daily exhale

Oh no, I'll get more Latina spam!

We share an iTunes account. This is mainly because my husband is the procurer of GREAT music.  The other reason is we really don't care about music security between his list and mine.  Where this backfires a bit is that our tastes vary; as I am known to go off on tangents of some childhood memory and then get distracted and end up at the songs by Gloria Estefan that are all in Spanish.  No, I don't speak Spanish, but I love her music. Some of the best are in Spanish.

From there I journeyed into the high school years - Animal House soundtrack, Earth, Wind & Fire, Madonna - of course... on to my church youth group and the music from "Godspell" - THAT'S IT!  Gloria Estefan, Godspell and Fred Astaire because I was thinking about my parents and all of the musicals we used to watch together.  Ahhhh - what a great walk it will be.

Thanks to iTune's Genius my husband now gets "suggested" music from those who know music: 
Mariachi music, Julio Iglesias, Christian Rock and Perry Como! What a group of experts we have!

Time is the most precious gift from friends.

For me birthdays aren't about presents. I actually don't care for them.  What l love best is when friends and family are so kind do go out of their way to make the time for me.  I've had two friends plan their week around spending time with me to celebrate my birthday.  It means so much to me.  Time is the most precious gift.  The time to sigh, and laugh together and when they truly ask about all of the chaos in my life and laugh with me about it all; these are my precious gifts and memories.

I've had a few cards arrive.  They, too, are a gift of time. Someone took the time to find a card that matched our friendship and hand addressed it, stamped it and mailed it off.  That's better than any expensive gift.

The other part of my birthday I look forward to are calls from my brothers. They don't call often so when they remember my birthday it means the world to me.  They will always be my heroes.

My clients are giving me another gift; they have all crammed the beginning of my week with fantastic projects and then they all magically went quiet today starting at 4:30 in anticipation of tomorrow.  Yes, i tell my clients when it's my birthday. They also know my camping schedule.  I truly adore my clients.

I'm blessed every moment of every day. I just have to remember to see it and breathe it in.

Social media is making me lazy.

There was a time recently that I was able to keep the whole family - work - play thing together and have enough left in the night to let creative ideas flow.  That is leading to a nearly published book, three more in the works, scrapbooks, charity blogs, and my own musings. That was before FB, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.  I can't keep up.  I love my friends, enjoy my associates dearly and want to know what they are up to.  What has become a chore is writing for the sake of writing.  Some people enjoyed reading my nannerings and would subscribe to them; the stories of every day happenings, recipes, book reviews.  Not only do I not finish writing books, but reading them is a chore. 

Wait, it's not just social media, Duoh!  It's summer.  I'm so glad it's not me being sucked into the virtual get together abyss.  Our children are home - every day.  They bring with them friends, fights, the need for supplies for lemonade stands, Otter Pops, lunch for five impromptu neighbors stopping by and fights. I know I mentioned fights twice. I should mention fights, bickering, bragging, slamming, kicking, fights, yelling, crying and injuries a few more times.  The creative flow is sucked into the vacuum of their days.

I'm grateful to hold it together enough for my clients and a few friends that get me to laugh at my day.  I am grateful for a loving audience that knows my stories and can instantly appreciate my 140 characters.

I'm still lazy.  I used to send out emails with links and stories to my address book.  Takes too long to select them all. I post to Shutterfly, it pushes to Facebook and they can all share it if they want.  If they are not in the group yet, they'll have to wait until I can breathe in the Fall and catch them all up.

Thank you for reading this. I feel better now.  Time to curl up with my current book, "A Rage to Live" by Mary S. Lovell.  Need to check in with Richard and Isabel Burton.

No Wind Shelter Likes 30 MPH Winds

I was unable to see the limitations of this product.  We were simply looking for a way to extend our "day at the beach" a few hours by offering shelter from breezy days and sun.  Welcome to Oregon - Nehalem Bay is beyond breezy.  They have Jr. Ranger classes just to teach the kids WHY it is SO windy on the Oregon Coast and especially in Nehalem.  We were on the beach - not the calm bay.

The day started at 9 on the sand.  My husband unfurled the "Alcove Shelter" and we basically snapped it together.  We secured it into the sand, angled it to prepare for the wind later in the day.  At this point there was a gentle breeze picking up.  We built up the sides and even dragged some logs to help break the wind at the proper angle. Really, we know this stuff.  What we didn't do is dig deep enough.

