Ode to Rufus.

Im switching the playlist today. I know its a long time coming. I apologize. This next playlist is one Ive wanted to do for a very long time. Im going to call it "Rufus Schmufus" and its a list of my favorite songs by Rufus Wainwright.

I first heard about Rufus through my friend Jen Wohlenberg. We were driving out to Arizona for a scrapbook convention and we listened to him a lot during the drive. She told me that I might have heard him sing "Hallelujah" on the Shrek soundtrack. It didnt ring a bell at the time, so she popped in some of his music for me to hear. I quickly fell in love with his melodious, theatrical style and his quirky, unique voice.

Some things I love about Rufus:

- Many of his songs can transport me to another place. If I close my eyes during Barcelona, for example, I lift up into another world that is rural and fresh and warm. This happens to me with many of his songs. I think listening to his songs with my eyes closed is a different experience than with them open. I get lost in the music and the pictures/feelings it brings me.

- he plays the piano a lot and I love the piano. Love love love. He also includes a lot of strings, including the cello. I love the sound of a cello. Actually, his arrangements in general should be highlighted. He melds all these beautiful sounds and instruments together and I find it so alluring and different and beautiful.

-His melodies are often very different than the regular music you hear on the radio. Like, you probably woudnt hear his music on the radio. The melodies are languid and broad. They roam and dont always do what you would expect. To me, they're brilliant.

- This isnt musically related, but Rufus is adorable. I saw an interview with him once and I was so happy to see that his personality seemed to match his music. He's quirky. He has this laugh that is droll and abrupt. He seemed confident and audacious and totally at ease in his own skin.

1. Poses - Poses
2. The Art Teacher - Want Two
3. Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk - Poses
4. Beauty Mark - Rufus Wainwright
5. Nobody's Off the Hook - Release the Stars
6. Chlesea Hotel No. 2 - Leonard Cohen: Im Your Man
7. Peach Trees - Want Two
8. Going To A Town - Release the Stars
9. Dinner at Eight - Want One
10. Across the Universe - Poses
11. Barcelona - Rufus Wainwright
12. Memphis Skyline - Want Two
13. Oh What A World - Want One
14. The Maker Makes - Brokeback Mountain Soundtrack
15. Go or Go Ahead - Want One

It goes without saying that I will burn a copy for Jennifer, my sister. That's how I show her my love - I make her music cds. However, if anyone else wants a copy, let me know and I'll send it out to you. :)

"Im funny how? Like Im a clown? Like I amuse you?"

I saw this image recently on another blog and I could soooo relate. Im dont think Im a very humorous person. I kind of wish I were, but I dont think I am. I have been told more than once that I have no sense of humor and while I dont totally agree with that statement, I can see where someone would believe it. I dont enjoy sarcasm at all. I dont get off on cutting or dark humor. I dont know - its weird. I like to laugh as much as the next person, but Im very aware that laughter is lacking in my life. I dont think I laugh as much as other people. Thats kind of sad, isnt it? I think its sad.

Im not serious though, at least I dont think I am. I"ll have to ask Matt but Im pretty confident my friends and family would not describe me as serious. But maybe a stranger would. Maybe an acquaintance. I dont know... Im strange I guess.

In any case, I have laughed at someone's joke or story without fully understanding what was being said. Yes. I have done that... a lot. Guilty!

Ooohhh oh! Living on A Prayer!

One of the things this blog has done for me is made me realize that the boys, Matt and I have a pretty full and rich life. I suppose I knew that before, but when you have a blog that (in theory) should be updated with the highlights of your life, you grasp the idea quickly that staying on top of updated posts is vital to getting it all down. Truth is we do a lot of neat stuff as a family. For someone who prefers to stay home, this has been a surprising realization. Its been a challenge to keep up, but Im doing my best.

This past Friday was a fun first: Performing Arts Night at St. Francis School. When I attended St Francis we acted out a play each year. Actually, we didnt do them every year, but we did a handful when I was a kid. These days they dont do drama, but they do have Performing Arts Night. All the students preschool thru eighth grade make a skit or sing or dance with their class and the families line up hours before the show to get a good spot on the lawn in order to watch. It reminded me a lot of the Moonlight Amphitheater here in Vista. The set up was similar. Families laid out blankets and dined on the lawn before the show. It was really crowded and the weather was perfect. It was neat to see so many St. Francis families together doing something fun and lively and social. I didnt really know what to expect when the day began, but I ended up really enjoying the night. It was the perfect "end of the school year" kind of function.

