Field Trip
Posted: February 25, 2009 Filed under: 24 Hours In . . ., Joined at the Heart | Tags: Corpus Christi TX, family, Texas Beach Leave a comment »Cherry has a recurring case of Field Trip Envy. Last year, her grandfather’s death kept her from seeing The Nutcracker. She had strep during the visit to The San Antonio Children’s Museum. School budget cuts eliminated another activity. This would go unnoticed if not for her sister’s spectacular luck. Coco has attended every trip, and at least one was added to her grade level’s schedule. It’s a very big deal if you’re seven or nine.
To compensate, Bacon and I promised a family field trip. We had such a good time, we’ve decided to make it a monthly adventure. We’re calling it 24 Hours In . . . Kind of like the NYT Travel feature.
Last weekend was 24 Hours In Corpus Christi, TX. It’s only a few hours to the coast, but it’s been years since we took advantage of the surf. The photos below tell the story.
We didn't tell Coco and Cherry where we were headed until they were in the car. This photo tells me I'm in denial about how big they are. It's time to take the backs off the booster seats!
Sisters are happy to be eating at Snoopy's under the Causeway to the island. "This is so cool, Mom!"
Cherry took this photo of Bacon and I on Snoopy's deck. You can see my "Going Gray" hair.
At "Bob Hall Pier", Coco was mesmerized by . . .
. . . surfers in 65 degree water. We noticed not a single woman was crazy enough to take that plunge.
Cherry's pose makes a pretty girl beach portrait.
Coco is all smiles.
When it's too cold to swim . . .
. . . the next best thing is to bury your sister in the sand.
What's a trip to the coast without an obligatory seagull picture?
Time's up. We're headed home. I gotta fix those car seats!
Going Gray
Posted: February 20, 2009 Filed under: A Zany Life, Mouths of Babes, Writers Write | Tags: Gray Hair, Jamie Lee Curtis 2 Comments »I decided to go gray. Underneath the coating of brown, blonde, and red–I have hereditary silver streaks. My mother’s hair was sterling most of my life, and I’ve watched Cowgirl Crisp’s change from black to iron to snow. It’s really beautiful.
The turning point came one Saturday night at our regular burger joint. Under florescent lights, the lady, who took my order, had hair exactly the shade of grape jelly. She looked like she was wearing an elaborate fright wig.
Suddenly, I was self conscious. Checking myself out in the plate glass window, I asked Bacon, “Do I look like that?”
Bacon isn’t stupid. He answered correctly. But, I couldn’t shake the image out of my head. I considered my options.
A few days later, I went to a salon and asked the hairdresser to give me a cut like Jamie Lee Curtis.
“Jamie Who?”
“Jamie Lee Curtis. A Fish Called Wanda. True Lies. The yogurt commercial lady.”
“Never heard of her. Maybe you could find a picture.”
I should have known. The stylist’s hair included a slash of grape jelly purple across the front, and I was pretty sure it was intentional. I left and returned with a photo.
Running fingers through my new cut, she said, “What are you going to put on this?”
“What do you mean?” I knew exactly what she meant, but wanted her to say it.
“What color?”
“No color. I’m going gray.”
“You won’t like it.”
I quit talking.
A week later, I was picking up the girls from school, when a friend told me a funny story.
“We rented Freaky Friday last weekend. My kids loved it. They said the mom looked just like you.”
So, I got the Jamie Lee look after all, minus 7 extra inches in height. What do you think? Are we twins?
Link Soup w/Crisp Lettuce
Posted: February 14, 2009 Filed under: Aha!, cottage garden, Writers Write | Tags: Anne Stewart, cottage garden, Jennifer Crusie, Lani Diane Rich, writers, writing 2 Comments »I’m working–trying to finish the third draft of this story before the pop culture references are completely outdated, so I apologize for the lack of posts in the last week.
Here are a few things I’ve read lately that keep me thinking.
The economy has hit the magazine industry hard. In the last month my two favorites have folded. Domino and Cottage Living are no longer published. They had plenty of subscribers, but advertising dollars drive that industry. The NYT explains it all here. I’m hoarding my last few issues. Most of what I know about garden design came from Cottage Living. I’m sad.
Here is a wonderful blog on “budget philanthropy, making a difference on a dime.” Spread Change will make you feel good just reading it. Enjoy.
The Book Deal is a recent discovery of mine. It’s for writers and book people, and full of good advice. It’s now one of my regular reads.
The character I’m currently writing has a huge passive aggressive streak. Bacon claims I’m all aggressive, and he’s probably right. I’ve been called blunt. I may resemble that remark. But . . . I live with two classic P.A.’s, and I laughed out loud when I first saw passiveaggressivenotes.com
And finally, If you haven’t read Dogs and Goddesses by Jennifer Crusie, Anne Stewart, and Lani Diane Rich, you should. It’s funny, sexy, and not of this world. Here’s the link to the blog by the authors.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
