I went to PAULA yesterday-a fabu women's clothing store in Old Town Tustin owned by these two groovy women. I wanted to buy EVERYTHING.  Great linens, cottons and chunky jewelry. 

And I especially love them because they bought some books to sell in their store!  

I stayed up late last night and read the most incredible article on the artist Vanessa Beecroft. She went to Sudan while breastfeeding her baby boy. Her breasts were filled with milk so she offered to breastfeed babies who didn't have mothers and consequently fell in love with two baby boy twins. She tried to adopted them and almost destroyed her marriage while trying.

Vanessa Beecroft's Love Triangle in the LA Times is definitely worth a read. It was in the LA Times wedding magazine-Random!

Photo by Alexa Hoyer/LA Times 

I just booked a great book/mom event in Santa Ana today!  Stay tuned.  Details to follow.

You know that saying that you can't have something fast, cheap and quality. Well I have decided you can't be a good mom, work outside the home (or inside), and be skinny. I know you probably know exceptions to the rule. Heck maybe you are one of those people with a 'high metabolism.' You are so lucky because you don't have to become shallow and obsessed like I am when my husband uses the royal WE right when I am about to pop another chocolate in my mouth.

Mom, Work, Skinny. Something's got to give and it ain't the Mommy part.

Guess I am looking at the fat jeans once again... 

Everything bad I ever said about Spanx, I take back. I can't live without mine now. Thanks to BBB (big book butt). I just realized that one can not wear them with pants. They stick.

Loose fitting dresses are best.

Oprah is rarely wrong when it comes to under-garments. 

So hubby says to me last night that "WE need to lose weight before WE
go to the wedding this summer." (our kids are in our cousin's
wedding). I just looked at him-taking in the royal use of WE. And
that the fact that he obviously thinks I need to lose weight. Which I
guess I do.

Somehow all those nachos consumed during 'let's make a book mania'
have suddenly appeared. It reminds of when I got married pregnant. My
bump barely showed. Then right after the wedding-BOOM! I had a huge
stomach.

Make a baby, get a big stomach. Make a book, get a big butt.

WE BE BITTER!

I nearly went POSTAL today in the Verizon store. I can NOT take them
anymore.

After dropping my cell phone in the garbage can (and thus killing it
in a bath of Dr. Pepper) I was almost two weeks without a cell phone
thanks to Verizon's well informed staff and the fact that no one
would come out and tell me that they do not have mac compatible
phones. Now I have a phone, but the battery doesn't work. So I had to
call then I had to go in the store. So in the store, I called the
telephone customer service who said I shouldn't have to wait in their
hour long technical service line.

After huffing and puffing and announcing loudly that I am getting the
new Iphone as soon as it comes out, someone helped me. I know this
kind of behavior is not appropriate with the world's situation but I
can not stand people wasting my time. I have never seen so many
employees standing around picking their noses while people wait.

Can you HEAR me now?

First the Hurricane in Burma. And now children are buried in China.

I don't know what else to do but be grateful for our blessed life and pray for these children and their families. And send some money from our Tzedakah box.

I don't think I have ever been so happy to see Mother's Day come...and go. I have been working toward the MDay book goal for over five months and to have made it with the book in hand was a pure dream.

My hubby let me sleep in--keeping the kids quiet and out of the house for several hours. We had some lunch from Wahoo's, went for a hike with my daughter (who got blisters so we had to turn around), and then went out to dinner for delicious Thai food and a celebratory Mai Tai.

I only went online once to get the phone number for take-out 'cuz I was not going to cook.

How about you?  Was it good for you too? 

Check out a new article in the Lake County Journals on the book and online anthology. Thank you Hyacynth for your great interview!

The Mother's Day Essay Contest 2008 Winner
(selected from the book)

Comanche Child by Elaine Greensmith Jordan
A beautifully written essay about an adopted child finding her birth mother. The images of the ghost mother haunted me for days.

"This ghost mother of my imagination would have the wisdom of an Indian matriarch—the kind who gazes in solemn profile at the mountains—and would offer my daughter unconditional love."

Elaine will receive a Bagette make-up bag, a Gerber Daisy bouquet from Ininfleurs and books from Hachette. 

Honorable Mentions

Making People by Cyrstal Ross McKee
A moving and emotional essay about a mother's loss and then return of her son. 

Motherhood: It's A Man's Job by Frank Leggett
A hilarious essay by a stay-at-home dad that still has me laughing. 

The Downey's Chocolate Winner

Damaged but Not Destroyed by Laurel Meister
This mom deserves a bit of decadence in the form of chocolate shaped pianos.

Mother's Day Photo Contest Winner 2008

Snow Bunnies by Lori Stott
Lori's adorable photo of a mother and daughter skiiing won Mothering Heights first photo contest. 

Lori will receive a Bagette photo make-up bag with her winning photo on it, and the Manual for Motherhood Volume 1.

This honest essay not only made me laugh but also got me thinking hard about my own overgiving as a mother.

Donna will receive a collection of summer reading books from Hachette and the Manual for Motherhood Volume 1. 

Honorable Mentions

Because I'm the Mom by Lisa Romeo
This essay touched my heart. A mother's love is sometimes not enough to solve all our children's problems but we do the best that we can. 

Why I hate my husband by Whitney Cicero
I laughed so hard when I read this. My husband asked me why I couldn't stop laughing.  "Never mind."

A big heartfelt thank you to my panel of secret judges.

Every year, I seem to make some big boo-boo and leave someone off the Anthology that was supposed to be in it.  This year it was Stephanie Brambila's essay, Time Travel. 

Ever thought about having a conversation with your former self? Stephanie writes about her.

It is VERY interesting and edgy and one of my favorites. 

I changed my shopping cart to Pay Pal which takes credit cards too!  Click here to check out the new page.

The winners of the Mother's Day Essay Contest and Photo Contest will be announced this afternoon. As will a winner from the Online Anthology!

Meanwhile, check out the Contest Prizes!

A bit blurry but you can see what fun. That's my little one on the left standing next to me.