Halloween Pictorial

Just a photo dump of all the glorious adorableness that was Halloween 2012.  Photos stolen from the fantastic blogs of  the fabulous Bronwyn and Celia.  Yes, Bronwyn’s party was Edgar Allen Poe themed and YES I pretended it was just for me. Also she is a contributor for Lucky Magazine now, so GO BRONWYN!
Do not anticipate a wildly amusing post here.  Just documenting my lovelies.

Mimi and Cubby.  Love that Mimi committed to her skunk poopin’ stink pose.  It began to offend her that every time she walked up people said “You stink!” so she wisely doused herself in my perfume before we went anywhere.

Her face!

I went as a Voodoo doll.  I usually go as something more fun and silly, but this is fitting with my feelings these days.  Human pin cushion.  Morbid!

Silas, Mimi, Jude.  Thank goodness I got at least one really cute shot of Cubby.

Mimsis in her first Halloween Costume Parade with her buddy/escort.  She was so thrilled to be in the show. 
Is it obvious that I’m kind of obsessed with Mimi right now?  She was the life of the party during Halloween.  Mimi put together her own costume, was ready for any event in a second and was fun and happy the whole week.  School is really agreeing with my little Bubba.  She feels empowered and busy and happy nearly all the time.

Ellie the Flamingo, my mother the Gecko, and me – Voodoo Doll.  Did you know Ellie’s and my kids go to the same Elementary School?  And the same preschool?  I LOVE IT.

Rocking the donut on a string with her Kindergarten class.  All the other little girls were Princesses.  My little sweetheart was an adorable skunk and she felt awesome about it.  I love that my girl would rather be funny than pretty.  It makes me feel like I’ve done something right.


Testing out my wigs. 

Finally, at the very last second before the main event Mimi lost her Skunk costume.  It was nowhere to be found.  She instantly threw together this princess number and rolled with it.  Batman Silas was the happiest trick-or-treater running around the neighborhood.  I love that first year that they understand the knock-on-doors-get-candy arrangement. 
 
Some of the take.  We had to return to empty our too-full buckets once.  The rule in my house about candy is THERE AINT NO RULES!  Live it up kiddos. 
Note.  Where was Houdini?  Houdini had been coming around more and seeing the children more, though never by himself.  He was sober for about a month after his surgery.  But then all of the sudden he vanished, again (hence the nickname Houdini.)  He first said he was off buying a car somewhere, then it was he was seeking medical attention for an ear problem, then it was just defensiveness and blame.  He was unreachable.  A few days before Halloween Jude Jude was having breathing problems that required an ER visit.  He has seasonal asthma and it gets aggravated by colds.  It can be very scary.  I tried to get in touch with Houdini to come to the hospital for Jude (which, by the way, is paid for by Some Guy’s health insurance for which we are very grateful because their father doesn’t care to keep them insured), but Houdini was unreachable.  I finally figured out where he was from a third party.  Thailand on vacation.  Or maybe one of his grandparents “died” again.  He missed all of these events by his own free will and choice.  Sadly, the children are accustomed to his prolonged absences.  Sometimes I feel like covering for Houdini, other times I just don’t feel like enabling his deceit and denial.  His poor girlfriends.  If only they knew.  Sometimes they find out and nothing adds up and they get hurt.  I feel sorry for them.  And that is that.  How do we feel about him?  Eternally brokenhearted and disappointed, but also a lot of other things. I hate Satan, the end.
    
Si on the way home from church.  Get your chocolate eating together, boy.

Cousin and neighbors at the trunk or treat.  One of the few Jude pics I have because he was too busy having fun.

Little Silas going to preschool.  He is working his way into a regular schedule over there.  He feels ready to go all the time, I do not feel ready for that.  His speech is coming along mas rapido and I think he’s easy to understand 75% of the time.  He is currently 2 years 10 months, but tall.
 
Annnnnnd my favorite picture from Halloween.  This is my dad.  What, your attorney father doesn’t wear frog-king costumes? 

