Morning Cupcake

When You Know Your Career is REALLY in the Toilet...

2010-03-11T12:22:00.004-04:00

Welcome Back, Cupcakes. Or rather, welcome back to me. I have been 'on hiatus' for the past few months due to a whirlwind of activities that have occurred in my personal life - most of it, bad.

But I digress.
After having more than a few months to reflect on life as it is, I have a whole slew of things to write about - so here's hoping I will have a good, fresh start.

So the latest thing that has been wracking my brain has been this Lindsay Lohan lawsuit that is going on with e*trade. Unfamiliar? Check out this link:
http://www.forbes.com/2010/03/10/lindsay-lohan-etrade-markets-faces-lawsuit.html?boxes=marketschannelnews

I love how in the beginning of the article, it even says that the baby in the commercial bears no resemblance to Ms. Lohan but yet, because her name is Lindsay, it's GOTTA BE her. According to her lawyer, Lindsay has the same single-name recognition as 'Oprah' or 'Cher.'
Oh really? Does this mean that no one in media can even utter the name 'Lindsay' ever again for fear of getting sued because you must be referring to Lindsay Lohan?

It's all laughable really - is her career that much in the toilet (you betcha) that you have to sue over a talking baby named 'Lindsay?' What's worst is that she supposedly cried over it to her mother.

Reality check - I can honestly say that when I saw that commercial, I did not link the Lindsay baby with Lindsay Lohan. I was more focused on the 'milk-a-holic' part. And the fact that it was another e*trade commerical. And wondering where the other e*trade commercial was with all the little girls and 'Daniel' (that they showed on the 'Today' show).

What's even more baffling to me is this: Is Ms. Lohan's lawyer SERIOUS? Or do you think she's secretly rolling her eyes and laughing behind her client's back thinking 'This girl is delusional.'
I like to think the latter because no person in their right mind would think this is a plausible claim.
Get off your high-horse Lindsay - you're a failed actress and a failed fashion designer (let's not even go there, Ungaro) - not everything is about you.

Express...My Ass

2009-10-06T13:08:00.003-04:00

Webster's Dictionary's definition of 'express' that suits this discussion: traveling at high speed.
This is what I understand 'express' to mean as well. Like 'Panda Express' - ghetto Chinese food lickety split.
So when you advertise a service as '...Express...,' I'm going to think that I can use this service and the transaction will occur quickly.

This brings me to the subject of this semi-rant: Chevy Chase Bank.

To do your banking at Chevy Chase (specifically the one near me), you have the following options:
1) Going in and speaking with a teller in person
2) Using the ATM
3) Using Teller Express

Up until now, I have been going in and using the in-person teller for my banking needs. That was because the previous Chevy Chase bank I used didn't have a drive-thru option. After seeing that this closer Chevy Chase had a service called 'Teller Express' where I just drive up and do my banking without ever having to leave my car, I knew this was the option for me...especially with two babies in the back seat.

I tried the Teller Express service two weeks ago...express, it was not. Not only was I waiting about 10 minutes behind two other cars trying to use Teller Express, when I finally got up to the bay to use the darn thing, I had to wait another five minutes for a teller to actually acknowledge the receipt of my stuff and help me. I became annoyed...I probably approached the bay annoyed at the long wait I had endured. When they acknowledge you in Teller Express, they have a two-way video screen that lets you see the teller helping you. But when they hang up the phone, it's just a screen with your face on it...or in my case, with my annoyed face on it. So I continue to scowl at myself.

After five minutes of submitting my paper work, I rang the 'Call' button. The teller got on the video screen and said, 'Ma'am, you're going to have to give me a minute.' I said, 'Fine.'
Three minutes after that, I rang the 'Call' button again and the teller, not so kindly, said, 'Ma'am there were other people in the bank ahead of you.'
'Oh okay - wha?!' Excuse me...I didn't know I was in a queue with the rest of the customers inside the bank. I didn't know we collectively formed one line.
I not-so-politely explained that I had two newborns in the car and used this service cause it was 'express.'
She said, 'I understand, Ma'am. I have kids of my own. Maybe next time you should try coming into the bank if you're in a rush.'

What?
WHAT?!

That just made no sense whatsoever. Did you not hear me when I said I had TWO newborns in the car? Do you not understand that I'm in Teller Express and expect to be waited on quickly and efficiently? (Seriously - I was only making a deposit)

Obviously Chevy Chase's definition and my definition of 'express' are not the same. So that we're clear, when I read 'Teller Express,' I was thinking that I could get faster service by driving up (there's only one Teller Express bay) rather than walking in...after all, it is 'express.' Am I wrong to assume this? Do I need to go back to school because I'm misinterpreting?

I made another visit to Chevy Chase today and used Teller Express to see if it was any better. It was not. And I got the same 'stupid' (for lack of a better word) teller I got last time. She tried to lecture me this time on how she needed to get a manager signature for me to make a deposit...blah blah blah. Funny, she didn't mention this last time. Excuses Excuses. I also think she recognized me and wanted little-to-no contact with me...which is fine by me.

I do offer up one suggestion to Chevy Chase - either re-evaulate what Teller Express means to you OR call it Teller Excuses because that's all I'm hearing when I use it.

Writer's Note: Chevy Chase is not and will never be my personal bank...the banking needs mentioned above were for a 'business transaction' and I did not choose Chevy Chase to be the bank of choice.

Breastfeeding Drop-Out

2009-10-06T09:29:00.003-04:00

Hi Everyone...my name is Jennifer and I am a breastfeeding drop out. It's one of those things in my recent memory in which I still hold some guilt. I feel like I need to write about it in order to let the guilt go so here it goes.

While I was pregnant, I was not accosted by La Leche League members about breastfeeding. I had heard about all the benefits of breastfeeding and I'll admit that I went into it with some apprehension due to the fact that I was having twins and the thoughts of breastfeeding, prior to becoming pregnant, were never very 'attractive' to me. But honestly, after I became pregnant and as I was nearing the due date, I was actually looking forward to trying breastfeeding to see if I could provide these benefits to my little ones. So to say I went into it with a negative attitude would be untruthful....I'd like to say that I went into it with a semi-opened mind.

Fast forward to delivery day - right there in the operating room, while my tummy will still opened for all to see - they actually tried to latch the babies onto my breasts right there....WHOA WHOA WHOA. My arms were strapped down to the table, I was paralyzed from the chest down (thanks to the epidural) and here are the nurses, showing me my babies for the first time and then yanking back the covers of my chest and saying 'Hey, let's see if they'll latch.' It was like a science experiment that I didn't want to participate in. I don't recall allowing them to 'test the faucets' in this manner...is this normal? I mean, I'm a pretty modest person so for all these people to just whip out my boobs to try and get the boys to suck? I felt a bit violated, to say the least. (BTW - the science experiment didn't work)

The boys and I went on a break - they slept for pretty much the first day and I was recuperating from the c-section. On Day 2, the real work began...latching day. The breastfeeding coach that was assigned to me was very helpful. At first I didn't think I was going to like her because she didn't exactly come off as a people person. I admit that when she first arrived and was asking me what I wanted to get out of motherhood, I went on the defensive...I didn't know if she was part of La Leche League....so I wanted to respond to her with answers that she would approve of (what do you think is best for me? what would you like me to do?). I think she sensed my defensiveness because she came out and said, 'I'm not a breastfeeding nazi. I just want to understand what you want to do.'
That made me feel better. So I told her I wanted to try it but I was very afraid that I wouldn't be able to produce enough milk for both boys. She told me not to worry about that and to begin supplementing with formula and we did.

We were rock stars! The boys latched on very quickly and I didn't mind the breastfeeding at all. By the time we left the hospital, the breastfeeding coach was so impressed with how fast we learned everything. I felt confident that I was going to be able to breastfeed both boys (not at the same time...never at the same time). That confidence went away about two days after getting home.

I had help- I had my parents and my husband home with me the first two weeks. So breastfeeding wasn't too bad those first couple of weeks...we had some issues latching and positioning but it eventually worked itself out. We continued to supplement with formula and the boys were growing and gaining weight. After my parents left and my husband went back to work, that's when things started going downhill. I was now alone...alone with the boys. Me versus them. After trying, unsuccessfully, to breastfeed and supplement on my own, I decided that I would give them formula during the day and breastfeed through the night - but pump during the day so my husband could help with feeding overnight. After about a week of that, I couldn't do it anymore - I wasn't getting the time to pump during the day - I started to feel guilty because I started thinking about 'turning off the faucets.'

After discussing with a couple of other Moms (of singletons and twins), I realized that I didn't have to feel guilty. One mother put it this way - 'I found out that I was a better mother when I stopped breastfeeding.' I felt like she was reading my mind! I was so stressed out - I was so upset and sleep deprived....and I realized that I, too, would be a better mother if I stopped breastfeeding. The other thing was this - in the first couple of weeks of life, I was breastfeeding and supplementing with formula. Somewhere around week 3, it reversed and became formula feeding with breast milk supplements. That didn't make sense to me.

At one month, I turned off the faucets for good - and how long did it take to dry up? A day...seriously. And honestly, I feel like I've become a better mother. I was no longer stressed about feeding the boys, I could actually take naps to catch up on some much needed sleep, and I felt somewhat sane again.

Kudos to all the moms out there that breastfeed for months and months - at least I can say that I did it for a month but there's still some underlying guilt of whether or not I could have gone longer. What-if's. Oh well - what's done is done and my boys are growing healthier and stronger every day - they're above average in all their measurements and ahead of the game developmentally (according to the doctor) so that makes living with the guilt a little easier.

Thanks for letting me share my story. And much to my surprise, I haven't been ridiculed, stoned or judged (at least not to my face) for my decision. It was what was best for me and my family....besides, one of the doctors in my pediatric office put it best when a new mom asked him his take on breastfeeding - yaye or naye. His response: 'Harvard, Yale and Princeton didn't seem to have a problem with my formula-fed kids.'

Childhood: Take Two!

2009-09-24T14:14:00.004-04:00

Who knew that having kids would be like reliving your childhood. I always thought that having kids meant 'growing up' and being the authority and helping to guide and shape your child's life. Perhaps that is true but these first few years are like having a second childhood! Maybe not all of it but definitely a lot of it.

When I go to Target or am out shopping, I'm looking for toys and stuff that not only my boys will like but that I might like too...I'm always trying to find things that will stimulate their minds but be fun at the same time. I worry that I'm not doing enough to help their early development...should they really be licking and gnawing on their stuffed animals? That just seems gross to me (hello, cotton mouth!) but sometimes I have to remind myself to just let it go. There will probably be a lot more worst things heading into their mouths in the months and years to come.

These are all the 'grown up' things that run through my mind when it concerns my kids but the other part of raising my children has involved watching cartoons, playing their games and purchasing fun outfits for them. The boys watch a lot of Noggin during the day - they're starting to understand what's going on and even chuckle along sometimes. Among the shows they watch - 'Ni Hao Kai-Lan,' 'Max & Ruby,' 'Wow Wow Wubbzy' - okay - those are my favorites among the shows that they watch. I actually get excited when those shows come on. When I'm in my room, late at night, getting ready to hit the sack, I actually turn to Noggin to see what's on...part of me thinks this is force of habit...the other part is just enjoyment. I don't watch it, because it's usually just a repeat of what was on earlier.

My husband remarked the other night that he couldn't wait for the boys to get bigger and come into our room on a Saturday morning and watch Saturday morning cartoons with us in bed - too bad Saturday morning cartoons are just not what they use to be. And when we were playing with the boys while Ni Hao Kai-Lan was on the TV once, I said, 'Oh, I don't think I've seen this one.' He responded with a summary of the episode including the moral of the story and the song that they sing at the end. I couldn't help but look at him all funny and chuckle. You'd think he was telling you about an episode of Law & Order! But you know it's pretty sad when my husband and I are sitting in front of the TV, each holding a sleeping child, with Max & Ruby still on in the background....boy, I haven't watched Access Hollywood in MONTHS!

Reality Check: New Mommies

2009-09-22T11:16:00.002-04:00

I think anyone that adopts a child deserves a gold star - my husband and I had thought about adopting before we had the twins but we really wanted to try and have kids of our own first before looking into adoption...but I was really happy that my husband was willing to even go the adoption route as there are many people out there that don't like the thought of adopting, especially overseas.

My Mom got to experience, a little bit, of what an overseas adoption was like on a trip to China...she happened to be staying at a hotel where a bunch of newly minted parents were staying with their newly adopted baby girls. She said that they all gathered in the lobby and were just filled with so much excitement and love because they've been given this gift to look after. I imagine that coming home with that new baby would be very much the same as if they had had that child naturally on their own....CHAOS!

Coming home with a new child, for any type of parent (natural and adoptive) is a whirlwind trip...first time parents, especially, are always filled with questions and precautions. Getting your child use to their new environment and surroundings. Trying to bring some order back into your life with a new baby. Trafficking guests that come through to coo at your brand new bundle - it's all overwhelming.

So I'm wondering, how is it that a celebrity, who recently adopted a baby a few short weeks ago has been able to have a celebratory dinner with her husband and her mom, sans new baby, after only a few short weeks of acquiring said baby? My boys are 17 weeks old and my husband and I haven't been able to go out to dinner on our own YET! I'm sure we could have if we wanted to, by now, but we actually like being with our boys - we like that they know who we are and give us big smiles when we get home from work. We've taken them out to dinner with us but we also like to be home for their last feeding before they go to bed.

Reality check lady - it's nice that you have all this money and can probably afford a nanny, no problem...but I know that when I became a new mommy, all I wanted to do is be with my kids. When I read and saw that this celebrity adopted a child, it made me think 'what a kind and decent human.' But a week later, when I read that she's out with her family (sans baby) having a celebratory dinner, it makes me think, 'Must be nice to not be hands on.'

For the record, we have a live-in nanny and even I don't take advantage of that by going out to dinner with my husband whenever....we are, however, going to have an early dinner, without our kids, for our anniversary this Sunday but I'm still going to make sure that I make it home for their last bottle before they go to bed.

Shedding With a Vengeance

2009-09-22T11:08:00.003-04:00

Prior to pregnancy, you would see hair on the bathroom floor on occassion (more often than not) that came from my head because I had long hair and women naturally shed a lot of hair. It would really drive me crazy when I would lay down on my carpet and I would see my hair within the carpet threads but it's just not something I can help.

When I got pregnant, it seemed like the shedding stopped momentarily. I could go a week, perhaps, without seeing hair on the bathroom floor. I didn't think twice about hair weaved within my carpet because I wasn't shedding as much while I was pregnant. I can really tell how much I shed after I wash my hair and brush it because that's when most of my hair will come out.

I was spoiled for about ten months because the shedding is back and it's come back with a vengeance. My husband remarked, the other week, after vacuuming up my hair, 'I could've made a sweater with what I picked up...' or 'You could've made another hair donation with the amount on the bathroom floor.' I just don't understand it - I seem to be shedding MORE hair than I ever have before. When I come out of the shower and brush my hair, after washing it, I can get CLUMPS of hair coming out onto my brush and in my hands. I feel like I have to wipe the bathroom floor every other day just to clear up the hair. I don't even want to think about the carpets because I'm so disgusted with how much is coming out onto floor I can actually see.

Is my head making up for lost time? Is this all hair that should've been out in the past ten months that is only make it's way out now? I don't get it.

Good thing I have a thick head of hair or I could've been rendered bald by now!

There's a Reason They're the Best

2009-08-19T18:32:00.003-04:00

Since registering for baby items and about a month into their lives, I have been in the market for baby slings/carrier - the most popular one out there, being the Baby Bjorn. I registered for one thinking that that could be my husband's baby carrier. Of course I wanted a 'cooler' carrier, so I had registered for the 'Peanut Shell' sling and an Infantino sling.

While one of my boys was calm, I threw him in thePeanut Shell sling to see if he would like it. First of all, just from my perspective, he didn't look comfortable AT ALL. Secondly, he started crying which let me know he wasn't comfortable AT ALL. He looked 'squished.' This is when I gave up on the Peanut Shell and went with the Infantino - because it looked 'sturdier' and more comfortable. Again, after waiting for a calm moment, I threw one of the boys in the Infantino only to be met with more crying and more 'squishy.' This is when I gave up on the sling altogether and decided that maybe I need to just go with the upright carrier....but still wanted something cooler looking than the Baby Bjorn.

I have friends that have the cloth carriers that is basically like a six foot piece of fabric that you tie in all kinds of directions on your body in order to secure your baby to your frontside. There was no way I was ever going to be able to handle that....so I saw another Infantino upright carrier that looked comparable to the the Baby Bjorn at about half the cost. I purchased it and during a recent trip to Costco, I put my 'lighter' son into the carrier to see how he would like it. I ended up spending half the Costco trip adjusting my straps to get him tighter and closer to my body, having my husband pull down on the center 'circle' thing on the back to make sure it was in the center of my back. I have to say that it wasn't terribly comfortable for me and if my son could talk, he would probably give it one thumbs down, while the other stayed in his mouth.

On another excursion, I had taken out the Baby Bjorn for my husband so he could get use to it and start using it. After about ten minutes, he decided it was too hard to figure out and kind of put it to the side. In planning for a doctor's appointment tomorrow, I decided I was going to try on the Baby Bjorn and see if my son liked it any better than the Infantino.

Firstly, the Bjorn was SOOOOO much easier to 'assemble' than the Infantino - there are a lot of snaps and cloth pulls on the Infantino and it was pretty confusing where I was supposed to stick my head and arms...but with the Baby Bjorn, everything is pretty mapped out for you in shapes and colors. It was a lot more comfortable and the best part, my son didn't cry or fuss while in the Bjorn.

I guess there's a reason why they seem to be monopolizing the marketplace in Infant carriers - of the four slings and carriers I've tried, they are the best, simply put. And I like their range of products - from 'fancy' infant carriers (think sparkly and patent leather for nights on the town) to sporty ones with breathable mesh fabric.

I keep the Infantino carrier in the car for emergencies but I think I'm going to have to break down and purchase a Baby Bjorn for myself - maybe the sporty one...you can call me 'Sporty Bjorn.'

New Mothers and Their Syndrome

2009-07-29T11:36:00.002-04:00

I just got back from seeing an Orthoepedic. I had made an appointment because what started out as carpal tunnel in my hands in the last few weeks of pregnancy had turned into a sharp pain on the inside of my wrist. I was convinced that I no longer had carpal tunnel but something more serious. I tried to think what could have happened between delivery and nine weeks later...I didn't fall, I hadn't been at the gym lifting weights. I thought perhaps it was caused by the nurse putting the IV needle into my body and perhaps aggravating a bone/tendon?! All I knew was that this pain was getting more serious by the day.

It impacted just about everything I did from picking up the boys, to feeding them (the way I was cradling them, their little elbows would jab into my injured wrist), to something as simple as putting my hair in a ponytail or closing my bra hooks. I made an appointment with an orthoepedic to see what was going on. I was convinced that after taking x-rays, he would see a hairline fracture or even a bone spur, whatever that was.

Turns out I've got De Quervain's Tenosynovitis. I sat in the doctor's office for 30 minutes. The doctor saw me for three minutes and declared I had tenosynovitis, or in lamens terms, Nursing Mother's syndrome. One problem - I'm not nursing nor have I been nursing for five weeks. But Nursing Mother's syndrome was just the general term. It's a pain on the side of the wrist and base of the thumb due to inflammation of one or two tendon sheaths or a strain of these tendon sheaths, the extensor pollicis brevis (EPB) or abductor pollicis longus (APL). Again, lamens terms - pain in the inner wrist that goes up to the thumb that causes internal inflammation in your hand. For me, it was probably brought on by picking the boys up and doing it in a 'scooping' motion where my thumbs come out when I go pick them up.

It's treatable and should go away in about two weeks - I had the option of getting a shot for the pain or anti-inflammatory medication. I took the meds because the thought of another needle in my body wasn't too appealing. I also have to wear a splint on my hand/wrist for two weeks - I look like a left-handed professional bowler. It sure makes typing hard because of the limited movement I have in the wrist.

So just as an FYI - if you're experiencing the same irritation that I had, chances are you have Nursing Mother's Syndrome, which isn't exclusively reserved for nursing mothers.

Be Prepared...B-E- Prepared

2009-07-14T17:24:00.004-04:00

One of the best things about preparing for the boys' arrival was getting their nursery ready. I loved thinking of the design - I had three in mind for all possible gender combination of twins - executing it and purchasing the furniture that would complete my vision. It was like getting married again when we got to go to Babies R Us to register for all the baby items we would need to welcome our little bundles of joy.

Even though I have two nephews, I was still a little overwhelmed by all the stuff I needed to register for. But I followed the guidelines given to us by the store and by various parenting magazines and basically went from there. We managed to get most everything on our registries, from the bath tub to socket blockers - we even got stuff we didn't register for that have come in handy like those clothing size tags that you hang in your closet that help you distinguish between 0-3 months, 3-6 months, etc. and cloth diapers; not for what you think they're for since we're not using cloth diapers.

Now that the boys are here and it's been almost two months, here is a list, based off of my personal observations, of things that I think are essentials to the nursery and general life with the babies:
1) Baby Wipes Warmer - I know I've blogged about this before and I can't say it enough...what a life saver...you'd think the warmer would be great for winter months but it's been plugged in and it comes in SO handy at night when you don't want to shock the babies with cold wipes.

2) Little terry cloth squares - these are not the same as the wash cloths that look like face towels - these are slivers of terry cloth about 4 inches x 4 inches. We received these from an aunt and have they come in SUPER handy. We use these to wash the boys because they're so thin, it's easy to get into the baby crevices (those face towels are a little big for newborns). We also have these on the changing table to wipe up any spit up if we're changing them before they're fully digested. If you can't get your hands on these little terry cloth squares, just manage to have something on the changing table (like a box of tissues) to have handy for quick wipe ups and something to grab when pee starts flying everywhere, unexpectedly (and yes, it will happen).

3) Suction bulbs and tweezers - I was silly enough to register for a suction bulb. Thankfully I didn't get it but we got the hospital-issued ones which have become both handy and addictive at the same time. Addictive? Yes, because we like 'digging for gold.' Babies naturally get rid of their boogies by sneezing it out. We've found that our boys sound congested not because they have colds but because they have large boogies blocking their nasal passageways. In comes the suction bulb - hopefully you have a cooperative baby or you'll have to try and do this while they're sleeping....it's good fun suctioning out those big boogies. The tweezers are handy for when you get the boogie far enough forward that you can just go in and grab them with the tweezers because their holes are too small for adult fingers. Be aware of what will come out with the tweezers - that boogie may look small up there in their nose but once you pull it out, you might feel like you're pulling out a caterpillar or something...I swear I pulled out the biggest boogie I've ever seen the other day.

4) Multiple pacifiers - of the SAME kind. We started the boys on MAM pacifiers which they love (not an addictive type of love). I had other pacifiers (Purdue ones) but they seem to be for the older kid set. So in one of my many trips back to Babies R Us and Target, I was looking for additional pacifiers, to have back ups. I ended up buying Born-Free pacifiers. The boys don't like them. I think they'll only suck them under duress...otherwise, they're just lying around as 'last resort' back ups. I managed to purchase two more packs of MAM pacifiers for 2+ months since it was already week 6 of their lives when I figured out that we needed to stick to the same brand. This allows you to have the multiple back ups and no worries from the baby of 'tasting/feeling' something they're not use to.

5) Sleepers with AND without feet - you're going to receive a lot of baby clothes from friends and shower events. Lots of the outfits will be body suits (no pants) which is great for the overly warm summer months. But I have found that the best outfits to have the babies in for the first couple of months of life are sleepers - basically PJs. We got a few hand-me-downs from family and friends and were gifted with hardly any. After a couple of weeks, I found myself at Target and Carters purchasing more because these are quite simply the easiest things to put the babies in. They're not going to be doing much in the first few months other than sleep, eat and poop so why torture yourself trying to dress them up all cutesie (there will be PLENTY of time for that later) - keep it simple. It's also good to have variety - long sleeves and short sleeves with and without footies because I am finding that I keep one in sleepers without footies because he's a HOT baby (seriously, like a heater) and the other doesn't have great circulation so his feet tend to be cold.

6) Cloth diapers - we received these as a gift at one of our showers, not because we're using cloth diapers (and thank goodness we're not; see blog post titled 'Burn Baby Burn') but because my friend was gifted with cloth diapers as well - to use as anywhere drool/burping cloths. They've come in super handy. I keep a pile in the nursery and whenever it's feeding time, I take one off the pile and use it to wipe up spit up and formula. I use one a day and they're so easy to launder.

7) Multiple changing stations - if you live in a multi-level home, it's best to have multiple changing stations; preferably one on each floor. I had them all set up before the boys arrived but in the beginning, I still found myself climbing the stairs to their nursery to change them - it just seemed more 'permanent' I guess. But after those couple of weeks and more trips up and down the stairs than I care to discuss, I've learned to use the main level changing station - just have a box of wipes, diapers and butt ointment at the ready for any situation.

8) Multi-use disposable pads - this was another item we received at a shower that we didn't register for...but boy have we stocked up since. These are just disposable paper mats that you can take with you and put down anywhere - like on top of a changing pad, over your shoulder for burping or over the baby during feedings. We have boxes of it in the nursery for the changing table. We have a changing pad cover but we also have these disposable mats on top of that because when you experience explosions or 'leakage of poo', it's so easy to just wrap the diaper and the disposable mat up and discard instead of having to remove the changing pad cover to wash it. I only have two changing pad covers - so far, I've only had to wash each once....

9) Good stroller(s) - this isn't necessarily in the nursery but my goals in finding a stroller were that it was reasonably priced, durable, light, and will last for the next 3-4 years, at least. I brought my goals to a baby super store and thank goodness the person manning the stroller section was EXTREMELY knowledgeable. He had been selling strollers himself for over 13 years and he was also a father of two. He told me about all the women that come into the store looking for their third, fourth, and sometimes fifth strollers because these women buy strollers in stages. I told him what my goals were in finding a stroller (especially since I have two babies) and he was with me in my goals....he brought out the big names for me to look at (MacLaren, Peg Perego, BOB, etc) and we finally settled on a stroller that has been beating out the likes of MacLaren and Peg Perego...it's the Baby Jogger City Stroller. I think what sold me the most was that I could fold it up with one hand...after purchasing it, I saw that Halle Berry has the same one...how chic! So the point is to talk to someone before investing in something as big as this item...knowledge is power.

10) Sheet Savers - so you're not constantly changing the crib sheet for spit up because let's face it, once you have the mattress, bumper, and mobile all done up on the crib, the LAST thing you want to do is undo all the bumper ties, take off the mobile, just to get to the mattress to remove the sheet. With the sheet saver, you just have to tie and untie for strings and replace....it's on top of the sheet saver that I have the baby's head for the occassional spit up while sleeping.

So those are my top 10 things that I'm finding are key to life with the babies. I'm sure there's a ton more but I think it's these little things that we don't always think about until the little ones are actually here.

Cradle Cap OR....Baby Toupee

2009-07-08T19:10:00.003-04:00

If your baby comes out pretty much bald, you can be sure that they will experience the dry, flakiness known as 'cradle cap.' No Head-N-Shoulders for this situation. We were taught in our child birthing class that for cradle cap, just softly scrub the top of the head with a wet sponge/cloth to scrub away the dry skin. The way the nurse demonstrated it to us was by holding the plastic baby in a football hold and scrubbing the head softly over the sink. How does this situation not resemble real life? The plastic baby isn't squirming or crying or fidgeting due to 1) the water, 2) the cloth, 3) being held in the football hold. But I digress...

