romancing "the page"

as fall approaches and i prepare to put away those long, languid days on the beach, i am excited for the work that lies ahead of me. this summer has been about editing, editing, editing. i know sometimes here it might seem like editing's not that important to me, but i kind of have a rule that blogging is for kicks only. if i get too serious about it, i either a.) need to make sure i am getting paid to do it, or b.) should probably be out of work for ... oh, i don't know, something like chopping someone's head off with a broken saucer. (gasp!) come on. i'm not psychotic, but we all can get a little testy after long hours and sheer exhaustion or when, say, someone puts their hand up to you and tells you to get out of their face. O -kay, I was just leaving. but i digress. what i'm trying to say is that i'm exciting for writing season. for some reason, i am full of ideas in the summer that marinate until fall when i can give them the concentration that is their due. i have loved this last year, writing-wise. there is a novel about terrorism that i can't bring myself to face in between a couple of free hours here and there. so that one has an outline, but is on hold until some fancy benefactor recognizes my great talent and gifts me with a fellowship that allows me to write uninterrupted. until then, i am working on this novel/television spec about summer, the change it brings and four friends whose lives drastically change over several years. and it's just so much delicious fun!

one of the most exciting things about my craft is that healthy work habits have emerged, and i have a more clear idea of what i need in order to be prolific. knowing yourself, your style, your genre, your preferences, these things all help one's productivity. taking terese eiben's class at the Writer Studio really helped me discover some of those things about myself, even though much of it was already evident in my writing. if you live in nyc and you're a writer kind of fumbling around, not quite sure of your voice, i cannot more highly recommend the Studio.

and, ah, new york. i do so love that city. it's just a wonder to me though that this sunnier, brighter coast has become such a faithful muse.

until next time.

runners i like ...

everyone's talking about michael phelps, the merman who just put a swimming pool on my christmas wish list. but it's usain bolt, the spirited Jamaican sprinter who smiles for the camera as he's crossing the finish line, who inspires me.

ever since i saw chariots of fire, there's something about watching runners that fills me with admiration. i've never really been athletically inclined, have always had two left feet and two crossed-eyes, so to speak. and due to really poor depth perception, i duck when a ball comes my way -- whether it's a baseball, basketball, football or beachball even. so table tennis is out, too. (come on, that sport was created by someone with a sense of humor.)

just about the only thing i found an aptitude for was running, but i'll tell ya, it's a lot easier than it looks ... which is why i have such an appreciation for my friend fred, who is lacing up his shoes for more than just a gold medal. he's helping to change lives.

there is a group of normal folk, like you and me, mere spectators who saw an opportunity to use running as a tool to do something really good. several friends from my church back in new york have signed up for the chicago marathon, and they're not doing it to pass out pamphlets warning of hell, fire and damnation. (thank God!) they're not doing it to raise money for a new garage. and they're not doing it because they're natural born athletes. they're doing it to raise awareness about sponsoring children in rwanda.

many of you know that nate and i took a trip there last summer to help build two houses in the southern province of the country. i would like to say that it was life-changing (and it could still be), but the trip wasn't for me. i took it for you, so that i could come back and tell a story, so that somebody else would be inspired to go there and to come back and to tell a story. it's happening all over the U.S. -- we are getting involved and our collective awareness about the need to live outside ourselves is growing. the one thing i learned over there that i couldn't learn here is that

it is not about me

.

if you caught the town hall style meeting with the two presidential candidates last week at saddleback church, hosted by rick warren, you might have noticed that they both referred to the above quote, incidentally from rick's book, The Purpose Driven Life. regardless of which runner wins the presidential race, i can assure you of something i believe you can count on: our country is headed on a road to heal itself. we can all recognize our failings as a culture who is so caught up in its own materialistic success that we have lost sight of what it is to truly live.

it's hard to put into words what i experienced in modasomwa last year -- it's emotionally difficult to even pull those memories out -- a mixture of poverty and hope and gratitude from rwandans. and frankly, it's we who should have been grateful. at our first meeting, the children came out to welcome us with song and dance. there is a stark difference between children who are sponsored and those who are not. children who are not sponsored suffer from malnourishment. children who are sponsored get to go to school so that one day have hope for a better future. they are by no means as healthy as an american child, but they are healthy enough, because sponsorship also pays for food. if you sponsor a child in rwanda (or anywhere, for that matter), you can create a relationship with them, one that will last a lifetime -- beyond the sponsorship.

