On a very hot summer day...

there is no place better than the pool! Met some friends at the above pool - and it was gorgeous, sunny, and wonderful! DD1 loved the big slides (which you can't see in the picture), and DD2 clung to me like Saran Wrap per her usual.

My only question is: How come I can't get tan this Summer? Really, am usually much more tan by now!

(Picture of H2O'Brien Pool found online. No WAY I would take my camera to a public pool!)

I know, I'm late for....

SMA FRIDAY!


Missed one or two of them, haven't I???


Today I just couldn't decide - should I go ahead with SMA Friday, or write a post about what a weird week it's been.? A week that not one, or two, but THREE entertainment icons have passed away.


Tuesday it was Ed McMahon. Some may not think of Ed McMahon as an icon - but I do. He and Johnny Carson were late night television at it's finest. If you were a child in the 70's, and were staying awake in your bed at night, you knew it was LATE if you heard the TV start playing the theme music to The Tonight Show. There was a coziness in hearing that music, seeing the bluish light flickering under the bedroom door... mom and dad were in bed, and it really was time to go to sleep. Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon were a late night comedy duo more famous than David Letterman and Paul Shaffer, and they created the chemistry all late night talk shows try to emulate. If you are too young to remember Johnny and Ed, perhaps you remember Ed McMahon and the Publishers Clearing House giveaway? Again, iconic stuff. Ed had some financial troubles these past few years, and I wished for him to find peace. After a career of that length he deserved some peace. I truly hope God provides that for him now. Blessings to his wife and family, a loss like that will be earth shattering for them.


Thursday morning we lost Farrah Fawcett. Charlie's prettiest angel, the angel with the coolest car... the angel that every boy and teenager I knew had a poster of on their wall. She took a mediocre swimsuit and made it in to the sexiest thing most men had ever seen - she was gorgeous. She was 29 years old when that picture was taken - think about that. That poster came out in 1976. She was 29 years old. All the "it" girls now are under 21... tells you where we are as a society, yes? At the age of 29 she was the sexiest thing boys and men had ever seen - that would probably never happen now. No actress starts her career at almost 30 years old. If you haven't made it by then these days you don't have a chance. That poster made her an icon a full year before Charlie's Angels brought her in to our homes every week as Jill Munroe. Her personal life was all over the map of happy and troubled. I saddens me that her last couple of years were physically and mentally so painful for her. No one should have to struggle with all of that chaos and sickness. I sincerely hope she will rest in the peace, and that her son will find a peace of his own making in her honor.


Then, more unexpectedly than the others, we heard that Michael Jackson had passed away on Thursday afternoon. Hearing that Michael Jackson had died was, to our generation, probably much like hearing that Elvis had died to the generation before us. Michael Jackson was the music of my late high school and early college years. "Thriller" was one of the most amazing albums ever made - and the boy was GIFTED in the music video department. MTV was just hitting it's stride, and Michael Jackson had found his place in the world. All was right with the music universe. The follow up album, "Bad", was also good - although I don't think it was possible to top "Thriller". Everyone who was of a certain age in the early and mid 80's knew that one guy who always wore a red and black jacket and one glove - convinced he WAS Michael. He could dance like Michael, do his hair like Michael, tweak his voice like Michael... you remember him? He was at all the talent shows! Michael was, is, and always will be one of the greatest musical icons that has ever lived. Before he was the freak show he became in the late 90's, he was the personification of "it". He changed the world. I send him my heartfelt "thanks" for the music that accompanies so many of the fun memories from a wonderful time in my life. May God bless him and keep him, heal his pain and confusion, and send comfort to those who were caused pain by the craziness and strangeness that was Michael Jackson's life. I hope their pain is gone now.


But, in keeping with tradition... this IS SMA Friday... here's a little Hugh to lift your spirits. A kinder, gentler Hugh. (Did you even think that was possible?)

Enjoy!

My own Little Edie

OK, DD2 was marching around the house like this, and I had to grab a photo.

The similarities to Little Edie are astounding:

1) you can tell from the background that we are also living in absolute squalor.

2) the costume of the day DOES, indeed, include a swimsuit underneath that lovely pink cover up.