The theme of the Performing Arts night was was Music through the Years. Each class took on a different decade or genre of music. Seamus's fifth grade class tackled the 70s by dancing and singing to Alice Cooper's "School's Out." As can be expected, the kids really got into the song. It was a hoot to watch. Just as we did with the Epiphany play, my family and I were surprised and entertained to see Seamus dancing choreographed moves and singing on stage with his class. It is something I get such a kick out of it because I honestly never imagined my son would enjoy doing such a thing. He truly seemed to be having a ball. Seamus' class also sang "Im a Little Bit Country/Im a Little Bit Rock and Roll" with their first grade buddies. That song wasnt as animated as the "School's Out" performance, but it was cute all the same.



Finn's class's genre was the 80s and they sang Bon Jovi's "Living On A Prayer." Somehow, Finn was selected as the guitarist for the group and therefore didnt do all the dance moves with the rest of the class. Instead, he had to look cool while playing his fake guitar. I had sell used uniforms the hours prior to the performance, so it was Matt's job to make sure Finn looked the part of an 80s iconic guitarist. He pulled it off marvelously. Finn looked amazing! He has spikey hair and metal studded belts across his chest. When his classmates saw his costume they showered him with compliments and give him high fives. His performance was fun to watch too. I dont think Finn particularly enjoys performing in front of a lot of people. He's much shyer than his brother and gets visibly nervous before any kind of event. But he did great. I was proud of him for getting up there and rockin' the house!


I was grateful that my parents and Miranda were able to join us for the performance. I love it when my family is able to attend the boys' various activities and functions. It makes me feel special that they go out of their way to support us even when they are in the midst of planning a huge birthday party the next day (see next blog post.) Thanks Mom, Dad and Miranda for coming. :)

I could watch this video over and over and over again.

The first time I saw this video, I emailed my sister Miranda and told her that I wanted her to be a music teacher of an elementary school. She is a drama girl -she has been singing and acting and dancing since she was a small child. She has a beautiful voice and she knows all the technical stuff where voice and music is concerned. You know what she told me? She told me no. Can you believe that? I was shocked! If I had the skill to teach children to sing like this, you coudlnt stop me from making it a career.

When I see this video it stirs up all sorts of emotion in me. I dont know why. When I hear those children's voices in harmony I feel very uplifted and it moves me to tears. I think the kids have just as much to do with my emotion as the actual music. Seeing them getting all into it, closing their eyes and rocking back and forth, totally gets to me. Does it do that to anyone else? Maybe it just feels good to see children loving music - loving it like I do. Im not a singer. I do not have a good voice AT ALL, but I love to sing. Its true. My kids can tell you: I sing all the time. It makes me feel alive.

I wish my own boys got music education like these kids do at PS22. Lucky kids.

Padres Game!!!

We are big Padres fans here in Casa McGarvey so when I heard there would be a Catholic School's Night at Petco Park, I jumped on it. The tickets were toted as being "fantastic seats" so I called my parents and some friends and invited them to join us for the game. There is a rich tradition of Porters attending Padres games on Catholic School's Night. I distinctly remember going to Padres games with St. Francis School when I as a kid. We always had a great time with the Hemenez, Turner and Kubli families. It seemed to me that at baseball games us kids had a lot more freedom than at home. Our parents kept to themselves and the kids got to have fun without their constant glare. In fact, I remember walking around Jack Murphy Stadum with my friends sans parents. Can that be true? I remember eating hot dogs and cracker jacks and cotton candy. We used to know all the players names. Gosh, those were great times. Because of my childhood, I was excited to continue the tradition of Catholic Schools Night with my own family and friends.

