The Way Way Back and the Cake Disaster

June 10, 2013June 10, 2013 charleneaross6 Comments

Wednesday afternoon my friend Kim texted me asking if I wanted to go to a movie at 7:30. She was invited to a screening of The Way Way Back and had a plus one. It was around 4:00. I was running errands and knew I’d be home by 5:00, I had nothing planned and figured I’d have enough time to make dinner and make myself look semi-presentable, so I said sure. She told me she’d pick me up at 6:45.

At 6:15 I realized I was the worst end-of-school-year mom in the world (well maybe second worst) because I actually did have plans that night. Marley and I were supposed to bake a cake for her language arts class the next day. They were having a heritage party and everyone was supposed to bring a cultural food item. And since we are as Anglo and uninteresting as it gets culturally, Marley chose the coffee cake we have every year at Christmas.

She told her teacher it was a recipe from her great-great-great grandfather that he brought from Germany. (Uh, a recipe from her great grandfather from Pennsylvania that he probably got out of a cookbook would probably be more accurate, but Language Arts is all about spinning a creative yarn, yes?)

“Listen,” I said to Marley. “I totally spaced about the cake. I can’t cancel on Kim now, she’ll be here in half an hour. I’ll make it in the morning okay. I promise.”

She gave me that look. You know, that total look of disappointment that kids give you when you know you’ve screwed up and damn it to hell they know it too. “I’m afraid you’re going to forget, Mom.”

“I won’t forget, Marley. I swear to you. I get up at five o’clock every morning and go on my computer and I’ll tape a huge note there to remind myself. I will not disappoint you, Marley. I promise.”

computer-reminder — My high-tech way of keeping it all together

“Okay,” she said. But she wasn’t happy.

“I’ll make the cake with her,” Dave said.

“Really?” I asked. “You don’t mind?” I don’t know what’s worse – the fact that I forgot about the cake or the fact that it never occurred to me to ask Dave if he could bake it with her. (No wonder my cousin calls me a control freak!)

“No, we can do it. Just put what I need on the counter. What, is it a mix or something?”

Sigh… no, our heritage recipe from Marleys’ great-great-great German grandfather is not a mix. And it has a cinnamon swirl in the middle.

“No, it’s from scratch, but Marley’s made it with me a bunch of times. She can probably do it herself. You’ll just need to supervise.”

At 6:45 I walked out the door leaving my family with the mess of dinner to clean up and a cake to bake.

I was happy to be having a grown-up evening and share in Kim’s blogger perk of seeing a free movie. (Kim is a waaaay better connected blogger than me.)

The movie was really fantastic. The Way Way Back is a coming of age movie with an amazing cast. I love ALL of them – Steve Carell, Toni Collette (I really looooove her), Allison Janney (I really looooove her too!), Sam Rockwell, Maya Rudolf, Amanda Peet, Rob Corddry, AnnaSophia Robb and a kid named Liam James in the starring role. All I can say about this movie is WOW! It’s in theaters July 5th. Do yourself a favor and go see it. (And don’t forget your Kleenex.) It’s funny and sad and heartbreaking and poignant and just… wonderful.

When we got out of the movie I turned my phone back on and saw that I had a missed call from home and a text from Dave that said, Please call home. Uh oh. What went wrong? Did Marley burn herself? Was there some vital instruction missing from the recipe? What kind of disaster ensued because I was the worst mom ever and went out to see a movie with my friend instead of staying home to bake a cake with Marley like I promised?

It turns out, this kind…

Marley didn’t let the cake cool down enough and when she tried to get it out of the bundt pan it fell to pieces. Dave asked if they should start a new one or if I wanted to make another one in the morning. Since I didn’t want to be up until eleven o’clock at night baking a cake I told him I’d do it in the morning.

When I got home the house smelled like Christmas and Dave, Chandler and Marley were devouring the broken cake. I might or might not have had a bite or ~~two~~ ten myself. Never in the history of class projects has a child (and her family) been so happy to see the project be a complete and total failure.

The next morning we ~~devoured the rest of the cake~~ had coffee cake for breakfast. And Marley took this to school…

Because I’m the best mom in the world. (Obviously.)

Palm Desert Girlfriend’s Getaway

May 30, 2013May 30, 2013 charleneaross5 Comments

A few weeks ago I went to Palm Desert with some of my best girlfriends to celebrate a birthday-that-shall-not-be-named (hint: it rhymes with nifty). And NO, it wasn’t MY birthday. Shut your big fat mouth!

We stayed at the Miramonte Resort.

