Traveling Home - What a Sweet Delivery

The decision, taking the leap: It starts a few months ahead, about 5 months, short incubation. We are sure we want to go, so why not buy the tickets?
Conceiving: Some deliberation ensue as we discuss dates, some excited phone calls and then we do it - we buy the tickets, finalizing our trip decision, setting it in cancellation fees and expectations.
Carrying: We carry it in our mind for the next 4 months and than...well.. LET THE WILD SHOPPING BEGIN! We shop for gifts of course. Armed with wish lists, needs and wants, we scavenger hunt for just the right thing for the people we love. This task is usually accomplished by me, at times my unhappy little shoppers trudge along.
Nesting: The week and a half before the trip marks several excitement peaks. The kids go berserk, preparing cards, drawings, talking about their past experiences as well as the expected ones, the phones are filled with plans, schedules, advice, serious weather cast, measuring and weighing of suitcases.
Contractions: 2 days before the due date I'm contained. Or at list look that way. Inside I'm all electricity, raw excitement. Don't bother talking to me, I'll either forget it or lock you out. My brain is all but flying, up in the air already, thinking flight procedures, how to get through to the other side with the least bother, on time, no stains on our cloths, everybody happy.
Into Delivery: It's a long flight. No matter how much time it is, it is LONG. The lights are bright as we go through the gate, leaving what we know behind, hoping we won't get bombed, hijacked, kidnapped, food poisoned, spilled on, the bathroom will work fine, the kids won't have ear aches, I won't get a ferocious head ache, no one will get sick in a way we'll need to land for them, the books we took will be interesting and the movies will be designed for kids, the trays will be taken before something spills....you get the idea.
Delivery: We made it. Our heads crown at the plan's door, one by one like a multi sibling parade we step out, my eyes shooting from kid to kid, making sure we stay together. My makeup a paste, my eyes burning, I pray no one got a cold from that loud coughing guy at the front of the plain, right by the air condition shaft.
Clean up: We show passports, lift princess so the passport person see she'd arrived safely and still match her photo. Suitcases are tricky as I turn my head, sprinkler mode, back and forth to see my kids have not been smashed by an over excited passenger, yanking his suitcase while running along the carousel.
We manage to identify (true miracle) our luggage and pull it off the belt, check that we have 2 kids, 1 adult, 3 passports, all our suitcases, all hand bags and the cart to carry it all towards the exit. Almost there.
Vital signs: As we emerge at the arrivals hall, there are no paparazzi waiting for us but the excited murmur and the damp, overjoyed, inspecting stretched-in-a-smile lens of my parents faces. It's fun to see me through that lens. I missed it.
We breath, go to the bathroom and give thanks to the Lord and his skilled pilots who brought us here.

Summer Reading 2

The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer- amazing!
Seen the movies, am reading the books, listening the beautiful music by Carter Burwell - enchanting!

Summer Reading

Hi there,
Some of you were wandering where I was - well, I was READING! Such a bliss! Summer is here and all I want to do is crafts and reading, eating tons of watermelon under the sun-brella and going to the pool. Does it have anything to do with my kids' vacation you think?

I just finished Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. It wasn't the light summer reading I usually start with. Strout has a very sincere, pointing right at you kind of writing. Her sharp, analytic view of her characters puts things very close to home, shows us the social tissue we are all part of, without the cover ups we do to make us feel better. So that was the difficult to read part, too honest to ignore, yet too close to say: "that's not me" or: "not in my community".
The cute part was that the title bearer of this book, Olive Kitteridge, was actually a guest in it. She had couple of chapters where she was the subject, but most chapters had her as a guest, once you see her once you don't kind-of-thing. The chapter might have been about this couple, Jennie and Bob, who are going to a theater show and see Olive there, think of a few gossip pieces, or say something about her, or reflect about something they had together, what they felt towards her... than the thoughts and plot go elsewhere and so does Olive. I came to wait for when Olive will visit the plot again, how she'll be reflected upon this time, like a visitor in her own title. Great idea!

Roots

It's summer here in Jersey and the heat is on. Our air condition is on too, fireflies light the garden in the evening and the neighbors tend to their yards fiercely. New flowers bloomed, backyard pools opened and the trampolines have sprang.

With all that outside, I'm reading Meir Shalev's book 'Hadavar Haya Kacha' or 'My Russian Grandmother and her American Vacuum Cleaner' - family stories from Nahalal and Jerusalem. A lot of the family idioms and 'histuar' reminds me of my own and I think about the stories my kids will have as their bank-of-memories when they grow up. What will their roots sound like in their mind 20 years from now? 30? 40 years from now?

Outside the neighbour's plants just arrived, some of them are trees. I like the site of those trees, all luscious green, standing by in their cloth and string packaging, looking so fresh, so promising.
I point them out to my daughter: "Look," I say "how lovely these trees are" than I try to figure out for myself what draws me to this sight, what's so beautiful about it, and I say "these trees are wrapped so nicely, look at their roots, packaged neatly and tight in that cloth bag so they can be re-planted!"

Stay cool, tend to your roots.
Yours truly,
Sara Brown.

The Meaning of Life

My friend Nivi sent me this lovely YouTube, I got Frankel's book from my friends at 16, connected to its content and later learned about and loved TED.

To watch please scroll down to turn off the music, than click the play button of this YouTube. Enjoy!




Happy Sunday,

Sara Brown.

5 Things I Like About Manhattan

1. Some people still use money clips - it reminds me of my grandpa. So cool!
2. I love the very individual (sometimes hideous) fashion statements
3. And the gorgeous outfits you see everyday, just passing you on the street...
4. People are so physically close to one another, and yet so individualized, so apart from one another
5. New York City has the mystery of a story waiting to happen.

Cyber Fun

I promised fun blog 'rooms' so here they are, and there are some sites in there, too:

Craft Bits

Why? because I love the layout of their pages, because its loaded with craft projects, which I LOVE, and the instructions for these projects are detailed and clear; because it involved the community (write for it, vote, etc.)
Downside? It's loaded with those commercials that keep reappearing.

Karim Rashid

Why? because I LOVE his designs and it's always inspiring to visit
Downside? same as downside below

Pictory

Why? because it has the best photo-stories
Downside? It's a time warp. You get in and there's no knowing when you'll emerge... I usually emerge when dinner smells smokey:(

Snippet and Ink

Why? because I loved the humor and photos
Downside? If you're not into weddings...

Design Sponge

Why? because I love the design of their layouts, love the photos, rooms and links they write about
Downside? can't think of one...

A Gift Wrapped Life

Why? because I love their photos and design suggestions
Downside? can't think of one...

Patricia Gray

Why? it makes me happy:)
Downside? you'll get the urge to go spending right after visiting this blog. Don't say I didn't warn you...

La La Lovely Things

Why? Amazing photos., inspiring!
Downside? uncontrollable shopping/travelling urge will ensue...

I could cyber travel forever, discovering great blogs and sites, but I need to work and today is the Shavuot evening....

Happy Shavuot and good week to you all!

Hugs,
Sara Brown.