By 11:30, the wind was picking up and the side walls went up.  We thought this accessory would be helpful.  We tucked the sides into the sand and built up the outside to weigh it down. 

B-52's at the Oregon Zoo - FANTASTIC

At 3pm I was fourth in line inside the Oregon zoo waiting for the chance to run to the lawn and set up our space for 10.  It rained almost the entire wait from 3 - 5.  I had an umbrella, rain jacket and back pack.  I was set.  Tom arrived just before 5 with the children in rain gear and a tarp.  What we needed was another umbrella - a big one.  The rain continued to come down until the opening act, "The 88's" took the stage.  By then, we were soaked through all layers.  We were huddled in our sand chairs under the tiny umbrella.

While we were waiting, it was a great time to people watch. This guy and woman were too much.  I didn't get a photo of the woman with hot pink beehive hair because it was raining too hard when she was in range.

We were originally a group of ten.  At this point, we were a group of four with two more coming soon.  Ended up only two decided the weather was too much for them so the eight of us were gathered just in time for the B-52's to take the stage.  Oregonians don't whine in the rain. We cheered. When the wind kicked up we did all we could do, laugh.  Two minutes before they started playing, "Ultraviolet" the rain stopped for good.  It was amazing.

By the third song the crowd was on their feet, never to sit down again. 

We brought our children and they were laughing, singing and dancing the entire time.  I was exhausted.  The show was great and lasted for two hours.  I decided to follow the request to not record or take photos of the band. 

If you get a chance to ever see the B52's - take it!  Lawn seats - doesn't matter - just go!  They won't let you down.  The show ended with an encore of, "Planet Claire" and "Rock Lobster."  Thank you for those standards!

Building a Home with My Husband: A Journey Through the Renovation of Love

Building a Home with My Husband: A Journey Through the Renovation of Love (Hardcover)
by Rachel Simon

As the second book of Rachel Simon's I've read, I can say I'm now a fan.  Her style and ability to paint word pictures pulls me right into the room - or renovation - with her.  After reading her tales of the journey to a "new" old house and her insights into her life and those around her, I would hire her husband as my architect and his general contractor without seeing a single photo.  Her descriptions has me bundling up with them in the winter and enjoying the sunlight dancing in the rooms.

Having read, "Riding the Bus with My Sister" allowed me to feel that I somewhat know her story. I felt a little more like an insider without needing the same recaps others may need.  She references, "Riding the Bus..." throughout the book, but not enough to drag it out for those of us who read it, but enough to catch up a new reader so they didn't feel in the dark.

As the book drew to a close and the renovations were done - inside and out - I found myself a bit sad that it was over. I wanted to continue reading to see how some of the other sub stories ended.

This is a great read for trips, light days, before bed - any time. Don't miss this beautiful love story dusted with drywall.

------------------------
About Rachel Simon:
Rachel Simon is an award-winning author and nationally known public speaker. She is best known for her critically acclaimed, bestselling memoir Riding The Bus With My Sister, which was adapted for a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie of the same name. The book has garnered numerous awards, and is a frequent and much beloved selection of many book clubs, school reading programs, and city-wide reads throughout the country.

I would always come home for a Bob Salad

My dad was 50 when I was born.  I am the youngest of six children.  The next in line is 7 years older than I.  After graduating high school and turning down several scholarships because I got homesick just thinking about being that far away from my family, I moved out to busy myself with a lot of "activities."  From my studio apartment in Costa Mesa, I would get a call from my dad a couple of times a month.  Usually mom called.  It was just the two of them at home for the first time since they met up until the time my eldest brother was born.  They were different now that it was just the two of them.

Dad would call just to chat and make me laugh.  But when he would call early enough and say, "Honey, I'm making a salad.  How does that sound?"  I knew he meant his "Bob Salad."  My dad, the feisty heart patient, never really ate very healthy.  But as he started to venture into vegetables, he discovered he had a knack for creating amazing salads of chopped vegetables from Plow Boys.  I would say, "Can you wait about a 1/2 hour? I'm on my way."  The answer was always, "Of course, see you in a bit, baby."

