Recommendations all over the place

So I don't like to get on my high horse about stuff but here are a few things I think are worth checking out.

My mother's best friend from high school wrote a book. Aside from the amazing writing of the book she also self-publlished it.
She was featured on the front page (lower fold) of a recent Sunday Boston Boston. I
t's called the "Lace Reader" and she writes under the name of Brunonia Barry.
My mother let me have her "advance readers copy" of this book. I've never been privy to this kind of experience. I honestly felt like I had the holy grail. This book is well done. She self-published it, did I say that already? That's a huge feat. It was finally purchased, at auction, by Harper Collins. This whole process takes a lot of time, patience and belief.
It's well placed.
It's a novel that takes you from your current reality back to that of your childhood experiences. It's validates (especially if you are from the North Shore) that your childhood does indeed matter and shapes all of your experiences. It makes you believe that a bad guy can have good guy characteristics and you can't always believe what you see. It reminds you not to trust what everyone has told you but to just trust someone.

So enough of that - when it comes out in July get the book - "The Lace Reader" by Brunonia Barry.


The other recommendation is, if you have kids near or (especially!!) if you have MY kids, go to ARTVARKS in Pembroke. It's an idea I swear to GOD I had last winter and someone else (thank God again) acted on. It's an arts & crafts studio where you bring the kids, make the mess and move on. We've gone twice now. The first time $32, today $77 but today was Lexi's b'day (she's 3) so we went hog wild (thanks to Grandpa & Karen). We built bears (6.95 per bear, 6 per outfit, 3 socks (honestly, just kill me)), we did spin art, sand art, marker art, blahety, blah.
I am jealous. I want to go with a bottle of wine and art myself until I'm silly in this place. No clean up, no worries. It's fantastic. I'd pay twice as much, you know, if I were rich or something. Anyway, just come, pick up the kids and go there.

BTW - Lexi's 3 today - anyone pick up on that? Soon she'll be asking for the keys....Life rolls on...

Times they are a changin'

My little baby girl is going to be 3 next week. I feel like I missed her baby years because I didn't get to spend 100% quality time with her like I did with Brooke. As we all know, Alexis has her own little agenda and no one is going to get in her way. I worry less about Alexis than I do about Brooke. Brooker is such a softie where Lexi is a tough chick.

On the "best parents in the world" front - last night John and I were relaxing and watching the news while the kids ran in circles naked yelling and screaming (see you think I'm making that up but it's the truth). At some point you just get tired from work, dinner, cleaning, telling them to stop running with the scissors (again, truth) that you just give up. So we gave up. Sat, watched tv and let them run (sans scissors of course). Well, you know where this is going, *SMASH*. They collided head on into each other and bounced back about 5 feet each. They both were oddly quiet for about 2 seconds trying to figure out what happened. Lexi's eyes were glazed over and Brooke's mouth was bleeding. Once everyone got a parent and relaxed it appeared there were not permanent injuries. Just another night in parent-ville.

In other news - John and I went to California - you've all seen the pictures. But here is this one again because I got the pose right and appear to have normal sized hips!

John won an award for top 3 sales reps in the country and, because of his sale, his company won an award for outstanding sales or something like that - the award ceremony was about 3 hours long, his stuff was near then end, shortly after the slideshow which included rats larger than a dog, again the truth!

We had one half of a day together and we went to Laguna Beach. We got to dip our toes in the water which is pretty cool - Atlantic and Pacific oceans both in January 2008. Pacific kicks Atlantics butt by the way. I am definitely retiring to S. Cali much better landscaping and v. cool vibe. See I could fit in.

In additional to the LOUD ticking clock and the 30 lb. paperweight that he won, we received a trip to Mexico! So we'll be off again April 10th - 13th. It's a quick trip but it's all inclusive and free so we're doing it.

Anyone interested in sitting for two little sweethearts? Let me know....