You are currently browsing the monthly archive for January 2009.
Sara and I took the girls for high tea at the Victorian Manor Tea House, in Orange. It is the most adorable little purple house with a picket fence wrapped around. So much charm on the inside too with mismatched Victorian tea sets and tea pots, murals on the walls of women wearing outrageous hats drinking tea, plus real outrageous hats to wear. They even had hand painted high chairs for the girls to sit in.
The food was so good. Soup, little sandwiches, scones, fruit and a big pot of tea for us to share. The only bummer is that Sara once again entrusted me with the job of choosing the tea, and yet again I failed. I have an affinity for the ones that have flower names. Thing is, they actual taste like flowers – Ick! Other than the unfortunate tea choice, we had a wonderful time.
I look forward to doing this with the girls as they grow (and can remember). Great idea Sara!
My sister, and my friend Beckey and me hit up the local BINGO on Wednesday. This time I played two sheets instead of 1 – that’s 12 games of BINGO at a time! Yeah…its hard.
I kept saying “I really want to win”. What a stupid thing to say! People only play BINGO to win. Its not like a skill that you just play to improve at. Sad to say, I did not win. Brooke did not win. Beckey did not win. But the lady behind us won 3 times! I don’t know why I felt like I was entitled to winning, but I continue to feel like I got gypped somehow. Does that say something about me?
Fortunately, I wore warmer clothes so I was comfortable. I brought snacks. I brought a big carafe of coffee, however mine was worse than the kind they had for free. All to say there is still room for improvement in my BINGO experience.
Despite my still lingering flu, Eric and I went to Todd and Jaime’s wedding last weekend, at the Montage Resort in Laguna Beach. The one perk to having the stomach flu is losing 4 pounds in 4 days – a perfect time to debut my new dress!
Eric has known Todd since the second grade when they were both Barcelona Bears. They went through all of school together, so I too have known Todd since high school. Ironically, Jaime and I have also know each other since we were five and six, through church and Stoneybrook. When Todd showed up with A DATE to last year’s Christmas party, I was totally shocked to see Jaime on his arm. It has been great to see two long time friends fall in love, not to mention how fun it was for me to know both sides of the wedding guests 
The wedding was amazing! Every detail was considered. And to top it all off, it was crystal clear weather with sunshine down by the beach. Prior to the ceremony we enjoyed the music of a string quartet. They were serving coffee, hot tea and a pretty fruity drink, while people signed the guest book. And this was no ordinary picked-it-up-at-a-stationery-store scrapbook…they’re photographer had done multiple photo shoots with them, put together a leather bound album and left spaces for guests to sign. There was a lot of pressure to write something special because I didn’t want to do anything to deteriorate the quality of this spectacular book.
The ceremony was very special. Doug Fields (my old boss) officiated the ceremony, and delivered with his usual wit and charm – taking jabs at Todd and praising Jaime. He told the story of how they met, and how they fell in love, and he led them in their vows which I always love to hear as a reminder of the vows that Eric and I have made. At the end of the ceremony they released doves, which flew in a beautiful pattern with the expansive ocean as the backdrop.
Next was cocktail hour. They had funky couches and ottomans set up on the lawn, a bar, a sushi bar, a fire pit, and passed hors d’oeuvres. This purple martini was my drink of choice because it matched with my dress.
The reception was unreal. The band was rocking before the doors even opened. Jaime’s dad gave a toast, that of course made Eric cry thinking about the day that he’ll have to give Emily away. Both families seemed over joyed by this union, and the environment of the party matched the occasion. We enjoyed the best champagne I’ve ever had, Lemon Drops, Lobster Bisqe, Filet Mignon and Sea Bass. We danced the night away to the musical brilliance of their live band. They literally sounded like the original recordings of each song…no, better. One guy went from singing Luis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World, to Outkast’s Hey Ya! Musical Brilliance. There was a moment of humor for me when I looked around the dance floor to see 10 or so people from my high school: some doing “the sprinkler”, or the running man, or pop and locking in a dance circle, one guy with his shirt unbuttoned and his tie tied around his head, as if we were at Homecoming or something. Such a fun group.
After dinner, they tied back some curtains revealing a club-esque lounge with sampler desserts, a candy bar, couches, another dance floor and a bar. We reclined and took it all in. What a party!
Many congratulations to the happy couple. What a great way to kick off their new life together.
