Bustin' Out the Birthday Props to Perry!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to a brother-in-law extraordinaire!

Creator of good times

Deep thinker

Smooth sailor

Lover of life

and all-around GREAT guy!

Do we love him? Yes! We do!!

And here's the reasons why that's true:

Perry, aka The Birthday Boy....

1. Shows the obvious intelligence and good taste to have married my brainy/beautiful little sister.

2. Likes her family, too (yep, that'd be us).

3. Keeps liking us even when we visit...and never complains about coming for Christmas.

4. Actually enjoys circle time (or pretends very well, which also works).

5. Shares really cool things during said circle time.

6. Isn't afraid to show a little emotion here and there. (We like when he shows emotion.)

7. Receives free movies as member of Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. (Yeah. We get off on it. Got a problem?)

8. Provides us with instant status of––being related to Adam Sandler's production designer––thereby making us seem cooler to young adults and teenagers. (Sadly, we need the boost.)

9. Tells us what the movie stars we like are really like. And then sometimes we don't like them any more. (But Perry likes pretty much everyone.) (Because that's how he is.) (Nice.) (And really good to talk to.)

10. Even likes to talk about chick stuff. (Dude is interested in pretty much everything.)

11. Makes the best guacamole ever. EVER. (And the walking tacos ain't bad either.)

12. Owns the long-held, not-necessarily-coveted title of Most Distracted and Distractible Driver You'll Ever Meet...but we think that's endearing. (As long as we're not riding with him.)

13. Has perfected the famed Sunday fish BBQ.

14. Makes the best homemade salad dressing ever.

15. Is the main character and excellent storyteller of the funniest personal anecdote in the world, aka the "moving truck" story. (Guaranteed to make you laugh until you cry.) Guar.an.teed.

16. Wins our hearts because he's smart and funny, generous and pushy, a little bit quirky and ADHD, and talented as can be. (One of his talents is spilling...sodas, mostly.)

16a. Has also consistently exhibited a knack for making one-of-a-kind babies who grow up to be amazing adults.

16b. And is, additionally, a Harvard-trained architect, who used to work for Frank Gehry. (Okay, so we like to brag about him...)

17. Plays the guitar and sings Beatles songs. (It's good when he sings Beatles songs.)

18. Is always tons o' fun to be with. (Never a dull moment with the old Blakester around.)

19. Can decorate the h-e-double toothpicks out of anything!

20. Has a constantly changing style all his own. (PAB does his thing.)

20a. Looks mostly cute in every phase of that style. (Scratch one rather unfortunate afro...)

21. Realizes how lucky he is to have found Nikki.

22. Never fails to make us realize how lucky Nikki is to have found him!

Perry: 22 reasons why we think he's spiffy––listed here, in honor of the 22nd day of July––his ____th birthday! (We refrain from mentioning his age because, unlike the rest of us, he doesn't look anywhere close to it!!) You go, bro!

HAVE A GOOD ONE, PERRY. WE'LL BE MISSING YOU MUCHO AT THE BEACH THIS YEAR.

=)

PS. A special thanks to my friend Natalie at Snarky Belle for posting the custom poem she won at my 100-post giveaway!

Simple Abundance Day: Take It with Sugar

Today I'm getting a persistent urge of the sort that rarely comes to me. In fact, it's so strong that I may even have to succumb, which is somewhat regrettable because I do not like doing this activity at all. Having said that, it desperately needs doing.

What is it, you ask? Ugh. Filing. Paper sorting. Organizing. Going through all my "stash" places and actually looking over every single page and scribble to see what truly deserves to be kept and what must inevitably be thrown away. And since my files are all maxed out, this job will require the dreaded trip to Office Depot for new folders and file boxes that will probably also be maxed out before the day ends. Drag and double drag. Triple drag, even. (You're right, quadruple drag would be overstating it...It's not like I live in complete paper chaos or anything. Though I probably would if my husband's psyche and good nature would allow it.)

