a moment

dear marta

dear marta,

i dont know if i should thank you
or curse you.
why you ask?
your coconut krispie chocolate chunk cookies,
of course!

we are having a family
dinner tomorrow
and i thought they would be perfect.

these cookies are perfection!
i love them.
they are my new favorite.
my new go to.

i am not sure which
i ate more of last night while
baking them,
the cookie dough or the cookies out of the oven.

so much for weight watchers.

thank you for sharing the recipe.
i think....
next batch i make i might add peanut butter chips too.
ohhhh the possibilities.

xo
luc

they do exist

this morning we met
some friends at the zoo.
our zoo is small
and there are not a ton of animals.
but we do have a zoo,
so i will not complain.

it is not uncommon
to go to the zoo
and not really see
any animals.

we have these
two polar bears.
i have NEVER seen them.
until today.
i was beginning to think
that they were a monetary scam
to get  people to visit the zoo.

today was a stellar
day at the zoo.
we not only saw the polar bears
but we saw the tiger,
and the mountain lion.

we witnessed the penguins
and the sea lions
eating breakfast.
the watched the wolves pace
and the hyenas lounge.

it was epic.

but the highlight
of the day was
when hayden forgot
my name ( which happens, lucinda is hard for little ones)
and called me lewis.

i still giggle thinking about it.

trade

remember this quilt?
the one i made for riley?
the one that his mama and i
traded our talents for?

well.....
she recently brought over
her side of the trade.
it is perfect!

sabre finally has
his very own portrait.
bailey has one.
sampson (who is no longer with us) has one.
even bella (my parent's dog) has one.

alicia does great work.
if you want a portrait for yourself
or a loved one.
check out her website.
and place an order.

shaking......

last night we had dinner with alicia, aaron and riley.

riley is 14 months old

and is chace's buddy.

they had a grand time 

playing together.

and chace took the opportunity

to show off his

dancing skills.

photo professional

i have a nikon.

i try to take pictures.

athena also has a nikon.

it is fancier than mine.

she takes much better pictures than i do.

because she is a "professional."

i let her document the weekend.

these are my favorites.

dear cooper

my dear sweet precious cooper.

it has been a while since i have written, but that does not mean that you are not on my mind every day. i feel your presence most often when i am in the quiet of your brother's room, rocking him to sleep.

today is the 27th, two months until your second birthday. i thought this would be a good day to write you and thank you. thank you for the gifts that you gave me in your short life, gifts that will last a lifetime.

one of those gifts, athena, just spent the last four days with us. it was wonderful. we had a great time. it was like we had known each other for all of lives, not just the last year and a half. i have always said that you sent her my way, and after spending time with her i believe that more than ever.  your heart brought two people from different backgrounds together and changed our lives in a profound way. i am very grateful for this gift.  i am certain that she will be a part of my life forever, just as you will be a part of hers.

it was fun to watch stella and chace interact. it was good for him to play with another baby, to have to share his stuff. but two is a lot of work, even with two mama's around. we talked of you often, visited your garden, looked at your pictures, cried over your short life, and thanked you for your gift.

i have said this many times cooper, but i am so grateful that i am your mama. i proud of how you continue to touch lives and am so thankful i had the opportunity to know you and love you, and that i continue to feel your presence.

i love you and miss you so much!

your mama.

anticpation.

tomorrow evening, 6:50 to be precise
athena and stella arrive in rochester.
they will be staying at our house
for four whole days.

to say that i am excited is an understatement.
i am beyond excited,
over the moon
giddy with anticipation.

but i am also a little nervous.
we have never met.
we talk every day,
thanks to technology.

but i do not know the
sound of her voice
or the sound of her laugh.

i know that she drinks coffee
black.
and pinot.
but what does she drink in between?

is she a morning person?
a night owl?
will she think i am boring?
or too regimented with my schedule?
will she hate our house?

i wonder if we will cry
or laugh
or hug
when we greet each other at the airport.

there is a lot we don't know
about each other.
but in the big picture those
things don't matter.

who we were when we were 13,
doesn't matter
what matters,
is who we are now.

my sweet precious cooper
brought us together.
it is because of him
that our children will know
each other.

she is part of my tribe.
the people who helped
mend my broken heart
after cooper died.

the people who help me
navigate parenthood.
who laugh with me
when there is nothing else to do.

the people who i want
to have a presence in
chace's life.
to help shape the
person he becomes.

i know this weekend
is only the beginning
of a friendship
that will span
miles and years.

and i can not wait to
see where the journey takes
us!

guest post: mary. "dear jane"

meet mary from disney princess recovery


An old college friend called one day. We tried to have a conversation. But then her daughter woke up early from a nap. And then my daughter started asking to go to outside. Then her other daughter started crying that she was hungry. And then my dog, who is prone to suddenly throwing up, threw up. Then my friend felt kind of sick because she was pregnant with her third daughter, and she needed to go throw up. Then we said, Good talking to you, take care, good-bye.

