City of Good Pricing

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On Friday, the City of San Carlos released its Spring/Summer catalog which I eagerly devoured as soon as I could. I have been under enormous pressure since I realized about six weeks ago that Jaden's preschool ended in June and we'd have to find childcare (aka summer camp) for him so I can continue to work part-time.


Registration opened today and by 11 a.m. when Jaden and I arrived via bicycle, we got the last spot in the morning camp. Phew! Here's one pile of bricks now removed from my shoulders.


(C) Lotus Head

Let's examine the price differences we faced:


8 weeks of summer camp at the PJCC: $2225
8 weeks of summer camp in San Carlos: $756

Holy Savings Batman!

Granted, the PJCC price includes an additional 10 hours per week of coverage so we must make some allowance for that; however, I do not work 30 hours per week so the idea of having to pay for it regardless was, well, hello high blood pressure.

Now we have a huge financial burden about to be lifted and a more improved schedule in which Jaden is free in the afternoons for playdates with his buddies in San Jose or fun classes or swimming and days at the beach with me! Not to mention, Jeff can do a drop-off here or there for me, something I have missed SO much since we moved up here.

San Carlos: The City of Good Living AND Good Pricing!

Where is Jess?

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Have you seen me? I have been lost under the crushing weight of my life lately. It's like I'm playing hide-and-seek and I can hear myself counting "One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten." I can even hear the "ready or not, here I come" but I can never find myself.

I did find myself in a book at the library the other day!


I thought, "it seems so nice of these women to write a book just for me when they don't even know me!"

Between the brilliant use of typography and photography on the cover and Chapter Three, Page 52 -- well, there's hope of finding myself soon.

I hope.

Someone Hit Me Over The Head Please

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Jack thinks that's why he is so mellow.

Photo: Danny Clinch


According to the Rolling Stone article I'm perusing, "Johnson put down his professional surfing career after an accident at the Pipeline Masters when he was seventeen. 'It humbled me, and it slowed me down,' he says. 'I like to joke that I hit my head so hard that that's why I'm so mellow.'"

Boxes of Books

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Found a new blog that I like (what else is new with me?) and can really relate to this post about books. Apparently the author is on a no-shopping/purging year -- I am just catching up.

"...books saved from college that serve no purpose other than to remind me that once upon a time I read books with big words and discussed those books with other smart people. And I had ideas, lofty ideas that I was passionate about. And I was well rested. All those words have long since left the lexicon of motherhood and have been replaced by words like poop, Target, and a good nights sleep. I actually had to just look up the word lexicon because I wasn’t sure I was using it correctly. Goodbye brain, I have hardly missed you."

Come have a look-see in our garage at all the reminders of how smart and well-rested I used to be too. What is a brain?

Feeling Mighty Old

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I feel old a lot. I am also on a health kick lately and so I decided to take the Real Age quiz again. I took it a long time ago, I'm really old so I can't recall exactly when a long time ago refers to -- could be five minutes ago, five days ago or three years ago. In any case, I will not reveal my Real Age but I will reveal my action plan.

1. Eat a well-balanced, nutrient-rich breafast every day.
2. Add fish or other sources of omega-3 fatty acids to my diet at least several times a week.
3. Have my HDL and LDL cholesterol levels checked.
4. Increase my intake of vitamin E.
5. Make sure I am getting 600 mcg of folic acid from food or supplements every day.
6. Reduce the amount of red meat in my diet to one small serving (or less) per week.
7. Increase my intake of lycopene.
8. Eat more potassium-rich foods.
9. Consume more unsaturated fats.
10. Increase my daily intake of calcium.
11. Increase intake of fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
12. Do more strength-building activities, cardiovascular activities and flexibility exercises.
13. Lower my resting heart rate.
14. Consider gaining a little weight.
15. Reduce my driving speed to no more than 5 mph over the speed limit.
16. Do not use a cell phone while driving.
17. Spend more time building and maintaining strong relationships with others.
18. Become a healthier role model for the child in my home.

