Soundtrack for a Broken Heart

I tend to really like songs about heartbreak. And not because I'm consistently heartbroken, it's just they are SO compelling. There are two right now that I'm SUPER into, which deal with a lot more than a broken heart...Kiss With a Fist by Florence + The Machine, Love the Way You Lie by Eminem featuring Rihanna. Okay, Florence is AWESOME! I would rock her outfit, her fire, her 'tude. Love it.

On the serious note of "more than a broken heart," check out  Eve Ensler's "Global movement to end violence against women and girls" VDAY and V Girls ...

Here are some of my choice selections, in no particular order: Heartbreak Warfare, John Mayer Love The Way You Lie, Eminem (feat. Rihanna) Irreplaceable, Beyonce Kiss With a Fist, Florence + The Machine (see above) The Last Day Of Our Acquaintance, Sinead O'Connor Already Gone, Kelly Clarkson Breakin' Up, Riley Kiley Sun Comes up It's Tuesday Morning, The Cowboy Junkies (Really, an optimistic one...) Bleeding Love, Leona Lewis Good Year For The Roses, Elvis Costello Need You Now, Lady Antebellum Every Rose Has It's Thorn, Poison With or Without You, U2

SIDEBAR Love The Way You Lie features  a fine F-Bomb dropped by Eminem, early in the song. This was picked up quite clearly by Beck, as we worked on an art project in my office. Someone was up for testing me...

B: "Hey, he said some bad words" PAUSE "He said fu#kin'." Me: "Yes, he did, so we'll skip to the next song." LONGER PAUSE B: "Because he said 'fu#kin' ?" Me: "Yep."

Whoaa

My head is freakin' spinning. Maybe I have a month's worth of blog posts in my brain. What happened to the last 30 days? What have I been doing for crying out loud?

At work we launched a new member program I've been working on for the past nine months...The Gallery. In conjunction with the launch came a blog (I post once a week or so...) and new collateral materials. Whoo Hoo! We have 30 members to date...

I'm getting my feet wet as the mom of two kindergartners...in separate classrooms. The PTA is knockin', the Foundation is callin', and daily emails are delivered from room moms. I volunteered to be the "Art Odyssey" teacher for Max's class, and a helper for Beck's class.

I was invited to join a group called the Axiology Collective. This dynamic dozen is packed with intelligence and sincerity. It's been less than a month since I was introduced to the group, but I am truly grateful for the invitation and look forward to the monthly gatherings. And yes, there is a blog (find me there, too)! The ladies have done a beautiful job of designing and documenting the past year of topics with related resources, and now our collective commentary.

Oh yes! I finished up the logo and business card design for a fabulous new matchmaking business called Love Happens Here. Yea Kim! Fun project and wonderful connections...On this Truly Fine note, I was thrilled to be a featured designer at the VIP Grand Opening for Green in Hillcrest. My longtime floral friend, Carlos Franco gave Truly Fine Design a prime spot in his hot new shop.

Which reminds me...the Mister surprised me with a gorgeous floral arrangement from Green after we celebrated 9 years (of humor, of hip hop, of love, of friendship...) at Cucina Urbana near Balboa Park. We sat at the community table, met great people and had a fantastic night with lively conversation. The Basil Martini is a MUST, the egg and pancetta pizza was outstanding (with a Super-Tuscan red), and really, yes, the roasted strawberry frangipane is SO worth it.

Which brings me finally to the last big hurrah of the past 30 days. My very dear BFF Cindy (better known as Cynthia) accepted a job in Boston with Reebok. Last weekend we threw her a party at the East Village Tavern & Bowl. This Monday we'll have our last Muffy & Buffy adventure before she heads to beantown. Heavy sigh.

Pump Up the Jam

Blackberry...Apricot...Strawberry...Rose Tree...

Christmas in July! Today I received a big box of homemade jam. My mom rocks the homemade jam. Someday I will take the time to learn the Art of the Jam. In the meantime I will treasure and hoard these jewel like jars of sweet goodness.

Oh! And to make it a true twenty-first century care package she included a starter library of relationship books. Five, to be exact. The jam really sweetened the deal.

Ode to the Motherlode

I'm a relatively new subscriber to Lisa Belkin's Blog at The New York Times. It's called Motherlode, Adventures in Parenting. I dig this blog because Lisa just seems to nail the issues that I'm already thinking about, or want to be thinking about. Tonight I saw her recent post regarding the boy with cancer from Minnesota, the strip search of a 13 year old girl in Arizona, and Jon and Kate Plus 8, which I do not watch but have fair knowledge of (who doesn't these days?). I enjoyed this so I clicked through her links to an earlier post...and landed here: "What's Harder, Marriage or Parenting?".

Hmmmm. Lisa addressed this topic in the context of other "momversations" that were happening online (January 2009). SHOCKINGLY not all moms were experiencing the same challenges. Many moms are overwhelmed by today's parenting pressures. Others are struggling to manage their marriage. I know where I fall on this issue, as I said out loud tonight (with my watermelon margarita) "It can't get any harder than this." OY. Where are you?

Take a deep breath. One Fish Two Fish, Red Fish Blue Fish. Smell the marine layer, listen to Michael Jackson and eat a homemade Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich.