2015 - 365 Project. Day 264, September 21

365 Project. Day 264, September 21: New season of Dr. Who is here at last. Down-side: first episode was a doozy of a cliff-hanger and we can't binge watch to see how it comes out. But it looks like this season will be exactly two episodes long, at this point.#oooooWEEEEEOOOOO — with Jennifer Philbin.

2015 - 365 Project. Day 263, September 20

365 Project. Day 263, September 20: As this picture was taken just past midnight, it totally counts as my pic for today. At the Harborlites afterglow (translation for you muggles: think "cast party"), Jennifer was hanging with some of her teen friends (including Kath Anderson's son George, his girlfriend Vickie and an Russian guy named Nico) in this artsy alcove.

2015 - 365 Project. Day 262, September 19

365 Project. Day 262, September 19: Tonight is the Harborlites Show! Crossroads gave us a song when they arrived. Gorgeous!!! Special photo bomb by Jeff Baker. Come join us at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach - 7:30!

2015 - 365 Project. Day 261, September 18

365 Project. Day 261, September 18: Pictures taken five years apart. Price Morgan and Jennifer in leading roles for "Boris and Bella", a homeschool theater production written and directed by Viola Jordan Weissand her hubby Mark in 2005. The other was taken tonight at our weekly paddle tennis/potluck dinner, as they reminisced about Price breaking Jennifer's thumb on their trampoline. Good times... — with Price T. Morgan and Jennifer Philbin.

2015 - 365 Project. Day 260, September 17

365 Project. Day 260, September 17: This one is for Chelsea Nazarian. She's our church's "Supreme Overlord of the Kiddos" (she took a class at seminary for this, I think), and she said that my daily picture ought to include ME now and then. So today, Jennifer and I apparently chose the same shirt to wear. The really scary thing is that neither of us noticed it til the afternoon. Even though I drove her to school this morning and we both looked like this. So here's our geeky "WE HOMESCHOOL AND WE'RE THE VERY BEST OF FRIENDS AND WE DO ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING TOGETHER BECAUSE WE'RE AWESOME!!!!!!" selfie. For Chelsea. She took a shot of us when I was getting out of the car to let Jen drive home tonight, but it did not do justice to our nerdiness.

— with Jennifer Philbin.

2015 - 365 Project. Day 258, September 15

365 Project. Day 258, September 15. Tonight I killed time at BJs while Champinellies rehearsed. I wrote a blog entry, which I just posted, but it's way past my bedtime and I haven't done my daily picture, so sorry for the one-two punch. If you've never tried a "pizookie" at BJs, do yourself a solid. They sell mini-sized ones too (that's what this is). Hot cookie in a little pizza tin right out of the oven, topped with ice cream. This was a salted caramel one with dark chocolate chips. Be still my now-racing heart.

2015 - 365 Project. Day 259, September 16

365 Project. Day 259, September 16: Haven't taken many pics today. So here's a shot of the Bible study I'm doing at church! Beth Moore is wonderful. And the study runs at the same time as the youth group, so I don't have to decide what to do with myself while Jen is at Pipeline!

2015 - 365 Project. Day 257, September 14

365 Project. Day 257, September 14: I think that was the quickest 80 bucks I've burned through in a while.#choruslyfe #dues #afterglowtickets #risertax#secretdonation

2015 - 365 Project. Day 256, September 13

365 Project. Day 256, September 13: Tonight was our first night of Jennifer's final year in AWANA. It's a Bible club we've been doing since she was little (think Girl Scouts, but co-ed and awards are for Bible memorization). We're at a new location this year - LESS THAN A MILE FROM OUR HOUSE. We did a very non-SoCal thing and walked there! Another huge bonus is that I don't have to do music and teach lessons to the littler kids, as I have been doing for the past nine years or so!! It's just a half-dozen high school kids. So glad to have one fewer thing on my plate! This is a selfie of us actually WALKING. — with Jennifer Philbin at Baptist Church Of Redondo Hills.

2015 - 365 Project. Day 255, September 12

365 Project. Day 255, September 12: One of our hummingbirds at twilight. Hummingbirds are remarkable creatures. Super cool to have them here year-round.