My boys both came out with barely any hair but enough to let you know that one had blonde hair and one had light brown hair. After the first week, cradle cap became apparent and I did my best, for their first sponge bath, to softly scrub the top of their heads with a cloth while they rested on the changing table. Because they were on the changing table, the cloth I was using wasn't very wet - so needless to say, nothing much happened with the flakiness. It wasn't until we gave the boys their first bath did the washing of the cradle cap resemble washing off dead skin. What they DON'T tell you about 'treating' cradle cap is that the little hair that does exist on top of their head comes off along with the skin.

I discovered this while sitting with one of the boys - and while feeding him, I started peeling away some of the skin on top of his head, because it was BEGGING to be peeled (even though they say not to). I couldn't help myself - ask my sister...we are addicted to peeling things like skin off a sun burn. Anyways - while I was peeling off some of the skin, I noticed that little pieces of hair were coming off with it. THAT scared me. So naturally, I kept peeling. And more little hairs came off. I couldn't believe it. Was what they were born with nothing more than a temporary toupee?

By their second bath, I was determined to scrub off the cradle cap so I didn't have the urge to peel anymore. After their second bath, one child was bald on top - he looked like a mini version of Dr. Phil without the 'stache. It was too funny, yet sad all at the same time...here is my newborn, with nice, newborn hair all along the sides and back of his head but NADA on top - he really looked like a little, old man. The blonde baby's cradle cap was a little harder to get off. In fact, he still has flaky peels on top of his head despite the multiple baths he has had. But I no longer have the urge to peel his skin because their 'real' hair has started to grow in.

So be aware of cradle cap - TRY to resist the urge to peel - as it could lead to scabbing...thankfully, I wasn't ALL OVER the baby's cradle cap to cause scabbing. Their hair will eventually grow in - you'll start to see like a shadow of something on top of their head....and when you look closely, you'll see little hairs sprouting up like new grass...babies are amazing!

Burn, Baby, Burn

2009-07-04T20:38:00.002-04:00

Being a new mother, I have found that when I'm in the company of other mothers (the more experienced ones), one topic inevitably rears it's ugly head when you get around to discussing feedings, schedules and diaper changes. From diaper changes, we segue to gas and from gas we end up at 'explosive poops.' The question that usually comes up: 'Have you experienced the explosive diaper yet?'

No, the diaper doesn't explode...the baby's butt does. And yes, we have experienced the explosive diaper/poop. It's amazing what babies can do - they can poop in the back half of their diaper and up their back and totally miss the middle and front of the diaper altogether. In the beginning, one of my boys was a side pooper, meaning he was able to poop off center. That amazed me.

Back to the explosions. For one of our boys...we call him 'juicy toots,' seven times out of 10, his gas noises would lead you to believe that he has something extremely unpleasant waiting for you at the end of his feeding. But when we finally get onto the changing table to take a look, the damage is usually minimal. The bad ones are the ones that you can actually feel seeping onto YOUR clothes and when you go to lift them up to take a gander at the back side, you are welcomed by a nice, wet brown spot. How does this happen - this up the back thing? They're sitting up, pretty much, while eating. My guess is that since they're sitting on your lap, there really is no other way to go but up?

So far with Juicy Toots, we've had two explosive diapers...how do we classify the two as explosive, you ask? The fact that we consider 'burning' the outfit he was wearing. We already got rid of one sleeper because we did not think it was salvageable (sorry, Pearl...it was one of Izzy's old ones, I think) and we considered 'burning' the second one - until I decided to TRY and save it by hosing it down and letting it soak in the 'tub of shame.'

Tub of shame?! Yes, the tub of shame is where things that were once in good condition, have succumbed to baby badness and need a few days to soak. Who has visited the tub of shame? One towel that my husband, very wisely, decided to lay across his lap while feeding Juicy Toots because JT's tummy was making bad, Bad, BAD noises. (You know it's going to be bad when Mommy's tummy is competing with JT's tummy to see whose could grumble the loudest. Mommy's tummy was grumbling because it was 4:45 AM and she was hungry. JT's tummy was grumbling because...um....because....don't know why cause he just had a full bottle. Thank goodness the explosion didn't happen on Mommy's watch, but on Daddy's!) And then there was the second sleeper that was met with explosive poops. That happened on Mommy's watch - the one I'm trying to save.

So if you're a new mom (or dad), be ready...be ready for the explosions that lie ahead; be ready for Daddys to become drama queens when met with large to explosive size diapers (as overheard on the baby monitor a few times...'Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh crap!') and be ready to discuss it with others....

Pay It Forward - The Pregnancy Edition

2009-06-23T09:25:00.002-04:00

I found that before I gave birth, I tried to read anything and everything about twins, how to handle them, how to take care of them, how to get them on schedules - basically, I needed to be prepared for what I was about to face. Life with twins!

I can happily say that no amount of reading or preparation prior to giving birth is ever going to prepare you for taking care of babies - you will undoubtedly come home from the hospital with your new bundle filled with anxiety and baby blues. It's normal and those that say they didn't have the baby blues or difficulties when they came home from the hospital are lying. I even had help during my c-section recovery and I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed, helpless and ill-prepared.

When I first got home, I was frantic. I felt out of control. I'm a complete control-freak. I like everything to be on a schedule...yet I felt like I had no schedule and no way to control it. I started looking for college nannies or doulas that could come in and help me. Another big part of my stress was breast feeding. Finding time to pump and having issues with one of the babies latching on just added to my overall feeling of helplessness. I was not in a good place.

It wasn't until I started hearing from mothers of other twins that went through what I was going through did I start to feel better. There was one friend of a friend, in particular, that really helped me through the first two weeks - she had just returned to work after having her twins in December and so it wasn't long ago that she was in the exact same place. She gave me advice, shared what she did to get through and it really helped...you could say it brought me off the ledge. I ended up not getting a doula because I created a schedule for me and the boys. We're still living by the schedule now and it's working out well, for the most part. I spoke to another friend of a friend with twins and she also helped me a lot with my stresses with breast feeding because she felt the same exact way and was dealing with the same issues.

It was so great to hear from these women and know that I wasn't the only one feeling the way I did. Their advice and experiences really helped me make decisions that would make me a better mother to my children and to cope better in these 'newborn weeks.'

There was one mother of twins (another friend of a friend) that sent me an email BEFORE I gave birth (four days prior to giving birth) that completely overwhelmed me. She was talking about night doulas and getting a mini-fridge for the nursery and just provided me with a wealth of information that pertained to her experiences that completely turned me off. I can't really say if it turned me off so much as it just completely scared me. I didn't correspond with that woman very much after giving birth - her experience was not one that I wanted to follow....it was certainly appreciated, but I think there's a line that needs to be watched where you don't want to completely overwhelm/scare your audience.

In closing, I have to say that if you get a chance to share your pregnancy experiences and stories with others, especially those that are becoming first time mothers and are completely scared, definitely share them - especially the good stories. But don't go overboard - cause you can't give back your baby!

A Warm Butt = A Happy Butt

2009-06-21T04:59:00.004-04:00

This is going to be a product-promotion posting and it's all about keeping your baby's butt warm during those difficult moments known as diaper changes.

I will add this caveat - a warm butt is not a happy butt when that butt is being warmed by the baby's own pee or poo. Nosiree. Then we do not have a happy baby, nor do we have a happy butt.
But what I do mean about warm butts is having warm wipes while cleaning your baby off during diaper changes.

In the four short weeks we have known our boys, it has become apparent that they are not fans of diaper changes. Not only are they not fans but they view the changing table as a sort of 'axis of evil'. The crazy part is that they're totally fine and calm when taking off the diaper - it's when you're about to fasten the new one on and wrap things up do they start to get all crazy. But I digress.

One of the items I registered for was the wipes warmer - available at Babies R Us, and other fine retailers. Boy am I glad I registered and got it. When setting up the nursery, I had put the wipes warmer on their changing table. I didn't initially plug it in after we brought the babies home because I thought 'it's summer, it's warm - maybe the warmer would be better left for the fall/winter months.' I was wrong. That warmer needs to be on 24/7/365. Placing a cold wipe against their tush was a big no-no. Within 24 hours of bringing them home, the wipes warmer was plugged in and on and there has been no turning back. Now, the diaper change experience only seems to get bad during the wrap up portion rather than the WHOLE ENTIRE PROCESS. And every little bit helps.

You definitely see the difference between having a warmer and not having a warmer. In the downstairs changing area, I don't have a wipes warmer so when I change them downstairs, it's an ordeal cause they don't like the cold dampness on their butt after having sat in their pee and poo. I also just googled wipes warmer and apparently they're not only available all over the place (Target, Wal-Mart, amazon, etc) but there's a travel warmer that I might have to invest in! HOT DOG!

So I'm giving two, enthusiastic thumbs up to the wipes warmer - the one I have is by 'Especially for Baby.' It's great - it even comes with a little window and 'oven light' so you can see when you're running low and need to refill.

Screw You, AVENT

2009-06-17T11:28:00.002-04:00

How many college-educated new moms does it take to screw on the top of an AVENT bottle? Only one but apparently it can take up to five tries before you actually get it on right.

I believe there is some 'secret' way to screw on the cap and nipple of an AVENT baby bottle - what exactly is that secret? I have yet to figure that out. All I know is that when I screw on the top and shake it, to mix the formula, droplets spray all over the place, leading me to have to uncap and recap the top and shake it again, just to make sure that no formula will leak out. I have come to 'test' each bottle to see if anything will leak out but even that's not guaranteed to work because I have found that I have done the topsy turvy test with no leakage but once I start to feed one of the boys their formula, it starts leaking while it's angled, onto their bib, causing me to lose about five mL of liquid.

It's a waste and it's frustrating. Formula is expensive AND sticky. I only went with AVENT bottles because it was the same brand my sister used. Little did I know what issues it would have.

I try to line up the grooves of the bottle and the cap. I try to make sure that the top turns at least twice (cause sometimes it only turns half way) but nothing is a guarantee to make it stop leaking. My husband has even taken to screwing the top on so tight that I have to get a grippy thing just to get it off - it's a struggle.

So if anyone out there knows the secret to getting the top onto an AVENT baby bottle without leakage, let me know - I'm dying to know and want to stop wasting formula.

Water Weight My Foot.....

2009-06-16T08:43:00.004-04:00

I was one of the "lucky" ones that got to experience swollen feet towards the end of my pregnancy. It started out gradual in about the 30th week but as time drew closer to delivery, I had 'moon boot feet' with a side of 'sausage toes.' It was not pleasant. I actually went to work in flip flops because it was the only thing my feet could fit into that wasn't constricting. I was so horrified and fascinated by the swelling that I actually took phone pictures and sent them to family and friends - hey, look at these babies!

But I kept telling myself - 'Things will go back to normal after delivery....things will go back to normal after delivery.' What I forgot to append to that saying was 'Thing will go back to normal after delivery...days to weeks after.' I didn't think it was possible but yes, after delivering my babies, my feet and legs swelled up to twice what they were prior to delivery. We were beyond moon boots and sausage analogies. I imagined I had the legs and feet of an obese person. It hurt to slide my feet into flip flops. It hurt to walk. Any time a nurse would come in to check on me, I would ask, 'Is this normal?' And the response would always be 'yes.'

My OB finally told me to keep drinking water to help the swelling go down. This did not make sense to me as I thought the cause of the swelling was water. If I drink more, won't that make it worse? But I did what they told me because let's face it, I've never been pregnant before. So when I got home, I kept drinking water, kept sighing at my feet, and then drank some more water and refused to leave the house unless absolutely necessary. Walking was such a trial as I felt like I had blisters on my feet with each step I took.

After about 1.5 weeks at home, the swelling finally did go down. It seemed instantaneous. One day they were beyond recognition, the next, they're back to normal. I was so excited by it that I went immediately to my shoe closet to throw on some heels, also hoping that the swelling didn't mess with the sizing of my foot (as I stayed the same shoe size throughout the pregnancy). My heels were a tad tight but I coughed that up to left-over swelling. We're going to try it again later this week in hopes that my heels will fit a-okay.

Another symptom that I had after I got home from the hospital, that lasted for about a week...the sweats. Night sweats. I didn't experience it at the hospital and when I got home, I was talking to my sister and she happened to mention how she had the night sweats for a couple of nights after her c-section. Again, I ask, where is this information when you need it? Sure enough, two days later, I get the night sweats - for about 1.5 weeks. The first night, the sweats were accompanied by chills - I'm talking teeth chattering chills. On the second night, my cornflower blue PJ top turned into a dark navy blue due to all the sweating I was doing. That was pretty gross. And so it continued to the point where I had two hand towels with me during the night - one for my pillow and one to wipe myself with during the night. I found that most of the sweat accumulated between my boobs.

I was able to read that the night sweats were just a way for your body to rid itself of excess toxins and water from the trials of pregnancy. I'm just sayin' - it would've been nice to know ahead of time.

I will recommend the following book for those of you that have just had babies - 'What to Expect When You're Expecting - the First Year.' That book has answers to ALL QUESTIONS you have rummaging through your brain. I will be the first to tell you that I do not recommend the 'What to Expect When You're Expecting' book for pregnancy cause that will scare the bejezus out of any pregnant woman. But the 'First Year' book is quite helpful and informative and I keep it handy, next to the glider in the nursery.

Phantom Baby

2009-06-15T08:58:00.002-04:00

The struggles of being a new parent hits just about everyone. I don't know one person that says it wasn't hard at first and if there are people out there that says it's not, they're lying! (Just kidding)

The exhaustion, alone, is enough to do anyone in. For the first time since we've been together, I have never seen my husband so exhausted - how exhausted was he? He was so exhausted that in our first two days back from the hospital, he was sent into a fit of laughter. He couldn't stop laughing trying to get some shut eye. He said he it was all he could muster up - laughing. Hey, at least he wasn't crying.

The worst part of the exhaustion has to be when you're sleeping and you think you're holding a baby but you're not...I call this the 'Phantom Baby.' I don't know if it has happened to others but it happened to both me and my husband. We were both sleeping one night, last week, and I was getting ready to wake up for an overnight feeding. I was so careful getting out of bed, I think the whole time I had my arms in a 'cradle' position cause I thought I was holding a baby! When I got up and started walking around the bedroom, I WOKE UP and was like 'Holy cow, where's the baby?' Only to realize that the babies were safely in their cribs, in their rooms. I only thought I was holding a baby because I had been holding them so much lately and I guess it was so new to me.

Later, that same night, after getting back from an overnight feeding, my husband turned over in the bed when I settled myself back in and asked if the feedings went okay. I told him they did and not two minutes later did he kind of shoot up in bed and start patting himself on the chest saying, 'Where's the baby? Where did he go?' He thought he had been holding the baby against his chest and lost him. I told him, 'The babies are in their crib!' He sorta woke up and said, 'Okay, I believe you' and went back to sleep.

I was awoken ten minutes later to my husband lifting the sheets above me and looking underneath (in the dark) for something. I turned to him and said, 'What are you doing?' He replied, sleepily, 'Is the baby with you?' I said, 'No, he's in his crib.' Another 'phantom baby' moment.

So don't be surprised to feel like you've been holding a baby when you haven't...it happens. I don't know how often it happens to others but it happened to us on the same night.

Post C-Section Shockers

2009-06-14T17:29:00.002-04:00

Okay - maybe not shockers, especially for those that have been through it but there are just so many things they don't tell you about c-sections (they, being authors, doctors, previous patients) that I think I would've liked to know ahead of time....

For instance, while I was being 'zipped up' after "delivering" my twins, I asked the crowd in the operating room, 'So, has anyone ever asked for liposuction directly after their c-section delivery?' The answer? "Yeah." I often joked about it prior to delivery - wouldn't it be nice to just get some of the fat out of the way right off the bat? Apparently, the hospital I delivered in does not do it - but I guess the more common procedure that is asked for after a c-section is a tummy tuck. Still not done in the hospital I delivered at.

No one told me I would have a 'foo-pah' after giving birth. Now I have no idea what I thought was supposed to happen to my ginormous belly after delivering two babies...I guess I was hoping most of it would go away. But after living with my big, hard belly for 3+ months and to all of a sudden go from something's there to a completely deflated pile of fat and skin was pretty shocking to me. I sat in my hospital bed poking at it (cause there's not much you can do when you can't feel your legs for 24 hours) wondering what happened. As the days wore on and I started breast feeding, the foo-pah has definitely gone down but it's still there. Granted it's been less than three weeks since I delivered - supposedly it should be gone (ie - pre-pregnancy state) in 4-6 weeks. We shall see about that.

There's a lot of bleeding....I guess those that deliver the v-way have way more bleeding than c-sectioners (I can't even imagine)....but I felt a little demoralized when the nurse had to come in to change my pad for the bleeding because I couldn't move in the first 24 hours. I guess that's what nurses are paid for - changing the pads and cleaning out your catheter output. But now that I'm back home, I'm still bleeding and again, this will go on for 4-6 weeks after delivery. I'm sensing a 4-6 week theme here....

Babies usually don't eat in the first 24 hours of delivery. I did not know this. Here we are (my hubby and I) freaking out because I'm not producing any breast milk yet and the nurses are asking us if we want them bottle fed, kept in the nursery (alongside other screaming babies), along with a barrage of questions on feeding the babies....it would've been nice if someone told us off the bat 'Hey, don't worry...babies come out with some 'fat supplies' that allow them to not eat very much in the first 24 hours...' We found that out like 1-2 days LATER.

They won't let you eat anything solid until you pass gas...down there. I was put on a liquid diet following the c-section (which really wasn't bad - broth, jello, juices) and told that I couldn't have anything solid to eat until I was able to pass gas. I, of course, needed clarification on what exactly they mean by pass gas - like was it just via the back way or could I simply toss up a burp and go from there? Unfortunately, it was via the back exit. Fortunately, I was able to pass gas in the middle of the night - I was so excited when a tiny toot came out that when the nurse came in to check on me at like 2am, I excitedly told her, 'Oh hey, I passed gas!' I got a nice pancake breakfast in the morning!

Those are just some of the lovely things that I found out about 'on the job.' Maybe I was so focused on having the babies and how to care of them after they arrived that I didn't pay attention to what exactly happens after a c-section....but I didn't come across any of this stuff and you would think I would....oh well. I hope my experience helps SOMEONE out there so they're better prepared.

You Down with PPP

2009-06-10T14:45:00.003-04:00

I need to get back on the blogging train - it's been awhile - a LONG while. What has happened in that long while? I gave birth...to twins. But that's no excuse for the month or so I didn't blog prior to giving birth. I'll admit, I was uninspired...I was too busy conjuring ways to get the babies out of my belly cause I was so darn uncomfortable. My OB fell for none of my schemes. I gave birth on my scheduled c-section date - 37 weeks and 5 days for twins....yowza.

So as soon as I start getting some rest and getting down a schedule with my boys, I'm going to start blogging again - it's going to be more about post-pregnancy postings (PPP). Things that they don't tell you when you're giving birth, post birth, at the hospital. Things that happened; things that are happening. I'm just saying that with the time I have off for maternity leave, a lot of my observations are going to be surrounding the boys - cause what else can I observe? Twins are hard - but I knew that already.

Mark my words - I'll be back soon.

Up With People (Or Not)

2009-04-22T19:38:00.002-04:00

In my iPod right now: "Falling Slowly" - performed by American Idol contestant Kris Allen (I know - sucker! (but seriously, it's awesome))

I'm sad to say that my knowledge of celebrity gossip is slipping considerably. I mean, sure, while I'm in the checkout line, I'm as fixated on the tabloids as anyone, but I no longer subscribe to US Weekly, and I'm not as good about checking all of those fantastic celebrity buzz blogs as I used to be. I gave myself a pass for awhile based on my brief stint as a paparazzo last summer (a story for another day -I helped contribute to the machine in a pretty insignificant way), but it's getting a little ridiculous. It took me way too long, for example, to learn that Lindsay Lohan and her girlfriend Sam were broken up. Unacceptable. Really. I'm embarrassed.

Well, I recently had a chance to get reacquainted with the old reliable celebrity source People Magazine. Or so I thought. I had a series of dentist appointments to tackle my unfortunate abscess tooth condition, and I was confident that the waiting room would offer a plethora of reading options, including the aforementioned People Magazine and perhaps a few issues of Highlights for Children. I mean, that's the only good thing about the dentist, right? The waiting room reading material. (Actually, that's not entirely true. I like the lead apron too, but that's only because I'm kind of a freak.)

When I am wrong, I am so wrong. This dentist office (while standard Del Rio super friendly) offered only "DTV" (which stands not for "Dance T.V." from the highly underrated "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" starring a young Sarah Jessica Parker, but rather, "Dental T.V.") and various dental industry magazines. Really? I kind of thought that the best way to help patients relax in "the chair" is to help them forget they're at the dentist. A feature on gingivitis isn't going to make that happen. I think I might mention this when I return for my cleaning in June. As I recall, my usually literary snob mom (and I mean that with the utmost admiration) experienced something similar many years ago. Unlike this case, however, the dentist had once offered all of the waiting room greats (People, Sports Illustrated, you name it) but one day decided to cancel them all and replace them with random promotional magazines that had obviously been sent to the office for free. My mom was furious that her People was not there waiting for her, and the poor receptionist got an earful. I'm pretty sure they ended up just sucking it up and forking over the negligible $400/year or whatever they previously spent and renewing their subscriptions.

Trust me. It's worth it.

Washington DOES have a Fashion Week

2009-02-24T15:14:00.003-04:00

I've only heard about it - never really attended a DC Fashion Week event - which is weird since I do love fashion. I think the DC Fashion Week has always been overshadowed by that of New York Fashion Week - and in the past, it's usually at this time that I'm desparately looking to see which Project Runway finalists have put out for their runway show in New York.

I heard that they did have a Project Runway finale - unfortunately, because the latest season hasn't been aired on either Bravo or Lifetime, the finalists and their talents are still unknown. But I digress.

My friend asked me if I wanted to attend a show for DC Fashion Week. Let me put things in perspective for those of you not familiar with the DC version of Fashion Week. From my understanding, it is put together by a local designer, Ean Williams. He brings together local designers to put together a two hour runway show two times a year (spring and fall). I don't expect you'll ever see DC Fashion Week advertised as the Mercedes-Benz DC Fashion Week - nor will you ever see a runway show featuring Anna Sui or Betsey Johnson. For this latest spring fashion week, there were only four events - Menswear Show, Fashion Industry Networking show, African Students Fashion Show and the Couture Collections. We signed up to attend the Couture Collections.

I really didn't know what to expect. Would there be celebrities? (No.) Would Michelle Obama be there considering she's the newest fashion sensation to hit DC? (No.) Would there be some relative unknown designer that would wow me with their creations? (No.)

Most of the designers have been designing for over 10+ years. They all have their own style but unfortunately, I was not really wowed by any of their works. I would say out of the 10 designers that showed, I would probably only consider purchasing something from two of the designers. The first half of the show left a lot to be desired - there were things being shown that I could've found at 'Frederick's of Hollywood' or 'Hot Topic.' There were colors being used that haven't been 'it' colors since 1987 (who said peach was coming back?!). There were dresses that I think you could find at sketchy Chinese massage parlors. Some of the foreign designers, who hailed from countries like Siberia, Mongolia and Pakistan (to name a few) were so distinctive in their designs that their outfits weren't very 'ready to wear.' But then again, you have to remember we were at the couture collection show....but I didn't see how any of the stuff that was shown could be designated as couture.

Let's move onto the models. These were not NY Fashion Week caliber models - I will put that out there right now. They were all skinny (I swear one was like a size negative two) and tall and apparently they all had to supply their own shoes. So here were some problems - you had models in their own shoes (usually black, platform-like, stripper shoes) wearing more ethnic looking outfits...it didn't look right. You had super-pale girls wearing all the sorbet-colored outfits which washed out the models and did nothing flattering to the outfits on display. I see how designers are very particular about the models that wear their clothes - I didn't understand why the designers here weren't as particular....there was a body of like 30-something models - so it's not like you couldn't find ONE that would make your outfit really stand out.

There were three models in particular that really caught my attention - in a not-so-good way. One model came out and at first I didn't think anything of her - but towards the middle of the show, she started reminding me of John Leguizamo, in drag, in 'To Wong Foo....' . There was a second model (the size negative two) that was basically marching up and down the runway - we're talking high steps and prancing - it started to remind me of a horse. And then the third model that irked me...let's just say that when she first came out, my friend asked if that was a man or woman and all I could say was ''All the Single Ladies' by Beyonce keeps playing in my head when I see her.'

During the show, even though the runway music was turned on loud, I could still hear such a ruckus going on behind the curtains, or backstage. I thought a fight broke out at one point. I heard someone calling something to attention cause every so often, you would hear two claps....but the noise backstage never died down. It was distracting and annoying - they should have thought about putting more of a separation between the stage and the changing/prep area.

All in all - as my first fashion runway experience - it was just that...an experience. I think I need a taste of NY Fashion Week to see what it's really suppose to be like.

DC Fashion Week - their motto is 'Establishing Washington as the Center of International Fashion.' I think it's still got a long way to go....before toppling the likes of Milan, Paris and London.

Why Are Handlers Out of Shape?!

2009-02-10T10:00:00.003-04:00

Last night had me struggling to stay awake as I was watching the 'Herding Group' of the Westminster Dog Show. This is my favorite group because it has my favorite dog, the Old English Sheepdog. A friend of mine had one growing up and my Mother's best friend had one too. A few years ago, there was an Old English Sheepdog that was at the top of his game at all the dog shows, Yoshii! I thought he was just so adorable with his fluffed up hair and barely-to-non visible eyes. And now I continue to call all Old English Sheepdogs Yoshii.

'Yoshii' did not disappoint last night - I liked watching him prance around the arena and constantly wondered if he really did have eyes! He ended up taking fourth place in the herding group...he lost to the 'rasta' dog (aka - the Puli) - the one that looks like a mop.

Anyway, as I was waiting patiently, and trying to keep my eyes open for 'Yoshii' to do his thing, I was looking at all the other dogs and how their handlers handle them and I had to wonder - why are there so many out of shape handlers? You would think because they have to train the dog, walk the dog, primp the dog and run up and down with the dog to show him off would have them in decent shape. I'm not saying all handlers are out of shape but some of them are. I wonder if it's bad that the handlers can't keep up with the dog while it's taking it's turn around the arena...does that hurt the chances of the dog winning, at all? Are the handlers sneaking snacks for the dogs and for themselves?

I just had to put that question out there - I asked my husband...he didn't know. I didn't pay attention to the handlers that actually won their breeding class but I'll have to take a look during best in show...how many 'out of shape' handlers actually make it to the 'big show.'

Closing Time

2009-02-06T10:46:00.002-04:00

In my iPod right now: Fade Into You by Mazzy Star

A few weeks ago, the Waldenbooks in the Plaza Del Sol "Mall" in Del Rio, Texas shut its doors for good. In truth, it was a crummy bookstore that appeared to be run by a bunch of teenagers who felt it more important to gab and text on their cell phones than to ring up a customer's purchase. The place was in total disarray most of the time, clearly demonstrating where the workers' priorities were. It was really a sad leftover from the 80's, when B. Dalton's and Waldenbooks ruled the world (I know this because together they were responsible for enabling my severe "Sweet Valley High" habit.) It gave me none of those great feelings and imaginary conversations that bookstores seem to promote for me (such as "See how smart and interesting I am? I like to browse history books."). This Waldenbooks had no coffee shop, no music section, no greeting card/gift collection. But it did have one thing going for it: it was the only game in town. When I saw what was happening, why it was having a big "40% off everything sale," I was too sad to even peruse the great bargains. Instead, I went to my car and cried.

