SURVIVING SUMMER

I survived the first week of summer. It was crazy. With no classes, school, practices or camps scheduled, you’d think it would all be easy breezy but no — each day was a constant challenge to keep the boys occupied. Sure they entertained each other – playing video games, legos/bionicles and other made up games, but they annoyed each other just as much!

One sure fire way to get them to stop getting on each other’s (okay, mine) nerves was to get them out of the house. When you leave by the beach, it’s a little easier – you hit the beach, you play in the sand, and if the water isn’t too cold, you take a dip in the ocean. But I’m a believer in variety being the spice of life – so I tried to plan an “adventure” for each day. First there was the beach, then the pool. The next day we spent an afternoon on Dino Quests at the Discovery Science Center. The day after that we played miniature golf at Boomers. Thank goodness for Annual Membership passes and free coupons (courtesy of my kid’s reading program at school aka Whale Tales). We also had a day of just hanging out at the park playing catch and racquetball and there was one day a friend came over to swim at our pool. Oh yeah and another life-saver was the day spent at the HB Central Library for its annual Festival of Folktales.

Whew! What a week – did I mention that I had to squeeze in some work and of course household chores and errands in between all that? I barely managed but I did it — this week my older so is at beach volleyball camp all week — woohoo! But even then that’s just half a day, which means there’s still the other half of the day I have to fill…

Told ya, it’s crazy.

How are you surviving your summer?

Please — spare me the pizza

Calorie-laden

Weekends are the hardest. No gym workouts, no personal trainer to keep me on track. Just me and the family, kickin’ ‘back, sleeping in,  eating whatever. Taking it easy. There are no tight schedules to keep (except for social events like kiddie birthday parties filled with birthday cake and ice cream = calories) And there is pizza, yes, cheesy fattening pizza.

The thing is I’ve never been an active sort of person – no sports for me – this is not to say I don’t move because when you have kids it always seems you’re running around like a headless chicken.  But the point is, I’d rather be reading a book lazing on the beach than riding a bike. I’d rather be watching a movie than going hiking or something like that. You get the picture.

So weekends are hard but I’m really trying my best. Stick with the PROGRAM! I’m learning, becoming more conscious of what I eat. I try to make good choices.  I want to be active but haven’t found my sport – we’ve got a pool but I’m more likely to be found floating on my back or soaking in the Jacuzzi rather than doing laps – so that doesn’t count does it?

At least I’m not sitting around watching TV and playing video games (not Wii Fit) and I do take a break from the computer.  Isn’t that what weekends are for ? Recharging? So who wants to work-out and diet on a Saturday, right?

What? Yes, I know …tomorrow is Sunday, whew! It’s the end of the weekend. Back to the daily grind, back to my regularly scheduled program. Until then…

Why I can’t stop working out now

Three weeks of 2x/week 6am workouts and this is what I’ve got to show for it — yup, no more upper arm dingle-dangle —  you know the flabby triceps that many mamas complain about.  Of course, there’s more to complain about and more to work on and it’ll definitely take more than three weeks, but I’m up to the challenge. And it’s all about accountability — so I’m posting this for the whole of the blogosphere so I don’t slack off.  

And then there is my awesome personal trainer aka Stacy Rae Fitness Mama of course who keeps this Suburban Mama in check. You should read her blog — she’s helped me realize that I can never be rail thin because of my body type. So I’m working out according to my body type (Endomorph) and making the most of what I’ve got.  :)

SO WHY CAN’ T I STOP WORKING OUT NOW — BECAUSE I’VE PUT IT OUT THERE and TOLD YOU ALL ABOUT IT.  ’Nuff said.

You Ought to Be in Pictures

*As a photographer, I’ve been asked by many mamas for tips and tricks. I keep thinking I ought to teach a class. Well, since I’ve been slacking on that idea… here are two mamas who’ve actually put together such a CLASS. Sounds like great fun with lots of lessons to be learned. I originally pitched this piece for mybabyphotos.net but since it didn’t run there, here it is… enjoy.

CREATE ART — ANYTIME with your camera

Baby Photo by Marcie Taylor Photography

What parent doesn’t have a zillion snapshots of their kids?  Imagine if you could take those snapshots to the next level and make them more artistic.   Noel of Bosh Images and Mali of Mali Workman Photography show you how through their Anytime Art Workshops.