i want to ask you to sponsor a child in rwanda. chances are that you can afford a monthly gift of $35 that will feed an entire family and provide schooling for one child. we have three children, two in rwanda, one in zambia, who we have sponsored for the last few years. we met two of those children while in rwanda, therese and aphrodice. aphrodice, 7, was extremely shy, and warmed to nate after a couple of hours of male bonding. but therese, 13, greeted us like long-lost family. i'm not even the best at keeping in touch and writing letters as often as i could, and there she was, starved for the attention and love of her american family, dressed in her very best clothing, two sizes too big, proud and exuberantly happy and so very glad to meet me. i wonder now who she will become and what life will be offered to her for the equivalent of night out at the movies, one time a month.

this olympic season, will you join the global community? maybe let my friend fred represent your sponsor child as well in the marathon? if you too were inspired by both barack and mccain's call to live beyond yourself, but you don't know where to start, let me suggest making the difference in one life. imagine what could happen if we all got involved!

dushi mimana
yatu gizumway
kuko kubwachu
tutari kumenyana

(we are all one)

go to www.runningforrwanda.org to connect with and give hope to another child in rwanda

hollywood farmers' market

"your home should make you happy" -- jonathan adler

my happy room

giddy-up little darlin'

the last quarter has flown by, and it's been a busy one for this trail rider. i've taken the three-hour tour with sunset ranch from beachwood canyon to burbank where I tied my dappled horse, appropriate named Cherokee, to a hitchin' post and had margaritas with friends before climbing back on my steed for a late night ride back to hollywood.

... bore the light-blinding roadtrip to see joshua trees, their sad, brave limbs waiting at the side of the road to wave me away from the deadly desert heat, only to learn that one doesn't, or shouldn't, visit the desert on a national holiday in the middle of summer. ahh, spontainaety.

the sun only baked my brain slightly, but a nap and a chilly cocktail set me right. later that night, nate and i sang the star spangled banner beside 20,000 friends at the Hollywood Bowl, to which we are now completely hooked. It's a five minute walk from out apartment, which means we don't have to search for seats.

next to being married, a girl likes to be crossed in love a little now and then.

i love being married. i could say how many years i've been with my nate, but a lady doesn't speak about things like that. or, rather, this lady would, but she and her consort have agreed that they have not quite reached thirty years of age, and to count the years would only reveal their crafty subterfuge. they (meaning me, and my handsome prince) would be cast out of all proper society in their city of angels (read: those under 30) and forced to entertain themselves at the prettily packaged suburban malls, perhaps even in (gasp!) the valley!!! ... which, if they were to be honest, is a much more likely place to find them than say, a night club. i mean, why do married people go to the meat market if not to actually buy meat?

but i digress, which, if we remember what dr. mike taught us all those years ago in acting class, is okay, especially if the tangent that your on will entertain, educate or enlighten.

but o, how i do love being married ... to my best friend. nothing seems worse than being shipwrecked with someone who doesn't exactly meet the standards you had before setting sail.

and i've always loved our marriage, to the point of idolatry at times, maybe. (idolatry: archaic term often used in the christian culture, it can mean the things -- or person -- that one places before GOD or it can mean anything that a person deeply loves (yowzers!) depending on who you're talking to, since hopefully we all know that not all christians think just alike. but whatever. all i am saying is that at times i get tunnel vision, and the only thing i care about is that one person, who is, just a person. but what a human being! one so suited for me.

just yesterday, my companion, who knows the importance of whisking a girl away, met me at work and took me on an impromptu, surprise bicycle ride. and all i could think while gleefully navigating my wheels toward venice with the sun shining brightly on the ocean to my right was how very nice it is to be married to a man who really gets me and that i can't imagine my life with anyone else.

so bon anniversaire, mon grande amour! je t'aime.

hallelujah! pass the biscuits.

