White Sand, Aqua Green Water, Azure Sky

OK - Florida probably has the best beaches I've ever been to - which isn't saying much I know, coming from a land-locked state. The sand was so white and soft and cool to the touch. The water was so clear and blue-green. While we were there the sky was so clear and blue - a deep azure that was so calming.

Hotel, Motel, Holiday Inn...

This being the start of the "low" season, the beaches weren't too crowded (and the motel rates were cheaper). We stayed at the Club Monaco Motel, which was a nice beachy motel. They had Lisa soap, which was really funny (I already sent this picture to my cousin Lisa). The room was clean, but small. We spent most of our time outside or at the wedding anyway, so it served its purpose!

Sunblock & burn

Yeah, I am TERRIBLE at applying sunscreen. I mean, I start the day with it, and even sometimes I'll reload. But inevitably I miss spots. I've tried creams and sprays - either way I end up with funky striped burns. Painful. This time my ankles got spotted and I had a weird finger mark along my back (even though I did have Shawn help me out with that!). I know it will heal, but that doesn't make me happier.

The time we spent on the beach was great otherwise - we swam, collected shells and I took a few pictures (although not as many as I should have!). I love the picture of our feet together (how great is my purple nail polish? Sally Hansen Quick Dry in Pronto Purple), and I also made a sand heart with our initials (the sand was so white it was ridiculous - I was really wishing Owen Max could have been there with us!).

Wedding Bells

The wedding, i.e. the main event, was incredible - Kim looked amazing and she and Tom are so happy. The ceremony was short and sweet, and the reception was a lot of fun. I got to catch up with the CNS/UMD group, and meet two new additions: Amin and Haydin. SO CUTE. It's also great to see Shawn interact with kids. He really is going to be a great dad.

During the reception we went outside - there was a view of the intercoastal waters and it was so peaceful with all the stars and the clear sky. We just meant to step out and then go back in for the cake cutting, but we got wrapped up in a NYC-based conversation with someone who had lived there before. WE MISSED THE CAKE CUTTING! Basically they didn't make an announcement that made it outside, so we didn't know (we were facing the water instead of the windows into the reception hall). My friend Maya (Happy Birthday today!) showed me the cutting on her camera in video form, but I was just so distraught that I basically got up and ran away from our conversation with the guy who had lived in NYC. So on top of feeling crummy about that (I mean do I have to be so rude?), we missed the cutting! One of the best parts. Oh well.

The travel to/from was easy, although each flight was delayed by about an hour. We did have a great time having a rental car - and we found another perk of marriage. Although the car was rented in my name Shawn could drive it free/was covered by the policy b/c he's my husband! Very cool.

Of course it's non-stop raining here in NYC, but I'll enjoy it while I can - nursing my burned skin. But I definitely want to plan another trip to Florida's beaches...and maybe get myself in some of my photos (although I guess my toes count, right?)...

Flickr Challenge - Five Months Later?

Type your answer to the questions into flickr search

-Using only the first page, pick an image
-Copy and paste each of the urls in the Mosaic Maker

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3.What high school did you go to?
4.What is your favorite color?
5.Who is your celebrity crush?
6.What is your favorite drink?
7.What is your dream vacation?
8.What is your favorite dessert?
9.What do you want to do when you grow up?
10.Who/what do you love most in life?
11.Choose one word that describes you?
12.What is your Flickr name?

1. Mari on the run!, 2. Cheesecake, 3. Desert Flowers, 4. Gotham City, 5. vincent d'onofrio, 6. Week 35: classic., 7. double and supernumerary rainbows, 8. Clickstart My Heart, 9. ..Precious Things.., 10. superheroes, 11. Fat Bottomed Girls They'll Be Riding Today, 12. look!

Teaser: Florida Weekend

I didn't take as many photos as I should have, but I've got plenty to write about from our weekend in the sun for Kim & Tom's wedding.

Fresh Face

Last night Owen typed me a message and Beth moved the camera so I could see him working away. OMG - how cute is this? Great that Skype allows a video capture like that. I have a weird green line that appears down the middle of the picture in the live feed, but clearly it's a glitch since the right-colored pixels are there somehow since the snap shots come out ok. Anyway. Love this Bubba! He's been on green all week. Keep up the good work!!!

I am enjoying Pandora - how have I not used this before? I used Yahoo! Music before it folded (at least I assume it folded) - and rated more than 10,000 songs - I heard all my favorites whenever I wanted. Loved it. This Pandora is sort of the same, except it's more genre based. I put in Trisha Yearwood and now I'm listening to country music that's LIKE her - i.e. everything I like in country music and so far (about 2 hours in) nothing that I don't like. I had some monotonous tasks to do so I wanted some music but couldn't face the idea of my own tunes (which, to be honest, includes a lot of what Pandora has been playing me today BUT in a fresh new mix I guess, adding in some things I love but don't own).

Yesterday my back started to hurt - so much that I was near tears and could hardly walk. I had a chiropractor appointment anyway so I struggled to it. She spent more time on me and I'm going back next week - it's feeling much better today, so hopefully it was just the stress of no caffeine and the power walk back from the doctor. But geez, it's like my body is rebelling against me. I hope it keeps loosening up and feeling OK as the day goes on.

Hair Raising!

In my spare time (I know, I know), I watched a couple blow drying videos. It stems from my obsession with hair products, which has really petered out since marriage - just that I'm keeping myself more in check and not being so frivolous with my cash, seeing as how it's now OUR cash. But it made me want to show an evolution from air dried hair (slept on) and flat ironed... Results:

Fluffy? Why yes. (A little gel/cream before I go to bed would smooth this out into more ringlet-y curls)

Halfway there - left side of my head is flat ironed.

Voila! Fully straight... Well, at least good enough for government work. I put in my contacts for the last picture, but all are sans make up. EGADS!

Happy Wednesday, aka Webcamming with O night!!!

Just My Luck

I just opened a 7-Up (clear liquids and no caffeine ... antibiotics ... you get the picture. if not, e-mail me) - and it spewed all over my keyboard and lap. Geez louise!

Anyway, I should be feeling better in 24 hours. Fingers crossed. I actually feel 100% better than I did when racing back from the doctor's office. For the love.

Other problems I'm having - a sty on my left eye and a cut in my nose, which has morphed into a zit on the outside. To get the picture: I said "see you later, alligator" and Shawn replied with: "after a while, rhinoceros" - nice, right? I also have a mark by my mouth ... Just in time for Kim's wedding - which should be great. We're going to Florida on Friday night - back on Sunday. Hopefully I'll have loads of pictures to share and experiences to write.

Am going to lie down and hope all my issues get resolved before Friday!

Reflect

I've posted this image before - it's also on an old page of my Web site (which I recently had to renew - domain and hosting, which led me to peruse it ... it's so early 21st century/web 1.0 ... must find time to fix it). It's still one of my FAVORITE shots of Shawn. From my one film class at OSU (don't get me started), I learned that low camera angles evoke power - plus I love the color of his grilling shirt and the frame of green leaves. AND it was such a happy time in our lives - we'd been together for almost a year, he was living in this super cool house and we were surrounded by friends in a BACK YARD! (Sure, the park is nice, but it can't compare to being able to have people over and grill in your yard.) Also, Sage is in a lot of the photos from this party, so there are fond memories there.