I Am Trying to Love Right Now

"You are the trip I did not take, you are the pearls I cannot buy, you are my blue Italian Lake, you are my piece of foreign sky."
You are my Mimi, Jude and Si.

If You are Looking for Me

I will be at home on my couch eating frosting with my fingers accompanied by some cats.

Trading on Your Cool

A few years ago my friend and I went to a stand-up show.  It was amateur night and we knew one of the people in the show.  When the girl got up to do her bit we were taken aback.  It was really good!  She was super funny! 

And she was repeating back verbatim something I had said to her three weeks before.

Wha-what?

So let me get this straight.  You’re going to be my friend, rip me off, and then pass my material off as your own?!

This, my friends, is one aspect of what I like to call “Trading on my Cool”.  Or, more academically, pilfering someone else’s Individual Cultural Identity.  Stealing their thunder.

To Trade on someone’s Cool means to take something another person has shown you, included you in, or introduced you to and then to impress other people as though you discovered it all by yourself.  In Malcolm Gladwell’s words there are mavens, connectors, and salespersons.  Which one are you?

This is not imitation, it’s more insidious than that type of flattery.  It’s like style poaching.  Or cool stealing. 

The things that you spend a lot of time figuring out on your own kinda become YOUR THINGS.  What you do is part of your identity and what makes you YOU.  You don’t own them by any means, but your own personal style and choices are things you foster and things that make you unique.  They might not even seem that cool to you because to you they’re just normal.  Just what you do.

Of course we are all pieces of past experiences rolled into one person, but there are always a few signature items.  Things we do normally.  Ways we were raised.  Efforts we make because we feel they are important and because we genuinely like them.

And to snatch that from another person?  That’s cheap.

A few examples:

1.  I lived in LA for five years and I ran into this problem a number of times.  I had put in my time.  I knew where to go and what to do – things I had either discovered myself or been shown by my intimate friends.  Greystone Mansion was one such place.  I’d heard about Greystone Mansion, but one day my current BF and I went up there exploring.  It’s a fascinating and lovely place, kind of an oasis of peace in bustling LA.  We started to frequent the place.  Few people were ever there and it wasn’t trendy though by no means secret.  Occasionally I brought other people there, but it was kind of a special spot to me.

Gardens at Greystone.  Also where I set my evil turtle free. 

Skip forward a few months.  A new friend of mine asks me if I’d like to come check out this super cool house up in the Beverly Hills.  It was a special place for her and her boyfriend – a friend whom I had shown the place recently. 

Oh, you mean my friend who I introduced to that place a few months ago?  You’re going to take me somewhere you only know about because of me?  That is annoying.  The boyfriend ripped me off and traded on my cool.

2.  One of my BFF’s is kind of a lone ranger and goes exploring by herself all the time.  She discovered an awesome random decaying mural that became a favorite spot for her.  She unwillingly took her BF there.  A few weeks later up on Facebook pops a picture of him and his new girlfriend in front of the mural.  Ripping off her cool.

Not this mural but one like unto it.

3.  I am an activities junkie with my kids.  I encourage other people to do activities with their kids.  I was raised going somewhere fun and/or culturally interesting every single Saturday with my father and the other kids.  Saturday comes it’s fun time, and usually I try to do activities that are outside of the norm for small kids.  Adventures.  You’ve seen them on here.  I absolutely encourage inspiring you to get your kids out and about, but if all of the sudden you are going my favorite places and  doing all my favorite things pretending it was all your idea, that is Trading on my Cool. 

Oh, really?  You totally go to the SF Conservatory of Flowers just on a whim?

Now I’m not saying that you shouldn’t copy when people have good ideas.  I’m all for that.  No reason for you to sit at home in front of screens all weekend.  But pretending they were your OWN good ideas?  That bugs me. 

Get your own Individual Cultural Identity.  Be original or cite your sources.  Start finding your own adventures.

And Yet Somehow Life Goes On

For CGH, your scripture so you don’t feel like you’re neglecting your studies: Book of Mormon  Mosiah 24:15 And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did^astrengthen them that they could bear up their ^bburdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with ^cpatience to all the will of the Lord.

