Happy International Women's Day | surf's up!

Water Connection, in celebration of International Women's Day. A still from the upcoming film, "The Women And The Waves 2." A huge shout out to all the women in this photo and all the women I've worked with over the years, gifted with such beauty and brawn! #internationalwomensday #Surfland #surfergirl #thewomenandthewaves2

A photo posted by Joni Sternbach (@jstersurf) on Mar 8, 2016 at 11:31am PST

Diana 'sure I can do that' the Handiwoman

Diana 'Sure I can do it' the Handiwoman, originally uploaded by RobinJP.

Woman power.  Well, woman with power tools.

We met Diana last year when we needed someone to help whip our house into shape before putting it on the market.

She's great.  She's is truly handy.  And she comes with a truck full of tools. And she welcomes help from the homeowner.  "If you help me get it done faster, it'll cost you less."

Today, Diana replaced an old dishwasher.  I helped a little, but mostly listened from my home office.

This is what I heard:

E.T., take this smelly old dishwasher away. 

"eeuuww. disgusting."

drill sounds ... "Ahhhh. I wondered if I'd ever use that tool."

"hopefully your new one is small enough.. oh, I see, I got it."

"ah, there we go."

"hmmm.. is there a hosey thing?"

"interesting" said this a lot.

"oh. that's not nearly long enough."

"hehehheheee heh heh."

whispers: "ok. so that might work."

"I don't even see a part that looks like that."

"Ok now. How do we do that?"

"Do you have any duct tape?"

"oh, hey, there you go. You'd be looking for that ... eventually."

"that's what I thought.  hhuuhh, okay."

"come on, gitinthere. ah, gotcha."

Well, the new dishwasher sure did gitinthere.  It's all set and the kitchen's back to normal.

And, we've come up with another job or two so Diana will return soon.  Ahhh, there we go.

If you're in the Phoenix area, call her - Diana Hanna, 480-612-2455. She's great. She's a bit of a MacGyver. And entertaining if you listen closely.

Robin, Phoenix

U.S. women really stole the show at the London Olympics 2012

Just wanna play ball.

I replayed this commercial a lot during the Olympics. It served to reinforce all the great athletics we were seeing on the screen.

Amazing fact from the 2012 London Olympics: Only two countries won as many gold medals at the 2012 Olympics as the 29 won by American women.

More on this from a story on Bleacher Report: US Women Stole the Show in London

"That's right, just two countries matched the American women in gold medals. China as a country won 38, while Great Britain took home 29, tying the U.S. ladies. I think it's safe to say that American women dominated these Olympics.

It gets better. The United States women won 58 medals in all, better than all but three countries (China, Russia, Great Britain).

And they topped the men both in gold medals won (29 to 17) and overall medals earned (58 to 45).

Way to hold down the fort, ladies."

Way to play ball, ladies!!

Robin, Tempe

My personal Olympic moment

my olympic moment, originally uploaded by RobinJP.

I had to get off the couch and go have my own Olympic moment today.

This is a photo of me after a 9-mile bike ride in 102 degree heat. Don't worry, I always turn red. A frozen water bottle pressed on my neck calmed that right down.

I felt strong. I was moving. I am an athlete, just like those on the world stage.

I was really inspired to get moving when the women beach volleyball started. Those women do not have couch-potato bodies.

Happy Father's Day, Mom!

I wrote this post two years ago, but it's still a goodie.

I dedicate Father's Day to My Mom. 


... and my brothers.

Robin, Tempe

Give someone you love a call

This week I got a chance to speak with a long lost cousin I had not talked with for about 12 years. It wasn't that we had a falling out or anything, we had just let life get in the way, and time flew by.

But, I finally picked up the phone and reconnected, and I can't even tell you how happy I am that I did.

