Moonlighting with Hart

I am a nostalgic person. Heck, with all my blogging about school reunions and old friends, I guess that's probably not breaking news around here.

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I make no apologies for being sentimental. Maybe it's the Irish blood in my veins or the way I was raised, or both. I can clearly see that my son possesses this personality trait as well. My daughter, on the other hand, is more happy-go-lucky. Each approach to life has its pros and cons. At its best, sentimentality brings a richness of experience to life. It creates a deeper connection to others and to spirit. At its worst, being sentimental can make a person maudlin. That's not cool. Noone wants to be around a sappy old fool singing O Danny Boy into her Irish coffee on a regular basis!

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Lately, I've been on a nostalgic TV kick that is anything but maudlin. In fact, it's a helluva lot of fun and excellent medicine for beating the winter blues.
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My first big step back in TV time started about 18 months ago, when Mike bought me the first seasons of Moonlighting on DVD. After I finished the first seasons, I bought more, packing them when I traveled, watching the remaining episodes in my hotel room.

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I loved Moonlighting in the 80s. I wanted Maddie Hayes' wardrobe and her house with the contemporary furnishings mixed with Asian antiques. I loved her banter and romantic tension with David Addison. My favorite episode is the one where Maddie has to choose between Mark Harmon and Bruce Willis. Sorry, Bruce, I love ya, but I'd have gone with the sexy astronaut!
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Knowing how much I enjoyed Moonlighting, Mike bought me the first season of Hart to Hart on DVD last Christmas. H2H was another program I adored back in the day. I wanted Jennifer Hart's wardrobe and I wanted to drive her yellow Mercedes 450SL convertible up the Pacific Coast Highway. I loved how their dog, Freeway, was always at their sides.

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I realized after watching these shows the second time around why they appealed to me back then--and still do. For sure, I was at an impressionable age when they were big TV hits. The glamour and the intrigue definitely impressed me. But more than that, these were stories about strong, smart, classy women who personified the post-feminist era.

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Yes, these women enjoyed their wealthy lifestyles, but that is not what defined them. They were certainly ambitious career women, but they didn't neglect what mattered--their loved ones, their values--in pursuit of ambition or status. In other words, the bling was icing on the cake, not the cake itself. These were women of substance. I related to Maddie Hayes' diligent work ethic and the external willfulness that cloaked a sensitive heart. And in Jennifer Hart's case, I admired her grace, her brains and the fact that her strong marriage gave her the freedom to pursue her writing career, wherever it took her.

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After we watched a couple episodes the other night, I thanked Mike for buying the DVD for me. Being the loveable goofball that he is, he pulled out his best Robert Wagner impression, cocked an eyebrow, looked into my eyes and said, "Dahling, you know you adore me." Yeah, I do.☺ And I like to think there's a glimmer of Maddie and Jennifer spirit in me today...even if I drive a minivan and don't have the glamour-girl looks, designer gowns, or a butler named Max!

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Tell me about your favorite vintage TV shows...and why you liked them!

January rocks

Vonda Ice

Peruvian Chalcedony, Balinese silver

Vairocana (The Radiant One)

Turquoise, red jasper, bone, Balinese silver
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Thought I'd share some photos of my latest Blue Mango Creations. The first necklace I made last week for Vonda. We went down to one of my favorite bead stores and she selected the stones for her necklace. I assembled it while she was in Sedona and then gave it to her when she stopped back through Phoenix on Friday night. The second necklace was inspired by the cool pendant I purchased on Etsy. I put the piece together for myself using leftover beads from my stash.

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We had a great dinner with Vonda and Kevin up at El Encanto Patio Cafe in Cave Creek on Friday night. We're planning on visiting them in D.C. this summer. Vonda works for a law firm located on the Mall in downtown D.C. Each year, the firm throws a big Independence Day bash where their associates can invite family and friends to view the national fireworks from the terrace overlooking the Mall. V&K graciously invited us to join them this year. How could we pass up that invitation? The kids have never been to D.C. and we're looking forward to showing them some of our favorite sites as well as exploring some new places we've never been.

Very rainy day here today...perfect for coffee, a trip to the library, and lounging around with books and movies. I'll catch you up on my latest viewing fad in another post. Hope you're having a great weekend!