yea! church! all i wanted was a little religion, where i could get my groove on in my Father's house, to open my soul for some sunday morning nurture. then, when brandon said he had a sermon that was so chock full of good stuff, real food for someone there who was thirsty (and admittedly, i was) i thought he was just making fun. but the sermon, and the service, was only the beginning. after the service, just to crank out as much praise as i could, nate and i went to the house of blues for their gospel brunch -- which i highly recommend if you dig seriously soulful music. because we went for our wedding anniversary (#9!!!), we ended up on stage, praising Jesus with the Los Angeles Cathedral Gospel Choir. they're not Trinity, but you know, they can get down. to top that, i found out that next saturday, ecclesia is having a one day seminar with an apologetics scholar. and just guess who has the day off. i mean, you'd think that i'd prayed for it. talk about a baker's dozen (getting more than you bargained for).

in case you're thirsty, too, check out the podcasts of ecclesia hollywood's CALLED TO BE FREE series. sunday, march 9 will be available soon, and it's so truthful, you might be persuaded to listen to the entire series (like me).

peace!

http://www.ecclesiahollywood.org/ecclesia_hear.html

people ARE their principles*

You hold on and I don't know how. And I wish I did. Maybe you were born committed...*

if only we were born committed, but commitment takes baby steps. doesn't it? it doesn't happen overnight, but is developed. like in marriage, the pursuit of a dream, or (as I'm reminded today) political advocacy. i'm inspired by the volunteers on the roadside, holding up their signs of hope, cutting time out of their busy schedules to inspire or encourage others to get out there and vote.

because no matter who we vote for, what's important is that we take this privilidge seriously.

happy voting day!!!!

* The Way We Were

Eyes Wide Open

I love how we evolve, one step onto the road less taken and we start to become less predictable versions of ourselves.  I've had enough versions of myself in my adult life, constantly changing each time I try something knew.  In fact, I had a customer the other day who plays the violin, and I said that I loved the violin, and hoped that I might be able to inspire my children to play it someday.  "Why don't you learn to do it yourself? she asked.  "The best way to inspire your children to do something is when you yourself do it."  And I thought to myself, who knows?  Maybe I will.  Best-selling novelist and author of Bel Canto, Ann Patchett wrote that learning a new skill, or taking a new class, is the best way to keep your brain young... and God knows how I can use the help.  So maybe I will.

So, too, the life of this blog has evolved from it's initial place at my kitchen table in Inwood, where I had too much fun watching, er um, spying on, the other tenants in my building, and writing about them.  

I had a good friend and neighbor there who said that interesting things always seemed to happen to me, and he urged me to write about them -- this from a man whose white collar dad ended up in white collar jail.   My take is that interesting things happen to pretty much everybody, and if they're eyes are open, they might even notice them.  

do the zombie

One day, I set out for a walk
The path soon grew quite dark
I saw my shadow runnin' faster
Hurry, slow-mo, comin' after me
After me

And it said
Do the Zombie
Do the Zombie, woah, yeah
Do the Zombie
Do the Zombie, woah, yeah

And zombie don't have to dance (sha, la, la)
And zombie don't dance at your command (sha, la, la)
But zombie don't have to wait (sha, la, la)
So come on (come on)
Do the Voodoo Shake

(Zombie lyrics, by Nellie McKay)

that's about all i have time for today, folks.
we were short at the restaurant, and like a dummy, i volunteered! because i love working on my day off.
what can you do? it's my restaurant, too, so i'm off to the rescue!

but first, i have to cancel my reservations at primitivo! bummer.

thankful in the city of angels

so i have a lot to be thankful for this year:

traveled to the other side of the world, and found there in the rich red soil my heart; left the city of my dreams, a passionate lover that i had to leave in order to move toward my future, now a magical reality; a bond that is ever strengthening with my little sister -- even hallmark cards are starting to resonate with me ... that's how much our friendship means, and now baby is here. fully named and all. it's a good year to be thankful, which is exactly how i felt this thanksgiving.

but working in food every day, spending a good deal of time there doing dishes, ETC., i was a bit apathetic about our dinner plans. friends from nyc were coming, and i really was starting to wish that i'd suggested going out to eat. but on wednesday morning, i sat down with a couple of magazines and the good old world wide web and let the inspiration flow.

here's what came of it:

Orange & Sage Free-Range Turkey (inspired by Real Simple)
(a 5 lb breast this year -- can you imagine???)
Dried Cherry & Maple Sausage Stuffing (inspired by myself)
Green Beans with Crispy Sage & Pancetta (Bon Appetite, December)
Roasted Cider-Infused Organic Carrots (me)
Cranberry Relish (me, see recipe below)

no butter, no cheese, no comfort-broccoli casserole. i felt a little proud. nate said it was the best meal yet, and that made all that last minute work worthwhile -- and now i have to confess that the whole meal took under two hours to prepare. so i highly suggest taking the easy route. check out real simple's Thanksgiving 1-2-3, and other such web articles for last minute tips to make your holiday a piece of cake.

and speaking of cake, i'm thinking 2008 is going to be a great year to open the bakery. right now, i'm leaning towards sparrow's soul or sparrow's song, or possibly just sparrow, but am willing to hear suggestions.

peace!

tis the season ... gobble gobble!

what? summer has ended already? some days it's still 90 degrees out. today, though, it's downright cold! Tinsel town is hanging its tinsel, so I'm trying to get used to the idea that thanksgiving is THIS week! i'm going to buy a turkey tomorrow ... that's one day before my favorite day of the year -- one in which i usually plan a menu a month in advance... though really, let's be honest: turkey, potatoes & gravy, sweet potatoes of some sort, a green item or two, cranberry relish (see below), pumpkin pie, stuffing ...

some friends from nyc might come for dinner. also my uncle joe from long beach. he might bring a friend. the first friends i mentioned may have invited some people. so we'll entertain between two and six people. i'd be jus fine if it were just the two of us. i always am. there's something really swell about being with the one you love on holidays, something private and personal ... something, lasting.

next week he's going to see baby, who does not have a name yet, because baby is in the production process right now. doctors induced yesterday, i think around 4:30pm, est. no word on whether baby has left the cocoon, but i imagine it will be any moment now. i wish i was there. sigh ...

looking on the bright side, it's been a real fun month. just look:
horseback riding
driving around in a convertible
great movies (this month's favorite: No Country for Old Men ... no kidding, as good as the book!)
finding a great new coffee/furniture! shop (Marie et Cie, Valley Village)
brunches galore! (the alcove, b&d, fred's)
taking in the tree at the grove ( a little cousin to my mammoth friend in rockefeller center)

now it's off to work, but before i go i leave you with the top not so secret recipe for my cranberry sauce -- it really is something!

paula's flirtastious thanksgiving day cranberries:
simmer 1 16 oz bag cranberries on low until soft
add natural sweetner (agave syrup is good)
add 6 oz can of mandarin oranges (drain syrup or juice)
put half of cranberry orange mixture in food processor. blitz.
put blitzed portion and original portion together
add chopped pecans and orange zest
and if you'd like, a dash of cinnamon or zest of vanilla (depends on my mood)
voila!

eat turkey slowly. make as many healthy, fresh veggies as carb-heavy sides. drink copious amounts of wine, and always laugh at your in-laws' jokes. that's my thanksgiving advice. oh! and be thankful!

how now brown cowch

we went with brown this time, to avoid getting another white couch that will turn brown within six months. so our initial purchases included a dark brown entertainment center, espresso shelves, cafe noir couch, dark wood table with black leather seats and modern italian three legged chairs. the walls were bare and white, and with the new flatscreen, our new digs were beginning to look like a bachelor pad nightmare. nate was ok with it. i was climbing the dirty snowflake walls.

you'd think with our last experimentation with psychadelic orange in nyc that we'd learned our lesson. but we made another attempt at coral, and two hours after painting an accent wall in our living room, we plop down on the couch, now completely fabulous with $10 hot pink IKEA pillows and something $$$$ orange accent pillows from Antik (Sherman Oaks). What? You think I'd tell you what I spent? I'm trying to forget about it.

the coral we chose this time was just right. we're still looking for that special something to round out the room and take the focus away from the mighty TV, but for now ... it's inspiring and fun (and just a little girlie ... more reasons for why my nate takes the cake!)