The disconcerting thing about this go-round with the filing is that my very busy spouse hasn't even mentioned the bourgeoning issue. The assorted piles of paper (cleverly camouflaged in deeply-set desk nooks and crannies, to say nothing of large, attractive baskets) are actually bothering yours truly. As in me, myself, and I. Moi. Susan Stacks-O-Paper Bloggersdaughter (not my "real" name, heehee). Maybe the message of Simple Abundance is finally setting in, 19 years after the fact. I knew I wasn't a lost cause!

Don't breathe a word, but I'm almost getting excited about the prospect of creating a large, lidded file (okay, it will probably take several more than that) to house all of my Relief Society/YW lessons; with another few for all of my talks, poems and quotes; not to mention another batch o' boxes for the assorted conference talk printouts that I am loathe to throw away. I mean, who wants to have to re-research every gospel topic, every time? Not I, that's for sure!

And so, with great aplomb and no small measure of pomp and its attending circumstance, I hereby declare this Simple Abundance Day, in honor of what's-her-name, the author (oh, that's right, Sarah Ban Breathnach...can't believe I just remembered her name without the aid of Google, bringing me new hope on the menopausal memory front), upon which day I shall make sense and order out of the nonsense and disorder that has become my home office desk and my now partially obscured dining room table.

There, I've said it! Only one more thing is required: a little help from Mary Poppins. Hit it, Mary!

"Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down...the medicine go dow-own, medicine go down...just a spoonful of..."

Spit-spot. Consider it done.

=)

American Idol "Paula Abdul" Gaffe May Sink the Show

The word is out that American Idol is getting rid of Paula Abdul over contract issues. Most sources agree that Simon signed on again for 100 million dollars. They want Paula to sign for ten million. She wants fifteen.

Of course, there's no arguing that both checks are outrageous, but the show apparently makes gazillions or so. Maybe it's all relative. At any rate, I'm not even going to enter the discussion of whether celebrities should be paid like they are. It's pretty crazy.

But my point today is that Paula, odd and quirky and (sometimes) loopy as she is, should not be dumped like yesterday's bad garbage. Let's face it, the whole judging shtick on AI pretty much IS garbage...but it's garbage that works...in its present form and not another one. How patently-off-their-rockers are those producers to mess (again) with any part of a chemistry that has made this show successful for so many years? Paula's random comments, off-the-wall observations, love/hate relationship with Simon, and even her occasionally slurred speech have become part and parcel of the judging circus that is the backbone of American Idol. Okay...maybe the tailbone. 

What is it they say? Don't mess with success?? Good advice, and they've already done it once by hiring Kara DioGuardi (resulting in the worst "victory" song ever composed for the show, otherwise known as "Boundaries" and recently taken off the playlist for the tour due to its unpopularity). In fact, it was Abdul who kept Kara's pontifications from throwing the show completely off balance last season. Minus her, DioGuardi runs the risk of becoming even more annoying than she already is...and for some reason, her particular brand of annoying annoys me more than Paula's more familiar annoyance mode...perhaps because Paula's has that element of serendipity. You never know what you're going to get, and the fact that you're never quite sure whether to like her, feel sorry for her, or wish you never had to lay eyes on her again somehow adds.

Enough, though. I am already embarrassing myself by even caring!

And yet, I do.

The Gathering

Newport Beach by day - 2008

Newport Beach by night - 2008

One of my favorite times of the year is rolling around again, second only to Christmas. It's our Newport Beach family reunion. My sister and I dreamed up this tradition 10 years ago because our children were getting older, and we wanted to be sure that at least once a year the entire family we grew up in (and the families we have made) would have a chance to reunite, rebond, and relax!

We chose a beachfront house close to the Balboa Pier because my husband's family had been going there forever, and we were already in the habit of visiting them once a year to enjoy their digs. In other words, my kids had already connected with the place, and we felt sure everyone else's kids would too.

Initially, most of my extended family booked units in the same 4-plex we rented. (One of my sisters lives in Huntington Beach, so she was already set). In those early days, we all stayed for the entire week, and it was great being at such close quarters for an extended period of time.