The thing is: seeing any store or restaurant going out of business has always made me melancholy. For some people, I guess it's nice to take advantage of the sales, but I can't see past the fact that someone's project, maybe even someone's dream, has died. It's why I have trouble watching "You've Got Mail." I'm the one who needs the tissues when Meg Ryan closes her mother's children's bookstore. It's positively heartbreaking. I guess we're supposed to be happy that Tom Hanks and the big Fox Books rescues her, but it's still hard to watch. I'm not even saying that I wouldn't have patronized Fox Books (I did, after all, pay $25 annually to be a Barnes and Noble "member"). But I still like to support the mom and pop shops if I can, even if they're more expensive. It's worth it; supporting the dream is worth it.

On a more personal level, I can't help but be disturbed that my little town can't keep a bookstore in business. I'm an aspiring novelist, after all. And my success depends on readers. I am all for being that sellout I talked about in my last post. I know times are tough, and almost every industry is suffering, but this is my plea to you:

Please Keep Supporting the Publishing Industry.

You know that feeling you get when you've read a really great book: that feeling that you've escaped to another world. It's a feeling that immerses you, that makes your imagination soar - much more than a two hour movie ever could.

Cherish it.

Looking Back... with Regrets

2009-01-28T10:46:00.002-04:00

Looking back through my life, I have a pocketful of little regrets - things that I wish I did when I had the chance or things that I wish I could have done differently at the time. I think everyone goes through these tiny regrets.

There are some instances in my mind that stick out where I think, 'Why did I do that?!' like the time I went to school (high school) in my Victoria's Secret Pajamas that looked like a nice, summery outfit. What possessed me to wear it to school and were other people wearing it? Weird. And I think I did it more than once so that was not good.

As I sit here and watch VH-1 Classic and Cher's 'If I Could Turn Back Time' plays in the background, where she's strutting around a Navy ship in her sheer bodysuit with satin strips of fabric covering all the right places, I wonder, does she ever look back at the video and think 'What was I thinking when I said 'yes' to that outfit?' I won't deny that she has a killer body in the video and she doesn't look bad in the outfit, but was it really necessary? Couldn't she have stuck with her super cut-up jeans and a skin-tight top and had the same effect? I mean I know we're talking about Cher here and our fashion tastes definitely do not run the same course, but aside from this video, do you think she ever looks back to the 'Sonny and Cher' era and gag at her Bob Mackie gowns?

Nine Inch Nails - In or Out

2009-01-21T11:51:00.002-04:00

Okay - Nine-inch nails are probably an exaggeration - I do heart the band (or one-man band), NIN, but this isn't what this posting is about. I'm talking about fake fingernails. Are they still in or are they on their way out?

Growing up, there was no shortage of women in New Jersey that had long, fake nails. I know when I was little, I did somewhat admire them for the way these women could handle everyday tasks with these "claws." My parents were SO not into the "fake" anything - hair color, nails, what have you...so it was a rare occasion that I was able to sneak some 'Lee Press On Nails' into the grocery carriage to 'experiment' with my own fingernails when I got home - and it wasn't successful by any means. I think part of it was because I was DYING to grow up and be an adult - with my tiny fingernails. So naturally, the adult Lee Press Ons didn't fit my child-fingers. I think I had to use the 'pinky' size press-ons just for my pointer fingers. But it was just so fascinating to me, after watching the commercials, how you could get these perfectly sized nails onto your finger, and they looked so natural...not so. I see, now, the work that goes into nail extensions at the spa and it looks like a chore.

You'll be happy to know that I was able to get customized fake nails for my senior prom. Of course I couldn't carry off the 'claws' that many other women could because I was pretty rough with my hands - so I had to get 'sports length.' The adhesive that was used to get these fakers onto my fingers - I think she used Crazy Glue - no joke. I remember when I first got them on (my first, and last, taste with fake nails), I kept tap, tap, click, clicking them on the table - I couldn't believe I finally had fake nails that fit my fingers. The only other thing I remember about them was getting home from the prom that night and trying to RIP those things off my fingers. I felt like they were taking over like the adhesive was sinking into my skin. I also knew my parents would blow a gasket if I ran around the house with fake nails so I had to get them off ASAP. And that was hard - my nails looked like crap for DAYS afterwards because nail polish remover wasn't as effective of a 'glue remover' as advertised.

Fast forward to today and I feel like fake nails are not as 'in' as they once were. I mean, DJ Kool use to give a shout out to girls with the fake hair, fake nails, fake tans (a la 'Let Me Clear My Throat') - but I feel like nowadays, people either don't pay attention to getting the fake nails or they're going more natural with painted, short nails. I have since abandoned my 'long nail' envy and much prefer the clean, nicely manicured short nails with polish. I think it looks just as nice and it's certainly more manageable. I mean, I still wonder how real nails grow under those 'fake nails' but not so much as say 10-15 years ago. I've let that thought go by the wayside.

Maybe the ladies in the DC metro area are just more into the 'au naturale' look and my fascination has kind of died. Maybe ladies all over the place are just looking for a quicker way to 'look nice' without spending the time or the money to get the fake nails. Who knows....I say claws are out. That's what my gut says.

It Was a Breeze

2009-01-19T13:10:00.002-04:00

So this past weekend saw me going into Georgetown for a birthday lunch and running an errand at the Paper Source - I LOVE that store. When I told friends that I was heading into Georgetown on Saturday, I got a lot of 'Hmmms' and 'That's very ambitious.' From my previous post, you can tell I was very hesitant about the situation but I looked at is as an opportunity to experience something inaugural and maybe catch some celebs shopping around.

The results - I experienced nothing inaugural (except for some signs) and I saw no celebs. It wasn't busy at all. We got into Georgetown, parked with no incident, and got a table right away for lunch. We were able to get the 'fish bowl' table at J. Paul's to make for optimal celeb watching but instead we saw...not much. As our lunch was ending, to make ourselves feel better, anytime we saw an Escalade with tinted windows or the Rolls Royce with the tinted windows, we said, 'There's a celebrity.' That was the extent of our celeb watching.

After lunch, we were even able to walk freely, without crowds, down a few blocks to the Paper Source. The weather was freezing but the walking definitely helped and after I was done with my errand at the Paper Source, there was no hanging about in Georgetown, no matter how optimal the 'crowd' conditions were.

Overall - it was a breeze - it was actually a little bit disappointing. Oh well. At least I was able to have a great lunch with friends and get my errand completed. It just goes to show you never know what's going to happen - your initial inclinations might turn into nothing at all....

Ahead of Their Time

2009-01-16T10:39:00.004-04:00

Swedish super-pop group...you know who I'm talking about. Everyone can name at least one of their songs. One has even practically made the list of songs that need to be played at weddings. Four letters - spelled the same forwards and backwards - comprised of the first initials of their names. Are you feeling me? Agnetha, Benny, Bjorn and Anni-Frid...ABBA.

I recently received SingStar: ABBA for my birthday and it is AWESOME! I spotted it over the holidays in a Target flyer and couldn't believe they could have a whole karaoke disc devoted to ABBA....but I knew I had to have it. For those not familiar with SingStar, it is the equivalent of Karaoke Revolution for Playstation and other gaming consoles. SingStar is the UK version of Karaoke Revolution basically. Except instead of displaying a video-game likeness of yourself singing in all different locales, Singstar actually plays the original videos and lets you sing over the music. And because I was a little young to actually be familiar with ABBA videos, I was more than excited to be singing while the original video played out before me.

As I listened to the ABBA music and watched the videos I realized that ABBA was so ahead of their time. I had to put myself back in the era (the 70s) and think about their sound. It wasn't disco and it wasn't rock - it was almost what we might qualify as synth-pop with some folksy thrown in there. They have songs that I believe could translate into today's era like 'Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight)' Afterall, those are the backing tracks for Madonna's 'Hung Up.' Sure there are some operatic-pop anthems thrown in there that people might not be interested in now...think 'Fernando' or 'The Winner Takes it All'...but those are good songs nonetheless. All their stuff was quality work - 'Ring, Ring' and 'Voulez Vous' - you may not be a fan but you have to admit, you know their songs.

ABBA has since seen many revivals since their break-up in the 80s. There have been cover bands (A*Teens), movies (Muriel's Wedding) and even the ever-popular musical, Mamma Mia, to keep them in the mainstream. I have to admit that before I saw Mamma Mia, I was a casual fan - I owned ABBA Gold and had listened to some ABBA growing up thanks to my Dad (and Columbia Records) and listened to it every once in awhile - but I think after watching Mamma Mia on stage, I became a bonafide fan. When the mother in the play sang 'The Winner Takes It All,' I wanted to stand up, cry and applaud - her performance was breathtaking. Merryl Streep didn't exactly have that same effect on me in the movie version, but we'll touch on that later. But it was that performance that really opened my eyes up to things that I wasn't listening to on the ABBA Gold CD - 'Super Troupers' and 'Does Your Mamma Know.'

So you can imagine my excitement when I found out a movie was in the works. When the trailers started coming out and they announced the cast, I think I was 'ok' with everything. And then when my girlfriends and I went to go see the movie, my jaw dropped. Let's just say I DO NOT own the DVD. Pierce Brosnan - a fine looking man (I hope my husband magically looks like him at his age) - just didn't do it for me in this movie. Every time he opened his mouth to sing (and I'm sure I blogged about this already), I couldn't help but giggle. It was awful. Meryl actually pulled it off but Pierce...oh Pierce. When I heard that the movie 'Mamma Mia' had the highest box office in the UK for 2008, my first thoughts were, 'Are they tone deaf?' And then I wondered if they somehow dubbed over his voice with Robbie Williams' voice for the UK version of the movie. Who knows - I'll just leave it as the movie was a disappointment and is in no way a replacement for the stage show.

But I digress - back to the real ABBA - they were great - their fashion, although probably pretty awesome for their time, could probably use an update - but I think they would have no problem transitioning into the music of today, if they were ever to get back together. I have to give it to Benny and Bjorn - musical geniuses. Bravo!

The Calm Before the Storm

2009-01-15T14:09:00.004-04:00

This weekend begins what many DC natives anticipate as complete mayhem descending upon our nation's capital, that will last until the later part of next week - INAUGURATION WEEK! There are brunches, receptions, galas, parties all leading up to the actual inauguration day and then the actual inauguration day activities itself followed by more parties, galas and bars remaining open until 4 AM?!

Although politicos have cut their original estimates of how many people are expected to come into the DC area, the estimates are still quite large. And mixed in with those numbers....celebrities. Many celebs made it no secret who they were stomping for during the elections and now they want to be a part of history - be a part of the mayhem.

I don't disagree that this will be a historical inauguration. We'll say that this is the first 'minority' to ever hold the POTUS post, since I've seen reports and interviews where African-American and White groups will not "claim" Mr. Obama. Regardless, this is a huge stepping stone for the US of A. Still doesn't mean I want to take part in it. I've tried getting into DC when the Smithsonian was having their summer festivals or when the World Bank warrants street closures - ain't no way you're getting me in for the inauguration ceremonies. I DID try to get some Oprah tickets for her filming at the Kennedy Center to no avail (darn those stay-at-home moms that are on the internet all day!) and that was the only exception I was going to make for setting foot into DC next week - but perhaps luckily, I did not get on the ticket list and therefore have vowed to steer clear of DC.

Unfortunately, I find that I do need to drop into DC (Georgetown specifically) on Saturday, but I'm hoping my trip is an in and out type of thing. I know what I want, I know where to get it, and once I get it, I can leave and not look back until post January 24th some time. I'm figuring that since it's only the VERY beginning of inauguration week, that's probably around the time people will start flying in, get settled, visit some monuments and other what-have-yous. I *could* be safe. It would REALLY help if someone could give me some agendas/schedules to help me plan out my own personal schedule?! Can we make that happen? Maybe I'll walk past a celeb or two also doing some light shopping in the Georgetown area....you never know. That would just be a bonus.

I keep thinking about whether or not I should do it and all signs are pointing to 'yes.' The worst that can happen is that the Key Bridge is closed and I turn myself around and head home. No biggie. Of course, it could turn into a 30 minute stop-n-go situation on 'M' Street just to reach the parking garage...you never know. In that case, I would spend a little more time in Georgetown just to get my parking money's worth.

Either way - I think next week is going to be CRAZY - or 'off the chain' as one of my friends described. I tend to agree - but hopefully me and my little ones won't be part of it. Wish me luck!

The Sellout

2009-01-14T15:55:00.004-04:00

In my iPod right now: “Everyday is Like Sunday” by Morrissey

Is it just me, or does it suddenly seem like cupcakes are everywhere? Granted, cupcakes are no strangers to mainstream society. They were the perfect little treat for kids to bring in to elementary school on their birthdays. They were a staple of bake sales and cake walks. In my elementary school in Michigan, there were even random cupcake weeks, where we could purchase a homemade cupcake for a quarter to raise money for some cause (this was also a convenient way for my mom to dispense with some of that annoying Canadian change you must inevitably deal with as a Michigander). But cupcakes are now out of control! I saw no less than five bookstore displays this Christmas of cupcake-themed recipe books. I keep seeing cupcake designs on birthday cards and baby clothes.

Sure, it’s nice to know that cupcakes aren’t going anywhere, but I am a little bittersweet. I had this naive notion that cupcakes were kind of my special thing. Turns out they’re everyone’s.

I guess it’s kind of like music. In the early 90’s, I was a big fan of so-called “alternative” music. From Concrete Blonde, to Echo and the Bunnymen, to James. Whatever they were selling, I was buying. But then something happened: alternative became mainstream. Suddenly people were complaining about bands like Pearl Jam and R.E.M. “selling out.” How dare they expand their fan base? Shame on them for making money doing something they love!

Ridiculous, if you think about it. Why shouldn’t bands and cupcakes be successful? If I’m truly a fan, shouldn’t I want what’s best for them? And, of course, without mainstream success, we’d never get to have those bragging rights – those “I knew them way back when” stories.

Side note: The only person interested in these stories is the person telling them. The rest of us couldn’t care less about that person who saw Live at some general admission concert at Wabash College in the Spring of 1993, right before Throwing Copper hit it big. (Oh wait – that person was me.)

But I still can’t get used to hearing “Everyday is Like Sunday” in NFL commercials . . .

Judgement Day

2009-01-12T18:08:00.003-04:00

I got to spend my Monday morning in court. Not for anything I did...I was actually there to help out a friend...testify on his behalf towards a misdemeanor charge of NOISE. Yes, folks...it was a noise violation. And this was his third continuance of the charge.

After my friend's second time at court, he had called me to gather my recollection of the events that night and being that I was the only STONE COLD sober person amongst his guests, I was pretty much like his 'ace in the hole.' Plus the fact that I showed up to court looking way pregnant and pretty respectable...if I do say so myself. He called me to testify on his behalf back in November. So I had TWO months to think about how this thing would go down.

What did I see? Law & Order - Arlington style. I pictured being questioned about all these different things, which I will proceed to answer since I DID NOT get to use all this material stored up in my head:
Relationship to Defendant: Friend for over five years
What was I doing prior to the BBQ: I was at the Bottom Line watching Purdue beat Central Michigan
Why wasn't I drinking: I was under a Dr's care and medication
What were you doing when the police arrived: I actually didn't know the police arrived. I was in my friend's house receiving my medication, which is always done at 10PM. When I returned to the backyard, the music was turned off and I was informed the Police were out front.
And so on and so forth.

When I got there, I thought perhaps the theme from People's Court would be playing as I entered the court room. I thought I would have to put my hand on the Bible and swear that I would tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth...I even practiced my 'I wills' and 'I dos.' I settled on 'I will.'

Instead - what I got was NOTHING like what I imagined. Which means, I probably have an overactive imagination. But boy was this court UNORGANIZED. There were about 10-20 cases to be heard on the docket and as the barely audible judge started reading down the list of cases, I felt like I was sitting in one of my IT staff meetings. The attorney gave statuses on each case..."He's in traffic court right now, Your Honor" or "I believe we're still working on a plea for that, Your Honor." The first four cases went pretty much like this. If I were the Judge, I'd be miffed. I'd be like 'Get your shiot together people and don't waste my time.'

Finally my friend got called up and events leading up to the actual hearing, which took place outside of the court room when we arrived (a lot of wheeling and dealing) did not require my presence in the court room. It did not require my testimony and it did not require my swearing in. Very anti-climatic.

I knew I should have got him to subpoena me when he asked!

Back in Blog

2009-01-08T19:59:00.003-04:00

In my Ipod right now: "These Photographs" by Joshua Radin
Competing in my head: "Back in Black" by AC/DC (of course!)

It's New Year's Resolution time, right? Well, I'm not making any. Except that I will try to blog more. I think I said this last year too. Look how that turned out .... In any case, I've seen other blogs that list what the writer is listening to - and I love that idea. I love music. This way, I always get to share without a separate "I Recommend" post. And perhaps the music will give me blogging ideas. Perhaps??

My husband and I just got back from our holiday trip to Denver to visit his mom. And, as luck would have it, three of my sorority sisters (all from my class) live there - and they were ALL around to meet and catch up for awhile. It's always fun to rehash the college stories. My friend Betsy, in particular, reminded me of a poem I wrote in her honor - describing a beer goggled incident in which she stole some poor caterer's sandwich while he was innocently roasting a hog on a spit in the backyard of some fraternity house. Poor guy. But it was damn funny.

Well, I got home and managed to find my journal from the years 1992 - 1996 (yes, I recognize that this ages me - and no, I don't like it one bit). One hundred and twenty-six poems and "thoughts," folks! Most of them Smiths/Morrissey/Cure - inspired garbage (not that The Smiths or The Cure churn out garbage at all, but the sad outlook they seemed to bring out in me was not becoming). However, a few of them weren't bad, if I do say so myself. One entry, in particular, made me laugh. And since I have nothing else to blog about it, I am repeating it here, 16 years later (oh God, I'm old):

Untitled:

I think I know why my parents didn't spoil me when I was a child. I wanted all of these toys, and sometimes when I got them, they weren't as neat as the commercials said, and then I never played with them and wouldn't let my friends either. But I liked my Barbie a lot because I only had one - the other ones I had that kind of looked like Barbie were the hollow drugstore kind. But if I had been given as many Barbies as I'd wanted, I probably would have been careless with them, like how my one friend Christine was, because she had so many Barbies and threw them all in a big white bucket with no clothes on. I feel good, too, because deep down I know that my Barbie had it better. It's a good thing I wasn't spoiled like Christine, because if I had been, I'd probably treat people like she treated her Barbies.

When You're Not a Parent at a Kids' Show

2009-01-07T10:11:00.003-04:00

Over the weekend, my sister and I took my nephews (ages 7 and 4) to a kids' show at the Kennedy Center. It was a puppet group that presented the books 'Runaway Bunny' and 'Goodnight Moon' in life-size puppet format. You could see the puppet handlers and the props and characters were all sizable. It was definitely interesting although I'm not sure how kids or parents had a chance to enjoy any of it because it was a "non-shushing" show.

So first question here is how old/young do you have to be to attend one of these shows? I'm not as familiar with 'Runaway Bunny' but for 'Goodnight Moon,' I remember reading that to my nephews when they were around two. Two years old, in my opinion, is way to young to be in a large theatre to watch this show....they can't sit still, their attention span is minimal to non-existent, etc. That didn't stop some parents from being their two year olds to the show. But a couple of things to keep in mind when bringing a child that young to a stage show....is your child afraid of the dark? The second the lights went down, one girl had to be taken out for excessive screaming. Fortunately, her father knew immediately that she couldn't stay. Unfortunately, she was seated near the front so the whole audience had to hear her screaming and try to focus on the puppeteers for a good two minutes.

How do they make a short story into a drawn out puppet show? Lots of dead air. I guess it's supposed to be more visually stimulating but for me, it was complete torture. I think part of it was the fact that I'm not a parent yet so my patience hasn't grown to an infinite level to handle constant kid noises. Secondly, I know it only takes me less than five minutes to read 'Goodnight Moon' at a steady pace (maybe even less than that). The fact that I sat there for 30 minutes waiting for the story to get over with amazes me. 'Runaway Bunny' is a longer story but it still wouldn't take more than 10 minutes to read the story from cover to cover. By the end of both shows (no intermission, sadly), I thought I had been there for four hours. In reality, it had only been 60 minutes. Sigh.

So be careful if you're not a parent going to a kids' show. On the bright side, I did get to spend quality time with my nephews and they both enjoyed the show - they both got introduced to a new book 'Runaway Bunny,' and that's always good.
If you are a parent, I would recommend the show - but only if you know that your kids will be well-behaved (which for the most part, 75% of the kids were) and they're not afraid of the dark.

New Year's Resolutions: Broken Promises and Unfulfilled Goals

2009-01-02T10:37:00.002-04:00

Happy New Year, Everyone!
I have learned long ago that there's really no point in having New Year's Resolutions. If I do have to talk about resolutions, it's usually in a joking manner and it's usually some short term goal - try and help out more around the house or tell my husband 'I love him' more often. Well I do the latter all the time already so not really a resolution.

Back in the day, I had the same lofty resolutions that many people in the world have - hit the gym more, lose weight, eat healthier, shop less, etc. I don't think I could eat any healthier now if I tried and although I know I do have to hit the gym again, it's not in an attempt to lose weight but keep myself in shape to deliver these little Niblets in about 4-5 months. When I did set those 'lose weight' goals for myself, back in the day, I did lose weight, only to gain some of it back later in the year or later the next year. I think after the fourth time of doing this, I figured, 'What's the point?!'

Therefore, for 2009, I do not have any resolutions to speak of. I do have personal goals I'd like to meet which is to deliver two healthy, happy babies and to get back to my pre-pregnancy body, and maybe even a BETTER body (like that of a Victoria's Secret model - lofty goals, remember?!).

I'm looking forward to the year ahead - we're doubling our family and it's something we've been waiting for for quite a long time - so I'm looking forward to the big change that is about to take place. I'm looking forward to finally meeting these kids that are 'baking' in my belly and being able to hold, touch and love them in person.

Hope you all have a wonderful 2009!

What's This Guy's Secret?!?!?!

2008-12-18T12:53:00.005-04:00

The guy to the left is Drew Peterson. No relation to the other scum bag, Scott Peterson, locked up in CA.
If you're not family with Drew Peterson, he is currently under investigation for the homicide of wife #3 and under suspicion for his missing wife #4.
He has been a staple in the US news for the first half of 2008. Things have died down with him, while he is under investigation but now he's back in the news - with bells on. Why? Cause he's engaged to be married to wife #5!
So when I read the headlines that he was engaged again, a few things ran through my head:
1) Are you kidding me?
2) Is that legal? I mean I don't believe his fourth wife has ever been found but is still considered 'missing.'
3) Does this woman (his fiance) have a death wish?
4) Have you seen the guy? He's not wealthy, he's not good looking....how is he finding all this action? (Must be his mojo.)
5) What is his secret? How is a man like that married four times already and has already got wife #5 waiting in the wings?!

My first instinct is that he MUST be drugging these women into marrying him. Like I said, 'Have you seen this guy?'
I'm sure these women are not being drugged - I have to settle myself to the fact that they must just be dumb. Really dumb.

A coworker and I were having a conversation about this....who in their right mind would want to "be with" a person who is under legal suspicion. To take it one step further, who would want to "be with" a person locked up for life? The latter is about Scott Peterson - the man convicted of killing his wife and their unborn child. He's in prison and he's got 120+ lady pen pals. I'm sure writing all 120+ helps pass the time behind bars but what is with these women? What are their deals? Do they have such LOW self esteem that the only way they could possibly be in a relationship is with someone behind bars - where their "love interest" remains captive? Are they hoping that by being with a convicted killer, or even a person under suspicion, it might save them a trip to a reality game show in order to get their 15 minutes of fame?

Part of me also wondered if some of these women thought they could actually 'save' these men in some way. Like the fiance to Drew Peterson - maybe she feels she could save him and his reputation by becoming wife #5 and showing the world that she can survive....they can get married and divorced and come out it of unscathed. Maybe she'll even outlive him...who knows.

The point is - something crazy is going on here and it does not smell kosher!

Your Baby Smells....

2008-12-16T11:08:00.003-04:00

It might seem like all my recent postings have been about babies and pregnancies (minus my Jetson-themed post), but I feel like this post would have been a necessity had I not been pregnant.

When I think of babies, I think of smooth skin, bald heads, and baby powder smells. When I was walking through the grocery store yesterday and passed a 1.5 year old with his Dad, I smelled poop. It was bad. I almost felt like turning around and saying 'Hey, I think it's time for a diaper change.' It was probably the first time in my pregnancy, thus far, that I felt the gag reflexes going off.

And then as I passed them and tried to get away from the source of the smell, I thought to myself, 'Oh my gosh - that could be me in a year!' And then I said a little prayer that I would never be THAT parent that just walked around the store, ho-humming like nothing was up. The Dad didn't seem to be in any great rush to get the grocery shopping done so they could change the poopie diaper. Me? I would like to think that at the first whiff of "danger," I would be parking my cart to the side and making a bee-line to the ladies' room to make my baby 'fresh' again.

It has actually happened on one occasion...with my nephew. He was about 2-3 years old and I had to make a quick trip to Target. And since this was only going to be a 30 minute voyage, I didn't bother taking the diaper bag with me. I figured he was 'older' and what could possibly happen in 30 minutes?! Apparently, a lot. We arrived at the Target and I went directly to the aisle I needed to be in. As I was making my selection, my nephew had marked his territory in the aisle by standing in one spot and proceeding to turn bright red. You see, he was turning red because he was pushing. Pushing what? Certainly not daisies. Back in the day, this is how my nephew would conduct his poop sessions - he would be playing, playing, playing and then freeze and his cheeks would puff out and his face would turn beet red. One time he even grabbed onto my husband's knees for support.

I immediately knew what was going on - I immediately panicked. Instead of proceeding to the checkout and just lugging this now 'smelly kid' around the store with me or even going to buy diapers and wipes to change him on the spot, I put my stuff back, went to the car and drove home. I felt bad that I didn't have his diaper bag with me and that was a lesson learned - never leave without a diaper bag when traveling with ANY child.

So since I've had it happen to me in the past and now that I know I will have it happen to me in the future, I feel somewhat secure in knowing that I will do my very best not to have the smelliest kid around.

"The Suite"

2008-12-10T17:29:00.001-04:00

While there are plenty of contrary opinions out there around the world, as an American, I feel that I have many reasons to be proud of this country. Of course it's not perfect; I'd even go so far as to guess that no country is. Part of what makes a country great is the refusal to accept complacency - to strive for better. One of the areas in which I think that the U.S. generally gets it right is its laws regarding access for the disabled. Ramps, elevators, parking spaces . . . we've got them. As we should.

But American women don't seem to agree about the proper etiquette concerning one of our accommodations for the disabled, a little place my friend Colleen likes to call "The Suite." The Suite is your standard disabled-friendly bathroom stall, the one that is extra roomy, has a bar along the wall, and sometimes even has its own private sink (the real score). How do I know about all of these features? Because I have visited the Suite many times. (I have even visited the Johnny-on-the-Spot Suite, which is certainly not ideal, but still better than the alternative.)

Sometimes, however, I hear other women talk about the Suite like it's off-limits to the fully-abled - at all times. Do they really believe this? And if so, is it true? Maybe I am a bad person for taking advantage of the extra benefits the Suite has to offer. But then, I am not sure I am in the wrong here. If there were someone with a disability standing behind me in line for the restroom and the Suite suddenly became available, of course, OF COURSE, I'd allow said person to move in front of me and use the Suite. But in general, it's not like a parking space. I'm not planning to occupy the Suite all day. And sometimes, the Suite is the only one available.

