Life's little (and big) ironies...

A list of real life ironies...

• I have a horrible, passionate hatred of mouth-eating sounds. Just ask my family. It was a nightmare at the dinner table in my youth.
  
  Yet, Naomi's little smacks and lip licking when she eats is absolutely adorable and endearing to me.
  
  
• I also have this irrational sensory problem with fidgeting. Mindless playing with the remote control or a phone during a movie. Twiddling keys or pocket change in an elevator. I'd rather scrape paint off walls with my fingernails than see it.
  
  Yet, I have a daughter who is the fidgetiest baby I have ever met. She fidgets with everything. She can't just suck on a bottle; she searches for the nearest thread or piece of jewelry to pick at. She can't just sleep; she pulls at the hairs of her stuffed bear or caresses the texture of her blanket in her sleep too. I can't decide whether it bugs me or not.
  
  
• On the husband's birthday three years ago, we hung out at The Grove shopping center. (It's a really cool place at Christmastime.) We were wandering around and caught a glimpse of none other than Larry King and his stunning wife shopping at Marc Jacobs. We walked in, smiled and left. Then we debated back and forth whether we should say something. We didn't. But... 
  
  Exactly three years later, plus one day we spent the evening at the Kings' home in Beverly Hills. Oh and Shawn King is an absolute sweetheart. I'm honored to call that stunning woman a friend.
  
  
• Never in a million years did I ever want to be a working mom. Especially not full time. Yet, it's a necessity right now, and I have the skills and experience to do so.
  
  Who would have thought I would actually like it.
  
  
• I have a secret desire to move. My friend wanted to stay in L.A. passionately. She now lives where I want to live, and I'm in L.A.
  
  
• I was the first in my circle of friends to adopt and promote the Twilight Series books. Then I got tired of them and got annoyed when everyone else loved them. Then I was embarrassed when the first movie came out because it was so bad.
  
  Then, many years later, I found myself in the middle of the hubbub of the world premiere of the Hollywood film Breaking Dawn. Red... uh... black carpet and everything.
  
  
• The husband looked for work for a year and a half after he graduated. He finally got hired at an entertainment company and began the path to attaining his career goals.
  
  Then he got let go. At the worst time of year in the entertainment industry. I won't go into details, but trust me, it's ridiculous. Now we're back to square one. Bleh.
  
  
• The double irony here is that it just so happens to be at the same time my company is going through a sale transition. Really, no one's job is secure. Especially not mine.
  

Neal A. Maxwell, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles once said, "Irony is the crust on the bread of life's adversities." While there are some delicious parts, our lives are pretty crusty right now.

Happy First Birthday, Naomi!

We had a few friends and their adorable kiddies over for a little girlie party fun. 

Thank you to our personal photographer Marissa Mills. She is truly the dearest kind of friend.

Being "1" = Pure Joy 

An amazing gift from a wonderful friend.

"Baszhoo! Baszhoo!" (Balloons! Balloons!)

Delicious.

And another abundant thank you to Tiffany Jones for Naomi's tutu and hair pretty. 

They made the day. (For Mom, of course. Naomi tolerated it well.)

Being Exceptional, Opportunity and Success.

Today, October 10, marks one year from the day Naomi was due to be born. The slight change in the weather and little bit of rain has conjured many feelings from last year, and has left me reeling a little in the wake of the most difficult year of my life.

It's been hard thinking about what to write lately.

I have wanted to upload photos, but Naomi hates when I'm at the computer when she's awake and there is so much to do when she's asleep. So forgive me. Here's another photo-less blog post, and I'm afraid it's a little less than cheery.

An article on the cover of the Wall Street Journal inspired me to write today. It's got two photos in front and center -- one of Steve Jobs and one of his estranged biological father. You can see a little family resemblance. Apparently Steve's biological father is a successful businessman and owner of a casino in Reno, Nevada. He is also the biological father of another successful novelist, Mona Simpson. Moderately successful father -- two exceptionally successful children.

Although it wasn't the focus of the article in the newspaper at all, this story reminded me of the book Outliers, where the author poses a theory that successful people are successes because of their parents' careers, where they lived and literally when they were born -- down to the day.

Is it coincidence that this father has two very successful and creative children? I don't believe in coincidences; I believe everything has a reason even if it's not readily explainable. Perhaps there was a little help from their DNA. And because the two children were raised in environments (not with their biological father) where their creativity and skills were allowed to develop, the opportunity came and both children were ready to take it... and make it.

Does intelligence and advancement in certain areas make its way into the next generation even if parenting is not there to support it? How then, does parenting assist in the development of exceptional people?

This leads me to my persistent personal complex: I desperately want to be someone or do something "special" and "exceptional." And my life is anything but.

I'm terribly average.

Oh sure, anyone who knows me can name a number of qualities or skills where I have excelled, but I am certainly not exceptional in any of them. My desires for my life and windows of opportunity were not congruent with the skill level I had at the time. My DNA and hours of preparation seriously lacked when opportunity opened up for me. Therefore I've remained "just okay."

Want an example?  Take dancing.

My parents didn't have the money for a good portion of my childhood to put me in dance lessons consistently, year after year. I loved to dance, but I got self conscious when my body changed so I didn't pursue it through those awkward years. Then when auditions for teams in high school and early college years came, I tried out on a number of occasions, but was hopelessly unprepared to be among the skilled team members.

Through college, the love for dance was reignited and I pursued it course after course, year after year. However, I do not have a dancer's body because of 1) obvious DNA, and 2) the crucial teenage formative years were spent rather sedentary instead of in technique classes where my body would have been trained to do certain things, causing it to look not dancer prime. I also was nowhere near the skill level of the other dancers in my class who had been dancing nonstop since childhood. So while I was in the same course level, I was rarely chosen to have anything but a background position.

Though I progressed and enjoyed myself as my body learned to move, I was not -- nor will I ever be considered to be among the best, or exceptional. And I'm over 30; the window of opportunity to be exceptional is closed. It takes the teenage and college years to spend the hours of preparation so when opportunity comes in the late 20s or early 30s, it's prime for optimal success.