Canine Zen

Zoë, January 2008

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"A heart beat, at my feet."

- Edith Wharton

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It probably comes as no surprise that most of my closest friends are animal lovers, even if they don't own dogs. Currently, two of my friends are in very different "dog stages". One friend just welcomed an adorable Golden Retriever puppy--an irresistable furball!--into her family. Another is struggling with tough end-of-life issues with her beautiful, loyal, aging border collie.

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I've been in both stages before. The intoxicating joy (and work!) of a new puppy...pot bellied and fuzzy, running full-speed at the new world around him. I've also experienced the deep sorrow of realizing time is limited...Looking into the quiet, wise eyes of my gray-faced companion and trying to return his lifetime of loyalty with patience, grace and dignity.

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Today I had both of these friends in mind, as well as the dogs I've loved and lost over the years, on my walk with Zoë into the desert. I watched her run, full of youthful energy, not yet slowed by the toll of age . I called her and she returned to my side, no longer the reckless, unpredictable puppy.

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We can't turn back time, and we can't stop it from coming. All we truly own is the present moment. And today, I am ever-so-grateful for the heartbeat laying at my feet. (Did I mention she snores?) ☺

Amazon & Pygmy...25 years!

It's been a very eventful week at our casa!
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First, Mike had outpatient sinus surgery last week...he's recovering well, though it's stil too early to tell whether the surgery was successful. Then our friends Vonda & Kevin came in from D.C. and spent the weekend with us while en route to a timeshare in Sedona.
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Hard to believe it's been 25 years--nearly to the day!--since we've been friends. It was January 1983 when my family moved to Maine...second semester of our 8th grade year. I reported in at my new school and was handed my schedule. I walked into first period, which was study hall with Mr. McIntyre. The class was held in a lecture hall with tiered seating. Everyone else was already in their seats and I stood there on display while the teacher introduced me: "Class, this is Amber and she just moved here from Germany. Let's make her feel welcome at our school."
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At that point, a spunky girl seated in one of the upper tiers began waving her hand wildly, saying, "Mr. Mac! Mr. Mac! She can sit by me!" Her accent was wildly non-New England, and it turned out she was a transplant from Boone, North Carolina. I took my seat next to Vonda, right in front of Dickie Beam, and the rest is history. We quickly granted each other the nicknames "Amazon & Pygmy", since I'm 5'9 and she's 5'3. I only lived in Maine for a year, but we crammed more antics into that year than I can count.

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My kids just received their annual science fair packets at school, which prompted a story about our 8th grade science projects. I chose the subject of the electromagnetic spectrum, so I prepared a demonstration for the class using prisms. Vonda, on the other hand, hauled in her stepfather's still and proceeded to demonstrate how to make Appalachian moonshine!
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Both Vonda and I only spent a short time in Maine. My family left a year later for Guam. Within nine months of our departure, Vonda's stepfather was diagnosed with aggressive lung cancer at age 39...and soon buried. She and her mother returned to Boone. As the years rolled by, she attended school in Chapel Hill and later moved to D.C.
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It's always wonderful to see old, dear friends. This weekend we also made new friends. Sunday afternoon, Vonda & Kevin's friends Randy & Josh, who are heading to the timeshare with them, flew in from Maryland with their son, Sebastian.
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Now it's back to the work-week grind. Hope you have a great one!

A slice of gratitude

Each month, my children's school holds a Teacher Appreciation Day, which is hosted by one of the grade levels. Tomorrow, the 4th grade parents are sponsoring Teacher Appreciation Day. This involves parents bringing in various food items in order to provide a buffet lunch in the teacher's lounge.
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I was asked to provide a dessert item, and I decided this was the perfect opportunity to use one of Deborah Norville's "Thank You Power" ideas, a Gratitude Cake. (Watch Deborah demonstrate the cake on You Tube.) These cakes can be modified as fortune cakes or conversation cakes for parties.
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So, being the non-baker that I am, I picked up a cake at the supermarket. Then I printed several education-related quotes and printed them on card stock. Example quotes are:

"I touch the future. I teach. --Christa McAuliffe"

"A teacher affects eternity. He can never tell when his influence stops. --Henry Adams".

