Catholicism... WOW!

I hope you recognize the Dogma reference and don't think that I've been somehow "saved". ;-)

Anyway, Will had the closing liturgy to his religious ed class (for the school year) last night so we went. He was so cute singing that I had to hug him during one of the songs. I'm not sure how much he appreciated that, what with me spoiling his street cred, but I'm a mom, we do wacky things like that.

It was pretty funny... he kept glancing up at me as I repeated all the responsorial phrases and nudged him when it was time to kneel, sit or stand. Finally, he says, "How do you know all this?" I told him, "I did this for 12 years in Catholic school."

Which got me thinking. Wow, it never really leaves you, does it? In some way, shape or form, no matter how lapsed a Catholic I've become (in some ways), the Mass is there, ingrained in me. Which, to be honest, is kind of comforting. Although for a while now I've said that I'm a Catholic in my own sense of the word, sometimes the old habits of Mass are nice to come back to.

Not my usual post, but just something that I've been thinking about today. That, and how adorable my boys are. But I think about that every day...

Weekend!!

So, Memorial Day weekend has come and gone, the BBQ coals have been doused, and we're all ready to head back to Weight Watchers to do penance. Hope you all had a great weekend. We headed upstate to the Catskills to visit Mike's grandmother, who is doing astonishingly well considering she just had major surgery at 88 years old. As you can see, Will and Alex thoroughly enjoyed their weekend, too.

Saw X-Men 3 at the drive-in. I have issues. No, seriously, aside from the normal ones, I have got HUGE issues with the movie. I won't go into detail here in case anyone who hasn't seen the movie happens upon my rant, but - WTF?!?! There were some great standalone scenes, and Magneto is just such a great character (as is Sir Ian McKellen, who I would see if he were at the opening of an envelope), but there were quite a few things they did with the characters that threw me for a loop. And yes, pissed me off. Grrr.

God, I love being up in the country. It's peaceful, relaxing... and yet, I would give a lung for good Chinese takeout. I'm such a creature of convenience, yet I never realize how much I've become so dependent on it until I'm upstate. But I do wonder if I could toss it all to live up there. Sometimes I think, no way; sometimes I think, yeah, I think I could.

Could I live a 45-minute minimum drive from the nearest Barnes & Noble or Borders?

I'm thinking like this again because 'the house', the house that I've been in love with for over a year, is STILL on the market. The 6-8 bedroom Victorian on 3 acres of land that needs tons of work? That's dropped $20K over the past year? That I can't conceivably think of because the mortgage would equal my rent, and lord knows I can't afford two rents, nor can I afford to move that far upstate where there are no jobs I would be interested in taking? Yeah, that house.

To quote Homer Simpson, "Shut up brain, before I stab you with a Q-Tip."

Pictures to come, Blogger is being very cranky today.

LOST

So I finally watched the season finale last night and gotta admit, yes - I was angry again. Not at the show, but at the fact that I now have to wait until the FALL to find out what the heck is happening to Sawyer, Jack and Kate! Someone needs to firebomb Michael's boat, btw. Asshat.

Now excuse me, I have to go wander around the Hanso Foundation boards for another hour to see what new information I can geek out on...

The DaVinci Ho

No, it's not the porn version of the Dan Brown book, but a self-description because of my love of all things DaVinci Code lately. At BEA, DaVinci was on everyone's brains, lips, and book tables - a combination of the overwhelming success and controversy the book's received, the trial that's just been completed, and the movie's opening on BEA weekend. Every publisher in the world is trying to cash in on DaVinci (and I'm no exception - I am a shameless marketer, after all. I've got Cosimo's Secret Societies books front and center on our website) and I was there to check it out.

Fodor's was giving away their Guide to the DaVinci Code: On the Trail of the Bestselling Novel, and of course they were, being owned by Random, the publisher of The DaVinci Code. The book is a tour guide to the novel, allowing you to follow the paths the characters took in the book, providing photography and info on the artwork and locations Brown mentions, and all that fun stuff. Right into my overstuffed tote bag, that baby went, along with two other tour guides on Ireland and Costa Rica, both of which I'm hoping to get back to. I may actually give the Costa Rica one to Karen if she ends up booking her honeymoon there like she's been saying she wants to. I'll hyperlink the tour titles once I remember whose they are...

Frommer's was giving away their Washington DC guides, so I picked one up, on the outside chance I'd be awake enough to enjoy some nightlife after BEA and before my 5 a.m. journey began the next morning. I ended up looking up a restaurant for Michelle actually, so it wasn't in vain.

Anyway, I also ended up snagging myself a hilarious DaVinci parody, The DaVinci Mole, by a pseudonymous author, Dr. Ian Browne. Apparently, this is a pseudonym for a well-known figure who must remain anonymous for "reasons of security." There's actually a contest if you can figure out who it is - you'll know the minute you read the description, and the introduction by "Dr. Browne" is pretty hilarious. I read it on the plane back from DC and thought it was very funny and well done.

So while I wouldn't spend any more money on DaVinci or his code, yeah - I'm a DaVinci Ho. What can I say, I like books that make me think.

More BEA later.

Whatta Day!


I know I promised to blog more about the BEA booty I scored, but Will's birthday was yesterday, so I have to, of course, stop everything in recognition and tribute to that.

Yesterday was one of those days, kind of like the day Ray Liotta's character in GoodFellas finally gets brought down. You know how he's narrating about all the crazy errands he has to run that day? That was my day.

I get up, work out, get Will up and moving. We're walking to school, talking about his birthday party he's going to have in class at 1:45 and he asks me if I've got the goody bags done. Being the slick mother I am, I smoothly reassure him that yes, of course, the goody bags are all ready to go.

There are no goody bags. Oh, crap. I'll have 28 first graders after me with pitchforks.

Drop Will off at school, run to Dunkin' Donuts to get a box of munchkins for Will's party. He doesn't eat cake, but loves himself some munchkins. And it's easier to clean up, too, so the teacher should love me. Right? Right. I have to get the munchkins early, because if I go there around lunchtime, there will be none. And then I'll have 28 first graders after with me with pitchforks. Or one very pissed-off first grader because I'd have to buy a birthday cake and he's just not having that.

Go home, attempt to work for a few hours.

At noon, I run to the party store in Forest Hills to pick up Hulk party gear - cups, napkins, plates, and yes, GOODY BAGS. I find a "pinata party bag" - two pounds of assorted candy and toys to stuff into a pinata and figure, perfect. Two pounds should take care of 28 kids, right? (Wrong.) Pay for everything, run down to the train station where I stuff goody bags as I await my train. Anyone who is not a parent is staring at me like I'm clearly insane. Which I am - I'm a parent.

I get off at the stop by Will's school only to realize that two pounds of candy and toys are not enough for 28 first graders. I run upstairs into Rite Aid, buy three small bags of candy and two bottles of apple juice. Run into the school office and ask the staff to allow me to stuff goody bags. I sit there on a bench outside the principal's office, sorting goody bags.

Twenty dollars doesn't buy a lot in the way of candy anymore.

Drop the stuff off upstairs, I think the teacher thought I was just dropping stuff off because she thanked me and I kind of got the feeling I was supposed to leave. So I was a little bemused, but split. And yes, I did have to explain why I wasn't there to Will, who was not very happy. But everyone had goody bags, there were enough munchkins and juice to go around, so at least my reputation as Mom Extraordinaire is secure.

Had about an hour to kill, so went to Dunkin' Donuts again for a nice, large iced coffee. Wandered into Old Navy, but didn't see much. Headed back to pick Will up from school, and rushed him off to the train station to get him to religion class. Getting there early, he asked for Tasty D-Lite. Ate his usual 5 bites before pronouncing himself full, so I pretended to eat it and offer him bites all the way to school. He finished it.