OMG - I also found my old Tripod blog: http://silvermari.tripod.com/blog/index.blog. Are you kidding me?

RIP Bea Arthur

New Retainers

retainers
Originally uploaded by silvermari

I'll get to have the molds of my mouth that they made to create these new beauties. Straight teeth for life!

Good Ad: State Farm

> LeBron James dancing to Kid-N-Play

> McDreamy's voice over

>Good stuff!



I've got to say I laugh EVERY time this commercial comes on (and watching basketball, especially a Cav's game, it comes on a lot)!

500: Beautiful Mind

Right - I wanted my 500th post to be something good, but I'm incapable and will otherwise be blog stunted. Anyway.

Tonight Shawn is at a conference and I'm here so I watched "A Beautiful Mind." I read the book after it was recommended by/on the syllabus of the professor whose class I wrote about for work. I really enjoyed the book - I generally enjoy biographies and this was a very well researched and interesting subject. But I didn't write a review of it.

So the movie is not so good and seemed to stray so far from the "real" story - it was definitely more cinematic. Then I'm getting toward the end (crocheting away on the blanket that will never end ... but that's another entry) and WHO should I see as a professor in one of the last scenes ... one of our emeritus board members. I guess it came full circle, but geez louise. I even watched the credits to make sure it was him. And it sure was. Huh.

Basketball now. Rawk. Happy 500. (I blog more for work - we've surpassed 600 posts in less time than I've been writing here - oh well)

FWD: You Might Be a School Employee If ...

Jeff Foxworthy on School Employees

YOU might be a school employee if you believe the playground should be equipped with a Ritalin salt lick.

YOU might be a school employee if you want to slap the next person who says, 'Must be nice to work 8 to 3:30 and have summers off.

YOU might be a school employee if it is difficult to name your own child because there's no name you can come up with that doesn't bring high blood pressure as it is uttered.

YOU might be a school employee if you can tell it's a full moon or if it's going to rain, snow, hail....anything!!! Without ever looking outside.

YOU might be a school employee if you believe, 'shallow gene pool' should have its own box on a report card.

YOU might be a school employee if you believe that unspeakable evils will befall you if anyone says, 'Boy, the kids sure are mellow today.'

YOU might be a school employee if when out in public, you feel the urge to snap your fingers at children you do not know and correct their behavior.

YOU might be a school employee if you have no social life between August and June.

YOU might be a school employee if you think people should have a government permit before being allowed to reproduce.

YOU might be a school employee if you wonder how some parents MANAGED to reproduce.

YOU might be a school employee if you laugh uncontrollably when people refer to the staff room as the 'lounge.'

YOU might be a school employee if you encourage an obnoxious parent to check into charter schools or home schooling and are willing to donate the U-HAUL boxes should they decided to move out of district.

YOU might be a school employee if you think caffeine should be available in intravenous form.

YOU might be a school employee if you can't imagine how the ACLU could think that covering your students chair with Velcro and then requiring uniforms made out of the corresponding Velcro could ever be misunderstood by the public.

YOU might be a school employee if meeting a child's parent instantly answers this question, 'Why is this kid like this?'

YOU might be a school employee if you would choose a mammogram over a parent conference.

YOU might be a school employee if you think someone should invent antibacterial pencils and crayons...and desks and chairs for that matter!

YOU might be a school employee if the words 'I have college debt for this?' has ever come out of your mouth.

YOU might be a school employee if you know how many days, minutes, and seconds are left in the school year!

Best Part of Kazoo

Last night we went to Cirque du Soleil and it was pretty fun. Here was our favorite part ... The Wheel of Death.

Testing Windows Live Writer

So … I thought I would test this out. Anyway.

This didn't work to post, but it did make a draft. I deleted the software though. I think I'll keep my notes in my notebook and transfer to the blog directly. MEH. The picture looks really cute though.

Note to Myself

I went to Target today - suburban paradise. I took the PATH train to New Jersey. I almost bought a notebook w/ a picture of a typewriter that was labeled "Note to Myself" - but what do I need another notebook for? (Answer: I don't)

I'm pretty tired now - walking with a load of Target goodies is bound to make me worn out. But it's all good.

Boring life = boring updates. Travel in a couple weeks will hopefully provide more interesting content. Hrm.

What I Read: A Beautiful Mind

A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar

rating: 3 of 5 stars

View all my reviews.

tact

This cracks me up - found it stumbling while dinner was cooking.

Confession: I put milk in my coffee today! Egads! I had a Latte and really liked it, so thought I would try some milk in my coffee. Yummo. But I am sure I'll vacillate between black and cafe au lait.

Happy Friday.

Lorien

Uh, this hotel is so swank ... and the COO at my org got a great deal on the room b/c the org is having a big meeting here later this month or next. It's got a rainhead shower and no ice machine ... if you want ice, call room service! Are you kidding me?

So what I really can't get over ... there's a computer in the room w/ free internet use. INSANITY. Who knew? So I thought I would be away from email and just relax tonight but noooooo. I'm rockin out on a faster computer than the one I have at home (exaggeration, but still this is nice).

I had dinner tonight and overheard the craziest conversation about Facebook. One woman had an iPhone and started bringing up various Facebook profiles of people the second woman knew (none were Facebook friends of either woman) - and the second woman was simultaneously enthralled in looking at pictures and comments she couldn't access herself and appalled that someone could look at her information in the same way, despite having her account as "friends only." Hrm. I don't know how my account is set.

A couple (?) weeks ago Shawn and I went to the Red Lion and heard a great singer - Abbey Payne. Of course she's unfindable online. This is the second time it's happened to me - I hear a singer at the Red Lion and then can't find them online after the fact (first was Mike Stanton). Anyway, note to Red Lion - include links for your artists (if they exist, maybe they don't in both cases). And artists, do some SEO so you show up on page 1 of a Google search of your name ... that is if you want to be found. I digress.

Am still battling a sore throat. The weather has been hideous and rainy (perfect for staying in, not so much for travel). I'm taking the train back tomorrow, and it's supposed to be better weather. We'll see. Going to get some good rest tonight - in a MUCH better bed than I own, although no bed is better than the one that also sleeps Shawn. (mushy public love note to the hubs!)

Update: The hotel computer blocked access to my blog. I had to set it to allow "mature" content. Wonder how that works. Am I mature in my writing? Uh...

Welcome to Cheesies: Easter Reflections

Here's a picture of Owen - 4.75 years old - wearing a headset Beth bought at a garage sale for a dime (!) - hours of fun ... "Welcome to Cheesies, can I take your order?" We had a lot of fun playing with it. (He made up the Cheesies' restaurant - not a real place I know of ... everything is $1, except it's $5 to take a picture of the proprietor...and isn't the photo priceless?)