The Miramonte is true Palm Desert luxury.

lobby-miramonte-resort — A beautiful lobby

pool-miramonte-resort — I could get used to this!

Since there were to be between three and five of us at different points of the weekend, we stayed in a 550 square foot Dolce Suite. There were two queen size beds, a desk and a sitting room area that you could curtain off with a second TV, mini fridge and pull-out couch. We also had a private balcony. Yeah, when you have a milestone birthday in our group my friend Trixie* always finds a way to set you up right.

Miramonte-dolce-suite — Dolce Suite = Fabulous!

Part of our celebratory weekend was attending the Stagecoach Music Festival. We are not huge country music fans, but there were some amazing acts there that made us appreciate country music a lot more – Lady Antebellum, The Zac Brown Band, Toby Keith, Dwight Yoakam, Jeff Bridges, Darius Rucker, and Joe Nichols to name a few.

We arrived late on a Thursday night, but Dagmar (the birthday girl) and I are both early risers (sigh, yes, even on vacation) so instead of sleeping in we headed to the hotel gym on Friday morning. (It might have had something to do with eating the world’s best donuts on the drive out.) The gym was a typical hotel gym with treadmills, ellipticals, and free weights. After about 40 sweaty minutes on the treadmills we declared ourselves done and ready for breakfast.

You had better believe that we filled our mini fridge with some staples for the weekend (and no, not just vodka) so we enjoyed some Greek yogurt with granola and strawberries on the balcony.

greek-yogurt-breakfast — Ignore the donuts behind my yogurt – I don’t know how they got there!

Trixe actually had to work the festival (which is how non-country music fans ended up at Stagecoach for a niftieth birthday) so she left us at around 9AM.

Dagmar and I lounged around the balcony for a bit and then headed down to the pool. I wore a bikini. Well, a bikini top and board shorts. I ~~probably~~ have no business wearing a bikini top, but I don’t care. To be honest I was more concerned that I hadn’t had the chance to get a pedicure before we left.

pool-at-Miramonte-Resort — You didn’t think I’d show you a picture of me in a bikini top did you?

Besides the pool was full of hot bodied 25 year olds. Trust me, no one was looking my way.

Speaking of hot bodied 25-year-olds…

Okay, he was probably closer to 32. (Even better!) Yes, the view at the pool was quite nice. Quite nice indeed. Trust me, my cell phone was not the only one pointed in this direction!

Would you like another look?

As the Dixie Chicks said, “Cowboy take me away!”

There was a big group of late twenty/early thirty-somethings at our hotel for the Stagecoach festival and they were partying it up at the pool. They were very amusing to watch. (And people watching is one of my favorite activities!)

The Mirmonte Resort has an excellent pool menu so we took advantage of it and ordered lunch poolside. We decided to split a club sandwich.

It was delicious and the fries were amazing. A-MA-ZING! (I really, really love fries.)

We may have also enjoyed a vodka pomegranate cocktail (or three) while lounging by the pool all day. I can neither confirm nor deny such a thing.

Yes, the pool at the Miramonte is pretty spectacular. The service was fantastic, the pool was very clean and the perfect temperature, and there were plenty of lounge chairs. My only suggestion would be more umbrellas. (You can only sit in the sun for so long in Palm Desert.) It was the perfect place to spend the day. (And the next day and the next day!)

At 4:00 we headed up to our room to get ready for the concert. For a couple of “old ladies” I think we cleaned up okay.

50 is the new 30 — Eva Mendes has nothing on my friend Dagmar!

We’d never been to Stagecoach before and didn’t quite know what to expect. But when we were pulling up to the parking lot and spotted this we knew we were in for a good time…

We reconnected with Trixie and she set us up with a meet and greet with Joe Nichols. Admittedly, we didn’t really know who he was, but he was way cute and super sweet. We saw Jeff Bridges perform right up close.

After Jeff Bridges we walked around the vendor area, then had dinner with Trixie and then saw Toby Keith. All in all it was a great night.

On Saturday morning we decided to go for a walk instead of going to the gym and the concierge at the hotel hooked us up with a three mile walk around the neighborhood. It was already about 90 degrees at 9AM, but the walk was lovely. (I dig Palm Desert architecture.)

Palm-Desert-architecture — A lovely neighborhood stroll.

Trixie went off to work and Dagmar and I headed to the pool for more sun, vodka and cowboys. Trixie’s sister, Sherry, and our good friend Heidi joined us around lunchtime. Late in the afternoon the cowboys were pretty drunk and invited us to a naked midnight pool party. There was no chance in hell that was happening. But it was nice to be asked.

