In my classroom teaching experience, we called these signs or warnings a “positive dissuader” … I just call this sign genius.

[as seen at Boeger Winery on our recent Christmas tree cutting trip to Apple Hill]

I wanted to take a picture of Miss L in her new coat… but she wasn’t having any of it this morning. So I flipped the phone’s camera around to “FaceTime” style and suddenly she was excited. I started videotaping it, but she was a little confused as to why it was just her [...]]]>

I wanted to take a picture of Miss L in her new coat… but she wasn’t having any of it this morning. So I flipped the phone’s camera around to “FaceTime” style and suddenly she was excited. I started videotaping it, but she was a little confused as to why it was just her reflection in the phone and not another person.

Gotta love the eyebrows at the end…

And none of them are the same sock.

I don’t quite know how one is supposed to [...]]]> If you have a little girl, you may have noticed a disturbing trend in the sock department. Instead of selling pairs of socks… some stores now sell them in sets of 3.

And none of them are the same sock.

I don’t quite know how one is supposed to manage the purchase of said socks. My natural instinct is to buy two sets of the same mismatched socks, but that results in perfect pairs, and obviously misses the entire point of the mismatching to begin with…

I mismatched Miss L’s socks this morning, but it was out of necessity because I forgot to sort her sock laundry and not because I’m a super-awesome and hip mom.

But seriously… what is one supposed to do here? Just buy three socks and let it be… and always have one sock hanging out in the drawer waiting for the next wear?

Do you mute and only unmute when absolutely necessary?

Do you take notes or do you rely on the “notetaker” to send you what you need?

Do you do yoga poses while alone in your office? Or do you exchange notes with others when you’re all [...]]]> Do you need coffee? Water? Something to hydrate yourself?

Do you mute and only unmute when absolutely necessary?

Do you take notes or do you rely on the “notetaker” to send you what you need?

Do you do yoga poses while alone in your office? Or do you exchange notes with others when you’re all sitting around the round table?

Do you listen intently all the time, or just some of the time?

I always wonder what the others on the call are doing. Are they sitting at home and eating breakfast? Or calling in from their hotel in some exotic locale like Cleveland?

Just imagine the day, soon in the future, when everyone will be using a “Face-Time/skype” interface and everyone will just be staring you down at a computer screen, looking upon all the other little faces that pop up on the screen. Instead of dressing down for days full of phone meetings, you’ll have to dress up like you do for real ones.

Until then, I’m sipping my hot morning coffee and stretching. And if I need to… pacing around the room so that I can stay engaged in the conversation at hand.

So what happens at your desk/in your office during those infamously lovely calls?

Well, when I asked Mr. M how many he wanted he gave me a shocking number. “30. 30 mini pancakes.”

“Are you sure?”

“yes. 30 mini pancakes”

So, I whipped up pancake batter, found my tablespoon measuring [...]]]> Last night, I suggested that we have breakfast for dinner. Eggs, pancakes or waffles… you know the drill.

Well, when I asked Mr. M how many he wanted he gave me a shocking number. “30. 30 mini pancakes.”

“Are you sure?”

“yes. 30 mini pancakes”

So, I whipped up pancake batter, found my tablespoon measuring spoon, and got to work. And 5 minutes later his order was ready.

I took his challenge as a bit of silly joke, but why not play into the fun? Now he had my challenge.

And he did it. I really thought he’d only eat 15 of them and pass on the rest, but no, he ate all 30…only to deal with the consequences later.

Silly boys.

And even when Mr. M saw the movie himself, he confirmed it to me.

I was still a doubter, until I watched it on blueray last week.

Mr. M has a doppelgänger in Sam [...]]]> I heard the rumors from friends, as they went to the theaters to see Tron: Legacy.

And even when Mr. M saw the movie himself, he confirmed it to me.

I was still a doubter, until I watched it on blueray last week.

Mr. M has a doppelgänger in Sam Flynn (aka. Garrett Hedlund), right down the rescue Boston Terrier that he owns.

I need to make him pose for this identical photo… but in the meantime, this is a pretty good comparison photo (complete with the same hair gel style).

Do you have a famous doppelgänger hanging out there?

The inaugural Tinker Bell 1/2 Marathon at Disneyland in 2012!

Please excuse my mess of clothes. Oh wait, these aren’t my messes… these are baby clothes! 26 pounds of baby clothes, if you really want to count!

Now how/why did I possibly amass so many clothes? Well… let’s blame  Jade. She ever-so-graciously took pity on my bargain hunting soul and invited me [...]]]>

Please excuse my mess of clothes. Oh wait, these aren’t my messes… these are baby clothes! 26 pounds of baby clothes, if you really want to count!