Not knowing this early enough in life, I spent those years doing other things.

And sadly, I still do other things than what I really want to do. But now, it's not about choice. It's about necessity. I'm living the consequence of my choices earlier in life. That's adulthood.

While this realization is often depressing to me, and particularly hard on a weary soul, I take comfort believing in generational progression. Naomi has two parents who have a pretty good perspective on life navigation, and who have made some steps toward excellence. While her mother may have  navigated her life short of being anything special, I believe I've made some progressive steps. Hopefully it's somewhere in her DNA. It gives a little comfort to my disheartened heart that I can help my daughter develop, perhaps quicker and more focused than I did. I often have my hands tied in her tutelage and will continue to have them tied when I spend 80% of the week away from her, but I can do what I can in the remaining 20%.

In generational progression, we stand on the shoulders who've gone before, even if it's only genetically. I see my older nieces thrive and excel in ways I didn't even think about when I was their age. I see them standing on their parents' shoulders. I believe that Steve Jobs' biological father gave him something, even if it was only DNA, that contributed to his and his sister's successes. I know it's possible and real.

But generational progression isn't automatic; it's everything about the little choices.

And though Naomi is only one year old this week, I have big hopes for her. And no, it's not that she become any one thing in particular. It is only my hope that Naomi will take whatever we've provided her in DNA or tutelage (or both!), and choose to use the developmental years and hours to practice and master whatever skill(s) she loves. So when the doors of opportunity open, she can walk right through confidently because she is well prepared.


She can be an exceptional success.

Finally.

I have been looking forward to this post for about three years. But it's here: an announcement of where the husband will begin his career in entertainment.

I have avoided speaking about it and the whole process because 1) he's extremely private, 2) it sorta depressed me talking about it, and 3) I'm a little superstitious. Seriously. From the time I was about 12 years I wouldn't write anything in my journal that was "going to happen," because I thought if I wrote about it, it wouldn't. In fact, I have pangs of worry that I'll jinx something just writing about it here.

But I am so happy I had to share.

The husband has accepted and signed the paperwork to begin working at Summit Entertainment on Monday.

Sound familiar? You may recognize this logo at the beginning of the following movies:
Twilight
New Moon
Eclipse

The Beaver (2011)
Red (2010)
Letters to Juliet (2010)
Furry Vengeance (2010)
Remember Me (2010)
Knowing (2009)
Push (2009)
Penelope (2006)
Step Up (2006) (the entire Step Up series 2, 3D, and 4)
The Brothers Grimm (2005)
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005)
Evita (1996)
Twelfth Night (1996)


And then these movies are coming out soon:

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 (2012)

Stainless Steel (2012) 

The Cold Light of Day (2012)

Man on a Ledge (2012) 

Step Up 4 (2012)

The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)

Warm Bodies (2012)

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 

He will be working in business and legal, and if you know my husband, you'll know what a great fit this is for him. He will be assisting two attorneys -- two very classy and very different women. The HR woman he's been working with calls them, "The Ladies." She has said, "Oh, the Ladies will be very happy you accepted," and "The Ladies have been under a deadline," etc. Steve has absolutely no problem with that. It's right down his alley.

And what does "business & legal" have to do with "producing"? Most people don't know what producers do, and to their credit, the title "producer" can have dozens of meanings. It is the only title in the industry that is negotiable, the husband says. Well, there are many roads to the role of a producer. This is one of them.

LA is a lot like high school with cliques, inner circles and reliance on the brand on your bum. So with the Summit brand on his bum and more solid individuals in his network, he will be able to carve out a path to an studio executive role or someday make the jump into create producing.

I'll talk more about this later.

It's been a rough year. The roughest in both our lives. The challenges are just shifting to something else, but regardless, its a huge weight off just knowing where we can move and knowing our journey has finally started!

...to be continued.


Oh and to preempt your questions:

• No, it's not likely he'll meet Robert Pattinson. But he'll know how much he'll get paid and whether he has demanded an unending supply of red M&Ms in his trailer.
  
  
• It's not likely he'll get invited to any premieres (yet), but I have a feeling he'll be coming home with some Twilight schwag.
  
  
• No, the husband does not like Twilight. But he might just become one real quick.
  

Crafting, Sewing & Re-fashioning -- L.A. Style

A friend of mine (we'll call her "Friend G") solicited her blog readers for input regarding some decorating ideas for her house last week. I have another friend (we'll call her "Friend T") (who ironically know each other from high school although they live on opposite sides of the country now) who, since I've known her, has referred to a few blogs for sewing and crafting ideas. There have been numerous times I've dropped in to her place and she proceeds to show me her project new ideas she got from so-and-so blog. They're cute and ingenious, and have seemed to me completely out of my scope of time and interest.

Until now.

When the aforementioned Friend G requested, with photos, "What should I do with this... and this space?" my first thought was colored in envy. She has a house. She has time to decorate, refinish, paint, sew, etc. She has a house. She has a room in her house that's just for an office with an adorable colored wall. She has a house.

You see, real estate in L.A. is a joke. The people in these beautiful, modest homes in our neighborhood have either 1) lived there since they bought the land for $20k, or 2) bought the homes mortgaged up to their eyeballs, or 3) moved to the neighborhood to be "modest," though they're independently wealthy, and park their X5 and Mercedes S-Class in front of their 2,000 sq.ft. $950k home.

Because we're going to live in L.A. until much later further notice, and we do not fit in any of the above three categories, we're looking at very modest living quarters for a while. Which I'm just fine with! I'm not complaining; it's just that I have felt so limited in expressing my creativity in my living quarters knowing that I'm "just renting." So our stuff ends up being hodge-podge, poorly organized, and not-so-attractive. The hubs and I have a lot of stuff too.

Back to Friday and Friend G... Upon her solicitation, I recalled one of the blogs that Friend T used to create a few fun things for her apartment. The style totally reminded me of Friend G. I couldn't remember which one it was so I went blog searching.

