount the validity of their gesture.  It's a habit I work on daily: accepting acknowledgement.  This is one of the reasons I decided to post my art on facebook, it puts me "out there" in a small way and people say they like it...and I say, "Thank you".

My kid, however, is a shameless beam of pride, bursting and radiating from my heart like a beacon beckoning people to come and bath in her awesomeness.  MY KID IS FREAKING AWESOME.

Take, for example, the instance of a fellow toddler shoving my beloved out of said toddler's space and screaming at her.  My mama-bear ferociousness level skyrocketed and before I could do something I'd certainly be jailed for, my Ro stood up and walked briskly to me with a look of disbelief and hurt on her sweet baby face.
We had a quick chat about how people aren't always nice, I confirmed that she was ok, and off she went- no worse for the experience.

What about the time an older boy tackled her in the library (he was playing?), sending her careening into a giant stuffed horse?  She promptly stood up, turned to him and said, "Don't do that again" and walked away.  I backed her up with a triumphant, "Yeah!  What she said!" and followed her lead.  Well, not really.  But people!!  My kid didn't come bawling to me, sobbing out a story of being wronged!  No!  She handled it and moved on!  PROUD MOMMA MOMENT!

It's impossible for me to convey to you through this mediocre medium how fully awed and in love I am.

The Boonville Invasion of 2012

Years ago I went to my first beerfest.  A few hours of unlimited tasting from 50+ breweries (Bud and Coors need not apply) was perfect for me, a girl with discerning taste buds.  I wasn't going to slug down just any hoppy brew, I was what you might call, "picky".  Aka- not a beer drinker.  I loved it because I could taste a plethora of bubbly creations with out committing my  $8 to a six pack.

Things haven't changed much.

Boonville's Beerfest has become the event of the year for me.  Granted, other things happen that are exciting through out a year, but none that I can count on with unwavering certainty to provide me with a soulful, stumbling, hippie-esque experience.

It combines three things I love: camping, friends and dirty feet (included in camping?).  I adore camping among hundreds of other Beerfesters, all gathered in a valley with looming, heavy trees sprinkled about.  I get a kick out of the wanderers who, out of the darkness, sidle up next to our fire to drop a few friendly, slurred lines.

This year's highlight for me was post-fest, sweaty and exhausted (beer+sun for 5 hours, go figure), when we made our way down to the creek.  In it's own micro-climate, a few feet below the level of camp, enshrouded in a protective tunnel of trees, the creek flows.  Voices echoed from inside the tunnel, where it was shady, cool and oh-so lovely.  I waded for a bit, with my long, cotton skirt tied in a knot above my knees.  Then I gave in.  I had no phone, no wallet, nothing on me to complicate my decision.  PLOP!  I sat down.  It was the most divine decision I made all weekend.  

Sitting there, watching the people around me: perched on the shoreline with feet dangling, laid back into the creek bed with only faces peeking above the surface, giggling and chattering, I felt perfect.  I felt like I belonged.  I could chat with everyone of them and we would skip the "you're a stranger, so I need to be awkward with you" stage and go head first into "old friends" territory.  It was a bit surreal, almost like a Shakespeare play with fairies and nymphs gathered in a safe place to be free and playful.  It's the way we want to always be, but aren't willing to let go.

One night we danced and sang with the marching band who played Cee-Lo Green and Adele.  Everyone with beer in hand, decked out in their pajamas and letting loose under the glow of strung up Christmas lights and electric lanterns.  My friend and I even made an imaginary band with two other campers- one of us playing a blade of grass, the armpit, the rim of a glass and...I don't remember the forth thing.  

Good times people, good times.

They call me Bunny. Easter Bunny.

I promised a post about the Easter bunny...I forgot.  Here 'tis:
I was the Easter bunny.  Me.  There I am.

That's my kid, not afraid of me at all because she was there when I tried on the outfit.  She thought it was pretty cool.  My job as the E.B. was to wander around Old Town and hand out suckers to kids and take pictures.  Lemme just tell you, it was pretty fun!  Despite the drop of sweat that hung from the tip of my nose for an hour, despite that I could only see the top third of adult's bodies and, therefore, not the kids at all, it was fun.  Parents were eager to have their children stand near me, a freakishly gigantic rabbit, to take a photo.  Weird thing: as a person with a bunny head on, smiling is not required in photos (although this is a very tough habit to break). Here's my kid running up to me saying loudly, "Are you in there Momma?!"

Now she thinks I am in every large animal costume.  We saw a photo of the guys with the Coca Cola bear and she said, "Is that you Momma?".  Hm.  At least my greatest fear (having my kid be terrified of me) was a non-issue.  And who knows, maybe I'll step up and volunteer next year too?