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I cut the quotes out into strips, punched a hole on the end of each strip and tied a piece of ribbon through the hole. Then I inserted each strip into the cake. To finish it off and hide some of the strips that had poked through the center, I put a few roses in the center of the cake.
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The great thing about an act of gratitude is that the person saying thanks gets a lot out of the act, too. I had fun putting this together!

Quote of the week...

San Antonio, Texas

October 2005

“The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers.”

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-- Thich Nhat Hanh

Love, Laughter--and the start of the new year

We kicked off the new year in California with our dear friends, George & Angie and their family. Lots of laughs, good conversation, food, beach time and wine (George is an award-winning wine hobbyist). Back home to celebrate Mike's birthday and the successful completion of some professional challenges he faced at the end of last year. But there's never any rest for the wicked...he's back at it and also resuming his MBA/MSEE program next week (starting Year 2).

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Malibu, December 2007

This week, the kids are back in school and received good report cards. We took them out for a celebratory dinner at Mimi's Cafe last night. Aaron was just reelected to Student Council (the only incumbent in his class to be reelected), which is testament to the hard work and dedication he's put towards the program all year. I'm really proud of him...he's learning so much this year. Not just "book learnin'", but difficult-yet-important lessons about leadership and social intelligence, which you really just have to refine in the trenches of life. Some of this is part of the natural maturing process, but I also give a lot of credit to the passion and creativity of his teacher this year. He's been a real blessing.

As for me, my work is on track, although I had my first dilemma of the new year this week. I had the chance to volunteer for an exciting professional opportunity that would have involved living abroad for several weeks this spring. The flip side is that the work would involve me traveling in a part of the world that's a little unstable right now. Mike and I discussed it and he expressed his concerns about my safety but left the decision up to me. In the end, I decided not to put my hat in the ring. I'm not going to lie...it wasn't easy, because this would have been an incredibly cool life experience. But once I made the decision I decided not to dwell on it. I realize it can't be "all about me" when I have young children and a busy family. Some other lucky person will get the chance this time. I trust that there will be other opportunities in the future. Onward and upward.

In lighter news, I've got the itch to start a few projects around the house again, after a year where I was bored to tears with anything related to decorating, gardening, etc. After I took down the holiday decorations, I rearranged some of the stuff in my house. One of the things I did was rearrange my entry console. I put some new dried tall grass in my antique Chinese vase, pulled out my collection of shells, corals and stones (some dating back to the 80s) and threw some in a bowl. I framed some recent photos of the kids. Simple...authentic...and makes me smile when I pass by. I also picked up a couple new throw pillows to add some more color and I'm working on jazzing up my patio a little for spring.

Meantime, we have more fun on the horizon. My oldest friend (the kids' godmother) is coming to visit next weekend...and Lord knows there will be a lot of laughter involved with that. My mother also called to tell me she wants to visit during Spring Break.

Life's never perfect or easy, but that's part of the fun. It can sure bring a lot of joy, especially through the simple things...love, laughter, friends and family. 2008 is shaping up to be a great year!

A stitch in time....

I called my friend Darcie today for help with an emergency... a Girl Scout vest emergency. Darcie has two daughters in Girl Scouts and they're active in local theater, so if anyone knows where to place a stray patch or how to rig up a costume, it's Darcie.