Before I knew it, I was completely entangled in a web of crafting and sewing blogs. (It was a slow day at work; what can I say?) I saw about a dozen projects of re-fashioning clothing and re-purposing household stuff, simple-but-adorable sewing, and functional-but-adorable toys and pieces for children. And I thought, "HEY! I CAN DO THAT!" Not only can I do that, but I want to do that.

Friday night I came home with fresh eyes. I looked at everything in my house with a new, creative eye. I asked myself, "What functional use could I do with that instead of throw it away and buy something in its place?" I saw new uses for the body butter jars in my bathroom when I'm done with them (yes, there are three, partially used jars because I like different scents for different moods), and I envisioned what I could do with the hubby's really nice shirts that he never wears because there's a prominent stain on the arm and he doesn't have the heart to get rid of them. (They are very nice shirts.)

I am inspired.

So thank you Friend G, for the unintentional nudge for creativity, and thank you Friend T, for taking an extra day to get back to me with that one blog name. If you hadn't of solicited the feedback and if I had the blog name right then, I wouldn't have gone searching. Because of the two of you, I'm ready to implement my own ideas and sew children's dresses, design quiet books, make trendy hair flowers, and otherwise make my modest L.A. living space attractive and unique, regardless of however long we're here.

Now I need to make the time...

And for those who are curious, here are a list of the blogs and/or projects I'm so excited to dig into:
http://homemadebyjill.blogspot.com/2009/06/finished-quiet-book.html
http://sewsaucy.blogspot.com/2010/08/my-take-on-mens-shirt-refashion.html
http://sewsaucy.blogspot.com/2010/06/sarahs-3-hour-sundress-how-to.html
http://sewsaucy.blogspot.com/2010/07/new-use-for-some-old-junk.html
http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2010/08/blog-post.html
http://windhula.blogspot.com/2010/06/diy-ottoman-tutorial.html
http://6thstreetdesignschool.blogspot.com/2010/08/lamp-love.html
http://www.etsy.com/shop/lemondropdreams

In the fashion of these blogs, and to "pay forward" for the tutorials and ideas, I plan on posting my own tutorials and soliciting your feedback on a few items I own that I know have functional AND attractive potential, but haven't envisioned it yet. Perhaps I'll even have enough to create a whole new "LA Creative" blog (or something).

GRADUATION!

On June 11, BMW-Boy-turned-Producer-Boy graduated from UCLA with an MFA in Producing for Film and Television. Wahoo! His father and brother came to join us for the weekend. Our celebrations were light and toned down. For some reason a graduate degree doesn't incite a fraction of the excitement a bachelor's degree does.

The actual ceremony was lovely, and surprisingly short and lively. Theater/Film/Television people are boisterous, especially the undergrads. It was funny to see how crazy-out-of-control-excited they were in comparison to the seasoned (and perhaps a little jaded?) graduate students.

One way or the other, we are HAPPY the hubby has closed this chapter of his life!

At the Getty Museum on my birthday. It's a lovely place.

Not even close to what it felt like at Hawaii beaches a year ago, but it'll sortof do.

All ready to walk!

With Barbara Boyle, the department head and a beloved woman by all the graduate producer students.

Proud wife!

Proud father.

The Crowe Guys

Goodbye For Now, Grandma

My sweet Grandma Florence Lydia Larsen passed away at the beginning of April. She struggled physically for a long time with arthritis, congestive heart failure, asthma and a myriad of other ailments. I grew up next door to Grandma so her presence was an integral part of my childhood. The weekend was a healing, pleasant time and we celebrated Grandma's life well.

Florence Lydia Larsen Turpin
July 1923 - April 2010

I don't have time to write any memories right now, but I just realized that I didn't post any photos of the weekend...

My nieces drew, colored, decorated and hung an adorable welcome sign for the hubby and me.

Did we feel loved? Um... yeah.

My brothers and cousins as pall bearers.

My dad (center) and his two brothers. They are the remaining three members of their immediate family, having lost both sisters and now both parents.

One of the littlest great-grandchildren, my niece Ariana saying hello to me through her daddy's knees.

Grandpa Darrell (my dad) explaining ties to a family member whose headstone is near my Grandma Turpin's. The kids seemed fascinated hearing all the family stories all weekend...

Producer Boy's Film Shoot

So the hubs produced a short for the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation on education. He used a story of a man named Pearl Fryer who has an incredible topiary garden he started with throw-away plants from a local nursery. It was a great experience for Producer Boy. Here are a few stills from the film shoot.

Pearl creates all of these in his head. Never draws them out.

But he sees what they're going to be at the beginning.

Amazing.

Pearl also creates sculptures with scrap metal. You can't really tell here,

but they're detailed and as unique as each topiary creation.

The production team with Pearl (second from left)

Genetic History, Parental Influence & Agency

Way back to my second year of college when I was in the middle of my confused, what-do-I-want-to-do-with-my-life phase, I changed my major and minor 3 or 4 times. One of these choices was a short-lived, two-semester stint with a child development minor. I took nearly all the requirements for the minor in two semesters, and dozens of child psychology assignments, university day care hours and preschool lesson plans later, I realized I was being trained to be a day care professional, which was (and is) definitely NOT the life I wanted to live.

A few things still irk me about the mentality of the training, one of which was the approach to the "nature vs. nurture" argument. I had a child psychology teacher who either didn't communicate effectively to help us understand what she was talking about, or didn't completely care about what she was required to discuss in the class. Probably both. Regardless, I remember reading about and discussing nature vs. nurture and thinking the whole time, "something is seriously missing in this discussion. It's not one way or the other..."