speaking of cake, i just celebrated 33. who me, ashamed? look, if you squint, i could pass for 23. that's all i'm sayin'. if you squint, which i've obviously been doing a lot of since landing in sunny california. for my birthday, nate sent me to bliss, a spa at the W, where my esthetician told me emphatically, STAY OUT OF THE SUN. ok, ok. sunglasses, check. sunblock, check. sweet billowy hat? i'll get to it.

my birthday cake this year was made by the lovely laura, a co-worker's girlfriend. chocolate cake, chocolate icing, fresh strawberries and purple pansies. it was dairy free, and one of the yummiest cakes. we celebrated early, since i had to work on the big day. it's hard to believe that it's been a whole year since we first came to LA and I pouted about having to wait to move here.

now i miss ny. go figure. but tonight i walked my dog in our neighborhood (the prettiest place i've ever lived) wearing capris and a thin shirt. i feel like holly golightly most of the time. that's how i know whatever path we're on now is a good one.

here's my advice for the week: happiness is a choice, no matter where you live. so paint your room orange or green or black, but don't wait for good things to come. go get 'em.

darjeeling feel good movie of the week

except for the two hours i spent watching darjeeling limited, and for the time that i've spent eating, i've mostly slept off exhaustion for the last 24 hours. last night, nate and i went to see our friend matt at spanish kitchen, and were seated in a quiet little spot off the veranda area. we'd finished our tastilicious margaritas and $2 tacos by the time the playboy bunnies showed up to provide us voyeuristic entertainment. i was too curious to be jealous, though matt said i might want to get nate out of there before they arrived. pish posh. what do i have to worry about besides shiny hair and boobs (both being shiny)? i can't help but wonder sometimes how girls like that tell daddy about their new job -- for the first time, that is. is he proud? is he embarrassed? because even if i did have shiny hair and titillating teets that I were playboy quality, i don't know how i'd break it to dear old dad. and i think he'd probably disown me -- at least for a little while -- or cry. and the crying thing would probably be worse.

anyhoo. playboy bunnies. a great diversion from more grave matters, like the smokey cloud of haze looming over hollywood, where it's currently 98 degrees.

diane ackerman has gotten into my head!

she didn't really. she's just who she is, and damn her for that. several years ago i read A History of the Natural Senses, and thought, "I want to write like this someday!" but alas, i've twiddled my thumbs because i've only wanted to write what i want to write instead of being a gun for hire so haven't advanced -- not a big deal when you're working on your craft. but a word for the wise: do your homework before beginning a project. it might save you from copying someone else's work.

every time i pass the sinai hospital in beverly hills, jealousy hits my heart like a brick because i didn't become the doctor i'd wanted to be when i was in grade school. second grade hit, i decided to be a writer and boom! all hopes of earning an md vanished! then earlier this week it hit me. it's a ittle too late for med school but maybe i should be writing about my obsession with the brain. i'll do for the brain what ackerman did for the senses. however, before i begin this endeavor of combining medical research with poetic prose, smart girl that i am, i google diane ackerman. her prose illuminates scientific and natural elements like nothing else that i've written (besides mary roach - another writer whose taken my obsession with physiology to another level). but i've been a little out of the literary loop, i see, because in 2004 she published An Alchemy of Mind -- pretty darn close to my idea. so close in fact that it would probably be plagarism for me to attempt to write it. and besides, Alchemy is now on my TO READ list. now i don't know whether i should feel flattered that i'd share an idea with such a beautiful writer or depressed because it's too little, too late.

ah well. i'll crawl back into the world of fiction and emerge with another idea soon enough -- probably right after someone else publishes something with the exact same content. lerg*^!

if you can't stand the heat, get out of hollywood

they say that no real angeleno actually goes to the beach, but with temperatures rising above 100 degrees this past week i did what any other level-headed new yorker would do, threw my sunscreen and towel into a carry-all (made by shannon orr, fabulous owner of seo designs), and drove out to the ocean, where it's always 10-20 degrees cooler than other spots in Tinseltown. the waves come right up to greet you, and on saturday in malibu, dolphins raced north and showed off for the good part of an hour. braving labor day traffic, we spent the holiday enjoying a nice california cabernet blend from edna vineyards with friends at a house on a cliff overlooking the waves.

the pacific is a happy blue, just blending with the sky. so what nate and i both lost our brand new shades to the tide's pull, we're a giddy reflection of the ocean's hue.