Around 5:00 we headed back out to Stagecoach for Dwight Yoakam and Lady Antebellum. Trixie hooked us up with a great viewing spot for both performances. Unfortunately my camera wasn’t able to properly focus on the awesomeness happening before me.

Charles-Kelley-Lady-Antebellum — Side stage and loving life! (BTW – Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum is HOT!)

Sunday morning the five of us went to IHOP for fake eggs and pancakes. Then Trixie went back to work and the rest of us went to the pool for a happy repeat of days one and two. Heidi had to leave around 2:00 because unlike me she is a good mom and would never leave her family for four and a half days of cowboys and vodka and sun. Then it was back to the festival for barbecue, Darius Rucker and Zac Brown Band.

Monday morning we woke up knowing we’d have to head back to reality. But before we did we ate breakfast al fresco at the Grove Artisan Kitchen at the Miramonte. I had the Maine Lobster Omelet with mushrooms and asparagus. (I had it made as a scramble and yes, it was as good as it sounds.)

lobster-omelet — IHOP eat your heart out!

After breakfast we packed up, did a little outlet shopping, and then went home.

All in all the weekend was pretty amazing. I think next year we’ll definitely be back at Stagecoach. (Shhh, don’t tell anyone, but I might left with a new-found appreciation of country music.) Look for me poolside at the Miramonte getting my fix of vodka and cowboys and sun.

*Sometimes my girlfriends like to fly under the radar so for the sake of privacy I’ve changed their names for this post.

The Donut Man – Best Donuts on Route 66 (or Anywhere)

May 24, 2013May 24, 2013 charleneaross4 Comments

the-Donut-Man-Glendora — Donut Crack Heaven

A few weeks ago I went to Palm Desert for a girls’ getaway weekend to celebrate my girlfriend Dagmar’s birthday.

As we were driving out, Dagmar suggested that we stop at The Donut Man in Glendora. I was planning on wearing a bikini for the next three days and certainly had no business eating donuts, but I didn’t want to disappoint Dagmar. You know, since it was her birthday.

I had never heard of The Donut Man, but apparently I’m in the minority because when we pulled up there was a line. At 9:30 PM on a Thursday night. The Donut Man? They should call this place Donut Crack. These were without a doubt The BEST donuts I’ve ever had in my life. (They’ve even been featured in Bon Appetite Magazine.)

I chose the Tiger Tail which is a foot long glaze-chocolate twist. I don’t remember what Dagmar got. One bite and I was in a chocolate-glaze euphoria and nothing else mattered except me and my donut.

donut-man-tiger-tail — One foot of donut deliciousness

The Donut Man is known for their seasonal donuts which include Fresh Stawberry, Fresh Peach, Peanut Butter, Pumpkin and Creme Puff. (I didn’t know peanut butter and cream had seasons!) Strawberries are in season right now. We got one of those in a to-go box.

donut-man-strawberry — This is one berry good donut!

We were meeting our friend Trixie at the hotel later that night and didn’t want her to feel left out (or looking better than us in a bikini) so we bought a few more donuts for breakfast the next morning.

You’d better believe the first thing we did the next morning was hit the gym. Then we had another donut.

The people of Glendora are certainly lucky to have such a gem, but I have to admit I’m kind of glad The Donut Man is 60 miles from my house. If it were in my neighborhood I don’t think I’d ever be able to wear a bikini again.

*Pictures courtesy of The Donut Man website. Except the top photo labeled Donut Crack Heaven – the poor photo quality of that photo should make it obvious it was taken by me.

How I Spent My Mother’s Day

May 13, 2013 charleneaross3 Comments

On my very first Mother’s Day, when Chandler was just five months old, I woke up with Bells Palsy*, thought I had a stroke, and went to the emergency room.

For those of you who don’t know what Bells Palsy is, it’s a form of facial paralysis, where half your face is frozen and the other half works just fine. I could not close my left eye and was constantly drooling. So attractive. (On an up note, the frozen side was completely wrinkle free – attractive indeed!)

The ER doctor told me that the cause was most likely stress. (Don’t ever let anyone tell you that motherhood isn’t stressful!)

When I asked him how long it would last he very nonchalantly told me that it could be permanent. (Asshole.)

I dare you to top that with your “I had a crappy Mother’s Day” story.

That Monday I went to a Chinese neurologist who mixed old world and new world medicine and hooked me up with a mad prescription of acupuncture and Prednisone. I recovered in about six weeks.

So… needless to say, every Mother’s Day since -even the ones that I’ve hosted and had to spend all day Saturday cleaning have been wonderful.