When you've gotta go, you've gotta go.

When Will We Reach 'Jetson' Status?

2008-12-10T11:53:00.006-04:00

Back in the 80s, one of my favorite cartoons was 'The Jetsons.' In fact, it's still one of my favorites. When I am able to catch it on the Cartoon Network, which is not often, I do enjoy watching and feeling nostalgic. Of course watching it as a six to eight year old, I was always looking forward to a future of flying cars, instant food and robot maids named 'Rosie.'

Fast forward to 2008 and I sit here wondering - when will we reach the Jetsons' lifestyle? You would think with all the automobile hub-bub going on, this would be the PERFECT time to look ahead and invest in flying (fuel efficient) cars. I heard that Neiman Marcus had one for kids during the holidays - in looking at their site now, I didn't see it offered this year. But that's one step closer, right?

But aside from flying cars, how about machines that spit out full meals? I love how Jane Jetson would always stress about getting dinner ready and with a few presses of some buttons, the table was set and a full course meal was presented in under 10 seconds. And just as quickly, all the dishes were cleared and the kitchen was spotless.

Why can't we have 'Rosies' that go around the house, talking with a New York accent, and whipping out a belly vaccuum at the drop of a crumb...all while playing spaceball with 'Roy Boy.' She 'bing bings' through the house, makes smart comments but never complains...and she's your friend as well as your helper....and all at the price of a can of oil every so often (to keep her lubed).

I find at night, I am in real need of the conveyor belt shower/clothes changer where I just start at one end, get my body washed, hair washed, teeth brushed and changed into my pajamas, like a human carwash - all without moving and all within minutes. That would save me from being fully conscious when getting ready for bed.

Ahh - the future. To live like the Jetsons. Forget about jetting off to exotic locales in Africa or Europe. How about going to the burger joint on Mars with your talking dog, Astro?!

My First VS Show

2008-12-04T16:07:00.002-04:00

So I watched the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show last night...for the first time. Apparently the show has been going on for 10-11 years but I think it's only been televised within the last five years. Upon hearing that I was watching the show, my sister exclaimed, 'Why are you torturing yourself?!'

Torturing myself? I don't think it's torture. Sure those ladies all have kick ass bodies, perfect hair, beautiful faces, blah, blah, blah....and one of them just had a baby like three months ago...unreal.

But why now? Why did I decide to tune in now when I'm lying in my bed like a beached whale with two babies baking in my tummy? Who knows. Most likely in part because I actually REMEMBERED this time and another part curiosity. How do perfect women look in sexy lingerie....the answer? Perfect, of course. I also wanted to see what celebs actually attended the show....they showed Jason Lewis, P.Diddy, George Hamilton....in other words, pervs. (just kidding).

So what did I get out of watching the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show?

I got that I won't be wearing ANYTHING that they modeled in the next year.
I learned that there are definitely some VS models' bodies I would like to strive for, post-pregnancy of course.
I decided that I would like to grow my hair long again because I just can't get used to my short hair anymore (I donated my hair in October to Pantene Beautiful Lengths to benefit cancer patients in need of wigs).
And finally - how realistic would it be for me to grow 3-5 more inches in the next two years so I can take part in the Victoria's Secret Runway show in 2010? (I think I know the answer to that already)

Maternity Clothes...Really?!

2008-12-02T12:13:00.003-04:00

So back on my pregnancy train, because I'm having twins, I have been busting out a little earlier than usual. I'm told this is perfectly normal when having twins. I had to buy new bras at nine weeks because I already went up a whole cup size (thanks Nordstrom Lady!) and she gave me some great advice....your boobs are going to keep getting bigger as the pregnancy moves on so don't spend lots of money on bras. Thankfully, Nordstrom was having their half-yearly sale so I was able to get four new bras for under $20 each, including a Natori! And then I rounded out the four to make it a week's supply of bigger bras with Gap Body bras for $10-$15 each (thank you sales!).

But bras are not my problem. I have had to face the fact that my body no longer fits into my size 8s. This has taken a lot to overcome...but thankfully I have some size 10s in the closet for those 'feeling big' days. Those are now becoming a bit snug and I was able to go to JCrew and purchase two size 12 slacks for $15 each (I heart sales!). I was given good advice here as well - you'll need those bigger sizes on your way down, post pregnancy, so you might as well purchase some bigger size clothing that aren't maternity. Good advice.

Over the holiday weekend, I broke down and went with my sister to Gap Maternity and Old Navy Maternity....I managed to purchase two sweaters from Gap Maternity - were they necessarily maternity sweaters? Not really - they didn't look any different than regular sweaters except that they covered up my butt and were longer, presumably to hide belly and maternity bands. But in looking at the other stuff that they had, I just could not get excited about maternity clothes. Quite frankly, if you're not buying 'top of the line' maternity clothes (aka - Nordstrom Maternity, Pea in the Pod), I think they can be quite ugly.

Then what am I going to do when I start approaching 'double wide' status during my pregnancy? I'm going to try and get deals on the good maternity clothes and hopefully sell them after i'm done with them so I can get some return on my investment.

I just find maternity clothes very repetitive - you see one maternity sweater with the rope band tied in a bow at the empire waist, you've seen them all. I'm always open to suggestions of where I can find good maternity clothes. I just feel like I've gone from fashion forward to fashion flunk.

This Is So Exhausting!

2008-12-01T15:22:00.003-04:00

Just reading Amanda's last post made me tired - not because it was boring but because this is how my life has been for the past three months - EXHAUSTING. Cause when the Sandman comes a knockin', I go willingly. The reason for all the exhaustion is because I, too, am pregnant and I am just finishing up my first trimester. I'm still waiting for that moment in the second trimester that many books and people talk about - the moment where you get this burst of energy and you're no longer tired...at least not until you hit your third trimester.

My weekends have been dictated by my need for sleep. A normal 'pregnant' Saturday/Sunday will find me waking up at 7AM, watching TV for about 1 - 1.5 hours and then back in bed for another two hours before I can venture out of the house. And even then it's a struggle. But whatever I manage to do outside of the house, I will eventually need to head home in the afternoon for at least another two hour nap. And then I go about my business around dinner time and I'm in bed and asleep before 10PM. It's sad really - because I used to be so energetic. Now, I can barely get my ass out of bed to do anything. Not to mention the fact that I've been to the gym THREE times in the last three months. I'm hoping that this week will get me back into the gym regularly (three-four times a week) and that will slowly boost up my energy levels....but again, getting me out of the house after returning from work will be a chore within itself!

I also manage to have internal debates with myself overnight - as in, when I have to get up to go to the bathroom. Some nights I get up once, other nights I get up twice. But before I manage to get up, I think I argue with myself for at least five minutes before I lose the battle and get up to go to the bathroom. The winning argument is always, 'This only prepares you for overnight baby feedings.' I begrudgingly get out of bed (cause storing all that waste can't be good for the babies) and promptly get back to sleep. This is how bad my exhaustion has gotten - actually thinking that I could 'hold it in' so I don't have to get out of bed. Where are those catheters when you need them?! I was even informed by 'experienced' Moms that in my third trimester, I might experience 'leakage' before I can hit the bathroom. My response? Ewww and then a mental note to maybe invest in some Depends.

Although I'm thoroughly exhausted, I actually can't complain very much because I did get away with no morning sickness, no vomiting, no nausea and no food aversions. I was one of the lucky ones in that regard - if my worst symptom is exhaustion and the remedy is to sleep, I doubt I would get much pity.

Time for a nap!

Fooling Ourselves

2008-11-27T01:53:00.002-04:00

Hey everyone! It's officially turkey day on the East Coast (here in Del Rio, we're still shy approximately five minutes)! I could blog about how I spent all day making pies, but I won't. It was pretty anticlimactic (although, I confess that I did have a little taste of my friend Brenda's famous pumpkin bars just to make sure I didn't screw them up (I didn't - and yum!)). Instead, I thought of the perfect blog topic the other night: why do we fool ourselves?

I'm sure we're all guilty of the occasional white lie every now and then. (Frankly, I don't think I could be friends with someone who didn't engage in this practice once in awhile. It's just human nature and a useful resource for sparing feelings.) But what I really don't get is when we try to trick ourselves into believing something. Don't we know ourselves well enough by this point in life? How could we fall for such a thing?

A simple example of this is my constant need to rationalize what I eat. Oh, food regrets - those are the worst. So, in an effort to assuage the guilt I feel after gorging on some snack or sweet, I'll often try to convince myself that I didn't have a full serving or that it didn't have any calories as the package says because it's Sunday or something. Do I buy these ridiculous excuses? No, not really. But I continue to do it, time and time again.

The ultimate attempt to fool myself, though, is when I insist that I am not, I am NOT falling asleep. Here's what I mean: Often, when I'm snuggled up on the couch at night watching the boob tube, I'll start to doze off. But I'm not willing to throw in the towel yet. Oh no. I will finish, MUST finish whatever pointless thing I'm watching. So here's my genius plan: I will simply rest my eyes for a little while, but not to worry - I will still be able to follow the story, sporting event, what-have-you, by LISTENING.

Has this strategy ever worked? Nope. Not even once. Not when my brother and I stayed up late while we were in high school watching "Zapped Again" (which Scott Baio was evidently too good for) on one of the cheap local cable channels. Not during my first three attempts at getting all of the way through the movie "Fletch" (great movie, but it was like some kind of weird curse - sometime after Fletch told them to "put it on the Underhill's tab," the sandman would pay me a visit). Not when I watched my Ti-Fauxed episode of "Samantha Who?" from the other night. (I would start the episode, fall asleep about five minutes in, wake up at some point after the credits and, INCREDIBLY, try to get through it again - with the same master plan.)

The point? I'm not fooling anyone. But you can't blame me for trying.

Yaye For Fat Pants!!!!

2008-11-20T17:21:00.002-04:00

All women have their fat days - it may be more frequent than bad hair days, but I know that there would always be a week in every month where I just felt FAT.

I knew a lot of it was psychological and it was just prepping me for my monthly visitor - but I still didn't like it. And it was during these days that the baggy shirts came out and the best bottoms were drawstring and loose bottoms.

I've been having a lot of fat days lately - of course every time I voice this aloud, I usually get an annoyed response "You're not fat, you're pregnant!" This is true....but it doesn't prevent me from feeling like a two-ton heffer. The sad part is that I'm not even done with my first trimester (one week left) but the reason for the rapid growth in my girth is due to, so I'm told, is that I'm having twins. And everything seems to speed up when you're having twins.

I've been trying to hold off buying maternity clothes - I really don't need them - sweaters have been really helpful during this time to hide everything - but it's the bottoms that have been the struggle. I already purchased a belly band and I told my fellow cupcake, Amanda, that wearing jeans with the belly band is like HEAVEN - I'm so much more comfortable and don't feel like I'm "suffocating" the babies. And I look forward to going home in the evenings because I jump out of my work clothes and get into my sweats - pronto.

Yesterday, as I was getting ready for work, and had already resigned myself to the fact that I would no longer be wearing any size 8s, I was really surprised when one of my size 8 pants actually fit and didn't "suffocate" my tummy. I was very excited.....until I went to go sit in the car and I hear this 'POP.' I checked the back of my pants really quick - no hole. I checked my winter coat - no hole or rips.....I sat in the car for about a NY minute before I decided to go inside and verify with a mirror that my pants didn't rip. They did not.

I got to work and was walking to my office when I felt silky fabric rubbing against my backside...and then it occurred to me....I split my lining! And sure enough, a trip to the ladies' room confirmed it. Total bummer. Size 8s are now officially a size of my past - thank goodness I have size 10 work pants from my feeling-fat days.

I was excited this morning when I went into my dressing room and discovered that not only did I have "fat pants" for work - I had a pair of "fat jeans" because not surprisingly, I was down to like 1.5 jeans that fit me comfortably....however now that they've been freshly washed, we could be down to zero.....in which these fat jeans will come in very handy!

So yaye for fat pants because without them, I would be wishing that I could show up to work in sweats or drawstring pants...which wouldn't be a bad thing but it wouldn't be very professional.

Turkey Time...Not So Excellent

2008-11-18T11:57:00.003-04:00

It's that time of year - Thanksgiving. It's during this time that I look forward to the time off of work that I get - first Thanksgiving, then Christmas soon after.
What I don't look forward to is traveling to families and being out of the comforts of my own home.

For the past 32 years, I have managed to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday without ever having to cook a turkey. There was a couple of years ago that my husband and I decided to stay in town for Thanksgiving so I invited a few other stragglers to come over for Thanksgiving dinner and I ordered a roasted turkey from Wegmans - my effort was just to reheat for 1.5 hours.

Every year, the Sunday prior to Thanksgiving, we usually have a get together amongst our close friends, to celebrate the upcoming holiday. It is a potluck where everyone attending brings a festive dish and the hosts supply the bird. This is the first year that we're hosting the event. Our previous hosts have moved out to California so my husband and I stepped up to the plate to host the event this year. It's always a good time and a good excuse to bring everyone together before the hectic holiday season.

I thought I could get away with pre-ordering the turkey from Wegmans again and just reheat (and perhaps pass it off as my own)....but after meeting with the catering department and seeing that they only offered ONE size of bird that could not feed the 20+ guests we're expecting (and ordering two was not an option), it has come down to me cooking the turkey, myself, from scratch.

I started panicking. I brought my Betty Crocker cookbook to work yesterday but ultimately didn't have time to sift through for recipes. I did get about 10 mins to look online for recipes and I found a whole Turkey prep page with LOADS of recipes...I figured I would try a garlic and herb one - who doesn't like garlic and herb. I think my panic stems from long-ago Thanksgivings where my Mom would prepare the turkey and it seemed like it took a whole day to get it done. I also did not have a great fondness for turkey due to the dry-ness that resulted from my Mom's bird - then again, I don't really recall her basting the bird either. The recipes that I encountered only seem to take 3-4 hours before the turkey is done - no sweat! So now I'm actually not as frightened about making a turkey as I was before.

It will still be nerve wracking - having to cook a whole turkey myself for 20+ guests - but if I can do this, then that's just one more cooking accomplishment to put under my belt - turkey...check.

The gravy will come separately - that has been pre-ordered, thank goodness....I'm trying to take baby steps here.

Who Says Nothing Happens in Del Rio?

2008-11-18T11:39:00.005-04:00

Okay, I admit it. I've said that. Many times. When one of the approximately two decent restaurants in town is dead at prime time on a Saturday night, this necessarily causes me to question what on earth people are doing in Del Rio. (Incidentally, Chili's is always hopping; no, I do not consider that one of the select two, although, relative to its competition from iHop to Pizza Hut, it's certainly passable.)

I've voiced my concern several times to my friends in far sexier places (New York, D.C., Dallas, Austin), and I have to tell you - I love my friends. In times of waning excitement, it's nice to know that my peeps are looking out for me. Case in point: I received a flood of e-mails from my preferentially-located pals yesterday with the following (or a very similar) headline:

‘Bachelor’ winner arrested for unruliness
Mary Delgado was arrested after refusing to leave a Texas bar

http://www.austin360.com/news/content/shared-gen/ap/TV/People_Bachelor_Winner_Arrest.html

"Where could this Texas bar be?" I hear you ask. Well, that's the interesting part. Yes, you can probably gather from the context that, indeed, baby-obsessed Bachelor Bob runner-up and Bachelor Byron winner Mary Delgado was arrested for causing a ruckus at some establishment in Del Rio. Of course, the articles I reviewed fail to mention which bar, which I think is a little fishy. I need to know these things, as I'm clearly missing all of the action in this town. If I had to guess, I would say it was probably the bar in the lakeside "resort" purportedly owned by Byron Velvick, the famed pro bass fisherman (note: I use the term "resort" very loosely). Maybe they got into some kind of heated argument over the lack of spice in the queso.

But there you have it. I guess I have to go eat my words now.

When Is It Time...To Ash Out?

2008-11-12T11:54:00.003-04:00

I'm not a smoker - in fact, since I was little, I've been told I am somewhat allergic to smoke. My Dad use to smoke a pipe and every year, around winter, without fail, I would get strep throat or some coughing illness from all the smoke that was inhaled. Finally my Dad quit, for my health, cold turkey.
Now with DC and other big cities banning indoor smoking in bars, I have to say, it's nice to be able to go out and not worry about going home at the end of the night smelling like an ash tray.

But a question I have out there for the smokers - when is it time to ash or ash out your cigarette?
The reason why I ask is because I was driving alongside this woman last night, in rush hour traffic...we were side-by-side for awhile since we weren't moving very fast, but she had her window down and she was smoking a cigarette. When I first took notice of her (I actually had to turn the air flow into internal air flow cause I could smell her smoke), she had a good bit of ash on the tip of her cigarette. As we kept driving, that ash margin got bigger and bigger - to the point that when I left her, it started to curve. I kept wondering when she was going to ash out her cigarette - I was actually worried that if she didn't soon, the ashes might fall into her car. I also wondered if it's happened to her before.

Well - I hope she eventually ashed without getting any in her car. Because if she kept going the way she was going, she was going to look like she was puffing on a candy cane soon!

Information That Would Have Been Nice To Know . . . Yesterday

2008-11-11T18:32:00.002-04:00

Cat's officially out of the bag. I've got a bun in the oven. I'm a first timer, so it's super exciting for me (even more so for my husband who got all choked up when he saw the swag I got at an "OB Orientation" class at the Air Force Base - I thought that dads couldn't care less about burp cloths and onesies - evidently, I was wrong). So, as a first timer, I immediately went out and bought the latest "What to Expect When You're Expecting" (which, thankfully, no longer features the picture of that matronly lady in a rocking chair on the cover), and a few very generous friends sent me some other helpful books. So rock on - I was equipped with all of the information needed to navigate my nine month journey. Right? Wrong.

Now, for those of you mothers out there, you remember the food aversions and cravings. Fortunately for me, I didn't have any true morning sickness, but the very thought of certain foods made me want to ralph (case in point: broccoli - still can't do it). Naturally, this led me to crave some very tame foods, a sharp contrast to my eclectic tastes in food. And yet, I couldn't just eat bread every day. The baby needed some protein. So guess what I turned to? Cold cuts.

But oh wait? After dining on tasty turkey and club sandwiches for a good three weeks (but not every day), a friend tells me that she was told NOT to eat cold cuts. Did I see this in any of the pregnancy books I read? Nope. But all it took was one google search, and I confirmed my fear. Deli meats are off limits unless you first heat them to steaming in a microwave (and yeah - no thanks). So deli meats are out. That might have been nice to know . . .

So I was sitting in the waiting room this afternoon for my latest doctor visit, and I decided to peruse one of the mom-to-be magazines. There was this section with letters from readers about the things they did before they knew they weren't supposed to. One woman wrote about her daily deli sandwiches, and I thought to myself, "Wow, that stinks - every day? At least my slip only happened a few times a month." And then I kept reading until I read, "I was craving Greek salads . . ." Oh no! I have been jonesing for Greek salads for three weeks now, and I have been making them at home, complete with feta cheese. Yup, feta is a no-no.

As Adam Sandler would say, that is information that would have been nice to know YESTERDAY!

Thankfully, the baby seems to be all right with these minor slip-ups, as he gave me a little high five wave during my ultrasound today.

Declaring It's the Worst Day Ever...at 7 AM.

2008-11-06T09:32:00.004-04:00

I am currently in Atlanta for some business - probably my last business trip of the year. I was looking forward to coming down here for it's warmer climates...but unfortunately, I was looking forward to it more when I thought I was coming down with a co-worker. Instead, I'm by my lonesome....and this is probably when my brain decided to rebel.

When I book business travel, it's usually never more than seven days prior to day of travel. My manager is very swamped with all kinds of work and she's actually at another locale doing the same thing I'm doing - just with different people. So I just always wait for her to give me the word that it's time to book travel. So I got the word last Thursday and proceeded to book my air, hotel and rental car. When I travel by myself, I usually leave from Reagan-National Airport - it's just easier for me since I leave directly from home. However, when I travel with my co-worker, I usually travel out of Dulles International because it's closer for them and I don't really mind. The truth is, I think my home is smack dab between the two airports. I just prefer Reagan.

So after booking my travel arrangements last Thursday, I printed out the itinerary and kind of set it aside until the following Tuesday when I packed it in my laptop bag so I would have it with me during my travels. I had my grand plan in mind already - wake up at 6:00 am, out of the house by 6:30 am and at the airport by 7. I had an 8:40 am flight.

Due to Daylight Savings Time and the fact that sleep seems to escape me in the early morning, I ended up waking up at 5:30am and futzing around in the kitchen until 6:15am before I made it out the garage. I still ended up at the airport before 7am and was on the parking lot bus by 7am, on my way to the terminal. It was at this time that I decided to pull out my itinerary to double check the airline (United) - and this is when I saw those three dreaded codes...IAD, IAD, IAD. That code = Dulles International.

I looked up at the clock on the bus - 7:00 am. I called the company travel agency - she wanted me to re-book a whole new flight and cost my group MORE money (yeah, no thanks)....before I hung up I said, 'I will find my way to Dulles.'

I got off at the first stop and proceeded down to ground transportation. Thankfully there was someone down there to help me - it was a Super Shuttle lady and she said that one of their shuttles just left for Dulles. I told her my flight time and she said that I would be cutting it close....NO DUH! But she called back the shuttle and the driver was sympathetic to my cause - trying to calm me down throughout the ride. It wasn't like I was in hysterics but he must've seen the worry in my face. He kept telling me that we would get there before 8 am. I kept wanting to yell at him to 'step on it.' It was 7:15 am.

True to his word, the driver got me to my terminal by 7:50am. Amazing for DC rush-hour traffic. I was a little peeved when we were on the Dulles Access Road (which is a direct road to the airport with only airport traffic) and he was looking at text messages on his cell phone - again I wanted to yell, 'Don't even THINK about replying!' I've seen Super Shuttles overturned on the Dulles Access Road. Okay - only one, but still, one time is all it takes.

I paid him in cash (not company policy but paying by corporate card would've really delayed me and the company is just going to have to take that as my reason) and ran into the United terminal. Luckily it wasn't busy and there was a greeter right in front of me. I asked her point blank, "My flight is at 8:40am. Am I too late? Can I still check in?" She assured me I still could at one of those kiosks...but when I went to check in and check my bag, forget it - it went downhill from there. I had to use one of those phones that you'd thought you'd never have to use to talk to a United representative. Basically, she told me I was too late - but she asked if I could bring my bag with me. I said I could (although I loathed the idea because I didn't pack my 'liquids' separately) and she said I could just check in with no bags and proceed to the gate.

THANKFULLY, the security lines at Dulles, which are NOTORIOUS for being long and unruly were not. God was working FOR me! I was able to fly through security, take out all my liquids and just throw them in the bin (there were no clear baggies available) and go on through. Meanwhile, I'm doing this all in heels. NEVERMIND the fact that my baggage was now a carry on -I just never thought to stop and throw on my flats to make the whole 'running to my gate' any easier. I think I was just trying to make my gate.

I did get to my gate - at approximately 8:25am. Not too shabby. It was an express jet so I had to walk down the tunnel, down a flight of 'slippery' stairs, all with my laptop bag, purse and suitcase. NEVERMIND that there were like five males all standing there watching to see if I'd fall down the stairs and break my neck- not a one offered to help me with my bags - can you believe that? That kind of ticked me off. Anyways, I finally get on the plane and I realize that I am sweating...like I just ran half a marathon...which I basically did...in heels. Once the pilot turned on the engine, my air vent was on full blast to try and dry the sweat coming down my face. Thank goodness the guy sitting next to me was sleeping. I'm sure I would've grossed him out.

So I made it to Atlanta on my regularly scheduled flight. I worked the rest of the day (okay, I left at 4:30pm cause I was pooped) without an issue. I'm staying til Friday - when I will take my regularly scheduled flight back to Dulles and THEN figure out how I'm going to go retrieve my car from Reagan.

My brain is mush.

It's a Speed Bump, Not a Monster

2008-11-04T10:05:00.002-04:00

I love driving and being out on the road...but sometimes, before you can get out on that open road, you have to get out of the parking lot. And these days, in order to protect other drivers and pedestrians, you come across lots of speed bumps.

Speed bumps come in all sizes, but pretty much the same shape - a smallish hill of concrete or plastic that makes a driver slow down to cross the bump. No matter what kind of speed bump you encounter, everyone crosses it differently.

I personally like to go over it rather quickly - especially in my SUV. I mean it's not going to damage anything underneath my car since we're already high off the ground, and the quicker I can get over it, the quicker it will be over. Boom, Boom - and done. If I'm in the sedan, I would take the speed bump a little slower but I certainly wouldn't snail my way over it - because I know I'm still high enough off the ground that the speed bump wouldn't scrape the underside of my car.

Routinely, when coming in and out of work, I have to go over at least two speed bumps each way. Yesterday, while leaving work, I was following two cars that were just your normal, everyday sedans. the car in the front came to a COMPLETE halt in front of the speed bump before snailing it's way over. And then they would speed along the 1/8th of a mile it took to get to the next speed bump - where they would proceed to come to a complete halt. The car in front of me didn't come to a complete halt but she sure did like to brake through the whole ordeal. It was so frustrating - I wanted to roll down my window and yell, 'It's a bump, not a monster!'

But these are just some of the worst case speed bump drivers. I've seen many cars try to avoid a full bump drive over by swerving to the far right of the road (where the bump does not extend) so that their passenger-side wheels don't have to go over the bump - but only their driver side wheels have to endure. In the long run, doesn't that make your car quite unbalanced? And besides, you're not saving your passengers any grief by not letting that side of the car go over the speed bump.

I think the worst is when you have to go over a bump and instead of having front and back wheels go over it two at a time, you have to pretty much go over the bump one wheel at a time. That happens to me when I go to a particular little mall in my neighborhood. The way I go into the parking lot has me at a angle where I can't get over the bump two-by-two....it's one, after the other, after the other...you get my picture. And the whole car just ends up rocking side to side.

But just take note, the next time you approach a speed bump - how do you approach it? If you're not a corvette or a camaro or some other low lying car, I don't expect a full stop to be made before you proceed...think about it....that bump isn't going to come up and get you!

Where Do They Come From, Where Do They Go?

2008-10-30T08:48:00.004-04:00

Last night saw another world championship complete with the Philadelphia Phillies winning the 2008 World Series. I could care less about the Phillies - but what has always fascinated me, growing up, is how fast a championship team gets their championship gear after their win. This applies to any of the championships - the Superbowl, the Stanley Cup, the NBA (what is their championship called?) and the World Series being the major of the championships.

I remember growing up, watching championship games and being AMAZED at how quickly the winning players had their 'Championship' hats on right after the game. I was always wondering, 'How did they know that this team was going to win?' Thus was the mind of a very, young girl. But now I know better - they make championship gear for both teams - that's what makes it so easily accessible to the general public as well.

After figuring that piece out, the question then became, what happens to the losing team's championship accessories and apparel? I mean, you have to think that they had to make equal amounts for both teams - so you have enough to cover the team and all it's staff, and stuff that's ready to go on sale to the general public as early as the following day - what happens to all that stuff?

Well apparently, they get donated to third world countries. That's nice to know - at least it isn't a big waste and someone is getting some use out of the stuff - but just think, if you're ever on a trip for Unicef in Africa or touring the underdeveloped nations of South America, you just might run into natives that believe that the Patriots won the 2007 Superbowl...and you'll have to stop and think about it and say, 'Hmmm - I could've sworn the Giants won that game.'

Night of the Living Puffy

2008-10-26T19:28:00.003-04:00

Apparently, Halloween is the second most decorated holiday (behind Christmas, of course). I didn't really notice this in D.C., probably because most of us in our compact townhouses simply didn't have the kind of yard that easily accommodates a faux grave yard or a collection of creepy scarecrows. That kind of decorating takes space.

