D life

San Pedro Lobster Fest? Waaaaay overrated. $$ to get in, $$ for a 2 lobster dinner, which is in no way a dinner as it consisted of 2 small lobsters, a vat of butter sauce, and one measly roll (not one roll each, just ONE roll), $$ for food at any of the other vendors like $5 fresh cut french fries (actually, pretty good), $$ for tickets for rides your timid toddler wont ride on, and a whole lot of vendors we weren’t interested in. On the plus side, there were plenty of port-a-potties, that weren’t too nasty, and handwashing stations with lots of soap.

Also this past weekend was Kieran’s friend Danny’s 3rd birthday party. The Redondo Beach park was pretty nice, and it was so cute to see Kieran hanging out with Danny and Monica (who is also 3 and used to attend the same daycare). We arrived around 10:45 and didn’t leave ’til close to 4. The kids were pretty much non-stop the entire time. Well, how could they not? They pretty much put aside their veggies to have the gift bag candy, the piñata candy and the Mickey mouse cake. This was any youngsters dream day, and what was our thanks? A screaming, jealous, tired KX monster that we had to lug to the car at the end of the party after Danny opened his gifts.

On the wedding news front: Rice and I got our outfits for the big day, new clothes for the party (hey, it’s our chance to indulge a bit), reservations for our hotel in West Hollywood, and all the plans for the special cupcakes squared away! Woo hoo! This weekend is Rice’s birthday so it’s all about him, but after that, the rest of R & D’s Wedding Weekend plans have to be jumped on.

It’s going to be so fun.

I’m still stressed out. So many parents, so little time, staying in so many different locations. All of them to be intermingling with our friends on Saturday night.

All in all, should be interesting!

Oh the heat! Oh the humanity. It drove us from our stuffy 2nd floor two bedroom and out into the shady parks of Los Angeles, and finally, when we could take no more, the public pool. You’ve got to understand, we have no air conditioning. So far my experience of renting in West LA/Santa Monica is that they are too good for that, but it’s just as well. It saves money and we’d really only need it 1 or 2 weeks out of the entire year.

We love the Stoner Park Pool (heh heh, Stoner) with its “starts at zero” graduated edge entry, and the fun waterfalls and spouts that line the shallow area. Kieran can walk out almost to the rope divider to the deep end, and he flops around like a fish at the zero mark. While we visited on Sunday with not a hitch, only lots of sun and splashing at our disposal until we tired, Monday was not so incident free. And that incident, my friends, was: doodie.

I had retired from a long stint in the water and didn’t want to fry my easy burn skin, so as I sat out in the shade and read my book for about half an hour, Kieran and Rice kept at it in the pool. Suddenly, whistles were blowing everywhere, and the guards were quickly evacuating everyone from the pool. Labor Day had the largest crowd I’d ever seen at Stoner Pool, and as everyone was gathered along the sides, towling off, shivering, or drying off their tots, an embarrassed lifeguard announced, “Sorry folks, but we’ve got to close the pool at this time. Basically….well, basically, someone pooped in the pool.“

Collectively, everyone that could hear turned and looked at the pool, not really wanting to see poop, but curious as to where “the incident” might have happened. It was all I could do to contain my laughter. I could only think about the scene from Caddyshack. I was just relieved I had been out of the pool for quite some time. And when it was explained to Kieran why we had to leave the pool, he said, “Somebody poop in the pool? Not Kieran.” And the rest of the day, “I didn’t poop in the pool, mommy!”

Was it a joke and someone dropped their candy bar? Or who forgot to diaper their baby properly? Or a more disgusting thought: was it even a child? Ewwwwwwwww!

But, to make up for it, we settled outside in a shady spot in the playground, and lo and behold, the guy selling elote (corn on the cob on a stick) came along. Sweet, spicy and delicious elote. yumm yumm yumm I don’t want to know how many calories are in that wonderful sauce and cheese, I just know it’s a delicious mexican treat.

For any readers out there, here’s what I’ve been into these past few months. If you know me well, you know I get antsy if I don’t have something to read. I used to purchase book after book, not knowing if I was going to like it or not, just because I love having books around. I’ve got books I’ve re-read 4 times. Now you know my secret. I’m one of those. I’m a re-reader.

Jpod by Douglas Coupland ***
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami ****
The Informers by Bret Easton Ellis **
One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson ***
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling *****
(yes, I did finish it in 2 days)
Elenor Rigby by Douglas Coupland ****
Black Swan Green by David Mitchell *****
Grotesque by Natsuo Kirino ****
One of Us by Michael Marshall Smith ***
Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld *****

1 non-fiction:
Cooked: From the Streets to the Stove, From Cocaine to Foie Gras by Jeff Henderson ***

* = God, you suck
** = not sure it was worth my time
***= entertaining, not a time waster, but wasn’t my favorite
****= definitely worthwhile. This is something I thoroughly enjoyed, and could overlook some faults
*****= it moved me, it spoke to me, I lived it, breathed it, didn’t want it to end. You will find this on my bookshelf and I will have read it numerous times.