a lil bit of betting

so we just finished watching the bachelorette season finale... no worries, no spoilers here, but we know what happens. jill's happily ever after is now common knowledge--at least here on the east coast.

so, as soon as we turned the TV off we started speculating on how long this relationship will last... because the really, we were only waiting all these weeks just to find out who she would break up with in a matter of time.

here are the terms: each person had two months--either together or separate-- to determine when the inevitable breakup would happen. the person closest to the correct time would get something from the two LOSERS. in the case that they stay together, we all will donate time or otherwise to a charitable cause.

here are the guesses (with coded names of course!):

Gooch (okay, maybe not so coded): 8 or 14 months
dancing queen: 3-4 months (and she liked the chosen guy... that's a bit pessimistic)
sassy ballerina: 9-10 months

cheers

a lil bit of freedom

in light of the iranian protests and other conflicts going on around the world, i was/am especially grateful for the freedom i enjoy and all too often take for granted. this video says it well.

a lil bit of coaching points

Okay, so I had to be a coach for a minute and record my thoughts on the US Men’s National Team thus far. I’ve missed coaching since I left Utah, don’t tell Skyler, so I’m getting my fix on the blog…

Direct play: All too often, when we win the ball as a team we look like Jo-Jo the idiot circus boy with a pretty new pet (yes, that’s a Tommy Boy reference). We get the ball and we just want to go. Our midfielders run forward before running wide and creating space. Our forwards put their head down and their backs to the ball and just go. That makes it hard to keep the ball and you saw the effects of that in the second half of today’s game and for most of the first two games.

Onyewu: How good has Guc been for two straight games? He wins everything. His instincts are incredible. It’s been out of form for a while – weeks into months - and all of a sudden he found his form against Egypt and was phenomenal against Spain. If anyone knows anyone who knows Onyewu, please introduce me. He is perhaps the sexiest man alive in my book currently…

Bocanegra: I’m impressed with the way he performed against Spain. There’s no saying how difficult it is to be out of game action with an injury and then have your first game back against none other than the best and hottest team in the world, Spain with a mobile, creative and tactically and technically superior attacking side. His touch was impressive, his fitness good, his decision making up to par. I’m pleased with our skipper.

Red cards: How ridiculous is it that we feel the need to challenge for unwinnable balls? I don’t get it. Stupid. Dumb. Unnecessary. You can say all you want about the decisions of the referees but three different refs in three different games on three different occasions gave straight reds… not even two yellows, but straight reds. Ridiculous. Our central midfielders need to figure themselves out.

Final: Who do we put on the field instead of Bradley? That hurts. If Sacha gets the start, I call a 3-0 loss (you heard it first here) with his poor decisions/touch directly responsible for at least two Brasilian goals. Just saying… give Feilhaber a shot. He’s earned it. Please, PLEASE, puh-lease leave Beasley and Sacha off the field… only if you want to chance to win.

Onyewu: Can I just mention how attractive his scruff is? Yes, I like that.

Donovan: I’ve always admired his work rate, but I’ve never seen him work so tirelessly as he has this tournament. In the first couple games he resorted back to not taking enough responsibility in the final third and passed opportunities he should have taken himself. That said, he is the most important player on the US squad. Our best will almost always be our keeper, but he is the most important and he wore the captain’s armband well. In the second half of the Spain game he played endline to endline, LITERALLY. He was on the end of crosses in both of the final thirds. That’s work. Also, his set pieces were almost always dangerous. His services had great pace and gave our guys a chance. Not much more you can ask.

Dempsey: After not defending for basically three games, he came out and had a great all-around game. He came back and defended well and obviously went forward well. He created some good chances on goal and finished one. It’s good to have him back with a chip on his shoulder and playing with his team. Let’s hope that stays.

Casey: As a second half sub in the Italy game Connor came on and was lazy. Really? You’ve been watching your teammates cover the field with 10 for most of the game and are put up front to direct the opponent’s flow of play and make them predictable so the defense behind you can get a bit of shape and you walk? You walk? Then jog and walk more? So unimpressed by him. There has to be another striker in this great country that is willing to work when playing against some of the best teams in the world. Just a hunch. In the Spain game he was better, but not much. Just write his name on the seats next to Beasley and Sacha.

Whining: I’m sick of our reactions. In our first two games let’s be honest, we made millions of mistakes- that much was all too clear. What I don’t want to see is the DeMarcus Beasley hand slap on the ground before he decides to get back. I understand that you have to sppeal calls, just do it as you work, don’t stop working to turn and talk to the ref. if you think a forward is offsides, throw your hand up, scream like mad, and GET BACK. I expect to see us make mistakes, I don’t ever want to see a reaction to the mistake. Seriously, so sick of this.

