Rainy Days and Mondays...

always get me UP!

I love the magic of a dark rainy day. Monday's aren't my favorite, but as good a day as any.

I'm just working away and trying to get the newsletter out - CHECK!

So much wedding stuff is weighing on my mind. I'm going to be so glad to enjoy the trip home (three weeks?!) and the whole experience. But I've got to be honest that I'm looking forward to the huge SIGH of relief afterward - to be a happily married lady... Could I become a SMUG married? Ah, leaving Singleton-dom behind.

SO, I do love rain, but I would prefer sunshine for my wedding - and the other weekend activities. But if it rains, we'll be together, and the reception will just move to the church (or something?) - we'll make it work. And rain can be lucky. AH!

~Mari.

Always Learning...

My Farmhands


I took this picture Christmas 2006 when we were home. This is at the Red Hill. I did a gradient map overlay then wiped out the color of the tractor - pretty nuts. Shawn and Owen are sitting on the tractor. So cute. And I did the overlay of a digital scrapping freebie - the frames. So cool. I did a drop shadow before I merged the layers. It could use some more work, but I think this is pretty good.

~M.

Shea

Fun at the stadium:

















We went to a Mets game on Wednesday with Frank and Christel - two of Shawn's work colleagues. It was COOOOLD up there in the nosebleed seats, but it was so much fun. The train ride wasn't too bad on the way out there. We had "hot dogs" (which I repeatedly said in the New Joisey accent perfected by Lisa's British cousin Thomas during his recent visit to NYC) and a pretzel. Our tickets were only $3 each (the joys of being affiliated with NYU), so buying food seemed appropriate. The Mets were playing the Nationals. It was the day AFTER a guy fell to his death on an escalator, so we were extra careful to hold on and pay attention where we were going. The Mets one. Shawn, who doesn't really care about baseball, cheered for the Nationals. He was being funny. There were obnoxious high school kids sitting behind us. The stadium is in the flight path for planes going to/from La Guardia. I love the picture above with the flags and the plane. Owen will definitely enjoy a baseball game when he visits this summer.

The train ride home wasn't as easy. A kid was being stupid. He was with his parents and not holding on, and the train lurched and he fell backwards, stomping down HARD on my toe. Just what I need - a bruised toe in time for the wedding. My shoes are open toe. Luckily it didn't do any visible damage and I haven't really thought about it. But here's a tip - keep your feet tucked under your seat if at all possible during train rides.

I love 30 Rock for many reasons, one of which is Lemon says "Blugh."

~M.

Bracelet from Greenflea

An old typewriter key. I love it. I don't really wear bracelets, but I've been sporting this one. It was a memento from the weekend activities with Lisa and her family. I crashed on the South Street Seaport, Brooklyn Bridge and Staten Island Ferry trip as well as the flea market and Mexican dinner. Good times. I may be banished now, but it was fun while it lasted.
~M.

Invitations - CHECK!

A heart of invitations.










Mari and Shawn mailing the invites - photo by Julian.

Saturday's Walk Across the Brooklyn Bridge



We had PERFECT weather on Saturday, so we thought we'd make the most of it. After each going to the gym (not being married I don't have access to the NYU gym, so I frequent Lucille Roberts), we wandered around the neighborhood until we found a restaurant that had open air seating. Unfortunately it was in the shade, so a little chilly. But the price was cheap and we could people watch, which was fun.

We walked to the subway, and right before we descended at W4th Street to catch the A to Brooklyn, we were handed free cokes in glass bottles. Ah, memories of the shop and opening those sweet cokes and dr. pepper's on the old bottle opener. And the taste - wow. Can't beat the taste of crisp coke in a bottle. YUM. So we took pictures of that.

Onto Brooklyn, we walked from the Brooklyn side to the Manhattan side, then walked south to South Street Seaport. We enjoyed the STRAND Outlet store (18 miles of books), I found an "Owen" New York bike plate, and we saw crazy people, giant boats and the Brooklyn Bridge from another angle (see the last photos).

All in all, a pretty good outing for a spur-of-the-moment idea. ~Mari.