Although I haven't kept up on the latest studies, I believe the consensus among scholars, sociologists and child psychologists is: it's a combination of both. No, I am not among the list of three aforementioned groups of brain lovers, but I can tell you something I've seen out of anecdotal observation and a little bit of pondering. I propose that the "nature vs. nurture" argument isn't two sided, it's three dimensional:

1) Family Genetic History
2) Parental Influence / Rearing
3) Agency / Personal Choice

Anecdote 1 - NATURE:  I have a dear friend whom I've known since their first daughter was toddling in diapers. That little toddler is now 16 years old and she has 5 siblings for a total of, yes, 6 children in the family. The friend (mother) is an intelligent, witty woman with an uncanny ability to write frustrating situations humorously. Knowing what I know about her and her husband's exceptional parenting, I laughed and was fascinated by this particular blog post of hers: Measure of a Mom.

Anecdote 2 - NURTURE:  I have a sister with 5 daughters, the eldest being 11 years. With a house full of 6 emotional, dramatic females, you'd think their home was a mad house. It is not. I have several memories of arriving at their home on a random afternoon to find the two oldest quietly sitting on the couch reading books, one on the floor doing a puzzle, one at the kitchen table drawing or painting and the youngest down for a nap. It was quiet, peaceful and in order. Of course their house gets cluttered and lived in, of course my sister and her husband lose their patience at times, and of course there are sister disagreements. But overall, their girls do not bicker or call each other names, they do not wail in grocery stores for treats, and they know how to behave themselves in church and concerts.

Yes, concerts. My parents tell a story of sitting with the little girls while their mother (my sister) played the violin in a symphony concert performance. The girls are used to attending these concerts from a very young age, paying attention to pieces they know or like (since the music is played in their home) or drawing pictures on notepads when they are not interested in the music. At the close of a particular concert a few older ladies turned around to leave when they saw the 4 little girls (I think their daddy had the youngest in his arms asleep elsewhere), and were visibly startled. They commented to my parents how beautiful they were, but particularly, that they "had no idea they were enjoying a concert sitting in front of a family of small children."

One would certainly say my sister and her husband's parenting and nurturing have everything to do with all five little girls growing up so peacefully.

NEUROSCIENTIST'S STUDY - The Three Ingredients: This is an article from NPR about the brains of psychopaths and a neuroscientist's discovery in his own family history. The writer says there are three "ingredients" to making a psychopath: brain patterns, genetic makeup and abuse and/or violence in childhood.

The article clearly states it's generalized and oversimplified, but it's fascinating nonetheless. Here, this neuroscientist has all the family history and the brain patterns to make him a psychopath (nature), yet he is not. They say it's because he was loved and doted upon as a child (nurture).


I appreciate this article's direction and how it caused me to think about it all deeper. But I believe it's missing one key ingredient in the reasoning this particular man is not a psychopath: agency, or personal choice. I think we could combine the first two ingredients, brain patterns and genetic makeup, and label them both as "genetic tendencies" or nature. Then the second ingredient would be how a child is reared, which includes parenting, education, and the opportunities the child has for full emotional and social development. And the third, agency and accountability, comes in at older childhood (about 8 years). It's not just about nature vs. nurture why a person turns out the way he or she does. It has to do with how the person chooses to use his or her genetics makeup and childhood rearing to be a good, hardworking person or a psychopath.

Oh sure, there are definite genetic diseases that limit a person's ability of understanding and choice such as Down's Syndrome, Fragile X Syndrome and the like. A person with one of those may never know the full power of agency with their genes limiting their bodies in certain ways. They were definitely "born that way." But do they stand on the same level as obesity, alcoholism, sexual orientation, and, as the NPR article above introduces, psychopathy? All of the latter categories have used the same "I was born this way" argument.

I would contest that genetics (nature) and childhood development (nurture) do have a great deal of influence on a person to be a certain way. And the choice to do a particular act or another may be extremely more difficult for a person in one of those latter categories. However, we may underestimate the power of the third dimension: choice. We may just be able to choose more in our lives that we give ourselves credit for.

Life of a Producer's Wife

I know I need to add more photos in my posts, but I have more to "say" than "show" right now...

A few months ago the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation approached UCLA's film department and asked for submissions (short films) for a campaign the foundation is implementing to enact policy change regarding non-traditional students in higher education. Submissions were required to be from a team of 3 grad students -- producer/director/writer, and they could submit as many well-prepared ideas as they wanted. Out of more than 70 submissions, the hubby's team was one of 5 or so who were accepted as possible projects early this month to be fully funded by the foundation. However,that didn't mean it was a done deal.

They've gone through several revisions, adjustments, etc. with their concept. I have forgotten how many all-nighters or almost-all-nighters the hubs has pulled to make deadlines. As this project has unfolded, most evenings have gone like this:

I pick him up from class Monday-Thursday at 10:00 p.m. We have a brief conversation on the drive home. He grabs a bite to eat and works on his laptop while I get ready for bed. I interrupt him for a few minutes to pray and read scriptures with me. Then I fall asleep listening to his voice chattering away with his director on Skype in the next room. This goes on for hours. Poor guy... I know he wants to sleep.

On Wednesday, the foundation gave his project the "green light." This is cause for great rejoicing for a number of reasons. First, this qualifies for one of his requirements for graduation -- producing and delivering a short film. But this opportunity means that it's not being funded by the Crowes, but by the Gates' Foundation accounts! This will also be a wonderful opportunity for the hubby to travel, meet some cool people and have more hands-on producing experience.

But with this "green light," I also saw a heavy burden rest on his shoulders. I got a taste of the producer's weight of responsibility and a morsel of what's to come in his professional career. The final outcome and the success of this project rests on his shoulders. However, this project isn't the only other thing he's juggling! He has 1 1/2 quarters left till he graduates, a thesis to prepare (which is an entire plan for a new full-length feature film), plus his normal classes, and he's a T.A. for three courses this quarter. He's swamped.

My heart goes out to him as he's being molded, stretched, tried and pushed through all this. But the same heart also skips a beat in excitement thinking about the man he'll be on the other side, namely, June.

Many may look at the long hours and days on end we spend apart and the few moments we have together as a difficult strain. Oh sure, I'd rather be chillin' at a restaurant or cuddling in front of the TV together, but I see this as a very small sacrifice in helping the man become what he needs to be.