2015 - 365 Project. Day 254, September 11

365 Project. Day 254, September 11: I'm making a rare exception to the "I have to take the picture myself for this project" rule. Because today marks a very important anniversary, and I want it included in the measly legacy of this photo project.

I will never forget that morning 14 years ago. It was one of those rare occasions where I was actually up early, specifically for the purpose of praying and spending a little time with the Lord before the day started. It was also one of only a handful of times in my life where I felt a sudden, specific, urgent leading from the Holy Spirit to pray for our country, its leaders, and for safety. I was in the middle of doing just that when the phone rang, and Brian, who was already at work, told me to turn on the television. One of the Twin Towers was in flames, apparently from a random plane crash.

It's been so long now that I can't remember whether I actually was watching when news broke of the second plane hitting the second tower. This was a game changer. It was no longer a fluke accident. We were under attack. Along with most of the country, I watched in horror, hardly able to comprehend what I was seeing. Would there be more attacks? Would anything happen near us? Was anyone really safe?

Later, Jennifer, who was only three at the time, saw me watching the terrible images on TV and asked what was happening. I told her that some people were attacking a city in our country that was far away from us, and trying to hurt us. She paused and said, "That is very, very, very sad." I had to turn the TV off after that, to shield us both a little from life's ugliness.

The silence of the skies for the next few days was deafening. No planes in the sky. Just news news news news. Images. Horror on television.

I still can't see a picture or video from that terrible day without getting that same wrenching in my gut - the feeling of overwhelming dread, fear and hopelessness that I felt that morning.

More than 3,000 lives were lost that day. I can only look forward to a day when my good God will make all of this right again. Until then, I remember.

2015 - 365 Project. Day 253, September 10

365 Project. Day 253, September 10: My secret life: selling ads for the World's Meanest Boss (aka Kathy Laderman Wright). The O&A Marketing News is her paper, The Pacific Oil Conference and Trade Show was held at a hotel near Staples Center. I took a train like a big girl and saw many interesting things and people. And I took photos and notes at the prayer breakfast. Like a real reporter and stuff.

2015 - 365 Project. Day 252, September 9

365 Project. Day 252, September 9: Beating the heat with an up-do and nakedness. Being a baby is awesome. #Lolapalooza #TeamLola #datface

2015 - 365 Project. Day 251, September 8

365 Project. Day 251, September 8: I've seen so many posts of this same sunset tonight, it proves that it's a worthy entry into my 365 picture project. Great minds think alike!!

2015 - 365 Project. Day 250, September 7

365 Project. Day 250, September 7: Jennifer in her Dalek dress, a gift from her last birthday from Courtney Crowe. #drwho #fangirl #droveastickshiftinit

2015 - 365 Project. Day 249, September 6

365 Project. Day 249, September 6: My first job after college was working for USC University and Alumni Events. During my time there, I quarterbacked two major events in particular of which I'm very proud, and both were for my band, the Trojan Marching Band -- aka TGMBITHOTU (The Greatest Marching Band In The History Of The Universe ). One was at Universal Studios, where the park allowed me to arrange for actual band members to infiltrate the attractions, so that while the big-donor alumni rode past in one ride or another, a pair of TMB trumpet players or a flag girl would dash across the set. It was hilarious and unprecedented for Universal Studios to allow this, and I had to work them like a second job to make it happen.

The second event was this one: Pops at Pacifica. For years, the band's biggest annual fundraiser was Pops at Pickfair, held at the mansion of Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford. That venue was unavailable the year I finally got to run it -- my first major event. So we moved the party to Casa Pacifica, was known as Richard Nixon's "Western White House". It was a grand party with a Mexican theme, with margaritas, Mexican food, and of course the Trojan Band in concert.

The best part of it was that I was able to invite my parents to the swanky affair. I will never, ever forget the admiration in my father's eyes, when he realized that I had overseen every detail of the afternoon. I had spent my entire life chasing after my dad's extremely reluctant and understated approval. My graduation from USC, cum laude, with two bachelor's degrees, had earned me a mere, "That's really great, kid." So finally getting a little unbridled admiration was something that fueled me for decades. I still have a glass or two from the event.

