Radio Active Artist Exile
Later this year I’m heading out on a mission trip. Not sure why I’m going, except I saw the call sent out from my Dad’s church and said YES. I’m doing what I can over the next few months to learn about their culture and language so that when I go, I can be the most useful and of service.
Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan. Former U.S.S.R. Other wise known as Semey. It’s far. Really, really far from home – and quite literally in the middle of nowhere. The closest major city is Almaty. Never heard of it? Me neither. My reading is turning up all sorts of tidbits. Semey was built around an old Buddhist monastery in 1718. It grew a bit as a trade town between the growing Russian Empire and the nomadic peoples of Central Asia. Very little history is written (in English anyway) on this part of Asia, partly because it was closed up until recently to Westerners.
Other tidbits? Unruly Russian artists and musicians were sent to Semey regularly, including Dostoevsky. Heh. Also - there was a nuclear test site in the area in the middle of the last century and the fallout continues to cause birth defects and illness to the locals. I’m going to help where I can with physical labor and take tons of pictures to share with our community.
I’ve just ordered two used books on Amazon about Central Asia and the appropriate phrase book is next. Taking this trip will be difficult on the Semrads because it will mean at least two weeks with no income. I’m planning a few low-key fundraisers among friends in the coming months. If you’d like to be included, please email me.
Thursday, May 01, 2008 @ 01:10 PM my family
greendale. paul.
I'm really proud of Paul and his participation in Greendale. I haven't been yet, believe it or not, but I'll be there Saturday night for sure! (Hey, it's his birthday too - email him a happy bday people!) Book tickets now through the Undermain Theatre site as weekend dates sell out quick. Reviews, previews, and commentary are all over the internet. The good bits are on the UMT site. Show runs through May 3.
That Paul and I have been together a long time. 11 some odd years. Far out. Through it all, we just keep on navigating, I guess. He's a good guy and an amazing father to two super rad kids. Nice to be next to in life. Happy early birthday baby.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008 @ 11:41 PM my family
current affairs
Ah, the bitter sweetness of life. It’s a profound taste these days. Of lost loves, old conversations, the joy and completeness of RIGHT NOW. Stumbling through the internet is dangerous when in the bitter sweet tension of life is present. I’m a swirl of sadness, love, joy, relief, and nostalgia in one simple place at my dining room table on a random Tuesday night.
Moving on. Nancy, George, and Bess was fun. Great fun. But dealing with the odd complexity of not doing ‘what I’m up to’ (i.e. LRTX) warbled me in a way I can’t rightly describe. I’m glad it’s over. Happy it went well. And sitting in such a beautiful, content place of two glorious days meeting with people whom I never thought would see me, much lass actually entertain the visions in the collective LRTX head.
I’m wading in gratitude for now – sugar ants and all. For not going down a path that surely would have been far more painful and difficult than looking back. Humbled. Strong. Grateful. On a different note, I’ll link to some press in the next couple of days. Cool stuff. Can’t wait to share.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008 @ 10:21 PM my family
Eva Plays
more updates later. it's all good folks. i've got a smile a mile wide.
Sunday, March 09, 2008 @ 12:28 PM my family
La Entrada
photo by Erica Felicella. She took this last fall when a small group of us went out to Marfa for the Chinati Foundation Open House. My family has a little ranch out that way, just south of town. Few things boil my blood quite like La Entrada does. You see, somebody somewhere (cough - NAFTA - cough) thought it would be brilliant to build a super highway through a small West Texas community. All in the name of free trade and distribution of cheap goods whose parent companies externalize the costs of these goods in the name of cheap labor and no health insurance and crappy working conditions - but don't get me started. Meanwhile, back at the ranch (pun fully intended), 800 trucks will potentially rumble by on the highway that runs right in front of our family's ranch entrance.
There go the roads. The charming town of Marfa. The stars. The clean air. The QUIET. What do we get in return? A validation of cheap goods coming from south of the border. A validation of cheap labor. A validation of poverty. Google this stuff. I'm pondering what my part in all this will be. I might be heading west in the next few months, schedule allowing. Maybe I'll have some ideas by then.
Monday, February 25, 2008 @ 03:18 PM my family
it is fashion week after all
this is jiri talking with me while we laid in the sunshine.
Saturday, February 09, 2008 @ 03:34 PM my family
lent
lent has begun. no booze and no dairy for 40 days. we do this every year with superb consequences. it's a test of endurance and patience although we give ourselves sundays off, which is nice, but still. i guess i'll do extra bikram classes to pass the time...
Wednesday, February 06, 2008 @ 02:27 PM my family
one year
what a difference one year makes. one year ago... wow. one year ago my maternal grandmother had just died and i was on my way to paris for (an almost free) trip to give me global perspective and not be stuck in my own little world. i almost saw the light, but within mere days of my return the forces of darkness sucked me back in to a life with the wool totally covering my eyes. such is the way of these things i suppose and no matter what i wouldn't trade the experience for ANYTHING in the world.
i had lunch today with a dear, kindred spirit, who although a bit older than me is a comrade in all things that have to do with bettering ourselves as human beings. she allows me amazing clarity when we talk, and as we lose track of time while we lunch, i gather so much wisdom from her life stories. one year ago, i had just met her. what a difference one year makes.
Monday, January 21, 2008 @ 10:38 PM my family
Content
the food is cooked for the family gathering at our place. the few presents are wrapped and under our awesome little silver tree. the house is clean. a lovely rearrangement of artwork around the house was had due to an unexpected (and very large) gift from a dear friend. plans to stay close to home over the next week are in place as well as numerous art and house projects. maybe even some art meetings with like-minded souls for some sarah-jane-hair-brained-ness. my goodness, 2007 has simultaneously been the worst year and best year of my 32 years - all at once - and if this is how it culminates, so be it. i wish you all peace and joy with your families and travels.
i love you paul.
i love you eva.
i love you jiri.
Sunday, December 23, 2007 @ 09:09 PM my family
wishing happiness to you and yours
after detouring last year on our annual card, we're back to our semrads-in-front-of-the-massive-indian-hawthorn-tree-shot-with-a-mirror. mush love to you all.
Sunday, December 16, 2007 @ 05:41 PM my family
my cats would love this! er, not.
I'm not sure if this wig would best be suited for William Jefferson, Fredweena, or Freckles. I know this: I am smitten. Kitty Wigs. I know waaay too many people who know this Subversive Cross Stitch gal, Julie Jackson. It's only a matter of time, I suppose...