You see, my cousin Carol is in a nursing home where she has lived for the past ten years. She suffers from Rheumatoid Arthritis, and now is in a wheelchair, but her mind is still as sharp as can be. Carol was known as a trailblazer in her day, fighting her way through college, roaming Europe as a single woman before it was cool, fighting for women's rights, and challenging men along the way. She was also one of the best midwives in California in her day.

You see, my parents were so proud of her they gave me her middle name, something I am very proud to carry.

I had been thinking about her a lot the past few months and finally decided to stop thinking about her, and just call.

It was like no time had passed at all. While her body might be slowly losing the battle with time and the disease, her mind is nowhere near ready to give up the fight. After calling her and hearing how happy she was to hear from me, I decided I had been away long enough. I packed up my mother, my sister and my nephew and we hit the road for the Los Angeles area to see her in person.

She sat in the lobby waiting for us, and was so proud to introduce us to everyone we met as "her family". I was so touched that our visit meant so much. And then, for the next two hours we talked about everything from 9-11, to the economy, to college entrance requirements and even our favorite TV shows and authors. It was an amazing two hours that truly fed my soul.

As we said our goodbye's and pulled away, I vowed that 12 more years would not go by again before talking to this amazing woman.

So, if there is someone out there you haven't spoken with in awhile, pick up the phone or get in the car. It is well worth the time!

Sue Green

Watching my mom dance

Sometimes we get so caught up in this thing called life that we forget to appreciate the small moments. Recently I got a reminder from my mother. I talk to my mom several times a week and try to visit her at least once a week. Usually we go out to eat, or to a movie, or shopping. But on Saturday night we went to a friend's Luau party.

She was celebrating her 50th birthday. There was great food, great music and great dancing. It was amazing watching the performers.

But none of them lived up to my mother's performance. She is one of those people who just loves to dance. Can't stop the toe tap when the music starts. And this night was no different.

Watching my mother's face as she felt the music move through her gave me such joy! It reminded me of watching my parents when they used to dance, so in step with each other. He is no longer with us, but that didn't stop her from getting up on that stage. She dipped, and twisted, and side stepped her way through several songs.

She came off the stage towards me and said, "I love to dance", and I said "yes mom, you do"!

Sue, Tempe

Thanks for the night on the town mom!

I had the most perfect moment last night with my mom. You see, sometimes we get so busy with life and work and such, that we forget how important it is to just spend a little time with the ones we love. I did that Friday night with my Mom and Robin, and I had a blast.

We started the evening with a few drinks, and my mom got pretty tipsy on a glass of wine. I knew it was a good thing to stop at one glass when she was getting a little too comfortable in the booth at the bar!

We then decided to hit the streets for First Friday in Phoenix. Let me see if I can describe this event for you. Lets just say it's a cross section of goth gals, animal rights activists, hippies, artists, families with kids, and old timers just looking for a little distraction on a friday night. Oh yeah, and lets throw in the live bands playing on each corner, along with the magicians trying to scare up a crowd.

All in all, a great way to spend the evening. And I would not want to spend it with anyone else but Robin and my Mom! Thanks Mom!

Sue,
Tempe

Love Deb & Rene. Hate cancer.

Bald really is beautiful.




Our friend Deb, who is fighting cancer, lost her hair last week. At Sunday morning's Hair Coming Out Party, her friends gathered around to kiss her sexy dome. And what a perfect noggin she has.



Deb and Rene are reading 'Crazy Sexy Cancer' by Kris Carr. I think of Deb when I read Carr's words:

“What I’m saying is that we are still empowered. We are still alive and whole. I might have cancer, but I’m dealing with it and I’m still all that. The most important thing is to have a voice and use it."

You shout it out, Deb.

(Natty umbrella hat provided by Deb's loving uncle.)

Robin & Sue, Tempe

Perfect Moment, Perfect Picture

Weekend away that includes time with friends.










Pictures. Thousand words.

Have you ever tried clothes on in Costco?

Adam said it all when he shared this Perfect Moment last weekend on Twitter.