So the wife of the producer works a full day, spends the evening alone, endeavors to keep things clean, attempts to keep quick-fix-healthy food in the house, helps the man with various design projects (which now includes his thesis), endeavors to be there for a listening ear whenever he needs it, and tries to be as little of a nuisance and as much of a pleasant, non-needy person to be around. It's amazing how far a little support like goes.

And we're only beginning. But I think it's a good place to start.

When I have the money...

I had a friend who talked about when she has a lot of money (someday), she will buy Tide laundry detergent because of how good it smells, not the cheap stuff. That got me thinking about the little things that don't really matter, but would make life a whole lot more pleasant.

LG Blu-Ray Home Theater System: I love Pandora. I really enjoy Netflix. I would really like to love and enjoy Pandora and Netflix away from my computer, and why not throw in watching YouTube flicks on our big screen too?

This seems to be a pretty dang good solution. This is only 5.1 surround sound, not the 7.1 that BMW boy would prefer, but heck, I don't think he's really going to care.

LED HD 55" Flatscreen Television: And that brings us to the next item. We watch a lot of movies. I don't need a big fattie TV till we get the space for a home theater. But I would appreciate an upgrade from our one little 22-incher that we got for about $150 for Valentines day when we were first married. We didn't have a TV and I said all I wanted for the evening in '04 was to sit home with him watching DVDs. I'm an easy date. What can I say?

Unlimited Minutes and Unlimited Texting: This image is "Rollover Minutes Mom for AT&T." While I appreciate rollover minutes, we're still under a 700-minute budget between 2 of us. BMW boy insisted we get iPhones, but AT&T has the most expensive plan out there, and additional $10 per month for 200 texts per person. You know how fast those go in a texting world? So someday, I'm going to have an unlimited plan.




And last, but not least, there's the entryway of my someday-to-be house. The details of the rest of the house change every now and then, but the entryway stays the same. I know exactly what it looks like. Here are some images that come close: (courtesy of shutterstock thumbnails)

Happy 2010!

Are we calling it "two-thousand-ten" or "twenty-ten"? The jury is still out on that one for me...

I have a feeling this year is going to be one of wonderful changes. For one, nearly everyone in my family is moving homes this year. My parents are downsizing and currently preparing to put their house on the market, my oldest sister just moved from Hemet, CA to Atlanta, GA, my other sister in Eagle Mountain is looking to expand and is also preparing to put their home on the market, and my youngest brother also moved into a new apartment somewhere in the Salt Lake Valley. (My bro. in Boise is staying put, however.)

And us? Well... graduation is looming in 5 short months and we live in student housing. I hope we can stay under the radar long enough, or at least find somewhere close enough to stay in the stake until next January. (I'm the stake music co-chair and I'd really like to do the Stake Christmas Program again.)

Regardless, I LOVE house hunting. I love looking at photos, comparing prices and amenities, checking out the neighborhoods, and imagining my stuff and my life in that area. I think about what the ward will be like, and what new friends I'll make. It's an adventure to me!

I suppose it stems from my early years when my mother spent so much time thinking about moving. We looked at model homes for fun, toured the Parade of Homes, and compared floorplans. I remember sketching my own floorplans during recess in elementary school!

Moving or not, this year is bound to have all kinds of adventures. The husband is already ridiculously busy in school and it's only the first week. He's T.A.-ing for three classes this quarter, things are moving forward on his movie short for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and he's getting GREAT feedback on his thesis. That movie is going to be so cool.

1 Year Anniversary

Today, September 2, 2009 marks one year since our arrival in Los Angeles, California. Has it gone fast? Has it gone slow? It feels like... well... a year.

It's been difficult and pleasant. I thought I'd mention a couple notable experiences that have marked our new life in Los Angeles:

• Sept. 2, 2009 – Depart Utah. Stayed overnight in St. George after a tire blew out on I-15.
• Sept. 3, 2009 – Arrive in Los Angeles. The weather is beautiful. The traffic is thick (even in the middle of the day). And our patience is extremely thin to non-existent. We move in our stuff. A friendly neighbor offers us popsicles. The following week we spend unpacking with a couple trips to the beach. The Husband’s cousin stayed with us for a few days. He was super nice to help us out. Glad he was patient with us.
• Sept. 7 – Ant infestation and repacking our stuff into boxes for fumigation.
• Sept. 8 & 9 – Re-unpack our stuff.
• Sept. and Oct. – Looking for work and building my Web site (http://www.theluisadesign.com/) to feature my portfolio and resume. The Husband started school and made a few close friends in his program.
• Nov. 3 – Started work at C&A Advertising. It’s pleasant, but quiet.
• Nov. 7 – Brief trip to Utah for a date with my dad to the premiere of A Giant Among Men, a film about Gordon B. Hinckley.
• November – Auditioned and was cast in Scarlet Pimpernel, but turned it down when I realized that they have rehearsals and performances on Sundays. Discovered that’s standard here. Sadness.
• Dec. 5 – The Husband’s birthday. Took him to The Grove Mall and had a delightful time. It’s an incredible place there.
• December & January – Had a hard time feeling Christmas-y. Uneventful holidays, although it was pleasant being with my sister’s family. The Husband is called as 2nd Counselor in the bishopric.
• February – Loving 60-70 degrees every day. The Husband’s in the middle of the 2nd Quarter of school; doesn’t realize all the stuff he’s learning, but he’s constantly talking in “film speak.”
• February 14 – Laid off from C&A Advertising. Complete surprise. It was dreary and rainy that day, just like how I felt inside. Started rebuilding my website from scratch.
• March – Still loving 60-70 degrees every day. Still looking for full-time work, although I’ve picked up some freelance stuff. The Husband is frustrated with the weaknesses of the program. We knew that this wouldn’t be easy, but it’s been difficult in different ways than we thought. I’m reading lots of scripts with and for the Husband to find his thesis project, which can also be a piece to get his producing in the real world too.
• April – Still loving 60-70 degrees. Back full-time at C&A Advertising. It’s quiet and insecure. I feel like it’s not very permanent. Also had an opportunity to sing an Easter Cantata; deeply moved and met some very neat people. Assisted the Husband in casting for scenes for class projects. It was neat being on “the other side of the table.” My family came to stay with us for a few days. It was like heaven having them near me like that.
• May – It’s still 60-70 degrees, and it’s starting to feel chilly. Will summer come? How long will this job at C&A last?
• June – The Husband finished his first year of grad school. Secures (now owns) a script for his thesis project. Trip to Hawaii. I turned 30.
• July 14 – Laid off from C&A Advertising… again.
• July – Reading books and scripts. Looking for work. I’m good at it now. (Had 5 interviews in 3 days!) The Husband travels to Virginia and then New York City for more than a week to help his brother out. When he told me he was standing on 42nd and Broadway, I started to weep. He saw Mary Poppins and I was green with envy. Has lunch with Wendy Finerman (producer of Forest Gump, Devil Wears Prada, Stepmom, P.S. I Love You).
• July 31-Aug. 2 – We meet up in Chicago for his Dad’s Baptism.
• Aug. 3 – First day of work at Grubb & Ellis Company. Starting to feel a little warmer—like summer.
• Aug. 11-12 – The ants are back. Packing, fumigating and unpacking... again.
• Aug. 13-15 – The Husband’s deep sea fishing trip with my dad, brothers and brothers-in-law. Spent the weekend with my sister in Hemet.
• The rest of August – It got up to 85 in West LA. I like it a little warmer. I miss theater. I sing all the time, imagining I’m auditioning or on stage. It feels so far away. I wish I could go to the beach more often. It’s so close… but real life gets in the way.