Sunday, December 02, 2007 @ 10:10 PM my family
best birthday evar
sunday was magical. first up was finishing the art con mural with the team led by the most talented frank campagna. more pics here. and here by erica. and here by andrea. and here by allison v smith. stellar time. fantastic people. great laughter and jokes and goodness.
then that night being surprized by all my friends in all my circles. from art con to lrtx to church. seriously awesome sing-along and love. special thank you to paul for organizing and to chad and jason for just being themselves with guitars and pianos. more pics here. goodness abounds. thanks to all for wonderful experiences and memories.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007 @ 09:15 PM my family
day of the dead
The kids were asking last night about Halloween. Like, what is it, why, who, etc. They're so cool to ask and not just do-do-do-candy-candy-candy-costume-costume-costume and NOT ask why. (FYI - Eva was a bat and Jiri was Luke Skywalker. I mean are there other costumes? no.) Anyway. We were talking about Day of the Dead and All Saint's Day and the like and it of course got me thinking about my grandmother who passed away this past January. I didn't show it outwardly, but her passing was really pretty hard on me. I distracted myself pretty intensely in the months leading up to her passing and just after with all kinds of stuff. I was her guardian / power-of-attorney and her death was long and painful and when she finally did pass, it was total relief. Then there was the guilt about being relieved that someone you love has dies. Etc. Etc. Etc.
Anyhoo, it occured to me just last night that I never really got to mourn her. Many of the feelings of sadness have of course passed now and to get to remember her (happy and sad) in the context of Day of the Dead is pretty awesome. Here's to you grandma.
Thursday, November 01, 2007 @ 09:53 AM my family
C.O.E.
was feeling awfully nostalgic this afternoon. check out cute paul on the far left. picture from a thousand years ago. way before sarah jane times. course of empire.
Monday, October 29, 2007 @ 03:54 PM my family
kids + dog = great memories
all four of us went camping friday night. with the dog. super fun! gorgeous, gorgeous children.
Monday, October 22, 2007 @ 01:16 PM my family
state fair
the semrads went to the fair thursday. it was awesome.
Saturday, October 20, 2007 @ 12:50 PM my family
little guy
my little guy woke up this morning in the same bed he was born in and said to me "it's my birthday mama!". he's 6. sigh.
Sunday, September 16, 2007 @ 06:14 PM my family
breath taking
Thursday, September 13, 2007 @ 09:42 PM my family
tired. but happy and home.
home from the ranch. here's more pics.
Monday, September 03, 2007 @ 11:02 PM my family
jiri
Monday, July 30, 2007 @ 11:13 PM my family
dawg update
k, so lucky dog has alreay pooed in the house a couple of times and chewed up my new favorite sandals. i am actually super bummed about the sandals. just when i don't know about this whole dog thing, he wags his tail and kinda shakes his butt and looks at me adoringly and i'm smitten, damn it. smitten.
Thursday, July 12, 2007 @ 09:30 AM my family
and lucky makes 9
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after recent events in my 'hood, la polica told us it was time to get a BIG dog. and big he shall grow to be. oh, you should hear his bark.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007 @ 08:41 AM my family
oh, how paul and i know this so well
every parent i suppose has experienced this. what a beautiful description of magic times with kids. oh, how jiri and eva are an inspiration to play. and play we do.
i had a day like this recently in napa valley. a whole entire day of untamed play. i got to go to this place again that gordon describes. a place i hadn't been to in 25 years. it brought me to my knees when it was over and i wept in the arms of a woman named ginger because it was so incredibly bittersweet to have this magical day of play. i'll post a picture of that day if i can find it.
Thursday, July 05, 2007 @ 11:27 AM my family
beach pics
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Tuesday, July 03, 2007 @ 11:07 PM my family
marvel
sitting in a lovely little coffee shop in port aransas. watching eva drip her tea on the lid of the cup and suck it off over and over. smiling at how fearless and awesome both of the kids have been in the ocean. wanting to go back home. not wanting to go back home. this week has been a delightful time of reconnecting with paul and the kids. wonderment. joy. desiring to bring this feeling of peace home and refresh my life there. to continue this experience of love.
Friday, June 29, 2007 @ 05:11 PM my family
fulton mansion
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Friday, June 29, 2007 @ 04:55 PM my family
birds and dolphins
at the port aransas marina.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007 @ 02:42 PM my family
third coast
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joy.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007 @ 09:22 AM my family
more of the eldest semrad daughter's many talents
ok, my geek-out daughter is in chess camp for the next few weeks. she. is. so. good. and keeps busting out with all this awesome chess lingo. ready? here's a few:
rollermating
castling
queening
getting players 'out of bed'
there's more coming, i'm sure.
she's all casual about slinging her new terms and thinks several plays ahead before she moves a piece i.e. "papa! you're roller-mating me!" chess anyone?
Monday, June 11, 2007 @ 05:58 PM my family
random images from the last few weeks
sprinkler time is awesome. espesh with strawberries!
jiri and his bear. twins.
lovely sky from last sunday.
jiri has instructionals from old lego sets. he reconfigures them using random instructions out of order and makes new ships. fairly brilliant for a 5 year old. he got that from paul.
i took this picture after one of those gigs where the hair and make-up took literally 3 hours and i was gawked at for only like 10 minutes. i was wearing more interesting clothes for the walk. no pictures of that. alas.
what a month.
Sunday, June 10, 2007 @ 10:29 PM my family
you know it's summer when...
the babies run in the sprinkler! yay for summer!
Wednesday, June 06, 2007 @ 10:35 PM my family
LOVE
to say love is only an 'emotion' or 'feeling' is total, 100% bs in my book. after nine years of marriage, love is an action verb. and it's hard work - with sweat and everything because you've just mowed the grass. it's clean underwear. a made-bed in the morning. a clean toilet. it's yummy food when you're sick. it's caring and giving and generosity even in the face of the contrary. it's (dare i say) christ-like behavior when you're undeserving. it's compassion when you have been naughty and horrible beyond repair. it's a kiss and a kind word when you've scraped your metaphorical knee (or your real one for that matter). love is seeing your offspring and saying 'wow. my want for them is to be loving people too' and then setting that example. it's understanding, even under a cloud of stuff sooo easily misunderstood. it's doing the dishes and putting the kids to bed even when you don't feel like it and you're tired yourself. love is patience and kindness. on occasion, it's easily brushed aside as 'being a pushover' or whatever. the reality is: i'm married to someone who really loves me.
oh.
my.
God.
thank you paulie. may 18 was 9 years. i don't know how the hell you have put up with me. thank you. i can only try to love (it's an action verb) you too. here is something i wrote in 2004. i'm speechless.
***addendum. i guess where i was going with this was that for me love is experiential. not a feeling. it actually looks like something.
Monday, May 28, 2007 @ 12:11 AM my family
mexico
the trip to isla mujeres was fun. the best part was just being with friends and still getting to run off and play. josh and jen's wedding was picture perfect and looked like something out of a story book. simply gorgeous. every detail was accounted for. their families were a delight and i pretty much fell in love with josh's grandma. it was nice to be there as a guest and not the hired photographer - so nice. i got to hang back and just take the pictures i wanted to take.
i had some issues with the island itself i suppose. as beautiful as the sea and sky were, it seemed to be a place that caters exclusively to tourists. and american ones at that. i struggled that we paid american prices for everything from hotel to food (ok, beer was slightly less) to trinkets for the kids and yet the locals lived in corrugated tin and cardboard structures with no running water on the center of the island. maybe it's judgemental of me to say it's not fair or they're not happy or whatever. maybe they are! i know this, i said many prayers for peace and well being to the families on the island. for safety for the little babies hanging off the back of mopeds and the patience of wait staff to deal with demanding drunk people on vacation.
good to be home. good to cull through pictures. good to see kids. good to get back at it. travel inspires me. i'm in a good place right now.