We met as undergrads in Rhode Island, where we were both majoring in psychology. She had a gift for Statistical Analysis. I had a knack for Psych of the Abnormal. When I met her she was pre-engaged to a high school boyfriend. I had no idea what pre-engaged meant. “You mean, engaged?”

“No,” she corrected, “Pre-engaged.” Which I learned was engaged to be engaged. I wondered if there was a pre-pre-engagement state, in which one could talk about getting engaged to get pre-engaged. “You know, I would just rack up as many rings as you could with this whole situation. You could end up with each finger adorned.” Despite my lack of knowledge about this type of commitment, and despite my inability to filter impulsive comments, she laughed. And a friendship was born.

There are friendships born of circumstance. And there are friendships born of soul. The ones born of soul, of kindred spirits connecting, are the ones that last. Jane and I didn’t have oodles in common. But we shared a sense of humor. And we were both idealists. Through four years in and out of classes, in and out of dorm life and parties, figuring out rent and jobs and boys and career paths, I found her to be rock solid, incredibly trustworthy. And I knew we’d be the kind of friends who stayed connected long after we’d thrown off the tassels of graduation and started down paths not marked by tuition payments and term papers.

I was right too. We kept in touch across states, attended each others weddings, kept pulse on the status of each others romances, relocations and roommate catastrophes. The last good conversation we had was the winter we both discovered we were pregnant. Months later I birthed a healthy girl, and 8 weeks after me, she birthed 2 healthy girls, twins. (Because people who are good at Statistical Analysis tend to be efficient. And there’s nothing more efficient than birthing two babies at once. )

Then, we lost touch. The minutiae of motherhood took over. She was feeding, diapering and tending to two babies, and I was inefficiently doing the same for one. She went back to work as a teacher. I started working evenings as a therapist. Our schedules never synchronized. And if they did, I was probably napping.

The strange thing about this losing touch was that we still made the effort. Each summer we took turns visiting each other. She and her hubby and twin 7 month olds drove in to Rochester and stayed for a weekend. The following year, my hubby and I and our 1.9 year old drove to her home in New England. The following year, she and her crew, now 2.9 year old toddlers, were back on our turf. But, it wasn’t the same. Because something about catching up over 3 maniacal toddlers is that it tends to be a lot of talking about the kids. And talking with our husbands. Which is awesome, and important, and funny.
But the once a year visit followed by a few futile phone calls felt essentially as though we hadn’t really talked in years.

After the last of these phone calls, I dropped her an email. It read:
“Hey. You will probably think this is absurd. But. Would you consider a correspondence that follows these guidelines: Each month one of us writes the other a letter. Length is not important. All that is required is for the writer to state the truths of her life at that moment. And, total confidentiality. Sound crazy?”

I expected her to write back, “Truth? Who has time for truth?? I have twin toddlers for Pete’s sake!”
But she wrote back, “I love it.”

So, I wrote the first letter. And as I sealed up the 7 page missive and posted it, something shifted in my soul. When was the last time I’d written the truths of my life? These were not the things we talked about on our annual visits.

Her response arrived on a particularly harried and snowy day. I was late for work, my husband handed me three items: a birthday party invitation, a bill, and her letter. I tucked it into my briefcase, and after finishing my sessions for the evening, and paperwork, I savored opening and quietly reading the truths of her life. Her validation and support of my truths, and her bravely stating her own, filled me with a calm relief that I’ve often heard attributed to Wellbutrin.

The correspondence continued over that summer, into the fall, through the winter. Sometimes I was late (really late) in writing. Sometimes she was late (not as late). Sometimes the letters were a manifesto, characteristic of an idealistic person making sense of work and family and marriage and God while surviving another tundra like winter (me). Sometimes they were short and succinct, 2 pages, signed and delivered. But always, always, they were truthful.

There was a freedom in stating the deepest truths of one’s life at that moment. Because we didn’t see each other in our daily lives, we weren’t checking up on how we were resolving any disparities between our ideal life and our actual life. And the most incredible thing that I learned, am still learning, is that my truths change, sometimes drastically. What feels earth shattering and permanent in February is sometimes a distant memory by May. But the letters gave me documentation of that process, a sort of evidence that time is efficient after all, and that momentary truths, when given enough breathing room, will reveal something else if you let them.