Will's under the impression that I am keeping a big birthday surprise for him. I told Mike not to hand him three video games in a Best Buy bag on the way to his party, dammit. I drop him off at religion, run upstairs to the library to register him for next year (two sacraments, cha-ching), run down to treat myself to a brow threading, and run to get Will a surprise. First it's back to the party store to get him a Spongebob lollipop I saw earlier, then to Barnes & Noble because the comic book store had squat I'd buy for him. Yes, my son needs more books like I do, but cut me a break here. Got him two X-Men tie-in books and a Pirates of the Caribbean one, then rushed back to get him from school.

Got him home, helped him with homework, and got the laundry together. Mike picked us up a little after six, and then we were off to pick up Alex and catch a showing of Over the Hedge in College Point.

Got home after 9. And no, I haven't watched Lost yet - I am not visiting anyone's blog until I do, either. I'll watch it tonight, because last night, a visit from Sawyer himself probably couldn't have kept my eyes open long enough.

I am mother. I am frickin' exhausted. But my baby boy is 7 years old (when did that happen?) and happy, and that's all that matters to me.

BEA Continued... Oh, the Books I Will Read (One of these Days...)

So, people continue to accuse me of having a bit of an obsession with books. I say, what? Madness.

What books did I get at BEA? Please, not enough, in my personal opinion. Especially after looking through last week's issue of Publisher's Weekly and seeing how many things I missed. (Maybe I should take a page from Linda and rename this blog Book Whore.) I need to work out harder so I can carry more next year. A couple of days of tenderness and severe bruising? But I get free books for my pains? Bring it, baby.

Aside from John, Paul, George & Ben by the awesome Lane Smith, there were books a-plenty to be had. I've got most of them at home right now, but let's see how what I can remember.

I got to meet chick-lit writers Sarah Mlynowski and Farrin Jacobs and get a signed copy of See Jane Write: A Girl's Guide to Writing Chick Lit to feed my inner Helen Fielding. Quirk Books, the publisher, has such a fun title list and their booth reflected that fun. I'm such a sucker for fun books, which is why I love Workman, Chronicle and MQ and haunted their booths at BEA.

Speaking of MQ, I got a copy of Fearless Gourmet from their booth which looks like an Anthony Bourdain meets Zagats type of book. I also picked up a copy of The United States of Arugula: How America Became a Gourmet Nation from the Broadway/Random booth, further illustrating how obsessed my Food Network viewing has become. (Ham on the Street cookbook - anyone hear me out there?!)

That's about all for now - I should start working on following up some of the contacts I made... more to come later, when I have the rest of the books around me. Children's books and more to come!

Cuteness Overdose!

How cute is Lauren's niece?

Ah, BookExpo...

BookExpo rocks. It's a huge industry conference with tons of freebies - and this year, I actually got work done, too. Met lots of interesting folks and talked Cosimo up like crazy, so let's hope something comes from it. Got to see a Google BookSearch demo, which is intriguing. Got Lane Smith's autograph on his new book, John, Paul, George and Ben, for Will and was pleased to discover that he's a really nice guy - when I mentioned that Will's birthday was coming up and that he was a huge fan, he drew George Washington holding a birthday cake and wrote, "Happy Birthday, William!" on the book. All in all, a great time. And I'm still suffering zombie-like tendencies from the weekend.

It started at 5 a.m. on Friday morning, when I dragged myself into the shower. Got to LGA for 5:45, was on a plane by 7 a.m., in D.C. by 8:15. Got to the hotel by 9, only to be told by the hotel staff that my boss had not in fact dropped my BEA pass off at the front desk. After an hour of borderline hysterical phone calls, my boss finally got in touch with me, swearing up and down he left the pass at the hotel the night before. After a terse discussion with the incredibly unhelpful staff at the Doubletree, they managed to 'find' the envelope - clearly marked with my name and Michelle's name, whose room I was sharing. It was in clear sight the entire time, so I have no idea how they managed to tell me it wasn't there. No apologies offered, I grabbed my badge and took off to the convention center.

Made the 10 a.m. blogging seminar, which had an interesting enough panel but the Q&A was kind of rudimentary. I ducked out and went on my search for books.

Met Michelle for lunch, only to be told that the cafeteria had run out of food. Go ahead, read that line again, I'll wait. Yes, they ran out of food. We ended up eating at the hotel l0unge later on.

Hit the bed by 9 but didn't sleep well - I think I was just really distrustful that the alarm and/or the wakeup call would work because if I missed my plane, Will would never speak to me again. Got up at 5 a.m. again, down in the cab by 5:45, ate a very tasty bagel from the Chesapeake Bay Bagel kiosk by my gate (their coffee was awful, though - basically water with a coffee-flavored accent), was back in the air by 7:35. At LaGuardia picking up my bags by 8:45, and at Will's birthday party at the Nathan's on Old Country Road in Westbury by 10:30, drinking another coffee (love that New York water).

I am woman. I am tired.

More to come!

Last One Before I Go...

"It's a boot... yet not..."

A little sumthin'-sumthin' from our enlightening trip to DSW last week. Ah, the selection that awaited us.

Picture Assault, Continued

Would you buy a bridge from these women?

Finally, a picture of Helene and I, since I finally got the pictures off my camera. This time, it wasn't me just deciding to let them languish on the camera but me taking two weeks to remember that my MP3 was plugged into the port I normally keep my digital camera in that made the pictures not load on my computer. I never said I was technologically advanced.

Leaving soon to spend Mother's Day Eve in Jersey, so I'll cut this one short. Happy Mother's Day to all my mommy friends!

It's Finally Friday!

Behold the wormhole!

I know I haven't posted many new pics in a while, so prepare for an assault.

It's a Lost Kinda Day

"I think Lost, more than anything else on TV to date, provides a forum for philosophical and critical discussion," says Amy Bauer, an assistant professor of music at the University of California-Irvine who moderates a peer-reviewed online journal, The Society for the Study of Lost (www.loststudies.com).

Folks, there is a Society for the Study of Lost. And, seeing that it's not headed up by myself, Stacey, Lauren, or Linda, I think it's fair to say for once and for all, there are bigger geeks than us out there. Which is a huge relief to me.

Lost

Another Hanso commercial last night... have to hit the URL later, www.sublymonal.com

Spoilers ahead - if you haven't see the episode, don't read any further!

(scroll down)


















So, Lost left me intrigued and enraged as usual last night. Anyone have any thoughts? I can't believe they killed Libby off! We didn't get the rest of her story! AUGH!

Digging the new Pearl hatch and video. I felt so bad for Locke; he just felt like he was duped yet again in life. But then again, if I were Locke, I'd just be excited that I still have a working pair of legs.

Not enough Sawyer, but what there was, was good quality. ;-)

Why is the earth salted into the form of a question mark??

So many questions... and so few new episodes left for this season. I know I'm going to be at Best Buy (okay, Mike's going to be at Best Buy) the day Season 2 comes out, lock ourselves in, and watch the entire season.

Sometimes, I REALLY love the Internet...

Hoff Invaders on Transbuddha

Gets weirder...

Called the Hanso hotline again, tried to get Alvar Hanso. Music, Geronimo Jackson, and then a recording asking what I've done with Hanso. Huh? Then I was kicked back to the main menu. I'm trying the other prompts now. One guy is "out of the office for the next three weeks"; another is out for 2, but asked if I was interested Korean offshore project. The third guy, the Chief Legal Officer, grabs the phone away from his secretary as she's leaving his voice mail message - what exec does this?

Then one guy's voicemail starts to access the messages. One of which is a woman saying, "Sri Lanka... just isn't right." Hmmm... anyone charting where this plane could have gone down?

I'm really devoting too much energy to this, aren't I?

Hanso Foundation Phone Number

1-877-HANSORG. Who's calling?

They Learn So Young...

Mike takes Alex into Dunkin' Donuts this weekend, where Alex announces, "I need coffee for my mommy."

Sleepy Friday

It's finally a true Spring-verging-on-Summer kind of day, and I just want to curl up and take a nap.