Thursday, May 24, 2007 @ 09:15 AM my family
home sweet home
sportin' a wee bit o' tan and tons of pictures on a memory card. seeing jason, andrea, and josh's pics on flickr make me want to run run run and deal with them sooner than later..... too. tired. tomorrow. good memories with sweet friends. glad to be home though - missed those babies!
Monday, May 21, 2007 @ 10:46 PM my family
jiri
i think i might be totally in love with my little guy. he's such beautiful, quirky soul.
Monday, May 14, 2007 @ 09:24 PM my family
eva
this awesome dress was sewn by one of my grandmothers when i was eva's age. so cool to see her in it when i remember wearing it myself.
Monday, May 14, 2007 @ 09:20 PM my family
that was some wind storm
um, i love storms. especially when the power goes out and we have nothing better to do than play with long exposures. good times.
more pics here on flickr.
Thursday, May 03, 2007 @ 07:31 AM my family
my god, she's worth setting the example for
Thursday, April 19, 2007 @ 06:56 PM my family
my genius daughter
philosophical mumblings when riding in the car on the way to the park, "from the point of view of electricity, the car isn't touching the ground. you know, because of the rubber tires"
when faced with the choice between taking the stairs and the elevator at the west village on an ice cream outing later the same day, "hmmm. technology or do-it-myself?" eva muses aloud.
Monday, April 16, 2007 @ 11:03 AM my family
eva
eva turns 8 tomorrow. watch me freak out - it can't be. she's such a lovely, beautiful, well-spoken little twit. i think i'll keep her.
Saturday, February 24, 2007 @ 11:52 AM my family
eva got inspired
eva rocks. i was catching up on all my blog reading this afternoon in an effort to stay completely distracted and smiled with delight at the article on unfair park about bob, who i first heard about from allison v smith. anyhoo. i said, "eva! come here! check this out!" and she marveled at the bird drawing in particular and was suddenly inspired to start her OWN blog. "ok" i said.
so here goes, mimms: cool times. i typed her first entry in an effort to save time and go with the inspiration. but in the future, she'll do her own updates. awesome. like mother, like daughter.
Thursday, February 15, 2007 @ 05:28 PM my family
i miss my grandma
she would know what to do.
Thursday, February 01, 2007 @ 08:49 AM my family
last conversation
the phone startled us. it was midnight when it rang. the lady on the line was with hospice and said grandma's nailbeds were grey and she was starting to hold her breath. her blood pressure was dropping and her heart was beating irregularly.
"do i need to get on a plane right now? i'd like to be there when she passes."
"er no. it's icing in here and you simply can't put your life in danger."
"ok, you're right. can you put the phone to her ear so i can say some words to her?"
"yes ma'am. of course."
"grandma. it's sarah jane. i want you to know i love you so much and am really glad you're my grandma. i've learned so much from you and think you've had an amazing life. i love telling my kids about you. please know you're always with me and i love you very much. goodbye, grandma."
Saturday, January 13, 2007 @ 08:03 AM my family
buy some girl scout cookies.
eva is a brownie scout and i'm one of her troop leaders. buy cookies, dang it. here are the flavors. email me at sarah@sarahjanesemrad.com and i'll gladly fill your order on her little form. they're $3.50 per box and a portion of sales directly benefits our troop. YAY!
Wednesday, January 10, 2007 @ 09:44 PM my family
present
paul is building me a guitar. from scratch. like he designed it, cut it out from raw wood, drilled all the holes and routed out the cubbies for the electronics. then he took the pick guard off a something-or-other and the neck off of a 24 inch mustang. this is it. someday soon it will be shell pink with the antique finish glaze, giving it a yellowish tint. after curing etc, i should have it operational by march at the latest.
Wednesday, December 27, 2006 @ 12:10 PM my family
eva and me
carissa shot us yesterday. she's so good. there's so many great ones to choose from, and i hate being photographed! i like the way this one shows the half of my tattoo that says 'eva' while i'm holding her. so sweet. thanks lady!
Monday, December 18, 2006 @ 04:05 PM my family
menu
goat cheese and roasted garlic bruschetta
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watercress and endive salad with lemon vinegairette
braised celery
winter squash gallettes
homemade bread
* * *
homemade chocolate angel pie
homemade pumpkin pie
and check out this squash. i simpy couldn't resist parading through wholier than thou foods with it:
i am thankful for my life.
Thursday, November 23, 2006 @ 10:23 AM my family
geek out date with my daughter
eva and i went to sciencefest at utsouthwestern last night (jiri's still a little small) and it was awesome! we sat in on the 'symmetries in physics and music' lecture and the 'fun with polymers' talk/demo. after that, some snake wrangler dude brought out scary snake after scary snake to the screaming delight of a zillion little kids. then we got hungry and went to the cosmic cup for a late dinner. just me and her. i love that girl.
Friday, November 10, 2006 @ 12:05 PM my family
breakin
seriously, who breaks into a 91 volvo with a car seat in the back trying to steal a cheap stereo? fer reals. good thing paul rocks and already picked up a new window from the junkyard and can install it himself in about 5 minutes. the sucky part is now i have no tunes in the car!
Sunday, October 22, 2006 @ 01:01 PM my family
state fair
we like going to the state fair, we semrads. we try to eat dinner when we go, although i'm not sure why when we're up all night with rumbly tummies.... with deep fried tater twisters and oleo-soaked ears of corn as are our options.
of course we always ride the ferris wheel. and the kids are awfully brave, even though it's soooo high up.
paul says i have the same look on my face as jiri does when he rides a ride.
and eva, my darling stoic child, well, she's almost at the age where she's embarassed i'm taking her picture.... but i can't help it because she's so beautiful.
Friday, October 13, 2006 @ 08:47 AM my family
my funny little guy
jiri: "i make money in a factory"
me: "wow. so what do you make in the factory?"
jiri: "pennies. and my brother works with me."
