Leslie Yarden:  

Life Edited 04.03.06: I met and married my husband, Eyal, in 1991. He's from Israel and all of his family is still in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. We live in a suburb of Atlanta, GA and run a websale retail business with the corporate office in our basement - that's convenient! I had a baby boy named Kyle on Jan. 7, 2004 and a second baby boy named Tyler on March 18, 2006. They are both precious. My husband is into racing. He has a Dodge Viper (fun!) and a Miata. Eyal founded the "V-TEN Racing Team" and the team is getting some recognition now. He would rather be racing than running a business. I'd rather be..shopping! than running the business! Atlanta is beautiful - not too many rednecks! But people are nice, nightlife is great and the shopping is wonderful! While one of my sisters still lives in Walnut /Collegewood, I only get out there every other year or so. I still love to dance. And can't stay away from music. We went to a few concerts this year - Gwen Stefani /BEPs, Depeche Mode - 4th row. Holy cow, that was awesome. I mean, hell, they've been creating beautiful music for over 20 years. Totally reminded me of high school and Michael. (Still miss him.) What's on my CD changer? Madonna Remix, Madonna Confessions, BEPs Monkey Bus, Gorillaz, Gwen Stefani LAMB. Oops, newborn is crying. Motherhood calls. (But motherhood is so very cool. But I try to still be sexy and cool. No pudgy "mom" look on me! HaHa! Ciao for now. L. 01/25/08: OMG! It's been a year and a half since I wrote that. Um, seems like yesterday. Still have the business. Still trying to goof off as much as poosible. Husband still races. Kids are getting bigger. I'll try to post some pics. I still live just outside of Atlanta. GD! it's cold right now. I COULD NOT live in like New York or anywhere up north. Can't stand the friggin' cold. Hmmm, what did I do this past year? Went to some concerts - Gwen Stefani again. Love her. Justin Timberlake. Eminem. Akon. Ok, for some little ol' white girl, I can act pretty gangsta sometimes! Get over it, I love cool bass-heavy music, ok?! Haha! Um, what else...OH!! Finally got Lasik on my eyes. Was sooo sick of wearing contacts. We went to Florida to the beach in the fall and it was AWESOME not to be all friggin' worried if sand got in my contacts. ..I still love dancing. I'm making my kids take dance. I signed up my 4-year old for "movement" class (pre-ballet). That child does NOT have his Mama's rhythm! My 2 year old does, though. He can BOUNCE, baby! ...I've gotten all suburban and volunteered for the Social Committee here for our Homeowner's Association. These people need to liven UP! Wine tastings, concerts at the Clubhouse, parties. So, we'll see. People in Georgia are so sweet and southern and polite, then I come in and I'm like, "OK. It's like THIS, people...". There are 110 homes in our subdivision... We'll see if I can rally this place. Kyle and Tyler are in daycare during the day so we love hangin' with 'em on the weekends. We (Eyal and I) try to do date night often, but...I mean if you have kids, you know what I mean...Unless you are lucky enough to have parents or in-laws at your beck and call. My parents live an hour away and Eyal's parents live, uh, 14 hours (by plane) away! Luckily, they come over every year or two and stay with us for a few months. My mom-in-law was a godsend when I had my babies. Speaking of, we're gonna try for #3 here soon. I'm trying to get my body super-toned to be ready for the pregnancy. But damn that Mexican food! Ha! But you just really have to MAKE time to take care of yourself and make working out a priority. I'm just looking forward to BOOBS, baby!! It sucks after you're done breastfeeding and you're like, "where'd the girls go??!!!" Maybe #3 will be a lil girl. That would be cool. Except that I'd go crazy buying clothes. It was bad enough with Kyle and Tyler. There are such CUTE things out there. Little Polo jeans and cool Gap shirts. I hate it when parents put those stupid matchy-smatchy outfits on their kids and they look like goof-balls. Ok, I admit my fashion knowledge was not so savvy when I was little. I totally remember moving to Walnut from Mississippi and all the girls were wearing Chemin de Fer and their cool boots. Welllll, I've more than made up for it now, I guess. I'm not a shopaholic. I'm just reallly good at it..and I like to do it often. And I can tell you about every beauty line, their top sellers, what they do and how much they are. And if they work. I love Lancome for their treatment products. Clinique stinks (no fragrance), SmashBox has great make-up...Oh, I could sit and talk for hours about makeup. My sisters came to visit in November and I brought out all of my freebies and samples and loot from the counters to share with them. It was such a girly fun time. I love going out and I love going to mixed parties and stuff...But I love my girl time, too. Just met my best friend for lunch yesterday. She's super-busy - has her own Bridal Salon; has two boys; breastfed for the past 6 months (so that baby had to go E-V-E-R-Y-where with her); and she's just wrapping up major constuction in their house AND she's about to physically expand her business. Man. Talk about giving ya' inspiration! I was like "Ok. My life doesn't seem so hectic and busy now. I can deal." Except that we're (Eyal and I are) working on 4 different business entities right now. I'm writing Business Proposals, doing research, and putting together a Business Plan to hand to investors for one start-up. But, then I was "room mom" for Kyle's field trip with his class last Wednesday. It's like: Stop. Put on this hat. Stop. Put on that one. Stop. Put on THAT one. Sometimes it makes you miss the simplicity of your high school or college years. BUT, as long as you have FUN on the ride, that's what counts. It's cool knowing that I'm helping to make nice memories for Kyle and Tyler. Tomorrow we're going to meet "Diego" at the mall. Then we're going to see him "perform" (I think he'll probably rescue the baby jaguar...again) in February. We like to take them to the park, to ride the carousel at the mall, walk around our lakes (in the subdivision - we live on one of the lakes, but there are 3 -- with swans - so beautiful), and now we got a (drum roll) Winnebago!! Woo Hoo! It's pretty cool. It's the kind you drive (not tow). It has a kitchen and bathroom and shower and bedroom. TV with Video /DVD. iPod hook-up. The idea was that me-n-the kids could travel with Eyal when he races and we'll have somewhere cool and refreshing to go to when we get tired or hot and Eyal is still racing. And Tyler can have a place to nap. SO! The first race of the season is in.......Atlanta! Eyal was disappointed. He SO wants to use that thing! Men and their gadgets. It's a good thing we do wholesale for electronics. He's spoiled with that stuff. GPS, HD TVs, surround sound. Ok, I admit the GPS is nice. It does save time if you need to by-pass traffic and stuff. And, being a music-ophile, having digital surround is a must. But the HD? Nah, not so interested. As long as it has a DVR on the receiver, I'm happy. Can rewind that So You Think You Can Dance routine when I think, "WHAT was that COOL move they just did?" Anyway, ya' know - sometmes writing stuff makes you appreciate what ya have. I'll get those e-mails that show pictures of people in Africa and it just makes me tear up. What a great place we live in. What a great country. Truly the Land of Opportunity. Don't take it for granted, right? Ok. Gotta sign off. Spent waaaayyy ...Expand for more