Just For the Fun of It

It's almost December, and I think a lot of the universe breathes a collective sigh of relief. The year is almost over. It's done. No more pressure to accomplish anything, not a lot of deadlines, and the hope and anticipation of a new year. I know this isn't everyone's situation, but it's mine - hence, it being on my blog ;) - and I am grateful, because I burn the candle at both ends for all other 11 months of the year.

Thanksgiving was a fabulous time of doing absolutely nothing. Sam is blessed with some super doting grandparents, and my mom soaked up every moment with him over the past four days. This meant sending him out at 6am when he woke up, and crawling back into bed with Frank and sleeping as long as I wanted. Thank you, mommy. Best Thanksgiving treat EVER.

Storytime with Nonna

Another shout out to my mom for being the reigning queen of Thanksgiving feasts. Everything tasted amazing, and this year she insisted on replicating my grandmother's homemade stuffing. AMAZING. I ate myself into a coma and was quite content.


Sam was at the table long before the food was.



Our big struggle is always leaving toys behind. My parents keep the house well stocked for when Sam comes, but my mom always attempts to send toys home with us. I refuse to take them - we already have a very indulged boy - we don't need extra!

This time, when I said it was time to go, he grabbed his toy dinosaurs and made a break for it.



So now we have dinosaurs. Oh well. At least it's a cool toy mommy likes to play with too.

So Sam got away with some toys. And I got away with a relaxing weekend. Winners!

It Could've Been Me

If you haven't yet heard, Prince William finally proposed to Kate Middleton. Many females of my generation are depressed today, and I am no exception. You see, I was supposed to marry Prince William. It was always the plan.

I love England. I love rainy days. I love castles and sparkly things. I'm only a year older. I can ride horses. I already own a tiara. It was totally meant to be.

Granted, Kate looks better in big hats and likely speaks with an English accent so she'll surely blend in better, but woman - mark my words - he was MINE.

I know what you're saying - I have a perfectly good American husband. I know, I know. But he hates fancy parties and never takes me to the country for a round of tea and a visitation with the Queen. He just can't compare, you know?



Picture on right....Prince William, I loved you even then. I remember tearing photos out of my mom's, er, MUM'S People Magazine and sticking them on my binder. Picture on left....Kate, he gave you Princess Diana's engagement ring. Talk about a bum deal. You got a ring that ended up representing infidelity, torture by paparazzi, and bad hairstyles. Good luck with THAT.

The boy is mine.

Until then, this is my life.



Not exactly breakfast with the future King of England in Buckingham Palace (which I've BEEN TO, fyi, have YOU Kate?? Eh, probably, huh...), but it's not a bad life. I suppose there is a way out of this royal depression after all.

One Little Piece

I thought that I would abandon the lame illustrations in my writing by now. That the metaphors would fade away with college essays. Sorry guys. It never happened.

I was laying in bed a few evenings ago, reeling with morning sickness, heartburn, and other fun experiences of the first trimester, and I began to think about my life. When I was younger, I wanted to be a vet, a dolphin trainer, a professional actress, a correspondent for the Travel Channel....but when it comes right down to it, there are only a few things I consistently wanted:

1) Be a writer
2) Marry Frank W.
3) Dance

Eh, not bad. I get paid for writing fluff each month, I married Frank, and I am dancing and coordinating dance more than I probably should now that I am with child....but laying there staring at the ceiling...there was just this feeling of failure. How can I be relatively young, have done most of the stuff I've wanted to do, and still feel like I am just so insignificant?

I tossed all the feelings over to God, just like I have been all year, and I instantly had a vision of a vase made out of what looked like stained glass, falling down and breaking into a thousand pieces on the floor. Then, it was put back together again - the colors were so diverse and brilliant, with light shining through to give a sort of translucent beauty to it. But there was one piece missing. A tiny hole in the glass, not in the center or anywhere very noticeable at first.

But with that hole there, the vase's value is greatly depreciated. It can't hold water, it can't be displayed for fancy dinners - it's just a glued together vase with a missing piece.



God showed me how I am that tiny missing piece. That even if I can't see or feel significance in my life, I still count. He is shining light through and around me, and without me, there's a hole in the plan.