Saturday, September 30, 2006 @ 12:10 PM my family
long weekend. after an equally long week.
friday, a friend of mine and i went to purgatory (where we met up with folks from our church, oddly enough). i hate to sound like a tweener, but, like, OMG, i wish i had a picture of my *stellar* outfit. the club has changed since i was there last. the girls were already stumbling out incoherent and totally trashed as we rolled in at 1AM. hell was hellish, hot, crowded and straight up skanky with the pit of hell closed. purgatory was all-tejano, all-the-time. it was crowded, hot, felt like a hotel lobby on the eve of the end of the world. and Heaven? well, we couldn't get in. maxed out. Dante would be proud.
yesterday, we took advantage free admission to the dallas zoo complimentary of councilman ed oakley and councilwoman elba garcia. um, i hate zoos. there, i said it. it's not cute or entertaining to see huge cats in cages the size of my front porch.
the poop game? now, that is cute and entertaining.
last night: a gallery hop. the lecture at and/or gallery was excellent. i thought so anyway. dirk, the speaking artist, was completely authentic about his husband/wife collaborative jodi and was able to communicate process, output, and humor in his (and his wife's) work. i skipped the angstrom opening, although i admit, i was mildly curious to go check it out. instead i headed back to the 'cliff and hit tyler street. there were no fewer than 5 little shows going on. it's nice to see how my neighborhood is looking up. here's a raised glass to la reunion being in the 'hood too.
Sunday, September 24, 2006 @ 09:54 AM my family
jiri is 5.
i made it through sept 11 without any commentary. the truth is that date is always intertwined with the birth of jiri. he was due any day and when those damn planes starting hitting everywhere and i just thought, "please let me not have this baby today." i sat on the floor and cried and cried and held eva who was only 2 at the time. he did wait, 5 whole days. we didn't have to go out into the scary world and deliver in a big white hospital. instead, i chose to push him out in my own bedroom surrounded by paul, eva and some dear women in my life and then roll over and go to sleep. fast forward: he turned 5 yesterday! and ya know, there's nothing sweeter in life than a 5 year old boy.
Sunday, September 17, 2006 @ 01:34 PM my family
labor day weekend at the ranch
just got back from a great weekend at the ranch in uvalde. more pictures on flickr. it was a much needed break after all the stuff that's been brewing lately. it's always good to see family and shoot pictures of my kids at a place that's the closest thing i have to a childhood home. growing up a preacher's daughter had us moving all the time and the ranch was my rock. still is.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006 @ 08:50 PM my family
of personal note
so i'm a distant space cadet because my grandma is super sick. i'm pretty sad about it and it sucks having to make hospice calls and start thinking about what outfit she'll wear and which bills need to be canceled etc. somehow i ended up being THAT person out of my whole family. oddly enough, planning for death is quite a production. comparisons could be made to childbirth. or a marriage. and the life changing effects said events have on relationships.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006 @ 11:16 PM my family
my daughter
i'm sure all moms say this: but my daughter is freakin brilliant. obsessed with string theory, eva sometimes mixes up her branes and gravitons, but whatev, she gets the basic idea of the 'theory of everything'. she extolls the joys of nova to all her friends and converts many-a-family to tuning in on tuesday nights. (you should too!!)
so today in the car, she was devising an experiment to create a vacuum and see what would happen to oxygenated and un-oxygenated blood. like, you know, would the oxygen leave the blood to form a gas? i told her to try it. and she told me she was just seven and clearly could not but that she would do it when she gets older. or tell her scientist friends to do it in case she became an artist.
awesome.
Friday, August 11, 2006 @ 12:39 PM my family
eva and jiri want dinner guests to get some exercise
chad and the kids. have a good tour man.
Monday, July 31, 2006 @ 09:16 AM my family
highlights
so springfield doesn't suck so much. i really thought it would. we had one of those all american vacations where we picked up the visitors guide at the missouri line and did all the local attractions. springfield is close to branson, so the cheese-factor is high. day one we went to fantastic caverns, which were, well, fan-freakin-tastic. although, doh! i left my camera at home the day we went. incredibly un-environmentally friendly, we went with the kitch and toured the once-speakeasy anyway. explaining what 'kitch' means to a 7 year old is a whole other hilarious commentary. another time.
day two was exotic animal paradise. one of those fossil rim type places where you drive through and gawk at weird animals. at the end was a petting zoo. fun and stinky.
day three was 'cornstock' at a familiy farm featuring horse rides (above), corn on the cob, and petting pregnant barn cats. a bluegrass band was slated to play, but had already left by the time we made it out. what else can i say, it was quaint and we bought produce out of their barn.
eva got her ears pierced.
saxon shore at a local club.
followed by denison witmer.
and we brought home a new feline friend! twas good trip, although we're glad to be back. of course now, i sure have my country itch on. good thing we've got a hill country trip and a ranch trip coming up.
Tuesday, July 25, 2006 @ 08:54 PM my family
i wanna go to art camp!
the kids made their own erick swensons.
she had a great time and i'm glad she's home. OMG. i'm so happy to have her back.
Friday, July 14, 2006 @ 10:25 PM my family
charmed life
yesterday, we dropped off eva at her grandparent's house to do an art camp at the fort worth modern this week. i'm jealous and want to take the classes but alas, i'm not 7. anyway, we were encouraged to check out the permanent collection before she started her classes this week. and check it out, we did. we played inside the impressive richard serra piece out front and took turns jumping and clapping and singing inside to generate the cool echo noises that the piece makes happen.
then we went inside and explored (at a 7 year old's pace) some of the works of art. one of my favorite pieces and the one we spent the most time with was hiraki sawa's dwelling.
we laughed pretty hard at the beginning, but then got a little stressed out towards the end. the busier those planes got, the more near misses with other planes, door frames, and toothbrushes there were.
i got a call from her earlier today and it sounds like day one was magnificent. lovely memories she'll have.
Monday, July 10, 2006 @ 02:13 PM my family
eva goes to camp
in the morning. we spent the day packing and labeling clothes and going to the store to buy all the little sundries that she needs. paul and i are trying to be cool about it, but we're totally FREAKING out. sure, sure, it'll be so nice to play house with only one kid with the comfort that the female child is having the time of her life, but still. we're a pretty tight-knit little crew. we're not against getting babysitters and such when paul and i want to go out, oh no, but our babies are with us 99% of the time other than that. she's stayed with relatives in the past, i suppose, for a week at a time, but that's different somehow. she'll be a CAMP. with a whole passle of other little girls! i'm so excited for her!
Tuesday, July 04, 2006 @ 07:56 PM my family
my babies
Monday, June 19, 2006 @ 10:15 AM my family
wwdsd?
this is coming from a mom who can't stand musicals. seriously. nothing. worse. skin crawls everytime. but it's really cute when eva sings along and dances a dance routine to every song on the seussical sound track.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006 @ 12:54 PM my family
8 years
been 8 years today that paul and i eloped. thanks paulie for putting up with me. let's grow old together, k?