Only two weeks 'til Book Expo, and I've got to draw up my wandering plan. I've got to do some work, so I've got to find a way to fit that in amidst the freebie-ing.

Today is definitely one of those days where I would have been better off at home, in bed. Sleeping.

Swedish Invasion

So today is Helene's last day, which is bumming me out. But I did get to spend some time with her, which was so great. Last night, we hit Pancho Villa (my favorite Mexican restaurant) and then wandered off to the Virgin Megastore for a while. Apparently, they now sell used t-shirts from the 80s for really crazy-assed prices. A used Duran Duran shirt (albeit, the famous 1982 black and white clothing shoot which made me lose my heart to John Taylor) for $125? Are you insane?

Don't even get me started on the $100 Stryper t-shirt. Seriously.

Random tangent: I think I need to scan my Duran Duran pictures. I've got a box of them.

So I have to say farewell (for now) to Helene. Having her in town for a little while has been so great. Now I get to plan a trip to Stockholm.

Pictures from our trip to DSW to come...

We Love Our Shoes!


Ah, we bridesmaids and our shoes... and I still think Lauren had the cutest shoes, even if they did hurt her feet that day.

Pictures!


Stacey gave out the wedding photos the other night. I have to say it, albeit grudgingly, that the running down the hill in slow motion shot came out great. You can even see me screaming that my heels are sinking. The true amusement of this shot comes from Adam, who's managed to get that Mentos commercial look on his face frozen in time for all eternity.

I don't know if you can see the picture so clearly, since this is but a small shot cribbed from Stacey's Snapfish folder, but use your imagination. You'll feel warm and fuzzy for it.

Now I have to shop for more frames. Because I love frames. And Mike will sigh and shake his head and say, "At least it's not another book..." But he'll be wrong, because I'll get a book, too. There's always another book, my friend. Muah hah hah hah hah...

Dominic Monaghan Lets One Slip?

From FemaleFirst.co.uk:

Meanwhile, Dominic - who is romancing 'Lost' co-star Evangeline Lilly - also revealed he's bracing himself to be killed off in the show.

He said in a British magazine interview: "Yeah, I think my character could die. It's the nature of the show, isn't it? But I think you have to try to be philosophical about the whole thing.

Hmmmm... WTF? They went from having Charlie be a great character, someone who's worked through all the issues he's worked through, then turned him into a jerk and now possibly kill him off????

What the hell is J.J. Abrams doing to me?

But this is $2.22...

So I go to Dunkin Donuts this morning for my coffee, having taken the E train which lets me off on 8th Avenue. The line is huge, but I decide that I can use the valuable time to clean out my wallet. Finally, I get to the counter, present my $1 coupon (thanks, Mom!) and ask for a large French Vanilla with milk and a Splenda. You with me so far?

She rings me up - $2.22. And stares at me. "$2.22, please."

I look at her and figure I'll start out polite. "Oh, I gave you a $1 coupon."

She stares blankly at me, so I gesture to the coupon, clearly marked $1 off, with the cute little Dunkin' Donuts logo and a coffee cup diecut on the coupon. She stares at it, looks at me, and says - wait for it - "But this is $2.22."

DID SHE THINK I WAS GIVING HER A PRESENT?

"Yes," I say, using my Mommy voice on her, "But if you take $1 off of that, wouldn't it be $1.22?"

She stares at me.

I give her $5.25 (to further rock her world), and somehow, she manages to give me $4.03 change. I leave, shaking my head and wondering about the hiring practices at Dunkin' Donuts.

Stockholm meets New York!

My friend Helene is coming in; she should be arriving in a few hours, actually. I haven't seen her since my wedding day, which is completely nuts. It's going to be a blast having her here all week. I'm going to see what her schedule looks like (she's got sightseeing to do, and brought her friend with her, who I think is on her maiden voyage to The Big Apple, let alone the fact that my family will most likely swarm her like a bunch of excited bees) on the weekend, and hopefully get everyone to meet her on Saturday evening.

Now I just have to get back to Stockholm, which is one my favorite places in the world (at least, the world I've seen so far). Gamla Stan is the greatest place to visit if you're a medieval history buff, and it's been far too long since I've dragged Gab down the narrow streets in search of a nice, hot cup of hot chocolate and a drafty castle basement. And don't get me started on the chocolate.

"It's like Elton John went deaf."

-- so sayeth my friend David, after seeing Lestat on Broadway (music is by Elton John and Bernie Taupin).

What's Cooking?

Actually, we are - Nancy and I have decided that our next Girls' Outing should be a class at ICE. And should involve desserts. We've got Pies, Cupcake Workshops, BISCOTTI UNLIMITED, Comfort Desserts, Tarts - who's with us? C'mon, you know you want to go. And you know you want to make Biscotti. I mean, you know you want to have a fun day out with the girls and make something fun and tasty. (Like biscotti...)

Let's narrow a day down and do this!! Except for the Low-Fat Baking. If I'm baking, I'm in for full-fat butter, whole milk and pure sugar. Otherwise really, where's the joy?

Requisite Television Post

Who watched 24 last night? I need to get some polling software going on this blog, but in the meantime, just post a comment if you want.

Who's next?
- Sec'y of Defense James Heller
- President Logan
- Wayne Palmer
- The First Lady (Martha Logan)
- Audrey Raines

No new Lost this week - are they trying to kill us?

Is Widmore Labs:
- a division of the Dharma Corporation
- the manufacturer of Hurley's meds when he was in the asylum
- a and b
- neither a nor b

Should I:
- stop goofing off and get back to work
- have another cup of coffee
- take a nap under my bench
- all of the above

Tiresome Tuesdays

I'm tired and cranky. But I did manage to fit in a workout this morning; 20 minutes of aerobics and 20 of weight training. I am fitting into those Bermuda shorts this summer! (Technically, I fit them now but they're snug, I want those suckers baggy).

All the coffee in the world isn't making a dent today. Bleah.

I am excited, though, because I made my very first appointment for BookExpo. Whoo hoo! For anyone who doesn't know what BookExpo is, it's basically the promised land. Okay, it's the biggest book convention in the U.S. each year. But everyone is there. The freebies are free-flowing. There are books and publishers as far as the eye can see. I love books. ::drool:: So I'm going, representing Cosimo, and meeting so far with our print-on-demand supplier. So it's exciting.

Little things happen and make me feel good. Today, it was a conference call with the print on demand supplier, talking books and industry talk and having the nicest feeling that I know what I'm doing again.

So why am I cranky? Nature's reasons. ;-)

Still moderating my lonely Rego Park message board on ClubMom. You can hear the crickets. I'm going to try and appeal to some parents in the next issue of the Parents Voice, the PS139 parents newsletter. I finally get an actual message board to moderate and no one posts!

Still struggling through the accursed Winkie, which has to be one of the most mind-numbing books I've read to date. I have to get through the last of it this weekend so I can write the reader report and get it out the door. I have to finish Queen of this Realm, I've been reading it for months! There are books piling up!

Severe Case of the Mondays...

I am completely blah today. Cannot get myself in action. Of course, having a bagel for lunch probably doesn't help. I think I have some salad sitting in the fridge, if I can just drag myself the four steps over to it and prepare it.

So sleepy. And cranky. Mondays and PMS - never a good combo.

Post-Easter

So life post-Easter has finally started settling in. There are Lindt truffles in my home, so I need the patience and willpower of a monk right now. I got up and did back to back Denise Austin workouts this morning, so hopefully that will keep my brain on the right track and out of the bag of Lindt...

I'm an ESFP... Dominant Extraverted Sensing

I took a Myers-Briggs Personality test after seeing Lauren's post and here's what I've got.

Extraverted sensing types are pragmatic and realistic with a zest for living life to the fullest by way of multiplying experiences. Always on the alert for what needs immediate attention or what might provide a bit of action, excitement or entertainment, they engage quickly with their environment. They seek and enjoy freedom, are good-natured, direct, and tolerant and are often the ones who provide levity.