2015 - 365 Project. Day 248, September 5

365 Project. Day 248, September 5. The last dog I'll ever own. Photo credit to Jennifer, who took the picture while I was busy hosing down the shower after washing him, which I did after spending 45 minutes in line at Petco to spend $200 on flea treatment for the cat and him (to keep fleas away that he brought home in the first place), where I had to repeatedly tell the Southern accented, toothless woman behind me that no, thank you, I didn't need to pet her little dog, "Sweetie Pie", who cowered in a shopping cart and growled at me.#dogshaming #TeamLola

2015 - 365 Project. Day 247, September 4

365 Project. Day 247, September 4: After our weekly paddle tennis meetup, Julia breaks in her new shaker to mix her signature whiskey sours. And nowadays, I have a designated driver. — with Jennifer Philbin,Price T. Morgan, Vik Toria and Julia Morgan.

2015 - 365 Project. Day 246, September 3

365 Project. Day 246, September 3: TBT while I still have the wedding album dusted off. The whole fam damily! — with Melody Rose, David Ward, Jim Lenn and 13 others.

2015 - 365 Project. Day 245, September 2

365 Project. Day 245, September 2: 21 years ago, right this minute, we were dancing the night away after our Friday-night-before-Labor-Day wedding! This is a picture of a picture from our album, so, not the best quality, but not exactly cheating on my photo-a-day project, either...

We included Becky, who was five, in the ceremony, making her an important part of our new family. In this pic, you can see the necklace we gave to her. It is three interlocking rings we had made specially for her.Brian brought her up during our vows and presented it to her. They had practiced him asking her if she wanted to be a new family with us, to which she was supposed to answer, "I do." In the ceremony, though, he changed his wording accidentally, so what he asked was, "Would you like to be a special part of this new family?" You could see her little brain whirring to give an answer that was grammatically correct, and then she finally took a deep breath and stuck to the rehearsal plan: "I DO!"

The wedding was lovely, my dad was delighted to find that I came in under budget, and for our first dance, Brian and I did a choreographed dance to Sinatra's "I've Got The World On A String." WAY before that was a "thing" that everyone does at their weddings now.

 — with Brian Philbin and Becky Philbin.

2015 - 365 Project. Day 244, September 1

365 Project. Day 244, September 1: New signs for the back of my car. So far, they're working like a charm.Jennifer put in a lot of practice today! I have a feeling I won't be driving too often for a while, now that I have a personal chauffeur. And it turns out she has to have her permit for six months before she can take her final driving test. That will bring her right up close to her 18th birthday, which means that now I won't have to jump through all kinds of homeschool hoops to register myself as her official behind-the-wheel instructor (thereby saving about 400 bucks to have someone else do it). So once again, I am rewarded for procrastinating.

2015 - 365 Project. Day 243, August 31

365 Project. Day 243, August 31: Well, hello, Marine Layer -- you gorgeous thing. I'm actually glad to see you. Listen... remember all those years when you'd hang around here every day, all day, all summer, and I'd moan and complain that you'd outstayed your welcome? Yeah, I'm sorry about that. Are we okay? Okay, good. Make yourself comfortable. Can I get you some tea? I bet Anna Alexander Yori and Lainie MacInnes and Cheryl Schoessler O'Donnell are baking yummy treats for you...

2015 - 365 Project. Day 242, August 30

365 Project. Day 242, August 30: Currently, in our bedroom alone, we have four fans running. One stands at the almost-always-open door to the balcony. One is in front of the window. One is at the bathroom door. One is at the shower door. So, we have a lot of fans. 

I have a little guest bathroom off the master bedroom where I get cute. Years ago, when I was the one working, I moved all my get-cute stuff out of the master bath and into this room so Brian could sleep while I got ready for work. I've just always kept everything there for the occasional morning when I'm up before he is.

Today, as I was getting cute, I said to Brian, "I know we already have a lot of fans, but I could use just one more for my bathroom." Without hesitation, he stood up, walked to the living room, picked up a box, opened it up, pulled out this brand new fan, plugged it in, and turned it on for me. And this, people, is reason #3,546 why I love him.