Thursday, May 18, 2006 @ 02:05 PM my family
guilty pleasure and a good story, i promise.
confession: i'm addicted to the Texas Ranch House show on PBS. the premise is a cattle ranch in 1867. i come from a texan lineage of cattle ranchers, so maybe that helps my interest along. i've only caught the last couple night's episodes, but it's good, people, i assure you. stories have circulated my whole life about what my dad's childhood was like. he was born and raised out on a ranch in marfa. he's the oldest child of three and he has recounted stories of his duties out on the ranch as well as what his siblings duties were. cattle, horses, and sheep were involved. he learned to ride very young and was responsible for all sorts of chores along the way. at some point, the family took to ranching some family land near uvalde, right around when my dad was in 6th grade. fast forward to my life. i have been to this ranch in uvalde at least once or twice a year my whole life. my kids have been able to go. it's one of my favorite places on earth. being a preacher's daughter and moving every couple years growing up, it's the closest thing i have to 'home'.
ok, so backtrack to november 1952 (not quite 1867, but still a pretty far-out life). my dad was 2 years old. here's an article published in the marfa paper:
"LITTLE GEORGE MIMMS SUTTON NOT LOST, JUST OUT WALKING
george mimms sutton, who will be three years old next february wasn't lost on the sutton ranch last friday afternoon. at least he would be hard to convince of that. it wouldn't be so hard to convince his parents, mr. and mrs. mimms sutton.
young george came into lunch last friday noon and wandered out again with a sandwich.
little boys aren't expected to check in very regularly right after getting something to eat - and especially if it might come on to be nap time, so for a time his absence was unmarked.
but when nap time did come and no george mimms, mr sutton was called from his work after a quick search around the house and ground by mrs. sutton brought no reply. he made a wider search still without result. it was the the middle of the afternoon.
so he phoned to marfa for help from the bloodhounds kept at the county jail. neighbors and friends began to gather too. little later sheriff barnett was called a start was made to organize a larger searching party. hamilton white flew down to the sutton place south of town to make an air search.
but about 4:30, mack humphreys found the young wanderer, just about the same time mr white located him from the air and the marfa searching party was disbanded.
by that time, the lad was three miles from home and truding capably along, escorted still by three faithful dogs. he'd been a good boy, he'd eaten all his lunch, and he had laid down at one time and had his nap - guarded all the time by his dogs.
he had no idea that he had been 'lost' and he was in no panic. but there were tear traces on his cheeks. and it was pretty nice just running into mr humphreys that far away from the house."
i can't imagine. what a far cry from my children's life. could be why i like this show so much?!
Wednesday, May 03, 2006 @ 10:33 PM my family
easter eggs
the kids dyed easter eggs today.
and yes. that's black nail polish on my boy. so?
Saturday, April 15, 2006 @ 04:30 PM my family
happy birthday to paulie
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look at that adorable guy. he's put up with me this long, it's a wonder he's survived. he's the best possible father to our kids i can imagine and at 42 he still finds it inspiring to play in a band. ooo, i'm a sucker for those sideburns. happy birthday baby.
Wednesday, April 12, 2006 @ 09:28 AM my family
my kid sees invisible people.
my 4 year old, jiri, is always talking about his 'boys'. they go everywhere with him. and when he has to be split up from me because i'm running one errand and he's doing something else, he likes to send one of his 'boys' with me. case in point: the other day, i went to target and paul was going to change the oil on the beetle and wanted jiri to help. jiri sent his boys with me so he could work on the car. they go with us everywhere. in the car, to the store, they eat dinner with us. etc etc. today, we were at toddler park and jiri was swinging in the baby swing and eva was in the big swing and we had the following conversation.
jiri says, "my boys are here, mama"
me: "awesome dude, are they nice? where are they?"
jiri: "they're nice. well, the one with the black hair and that's the same age as eva, well i gave him to her."
eva: "there's no one here jiri!"
me: "well eva, let him finish."
jiri: "his mama is here too."
me: "what does she look like?"
jiri: "she has black and white hair and the boy has just black hair."
me: "what's her name?"
eva: "oh, i see her! mrs. lark. that's her name."
jiri: "yep, mrs. lark. that's her name."
creeperific!
Wednesday, April 05, 2006 @ 03:19 PM my family
eva rocks.
eva: mama, i have a question.
me: ok, what is it?
eva: is time real? i mean, who's to say what time is?
me: uh, well. time IS because we say it is. and it relates ourselves to events.
eva: ok, so before there were people, there was no time?
me: you sure are going to love being a scientist when you grow up, watching the line between philosophy, art, theology and physics blur.
eva: what? i'm just seven!
in other news, she can balance on a two wheel bike now. she's growing up too fast.
Sunday, March 12, 2006 @ 05:03 PM my family
rock star
ha ha. look at what diggin' around on wikipedia found! i sometimes forget about this part of paul.
Thursday, March 09, 2006 @ 04:26 PM my family
life is slowing down. and i like it.
green tea.
to the symphony with the kids.
thai food for lunch.
errands.
school.
more and more green tea.
planting seedlings.
barbeque tofu cooking in the oven.
a meeting later.
and potentially the happy bullets at the double wide.
(yvonne and i will drink soda or something)
Thursday, March 02, 2006 @ 04:55 PM my family
lent
as a family, we're going vegan for lent. and me? i'm giving up alcohol.
here's to 40 loooooong days starting wednesday.
Monday, February 27, 2006 @ 05:10 PM my family
eva mimms
eva turns 7 tomorrow. SEVEN. where has the time gone? i swear, i was pregnant with her like, just last week or something. a few weeks ago, i asked her how she wanted to celebrate. after weighing out the pros and cons of big blow-out party vs. sleepover, we decided on sleepover. so, tonight, eva and two of her girl scout pals and i are going to see curious george. and then out to dinner. after trying to sway her to restaurants I want to go to (cosmic cup, kalachanji's, thai lotus etc) SHE, my sweet sweet love, chose mai's.
my hot date tonight: curious george. and vietnamese food. and a sleepover. (FUN!!) tomorrow? presents! (a bike w/o training wheels) and her favorite dinner that we cook. she's still trying to decide....
Friday, February 24, 2006 @ 12:34 PM my family
girl scout cookie time
eva is in the girl scouts. we are selling cookies effective today through january 22. if you want some, email me. $3.50 per box. payable when they arrive in february.
see cookie options here.
see info about tejas council here.
email me at sarah@sarahjanesemrad.com with how many boxes you want and your contact info.
they freeze extremely well. hint. hint.
oh, and checks accepted.
yum.
Friday, January 06, 2006 @ 01:02 PM my family
happy christmas ya'll
peace and presence to you and yours.
Sunday, December 25, 2005 @ 10:57 PM my family
i shot the kids today
i shoot them all the time, but never like this. by that, i mean like what i do for clients. sound track? the flaming lips. we had a blast.
Tuesday, November 29, 2005 @ 05:10 PM my family
words of wisdom from eva
so eva walks in the room wearing my six-foot-four boots and i say, "oh my gosh, i've got to take your...." and she says, "advice?"
brilliant.
Friday, November 11, 2005 @ 09:49 AM my family
unschooling in the observer? say wha?
what an inspiring story about un-schooling.
i aspire to follow this train of thought with my own children, but i give in to too much pressure. but gosh, i'm sure inspired. and wow, what a lovely visual:
What does education often do? It makes a straight-cut ditch of a free, meandering brook.
