Picture of the week- Home Sweet Home

They say that home is where the heart is... I disagree. Home is where your furniture is!

I've spent many long days and nights unpacking boxes, hanging up clothes, arranging and rearranging our household goods. I'm exhausted and my body aches but I'm finished... and it feels like home.
Enjoy :)

Charlie & Sierra's Room.


The Guest Room.


The Master Bedroom.


The Playroom.


The Living & Dining Areas.

The Deck.


The Backyard.
This used to be a long concrete slab but check out my tile walkway and artificial grass.


We even managed to get some Christmas Decorations up :)


Updegraffs :1

Somali Pirates:0

Take That!

Picture of the Week- My big girl

My big girl turned 4 on Monday. This photo blog post is dedicated to her :).

Even then I knew she was special...

Charlie Simone Updegraff

December 1, 2004- 7:50am

8lbs 7oz

20.5in

Scottsdale, AZ

All parents think their babies are beautiful... even when they're fresh out of the womb... but mostly they're just kind of squishy. I knew that and that's fine with me. I mean shit they go through a lot, they're faces are smushed for good reason. Before giving birth to Charlie I remember telling my friend Kia that I wasn't gonna be one of those parents that didn't realize their kid was one of the squishy ones. "I'll call you as soon as she's born... and if she's not that cute I'm gonna tell you... I can be objective..."

The call went more like this...

Kia "Hello"

Me (crying) "She's beautifuuuuullll"

To my credit though, she really was. An hour out of the womb and she looked like this.

A little pink, yes, but seriously... have you ever seen anything more beautiful???

Our first Christmas with her was perfect.

Our first year with her was better.

Her second year (age 1) was awesome. I loved to watch her sleep (actually, I still do). She loved to show us her b-girl stance and throw up the West Side. She always wanted to be like her mommy. And those eyes... be still my heart.

Her third year (age 2) she became a big sister and also became more awesome than we could've ever imagined :). She learned how to swim... in a floaty suit She learned to ride a tricycle and she loooved spending time with her cousins, who btw taught her to ride that tricycle.

Her fourth year (age 3) we discovered she was a little athlete. I knew she could run really fast and far because Marcus and I used to take her to the track a lot- she could run a whole lap around the track- and by whole lap I mean around 200meters- and do stadiums when she was just 2 years old- or maybe that was 3... either way coordination is different and Charlie is amazingly coordinated. She played basketball, soccer and did gymnastics. She got her hair straightened for the first time and she even started to get a little color....

.... okay maybe I take back the color thing...

Now her fifth year has begun... my baby is four years old. Four. Where did the years go? I look at her and I see that same little angel that I met in the hospital on December 1st in 2004. I also see a very sweet and very smart little girl. One who has this amazing outlook on life, who says, "It is what it is Mommy" if she senses that I'm stressed. She's a little girl who loves people... and also loves to tell me what I should put on this blog :). She is beyond impressive and I am so proud to be her mom. And if the way she's turned out is any indication of the way she will turn out... The world is lucky to have her in it.

Mommy loves you Charlie!!

On an unrelated note...

The University of Arizona Wildcats gave it to the Arizona State Scumdevils at the 82nd Dual in the Desert by beating them 31-10.

BEAR DOWN BITCHES!!!!

Go Cats!

YAY for Diversity!

I Love Black People!!
It's no secret.
I've had many experiences being the only black person in the room and although I can be the "only" now and not give it a second thought, I'm always happy inside when I'm around Black people.

I realized it early on when after a series of tests in the first grade Mr. Nelson, my principal at Leapwood Elementary, called my mom into the office and told her that I was a genius (seriously) and I would be better served if she pulled me out and sent me to Lomita Magnet- the "gifted" elementary school a few neighborhoods over. I remember walking in and not seeing a single kid that looked like me... and I froze. I mean I felt completely out of place. I gravitated toward 2 other little black girls in the class but for some reason they didn't want to be my friend. I was miserable. I cried everyday. My mom couldn't take it and decided to send me back to my beloved Leapwood where Mr. Nelson and my teacher developed a special curriculum for me. Salvation was mine!

Before Lomita Magnet I was never conscious of race. LA is very diverse, every race is well represented and I had just had never been around so FEW black people... I didn't like it.
The next experience was Junior High. My mom was again convinced by the Powers That Be that Curtis Jr. High School- the coolest Jr. High in Carson, Ca- would not challenge me. I attended Curtis for about a week when a space opened up in the gifted program at Dodson Middle School in San Pedro. Dodson was more diverse than Lomita. There were lots of kids like me who were bused in from different neighborhoods. I wouldn't say I was 100% comfortable but I wasn't uncomfortable... it was okay.

I went to high school in Inglewood, needless to say I was plenty comfortable there.

But fast forward to the University of Arizona. This is where it gets good. This is where I could walk the entire length of campus, passing hundreds of people, and not see one other black person. This is where I could sit in a classroom of 30 people and when the subject of race came up, the entire class would wait for my comment on the black perspective, because I was the only one in the room. But this is also where I was able to shake feeling "out of place". I simply got over it. And it's a good thing because since I left the U of A, I haven't lived too many places where I could walk outside and see another person who looks like me... Until Now.
Black people are everywhere! And it's awesome!! I've probably seen more Black people in the 2 months that I've been here than I've seen in the 12yrs it's been since I graduated High School. It almost feels like being back home in Southern California. It's so exciting. I give the "what's up Black person" head nod, and I try to start conversations... I don't have any black friends or acquaintances yet. But that's okay cause my friends are amazing.

In the event though that I see a black person that I want to be friends with, I could use your help with a few pick up lines. I've tried going up to black people and literally saying, "How do I meet Black people?"... I've gotten a few laughs, but no new friends yet. So give me what cha got...

Good News... Special Delivery!!

Yesterday Marcus called me from work and told me that our furniture would be delivered today!! I immediately started cleaning our floors. Like a mad woman I polished wood and buffed marble tiles. So much so that being on your feet was sort of like a game of slip-n-slide. I didn't care. All I could think about was how good those floors looked and how great they'd look when anchored by our furniture. I didn't get much sleep last night either, but again I didn't care. I'm just ready to have a place to sit... and eat... and sleep.

Here's what our place looks like right now.

Here's our view from the street in front of our house. I've never lived so close to the water in my life and I LOVE IT!!

The view from the front.

Our kitchen and living room

The view from our deck.

Here's the deck before I worked my magic.

Here's the deck after my magic :)

I'll post after pics and the before & after shots from our back yard in the next few days!

YAY for us!