My kids are older now so I no longer get school projects as Mother’s Day gifts.

DIY-potpourri — The potpourri in this decoupaged holder mostly smells like dust these days.

Mothers-Day-craft — Chandler was so proud of himself when he made this.

No more acrostic poems.

mothers-day-acrostic-poem — How much did I swoon when 5-year-old Marley told me I was pretty AND hysterical? (Answer – A lot!)

No more handmade cards or laminated signs permanently magneted to our refrigerator .

mothers-day-refrigerator-art — Tell your kid “I work so hard” enough times and they’ll have their preschool teacher make a sign that says so.

homemade-mothers-day-card — Yes, I do keep ALL of my Mother’s Day gifts.

I do get breakfast in bed – a crumb donut and coffee. To be honest, the kids enjoy the donuts more than me and I really only eat them because it makes the kids so happy. (Yes, even on Mother’s Day it’s all about the kids.)

Chandler clipped some roses from our garden.

Mothers-day-roses — Sweet, but I don’t think he’ll grow up to be a florist.

And then left the rose clippers on the kitchen counter

rose-pruners — Guess who put these away?

Then we went to breakfast. (Because that donut? I was hungry 5 minutes after I ate it.)

For the last few years we’ve been going to the local Boy Scout troop’s pancake breakfast. It’s all-you-can-eat pancakes, eggs, ham, fruit and bagels. The Boy Scouts are the waiters and the dads cook the food. There is always a wait, the food is cold or lukewarm at best, and the Boy Scouts are pretty terrible waiters. (They try hard, but they are after all, children.)

Hmmm… a wait, lukewarm food, and bad service…

Not much different from going to a fancy restaurant for an overpriced Mother’s Day brunch if you ask me.

Except that this brunch only costs $5. And everyone in town is there. It’s my suburban town’s social event of the season. (Yeah, I might live in the suburbs of Los Angeles, but trust me, it’s still pretty Mayberry.)

It’s held at the clubhouse of a beautiful lake that looks like you are in some vacation dreamland rather than five minutes from the suburbs of Los Angeles.

Malibou-Lake — Malibou Lake (yes I spelled that right!)

There are baskets that are raffled. I’ve won one in the past and so has my mom. This year Marley won one. (Hardly fair, since she’s not a mother!)

wine-gift-basket — I’m sure it won’t shock anyone to know this is the basket I was hoping to win.

All the moms get a pink carnation. (Hey, only the best for moms right?)

My kids dress up. (Well… dress up-ish.)

It’s nothing fancy. And sure I’d rather be at the spa at The Four Seasons like my good friend Sophie (okay maybe not everyone in town goes to the Boy Scout breakfast). But it sure beats the ER!

And honestly… it’s just lovely. And there’s (almost) no place else I’d rather be.

*BTW – Just so you know, I KNOW it’s Bell’s Palsy and NOT Bells Palsy, but people who search the term on the world’s most popular search engine don’t seem to know that, so yeah, I risked looking stupid just so I could show up in search engines. Go ahead and say it – I’m a search word whore!

I Went to a Cake Boss Party

May 6, 2013May 6, 2013 charleneaross8 Comments

Okay, it wasn’t a real Cake Boss Party. I mean, it was in California, not New Jersey. And it wasn’t on TV.

But my cousin Carrie is pregnant and she wanted to do something fun. Which is good, because it’s going to be a loooong time before she does anything fun again. I’M KIDDING! (Mostly.) So she and her husband Jason decided to have a gender reveal party.

What is a gender reveal party?

Are you living under a rock? Gender reveal parties are all the rage now. (At least that’s what I heard on the internet.)

It’s a party where the sex of the child is revealed to not only the couple having the baby, but all of their friends and relatives.

gender-reveal-party — Hmmm… boy or girl?

That’s right, Carrie and Jason had no idea whether they were having a boy or a girl.

My cousin decided to have her reveal party Cake Boss style…

gender-reveal-cake — Is it a Boy or is it a Girl?

The gender results were in a sealed envelope that was given to a baker. The batter of the cake was colored either pink or blue and once the cake was cut into everyone would know whether Carrie and Jason were having a little Charlene or a little Charles. (I mean, what else would she name her kid? I am her favorite cousin.)

five-months-pregnant — Look at my adorable cousin – she doesn’t even look pregnant!

There were no official bets placed, but there was a about a 50-50 split as to whether people thought the baby would be a boy or a girl. My cousin Carrie was a terrible teenager (she will totally admit to this), so she certainly deserves a girl (and I’m more than willing to lend her mine for the teenage years), but I had a feeling she was going to have a boy.

