A notice to Southen California drivers out there...

PLEASE learn how to drive in the rain. If you can't do it, STAY HOME.


*drive a little slower than normal (some of you speed demons are a menace) BUT please don't drive like an eighty year old woman. It is not like there is slick ice on the road. A normal speed where you are in complete control will suffice. Keep several car lengths between you and the car ahead of you.

*put your freakin' headlights on. OMG...it is pouring down rain and someone with a GREY car doesn't think it is prudent for other drivers to see him? This is an easy one, folks.

*Give yourself plenty of time to change lanes, exit the freeway etc. There is really no need to cut over two or three lanes when there is standing water. I can't believe how many people cut me off this week!

Living in Southern California is funny when any sort of weather hits. You would have thought we had a blizzard. Many of my friends didn't leave the house (which might be a good thing...less people on the roads). The people that did leave the house seemed freaked out. I suppose it is tough getting used to driving in driving rain when it only rains a few times a year (and even then it seems to rain overnight and clear up during the day). I can't even imagine how NUTS the roads were like in Las Vegas this week. If people can't hack driving in the rain, I am sure snow blew their minds!

One of my favorite nights EVER...

Jackson and I had our very first "date" night on Sunday. In fact, he and I haven't spent a lot of quality time together (other than during nap times) since Amelia was born. This is a fact I am regretting. Luckily, it isn't too late to start. I enjoyed every minute of it. I think he did, too.

It was such a grown-up night. We dressed up in holiday attire and went to a "fancy" restaurant. We ate at the Prado restaurant at Balboa Park. Jackson was so polite and sweet and seemed so grown up all of a sudden. He had plain pasta with butter and fresh grated parmesan. Jackson was very impressed that the "very nice man" grated the cheese on his noodles and he said that it was "delicious." I had a wedge salad with Maytag bleu cheese and smokehouse bacon (yummy!) and yellowtail in a red curry reduction. My salad was perfect. My entree was good, but not great. For $26 I expect an explosion of flavor; something I want to rave about for days. The curry reduction tasted more like a slight infusion. It tasted more of coconut milk than curry. I still finished the entire thing. But I digress....

Then we went to How the Grinch Stole Christmas at the Old Globe Theater. I have heard so much about this show, but never got around to going until this year. It sells out every year and last year I waited too long. I know why. What a charming, charming play! I may have watched Jackson as much as I watched the play. He was enchanted. It was a musical and two of the songs he knew from the cartoon and he mouthed the words with the cast. The other songs were cute and funny. Neither of us were ever bored. I was filled with joy as I watched him soak it all in. I'll never forget his spontaneous, enthusiastic applause after each song. He would turn and look at me with the biggest grin.

We both had such a great time. I am feeling better about putting Amelia in preschool next month. On Thursdays, she is in school and Jackson isn't. That will be our time to spend some quality time together. I can't wait.

I wish I had a camera in my eyes....

Do you ever have those moments that you want to save, but running for the camera would ruin it? Or getting the picture is next to impossible? I do all the time.

Here is a brief list of some visions that I have committed to memory that I WISH I had snapshots of:

• Tonight, when the kids saw the Christmas lights on the house for the first time. With the glow of the lights on their faces, the happiness and wonderment was apparent.
• The other day when I was swinging with Amelia on my lap at the park. As we were swinging and she was going up toward the sky, her joy was actually breathtaking. What my eyes saw was a beautiful little girl with her hair blowing from the movement of the swing with a gorgeous blue sky behind her. Her smile was pure and it overflowed to her eyes.
• The first seconds after Jackson was born. They put him on my stomach and he lifted his little head (he was a very strong little guy) and looked toward me.
• When Jackson is singing or dancing with the tv and he doesn't think I am watching. When we watch, he either gets embarrassed or hams it up even more. I love his natural love of music.

I would love to invent glasses that had a super high mega pixel camera that could take pictures in a blink of an eye. For now I will just rely on my fading memory. Maybe writing them down will help me to recall them later....

Dishwasher Helpful Hint

NEVER...I repeat NEVER use concentrated dish soap in your dishwasher.

I really appreciate when my sweet husband does the dishes. It is our unspoken deal: I cook dinner and he does the dishes. He doesn't always start the dishwasher, but that's ok. I usually start it during the day. Well, yesterday he decided to help me out and start the dishwasher before leaving for work. Now, the love of my life isn't known for his patience for looking for the daily needs of our routine. Not finding the automatic dishwashing detergent right away, he decided to use the liquid that we use to wash the dishes.

Shortly after he left for work, I walked into the kitchen to find six feet of three-inch deep suds inching across the kitchen floor (my NEW wood kitchen floor). It was something out of "I Love Lucy." After six or seven towels, I had it cleaned up. I had to let the suds inside the dishwasher dry out and wash everything by hand.

Just another day.....