They have a way with dealing with people on a very equal platform and are not easily star struck. Rank, celebrity and status mean little when they are face to face with another individual.

On the job, they appreciate having the right tools and are quite ingenious at finding ways to fix and repair things with dexterity. They love variety and are curious and adventurous, enjoying the unexpected. Their brand of extraversion is one of deeds rather than words. As long as things are moving along, they are happy. They like to keep things simple and immediate, going with the flow. They are helpful in very concrete ways, providing the correct tools or specific service the person requires. They often have an uncanny ability to respond appropriately in cases of emergencies, often having excellent reflexes. They act without thinking. They also tend to have natural mediating skills.

They are attuned to the environment and the myriad colours, textures, sounds, beauty and the sensuousness of it all. They are quite graceful and agile while moving through their environment. They love having fun and if things are too quiet they may provide the entertainment or distraction. They learn by imitation and are keen observers. They teach through example. Their attention will always go towards whatever provides the keenest impression on their senses.

Karma is a Boomerang

I am going to start off every day with a yoga practice because I witnessed firsthand the healing power of karmic payback.

I did a nice yoga practice this morning, lots of stretching and twisting for my poor back which has been killing me lately. Felt really good afterwards, got on the train and headed to work. At Roosevelt Avenue, this guy gets on cursing at this woman for whatever reason (she didn't beat him to a seat; the train was empty this morning). He sits down, glowering and muttering to himself. When we sat at a train station for a couple of minutes a stop or two later, he gets up and starts pacing and swearing again. I'm thinking, great; the pacers are usually the ones that are armed. He sticks his head out of the train and starts screaming to close the doors, he hasn't got all day, and I'm waiting for this guy to go postal as I sit there, knitting, trying to ignore him.

We get to Queens Plaza and the train sits again. There's an express across the track also sitting. The guy storms out of the V train (the train I'm on) and gets on the express train - just in time for the V to close doors and take off first.

Karma is a boomerang, my friends. And I'm going to salute it with a nice big sun salutation every morning.

Because '70s TV for Kids ROCKED...

with much appreciation and props to The ElectraWoman and Dynagirl Webopedia...

I think I need to do a series on 70s Saturday morning programming for kids... remember when the networks had programming on Saturday for kids, and it was a treat to watch cartoons???

Picking up from yesterday - 70s kids' shows were so cool. I was all about the Shazam/Isis Power Hour (you know you watched it, I wasn't the only kid out there wearing my construction paper Isis headband), The Banana Splits (Liz Phair did a fantastic cover of the Tra la la song on the CD, Saturday Morning - does anyone know where I can find it? My copy was borrowed and alas, never returned), The New Zoo Revue (which is still on Public Access, I believe - I showed Mike about 10 minutes of one once before he threatened to have me committed) , and of course, the almighty kinds of kids' programming, The Krofft Brothers.

Sid and Marty should have a monument erected to them somewhere because they gave us a pantheon of children's programming - Dr. Shrinker (Billy Barty!), H.R. Pufnstuf, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, everyone's favorite acid trip, The Bugaloos (they're in the air and everywhere...), the almighty Land of the Lost, and my personal source of female empowerment (along with Isis), Electra Woman & Dynagirl. They were my Saturday morning!

Then there was PBS, the reason I was okay with staying home sick from school. Electric Company, Zoom, which has actually relaunched for kids today, (do I need to mention Sesame Street, or is it a given?), 3-2-1 Contact, and Reading Rainbow (which is still going, much due to to the efforts of host LeVar Burton) kept my brain functioning while I lay like a dying cow on my couch.

The 70s were a great time to be a kid. I'm sure our kids will look back and say the same thing, but somehow, I can't find Bugs Bunny on TV anymore. There are some fun and good TV shows on for kids now - I happen to like a lot of the Teen Nick shows on Nickelodeon like Drake & Josh and Ned's School Survival Guide - but nothing for me takes the place of the 70s stuff. I guess that's what nostalgia is all about, isn't it? At least my boys both love Scooby Doo as much as I do, and seem to think Scrappy was pretty useless, too.

But man... with all the shows we used to watch coming out on video, my DVD collection will rival my kids.

For a Lighter Post...

"Marshall, Will and Holly, on a routine expedition..."

Go on - I DARE you to tell me you don't know the song. Or that I didn't just make you break out into song. You know you want to. You know that Land of the Lost was THE thing when we were kids. Say what you want about Sid & Marty Krofft, but they were awesome. Mike swears that The Bugaloos were created when they were on acid, and while I tend to agree, it doesn't matter. Because they were in the air and everywhere, flying high, flying free... wait, I'm getting ahead of myself again.

So I walk into Best Buy last week and see my beloved Land of the Lost on DVD - SEASON THREE. Why was I not informed when Seasons 1 and 2 were released??? Who was asleep at the wheel? Oh... wait... it must have been me.

Anyway - SO going on my wishlist. My birthday is only 8 months away, after all.

Sleestacks!!

I Have Questions Today...

With the Moussaoui trial front and center everywhere you look, I've got lots of questions. But I don't think there are any answers:

- I know you're a lawyer and sworn to defend, but how do you try to convince a jury that this guy deserves to live? How can you be a defense lawyer to a terrorist who smiles during the distribution of pictures of charred bodies and body parts from that day? Who shouts "Burn all Pentagon next time!" and "God curse you all, God bless Osama!" repeatedly throughout his trial? How can you look at yourself in the mirror? Or maybe they don't.

- Do we give this guy the death penalty and let him think he's going off to his 72 black-eyed virgins, or do we decide to let him live and lock him up for the rest of his life? One way, he's a martyr; the next, the taxpayers get to support him. (Unless someone finds a way to sneak him into general population by 'accident' - in which case, he's worm food.)

- Does anyone else read these articles - especially about the playing of the Flight 93 recorder at the trial - and feel their chest tighten up, like you're in the plane with them? Because I can't get the fear these people must have felt (or a fraction, because I can't even imagine to be honest) out of my system; it just takes over.

I just have this horrible feeling that this won't be over. Not the trial, the horror. It's going to dull for some, I'm sure, but I think it'll always be with us.

Are there any answers? Or is this just one of those things that has no answer, it's just there and what makes you crazy after a while is the realization that none of it makes any sense and none of it has any answer. It's completely without reason or logic and that's what causes the chaos in my brain, because I need for things to be tied up to go on. Mike always tells me that if I just started accepting that sometimes, things don't have closure or don't make sense, I'd be a lot calmer. White it's nice in theory, in practice I just can't wrap my brain around it.

I don't even watch this show...




Your TV Mom is Lorelai Gilmore

Which TV Mom Are You?

Brought to you by Tickle

I don't watch Gilmore Girls, but somehow I've ended up being Lorelai.

Can you tell it's an exciting day at work for me? ;-)

What Happened to Kyan??




You need a date with Jai


Which Queer Eye Is Right for You?

Brought to you by Tickle

Why do I get stuck with Jai?

Ouch

Sidelined with a pulled calf muscle this morning. I'll try to stop sitting on my leg and see if it feels better in time for a yoga session when I get home from school tonight.

MIL was there as per usual this morning, for which I'm grateful, don't get me wrong. But she just sits there like a bump on a log while watching me run around like a lunatic trying to get my son moving, myself showered and dressed, and the two of us fed. Then, as I'm doing my best impression of a psychotic woman getting my son out the door, asks me, "Did you bring your lunch, Roe?" Instead of any of the first three responses that popped into my head, I evenly responded, "I didn't have time." And left.

Augh.

FINISHED!!!

It's 12:29 a.m., I have to get up in 6 hours, but I'm done. Done, done, done. Now I just hope my teachers like what I've written.

I've eaten more comfort food this weekend than I have in eons, and only worked out once or twice. I've fallen off my Self Challenge wagon and I have to get back on.

