Category Archives: coffeeshop

Day 1 Photography and Doodle-Trader Joe’s is an Event

Two or three times per week, I walk about a mile to Trader Joe’s. I purchase whatever I can carry in two cloth bags or I swing by for samples. The samples make this an event.

On the way into the store, select a shopping basket, not a cart.

Make a beeline to the far corner in the back and get a free sample of coffee.

Check out the sample.

Walk around the store, shopping and drinking coffee.

Find a new food and read the label for possible future.

Grocery shopping is an Event!

Trader Joe’s is an Event!
Doodled the Adventure of Trader Joe’s

Concert 17-East Rutherford, New Jersey- Community and Family

How perfect that Kathryn Yarborough is the sponsor for today. Check out her youtube about reducing stress and her website.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htUcHvw9xqo

http://www.relaxed-and-at-ease.com

And let people know about her site. It is truly a gift.

For more information about becoming a sponsor go to www.livealifeworthcelebrating.com

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Concert 17-East Rutherford, New Jersey

Community and Family

Wyckoff, New Jersey is listed as the hometown of the Jonas Brothers. The boys were born in New Jersey, Texas and Arizona. Currently they reside in Dallas and Los Angeles. Each location has a specialness for them, but New Jersey is home. And with Kevin’s recent engagement to a young woman named Danielle, it is even more evident. (Congratulations to them!)

I sat in section 108 last night. It is the center of the stage, I was in the 7th row, eye level with the band, and the seat was next to the underground tunnel where the band emerges to go to the stage. These were definitely the best seats I ever had at any show in my entire life.

Every evening the show is great and I have seen some that are phenomenal. But, this was like being in someone’s home. It felt like the arena was filled with only the people who have watched and supported the Jonas Brothers for a long time. And yes, Danielle was there with her family and bodyguards for both nights of the show. She sat a few rows away from me for the last two nights.

After the song, Live to Party, they leaned back on each other and breathed for awhile. It was an example of how much energy they were putting into each of the shows last night. This is the song from their hit Disney show, JONAS. Nick plays the drums the whole time and does some amazing solos. Joe and Kevin get into a mechanical arm contraption and spray foam on half of the audience. Fun and energetic!

It was a privilege to be there last night. To see and feel the warmth of a community of friends and family. To watch the boys give their all and share themselves so beautifully and personally with this group of people.

I have been taking notes and observing the idea of community for the past few weeks.

When you follow a band for the summer, you feel like you know the band, and the people who work the sponsor booths. If you were a dead head who followed the Grateful Dead, like my friend, Kater or if you have ever followed a band, you know what I mean about the community that is formed. (my sister-in-law, Patty has seen many, many Tom Petty shows and would love a summer like this to follow him around the country. Go for it, Patty!!)

In the community this summer, there is Jeff who drives the Burger King – Apple Fries truck. As we were leaving DC on Monday at 11:45pm, I saw him and beeped. Yesterday, I asked if he heard me beep at him and I asked him why he went towards Annapolis to drive to New Jersey. Yes, he heard me beep and he had to go a different way because of the restrictions for trucks on 295 North, the direct path I was taking towards Baltimore. He let me know that the air conditionning was on in the truck, if I got too hot today.

Jason another BK guy gave me two Jonas Brothers gift cards yesterday to help us with food. I met him a few nights ago and he took a picture of us at my 40th concert.

Owen, Seth and Warren work for Verizon Wireless and have a band of their own called Raised by Radio. When I saw Owen at the start of the summer, his eyes lit up and he said, “Are you traveling across the country again?” He very excitedly gave me an update on the band and told me they were cutting a CD this summer. If you want to check them out go to www.myspace.com/raisedbyradio.

Michael from Verizon is also a musician. There is a recording studio bus sponsored by Verizon Wireless and they travel with musicians ten months out of the year. He has traveled with Green Day, Black eyed Peas, and Rhianna to name a few.

Things happen during the summer in this community. This summer we have celebrated Nick’s trip to DC to talk to the Senate about continuing the funding for diabetes research. We celebrated the CD reaching #1, the second time on the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine.