The trip was WAY too short, and the travel way too exhausting. I'm coming down with my typical cold I think - or at least a sore throat, possibly allergy-related. But it's all worth it even for a little bit of time with the coolest kid on the planet.

Easter service at church was great. The choir did a cantata and the music mixed with the Bible reading was awesome. After church we had Easter lunch (ham, scalloped potatoes, salad, pea salad, deviled eggs, etc.) and then birthday cake - Gran celebrated a birthday last week, which was the "true" reason for my visit. The only dud thing was that Shawn didn't come with me. Otherwise all family was accounted for. In addition to a lot of time playing outside, Owen and I had a couple rounds of dominoes - Owen really loves the set that Shawn's mom gave him for our wedding. Good buy!

I'm almost ready for another trip tomorrow - to work. Going to be in the office for a meeting - the first time since I have moved away. I am also scoping out a swank hotel in old town. So should be nice. I'll be back Thursday, so just a quick trip. It will be exhausting though. BUT because my laptop is busted and I haven't replaced or repaired it, my luggage will be considerably lighter. HA!

Anyway.

Review: Cash

Cash: The Autobiography by Johnny Cash

My review

This felt like a compilation of all the stuff that was rejected from his first autobiography, which I haven't read. This was a Strand find, and overall I liked it. There were a couple things I jotted down while reading it (all in one day, on the plane trip to Oklahoma). I passed the book along to my dad, since it has a lot of Cash's spiritual journey and ruminations. I guess it was sort of a memoir. I could take it or leave it though. Meh.

View all my reviews.

ABC Puff Stitch for Bryn

ABC Puff Stitch for Bryn
Originally uploaded by silvermari

Quickly posting this blanket. It isn't blocked yet, but all things considered it's pretty square. It's one of the most darling ones I've done, with all white puff letters and adding lilac thread into the block edgings. The Q is out of alignment, but I am saying that gives it character and a homemade quality!

Only One More SLEEP!

Inside the Madness

It's a mad, mad world. Can't deny it. Watching Fringe last night saw the last 5 minute/overrun of American Idol, a show with which I am not acquainted and don't care to be. Anyway, a digression brought about by the word "mad."

So at work we have to fill out a form to request leave (a new development - before this it was always an informal agreement w/ the supervisor). That's good I guess, but yesterday when getting my metal removed I had to make a return appointment. Since the appointment is in one week, it's impractical for me to snail mail a form requesting the 45 minutes off that I'll need to go pick up the new retainer. So I checked and a scanned copy is acceptable. Great.

I haven't used my scanner since the bedbugs, but it's right here by my desk and shouldn't be a problem. WRONG. For some reason it doesn't connect with the already installed software, so I need the disc to reinstall. I search everywhere EASY I think it might be. Then I realize most of the CDs are in the bottom of a trunk at the bottom of my closet.

Yep, I spent a good 30 minutes of work time pulling stuff out (while cursing the bedbugs that caused everything to be so tightly packed away) so I could get the scanner CD and scan this form for 45 minutes off. Real ironic.

But the WORST part is that the CD wasn't there with all the others (HP reinstall CDs for my laptop, CD for Microsoft products I got at OSU, etc.). That's when I remembered - I was so smart that I put the CD itself into the scanner where it would always be easily findable.

I like to think of myself as competent and together. Clearly that is not the case.

*Edit - As a salaried employee, I actually do work longer than the prescribed hours, so my 30 minutes of closet diving won't really affect things. (Wouldn't want people to think I'm a slacker!)

Metal Mouth No More

I went to the dentist today and had my bottom teeth, permanent retainer removed. They also did molds for new retainers (top and bottom). So for the first time in 11 years (more than that if you count when I had my braces on), my mouth is completely metal free. The backs of my bottom teeth feel so weird - smooth because he polished them - while the other teeth feel normal. Bizarre.

So I go to the dentist and am so excited. The dental hygienist greets me and says "Excited to be here?" and I'm all "YEAH!" because I really am. And it's not just the cleaning out of my mouth - it's also a good and exciting thing for me to walk outside of this square box and actually speak to other people on occasion. I really think I'm circling the drain on this one. (Not to mention the ... well, you know)

But the trip out perked me up, and in one week I should have my new retainers. If my teeth move between now and then the retainer will straighten it back out. Hopefully their 11-year memory will hold them in place for a week.

Somewhere in my room at my mom's house I have my old teeth mold - I wonder if I'll get to keep this one.

SilverMari to Martin Silver

Someone in Chicago named Martin Silver seems to have used my gmail address to sign up for updates from Highland Park Hospital. I kept getting messages and just deleted them. But today I got one that used Martin's name, so I knew something wasn't right. SO, I requested they stop sending me emails. Hopefully Martin signed up using his REAL email address (I suspect a typo - leaving out the t and n in Martin perhaps?).

Review: Here is New York

Here is New York by E.B. White

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars

New York today is the same as New York of 1948 but also SO different. I didn't fully get the geography, but that's because I don't venture past my set paths (neighborhood downtown, church uptown and some regular tourist spots in between). But that was also a point E.B. White made in this slim book - basically an essay about the city.

I read this paragraph aloud to Shawn:

"New York is nothing like Paris; it is nothing like London; and it is not Spokane multiplied by sixty or Detroit multiplied by four. It is by all odds the loftiest of cities. It even managed to reach the highest point in the sky at the lowest moment of the depression. The Empire State Building shot twelve hundred and fifty feet into the air when it was madness to put out as much as six inches of new growth."

This gives me hope in this time of our new depression (in more ways than one, I'm afraid) - and how beautiful is that writing? I completely agree with the jacket's description of White's style: "a pure and plainspoken literary style: his writing was characterized by whit, sophistication, optimism and moral steadfastness." I mean, the man was responsible for "Elements of Style," so he knows what he's doing.

And he's writing about my city (well actually I'm just borrowing it).

I think I'll pass along this copy to my Gran, since it's written about New York around the time/just after the time she visited my Grandpa when he was stationed here.

View all my reviews.

Tuesday-Schmooze-day

M-E-H. That spells meh.

Watching a little OU women's basketball on ESPN. I'd forgotten my sports bone, but madness is bringing it out. Maybe I'll be a better college sports fan next year. I think we'll be better NYU women's BB fans/start going to games earlier in the season.

So, the Norway trip off - need to discuss but FYI. Some tax issue - basically NYC taxes were never taken out of my check (and believe me, NYC charges a high price for the privilege of living in relative squalor) so I have a big payment to make in the next couple weeks. Shawn's solution was cancel this trip, so that's the plan. I've got a passport though and will travel if the opportunity arises. I've also got a week's vacation already approved. Somehow I don't imagine I'll be actually taking it off. Hrm.

I've been awake since before 6 today and slept only a few hours on Sunday night as well. Haven't really been eating well - no one to blame but myself. But come on. It's hard to get it together when together consists of sitting in a room alone on a phone or e-mailing.

