French Braider? Me?

I taught myself out of necessity in high school, how to french braid my own hair. I have never been able to come anywhere near close to doing a good french braid on someone else's head. Not from lack of effort. Tonight, after my little miss's bath, I was brushing her hair, just like normal, and just gave it a shot. She was letting me try, and I wasn't doing so bad. In fact- I was doing good. No better then good, enough that I would let her leave the house with that braid! I will add pictures soon. I am so proud of her, and of me! Sad slightly, that is was 10 minutes before bed- and it won't last until tomorrow morning, but maybe she and I can do it together again!

One Cup~ Two Cups

Yesterday I had a double dose of fun.

First was a scheduled play date with PJ's friends, Shae and Sullivan, and their wonderful mommy, Jo. http://twotinyterrors.blogspot.com/ It was intended as a play in the pool, play date, but oddly it was cold here in 'Sunny So. Cali' so the kidlets played inside. Dress up, dolls, princesses, etc. All while these two mommies shared a much needed cup of tea and long chat!

On my way home, I got a call from an old friend, who happened to be in town. Usually she and I chat about boys over a cup o' joe. She arrived at my home, just after I laid PJ down for her afternoon nap. No boy chatting, more family gossip, and this time- it was all over a cup of afternoon tea.

Now I thought one cup of tea a day was good. Two cups was GREAT!

If you are feeling sad or lonely: anything besides happy; this Mommy recommends a double dose of cups of tea and friends.

Peace, Love, and Drink Tea!

Blanche we will remember...

Another icon has left us today, for the great big stage in the sky. Rue McClanahan passed away this morning. I never had the privilege of meeting her. I still hope that I will someday. Rue McClanahan is best known for her portrayal of Blanche Devereaux, Golden Girls.

Golden Girls has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Very specifically the girls helped me come full circle. As I was sitting at my mother's kitchen table preparing my wedding dress I was also watching Golden Girls reruns. My mother was going thru an old box of my art work and school work from elementary school. In that box was a time line, of my favorite things in 4th grade. Listed as my fav tv show, The Golden Girls.

The Golden Girls helped many of us little girls. The ladies were our friends, our mothers, and grandmothers- when ours were unavailable. The ladies still are, thank you reruns.

The Golden Girls was the original Sex and The City.

Safe Journey...

Peace~ Ms. McClanahan~ Peace

SandBox Play Grounds

I recently read an article about the nastiest grossest things that we let our kids do. On that list was playing in playground sandboxes- listed as major gross. I think the words they used were, "playing in a used litter box". It makes sense- animals running around our urban neighborhoods- don't differentiate between wooded areas and areas where our kids play. I get it. Gross. and when I think about it EW! double gross!!

I am a frequent resident of neighborhood playgrounds. In all our playground hopping (this action has replaced bar hopping in my mommy-age) we have only found one playground with an honest to goodness sandbox. Mind you this sandbox doesn't make any sense to me... the WHOLE playground is sand, and then there in the middle of the playground is four pieces of wood thus giving the illusion of a sandbox.

This brings me to my point, and I do have one, ALL the playgrounds are each a GIANT sandbox, as all the playgrounds are sand filled. I know there are other options for ground cover at playgrounds, shredded tires & shoes (my personal favorite). My daughters love to play with their sand toys at the playground- so here it is: How do I keep my kids out of the 'used litter box' covered playground, and still let them run off their energy, work out their large muscles, develop coordination, and more importantly tire themselves out, so they and I can take a nap when we get home, and still keep them safe from the gross germs?

Wilderness Ride?

I could not sleep last night- all I did was toss and turn for hours. So when the sun was up and the fog had burned off enough, I strapped on my tennie-runners and went for a bike ride. Remember the show Men in Trees? Remember how Marin would ride her bike thru the tiny Alaskan town and see beautiful parts of this great country? I did that today. Only not in Alaska. I rode down the street, and had to stop for the passing herd(?) of deer. Further on I was met with a field full of horses. A couple blocks later, I was chased a bit by a rooster, who had a lot of early morning sounds to be making. Finally there were these beautiful birds that were flying over me. The ends of their feathers were white, just something I noticed, while I was worried they were going to poop on me. They didn't. Whew! I rode about 2 miles, and made it home in time to eat breakfast! That was one crazy wilderness ride- if country back roads counts as wilderness.

PLEASE! I'll be your best friend

Dear World~
I would very much like this bag.
Thank You
Yours Truly,
Mandi

http://www.onlineshoes.com/womens-sherpani-sojourn-tote-bag-raspberry-p_id177147

Day One~

Off to a great start! I woke up extremely early. The only people that are awake at the time I woke up today, are up to no good and God. I entered the kitchen, turned on the light, and the grinder on the coffee maker started. It was kismet! I savored my delicious cup of coffee. Then I busted out the Zumba! and then my daily yoga and meditation practice. And started on water! Time to get the last sleeping girl up and share a yummy breakfast! Day one is going fantastic so far!

*disclaimer* you don't get to remind me of how fantastic this day started, when I fall off the bandwagon- the key is getting back on*