Spector: He did well for himself this tournament. He’s no Steve Cherundolo (cue University of Portland and Clive Charles love), but he was close to solid. His GLARING weakness, defendin the cross on the far post. He was nearly always beaten to the ball by his mark to the cross on the backside and it cost us at least one goal I can think of right now and multiple other chances. Ya, he should work on that.

Onyewu: And that body…really? Um, that’s nice too. Let’s just say I like him. A lot.

Harkes: Worst. Announcer. Ever. (Skyler, those periods are for you since I know you might be the only one who reads this!) He is unabashedly biased, and adds absolutely nothing to the commentary. He says nothing that makes you think, nothing that opens your eyes. Basically, he says nothing, and yet he says it over, and over and over again. Just for fun I think I’m going to count how many times he says “again” in the final.

Guts: who knew we had them??? This performance is exactly the result you knew we could have as a group, but for so long, with the exception of the 2002 World Cup, the whole has been less than the sum of all the parts. We’ve always boasted some of the best pure athletes in the world, but we’ve lacked the tactical and technical greatness that the best in the world possess—outside of our keepers. That can be attributed a lot of factors that I won’t go into here, but finally in these last two games we’ve decided to grow a pair, take a bit of pride in our work, scrap a bit and leave something on the field. I remember back in the day when April Heinrich was the coach of the WNT and she addressed the regional teams at a tournament in Boca Raton and she said she was worried that soccer was becoming elitist, prima donna, like we were owed something. It wasn’t about being dirty and getting the job done, it was about looking good and doing it “right.” I think she’s mostly right. For two games, the MNT proved her wrong.

Bradley: After the first two losses in this tournament in which the team forgot that this game is played best when passion and heart are involved, his job was in question. Actually, doubts started in a stadium in Costa Rica and were reaffirmed for the most part of the game against Honduras in Chicago. But, he was resilient and made some great personnel decision in the Egypt and Spain games. His decision to put Dempsey upfront was HUGE. Let’s be honest, it saved his job. Well done Bob, well done.

Onyewu: It’s official. I would have his children.

Go USA.

a lil bit of dad

there are so many things to say on this day, but i decided to just say one thing- say one reason why my dad is special. basically, one reason why i am crazy about this man...

last summer the abc series wipe out was all the rage in my household. i never missed an episode. so when i saw the previews for season 2, i was anticipatory! but, to be honest, i don't think i'll watch a single episode. why? because i realized that when i watched wipe out my head was not toward the tv and my ears were not tuned into the sound-- i was fixated on the high-pitch squeal of a laugh coming from my papa bear. i looked forward to seeing that forehead vein rear it's protruding face (shocking, i know!). the joy behind that laugh was pure. it was real. it was childlike in its sincerity. and that big kid is my dad, a father in every meaning of the title and the role. and i'm grateful that i get to hear that laugh for a very long time in this life- modern medicine is a miracle- and forever as an eternal bond in an eternal family!

that's just a lil bit of dad... but it comes with a lot of bit of love!

a lil bit of thievery

brand positioning: the place a product occupies in the mind of the consumer that both defines the brand and differentiates it from others.

certain fashion brands, namely

u r b a n o u t f i t t e r s & a n t h r o p o l o g y

have positioned themselves, or set themselves apart, as being fashion forward and unique. they are chains that have more of a boutique feel than the large department stores. you can imagine my shock when i learned this week that these VERY stores shamelessly and repeatedly rip off the designs of working artists.

my dearest friends Heather and Heidi Palmer are entrepreneurial spirits to the very core. they've been developing businesses since they could walk... literally! their latest venture is True Birds. These glammed-up accessories have donned the pages of the hottest fashion mags out there and have been picked up by some major stores including N O R D S T R O M and F R E D S E G A L!! But they're always looking for more... so they sent look books and physical samples to both of the aforementioned stores (the mean ones!). months later, the boxes returned with very few samples and NO look book. hmmmm, interesting.

so, last weekend i was looking for the perfect shawl/cardigan/unique piece to pair with a black sundress. naturally, one of the first places i thought to go was the aforementioned a store. while there, i was looking at their accessories (a guilty pleasure, i know) and i saw a bunch of pieces that looked almost exactly like True Birds pieces. so much so, in fact, that i picked up the head bands and looked for the brand tag... nope, not TB. now, just to be clear- this was not one similar styles- it was SEVERAL.

now, sunday night i'm gabbing with hp (read: heather) and she told me about how she was looking on certain stores' web sites and they were featuring literally almost exact replicas of the birds' designs. then i told her of the rest of the designs that i had seen during my jaunt at the mean store... and the fight was on.

ya know, it's just sad that a store that has set itself apart for originality hides behind the corporate face while two real and personal designers put their face on their designs and make it personal. i'm mad. designs belong to the designers and their kitchen table, late night sewing sessions. how do you fight the giant?

anyone know erin brockovich?

a lil bit of separation anxiety

i hate when shows end. i hate when movies end. i hate when things in general end...

