personal…adventures in longboarding

In all seriousness, I should have titled this post How to Make a Jackass out of Yourself because that's how I feel while I attempt to learn how to longboard. For clarification, I don't mean a longboard surfboard, I mean a longboard with wheels! 

What possessed a soon to be 41 year old mom to take up longboarding? Below is your answer!

I came across these inpsirational girls, aka The Longboard Girls Crew, via Design Mom. The first time I watched the video, I knew longboarding was something I wanted to learn. I wasted no time getting a board and roping in a few girlfriends to join me. 

Doc and D are super supportive, and neither think I'm a jackass. The 20 somethings that are skating in the local DMV lot probably think otherwise, but what can you do about that? I don't get a chance to ride as much as I would love to, but Sundays are my dedicated day to get out and have fun. I just like cruising and finding the perfect slope [not ready for hills yet!] to practice carving and attempt a slide or two. It's enough to put a smile on my face [skin a knee or elbow] and leave me wanting more.

 F&N

family + crafty things…creepy, crawly birthday

One of our highlights of 2011 was D's birthday party. He's not a birthday party kind of guy. I find this extremely ironic since I love to put on a good party. Anyhow, he initiated the idea of an all boys party which included his classmates and other friends outside of school. 

Since our place is small for a group that size, I had to find a alternate location or park. Unable to reserve a park spot and nervous about the possibility of rain, we ended up booking the party room at Paxton Gate Kids in the Mission. In the end we combined Paxton Gate's beetle pinning activity with a reptile show presented by Owen, owner of the East Bay Vivarium. 

Having a party offsite had it's benefits, but it meant I had to keep things simple and transportable. Decorations were minimal, huge black balloons with silhouettes of insects and reptiles. 

Dirt parfaits were the dessert treat served with a bottle of bug juice to wash it down. I used Smitten Kitchen's vanilla pudding recipe [easy and tasty!] layered with Oreo cookies that have been refrigerated and zapped in a food processor. Goody bags were sewn and stenciled by yours truly. Each bag had a composition notebook with custom cover and back I printed and spray mounted, a bug jar with custom label and fact sheet, a pencil and sharpener, and gummy worms. Bug Crunch was the snack and I used this recipe as my guide, substituting chocolate covered raisins and cranberries for all the candy.

It was so much fun, I want to do the same for my birthday. Of course I'll have to substitue the bug juice for booze.

Enjoy 

F&N

OTHER THOUGHTS

Paxton Gate Kids did a terrific job hosting our party and engaging the boys. They were extremely helpful before the party assiting me with balloons and setting out all the food and goodie bags. A big thumbs-up for the crew and the store.

Owen is AMAZING! He is so informative, witty, and entertaining. The love and respect he has for his animals is inspiring. If you live in the Bay Area, and are looking for a different type of entertainment, give him a call. Better yet, head over to Berkley to check out his store.

For those of you worried about the beetles, they were already expired. The "pinning" consisted of rehydrating the insects in hot water so that the legs and antennae become pliable. The boys used tweezers to pull and arrange the legs then used pins to keep them in place. The pins actually don't go through the insect, they criscross each other over the legs and antennae to keep them in place while they dry. It's a really fun activity. If you're interested you can get some home kits from here.

crafty things…sarah oliver bags

If this doesn't put a smile on your face, I don't know what will. It makes me want to grab my needles and knit with them!

Enjoy-

F&N

family…year of the dragon

Tomorrow marks the beginning of the Lunar New Year or Chinese New Year, making today Chinese New Year's Eve. I previously mentioned how we have instituted our own traditions around this festive international holiday, and this year is no different.

Yesterday, we elbowed our way down Clement Street to buy flowers, moon cakes, and pomelos and tangerines with stems and leaves intact. We finished the final bits of house cleaning to sweep out the bad luck and ill-fortune, and painted our chun lian, or good luck and good wishes for the coming year. [You'll notice in the slideshow that D decided it was more fun to paint Clone Troopers.] 

I'm not superstitious [or Chinese!], but the beliefs and traditions of Chinese New Year resonate with me. D loves the associated activities such as making lanterns, painting good luck characters, eating sweets and receiving hongbao. Best of all, it allows us to experience the many different faces of San Francisco.

I'm looking forward to the Year of the Dragon. Gung Hay Fat Choy!

F&N

family…living with Legos

In the last six years, I've learned there are Lego lovers and Lego despisers. My son is a Lego lover. I, too, am a Lego lover, but I'm also a despiser.

I love that Legos support and fuel D's imagination and creativity. They challenge his three dimensional skills and promote problem-solving. Selfishly, I love that Legos occupy him for long periods of time. When he emerges from his Lego stupor, he proudly presents his masterpieces and explains how and why he designed each piece. It's these moments when I feel like I'm the biggest Lego lover and proponent on Earth. 

My admiration for the tiny interlocking bricks quickly turns to scorn when they are piercing my barefeet during the midnight covers check, or when I inadvertently suck them up in the vacuum cleaner. Perhaps, the most irritating moments are digging through the trash can to find the ONE freakin' piece of the 1000 piece set that didn't make it's way out of the bag. 

In order to maintian sanity and safety while living with Legos, we have some strategies and orginization ideas that you might find useful in your house.

1. Sort, sort, sort! It's an odious task, I know, but sorting pieces by type into smaller bins helps keep pieces off the floor [and from under your feet!] and more accessible to your child. You might need to re-sort every few months, but it should never be as time consuming as the first sort.

 2. Food trays! Food trays are the secret weapon to keeping the Lego kits organized while in progress and allows you to store them out of the way during other playtime activities. The melamine tray in the slideshow is from Target. We have five and it seems to be a good quantity, even for the bigger sets. 

3. Take pictures! If your child is like D, every creation is precious and must remain intact. Forever! We taught him to use the camera on our iPhone, and now he's happy to have a photo collection of his work as opposed to shelving every creation.

4. Don't forget to dust! It's amazing how quickly and how much dust Lego models collect. This tool is by far the best at removing dust while keeping pieces intact. It's pricey, but works well on fragile and glass objects.

Hope this helps!

F&N