--Henry David Thoreau
Wednesday, October 26, 2005 @ 11:11 PM my family
coelancanth
so last night, nerd-family, i mean the semrads watched NOVA, our favorite show. it was about the mysterious coelancanth fish, elusive and rare, a living fossil from the dinosaur age. true, it was fascinating, but whatever... rare fish don't really do it for me.
so today, we're doing school work and eva starts doodling in her writing book.... and she drew this beautiful coelancanth fish. so i ask her, 'so what makes this fish so amazing? do you know?' and she proceeds to tell me all about 'how the fish has six fins and uses them in a the same way we use our limbs... right hand goes forward while the right leg goes back and left hand goes forward while the left leg goes back.' and then she goes on about how the babies are in the mama, 'you know, just like mammals.'
i dunno. but i think she's pretty darn smart. maybe are all kids this way and my limited experience with kids in general doesn't allow me this knowledge.
Wednesday, October 26, 2005 @ 03:25 PM my family
homeschooling
ok. so. yes, i homeschool the kids. our favorite subjects are math and science and art.... i mean of course! look who's teaching! and i even venture to say they're all really the same thing. (but i digress.) our least favorite subjects are reading, spelling, phonics and vocabulary, but vocabulary is prob the most favorite of that bunch, cause i love me some big words. i'm vocabularious. (inside joke.)
ok, so here's the thing: i have explained and re-explained over and over again how lucky we are to be born speaking english.... i mean look at it people: 'are' is pronounced 'r'. (?) explain that one to a highly rational 6 year old! and 'some' and 'sum' are two differnt things. (?) we play 'sight bingo' with our fancy-schmancy world view curriculum we use. and the words 'one' and 'here' and 'there' are on it. as far as i can tell, none of them make any sense, and yet we simply accept them as is..... i shrug and say, "just memorize it, baby"
ok, but i tell ya one thing: the kid can point out 'euphrates river', 'vietnam' , 'new hibrides islands', 'papua new guinea' , 'the congo' , 'japan' , 'bhutan' and 'scotland' on a globe faster than any 20 year old i know. take THAT DISD!
Tuesday, October 25, 2005 @ 08:29 PM my family
fair pics
we took a spontaneous field trip to the state fair tonight. we ate nasty fair food and rode only a few rides because it's scarily expensive. the kids had a wonderful time and are in for a hard sleep tonight. i'm so glad we didn't let this year escape without a trip to the fair. it's too much fun to miss.
Wednesday, October 19, 2005 @ 09:24 PM my family
happy birthday jiri
it was 4 years ago that my little boy was born at home under the supervision of a midwife. his birth is in the top 5 most profound experiences ever.
Friday, September 16, 2005 @ 03:54 PM my family
more pictures
here's a smattering of pics i uploaded today.... more later.
Tuesday, September 06, 2005 @ 01:06 PM my family
home from the ranch
it's nutty that only 12 hours ago i was standing in the middle of the nueces river.... heaven on earth. we made it home fine and we're happy to be in our house again. so many pictures to post and not enough sanity and time tonight to pull it off. more tomorrow.
our katrina refugee family has moved into an apartment over the weekend for those who wanted to know and i know they're happy to kinda be functioning normally again in a day-to-day routine. i'm happy for them and honored i could host them in my home. now, we're considering hosting another family. we'll see.
Monday, September 05, 2005 @ 11:46 PM my family
banana bread
eva and jiri had some friends over today and i made homemade banana bread. talk about some good memories.
my life's pretty exciting behind what i write about on here, i promise. but not all of my shenanigans are appropriate for web distribution. lots of stuff about homeschooling, God, pigeon-stone opportunities, phone calls and dear dear friends.
good lord, look at the floor! gotta vacuum.
Wednesday, August 24, 2005 @ 05:04 PM my family
what would a psychologist say?
jiri runs in from the backyard and picks up the phone.
jiri: "hi mom. what is with me?"
me: "hey can i get you a glass a water, you look hot."
jiri: "i can't play baseball."
me: "did you catch a ball?"
jiri: "no. byyyyyeee."
hangs up phone.
i don't know why, but the whole exchange kinda broke my heart.
Tuesday, June 14, 2005 @ 11:35 AM my family | comments > 1302
good-bye dear.
ryan answered the ad that paul placed on good records bulletin board, scrawled in purple crayon that said something like, "bass player needed. influences include velvet underground, luna, yo la tengo..." jiri was maybe 5 months old. they began practicing regularly and an odd little friendship was formed.
since then, jiri has grown to be almost four and ryan has progessed up into management in a mutual theatre entity that paul, him and me share. ryan is moving tomorrow to chicago and spent his last night in dallas having dinner with us. i will miss him so much. an era is ending. and it's surprisingly emotional.
*sniff sniff*
Tuesday, May 24, 2005 @ 09:48 PM my family | comments > 491
anniversary!
i've been married to paulie for seven years today! yay! i think i'll keep him around seven more.
with this starting the new chapter....
Wednesday, May 18, 2005 @ 01:49 PM my family | comments > 514
i don't know whether to laugh or cry
I’ve had the most awesome day so far! I had a grown man and father of a few kids tell me I’m going to HELL! WOW!
It’s truly amazing to see what happens when someone questions the ‘normal’ way of doing/thinking of things. There’s no ill will on my part towards the guy. I mean, he’s just doin’ his job, right? He’s looking for certain answers… answers I refused to spew off in the lingo he’s accustomed to. It’s absolutely hysterical how I answered every question the way he wanted me to, but in different English than him. Same stuff, different words. He didn’t ‘get it’ because he was too busy listening for certain catch phrases.
At least I know now, instead of next fall when I would’ve found out in some other way. Some other way that directly affected one of my kids.
Emotionally attached? No. Mildly irritated? Yes.
All of this sucks because it means I’m back to square one when it comes to home schooling my babies.
Tuesday, May 03, 2005 @ 02:36 PM my family | comments > 311
just say no.
there's a difference between working hard and working too hard. the latter applies to me on some days. i'm debating on what to say 'no' to in life. i tend to be a 'yes' about 90% of the time. "yeah, let's do it, right on!" i gotta get some boundries going.
like now.
Tuesday, March 22, 2005 @ 10:17 AM my family | comments > 15699
the longest weekend ever.
i'm back! yay!
friday night: the joey seeman reception was amazing. a few sales and a great crowd. i'd post a picture, except the memory card to my digital camera fell out after i dropped the thing and the latch came loose. (trust me, i have retraced my steps numerous times) after the reception.... to the cosmic cup and purgatory.
saturday night: the slumber party! eva had several little friends over for movies and pizzas and fake tattoos. at one point, i seriously had the impression that paul and i were out numbered and if they could organize amongst themselves, we'd have been had. the kids partied pretty late and awoke on sunday morning no later than 6:45 AM. we let them run wild for a bit before we finally grumbled out of bed.
sunday: the family party! my whole family and paul's whole family came over to celebrate eva and my dad's birthdays. then we sat up and watched the oscars and lamented the fact that we haven't seen hardly any movies.
glad monday is here. nyddia and i got a lot done today, organizationally. we make huge strides every day and are accomplishing more together than either one of us could separately. and we both know it.