2015 - 365 Project. Day 241, August 29

365 Project. Day 241, August 29: I'll tell you what. These girls know how to shop! Saaya was an exchange student with us in 2011. She has returned to visit the U.S. every year since, and we have gotten to spend some time together! This time she brought along a friend, Natsuki. I picked them up from Hollywood, we made a traffic packed quick trip to Santa Monica beach. They swam, then we headed to 3rd Street Promenade. I think they cleaned Victoria's Secret out. The store was empty when we left. smile emoticon Come back next year, Saaya! ♡

2015 - 365 Project. Day 240, August 28

365 Project. Day 240, August 28: Started the day with the best view in the world: Jenna's beautiful house and beautiful baby Lola, who was just waking up. In the middle, there was a lot of hot weather and sweating, and a two hour surprise window where I read a book Lori Hall gave me, and I wrote a blog - or the beginnings of one. Then paddle tennis and fun games with friends (thanks, Julia!). Ended the day, unexpectedly, in my best friend Kathryn's jacuzzi. It's been a long, long day.

2015 - 365 Project. Day 239, August 27

365 Project. Day 239, August 27. Again, my offering will have to be the only picture I've taken today. But Lola's in it, and let's face it. I'm a star.

2015 - 365 Project. Day 238, August 26

365 Project. Day 238, August 26: That thing where you get to the gym and realize you forgot socks. So you have to use the big thick brown ones in your trunk that you've worn to the barn a few times and keep forgetting to wash. Then, and only then, do you remember that meeting at church in about an hour, and you know you won't have time to go home beforehand. You've been sweating like James Brown all day and you're hoping the horse smell overpowers the gym smell. Who's with me? #relatableposts

2015 - 365 Project. Day 237, August 25

365 Project. Day 237, August 25: We had a triumphantly successful day getting things squared away at El Camino! Jen attended and then officially added her second class, got her student ID (shown here, with her making the face she WANTED to make but talked herself out of), got her books, bing bang boom. People we needed stuff from were informed, empowered, polite and - wait for it - helpful. She even ran into two friends there and six friends yesterday. Yay! — with Jennifer Philbin.

2015 - 365 Project. Day 236, August 24

365 Project. Day 236, August 24: I literally deleted every picture from my camera folder on my phone today. By accident. As I do with so many things. So often. Gah. Thank goodness I did a picture dump to my computer last week, so I didn't lose anything devastating. And it is soooo late tonight for my daily pic. So here's my eye.

2015 - 365 Project. Day 235, August 23

365 Project. Day 235, August 23: Jennifer and I spent the afternoon helping serve lunch for Watts Powerhouse Church. Our church does this once a month, largely due to the initial interest and hard work of Shannon Hamilton. Russ is the amazing quarterback, who scores deals on the food we serve and much of the equipment we use. While the work itself isn't too hard, standing face to face with people living in poverty, whose day to day lives are so much different and more difficult than mine, is very hard for me. I'm always glad I went, but it's hard. — with Doug Cotton.

2015 - 365 Project. Day 234, August 22

365 Project. Day 234: August 22: Lots happening in this picture:

- A fun morning at the movies. Saw "Inside Out" and was glad for advance notice from my friend Steve Bloom (Pixar editor) that he wasn't going to be in the credits. Down side: no Philbin Phamily game of "Where's Waldo?" to find him

- Coolest (relatively) new drink dispensers EVER. They would have tickled my dad so much. 

- Jennifer sporting her Gryffindor hoodie, which drew an inquiry from a little European lady at Trader Joe's the other day, who asked her without irony if that was her school. It took her by surprise, but she has a better answer ready for next time.

- The cool bag Jennifer got in Chinatown. I have a similar one that Susan just altered for me to shorten the strap (THANK YOU!!!!!).

2015 - 365 Project. Day 233, August 21

365 Project. Day 233, August 21: Spotted on my morning walk -- Front Yard Tire Swing. Level: Expert

2015 - 365 Project. Day 232, August 20

365 Project. Day 232, August 20. Well, this is the worst quality pic ever. I'll replace it with an actual scanned copy later, but it's past my bedtime, and it's TBT, AND I can count the pics I have of myself as a child on maybe two hands with fingers left over. So here's today's offering. Caption on back says "May 1968 - the Butlers on our way to the beach." Thanks Diana Barber for sharing!!! — with William Butler, Diana Barber and Debbie Lenn.