I read an interesting article in the latest issue of Prevention - which I'll review here shortly - by Geneen Roth, who writes on emotional issues with food. She says that before we eat when we aren't hungry, we should ask what we are looking for and whether or not food will fill it. So this time, even though I was snacking on stuff that probably wasn't the best for me, or POINTS-wise even if it was healthy enough, I was at least cognizant that yes, I was eating this because I wanted someone to write my final project for me. I wanted to pull a good grade out of this class and I wanted to just relax. While I'm not sure Planter's 100-calorie cookie packs and Hello Kitty Fruit Snacks were able to provide that, at least I knew what I wanted from them. And I guess that's the difference between when I'd mindlessly eat before and now.

Tomorrow, it's back to business. I'm not going to stress myself out about catching up to the Self Challenge; I blew off a week and a half, and it's done. But nothing's stopping me from getting right back on the wagon. (Which is another big difference, because before I would have told myself that I blew it, completely disregarding the fact that I went for 6 1/2 weeks on this program and lost three pounds before my slump.)

I may not want to work out when I get up at 6:30 tomorrow, but I've got to start getting used to it. Because I'm tired of my best clothes being packed away for three years. Time to shake out the cute Ann Taylor sundresses I enjoyed the summer of 2002 in!

It's been a long weekend. A nice one, but a long one. And if I'm going to be worth a farthing in six hours, I'd better head to bed now. Thanks for sticking around.

More Things I Have Done to Stall My Final Assignment

- Watched Thursday's episode of Will & Grace on DVR

- Watched the "Where There's Smoke, There's Fish" episode of Good Eats (technically, this is research; Alton's book is one of the books in my assignment)

- Made granola

- Almost finished knitting my niece's bunny buddy for her Easter basket

- Created this blog entry

AUGHHHHHHHHH...

I'm sitting here, trying to finish some more work on my final for Publicity class on Monday night. And coming up dry as a bone. Bleahhhh...

Let's tally what Rosemary has done in the four hours she's been given to make some headway on her final:

- Made Cream of Wheat for lunch, because "I don't have time to fool around with a proper lunch, I have to finish some more of this final."

- Watched an hour and a half of Judge Judy programming on DVR

- Eaten a Weight Watchers ice cream sandwich because the Cream of Wheat wasn't filling enough for lunch

- Finally broke down and checked out MySpace.com because my cousin Nicole kept insisting I check it out - and used the lame excuse that since one of my books has to do with blogging, it was research

- Made a blog entry here.

Let me try to find a MySpace statistic of some sort that will help me pull my grade up in this class... I'm waiting for my personal Deus Ex Machina to show up and finish this assignment for me.

ClubMom.com

Just wanted to mention that I'm moderating a Rego Park message board on Clubmom.com. Not a whole lot of activity going on there these days, but I am trying to boost some posting and get some conversations going. If anyone wants to stop by, drop a post on my board, tell your friends. It's free to join, and you get some cool points toward things like gift cards as a member. You can also use it as a vehicle for your own writing; I was published on their site last week.

I think I'll ask the PA President at Will's school to mention ClubMom in the newsletter, maybe that will get some traffic going.

I should change my message board name from "Rego Park, NY" to "The Lonely Moderator". ;-)

Moment of Zen

As Jon Stewart would say, "Here it is, your moment of Zen."

United Flight 93 Movie - My WTF Rant for the Day

I think I need to institute a WTF rant, since I'm becoming well known for my creative use of those three little letters. So here's my first one.

I just watched the United Flight 93 trailer on the Apple Movie Trailers site. This movie has been getting a lot of talk over the past couple of days, and I was actually not sure whether I wanted to look, to be honest. The idea of a movie being made about this is distasteful to me on so many levels that I wasn't sure I wanted to even give the impression of buying into the hype by checking out the trailer. (I could have written a WTF rant on the Flight 93 TV movie from earlier this year.)

But curiosity or irritation, take your pick, won out and I pulled it up. And it brought up a lot of feelings that I thought were pretty buried - never gone, just buried. Which ticked me off at first, because I felt like it was a sign that I was buying into the marketing aspect of "pull the heartstrings, we've got box office gold here!" But then I realized it was dread that I was feeling; that complete and utter feeling of helplessness and dread I felt that morning when I saw the smoke from Tower 2's collapse all the way from 80th Street, where I was entering a colleague's apartment to get the hell away from my Times Square office, where I was sure we were next.

And that is what pisses me off about Flight 93 being made into movies. To take a tragedy on the scale of September 11 (the "9/11" moniker just feels like a snazzy marketing title, which is like nails on a blackboard) and start churning out movies that could play after a Danielle Steel movie on Lifetime or a big-screen thriller is just wrong to me. We are still fighting in a war that is [very shadily] attached to September 11. We are in the final days of the trial of the so-called 20th hijacker. Should we really start turning this day into box office dollars?

Some people would shoot back, "How many movies have been made about Pearl Harbor?" And I'll give you that. I think "Tora, Tora, Tora" is a very well done movie. I think "Pearl Harbor" is god-awful but the attack scene is uncomfortably convincing. But Tora Tora Tora was made in 1970 and is a war movie. Pearl Harbor was made in 2001 and is exactly the reason I don't want a Flight 93 movie. It sentimentalizes a horrible, horrible event in human history. It makes it drippy and gooey and pablum. There is a difference, watch the movies and make your own judgement call.

I have a lot of feelings about this movie, none of them good. I think using Flight 93 and all the people who died trying to avert even further deaths, knowing they were going to their own, is a terrible way to memorialize these people. I think it's a big rah-rah movie for the Bush administration and their manufactured war. I find it sadly amusing that one of the heroes to emerge from Flight 93 was Mark Bingham, a gay rugby player who, had he never boarded Flight 93, would have been vilified by the same Bush administration for his sexual preference. (Had Beamer walked away from Flight 93, would Bush have given him a special dispensation for gay marriage?)

I'm not ready for a Flight 93 movie. Or a American Airlines Flights 11 or 175, or American Airlines Flight 77. I don't want this day turned into a marketing campaign - even I, as a marketer, would like to think I've got a little more class than that (and this is the woman who, during my tenure on History Book Club, was on "PopeWatch" during the last days of Pope John Paul II so I could time my book e-mail).

At least they didn't end the trailer with the actor playing Todd Beamer saying, "Let's Roll" on the fadeout. Then, I think I would have lost my fragile little mind.

Magazines

It occurred to me over the past few days that I love magazines and buy and subscribe to a lot. So I think I'm going to review the latest issues of a few magazines every month.

Right now, a fave is For Me, which Linda turned me on to (as did the $1.95 price tag - when did the other magazines get so expensive? I'm talking to you, knitting magazines with you $6.99 cover price!) a few months ago. The website needs desperately to be updated - their cover is from February 2006 and they've got mixed content from March and April in there - but it's a great magazine for a relatively small price. Lots of good content aimed at women in their late 20s-early 30s, and the good news is that smug marrieds like myself (I'm not smug, that's a Bridget Jones reference) aren't excluded, like I tend to feel when I read Glamour. And you don't have to be married and a Red State-r to feel like the content is for you, like I often feel when I read the odd issue of Good Housekeeping, or Family Circle.

Sarah Jessica Parker is on the cover and there's a good, short and sweet article/interview with her inside. Swimsuit season is (gulp) upon us, so there is the usual guide to swimsuits but unlike most magazines, there isn't pages and pages of overwhelming swimsuits inside. They break it down, nice and simple - here are some one-piece suits, tankinis, Boy shorts and bikinis. Short and sweet. Workout tips take up the centerfold (Iron Yoga - is that like Iron Chef?), so I'll be checking those out. The recipes are fun - and c'mon, you have to love a cooking article that calls itself "Fake Gourmet".

All in all, a lot of fun in each issue. Because while I still love my Glamour and Marie Claire, it's nice to read a magazine that understands that you can be hip, urban, and married with kid(s).

Next up, this month's Prevention magazine!

