4:30 a.m.

(yes, still experimenting with the new camera; I love no flash - photo on top=no flash - what do you think? I love the golden, yellow tones - seems more real-to-life?)

So - I've wanted to scrap about 4:30, but think it might be better as a blog posting! my alarm is set for 4:24 a.m. during the week - I snooze for one, at most two intervals, so I'm always up by 4:40. I know that's unusual, but it really works for me - here's an excerpt from my journal, dated 1-9-07:

- the house is dark and quiet

- start the coffee, boot up my laptop, check email (I'm sure people freak out the first time they get an email from me before 5:00 a.m.!)

- Marc gets up around 5:30 - feeds the dog, has coffee and reads the paper {interesting note - Marc gets up at this time on the weekends, too - me, I try to sleep at least til 6:00!}

- I get two hours of work done before I wake-up Sara at 7:00

Those two hours are key for me now - love having something 'accomplished' and a few to-do's checked off before the real day starts...and I never feel guilty about getting to the office at 9:00 or leaving at 4:00.

billy joel.

a post in anticipation of a billy joel concert - for me and katie - tomorrow night. haven't seen billy joel with katie. next to my sister, katie is probably the best billy joel fan i know these days...next to me anyway. i found billy joel in high school - just after the stranger album came out - 1977 or 1978? but really fell in love in college - glass houses and nylon curtain and the older albums - especially turnstiles - i first saw him in concert then and think i've been to 3 more concerts over the years. marc was (is?) a fan, too and i'm sure that's a fundamental requirement for any soulmate of mine....

my sister and i saw 'movin out' two years ago - and i commented to her then that i felt billy joel played the soundtrack of my life - there are so many periods of my life that have his songs bound to them - high school and only the good die young (cliche senior quote, but at least the song was new back then!) or scenes from an italian restaurant, a summer in college with travelin' prayer (played over and over - that was when we played albums on a turntable), the early married years when billy joel found christie brinkley (every guy's dream?!) and the storm front concert... we didn't start the fire was a wonderful video - maybe i'm mis-remembering, but i'm sure katie has it as an early memory! as i got older, i tended more toward the older stuff - reconnected with piano man when katie did an essay on it in middle school and summer, highland falls is from katie's senior year in high school. i was working too much and missed important things. i now enjoy the song for many different reasons (and it's #1 on my playlist), but two years ago, every time i heard 'they say that these are not the best of times but they're the only times i've ever known' i'd tear up...

i can't think of any other musician who has been as timeless and as relevant...at least for me - and i'm very fortunate that katie might agree with me!

They say that these are not the best of times
But they're the only times I've ever known
And I believe there is a time for meditation
In cathedrals of our own

Now I have seen that sad surrender in my lover's eyes
And I can only stand apart and sympathize
For we are always what our situations hand us
It's either sadness or euphoria

And so we'll argue and we'll compromise
And realize that nothing's ever changed
For all our mutual experience
Our separate conclusions are the same

Now we are forced to recognize our inhumanity
Our reason coexists with our insanity
So we choose between reality and madness
It's either sadness or euphoria

How thoughtlessly we dissipate our energies
Perhaps we don't fulfill each other's fantasies
And as we stand upon the ledges of our lives
With our respective similarities
It's either sadness or euphoria
-billy joel [summer, highland falls]

Chicago here we come!

(splash page from The Art Institute of Chicago Cezanne to Picasso exhibit)

Started planning our spring break trip to Chicago this morning (as in the 'fun parts' while we're there - booked planed tickets and hotel a few weeks ago). My wonderful friend Sue suggested a visit to see Wicked! and Sara thought it sounded fun so we're going! just four days - Wednesday to Saturday {I'm hoping hoping that Sara decides to study to take her learner's permit test on Monday of that week and then Tuesday is just a play day...}

I've visited Chicago numerous times on business, but only once for fun (three years ago - can't believe it's been that long - to see Sue) and that one time I talked, shopped, ate and drank, so not much useful experience to share with Sara.