Same thing goes for anyone else - we are all a piece of a beautiful mosaic of love that God is constantly molding and shaping. So next time you feel insignificant - think about the most beautiful vase you can imagine (or box, window, whatever I don't care), and feel the impact of that flaw if you were to take yourself out of the plan.

It's remarkable how not one of us is forgotten.

Rejuvenating Weekend

Took another trip up to Apple Hill on Saturday - this time with my close circle of friends that live nearby. Usually we have outings with clusters and different combinations of us - everyone is so busy...but today we successfully got all 5 of us at Apple Hill and we had a day of fun and relaxation.

We gorged ourselves on roasted chicken and apple donuts.
We got our faces painted.
We jumped haystacks.
We laughed a lot.

It was really nice to have a day away, and to celebrate friendships that are intended as God made them. No worries, no judgments, no bracing yourself for hurt feelings, no hesitation to talk about whatever comes to mind....gosh, I must be considered to be a completely spoiled brat for having a collection of such friends. They're so wonderful - both the ones here, and those at "home" in the bay area.

Sunday, we went to church, which is starting to feel like home, and meanwhile relationships at our former church home continue to repair, strengthen, and not be forgotten.

And that is just nice. :) Just goes to show that "the devil can't git what the good Lord don't let him have!"

Numero Dos

I have odd little quirks as a parent....I will never take my kids to the circus, I want them to always read the book before seeing the movie (and even better, just go to live theater/skip movies altogether), and realize the true importance of dessert.

One of my other superficial goals has always been to never have a child with a winter birthday. I LOVE having a warm weather birthday myself. I want my kids to have pool parties and ice cream, darn it!

Well....mission accomplished! Sam has a July birthday, and now his little sister/brother will be making their big debut @ the end of May! (and by big, we sincerely mean over 2 pounds please!):)

So here we go again! Numero Dos! Frank & Tammy spawn = the sequel.

We're so excited!I have every pregnancy-related woe in the book this time around, so we would appreciate any and all prayers for energy, endurance, and health, as I'll be directing three full-length productions during this pregnancy, and am still under contract as a writer for 2 different publications. Not to mention a busy, busy two year old.

We're looking forward to introducing him/her to you late this spring. <3

One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other....

.....and one of these things does not give a rip if he isn't like the others in size or gender, and is going to jump right in for warm up time, darn it!

Halloween Is Not For The Faint of Craftiness

So a couple of months ago, my sister in law suggested that Sam should be a leprechaun for Halloween. He has red hair and big blue eyes, so I agreed that it would be pretty amusing to take advantage of those features and make him a leprechaun.

When I was little, my mom NEVER bought my Halloween costumes....Strawberry Shortcake, Cinderella, a witch...she sewed them all and they were GOOD. I don't think I ever had a store bought costume until the autumn where all at once my grandma got really sick, my sister was born, and I insisted I wanted to wear cheap crap like my friends.

But, I was pretty hard pressed on keeping up with tradition and making Sam's Halloween costume. His first Halloween, he was so tiny, we had to purchase a pumpkin costume from the Build a Bear Factory.



Last year, he was a scarecrow. I had no time, and no motivation, and so I got this second-hand scarecrow costume at a children's consignment store. He LOVED it.



But this year - yes, this year dang it - I was going to make his costume and be as crafty as my mom if it killed all of us. And it almost did.

First of all, it is very very VERY difficult to find St. Patrick's themed ANYTHING in the fall....not even a plastic leprechaun hat could be found ONLINE for under $25, which was my budget for the entire costume. So....I had to get even more crafty than I assumed I would have to.

Then, low and behold, I found tuxedo pajamas at H&M the DAY BEFORE I had to have his costume finished. It was a lifesaver! Add that to lots of glitter foam adhesive, green fabric, and some careless stitching, and we had a costume!....
....which fell apart about 5 minutes after he put it on. So we whipped out the safety pins and packaging tape, and sent him on his trick or treating way.


Now that I think about it....maybe it was my grandma who actually made my Halloween costumes. Perhaps I will wait until I am a grandmother to try this again.....