Life Gets in the Way

2 1/2 years is a long time. A new addition to the family, found out that 3 children was a lot more chaotic than 2 children, two moves around this glorious city filled with soon-to foreclose homes for rent, a never ending pile of laundry, lots of thanks to our great marriage counselor, Nan, teaching a 3rd grader, leading wives to deeper intimacy with their husbands, some health issues finally addressed thanks to Paracelcus in Pasadena, a case of the measles, four vacations and hopefully two more to come this year, and a twice gifted child...and that's just the stuff I remember. Phew!

It's no wonder I've lost the energy to write anymore.

I'm hoping my season has changed. I'd really love to get back here. I miss it. A few are in the drafts section. Hopefully, I'll see those published soon. Some are light-hearted and fun and others weigh on my heart. We'll see when their ready. Each are cooking in the oven until their intended time.

4" Taller

They're lined up in my closet, toes pointed outward ready for their adventure. Color coordinated and by season so that I can easily find the one I'm looking for. They've been good to me and I try to return the favor.

I've been attending a lot of parties and events lately and I've relied on my shoes to make the statement for me. It's kind of amazing what a good pair of pumps can do to

a woman's confidence.

I think I came to this realization at a young age, when I used to sneak into my mother's closet and try on all of hers. My eyes would scan over the lined up shoes and the ones I remember most were a pair of black rocker ankle boots she had. I would walk the length of her carpeted room and pretend it was the runway. Then before I was noticed missing, try my hardest to put them all away in the exact place I found them.

I have 3 girls and recently my "firecracker" found the glory that is inside my closet doors. Red leather, tan suede, black satin, silver jeweled...the colors are amazing to a 3yr old. She decided that it was time to try them ALL on. I must say, I cringed. I don't want to say no but inside I'm screaming, "Please don't scuff them! Be careful of the heel! Don't pull them off like that!" But I remember my own mother, who must have known my secret visit to her closet and I'm sure she wanted to say the same thing but knew that this was a part of girlhood. That this was the beginning stages of beauty and confidence. So, instead I tell my girl she looks beautiful. That the shoes are gorgeous but she's prettier.

My shoes are currently in a pile on the bedroom floor. Not because I want them there or that I'm too lazy to put them away. (Ok, maybe I am.) But because my little girl will be there again tomorrow learning the art of how to wear heels. Looking in the mirror and telling herself she looks pretty. And while I love seeing them lined up, looking pretty on my closet shelf, I also like knowing that they're helping a little girl.

Among a Strange Galaxy...

...called Comic Con 2010. All I can say is, "Wow! I have never seen so many people dressed in costumes before."


I was a little nervous about going down before I left. What exactly was I getting into? Would I dread having made the decision so long ago? However, I am grateful I did. My husband was right. I did enjoy myself. We were able to sit in on a lot of movie previews/panel discussions with some great actors/directors. I understood what they were talking about, why they creatively made the decisions they did and enjoyed being able to share the experience with him.


Next year, I think we'll go down for the whole week as a family. I missed being able to experience San Diego, their restaurants and beaches. I think the girls would enjoy going too. It would give my oldest and husband a chance to bond yet again on their common love of all things comic and Star Wars.


So, I stand corrected with a humble pie in my hands.

Reflections on flourish! Event

It's truly amazing to see something come to fruition after having an initial vision 7 months ago. Overall, it was a great day! A place for wives to come together, share their hearts, stories and thoughts about the industry and their husband's work. It was a time that women needed. To feel supported, connected and understood by others.

I don't know what I expected from the day. Except that I needed to follow through and execute this idea. I am incredibly thankful for the team I brought on. If it had not been for them, I don't know that my personal accountability would have made it happen. I'm also very thankful for the sponsors who believed in the vision and helped see that the event actually happen. Without their financial backing, it would not have been the special time that it was. A graphic designer donated his time and skills for a logo, a photograher donated her time and skill and was able to capture some great moments of the day, and many women from my Premise group helped out, as well. To all of these people - my appreciation is deep for you. You were a part of something amazing!

I'm excited for what will be next. This will not be last thing we do. We would like to have monthly support groups start in the fall depending on the region of LA you live in and have this event happen again every 6 months or year.

There's hope for the future and that's what is most exciting! Join us on facebook to stay tuned!

flourish! Event

A First-Of-Its Kind Event for Wives of Entertainment Industry Professionals

Saturday, July 10th 11am

At a private home in the Valley

Enjoy a festive lunch while getting to know other women who understand the challenges and ups and downs of life in Hollywood. Glean wisdom from wives of industry writers, producers, directors, and executives; learn about their experiences and share your own. A Q&A will conclude the discussion.

A Pioneer

I take my first steps into the U-haul and feel excited and ready for the adventure. I feel like a settler going out West for Yukon gold. Yet as I continue to pass places I'll never see, smell, hear again, my spirit slowly fades and changes. The tears start welling up and I try to hide them. I won't see trees the way I did that late summer day, already starting to morph into hues of crimson. The bluest of skies their canvas. The next day, the feelings of sadness are there but have been over taken by the excitement of the unknown. We continue our journey across the plain lands, over the Rockies and into the desert. Places I've never seen before.

As life in a new town settles and the excitement wanes, I suddenly realize I've entered into a whirlwind of unknown circumstances at every level. From the small and insignificant -- I can't find the Marshmallow Fluff I was used to back home -- to the bigger, "How do you survive on glimpses of the future?" This is my life not just for the space between settled and home but forever. I will also be a pioneer. I am never going back and I suddenly realize I've left everything I knew to be safe. So I set out to find it in LA. Something that reminds me of home.


Something that means that I am still who I know "me" to be.

I scurry around town finding places that remind of me safety, comfort, and home. I find them in the consistent rolls of the ocean waves, the sound of a gurgling stream or the smell of pine. And yet they are fleeting. I can't bottle them up and carry them around with me because what I must comes to terms with is that there is no safe place. That's the agreement I made. The very definition of pioneer.


I share these thoughts with my husband, who happens to be a very good listener. I feel safe divulging my deepest feelings and thoughts. I feel at home wrapped up in his arms. Comforted by the fact, that he doesn't care that I'm crying all over his shirt or that it's being used as a tissue either. And then I suddenly realize that I don't need to go searching for it.

Home is where the heart is. I gave it away and I must remember I can go back to it any time I want. Because I left it with my husband. The heart of the man who loves me. This is my one safe place.

Of Friday Night Dance Parties and Saturday Morning Pancakes

Ah, the weekend!

A time of rest and fun, steeped in rich family traditions. Why are these times so important? Is it the food that most of the rituals revolve around, the family bonding that happens because of it, or the memories that will last a lifetime? In a town where "family" is rare, misunderstood or even forgotten about...

it's important for my family to have moments where we all come together.

Because life isn't easy. The constant ups and downs of projects moving forward or slowing down, the challenge of raising and providing for a growing family in one of the most expensive cities in the world, carrying the burdens of friends, late nights and early mornings, mean that sometimes the important things get forgotten about. But if you forget the most important things, you forget what matters most, and then what do you have?

So when the whole family is dancing like crazy monkeys in the living room to Hannah Montana's "Party in the USA" on Friday night with the blinds open for the whole world to see, it's a sign that we are leaving the week's problems at the door and stepping into something different.

Laughter rings loud, sun-kissed faces glow, and our hearts are full.

While this might not happen every weekend due to work (or, like this weekend, social) schedules, the point is that it is set in motion. We always fall back to it and work really hard to make sure that it is maintained.

Moments and memories. Because let's face it -- what's more important than dancing like crazy monkeys as a family?

I really can't think of anything else.