"Finding Face"

"Finding Face" Co-Produced/Directed by Patti Duncan (OSU) and Skye Fitzgerald, this is a documentary shown in Portland, OR. last night, anyone and everyone read in on the piece, Tat Marina's story and do what you can to raise awareness... and bring justice for the women of Cambodia and for the greater whole.

James and I went to screen this, his first and my second time seeing it... it's third showing in the world. This sparked tons of convo between the two of us, and means a great deal to me, considering Patti Duncan is one of the Professors I work with and the topic at hand, of course. Truly amazing, read in on it! :)

Bottled-up... Anger from the pissy-cats

Bottled a smoked ale for the first time today... well bottled for the first time of all... Winther brewed this amazing Smoked Brown Ale... and it is really something. Although today was full of the usuals, chaffeuring around the teen, cleaning what I could in the house... I did enjoy learning a little bit about what makes Winther, Winther. He truly has a gift, and definitely knows what he's doing... although he said that he would go into German-mode while we were bottling... it was more the cat that was in the way then my clumsiness. Zoe (the cat of strawberry anger) is the roommates cat, and does not like Winther or myself. Will he can stand him, but the cat definitely hates me. I have been known to be quite the "cat-whisperer", ha... not true considering everytime I get within 3 feet of one, or closer(which I always find myself in) I either get scratched in the face, or nearly have my eyes taken out. I think this all comes back to when I was 5 years old, and I had an orange cat named Simba... I loved that cat soooo much. One day we were outside and my mother had just set up an inflatable pool for my brother and I to play in. Well seeings how Simba and I were so close, I thought that he would like to go swimming... so I threw him in= End result, pissed-off wet orange cat, millions of scratches, deflated pool... and now as I continue to have these run-ins with felines, I believe that Simba passed along negative-cat-voo-doo... and now every cat knows and senses this about me. So even though I know that cats hate me, I still can't help it, I Love Animals and even no matter how matter times I get scratched in the face, have my eyes clawed at, get hissed at.... and like Zoe did the other day (have my whole container of strawberries knocked over), I still get closer to them then I should. So today while we were bottling, Zoe came in and teased me... she plays hard to get... she acts like she wants to be pet, but then she hisses at you and growls... so I try to bug her as much as possible, hoping she'll learn to love me... but I guess after grabbing her out of the loft and throwing her down a couple of steps to keep her in the house, she will continue to hate me for life... but two cases of brew is better then 5 angry cats
Look forward to seeing how the brew turns out, and hopefully in the future, brewing a little of my own... ;)

August 25th; Miranda Poppins almost out

This summer has been really good... but I have to admit that I am a little overdone... I am ready to be in Corvallis, studying, living in my apartment and near my best-friend. Portland has been good to me, but this last week and a half might be a little tiring,oh and long... but it has been great and I have had a lot of opportunity to figure out more about myself, life and what I need and want to make me happy. So far I have watched overall 8 kids this summer... and I figured out that at the most I would like to have three little ones... NO Sisters!!! I just want one little girl... so hopefully this will be in the cards for me. I will also not have kids so far apart in age... this causes a complete disconnection between siblings. Portland is a really great town... I have been to all kinds of pubs, two brewfest, a documentary showing, many gelato/pastry shops... and coffee of all sorts (in fact I'm in a coffeeshop now :) Which leads me to the apartment update. Because OSU has been major assholes to Winther, he will probably not be going back this year. They won't give him funding until he writes an appeal, in which he will end up paying out of state tutition totally $30,000... which to be honest isn't worth it. So he's decided that hopefully if a position opens up at McMenamin's that he'll take it and live in Portland for a year or two, to establish residency... and I'll be in Corvallis finishing my degree(s)and living with new people! I have three prospect lined up; Abi (the horticulturist), Clare (Ag Science Lady) and Sami (the Vet)... all are great potential roommates... but I'm still a little sad that Winther and I won't be moving in together... we certainly put our apartment life on a pedestal... with a puppy too, and now I don't think I'll even get to pick out a set of dishes... but other then that all is well and flexibility is a virtue... plus I'm there for studies so maybe this will help... all the apartments are at the most two blocks from campus, I can have a dog, and they are all my age and focus-on-studies-style... so it's cool. So we'll see how the year plays out... I will update more, when I move in a week... but if I can muster up the enthusiasm I will try and end my Miranda Poppins right, and start writing again everyday... to end it will... stay tuned!