2015 - 365 Project. Day 231, August 19

365 Project. Day 231, August 19: Giant box. Best plaything ever. #Lolapalooza #TeamLola — with Jennifer Philbin.

2015 - 365 Project. Day 230, August 18

365 Project. Day 230, August 18: First driving lesson in the books. Stick shift, no less! Everything still works and that guy walking across the big parking lot only looked back over his shoulder nervously a couple times! Way to go, Jennifer Philbin!! ♡ — with Jennifer Philbin at Redondo Beach Performing Arts Ctr.

2015 - 365 Project. Day 229, August 17

365 Project. Day 229, August 17: Boom. — with Jennifer Philbin.

2015 - 365 Project. Day 228, August 16

365 Project. Day 228, August 16: Fun afternoon/evening playing games with friends and celebrating Dot's birthday! — with Haley Deanna Terzian, Peggy Terzian, Karen Laderman, Judy Gordonand Kathy Laderman Wright.

2015 - 365 Project. Day 227, August 15

365 Project. Day 227, August 15. You guys. I can't begin to describe what a badass my husband is. I'm serious. He installed our new water heater today. And he single-handedly muscled out the old and in the new. I have so much respect for all boy things today. He was all torching stuff and sawing stuff and whipping out power tools I'd never even seen before (insert dirty joke here). He'd send me to the hardware store and tell me to ask for a 3/8" krelbenfarnum gas intake fernyshmern. And the guy at the hardware store be all like, "Yep. Right over here." And he'd hand me one and it'd only be, like, 3 dollars. Boys are so useful! He saved us TWELVE HUNDRED DOLLARS today. My offering to the project was this totally ghetto sun shade. I used duct tape, yo.

 — feeling amazing with Brian Philbin.

2015 - 365 Project. Day 226, August 14

365 Project. Day 226, August 14: Again reaching the end of a day (and it should be hilarious or sad that I view 6 p.m. as the end of my day) without having taken a picture. So it was either a selfie of my new Marisol Ramirez haircut, a picture of the bottle of wine I'm drinking (no idea where I got it but I think it was a gift) or a picture of the last dog I'll ever own being sad because Jennifer locked him in my room while friends are over. And I am not good at selfies. And Bingley has never had a photo that was unfairly unflattering. And if I show the wine and it was you who gave it to me, you'll find me thoughtless and cruel. So all around, this was the best choice.

2015 - 365 Project. Day 225, August 13

365 Project. Day 225, August 13: Hey Del Taco! It's pretty cool that you invested in quotation marks for your sign, but I'm not sure this is really what you're really trying to say. Because now I think you're lying. Or sarcastic. Or that you really should have studied harder in school. I'm sure your "avocado" is super "fresh".

2015 - 365 Project. Day 224, August 12

365 Project. Day 224, August 12: Once upon a time, a shar pei dog at a rental house lunged over the top of the rickety fence as I walked past with Charlie (the next-to-last dog I ever owned) ((and we were completely ignoring this dog, not picking a fight)), and it bit me on the arm, drawing blood. Now, years later, the dog is gone and the house is being torn down. I find this strangely satisfying.

2015 - 365 Project. Day 223, August 11

365 Project. Day 223, August 11: These little beauties grow on a giant plant at a rental house I walk past on Tuesdays with the last dog I'll ever own. They never get picked, and late every summer they are sweet and juicy. One year, I finally brought along a pair of scissors and plastic bag and I helped myself to a few bunches. I found out when I got home why no one harvests them. There were more spiders than grapes in each bunch! Granted, they were harmless spiders, but the sheer volume was daunting. So I'll stick to good old store-bought, pesticide-laced grapes, thanks.

2015 - 365 Project. Day 222, August 10

365 Project. Day 222, August 10: So I found this big giant snake on the driveway this morning. I thought it was a worm. Now what do I do with it?? Anyone want a giant snake?

2015 - 365 Project. Day 221, August 9

365 Project. Day 221, August 9: When you're driving and you pass your phone back to your daughter and later you find, like, 20 weird selfies in your pictures. — with Jennifer Philbin.