In my new town of Del Rio, Texas, however, I've seen several houses that seem to take this idea of Halloween decorating seriously. Tombstones, cobwebs, skeletons, spiders, the works. But you know what else has made a rock star showing this year? Halloween-themed puffies.

For those of you not familiar with this technical term, "puffies" are those inflatable yard characters that became popular around Christmas a number of years ago. They started with oversized Santas and Frosties and escalated to rotating snow globes. "Puffies" is the term of endearment given to these characters by my mom, who became a little violent as we passed by a particularly tacky row of houses on the way back from my brother's house one Christmas eve and blurted out, "I can't stand those puffies!!"

I do see her point. The kinds of Christmas decorations I like are the more traditional ones: pretty wreaths and lights on the trees, maybe a few ribbons here and there - not a scene that looks straight out of a North Pole-themed episode of "SpongeBob SquarePants." The worst of the lot, in my opinion, is the Christmas tree puffy, especially in my hometown - in MICHIGAN - where there are evergreens-a-plenty. Really? It never occurred to these people to just string a few lights on the pine trees already in their front yards?

I have to say, though, I am actually enjoying the Halloween puffies. I guess I never considered Halloween decorating to be a big tradition, so it is kind of a nice treat to drive down Main Street and see that house with the sitting scarecrow with a pumpkin head that rotates 360 degrees. He's pretty cool. And I smile every time I see those Casper-like ghosts coming out of a jack-o-lantern.

Puffies - I have to hand it to you. I never thought I'd see the day . . .

Life's Simple Answer: You're Crazy!

2008-10-23T10:13:00.004-04:00

I was flipping through the morning radio shows this morning, when my regular station when to commercial break and came across the area's Top 40 POP station. Their morning show is AWFUL, in my opinion. I can't stand the hosts and I just think it's really crude that their idea of a good morning show is to have people call in with their problems and the show hosts getting involved. Like - a girl calls in because she knows her boyfriend cheated on her and she wants to confront him. So what do they do - the show hosts call the boyfriend and make him confess on air. How stupid is that?

Well this morning should've been a < 5 minute segment with one particular caller. It was an older woman - I would've put her in her mid-late 40s. First of all, it's pretty pathetic that you're that old and calling a Top 40 POP station. She called because her former business partner used to be her fiance. Well, he called off the wedding and she is now selling her business and because she stands to make a good profit, she wants to know if he deserves any of it since he helped start the business? That seemed like a question for Dear Abby, really. But that is beside the point - that was only one of her burning questions. Her other question was why he called off the engagement. He apparently had kids that came to visit her a lot and the kids seemed to really like her back then. But since the engagement was called off, she doesn't see the kids very much and they don't seem to like her all that much anymore - she has a feeling that their real mother is brainwashing them.

Ahh - paranoia. But it's not paranoia that is this woman's problem.
It's so simple, actually - I don't understand how she doesn't get it.
Dear Abby first - does he deserve any of the profit you stand to make off selling your business? It would definitely be a nice gesture to give him something since he helped you so much.
Next - You wanna know why he called off the engagement? It's because you're 40-something years old calling a Top 40 Morning Show to air your grievances.
And why don't the kids come see you or seem to like you anymore?
For one, because he called off the engagement - why would his kids come to see you anymore? And secondly, because you're 40-something years old calling a Top 40 Morning show to air your grievances.
In a nutshell - you're crazy!
Deal with it!

Logo Loco

2008-10-22T09:07:00.003-04:00

Logos are everywhere - they're on webpages, billboards, buildings, tee shirts, coffee mugs - you name it, a logo can probably be placed on it.

There are logos that make sense - probably the ones that make the most sense are just those ones that are made out of the company's initials like the 'B' for Blogger or the 'Y!' for Yahoo!. Then there are name logos like Google written in different colors or the oval with 'Post' written in script. Finally - there are the graphic logos - like the circular fox for 'Firefox' or the white outline of an eagle on a blue backdrop for the United States Post office. All easily identifiable - all make sense.

But then you get some logos that you just can't make heads or tails out of. On my way to work today, I passed a commercial van - the company was 'All Kinds of Flooring' and their logo was a cityscape coming out of a suitcase. I didn't get it. At first, I thought it was rolls of carpets coming out of a suitcase - which would've made sense. But then I was wondering if they provided hardwood and how they would depict that. Upon further inspection, however, I saw it was a city - and that led me to thinking - what do skyscrapers have to do with flooring? AND when do you see a flooring person with a suitcase? I'm wondering if they only did commercial flooring - hence the reason for the cityscape coming out of the suitcase - that's the only logical explanation I can think of.

In conclusion, I feel that if I have to think about what it all means, then your logo is no good.

Just How Far Do Bridezillas Go?

2008-10-21T09:33:00.010-04:00

They are the craziest of the crazed. They are oftentimes under extreme stress and confronting uncooperative peers. They even have their own show on cable. They are....BRIDEZILLAS!

I haven't watched the show -I always pass by it on the Channel Guide thinking that I don't need to watch that kind of dra-mah. But what made me think about Bridezillas was actually the final challenge of Project Runway - creating a bridesmaid's dress to accompany the wedding dress each finalist had to design.

I actually thought all three finalists' dresses were very nice however, only one of the three, in my opinion, could be versatile enough to fit women of various sizes. That one was Korto's. I feel like halters could work for any person and I really didn't think it was as bad as the judges made it out to seem - but their negative feedback was probably related to the "mess" that was her wedding dress.

The other two bridesmaids dresses, by Kenley and Leanne - although beautiful - not very versatile for all body types.

Which leads me to this question about Bridezillas - have there been bridezillas that have gone so far as to leave out a family member (sibling), close friend, etc from their wedding party because they didn't fit the 'skinny' mold of what their wedding should look like? I mean how does that talk go if you have an overweight sister - 'Umm, hey sis...you're practically my best friend but my wedding party needs to look glamorous so I can't have you in my wedding - unless you can lose 50 lbs. in the next 10 months.'
I'm sure there are brides like that all over the place - and I know there are brides that struggle when they do have their closest friends/relatives in the wedding party and they just span the whole range of the size chart. I knew one bride that had three bridesmaids - they were a size 6, 10 and 16...talk about a range. So I suggested she go with a halter dress - as those seem to be flattering on all sizes.

I know there are Bridezillas out there that go crazy for a pluthera of other reasons, but I think this one - leaving out siblings/family members from the bridal party because they are overweight, would be an extreme. Then again, it's been awhile since I was a bride and none of my friends (thank goodness) are/were Bridezillas....so maybe I'll just to tune in to see how far these Bridezillas actually go in their ranting, ravings and demands.

Chopping For a Good Cause

2008-10-15T14:54:00.003-04:00

This weekend will have me under the scissors - I have been growing out my hair for over a year in order to donate my locks (not for love) to one of the organization that collects hair and makes wigs for children/women with cancer. I am not going through the very popular 'Locks of Love' because they have a lot of requirements that I could not meet...the biggest being a minimum of 10 inches of hair. I do think I have the 10-inches but it's not all 10-inches - my hair is kinda layered.

Therefore, I am going through Pantene's Beautiful Lengths program (the same one Hillary Swank went through). Their minimum length requirement was eight inches and it didn't really specify if it had to be all one length. So I am cutting off about 10-inches on Friday in hopes that a bulk of it falls between the 8-10 inches mark - which by the looks of my mirror, it should. Besides, wigs need bangs and that's what they can use my shorter pieces for.

People have been donating/selling their hair for years. My first exposure to hair selling came from the movie classic, 'Pretty Women' where Jo sold her hair in order to raise more money for her mother's trip. Sure she did it on impulse and knew it was for a good cause, but I'm afraid my reaction will be much like hers in the end- where she's crying later that night because she has no more hair!

I'm trying to feel good about it though. My original plan was to cut it in the spring (2008) but my hair grows pretty slowly - I only get it cut 3-4 times a year. So I had to wait it out for a year to get it to this length. I'm not going to lie - my hair hasn't been this long since I was in elementary school and I'm not going to miss it. As it gets longer, I just shed more (because it's so heavy) and it takes longer to air dry. However, I am not really looking forward to having my hair uber-short - which I haven't had since the 90s.

We will see how it goes - I have complete faith in my hairdresser that I will come out looking good. If I don't - you'll hear about it. I also have to keep telling myself that this is all for a good cause. I'm glad to be able to do it.

For more information about the Pantent Beautiful Lengths Program, read about it here:
http://www.beautifullengths.com/en_US/requirements.jsp

Seized By Frustration

2008-10-13T16:35:00.003-04:00

We all get frustrated at some point in our lives - it can happen practically any time, anywhere. I find that most of my frustration happens at work. And I have been able to diagnose the root cause of my frustration however, I have not been able to do anything to prevent it in the future.

I get frustrated at work when co-workers don't perform at an above average level - I feel like there are those that 'just get by' with what they can and would not think twice about going above and beyond their usual tasks.
There are times when I get frustrated when the system runs like crap and developers can't explain why - but tell you that it's not happening to them. Ummm- that's not the point...it's happening, do something about it.
There is one person (in a sea of many) that frustrates me any time I hear his voice, see his name or get an email from him - because he just doesn't do his job - plain and simple. He's been with the group longer than I have, yet he doesn't seem to be able to answer simple questions....afterall, he's production support...it's his job to answer simple questions...but instead, he sends an email to me or someone else from my team to answer the question for him - and then he just copies and pastes what we've responded to him with and passes it off as his own.

So what is the root cause of my frustrations? Stupid people. But it goes beyond people being stupid, because there are stupid people everywhere.
I have realized that my expectations are too high.
I have always received glowing reviews from my higher ups. I perform my tasks and many things beyond my job scope. I train new people that come onto the team and I try to help them as they begin to learn the ropes.
Fast forward two months - I am now repeating the things that I said to the new person a week ago. We keep talking about the same thing every week cause you can't seem to grasp the concept; yet you never ask questions.

Yes, folks, it's me. I have set my standards at, supposedly, an unattainable level. When someone older, with the same industry experience comes in, I feel like they should catch on rather quickly and hold to a certain professionalism. But apparently that's too much. It's too much to ask for a new person to show up to work by 9 am and be on time for 9:30 meetings. Shame on me for being upset with new person for showing up to two out of three 9:30 meetings 10-20 minutes late because she either 1) went to the cafeteria to get breakfast or 2) just wasn't in the office at 9:30 am.

So how does one work on this? How does one take a 'who cares' attitude? How do you keep emotion out of the workplace? That has always seemed to be my downfall.

Flying the Friendly Skies

2008-10-08T15:03:00.006-04:00

This past weekend, my husband and I went to Vermont for a wedding. It was the perfect time to get away, as Vermont gave us a promised taste of fall (my favorite season), which Texas lacks (I'm not even singling Del Rio out this time - Austin presented the same void).

I'm sure it won't surprise you to learn that getting from Del Rio, Texas to Burlington, Vermont is no easy task. No direct flights, that's for sure. Try two connections (i.e., three legs). Good times! Amazingly enough, Del Rio has an airport. Three flights to Houston a day. Just Houston.

So Shawn and I decided to take advantage of the fact that Del Rio has an airport by booking our flights on Continental (for which Houston is a hub). On the way there, it was Del Rio - Houston - Cleveland - Burlington. And you know what? I have to say that Continental is kind of awesome. I recalled flying Continental several times when I lived in Austin, and I never had any issues with that airline. But what Continental offers now, in comparison to other carriers, is seriously impressive.

Shawn and I EACH got to check one bag free of charge. And get this - our soft drinks on each of our legs were free, AND we got a lunch on the long leg! It was just a little turkey sub, but still - it was food. And did I mention it was free?

Compare to U.S. Airways, which I flew just a few weeks ago out of San Antonio (keep in mind, this is the same airline on which I foolishly forked over extra money to fly first class at the last minute, only to be served Sun Chips). Oh yes, I handed over the $15 to check my tiny bag. And then I learned (through posters throughout the terminal) that U.S. Airways is NOW offering beverages on its flights starting at $1. Starting at $1? Seems impressive, huh? Oh wait - you mean, $1 for beverages that used to be free? Yes. $1 for a coffee or tea. But if you want water, sorry - that will cost you double.

Hey - I understand that times are tight and that airlines are starting to charge for things that used to be complimentary. But seeing those posters just pissed me off. Hey U.S. Airways - here's a tip: why don't you just admit that you've hit hard times and just tell us that you're sorry you have to charge now? Instead of the "Beverages starting at $1!" like it's some kind of great bargain, why not just put up posters that say this:

"We're sorry to tell you that the soft drinks that used to be complimentary on our flights are now $1 and up. We know it sucks, but we are just trying to stay afloat so that we can afford to get you to your destination. Thank you for flying U.S. Airways."

Or how about this action? At LEAST offer us a glass of water on the flight, for God's sake. Are times really that rough?

Nothing Like Starting the Morning at a Dead Sprint

2008-10-07T16:08:00.003-04:00

If you're like me, morning exercise is not for you. I know that many fitness experts will tell you that exercising in the morning is healthier for you. But for me, it's difficult because my body is still tight and I am not fully awake and I find that working out in the evenings allows me to do more at the gym.

Well, how would you like to start your mornings with a dead sprint? Not for me, I say. But you know what? It's not uncommon. You know why? Cause school kids and their parents are doing it everywhere when they're trying not to miss the bus!

I had the pleasure (or displeasure) of following a school bus yesterday morning....right around pick-up time. First of all, the difference between how it was when I went to school and how it is today is that kids have to stand on the corner at the entrance of their development. So if you happen to live in a particularly large development, and you're nestled in there way in the back, you're screwed cause you've got a hike to make it to the bus stop. Back when I was in elementary school, we had two stops on our pretty straightforward street - I was in the middle of the development so I could take my pick of which one I wanted to go to. The stop was separated by six houses. Anyway - as I was following the bus down one of the major roads in my neighborhood, stopping every time it stopped to pick up kids, there was never less than two kids and their parents running at a dead sprint trying to reach the bus because they were obviously late.

At one stop, there must've been 10 kids running for the bus - no lie. And I really wanted to roll down my window and scream, "Hey - get there earlier." And the kids weren't even coming from one direction - they were coming from both sides of the street. Why can't the kids from the other side of the road hang at the bus stop with the kids from the bus stop side of the street? Let's talk integration people...it will make the bus driver's job a little more efficient. At the next stop, two little kids were running - not to mention these kids have backpacks on. So picture this - a six year old kid, hauling a backpack, half his size, on his back, and working his little legs to reach that bus. His mother right behind him - laughing all the way. Lady, this is no laughing matter - do you see how much traffic you're holding up because you couldn't get your kid out of bed, dressed, groomed and fed on time? Is this really how you want your kids to start their school day - with their heart racing 100 miles per hour and when they finally do get on the bus, they're sweaty, their head starts to hurt and maybe they get made fun of for being late....cruel, just cruel.

Bless that bus driver because I would not have had the patience. If you're not there by the time the last kid at the stop gets on the bus, then you're getting a ride from your parents.

Yes Sir, I Just Let It Happen

2008-10-06T10:53:00.005-04:00

I went in to get a manicure last week, in preparation for my trip up to VT for a wedding this past weekend. It's a good thing I picked a dark color so I couldn't see how blue my fingers were from the cold up there!

I am in the process of switching to a new nail salon so I'm unfamiliar with the people that work there and unfamiliar with their process. I had only managed to get a pedicure there once and last week was my first manicure. In short, they sold me - they're very thorough and do a great job - and for a great price, I get a hot stone massage on my feet and back, depending on if you're there for a pedicure or manicure.

So back to the part about getting my manicure and not being familiar with the nail technicians. I got a girl that did not do my pedicure - and it was pretty clear that her English was not very good (It took me a couple of tries to figure out that she was asking me for my phone number). At the beginning, we exchanged pleasantries and left it at that. When she was done prepping my left hand, I got to soak it in a bowl of soapy water to soften the cuticles. She had her cuticle cutter in hand and started going at the right hand - so you can say that my hands were occupied. While sitting there, trying not to fall asleep to the operatic music of Pavoratti, I noticed a little fly flying around us - except it wasn't a fly at all - I had a hunch it was a mosquito. It came near my soaking hand a couple of times, tried to land on it - but I blew it away or lifted my hand from the soapy water to try and get it away from me. Another part of me thought maybe I should take one for the team and let it bite me so it'll go away and die. But I was being selfish and didn't feel like having a mosquito bite on my hand. So I shooed it away somehow.

The mosquito flew away for a bit but it came back eventually - and it started flying around the nail technician's head. I figured if it was around her hair, it wouldn't be a big deal. Mosquitos don't usually bite on the scalp - so it landed safely on her hair for a little bit before she shook her head to shoo it away. And so the mosquito flew around a bit - the nail technician was stellar in her lack of annoyance. If it had been me in her place, that cuticle cutter would've been flying around just trying to get the mosquito out of the vicinity - but no, she was extremely calm about the whole thing.

And then it happened. The mosquito landed on her forehead, near her left side hair line. I watched it, wondered for a little bit if it was really a mosquito - and just continued watching. I didn't want to blow into the nail technician's face. I didn't want to shoo it away with my soapy left hand or pull my right hand out of the technician's death grip (it seemed rude at the time) to slap the mosquito dead on her face - so I just let it stay where it landed and watched. Watched as a small, red, bump had started forming in the area where the mosquito was. Watched as she finally shooed the mosquito away but thinking to myself, 'it's too late!' Watched as this perfectly nice woman got a mosquito bite on her forehead becuase I didn't say anything.

Then the guilt set in - 'Why didn't I speak up' I kept thinking to myself. As I pondered this to myself, I heard the sounds of Enya in the background - seeming to 'Orinoko Flow' my guilt away...I started feeling better and not so guilty. But then the Enya song changed and it was dark and brooding. And the guilt started coming back. How do you do that Enya - make me feel so serene one minute and then guilt-ridden the next? (Must be her gift of song.) And I suddenly couldn't take my eyes off the technician's bite.

When she was finally done with my manicure and set me on the side to let my nails dry, she was nothing but polite and kind. I, on the other hand, felt wretched. I just sat there, staring at the wall, like a dunce in the corner, thinking, 'how could I let it happen?' But I did - and I left - keeping my head down in shame as everyone said goodbye to me. I did manage to give her a good tip - like an invisible olive branch that only I knew about.

While we were in VT having lunch, on Friday, with a group of friends, I told them about the whole situation and they all stared at me in horror, and perhaps some amusement. I'm thinking having my new purse break and finding a hole in my brand new pantyhose was payback for keeping my mouth shut about the mosquito. Well played, Karma....well played.

Just One of Those Days....

2008-10-01T09:05:00.004-04:00

Happy Autumn, Everyone!
As I was driving into work on this partly sunny, kinda wet October morning, I was flipping around the radio stations and came across some 'Lovin', Touchin', 'Squeezin'' on one of the stations. And I will admit, my morning voice is kind of hoarse for singing, but I sang along anyways - and just had such a good feeling afterwards, I switched over to my iPod and started playing all the Journey on my iPod.

It just felt like one of those days - a Journey-type of day. Their songs are simple, heartfelt, and have so much melody - it's hard not to sing along, whether you're a Journey fan or not. It also seems to be a karaoke-fan favorite.

So as I was singing along to Journey, not caring who saw me on the roads, I was also thinking that I should go find a band that can play all these great songs and other great songs for me to sing. This is what we call a daydream. But anyways....if I couldn't find a real band to let me be their front-woman, maybe I could join a wedding band and get my gagas that way - singing for a captive audience...love songs and dance songs and feel good songs. Doesn't it sound super-fun?

Now if only I didn't have a pesky case of stage fright!

Oh yeah - I've also decided to make it an Erasure-type of day. I saw the video for 'A Little Respect' this morning while making the bed (on VH-1 Classic), coupled with watching some 'Breakfast Club' - and I think you've got just about an 80's type of day. But for now, we're starting with some Erasure and we'll slowly make our way into Journey!

JUST Missed the Mark

2008-09-29T13:47:00.005-04:00

As I was window and real shopping at Pentagon City Mall yesterday, I ran across a big banner that was hanging between each of it's floors in the Macy's wing - a big advertisement for the new 90210.
Picture this:

It's Back - 90210

Season Premiere on

9-02-08

Do you get it? 9-02-10 vs 9-02-08? SO CLOSE, yet so far...nice try marketing people.

And it wasn't so much that they missed the mark with the advertising (cause if it were pre-September 2nd, I don't think it would've drawn me into watching the program) - but it was the fact that they were trying to draw you around the date and show by showing how similar (but not the same) they were - by making the font of the zip code and the premiere date almost the exact same size.

I'm sure the show's producers didn't want to hold off their reincarnation gem for another two years just so they could do the whole matchy thing with the date - and what if September 2nd, 2010 does not fall on their scheduled night? That would be just a marketing nightmare. Secondly, yesterday was 09/28/08 - the premiere has come and gone - get some new banners already, Pentagon City Mall Office!

I guess the only way the marketing people can really make their idea work is:
1) hope their show gets picked up for a season 3
2) and that their show switches from Tuesday nights to Thursday nights (yes, I looked in my perpetual calendar)
so they can finally use:

Catch the Season 3 Premiere of
90210

on

9-02-10

ooooh ahhhh.

What Is a Star Anyways?

2008-09-24T10:57:00.004-04:00

The latest season of 'Dancing With the Stars' has begun and since there are so many people involved, I usually think the beginning is just a big old mess - it's hard to figure out who the favorites are although I think I'm secretly cheering for 'The Bus' (Warren Sapp) because you can tell he's just shaking his groove thing and really getting into it.

One contestant that I'm betting doesn't make it far is Kim Kardashian. When they first announced the contestants over the summer, I was thinking 'she's not really a star...' I'm sure she needed to add something to her resume below 'ex-Paris Hilton BFF, 'Sex Tape star, ' and 'Reggie Bush's girlfriend.' But when they did her "Contestant introduction" montage Monday night, it started out with her getting out of some over-priced sports car with shopping bags. So she's like 75% of all women her age - she likes to shop. She introduced herself as a 'reality show star.' I don't think that's really something to brag about. And really - how many people watch 'Keeping Up with the Kardashians?'

I have nothing against the girl - I just don't think she's accomplished anything in her life to warrant a spot on 'DWTS.' I can't help but think when Mark Ballas (last season's winner with Kristi Yamaguchi) drew his partner for this season, he probably thought, 'Who the hell...' and after figuring it out, was like 'Oh crap.' She's definitely very attractive - and she can only help put out a positive image for curvacious girls everywhere - but really - what has she done?

Apprarently, you don't have to do much to get the love and support of the Jenner and Kardashian Families...because when she was introduced to the audience, they couldn't have cheered louder....for their reality star daughter...with the sex tape...

Way to go, Kim...you got on a widely televised, bonafide game show (minus Celebrity Family Feud) and it's gonna be great because they actually consider you a 'star.'

Thanks, Gabe!

2008-09-18T14:54:00.004-04:00

Last night, I received a Macy's flyer in the mail. Not just any ordinary Macy's flyer but one that highlighted 150 years of Macy's. And instead of sending their usual 20-or so pages of things that will be on sale this weekend for their birthday, their marketing (probably unbeknownst to them) gave a birthday gift to their consumers....in the form of the Calvin Klein insert.

You might recall that the face of Calvin Klein, at Macy's, is none other than Gabriel Aubrey. You know - the one in the commercials that has Martha Stewart dropping her china and Mariah Carey pausing in her stint as her own perfume girl... The man is a fox! And in the insert, he had a nice CK layout of suits, casual wear, sports wear, etc. But I could care less about those - the BEST part of the flyer was the underwear section. It was a collage of 1.5" x 1.5" pics of Gabe in CK underwear - tightie whites, boxer briefs, and undershirts. Sure there were also female pics mixed into the collage to show off CK lingerie but I have CK lingerie - so let's get back to Gabriel.

Granted, the collage wasn't as provocative as the David Beckham Emporio Armani ads or even the ads of Marky Mark dropping trou in the 90s. But a little pic can go a long way. I CAN use my imagination.

So thank you, Macy's and Gabriel Aubrey, for showing me a little of what Halle Berry gets to see on a daily basis...dammit! So jealous!

Tiny 'Gooey' Bubbles

2008-09-18T14:54:00.003-04:00

I heart bubble teas. For those of you unfamiliar, you might know the bubbles I speak of as boba. Bubble teas are milk mixed or artificially flavored teas (usually green tea) that are shaken, mixed and poured into a cup filled 1/4 full of black tapioca pearls...or bubbles. They can only be slurped up through "fat" straws because that's the only way you're going to get any bubbles with your gulp.

I was first introduced to bubble teas in NYC's Chinatown...there are a few (read: many) cafes, tea houses, restaurants that offer bubble teas - but the best one that I've had in Chinatown comes out of Ten Ren Tea Time Cafe. Ten Ren is already renowned for their selections of teas but they have a separate cafe next door that offers all types of drink conconctions - half which come with bubbles. Whenever I am in Chinatown, I try and grab one (or three) during my visit. I think my record is three during a day. The only reason I can justify so many in a day is because I only get it when I am in NYC - so that's three times per year. That was until I found local places that satisfy my tapioca tastebuds.

For the past five years, I have been searching, high and low, in the DC metro area, for someone to serve me up a bubble tea that is the equivalent to Ten Ren - not too sweet, not too bitter...not too frothy with bubbles that are perfectly gooey. Until a few months ago, I did not find such a place in the DC area. However, during a particularly slow time in the office, I decided to do another search (because you never know when one is going to pop up) for bubble tea places and FOUND a Ten Ren in Rockville, MD. It's about 15 miles away but 15 miles compared to 220-something miles up to NYC is not bad....so I surprised my husband and took him there for a bubble tea treat one Sunday afternoon.

Then I found this great taiwanese cafe in Annandale, VA that not only sold bubble teas but had a Maria's Bakery (popular in the Chinatown world) that also sold it...their teas are pretty frothy and super sweet - definitely not as good as Ten Ren - but a tea is a tea.

Eventhough I found a Ten Ren closer to our home, I really haven't been out there getting a tea every weekend - that would just be silly. But just this past week, while I was trying a new Pho place by my office, in a strip mall, I glanced at a coffee house menu taped to the window and saw that they offered bubble teas. I immediately jumped in (cause they had my favorite - Lychee) and ordered one. It was good - it was very comparable to Ten Ren - and this place was run by whities, which was all the more surprising.

I was so excited, that when I brought it back to my office, I called my sister at her office and said, 'Hey, guess what I'm eating/drinking...' and then I proceeded to slurp a little and chomp on my bubbles. Did she know what I was eating/drinking? You bet she did - she's gasped and said, 'Where did you get a bubble tea?' (she's good at that game - or maybe it's a sister thing) I told her all about my path crossing this coffee house that I wasn't even thinking of going into - but once I saw the words 'bubble tea' and 'lychee' on the menu, they had me - they beamed me in and made me a fan.

If you get a chance, try a bubble tea - even if you don't love tapioca (as in tapioca pudding), this is different - this is japanese tapioca (black) and you might just enjoy the drink itself. As my God-Sister's father once said, 'It's like a tiny surprise with every drink.'

Farewell, Red Lobster

2008-09-16T13:21:00.003-04:00

Warning: I'm going to be blunt and to the point here - there's no sugar coating this post - I'm going to tell you about what I think about Red Lobster. So I *might* offend your sensibilities, if you're uber-sensitive.