Other than coffee through high school, it was the one time we spent together - just the two of us eating these salads.  My mom was usually out or had eaten and he waited for me. I smile every time I eat a red onion to this day.  He introduced me to red onions, green peppers. Up until Bob Salads I was convinced most vegetables were brown and mushy.  Salads were Iceberg lettuce and tomato only.

Here's the recipe:

Iceberg lettuce, of course
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1 tomato cut into chunks
1/4 cup bean sprouts - these were new to him outside of Chinese take-out
Bacon bits
Some kind of shredded cheese - I don't remember, but I usually use cheddar to go with the bacon
Italian dressing on the side - I like Newman's Light Italian with Lemon.

It's not fancy or terribly unique, but he made it for me a couple of times a month.  He died in 1989, about 2 1/2 years after I moved out.  I had a couple of dozen salads with him and a few breakfasts at the Jolly Roger in Seal Beach with both of them.  These were our times with just us. We had plenty of times together with the whole family or sections of it, based on schedules. I'm forever grateful I decided to stay "home" after graduation.  I miss my parents and thrive on the memories and stories we all recall at different times. 

Appreciating the diversity and show in downtown PDX

 We were heading to a family dance party at the Airplay Cafe.  Along the way we were taken aback by "Gold Man" as our son calls him.  I don't know why I'm still affected by the characters downtown. Perhaps because there are never two that are alike so each one we see is unlike anything we expect from previous experience.

We especially liked his boots; but were unable to read the pin on his butt.  Our daughter was concerned he'd get the grease from his bike on his special outfit.

We made it AirPlay Cafe along with about 60 others with small children.  It was 70's - 80's Dance Party night.  Children ate for $2, happy hour prices on drinks and a lot of fun.  I'm still amazed at how different regional music tastes are.  I was out among them in the 70's and 80's and hadn't heard of several of these songs or they were some weird dance mix created just for some no brainer record spinning.  I was reminded of a DJ named Merlin Dean Poole who spun at Garfield's in Huntington Beach and Oscar's in Buena Park and Fullerton.  He was good. He was a true DJ.  We had fun, the children didn't know the difference, but I missed the ones who really knew how to mix songs and transition to another artist.

We came home in time for them to attack our neighbors in the yard.  By the time they finished their dogpiles and keep-away-with-the-shoe game, it was time to wrap it up and call it a night. 

They have so much energy. I'm exhausted and heading to bed.

Children's Books Obvious Copy-Cat Rip Offs - RANT

I have a new pet peeve. I know, my list is long, but this one is eeking its way up the list.  Scholastic Books seems to be the biggest promoter of this that I have seen so far.  The books that are such a direct rip off of classic children's stories.   Do you remember, "Caps for Sale" from the 40's?  Sure you do, minimal color, man has stacks of caps on his head, monkeys in trees take caps from sleeping peddler.  Then the monkeys copy the peddler until they throw their hats down to him and he goes back to town.  Try this, "Fifty Red Night Caps."  Here's the recap: When monkeys steal the nightcaps that he is carrying to market to sell for his nan, a little boy inadvertently finds a way to get the caps back.

Franchise Business Idea - Mobile Sun

I was on my walk and saw a truck in a neighbor's driveway, "Sun Power."  I started to think about how popular tan booths still are, but how people don't have the time to get ready and go somewhere to do it.  They want the tan, they can afford the money, but not the time or complicated scheduling with families.

Here's the idea:
Get a big truck - buy a tan bed - a good one.  MOBILE SUN. You allow people to prepay and set appointments.  They can go in on it with neighbors for 1/2 hour sessions.  There is a "delivery" fee and then a per session fee. This would encourage multiple appointments in one driveway.  Usually tanners have friends within walking distance who are tanners.

It could be a whole franchise thing.  Sell exclusive areas and protect territories.

Obstacles:
Power. You can't very well ask people to unplug their driers to plug in the bed. Somehow, you have to have the power on board without a noisy generator or else you'll be in violation of CC&R's in many areas.
Won't work so well for apartment buildings either because of parking permissions, unless you are totally self-contained and quiet.

Permits in cities to offer the services

Insurance and CYA paperwork just as if you had a brick and mortar location.

Additional considerations:
You could offer minor child care for an additional fee if they are outside. But then your folks need to be bonded and pass background checks. They should anyway and have major liability insurance.

This idea was inspired by several neighbors who tan almost daily.  They would dig this and would sign up.  It does remove the spontaneous 'walk-in' tanners.