"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It goes on."
- Robert Frost -

We are going a mile a minute over here.  We can’t stop.  If we stop the scars they made might catch us.  None of that.  No, No, No.  We'll run away, move on.  Moving forward, onward.  Too busy living and loving our days to be slowed down by deep hurt.  Our days are filled – with smiles and with friends and with love and sometimes even with hope, but not that often.  If we keep moving and living suddenly time will have passed and we will be alright again.  Until then we will cheerfully SINK OUR TEETH INTO LIFE.
So this week we:

Went steampunk.

Spraypainted Jude’s purple bike baller gold.
 
Cuddled on the comfy chair.
 
Played dress-up in mama’s sparkly clothes.

Dropped THE papers at the Family Law Court.  Again.  We are four once more.

Played Dada, Mama, and Baby.
 
Rocked fashion couture
 
Got our necks kissed.

Drip painted.
 
Learned about Magna Tiles (need!  wishlist!)
 
Went to a science craft fair.

Strolled around Yerba Buena Rooftop Gardens
 
Rode horses into the horizon.
 
Practiced our posing.
 
Built houses at the MOMA
 
Listened to art.

Learned how close to stand to a piece of digital art.

Just another week of living over here.  Taking it all in stride.  Licking our wounds.  Retreating.  Regrouping.  Pushing through.  All the euphemisms.
We are ok.  We are living.  Life goes on.

Buster’s Wedding

These are all the photos off my iphone from the Camille’s and Alex’s wedding.  My flash is broken and my camera is nearly worthless.  Anyone care to sponsor a new iphone?  Bueller?
I’m sorry for the below average quality, but Sherman Chu hasn’t finished working his editing magic and this is what I have for you for now.

Ellie and Paige
  
Me and Si

Nancy and Celia.  Nancy is my pseudo-sister.  I can’t remember life without the Nance.
 
Dapper little Jude.  The matching bowties I ordered didn’t come in the mail so I made these for my boys the night before.  They served their purpose.

Val and Alina

My Mimi

Charlotte (p’s) Mimi and Alice (c’s).

Sisters attempting normal. 
 
This is my absolute favorite picture and moment of the day.  While we were posing for the traditional siblings shot and about to take the picture someone said “WAIT!  Get the deck!”  Mark took off running for the car and skated back on one of Nate’s skateboards.  We took this picture in honor of our brother Nate.  I think we were all thinking about him that day and it was especially powerful for me when I looked out at the crowd of people watching us pose for this weird photo and saw my mom’s face.  Though a bit bewildered and caught off guard, I could tell that she in particular appreciated the siblings demanding to have Nate represented in some way. 
Always 8.

Pam photobombing

The dress.  Made specially for Camille.  It looked like she had just walked out of an epic Hollywood movie – Gone with the Wind maybe.  She was glorious.

But brides need to eat.  Ellie helpfully shoved food down her throat.

We usually take family shots since every body is all matchy-matchy.  This is Phil Aub and Teddy (11 months).

Me and my minions.
On to the reception.
The majority of the reception was orchestrated by our newest sister Robin.  The Perrys live at The Mothership right now because they’re in between homes.   They are not blood relations, but man, we love having them.  Darin and Robin worked their buns off.

Ellie was very helpful yelling at people with her megaphone.

Cake assembly

Favorite cousin Max showed up from BYUI and was swarmed by the cousins.
Then the fun began.  It was a hoedown so there was a caller instructing everybody in the dancing.  He was appropriately bossy and it was so much fun.

Silas had a ball

Bride and groom first dance.  Oh, you didn’t know that the dress was CONVERTIBLE?!!  Yep – the bottom ruffles came off for dancing!!

There were about 300 people there.  It was crowded and we were so happy that so many people came to celebrate Camille and Alex.
Here are some random dancing shots:
 
These last few shots are stolen from Sherman.  He is an incredible photographer and practically part of our family.  Hey Sherm, if you don’t want these posted let me know – not trying to step on toes and stuff but really, I love these pictures so much I couldn’t help myself.