I went to yoga on Wednesday night. About half way through class I started having that hot flash/I’m getting sick feeling. On the drive home that night I stopped my car, just as I approached our neighborhood, and I threw up out the window 3 times. One of our neighbors was conveniently walking his dog at the time, and had the privileged of taking it all in – neat!
That kick started a 4 day streak of ickiness in our home. Both Emily and I have been an absolute hot mess and Eric has been the model of loyalty, caring for us the whole while.
My source of comfort has been saltines, Gatorade, and my new book Twilight, which I have found lots of time to delve into.
As for Emily, our rule of no TV has gone out the window for the time being. Other than mom and dad, the only thing that will do the trick is sitting reclined in her boppy pillow watching her favorite episode of Sesame Street.
It’s sure to pass soon. In the meantime, I’m glady accepting sympathy.
Our wedding day was hands down the best day of my life – perfect January weather, I looked super pretty, all of our friends and family were there, great food, dancing, presents, and I exchanged vows with my soul mate to love and care for each other forever. Pretty sure nothing’s ever going to top that.
A close second, however, is the day that Emily was born. Less pretty, less dancing, but oh the indescribable joy of meeting our daughter for the first time.
On Monday, Eric and I celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary. And I am officially calling this the third best day of my life. It started with sleeping in until 8:00am, getting ready, then waking Emily up (this has never happened). She was an absolute ball of fun. We laughed and played as a family, then headed over to Eric’s parents’ house where we dropped off Emily for the day.
Eric and I went out for breakfast, then headed down to La Costa for a day of pampering and relaxation. I’ve done many spa days in my life, but I never felt like I had earned it quite like I did this day. We got massages, hit up the sauna, steam room, roman-style bath, and soaked in the hot tub. We layed by the pool in exquisite 78 degree January weather, ordered spa-esque poolside lunches, read books, got subtly tanned, laughed, reminisced, kissed…it was fantastic.
I spend most days by the clock. I could tell you in any given day all the times of Emily’s sleep patterns, meals, diaper changes…it was so nice on this special day, that there wasn’t even a clock in sight. At one point we were trying to guess what time it might be and I couldn’t even determine what hour we would have been in. A true vacation in my book.
After our spa experience, Eric took me to the Carlsbad outlets where I got to pick out a new BCBG dress, among other things.
When we picked up Emily that evening, she was thrilled to see us – jumping, rocking, hugging. It was such a treat. I’m the first to say that she loves me, but we so rarely spend time apart (and never for this long) to allow such a joyful “I missed you” reaction. As much as the vacation aspect made this such a great day, so did getting back to our normal life. That’s a pretty great feeling.
On our drive home that evening we called in to-go orders at two different restaurants to suit each of our taste buds – this seemed totally excessive to me, a perfect way to end our day. We went home, laid Emily down to bed, and enjoyed a quiet evening together.
Happy Anniversary my love. I am so blessed to be your wife. Thank you for spoiling me on this special day.
Emily is 10 months old today. She is noticeably learning and growing every day. It seems like we’re daily adding to her list of cute facial expressions, gestures, sounds and “words”.
This month her top two teeth came in, bringing a grand total of four. She enjoys proudly showing them off with her cheesiest, over-sized grin. She has started chewing with them, although unnecessary as all the food we give her is liquid, mashable or dissolves in her mouth. Her puffs used to be a perfect tidy little snack, but now make a flaky mess as she tries to crunch them to pieces.
She is still between her famous seal crawl and the more traditional knee crawl, but gaining speed at both every day. Today we watched her do 5 consecutive laps around our dining room table, dragging her legs the whole way. Only stopping for a peach puff or two, then continuing along. As of last week, she is pulling herself up on anything and everything: her crib rail, the ottoman, walls, the stairs, my legs…the toilet! Ick. Its super fun to see her explore our home at an approximate 12″ higher perspective.
Emily has learned how to point, so there’s no more wondering what she wants. A point to the bookshelf means she wants to read Each Peach Pear Plum for the 12th time that day. A point to the coo coo clock means she wants you to press the button so that the bird comes out and chirps 3 times. A point to the light switch means she wants to take turns turning the light on and off. A point to her jumper means – no not that she wants to go into it, I’ve made this mistake myself – but rather that she wants you to stand her up to the edge while she plays with the toys from the outside of the contraption.
