Strawberry Tomatoes

The last time I was home... I got to spend a lot of time with little Jessa Rose. We were in my mom and dad's backyard when she wanted to show me all of the Toe-May-Toes.... She said, "look Aunt Robin, Guammy has 'cheery' tomatoes and grape tomatoes and red tomatoes and strawberry tomatoes..." I said, "wait a second there ... I have never heard of a strawberry tomato... are you serious?" With that OMGoodness look she said... "come look!!!!!" She could not wait to teach me ... the grown up... what a strawberry tomato looked like. She then took it off the vine and ate it. I said, "Jessa, no that is yucky!" With her cute little smile and laugh...she said, "just a little dirt Aunt Va Va!"

This picture really does say it all.....

.... And they called him... Charlie!

And so it goes... Charlie Christopher Murphy Sparks arrived April 22, 2009.

He is so flippin cute. He is a mirror image of my brother when he was a baby.... but cuter. I love that he is already adapted the signature lil' Jacky sleeping position.. arms over his head and relaxed.

Charlie.... I gotta warn you. Your daddy will wear whatever he pleases. I can only imagine that in this picture what you do not see are the trouser socks and birks. But he will love you like none other. Looks like he already makes you laugh... or is it cause he is funny lookin?

You are so beautiful and I am so excited to see you soon... I am heading to Minneapolis the second weekend in October... to spoil you rotten. Until then.... know that I love you with all my heart!!!

Ahhhhh Napa Valley

Mendocino wine company in Ukiah, CA. The only Carbon Neutral Winery in the U.S. They are biodynamic and organic. If you go to Napa... this is only about an hour North. They make Parducci, Sketchbook and Zig Zag Zin to name a few.

Charles Krug winery owned by the Mondavi family... oldest winery in Napa. The roses at the end of the grapevines means that the vines are healthy... they are beautiful.

Our favorite winery in Napa. It was Saddleback ... it was the first one we visited and they took great care of us. The wine was awesome. Lisa is in the pix with me. I have been friends with her for years. It was her first rather long vaca without her baby boy.... we survived.

So... it has been six months.....

So much has happened since my last blog. Where do I begin? The restaurant has had a VERY successful opening. This was the day before we opened. I was waiting on a courier to deliver check presenters... books, if you will, for servers to hold their "stuff " in.

I will say, I have made some mistakes here in St Louis that I never thought I would make again. I have had several conversations with God about who I am and where should I be. Even today I have struggled with it... but I am getting ahead of myself.

It is funny a year ago, I would have said.. my life was in order and my restaurant was spiraling our of control. Today, the restaurant is great and for the last few months my life has just been spinning. This is due to my own continued "rocking of the boat." I am continuously trying to help God. I know he wants this for me... so I am going to help Him. I have put so many things in out there and let the chips fall where they may.... knowing that they could turn into a huge disaster... and here I sit "rocking that boat." Today, I have spent most of the day in complete silence. I have realized from reading my twitter page.... that there are thousands of people with the same "rocking the boat" mentality as me... it is called FEAR. Fear of if I am ever going to be enough... Enough..... enough for who? Who am I living this life for... this 30 seconds compared to eternity with God? This is a mere blip on the radar screen. I have got to start living! Who cares that I am not enough for this guy or that guy... I am enough for the Big Guy!!! Sounds cheesy... but I'm livin' for the first time in a long time.... what are you doin?

Speaking of living...my precious niece just keeps getting more adorable.... she told me last Saturday, "Aunt Robin, I really think you need to move back here I miss you." This as we were going up and down the escalator at Nordstrom's for the fifth time. We would jump on and jump off.... I could hear the gasps coming from everyone around us. We did not care... she is a tough little girl. We then went to try on shoes. I had to get work shoes as mine are slowly falling apart...I tried on Dansko clogs.... she said, "those are cute." I must teach her to never say that again. It has been great living so close to KC. I can drive there in 3 hours or take the train in 5 hours.