Admit it - if you're living in a well-populated metropolitan area, with loads of restaurant options and a Red Lobster, chances are, Red Lobster rarely makes the Top 3 list of places to eat on a Saturday night. But when their 'Lobster Fest' or 'Endless Shrimp' commercials come on TV, you second guess yourself and think, 'Hmmm - that sounds good.' Of course when you're seeing these commercials, it's about 10pm on a Wednesday night and you thought about it for about a NY minute.

When I first met my husband, he and his two buddies growing up had a tradition of going to Red Lobster on their birthdays (once a year) - two of the three happen to have birthdays a day apart. After we began dating, we had gone to Red Lobster a handful of times - especially when we lived in New Jersey - it's not that we made it a habit....I tried to keep his birthday tradition alive for awhile since he was away from his friends. Now that we're living in metro DC, Red Lobster is barely a blip on our radar. The one that was close to our condo got leveled and then we had to make a mental note of where the next closest one was located. But we didn't make any efforts to go...until last night.

Red Lobster is just not what it used to be. I remember, growing up, the Red Lobster by my parents' house (shout out to East Brunswick, Route 18) was always packed on weekends. I think I can count on my one hand how many times we went from the ages of solid food through college. Now, you can usually get a table with minimal wait time (5-10 mins) and when you do get seated after your wait, the place is not even full.

And I came to this conclusion...fat people and old people go to Red Lobster. And if you want to get fat, you can go to Red Lobster. So where do I fall in those categories? I guess personally, I would call myself fat, but in reality, I would say that we're the spectators/occasional visitors. We were the dummies that fell for the endless shrimp commercial on TV. You'd think having fish on the menu is a healthy option, but not at the Red Lobster because it is drenched with butter and none too healthy. I managed to get away with 1 lb of snow crab legs (no butter), a side salad, a baked potato covered with lobster sauce and one cheddar biscuit. I'll admit the cheddar biscuits are good but one is the limit for my un-bodacious body. The baked potato was a side...and it was COVERED in butter (lobster sauce = butter and lobster bits) - when I had it once before, it was actually really good and not drenched with butter - the butter was so thick last night, my husband thought it was cheese...that's how bad it was. Needless to say, that went unfinished.

So back to the old and fat people at Red Lobster. The patrons aren't necessarily old AND fat - but they're pretty much one or the other. And maybe I shouldn't say fat - but I did say I would be blunt. There was a party of three females - two older ladies and an 8-10 year old girl. The two older females were fat. The 8-10 year old was well on her way. An older gentleman brought his mother to the Red Lobster. She was so old that when she walked past our table, I looked at my husband and said, 'Cause you're a homo' - she reminded me of the sweet, little, old lady from Wedding Crashers.

Thankfully, after our dinner, my husband came to the realization that his palette has changed (thanks to places like Legal Seafoods, Capital Grille, Hank's Oyster Bar and other local seafood places) and the trip to Red Lobster last night just didn't cut it for him. I have a feeling that we won't be falling for the old 'Lobster Fest' trick anymore - we know better now...Red Lobster, it was good while it lasted. Maybe we'll see you again in a small town in the midwest!

Proofreading

2008-09-15T09:50:00.002-04:00

I have admitted that I am a bit of a grammar snob. This gets me into trouble sometimes, as it means that I have to be extra careful not to slip up myself. (It's one thing to be a grammar snob - quite another to be a hypocrite.) After correcting my husband numerous times, for instance, he has taken enormous pleasure on the rare occasion when I have misspoken. I can usually spot my mistake immediately, but once it comes out of my mouth, I have set myself up for ridicule. And good for him, really. The fact that he notices my errors is a huge step in the right direction. Progress, people.

I have principles when it comes to my grammar snobbery. When I see shoddy proofreading or sentence structure in advertising, for example, there's a good chance I will boycott the product or place altogether. I could not stand Applebee's slogan "Eatin' good in the neighborhood," because, of course, the correct statement would be "Eating well in the neighborhood." Because this is not a Rolling Stones song, I'm just not giving the writers creative license. I don't care that it rhymes. Those people in the board room can do better. (Thankfully, Applebee's has now adopted a grammatically correct slogan, which means I don't have to boycott it anymore. It turns out this is relevant, as Applebee's is one of about five restaurants in my new town. I simply will have no choice but to dine there on occasion.)

Today, I got the following promotional e-mail from two different people. It's probably a spam scam, but in case it isn't, I can already tell you that I'm just going to have to say no. It's like a Highlights for Children. Can you spot the many mistakes in this one?

"Dear friend,
i would like to introduce a good company who trades mainly in electornic products.Now the company is under sales promotion,all the products are sold nearly at its cost.They provide the best service to customers,they provide you with original products of
good quality,and what is more,the price is a surprising happiness to you!It is realy a good chance for shopping.just grasp the opportunity,Now or never!"

This is nails on a chalkboard for me. Absolutely no way, no how, would I EVER patronize this business.

Okay, off my soapbox now.

A Kiosk Does Not A Coffee Shop Make

2008-09-12T10:08:00.000-04:00

Dear Friends -

I am afraid the Del Rio situation is more dire than I initially feared. You have heard me rant about the lack of my favorite chain establishments. No Target - that was bad. No Starbucks - absolutely devastating, particularly since I have practically lived at Starbucks in San Antonio for the last four months (I have even hit several different Starbucks in a single day, as I try not to make a habit out of eating both breakfast and lunch at the same place). I tried to convince myself that being inundated with Starbucks in San Antonio would be enough to carry me through the upcoming Starbucks drought. And anyway, it is true that Starbucks was not quite as enticing this summer, without its Orange Mocha Frappuccino and all (Mint Mocha Chip Frap instead? Isn't that, like, a Christmas drink? I don't get the summer debut). I told myself that surely there were some good local places. I can adapt.

Last week, I went in search of the local places. It began with a search on my iPhone for WiFi locations, as we did not yet have internet at our house. This was much more difficult than I could have possibly imagined. I managed to find only a couple of places that had it. Aside from the T-Mobile store itself, the list was strictly limited to hotels. What did this mean for me? Squatting at the Ramada for four hours. I felt like a damn stowaway, hiding out in their upstairs sitting room at the little desk there. I kept waiting for someone to call me out on the fact that I was not a guest (although I did enjoy their breakfast buffet for two days in a row, just in case I was questioned). I escaped unscathed, but I still felt a little sneaky. Unlike theater hopping in high school, my stealthiness did not come accompanied by the glow of "getting away with it." Instead, I just felt . . . well, sad.

But I was not giving up. I had read months before on a chat site during my internet search of whether a Starbucks would ever make its way to Del Rio that there was some place in the town called "Coffee Now." It's simple. It gets the point across. Local is very often just as good, if not better than the big corporate giant. I was optimistic, especially since the poster had poo-pooed Starbucks and said he was a "loyal Coffee Now patron." So I looked up Coffee Now in Google, found the address, and began my search. Funny thing, though - I went back and forth on the street it was supposed to be on a few times, craning my neck to look at every strip mall I saw. Nope. No Coffee Now. Luckily, the listing I found had a phone number. So I called. You never know how long these things stay in business. A cheerful young woman answered right away. Phew! I asked for the cross streets.

And then I went back along the same road. And then it occurred to me why Coffee Now had escaped my notice. It wasn't a store front. It was a damn kiosk, like those Kodak photo labs in the 80's. There wasn't a seat in sight, not even a couple of folding camping chairs in the parking lot. Instead of Coffee Now, for me this realization was more like "Serenity Now!!!"

Welcome to my nightmare.

I'm With the Band

2008-09-10T09:10:00.003-04:00

Back in high school, I was in the marching band, the symphonic band and the concert band...but I wasn't a total band geek...I was also on our illustrious tennis team - state champs for Lord knows how many years in a row and I was part of our school's business program that put me in a lot of AP classes. So I dipped a toe across every type of school group there was - the geeks, the jocks and the academics.

I haven't picked up my clarinet since putting it down my senior year of high school. I haven't really played the piano in years...but I do get excited whenever I see 'Drumline' on TV because it makes me wonder if I picked up the wrong instrument back in 5th grade. The only reason I ended up with the clarinet was because it was discarded several years earlier by my sister when she was thinking of joining the band...she obviously couldn't cut it with the band geeks, so I picked it up, learned it, became rather good (always first seat) and dropped it like a bad habit. There was no way I was joining band in college and in hindsight, I'm glad!

But now - now I actually get to do what I think I was meant to do - bang on those drums via my newest obsession, ROCK BAND! It was one of the only reasons I actually allowed my husband to get the PS3 when I really wanted the Wii. Rock Band is like a step above Guitar Hero and Karaoke Revolution. It's where you can have a group of people rock out on guitar, drums, and sing. I've basically bogarted the drums with my alter ego, Jersey. We tour and unlock more songs along the way. We've already played NYC, Chicago, and Seattle. I'm waiting to get to the place where I'll unlock 'Don't Fear the Reaper.'

I salivate when I think about it - maybe I drool a little while actually playing. But I'm not completely obsessed with it where I'm playing it at all hours of the morning (like someone I know) - but it's definitely fun and since being away from it for the past week, I finally managed to get on it last night and jam for about an hour before hitting the gym. I even have my husband playing along on guitar - but he's very particular about the songs we play - we always need to start with 'Orange Crush' and then we move down through the songs he likes. I guess it's a small price to play if I don't want to play alone.

But I don't mind playing alone. The game is not only super-fun but it's opened my eyes to a lot of music that I was previously unaware of - both classic and modern....for instance, I didn't know what 'Mississippi Queen' was before Rock Band - and guess what? We heard it on a classic rock station while on vacation. And now I love playing it - and not just because it has cow bell. I also learned of another new song that I like and will be downloading to my iPod - 'Maps' by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. So not only is Rock Band fun for adult friends and family, but it's a learning experience too.

The best part of Rock Band is ending a song with a free-for-all where you get to bang on anything and everything and totally rock out. After the song ends, I usually hit my sticks together in the air and start yelling like Garth from 'Wayne's World.' And sometimes, I'll even do that rolling 'r' noise they do when they get excited....so fun!

Summer Fun, Autumn Woes

2008-09-09T14:31:00.003-04:00

Don't let the title fool you - after my trip back from Indiana, I am super-psyched for some Fall - football season, changing leaves, Halloween and soup/stew/hot mulled cider season! But I'm certainly going to miss the summer - being outdoors, playing sports, sweating my pants off (maybe I won't miss that too much) and wearing summer clothes - dresses, shorts, tanks and flip flops.

Looking back, I had a really good summer - we had great weather (August was like a preview to September/October temps), great fun and great friends to share it with. Now that it's post-Labor Day and I'm looking ahead to Fall, I started breaking out some of my fall/winter shoes and am quite disappointed with the outcome thus far....tan lines. I was pretty careful with the tan lines this summer - trying to run sunscreen where I might have potential tan lines - but the one place I always forget to cover...my feet. And what are the results of forgetting? Flip Flop lines. Argh.

After being out at the football game this past weekend, with the sun beating down on me, I, again, forgot to cover my feet with sun block and now my flip flop lines are even darker than when I went out to the midwest. I'm wearing my black, double-strap mary janes and it looks like I have two white v-straps coming out of the shoe - HORROR! I'm thinking about what I can do to salvage the look. I'm thinking my only option is self-tanner...although that would require me to put it on my whole leg because what if the shade of the self tanner turns those v-lines darker than what the rest of my leg shade is? I'm sure I'm not the only one that has gone through this dilemma - so suggestions are welcome.

I'm use to tan lines but I'm use to bikini lines - lines that people don't necessarily see when I'm in work clothes. I guess I could break out the hosiery early - but it's still warm enough to where I can imagine myself sweating from having too much on....what is a girl to do with signs of summer past?!

Well - one thing to keep my mind off of it is to think about what November will bring forth...the new James Bond film...wink!

Talking Nonsense

2008-09-08T16:15:00.004-04:00

Flying back from Chicago was a real treat yesterday! Not only did I forget to pre-check-in online for Southwest (thankfully we weren't put into the C-group and were able to find two seats together) but after a long, tiresome vacation, I felt so run down and just ready to jump in my own bed and go to sleep!

We had gotten to the airport early because you never know what traffic is going to be like from Indiana to Chicago on a Sunday afternoon....and it wasn't bad. So there was a lot of wandering the terminals for me. I had started feeling nauseous and extremely tired about 1.5 hours before boarding time. It had been about five hours since I had my Cracker Barrel breakfast and Sonic frozen slush so I thought perhaps I might've been hungry. So I started trolling around the food areas to see if anything struck my fancy. It didn't. I ended up having a southwest chicken sandwich from McD's. It did help, but I was still tired.

As Southwest began boarding, this family consisting of two parents and one child came up to the gate. I could smell the child was trouble when he opened his mouth and apparently didn't know how to shut it. They were a Chinese family and the kid was about 10 years old....a rather big 10, I might add. How did I know they were Chinese? Because the kid was speaking in mandarin and I could understand him. I think he thought he was running the family traveling show because he was telling his parents that this was their gate and it was time to line up, etc. His parents didn't seem to mind - I'm sure he's the apple of their eyes.

Thankfully, when we boarded the plane after them, we weren't anywhere near them on the plane, so we got the respite of having to hear him speak. But that gap was immediately filled by one of the stewardesses that took it upon herself to talk for the WHOLE, DAMN flight. We happened to get the last row in front of the drinks storage area and we heard non-stop chatter throughout the flight. Our only break came when they rolled the drinks cart towards the front of the plane to serve....but when she got back, lucky us got to hear about her life story. And all I wanted to do was sleep...silly me.

As we were deplaning, another passenger had made a comment about how 'she sure has a lot to say.' Ain't that the truth. It was time to walk to baggage claim, find our bags, get on the shuttle bus and hop in our car. And wasn't it lucky for us that we happened to be on the same shuttle bus as the Chinese family - I boarded the shuttle first not thinking much of it, praying a little that he had stopped chattering but the second he boarded the shuttle, the kid says (in Chinese), 'These seats are particularly small!' That led me to believe that he made some sort of comment about the size of the airplane seats. I really wanted to say back to him, in Chinese of course, 'Well, you're particularly chubby.' I was so close - it was on the tip of my tongue. Had I had some liquid courage, maybe it would've slipped out - but I bit it back.

Why his parents didn't shush him is beyond me - after all, in his leadership, the kid led them to the wrong bus stop to get to their car....

My Night of People Watching...at a Cubs Game

2008-09-04T08:30:00.003-04:00

Last night had me and my husband at Wrigley Field for a Cubs game. We were so excited about going - until a few days ago when the Cubs started going on a losing streak. We were able to witness the fifth loss in as many days.

But it wasn't the game that stoked my interest (because the Cubs couldn't hit to save their lives yesterday)...it was the people. We sat in a section where everyone seemed to know everyone else. I don't know if it was some kind of brotherhood of electricians (I only got electricians because some guy was wearing a sweatshirt that said 'Brotherhood of Electricians...') or just a group of guys that know eachother from coming to the games but I can honestly say that 95% of them were complete assholes. They showed up to the game drunk, they "watched" the game drunk and they left the game drunk. On top of the asshole status, there were ignorant assholes in the group that upon seeing that I was Asian, muttered 'Konichiwa' when I looked their way. I was SOOOO ready to smack them upside their heads...ignorant bastards! Thank goodness for the 5% (the two people sitting next to me) that were drinking soda and water like we were. But when they left in the middle of the game, I thought it was for good - and I got scared.

One guy was so drunk, he decided that his underage son should get drunk too. I would put his son somewhere between 16-18. Any which way, he was sitting directly behind my husband and the kid was drunk (surprise!). Not only that, he had a phlegm issue where he kept hocking loogies below his seat. My husband had me check his back a few times to make sure loogie shrapnel didn't make it onto his back.

Aside from the annoying drunk guys at the game (cause you're going to get that at every game, aren't you?!), there was a pluthera of people to watch and inwardly comment on at the game.
For instance, there were two girls that couldn't stop taking pictures of themselves. Honestly, they must've taken at least (AT LEAST) 100 pictures of themselves - those self-captured moments where they stick their heads together and click the button only to find, after flipping the camera over, that they were off-center or one of them didn't look as good as they hoped. Those girls were sitting a few rows down from us and I only noticed the picture taking because the flash was going off so much - I thought the paparazzi had followed me to the game!

There was a man - a very large man, that I spotted before the start of the game. The first thing that came to mind when I saw him was 'He could go on the Biggest Loser.' But then after observing him some more, I don't think he could make it through one episode - he had to lean on the rows of chairs just to descend the steps. And it was amazing to me how he even fit into a stadium seat....I was mesmerized - but then my husband told me to stop staring.

So I diverted my attention to what people were wearing...natch. Wow - if you ever wanted some acid wash or hair metal, shredded jeans, this was the place to find them. I haven't seen so much acid wash or shredded denim since 1993! This led me to believe that the youth of Chicago are kind of ass backwards- unless they're trying to bring those two things back...for God only knows. Oh yeah, and back to the underage drinker behind us - 'Marky Mark called - he wants his baggy jeans that sits below the ass back - but you can keep your nasty, plaid boxer shorts.'

Last night was the first night that I looked at my husband and said, 'I think I know what you mean now...I'm starting to hate people!'

The Conclusion of "As The Cupcake Turns..."

2008-09-04T08:14:00.002-04:00

The last time we left the situation of the new cupcake shop that opened up in DC, I had tried to order a substantial amount of cupcakes for the Labor Day BBQ I was having. This was when I was informed of a few things: they weren't taking orders over the phone, they didn't have the mini-cupcakes that they advertised on their website, and they seemed to be totally unprepared to open for business as they couldn't fulfill the demand of a potential customer. It wasn't like I was asking for 100 cupcakes - I was merely trying to order two dozen.

If you've been keeping up with this saga, you then know that I was told that I could come into the Dupont shop as they sold on a first come, first serve basis. And that is exactly what I did. Before I took Amanda to the airport on Saturday morning, we drove into Dupont to get my two dozen cupcakes. What happened when we got into the store? This...

I was greeted by a very comforting atmosphere and of course extremely enticing cupcakes displayed behind a plexi-glass window. The salesperson asked if he might help me. I told him that I wanted to purchase cupcakes - two dozen to be exact. This is when I was given 'the look.' The look that I might have been crazy. Another sales person approached, after overhearing my request and looked at me gravely. The original salesperson said, 'We're only limiting people to four today.' Limiting? How do you put a limit on a good you're providing? The ONLY good you're providing? This isn't exactly concert tickets to see Madonna. Well I turned 'that look' right back on them and I said, 'I called to order but I was told to come in person to get them.' That's when they tried to feed me the same malarchy about how they couldn't predict demand and blah blah blah. That's when I turned to Amanda and said, 'This wouldn't have happened if they had a good business plan.' I said it loud enough that they could hear my comment but soft enough as not to disrupt other customers.

Finally, what I could only think was the owner, came up to me and she said, 'Let me go check in the back to see if we have the inventory.'
"LADY! It's 11am in the morning - you've been opened for ONE freakin' hour - I think you have inventory."
She finally came back and said she could fulfill my order. As the salesperson was prepping the boxes for my cupcakes, the owner started in about how she only has one chef and shift making cupcakes and they already start at midnight. Until she can add another shift, they can't fulfill these large orders. Ummm - I don't need to be a business major to tell you that THAT should've been planned for way in advance...maybe she should've doled out extra for more ovens. Maybe she should've planned to start with two chefs and two shifts rather than one. All I know is the business plan must've SUCKED at this point. Cause after telling me her sob story, I did not reply with a 'I understand.' No sir.

As if fighting to get two dozen cupcakes wasn't enough, when I was paying (these are no cheap cupcakes mind you) for my two sizable boxes of cupcakes, I asked if I could get a bag for the boxes. This is when I got the proverbial slap in the face (as if fighting for two dozen cupcakes wasn't enough) that the shop is eco-friendly so they don't provide bags. But they do have boxes with handles on them....but they just don't have them YET.

And this concludes are saga of the little cupcake shop that couldn't deliver (on all their promises).

Epilogue: Everyone at the BBQ enjoyed the cupcakes - they're good cupcakes...moist, rich with icing and very appealing to the eater- but after telling my tale about going through the pains of trying to get these cupcakes and the resistance I had to put up with to get a cupcake store to sell me their cupcakes, no one was sold on the place. Will I ever go back for their cupcakes? Probably not. There are so many more cupcake shops that opened up in DC that need to be tried and tested.

Fish Out of Water

2008-09-02T12:14:00.002-04:00

After being in denial for the past four months that I have officially left Washington, D.C., I finally got a good glimpse of what my new life will be like in Del Rio, Texas (pop. 40,000). Shawn, Shawn's dad, and I started unpacking the new boxes in our lovely new home in our new town. I have to say that the house really is beautiful. I seriously lucked out in marrying someone with similar taste. And I think when we have it all landscaped, it will be a wonderful haven.

The problem for me is the town. 40,000 isn't tiny, I realize. Frankly, that's the size of a decent college campus. The issue is that the closest BIG town is San Antonio. A debilitating 2 1/2 hours away. This is not okay. (I realize that it will have to be, but that doesn't mean that I have to like it.)

I've done a lot of traveling this summer, spending some time visiting my friends in New York, San Francisco, and back to D.C. For each of these visits, I've stayed with people in the city - in great neighborhoods where I could walk to "stuff." While these trips were great, they made me long for the big city more than ever.

If I'm being fair, I should admit that I've never been a true city girl. I've always been more of a suburbanite. But still - the city was always right there. And the suburbs had their own charm (charm = the great chain stores I frequent, such as Target, Barnes & Noble, World Market, The Gap, etc. etc.). In Del Rio, I will have none of those conveniences. Instead, I will be forced to get comfortable with my nemesis, Wal-Mart. I will have to get used to ordering everything on-line.

It really hit home when I visited my nemesis Sunday, in a mission to find dish soap and a few other goodies for the house. I went through five different aisles before I heard a soul speaking my native tongue. It's not like I haven't heard Spanish spoken in a store before. Whenever I visited my nemesis in Alexandria, VA (during desperate times, of course), I often heard customers speaking Spanish. I don't have a problem with it, really - I don't.

But for the first time in my life, I truly felt in the minority. A fish out of water.

The Ding Letter

2008-08-29T10:03:00.001-04:00

If you've been following my sporadic posts, you may have learned that I am an aspiring novelist. In truth, I am already a novelist (with two works under my belt), but I don't feel like I can officially claim that because I have yet to land a book deal. I haven't lost hope. I've really just begun. But I learned quickly that it is a tough business, and that you will go crazy if you don't develop a thick skin. I have received a number of rejections from agents at this stage in the game. None of them were nasty. I respect the fact that not everyone will fall in love with my work, and they have to let you down somehow, right? I am sure they don't take pleasure in sending the stock "I'm not the right agent for you, but best of luck with your work" ding letter. (I do appreciate that these agents send the letter, because it is nice to cross it off the list rather than wonder if your query got lost in cyberspace.)

Yesterday's ding letter, however, brought back fond memories of my favorite ding letter of all time. While I doubt it's the norm in any business to take pleasure in drafting the DING!, in this particular case, I have no doubt that this person was sitting at his desk and laughing as he composed this masterpiece. I am sorry that this comes at the expense of my good friend from law school, whom I'll call Mr. Smith.

Here goes:

Like many diligent job seeking law students (note that I did not fit in this group), Mr. Smith set out early on in our first year to secure a summer internship for the transition from obnoxious 1L to even more obnoxious 2L. (This is a generalization, of course. Incidentally, Mr. Smith is one of the least obnoxious people I know.) Mr. Smith's search was very impressive. He visited the career services office and found contacts for dozens of law firms. He dipped into his law school loans to spring for the expensive bond paper (because these were the days before everyone had e-mail). He sent out these letters by the tens, being careful to address each to the hiring partner at the firm to which he was applying. This was the year 1996.

A few months later, the letters started pouring in. Many were the standard, "sorry we don't hire summer associates, we have already fulfilled our internship needs, etc. etc." But one special letter stood out from the rest. It was so special, in fact, that it was gingerly placed in the display case by the library in the spring of our third year, the highlight of all of the good times we had as law students. And this is what it said (more or less):

"Dear Mr. Smith,

Thank you for inquiring Mr. Jones [contact person from career services office] about a possible summer internship at [insert name of firm]. Unfortunately, Mr. Jones will not be getting back to you any time soon, seeing as how he died in 1981.

Love,

[insert name of surviving partner/associate laughing ass off while composing letter]"

It was classic.

And the Results Are....

2008-08-29T08:53:00.003-04:00

So I'm going back to the cupcake store thing....because I just so happen to be having dinner with girlfriends at a place near the cupcake shop that I wrote about on Monday and Amanda was kind enough to stop by the store for a 6-pack of cupcakes. When she arrived at the restaurant, she set down the box and proceeded to tell the story of how at a little before 6pm, the shop was down to three out of 15 flavors from the day. The shop closed at 7pm.

The flavors were - coconut (ick), rootbeer float (ugh) and banana cream (barf). Those were my (reactions) upon hearing what she got. But you know what - after dinner, I decided to give it a try anyways. The lesser of all evils to me was banana cream. One person taste tested the rootbeer float (which came with a cute straw sticking out of the cupcake) and the other two took the coconuts (thank goodness). And the results are...they were good. The icing was creamy and the cake was moist. Overall, we agreed that the cupcakes were tasty.

But just because they were tasty doesn't mean that they should've skimped on their business plan and not forecasted their demand properly. I mean, they weren't joking about not forecasting their demand. With an hour left until closing, and having a scarce amount of inventory left? That could lead to some unhappy customers.

After writing my entry on Monday, I found a little news alert that announced about FIVE cupcake shops opening in the DC area...I wonder if they are running into the same supply/demand issue and the lack of knowing what it is.

Real Catalogs for Real People

2008-08-27T09:15:00.002-04:00

I like getting catalogs in the mail - I like to sift through them and see what's out there that I'm not normally exposed to on the world wide web....I've even wondered how I've become the recipient of some of these catalogs since I've either 1) never heard of them or 2) haven't ordered anything from them. I'm guessing it comes with the whole home-ownership thing.

As I was looking through some catalogs the past few nights, it has occurred to me that everyone modeling the clothes is uber-skinny. Is that something that surprises me? Of course not because isn't that what models are known for? And it's not like you would want to see a really heavy woman modeling clothes in a JCrew catalog. Aside from the Victoria's Secret catalog (because we all know you have to be practically perfect to be in that catalog), I'm wondering if there's a catalog out there that has "real" women wearing their clothing in "real" situations? I want to know how clothes are going to fit on a woman of a similar build to myself. Why? Mainly because you're asking me to order it via this catalog or online - without being able to try it on first...if it doesn't fit or look right, I have to go through the hassles of shipping it back. But most importantly, clothes fit differently on different body types.

Here's an example - I was shopping at a store a couple of months ago and came across this really cute peasant top. It was white with navy embroidery around the collar and deep V-neckline...it was really cute. When I got it into the dressing room and over my body - it wasn't quite so cute anymore. My conclusion? These types of shirts don't work for women with boobs - like size C and up - it didn't lay nicely in the chestical area as it probably was meant to do. Instead, for someone like me with boobs, it sat wrong and just made the whole top unflattering. It was a sad moment.

So I'm wondering if there are catalogs out there that will put everyday women in their clothing and throw it on display - cause before I order, I would like to get an idea of how it's REALLY going to look on me. I'm talking different sizes of women (petite, skinny, athletic, average) in clothing that you're trying to sell to them.

Is that too much to ask?

A New Look

2008-08-26T16:29:00.004-04:00

Don't be alarmed, Cupcake Readers!

I decided it was time for a new look - darkness wasn't helping with my moods - SLAP! (that was for any Dave Chapelle fans out there)

I went with something that was more serene - the color really reminded me of the Restoration Hardware store color...which I plan on using to paint one of the guest rooms.