This Shirt is Genius.

I was wandering around on CafePress.com and found this on a t-shirt. It's genius and I think I need to buy it; I'm also putting the vendor's link here (the shirt is also hyperlinked to go straight to the detail page) so you can check it out. I have made all two people in my office hysterical and have merely confirmed that yes, I'm going to Hell in a handbasket of my own weaving.

Stacey, methinks I see a birthday gift for your Nonna in the making...

I've Been Published!!!

I am so excited! ClubMom.com e-mailed me to tell me they've published a few of my tips/essays that I've submitted!

Learning to Sing a Lullaby, 80's Style
Ornaments to Mark the Years
How Do I Stick to a Healthy Eating Plan?

I'm kind of freaked out, I never expected them to print my stuff. But wow, what a rush!

Non-Food Rewards!

So, to reward myself for breaking through my ennui and finally knuckling down with Weight Watchers and sticking to the Self Challenge for 6 weeks (I need to update my stuff on the site, too), I went to Filene's with my mom at lunchtime today. I was fully intending to buy myself a cute new bra because they have the Elle Macpherson Intimates line there - which is adorable stuff, by the way - but let's just say that I don't think their sizes are realistic. I believe the famous Psalm in the Bible used the phrase about cups runneth over? You see where I'm heading.

Luckily, on my way to the fitting room I spotted a DKNY rack. I cannot pass up a DKNY rack - I've tried many times. There were adorable denim capris (which on me are cropped pants) and they were very reasonably priced. Tentatively, I picked up a size 10. I noticed the magic word "stretch" printed on the label and figured it was worth the gamble.

How much do I love Donna Karan for making jeans that take a woman's figure into consideration? I may be getting a little crazy here, but I would dare say I love her more than I love Lindt truffles and peanut M&Ms. That's how much I love her. And that is a whole lot of love.

Self-Challenge, Week 6

So I'm in week 6 of the Self Challenge and I think it's going very well. I weigh in tonight at my Weight Watchers meeting, so we'll see how well. My clothes are getting a little lose, so that's nice! I've been working out an average of 3 times a week; sometimes more, sometimes less, but I have pretty much been hitting my Self goals (last week I stumbled a bit on the weight training).

Points-wise, I'm still struggling but even when I veer off, I journal it and I feel okay. Again, mostly hitting the mark but the late night snack attacks still hit. I try to just keep drinking water and not thinking about it, but every now and then I just grab a yogurt and try to be done with it.

Didn't work out last night - had a lousy night at school - but I did do the math and discovered that I actually walk about 2 miles every Monday. I walk from work to school, which is apparently a little over a mile; then I walk to the train station on West 4th over by the IFC movie theatre from school, so that's an extra half mile. So at least there's something. I'll work out tonight, though - I need a cardio and weight workout to stay on track. I'm determined to finish this Challenge, and now that I actually see things that look kind of nice in the mirror, it's much more of a kick in the rear to stay on it.

Winkie
Just got a new book to review called Winkie, by Clifford Chase.

From glancing over the back cover copy, it's about a teddy bear who is arrested under the Patriot Act under suspicion of either being a terrorist or collaborating with one.

I gotta say - I think this is going to be a goodie. Any back cover copy that includes a sentence like, "...this small, brown creature of indeterminate gender gets trapped in the jaws of a society gone rabid with fear and paranoia" is a book that demands to be read. That, and the fact that I love teddy bears and know in my deepest heart that toys really do come alive when you're not looking, just like in Toy Story.

Because this stuff is just fun...

I get this book e-mail called Shelf Awareness. It's newsy and fun, and gives you a lot of info for free. Author appearances, new books, some industry dirt, bestseller lists, you get the idea. I was reading my daily issue and noticed that it seems that our "tell us what you know about your friends" e-mails have now transcended the business; they had some fun ones that I thought would be fun to post here. Copy and forward or post where you may. (BTW - these are my answers, not some big publishing muckety-muck.)

On nightstand now:

Winkie by Clifford Chase, Queen of this Realm by Jean Plaidy, and the new issue of Self magazine. Oh, and an old issue of Family Circle Easy Knitting - I'm working on a sweater.

Favorite book when you were a child:

Grover and the Monster at the End of the Book. No substitutes.

Top five authors:

I like Christopher Moore a lot lately, Anne Rice pre-"Lasher", J.R.R. Tolkien, Aristophanes (no, I'm not just saying that to look brainy - you read Lysistrata and tell me you don't almost hemorrhage because you're laughing so hard) and since I just read his second book and loved it, Brian Sloane.

Book you've "faked" reading:

Pride and Prejudice and The Old Man and the Sea.

Book you are an "evangelist" for:

I would give out free copies of Brian Sloane's upcoming "Tale of Two Summers" to spread the word about it, because it's really funny.

Book you've bought for the cover:

I think most of us buy books for the covers, don't we? But I'll say the latest "24" paperback because Keifer's on the cover. :-)

Book that changed your life:

Days and Memory by Charlotte Delbo blew me away. I read it for a Comparative Lit class on Women & War, taught by a woman who came to America as a refugee child from France during WWII. Her series of recollections from people who survived WWII are unbelievable, especially "Kalavrita of 1,000 Antigones," where the women of a small Greek town remember the day the Nazis came, locked them in a church and wiped out all the men and elderly in the village. When one woman describes how the town clock stopped that day and how no one ever changed it, so the clock to this day shows the hour that the Nazis came, I was numb. Unbelievable.

Favorite line from a book:

I'll go the geek route here - "Nassssty little hobbitsessss!"

Book you most want to read again for the first time:

Wuthering Heights by Charlotte Bronte.

What in the Blue Hell...?

Linda usually handles the media gossip in our sisterhood of blogs, but I have to post something about this. An artist has created a monument to Britney Spears giving birth nude on a bearskin rug. WTF???

"Momument to Pro-Life: The Birth of Sean Preston" apparently is a tribute to Britney's putting her pop star career on hold to embrace motherhood. Um... it's a little easy to put your career on hold when you're in your early 20s and worth MILLIONS (it was gajillions, but K-Fed is going through her cash faster than I can tear through a bag of Nacho Cheesier Doritos).

I don't know what pisses me off more - the tribute to freakin' Britney (do we want our daughters to aspire to white trash?) or the "Monument to Pro-Life" title.

Wow. I'm really irked. I think I need to go drink some coffee so I can rant on this properly.

New LOST Tonight!

Well, the planets must be aligning because FINALLY, we're getting a new episode of Lost tonight. Hands up, who thinks Sun will be pregnant and have another island baby? Who thinks Jin will be the next one killed off?

I haven't had a chance to watch this Monday's 24 yet - hoping to sit down and watch that tonight. Will they kill off more of CTU? I still think they should have had the blasted cougar eat Jack's daughter back in Season 2, because even in a 2-episode appearance, she's as annoying as ever. And man, did Tommy Howell get old looking. I remember when he was Ponyboy back in 1984, I was in love. There was the unfortunate Soul Man movie a few years later, but regardless, he was pretty cute for a while there.

Still coughing and dealing with the annoying tickle in my throat, but I'm alive and back at work.

Urp.

One big drawback to working from home is that the world is my candy dish. I have just inhaled a LOT of granola. Urp.

We just did the Staff Appreciation lunch at PS 139 today and I can't believe how much food there was. After feeing about 100 teachers and staff, there was still an incredible amount of food left over. The parents that did this last year made double the food, but we had double the parents this year - at least 80 dishes including entrees and desserts.

My mac and cheese went over pretty well, but the ziti cleared out more quickly. Still, when kids were dribbling in while their parents went to the conferences, it seemed to pick up more.

The teacher conference went well, Will got a great report card. Now we're back at home while he watches Chicken Little and I try to put together an ad. And gorge on granola.

Ahhhh...