[think soccer, london, mission et al]

i think that's why i was able to watch chasing liberty three times in one night once...

i think that's why i can only stomach watching the first act of camelot - i know eventually everything goes to pot in the second act... but king arthur's dream can't really end, can it? and his love?

i think that's why bonus features are my favorite part of every dvd - when the movie ends i get to watch at least two more hours of footage! it keeps going, and going, and going

i think that's why i cheer extra loud at the end of a show- thinking i'll make the difference, we'll be the exceptional audience, we'll get an encore

has "he's just not that into you" taught us nothing? we are not the exception... we are the rule. i am the rule. it's over. it ends. done.

p.s. i l-o-v-e-d mary poppins tonight. absolutely FABULOUS! laugh out loud funny, if i were the crying type i may have even shed a tear... and great family values and message.

cheers to disney.
cheers to broadway.

cheers to disney on broadway.

my mom always, but so much more!

"I love my mother as the trees love water and sunshine - she helps me grow, prosper, and reach great heights." ~Adabella Radici

one day, these words, don't begin to be enough.

i guess the idea of honoring someone with 24 hours devoted to appreciation for their life-long service is a good gesture. brilliant, even. insufficient at best. dreadfully insufficient.

to quote mr. lincoln who said, "all that i am, i owe to my angel mother" would be accurate. but, lacking.

to amend his words and say, "all i am and can potentially be that's any good i owe to my angel mother" is better. still lacking.

to say, "all that i am, the best possible version of myself, the self that loves, feels, serves and cares, i owe to my angel mother" is even better. still lacking.

so, while insufficient, i'd like to say that my mom, best friend, confidant and mentor is special for a plethora of reasons... but i would only like to name a few.

1- as a daughter, i ALWAYS knew my mom loved me. there was never any doubt. now, maybe being the baby girl in the family, i positioned that love in such a way that i could get what i wanted (my sisters would read [spoiled]), but she will never be found guilty of not loving me enough. that love has saved me at times.

"Mother's love is peace. It need not be acquired, it need not be deserved." ~Erich Fromm

2-she's always been available. if i needed her, my mom was available. now, that's not to say that she's not busy. raising six kids, often on six teams at a time, making dinner, lunches, keeping the house together, and working to help out (what family can live on one income these days?) meant my mom probably felt more like hired service on many days. i'm sure the thank yous were few and the hours were long. and yet, she was ALWAYS there. i always felt a priority. she was never too busy for me. i, on the other hand, often convinced myself that i was too busy for her, but the inverse was never true.

"Mother - that was the bank where we deposited all our hurts and worries." ~T. DeWitt Talmage

3-she sure does know how to listen. for someone who has a famed reputation of loving to talk on the phone, my aunt sharon is also endowed with this talent (which comes first, the talent then the daily conversations, or does the daily conversations develop the talent? this chicken/egg idea merits a later look), my mom knows when all i need is a shoulder, an ear, a hug, a "ohhhh honey, i'm sorry." when she does offer her nuggets of wisdom... she always seems to be right and right on time. but mostly, she lets me talk, lets me think, lets me vent. she's good at that.

"Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children." ~William Makepeace Thackeray

4-she lets me fly. and sometimes, i fly far away. and sometimes, she knows when i'll be back. and sometimes, she doesn't. and yet, like every loving mother, she'll help me strengthen my wings, and let me plunge out of the nest. and then when she sees me soar, a feat for which she is almost entirely responsible, she seems simultaneously awed and unsurprised. her faith in me is limitless. it's an anchor.

"My mother is a poem
I'll never be able to write,
though everything I write
is a poem to my mother."
~Sharon Doubiago

5-she sees with celestial eyes and offers that view to others. in general conference in october 2008, president eyring spoke of people in our lives who see us much more like the savior than we see ourselves. he was talking about my mom. now, i would be remiss to say that she is the only person in my life that fits this bill, but i say with full confidence that she has most consistently seen me with the savior's eyes. and, far more often than i probably want to admit, sorrowed that her little girl couldn't see herself through that same lens. the first time i felt that yearning i was in the beach community of caraguatatuba, brasil. we were teaching jessica. jessica was 14. jessica had no idea who she was. she shied away from looking into the reality of her own worth. i prayed. i fasted. i prayed. i pleaded. i prayed. i wept. i prayed... hoping that jessica would awaken to understand her divine nature, her innate deity, her value as a daughter of God. and then, in that little beach town, i thought back to the time i came home from high school to find my room clean (and we know that's not how i left it in the morning) with a book on my bed "daughter of a king." she wanted so badly for me to see it, to know it, to feel it, to trust it. she might like to know... she's rubbing off. even if it's still hard.

"Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible." ~Marion C. Garretty