My favorite new “point” is to my plate of food, as she prefers eating whatever Eric and I have prepared for our own meals. So far she’s eaten turkey sandwiches, spaghetti and meatballs, chicken and vegetable soup, blueberry and banana smoothies, oatmeal, tuna. I’m not sure if I’m enjoying this yet, as I now have to share all my food. But the plus is that she is a very good eater and rarely picky. She regurgitated her first bit of avocado yesterday, but then kept trying at it until she suffered the whole thing down. She sucked on a lemon at lunch for a good ten minutes totally entertained. Or maybe just we were entertained…
She has definitely become more vocal…we just wish we knew what she was saying. Her babble talk is truly the sweetest sound I’ve ever heard. But then there are specific words that we hear often: “Bbbba”, “Dow”, “Adu”, “Dat”, “Tkaw”. Any interpreters out there?
Its really true what people say – “It just keeps getting better”.
Do you ever have days when you just feel like the luckiest person in the world? Today was one of those days. It started with the weather – how fortunate are we to live in California, enjoying 78 degree weather in January? I took Emily to the park for a picnic. We were both wearing Summer dresses, and we laid on a blanket for 2 hours playing with a ball and watching birds fly by. Absolute bliss!
Then I thought, forget California, how lucky are we to have been born in this country? Enjoying limitless freedoms and luxuries, but with order and structure. I just finished a book about women growing up in Afghanistan – aside from the state of war and deprivation they were living in, they were not able to leave their homes unless they were with a man, and even then they must be completely veiled otherwise they would be beaten or raped. And I get to sit in a park, in a dress, enjoying a day with my daughter? I don’t understand. But I’m not going to take it for granted, I can tell you that for sure.
Then I thought, forget this country, how lucky am I to be a child of God? To be filled with hope and joy, to experience love and forgiveness, and to know that my future is sealed in Heaven. That’s amazing!
So, in summary, it was a really good day.
My friend Alissa is having her second baby boy in just a few days. When I was last with her she said she wanted to buy a sling. I told her that I had one that I was obviously no longer using, if she wanted it. I then proceeded to go home, rummage through Emily’s old necessities, and set it out for her. As it turned out, she got a new one, so she didn’t need it after all…
So, yesterday after Emily’s bath she was feeling especially needy and wanted to be held. But, I was trying to get dinner ready before Eric got home from work. Delimma! Listen to my dear sweet baby cry and have dinner ready on time? Or play with her on the floor until Eric got home and then start dinner late?
But then, like a shiny vision in my head, I remembered the sling that I had set out. I kind of chuckled at the thought because I hadn’t used it in 7 months, but I figured I may as well try…Emily laughed as I tried to tuck her booty into this non stretchy piece of fabric, but after a couple shifts and jiggles, there she was…like a baby kangaroo.
I got dinner ready and on the stove. I made some foccacia bread from scratch. Emily looked on with absolute fascination, seeing life at my level. She held the bag of onions that I drew from, as the final touch on my home made bread. Such a good helper.
When Eric got home from work he thought surely Emily was sleeping because it was so quiet. Instead he found us happy at work, all snuggled together – and dinner was just about ready. A huge success in the daily challenges of a full-time mom.
My apologies to all my loyal Life on the Ranch enthusiasts who have checked in regularly and gotten bored seeing Eric playing with Legos, day after day. The new year has brought a new, motivated “me” toward doing more with my spare time than poking keys on my rapidly declining computer. So while the blog has been lacking, know that its simply because I’ve been out there living life – and that should be commended, right?
But, for sake in keeping a good record for me to look back on, here’s a glimpse at what I would have posted about:
• Happy New Year brought a great time at Brooke and Darren’s house, with some fandabulous appetizers and a new obsession for Rock Band.
• I’ve begun studying US History as a New Years Resolution, to finally stake claim in knowing what I should have learned in elementary school.
• Eric and I joined a game group with some long time friends. We’re going 2 months strong. Taboo, Guesstures, Pictionary Man, Mad Gab…Eric got to write his name on the belt of winners this month. Oh, the things we aspire to.
• Emily has been spending most afternoons cruising the paseo in her new convertible.
• I joined a book club. Our first book was A Thousand Splendid Suns (easily in my top 5). So I’ve been enjoying many evenings like this.
• Eric got in touch with his inner redneck.
• Emily got her top 2 teeth in.
• I started exercising. Walking (briskly) in Ladera, cycling, I took a yoga class, an amped abs class. It totally justifies my cookie fetish.
• And I got our Cox cable bill lowered by $32.34 per month.
See! I’ve totally been busy. Now that you feel updated on the highs of the Johnson household, know that you can return with confidence in the fact that this is not an abandoned effort. Hope you’ll visit again soon dear friends.
