Photo credit: Apartment Therapy http://apartmenttherapy.com/

The overhead light in the kitchen went out so I took the opportunity to replace the bulbs with high efficiency lamps and washed the glass casing with hot, soapy water.  When I put the pieces back together it was so bright and shiny I thought I’d clean all the light fixtures in the house.  I have a collection of crystal bowls so I polished those too.  Then I wiped down the ceiling fans and buffed a candelabra hanging in the breakfast nook.  Woo wee, is it ever sparkly around here!  Unfortunately, now the dust and fingerprints on my tabletops are illuminated for all the world to see.  I suppose I could spray and spritz some more but my burst of inspiration has already passed.

Photo credit: Tower Books http://www.tower.com/

There are many things I love about being a mother.  Mostly I love being my son’s mother.  The years pass so quickly it’s hard to believe there was once a time I couldn’t imagine him being a tween.

Every stage of parenthood has its own unique rewards and one of the greatest joys we’ve always shared is reading.  Reading in the tot years meant me reading to my son.  As he learned to read and write, he read to me.  Now we have our own private book club.  With a more sophisticated vocabulary and developing understanding of complex ideas, he can read books that appeal to my intellectual interests too.  A few weeks ago we picked out Christopher Curtis‘ novel Elijah of Buxton.  I have just finished it and am ready to pass it to my son.  I can’t wait for him to dig his heels into this magnificent story.

Curtis writes Elijah in the first person, from the perspective of a boy born free from slavery in a Canadian community of freed slaves, many painfully separated from their loved ones who remain enslaved in America.  Elijah is filled with warm hearted wit, life lessons and discovery in many different forms.  I will relish watching my son laugh and explore with Elijah.  I wonder if he’ll relate to the sweet boy in this book and whether he will appreciate the humor of the cookie jar.

Photo credit: Students for a Greener Berkeley http://sgb.berkeley.edu/

It’s altogether possible San Diego could be facing mandatory water conservation in the next few months.  Desalination, education and an evolving environmental consciousness just haven’t been enough to thwart drought conditions and we are in Crisis Level 1.  In anticipation of worsening water woes, the City of San Diego has started rolling out its new Water Allocation Plan.  The plan allocates a “bucket” of water we can use in and around our homes without penalty for four months at a time.  Everybody’s bucket will be based on a reduced volume taken from actual usage between 2005 and 2007.  Nobody likes having something as basic as water doled out like an allowance but the City is trying to get our attention about the seriousness of our water shortage.  This is the age of economy.  Let’s face it, water is as much an economic issue as it is environmental.  We’ve all found ways to save money in the face of a faltering financial climate, even in places we didn’t think we could.  Now, the water.

Photo credit: Gow Langsford Gallery http://gowlangsfordgallery.co.nz/

A series of installations have quietly appeared along San Diego’s waterfront.  Perhaps you’ve noticed them and wondered if they’ve been there all along.  That’s what I thought at first but, as I discovered, they began arriving in November and will remain on display through October 2009.

The enormous conceptual steel forms are part of the Port of San Diego‘s ongoing commitment to bringing world class public art to our city.  Famed international sculptor Bernar Venet has eight works strategically placed throughout the district.  From Harbor Island to the Embarcadero, Venet’s studies in liner and arced creations offer a rare chance to experience the contributions of one of the most important French artists of our time.

This event alone is worth a day excursion for locals and weekend adventure for out-of-towners; an outdoor, self-guided tour of art and culture at its best.  Here’s where you can view the entire exhibit:

• “Twelve Straight Lines” and “Random Combination of Indeterminate Lines” – Harbor Island
• “Arcs in Disorder: 5 Arcs x 5″ – Laurel Street and Harbor Drive
• “Four Indeterminate Lines” and “220.5 Arc x 15″ – Embarcadero Marina Park North
• “97.5 Arc x 9″ and “221.5 Arc x 28″ – Embarcadero Marina Park South
• “Three Indeterminate Lines” – Harbor Drive in front of Marriott Hotel

Photo credit: Hollywood Tours http://hollywoodtours.us/

I try to make special time with my son whenever I can.  Sometimes that means climbing into bed and reading a book.  Other times it means playing basketball at Mission Bay.  Occasionally, for an extraordinary treat, we steal away and take a trip alone.  All of these moments are precious.

This past Christmas my nine year old bundle of love and I drove up to Anaheim to see Pirates Dinner Adventure and spend the night in a froo-froo hotel.  For a nine year old, froo-froo means room service and on demand movies.  Come to think of it, my 40-something definition isn’t a whole lot different.  We left San Diego a little after 3 o’clock and hit the Sheraton Cerritos just before 5; giving us enough time to grab a snack and lounge around before heading out for our big night.  The show started at 7:30pm; we arrived at 7 which apparently is late for this crowd because we were the last ones in.  We were escorted to our ship by Antonio the handsome and debonair pirate.  My son remarked that he looked scary; I thought he looked delicious.  We both followed in excited anticipation, boarded our ship and were ready to sail.  A servant took our drink orders and generously brought us an entire pitcher of soda.  A three course meal ensued including salad, choice of entrees and warm apple cobbler with caramel sauce (yum yum).

The show was a hoot.  It was much more comedic than I expected, with plenty of ball breaking jokes.  The humor was clean enough for tots but naughty enough to make a nine year old chuckle under his breath.  Our pirate was a real fiend and battled well.  We watched the other pirates perform amazing acrobatics and the audience had a blast; cheering and jeering all the way through.  Being in the travel biz, my child has seen and done it all and I am one tough cookie when it comes to commercial entertainment so it is no small thing when I tell you he has not stopped talking about it and we both want to go back!

Photo credit: AdRANTS http://adrants.com/

This past summer my son and I took a five day cruise to Mexico aboard the Carnival Elation.  He will be ten this year so his double digit hallmark seemed like the perfect time for a mommy-and-me vacation.

The Port of San Diego has grown tremendously over the years.  It used to be you had to drive up to Long Beach and deal with the hassle (and cost) of parking, but no more.  Since we live less than ten miles from the harbor, we cabbed it over to the terminal ($20 with tip) which gave us door to door service, help with our bags and super fast transport.

The Elation is a family ship if ever I’ve seen one.  There were 2,000 passengers on our cruise and 1,100 of them were kids.  My son made instant friends by the pool and we spent each day there splashing and playing.  There is miniature golf, ping pong, basketball, crafts, art shows and tea time.  Our cabin was comfortable.  We especially enjoyed the terry robes and towel buddies.  Although I splurged on ocean view accommodations, my son would have preferred the cheaper cabins with bunk beds (ah well, go figure).

I grew up cruising and considered myself something of a cruise snob since I had only previously sailed with Princess and Celebrity.  But boy-oh-boy, let me tell you, did Carnival ever impress.  The shows were top notch.  The food was out of this world and we sampled a little bit (ok, a lotta bit) of everything.  24-hour pizza and soft serve ice cream kept my little one feeling like he was king of the high seas.  We even ordered room service one evening after a long day in Cabo.  BLTs and hot fudge cake came right to our door in minutes…now that’s good stuff!

The Carnival crew has embarkation and debarkation down to a science.  I have never experienced an easier process and customs was a breeze.  Kudos to the pros for a well oiled machine.  Nothing can zap your vacation fun like nasty lines, strangers rifling through your luggage and endless questions about how many silver bracelets you bought in Mexico.  Best of all, we brought back wonderful stories of our magical trip to share with family and friends (and plenty of happiness that is ours to keep forever).