Webcamming tonight because tomorrow we're going to see a play. Owen is getting more interactive - he sent me kisses through the computer (but they came out of the duct tape behind me instead of my camera! what kind of silly goose thinks of that???) and he told me about trains, how they work and his favorites (steamies like Thomas). He also knows quite a bit about the Statue of Liberty - when Beth was here I bought him a book about it at the Scholastic Store in SoHo. OMG he's the cutest (and he's never going to say OMG again!) ... I can't wait for Easter to go give him a SQUEEEEEEEZE!

Review: Poster Child

Poster Child: A Memoir by Emily Rapp

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
I finished this book in the wee hours today. I inhaled it, loving the writing and topic - a girl's life. She happens to have an artificial leg, which is a theme of the book without overtaking it or being obtrusive to the shared experience of life. A Strand find that I'm happy I bought.


View all my reviews.

Snow Globe

Last one for today, I promise - here's a picture of Shawn ice skating on the night I banged my knee (I hadn't fallen yet). See the snow falling - it was like we were inside a snow globe, looking up at the tall buildings lit up. Ah, New York. *eye roll*

West SIDE

HAHA - just cleaning out my camera with pics I've taken this spring - mostly for the Shawn birthday one. I photoshopped the salad dressing spot off my dress (I can't eat w/o spilling something). This is Beth and me right before we left to see West Side Story. Aren't sisters fun?

(She's not taller than me - she was just rocking heels and I'm sticking to flats for any outings that require even a bit of walking!!!)

Overheard at Cozy Brunch

One of our rituals/routines is to have brunch after church at Cozy Soup & Burger. It's featured in Big Daddy and there are some signed pictures of random actors. We once saw the dad from Mad About You (Burt Buchman) in the restaurant. He's pretty old though.

Anyway, today we were in ear shot of a couple ~25 year old guys. They were talking about relationships and it was all I could do to go sit down and just stare at them and listen intently. One apparently cheated on his girlfriend and was trying to justify it to the other friend - "I couldn't stay in a relationship that made me unhappy" (emphasis mine), etc. He also talked about being a serial monogamist. Give me a break.

Later the other guy (I got the impression he did not have a girlfriend) was talking about how he wants to be married and have a kid when he's 30. "That means I'd have to be engaged by the time I'm 28," he said in an almost panicky voice, which made me bust out laughing. What a girl thing to say. But I guess men and women do worry about the same things - finding and securing love for life, stability and security and in the end, happiness.

I'm pretty lucky that I've got that with old Shawn. Here's a photo of him on his birthday, wearing his new "N" shirt from Beth and with the green laser pointer from my mom.

The cake I baked him didn't turn out so great, although it tasted OK. But our steak dinner was pretty nice and we are planning to go to a play next week to extend the celebration. I bought him a math textbook he picked out.

Yep, he's a nerd. But he's my nerd!

Shawnee-Whanee.

Volunteers in Mission

Today's church service was a mission trip wrap-up. A team recently went to Chile and helped build a classroom and put on a vacation Bible school for some children there. Part of our service was in Spanish and we even sang some in Spanish too. That was pretty cool.

The four volunteers spoke, and one talked about the "mountain-top" experience and how you can get that even without going on a mission trip. Just look for God in the small things - in the perfectly formed spiderweb or playing with a puppy (two things she found while she was in Chile). It made sense to me, but maybe I would like to be in service beyond these walls (I'm in service to my hometown church with its website, which sorely needs updating, but I digress).

As part of the service we sang "Here I am, Lord." Man, that song really moves me. It's beautiful and has strong associations for me. I learned it when I was about 10 - we sang it at church after a team went to Alaska to build a church building there. One of the volunteers was my father. And I remember missing him and being proud of him while he was gone, and when he came home they taught us this song (which had been in the UMC hymnal all along!). He had grown a beard and looked as happy as I've ever seen him.

Here's the chorus: "Here I am, Lord. Is it I lord? I have heard you calling in the night. I will go, Lord. If you lead me. I will hold your people in my heart."

Really a beautiful and moving song.

~M

FWD: How to Tell the Sex of a Fly

A woman walked into the kitchen to find her
husband stalking around with a fly swatter

'What are you doing?'
She asked.

'Hunting Flies'
He responded..

'Oh. ! Killing any?'
She asked.

'Yep, 3 males, 2 Females,' he replied.

Intrigued, she asked.
'How can you tell them apart?'

He responded,
'3 were on a beer can,
2 were on the phone.

skidoosh

i should be better about titling my posts. meh.

am waiting for shawn to get home from his trip. it's rainy outside. basketball on tv - background noise i guess. m-e-h.

read this blog post (Blog Post Ideas that Always Generate Buzz on TheFutureBuzz.com) and i like this recommendation especially for a blog post idea:

33. Do a Twitter search for tweets on a particular subject - display them together on your blog (compile in photoshop). Create bullet points of trends you notice at the bottom of the post.

Hrm. what would be my twitter search? wow - some interesting stuff on crochet - a way to find fellow twitter crocheters. (your results will vary when you click through) I don't think I've ever tweeted about crochet. What do I tweet? NONSENSE and a bit of retweeting things I find of interest. Egads.

Anyway.

Whirl-WIND

It's been a rough three days to say the least. There's a lot of draggy information I could vent about here, but HELLO inappropriate!

Something that is sharable - TRAGEDY STRUCK ... well, it was at least an inconvenience and will end up costing some DOUGH. My laptop back light died ... the evening before my work's big event ... when I had about an hour of work to get through.

GD it all to H!

So the laptop is toast I think (it's old, has bad associations, etc.) - although I will be able to get off any information that's on it - it would technically work as a computer with a monitor. But I also back up everything onto the portable hard drive (well, for the most part). And I should be OK on that end.

But that wasn't the worst part - the worst was not being able to finish my work and having to go into the office at 7 am on Tuesday to get the press releases issued, bla bla. I didn't get all the changes made that I would have liked, but I got it all done today in my last day in the office. It was a long day. Adding the Metro ride back to the hotel - it was a 16+ hour day (left the hotel before 7 am and got back after 11 pm).

Now I'm battling a mini headache but I'm back on "the Island" (do others call it that? i said that in conversation and the DC-ite looked at me like I was nutso, which maybe I am). I'm looking forward to PJs, TV and an early bed time. Shawn has been gone as well and will be home tomorrow - so I can go to sleep with the TV on! (oh the sacrifices we make to be married to the absolute best husband ever!)

So I made it through another year's event. I survived and there's work yet to be done.

Cheerio, PIP PIP.

PS When I told the laptop story, a coworker said "it's worse than bedbugs!" And I said I would take 100 days like Tuesday over the ordeal of bedbugs. And I absolutely mean it. Bedbugs are the worst!

Over-Packer's Confession

I've got my new-ish rolly suitcase (previous one was a victim of the bedbugs) packed to the gills with clothes because I can't decide exactly what to wear and I want options. I've got my heavy laptop in a backpack and a separate pocketbook/purse with items to entertain me during the trip (book, crochet, iPod) and my wallet and tickets. so for a three night stay i've got three bags of stuff. UGH. what's wrong with me? but i guess if i'm the one who's lugging it i can take it. i wish i had a smaller lighter laptop. that would cut out a bag right there. meh.

