conversing

the following is an actual conversation between me and my 4 year old daughter today in the car. we were discussing safety, and the subject of strangers came up.

me: are your teachers strangers?

her: no!

me: is daddy a stranger?

her: no!

me: is austin's mommy a stranger?

her: no!

me: am i a stranger?

her: sometimes!

and here i thought i was hiding my dr jekyll and mrs hyde personality SO WELL.

i'm a mess

some of you may want to dim your monitors for this post which is dedicated to BETH who actually had to see me like this a few hours ago (the image is burned into her brain forever). and of course, she was wearing an adorable matching track suit.

we'll start at the top of the heap of the mess that is me.

Hair: short hair and bedhead DO NOT MIX. take precautionary measures.

Face: indecipherable in this photo (courtesy t) are the splotches of smeared mascara under each eye and the big bulbous zit on the bridge of my nose, right between my eyes.

Shirt: everyone needs a supergirl jammie shirt in pink. plus, it hides the sunburn (yes, SUNBURN. in april.) that i got on my back & shoulders at the park on sunday.

Track jacket: that still smells like the dog treats that were in the pocket for a training session. it's also never been anywhere near an actual track.

Pants: navy blue terry cloth, need i say more?

Shoes: brown suede gap flats with little tassels that really tie the whole look together, don't they? whatever's sitting by the front door is whatever goes.

i'm missing my customary hand-painted coffee mug, i guess i already drank it. i'm also missing my big magenta polarfleece bathrobe. the newspaper is partially chewed by the dog "helping" me get it each morning. it's a comedy of errors each day getting jane to "drop it" and "leave it" before the news is in shreds.

in my defense, i'm really only grabbing for whatever clothing may still be on the bedroom floor each morning in the dark. you really can't blame me for not turning on the light. but the poor bus driver! she sees me in some semblance of this outfit every morning. when i show up to school looking NORMAL, she kind of looks creeped out, like, 'i know what you REALLY look like.' either that or she doesn't even recognize me.

just life.

oh, i was doing SO well for a while there, wasn't i? a post every day or every other day! sorry it's been AAAAAALLLLLLLLLL weekend since i've posted, i've fallen off the blog wagon.

maybe that's just because there isn't too much to discuss in my life that's of any interest in the blogosphere. would you like to hear the one about how i spent all day saturday with my friend beth on the neighborhood petition to fight redistricting? we drove around the 'hood, gathering data... figuring out which volunteer would get which houses to sign the petition... BLAH!

or perhaps the one about how i shirked my petition duty on sunday to go to the park with my children for a birthday gathering? NAAAAHH!

and today is the most INTERESTING of all my busy days. accountant's office, kinko's, dry mounting place, DMV. the best part of this is i stood in line at the dmv until i couldn't wait any longer to go to the bathroom, thus losing my place in line. i didn't have the heart to stand there AGAIN. and i went to walmart! ohh, what a life of interestingness.

hair today, gone tomorrow

hair today... well, actually yesterday (photo courtesy s, age 4.5)

and...

gone tomorrow... well, actually today (photo courtesy h, age 7)

do we need an editorial or do the images speak for themselves? i was so sick of my hair, and that pile on the floor made me sooooo happy.

sushi night

me, katy (of 40th birthday fame), chi, andrea

went out for sushi last night with some friends. didn't have a chance to change or anything after canine obedience class (for jane, y'all! i already know how to behave) and my appearance shows it. and just look at the loveliness of my sushi-mates. i am shamed.

it was bogo night, so we all got cheap sushi. unfortunately, sashimi was not included on the list so i had to get nigiri-- the kind with the fish on top of little rice balls for those of you not familiar. it's funny how all i want when i get sushi is just the slabs o' raw fish. forget all the accoutrements. chop off the fish's head and serve it up on a platter. my favorites are salmon roe and mackerel, both very 'fishy' tasting. not for everyone, i know.

