1.31.2010

bye bye bye 2 thousand + 9




now that it's the last day of the month of january, i had a few moments to think about 2009.
it came, and went.
what did i learn from it?
i feel like two thousand and nine didn't want to stay so it left in a blink.

i have this really good feeling about this new year.
it's treated me really well so far.
today my friends gave me a gift i cannot thank them enough for.  
my family is giving me a gift in a few days as well.
my dad gave me a gift tonight.
i feel extremely blessed beyond my capability of understanding.
i have been given much which makes it easy for me to want to give more back.
i feel like i have so many blessings in store;  at least that's what my fortune cookie told me.
it said this is going to be a good year.
one of my many blessings is...
 a lifetime, no an eternity rather with my sweet son jackson.
it's something that makes me smile.
its so good. so so good.

chair pose.

i am not a big fan of trinkets, jewels and all that fancy stuff when it comes to decorating myself when i leave the house.  i have never really been.  i think having so many freckles makes me think i have too much going on on my face that if i add more then it's just confusion.  necklaces, however are something that i tend to look at when i am in a store.  i am extremely picky.  it's got to fall in the right place. not the awkward place, or a choker, but perfectly fallen.
i came across these beauties...
Tiny Little Chairs is a series of collectable pendants representing mid-century design. each pendant represents a vintage chair that revolutionized design as we have come to know it today.
 the first series consists of five chairs: the scoop chair, the pavilion chair, the dining chair, the work chair. i can't figure out which one is my favorite.  i would probably take an hour to decide which one I want.
all are available in solid gold, silver and bronze. {via Design Milk}

1.30.2010

sweet somethings.

jack: mom why did jesus give me hands?
me: so you can blow kisses
jack: nahhhh mom.  he gave me hands so i can play with my toys.

soles4souls drive result

this past week i was busy! so busy with great great great people.
my company Select Staffing and my fellow managers in the los angeles area collected shoes for
soles4souls.  they sent the shipment to haiti yesterday.
it was such a pleasure to be around such 
giving people all week.
i don't think i stopped smiling.  i think that is what service does to a person.
true happiness.
{there is a lot of generosity going on for haiti relief. it makes me believe that there are great people in the world instead of focusing on the bad, hatred and sad times.  if you pre-order this almost silky-soft  Help Haiti Rise tee from artist Mike Fretto and feel good knowing that 100% of all proceeds go directly to Partners in Health and their medical work in this ravaged country.  i just thought it was worth mentioning since so many of us want to give but don't know how.  also if you are a pack-rat and keep all of your shirts, this would be a wise one to keep to remember this time}

i had pretty incredible stories with each of the pick ups and i would like to share snippets from each.



elizabeth marnon 
liz is a friend of mine from vanguard university here in newport beach. she gathered up her shoes from her home and boyfriend. 
some of her shoes she gave were brand new. 
these orange ones were our favorite!




erin collins and her son braden
she is a friend of mine from high school who is also a single mom. 
when i got home from san francisco, i had 5 large bags on my porch.
her son was sick all week yet she managed to gather everything. 
as i sorted to separate the bags from shoes and clothes, i noticed she gathered more clothes from others than just her and her son. she has always been so giving.

rocco from showroom services
my good friend rocco donated some shoes and clothes.
he was really giving and willing.
such a great person! 








emily yao and corinthian colleges
emily yao and i were emailing each other about the shoe drive.
i went to her office to pick up the shoes.  she had 3 bags of her own and helped me 
bring them down to my car.
she asked me if it would be alright if she sent out a mass email to her corporate offices
 (the 4 floors in santa ana)
the next morning after one of my meetings i went to the building.
these cute receptionist surprised me with over a dozen large bags filled with shoes!
the company came around to say hi and see me cart them down.
it was so sweet.





megan shirey
she is a friend of mine that i met a couple years ago.
she and i coordinated me to pick up her two large bags of her own shoes at her office.
she was so easy going and willing.
the shoes she gave were perfect for the haitians.
thank you megan!




najab from calnational bank
one of my friends from here gathered clothes and shoes from his neighbors and friends. 
he had dozens and dozens where i didn't have room so i had him help me bring them.
his company had lots of bags that they were so willing to give.


yvonne, john sanchez and dr. diane
 i went to a networking meeting a few weeks ago and met many great people who i kept in touch with. they all own businesses in the orange county area and are extremely professional and nice.
they invited me back to breakfast and gathered all their shoes to give to the haitians.
yvonne sent out the email to the group and coordinated john to present them.
it was such an honor to be there to accept them.
such great people.
  




arin scott and the friends
arin is such a sweetheart. she received my email i sent out and had melissa morales go with her that weekend to gather clothes from all of our huntington beach friends.  she and i met at native foods and then she showed me how much she gathered...
my entire car was filled to the brim!  
thank you so much arin and melissa as well as the 210 girls, kiele and some others i need to personally thank.  you guys are amazing.
the haitians will look great in their true religion pants, nice pumps and thick sweaters!