Sara wants to go to the top of the Sears Tower ... and if you know about our 2006 spring break trip to St Simons and we climbed the lighthouse and I am very scared of heights and I can only hope the Sears Tower is all enclosed and safe-feeling?! And I want to see the Art Institute and they just started a beautiful exhibit - such a treat for us because New York and Chicago are the only stops in the US for this exhibit. Can't wait. So - now I have to find restaurants for lunch and maps so we don't get totally lost - and if anyone reads this and has other suggestions on what we should do - please share comments!

So that was this morning. Sara had a stressful day today so I stopped at Harrys to pickup a treat - mixed berry gelato: yummy she said (it's the lower row, 3rd from the left)
and the flowers are right next to that and I took a few photos to try out tulips with my new camera - much better I think?


...and Katie and I just found out that Marc got us two tickets for Billy Joel on Thursday night - woo hoo!

simply, the thing that I am shall make me live.

http://www.proefrotterdam.nl/proef_english/proef_en.html

would like to contribute a mini playlist:
1. Badly Drawn Boy - The Shining
2. Paul Simon - Peace Like A River
3. Cat Power - I Found A Reason
4. Sufjan Stevens - The Henney Buggy Band
5. Van Morrison - Madame George

been studying all weekend, but did get to eat a wonderful lunch today--from Highland Bakery: half a hummus sandwich with a small cup of white bean chili soup. Oh, the food there is wonderful! (just as wonderful as the lovely little article I read about a bakery/restaurant in San Francisco called Tartine...if I wasn't going to be an engineer or any of the other things on my list--which keeps growing, eh? artist, graphic design, art director, editor, blah blah--then I would totally own a small little cafe or bakery. A place where you would feel perfect sitting and drinking a tea or espresso and eating a scone or something...heh, I love those places!)



think Kate and I have decided to hang around 4th street for another year...

am totally digging magazines, as usual. and i am feeling really inspired and passionate about future plans to make them part of my life somehow. proactive.

good weekend.

(but aren't they all?!)

Saturday - got half my weekly run in (the other half is always on Sunday - I'd like to run more, but it's not seeming to fit in these days), then Sky, the dry cleaners and Harrys - pretty typical errand list. Followed by a few hours scrapping - I finally finished the pages from Katie's birthday:
(looks like I need some help photographing my pages!)
a good dinner (thank you, Marc) and catching up on my magazines - I have subscriptions to Bon Appetit, Gourmet, In Style, Southern Living and More - and the months definitely seem to run out before the magazines do!

Sunday: started out very rainy and cold (but Marc played golf anyway) and I decided to make lunch for me and Sara - the soup and biscotti from Tuesday's cooking class. Felt good to have a real meal:

My sister and I went to a Stampin Up card-making event - tons of fun and inspiration and we talked about starting up another 'club' - four of us need to find four other friends to make it work.
(Sharon, Karen, me, Kelli and Anne)

(the very cool projects we made - 3 cards and a set of push-pins)

...and now the red carpet show - not sure I'll make it up to see who wins at the Oscars!

"California, there you go..."

So Thursday night was the series finale of The O.C. And man was it depressing. Only sixteen episodes this season, but it was a phenomenal season, which made the ending that much more bittersweet.

The episode was titled "The End's Not Near, It's Here," a lyric from the song "The End's Not Near," which was originally by The New Year, and then was covered by Band of Horses. Both songs were featured on The O.C., and both were featured, coincidentally, in the second episode of a particular season (The New Year's version in "The Way We Were" (2-02), an and Band of Horses' cover in "The Gringos" (4-02)).

But anyway, the episode was just wonderful. It jumped forward six months ahead, to around late August/early September, so babies were on their way (Kirsten and Julie's), and kids were off to college or beyond (Berkeley, RISD, Paris, presidential rallies, etc.). But while the first 40 or so minutes were playful, fun, entertaining O.C., the last 20 minutes were extremely depressing.