Adam Nollmeyer, ACMEPhotography, Phoenix



What does Acme mean?
Acme means “The Best of Something.”
Adam strives to provide excellent photography to showcase you, your business, emotion, or your story by creating powerful images.

Check out Adam's blog.

Music ... making your own life soundtrack

When I was younger I knew that.

But these days I have to remind myself that music can help create a perfect moment. Help change a mood, coax a smile, set the tone for the day as well as any affirmation taped to the mirror.

One of my favorite affirmations is: "I will enjoy the people I work with today." That works wonders.

And then a dose of Little Jackie on the way in ... and I'm good to go.





And then later in the day...

... far from work, Alejandro Sanz.



Enjoy your soundtrack.

Robin, Tempe

I'm no Brett Favre, but ...

Six months... that's how long I've been waiting for this day.

It's the beginning of football season... and every year about this time I am reminded of one of the most perfect moments in my life. When I was 13 years old and considered one of the best football players on my block.


And oh yeah, I was the only girl in the game...

Every Sunday morning we would gather in the field across from my house for our football game. Because we lived in Virginia, the NFL games didn't come on until the afternoon, so we had the morning to create our own version of the NFL. Our game was the first of the day, and in my mind, the best game of the day. On this particular day, we were playing the team from two streets over. They were coming to my house... they were playing on my field.

We had like eight of us on a side, and on my team my brother, my little brother played right along side me. Now, I was what you might call a slightly overweight child, I had to do my shopping in the husky section of the store. But I loved Sunday's because it was on this one day of the week, when my extra few pounds came in handy. You see, I was the one who cleared the path on the field.And there is one particular play, that still to this day, brings a smile to my face, and was so important to my self esteem.

We were all lining up for the kickoff, and we had come up with our strategy. It was very simple. My brother would catch the kickoff, and my job was to clear the path to the endzone for him. So, the kickoff came, a sort of end over end flopper to my brother, not one of those beautiful kicks like you see in the pros. This ball sort of squibbed down the field to my brother. He picked it up off the rutted field and pretty much attached himself to my ass.

I had only one goal in mind, to hit someone. Now, I might have been a little chunky, but man I could run. All i saw was these boys running straight at me, trying to get through me and to my brother. But, as the only girl out there, I had a little something to prove. One by one I put down my head, and laid out the opposing players. It was an amazing feeling to send them flying, and get closer and closer to the end zone.

It seemed like everything was in slow motion, but it probably only took us about ten seconds to get down the field. I could hear my brother yelling "go, go, go". And man did we ever. As I crossed into the end zone, my brother was like one step behind me. And laid out on the field were the opposing players. I hadn't physically hurt any of them, but I do think their egos were a bit bruised, having some girly girl take them out.

So, as I look at Brett Favre this morning throw for his first touchdown as a Jet, celebrating by jumping up, high fiving, and slapping butts, I understand his enthusiasm for the purity of the game. I'm no pro, but on that day, on that field, I felt like a pro, I felt like I could compete with anyone.

I love this game.

Susan, Tempe

Pure joy and the lessons of a survivor

I was out for a run yesterday. A quick (I know not so quick) 6 miles before work. Running, blowing out the kinks, always helps me get through the day.

I live in Arizona, so running in the summer is a little heroic.. or perhaps foolish.

Either way, when I'm out in 104-degree heat, strangers sometimes can't resist the urge to call out guidance: "Don't overdo it!" "A little hot to run, isn't it?"

If I'm feeling good, hydrated, pacing myself, these negative comments can feel like word bombs tossed in my direction... they make me wince, duck and then I have to shake them off.

That happened yesterday.

But then, at about mile 5, I saw Pure Joy....


A woman who'd been riding her bike, was off the bike, and standing under a heavy arc of water shot out from a broken landscaping pipe.

She stood there under the waterfall in her pink shirt, with her bald head, filling her pink hat full of water and grinning to the sky with such joy.

Pure Joy.

Robin, Tempe