Love You Kiss You Already Miss You

Or rather, "LYKYAMY." It's a texty thing. I love texting. What do I love about it? Well, it's writing, after all. And it's miniature. I like miniatures (ever been to the Art Institute in Chicago?) And the gratification. Which is instant. One of my Top 10 Favorite kinds of gratification.

Today is Valentine's Day, which I like to call "V-Day" ever since that one time some friends and I were recruited to sell chocolate vaginas on a stick (ouch!) at a benefit production of The Vagina Monologues. Not because I'm such a massive fan of vaginas (they're alright) but that's what the day was called then.

In honor of this holiday dedicated to love, here is my list of things I've loved about the long weekend. So far. That means I'll be overlooking anything I didn't love, so don't be alarmed if it sounds like someone else entirely is writing this.

1. Saturday morning garage de-clutter. It might sound really pathetic, but oh how I love to get rid of things. This time, it was massive piles of baby junk (plastic pants? unopened nipples? changing pad covers?) Soooo satisfying, and maybe someone else can actually use the stuff. I also got a sedating dose of happy hormones from a stroll down the memory lane of Jarrah's babyhood, which was brief but sometimes felt like it lasted a century.

2. Trusting. Our drive to Nathan's birthday party wended us through some rolling hills of green that reminded me of the wine country in Paso Robles. When the sign read "Unincorporated Roads Ahead," David started to panic that we weren't getting any lunch. But then there was a single market right next door to the party location, with a deli in it that looked like every deli you've ever seen. Only I knew something was different when I watched the sandwich boy individually selecting (and sometimes rejecting) each lettuce leaf for our sub. I might just take that drive again just for another sandwich.

3. Helen Woodward Animal Center. I'd heard about it, and Jarrah has even been there, for a day of Critter Camp last spring (Thanks, Steph!) But the place is a wonder--an animal rescue the size of a ranch. The birthday party was the most relaxed I've ever attended--no bug-eyed staff hustling us out the door when the time was up, and lots of time for petting goats and bunnies and ball pythons. Plus a leisurely 2.5 hours for me to catch up with my friends. After schmoozing and snacking on a famous VG cupcake, I started wondering exactly who had been invited to a party. (Jarrah had a blast, too.)

4. Double-dates. We were supposed to hit the San Diego Jewish Film Festival, but our choice was sold out. Rats. Still, BBQ and The Blind Side with my acting friend Richard and his new girlfriend, Susan, was fun and fresh. And the movie did not suck as I'd feared. I glaze over as soon as someone says the word "football" so for me, that's saying something.

5. Valentine's morning in bed. No, Readers, not like that! I mean Jarrah climbed in and she and David gave me a big, pink bag of bath goodies and two really sweet cards. I got a bit choked up because it's the first year that Jarrah has written her own card (with help, of course.) She wrote "To Mommy, Love, Jarrah." She also wrote "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" (Just kidding.) I gave them some dark chocolate "orange sticks," which are doubly awesome because David adores them and I find them repulsive, so it's like the candy lurking around the house is my Kryptonite. Nice. Love you, dear ones!

6. Goodwill. When I looked up locations on Yelp, someone had written a diatribe that made it sound like Goodwill was practically founded for the sole purpose of killing bunnies, but I'll try not to think about that. Instead, I'll think about how nice it is to hand over a dozen bags and boxes of stuff I don't need and hear "thank you so much!" for doing it. And now my car is clean--for the next few minutes.

7. Japanese Tea Garden. It's just never bad, and it's so pretty. The terrace drops off into a sheer, green canyon and Jarrah is perfectly content to scoop up her Yam-Yams while we bask in the sun. And we all shared the really long noodles in honor of Chinese New Year--it's good luck!

8. Steam Powered Giraffe. I've become a bit obsessed with them. We saw two mini-shows from the front row, and while I love their singing and their robotics and those wacky costumes, I think my favorite thing about them is how funny they are. Sure, there are scripted bits (now I know that) but their little improv riffs crack me up.

9. Oscar Prep. The Oscars are a national holiday around here, so with 10 Best Pic nominees this year, we've got our work cut out for us. I was lagging at four out of 10 at the beginning of the weekend, but after The Blind Side and last night's Netflix viewing of Inglourious Basterds, I'm at a more respectable six. And while I only lasted five minutes (so far) into The Hurt Locker (I know, I'm a wuss) I was proud of myself for getting through that first harrowing section of Basterds and sticking with it. And I actually liked it. Who knew?

10. And there's more! David found out he has a holiday today (you can tell he works for a small company by the fact that he didn't know that until the weekend was already underway) and Jarrah has a birthday party this afternoon...that I get to drop her off for! The era of "drop off parties" is only in the early stages of launch for us. And (ta da!) the kindergarten application has been officially logged into the system with a "Before Priority Deadline" date stamp. Who knows what delights the day will hold?