I have my eyes set on a future existence full of flavor, excitement and adventure even though right now it’s quite vanilla and... well... normal.

The Beginning of a New Life...

The trip to Chicago... After a canceled flight, a dead car battery, leaving my apartment 20 minutes before my flight was supposed to take off, and some generous TSA security guards who pushed me right to the front (thank you!), I met up with the husband and Michael (they were already there after a trip to NYC) at the O'Hare airport almost 6 hours later than originally planned. But it felt good to finally just be there.

Dave looks totally different. His eyes are bright, he talks with an up-lilt in his voice, and even his skin looks healthier. But what's the most different is his countenance. He is one happy man.

The night I arrived, Dave showed us around the hotel he works at in Morris, Illinois. We enjoyed a pleasant few minutes together; Dave even pulled out some photos he has kept of the kids. (I had never seen baby photos of the husband before!)

At lunch, we heard Dave humbly pray for the first time. The tenderness in the room was unspoken, but felt deeply. After a very relaxing morning and afternoon, we readied for the evening's great event.

Leaving for the baptismal service - August 1.

Filling out the the Church records paperwork with the sister missionaries.

Dave Crowe with the sister missionaries who have been preparing him for baptism.

Michael Crowe, Dave Crowe and Steve Crowe.

The whole Crowe clan, plus Kelly & Betty Swartz. (left)
Dave's brother Joe and his family made the overnight trip to celebrate this occasion too. (middle & right)

The husband and dad - all ready for the baptismal service.

I think this says it all...

Man of the Seas Hitting the Waters of Baptism

The photo above is of David Crowe, the husband's father, on a historic ferris wheel ride in May 2008. You see, Dave hasn't been on a ferris wheel since he was a little boy, when his older brother shook the carriage so hard that it terrified Dave enough to vow never to ride one again.

With some loving, but pointed goading from his two near-30-year-old boys (the husband and brother Michael), Dave rode the gentle ferris wheel in Utah. This single experience set off a series of life-changing adventures including riding a soaring Sky Coaster and sky diving! But most importantly, something about that experience and other spiritual experiences since then caused Dave to readdress all of his longest-held, deepest fears.

And one of those life-changing adventures is religion.

Shortly after returning from the Crowe family trip to Hawaii in June, the husband was on Facebook chatting with his dad. Dave revealed that he had been thinking about his life and wanted to make some changes.

The husband asked, "So, what's the first thing you are you going to do about it?"
Dave replied, "Stop smoking."
"That's great!"
Dave also said he was planning on changing his schedule around to have Sunday's off.
"I know of a church nearby you could go to on your day off," the husband nonchalantly replied.
"That's what I was thinking..."

A conversation ensued where the husband drew upon some old Navy terms (Dave served in the Navy several years in his youth) and a family memory analogy that Dave latched on to passionately. The Navy terms Steve remembered from the tour on the Destroyer in Hawaii were perfect.

"So that's it," the husband said. "You gotta 'dog that door' on smoking and never open it again..."

He also recalled a story of wrestling, details of which I will need to share at another time to keep this entry a readable length. Dave talked about what he's experienced observing and hearing about his two sons, especially regarding faith and prayer.

"You two used that prayer thing on me before," Dave said. "I know that prayer thing works."

The following Sunday Dave shows up to the nearby LDS Ward Building a few minutes early and was greeted immediately by the bishop.

"Hello, I'm Bishop Budge," he said. (I think that's his name, anyway!) "Are you visiting with us today?"
"Well, sure!" Dave replied, "But I'm plannin' on joinin'!"
"Oh! Well... you need to talk to the missionaries!"

He then introduced him to three sister missionaries (yea for sister missionaries!) and they set up the first meeting for the following day.

Dave later told me that this ward had started a "40-Day Fast" for missionary work in their ward. This is where families in the ward take assigned consecutive days in the 40-day period to fast (go without food and water for the space of 2 meals accompanied by concerted prayer). They had only been 1 week into the fast when he showed up to the ward.

"I was the first from their 40-Day Fast!" he said. "I got a whole ward prayin' for me!"