Jordin Sparks has a CD release on July 21. Honor Society has a CD release on Sept 15 with pre-sales already. We celebrate their music and their success. It is an exciting time for them and for the community that loves them all.

The Wonder Girls now have their song Nobody available on CD and they were there yesterday with a brief introduction. (They were not at the concerts here, but will be on stage in Boston) They saw Hannah and invited her up to the stage for a picture. A bit later, Hannah pointed to me and asked them, if I could have a picture, too. They motioned for me to come up. We cheer them on and they embrace us, too, this summer.

Last summer we were in Irvine, CA for the birthday of Denise Jonas, in Atlanta for Demi Lovato’s birthday and Joe’s graduation celebration. We were in Anaheim for two days of filming the 3-D Jonas Brothers movie, in NYC for the CD release and in the DC area when the CD reached number one on the charts.

These are the public moments and there are many small moments in the concert. Celebrating the birthdays of two ten year olds at their first concert. Celebrating a graduation from high school. Celebrating and sharing our lives, as we wait for the concert to begin.

I am in awe of the beautiful communities all over this country. Women, men and children gathered and supporting each other. I am aware during this time in the world how we all need each other more than ever.

In Vancouver, on a wonderful afternoon spent on a boat called Loveable with my friend, Laura Mack and her husband, Andrew a few weeks ago (actually, it was Canada Day-July 1), I watched a boating community greet and support each other. When the boat docks, people on shore step forward to guide you in safely. Yes, part of it is self-preservation. The boaters want their own boats to be safe. , But as we docked on the island, three boaters appeared and their boats were safely on the other side of the dock. They assisted us and it made for smooth docking.

There were picnics and barbecues. People greeted each other and the children and dogs that accompanied many of them on their journey. A community of love and support and connection.

When I went home to Baltimore last week, I got up early one morning to get a cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich at a local Zi Pani. I was excited to give a BK Jonas Brothers lanyard to one of the women who works there. Her daughter is crazy for the Jonas Brothers. The lanyards are only handed out at certain concerts and I had been saving this for her.

I drove up to the parking lot and it was so empty. I looked and the store had closed. After a moment of shock, I got back in my car, put my head on the steering wheel and cried. I felt the loss of this corner of the community. The place I shared my journey, picked up breakfast for the road, listened to the passions of the workers, heard the stories of their children, their health issues, their ups and downs. In the month Hannah and I have been on the road, the store closed with no warning. I had no chance to say goodbye. It really hit me hard.

We need each other. We need support for our dreams, our hopes, our wishes. We need each other to hold during the times of loss and sadness, during the times of joy and celebration.

Yes, the concert last night was a magnificent example of a community that has held the dreams with a family of musicians with great, big hearts.

Find ways today to support someone and to ask and receive support yourself. There is a flow to this giving and receiving and we are all in this together.

I AM the MOM


Today’s Blog is sponsored by Evolutionary Women
www.evolutionarywomen.org

For more information on becoming a sponsor go to www.livealifeworthcelebrating.com.

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I am the mother. At night, I dance and sing and clap and cheer at the concerts. I talk with people and I have a good time.

During the day I plan out the next day’s drive. I look a week or so in advance and arrange places to stay.

I make phone calls back to Baltimore. Checking with my friend, Karen who is handling details at my house. A radiator pipe started to drip. A contract on the house not working out. I look at the bank account and calculate how many concerts we can plan in advance. I arrange the food, fill the gas tank, anticipate the next oil change, review the weather.

It is an honor to be of service. And at the same time, I am walking a new path for myself. I am sending e-mails to authors from our book Conscious Choices: An Evolutionary Woman’s Guide to Life. I e-mail around the authors around country while I support my daughter in her dream. She is amazing! I watch her determination with the blogs and answering e-mails. It is my joy.

And everyday I ask myself, what is my purpose? Am I here only to support her dream or am I also laying a foundation for me?

There is a balancing act for most mothers. The question I have asked myself many times, “When am I me and when am I a part of “she.” When am I the mother and when am I a separate person, named Andrea.