I am supposed to choose 1-3 of these items per week and take the test again in 12 weeks.

My notes:

I know I don't eat enough. I eat a good variety of healthy things but I never eat breakfast and I don't eat enough throughout the day. I need to be committed to my vitamins. I have them and am very inconsistent with them. Get back to weekly yoga and start walking regularly (not just on weekends). Interestingly enough, I have recently made a conscious decision to drive slower!

I have a lot of work to do.

A Drive Uncommon

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We could all see in our rear-view mirrors that they were clearing the freeway behind us. A few folks were seriously jumping the gun here and although it happened before my very eyes, I could not tell you how that van and the car next to it made U-turns at that point in time.

And this Range Rover? Don't even get me started. She was one of the worst drivers on the planet. Various emergency vehicles used the space between her lane and the one to the right as access to the accident. The whole time she was diagonally parked in that lane, blocking what precious little access they had.

Finally one tow truck driver got out of his truck, walked over and said "MOVE YOUR CAR!"

DUH! Me and my grandpa buddy in the white truck (you can just see his bumper there) cheered after that! We had watched stupendously for an hour as she blocked the way, so cluelessly.



"Jaden," I said, "You definitely don't see this every day!"


This CHP officer made his way to each and every car
when it was their turn to make the U-turn to freedom.
Jaden and I said loud & clear: THANK YOU!



Driving southbound on northbound 101 to Woodside Road.
What a sight to see the southbound cars to my right!


The line of cars waiting to make another U-turn
and exit the freeway at long last.



Freedom!

20 Cars Back

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Jaden and I were 20 cars behind this massive accident today. We were at a standstill from 1:50 p.m. until nearly 3:30 p.m. when we got our turn to reverse our car and drive the wrong way back to Woodside Road and exit the freeway.

The nice older man in the truck next to me was good company and he's the one who counted the cars so that's how I know.

I will upload cell phone pictures later, right now we just got home and we are hungry, exhausted and I am on deadline for work.

We are grateful we weren't five minutes faster leaving Los Gatos today and so happy to be home safely. Jaden was an amazing trooper!

The Places I'll Go

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I've got Seuss on my brain this week.



I can steer myself any direction I choose, so I choose San Francisco. Heady stuff happening just to the north of me, there is!

Craft Gym is studio space where instead of a physical workout, you get a creative one. Craft Gym currently offers workshops and open studio time in sewing, knitting, ceramics, metals, paper, wood and textiles.

Stitch Lounge offers a wide array of goods and services, one of which is sewing classes, but we also offer drop-in sewing lounge time. A sewing lounge is essentially an inspirational, well-equipped, readily available space for sewers of all levels to create. Our lounge includes various types of sewing machines, sergers, cutting tables and all sorts of sewing accoutrements.

Rhythm & Motion offers a broad array of dance and movement classes for adults, youth and kids. We believe the art and ritual of dance belong to all of us. Naby Bangoura's West African Guinean dance class is an incredible class and everyone needs to try it at least once. You will be back for a second class, we're sure!



Monster Mommy

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I have been Monster Mommy this week, and not the cute game I used to play with Jaden where I'd chase him around and say "Mommy Monster gonna get you and eat you all up!" No, sadly, this is the kind of Monster Mommy who goes from 0 to 60 on the impatience and yelling speedometer.

Once in awhile, I will have a reasonable moment, literally about five seconds worth and say, Mama is out of sorts this week. Mama is struggling right now. Mama this, Mama that. Like right now, I said, "Something is going on with me and I'm not sure what it is yet."

And my brilliant, sensitive little boy replied quietly, "I think you're putting too much on yourself these days. Yes. I think that's what it is."

He pauses.

"And when you use that rude voice at me and tell me to go outside? That didn't feel so good. You should have said nicely that you need to be alone for a minute and can I put on a jacket and shoes and socks and go play in the backyard please? That would have been nicer Mama."

GULP.