Before the final montage, they showed Ryan walking through the empty Cohen house (The Cohens, having just had a baby girl, Sophie Rose, decided to move back up to Berkeley), reliving his first moments in the house. So in the final scenes, they actually flashed forward to the future (again) to show how everyone ended up. Sandy became a law professor at Berkeley, Ryan went to Berkeley, Julie graduated from college in a truly poignant scene as Kaitlin, Bullit, Frank, and her cutest son ever cheered her on (a la Marissa's graduation in "The Graduates" (3-25)). Summer was shown at a rally, supporting the cause, and "saving the world." Seth was shown admiring her. And then they got married, and the tears really began to flow. Ryan and Taylor's relationship was left open-ended, and their fate is completely subjective, but I believe that they ended up together.

And the final scene was of Ryan, walking from a construction site (he became a successful architect), and then seeing a kid, lonely, abandoned, and exactly like him that side of 10 years ago. Ryan looked at him, as flashbacks of him back in "The Pilot" were featured. "Hey kid," he called. The boy looked up. "You need help?" Ryan asked. The kid looked back down again, and then up again. The final shot was of Ryan. The screen faded to black, and I cried uncontrollaby. The show really did come full circle. I continued to cry uncontrollably.

Too good of an ending, made even better by Patrick Park's "Life Is a Song" playing in the background.

And so now I am left O.C.-less. But there are always DVD's, and, coming in early April, syndication, right? And I still have my O.C. calendar to gaze at for 10 more months. And my O.C. music to listen to. So not everything is lost.

I am currently listening to "California," as a part of my The Best Of: A Retrospective O.C. Collection - Season by Season (which I will give to my mom as soon as it is finished). That famous line "California here we come..." just played. But I guess now it's "California there you go..."

Check Out:

• The entire finale (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4) (and some other season four episodes, as well)
  
• "Life Is a Song" by Patrick Park (via the Silly Pipe Dreams blog)
  

fridaying

thanks to steph (she's noted in my favorites as 'steph from 3191') for the fridaying idea - I love it!

this was one of those days where my job definitely did not get in the way of my life - I did get up very early and was at my desk (at the office) by 5:30 a.m., but I also managed all of this:

*knocked out a client deliverable that had been nagging me for a few weeks
*figured out a creative approach to solve a business problem (allocating cost to projects - blah blah blah), got a key business partner to buyin to my approach and to next steps for implementation
*had several coffees (yes, just a little too much caffeine!) and a wonderful hour plus conversation with a friend who just moved to Raliegh but was in Atlanta for the weekend
*had lunch at dunwoody bistro and an hour long conversation with another friend
*met Katie at cafe intermezzo to pickup my half of the russell+hazel order (way cute cute stuff and I can't wait to get it setup!) and generally catch up,

*followed by a major shopping spree - a new camera, sandals, and a few things from V Secret, and advice on what journaling bag I shouldn't buy, but no luck with shoes...

Other ideas:
*I want a flickr site - Katie says I need to use my new camera a bit and then I can post photos...and I can't wait to link them here
*There's a booklist section on the right - but I wonder if this kind of list would be better - comments?

I may miss out posting next weekend (yikes!) - my sister and I are taking my mom to Beaufort SC for the weekend. We're staying here and I'm really looking forward to some quality time with both of them!

spring fever.

for once the weatherman was right! today was beautiful - 70 degrees, sunny blue skies... (thank you organicbouqet.com for the beautiful tulips - maybe someone will see this post and take a hint? tulips are my favorite!)

Sara had tennis practice so I got to spend another hour at starbucks and finally caught up reading the december issue of vogue - the irony of reading the holiday issue on the first spring-like day wasn't lost on me! - and I found a few new delights in the index-gift guide: d. porthault hankies (#9 -- there's one with the eiffel tower! collection idea for someone who's planning to visit lots of new places?) {of course I couldn't find an online source, but I did find this very wonderful blog posting from someone in Atlanta who shares my delight and this reference that makes me very jealous of Katie's upcoming trip to Paris!}, hugo guinness drawings (#27)...and this launched a series of web wanderings where I found john derian and elliott puckette but I couldn't actually find the book.

