Decorate Your Soul

With an hour drive out to visit our folks, Andy and I tend to amuse ourselves with random conversation. This is a list of reasons we came up with why one shouldn’t surf

[I apologize in advance if anyone is offended, we were certainly in a silly mood!]:

#1. You have to pee in your wetsuit to keep warm.

#2. Other people peeing in their wetsuits to keep warm.

#3. Sharks.

#4. This is L.A. We have raw sewage in the ocean.

#5. With  the solar system expanding out from the center of the galaxy, the earth moving around the sun, the planet revolving around its axis, the the water moving over the land, and the surfboard moving over the water, I think my odds of balancing on that surfboard are pretty slim.

**This was followed by some long winded introduction to the complexity of figuring out the dynamics of the universe… I was lost after he talked about the Z axis. That’s an engineer for ya.

#6. You have to wake up at 5 in the morning and jump into a cold ocean.

#7. Shrinkage (See Seinfeld episode… and Andy approved me typing this in).

#8. Hurrying up only to wait for waves. Always a bummer to have to wait.

#9. Pruned extremities.

#10. In order to afford to live near the ocean, one has to work most of the 24 hours of the day. No thanks.

This morning, I had to drive on the 110FWY to go to the pediatrician’s office in San Pedro. In recent weeks, there have been 5 freeway shootings in Southern CA, two of which occurred on the 110 FWY. I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t a bit paranoid about driving on this freeway today- in fact, in the wee morning hours, I prayed that I would be protected from such activities and should I not, that I was grateful for the 6 days I have had with Ash and 2 years with the Bean and that if they should get a step-mommy someday, that she would love and adore my girls as much as I do (tears streaming down my eyes right now! Can you believe this was my prayer?!). So off to the ped’s office we went and while overly aware of my surroundings, I saw a Mercedes SUV drive around me on the right with the license plate that read:

GD{picture of a hand}ONU

or "God’s hand on you"

All of a sudden, I had a reminder that God was protecting Ashleigh and myself and we were safe. A quiet peace came over me and I was fine the rest of the drive. Thanks, Maureen, for telling me about Godstops- I may have missed this one.

I was thumbing through a Pottery Barn catalog today when I stopped on a page with a coffee table with perfect decor- you know the kind with large, glass hurricanes filled with beautiful candles and oversized coffee table books with interesting subjects like architecture of the Roman Empire, photography of Yosemite Falls or journalism from the turn of the century. Andy and I used to have one of those really nice "picture perfect" coffee tables- complete with candles, classy mahogany tray and, you guessed it, coffee table books. I stopped and looked up at today’s coffee table in our living room. Stains from the nail polish remover from my "Grab Your Toes and Let’s Go" Pedicure Party, dents from playing Jenga with Dan & Amber, a sippy cup and fingerprints from Sarah’s precious little hands, dried up milk on the edge of the leg that I haven’t seen to scratch off when I give the top a "once over,"  a tiny pink, fluffy sock that fell off Ash’s 3" skinny foot and a dull finish that says, "I’ve been used and I don’t belong in that catalog anymore." I have a  family now, one that uses our coffee table for function rather than show. We play games on it. We rest our mugs of coffee on it with our friends. We tend to ignore the fact that it once had a classy look and now exudes a heart of our living room that would be absent without it. It may not be rich with style any longer, but the books are not too far away if we’d like to read (or look at) them. The coffee table stands as a reminder that we have a home, decorated with memories.

Did you know that there is a National Piers Society aimed to promote & sustain interest in seaside piers? It was founded in 1979– a time when many piers were threatened with demolition. According to Lynn Pearson, early piers were landing stages for trippers arriving by boat but later became attractions in themselves. And might I add, they are sights to see!                                                                                                             I love to walk along the piers in our nearby beaches- my favorite being the Manhattan Beach Pier. It bustles with locals and visitors alike pleased with the view of the architectural building that houses a sealife aquarium, the lightposts that line either side of the walk, and the breathtaking sight the view provides. You breathe in fresh salt air from the ocean that surrounds the pillars below and skirt the fisherman along the rails of the pier seeking dinner or tomorrow’s profit. Past the building at the end of the platform is the beautiful and ever moving Pacific Ocean- majestic and mighty in itself.

I had the opportunity to shoot some photos of the pier today for my friend Shannon and let me tell you, this fascinating structure is strongly masculine. It has incredible character… The pillars have salt built up the sides along the concrete. The birds await at the foot of the rails seeking their next meal. People flock to capture the sunshine that pours down from the sky. Below the deck is an amazing look of the structure that maintains the dignity and strength of the pier. I never knew that one of my favorite places to walk could have such personality. Truly.

                                  In my ideal kitchen, I would ALWAYS have clean counters and an empty sink. This morning, I walked into the kitchen only to find the antithesis of my ideal kitchen- you know the kind where dishes have basically thrown up onto the counter because the sink is SO full and the dishwasher is as equally full  (although, thankfully, clean so I can get started on this here mess). The thing is, Andy and I like to cook. We like to cook new and interesting meals, ones that take at least two or three pots and a cutting board or two to prepare. Add in a weekend of not wanting to spend time cleaning dishes, and well, there you have it. The kitchen sink and counter is a mess. So, this morning, I spent close to 40 minutes getting it back in order (well, in between a couple of phone calls and making Sarah lunch) and now, I can sit and enjoy my clean kitchen. Well, the empty sink really only lasted 20 minutes because guess what? The dishes from lunch are in there waiting to be washed now. This (and laundry) is an endless cycle.