Cake-Boss-Tweet — Oh yeah, I tweeted it. That’s how I roll.

Carrie’s mom lives in Nevada and couldn’t make the party, so she joined the party on an iPad via Face Time. (It was like the Jetson’s. Minus Rosie the Robot.)

Lunch was served and devoured and it was time for the moment of truth.

Will the cake be pink or will it be blue?

Can you see it?

gender-reveal-cake-blue — The moment of truth

Here’s a closer look….

cake-boss-gender-blue — I was totally right!

Carrie and Jason were very excited. Carrie claims that she knew Jason wanted a boy, but he said that wasn’t true. He just wanted what all expectant parents want – a healthy baby.

But still. He looks pretty happy. And so does she.

And I couldn’t be happier for them. (Even though she totally deserves a girl!)

Have you ever been to a gender reveal party? What do you think of this new trend?

Invisalign – The Invisible Braces

May 4, 2013May 5, 2013 charleneaross5 Comments

A few weeks ago I was invited to attend a blogging workshop sponsored by Invisalign. Free food and drinks at a swanky hotel, mingling with other FAB bloggers, learning some awesome blogging tips, the opportunity to find out about a great product and write a sponsored post? Oh yes, Yes, please!

As far as braces go, I was lucky. I was blessed with straight teeth and never had to wear them. (Of course I received the curse of having more cavities than I can count no matter how much I brushed -and I brushed a lot- but that’s another story.)

My son – not so lucky. When he was around seven or eight years old we were told that he would definitely be needing braces. For more than half of his middle school years and the first few months of high school my son’s smile looked like this:

His teeth look fabulous now. He has a beautiful smile. But when he had braces he was in pain every time they were tightened and did not like having restrictions placed on what he could eat. (And I was not such a fan of cutting corn off the cob in the summertime.) At Halloween he would end up giving almost half of his candy to his sister. He was a good sport, but not a very happy camper.

I think he would have been a much happier camper (and I could have left the corn on the cob) if Invisalign had been an option for him when he got his braces.

Invisalign has been around since 1999 and started their Invisalign Teen line four years ago, just about the time Chandler was getting his braces. His orthodontist uses Invisalign now, but I don’t think he did back then. And don’t worry that Invisalign is too new and not tested out – there are more than 2 million Invisalign cases in treatment or completed worldwide.

Invisalign uses a series of practically invisible removable aligners that gradually move teeth over time. The aligners are changed every two weeks. This means you don’t wear them when you eat or brush your teeth. And there is an indicator that changes color so Invisalign wearers know when to switch to the next set and alerts the orthodontist as to whether or not the wearer has been wearing them for as many hours a day (20 – 22) as they’re supposed to. (Pretty tricky!)

Does Invisalign really work? After hearing from the brand reps, a certified orthodontist, and 2 teenagers who have used Invisalign (and their parents), I’m convinced that it does.

If your child has crooked teeth, an overbite, underbite, gapped teeth or various other dental problems, Invisalign might be an excellent alternative to traditional metal braces.

Sounds fantastic right? But how much are these invisible braces going to cost? Amazingly enough, about the same as regular braces. The range is from $3,500 to $8,000, with the national average being around $5,000. (I paid about $5,500 for my son’s traditional braces.)

To be honest, after the presentation I found myself thinking that Invisalign might be perfect for my husband. He really should have had braces as a child but didn’t. I think he’d be even cuter if his bottom teeth were straighter. (And he’s pretty cute!)

Did you know Invisalign was a clear alternative to braces? What do you think about them?

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post. However, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Five Ways to Make Every Day Earth Day

April 22, 2013April 22, 2013 charleneaross5 Comments

5 Ways to Make Every Day Earth Day

Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. Yeah, yeah. We know, we know. (You DO know don’t you?) But if you are looking for some REAL ways to go green and make sure that every day is EARTH DAY then you’ve come to the right place. (I’m like a regular public service announcement!)

Use Less Plastic

Sure, we all use reusable shopping bags when we do our grocery shopping. (Oh, please, please tell me you use reusable shopping bags. Every time. Or at least almost every time.) But there are other ways to use plastic less.