Here are two of hugo's prints - I totally need to find that book!

{and to seal the deal, he's designed tote bags for kate spade love love love!}

Tonight is the LAST episode of the O.C. --end of an era....

Learning html.

ahhh....so feeling very proud of myself - the ee cummings poem on the right is now tiny size...and there's a space before the last line. nothing but a lot of trial and error to figure that out.

the sun came out today and the weatherman promised 70 degrees tomorrow. spring fever? who, me?

now i lay me down to dream of Spring {thank you ee cummings}

i know that i am like the rain...

image from moma; picasso's girl reading at a table (picasso seems so cliche, eh? but i do love the colors)

am feeling inspired by:

anthropologie's pre-spring display...the smell of the candles in there---the colors of the new dresses and sweaters remind me of sangria and of the island getaway in the Thomas Crown Affair.
the twangy guitar in the beatles' across the universe (it's the endless rain into a paper cup and sounds of laughter, shades of life that gets me every time)
the opera part in staralfur (by sigur ros) that just makes everything perfect.
audrey looking up at me under 'sweet-cakes and milkshakes' in my almost-finished notes, lists, and ramblings dck notebook
bob dylan's storytelling in spanish harlem incident
thoughts of one day having my own kitchen--where i can bake scones and breads and cook oatmeal on the stove, and have a tea kettle that whistles early in the morning (*photo from 3191--a true favorite and constant inspiration to be happy--notice the russell + hazel? holy cow, I can't wait, mama!)
my stack of books...still currently reading The History of Love, Nicole Krauss (i WILL read this weekend--perhaps in the park if it's nice enough--second time running there this week; or in san fran coffee if it's chilly and feburary-ish)
photographs of jane birkin and serge gainsbourg (finally found one to be a desktop background)

new discoveries:
african nectar tea by the mighty leaf
brad mehldau trio (listen to still crazy after all these years on the anything goes album)
the shop scad boutique/gallery next to the roxy theatre in buckhead--close to the whole foods (aka mecca) and henri's bakery; I inquired if they were hiring--thought it'd be a great opportunity, so we'll see...

Salud!

Sara and I just got home from a wonderful cooking class at Salud! Chef John Wilson and Tuscany: Dinner by the Fire. Wow! We had chickpea soup, pappardelle with shredded duck and savory biscotti and warm cappuccino cheesecake with chocolate glaze. Not exactly what Chef John had planned - the biscotti should've been served with the soup and the cheesecake should've been 'not' warm - Salud is having oven issues. But everything was really good... Sara loved the pasta and I liked the biscotti best. Chef John's day job is called Culinary Vacations. One of these days we really need to go!

Thank you.

Katie is terrific! She fixed it. Thank you!

Have too many ideas for this blog and not enough time right now. Busy with work, tennis (for Sara), journaling and scrapbook. Sara has tennis practice tonight, which gives me an hour at Starbucks and time for my journal.

Sara and I have a cooking class at Salud! tonight - a Christmas present. We're excited!

Uh oh....

So this is obviously a work in progress!

Katie created a beautiful banner page and used html (which I haven't yet learned) to post it and fiddled around with other settings to create a 3rd column. And I undid it all! well, not quite all, but I lost the beautiful banner. Decided that a 2 column layout was probably the way to go (seems most popular with the blogspot blogs I've bookmarked anyway) and when I changed the template - poof! - beautiful banner disappeared. But we've made plans to get together later this week and I'm sure she can show me how to fix it!

...spending time with Sara tonight catching up on episodes of the O.C. I've missed. The last one EVER!!!! is this week (on Thursday at 9:00 pm) and I know there's no way I can see all the episodes by then, but Sara has found ONE episode I must watch before Thursday....

Welcome.

my very first post...on my very own, brand new blog -- mother and daughters -- sums up what I find my life to be about these days! I have much to learn about blogging - Katie will help (she knows html!) and Sara will offer comment as always. I love them both! ...and I'm very excited about sharing with them this way. ...here's to keeping in touch in a very new way (for me anyway!)