The New Napoleon Dynamite

One of the ways we might pass our time at an extraordinarily casual dinner at home, is for Jarrod to show us all skateboarding or bike videos (on the laptop, at the table...GASP!). These 3-5 min. movies showcase serious stunts by average dudes.

Tonight, I got a special showing of Jarrod's latest find. In a word, sweet. I'm crushing on this Erik Elstran, who is a nouveau Napoleon Dynamite with sweet skills and rad music. Not your typical testosterone trickster, Elstran really rocks his bike in style and uses a bit of humor to keep you wanting more.

Check it out:

Erik Elstran - April 2009 from North of Ten on Vimeo.

Pump Up the Jam

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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

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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.