Well all is good...

Life has been good... This past weekend was of sporting fun... full of chlorinated goodness, sunshine, family, alcoholism til' the wee morning hours and a dead pack of American Spirits... not my type, not my trend. So the weekend was great as I was down in Southern Oregon with the family, and Gyllian-less... I hung out mostly with my Dad and friends, which was great... and finally got to hang out (for more then only a couple of hours!) with my little brother, who isn't so little anymore. He's leaving for training with the Coast Guard in October :( It's a good move for him, but unfortuantely it has to be in the services... He will do great things though. Then a drunken night with my Madre, which was a quick one for me, seeings how I can't ever catch up with my Mom, and when I do, I end up out like a light, due to tiredness... but the next day we went and saw The Orphan which I have to admit, wasn't a waste of money... and the company was great. I love to take her to scary/horror movies.. she's jumpy and it makes it more fun. So after the day with Mom, back to Dad's to burn one down til 4... AM... wow it's been a long time since I've smelled the crisp morning... but to bed I went... then up to Antique with Grandma She'. When we finally got out to town we hit up one shop where I purchased some findings for Booze-Spice. I wished I had read the Star Trek comics before giving them up... but all in due time, I'll get the chance to browse em'. Then Grandma and I went to my cousin Lucy's basketball game, then more chlorinated pool... then I took Grandma to see Bruno . And I believe I saw her both cry her eyes out and pee her pants on more then one occassion within the two hour feature... It really is something.
By Monday I was at my Grandparents house, picking Blackberries and eventually on the road back to Portland for another week of Nanny.

Tuesday up to today, has been pretty good. Watched the girls at their house tuesday, in which we just chilled and watched movies avoiding the heat (107), record high in Portland... nothing compared to So. Ore. And Jill ended up staying at their house so, I went out to Booze-Spice's in which we killed ourselves in the heat, but had a nice drive around the Falls and adventured to find Oneta Falls, but wound up missing it and driving back and forth... only to find it absorbed with a shit-ton of people... not our cup of tea at the time... plus hunger was setting in... there are so many things about Booze-Spice that really can't compare to others... his brewing, insert anything here, and the meals he cooks. So instead of having a romantic meal by his lonesome, he cooked lamb, made flat bread and I worked the salad... and topped it off with watermelon and coconut covered dates... polishing everything with a wonderful bottle of Shiraz, that he purchased. It was really quite the meal... and the company wasn't bad either... then we jumped in the neighbors sprinkler to cool off and enjoyed the rest of the evening. Thank you, love

Wednesday the girls and I went swimming at a fitness club's pool, which had way too many fucking rules... if I had been a kid I would've broken every rule and then pissed in the pool before I got kicked out. It sincerely sucked for kids. After our mistreatment and over-supervision, I took the girls out for icecream... then back to the house. When we got there, Dan (Jill's dad) suggested that I chill and take a nap if I wanted, which I took him up on... a nap that lasted 3 1/2 hours! Complete with Molly (Jill's mom) delivering me dinner in bed. After that I got up, Booze-Spice called and I joined him as he ventured St. John's only to find scale 4 pizza (which it really does suck). But once again it was another nice time just chillin' in Portland. After Booze-Spice dropped me off Back at 11pm... straight to bed for another long stint of sleep... this one equally 9 hours... total sleep for today= 13 hours... think I was tired?

Today was alright. I woke up at 8am, cooked a pretty kick-ass omelet (if I do say so myself) for Jill, Nicole and I. Did some things around the house, and caught the Noon showing of G-Force with the girls.... 3-D Everything... it's just a way to jack up the prices... considering that when you take kids to the show, they have to always see it in 3-D, and have to have popcorn, soda and the works... and even as we (Moms, Nannys, and Babysitters... everywhere) finally figured out that taking that shit to the movies, saves a shit-ton of money... they don't start searching people's bags, but they jack up the prices of movies, make then all (kid's movies) 3-D and make you wait to enter, as to entice children to annoy until served the buttery flavored goodness, which just leaves them belly-aching later on, due to its nutritional content... poor little kids... but hey we were all there once. So after G-Force which by the way is about Guinea Pigs as Secret Agents... we came back to the house where I'm at now... I look forward to the weekend... and a break... it has been a long couple of days.

lokaen = Booze Spice , quite suiting

FriSatSunMonTuesWedThursFriSatSunMonTues= 12

Holy shit it's been days and days, what to say, what to say? :

Today: Bjork, coffee and the internets... all is starting off great.

Yesterday: 20th: french toast with Gyllian, and now her and her friend Elle, are building a home for the almost-dead Gerbil, Cupcake, so they're entertained and I'm journaling... made stuffies (stuffed animals) all day and watched movies... then Winther called and to Hotlips pizza and a movie, Bruno, hilarious... he had tears in his eyes...

Sunday: 19th: Got up at 9am, Gyllian actually slept in then her, Jewel (Corgi) and Cloudy (housecat of massacre), came in and all woke me up... then, cinnamon/sugar roll-up pancakes + My Fair Lady. Then craft day which consumed me with sewing and stuffing a pink pig with a green crown who now inhabits the name "Mr. Stitches", while Jill decorated her camel. Then we watched Peter Pan, while I did the dishes, which I feel like I've been doing everyday now, twice a day... interesting the skills that I'm acquiring. ha. Then lunch, and a bike ride down to the dock. I swear one day, Jill is going to get hit by a car... it's friggin' scary riding around with her... but not on my watch. After the bike ride, we picked plums from the tree, and Molly came home, then we research dogs/puppies around the area for adoption... then pedicures, up until Jill wanted her nightly dark-chocolate covered raisinettes and a sunday show on OPB... to which I escaped to watch another movie and enjoy a cup of peach tea.

Saturday: 18th: Katy left in the morning, after she spent the night... got up, waited for Jill to return from soccer practice... then she and I went to the Clark count fair, in St. Helen's Oregon. It really wasn't as bad as I thought it would've been, I hate fairs... they are usually sooo hot, on top of pavement, expensive, full of lots of screaming people/kids... and Carnies! I don't know what it is, but I hate when people push things on to me... it wasnt' as bad as it has been in the past, at other fairs.... but Jill and I enjoyed seeing "Brothers from another Mother" comedy show, which was interesting, seeings how we just had to see it twice... then we enjoyed the rides, lots of sugary treats... erg... I almost vomited after the purple/cherry slushie... and the over-exhaustion of heat from the day earlier... we saw all kinds of animals, a police-dog show, OSU garden show... and lots of St. Helen's locals... and boy I tell you, they are the cream of the crop... home-grown... but it wasn't that bad... well we were there from 12pm to 6:30pm... enough at which, when Molly/Ellie/Lindsay showed up, I was ready to get the hell out of there. So at 6:30, I left St. Helen's, to join Winther at PIB/SIB Portland/Seattle's International Brewfest... which was great... by the time I showed up, three hours late, Winther and Andy were having a good time.. had to catch up, so I started with de dolle dulle tuve (The Bitch)- florally and hoppy, but good... then onto the Mystery beer which to be honest was better then most of the others, it was caramel/chocolate, a little coffee at times, smooth and rich (crap, I can't remember the name for the life of me right now!) but then we strolled around enjoying conversations, meeting people, people-watching/identifying and checking out the millions of dogs, St. Bernard's with green bows, little shaven pomerainians (it looked like a little bear). The fest was really great, great people, great convos, great brew... I ended with a Peche Mortel... after Kulmbachers Pils and I was well-off even after my second... then we decided to find a diner, in which we enjoy shitty diner food, sobering up and more chats... night ended well at 12:00am.