So enjoy the same great cupcake but with a lighter, frostier look!

Why Have a Plan, then?!

2008-08-25T16:31:00.002-04:00

For those of you regulars that read our blog, you have come to know that I am a super-planner. I need to plan out just about everything in my life - at least seven days in advance. This goes for groceries, weekend activities, etc. So when my husband and I decided to throw a BBQ over Labor Day for friends that would be in the area, I began planning out the menu - what kind of appetizers should we have; what sort of drinks; how do I want to arrange everything; what needs to be cleaned in our house, etc.

Amanda was nice enough to inform me of a new store selling cupcakes in DC. I immediately thought that I did want to go there AND possibly purchase some cupcakes for the BBQ. I thought that would make a nice dessert option. So I read up on their website about their flavors, pricing and saw that you could place advance orders and even order mini-cupcakes (advance orders only, it says). So I quickly asked what Amanda's schedule was going to be so I could plan on ordering my cupcakes today and giving them an approximate pick-up time for Saturday.

Imagine my surprise when I went to call them and they said they're not taking advance orders at this time. Their excuse was because it was their opening week and they didn't know the demand that would be out there. So my only option was to go to the store and be serviced on a first come/first serve deal. I feel like she just told me I had to camp out for concert tickets.

This is where the business side of me comes out. If you're going to advertise the fact that you can pre-order cupcakes AND you have mini-cupcakes available for pre-order only, then why can't you follow through on that promise? If it is part of your business plan, why can't it be executed from the very start? At the very least, why can't you have a caveat on your website that says orders can be placed starting on MMMDD? The excuse they gave me that they couldn't forecast demand is totally unacceptable (to a business person). I'm actually providing you with a demand - why can't you supply me with it then? It's economics, people. You can't create your supply unless you have a demand - and if I'm handing you a firm demand, why can't you create the supply to meet it? It doesn't make sense to me. And the fact that they couldn't forecast tells me that someone didn't complete their business plan. After all, part of creating a business plan is knowing what your demand is going to be so you know how much you need to supply.

They are certainly not the first cupcake place in town so it's not like they couldn't do some field research to meet the business plan goals and do some forecasting.

So there's one point on the 'Con' side of this new cupcake shop. I wanted to like them - they had a great name and a great location - but we are off to a rough start, my friend.

We'll see if I decide to camp out for concert tickets.

Trampoline...Really?!

2008-08-20T10:37:00.003-04:00

So as most of the country is swept up in the latest patriotic craze...the Olympics....I'm finding myself getting bored with it - but despite the boredom, I still manage to tune in just to see what's going on. I've noticed that swimming and gymnastics - usually two of the more popular Olympic sports, takes up the first full week and the highlight of the second week is usually the track and field.

One of my favorites, volleyball (both team and beach), runs throughout the two weeks as it's more of a tournament type of play and I get really excited when I'm able to catch a Team USA game. But I'm at the mercy of the broadcasting stations to schedule it in...thankfully Misty May and Kerri Walsh are the top women's team in the world so their games are pretty much guaranteed to be on.

But after Michael Phelps dominates the swimming competition, gymnastics winds down to the individual contests and track/field is just getting started with their preliminary races, what sports do you show to fill in those gaps? Trampoline...Really.

I didn't even know it was an Olympic sport..it's not listed under the Sports section for the Yahoo! Olympics coverage. But sure enough - there it was, on NBC, the other night....women in leotards, jumping and twisting their way into the hearts of millions. Did they win me over? Not quite.

There didn't seem to be anyone from the US competing...surprised? Not really. The world trampoline champion comes from China...no surprise there either. The idea behind it is that there is a rectangle outlined within a rectangle trampoline with a big '+' in the middle - that's the target - it is where the person (would they be a trampolinist?) should always aspire to land between their "tricks" in the air, while trying not to land outside of the rectangle border or the trampoline itself. For the most part, everyone stayed within the rectangles. The champion from China did great until the end, where the commentators said she "lost control." Where do these commentators come from and are they trampoline experts, by chance?

I thought that these trampoline people were gymnastic rejects - sure they could do all the twist and turns in the air but perhaps they had trouble with landing. It's not like they have to dismount off the trampoline. In fact, the end of a routine is pretty anti-climactic....they just stop. My husband seemed to think that they might also be diving rejects....maybe they're afraid of water.

In any case - I just wanted to open your eyes to the world of trampoline-ing. With all the trampolines that I see in people's back yards, you would think that any kid could aspire to get to the Olympics to compete in that sport...maybe in time, the US will have an influx of trampoline athletes trying to "go for the gold!"

Journalism At Its Finest

2008-08-19T00:03:00.002-04:00

Now that swimming is over and I've just watched two American gymnasts get robbed in the event finals (I'm not biased, I swear - how can a woman who lands on her knees in a vault knock poor team finals choke artist Alicia Sacramone off the podium - I mean how bad can that poor girl's week get anyway?), my interest in the Olympics is starting to wane. For some reason, after former fantasy boyfriend Dan O'Brien got too old for the competition (I was inexplicably drawn to that gap of his), I lost some interest in track and field (okay, the whole Marion Jones scandal certainly didn't help matters - disgraceful!). So in reflection, I thought I would revisit Michael Phel . . . err . . . I mean swimming.

So at this point, you're probably thinking that I'm about to go off on another rant. And ding-ding! You are correct. I would never take anything away from Michael Phelps, and believe me - I was just as excited as anyone else when he out-touched that poor dude to win the 100 meter butterfly by one one-hundredth of a second! The guy is amazing, and he deserved every single one of those gold medals.

What bothered me was the failure of a certain journalist to appreciate the efforts of some of his teammates as individual athletes instead of simply supporting characters in Michael Phelps' quest for Olympic history. Now, I am sure the other swimmers knew that their efforts in the Cube would be overshadowed to a certain extent by the phenomenon that is Michael Phelps. They probably had a special support group just to prepare them for that. But what really got me was when a journalist interviewed Jason Lezak about his clutch performance in securing that gold medal in the 4 x 100 freestyle relay. Jason Lezak, who not only redeemed himself for a previously disappointing performance in the 4 x 100 relay in Athens but who came from behind against the world record holder, beating his personal best by one and a half seconds.

So, as a journalist with a prime two minutes of Jason Lezak's valuable time, what would you say to him? Here's what our friendly correspondent for NBC decided to go with: "I bet the fact that you were helping Michael Phelps keep alive his quest for eight gold medals in a single Olympics helped motivate you for that strong finish." Okay, I'm paraphrasing, but you get the point. Are you kidding me? Yes, random NBC correspondent who apparently graduated from the University of Disrespect, even though Jason Lezak was born a decade before Michael Phelps, he has trained for his whole life, all thirty-two years, with the hope that one day, one day, he could play a small part in someone else's dream. It was not besting his own personal record that helped him edge out the trash talking Frenchie. It was not helping his relay team (which included four people). It was all for the cause of one single American.

Jason Lezak - just in case you're reading this, I want you to know that I thought you handled that embarrassing question with as much dignity and grace as humanly possible. And I thank you for gently reminding our friendly reporter that, in fact, the dreams of Michael Phelps were not what drove you to reach that wall first. What drove you was your own passion for swimming and your desire to win for your teammates.

Yes, as in plural.

Where Are Those Guys....

2008-08-18T09:25:00.003-04:00

...that sing and dance and just put a big smile on your face when you watch them. I'm talking, in particular, about the men from 'Singin' In the Rain' - Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor. Yesterday, on TCM, they ran a whole documentary about the 'Anatomy' of Gene Kelly - one of the greatest performers of all time. And then they followed it up with most of Gene's movies...the one I was waiting for, of course, was 'Singin' In the Rain.' It has been touted as the best musical ever. I can't say that I don't agree.

Whenever that movie comes on, I find myself totally entranced. I wonder how cool it was back then that there are these men that sing, dance and act and aren't afraid to break out into song, tap dance a little and have a grand old time. If any guy did that now, they would think he was a complete looney. But not only did they sing and dance, they were dressed impeccably and didn't even break a sweat! The guys back then looked so debonair with their two-tone tap shoes and who else but Gene Kelly could pull off a tweed suit with a belt-like closure, tweed hat, brown tap shoes and get completely drenched while singing and dancing to 'Singin' In the Rain' - and still look dashing?!

Watching Gene and Donald tear it up in that movie is amazing to me. And when you throw in Debbie Reynolds for the 'Good Morning' number, you just want to get up, find two people to sing and jump on couches with. The whole movie is outstanding - I could watch it all day long for weeks at a time. I don't *totally* understand why they would want to end the 'Dancing Cavalier' with the 'Gotta Dance' number but I'll tell you, when Cyd Charisse puffs out a whole mess of cigarette smoke, it may have been attractive back then, but certainly not now. She kind of reminded me of a dragon.

I was so exhausted yesterday from a whole weekend of fun and could not wait to get to bed, but when 'Singin' In the Rain' is on, sleep can wait - and I ended up staying up until almost midnight just watching it. My husband, who is not a musical type of guy, even enjoys the ending where Lina Lamont lip syncs to 'Singin' In the Rain' with her ridiculous hand motions....' And every so often, when he knows the movie is on, he'll quote Lina and her 'And I can't stand 'em' with her annoying, child-like voice. When it was all over, I looked over at my husband and asked him why we don't break out into song every once in awhile like Gene and Debbie did at the end of the movie. He looked at me like I was crazy and told me to 'Stop being weird.'

The Trash Talker

2008-08-12T12:24:00.002-04:00

Okay. I admit it. I am a sucker for the Olympics. In the months leading up to them, I ignore all of the hype. I don't watch the trials. I don't follow what's going on with drug testing. I don't rush out to buy a bunch of red, white, and blue garb so I can follow along like a crazed fan from my living room.

But once they are on, I get hooked. And my favorite part of the Summer Olympics, I've decided, is swimming. I love swimming for many reasons, just one being that I know for a fact how ridiculously hard it is. I was never a serious competitive swimmer, but I did spend two summers swimming for the Forest Lake Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and believe you me - that was plenty. It was positively grueling. I also love swimming because it is one of those sports that truly shines in the Olympics. The game-related sports like basketball are totally boring to me because these are professional athletes who are just taking a break from their million dollar salaries to give this little 'ole Olympic thing a try. Now, don't get me wrong - I'm sure Michael Phelps does quite well in endorsements - QUITE well. But swimming is at its pinnacle on the Olympic stage. The contest is over fast, and it's always exciting.

What I don't get is the trash talking. The French swimmer dude (sorry - can't be bothered to look up his name), saying prior to the 4 x 100 free relay, "The Americans? We're going to smash them. That's what we came here for." Is that right??? You didn't come to represent your country with honor? You didn't come to win the gold? You specifically came to bring someone else down? I mean, it goes without saying that, to win, someone else must be defeated, but still - what kind of sportsmanship is that? ESPECIALLY during the Olympics! Not to toot our own horns or anything, but the NBC coverage, while certainly America-centric, does focus on some of the athletes from other countries who deserve to be celebrated. I believe all Olympians do.

I have to say that I was rather proud of the Americans in their response. Of course they let the swim speak for itself. And it did. It spoke volumes, in fact.

Stress for Breakfast

2008-08-08T16:34:00.002-04:00

I once had a boss who liked to say he ate stress for breakfast, like it was some ridiculous badge of honor. Well, I ate stress for breakfast, lunch, and a mid-afternoon snack today, and you know what? It tasted terrible.

I had two major "filings" due today for work, and I've once again proven the theory that, no matter how much time you have to complete a project, you will always work until the very last minute. We almost made these filings a month ago and gave a big sigh of relief when we realized we had a whole extra month. "Woo hoo!" we exclaimed. "Now we don't have to rush!"

Yeah. I wish I had a time machine to go tell my 7-8-08 self, "Get it together. Let's nail this thing down so we're not racing the clock trying to get it done at the eleventh hour. Maybe this time, you'd prefer to finish something without that awful tension building up in your back so severely that you can barely move at the end of the day. Maybe you'd like not to snap at your husband when he calls in the middle of your giant C.F. to ask you a question about your bank account."

But no. Apparently, my 7-8-08 self was destined to eat stress for breakfast today.

I Want to Be Kung Fu Fighting....

2008-08-07T08:47:00.003-04:00

Lord knows that I don't do well in front of crowds - public speaking is really not my forte. That's probably why I never ventured into anything involving the public, growing up...stage fright...still got it too. It's rather silly when I think about it - I'm an adult and I should be able to speak clearly and eloquently in front of an audience or crowd without my insides feeling like jell-o.

And even though you'll never catch me on Broadway (maybe as a back-up dancer in the way, way back), I wouldn't mind having a part in a movie. I think the idea of having a bit part in a movie that doesn't make it to the cutting room floor, would be pretty sweet. And when I say bit part, I mean smaller than the lead, bigger than an extra.

But I don't want to be in any old movie - I want to be in an action movie where I can use my martial arts skills to kick some ass. I trained in kick boxing (and I'm not talking aerobic or tae-bo here) for a few years, with a real black-belted sensei. I even trained with Joe Lewis, the world heavyweight kickboxing champ, a couple of times. I loved it. I knew my body was built for kickboxing....I had really strong kicks and my punches weren't too bad either. I have pretty long legs so it made round-houses that much more interesting. I would say I was probably one of the stronger female fighters amongst my class. And what made me better was I always trained with someone experienced.

I look at all the movies that I could've been in - 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,' 'Charlie's Angels' or anything with some martial arts involved - and I think about how cool it would be. Of course, it's something I would like to do before I die - and preferably before my body can't handle the grueling workouts and practices to prep for a fight scene...I would say around 40.

Of course I wouldn't want to do it full time...once is all I need (and can probably handle)...and it cant' be in a Steven Seagal movie - I do have some standards, afterall!

Since When Did I Become Older Than a Friend?!

2008-08-05T09:20:00.003-04:00

I'm pretty fortunate to have been blessed with 'young-looking' Asian skin. There are many instances where I still get carded and have been asked if I'm still in college. Sure, when you're in your thirties, those times don't happen too often and sometimes you're a little happy when they do. But there are other times when you're just like, 'C'mon - are you kidding me?'

Well - I discovered a sure fire way of really feeling old - watch a rerun of 'Friends.' That's what I did last night and it happened to be the episode where Rachel was turning 30.
I thought to myself, 'Really? 30? That's it?'
And then I wondered, 'Did I know they were supposed to be in their late 20s, early 30s when filming the show?'
I had to do some research on Wikipedia and it turns out the show aired from 1994 - 2004. I was only 18 when it started, so no wonder they seemed so much older...and all of the cast did start the show in their late 20s to early 30s.

But now, 14 years after it first aired, I'm finding that I feel a bit old. I mean I talk about 'Different Strokes' and 'Facts of Life' because those were classics (loved the episode with El Debarge on 'FoL') - great shows from my formative years. And it's looking like 'Friends' is turning into quite the classic as well.

I think it's because 'Friends' is still pretty 'new' and it's only been off the air for four years - but the jokes and the situations are still pretty timeless. I still try to catch a reruns and I still laugh out loud at their antics.
*Sigh* I started watching the show as a young'n compared to the characters - now, I'm on the other side of the age hump, viewing it from a whole new perspective.

I'm Ashamed to Admit...

2008-08-01T15:32:00.008-04:00

I kinda like Miley Cyrus! ACK! I'm a 32 year old woman that likes to listen to the pop-music of a 15 year old - I know...so sad! I barely roll down my windows when Britney Spears is playing, but Miley - it's either sunroof only or A/C on. Suddenly, I feel like I'm part of an AA meeting!!!

When her song, 'See You Again' came out a few months ago, I thought, 'Hmmm...this is pretty catchy.' Of course I'm not a big fan of lyrics that include the singer's own name...like when she sings in the chorus, 'My best friend, Leslie, said, 'Oh she's just being Miley.' That part I find a little gay. (Ugh, I even talk like a 15-year old!) But other than that, I like it. It's got a good beat and although it doesn't make me want to get up and dance like a Solid Gold Dancer, it's still got a good beat to drive to, work to, and/or workout to.

Whenever the song came on the radio and my husband was in the car, he begged me to change it. He usually does this for pop songs in general...but if I was driving...no way...it's driver's choice. The song stayed on. When he was driving, no such luck. But if I was alone in the car, sometimes I secretly wished it would come on just so I could enjoy it.

About a month after it really hit the airwaves, I was sitting in a sports bar having dinner and the DJ played it. (They always have music on over the games.) And when it came on, I started bee-bopping to it. The waitress/bartender came by, saw me...I saw her....she was bee-bopping to it too.
Then she said, 'I kinda like this song.'
I replied, 'Me too.'
She said, 'But I haven't made it as far to download it on iTunes.'
I replied, 'Yeah, me too.'
It's a guilty pleasure, I guess.

When I was working from home a few weeks ago, I caught her on Good Morning, America...giving her Friday concert in Central Park. Two weeks later, again while working from home, I found out she was going to be on the Today Show for their Friday morning concert series. I was secretly excited because I was pretty impressed with her GMA showing. So while I was working, I caught Miley in concert - she sang her new song, 'Seven Things I Hate About You.' A little mouthy -but it's a decent song. It's no 'See You Again' but I'll take it.

I find that she's a good performer; I mean she's 15 - she's a ball of energy. She might garner bad publicity sometimes, but we all did stupid stuff when we were 15 - we always wanted to be older than we were. BTW - was it me or did her Vanity Fair controversial photo make her look like a 'cleaner' version of Heath Ledger's Joker? I think it's the lips. She has a pretty deep voice for a 15 year old and although she's not as talented in the pipes as Christina Aguilera or even Kelly Clarkson, she does know how to entertain - and isn't that what the gist of it is? She's entertaining....she is the Annette Funicello of her generation.

I won't be going to her concert anytime soon - I'm not THAT obsessed with her that I'm willing to battle over-eager parents and screaming tween girls to see her live. And if I did happen to go to her concert, I would feel like I'd have to borrow some teenage girls to mask my excitement. But I did finally break down and download 'See You Again' on iTunes.

On an even more positive note, I'm sure the best thing to come from Miley Cyrus is the fact that her dad, Billy Ray, got a second chance at celebrity stardom. Now he can forever be known as Billy Ray Cyrus - he played a doctor on some show on the PAX channel, hosted Nashville Star, dabbled with Dancing with the Stars, father to Miley and most importantly, one hit wonder. Cause having one hit wonder as your only claim to fame just seems so sad.

If I Were Famous....

2008-08-01T09:31:00.004-04:00

I'd want to be famous for doing something that I actually like doing. If I were famous for something in fashion, I think I'd better learn how to draw figures (I'm much better at landscapes). But that would be a good enough amount of fame for me - have people buying my clothes, wearing them to big events and getting the notoriety that I am a talented designer - all the while keeping me living in a comfortable environment.

Vera Wang comes to mind as someone that is way famous for her wedding dresses, is often sought after, but she doesn't show up among the blogs and gossip rags, allowing her live a somewhat normal life.

If I wasn't famous for fashion, maybe I could be famous for modeling. If I were famous for being a model, I would have to grow a few inches and lose the spare tire. Okay - I don't have a spare tire but I would definitely have to get model-fit. Models get to travel the world and wear awesome (and some not so awesome) clothing.

I wouldn't want to be like a Heidi Klum (although I wouldn't mind looking like her) or a Naomi Campbell type model but I think when you're a model, you almost make your own level of fame. Heidi is well known for fitting splendidly in whatever Victoria's Secret throws at her and building an empire of herself. Naomi is known for her awesomely bad temper and receding hairline. No - I would want to be like a Marissa Miller (yes, with her body) where she gets recognized for her beauty, she fits into everything like a glove and yet she only dips her toe into the limelight. She seems really down to Earth and isn't hampered by the paparazzi. And it probably doesn't hurt that these models aren't starving themselves and are actually healthy looking.

Could I handle being famous? Probably only on a small scale - where people would know who I am but I would still be able to go to the market, run my errands, live like a normal person, travel whenever I wanted without being chased by flashing cameras and people blocking my car so I couldn't drive away.

Yes - maybe I'll just keep thinking I'm famous...in my own head.

The Whitest of the Non-Whites

2008-07-30T15:44:00.003-04:00

If you haven't realized by now that I'm not Caucasian, then look at the nice pictures to the left - I am the non-blonde one. But I rarely define myself, or even relate myself, as the 'Asian' or 'Chinese' that I look like - I identify more with Caucasians - after all, I grew up with a majority of them and that's also the majority of my 'crew.'

I am an American, however. I was born and bred in New Jersey. While growing up in New Jersey, I played the piano (very Chinese), played tennis (very Chinese), went to Chinese School (that my Dad helped establish) to learn the language, and I was an active participant in my youth group for church (a Chinese church). My parents brought us to Chinatown and we celebrated Chinese New Year when I was small - I only continued the tradition when I was older to get my red envelope of MULA! That might seem like a lot of Chinese stuff growing up but compared to growing up in an actual Chinese community, I don't think it is. I'll admit that my 'crew' in junior high and high school consisted of a lot of Chinese people but that quickly changed when I went to college.

College made me become a little more white-washed. I chose to attend college at Purdue University, in Indiana. NOT a lot of ABCs (American Born Chinese) there. I only dated Caucasians (kinda hard not to when you're in Indiana) and I ended up marrying a white dude that is known as 'Pale Force.' The four years that I spent in Indiana certainly stretched me further away from my Chinese heritage - probably because I didn't have many people to share it with during college. I couldn't quite relate to the Chinese students on campus because more often than not, they were what we ABCs like to call, 'FOBs' (Fresh off the Boat).

After leaving Indiana, I promptly returned to New Jersey, worked a little bit in NYC before settling down with a job in the Jersey 'burbs...in IT (How CHINESE!). I worked with a good mix of Chinese, Koreans and Indians. And you know what - I was the only American-born one in the group. So that made me feel like an outcast among them. When we moved down to Virginia, my husband and I started hanging out with a bunch of Purdue alums - rarely was there another Asian in the group. For my softball jersey, I almost went by the nickname 'Token.' But then another Asian guy started hanging with the group and I felt like the nickname couldn't be carried out - it wouldn't make sense.

I often find that when I'm hanging out with my friends now, I rarely know that there's a difference between us - that I have immigrant parents or that I know another language because I grew up speaking it. Of course I use the Chinese to my advantage when ordering food or listening to other people's conversations -but really, there are no other opportunities to set me apart from everyone else (not that I'm looking). But the good thing about it all is I'm comfortable in my own skin. So comfortable that when someone makes a stereotypical remark about Asians or Chinese, I usually laugh it off because I don't think of myself in that way.

The same goes for another one of my girlfriends - we'll call her K. She grew up in Atlanta and she's Afro-American. But she doesn't think of herself as a black girl - she hangs with all of us and she's into nerdy white guys. On the surface, we're definitely the two minority girls in the group - the Chinese and the Black girl - but if you knew our group, you'd know there's no difference.

We're the whitest non-white people you'll ever meet!

Mis-Animation

2008-07-28T12:51:00.002-04:00

My husband and I were watching "Mad Men," last night (excellent, in case you haven't jumped on that bandwagon), and I started thinking about the business of advertising. I understand from post-9-11, that when times are rough in business, the marketing budget is among the first to be hit. To me, this is a shame. I am not embarrassed to admit that marketing has a lot to do with the purchasing decisions I make. If the packaging is good, or the commercial makes me laugh, I'm more likely to buy the product - plain and simple. But sometimes, I really wonder what those people in advertising are smoking and how their proposals even make it past the boardroom.

The most glaring of these, to me, is the overuse of animation in advertising. And by animation, I mean the kind that personifies an inanimate object. Remember the smashing success of the California Raisins? Well, so do I. But that was over 20 years ago, folks!!! Come up with a new concept. Have we learned nothing in the last two decades?

Last night, I was forced to watch this commercial for Compound-W (I assume it was Compound-W - maybe it wasn't - either way, I didn't care because the commercial sucked). The geniuses at the advertising firm gave life to a wart on someone's finger. And the wart was talking smack or something and then got covered with some kind of liquid, turned white, and apparently died. Gross! This does not inspire me to buy your stupid product. I'd rather pay the extra money to have a doctor remove the wart for me.

This brought to mind two other commercials with animation that I cannot stand (again, please excuse me for not remembering the name of the product, which proves to me that even though your commercial was notoriously memorable, it's still not enough to earn brand recognition). The first of these is that awful commercial with the fungus that lives under the bed of your toenails. That commercial was so unbelievably disturbing that I would interrupt whatever I was doing and leap across the room to change the channel. I do not want to see anyone, even a cartoon, lift up a toenail.

The second was some commercial for diapers (Luvs? Huggies? Again, not sure). These advertisers had the balls to animate a DIAPER! The diaper was turned in profile and had eyes above the hole where the baby/toddler's leg would go, which was apparently the mouth of this character. Are you serious? Do you even realize what diapers are for? And what goes into them? That is beyond disgusting. And unless I have stepped into an Austin Powers movie or something, that is animation gone way too far.

Thinking of these dumb commercials makes me at least appreciate the Geico cavemen a little more. Sure, they blew it with that lame attempt at a sitcom. But it was original. I have to give them that.

A Hairy Situation

2008-07-28T10:15:00.004-04:00

After some very busy weekends and even busier work weeks, I finally found the time to relax and go to the mall to shop for friends and even myself. In the past few weeks, I really wanted to get a long sun dress but wasn't having any luck on the internet. Plus it's one of those things that I'd like to try on in person to see if it accentuates my body or unflatters it.

I found myself wandering into LVL X. It is a chain off of another chain - their clothes are not of the "best" quality but their prices are reasonable (not as great as Forever 21, but then again, their quality is even lower) and they have dresses and tops that you would probably find on ladies out for a good time. I looked at all the short dresses around the perimeter of the store - the nice thing is that everything is color coordinated, so all the gray outfits are all together, all the gold ones are all together, etc. I found one really cute pale yellow dress and a blue, long sun dress before I hit the dressing room.

While I was in the dressing room, I was quietly trying on my outfits, falling in love with my pale yellow dress and overhearing the conversation next door. There were a few ladies next door trying on dresses as well and all I remember hearing was one of them saying, '..but I don't want it to make me look like I'm pregnant.' A few thoughts ran through my head (because I hadn't seen what they looked like)....
1) If you're pregnant, there's really no way to avoid looking pregnant.
2) If you're not pregnant, but you've got the belly, maybe skin tight (because LVL X lacks for flowy dresses) is not the way to go.
3) And finally if the dress is the type of cut that is supposed to look flowy but instead makes you look pregnant (cause I've been there before), then maybe it's not the dress for you.

After I was done trying on my stuff and settled on purchasing the pale yellow dress and the long, blue sun dress, I went to the cash wrap and patiently waited behind the girl that was trying on dresses next door. She had three friends with her. They were four, rather large, girls and the dress that the one ultimately picked out was nice, but as I said, pretty skin tight. She was making her purchase when the cashier pointed out that when she took off the security tag, it left a very small hole in the back, by the zipper. As they were discussing this, I looked over at her friends, because it was taking way longer than it should have. This is when I noticed the one of her friends didn't shave her legs. And I don't mean didn't shave for days - I mean didn't shave for life. I thought my gag reflexes were going to ignite right there. While I was waiting, I also happened to look over at the far end of the store where there were two Asian ladies - one of them playing with her hair, trying to pull it up into a ponytail. It had to be right when I looked over there that she was pulling her hair back and I saw that her arm pits weren't shaved well....and this is from quite a distance, so you can imagine.