Church today was amazing. I was so glad I went. The sermon was about John 3:17 - the next verse. Everyone has memorized 3:16 but who knows about "the next verse"? Anyway, it's basically that Jesus came not to condemn people but to SAVE them. And by extrapolation, we should work to save people not condemn them (no saying "you're going to hell" or the like). That's something I love about the UMC - the open hearts, open minds, open doors policy/theme. God loves everyone, including me. Including YOU! Pretty good news, huh?

I rode the 5th Ave bus home again and every time I love it more and more. I like seeing the people/tourists and the different things to do on the avenue (most of which I've never done). So there's something to be said about NYC. (Am actually thinking of changing the name of my blog to something a little more stable)

Before I depart, I will re-cap my sister's visit. She arrived Tuesday and our arrival at LGA was perfectly timed. As I stepped off the bus she was stepping off the plane and we met in the middle at the security check point - literally neither of us had to break stride. It was amazing. Taxi home and then out to a Mexican restaurant on St. Paddy's Day (you wouldn't believe the crowds on Bleecker!) ... but we figured margaritas and guac are green, so we did our part.

On Wednesday during work Beth did a little shopping in my neighborhood - the paper store on 18th, H&M and such. She also made it down to Pearl River. Wednesday evening was our big outing and the reason for her trip to NYC... WEST SIDE STORY. I was wrong that half of the dialogue and songs were translated to Spanish. Only two songs and a couple scenes were entirely in Spanish and for the most part I could keep up. Like I said before I was still stressed about work (and continue to be - this is the least fun weekend of the year!) but she was SO happy. Before the show she bought a "Sharks" t-shirt, which was good because they sold out! And on the way out she picked up a poster (which I got in the mail to her yesterday, among my many errands).

When you're a Jet, you're a Jet all the way
From your first cigarette to your last dying day!

I want to live in America
I want to be in America!!!

Unfortunately "I Feel Pretty" was in Spanish - so that was a bummer. Otherwise the show was awesome. I LOVED the costumes and the singing and the story (I hadn't watched it since high school, although it's a movie Beth watches regularly). The only REAL bummer was how much we were gouged for our tickets. Basically we paid almost triple the face value, but there was no other way to see the show (sold out) even thought I bought the tickets WELL in advance. It was the day before opening night/the last of the previews. I still think it was worth it and Beth does too.

On Thursday afternoon we did a bit of shopping - Grand Central train store to get a "4" train for Owen's set, Sephora to look for Barbie makeup (they didn't have exactly what we want so I'll order online for her birthday in July), then to B&H Photo, where she got a new camera. Then we had a break and a coffee and went back to my neighborhood. Originally we were going to take the subway out to the ocean, but somehow we decided not to do that. We ordered Chinese food (pretty yummy) and then went for a drink at a Karaoke bar and got sort-of hit on (if having a guy sit on your lap and touch your arm counts as being hit on). We didn't last long there and came home and crashed. Then Friday morning she was back in the air on the way home. A too quick trip that was too filled with WORK!

Time to get going. Fingers crossed that I get through this ordeal with my sanity and that my heart can be filled with kindness and calmness. HA!

Horoscope - Spring Equinox

You might be feeling quite pleased with yourself today because your creative energy is running strong and it's easy to express yourself however you choose. But even if the setting is perfect, something still prevents you from having as much fun as you wish. Letting go of your previous expectations can help, but the ultimate solution will only come with time. There's no need to be in such a hurry, so slow down and enjoy the present moment.

I could delve into that and explain why I think it is pretty close to truth. But meh.

Happy spring equinox. It was snowing today in NYC. Geez.

A light bulb blew on one of my few lamps. It was 100 watts and I've only got 60 watts to replace it. Waa Waa Waa.

They're filming in my neighborhood today - The Sorcerer's Apprentice with Nicolas Cage. Kind of exciting BUT there are trucks - as in MACK Trucks - idling outside my window - all day long (all day yesterday too). Doesn't make for a conducive work environment, especially given my current state of mind, work load and pressure level.

Beth's advice: STAR

Stop

Take a Breath

And

RELAX.

Easier said than done.

Beth's at her gate after a whirlwind trip. West Side Story was great (although work didn't fully leave my mind even when seeing the gorgeous dancers and their full skirts swishing on stage). Wish I had more time and energy to catalogue her entire visit. Maybe this weekend, which will be cut short for work travel, but none-the-less I'm looking forward to it.

Spring on.

The Week of West Side Story

Hurray, hurray, hurray!

Only two days until my little sister arrives for a visit. She gets in after work on Tuesday, and we have tickets for West Side Story on Wednesday evening. I'm a little nervous about the changes to the original play - half of the dialogue and songs are now in Spanish... I don't speak Spanish but I hope I can enjoy it just the same!

Because of the timing of Beth's visit in relation to work (a week from Tuesday is the big fund-raising event, which leaves everyone including me in a frenzied blur of work this week especially), I won't be able to take off a lot of time to spend with her during the days. So on Wednesday and probably most of Thursday she'll have to explore our neighborhood and/or visit a museum on her own. (The good news is she's quite independent and will enjoy the shopping to be had around here - she has a mission to visit the paper store on 18th St.) BUT, I should be able to get away on Thursday afternoon for a ride out to the ocean - just for a look, or perhaps we'll choose to visit the Empire State Building. Her flight home is Friday morning, so I'll be doing any last minute work all day after her departure.

Then I travel to DC for the event on Sunday, and will be away until Wednesday the 25th. I may or may not be able to blog extensively ... just depends on several factors I guess.

A bit more travel coming up in May (two weddings!), followed by our belated honeymoon-type-trip in June. Time is really flying on our newlywed year.

joke's on me

HA! it's my mother-in-law who did ALL the searches for "mari shawn harry potter," which makes sense. (Note - the image is on www.silvermari.com/pictures.html)

So struggling for blog identity is a bit like self identity I suppose. I could focus my writing a bit more, be less haphazard. Write about city escapades? (Focusing on the "hate NYC" market - HA?) More about the things I read and think and say? I mostly think about work though. Hrm.

Newlywed blogs abound, and there's a lot being written about nesting and fun stuff like that (I read some of course), but I don't nest anymore. I hope to again someday, but for now I'm just roosting - getting through.

Crochet is a minor part of my life, not something I could write about even weekly. I just use this blog to share my finished projects and some works in progress.

I love Owen, and our interactions are weekly - webcamming. But there's only so much gushing about a four-year-old others can take. (I have a separate Owen blog for that anyway)

I'll keep thinking...