According to Mali: “Last year I randomly met Noel and we immediately became friends.   Our sons are the same age and we both share a life long love for photography.  We run our businesses (Bosh Images and Mali Workman Photography) independently. One day we were at a park and we ran into one of my clients who cheerfully said that she had bought a new SLR camera and needed to learn how to use it.  At that time I remembered several people saying the same thing in the previous few months.  Noel also knew several people wanting to know how to use their digital SLR cameras but didn’t know where to go to learn it.  So together we came up with the Anytime-art Workshops, which are designed for beginner photographers who know that they have a “good eye” and have invested in a digital SLR camera.”

The Anytime Art class is divided into 3 parts: Part one teaches you how your camera works and how to properly expose your images. Part two shows you how to find your creativity, develop a more artistic style and make more interesting images.  Part three is a real photo shoot with 2 children as models.  Everyone immediately gets to apply all the concepts they learned and see how they work.

To improve your family photos, Mali advises parents to learn the basic concepts of photography.  Shes says: “If you know how your camera works, then you can focus on being creative. If you can quickly adjust your camera settings, you won’t miss “the moment” by under or overexposing your image, or getting a blurry image.”

When asked for hardware and software recommendations, Mali recommends the Nikon D60, D80 or D90 (depending on your budget – you get what you pay for), while Noel suggests checking out the Canon line of digital slrs.  Furthermore, Mali recommends investing in Photoshop Elements. “It’s $100 and will make a world of difference on your images.  Nikon and Adobe don’t pay me anything to say this. I say it because I truly believe in these products,” she says.

Ready to give it a go?  Visit  http://www.anytime-art.com The next workshop is on May 30th, 2009  in Alison Viejo,CA.

GLEE: Join the club

In an effort to re-invigorate this blog, I vow to blog at least once a week — even about the most random things — because isn’t that what blogging is all about?

Today’s topic: GLEE. Yup, that new show that aired right after American Idol. Of course I didn’t catch it when it aired, just as I just finished watching the AI finale (even if I already knew that Kris won) — the DVR is my best friend. But in case you didn’t get to record it, give it a go on Hulu. If you like musicals and stuff set in high school like I do, then this just might be the show for you. It’s not so much “High School Musical” really — because it’s much more creative than that. Just think the show brought new life to Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing and a new take on Amy Winehouse’s Rehab.

There’s a cute guy and a cute girl and a host of other high-school movie/TV show stereotypes — and they CAN SING! The lead actor is very likable in a Simon Baker (Mentalist fame) way — did I just say that because he reminds me of Simon Baker? Also, it’s got Jane Lynch — and I believe anything she’s in is pretty funny (Role Models, 40 y.o. Virgin etc.)

There’s so much potential in this show. The only bad part is that we’ve gotta wait till fall to watch another episode.

Step it up, girls!

Step Up Women's Network

It feels like forever ago but it was only last week when I attended the Orange County launch of the Step Up Women’s Network. I found out about it from fellow OC mama Liz of Origin One who I “met” virtually on the Savor the Success site. Let me tell you that it was such an awesome gathering of women — and all for a good cause.

Me with some cool gals from Union Bank and Spa Magazine

I tweeted that Step Up rocked and of course, people were curious so…

From its literature, one learns that: “Step Up is a national nonprofit membership organization dedicated to strengthening community resources for women and girls. With chapters in New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago, Step Up has more than 50,000 supporters nationwide. Through teen empowerment programs for underserved girls, women’s health education and advocacy, professional mentorship, and social networking opportunities, we educate and activate our members to ensure that women and girls have the tools they need to create a better future.”

Cool, right?

Mega organizer Liz with her mom

There was such a cool vibe at Scott’s that night. One attendee said it felt like being in a sorority. And while I’ve never been part of one, I did go to a private girls’ school from elementary to high school — so I totally get how empowering it is to be surrounded by fellow goddesses.

Take Action now. Join this awesome national network of women dedicated to strengthening community resources for women and girls. Talk about TRUE GIRL POWER!

Digital Spring Cleaning — you should do it too!

Whew! I just spent the last hour cleaning up my inbox – deleting old emails, old ezines etc. Can you believe my inbox contains emails from as far back as 2004? I know, crrrazzzy. But it happens, you forget, you hold on, you just get lazy and before you know it you’ve got hundreds of messages in your email inbox. (Not even counting the SPAM and other junk mail.)