-Emanuel Swedenborg


laurie tartie, alice and gensler inc.
laurie was so sweet to respond to my email so quickly.
she forwarded my email to her entire company in newport and santa monica and we organized a 
time to do the pick up.
i went to the newport beach building 
expecting a few bags.
no, she organized two large push carts (like the ones you see at costco) filled to the top and falling...
of SHOES!!!  it was raining outside so we quickly stuffed my car to the brim again.
she told me there was an IT guy that comes out to newport once a week and stays at a local hotel. 
that hotel provides him with a bottle of wine every time he stays.  
he hasn't consumed those bottles so he has been keeping them in his office.
he auctioned off the bottles of wine at the company and they raised enough money to donate to haiti and buy new shoes to give to me.  
truly inspiring.

alice - she sent out my email to her massive amounts of friends...
she dropped off about two dozen bags of shoes to my office!
i truly was choking back my tears after meeting these two women. 
truly inspiring.



kelly nila and impco technologies
kelly is great!  she received my email and wanted to help out immediately! she sent out my email to all of her company.  we organized a time for me to pick them up.
when i walked into their offices in santa ana, i looked over the large quanities of bags and boxes because there were so many!
the receptionist told me people bought brand new shoes for the kids.
i found the bags of the new shoes.
i couldn't hold back my emotions.
i imagined all the babies and kids eyes when they see these brand new shoes.
thank you thank you thank you




lacey arave and quiksilver
lacey is a really good friend of mine!  she is such a sweet sweet girl.  
she received my email and was able to organize a box of brand new shoes from quiksilver!
she is also coordinating more boxes of shoes with their 
warehouse and we will send more to haiti soon!
i love that she was able to give brand new shoes!
 we voted these pair as the best!  
i thought they looked like the matahorn ride from disneyland!











nate with yo gabba gabba
nate is also a friend of mine who wanted to give.
he went through his office and sorted through everything he could to give.
he gave a couple dozen brand new and nice nike, converse, vans etc shoes.
he also donated brand new clothes from paul frank, diesel and others.
my entire truck was filled with amazingly nice clothes and shoes that he was extremely generous to give. he kept saying, "i just feel this great need to give what i have."
thanks so much again.  
my family, other friends, and other companies donated as well but i didn't get a chance to snag a photo.  
thank you again to everyone who helped this drive be such a success.

1.29.2010

whoa. alright.


click on picture for credit.

so there is a lot of good things going on right now.  me being so private about my life, yet torn having this blog to document our adventures... will let me go halfsies on this one...

TWO really great things have gone down in the past two days...
one. can't reveal yet. although i have told three people and it's pretty much not real-feeling.
hint. every girls' fairtytale.

two. an amazing family that i adore and love is moving here for dental school.
hint. they have a child jack's age and he is obsessed with his friend.

sorry the second one isn't nearly as impressive or juicy or personal as the first but i hope to share the first one with the wWw sometime when i'm feeling up to it....

hold on tight to your seats.

1.28.2010

ahhhh man.

as many mothers know, if you have a toddler, they want to follow you around the house. everywhere you go, everything you do (i feel like i'm singing brian adams in my head...) they are on your right side wanting to join.  showers are a time where i feel every mom just needs their privacy once your child is getting to the age of memory.  so after he crawled into bed with me, i gave him my laptop to watch aladdin.

tonight as i was checking my email, i come across aladdin being paused from 10 hours ago, and these pictures....



oh i do sleep with a random denim blanket.  their so heavy and keep you warm.  i'm not ashamed.
i do also sleep with silk pillows.

how awesome is jack figuring out photobooth on his own and taking these.  it completely made my night that much better.

tonight when we were driving home from a friend's house, he was looking outside and said, "mom, how come the moon keeps following us?  that's so funny!!!"

i think i remember as a three-year-old what the moon and sun were.  they were round balls that came out most of the time to create an illusion that they were always with you.  you look up and see it no matter where you are walking... except with those trees were in the way...

--- after that conversation, i asked him what he was in the mood for.  he said pink ice cream.