How about marinating your meat in a glass or metal bowl instead of putting it in a Ziploc bag? And don’t tell me it won’t fit in your fridge that way. If it will fit in my fridge it will fit in your fridge. Trust me.

inside-refridgerator — My fridge over-floweth

And instead of using plastic lunch bags for chips re-use plastic salsa or humus containers. Or at the very least have your kids bring home their plastic sandwich bags so they can re-use them for non-gooey things like pretzels or dried fruit. Chandler does it. Sadly, Marley does not. Sigh…

And I beg of you, above all else, please use re-usable water bottles instead of throw-away plastic ones. Sure, you recycle the bottles, but recycling plastic water bottles puts a crazy amount of toxins in our air. And if you think it’s healthier you would be wrong. Your tap water is heavily regulated. The water in plastic water bottles? Not so much. That’s right – that “spring water” you’re paying crazy money for (likely more than you pay for gas) can come out of a well down the road from the water bottle factory for all you know. Is washing out water bottles every night a pain in the butt? You bet. But so is brushing your teeth before bed every night and you do that don’t you?

Use Less Paper

A couple of years ago we started using cloth napkins every day. I love it. Most of my napkins are from my grandmother so they are totally retro. I’ve also found quite a few cute ones at yard sales. I keep them in a basket on a shelf in my kitchen near the table and have a basket next to it for dirty napkins. We usually use one napkin per day each (we hang it on the back of our chair when we’re done with a meal) and I wash them on Sunday and fold them as I sit on the den floor so I can stay awake while I’m watching Game of Thrones -or whatever awesome 9:00 Sunday night show is on- because I am old and tend to fall asleep while watching TV.

retro-vintge-cloth-napkins — I love my cool retro napkins!

I have to admit, even though we were using cloth napkins, up until recently I was still a paper towel whore. Spilled milk – get a paper towel. Clean the stove-top, get a paper towel. Eating breakfast on the way to work – wrap it in a paper towel. But a few months ago I cut up my 19-year-old wedding towels and turned them into rags. (I’m pretty sure that’s not a metaphor for the state of my marriage!) I store the rags under the kitchen sink and toss them in the basket with the dirty napkins after I use them. (I will admit that I do sometimes have to soak them in Oxi Clean to get them clean enough, because they can get a little bit greasy and gross.) I will also tell you that if you plan on cutting up some old towels you might want to sew the edges because the edges really fray a lot. But I’m way too lazy to do anything like that.

under-kitchen-sink — For bonus points notice my environmentally-friendly cleaning products

Pick Up Litter

Yeah, you heard me. I walk my dog every day and every day I see trash in the street of my lovely suburban neighborhood. When I see it in the gutter all I can think about is it washing into the ocean and polluting our poor fish (who I might end up eating for dinner one day). So I bring a trash bag with me (yes, a plastic one – shut up!) and pick up the trash. If I find bottles or cans it’s a bonus because I get money back. My kids are semi-mortified by this and call my trash bag my hobo bag, and I’ve sometimes felt a little embarrassed walking around with sidewalk trash – but what’s more embarrassing – picking up trash or passively walking by and letting it pollute our planet?

You didn’t really want a photo of my gutter trash did you?

Plant Drought Resistant Plants

We have a little succulent garden in the front of our house. One day I envision our yard completely desert-scaped. If you want to know the truth, as much as I love my succulents, I don’t really love the entire desert-scape front yard look, but I realize the importance. We have a finite amount of water on this planet and if I’m going to waste it, I want it to be in a too-long hot shower and not on my lawn.

Hang Dry Your Laundry

When I hang our laundry outside Dave calls it hillbillying up the yard. No, it doesn’t look very classy. But it saves energy and it keeps clothes looking nicer longer. Some of Dave’s tee shirts in the photos below are from the 90’s. (Yes, we’re clothes hoarders people!) I wash our clothes in cold on the delicate cycle, put them in the dryer on low for 10 minutes to get out the major wrinkles and then hang them dry. Labor intensive? Yes. But totally worth it. Disclaimer: I only do this for my and Dave’s clothes. I don’t do it for the kids’ clothes, towels and sheets, or for our socks and underwear (I wash those separately). So don’t get all crazy and think you could never hang dry all your clothes – I’m not saying all of them. But would two loads a week kill you?

So there you have it. Five ways to make every day Earth Day. I’d love to hear how you are living green.

Quotes

April 15, 2013April 15, 2013 charleneaross9 Comments

Do you use quotes? (I don’t mean when you are writing dialog – those are quotation marks silly!)

No, what I mean is, are there quotes from books or movies or (gasp) even TV shows that just resonate with you or have even become part of your family vernacular? Or maybe there is a song lyric (or two) that just speaks to you.

Last week Mama Kat had a writing prompt to list 6 of your favorite quotes but I chose to write about facing a fear instead.

But I’ve been thinking about this prompt because there are quotes that I love. Probably because I love words so much. Sometimes I read words that are so beautiful I can almost feel them in my mouth weighing down on my tongue. I like to hold them there like I would a sip of a bold Cabernet and taste their deliciousness.