He's had a lot more than one ward praying for him. His sons have shed many tears on behalf of their father over the years -- pained at some of his choices, rejoiced in some of his small but significant improvements. But now, their tears will certainly fall freely in one of the greatest moments of each of their lives.

David Crowe will be baptized on August 1, 2009.

He is in this for the long-haul too. He talked about coming out to California next summer and "...gettin' the family sealin' done." When the husband informed him that a person needs to be a confirmed member of the Church for a year, and one also needs to have a spouse for a family sealing, he simply replied, "Really? ...bummer."

That will surely come, however. I have no doubt. Dave talks with a cheerful lilt in his voice that his son hasn't really heard before -- ever, and he takes great pride in knowing the answers in the discussions with the sister missionaries. His two sons (and countless others through the years) have prepared Dave for this great moment.

I feel like rejoicing!

(img: Downtown LA skyline. It really looks this blue today!)

It may seem a little strange that I'm in such a delightful mood considering my circumstances, but I don't care. I'm going to be happy and optimistic anyway!

You see, I don't know what the odds are of getting laid off from the same job twice in one year, but I've managed it. In February, the ad agency I was working for let my entire department go, but brought me (only) back on shortly after. That wet, dreary February day seemed to reflect exactly the dark weepy-ness I felt.

Through the last five months I've felt terribly insecure every day. Perhaps it was because of the abrupt nature they let me go the first time, or perhaps it was a "gut sense" that told me that working there was very temporary. So when I got wind that the company was in a worse position than it was in February, I dusted off my resume and quietly sent it out.

This resume, by the way has been polished, buffed and shined three times this past year. (Once when we moved here this time last year, and the two times mentioned above.) And if I don't say so myself, I've gotten pretty good at this "application" thing. :)

So last Wednesday when the boss pulled me into the conference room, I knew exactly what was happening, and I was calm, collected and even happy. I left that day, looked up into the bright, open blue sky above me and thanked heaven for the final release. I feel empowered.

In the previous three working days, I've had 5 in-person interviews at companies I'm interested in, doing things I'm interested in doing, and all in close proximity to our home in West LA. I feel blessed. Something is bound to work out in our favor.

So rejoicing... I am! Who cares that these positions have received 300-400 applicants and the unemployment is at 10%+ in the state? There's a place out there for me, and they're excited to have me! Let's just find each other now and get to offering me that brilliant job...

Swimming with Dolphins!

From top left: Sea Turtle @ Sea Life Park
/Lindsay, me, the husband, Dave - gettin' ready to swim! /
/ The "foot push" /
/ The husband cradling a dolphin (They're so smooth!) /
/Friendly and talented otter /
/ Kisses from a dolphin /
/Dave, the husband, me, Lindsay /
/ Michael and little Brandon giggling at the cute penguins /

We started out early Monday morning (June 8) to arrive at Sea Life Park right when it opened. We had an appointment to play with the friendliest mammals in the sea -- one of the things the husband has wanted to do his whole life. These were born captive and well-trained dolphins, putting on a show almost all the time.

Sea Life Park had several attractions to keep us entertained throughout the day including penguin shows, exceptional dolphin acrobatics, lazy otters, sea turtles, exotic fish and touch-and-feel salt water creature pools.

After getting our fill of the captive sea animals, we enjoyed the rest of the afternoon and evening at the beach.

Transformers: More Than the Eye Can Meet

The Transformers movie-going experience started last week with the purchase of tickets to The Proposal. "You OK with going to the 10:00 p.m. IMAX showing of Transformers next Wednesday?" the husband asked over the phone as he stood in front of the self-pay kiosk at the theaters across the street from my work office. He had arrived a little early to pick me up that day so he "wandered" over to the theaters for a little weekend preparation (The Proposal, particularly).

I knew Transformers was one worthy of the 6-story IMAX screen, 10:00 p.m. sounds a lot better than the 12:01 a.m. showings we've dragged ourselves to in the past. "Sounds great," I affirmed. He selected seats closest to our favorites as possible, swiped the card, and $54.00 later, we have tickets to two flicks.

And I didn't have a second thought about it till Monday night.

"Did you see the tickets?" he asked, shuffling around his pile of textbooks and scripts on the dining table. "I left them right here..."

Suddenly a flash of the previous afternoon's hurried straightening of the area for a late Sunday lunch flitted across my mind. I had recalled seeing a receipt and what I assumed were random movie stubs. And then picking them up. And thinking they were like the dozens of other ticket stubs that we both leave lying around (which is one of the drawbacks of seeing dozens of movies in a short period of time). And tossing them in the kitchen garbage. And then taking that garbage to the dumpster.

Steve spent the rest of the evening combing the house, reshuffling the textbooks and scripts, and even dumpster diving. Unfortunately --and fortunately-- the garbage truck had been there that morning so it was obvious our white, Costo-brand kitchen garbage bag with red ties was long gone. No need to delve through 2-day-old meat trimmings and vegetable peels...

Steve drove over to the theater to speak with a manager about our plight, but apparently they don't keep records of individual transactions. It's not like tickets to a play where they have your name, the day you purchased them and exactly where you're sitting somewhere in a database. Which has caused me to think, "Why don't they keep that information?" Wouldn't producers and theater owners want to have more detailed stats of who is seeing what movie?

Film industry infrastructure analyzation aside, all we could do was to talk to the house manager the night of the show, and hope he can help us out. Skipping ahead to Wednesday (last night), we came to the theater armed with a copy of our bank statement's transaction of $54.00 to the Bridge Cinemas, but no proof of which movie, let alone which seats we selected.

The guy was great. Steve recalled where on the screen he selected the little green squares, and vaguely recalling the numbers "K1 and 2." He gave us a little manager's pass and we slipped into the two open seats we believed to be ours.

When no one came and challenged us for "K1 and 2" as the lights dimmed, we quietly rejoiced in our fortune. All the seats were filled around us, and Steve knew he selected seats on this side. But then, a couple came right to our row. My stomach tightened a little.