Peepshow from My Window

NYU students get naked for Earth - Campus

Shawn was making lunch on Thursday when he was distracted by a parade, of sorts, basically naked people chanting down the street. He didn't notice they were naked - from 5 flights up I guess the paint on their bodies and the signs that covered them distracted him. I noticed when I looked but wasn't sure enough to tell him until they were walking down the street. What a pity.

Anyway, I found this article and realized what it was about. (Couldn't understand their shouting/chanting or read their signs ourselves) I wish I'd thought to stick my camera out the window to show our perspective of the event. I'll get better at training myself to be at the ready for camera ops.

~Mari.

My Boys

Keep finding oldies and goodies to test out my digital scrapbooking knowledge on - I am killing myself, sitting at the computer much longer than work requires me to, but I LOVE this stuff. How can I ever go back to paper and scissors and glue and everything looking like a Kindergartener did it???

~M.
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Sad Story

I've come across this article in the clippings from work. Breaks my heart.

Report Cites Abuse of 91,000 Babies Under 1 - washingtonpost.com
Neglect, Abuse Seen in 90,000 Infants - AP
Study Finds Abuse in One of 43 Babies - New York Times
1 in 50 infants abused or neglected - Baltimore Sun

They don't have previous data to know if this is a trend. But most of the abuse in these youngest babies (less than a week in some cases) is neglect. Maybe it's just new moms not knowing what to do? Either way, it's just horrifying.

Here's the definition of neglect for this study: the failure the meet a child's basic needs:

"That can be anything involving the provision of appropriate housing or food or clothing or even access to medical care."
It also shows all the different headlines and the way the newspapers handled this story.

I don't know the answer. But I hope this much press makes something happen.

~Mari.

Tea Tree Oil Shampoo

When I went home for Easter and the wedding shower, Beth and I had our hair blown out - just as a treat. I was half asleep from the early morning plane rides and anxious to get back to playing with Owen, visiting with family, etc. SO I wasn't the best client for the hairdresser. She was nice though, and gave me a valuable tip.

Two things were happening - the area of my scalp closest to my forehead (I guess my hairline) was flaking. This has always been the case (well always being since I've been in grad school I think...maybe longer) - so I just deal with it, comb it out and move on. I've tried some dandruff shampoos, and it's not always super noticeable or bothersome. WELL, the hairdresser told me that it isn't dandruff but dry scalp - probably caused by stress (imagine that). She recommended tea tree oil infused shampoo. She washed, dried and styled my hair, and my scalp was a lot better - less flaky with only a few little red patches that needed to heal. Well, a week and a half later, I've been washing my hair every other day (or maybe every third day - hard to keep track w/o work outfits and hairstyles to keep me on schedule) - and my scalp is 500 times better. My hair hasn't lost any body or curl or anything, plus I love the sweet pepperminty smell of the shampoo and the thick conditioner. I bought some Triple Threat shampoo from Duane Reed drugstore. And it's working great. I love new, successful beauty tips!

The hairdresser told me I was shedding a lot of hair though (tell me something I don't know) - another thing caused by stress. I've always had lots of hair, and I still have lots of thick out of control hair, so I've never been bothered too much by losing some. But maybe THAT will be the next hair thing I tackle. Possible causes are stress, of course, and lack of protein. But I eat meat every day, so we'll see.

Maybe when the wedding's over my stress will be gone - YEAH RIGHT... Meanwhile I'm enjoying my sweet smelling hair and non-itchy scalp. Ta Da!

~Mari.

Digital Scrapbooking

I went to Michaels in Queens this weekend - to pick up some supplies. I've got all my bells done for the wedding (Gran is starching them for me!) - and I needed something else to crochet - before I start on my next effort, the chromium star blanket. Anyway, while there I picked up this magazine: Digital Scrapbooking Magazine

It has inspired me... So I'm probably going to have a whole new "craft" to obsess over!

~Mari.

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Thanks for your interest in silvermari crochet hats . Most of what I make are sized for infants and toddlers, although I can size up and dow...