I like different quotes for different reasons. Some quotes inspire me. Some quotes are funny. Others make me cry.

Every once in a while one of my friends will say, “And to quote Charlene…” And that makes me feel special. That I said something worth remembering. Worth repeating.

Mark_Twain_life_1900s — Forever in search of the right word

My favorite quote about writing is this one from Mark Twain…

“The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.”

So true. Writing is hard people. At least writing well. I have literally spent hours trying to perfect a phrase or a paragraph (not on my blog obviously) that isn’t coming together the way I heard it in my head. But when it comes – that word that puts it all together, makes it right, makes it flow… That is nothing short of magic. And truly makes all the difference in the world.

Another quote about writing I love is from a Sunset Magazine article called Time Lost and Found by Anne Lamott. In this article Lamott tells about teaching writing and how she tries to impress upon her students that if they want to write they need to stop making excuses and make time to do it.

“Can’t they give up the gym once a week and buy two hours’ worth of fresh, delectable moments? (Here they glance at my butt.)”

I cannot tell you how many times I think of this quote. (Mostly when I’m skipping the gym so I can write.) But making time for everything except writing is so easy. Because writing is hard. (See above.)

So the next time you see me and think to yourself that my jeans are looking a little tight, it’s not because I’ve been blowing off the gym, it’s because I’m taking the time to write. (At least that’s the story I’m sticking with!)

A quote that inspires me and one that I try to live by is from Mahatma Gandhi…

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.

‘Nuff said!

And to show you that I’m not really a deep thinker (though I’m pretty sure you already know that) here is a quote from David Lee Roth…

“Money can’t buy you happiness, but it can buy you a yacht big enough to pull up right alongside it.”

I’ve written before about how I don’t believe that money can buy you happiness. (And I don’t.) But I’ll be honest. I’ve had money and I’ve not had money and all things being equal – having money is better. (A lot better…)

From the book The Girls by the awesome Lori Lansens…

“I don’t want to learn, I just want to know.”

I may not have this quote 100% right (I’ve loaned my book out so I can’t check) but it’s close enough – you get the picture. The Girls is one of my favorite books and this quote stuck with me because it reminds me so much of my daughter Marley. (And perhaps, ahem… maybe more of me than I like to admit.) The coolest thing ever is that some time after reading this book I met Lori (she lives in my town – how random is that?!) and we became friends. I told Lori about how much I loved this quote because of it reminding me of Marley and she said is was inspired by her daughter. (Lori and I have spent a lot of time talking about the similarities of our very spirited daughters!)

Eat-Drink-Be-Merry — Please ignore my unkempt backyard.

“Eat Drink and be Merry”

I have this plaque hanging over my kitchen window. Yeah, like I said, I’m not very deep – but seriously… this quote says it all doesn’t it? Because what is life if you can’t Eat Drink and be Merry? I, for one, do not want to find out.

I’d love to know – what is your favorite quote?

yacht photo courtesy of Yorick R via Creative Commons

Jump!

April 11, 2013April 16, 2013 charleneaross12 Comments

Have you ever done something scary? I have. If someone told you to jump off a cliff would you do it? I did.

Seven years ago we went on a camping trip to an awesome campground (with a funny name) called Dinkey Creek located in the Sierra National Forest near Shaver Lake.

There are so many great places to camp in the Sierra National Forest, but it’s not exactly close. The car ride was about four and a half hours long. (But totally worth it. We’ve been to a lot of campsites in California and Dinkey Creek is definitely our favorite.)

Road-to-Dinkey-Creek — This picture tells you just about everything you need to know about our kids’ personalities.

We’d been there the year before and we loved it because we felt its beauty rivaled Yosemite. (Plus, unlike Yosemite, there are no bears!)

We got a sweet camp site to call home for a few days.

We found an out-of-the way hike to these beautiful granite pools.

There were swimming holes that Dave and the kids swam in. I tried to swim with them but found the water much too cold. It actually made me feel like I couldn’t breathe.

Back near our campsite there was another swimming hole with a natural rock water slide. Kids would take blow-up rafts -the kind you would usually lounge in a swimming pool on- and ride down it.

Dinky-Creek-waterslide — Imagine going down this on a blow-up raft. So fun!

Our beloved dog Pearl loved climbing the big rocks. She loved resting in the shade even more.

cute-border-collie-dog — Pearl Girl taking a rest.