Monday, February 28, 2005 @ 05:55 PM my family | comments > 6972
happy birthday eva
eva is six today. i can hardly believe it. she's literally grown up in front of our eyes. i know every last parent on the planet must say this, but i remember her being a tiny baby! vividly. the whole time i was pregnant with her, paul and i kept asking each other, "what are we going to do with a baby, we don't know anything about babies." i don't think i'd even changed a nappy before miss eva.
everyone who knows eva, knows she's smart beyonnd her years and charming and just so funny to be around. she's loving with her brother. she loves music and books and making things with her hands. she's just great. i adore her.
the slumber party is tomorrow. i think we might be insane. six little kids because she is six. complete with pizza and movies. needless to say, she's ecstatic.
Friday, February 25, 2005 @ 09:47 AM my family | comments > 1577
jiri
jiri in the back of the truck on our christmas trip to the ranch:
he's so cute i can't stand it.
Thursday, February 03, 2005 @ 11:20 AM my family | comments > 388
library card
eva: hey! how come caillou gets a library card?! he's four and i'm five.
me: oh, that. he lives in canada. they don't do it that way in dallas.
eva: oh.
pause.
eva: can we move to canada?
Wednesday, February 02, 2005 @ 10:53 AM my family | comments > 535
jiri v
whenever my little guy wants me to have him in my lap or pick him up he says, "mama, i want hold you." and then he does! he pulls my face in towards his and then he'll wrap his arms around my neck and whisper sweet nothings to me. it's the best love affair ever.
Thursday, December 23, 2004 @ 05:22 PM my family | comments > 437
cinderella
eva and i went to fair park tonight to check out the operatic version of cinderella. she loved it, although she kept asking me what on earth was happening. in this version, there's no step-mother. there's a step-father. there's also no glass slipper, instead a sparkly bracelet. further, the whole thing was in italian, bless her little heart.
what i really liked about the story tonight was how she wasn't some desperate cinder-maid, waiting for a (*gasp*) man to save her. she was simply an entity of beauty and hope and love. she forgave her evil step-sisters and evil step-father and insisted her new groom do the same. very cool actually.
Thursday, December 09, 2004 @ 12:27 AM my family | comments > 2432
gettin' hitched.
paul and i got married by the justice of the peace in the courthouse. yvonne was there. so was barry. i wore a really cool dress i picked up at northpark and paul wore a new suit. we allowed no pictures. there were no flowers, music, seating of parents.... nope, just me and paul and yvonne and barry and yvonne's boyfriend at the time. (what was his name? chris?) afters we went out for thai food and then took my grandma to the airport.
a few days later we were at the airport again and off on our honeymoon. but not before doing a mass mailing of these fancy little embossed cards in wedding font that said something like, "surprize! we're married and honeymooning in spain. just thought you might want to know...." we spent three fantastic weeks back-packing spain and staying in youth hostels and visiting little dive bars and soaking in the orange groves. we took this one bus ride that lasted something like 10 hours from granada to valencia and for at least four hours of it we were the only two people on the bus..... it was so romantic.
many many wonderful pictures were taken and we had no schedule, no agenda, no where to be. when we got home, i was pregnant.
we had a keg party at sons of hermann hall a few weeks later and the lucky pierres played. there was no stress. no bouquets. no drama. it was the perfect way for us to get married.
different people choose different places.
Saturday, October 30, 2004 @ 10:31 PM my family | comments > 318
love
after 6 years of being married and having two kids.... at 11:30 last night, mr semrad made me banana pancakes - from scratch. i had the leftovers for breakfast today. now that my friends is true love.
Tuesday, October 26, 2004 @ 09:34 AM my family | comments > 2748
jiri
my baby boy fell asleep in my arms. he hasn't done that in a looong time. as i held him and looked at his eye lids twitching and feeling him dream, i just fell in love with him all over again. he's just perfect. i think i'll keep him. i love being his mama.
Wednesday, October 13, 2004 @ 07:49 PM my family | comments > 671
eva lost the tooth
she lost her first tooth. it's been loose for weeks it seems. she'd wiggle it for anyone who'd look. this morning when she woke up, the thing was hanging on by a mere thread. all morning she was pushing it in all directions with her tongue, asking me every five minutes, "when's the tooth coming out?"
so earlier this afternoon, at the park, i gave it a twist and out it came! blood gushed everywhere and she ran off into the playground, blood running down her chin, just laughing and showing all the kids the hole where the tooth came from. it was great. it's under her pillow now. she told me before going to sleep tonight that the tooth fairy was going to bring her 'cash'.
Thursday, September 23, 2004 @ 09:05 PM my family | comments > 1403
wrapping up bad days and making room for good ones
celebrating bad days is always so fun. yesterday was pretty much just awful and so to celebrate, andrea and i took out yvonne, who had been glued to a tv all day watching ivan rip her hometown apart. ozona isn't the most glamorous place, but they have great outdoor seating and cheap wednesday specials. so i got to unload about the code compliance thingie, the fit my jiri threw, the APP action that i know about but 'She' doesn't... oh lord. yvonne got to unload about bad books and hurricanes while andrea patiently took it all in. she's the best.
after we took yvonne back to where she was staying, andrea and i ventured out to the expo lounge last-night-open-ever-party. now that was FUN. great music, hundreds of people (200 of which andrea seemed to know) and did i mention great music? if you ever catch an ad to go see the 'the monks of saturnalia' then do it. they're an incredible jazz band. i took in my big camera (how does one spell f-o-o-l-i-s-h-?) and boldly shot a zillion pictures of people and tables and the band with 2-4 second long exposures. classic sarah jane shots. i'm incredibly stoked to see what i got. great end to a really pathetic day.
i needed the recovery from yesterday's torment because my jiri is three today! we're going to the park for lunch and having a picnic complete with cupcakes. such a treat. time has flown. it seems like just yesterday i was walking around my block in labor, scandalizing all the neighbors. his birth was so peaceful and easy and in my own house. it sure is great to deliver a baby and roll over and go to sleep. highly recommend it. anyway, my baby is three. bizarre.