Later, as my immediate family grew, we had to move a block or so down the street, where we found an upstairs and downstairs combo with room for all. As my siblings' families got older, their accommodations and availability changed, too, but they have never failed to put aside at least a weekend to spend time with us, reuniting our entire family of origin and as many of the cousins as possible. And the grandparents (our parents) have continued to join us, too...for as long as they can stand the noise and confusion...plus another day or two!

What I love most of all is the chance to have every one of my children and grandchildren together for a full week with no distractions...not even a holiday celebration (although we do manage a couple of birthdays while we're there). We just play, talk, and relax...day after day and night after night. As always, both meaningful and superficial little traditions have developed: a family testimony meeting, a hotly contested basketball game, a visit to the tide pools, a food fest at Joe's Crab Shack, a burger and shake at Ruby's, a beachy circletime, a round of deep sea fishing, a visit to the local surf shop, a night at the Fun Zone, a bonfire and s'mores on the beach, a horseshoe tourney, a new kite to fly, a girl's morning out, and more. One of the things I like best is sitting out on the front porch at night listening to the ocean, watching all the people on the boardwalk go by and talking to people I love most about anything and everything that matters to us. There is literally nothing better than this.

The family is gathering. And life is good.

=)

The Gathering

©2009 Susan Noyes Anderson

The greatest joy in life is found

where love and loyalty abound.

What sweeter sight...what dearer sound,

than all the family, gathered 'round?

Music, Patriotism, Hard Times, and Hope

I love our national anthem, especially the words but also the melody. When I ran across this rendition of the Star Spangled Banner the other day, performed at the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, California, I was initially troubled by the boisterousness of the crowd and concerned that all of the American Idol frenzy might mean that the anthem would not receive the reverence it deserved. After hearing the video in its entirety, however, it seems to me that Adam Lambert's version actually may have subdued and inspired the crowd to the point where the cheers became at least as much for our country as for the singer's celebrity. I hope you'll take a moment to listen. I'd love to hear your thoughts on whether the crowd's enthusiasm for Lambert really did segue into patriotism for our country. (After you've heard it, please stick around to hear one more before reading my thoughts at the bottom of this post.)



Adam did a great job, but this is the rendition that still and always makes me cry:

Gives me the chills. Every time. It did then, and it does now.

It also fills my heart with a bit of sadness, because I feel like that was an easier, more simple period in our history. Sure, there were problems, as there always will be, but the answers seemed clearer and the consensus about their solutions greater. Today I see my children's lives touched by a level of social, economic, and political turmoil that I never had to experience as I was raising them. My prayer for them, and for all of us, is that we will all be able to harness the patriotism, pride, and determination portrayed in these quintessential moments of unity through song and bring them into our every day living. If we can––and I believe we not only can but must––then we will also be able to support and uphold the United States of America, no matter how difficult the struggle becomes.

The Big Switch: So You Think You Can Dance

Things are really heating up at So You Think You Can Dance, and I've got proof. This show has become so compelling that when my tired and hungry husband cruised into the living room to say a quick hello before heading for the kitchen to grab a late dinner, it somehow managed to reach out and pull him in. Yes, folks, after nuking the meat loaf and string beans I had so lovingly left for him, this devotee of ESPN and the History Channel actually returned to the scene of the (anything-but-a) crime and watched the rest of the performances! Every one of them!! I'm only sorry you don't know him personally so you can fully comprehend the impact of this information.

I can see where he was coming from, though. Teaming up with someone new never fails to challenge the dancers to new heights, and that's just what happened last night. It's truly amazing how much difference a partner can make. And the choreography was out of this world.

My favorite couples routine of the evening was danced to If It Kills Me, written and sung by another of my favorites...Jason Mraz. Boy, that guy can do it all. His voice is as agile as his lyrics, and he is smart, smart, smart. (Yep, I like him!) I liked Jeanine and Jason, too, performing a contemporary dance choreographed by Travis Wall, one of the contestants from Season 2. I believe he came in second as a dancer, but it's clear that he comes in first as a choreographer. That smooth, seamless number was incredible...and a little bit steamy, too!