There was also a swimming hole with a big rock that people were jumping off. A BIG rock. It was probably 30 20 feet high. (Dave says 15, but I’m sticking to 20.)

Chandler wanted to jump. He was only nine years old, but I was excited that he wanted to do something so daring. (See photo above!) The water was deep and it looked safe. Scary as shit. But safe.

But Chandler was hesitant. (Who wouldn’t be?) I could tell that he wanted to do it more than he didn’t want to do it, so I told him if he jumped then I would too.

So he jumped.

(Well, there may have been some hemming and hawing and pacing back and forth involved.)

rock-jumping-dinkey-creek — That’s my boy!

He liked it so much he did it again.

Afterward he swam back to us and told me it was my turn.

Gulp.

I wasn’t lying when I told him I’d jump, but I wasn’t really serious. I figured he’d jump and feel good about himself and not hold me to my end of the bargain. I asked him if he really wanted me to. He said he did. So I swam to the other side and climbed the rock.

And then I looked down. Rocks aren’t like cliffs. (Not that I’ve ever jumped off a cliff.) They kind of curve and you can’t really walk to the edge. You sort of have to push off and jump up and out. (In retrospect I should have checked out the jumping situation for Chandler’s sake from the top of the rock before giving him permission.) I stood at the rock and I couldn’t do it. It was too scary. There was no way I could jump.

I looked at Chandler across that water and called out to him, “I’m sorry Buddy. I don’t think I can do it. I’m so proud of you for jumping, but it’s too scary for me.”

And he started to cry.

“You promised,” he said. “You said if I jumped you would jump. You promised.”

And the fear of willingly breaking a promise and disappointing my son outweighed my fear of jumping.

So I took a deep breath. And I plugged my nose (because I’m so graceful).

And I jumped.

And I will never ever ever do something like that again! (But I’m glad I did it that once.)

*This blog post was inspired by Mama Kat’s weekly writing prompt. The prompt I chose was: Talk about a time you faced a fear. (I hope that was obvious.)

I’d love to hear about a fear that you’ve faced.

The #1 Reason Getting Old Sucks

April 8, 2013April 8, 2013 charleneaross11 Comments

Yes, in case you were not aware – this thing we call aging (you know, getting old) it sucks. Big time! Yeah, in France older women may be sexy, but they have something in their water that allows them to eat wine and cheese and chocolate everyday (not to mention bread) and still be skinny. (The French women will tell you that it has to do with all the walking and this weird thing called moderation – but I don’t believe them. I think they practice some sort of sell-your-soul-to-the-devil French voodoo over there.)

But I’m getting off topic. (I know – so unusual for me, right?)

Back to getting old. And it sucking.

Sure I can probably think of 5,422 reasons why getting old sucks off the top of my head.

Crows feet anyone? Sorry Botox – you’re just not for me.

My aching back. And my aching feet, my aching neck, my aching shoulders…

The fact that I can’t eat onions anymore without taking an antacid. Really?!

The inelasticity of my aging skin. Anti-aging lotion does not work people. It. Does. Not. Work.

The size of my pores. Let’s just say if my pores were a colander a lot of .

And I’m not even going to mention the hot flashes, pimples (pimples!), and mood swings (What the F did you say?!) that a certain mid-life-change-that-will-not-be-named (shhh, it’s menopause) brings to the getting old table. Nope, this blog is not about that.

This blog is about the #1 reason getting old sucks. And to illustrate I will tell you a little story. (Because why say something in a few words when you can say the same thing in many? Do not answer that!)

Last week my friend Jennifer and I went out for sushi. And because of the weight gain that can often follow ingesting 1,000,000 milligrams of soy sauce salt (not to mention the fat in the crunchy, creamy cut rolls) we decided (or rather Jennifer forced me) to walk the two and a half miles from Jennifer’s house to the sushi bar. (So yes, that means we’d also have to walk the two and a half miles back.) I gave up looking fashionable (it’s hard to look fashionable in tennis shoes) and good hair (there is a moist marine wind by Jennifer’s house -even though she lives 30 miles from the beach- that makes my hair frizzy) so we could walk five miles and not ~~get fat~~ gain weight after enjoying a nice meal.

It was actually a pretty good plan.

And do you know what happened the next day when I got on the scale? Do you?

I gained two pounds. TWO POUNDS! After walking five miles. FIVE MILES!

I got my recommended daily 10,000 steps in, but they did not help me. Not one little bit.

And do you know why? Because I’m getting old. And getting old sucks.

Although… I will admit… back pain, pimples, crater-sized pores and all, this aging thing – it sure beats the alternative.

Charlene Ross

Author: charleneaross