in other news, my friend from high school (and beyond), jill, just ahd a baby girl last night! soooo exciting! she has a 2 year old little boy also. must go find baby gift. as long as i already have to go to the tax man's office and the dmv, i might as well do a little fun baby shopping, too. i love to buy baby gifts. everything so small and cute. it plays into my obsession with miniature things i guess.

breakfast of champions

oh. hello. this is my second try at this post... the first one is forever lost and i'm afraid try two won't be as fresh and original as... say... a bowl of special k red berries!

i'm admitting to an addiction here, people! at least it's a healthy addiction unless you're an obsessive carb-counter (are there any more of those left?). special k red berries is the thing i crave at inappropriate times of day when breakfast food is entirely uncalled-for. have you ever tried it? do you feel the same??

if you haven't tried it, here's the lowdown. the lightly sweet and crunchalicious flakes that almost never get soggy in milk are interspersed with dehydrated strawberry slices that *POOF!* magically reconstitute when milk is added. it all adds up to a big bowl of berry goodness of which i cannot get enough.

on my current box (one of many many many) it claims that one can lose inches off the waist by eating it for two weeks! i'm sure this could only be accomplished by willful folks eating controlled portions of the stuff instead of the bucketfuls that i eat.

i am not a celebrity endorser for kellogg's. i just play one on the blogosphere.

t is on his way home from the beauty shop. i'm wondering if his shoulder-length, highlighted, wavy locks will still be there when he gets back. my appointment is on friday, and i'm wondering if i'll come home with any hair at all. after all the hair fuss on fussy and MIM i figured it's about time to create some of my own. i'll keep you posted. get it??! POSTED! blow me down, i crack myself up.

the never's cd release party!

my honey (left) with ari (right)

"The Never has just released their fourth album called ANTARCTICA. It's a storybook album: a full length CD literally coupled with a fully illustrated storybook by Noah Smith! The story is centered around a young, naive, boy named Paul and his journey to find the owner of a large grey object he found behind his home in the country. Antarctica is a plea for everyone young and old to remember the simple things of childhood. The book also serves as a reminder to appreciate the world and the beauty it has to offer."

okay, there's my plug for the band, the album, the guys. if i knew how to put an audio clip on this blog, then there might be one. but since i don't, if you'd like to listen, you'll have to go to their website.

the show was really really well done, they had lots of "support" musicians playing violin, banjo, cello, and other various instruments. the images from the book were projected in time to the songs. very cool and the kids loved it. i'm just sitting back waiting for them to be "discovered"... they are all so very talented.

got to talk to loads of interesting people at the reception-- the band, their families, their friends. so many people came back from their respective schools and colleges to support the show, and it was great to see all of them.

and what would a fun and relaxing night BE without a healthy dose of chatham politics??? i wanted to pick the brains of johnny and joah's older brother ken and his wife debbie as i know that they are fellow concerned chathamites but have been involved for far longer than i have. they introduced me to another woman and before the night was over i had taken over the duties of canvassing my neighborhood for the upcoming election and was a bumper-sticker-toting activist. i am so unpolitical it's not funny. but everyone must do what they can when the issues affect us directly, right? .......RIGHT?? or am i just crazy?

mad cow

driving home last night from my friend katy's 40th birthday bash, i saw a large black shape looming on the edge of the road. these old back country roads are riddled with deer, rabbits, fox, and the occasional bobcat, so at night it's a virtual obstacle course. my eyes were peeled... but what WAS the big black shape? as i approached i saw... it was... A COW. an escaped black cow, madly munching forbidden greens with a crazed look in it's eye. it started at the passing car, and walked into the road right in front of me. honestly.

the party was fun, saw lots of good friends and talked to lots of good company. and a party just isn't a party until somebody hurls. thankfully that someone wasn't me... although i did do a couple of jagermeister shots. blecch!

i'm about halfway through 'junebug' and all i can say is... OH MY GOD IT'S WHERE I LIVE.

tonight is the cd release party for the never's new storybook album 'antarctica.' as soon as t gets back from his motorcycle safety course, the whole family is gonna go see the show and support our friends. and yes, t IS taking a motorcycle class although he has no motorcycle. wishful thinking much?

movie night

we sat and watched the netflix 'house of flying daggers (shi mian mai fu)' last night. man, i love netflix! the only thing i don't like about it is when i don't yet have a new film to watch and have nothing to do on a particular night. unfortunately, it's cutting into my reading time. right now, i'm not particularly enthralled with either of my books. i'm almost done with 'the life of pi' by yann martel, but couldn't hack being so bored, so picked up 'confessions of an ugly stepsister' by gregory maguire which isn't exactly piquing my interest either.

but i digress.

