Day 250: More Holiday Cheer

The Holidays are in full swing now, that's for sure. Thank goodness I took a nice run at the beach this morning! An absolutely glorious day! The rain does that in Los Angeles.... it clears out all the smog and ick that build up here in our air. The beach was magnificent. Clear, crisp, gorgeous. Melody (my running trainer) and I even did our stretching out on the sand.... just beautiful.

With all the eating and drinking I've been consuming, I was happy to have a good sweat. Tonight was once again another celebratory dinner at one of my favorite throw-backs, The Buggy Whip. Yummy. If you have never experienced this place, I highly recommend you make it a priority in 2011. If you enjoy a cast of characters to dine with, great surf & turf, red leather booths, then this is your spot. Peter, the piano player was on fire with his Christmas music, and a good time was had by all. Tomorrow brings more fun I'm sure!

Day 245: 'Tis The Season

Ah, the parties have begun! The glitter, glamour and gorging! Yikes! I just hope I can keep my head on straight managing the social calendar, the clothes, the family, the commitments.... it's a crazy time!

Last night we attended a beautiful party at Diane & Leslie's, tonight we'll be at the Spector's annual festivities and it keeps goin' ... Hope you are enjoying some cheer with good friends & family.

Day 243: Celebrating Our Victories

Tonight I attended the Annual NWPC Holiday Party! As I have written about many times before on my Blog, the National Women's Political Caucus is an organization near and dear to my heart & my politics. I have served on the Board for a dozen years and continue to participate. Tonight was our signature Holiday event where members have an opportunity to mingle with other like-minded, politically savvy people as well as elected officials.

I was happy to have big sis Michele, niece Zoe and little bro Josh Ritter join me at tonight's festivities. This year was a very successful one for NWPCs endorsed candidates. We sent many women to the State Assembly including my very own State assembly woman Holly J. Mitchell. It feels good to continue working toward our goal of 50/50 by 2020, (50% representation by women in all branchs of government) however, there is still much work to be accomplished.

That's why I continue to recruit, encourage and support women to consider running and serving in public office. This week I was proud to help announce the candidacy of dear gal pal Marisa Perez, who is running for City Council in the city of Lakewood. The Election is in March and this is her first political run. I will be profiling Marisa on my Blog over the months leading up to Election Day and I hope you will consider supporting her. To learn more about Marisa, please visit her website at http://www.MarisaForLakewoodCouncil.com/

And to learn more about the wonderful work performed by NWPC LA Westside, please visit our site at www.LAWestsideNWPC.org

Day 233: Ah, The Holidays

The hustle & bustle, running & wrapping, schlepping & cooking, planning & coordinating.... it's all wonderful and it's all too much! As I have written many times before on my Blog, I love this time of the year, starting with Thanksgiving, but it is a lot of work when you are a bit of a perfectionist.

I do care that I get my decorations up on time. I do care that special family meals are prepared to honor the Holiday spirit. I do want to give the "right" gifts to people I care about. I do want to make plans with friends & family to celebrate. If all of these things didn't matter to me, the holidays sure would be easier, but then I wouldn't be me. I like that I care about making sure everything is perfect. It does matter to me. I just wish I had more hours in a day!

Happy Holidays!

Day 229: Holiday Shopping Accident

So I had a great, productive day shopping for the Holidays today. It wasn't all Holiday purchases, I also had to run several errands to pick up goodies for me and the boys.

I was on a roll and feeling very good about what I was accomplishing. Somehow this time of the year usually makes me feel behind! Behind in getting my decorations up in the house, getting the right attire to wear to Holiday parties, questioning whether I send a Holiday card this year, and on and on.

My arms were loaded up with packages from Sephora, See's Candy (my favorite, in case you ever wanted to know, especially the molasses chips!) Justice Clothing for Girls, and Game Stop (electronic games store), and more. I needed to grab one more gift and while I was waiting to pay I had to put all my packages down in order to grab my wallet. I also needed to sit myself down to just take a breather... well I mistook the location of the bench in the boutique store and fell flat on my ass on the floor. OUCH!!!!!!

My entire right side is so sore. What a klutz. Have you ever sat down to find that the chair you thought was there had been moved? Well, that's what I did and I'm paying for it tonight. In my haste I was not paying attention and have now really screwed up my lower back and tush. Very painful!


Who ever knew Holiday shopping could actually be dangerous for your body!

Day 222: FIFTH DAY: I Am Grateful

Happy Thanksgiving to my gracious Blog followers. May your day be filled with abundance and may you be surrounded by the people you love and cherish. While many of us will celebrate this day with way too much food & cheers, millions go hungry today. What a shame in this country, isn't it?