Thursday, September 16, 2004 @ 09:17 AM my family | comments > 964
rocks
so i had this really long day, right?
hanging a show of 28 photographs is a lot of work.
so.
i decided to take the kids to the park, to relax.
there's this magnificent park near our house
that is made entirely of wooden forts.
the kind that when you see it, you gasp your breath in
because you kindof have this tiny flashback to when you were a kid
and how great it would be to fit into
all the marvelous crevices and peek out.
the full bit.
my kids love this park
and we go there about once a week.
so we're there
and i settle into my favorite little area in the shade and let them loose.
i'm half-heartedly doing some calendar planning,
maybe looking at what else i have for the rest of the day,
that type thing when i hear this voice, "jo-hanny! come on!"
there's these two enormous little boys
laughing and being chased by
an older brother-cousin-uncle-sister's-boyfriend-guy.
he's my age, at least. running, chasing these two little kids.
this goes on for about 15 minutes
and then i hear the
brother-cousin-uncle-sister's-boyfriend-guy say, "wanna' race?"....
so i'm sinking down into my wooden bench at this point,
thinking, 'wanna race? now why on earth did he say that,
i mean he's gonna win and blah blah against these two little kids.
why, they don't even have a snowball's chance in....'
plus, i'm simply incredulous that he has the energy to do this!
then the Beautiful Thing happened.
i realized i'd forgotton how to be a kid.
it hadn't occured to me before, and here i was,
suddenly being jolted into an eight year old brain.
this is beautiful because now i know it!
suddenly, hearing eva say, "look!" means something else.
i mean, don't you remember hearing the
brother-cousin-uncle-sister's-boyfriend-guy say, "wanna race?"
and obstacle courses?
and swinging on your stomach?
and picking up rocks?
and watching doodle bugs?
and sweat dripping out of your knee pits?
and cracking locust shells?
i sure do.
Thursday, September 09, 2004 @ 09:09 PM my family | comments > 3
the how-many-heads-are-on-the-cat game
this is an eva classic from when she was 3.
Wednesday, September 01, 2004 @ 06:24 PM my family | comments > 2
un-schooling
we're officially 'counter-culture'. oh dear. it's true. the first day of DISD's school is today and where is my age appropriate daughter? why, in the other room. i absolutely refuse to send her. we visited our local school and were horrified at the propaganda hanging in the cafeteria, the dank hallways, and the MEAN kids. and this is supposed to be a good(?!) school.
i remember back to my own schooling at this age. it was easy, i was bored and ultimately i was shipped off a couple days a week into another, more challenging class because i was so disruptive. i only wanted to go to shake it up, rattle a few bones, including my teacher's. poor mrs. roderick. eva is so much like me, except without quite so much drama in her life. she's so smart and can already do some things kids 2-3 years older than her can do. i can't fathom putting her into a class where she's purposely slowed down and taught to take a test. ack.
we've actually been subscribing to the un-schooling philosophy of john holt. child-led learning. so you wanna know about hawaii this week? ok. so we go the the library and online and check out everything we can about hawaii.... let her discover what volcanoes and hula dancing are... or whatever. possibly a little direction from mama and some scant workbooks, but mostly let her do it. this may not work, and i'm open to it not working. but for now, it IS working. it's been working.
she's such a cool little kid. she's got the best little punk rock hair cut and doesn't eat meat. we pray everytime we see a homeless person. she has no idea what mcdonalds is or what a soda tastes like. she has no clue about 'brand name clothes'. so i should send her to school to have them teach her the contrary? uh, no.
Monday, August 16, 2004 @ 09:23 AM my family | comments > 1
houston + july = fun?
making a one-day-only trip to houston for the sole purpose of getting gallery lighting at ikea on the cheap with two grumpy toddlers, an eight year old chihuahua, and a mama and papa who'd been out all night..... well, it doesn't make for the best of conditions to have such an adventure. but we did it and we're safe.
ikea was a madhouse of over-weight, over-heated texas folk complete with an under-construction parking lot. jiri and i spent about 2 hours wandering around alone in the blue-and-gold bowels of ikea with paul and eva off on another errand somewhere else in houston to conserve time, our babies' demeanor, and keep our toy dog out of the heat. we were outta' there by 3:30 and on the road back home by 4:30. but only after a quick run to whole foods for snacks. an eight year old chihuahua, as cute as she is, can't get us into any restaurants..... except in abilene.... at a thai place. true story.
Saturday, July 31, 2004 @ 10:40 PM my family | comments > 0
my sick baby boy
i have held my tiny boy in my arms all day long. i haven't even changed out of what i slept in last night. he's finally let me put him down on the couch for a nap. i had a whole list of things to do today and i don't even remember what they were.
Sunday, July 25, 2004 @ 07:02 PM my family | comments > 0
this one's for you, sissy
photo courtesy daniel.
Thursday, July 22, 2004 @ 06:38 PM my family | comments > 1
indonesian junk
it takes approxomately 16 minutes to get to fry's on nortwest highway from my house in the cliff. i don't know this because i timed it. i know this because eva and jiri made me play 'surrender' by cheap trick four times over. eva knows all the words. sigh.
what are paul and i doing to our kids?!
Thursday, July 22, 2004 @ 11:18 AM my family | comments > 0
on being married
being married is hard. so much to think about and be committed to. no wonder everyone breaks up. there's the issue of ill-timed attraction to someone else. there's kids. there's real life drama about money and lifestyle and faith... it's weird. if i'd known all this when i was 21 and about to get hitched, hmmm, maybe i would have waited. doubtful, but maybe. it's a good thing i married paul. he is a great guy simply because he allows me to feel the way i do about whatever and accepts me in spite of it. i'm not at fault because i'm attracted to someone else. or at fault because i'm a nut. and there's nothing wrong with me in his eyes because the kids are temporarily driving me out of my mind. i count myself to be a lucky gal with paul at my side.
Wednesday, July 14, 2004 @ 03:21 PM my family | comments > 1
insert punk rock hand signal here
eva rocks! not only did she just put up with me for an hour and a half while i printed, but she put up with tom petty too! there's something pretty funny about printing an exhibit called 'paris tabletops' and listening to cheesy americana sounds.
she wanted to know when she could start printing. it's a good question. when do i let her get her tiny little fingers into hazardous chemicals? so it's ok if mama does it, but she can't? i mean, i do use tongs for cryin' out loud, but stuff still gets everywhere. i told her after she turns six we can talk about it again. she's been hanging out with me in there since she was a baby in a backpack. she knows the process. she probably is itching to give it a try.
Sunday, July 11, 2004 @ 03:03 PM my family | comments > 0
there's a hairstylist screamin' to get out
i cut miss mimms' hair all off! it's a cryin' shame i don't have a digital camera. i kept saying, 'are you sure?' and she said 'yes, yes, yes!' so i did it. she looks so tough! the funny thing is, i managed a hair salon (a really high-end-type place) when i was pregnant with her. i sat for hours watching folks get their hair cut. HOURS! and this is the hair cut i had when she was born. it's like i have a mini-me. i love it.
Sunday, June 27, 2004 @ 08:30 PM my family | comments > 0
eva mimmsical
that's my baby girl at the lake.
Wednesday, June 23, 2004 @ 08:05 AM my family | comments > 0
eva mimms
eva and i are going to the lake house this weekend for movie-watching, staying up late and sleeping in. she's 5. it's so cool she's getting old enough to do stuff like this with her mama. we'll both take our cameras, of course. in many ways her photographs are far more revealing than mine. she's got a great eye. when you ask her what she wants to be when she grows up, she'll say, "a mama. i'm already a photogwafer."