Second best was a tie (for me) between the hip-hop stylings of Napoleon and Tabitha (dubbed "Nappytabs" by Nigel), energetically danced by Ade and Janette...and the Broadway Age of Aquarius throwback from Tyce Diorio, danced to cosmic perfection by Melissa and Brandon. Maybe I liked the hip-hop slightly better. Weakest performance had to be Kupono and Randi in the paso doble. (Much as I like her, the wig just wasn't happening, and Kupono kinda dropped her at the end.) Scary.

Other highlights were the Bollywood and African dances by the gals and guys respectively. A.MAZ.ING.

My picks to go home? Probably Randi for the girls (though Kayla may be in danger without the judges to save her from a continually surprising lack of fan support)...and either Evan (I did enjoy his Gene Kelly-esque solo) or Kupono (of the weak arms) for the guys. But what do I know?

=)

There is Beauty All Around

Out of life's dreariness,

into life's cheeriness,

come we in weariness...home.

Today I want to talk about home. Making a home. Feeling at home. Setting down roots. Pulling them up to move somewhere else. Beginning the process all over again.

Married life has carried me through this cycle only a couple of times. For the first go-round, my path was eased by the fact that a sister had purchased the home I was leaving, eliminating the need for final farewells. My truly painful move was the one into this house...the one pictured above...the one any person who loves beauty would presumably love to inhabit.

And I do love beauty. But I did not want to inhabit the home I live in today. Instead, my heart was loyal to the beauty I knew best, the dwelling I had lovingly created and nurtured in a different (and infinitely more dear) house than any I could imagine. I firmly believed (as I do now) that the walls of a beloved home somehow absorb every particle of the living that takes place there––all of the laughter, tears, love, and light that imbue an organized collection of wood, frame, and stucco with a spirit that literally can be felt. With that in mind, I personified my dwelling place. In fact, when we moved from our dear old lady (yes, I believe the home in Southern California was of the feminine persuasion), I even wrote a sonnet for and about her.

The Legacy

©1994 by Susan Noyes Anderson, The Lyric

Old house, you held a family in your womb.

You stood upon the soil with warmth and grace,

a sanctuary and a birthing place,

nurturing life and love in every room.

You watched the hearty agapantha bloom

with every child, secure in your embrace,

providing boundaries bathed in high-beamed space;

your orange-blossomed peace a sweet heirloom.

No last goodbyes will echo through our sleep;

you'll be no long-forgotten, empty shell.

We mined our roots, but found the veins too deep;

in leaving you, we left ourselves as well.

Each broken, earth-bound fiber yours to keep.

Each golden, lonely secret yours to tell.

Needless to say, I felt profoundly sad about the move, convinced that I would never find myself "at home" in quite the same way I'd always been in the lovely abode where my young children had been raised.

My point (yes, I do have one!) is simple. I was absolutely right when I wrote this poem...I never have been at home in quite the same way I was in those golden days of my children's early childhood. However, I was absolutely wrong as well, because while the way is different, I am very much at home today in my Northern California digs. It took a few years, true, but the poem I'd write if I left this place would be just as poignant––just as nostalgic, sentimental, and regretful as The Legacy was––and I would feel it just as deeply.

I did leave some roots in Southern California, no doubt about it. These days, though, I see that as a good thing. Having a root or two firmly planted there invites the sweet nostalgia I feel each time I smell fragrant orange blossoms or see bright blue agapanthas (which I made sure would be fairly often by planting them liberally in my Northern California yard). Like those bountiful agapanthas, I've grown new roots; and they are deep, anchoring offshoots whose complex structures are fed by consistently renewed pools of love and memory. In other words, the cycle continues.

Recently, several dear friends have moved or are in the process of moving, some more happily than others. (This economy takes no prisoners.) I guess I just wanted to offer the reassurance, reinforced by my own experience, that the settling in always does come full circle. The rooting will happen; and eventually, even the newest of walls will be infused with enough laughter, tears, love, and light to make of themselves a living, breathing home.