Friday:17th: After playing chaffeur all day... I woke up, drove Jill to Art camp, hung out there for over an hour to listen to the "Grace-Art camp song" which never happened due to lack of supervision of children and lack of time... but it was super cute and the visual arts counselor wasn't bad either, then I did a couple of errands (dropped off movies, and library books... the typically Mom thing), then went back to the house for a 10 min shower, then to drop Ellie off at soccer, in which Molly met us, and we watched her game, where I got the worse farmers-tan/sunburn in a short amount of time... I have butterfly-marked face from my sunglasses and horizontal straight lines on the mids of my upper arms. After the soccer game, I stuck myself in traffic on US 26, to pick up Jill at Art camp. She showed me all her stuff and the fiber arts table, which was pretty sweet... then onto get icecream, in which she had rasp/mint-chocolate-chip gelato... then back home, until Katy showed up at 5:30pm, where we went to Santa Fe on 23rd in NW Portland, and enjoyed a couple margaritas... then polished it off with a sharing of a slice of chocolate cake, from Rose's (it's the best), and back to the house, for long hours of girl talk and crazyness.... love her.

Thurs: 16th: Nothing too exciting... except that Winther woke up grotesquely green and sick... advision to not go to work and a kiss on the cheek, then back home to find Ellie, broken-hearted.... her and her boyfriend broke up, so as I drove her to driver's ed we talked about relationships and how they go up and down... and that being 15 yr. old it may feel like the end of the world, but there will be many more... she's good, just a little shook up... so as I thought of how to cheer her up, I decided to make her a "Post-You-Know-Who" Healing Kit... comprised off a 15 yr. old movie oddly enough titled, 10 things I HATE about you, her favorite chocolate, a mango (another favorite), and other things to cheer her up... all wrapped up in a hot pink bag... but then I found Gyllian Homeward Bound 1 and 2, a movie I thought she'd enjoy... so I purchased them both little gifts to keep their chins up... I never had sisters... so what the hell... plus I love to gift :) And when I have a little girl, there will be many occasions when she will need a pick me up after a break-up or a downer... so I'll be prepared, to cheer her up :) After that I picked up Jill from Art camp and took her to get chocolate crossiants from her favorite french bakery...they were quite good :) Then we came back and chilled for a little, the normal evening.

Monday 13th to Wednesday 15th: During the day I really only did stuff around the house... and waited for Jill to get home after Art camp at 3pm... when she did, so did Dan, and so I was able to leave to go out to Winther's for our little day-off vacay... so we stayed at his place Monday night, after going and getting BBQ... I don't know, it was his idea, but we most definitely did not fit in with the cowboy/redneck decor... but after that we decided that over our couple days off we would go camping... so we researched and decided to get up early in the morning to go out and explore the Mt. Hood national forest. So after a later start then we intended due to wonderful sleep... we got up and drove the saturn all around on I-84 going NE... we found so many great places along the Columbia between Oregon and Washington, we found a place called the Women's Forum, where we found lots of people oil-painting the scenery... it was wonderful. As we looked out on the viewpoint we noticed that up the cliff there was what looked like an old orthodox-style church... so we drove to it, and found that it was only a building that housed as a viewpoint... so we grabbed some coffee from the cafe there and drove to our next point... in which we hiked alongside the cliffs and found a little waterfall called Horse's tail... it was beautiful.. then to Multnomah... then up to Bonneville Dam, where we sat in the sun for a little while and called Jason, seeings how it was his birthday... and decided that we would go camping down in Corvallis instead, so that we could enjoy Jason and Hillary (the newly wedded couple)'s company... so we went to the fish hatchery before went left the area...in which we met Herman the 10ft, 450 lb. Sturgeon... it was friggin' huge and old.... 72 years, I think was the guesstimate for how old it was... then we watched these little kids feed the trout and the ducks... and found this cute littlle (well actually pain in the ass) fisher-duck, that kept biting at the tails and fins of the fish below...he was hilarious... after we left the Mt. Hood area... we drove down to Corvallis, stuck in Portland traffic for a while... but got to Mary's Peak eventually at around 7pm, just in time for the sun to go down... then enjoy a nice indian dinner with the Hogans... and roasted marshmellows, chilled with Daisy (their dog) on her bed, then went to bed... it was really a great night. Then we woke up at around 9 somethine, packed our stuff, had breakfast then drove back into Portland... decided to stay that night at his house... and enjoyed a little Cafe Flesh... ha! It was a great little vacay away from the norm and with him :)