There is something to be said about the joy of working from home. I've been working since 7:30 this morning because I have no irritating commute, and have a lovely, hot second cup of coffee steaming away under my nose. I feel so productive, probably because I haven't had the aggravation of rushing to wake up, shower, get dressed, get Will to school, and get on the fresh hell that is the NYC transit system. I love flexibility in the workplace. Any workday that allows me to get work done while I'm cleaning my apartment is a good day by me.

Poncho!


Since my last model went over so well, I decided to use her again to model the poncho I made for Keira.

I was on an adrenaline rush after working out too late at night again, so I whipped out the size 15 needles and the Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick yarn (I've been trying to work down some of the insane stash I've accumulated - so I can buy more yarn, of course) and went to work using a pattern from Yarn Girls' Guide to Kids' Knits (I've created a link on the side). After I was done, I opted not to do the fringe because I'm panicky like that about babies, but I finished it by doing single crochet around the neck and bottom with some leftover lavender Velvet Spun (another Lion Brand yarn). Voila!

Month 2 of the Self Challenge starts today, and I'm psyched because I'm still on track. Whoo hoo! Having a Weight Watchers buddy definitely helps, so if Karen falls off the wagon I'll have to track her down and beat her with a Balance bar.

I'm home sick today because my children are out to get me. If Will coughs on me one more time, I'm going to have to put him in solitary confinement. With my luck, his cold will mutate into bubonic plague.

Saturday Morning...

...and I'm sitting here, second cup of coffee just finished, listening to the sounds of my children trying to kill one another. Actually, they are battling superheroes, but with all the screaming, you catch my drift.

Have to go shopping for the big Staff Appreciation Day lunch on Tuesday at PS139. Parents volunteer to make lunch for the entire staff at PS139 - last year we had about 70 parents making dishes, this year we've got about 100 which is just great! My baked ziti went last year, which made me feel good. This year, I'll be making baked macaroni so I've got to get the aluminum tray and all the ingredients today.

I think I'll put Will to work this year since he's getting dimissed early so the teachers can enjoy the festivities before going to Parent/Teacher conferences. We need people to hand out the gifts to the staff as they come in, so I'll put him on bag duty. He'll get a kick out of it.

I'll finally see Keira today, so the onslaught of pictures will begin! I'm already searching my magazines and books and websites for the next cute baby pattern. I'm also trying to find something to make the boys. Alex has requested a "great, big, GIANT blankie" so I want to find a fun pattern. Will doesn't like sweaters that much, and the alien illusion scarf I made him a couple of years ago was too long. Maybe I'll make a shorter version.

I've got knitting fever. I think I have spring fever, I just want to do all these projects at once - renovate my apartment, knit an entire wardrobe of clothes and accessories, and read every book in my home. I think I need to narrow down...

Happy Saint Patty's Day!/P.S. 139 PSA

As I sit here in my pink shirt and white tee, I wish all of you a Happy Saint Patty's Day. Alas, I wore my only green shirt that was work/weather appropriate earlier this week, so I will doubtless get a good-natured whack from my Irish mother when I meet up with her for lunch today.

I also completely blanked and sent Will to school in a bright red shirt. So I told the Parent Coordinator that my ginzo half dressed him this morning.

By the way - I have a special PSA on behalf of P.S. 139. The President of the Parents' Association has set up a new website for the school and included on the website is a shopping portal. Every time someone makes a purchase at a vendor linked on the school's website, the school receives a kickback of 3% - 6% of the sale. It's a great and easy way to raise money and it doesn't cost you a cent. There are lots of vendors and we're adding more every day, so if you happen to need something from Gap.com, Expedia.com, or any of the vendors listed - there are a lot! - please think about going through the site to place your order.

Keira's Debut

Heeeeeere she is! Little Keira and her mommy for all to see. And let's all take a moment to wonder how the heck my sister-in-law, Julie, manages to look like this after giving birth. After I had my two boys, I looked like someone beat me about the head, neck and chest with a brick. So I'll sit here in envy and fascination. :-) Thanks to my sister-in-law Bonnie for the photos!

The Four Meme

My friend Carol e-mailed me this, so I'm going to post it here with my answers. Take and forward as you must:

Four jobs you have had in your life:
1. Model agency gofer
2. Gal Friday for consultant
3. Research Support Administrator
4. Marketing Manager

Four movies you would watch over and over:
1. Dodgeball!
2. The Empire Strikes Back
3. Dogma
4. GalaxyQuest

Four places you have lived:
1. Elmhurst
2. Woodside
3. College Point (shhh-only 8 months)
4. Rego Park

Four TV shows you love to watch:
1. Battlestar Galactica (old and new)
2. 24
3. Iron Chef America
4. Lost

Four places you have been on vacation:
1. Sweden
2. Costa Rica
3. Dublin
4. London

Four websites I visit daily:
1. The Superficial/Go Fug Yourself
2. Linda's blog
3. Stacey's blog
4. Lauren's blog

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Steak w/noodles and brown gravy
2. Quesadillas w/sour cream
3. Pasta
4. Chicken with curry over brown rice

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. Dublin
2. Costa Rica
3. Toronto
4. Sweden

Knit Set

Okay, here is the set I worked on and posted in its earlier form. Notice that yes, I finally did sew the sweater together! My photo of the button detail is not posting correctly for some reason, but yes, they are daisy buttons.

Baby Keira's Arrived!

Keira Elizabeth Kiladitis has arrived! I don't have all the details yet, but I do know that she is 8 pounds, 6 ounces, and has blonde hair and blue eyes. I assume mommy Julie and baby Keira are doing fine, and that Daddy George is in the delusional fog of joy that most new dads experience. More news as it comes in.

Niece on the way!

My sister-in-law, Julie, went into labor at about 4 this morning. George (my brother-in-law) called as I was leaving for work to report that she was just given an epidural, so hopefully before the day is out, I can report on the status of my brand new niece (and yes, I'll get the photos of the finished sweater and hat I made her up). Here's hoping for an easy and uneventful birth and a happy and healthy mom and baby!

Amazon Issues...

So the book links that I put into my blog text isn't linking to Amazon - WTF is that all about? Anyone? The search box and the picture box are fine, but the text links - nada. Zip. Argh.

Okay, I'm going to try and fool about with some stuff.

I Am A Blogging Fool Today.

Making lots of updates and changes to the blog as I learn things. Today, I decided to become an Amazon affiliate, because I figure I talk about books and movies a lot. So now, if you order any books from Amazon through my little humble website, I'll get a little "thank you". So don't hesitate. :-) I'll even post links to books I'm checking out at the moment below the Archives, so you can indeed judge a book by its cover.

Now, I understand that many of us hold the Barnes & Noble membership card. Not to worry, I'll be working on that one next. I want to try to organize my links a bit, so it doesn't look like a bunch of crap thrown on the site.

Does anyone know how I can get more space between my links? Doesn't seem like a hard return is working when I'm in the template.

Sleepy.

It's a beautiful spring day, my office is filled with light, and I'm sleepy. I feel like a cat, like I should curl up on the window sill here and fall asleep. I swear in my next life, I'm coming back as a cat.

I have to pick up US News & World Report, there are several really interesting publishing articles in there. James Frey's million little lies have thrown the industry into such a tizzy that it's unbelievable. I almost have to ask how much of a part Oprah plays in this, because I feel like her crusade to humiliate James Frey for embarrassing her has had repercussions throughout the industry. Oprah made herself a lightning rod, in my opinion - she was out there saying that she picks these books, and you should listen to her because she's freakin' OPRAH, for goodness sakes, and when it turned out like it did, she had a huge amount of egg on her face because all these housewives in Middle America were like, "Well, Oprah told me to read this, and it was a lie! We're going to have to do something about this!"

People, just pick up a book and read. The guy was fulla crap - I'm not condoning it, but for heaven's sake it isn't like we just found out that The Diary of Anne Frank was completely fabricated. It's a book - let it lead you wherever it wants to go, and when you're done with the journey either walk away from it or just look back and say, "Wow, that was good. I'd like to visit there again someday."