Guaranteed.

;)

The Big Reveal: My Poetry Site Is All Grown Up!

GRAND RE-OPENING

I've been waiting as impatiently as can be to reveal my brand new and waaaay more lovely and professional web site. Many thanks to Shane Helm and his team at Sonze Design Studio for their great work on this project. I really could not be happier! Please, please, please VISIT and give me your feedback, not just about how it looks but about how easily it navigates. My main purpose in revamping the site was to make the individual poems more accessible. Now, each one has a page, and as soon as the googlebot has a chance to index them all, web surfers will be able to google right in to a specific poem. (Before, they could only google in to a category, like "Spiritual Poems," "Children's Poems, etc.")

Initially, I wasn't exactly sure what kind of look I wanted. Should it be sleek and sassy? Warm and fuzzy? Awash in color and creativity? Black, white, and basic...so the poems could speak for themselves?? Completely at sea, I finally wound up visiting a lot of design sites until I found several styles that appealed to me on various (different) levels. I sent the whole motley mess to Shane, wrote some circular gibberish about what I liked and didn't like, and left him to come up with the perfect representation of who I am. (A difficult task considering that Shane has no idea who I am...other than a highly confused and confusing woman...and I suspect, after working with me on this, he would like to keep it that way!) However, he managed to come up with several concepts, all of which were great but two of which were even better than great. I see-sawed back and forth between them for a couple of days, asked for a few modifications, ended up selecting the one that had appealed to me most all along, and voila! Shane gave me something even better than I had envisioned! 

(Thanks, Shane.) 

When you visit (you will visit, right???) (now would be good), be sure to take in all the little details...like check out the bottom of each page to see the "roots" of the tree, the top to see the teeny birds, the leaves that remind me of my favorite season, and my little trademark book and quill pen. I am loving it!!

Best of all is the ease of uploading new poems...And yes, this means I will be doing just that, on a far more regular basis. So make the trip often, all right? I guarantee you'll find something you like (even if it's just the layout).

;)

FOR THE BIRDS: The Unexpected Gift

For the Birds

©1991 by Susan Noyes Anderson

My sister loves to feed the birds.

They come from miles around.

She offers them a place to nest

and birdseed by the pound.

She used to walk among them

dropping little crusts of bread,

till one returned the favor and

dropped something on her head!

The picture of my grandson (below) brought to mind this poem I wrote years ago for one of my own children. Doesn't he look like he's facing off with a bird who left him a little (unrequested) "package"? heehee

(Tell me this is not among the cutest pictures you've ever seen!)

The Wounded Heart

I'll be teaching Relief Society tomorrow on the subject of forgiveness. Needing to kill two birds bugs with one stone (SAVE THE BIRDS!) because I'm still busily tinkering with the lesson, I'll make today's post a preview of the not-quite-finished-yet poem I've written to accompany it. 

The Wounded Heart

c2009 Susan Noyes Anderson

To every heart, a wound must come;

  no soul is free from this.

Some enemy or friend will deal

  a blow that breaks your bliss.

By malice or intention, born

  of ignorance or whim,

one day, your trust will be forsaken––

  torn from limb to limb.

And as you seek out respite, solace,

  justice or redress,

beware of the false spirit that

  invites you to transgress.

Lay down the sword of tit for tat.

  Spurn battles none can win.

Revenge makes a mean ally, for

  its price is your own sin.

And oh, that wound runs deeper than

  the blow that cut you first,

for pain inflicted on yourself

  will always hurt the worst.

When your heart aches with sorrow,

  wash it in humility

and wrap it in the love our Savior

  offers you and me.

The Master Healer knows the way.

  He died that we might live.

If we would be forgiven, then

  like Him, we must forgive.

I firmly believe that the ability to forgive is a spiritual gift we can all pray for and receive. Taking this thought to its logical conclusion, there can be no offense of such magnitude that it cannot be forgiven, because there is no act of forgiveness so great that the Lord cannot facilitate it. 

In other words, the wounded heart can be healed.

PS. I can't wait to teach this lesson!