The cool thing about going to Catholic School's Night is that the boys and I got to walk on the field before the game. It was pretty thrilling. They took volunteers from each of the schools attending and we all walked down the warning track in the out field proceeding the National Anthem. There were about 150 students and chaperones. Im fairly confident I was the most excited McGarvey on that field. Seamus was pretty enthusiastic, but Finn was scared. He didnt want to do it, but I made him. Bad Mama! In actuality, he was super cute. As we waited in the tunnel leading to the infield, Finn was holding my hand so tight. He didnt want me to go anywhere without him. But once we got on the grass, I think he enjoyed himself.

The Padres won the game we attended (killing a 9 game losing streak) and they went on to sweep Cincinnati in the series. I think we were good luck. :)

Here are some more pics.
Me and Tina Huelsman. Not the best shot of us.
My mom looking like she'd rather be at a Dodger game.
Seamus and Ryan Huelsman
Jeremey Huelsman and Finn

Be Back Soon.

I have a headache.
Im tired.
My house resembles a frat house and that does NOT make me happy.
There are oodles of errands for me to run.
I have to plan out our week's meals and go grocery shopping.

I plan to post soon. Im just super busy right now. And overwhelmed.

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I loved making this page and I love how it turned out. The latest Sassafras papers and products are some of my favorites they've ever made. The patterns of their papers are so fun and beautifully coordinated. Just looking at them makes me happy. Some of my favorite papers this season are below. Sassafras papers are double sided (love it!) and the patterns on both sides of these papers make my toes tingle. I love all four designs so much. Also sharing some of their letter stickers (love the size and the font) and some of their adorable layered blossom accents. The blossoms have lots of hand sewn accents and real buttons. Adorable!




Occasionally their patterns arent easy for me to scrap with, but I love them so much I make them work. I remember this company when they first came out. They have always been super generous in sending me product each season. Its been awesome to see them grow and evolve. I wish them all the best with their company.

Run, Forrest, Run!

This past Saturday was the San Diego Parochial K-8 Track Meet down at Cathedral Catholic High School. St Francis School was one of many Catholic schools in the area that participated. Matt spent his entire high school career participating in track (he was a high jumper) so he was beyond excited to sign the kids up. As can be expected, Seamus was ready to compete. There were quite a few kids in his class who were going so he was totally up for the experience. Finn, however, wasnt as easily convinced. When we told Finn he'd be attending even if he didnt participate, he agreed to sign up for a few events. In the end, Seamus ran the 1600 meter (he placed third for his grade) and the 100 meter. Finn participated in the 200 meter shuttle relay, the 50 meter dash and the softball throw. I think he had an ok time. Although Finn didnt place in any of those events, he recieved an Honorable Mention ribbon from his coach today at school. Matt and I are very proud of our boys for trying their best while representing their school. Here are a couple more pics.

To Our Favorite Mom in Texas....

We love and miss you.
xo

Damnit, Matt! You've done it again.

Gladiator
Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, Two Towers and Return of the King
Master and Commander
300

What do all these movies have in common? They are all movies Matt dragged me to watch - sometimes kicking and screaming - but in the end I enjoyed immensely. Today he did it again. The movie: Star Trek.

In my defense, I was pretty sure I was going to enjoy Star Trek. I could tell from the previews that it would appeal to a wide audience. It was a big budget movie and generally those go over pretty well with me. The cast looked great and the dude playing Kirk was hot. You see, my issue with Star Trek wasn't that I wouldnt be entertained; it was that we dont have a lot of money right now and we dont get to see movies very often. I didnt want to spend what little time and money we had watching a movie I wasnt dying to see. I love movies and I dont get to see them nearly as much as I'd like to. When I actually get to see and adult film - not one that is animated or geared for children - I want it to be fabulous. When Matt talked about seeing Star Trek, I didnt get the impression it would be fabulous. It totally seemed like a movie Matt would love - but not me.

I was wrong. Star Trek was awesome! It was thrilling to see the old characters on the big screen, but cast with new, contemporary actors. The characters of James Kirk and Spock were particularly well developed. It was neat to see their relationship unfold on the screen. Every time a new character was introduced, Matt and I looked at each other with giddy excitement. They were all there: Sulu, Scotty, Ahura and Chekov. The actor that played Dr McCoy was fantastic. He mastered so many of McCoy's mannerisms and facial expressions. There were so many times during the movie where Matt or I chuckled over some old Star Trek reference. There were many. I thought the story was compelling and entertaining - not too cerebral but not totally devoid of intelligence either.