But then the usher called to a man sitting in "J5," the row right in front of us. They had some discussion and the man previously sitting in J5 left. Apparently he had J5 for another 10:00 showing of Transformers.

The film began to start and I began to relax. But then another couple came right to our row and the usher again examined the tickets with his flashlight. "That's it," I thought. "We're screwed."

Imagine my delight when he called to the people sitting in "K5 and 6." Same deal as the guy sitting in J5. "Phew!" I thought. "What are the odds?"

So our eyes almost didn't meet Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. But as the cool IMAX graphics warmed up that massive screen, and the digital surround sound sweeps around, impressing our ears with its power, I finally relaxed.

Cool things about seeing Transformers in IMAX:

1. The cool graphics at the beginning.
2. No pre-show ads or 25 minutes of preview trailers.
   
3. The picture is so big, I could totally see Megan Fox's fake eyelashes coming off in the corner of her eye in one scene.
4. The sounds of the machines transforming for battle is really cool.
   
5. The 'sploshions are really, really big.

Cool things about Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

1. The 'sploshions are really, really big.
   
2. . . . ?
   

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the movie, but I didn't expect much when I went. I laughed. I thought the effects were cool. You definitely get your money's worth in special effects! And yes, Megan Fox is a beautiful woman. Her striking blue eyes accentuated by ridiculously obvious thick fake lashes and perfectly plumped, gloss-covered lips were well highlighted in several scenes. I have a feeling, however, that most of the cheering, gawking audience wasn't paying attention to her, um, eyes.

But how she maintained pristinely white pants while running through the dusty streets of Jordan or Egypt (or wherever they were), and kept on sexy heels while running from the machined monsters throughout the movie, was beyond me.

And can someone tell me why these advanced, emotional machines -- who can fly, shoot bombs from their arms and land on top of skyscrapers with surgical precision -- when they're fighting, they stand erect and hit each other like the little red and blue boxing guys toy from the '70s?

So about the story? Well... um... did I mention that it has really cool effects?

That being said, the "really cool effects" sortof bothered me at times. I mean, those inorganic alien machines transform so quickly, and their metallic detail is so fine, when they're fighting around, hitting each other with earthquake-creating force, they look (and sound) like the inside of a sink garbage disposal when an entire drawer of forks and spoons gets dumped inside.

Where the first Transformers was eye candy, there is SO MUCH fighting in this movie, it turns into day-after-Halloween candy overload. It's more than the eye can handle.

At the end of the movie, we sat through the entire credit roll with three-quarters of the audience, I suppose waiting for something. Perhaps that little extra scene that producers throw in every now and then? Perhaps we wanted more... as if there should be more to meet the eye.

(Okay, okay... I'll lay off the puns now. My Dad would be proud of those, you know.)

And one more tidbit of the movie-going experience for the Crowes: While we were watching the credits, a group of people cheered when someone's name appeared on the screen. Awww... how cute. Someone got a credit for working on the flick and he brought his friends to see it. Only in LA...

Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat! USS Russell Tour

Top Left: - Rear view of the USS Russell docked at Pearl Harbor -
- Michael assisting Brandon as he steered -
- Michael framed and hung this painting in the mess hall year ago -
- View from the front of the boat (big guns behind that one gun in center) -
- Me sporting the stylish white hard hat; it's all the rage, you know -
- Center: Monkey Pod Tree & Kamehameha's summer cottage -
Bottom Center: Brandon with "Chief," Michael's superior who took us on the personal tour -
- Amy Crowe, (holding sleeping Brooklynn), Brenda, Chief, Michael (holding Brandon), Nancy (holding Nathan), Dave, me, the husband, and Lindsay -

Michael, my brother-in-law, served as a Culinary Specialist on the USS Russell (a Destroyer in the U.S. Navy) for four years. The boat happened to be docked at Pearl Harbor when we were there, and Michael got permission for the family to tour the boat on Sunday afternoon (June 7) .

We all had to wear hard hats, and I'm glad I did! Those doorways and ladders between levels within the boat are tight squeezes! I hit my head 3-4 times...

The coolest part was definitely the control room. (Not pictured because we weren't allowed to take any photos - real national security reasons...) It was dim and cramped, and looked like it jumped right off a movie set. It was in that room that navigation, radar detection, and "enemy engaging" would be controlled. Made me want to go home and watch Crimson Tide and Hunt for Red October.

Earlier in the day we took professional family photos (should be coming soon!), attended Church, and ate lunch at a beautiful park called Moanalua Gardens, where King Kamehameha (ka-MEH-ah-MEH-ah) build his summer cottage a century or so ago. There were dozens of "Monkey Pod Trees," also called Hitachi Trees, that provided abundant shade in on this sunny, humid day in Oahu.

It was all so picturesque, but I was beginning to discover that everything in Hawaii is picturesque.

Aloha! Arrival and Michael's BYU-Hawaii Graduation

From top left: Michael Crowe (bro) & his oldest boy Brandon /
/ Dave Crowe (dad) at Kailua Beach /
/ Whole Fam - Amy Crowe, me, Amy's baby Brooklynn, the husband, Nancy (Mike's wife) holding Nathan (baby), Michael, Brandon (below Mike), Dave Crowe, Lindsay Simon (sis), Brenda Simon (mom) /
/ the husband with a fresh, barely cooked prawn /
/ Anna and the husband at Michael's graduation /
/ Michael and the husband at Kailua Beach /
/ Michael has conquered undergrad /
/ the husband congratulating the graduate /

The husband and I joined his family in Hawaii for his brother Michael's graduation. It was the first time in 7 years the whole family had been together - a long overdue vacation for all of us. We stayed in Kaneohe, on the east side of Oahu and went to Kailua Beach the day we arrived.

Michael graduated with a bachelor's degree in International Business and is on his way to Pace University for an MFA at the Actor's Studio this fall. The day of his graduation we ate lunch at a hole-in-the-wall outdoor diner, Romy's Shrimp and Prawns. That was an adventure eating prawns/shrimp that had been caught that day and barely cooked!