So after cleaning that first email box I went on to my other email addresses (yes, I have more than one– don’t you?) I started reading the messages and smiling to myself — what each address and each message had to say about me at that point in my life. There were the personal messages and then the ones I consider valuable because they could be “business” leads in the future. Whatever happened to writing things down in a little notebook? Hah! I have those too — don’t get me started on spring cleaning my desk drawer!

Yes, it is true. Although I live a big chunk of my life online, I also have lots of papers, notebooks etc.

It’s funny, I still remember the early days of email and instant messaging. The exciting hum of dial-up. Those were the days. I even remember the primitive era of FB precursor Friendster (my account’s still active in fact) . And here I am, now wired via mobile and macbook. Thanks to Twitter, Facebook, Linked In (and Quattrospace )– it would seem everyone would know what I was doing when…should I be worried?

Isn’t it ironic how the more connected we are to each other virtually the less we are connected in real life?

Taking a bite out of Twilight

I just finished reading New Moon by Stephenie Meyer and must admit I got “sucked” into the whole vampire love story. Meyer has crafted a classic teen romance, the kind that lives you giddy, that makes girls (and even ehem grown women and er, moms) get caught up in what happens to Bella and her vampire love, Edward. Did I mention this all takes place in high school? With simple prose, and yet a moving story, the Twilight saga succeeds in entertaining.

I know, I know. I should’ve read Twilight first but I’m the kind of person who goes looking for spoilers anyway and who fast forwards to the end on my DVR. And if you told me how a movie ended, it doesn’t ruin it for me either. So it’s perfectly understandable that I’m just now starting to read Twilight after h New Moon. (It isn’t like a history book that I have to read chronologically!) And though I haven’t seen the movie, I don’t mind being able to picture Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson as the characters in the book.

I told you I’d still blog

I am touched by all the warm and fuzzy comments and responses I received about and to my Farewell issue.  You have all been a part of my life and the (mother)’hood and I look forward to keeping in touch with you on this blog.  While I will no longer send out an ezine bi-weekly,  I will try to at least update this site monthly. And see, here is my first entry now.

Okay so actually it’s a link to another cool mom site that might be of particular interest to you online shoppers out there.  Check ‘em out on the sidebar.

Farewell

Farewell

It’s not you, it’s me. The truth is, I need space. We’ve given it our best shot, but it’s just not working out and maybe just maybe I think we’ve grown apart. If it sounds like we’re breaking up, it’s because we are. Sort of. After almost two years of ezine togetherness, I think it’s time to put Suburban Mama the ezine to rest. Oh we had our good times, like when we shared pole dancing, and our thoughts on undomestic goddessness. But admit it, there were the not-so-good days too; the gaps between issues, the corny articles.

These past months on hiatus, I’ve been feeling less and less suburban mommy-like. I don’t know if it’s because I’m not a soccer mom let alone, a hockey mom. I don’t drive a mini-van and I don’t wear a sweat suit wherever I go. So I’ve been lax. In case you were wondering, I’ve been taking pictures more than writing but here I am now informing you all that the ezine directly emailed to your inbox will cease to exist in this format.  I can no longer afford to keep it up so I’m turning to the blog.  You can still subscribe via RSS feed and of course, the website will still be around.

Suburban Mama started as a creative outlet for me two years ago.  As a freelance writer, I was getting frustrated having to pitch idea after idea to magazines and having to wait to hear if they were interested. I figured I’d publish them on my own. The first issue was sent to about 50 personal friends back in the East Coast. Then those friends forwarded to other friends and so on.  Today there are almost 400 subscribers on both coasts and in other parts of the world. It is amazing how much parenthood binds us.

Through your comments and emails, I felt as if I knew you (and you knew me). Every issue felt like a couple of girl friends (with a couple of daddies here and there too) getting together for coffee while the babies napped, went to school or just ran around us like crazy.

Alas, I’ve gotten to the point where putting an issue together takes so much out of me. There’s too much time and money involved. Neither of which I have enough of – so this is the end.  THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR SHARING WITH ME! Thank you to my early sponsors – Leigh of Arbonne, Deb of Smart Start, Jenny of Usborne, Tiffany (my beautiful Jersey Girls!!!), all the companies that sent me things to review, and those that sponsored giveaways.  And last but not the least, my sincerest thanks to all my mama friends who supported me by reading the Suburban Mama.

Remember, I’m still online at www.suburbanmama.com and at http://suburbanmamas.wordpress.com

So long and good night.

party's over