Maybe we can take the boys to see it this weekend. Im pretty sure they'd enjoy it and Id love to see it again. Does that make me a trekkie dork? Maybe, but Im going to own it. Take my word for it - its a good movie.

You Know You Live With Boys When....

This just in:
You know you live with boys when foreign objects are found inside the fan.
I just turned on the fan in Finn's room. Ive been a cleaning machine and wanted to cool down, but when I turned it on it began making this scary, clankity sound. I was fearful it was going to break!
The item inside the fan? A macadamia nut.

Taking Care of Business - Cleaning

Tuesdays I dont have to be at the kids' school. Its one of only two free days I have during the week. Usually I spend this day running errands and catching up on general family business. Today Im focusing on some serious cleaning/reorganizing.

On the list:
- kitchen floor. This is going to be tough. Our kitchen floor is by far the most walked through surface in the house. It gets dirty in minutes. I sweep/vacuum the area several times a week, but it never looks clean to me. I think I might actually get down on my hands and knees to scrub that floor. I wonder if the effort will be worth it. Its doubtful.

-Clothes and Laundry. Matt is the laundry guy in our household. Im very grateful to him for taking over my most hated chore, but he often gets behind. Its understandable. Today, Im going to push through a couple loads and try to separate some of the clothes out for goodwill.

- The boys rooms. I started this clean up duty yesterday without them knowing. heh heh heh. It helps to go in stealth style because I usually throw away a ton of their stuff without them knowing. No... its not mean! Its necessary. Trust me, its nothing they'll miss. Its trash. The boys have inherited their father's pack rat habits and its absolutely necessary for me to infiltrate their rooms from time to time and get all that useless crap out. To their credit, the boys will clean their rooms when asked, but mostly they just move stuff around. Usually they will pick everything off the floor and either stuff it under the bed or stack it up on desks and beds. Yesterday I focused on the beds - cleaning under both and changing out/washing the linens. It was absolutely disgusting under those beds - way worse than I ever dreamed. I hasten to admit this but under Seamus' bed I found both an old container of half eaten frosting ( you know the kind you buy already made) and an open bag of partially eaten brownie mix. Yeah. Boys are disgusting, or at least Seamus is. Anyway, today Im going to continue the purge - going through their drawers and cubbies. Then Im going to do the floors, dust and declare my war on the boys' rooms won.

- Light Dusting/Vacuum. I might start off my day with this chore. Its not as labor intensive and it will get me moving. I should dust and vacuum every day, but I dont. I vacuum several times a week, but I dont dust nearly as much as I should. We have a cat and he leaves an unbelievable amount of hair all over our wonderful house. I hate it. I know "hate" is a strong word and my mom taught me to find alternatives like "loathe" and "despise" to describe my displeasure but truly, I hate the hair and other crappy offshoot issues (cat litter, cat smell, etc) of owning a cat. If I could find another home for that cat tomorrow, I would do it in a heartbeat.

So yeah. That is my list for today. Im supposed to go to lunch with some friends. I don't think Im going to make it. I better get working. Wish me luck.

Happy Tuesday.

Congratulations Finn!

Finn celebrated his First Holy Communion today. Wooo hoooo! Our day began early - at 6am. Finn was the first one up, of course. He always is. Dama bought Finn his outfit for the day - a suit, tie, dress shirt and new shoes. I have never seen him in a suit and tie before today and he looked so handsome. Once we had him dressed and ready we ran over to the church. We had to be there 45 minutes before mass for pictures and stuff. Surprisingly, Finn didnt seem nervous at all. He was extremely nervous before his Holy Reconciliation a couple months ago, but today he seemed genuinely excited.

We celebrated with family including Finn's godfather, Philip, who came down from Downey. As we all made our way up to communion I saw Finn's eyes open wide every time a family member came to the altar. I think he was really happy to see some familiar faces.

After mass we went to Dama and Papa's for some food, cake and presents. Seamus had told Finn he would get mostly money and he was right. Finn already bought something this afternoon with his stash - some Star Wars themed legos.



All in all it was a super special day.
Congrats to you, Finn. Love you!

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