I saw Jane again last month, it was our turn to visit her in New England. We had fun with the kids, caught up with our husbands, and relaxed, knowing that if anything wasn’t touched upon on the visit, there would be a letter to follow up. Which reminds me, it’s my turn to write. Even if I am a bit late.

the sl....

meet ashley. she does not have a blog. although i think she should. she is my forever bff. my oldest friend. 
for a b.o.i ( born on the island, galveston island texas that is) and a want-to-be beach bum, there was never a question that when our lives became separated by more than a thousand miles that the San Luis was exactly half-way between Texas and New York...(although literally it is not)
 
i cannot say exactly how many memories we have shared on the patio or by the pool... but i do kow that they are all precious and they are all priceless...
 
from boys to bridesmaid dresses, beers to babies, and all topics in between...
 
it is a blessing in life to have such a special friend, and a special place to share that always brings a smile...
 
so thanks for all of the memories luc....and heres to the next "SL weekend" soon......

guest post: marta. "the summer of.."

the summer of 2010.

hello. i'm marta from martawrites.com and i am super thrilled to be guest blogging in lucinda's pretty space here in blogland. now that august is officially over, i thought i ought to write a little list of what this summer was all about for me. i hope you too will be motivated to jot down your own feelings about summer 2010. all you need is a few minutes to jot down the first few thoughts that come as you look back on these last sunny months. what places, foods, people, vacations come to mind? what were your days filled with? document the details. here we go. a glance at my list...

2010 // it was the summer of..

splitting baskets of fresh fruit with friends.

free samples & fresh flowers at the farmer's market.

discovering that rainier cherries are better than bing.

the 'cars' movie and scattered wooden railroad tracks.

going to the zoo and going to zumba class.

hot griddle pancakes, saturday smoothies and reading The Help.

happiness, excitement & anticipation.

worry, grief, disappointment, loss. heartbreak.

holding close, wondering about the future.

kindness, hope & friendship.

strength, prayer & more hope.

long walks, naps and sudden craft projects.

house guests & homemade pizzas & healing.

handcranked ice cream with experimental ingredients.

huckleberry picking, birthday parties & camp outs.

carsten's bakery cream cheese brownies.

storytime, road construction & sidewalk chalk.

sun valley road trip & the Blue Angels air show  

sunshine & thunderclouds, matching my own moods.

drive-by photo shoots, a new camera and favorite flip flops.

loads of good mail, keeping in touch with friends (old and new).

thank you, lucinda! 

xo. marta

week in photos

wrapping up

i have been working away at getting caught up on some projects  before we leave for vacation next week.  i don't like to come home to unfinished projects and i need to focus on creating for the holiday bazaar when we return. i have lots of sewing to do!

last night i finished attaching the binding on riley's cowboy quilt. i am very pleased with how it turned out. i am giving it to riley's momma tonight ( we are having a girls dinner out, no kids, no husbands, just us).

bean thinks that the quilt is really swell and knows that his buddy riley will love it.

a close up of the center blocks.

so, athena and i were a little obsessive and driven about finishing the blocks for our friendship quilt. i am   not sure who was pushing whom, but all 20 blocks are complete. the goal is to have them sewn together by the time she and stella arrive in NY at the end of september and we are going to quilt them while she is here. now, this may be ambitious on our part, we will have a 7 month old and a 9 month old. but hey, a girl has to have some goals. all of the blocks are pictured below. blocks 1-10 are the ones i made and 11-20 are the ones athena made. this is going to be one  amazing quilt.

my two favorite blocks. block 1 and 10. both are athena's nod to my cooper. the very reason that we are friends and making this quilt. xoxo

far far away

this is the beginning of a new quilt
using heather ross' far far away 2 fabric.
i love it.

i love it because athena and i
are having a quilting bee
between the two of us.

the basic idea is that we each make two blocks
keep one and send the other.
at the end will have enough blocks
to have the exact same quilt.

well, the same components.
i am sure we will lay them out differently
and use different colors for the sashing.
or maybe we wont.

we are also writing a little diddy
about why we chose each block.
this one is called southern belle.

we are calling the quilt
the friendship quilt.
athena is my gift from cooper.
and i thank him every day
for sending her my way.

though we live far far away
from each other.
and have never met.
i feel like i have known
her my whole life.
i can not wait until her
visit to NY in the fall.


stay tuned.
this quilt is going
to be AMAZING.

a quilt for riley

bean has a friend named riley.
they are 3 months apart.
riley's momma paints pet portraits.
we have two of them in our house.
but we don't have one of sabre.

she asked me if we could do a swap.
a quilt for a painting.
perfect!
she picked out the fabric.
and i did the rest.