'daggers' was not so much stunning for it's story or acting, but for the bold visuals. t and i were both reminded of 1950's technicolor cinemascope movies-- bold color juxtapositions and flat lighting. the above scene of the echo game had us both with our jaws on the floor. there is alot of wire-work in this movie, but if you are bothered by that, this scene does it artfully, almost like a ballet.

the love story is okay, with some good twists and turns, but overall i would recommend this film for anyone who loves gorgeous color, great cinematography, tactile costumes, and eye-popping choreography. makes me want to watch 'crouching tiger, hidden dragon' again!

low riders

my observant husband was lying on the bed the other night perusing the latest edition of the victoria's secret catalogue while i was putting away some laundry. he pointed out to me this particular photo of the "uplift" jean, and noted that the waistlines on pants are getting higher again.

what a man.

he actually NOTICES the rise of a pair of jeans! he knows i have a love/hate relationship with low rise: the love part being that they are comfortably NOT squeezing my innards, the bad part being that while i have a very healthy weight/size/fitness level, i have stretch marks from having 2 babies and they show over the top of the jeans.

pesky old stretch marks! they ruin the fun of bikinis, too. and i absolutely love the misconceptions about them. like how i was told that enough cocoa butter during pregnancy would prevent them (nope). my favorite one was that if you do... like... a ZILLION crunches every day that they will go away (again, uh-uh). how on earth CRUNCHES are supposed to repair damaged skin is completely beyond me.

anyhow, kudos to my husband for understanding women's fashion trends and loving me... battle scars and all.

microsoft

"Check the guy in the lower left......... that's Bill Gates. Paul Allen, the owner of the Seattle Seahawks with a net worth around $20 billion is on the far right, lower corner!!!"

..this was in my inbox this morning, and i thought it was worth sharing. considering MOST people looked like this in 1978, i'm sure they got plenty of investors. thank god i was 5 in 1978! i don't have any photos of myself looking like this. but let's not even TALK about the 80's. i even had a bi-level harcut, complete with poodle bangs.

must... destroy... photographic... evidence...

life in music

My Life in Music

this idea was on j's blog, and i'm not sure i've done it quite right, but i did the best i could without having a brain hemorrhage. anyone who wants a cd of this, let me know in the comments section, and i'll send you one. or maybe it would take 2 or 3. whatever.

Opening Credits: 'Cinema Paradiso' from Cinema Paradiso by Ennio Morricone

Waking Up: 'Mr Blue Sky' by ELO

Childhood: 'On the Good Ship Lollipop' by Shirley Temple

Jr. Highschool: My Hair Had A Party Last night by Trout Fishing in America

Highschool: Flowers on the Wall by The Statler Brothers

Average Day: 'Linus and Lucy' from Charlie Brown by The Vince Guaraldi Trio (it's even my default cell phone ring)

Unrequited Love: 'One' by U2

Moving Away from Home: 'Under The Bridge' by Red Hot Chili Peppers

Falling In Lust: 'Many Rivers to Cross' by UB40

Falling In Love: 'Good Hearted Man' by Tift Merritt

Love Scene: 'Estella's Theme' from Great Expectations by John Williams

Walk of Shame: 'Freak Me Out' by Weezer

Fight Scene: 'Nugget' by Cake

Breaking Up: 'I'm Not That Girl' from Wicked

Secret Love: 'The Ludlows' from Legends of the Fall by James Horner

Getting Married: 'Love Changes Everything' from Aspects of Love by Andrew Lloyd Webber