The first time I fully realized this loss of identity was when my oldest daughter was about two years old. I was sitting in the baby pool at a public pool and the mothers and fathers began to introduce themselves, sort of. The questions focused on the children. Words like, “ahhhh, she is so cute. How old is she? What’s her name?” No one asked about my life, my interests, even my name!

It was okay at first. I adored her, my daughter, Mary and then Liz, Cooper and Hannah. I loved to talk about them, my bundles of joy. I still love to talk to them and about them. They are all amazing individuals. (Cooper died in 1993. A story for another day.)

As the mother, I was identified as Mary’s Mom, Liz’s Mom and now Hannah’s Mom. No one knew my name. A N D R E A …

So, what does this have to do with the concerts? Hannah and I lead separate but intertwined lives this summer. I am known as Hannah’s Mom at the concert venue or as the mother who is traveling to 45 concerts with her daughter.

I am thrilled to support her and I am aware of the things I put aside every day. The book draft from last summer that is waiting for the submission paperwork to an editor, the six blogs in draft form that I haven’t had time to finish because I am running the errands, doing the driving, coordinating the next places to stay. Paying the bills, finding the food, cleaning the car. And as thrilled as I am to support her and watch her and love her, I have moments of asking, what’s in it for me? Like Kevin Costner in the Field of Dreams, I am brought to the edge every day financially, emotionally, physically, spiritually.

I am not complaining. I am bringing into awareness the needs that must be met in some way or I will become resentful. I am aware that I love the concerts, the Jonas Brothers, Honor Society, the Wonder Girls and Jordin Sparks. I am aware that I love the journey with my daughter. I love the driving, the traveling, the listening and something is stirring in me. Words that must be written. A path that is opening for me.

In this awareness, I am sitting in a Panera Bread location in Baltimore this morning. With all of the errands that still need my attention and getting Hannah to the Honor Society Verizon event early, I am taking 30 minutes to drink a cup of coffee and write a blog for me.

I must have my own individualized expression. Sometimes the only way to get it is to decide and to commit to a time for me. I am letting go once again to trust that everything will happen today in the perfect timing.

All is well.

Concert 8-Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Thank you to my sponsor for today’s blog.
www.evolutionarywomen.org

Authors’s Note. I added a description of the Passport journey and a few things about worrying vs trusting life to this blog. As we finish packing up and cleaning our house, I am tweaking some of the drafts that were never published. We go to settlement on our house on Nov 16th and then hopefully a week in Europe before heading to California in the middle of Dec. When we know the details we will share the specifics.

This was the 8th concert of the summer and the second concert in beautiful Vancouver. The day after this concert was Canada Day.

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Concert 8- Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
June 30, 2009

Vancouver is beautiful. Everyone who has visited here or seen pictures says how beautiful Vancouver is and it is true! Lush green forests. Mountains that rise from deep blue bodies of water. Nature is woven into the tapestry of the community.

Hannah and I are staying with one of the Conscious Choices authors, Laura Mack and her husband Andrew. Laura wrote a story in the CC book called, “Finding my voice and finding my community.” Laura is the embodiment of community. (I first met her when she was in Baltimore for a convention and stayed an extra four days to attend the first east coast Evolutionary Women Retreat.)

Laura and I started the day with coffee and then an hour walk from her home to the village of Deep Cove. She told me that the weather we were having was the perfect summer weather in Vancouver. Sun, light breeze, low 80’s. We walked through neighborhoods that led us to a dense forest with a paved path. The sunlight occasionally peaked through the trees to warm our faces. At the bottom of the hill, we found the cove. A brief hello to their boat, The Lovable, stopping to breathe in the beauty and then back up the hill. It was a walk that made me think I would have a very tight gluteous maximus if I could do this hour long walk everyday.

When Laura and I arrived back at the house, Hannah and I tried to connect to the wireless system. They had just switched to a new internet provider and for some reason, neither Hannah nor I could connect. Our plan B gave us an opportunity to drive into the little village in the opposite direction of the cove. We spent an hour at a lovely coffee shop called Bean Around the World. Good coffee. Delicious apple, poppy seed muffins. Big, round, wooden tables.