Friday 9th to Sunday 12th: Jason and Hillary are getting married this weekend... so we headed down to Corvallis... and started out with the bachelor party, in which we (the guys, a girlfriend, and I) went to Downward Dog in Corvallis, for drinks... it was fun... but a little awkward... so as the fellas left to go back to the house... I called my friend Tab and he joined me for drinks... it was great to see him... then back to the house, where Winther and I slept on Nick's (one of the groomsmen) couch, well me on the couch, Winther on the floor... poor Winther :(, oh and we found out it was a pull out... ha... anyways, we got up... had breakfast at a local diner... got ready for the day then went out to the wedding, at the park.... before we started meeting people we went on a walk, the park was beautiful. Then we went back to the wedding area, where we checked out the scene... the wedding was beautiful... Winther looked so good, with his boots, and curled up mustache... her colors were hot pink, orange, yellow... very summery... starburst colors, and gerber daisies... they are such great people :) The wedding was really fun... and afterwards we drove back to town and enjoy the evening together until he drove me home. It was really fun weekend, but super tiring after it all... no wonder Winther got sick... geez... more sleep needed. Sunday I hung out with Jill all day, as the rest of the fam went to Ellie's soccer practices/games... so far they have won two 1st place titles, and one 2nd place... they are really good :)

Now onto the rest of today, all the girls are here... about to have lunch and then to the waterpark at the Rosegarden... the temp is about 90 today, so it will be good to get in some water and try and read some more... lots of reading this summer to catch :)

Tues,Wed,Thurs... onto Friday!!!

Tues: Started out at 7:30am, coffee, shower and a better outlook on the summer and hanging with the girls... I dreamt a lot about all the things I still need to do this summer to get ready for next years job and apartment and such... I think it was the caffeine (that usually doesn't effect me, but for some reason did this time) so up, shower, more coffee... then to Jamie's to chill with the girl's all day... we had planned to go on a hike, but instead waited for Nicole to get up, so we watched Babe (you know, kids movie about the sheep-pig) brought me back :) Then we had lunch around 12ish... and decided to take the dogs out for a walk around the Loop. So I and the girl's in the PPE, with Jewel (not the house corgie, but their young yellow lab puppy) and Scamp (the cute little bison/dauschund/cocker) he's sooo cute, but still a little tiny puppy, so a little flighty. So we walked the Loop, a couple mosquitos here and there and tons of snakes!!! eeeekkkk!!! It was kind of freaky... but we survived... it was good to be outside and not in front of the T.V. , and by the many "are we done yet" comments, I could tell that it was a good idea to get the girls outside too. After we finished the 2 mile Loop, we dropped the dogs off and I decided to surprise the girls with a little treat... so we went to DQ. Now as I'm on a college budget and am still trying to pay off my lovely laptop, even though I'm saving I still like to buy for others, especially little kids... I like treating them :) But as it used to be enough to simply get swirl cones, now it's "I want a chocolate-dipped waffle cone with chocolate swirl icream, oh... and can I get it all dipped in Cherry?" So we settled on chocolate-dipped waffle cone+chocolate icecream, and Ali had a sundae... not bad. So we went back, chilled watched Bolt, and I feel in and out of sleep until their Dad got home... early in fact :) Then back to the Hampton... Jillian excited from Puppet camp, but off to dinner with her parents and their friends... so the house was to me :) So I made Heirloom tomato/olive/four-pepper goat cheese pizza and watched Ever After... (I'm still in love with Drew Barrymore) :)

