Glory Hallelujah

Just received a call from our Lead Police Officer letting us know that the club on our block was finally cited last night and will now have to go to court! Hopefully one more step toward shutting these assholes down!

Grown-Up Night

I had a lovely time last night reconnecting with old friends. Sudie has re-arrived in L.A. from New York, and organized dinner with me, Shannon, and Staci. We ended up at Café Stella - which was a bit of a mixed bag (they served Staci a pork loin that was cooked in the fashion of seared tuna - bleeeccccchhhhh!!! and our server wasn't particularly fazed or apologetic. Maybe she could've comped the 1 dessert that we shared??? Or even come back to serve her the new one instead of sending the busser guy and/or check in to see if things were better???? Shheesh!) But that still couldn't affect the warm fuzzy feeling of sitting outside on a beautiful night, holding Shannon's gorgeous baby Franco, talking shop with Staci, catching up, and generally feeling that aaaaaahhhhhhhh, these-are-my-people feeling! This was the perfect respite from my single-mom weekend (Philip is in Nevada campaigning for Obama - did I mention I love my husband?).

Unfortunately, upon returning home, there were cars up and down the street, with people streaming into the menace of a nightclub that now booms horrific music until 4 a.m. on our block. We have to move!!

Stupid Cell Phone Ticket

So, I previously mentioned that I was cited for talking on my cell phone while driving. In case anyone is wondering, that's a $93 ticket. And I wasn't even having a juicy conversation, just missed connections. Bummmmmmmmer! What a waste!

ANYALTR

On my way in to yoga this morning, I saw a Hummer parked in the parking lot with the license plate "ANYALTR." Stunned by the audacity, not only of someone driving a Hummer, but in feeling pride in the triumph of annihilation (of what? I wondered), I haughtily noted that it was parked [explicably] in front of a weight training joint, and yes, symbolically, I rose up the steps to the yoga studio. Coming out from class, two of my yogi classmates jumped in to the thing and drove off. What the *&$%$?

Earlier, during the class, I heard bells ringing from the church next door. I was thinking about how I was choosing to spend my Sunday morning, and how a mom from Violet's school told me that their family wouldn't be at the Back-to-School picnic today because they would be at church (all day?). This spun into ponderings (man, I don't think I was doing a good job focusing on just my breath today!) about atheism, agnosticism, and the ever popular, "Religion is the opiate of the masses." Sigh. I am often apprehensive to raise my atheist feelings, as I feel they are private and can be misinterpreted. One misinterpretation seems to be that atheists don't respect others' beliefs. While I certainly can't muster respect for all beliefs and actions of all religiosity, I absolutely respect others' rights to believe what they believe. The reason I distinguish myself as an atheist rather than an agnostic, is because I feel, in my heart, that there is no God. That doesn't mean I can't agree to disagree with those who do believe in God. I know and have known plenty of amazing people who truly live a life guided by loving and giving principles centered around their faith. And then I know those who choose to live a life centered around hate shrouded in a costume of faith. An archaic definition of atheism is "ungodliness, wickedness," but sometimes I sense that it is still interpreted this way, which leaves me feeling [again] that the world is all upside down, with "Christian" war-mongers running the country [thankfully not for too much longer].

As the Hummer was driving off, I flashed on the thought, "What if I've got it all wrong?" What if "ANYALTR" really meant "Any altar," and that on this Sunday morning, this pair was trying out my place of meditation, the yoga studio?





To further the paradox/confusion, Philip saw this bumper sticker yesterday. Perhaps we should just refrain from distilling politics and religion/spirituality down into bumper stickers or vanity plates, people. Or anything else for that matter. I mean, not too long ago, I saw what appeared to be a Hispanic man driving an old beat up gardener's truck that sported the bumper sticker, "I ♥ Vagina," but hey, I digress...

Eye Level

My favorite thing to do these days is to really get down at Henry's level and play. I try to imagine navigating the world from his perspective, where everything seems so big and interesting. He has now mastered pushing a chair to where he wants to climb up and has subsequently investigated all kinds of things, most of which have not been particularly toddler-appropriate. I like this photo because we were really able to play eye-to-eye and I wasn't having to squat!

Violet's First Day of Soccer

Violet was awesome today on her new soccer team, the Goal Girls! Next week she'll look even more official once she gets a uni. We lucked out and got a great coach, nice parents, and nice girls. She had a blast! All in all a perfect way to spend a Saturday morning. I'm just a little nervous to bring Henry out - I have no idea how I will keep him from chasing after all of those balls!

Scotty and Kathryn's Wedding, Smiles, and a Sigh

We just got back from an amazing time in Portland, where the main event was Scotty and Kathryn's wedding. It was one of those seductively magical times in Portland, weather-wise, friend-wise, and energy-wise that made us feel so joyful, relaxed, and SO MISSING PORTLAND!! (thus the sigh...). The wedding was quite beautiful, at the base of Mt. Tabor, with the reservoir and fountain perfectly serving as a backdrop. Great friends, food, drinks, music, and SQUARE DANCING really made for an unforgettable experience (and King's best man speech really was stellar). Unfortunately, we forgot the camera during the actual wedding, but here are some photos of other moments. Thanks to all of you whom we miss so much for the fantastic time! We can't wait for the chance to get to know Kathryn better and meet the l'il Kloos, who is soon to make his appearance!

The Newlyweds

Colburn Family

Angus, Finn, Violet, Miles, and Lily

Henry

Bella Mia

Bath Buddies Reunited

First Day of First Grade

Violet woke us up at 6:20 a.m. today. She was dressed, shoes on, and her new backpack on! Don't you remember how exciting it was? She even made her own lunch.