Marriage:'You Put Your Arms Around Me' by Sinead O'Connor

Driving: 'On the Road Again' by Willie Nelson

Flashback: 'Cult of Personality' by Living Colour

My Career So Far: Where You Eyes Don't Go by They Might Be Giants

Birth of a Child: 'Born at the Right Time' by Paul Simon

Baby with Colic: 'Ring of Fire' by Johnny Cash

Life's OK: 'Hey Ya' by OutKast

Partying: 'Friend of the Devil' by The Grateful Dead

Happy Dance: 'Call Me Al' by Paul Simon

September 11th: 'Only a Broken Heart' by Tom Petty

Drinking Alone: 'Margaritaville' by Jimmy Buffett

Middle Age: 'Psycho Wing' by Big Audio Dynamite (i can only imagine...)

Death Scene: 'Walkin' After Midnight' by Patsy Cline

Closing Credits: 'Long May You Run' by Neil Young

just another saturday night

i had a VERY RARE evening to myself last night with t being at WWLA and the kidlets being at a sleepover with my friend kim and her own 4 kids. as i drove home on the dark country roads, i wondered what to do with myself! i'm not used to being alone, and though i'm not prone to loneliness, i was glad for jane to keep me company. i settled on watching the rented 'dilwale dulhania le jayenge' which popped up in my recommended list at netflix. i must give a shout out to my bombay buddy for turning me on to bollywood! i'm such a sucker for melodrama. i enjoyed watching the film, but the vocal dubbing irritated me a bit. i wish they would have used 'real' voices instead. the song & dance numbers out of thin air were fabulous, but the acting outside of these left something to be desired at times. i was reminded of a favorite movie line from 'the rocketeer':

"...acting is acting like you're NOT acting. so... ACT! but don't act like you're acting."

now i can successfully tie in a reference to one of my favorite all-time places, griffith observatory, overlooking hollywood. most of you know it as the site of the pivotal scene in 'rebel without a cause,' but it was also the location at the end of 'the rocketeer.'

on the roof is where my wonderful husband proposed to me almost 13 years ago! holy toledo, am i that old??? or was i really THAT young??! it's so hard to believe. and I SAID YES which is one of the BEST words that ever came from my mouth. so so so lucky to have such a husband. wow.

j, i'm still wracking my brain over the life in music thing. maybe someday i'll get it all worked out. way difficult, and i'm impressed you figured it all out!

betrayal

they're remodeling my walmart. did you hear me???! THEY'RE REMODELING MY WALMART!! i feel like alice down the rabbit hole. nothing is what it seems, and everything is upside-down. just when you think your spirit is still young, that you are still easily adaptable to new things, they go and change walmart on you.

it's completely torn apart, every department is in a state of flux-- placed where it was no longer, but not yet in a place where it will be for the future. shoppers were wandering with befuddled looks on their faces... grocery lists completely forgotten, with no idea which way to turn to find whatever it was they may have needed.

why, walmart? why go and change something that was totally, well, not good necessarily, but something i was so used to? something i knew like a well-worn path home? alas, life will never be the same.

curiouser and curiouser.

thursday

just a few kid photos because i felt like it and i love my kids. absolutely no cohesive topic whatsoever. the one of h is with our easy-bake "tower of terror." for those of you parents who have had the pleasure of working with the easy-bake (it cooks using a LIGHT BULB, ok?), you understand that only one small pancake-sized cake can be made at a time. so we (meaning i) made about 10 of them and stacked them all together into what my son called the tower of terror (after the ride at disney-mgm studios).

this picture of my daughter was taken after she had stuffed about 1000 crayons in her dress pockets and was so very proud of herself.

sorry, no dog photo today.

everybody's busy and i'm home wondering what to do with myself. i'm almost done applying tick-killer to the yard, and i bought a few shrubs & trees that need to be popped into the ground. it's a good cool and sunny day for planting, so i guess i'd best get cracking.