M: pink? why pink jack?
J: mom, pink ice cream is my favorite.

i was closest to wahoos, so we pull up.  i know they have those coconut ice cream bars, or fruit bars so i crossed my fingers they had something pink.  raquel in wahoos knows us well and calls jack nino.  jack has this conversation with raquel...

R: como esta Melissa and nino!
M: muy bien, u tu?
R: ahhh, muy bien muy bien.  {jibberish jibberish jibberish spanish that is too fast for me to write but i comprehend}  blank blank y nino?
J: my name is not nemo! it's jackson.

he picks out a ice cream sandwich... which we have a box at home {tutti soy}
and devours it.
chocolate on the mouth, sticking to his tiny fingers, blacking out his teeth, probably in his hair...
and he starts singing...

"there's a party in my tummy! so yummy so yummy! there's a party in my tummy, so yummy, so yummy!"

a woman walks by, VERY PREGNANT.

he continues to sing but wittingly changes the words,
"there's a baby in her tummy, so yummy, so yummy!  there's a baby in MY tummy, so yummy so yummy!"

oh my goodness... i don't think a day goes by were he doesn't make me laugh.

we start to drive that .65 mile home and the last funny thing he says of the night is:
J: hey mom, i'm going to sing ABCDEFG song and you sing twinkle twinkle little star at the same time. okay?

so we did. he didn't get confused.  he was smart enough to realize they have the same melody.
how great it is that he has a piano teacher that i signed up classes with for next week.

such a great night with my babe.

1.27.2010

for record


... we had a smashing time in san francisco together.

from jack running down the steep hill to hug me...
to walking around the busy streets holding his hand,
to having him stare at a homeless guy with a lot of facial hair and gave him an apple,
to running into some friends at our favorite pizza place,
to jack carrying that basket of strawberries everywhere - then eating them by himself,
to running in the rain,
going to a cafe to share warm drinks together,
to driving home for six hours holding hands part of it or him telling me about his world.

great mommy and son date.
loved every minute of it.

... and second.

1.25.2010

interview with jacksters

hi hi
hi hi... that's funny! {giggling} say hi hi again... {giggling more}

hi hi
{laughing uncontrollably}

whats your favorite color?
wred

whats your favoritist food?
apple

whats your favorite animal?
sharks and fish.

do you eat the fish?
no no no no no

whats your name?
jackson

whats your little name?
edward

do you have a favorite television show?
thomas, perceee, maybe trains, and i like yo gabba gabba.

what did you do today?
um, i play with my friends.


whats your favorite book right now?
the jesus book.

what do your pajamas say?
basketball. say wakers. say wakers mom.

lakers.

what color are your eyes?
it's balue mommy. i told you that alwready.

who is your best friend?
micah. hes my cousin too ya know.

what do you want to be when you grow up?
i want to be a firetruck when i grow up.  can i be a firetruck mom?

do you like cars or trains more?
trains?

whats your favorite movie?
nemo.

what color is mommy's hair?
it's blonde mom... i told you it's blonde.

do you like any girls?
no, i like boys.

are you a monkey?
who-ha ha ha.

what's my name?
Maylissa.

whats your favorite day?
i don't remember.

how old are you?
free and a half.

are we done?
yeah.


loving this phase of his life.
he is so funny.

at the park, he was wearing his pirate shirt. he told another mom, "you are not a pirate like me. arrrrr!"

when we were walking around the city yesterday, he was waving to everyone, saying hi to strangers.  he saw a homeless guy on the corner and brought him an apple after asking him why he has so much hair on his face.
he is enchanted with the game of me hiding surprises behind my back.  he is my everything.

                           so loving this boy. always.

1.24.2010

and such is that.

yesterday i left later than expected to drive to san francisco... after brunch and a wedding.



my friend kyle took me to an italian place called tomassos. it was family-owned and incredibly small.  i had my gluten and dairy pills; so such was that.  delish!  the service + food was so good, i'm still thinking about it.


{cheeks filled}




such a morning person
am i.




i walked around the mission district around 7am for a while 
and then union square.


i am now sitting in a random mediterranean cafe with internet, drinking my herbal tea and getting sooooo excited to pick up jack.



this cafe comes with an unexpected perk.





on the wall, you can find a friend. a not so discreet/i-spy-a freaky-voodoo-face-on-the-wall... 
totally trumps any experience i've had at a coffee shop.

and such is that.
picture dedicated to wendy-darling.


i love this crazy city and it's weird qwerks. 
 

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