3) she was speaking in an accent I could hardly understand.

I just hope her hair doesn't fall out now.

(For those of you who think I'm ranting and don't understand what I'm talking about, please rent "Grey Gardens" on DVD soon!)

She AGREED with me?

Background: A few years ago our daughters started sharing a room. One of the bedrooms upstairs has two closets, is plenty big enough for two twin beds, and a charming window seat that my father-in-law built. They liked sharing a room (we moved them in together when DD2 got to move to a "big girl bed")... and that left another bedroom - the former nursery - to function as a play room.

Which worked pretty well.
Until about 6 months ago.

It seems that sometime after the first of the year, the girls discovered talking and playing in their beds instead of going to sleep. We would seriously catch them with flashlights and dollhouses in bed with them. And the giggling was not quiet. This just wouldn't do, because two tired girls are two cranky girls. And two frustrated parents are not fun.

We decided that they lost the privilege of sharing a room. An idea that does not thrill me entirely - as now there will be a lot of homeless toys and fighting over where to keep certain "collections" that are so much easier kept together. (Littlest Pets, Polly's, etc.) However, there is good news.

I asked DD1 (who is moving to the smaller, "new" room - because she gets to redecorate and loves the idea) what colors she thought she'd like for the new room.
DD1: "Green."
Me: "No, the word was COLORS, which is PLURAL. Your entire room cannot be green."
DD1: "Green and whatever goes with green?"
(She may have inherited a bit of sarcasm from her mother.)

I decided that I'd look at quilts and comforters online - see if there was anything I liked that she might also like. I discovered that there is a world of ugly bedding out there. But, I did find one that I really, really liked. One that would make it very easy to coordinate the rest of the room around it - as it contained so many colors and patterns. A quilt that is not one bit "little girl", and not stuffy and "grown up" either. A quilt that I can imagine won't need to be replaced because she grows out of it and needs something less babyish. But, since I thought it was perfect I did not expect that she would agree. When it comes to clothes, she hates most everything I think would look good on her. In fact no matter what it is, usually if I like it? She hates it. Happily, though, I am here to report that the very first quilt that I showed her - the only one I really liked - was accepted exuberantly. She loves it, and as soon as it arrives we will go get that green border color matched (which is also the quilt border and backing), remove the Pooh wallpaper border from the walls, and start moving all that elfa shelving around to accommodate two "new" rooms.

Wish us luck!

Happens every time!

Had this happened just over a week ago, she'd have gotten her name on the "tooth chart" in kindergarten. I, however, didn't notice until last Thursday that her big tooth had already come in behind her baby tooth... so she didn't end up getting her not-so-wiggly baby tooth pulled out until today. Poor DD2! (If you look closely you can see it back there. How I missed that I'll never know.)




They actually took the loose baby tooth, and the one next to it - as her permanent teeth are very large. It is easily double the size of the baby tooth. Both my husband and the dentist wanted to take all 4 of the bottom baby teeth out today. My reaction? "She's got a DANCE RECITAL on Saturday WHERE SHE'LL BE SMILING ON STAGE! Hell. No." Because I? Am all about excellent parenting, and excellent childhood pictures.

Kindergarten Graduation

Do you ever watch the show "Clean House"? (I think it's on the Style channel.) I was watching the other night, and this woman started crying when she sold a cabinet that her mom (who has since passed away) had given her. Niecy Nash (the host) asked, "Are you sad because it's something she gave you?" and the woman shook her head. "No. It's just that I miss her so much."

Before I lost my mom, I would have thought what Niecy was thinking... that it was the THING that mattered. However, that wasn't it at all - that cabinet was just the subtle reminder. It's the fact that she isn't here anymore, the "it's just that I miss her so much", that makes your heart ache.

DD2 finished up Kindergarten this week. The the ceremony was cute, the kids were excited... and I cried. Not just because my baby is growing up (although I am a sap about stuff like that) but because, as they did when DD1 finished Kindergarten, Mom would have attended with Dad (who happened to be in Alaska, so he was also unable to attend). She would have enjoyed sharing in the milestone.

"It's just that I miss her so much."