Mari Shawn Harry Potter

HA - when I looked at my blog stats (for the first time this year, I'm really not a good social media person on this end) the top keyword was something like "Mari Shawn Harry Potter" - yeah not a lot of people I don't know come to this blog, but most of them who find it via keyword did so with those?! Anyway, here's the photo I would think someone would be looking for if they searched for "mari shawn harry potter" or "Mari Shawn Harry Potter" or some variation thereof. (Including adding "silvermari" to the mix) And yes, I do know that only people who DO know me (and Shawn) would know to search for this!

Enjoy.

Oh, and GO VIOLETS!!! (Note to the NYU webmaster - I surely wish there were a place on the website to wish the ladies luck!)

A Note from Owen - via Gingie Email

And now a word from Owen,,,

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Top Ten Crochet Blogs

This post is created using a recommendation from a recent "how to blog" post I shared. One problem I have is that my blog doesn't really have a theme, niche or strong direction - it's basically a self-scrapbook, which is fine, but never going to help me improve my social media skills in a real, meaningful way. So here we go and we'll see how this affects traffic and such. Isn't experimenting fun?

1. crochet mama's blog

2. Monster Crochet

3. Blogs | Crochet Me

4. What Not to Crochet

5. The Crochet Dude

6. Tapestry Crochet

7. crochet by faye

8. Craftzine.com blog: Crochet Archives

9. Crochet Blogs // BlogCatalog

10. Tales of a Techno-Hooker Crochet Blog by Amie Hirtes

Nostalgic for School?

Last night I sat in on a class at Columbia as part of a work assignment. My main (personal) take away was I miss school and I miss reporting. BUT not enough to make a life change. The professor told me journalism PhDs aren't a good idea (duh, squared - if I were getting a PhD, I think I'd pick economics and work in some media angles there - but that's not happening, my Mrs. degree was first then Mommy degree next, knock on wood).

Flickr Photo by Terry

Escape

I love, love, love this thought:

I'm realizing that the key to being truly happy in New York City is to get out as often as possible.

Luckily, I have a few plans for escaping in the next couple months ...

housewifey

waiting on groceries to be delivered. it's a gorgeous day - just the right temps and overcast. grey days always make me ... hopeful i guess.

i watched The Women this morning - the original 1939 version. hilarious. i really should watch more older movies. recommendations welcome. i didn't set out to watch this one, but of course daylight savings time screwed me up and i missed church (how lazy must one be to sleep past 10 am when she's almost 30?). but this was on turner classic movies and i just started watching it. so good. and not a man in site, which was one of the funniest things, especially since everything the women spoke about were ... of course ... MEN! ah, l'amour. there were some very clever lines.

then there was a protest parade that went right by under my window. i suspect it had something to do with the triangle shirtwaist factory fire - which happened within view of our apartment window. it was definitely a woman empowerment parade ... but i couldn't really understand what they were saying - it was just LOUD.

tonight i'm making this:

Honey BBQ chicken Strips

• 2 TB. Honey
• 1 bottle Barbecue Sauce
• 3 TBS. Sugar - Brown
• 1 teas. Seasoning - Chili Powder
• 4 boneless and skinless Chicken - Breast

Cut chicken into strips, and put in a baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray. In a bowl, mix all other ingredients together. Pour over chicken, cover with foil, and place in refrigerator for a least 1 hour. Bake in oven at 375 for about 45 minutes.

The strips are marinating or whatever in the fridge. Going to make some corn on the cob, sugar snap peas and cornbread. yummo! I'm starving just thinking about it.

Happy Sunday.

Ballin...

Man, superfun times at the NYU basketball game. The ladies beat Salve Regina (which is located in Rhode Island - who knew?) ... Shameful that there weren't many students there. The opposing team had more fans it seemed. Tomorrow the team plays again, and it's SO worth the $6/pop at the door. Seriously!

Broke my favorite, homemade mug. Just the handle, but still. This week has been awful. I am going to try to superglue it. DE-pressing.

My eye is MUCH better. Really the scratched cornea takes 24-48 hours to heal, and I'm definitely healed. Huzzah. But I'm still giving myself time off from contacts. Ugh.

So much for the update. Meh.

only records should be scratched...

unfortunately it seems i scratched my cornea yesterday, and i've been battling a painful red right eye all day today. i got some soothing eye drops and have been lying down periodically with a cold compress (which makes me feel a LOT better). now i've got the lights down and am getting in bed. it's exhausting on top of everything else.

i would take a picture BUT it's better than it was earlier and it's just too gross. blech.

if it's not better tomorrow i'll go to the eye doctor, but i am fairly confident in my self-diagnosis (OK, a twitter friend responded to my "ow, my eye" tweet and i concur).

yep, this is my life (well, my life minus work, which is undiscussable). oiy.

Overheard at the Chiropractor

Funny-ish story.

A patient comes into the adjustment room with a sock on his shoulder. The doctor just thinks it's static cling but tells him it's there. He flushes and has to tell her this story.

As he was getting dressed, he put one sock on and then noticed he needed to trim his toenails. So he took the sock off and slung it on his shoulder, did the trimming and couldn't find the sock/didn't remember where he put it. So he just got dressed and put on different socks.

He went through his ENTIRE day without noticing a sock on his shoulder ... and that means no one told him about it except the doctor.

People are funny - and I'm funny for overhearing stuff and telling it. (I overheard the receptionist re-telling the story to the other doctor, not the actual conversation between patient and doctor - that would be weird!)

Uh ...

Lenten Musing

This was too long to tweet, so typing it out. I'm going through the Lenten devotional from PAUMC. Yesterday's was good and touching - about Abraham Lincoln and the failures he endured before success.

"Our world is blessed with the success the comes when we are where God 'wants' us, in that place, all our prior failures are understood as preparations for becoming agents of the great blessing."

Love & Hate Tuesday

In an idea stolen from Keep Up With Me, I thought I'd do a list of loves and hates today - including describing just how my day when yesterday (hint: my eyes are still gummy and don't want to be open).

• Love - the look of snow, falling and blanketing the passing country as I speed by in the train.
• Hate - the feel of snow, stepping outside into it at 5:15 a.m., without my snow boots (they're broken/need to be repaired, although I should have worn them anyway) and the delay of snow to train travel - the conductor had to stop at a station and scrape out the spaces between the cars
• Love - train travel in general
• Hate - freezing train travel (when the doors are kept open by the previously mentioned scraping); I was so cold for the entire 3+ hour ride (and we all know I'm NOT cold natured) ... maybe it had something to do with my feet getting cold on the walk to the subway (no cabs to be had out there you know) and never really warming up! Also train delays - my return train broke down THREE (3) times. I had finished early and caught an earlier train than I expected, but I ended up getting to the station a mere 20 minutes earlier than I would have had I stuck with my original schedule. Sheesh!
  