After experiencing all that, I started wondering if I missed something...like did people decide to burn their razors? Was July a 'no shave' month? And the girl that had the hairy legs - she had a perfect pedicure - so imagine the work and stares that her pedicurist goes through!

But that wasn't the best part of it all - you're probably wondering how can you top hairy legs and hairy pits? I'll tell you how...stupidity.

As it turns out the cashier was going to give the buyer 10% off for the minor hole. But the problem was she already charged her card for the full amount. And so that would involve a charge back and then a re-do and you know how it goes. And I just kind of stared like, 'you're kidding me, right?' The cashier saw my look of annoyance and said she would ring me up first and get right to the return but the girl didn't want to wait so she's like 'what's the difference? how much is that?' So you have FIVE adults (not including me - I didn't want to join in all the math fun) available to help you figure out what the discounted difference is. I heard one of her friends say, 'how much is 10% of $108?' Another girl replied, 'It's about $7.' And the four others just gave up the calculations and agreed.

I was appalled - secretly snickering inside: 'How dumb can you be?' So the cashier ended up giving her some foot pads (for the insides of your shoes and the balls of your feet) worth $6.99 so she didn't have to wait. A-ma-zing.

I Remember...Only To Forget

2008-07-23T09:23:00.003-04:00

Have you ever had to remember to do something and in order to remember you keep telling yourself in your head, 'Don't forget...', 'Don't forget...' only to forget in the end?
That happens to me more often than I care to admit.

I think my worst incidents have involved medication. I have to take a pill twice daily - once in the morning, once in the evening. The evening part isn't hard to forget because I put it right on my bedside table and take it right before I go to bed. It's in front of my face so I remember to do it. The morning doses are harder because I don't necessarily want to take it right when I wake up - morning breath and all.... So while I get ready, I'm constantly trying to remind myself to take the pill. Before you know it, I'm in the car, driving to work. Thankfully this morning, I was only down the block so I could turn around and have my husband meet me at the door with water and my pill.

It's also happened with a camera. If I'm going somewhere (like an event) and think a few days before that having pictures to remember it all would be nice, I'll try to keep a mental not to remember the camera. Fast forward to day of event, and that thought is lost to the recesses of my mind. It's only in hindsight that I scold myself for forgetting to bring the camera.

This is probably why I keep so many pads of paper and post-it notes at my desk - so I can always make notes so I don't forget. In fact, every time I manage to make a note to myself, chances are I don't forget. I should probably employ the same tactics at home...but call me lazy, I don't.

Sometimes I wonder if I should just tape a pill to my forehead before I go to sleep so I don't forget in the morning - that would certainly prevent me from forgetting!

Mamma Mia - oy vay!

2008-07-21T16:26:00.003-04:00

I love ABBA - I have had a fondness for ABBA since I was little when my Dad *mistakenly* (I believe) received 10 records of the latest rage from a Columbia House type place - which included Blondie and ABBA. It was the early 80s.

Ever since then, I have enjoyed ABBA and really enjoyed the show, Mamma Mia. So imagine my excitement when I found out they were going to produce a film for Mamma Mia. The movie premiered this past weekend and I was going into it with none of the love I previously had for ABBA. Why? Because as Pierce Brosnan was making the rounds of the talk show circuit, they kept showing the same clip - it was him and Meryl Streep singing 'SOS' and when Pierce opened up his mouth to sing, 'When you're gone, how can I even try to go on...' my jaw hit the floor - it was bad.

But I still wanted to see the movie - my love for ABBA just couldn't keep me away. Needless to say, I didn't go into the movie with high hopes and as a result, that was a good thing. Oh, I still sat there singing along with the songs, like I did at the show - but I think the casting was just a little unbelievable - both age wise and singing talent wise.

Let me break it down for you:
The daughter, Sophie, is getting married and is 20 years old. Her Mother, Donna, was young and wild when she had a tryst with three men that could be her daughter's father. Because Donna was very apprehensive about Sophie getting married at 20 and didn't want her to make the same mistakes she did, you have to wonder at the very least, Donna should be 40 years old. At the oldest, Donna could also be about 45 years old. So we're looking at a Mom between the ages of 40-45. That does not fit the Meryl Streep bill (sorry!).

Christine Baranski's character was best friend to Donna, a fellow ABBA lover and supposed to be the 'Kim Catrall' of the bunch - the cougar. I like Christine Baranski - loved her in Birdcage. But a cougar? Not in my opinion. She might, or might not, have had work done and she is in phenomenal shape, but the thing is that she looks a little plastic and older than her 40s. In reality, she's 56 years old. Casting Kim Catrall might have been a little more believable.

And then we move to the singing talents. Surprisngly, Meryl Streep had a good voice for the ABBA songs. When I saw the show, I almost cried when the actress portraying Donna did her solo for 'Winner Takes It All.' It was so powerful and so moving. Regretfully, I was not moved by the movie version - but it was definitely passable.

Then we have Pierce. Pierce Brosnan is a handsome man - he's a fox! But a singer he is not. Although I didn't do much of it, a few people in the theater broke out into laughter and giggles whenever he opened his mouth to sing. When they had a close up of Pierce singing, you're just looking at him like 'C'mon - he's James Bond....he shouldn't be singing ABBA.' I commend him for trying and learning how to sing but they should've found an equally handsome actor, slightly younger in age, with a good voice (Gerard Butler, perhaps?).

All in all, I wasn't completely disappointed because it is a feel-good movie. You just can't listen to ABBA without tapping your feet and singing along (like me). But because it was fronted by Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks, it almost became a 'Whose Who' of their friends they could stick in this movie rather than a more age and talent appropriate casting.

I recommend sticking with the show - it was much more enjoyable and they ENCOURAGE singing along!

Summer Brown, Winter White

2008-07-18T10:11:00.003-04:00

Before the warm weather hit the DC area this year (2008), I had made a conscious effort to not tan during the warm months - and I mean naturally tan. When my husband and I went out to Arizona in March, for spring training (what else), where it was already in the 80s, I made sure to bring a big-rimmed hat (looking fabulous) to help cover up during baseball games. It worked - I didn't come back with a tan, which would be like the first time that I have come back from a warm-weather hot spot untanned.

But then one smoldering Saturday, in June, when I had a soccer game followed by a softball game, I absentmindedly left off the sunblock, the hat, even the bug spray. I got lucky, during soccer, because we played under the clouds. It was still humid, but at least we had cloud cover. By the time I reached the softball game, I wasn't as lucky. It was sweltering, sunny and in the upper 90s and I had to ask my teammates for reinforcements (bug spray, sun block, anything). Luckily I got my hands on all those things. Unfortunately, it was too late...I was burned.

I have the type of skin that tans EXTREMELY easily. As one of my other Asian friends has said, 'I tan in the library.' I wouldn't go that drastic but I share the sentiment. Give me 10 minutes in the sun (winter, spring, summer, fall), I'll give you a tan line. So growing up, I have spent my summers browning, and the winters turning pasty white again, with spring and fall as transition periods.

Well my conscious effort has gone out the window for 2008 as I am now tan and you know what, I'm glad. You know why? Cause I decided that I look better tanned. In looking at my pre-tan, summer pictures, I actually kind of look sickly with my paleness and the bright sun shining down on me. When I look in the mirror now, with my burn mellowing into a nice brown tan, I look pretty darn good - more lively, if you will.

So from here on out, I plan on being brown in the summer and pale in the winter - skin cancer, come and get me!

Sticking With It

2008-07-16T10:00:00.004-04:00

Have you ever been reading a book and the story was moving so slowly that you didn't think you could even make it to the ending? And because you didn't think you were going to make it to the end, you decided to take a sneak peek at the last couple of chapters just to see if it was worth continuing? Guilty as charged, I'm afraid.

I was reading this book and I was really contemplating, for the last two days, if I should just give it up. Would I be 'OK' if I just stopped reading it and be satisfied that I knew how it ended? This had to have been one of the slowest moving books I've ever read. And believe me, if I like a story, I can finish a 360-400 page book in about 2-4 nights of bedside reading. This one took a Sunday and two nights. So it took the max and it was only because after deciding to continue, there was a good twist in the plot that actually made it interesting and bearable to finish. I'm actually glad I stayed with it because it really made the ending better than when I cheated and read ahead.

I have this standard now (in reading fiction) that once I reach the 100-page marker, I can look ahead to see if the ending is good. Or I read the epilogue because I really like epilogues. I like to know what happens to the characters so that I'm not left wondering. Yes, I can get very involved with books and their characters - I've even had dreams about books I was reading, picturing everything in my head. Sometimes I wonder if I'm reading too much fiction.

Anywho - there has only been one book that I have not been able to finish and that's only after reading the first two chapters....I won't name names because it belongs in a series of five books - and the one I could not finish was the fifth...just couldn't bring myself to do it. I was well satisfied with the fourth book (surprising, really) but after the first two chapters of the fifth book, I had to set it down and not look back - and it still lays at the bottom drawer of my night stand.

So I don't always stick with everything I read, but I think an important note to authors is that you have to get them (the reader) in the first two chapters...or your ship will sink. Fortunately, the author, of the above mentioned book that I couldn't finish, moved on to other stories. Perhaps I'll pick one of those up.

Big Night for the Brunettes!

2008-07-14T10:52:00.003-04:00

I was sucked into watching the *beginning* of the Miss Universe pageant. I always like to see who is representing what countries, especially the US and the Asian countries, being of an Asian background. And I sit and I judge...one of my favorite pastimes!

Since the pageant was held in Vietnam, it was a no-brainer that Miss Vietnam would make it into the Final 15. Good thing she was good looking, according to my sister. I thought Miss USA was good looking - she had a kick-ass body. So not surprised, again, when she reached the Final 15. But as Jerry Springer and Scary Spice continued to read the names of the girls that reached the Top 15 spots, I thought it was getting redundant - redundant in that a lot of the Top 15 girls looked alike. I was talking to my sister on the phone as they were making the announcements and when they called Miss Mexico or Miss Dominican Republic, I was like, 'Hey, didn't we just see her, but her sash said Miss Spain.' (Side note - not surprised Spain made it into the Top 15 since they're coming off of their big Euro Cup win) I thought Italy and Russia looked similar - and surprisingly, there was only one "blonde" (a dark blonde, but a blonde nonetheless) from Australia. Otherwise the night belonged to the brunettes.

After they announced the Top 15, I was done with the show. I saw, this morning, that Miss Venezuela ended up winning. I believe she was the first one that was announced in the Top 15 and her eye makeup scared me. And rightfully so - in the pictures of her crowning, her mascara started running like a tribute to the late, Tammy Faye Baker.

But I digress. I'm glad to see that the field was dominated by brunettes, being one myself. And it never ceases to amaze me how much younger these girls are getting (18-22) and how much "older" they look with their gobs of make-up. But I guess it's all part of the show, right? Look your best and camera ready - where's that vaseline!

Repeat, Repeat Performance

2008-07-10T20:50:00.006-04:00

This past weekend, my husband Shawn and I went in on a couple of condos in South Padre Island with some of my Austin friends. We were pretty happy to be included, especially since we could not get our act together and figure out what we were doing until the night before everyone was leaving. This wouldn't have been that big of a deal except that it was 4th of July weekend. We got the room with the two single beds in the condo with the couple that had two kids. Call us Ward and June Cleaver.

Well, incredibly, it rained the ENTIRE weekend. This is not supposed to happen in Texas. I don't mean a few sprinkles here and there. I don't mean the bummer of an overcast sky. Oh no. I mean rain. Rain, rain, rain. So we drove four and a half hours to a beach in order to stay inside all weekend to eat, drink, eat, and drink some more. And some more. Good times. (You can ask my friend Michelle from New York, who I think tried to drunk dial me on that first night but got more than she bargained for - I'm sure I was probably twice as looped as she was, and she was the one who was eventually like, "Uh, yeah, I gotta go.").

So, take four couples and throw in some cabin fever, and what do you get? Let's call them "debates." There were a lot of doozy "debates" (thankfully none between Shawn and me), but my personal favorite involved the value of a story that one has already heard. Here's how it goes: the "day after," my friend Jenn and I kept bringing up a story from the night before. The story itself is not important. What is important is the fact that her boyfriend became very annoyed at having to hear it repeated several times. Fair enough - it wasn't the best story I've ever heard. But where he went too far was to proclaim that people should never repeat stories at all because (and I quote), "nobody cares."

Whoa! Excuse me?? I beg to differ. A good story is a good story. And each and every one of my friends has at least one of these gems. And you know what? Like a good movie or a book, I'm going to want to hear that story more than once. Heck, I just finished watching "Old School" for the umpteenth time, and it was even the crappy sanitized version on TBS. If I like a story, I'm going to get sucked in again, especially because, unlike the sanitized "Old School," there may be nuances in the second, third, twelfth time around that weren't in the first. New details = new laughs. And here's the other thing, perhaps the biggest thing of all: if there weren't any repeat stories, there wouldn't be any inside jokes.

And, where, my friends, is the fun in that???

Treasure Hunting

2008-07-09T09:25:00.015-04:00

I am in the midst of *thinking* about how to redecorate some of the rooms in my house. Note the asterisks around thinking and not actually doing. That is because I have so many ideas swirling around my head that I don't know how I'm going to settle on one thing. And I know that a lot of my ideas will be long term. But paint and furniture are easy to find and purchase. The part that I always seem to have a hard time with is art.

I love art - I love paintings and sculptures - I love seeing what crafters can do with their talents....and if there's something that catches my eye, I usually like to make a purchase. This is how I feel about art. I would LOVE for an interior decorator to come in and help me redecorate my rooms - but the one part that I wouldn't feel comfortable with is having them choose my art. I feel like art should touch me in some way - there should be a story behind it.

For instance, when Amanda and I went to London over Thanksgiving, we were taking in the sites and happened to stop at the Covent Garden Market....where we found a stand that was selling wooden flowers. The crafter's son was manning the booth, showing us all the different "flower arrangements" you could do with the flowers. We immediately loved what we saw and we proceeded to purchase as many as we thought we needed, which (of course) was not enough. I managed to buy three arrangements (one for me, others for Xmas gifts) and after coming back to the States, Amanda and I were both thinking we should have purchased more. I have my tulip arrangement in my dressing room and I look at it every day...it's so simple yet puts a smile on my face. The picture on the right shows you some of the tulips that Martin Jones (that is the master crafter) creates. He also has daffodils that you can peek in the bottom corner. I was not only in love with the flowers itself but I was also in love with this picture - so much so that I blew it up and FINALLY found a great frame for it and now have to find a place for it in my home. I also managed to write to Martin Jones to let him know just how much I appreciate his product and how I can't wait to go back.

There is a painting that I have had my eye on. It is a Thomas Kincaid. In case that name sounds familiar but you can't quite place it, he is the artist that sets up stores in the mall. Some of his paintings are fantastical....there is just that something that he puts in his paintings that warms your heart and brings it to life. He can really take a house on a street and paint it into this magical portrait of serene and beauty. He recently released a painting of the Biltmore Estate, down in North Carolina. The estate itself is beautiful but to see it the way Thomas Kincaid painted it really transports me back (personally) into another time.

(the real Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC)

I'm hoping to add the painting to my home one day *soon* because this is one that moves me. You can tell a really great story behind the painting and I think that is what art is meant to do.

(the Thomas Kincaid rendition of Biltmore)

So instead of going to Prints Plus or wherever in the mall, I've decided to make a conscious effort to look for art to fill my home when I go on travel now...not only will it be a good reminder of the trip I took but it will also, hopefully, have a good story behind it.

Living in a Tourist Trap

2008-07-07T10:34:00.003-04:00

Happy Belated 4th of July! I hope everyone, in the US, had a nice, relaxing long weekend. It's always nice when holidays fall next to a weekend to extend that weekend to a nice, LONG weekend.

I have learned long ago, through lots of personal experience, that I no longer wish to drive anywhere during a holiday weekend - doesn't matter the time of year....despite the rising gas prices, loads of people travel and they're all traveling by car. If I MUST travel during holidays, it will be days before and days after to avoid the heavy people traffic....but if I'm able to control my schedule (which I usually am), then I will avoid travel altogether and enjoy the comforts of home.

It's hard, however, when you live in a tourist trap. For me, it's our nation's capitol - Washington DC. I don't work in DC but I'm in the district a few times a month, either to play sports, meet up with friends or just enjoy the monuments. Unfortunately, it's the 'enjoying the monuments' that doesn't seem to happen as often as probably any local would like to admit. I think a big part of it is because we live here and we take it for granted. Throughout the spring and summer, I'm playing softball on the grounds of the Washington Monument and sometimes outside of the White House. At first it was cool to think that I use to come to visit these places as a child and just look at the monuments and buildings in awe. Now, I take it for granted that millions of people come to DC specifically to see these things. Same with the museums. I would love to explore more of what the Smithsonian Museums have to offer but the thought of crowds and tourists usually turn me away.

This past weekend, my sister and her kids visited. For weeks leading up to the visit, I was thinking of things to do with them since they've been here multiple times. And since the kids are 4 and 7, you need to find them something to keep them well occupied. I toyed with the idea of day trips to Richmond or Annapolis but the chicken in me shied away from it because I just didn't want to deal with traffic. So we settled for a day in DC at the Air and Space Museum. I haven't been to the one in DC for years! It had been so long that I thought the museum was on the opposite side of the Washington Mall....I still think I was right but I actually had to reference a map to find where the actual museum was. I hate looking like a tourist in my own backyard!

I think the kids had fun. The weather definitely cooperated, even if it was extremely humid....and there were LOADS and LOADS of people standing in line just to get into each of the museums. It was my worst nightmare come to life. But it wasn't all that bad - we walked around the Air and Space museum and was even able to enjoy some of the Folk Life Festival going on downtown.

I am not trying to deter people from coming out to our nation's capitol. It is beautiful, especially in the Fall and Cherry Blossom Season. Just some useful suggestions if you're planning on it - try to use public transportation (ie - the Metro) - it's clean, it's easy and it's semi-fast. And when you're going into a museum, if you can, try to avoid bringing strollers - some of those places, with their crowds of people, just are not stroller-friendly. AND with so many foreigners roaming around in every direction, manners and etiquette kind of gets thrown out the window.

I thought it was fitting that this morning, Yahoo! had a story about the world's worst tourists:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20080707/wl_time/mostobnoxioustouriststhefrench
It's an interesting article. In case you're wondering, the worst tourists are the French...followed by Indians (saw a lot of those this weekend) and Chinese (I'm so not surprised - since I also seem to look down upon them when I'm traveling) as the world's worst tourists.

Leave 'Em Alone

2008-07-02T08:54:00.003-04:00

Recent rumors are flying that Madonna and Guy Ritchie are heading for divorce court. I, for one, don't believe it. Yes, I'm a fan of Madonna's (not for all over her stuff, however) and Guy Ritchie is good looking (I wouldn't say I'm a fan as I haven't really seen many of his movies)....but I truly believe that this one IS NOT heading towards divorce...at least not in the foreseeable future.

What sparked these rumors is that each one was showing up to big events solo....the most publicized was probably Madonna's induction into the Rock-N-Roll Hall of Fame ceremony. I agree that this was a big deal in such a prolific career and to have your husband not be there for that special night? Very strange. But the explanation behind Guy not being there was that the Ritchie Family was still going through the adoption process of David Banda and wanted to maintain a steady home life to assure the Malawian courts that David would be in good hands. I would have to say that that is a satisfactory reason for not showing up to the RNR HoF ceremony. Especially if they both agreed that this would be the best course of action....which NONE OF US in the public know.

I believe that because both people in this marriage are high profile in their own industry, you would almost have to expect that they spend a lot of time apart and they cannot be near/with each other 24/7/365. Do you really think Guy and kids should go out on tour with Madonna? Not a chance. Should Madonna and kids drop everything to be on the set of Guy's next movie? Unreal. But I'm sure they make sacrifices and compromise, just like every other married couple in the world....and they work it out.

But I think the main reason that I don't believe that they are heading towards divorce is because when Madonna dropped her latest album, she said there was a song on there that she wrote about Guy...and it wasn't a 'bitch 'em out, you're an ass' type song...quite the opposite, I hear. And you know what, you just don't write songs like that if you're on the verge of separating from that person.

I could go on and on about how tabloids start/fuel these rumors just so they have something to report - but I cannot because that would be hypocritical of me. I, unfortunately, am a tabloid reader (online only - and I have a subscription to People, but People is factual, isn't it?) and probably one of the many reasons that these rumors get fueled....but I will be the first to decide, in my head, when I think a story is untrue - such as the one I discussed above. I wish "they" would just leave Guy and Madonna alone...and while you're at it, stop reporting on those useless reality stars....I'm ashamed that I even know their names...strictly from the tabloids. But I always skip over their "stories" because I really could give a flying fig about what any of them are doing since it all seems to be worthless.

What Would You Say?

2008-06-30T23:50:00.002-04:00

I am a creature of habit when it comes to eating. While I certainly enjoy a variety of cuisines, when I first discover something I like, I tend to go on a little mini binge with it. It's not really binging in the true sense (no, I don't gluttonously consume mass quantities in one sitting), but I do engage in a routine of consuming my new discovery on a frequent, and often repetitive, basis.

My friend Kim once gave me a Whirlipop for my birthday. It's no secret that I love popcorn, of course (hence the decision to gift to me this fantastic contraption), but I bet even Kim didn't know just how far I took it. I ate popcorn every day for a solid two weeks after that sucker was mine. Did I eventually get sick of it? Well, not really. Popcorn is one of those things I could eat every day without complaint. But I did end up eventually having to make room for some other foods in my diet, so I had to start occasionally letting popcorn take a backseat.

Since moving back to Texas, while I, sadly, have been robbed of the Starbucks molasses cookie (damn regional differences), I have been reintroduced to two WONDERFUL fast food delights. Taco Cabana and Sonic. If you haven't become acquainted with Taco Cabana, you're missing out. It is so many leagues above Taco Bell (try the chicken fajita taco - out of this world), and they even serve beer there. What could be better? I have to be honest too - I have eaten at countless sit down Tex-Mex places since I've been here, and Taco Cabana's chips and queso cream them all (is that a pun? almost, I think - but not quite). I ate Taco Cabana yesterday and then immediately craved it again today. And yum. It was just as tasty and satisfying on Day 2.

And then there's Sonic. Man, oh man. Sonic is awesome. It's true you have to deal with that awkward dilemma of whether to tip the carhop who delivers your food (they have a drive thru, but I can't tell the difference between that and the regular ordering style - you still get a carhop when you "drive thru"). However, it is well worth the effort. I've become accustomed to swinging by the Sonic after a good gym workout to get a refreshing Diet Cherry Limeade. I recently added a regular sized tater tots to my routine, which kind of defeats the purpose of the gym, but they're so tasty that I can't pass them up. I've earned it.

Which brings me to my point for today. After a great hour and a half workout at the gym, I pulled into Sonic to reward myself with a Diet Cherry Limeade and some tots. When the carhop comes out to deliver my food, I ask the rhetoric "How are you?" (translation: "Give me my tots and scram!")

Here's what I get in response: "Ugh. I feel fat today. It's all my husband's fault."

Now, I think I just uttered a non-committal, yet sympathetic "awww," but this begs the question - what the heck did she expect me to say? The girl looked like she was in her early twenties, and she was puffy - not fat - but dough boy puffy. I had seen her there before and observed her as a little chubby, but nothing out of the ordinary. But was she pregnant? Perhaps that was what she was trying to tell me.

But I wouldn't dare suggest such a thing and risk ruining my Sonic routine.

Museum Etiquette 101

2008-06-30T09:56:00.002-04:00

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to go view the Bodies Exhibit at the Maryland Science Center, in Baltimore. The exhibit was in DC last year and at the time, I was "unaware" of what the exhibit entailed, exactly, and couldn't find the time to go. When I found out that it was in Baltimore until Labor Day, I wanted to seize the chance to go up and check it out for myself.

For those of you that are on the fence about going to see the Bodies Exhibit - get off that fence and go - it was a fascinating experience and I did not toss my cookies...so it was all good.

As my friend and I were walking through the exhibit, we were reading up about all the different parts of your body as well as looking at the dissected bodies and how everything works together for a person. There was a lot of reading but not so much so that you had to skip over anything.

For the most part, we were able to get through the exhibit without issue - we read the fact boards, we looked at the bodies and we perused the display cases of organs. I had a few minor complaints that, if removed, could have made my experience more enjoyable - such as removing those people with body odor (there were a couple) and kids that didn't give a rat's ass about what they were looking at but instead chose to run around the space and be disruptive. I guess there's really nothing much you can do about these things - after all, they are paying customers too.

But the thing that really fried my cheese were those people that felt the need to read all the stuff aloud. There are two groups that come to mind when I think about this - one was a couple of mothers with their teenage children. Their kids CLEARLY were not interested or remotely fascinated by anything they were seeing. What makes them think that reading the information aloud to their kids would make them any more interested? It didn't...in fact, it only annoyed me more.

The other group was a family of two parents, their two kids and a set of grandparents. Any time they came into a section of the exhibit that I was in, I felt like the dueling banjos were going off in my head. They had thick 'southern' accents and they just had to comment about every little thing.
'Earl - look at this one...just like the sign said, he has six of 'em on each.'
'Grampy - I think this one was a smoker....her lungs are gray.'

I thought it was understood, in any type of museum or exhibit (for adults) that it was proper etiquette to use library voices when discussing displays or reading information....I know that I've been in museums where people have gotten shushed for being too loud. It's just what's done....

Seriously - had I wanted someone to read to me or provide a commentary, I would have paid extra for the audio equipment at the beginning of the exhibit.... At some points of the exhibit, I felt like it was me and my friend trying to play 'keep away,' or more like 'get away,' from these two groups. Thank goodness for speed reading classes (thanks, Mom) - so I could read, look and get the heck out of there.

A Real-Life Traveler

2008-06-26T10:36:00.003-04:00

This is what I want to be - a "real" traveler. When I travel now, on vacation, I usually map out all the things I would like to see or do. Whether it be to a place I've been before or somewhere new, I always do my research to see what I could possibly do to make my whole trip worthwhile. It is the planner in me. When I decide that I want to go somewhere, the first thing I do is look at flight times, how I will get to hotels (if I don't have a rental car), and all the things that are in the neighborhood of the hotel. Then I look at the big picture and list all the things that I would like to see/do while I'm on vacation. My days are practically planned out before I even leave. For some reason, I am just not a 'fly by the seat of my pants' type of person. I need to know that I will have a nice place to sleep, access to transportation, internet and other amenities when I get there. Maybe that makes me a high maintenance traveler but I guess I just like to be 'prepared.'

However, as I talk to other people about their travels, it always fascinates me that they're doing things that I would never think of doing - they almost travel off the beaten path...and that doesn't sound so bad. I'm wondering if I can just get away with booking my flight and hotel to a destination and nothing else....deciding upon what to do only when I get there? I'm not sure if I can....I don't know if it's in me.

Part of me does want an adventure, though. I want to be able to travel somewhere and have amazing finds and bring it back home and say, 'I purchased this while I was in *such-and-such* and it was so great. I found so many great things while I was there.' But my problem is I don't know where to find the good stuff - I don't want to keep buying ready-made souveys and chachkas to bring home -I want to bring home something significant so it can be a constant reminder of my time in that place.

How does one go about doing this? My guess is that to get started, I just need to book a trip to somewhere I'd like to explore and just go - just do it....TRY to have an adventure and see what I make out with. OR I can travel with friends that do know how to find the good finds and explore when they're somewhere new...and follow their lead. I don't want to be the touristy tourist (with map and camera constantly in hand) - I want to be the laid back tourist that takes everything in, come what may.

If this doesn't sound right, I'm taking other suggestions!