Wed: Another day started out the same, but I made Jillian chocolate-chip pancakes before I left. Then off to the girl's where Nicole was already up, so we watched a couple of movies and decided to go to the library... yay!!! We decided to go to St. John's public library, I love St. John's ( this was not far from the island), but you cross the columbia on the St. John's bridge (which the arcitect that designed this bridge was the same arcitect for the Golden Gate Bridge, and rumor has it that he thought the St. John's was the most beautiful bridge he's designed)... it is a light steel green, with sharp peaks at the towers, same overall design as the Golden gate, but far much more detail and creative-effect... it's beautiful and reminds me of the Wicked Witch of the West from OZ. So we got to the library to find out it didn't open until 12pm, so we drove to a park that the girl's directed me too... Columbia park, it was beautiful too... and the girl's had a great time. So we hung out there for a little... then I decided by the time we got to the library, it would be 12, then we'd stay there a while, and they would probably get hungry, so I decided to treat them to a snack at Freddy's while we browsed for a little until the library opened. We settled on caramel and cheddar cheese rice quakers... a little healthy... then we browsed the toys, chilled on the furniture there... and checked out the CD's... we had quite the time... then off to the library, where the girl's found a great assortment of things, but Ali settled on one chapter book with a felt brown cover, and Nikki decided on about 10 picture books and a chapter book about desserts... kids are so cute... then we went back to their house, where we enoyed grilled cheese and tomato soup and another movie, Aquamarine (silly girly movie, about a mermaid that has to fall in love with a lifeguard to give the girl's that found her, their wish- which is to keep one of the girl's from movie away to Austraila), holy crap, I should be doing research on the girl's psyches, and their development behind the lines, and actions of these movies... Nikki is boy-crazy at 8... enough said... oh wait, I was too... ha... anyways then Mike got back, I returned to the Hampton, and Molly and Jillian showed up close after... then all the girls (Molly, Jillian, Ellie and myself) went to Ellie's soccer practice, but before we stopped at Taco Bell (eeeewwwwrr... still am not to fond of), but Molly ordered a Pina colada (both of us hoping that their was alcohol in it, ha), and as we were leaving the drive thru I asked the lady at the window if it had some in it... it which she glared... I have to admit I was a riot that night... it reminded me of my Grandpa Greg and all his flicking bullshit to everyone, guess it's in the jeans...ha... then we dropped Ellie off at soccer practice, and Molly, Jillian, Jewel (house-corgie) and I hung out at the skate park, while Jillian "Heeley'd", a little girl with strawberry blonde hair and pigtails, roaming around this a bunch of 12-16 year old "skater-boys"... it was pretty awesome, and quite hilarious... so Molly and I chatted, then we went to Krispie Creme, where Jillian threw a fit and got her way, a chocolate bar... but didn't get her way when she wanted to go to Goodwill... but then got her way again, because we stopped by Jamba Juice after Ellie's soccer practice... then dropped Ellie off at her friends and back to the Hampton, for the retirement of everyone to bed... then asked Molly if Ellie had any movie to which she directed me to a drawer in her room, which just happend to have about 20 packs of various cigarettes (15, smoking like a chimney)... Good luck Molly...I watched Saved (Jena Malone, Mandy Moore, Macaulay Culkin) check it out, it is pretty hilarious and right on target as to all the crazy yahoos, bible thumping and isolating people in society based on belief versus human choice... then to bed.

Thurs: I didn't have to do anything today!!! A day off, well sort of... I told Molly I could do everyone's laundry so I did... 6 loads... but I also got out of the house, drove around and listened to some new music I purchased on ITunes...of the many (Ingrid Michaelson, more Lily Allen, Viva la Vida, Heartless, some Slumdog Sountrack and a song I really like, Laughing With by Regina Spektor... sincerely great song... then after driving around, came back hung out and painted cards for some friends, until Jillian and Molly came home and Molly made Carbonara (the family's favorite dish) which is quite good... then we played Splash (kid's game, involving squeaking dolphin toys) and then painted nails while Molly read to us, a Richard Peck novel... and now I'm to bed...