• Love - the feeling of being so tired I can just drift off to sleep quickly
• Hate - having to wake up at 5 am and drag through the day to get that feeling - am still dragging today as a result, even though I got a solid nine hours of sleep - my stupid body craves more like 10 or 11 to be its happiest

I think that's enough.

my sunday

it's shawn's birthday month - hooray hooray!

i took the fifth avenue bus from 85th street after church. it was lightly snowing and to be honest, i love taking the bus more than the subway, especially when you get squished in next to people and the whole rocking and rolling stop thing. anyway, i got my own seat on the bus, fun views - people are so interesting to watch! so there's something to be said about living in new york...

tomorrow i'm doing something crazy again - another down and back trip to work. i just don't understand why i do these things. anyway, i have to get up at 5 am tomorrow - my train leaves Penn Station at 6 am, so I'll have to hustle. Ugh. i'm so not a morning person, so not sure how i'll really survive this. i don't return until 10:30 pm - meaning a full day work with the looooong train rides tacked onto either end. but i'm doing it for the annual report and wanting to be a part of the printing and press check. should be good - but i DREAMED about the trip last night, basically dreamed i went into work, did all my work and was checking off everything and realized i'd done everything EXCEPT go to the press check. lame.

so because i'm leaving at the crack of dawn tomorrow, i decided to check my work email just now. ugh. normally work email doesn't fill me with such distress. none of the emails required a response (so it would have been better to not check at all) - and i can deal with it when i arrive at the printer's and have some email time there.

And the even better news - a giant snow storm is supposed to hit the east coast (including the NYC metro area) tomorrow - meaning even lovelier travel for me, i'm sure. BLUGH-a-mug. Maybe I'll end up traveling on a snowy Thomas the Tank Engine?! UGH.

There's nothing left to say at this point.

Remember Your Baptism

Something I've been meaning to write about was my baptism. Baptism and water were the topics of a January 11 sermon. (Random side note - Jan. 11, 1995, was the date I officially had my first "boyfriend" - how is THAT for crazy lady memory?)

One thing that's often said when someone is baptized is "Remember your baptism." Baptism changes you - not only by the water symbolizing the washing away but by the Spirit literally changing you. So I thought I would reflect on mine. This memory is only what's in my head - although I'm sure I could locate a hard copy diary with notes to REALLY jog my memory, they've been hidden away in a closet until our next move.

I was baptized in ~October 1992 (pre-boy craziness so I don't have the same memory for dates ... although somewhere there's a baptismal certificate with the exact date - I think I'm right about the year). I was eleven - and it was a very conscious decision. My parents made the decision not to christen or baptize me (or my sister) as a baby, leaving it up to me. I respect that a lot, but I'm not sure that's what I'll do with my kids (but that's another entry I guess).

So, OK, I'm eleven, almost twelve. My sister was baptized at the same time, and she was ten. For some reason we had decided that the typical Methodist sprinkling-on-the-head wasn't enough (or maybe the decision was made by someone else, but we more than went along with it). We needed to be DUNKED. So, the pastor baptize us in a church in a nearby town that had a baptismal tank (not sure that's the right word - but there you go). We went after church one Sunday with our family and some of our church friends.

Another girl was also baptized with us (and in a stunning only-in-a-small-town kind of soap opera, she turned out to be the girl who stole that very first boyfriend from me ... well, before I stole him back anyway - again, another post needed if I'm going to delve into that). She was probably nine at the time of our baptisms - definitely two or three years younger than me. Aside from the baptism, the boyfriend and 2 vague childhood memories (one of a trampoline/pimento cheese sandwiches and one of a cardboard box house with a flashlight for a light fixture), this girl who lived in the house behind ours played a very minor role in my life. But she was there and important on this particular day.

My main memory of the event itself - aside from the life changing affect (as much as an 11-yr-old's life can be changed) and soul-filling experience - was after the fact, when my sister and I were changing out of our wet clothes after being submerged. I know that I forgot to pack dry underwear, and for some reason I think my sister did too - although I can't be sure of that. This was before going commando was even an idea in my head, and having just been baptized would I have really gone without undies?! So we (or I, if she had dry undies) made the decision to just wear the wet ones, which of course were so wet the soaked through our jeans. That led the pastor to talk to my mom and me ... in a very joking way saying "I thought I was the only one who would do something like that!"

So how about that? The most vivid memory of the most important day of my life ... is wet underpants.

bang-bang

As thoughts arise during the day I'll add them here, publishing at the end of the day. In reality I could probably do 3-4 poorly thought out, stupid posts each day. I'm always thinking of random stuff to say, but I can't succumb to the tumblr method of blogging, can I??? Meh.

• A call from a good friend lifts my spirits despite some unexpected bad news (resulting from very poor judgment on the part of others outside our control!). She asks "what's been going on?" and my answer is "nothing" and I proceed to rattle off a list of upcoming things - travel, Beth's visit, etc. and realize that things are about to start going on. Nice.
• Uncle Roy sent me a hilarious "copy editor" e-mail full of funny Jay-Leno-esque headlines. I generally don't do forwards (except to re-post some here) - and these were all images that I'm not going to take the time to post... Anyway - I hope you get to see it, and if you want me to send it to you, e-mail me and I will.
• Woah - The Rocky Mountain News is dunzo.
• One of my quotes of the day: Today's scientists have substituted mathematics for experiments, and they wander off through equation after equation, and eventually build a structure which has no relation to reality. -- Nikola Tesla
• My new-ish keyboard that I got for my birthday is already showing signs of wear - the m and n keys are slightly rubbed off on the lower right corners of the letters. Curious. No other keys seem to be affected.
• Gingie uploaded some funny Owen videos for me. Making me excited to go home for Easter (did I mention I bought my tickets - and we'll be celebrating Gran's birthday - woo!)

Time to sign off and "publish" - very pathetic look into the mind of Mari ... well a small look because goodness knows I didn't write down everything I thought. AAAAAAAH

FWD: Read and Return

I want to live my life in such a way that when my feet hit the floor in the morning, Satan shudders and says, "Oh no, she's awake!"

Each and everyone one of us are going through tough times right now, but God is getting ready to bless you in a way that only He can. Keep the faith.

My instructions were to pick four people that I wanted God to bless, and I picked you. Please pass this to at least (4) people you want to be blessed and a copy back to me.

This prayer is powerful, and prayer is one of the best gifts we receive.

There is no cost but a lot of rewards. Let's continue to pray for one another.

The prayer:

Father, I ask You to bless my friends, relatives and those that I care deeply for, who are reading this right now. Show them a new revelation of Your love and power Holy Spirit, I ask You to minister to their spirit at this very moment. Where there is pain, give them Your peace and mercy. Where there is self-doubt, release a renewed confidence through Your grace. Where there is need, I ask you to fulfill their needs. Bless their homes, families, finances, their goings and their comings. In Jesus ' precious name... Amen.

(If the Lord lays upon your heart to send this to more than four people, you are truly blessed).

Addictive Personality

I like Twitter. I am not constantly reading it - but from time to time I'll peruse. Twitterfall can be addictive though and fun to watch when you've got a second.

However, when I have a thought, see something cool or whatever - I'll fire off a tweet. But I don't use it so much to converse (I don't know a lot of people who use the service, although the whole point is to meet new people and I don't have qualms about writing/communicating to other twitter-peeps, but I just don't take the time I guess).