since riley is a good southern baby,
it has a cowboy theme.
i sure hope he likes it.

thank you bean for letting me get this
finished last week.
feel free to return to your napping schedule
so i can work some more.


it is off to the quilter tomorrow.

wont you please

go vote for tommy and charlie's mom, alli.

her blog, the adventures of bean and goobs is a finalist in the 2010 Scholastic Parent & Child magazine Parent Blogger Awards. there are three finalists in six different categories and her blog was of the the few selected by the editors from over 100 blogs. i am so darn proud of her! and if you dont read her blog, you should it will make you laugh out loud.

beginning today, visitors to their website will get to vote one time for their favorite parent blog in each category. the six bloggers receiving the most votes will be featured in the August/September 2010 issue of Scholastic Parent & Child Magazine.

you can use the link below to vote

http://www.scholastic.com/parents/blogawards/

finding her mr darcy

we have been friends since we were 12

that's 24 years,

double the amount of years

we didn't know each other.

together we have survived

bad haircuts, bad fashion,

bad boys, and bad cars.

we were side by side

during first loves and first heartbreaks.

we cheered each other on

through grad school and law school.

we have changed addresses more times than we can count.

we planned our weddings, got drunk at each other's first weddings,

spent hours on the phone during our divorces

and laughed till we cried while comparing dating stories.

we have been there for each other through

the most difficult and darkest days

and through the best and most joyous days.

she is the closest thing i have to a sister

and i am so happy that she has finally

found her mr darcy.

they are on the beach

as i type

having a very romantic moment

promising to love each other forever.

she is more than my bff

she is the cheese to my macaroni

and even though we live miles apart

we are never far from each other's heart.

happy wedding day ash!

xoxo

cooking adventures

i have this memory from my childhood, of standing around the island in our kitchen and watching my mom cook dinner on a nightly basis. my mom loves to cook and is a very good one. my parents often had dinner parties and the holidays always consisted of friends, family and food.

so it is no surprise to me that i inherited her love of cooking, which goes hand in hand with good food and good wine. oh, how i cant wait to have a big glass of red wine after the bean is born, but i digress. i love read cookbooks and i plan out a dinner menu for precious husband and i each week. i try very hard not to cook the same thing over and over, but we do have some favorites that make it into the rotation every couple of weeks.

saturday night i met up with some of my girlfriends for a night of food, friendship and conversation. we have gathered over meals for a few years now, and while the makeup of the group has shifted over time, the theme is the same: make something you have not made before. i volunteered to make an appetizer and saw a recipe for beef empanadas in the holiday issue of real simple. they looked tasty and seemed easy enough.

so saturday afternoon, i set about the task of empanada making. i followed the recipe for the most part, but did add some chopped up sweet potatoes that i had leftover from the previous night. i had a bit of a size issue, the recipe called for a 2.5 inch round cookie cutter, which i found to be too small and tedious when assembling. so i opted for a larger size, i actually used a large cup as my cookie cutter. once i started making them bigger it was much easier.

the empanadas were a hit at dinner that evening and we had the leftovers yesterday while watching football. i will be making these again in the future. and better yet, i think they looked as good as they tasted.....

dreaming of a national championship

my parents great pyrenees bella with her longhorn stuffed animal

so, tonight is a big night. in case you don't follow college football, its the bcs national championship game between the texas longhorns and the alabama crimson tide. while i am excited about the big game, i am also sad, because this game signals the end of the college football season.

my family is nervous about the game. texas is the underdog. a number of people in the college football world feel texas doesn't have a chance and some don't think they should be in the big dance at all. and there is the report that oklahoma coach bob stoops was a "special guest" at an alabama practice. whats that all about? there will be alot of pacing and nail biting in my family tonight, spanning from the south all the way to alaska.

my brothers and dad were at the game 5 years ago when texas beat usc, and they are all wearing the same outfit they wore then, for good luck. and me, well i am watching the game with the same friends i did in 2005, although we will be at our house, instead of a bar. they have a newborn and the thought of being 8 months pregnant in a bar, is well exhausting. hopefully, the stars will align one more time for the horns.

the only one who doesn't seem to be nervous is bella.

hook em horns!

the stockings were hung

in weatherford oklahoma. a few weeks ago i received a request from a friend, would i knit her 3 christmas stockings? i told her i thought i would be able to pull it off in time for christmas. she gave me a color scheme, but gave me free reign on design ( a designer's dream client). i finished them over thanksgiving and they arrived at their new home last week. she loves them! i can just picture them hanging in her home, i have not seen her home, but the house she grew up in was always so festive and embodied holiday cheer. i expect her house is no different.

for jiles

for shef

and for brad