Wrapping Up April With Paper

This month has been the busiest month this year. So why not throw in a first year anniversary?

We celebrated our big 1 year by exchanging paper gifts and having a lovely dinner at the Chart House on PCH looking out over the ocean. In addition, we both agreed that if we can last through a year of married life together we can last a whole life time together.

V is for Vegas

The weekend of the 18th some girlfriends and I ventured to Las Vegas for yet another bachelorette party. Marissa is getting married next month in New York. We began the weekend with a nice Bridal Shower in OOII given by her Matron and Maid of Honor. We flew to Vegas after the shower. Because Vegas is not G rated I'll leave out any details. I'll also only disclose limo shots. We had a fabulous time during a beautiful weekend.

Trees Need People, People Need Trees

Earth Day is a holiday (yes, a holiday) that many people don't celebrate. I'm proud to say that I celebrated it in the best way, making this the best Earth Day yet.

My students and I got our hands dirty and planted a tree on our school campus and named it Dixie. The Disney corporation funded a 30 tree planting day through the Tree People which happened to be conveniently scheduled on Earth Day. We started our morning with an Earth Day school assembly. Then, we ventured to the far corner of the campus where Brain from Tree People taught us all about how to plant a tree and care for our tree. After we shoveled and took good notes, we read our couplet poems to Dixie. Last, we made a circle around Dixie and said together, "trees need people, people need trees, welcome Dixie!"
Yes, I got my hands dirty too. I promise I'm not just posing with a shovel:) FYI-My Earth Day shirt says, Nature is one BAD madre!





I'll upload the LAUSD board members Galatzan Gazette soon. We were published in a online LAUSD magazine that is sent to all LAUSD PTA members and even the superintendent of LAUSD! Tamar Galatzan recently gained more popularity by being interviewed on a local and national NPR station to advocate about the important issues related to the LAUSD layoffs that many teachers, including myself, are facing.

I'm My Own Worst Pet Peeve

I have a secret confession that I am ready to share only because I am a victim of my own pet peeve.

I started shopping at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods a year and a half ago when I began my Gluten Free diet. My eyes began to open wide to the "Green" way of life. I slowly bought reusable plastic bags, bought organic foods and began to recycle everything. I am a waster and I believe that I still am learning about waste and living organically (which is a topic for a whole other post). I ritualistically take reusable bags to the grocery store once a week for my shopping. And I secretly "stare down" the busy bodies and strollers in the store who don't bring their reusable bags to place their groceries in. In my mind this is the simplest way to save the trees and have less plastics in landfills. Well, a funny thing happened to me.....I left our mountain top to run errands not realizing I traveled the 7 miles through windy roads to the nearest Trader Joe's and forgot my valuable reusable plastic bags. Having an anxiety attack in the car I bravely walked into the store. I felt like every person in the Trader Joe's was now staring me down. This is exactly what I deserve. At the check out I cringed knowing the cashier hated me for wasting 10 paper bags. I was screaming bloody murder inside. My loving husband reassured me that the store security cameras were zooming in on me putting a big red X over my face with the word waster flashing and taking my name and personal info. I promise I will never forget my reusable bags again. The pet peeve pressure was too much for me to handle.

Spring Break '09

When you read the title of this post you may think our Spring Break was right out of an episode of MTV Spring Break '09 Live in Cabo. QUITE the opposite. We spent the week in Newport and did our rendition of "fun." We laid in the hot sun, rode the beach cruisers down the boardwalk, played bocci ball, and ate at our favorite peninsula eateries (Shore House and Great Mex). We ended up the weekend with a pleasant hike on a portion of the Backbone trail which has a trail head about 1 mile from our hilltop.

The cruisers ride to roll.

Tuck showing off his guns in his beach tank.

Mom Cashman enjoying the ferry ride to Laguna.

We also enjoyed a ferry ride photo opp.

Wild flowers grow crazy in Topanga during spring.

Cole looks more like he lives here than we do with his rugged hippy look.

Check out those sideburns!

Tuck enjoying the view from the ridge.

Even though we we aren't on MTV Spring Break '09 we had such a blast those cameras might as well have followed us around.

All in a Hard Days Work

It all began with a morning hike in Topanga National Park,
then
home cooked Gluten Free blueberry pancakes for breakfast,
followed by

Light cleaning,

after that

Furniture shopping at Oasis Furniture,

and

Lunch at Dukes,

wrapping it up with a

Friends birthday party by night.

In addition, we were enjoying the panoramic views from our balcony. If you follow the numbers they can be put together to make our view from right to left.

1.
2.

3.
4.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Girls nights out are always an exciting event. Even though I knew the very next day I'd be relocating all our worldly possessions to Topanga, I drove to V-town anyway. Little did I know that dinner at BJ's would turn into a 2:30am bedtime. I love all my girlfriends, they make life so much more full.

Yes, the above shot is the infamous 10 second camera timer.