Oh My! 16-22

So instead of writing out details in full sentences... I'm going to give short word(s) details to sum up the days:

16: Up, Ready, Chocolate-chip pancakes, Jillian in here Prime, Girls, Pack the Lunches, Dan's (the dad) Micro-managing, Crazy-car ride to the Zoo. THE ZOO, lots of people/kids, petting zoos, bird-show, girls-fighting, girls-playing, Sunscreen++, Book reading, Africa, Jillian drawing the animals, Chimpanzee Challenge (5 mins- dollar each), Otter rock, the Seal Lions, Hotter then Hell, Drive to Dairyqueen, called "Mom" again from other observants, three blizzard = three happy girls, back to Honeybee Hampton, snack time then James picked me up.

That evening, we enjoyed Portland, Deschutes Dining and Brewery, Bleu/Bacon Burger+Green Lakes(Me), Elk Burger+Black Butte(James), great convo lots of yuppies everywhere, we ate in the Pearl. Then strolled a little around town, went to check out record store (but closed), almost went into a odd little hole-in-the-wall smut store that looked like a record store... then to Powell's for Sci-Fi lit and Femi-lit (Powell's is the biggest bookstore in the nation) it's gorgeous. Talked of Rudy Rucker, decisions to purchase difficult, empty-handed and to the show. Satyricon (not many habitants) in the beginning, but picked up at the end. First band sparked interesting conversations, differences apparent, second band sparked inspiration (found my clone, with a knock-off nose structure) they were really great, might need to obtain groupie status... then Kayodot... which I was in awe of, sincerely beautiful instrumentals, and very talented musicians. I would sleep with the violin lady if I was one, into ladies and two, into asian women, but she was very beautiful and beyond one of the most talented violinist I have heard/seen in her age. After enjoying company and music, I was sooooo tired I got sick on the way home, no vomit, yay! But I was soooo tired from a long day at the Zoo, then all the way until 1am, and up for another day at 7:30. Went to bed with ringing ears, ears that haven't rung like that since I was 17, this lead to good dreams and a hunger for more.

17: Up, Girl's arrive and we chill for a little while... chat with my Madre for a while and internets until 10:30ish, then onto the presentation of Zemeckis' A Christmas Carol, in which we stood in a long-ass line for over an hour to see the inside of a train that was traveling all over the world sharing about the premiere of A Christmas Carol (Starring Jim Carrey, Gary Coleman, Colin Firth etc...) it was a really cool train, and very interactive... then onto a blow-up theatre to see a trailer, oh and it's in 3-D, it's going to be pretty awesome, check it out in Nov. After the chaotic lines and overwhelming amounts of kids... we came back to Honeybee Hampton where the girls chilled and Ted + Gabby (neighbors kids) came over to play Wii and hang. 20 extra bucks so no big deal ;) and then the evening seemed to end after they all left.

18: Beach day!!! So up, a little breakfast, girl's arrive and I pack a picnic... off to the beach after the girls play Life and we enjoy the 90+ degree weather, got a great sun-burn and added a couple other kids to the bunch... (sometimes I watch a neighbors kids for a couple of hours here and there and sincerely, they are easy). But that is now 5 kids, wow do I really feel like a mom... it's going to be a long time before I tie myself down like this, if ever. So after the beach, dropped off the girls, back to Hampton with Jillian, Ted and Gabby, then Jillian and I hung out for a little before she retired to her room for nightly reading with Mom or Pop.

19: Friday!!! Jillian and I day :) These days are sooooo much easier... so we slept in... hung over the house until three, then went to the library for her prize and to check out more books... to Aloto Gelato (J: rasp/choc-chip mint, Me: coconut/orange) then to this crazy ass children's toy store, which was pretty sweet, Jillian acquired a little Owl (with Glow-in-the-Dark eyes, mind you) named after a couple of changes, Buttons Alice McCaw, he's quite cute and in good hands... then to a vintage store, an indian-store, bank then Subway for din din... we wanted to get home and relax, by this time Netflix had delivered, so we watched The Little Princess, made brownies and cleaned-up to Mary J. Blige (Jill's choice, but it worked) then watched The Parent trap and I read here Grimm's Fairytales (rapunzel, rumpelstilskin, frog prince and a couple of others- this is where I had to explain how rapunzel had boys after she was banished in the wood, when the story only said that the prince snuck up to her window) this was tricky... very tricky... but whew... it all turned out o.k. Then off to bed for a day of the 4th and Fireworks.