We drove to General Motors Place, the Vancouver arena and walked around talking with people. It was another quiet day. It felt like a weekend even though it was Tuesday. The next day was Canada Day, a day of independence and a big holiday, like our 4th of July. Across the street from the arena, I found a bench to sit on and I reflected on the challenges we had overcome to be here in Canada.

One of the things was the expired passport. Here is the story of the passport. As you know, the month before leaving on this trip, we cleared our entire home. On our third day on the road and the day before our first concert of the summer in Dallas. I woke up early to organize the blog, update my website, start a fan page and respond to a long list of phone calls and e-mails to people in Baltimore. I checked our next few stops and looked at the passports.

Long pause… Mouth open… Eyes wide… Breathing stopped…

In one hand is my passport. All is well.

In my other hand is Hannah’s passport with bold, red letters CANCELLED.

We brought the wrong passport. We were scheduled to cross the border to Vancouver, on June 29, ten days from then. No one else had a key to the storage unit at home in Baltimore. And even if they did, where would I tell them to begin to look for it? The storage unit was packed to the ceiling. For all I knew, it was recycled with the trash.

This summer I was planning on weaving book talks with authors from a book I co-authored called, “Conscious Choices: An Evolutionary Woman’s Guide to Life.” Even if we skipped the Jonas Brothers concerts, I wanted to visit and spend time with Laura.

After a trip to a local passport center in Dallas, a phone call to the US Government and a series of pushing buttons on the automated reservation line, Hannah and I had an appt in Aurora, CO on June 23 10:30am. This required leaving the Jonas concert in Tulsa, OK about 15 minutes early and driving through the night to arrive in Denver by 10:15 am to check in.

Hannah and I drove through the night to get the passport. We arrived 30 minutes early. Everything went smoothly at the office. It was challenging to drive, yes. But, Hannah stepped up to the plate and drove for 2 hours following the directions I had for her. I had an opportunity to let go and trust her. Early in the morning, when I had taken the wheel and had been driving for hours, I listened to my body and pulled over to sleep for 45 minutes in the parking lot of a Comfort Inn. I saw an amazing pale pink and blue sunrise through the rear view mirror. I heard birds chirping as I sped along the highway. I saw the mountains coming into full view in Denver. I had these experiences because of the missing passport.

The woman who helped us at the passport office was nice and friendly and supportive. Everything happened with ease and grace. I had more than enough information to support the processing of the passport.

As we climbed into the car to drive to Longmont, Colorado, I thought about how much time I had spent worrying about this. I had two nights when I woke up in the middle of the night. I began to think about the worrying. Had the worrying supported this process at all? Did the worrying get us to the passport office on time or did I waste precious time on something I had no control over? All I really could do was show up with the requested paperwork and be in the moment of the Yes or No.

I asked myself, why can’t I just trust life to bring me my highest good?

Yes, I have experienced loss of loved ones and some of my dreams have not come true. I have had my share of disappointments. But, I also have had a pretty amazing, magical life. I have received some strong intuitive thoughts that have led me to jobs, friends, homeschooling my kids, and of course, to the jonas brothers concerts with my daughter.

I ask myself, “Why can’t I trust life to support me? Why must I worry and fear that things will not work out?” None of the worry or fear actually brings me good stuff and it actually takes me out of enjoying the present moment.

I arrived in Longmont, Colorado and realized that I had my friend’s UPS address and not her home address. She is in Hawaii. I called her. She answered her phone and gave me her home address and directions. I easily found the key, entered her lovely home and had a comfortable bed to sleep on for an afternoon nap.

Why am I holding so tightly onto the details of life when I have so much proof that I am supported?

And here I am in Vancouver. A beautiful city. A guest in a home filled with love. Sitting on a bench enjoying the people and the city. Ready to see what will be another amazing, heart centered Jonas Brothers concert.

Today I have money in my pocket. Food in my belly. Time to watch, listen and dance and sing. A place to sleep. Gas in the car. a healthy body. A smart mind.

I ask myself this question:

Do I want to know all of the answers so I can watch the movie of my life or am I here for the ride?

I choose the ride.