Sat in on my first beneficial free webinar (have been to some good paid ones, but the free ones are usually just commercials for the sponsors or otherwise too basic). It was some good stuff. Not sure how I'll be able to implement in my work or if I'll find the time to even bring it up, but there you go. (I also sat in on a not-so-beneficial free webinar today - mostly it was background noise while I continued to work.)

But the webinar is why I have been thinking about twitter I guess.

Two crochet projects:


This is 1/2 of the two blankets I'm making for my grad school friend's twins. This one took forever because of the yarn I chose. And the second blanket will be equally laborious - but too cute, right? The second one will be mostly yellow with small green stripes. We'll see if I can get the second one done before the babies arrive!


This is the bottom of my first attempt at an ABC blanket for my childhood friend's first baby - and I'm going to rip it out and start again because of the wonky corners - I started dropping stitches from the edges - on both sides (even though the left is a little better) - because I'm out of practice in single crochet. Blimey! But this didn't take too long and I want it to be right. Adding the purple on the boxes around the letters is darling, but it makes a TON of ends to weave in ... but I think I'm still going to do it in my second try. I've made this blanket once before, and it took me three first tries to get it right. Hopefully two is a charm for this version. And it's going to be SUPER darling when I'm done.

[I used Picnic on Flickr to edit that second photo ... first time, and it was really great/easy - although of course all I needed to do was crop, but what a great option to not have to crop offline and then re-load/replace a picture once you see it online and see something (like your feet) in the picture]

On my sidebar here I've got shared items from my Google reader. But I am toying with the idea of re-using that content into blog entries ... since I usually make a [snarky] comment about whatever item I'm sharing.

How about these:

• Can Blogging Make You Happier? | World of Psychology
  "Blogging makes me happier, I think."
• Upstate NY Restaurant Examiner: Sonic Drive-Ins finally pull into New York
  “OMG OMG OMG - although not like I can get to Ulster County New York... OMG though. OMG - sonic taking over the wooooooooooooooooooorld!”
• The Voice - The Man Who Lets the Bedbugs Bite - NYTimes.com
  “UGH UGH UGH... "Some bugs were recently collected here in New York, and a journal article reported that they were 300 times more resistant than other bed bugs to one of the common insecticides." OMG!”

Time to close up shop and get to dinner and then crocheting. Silly girl.

Basketball Dreams

My mom told me the craziest story about the high school girls' basketball coach at my HS alma mater. I wonder if it was covered in the local paper or if it's just a small town gossip thing, but yowza.

Today Shawn and I went to an NYU women's basketball game - we missed the men's game that was the first part of the double header. They played Emory university. The boys lost by 1 and the girls won by about 10 points. The girls are so unconditioned - they can't fast break or even move on the court as much as I (in my infinite wisdom) think they should be. But they won, so what are you going to do?

There are dancers and cheerleaders at the games, and I find myself comparing them to the cheerleaders and dancers of OSU. The OSU girls were always so coifed and made up - heavy make up that was clear to the audience/crowd. Plus the OSU cheer squad had men cheerleaders who made things more interesting and could do more inticrate and higher throws. The NYU dancers though are the ones that really fall flat, imho. They have sloppy ponytails (yeah, I know, look who's talking but I'm not a dancer in front of people) and little make up. A stark contrast to the glittered and curled girls of OSU. BUT I also know there are differences - OSU girls could/were televised (NYU doesn't even have cameras at typical games it seems). Just interesting contrasts.

The NYU pep band played Green Day's "Basketcase." I remember Sarina singing this in the locker room when we were in middle school/early high school. So this song is EASILY before the current NYU undergrads' time. Weird that they play it, at least to me.

And the weirdest/random thought I had while walking to the game was the sudden realization that I couldn't remember the "high five" elements that a good news story needs to have. Wracking my brain and I think I can remember them correctly: News, Scope, Impact, Context and Edge. Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's right. For what it's worth.

Now to finish up the first blanket for my friend's twins - it's taken me SO many weeks because I used such small thread. I'm not sure how I'll bring myself to make the mirror image one for the second twin ... but I know I will. I just hope I can get the second one done before the babies come! And I have another project to start and finish for another friend's baby girl - an ABC blanket - before I can get back to the bedspread project...

FWD: Money Angel

A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events,
and outcomes.

Can’t hurt… and the picture is precious!

Hope she works for you!!!

You have just been sent a Money angel!

Pass her to two people, and be rich in four days.

Pass her to six then be rich in two days.

I am not joking - you will find an unexpected windfall.

If you delete her, you will never know how she works - she really does
work like magic!

NO Pass Backs. Just pass her on.

Well - maybe a couple people will see this on my blog. :)

Sleeping Beautiful

Take Back NYU! Week - basically a group of student protesters overtook the NYU cafeteria - which is about 3 or 4 blocks from our apartment. (I didn't even know there WAS an NYU cafeteria.) I followed the story on NYU Local - a student-run Web site. It was also on Gawker - some pretty funny snark about the situation.

I'm not officially part of the NYU family, but I reside, for all intents and purposes, on their campus. My sleep was disrupted by the shouts of protest - and it sounded so much like an athletics event. And there's my thought - "A HA!" What NYU students need is a sports team where they can scream and holler together. There are 30K kids here - and they have nothing athletically unifying them. I know this is a middle-of-the-country idea and isn't at all possible here, but that thought came to mind while I laid in bed listening to the roars on Thursday night.

The TBNYU! list of demands were a mix of rational (I guess) and ridiculous. Their first demand was amnesty (Gawker commented - if you want that, stay home, no problem) - but they also wanted something about Gaza and sending old projectors to a school there (???). The main issue, however, seemed to be that they want to see the books - the money.

Here's what I say - you go to a private school. You can go to a state-funded school and find out all about your university finances.

Shawn was surprised that the offending protesters (those who wouldn't leave - just a handful) lost their NYU housing. Guess what? Dorm living isn't a right - it's a privilege and you sign a code of conduct contract. And a two-day protest shutting down a campus building is a clear violation of that contract.

Anyway - I have no business talking about this, but it's happening in my own back yard. I don't understand it all, and I really don't want to. But for once, I find myself on the side of "the man." And just want the whole thing to go away... We'll see.

I got a comment about the Jane Seymour "open hearts" necklace. Here's a picture:

You're telling me that doesn't look like a woman's chest on the top and a woman's behind on the bottom? Yes, spatially I guess it doesn't make sense because the boobs and butt are on opposite sides of a woman - but this is what I see when I look at these pieces of jewelry and it creeps me out a little. I know that says more about me than the jewelry, so there you go.

Moving on.

[Review] Eat Pray Love

Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read this book in less than a week - which is how I love to read - swallowing chapters whole. I avoided this book because of its commercial success, but I really shouldn't do that. Things are popular for a reason, and I'm never going to be someone whose tastes veer away from the norm. So, I liked this book a lot - especially the spiritual parts - meditations and such. I need to be more cognizant of my own efforts to love my self. Definitely recommend others read this. Good stuff!

View all my reviews.