Last weekend The Ninja and I had the extreme pleasure of watching over two darling children for some dear friends who were away on a skiing trip. The pair of siblings consists of a girl about 10 or 11 and a boy around 6 or 7, who were in our care from the moment school let out on Friday until it resumed again Monday morning.

The best part was the kids. They were awesome. Just the way kids should be. Quirky and fun and sloppy and charming. Caring for them was a pleasure. We played nonstop. We baked cookies, picked up a new Webkinz, went to baseball practice, went bowling, rode our bikes, and spent way too much time rotting our brains with video games.

But, let’s set the stage. These kids aren’t from any normal suburban town. They live in Rancho Santa Fe, known to locals as “The Ranch” - the second most exclusive residential area in the nation. Mind you, the reason it’s exclusive could be the curvy, poorly marked roads that caused me to get lost once, leaving me in tears of frustration.

If you’re ever able to find their home and get inside without setting off the alarm (like I did, accidentally, resulting in a confrontation by armed security… again, leaving me in tears) you’ll find that it’s not normal either. Even the toilet seat has a secret life, keeping the seat warm, deodorizing the air, rinsing and drying you off. It’s an unusual place.

All weekend I thought about all my mommy blogger friends, wondering what tales I’d bring back to empathize with your frequent struggles. But, the only complaint I now truly understand is about laundry. You’d think over one measly weekend there wouldn’t be much, but I ended up having to wash, dry, fold, and put away five super-sized loads.

Not much to complain about. Except when you consider that when you’re caring for two kids in a house with like five bedrooms and five bathrooms, that equals a whole lot of running around. There are weekends where I’ve put in over 100 miles on the bike, but never has it made me as tired as a weekend of traversing that house.

It may have been only a glimpse, but my hat is off to you, ladies.

6 comments March 6th, 2008

Last week, most of the world’s top pro cyclists made a rare visit to the United States, including current world champion Paolo Bettini, and former world champions Mario Cipollini and (my favorite) Tom Boonen (pictured here taking a stage 3 win with “Cipo” in his wake). They rode 650 miles from Palo Alto to my home town of Pasadena.

Though I’d like to pretend it was just to see me, they were all here to compete in the 2008 Amgen Tour of California. This eight-day stage race, first held in 2006, just keeps growing in popularity. This year drew the best peloton so far, and to top it off, they decided to end at the Rose Bowl.

For those of you not into cycling, let me give you a small example of how it felt to have these guys riding where I could see them with my own eyes: Imagine your favorite celebrity, one you’ve long wanted to meet, and then imagine having known for weeks in advance that today, when you open your front door, they’ll be walking right past your house. I could barely contain my excitement!

As the hostess with the mostest, I felt it was my duty to volunteer and do my part to ensure their experience in the City of Roses went well. Originally, I was scheduled to work Anti-Doping, which is the equivalent to having a backstage pass, but some crazy lady screwed it up for me the day before by showing up in the showers. Since it was males only, my Ninja handled that job, and I directed other volunteers instead.

No complaints though. We attended the last two stages, met a ton of pro cyclists, had a great time at the finish, and even got to hang with security afterward to meet more of our heroes (even Hincapie!) once the press conference was over. Now, I can hardly wait until next year!

7 comments February 28th, 2008

So, umm… You know how almost everybody wants a Wii, but (at least where we live) they’ve been chronically difficult to find in stock? Well, umm… The most fantastical boyfriend ever tracked one down at a local Game Stop and presented me with it on Valentine’s Day. And, umm… Since then, I’ve been so “busy” that I neglected to post about it.

My Ninja also hooked me up with Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga and Super Mario Galaxy, both of which are terribly fun. Even the Sports game that comes with the console is a blast. Of course, the very next day I scooped up all my old games and traded them in (what a joke, I still had to fork out a chunk of change on top of that) for Guitar Hero.

And speaking of that game, I am reminded that my dear Smizzo wanted to know the details about a matter involving a certain famous lady whose first name starts with “O” and if you’ve been following me on Twitter, you already know I was busy playing Guitar Hero with the kids, so I missed out on being introduced… and honestly, I don’t mind.

When the birthday party started to buzz, I knew exactly what was up. However, after spending all night yearning to get away from the adults to spend some time with two of my favorite kids on earth, there was no way I was going to send the message that anything else was more important than playing with them. It was an easy decision.

8 comments February 22nd, 2008

10 comments February 14th, 2008

Step 1: Open Mouth. Step 2: Insert Foot.

Naturally, the very moment that I spout off about having almost completely given up television, I learn that one of my childhood friends is starring in a new series.

Lindsay Price and I go way back. Like every week at Sunday School as kids, back when she was starring in Toys R Us commercials. We haven’t crossed paths in ages, but since there’s no expiration date on my loyalty, you know I’ll support my girl’s new show.

Even though I was loaded up on Benadryl after inadvertently consuming dairy before running last night, I managed to keep my eyelids open long enough to catch the season premiere of Lipstick Jungle.

This new series is yet another work based on the novels of Candace Bushnell of Sex & The City fame. My friend stars along with Brooke Shields & Kim Raver (of the hit show 24) as three high-powered friends.

Lindsay plays fashion designer Victory Ford, and she simply stole the show. The premiere episode of Lipstick Jungle didn’t wow me, but I can see that it certainly has potential. Good luck, Lindsay, and congrats!

14 comments February 8th, 2008