20: Started out sleeping in... yes! Then online looked at some artwork... hung out with Fam... played with Jill and got ready for the day... James and I decided to hang out, and fly the coop at Sauvie, even though there were people coming over and free dinner. So we went to Hopworks... it was pretty good... bleu-bacon-bbq burger (again) and Evelyn's Imperial Sunshine + pretzel stix. Dinner was good, then we drove around ( I Love doing this) and looked at all the interesting places... just driving and people-watching, talking and accents... then a sudden erge for Salvation Army clothing, White-Russians and Sparklers... so we did just that... James in Gold Lame silk skin-tight boxers... white-russians with icecream, sparklers, then pipe tobacco (rookie's first time), it was great... there were lots of fireworks around from Ptown, so it was a great night. Then awesome sex, as usual... basically having to re-create a holiday seeings how James was so far away from his family on his favorite holiday, and I, as well away from mine... but we made it a fun night.

21: After a wonderful morning, drove Sven into work, Edgefield is a great place... then I found a little coffeehouse with comfy couches at 8am and enjoyed mocha, The Brutal language of Love, a talk with my Ma and people watching... then decided to frivolously spend a little.. so I bought a couple of t-shirts... then we met up again for lunch at McMen's and a tour... he really is doing the job that he loves... around good people all day, kegs, drinking a pint here and there... and music. The facility is awesome. After I picked him up, we went back to house to relax before we went hiking with our friends, who were coming in from Corvallis. The plan was to meet after James got off work, then go hiking up around Multnomah Falls... but here's how it went... James got off, we relaxed, then got a phone call - "so, we'll be there in 5 mins, it's 3:45ish now, and we have to meet up with a friend at 5"... so... instead, James and I did what we wanted and took them to Hotlips for pizza and strolled around the local New Seasons... then he and I went back to the apartment, and enjoyed the rest of the evening until we got another phonecall saying they were back in town for beers... but the call never came, so we relaxed and sang a little :) Then he drove me home, and back to a week of work... one which after a holiday weekend, I didn't want to endure... but it was such a great weekend, so thanks honey.

22: That's today...holy shit, I'm caught up... wow. Jami's (the two other girls' house) at 8am..grrrr... hung out with Alison until Nikki woke up... which I found a little odd... for she gets up every night at 4am to get in bed with her Mom and sleeps naked at 8 years old, but she also sucks on her first and second fingers of her right hand while petting you at the same time... something which I'm trying to help her get over... but what I'm I do say, I was the kid who took off her diaper and painted pictures on the wall with my shit... to each his own... anyways, then we watch a couple of movies and had a lazy/comfy day... due to the decrease in heat of Portland, from 92 to 65... weird summer. Then we played Disney Scene-it, I kicked some heiney... and karaoked a little, which was fun... the girls (especially at that age, want to be superstars) it's too cute... then Mike (their Dad) got home at 4:30... and I arrived at the Hampton in time to hang out with Jillian before dinner. Puppet camp went great for her, she's in charge of making the dauschhund for the play on Friday... and then we did our usual of trampoline, playing a board game... watching a movie and enjoying comfy clothes and tea... during this she should me all of her American Girl dolls, which I don't really understand the whole AG doll system and find dolls to be a pretty screwed up way for a girl to idealize subjects based on their looks and what they have... it is really interesting, but she loves them... "I will question these sorts of things, when I have kids"... *note to self.
After the movie, Jill was to bed and I decided seeings how I am sooooo tired and have another day of entertaining the girls, I should get some sleep after LJ... so here I go.

Nighty night