Pictured here is our beautiful Thanksgiving table decorated by Aunt Jennifer! It was gorgeous!

We have spent many of Thanksgiving donating time and food to shelters and to those less fortunate. And I'm happy we have created these experiences for our boys. We've been blessed to host a long standing tradition of sharing this holiday with family and friends. Over the years the group has grown and has topped out at some 40 guests for our feast. Always beautiful, warm and wonderful. But this year I wanted and needed to change it up.

I wrote about the many reasons that this was the year to make the change. From the boys school schedule changing to the boys getting older, to family on the East Coast that wanted to host a holiday.... this was the year and I'm so grateful that we could make it happen. Not an easy task, change is a challenge, but here we are in Austerlitz, New York and I couldn't be happier.

It's another crisp, cool and glorious day in the country and the house was full of energy all day as we cooked and prepared for our feast. One of the most magical moments for me was watching our boys play football... it was a real East Coast day, you really felt you were in New England with it blistery cold outside and the boys running around with a football.

Jennifer was really an amazing host and chef. She prepared most of the dinner as I served as sous chef and on KP. Hubby Brian had made a wine store run back in Manhattan and so we had delicious wine to share with our yummy food.

Pictured here is Jen on a step stool to be able to mix those potatoes... check out Kevin's eyes as he walks by ... hmm he's saying ... can't wait to eat those spuds!

Watching Jennifer make our Mom's yummy mashed potatoes with pounds of butter and whipped cream was a real treat.

And watching Harrison and Brian prepare our turkey for the feast just warmed my heart. And isn't that what the day is about. Being wrapped in memories and by the people you share your life with... creating new memories and traditions, keeping some old ones, and being grateful that you even have a place at a table to share the holiday.

Pictured below is the family feasting at our beautifully decorated table!

One of the funniest and most memorable images I will take away from tonight's feast is what happened to the Simon boys after dinner... they all passed out on the couch from eating so much food... check these brothers out on the couch! Hysterical!

Brian and I congratulated one another for making today's Holiday happen... we broke from tradition, but created a new one with Jen's family and in New York. The boys LOVED being in the country, playing football with Zachary, eating yummy food and being together. What more could you ask for?

We were all very grateful tonight!

Day 170: My Favorite Time of Year

I've written before how the Fall Season is my favorite time of the year. Especially October. It's the time when our weather begins to shift from hot days to more warm days, and cool nights. When the sunrise and sunset have more burnt orange tones and when the days get shorter as the clocks get pushed back an hour. It is also the time when the boys have settled back-to-school and by now are in a full routine, albeit an always changing one when you have teenagers, and it's a time to celebrate my favorite Libra Birthday's and to celebrate my two favorite holiday's Halloween & Thanksgiving.

I love when the air is cool and you bundle up in your sweater. I love that tonight as my boys did their homework they asked for a cup of tea with honey as the rain came down outside. It's a night for a fire.

October is a month to honor two people I love. My Mom, Suzanne, was a Libra and my hubby Brian is a Libra too. Probably two of the most significant people in my life who share a birthday two days apart.

October kicks off a busy time in the Simon house. With Birthday's, our annual Halloween party and are annual Thanksgiving feast we are busy and full the entire month through.

This year we are not hosting Turkey Day and instead will be flying to New York to spend the holiday with kid sis Jennifer and her beau Kevin. A change of pace. A fresh landscape. An opportunity to travel with the boys. A chance to celebrate Turkey Day in the country on the East Coast.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I have always loved its meaning -- giving thanks for your lot in life. Taking stock in what you have, the people you care about, being grateful for your health. It's also my wedding anniversary. Brian and I specifically planned to get married on Thanksgiving weekend so it's also a time to honor our marriage. Going to New York is for us as well to celebrate our 23rd wedding anniversary.

I think it's only fitting that today it's raining as we begin the first week in October. Just the way I like it. Something about the weather, the change of seasons, the anticipation of Halloween, it all brings up such cozy memories for me. I'm hoping Brian and Harrison will cook their famous Simon Chili.

I will miss certain people this year. It won't be the same Holiday without Nat and his Pink's Hot Dogs. It won't be the same without one of my chicks, Brandon who is away at college. He and Papa Nat shared a special bond getting those Pink's Hot dogs for the big Halloween party. It's not the same without them together. And of course I'll miss my Mom, not only on her October Birthday, but at the festive Holidays as she is the one who started this whole crazy Fall kickoff of seasonal holidays.

Her traditions have been passed down to her daughters and in turn I have passed them on to my sons. They come to except our traditions and cherish them as much as I do ... well maybe not as much as me yet, that will come with time and even more so when I'm not around anymore to host them.

Enjoy the Fall season... be warm & cozy, and celebrate your traditions and family!