For Morris

Growing up, Ashley and I referred to my dad as "Morris."  In Ferris Beuller's Day Off, Cameron and Ferris totalled Cameron's dad's vintage Ferrari.  Ashley and I always loved Cameron's line "When Morris gets home, he and I will have a little chat."  I had plenty of times in high school and college waiting for my dad to get home so we could have a similar chat.  And that is how we started calling my dad Morris.

I haven't called him that in years, but somehow, it still fits him.  My dad is a dude that demands respect.  Most of my boyfriends were afraid of him and for good reason.  He doesn't play games.  He is hilarious but can be pretty intimidating.

My dad means more to me each year.  Now that I am a full fledged adult (35 for crying out loud) I understand a bit more about the sacrifices he made for me and still makes for me.  Just recently, I had a friend over to my parents' house and he couldn't believe my dad drove the piece of crap that he drives.  My dad is a federal magistrate judge and could drive any awesome car he wants.  But he chooses to drive a beat up 94' Toyota Corolla with a bazillion miles on it.  My mom got a brand new car last year.  That's how he rolls.   Material things are not important to him and he would rather my mom have money to spend on the grandkids, etc.

The last two years, I have been through a lot of emotional heartache.  My mom and sister and friends have listened to me for hours and helped me work through a lot of it.  But there were times (sometimes at 11:00 at night or the middle of his workday) that I needed to call my dad and get advice.  And he always had the time and the best advice.  My dad doesn't hold back.  He will tell you exactly what he is thinking and sometimes it is hard to hear.  But he is always right.  And I know he loves me more than anyone (except maybe my mother) so I know he has my best interest at heart.   He gave me the courage to pull the trigger on my divorce because he demanded happiness for me.  He wouldn't allow me to stay in a situation where I wasn't going to be able to be happy.  I love him for that.

Last weekend, he came over to my house to help me with my car that wouldn't start and ended up helping me with my finances and insurance as well.  Even though it completely freaked him out to see how disorganized I am, ("Brookie, you have got to get organized!" repeated over and over...) he gave me good advice and helped me get on top of things.

Today, I am grateful for you, Dad.  You have taught me what a real man is.  You are strong in the gospel. You always lead out in our family and have high expectations for us in every area of our lives.  I really appreciate the influence you are on my children.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to Sam, too, who is the father of my children.  I will always love him for giving me four bright, beautiful, happy kids.  They love him to pieces and I appreciate that he is a fun, involved, committed dad.

Happy Father's Day to the men who read this blog..yes both of you. haha.  Good fathers make a huge impact in the lives of their children and I don't think we celebrate good dads enough.  This is your day!

Best of San Diego

Sam and I returned Sunday evening from a trip to beautiful San Diego. The Utah Bar conference was there this year instead of Sun Valley. Sam and I decided to make it a real vacation and leave the kids home. I love San Diego. I lived there for five years when I was a kid and if money was no object, Sam and I would move back tomorrow. Here are the best things from our trip:

Best Meal: Blue Ribbon Pizzeria in Encinitas. Sam and I were driving up PCH on Sunday before going to the airport and found this pizzeria. They do the most divine artisan pizzas. Everything is organic (which is very important to me (wink) and they have the best bruschetta I've ever eaten:



Best Dessert: Ghiradelli's malt. Sam is not one to go light on desserts. My cousin told me about a place called Extraordinary desserts that we also hit hard, but we both liked good old Ghiradelli better. We ordered a malt and a brownie sundae but the malt was the best. We went to a movie after eating both desserts and I felt so sick the entire time. I've got to stop eating to the point of complete illness--I did it at least three times on this trip.



Best Company for a Meal: My aunt and uncle and cousin Kelly, and my parents. My cousin Kelly is one year younger than me and we grew up together. She is hilarious and my aunt Pandy and uncle Mark and like second parents to me. I love them!



Best Pool: Marriott Marquis downtown San Diego. This one seems obvious since there was only one pool on the trip. But this pool was the nicest pool I've ever been to in my life, even nicer than our pool in Hawaii...palm trees everywhere, shade, waiters bringing me fruity drinks at the snap of my fingers...I don't know why I came home.



As a side note, I felt very mom-ish in my tankini. I honestly think I was the only woman out there not in a bikini. Young, old, big, small, everyone had on a bikini. Which leads me to...

Best Awkward Moment: There were two extremely beautiful, blond, tan teenage girls (from somewhere in Europe) directly in front of us by the pool. (I referred to them as the Swedish bikini team). They both removed their tops and were sunbathing lying on their stomachs. At one point, they both sat up and veeerrrrry slowly put their tops back on (exposing their breasts for what seemed like an eternity.) I looked over at Sam, who was locked on, mouth slightly agape, making no attempt to avert his gaze. No, I did not get a picture.

Best Book: Tiny Fey's Bossy Pants. I think Tiny Few is sooooo funny. Sometimes I would laugh so hard I had to put the book down. Do yourself a favor and buy it today.



Best Shopping: Horton Plaza (only because it was within walking distance from the hotel.) I did some serious damage at Nordstrom and Gap--40% off sale stuff plus I had a coupon for an additional 25% off. Think how much I saved!! Two of the outfits I purchased for Sammie:




Best Shopping Companions: Paul and Linda Warner. My parents were at the same conference. When Sam would go on his four hour bike rides, I would go shopping with my mom and dad. I totally felt like I was back in high school, with mom showing me all the "really amazing" bathrooms, and my dad paying for lunch. He has the patience of Job when it comes to my mom's shopping. The man can follow her for hours and not say one word.

When we were at Horton Plaza, my dad and I got laughing about when we were there on a trip when I was in high school. I was in the Jessica McClintock store trying on Homecoming dresses (they were the rage in 1994) and I left my jean jacket (also the rage) in the dressing room. We came back an hour later and it had been stolen. That was a tough day for my teenage self.


Mom and Dad in front of "the Del"

Best Fast Food: La Salsa. I ate lunch here two days in a row with the 'rents. They love it. The shrimp tacos are really good.

Best Binge Meal: El Torrito in La Jolla. Fajitas, excellent salsa and gigantic Diet Cokes. What more could a hungry girl ask for?

Best Tourist Trap: Seaport Village. I love their Christmas shop "Mistletoe." They also had this restaurant that made me miss my little Chubby:

Best Laugh: Finding Spanx for men at Nordstrom. There is justice in the world!



Best Celebrity Meeting: CJane in the San Diego airport. I promise I will never bring it up again!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my dad's 60th birthday. He doesn't look a day over 59. He has battled skin cancer and diabetes. Add that to my mom's arthritis and hip replacement, and I realize I have a lot to look forward to!

My family has all referred to my dad as Morris since I was in high school. It came from Ferris Bueller's Day off when Cameron kills his dad's Ferrari and he says, "When Morris comes home, we'll have a little chat." I felt like Cameron so many times waiting for "Morris" to get home so he could find out about something I had done (usually to one of the cars.)

My dad is hilarious and smart and very generous. He gives great advice and he loves to talk about himself. I can't hear the song "Walking on Broken Glass" by Annie Lennox and not think of my dad. He used to sit on the couch and play it over and over on his walkman.

One of my most vivid memories of my youth was going to watch my dad's trials. He was a prosecutor and I've never seen anyone before or since who could captivate a jury the way he could. He truly has a gift and he made me want to go to law school and become a prosecutor too.

Dad, thanks for all you have done for me over the years. Have a great day!