On another note, my friend Greg Herren's new book, Mardi Gras Mambo, is out! Hot cover, juicy story - check it out!

Edgar!

Okay, so anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE the show 24 (I also love Keifer Sutherland, but that's probably a different post entirely). I scream at the television when those numbers show up at the end of every episode, leaving me on yet another cliffhanger. My husband and mother have both commented that between Lost and 24, I'm probably going to have a stroke sometime soon.

So - this is a spoiler for anyone who hasn't seen this past 24, who is waiting for this season to end so they can just buy the season on DVD, or who's under a rock.

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THEY KILLED EDGAR. EDGAR! The lovable computer geek whose mom died in the nuclear terrorist attack during last season. Who saved the United States from a nuclear holocaust at the end of last season. EGAR!

Terrorists (Russian, this time) release toxic nerve gas into CTU (Counter-Terrorist Unit) headquarters. People are choking, the main characters (mostly) get into lockdown to protect themselves. And who do we see wandering, lost, just as the gas reaches full saturation? Edgar. He stares at Chloe, fellow computer geek, who's safely ensconced in a safely sealed room with Keifer. (Chloe, I have to say, has the worst facial expressions ever - she always looks like she's about to say, "HARRUMPH!" very loudly.) He looks at her, with this sad pathetic puppy face and says, "Chloe!" before dropping dead near his workstation. HOW COULD THEY DO THIS?

So let's bow our heads and observe a moment of silence for Edgar. And because I'm a complete and utter geek, take a moment to view his Wikipedia page and pay your respects.

Freakin' 24 - they kill off President Palmer in the FIRST episode this season (yes, I know, Dennis Haysbert is now in a new series on one of the other networks) and now Edgar. This trend of killing off beloved main characters on my favorite TV shows is exciting but at the same time, hell on my central nervous system. Cheez.

Lauren's Got Me Hooked Again...

First it was LibraryThing, now she's got Stacey and I on this DollMaker site where you can make a doll of yourself. Yahoo is also doing something like this for their account holders, but this is much more fun and allows you to save the image afterward.

I still haven't gone out to lunch. I think I'm lazy. I need someone to drag me away from the warm comfy desk into the cold, cruel world and make me walk.

I'm sticking to points again today after a little bit of a bender at my mom's this weekend - her place is the final frontier; I fall victim to the many goodies she has laying around every time. First, there was the PayDay incident (not this weekend), where I cleared a Duane Reade candy-aisle bag of Paydays (peanuts and caramel - it's pretty close to God) before the night was out. So Saturday, the bill of sale included a mini-bag of Cadbury mini-eggs (my annual addiction - thanks, Easter Bunny!), 3 Lindt hazelnut truffles, a handful of jellybeans, and some myriad M&M peanuts. Unbelievably, I didn't go over points in too heinous a manner because I had eaten pretty lightly throughout the day - which explains the sugar binge in part. So I worked out like a fiend when I got home, sticking to my SELF magazine challenge, and hopefully evened out the damage.

I am doing pretty well into my second week of SELF challenge. The only time I ever completed the entire 3-month challenge was when I was pregnant with Alex - I am damned if I won't finish it this time.

Okay, I'm going to take a quick run outside for a little bit. Now I've motivated myself all over again.

Baby Clothes!

So I finally finished the sweater and hat set that I made for my niece-to-be. Whew! I honestly didn't think I was going to finish it because of my legendary loathing of the sewing part of knitting, but yes, I sewed the final (daisy) buttons on the sweater the other night. Photos to come. I'm actually pretty proud of myself; it looks very cute. Now I need to learn how to line clothes, because I was thinking that the sweater and hat would be adorable with some jersey knit lining.

Alex has demanded a "big, giant blankie!" so I need to start scoping out some more yarn for that. He's informed me that he will donate his current blankie to Bubba Bear, his beloved teddy bear. I'll believe that when I see it... Of course, hearing that I was about to embark on a knitting project for Alex has prompted Will to mention that he could certainly use a new blanket himself, even though I just made him the "Halloween blanket" (he requested black and orange yarn last time) last year. Not that I mind - I love making the boys things. I think this time, I'll actually try a blanket pattern from a magazine rather than just through a stockinette/garter mix together as I've done in the past. (Admittedly, Alex's blanket is technically a pattern, the "Big Bad Baby Blanket" from Stitch 'N Bitch.

Speaking of Stitch 'N Bitch, I just saw Deb Stoller's new book on crochet, The Happy Hooker, in Barnes & Noble last week. So I think the next paycheck may involve a field trip. Maybe I'll finally get some crochet down after I read it, because my crochet needs some serious help.

Anyone know if I can become a B&N or Amazon affiliate? I link a lot in these posts.

I think I need to feed my magazine addiction at lunchtime; perhaps I'll provide a knitting magazine review when I get back.

Blow Out Returns!!

Yes! I saw a poster in the train station today - my guiltiest of guilty pleasures, Bravo Network's Blow Out, is returning for a third season on March 21st at 9. Whooo-hoooo!!

I know, it's completely vapid; everyone is totally self-absorbed to the point of mania and Jonathan Antin should be on meds to even himself out. I think he cried in almost every show last season. Ain't it great?

Bet that I will be DVR'ing this baby. I can watch that and my Judge Judys when my husband and children are asleep and can't ridicule me. Me and my giant bag of 99% fat free kettle corn (4 points a bag!). And coffee. Lots of coffee.

Stop mocking me, dammit. Stacey, this means you.

Unbelievable. Simply unbelievable. And yet, not...

I have friends that lost a great deal in New Orleans. They're rebuilding their lives, and sadly, waiting for FEMA checks that of course, the government has screwed up the process of distributing. People died in New Orleans. Innocent animals died, not able to comprehend what was happening to them. Babies died. The elderly died, and in a final indignity, were left to rot in wheelchairs, the only testament to them being their photos spreading like wildfire on the Internet - that alone, a silent indictment of how badly the Bush administration mis-handled this.

I got the following from MoveOn.org. I'm so disgusted I can't even editorialize.

"This evening, the Associated Press released secret transcripts and video footage showing President Bush being personally briefed the day before Hurricane Katrina hit land. The predictions he heard were shockingly precise and accurate—including the failure of the levees. He knew exactly what was coming. The article is a smoking gun on Bush's unpardonable failure to keep us> safe. In just a few hours, the White House will be filling the airwaves with spin, so it's important to reach out right now to pass on the straight story to family and friends. If each of us acts, we can directly reach millions of people before morning. The full AP article is attached below. Can you help get the word out to at least 5 friends? You can forward on this note or follow the link> below:>> http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1508_video>> At the August 28th briefing, the president was told exactly what to expect:

• The chief scientist of the National Hurricane Center warned that a major levee breach was "obviously a very, very grave concern." Bush lied to the entire nation about this point just 5 days later.

• Michael Brown told the president that if New Orleans flooded the Superdome emergency shelter would likely be under water and short on supplies, creating a "catastrophe within a catastrophe."

• Experts and officials implored the President to prepare for, as the AP described it, "devastation of historic proportions." President Bush didn't ask a single question during the briefing. In the next two days he campaigned, attended birthday parties and played guitar while the worst natural disaster in American history killed over 1,300 people and displaced hundreds of thousands.

There can now be no mistake: President Bush had a chance to lead, and he failed to keep us safe. In the next few days, we'll be tracking this story carefully and> coordinating our response with partners in New Orleans and around the> nation. The survivors of Katrina deserve to know why the president left them to suffer the storm. And the people of the United States deserve> leadership we can trust to keep our families safe. We'll work hard together until we have both.

Tonight, let's start by spreading the word:>> http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1508_video>>

Thanks for all that you do,
—Ben, Nita, Tom, Jen, Adam R, Justin, Adam G, Eli and the whole MoveOn.org Political Action Team
Wednesday, March 01, 2006