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Unfortunately, she was out and so I was left to face the challenge alone. Any mother whose daughter has ever worn a Girl Scout vest or sash knows what I'm talking about. Keeping up with the patches and the sewing is enough to drive a gal insane....at least if you're sewing-machine challenged like I am. You would never know I earned my own Girl Scout sewing badge 25 years ago. I've also had a machine for about 15 years and I've sewn pillows, curtains and Halloween costumes, but there's something about changing the bobbin thread with each color and manipulating around those little Girl Scout patches that always leads my machine to tangle and lock up...and leads me to the liquor cabinet!
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The vest issue reached its apex when Annie was a Brownie. Avoiding pulling out my sewing machine and wrestling with the bobbins from hell, I thought I'd be clever and use some of that iron-on fusible bonding. I assembled her Brownie vest, patted myself on the back, and sent her to camp. She came home with a cool T-shirt, dirt in every orifice and half the patches in a Zip-Loc baggy...the other half are undoubtedly blowing around the Ponderosa pines of Northern Arizona.
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I used to have a great alterations lady in town who sewed the Girl Scout patches for me, put insignia on my Air Force uniforms and even sewed a custom slipcover for my wingback chair. Then she moved and I misplaced her new address.
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So today, I was in a dither. Not only was Annie's vest woefully lagging, but it's Girl Scout cookie time, for God's sake! Desperate times called for desperate measures. I pulled out some fabric glue, set up the ironing board, and started getting creative while I watched the New Hampshire Primary coverage. Let's just say between the political rhetoric and burnt glue on my fingers, I not only didn't observe an hour of silence, but I filled my empty house with some choice words that I won't repeat here.
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Anyway, at the end of the day, Annie was able to walk into her meeting with most of her patches welded onto her vest. I'm hoping the job will hold through cookie sales, until I track down my seamstress, or--even better--until my mother visits next. ☺
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My mother says I need to "adjust my tension". Well yeah, mom, that's what the whole Zen thing's about...! ☺ Seriously though...I think it's time to conquer that issue with my sewing machine. Any tips (or spare Valium) would be appreciated!

The sounds of silence...

Santa Barbara, California

December 2007

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I love quiet evening walks on an empty beach. When I used to hang out on the beach as a teenager, my favorite time of day was always after the beach was emptying out and the evening sky was turning golden. I would sometimes let my friends leave ahead of me and take 15 or 20 minutes to sit on the beach alone and look out at the sea before jumping on my moped and driving home.

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One of the wonderful things about visiting beaches in the winter is that you avoid the crowds of summer. We had a wonderful walk on the beach in Santa Barbara last weekend with our dear friends just before the sun went down. The kids climbed, ran and played and we enjoyed quiet companionship on the beach, with only the sounds of the sea and children's laughter.

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In our days filled with buzz, ringtones and artificial stimuli of all kinds, how wonderful to take time for the silent sounds of nature. One of my intentions this year is to build quiet "nature time" into every day, even if for only 10 minutes. Walking my dog is an easy way to accomplish this.

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I am also considering taking a periodic vow of silence. Nothing dramatic, but perhaps starting with an hour once a week. Obviously this will be best accomplished when I'm home alone! :-) During this time, I'll turn off the TV, computer, music, phone and any noisy appliances. I will move about my home with only the sounds of my own work and try to be observant to the simple sounds of life. In this way, I hope to become a better listener. I'll let you know how it goes!

The fresh face of January...

Noticing the little things:

Mindful awareness in Malibu

December 30, 2007

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I love the fresh start of the new year! I am back home but busy today with running errands, shuttling the kids to playdates and preparing Mike's birthday dinner. So much for watching the waistline in the new year!

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Speaking of resolutions...I received a good book in my stocking this year, called Awakening the Buddhist Heart by Lama Surya Das and I'm about halfway through it. The author does not like New Year's Resolutions, which frequently end in failure. Instead, he advocates making a commitment to more mindful awareness: Being aware of ourselves and others and then using that as a catalyst for positive change. From the book:
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As we become more and more conscious, heart-centered, and spiritually awake, we begin to better see how everything we do shapes and creates our destiny. Reflect on the laws of karma and the patterns that have unfolded in your own experience. Reflect on the passages and transitions--the bardos--of your life....Thinking about your karma helps you face the truth about your own experience; it helps you make changes when necessary.

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We all say and do things that don't work to make us happy. What about you? Focus on ways you can change and improve your karma. Don't think about changing anybody else's behavior--just your own. What can you do today to change the way you will feel tomorrow? Ask yourself the following questions:

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1. Can I improve my attitude toward one person or situation in life?

2. Can I let go and be less attached to a situation or thing that is causing me pain?

3. Can I let go of some negative feelings and cultivate a more positive, loving attitude toward the people in my life who make me angry?

4. Can I do something today that will help the planet?

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As I head into the New Year, I am taking stock of my goals, but my main focus will be continuing on a course of increasing, mindful awareness.

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What are your plans for the new year?