What he said

Picture day!

Backstory: These smiles conceal deep-seated resentment that they are being called upon to wear collared shirts.

Completely unrelated: Luke and I usually like to end the day cracking up by reading Cake Wrecks or Awkward Family Photos together. But the other day we discovered a site called Garfield Minus Garfield that has developed a cult following among comics connoisseurs.  It features Garfield comics (Luke's favorite, of course) that have completely removed Garfield, leaving only Jon saying random existential things into the air (From the site: "It is a journey deep into the mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against loneliness and depression in a quiet American suburb.") Example:

I LOVE the fact that Luke finds these funny. His sense of humor is absolutely sublime.

More unrelated news: Here are some choice quotes that have come out of their mouths in the last week:

Zach: "Mom, when I run with broken glass, I am very, very careful."

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Dave: "Luke, what new and interesting thing happened in third grade today?"

Luke: "Well, yesterday we had tea with the Queen of England. But nothing really happened today."

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Zach: "Mom, I am so mad at you I feel like throwing kale chips all over the house." (Burrrrn)

Wise use of time

We are back in the rhythm of the school year, and it is very strange. This three-hour kindergarten is going to kill me. Here's a typical Friday: Drop off Zach at 8:00 am. Drop off Luke at 8:15 am. Volunteer in Luke's classroom from 8:15 to 9:00 am. Volunteer in Zach's classroom from 9:00 to 10:00 am. Dash home and check email. Return to school to pick up Zach at 11:20. Return to school to pick up Luke at 2:05. Spend the rest of the afternoon preventing the two of them from fighting and/or nagging about homework as necessary.

Did you see "blogging" mentioned anywhere in there? Nope. Did you see "reading the newspaper" or "lunch with a friend" or "research for future interesting projects" in there? Nope, nope, and nope. (In the background, the gym is weeping because I didn't even bother to mention it.)

The good news is, it looks like we have finally found regular childcare for Tues/Thurs, which is great, and a huge relief for Dave, but those M/W/F are still going to turn my hair gray very soon. Even more of a bummer is that we have to give up our electric car in two days, so I'm going to have to use a gas-powered car (!) to drive back and forth to school four times a day.

On the flip side, weekends are an interesting story because we decided not to get involved with soccer for either boy this fall. So Saturdays and Sundays are suddenly open for all sorts of fun things. And of all the things we could be doing, we've been...entering food competitions.

Last weekend I entered the KCRW/LACMA pie contest with my raspberry/lavender pie, and Luke (surprisingly) volunteered to accompany me for the day. We stood in the heat and served up pie all afternoon long, which was alternately grueling and rewarding. The pie was unbelievably delicious, and people kept coming back for more, so I was sure I would win something. When they announced the winners and my name wasn't in there, I was momentarily crushed. But then Luke told me, "It doesn't really matter, Mom - I had a great time anyway." And honestly - hearing that totally turned my mood around.

Yesterday Tillamook cheese invited us to the L.A. Zoo for a special blogger event, where they had a grilled cheese competition. Basically, they had a bunch of different breads and cheese lined up, and that was followed by the biggest smorgasbord you've ever seen of different foods and toppings to add to a grilled cheese sandwich. Then they had two chefs standing ready to give your creation the professional grilling treatment.

Luke and I decided to make a "Fourth of July Firework Grilled Cheese," for which we arranged bacon and red onions in a star pattern over the cheese. Then on the outside of the bread, we made another star pattern in mustard, so that it grilled up with a big asterisk on the outside. The judges reacted with a combination of amusement and curiosity.

But then they announced the winners, and for Most Creative...it was us!!! Luke and Zach and I went up to accept our prize (an enormous cheese-related gift basket) while the papparazzi snapped photos of us.

Yes, it was over 100 degrees. And yes, bees were swarming everywhere. But Luke once again declared that he had had a great time. So we might have a new "thing" going on this fall. Top Chef, here we come!

Jackpot

I am the coolest kid in the arcade - I hit the 1000-ticket jackpot!

But it doesn't buy you a lot these days. No joke: A slap bracelet and two non-name-brand Slinkys.

This can mean only one thing: Back to Vegas!

Wrong, wrong, and wrong

My friend Sarah passed away on Sunday morning after a very long battle with cancer. She was so incredibly brave and positive throughout the whole ordeal that I was just in awe of her strength and grace.

Sarah and I have been friends for more than 8 years - we met when the older kids were just babies. She was one of my most faithful visitors when I was in the hospital before I had Zach, bringing me Jamba Juice, stories, and cheer. When the boys went on to elementary school together, we collected more and more mutual friends. Most recently she was the organizing force behind our moms' dinner group (five of us meet for dinner once a month to talk about...everything) and she was a joyful presence no matter what stage she was at in her treatment or what discomforts she might have had. One night a few months ago we were all supposed to meet for dinner, and that day I had been having terrible stomach pains, so I backed out at the last minute. Within minutes, I got a text from her: "Would you like me to bring you a Jamba?" - our inside joke. And I said, "Sure." And then I realized, here is this person who probably feels sicker than I do every single day of her life, and she's the one bringing ME a Jamba. Go figure.

Anyway, I am absolutely sunk in a weird, sad fog right now, thinking of how unfair it all is, and thinking about the heart-breaking pain that her 8-year-old must be feeling. And I'm thinking about the funeral we are going to this weekend, which will be the second funeral in six weeks for one of the moms from our very small elementary school. It's all just so wrong. There's nothing more to say.

So I'm going to close out with a strange, random, and funny anecdote that pretty much sums up my day. One of the guys from the city government electric car project came over today to put special GPS monitors on Dave's and my regular cars - to get a good sense of what we use our "regular" cars for as opposed to the electric car. Meanwhile, I had an incredibly busy day that involved countless pickups and dropoffs and meetings in the electric car. I locked my wallet in the glove compartment of the electric car so I wouldn't have to lug a big purse around.

Later in the evening, I finally had a free moment to run an errand I had been trying to do all day. I drove my (regular) car over to Bristol Farms, picked out a bunch of food, got to the check out counter, and realized...I didn't have my wallet. So I called Dave and sure enough, my wallet was still in the electric car. "Don't worry," said Dave, "The boys and I will come and bring it to you." Which they did (in Dave's regular car), and I paid for the groceries and we all came home.

That's when Dave pointed out, "Imagine how confused the electric car people must be. They're tracking our cars, and there's no activity on either one of them all day. Then they see one car go out to Bristol Farms, and 20 minutes later the other car goes to Bristol Farms too, and the two cars meet up and then drive home. They must be getting some awfully weird readings from our family." Indeed.




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