Now how/why did I possibly amass so many clothes? Well… let’s blame  Jade. She ever-so-graciously took pity on my bargain hunting soul and invited me to a Gymboree company sample sale last Thursday. Thank goodness for a mutual love of NKOTB and all kinds of other things in common… because I not only got to shop the sale, but also meet up with her in person (which was the best part!).

Now, while you may be familiar with online sample sales as a glamorous affair, I’m much more used to the sample sales in showrooms/warehouses in downtown LA where you pick and dig through clothes in search of what you want. My first “sample sale” was in NYC at the tender age of 14, when we visited my cousin’s purse showroom on 5th Avenue… which she shared with the jewelry designer Robert Rose. They graciously pulled up a giant cardboard box marked “SAMPLE” and just told us to pick out something we wanted inside. When I saw the necklace I picked out at Macy’s many many months later, I can honestly say I was hooked on how darn cool it was to own a sample. If you live in Los Angeles, it’s worth it to spend one Friday of your life at the New Mart sample sales – usually in December they’re open every Friday! My wardrobe lived and died by those sales when I lived there… trust me they’re awesome!

ANYHOW, back to the matter of last Thursday! I went into “the city” with my pal Michelle, and while she whisked Baby M away to warmth and entertainment at a nearby Starbucks, I went inside an empty retail space and filled bags to the brim with baby clothes. Just imagine piles that are 5′ wide by 75′ long… with women (and like 2 men) just digging through them for what they want. They stash the ones they want in a garbage bag and toss the others to the side as they seek for hidden treasure. It reminded me a lot of a challenge on The Amazing Race… especially because we only had an hour to shop!

At the end of my hour I wound up with 26 pounds of clothing (as measured by their scales)… and I paid a whole $5/lb. for those wares. $130 later I was stuffing them into the bottom of our stroller and recounting the insanity to my dear pal Michelle. And when I got home, I tried my best to sort them into sizes, gender (yes… some little boys I know definitely deserve some presents!), and whatever else I could think of. In counting up the hangtags, I’m pretty certain I got about 82 items at the sale… which is pretty insane. Now, some of them do have “SAMPLE” stamped in ink on them (which I will attempt to remove this week), but others are super new and good to go!

Let’s just say that Baby M is going to have some fun dress up clothes in her closet for some time to come! Thank you Jade!

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This is my friend Manan. We were classmates at UCLA and both received our MPPs from the School of Public Affairs a few years back. In other words, we whispered in class to each other [...]]]> [Fair warning: the post below does not discuss any political opinions, but just a political candidate]

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This is my friend Manan. We were classmates at UCLA and both received our MPPs from the School of Public Affairs a few years back. In other words, we whispered in class to each other while the Professor was talking, played softball, and drank beers together during post-Econ exam celebrations.  He was also in my “Applied Policy Project” workgroup and shared an advisor, so for 2 ruthless quarters, I became intimately aware of his intense research into the policies surrounding PTSD in the military and the role that Veterans Affairs played in helping service members access services for both diagnosis and treatment. After graduation, I got the chance to add my editing touches to his education policy platform through another classmate, and this spring I got to see the adorable pictures of his newborn daughter Sonia on facebook. Oh, and did I tell you he’s running for Congress?

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Yup, that’s right. CONGRESS. The big white dome thing in DC. And I know this sounds so cliche, but he really is just the perfect person for the job. In addition to be an excellently trained policy analyst, he’s also a medical doctor and a veteran of the Iraq war. Now I’m not sure if you’ve been paying attention to the political climate as of late, but a Congressman that understands the health care field as a practitioner and someone who’s intimately acquainted with the ongoing combat situation in the Mideast might just be a pretty nifty asset to have. Add to that his work ethic (seriously… I would put any deadline in his hands after watching the magic that occurred during the APP project insanity) and every other awesome trait about him that I’d feel silly listing out here… and well, I think you’d consider him a pretty wonderful contender.

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Now I don’t mean for this to be any sort of campaign ad… but if you or your friends and family happen to live in PA’s 6th District… make sure you check out his website. What I just wanted to share with you was that my kick-ass classmate, Manan, is running for Congress. And that in itself is amazingly cool. But what’s even cooler, is that I’m not only proud to know him personally, but I’d be absolutely ecstatic for our country if he won!  So, I apologize for any excessive tweets that may come around Election Day, but other than our big local races here (the new Guvernator and woman Senator), this is the one I’ll be following all night long come November.

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Good luck Manan!