The Special Occasion

In Sideways, Virginia Madsen's character says something about saving an amazing bottle of wine for a special occasion. She says - and I'm paraphrasing: Opening a great bottle IS the special occasion. And so it was last night, when my husband, Nate, and I opened our Le Gode, a '97 Brunello from Montalcino. Maybe because we've been in LA now for only two weeks, but life seems like it's there for the taking, and the Le Gode taking up dust on a shelf was ready to be corked.

It was beautiful, nuanced with tobacco and chocolate and cherries, with very little acidity. My mouth waters. Paling in comparison was the 2001 Chateneuf we opened last week. It was perfumey, a little musty. Maybe we opened it too early or perhaps too late, or maybe the heat had gotten to it. But the Brunello, oh the Brunello. Now there's a wine to make my heart sing.

And now, we've slowly gone through our little collection, but the adventure continues. I can't wait to see what we find next!

How summertime just whizzes by! I'm breathless. Less than two weeks ago I braved Ernesto's effect on the ocean's waves, relentlessly knocking me down and dragging my bum through the sandy shore. I could still feel the rythm of the tide when I layed down to sleep. You know how a full moon affords several nights of moon-gazing before it starts to recede? It was perfect. Nights offerred intoxicating views of Luna's reflection, glinting bright silver on the dark water as the foamy sea rushed up to greet my ankles.
It was almost just enough, and maybe because I'm back in the throes of work or maybe because I wonder if life will ever be any easier (if I will publish, if it's worth it, if I should seriously think about becoming a lawyer or something a little more ... responsible), I'll admit it: I long for more out of life than a week at the beach.
Perhaps we should just go somewhere and detox for a year, where life isn't all about "making it". That was Nate's suggestion. It was a momentary detour from the actual plan, a plan that I get a lot more excited (and a bit petrified) about everytime I say the words aloud ... We're moving to LA. There, it's out. And there are days, believe me, that I wax poetic about living here. Moments when I can't imagine that we'll ever leave. It has been all that I wanted for my whole life, which may make me seem pretty lame. Whatever. I wanted to be a part of it. But we're ready. We've been saving our meager pennies, researching neighborhoods where we might want to live, trying to make contacts in the TV/film industry... all that's left for us to do is pack, and oh yeah, actually go there and make sure we don't absolutely hate it. Though does it really matter? This is Nate's dream. I've lived mine. The novel's almost finished. I've made unbelievably great friends here. I can write from anywhere. As for Uptown Baker. Dont' you worry. Wherever I am, there are surely sweet goods to follow.

"young cat, if you keep your eyes open enough,

oh, the stuff you would learn!

the most wonderful stuff!"

greetings from my humble little kitchen at the top of the island -- a six by 10-foot flower-green space where I compose the world's next great novel (in my head), dance to the gorgeous jazz sounds of diana krall (or whatever trippy music happens to be on npr late at night) --managing not to trip over my two left feet, my relentlessly meowing feline, bonkers or happy-go-lucky lab, callie (chocolate, what else?) -- bake cake and manage not to eat ALL the batter, beg my husband nate to help me with dishes, read up on the latest wine trends -- how will i ever retain all that information? tannins, acidity, full-bodies, cherries, berries, vanilla, leather?? Might as well help myself to a little old vine zin.

outside, someone's blaring kenny rogers from a "boombox" sitting on their window sill. i am convinced that this particular fan of the gambler plays rogers' greatest hits as an indication that he is open for business. teenagers stop by for a moment to shake hands with the old country music-lovin' puerto rican and then keep right on walking. i bet it's drugs. or it could be my overactive imagination. i'm easily amused.

less than a week after inquiring about a neighbor's pets and admitting to having full-view of her cute furry creatures from my curious kitchen window frame, she and her boyfriend put up blinds -- the nerve! i've noticed lately that all of the windows facing my kitchen now have curtains. bummer.

my friend carol who lives two floors above has a name for just about everyone in my building. she probably calls me peeping paula. i'm rarely bored. at least that's something. she's recently started walking dogs, so now she is the crazy-dog-lady.

thanks for dropping by. more tales later, as soon as I finish dinner...