I know my name is Dorothy...

... but I've no wish to visit OZ via tornado! Martha, of the Chang Gang infamy, posted about our funnel cloud / tornado that hit on Sunday. Here are two additional pictures sent to Husband from a friend that lives out by Southlands - where the tornado touched down and caused it's damage.

We Parkviewians missed being fodder for the debris cloud of this tornado by about a mile on Sunday afternoon as it flew from Quincy Reservoir towards our favorite shopping mall. It's a good thing people we know took pictures, as the DD's and I were huddled in our basement waiting for the "all clear!"

Thank God cable and internet weren't knocked out on this side of the neighborhood!

SMA Friday

...and I swear I wasn't even looking for anything like this when I googled more "images" of Hugh Jackman. This is, allegedly, the 12 room West Village Triplex home of Hugh and family. (Only one photo here, if you'd like to see more photos of this amazing house that takes up floors 8-10 of a building in NY, CLICK HERE)

It's sort of weird what shows up on the internet, isn't it?

Wordless Wednesday

Ahhhh, lovely June weather...

Anybody wanna join me at the pool this afternoon in this lovely rainstorm? No sunscreen needed! Heck, no TOWELS needed!

On second thought, anyone up for a nap?

What are they thinking?

So, I'm helping out in kindergarten last Thursday, and I'm working on Antonyms with the kids. (That's Opposite words for those of you too far out of elementary school - which is the only place you will ever hear about them.)

A little boy turns to me and asks, "Have you mated?"

My jaw hit the floor.

Me: "I'm sorry, have I what?"

him: "You know, MATED?" (This time louder - because I'm obviously deaf.)

Me: "Ummmm, I heard what you said... but I'm still not understanding what you are asking me. What does that word mean?"

him: (shrugs his shoulders)

Little girl next to him: "You know, do you have a HUSBAND?" (delivered in a tone that infers I'm somewhat of an idiot.)

Me: (mortified) "Oh. Yes. Yes, I do. I have, indeed, mated."




(OK, admit it - you went there in your head too!)

My future exchange student

Background to today's story: Husband did an exchange program in high school and spent time learning in Costa Rica. While in Costa Rica, he got Salmonella - sickest he's ever been in his life - and doesn't want our kids to eat anything with raw eggs in it because of that fact. Well, if you mention a fun fact like that to DD1 she'll remember it forever, but in her head some of the facts have changed. Here is the transcript from our conversation this afternoon. (We stopped at DQ on the way home.)

DD1: The cookie dough in this blizzard is probably the "safe: kind.
("safe" meaning made with pasteurized eggs.)

Me: Yes, they probably couldn't serve it if it wasn't the "safe" kind.

DD1 (talking to DD2): Daddy got food poisoning from eating raw eggs and got sick.

Me: I don't know exactly what he was eating, but I'm not sure it was raw eggs.

DD1: Then it was raw meat. His mom made it.

Me: No, honey, it wasn't... and she didn't. He was in Costa Rica at the time, so he was far away from his mom.

DD1: He got sick in another country?

Me: Yes. He studied Spanish so he got to take a trip very far away. Dad and I would like you to do an exchange program in High School.

DD1: I could go to Mexico.

Me: Or maybe Spain? Then we can come visit you.

DD1: No. I'm never going there. I'll just go somewhere close to home that I haven't been before where they speak Spanish. Like South Dakota.

********************************

....so there you have it - my daughter's foreign exchange plan. If you know of any good Student Exchange Programs to the Spanish speaking parts of the DAKOTAS be sure to let me know. Cause apparently she's all about Mt. Rushmore and the Black Hills, not so much the historic beauty of Madrid and Seville, or the Pyrenees Mountains.

South Dakota? Oh, Lord help me.

SMA Friday

It's small, but it's a great picture of Hugh! Have a happy weekend!

Wordless Wednesday (one day late)

...Sorry, the dog ate my entry. (Or something like that.) Here are more of Julian Beever's chalk drawings. I can never get enough of these. Would LOVE to see one in person someday.

You can find out more about this amazing artist HERE.

Memorial Day

Please take a moment today to remember the estimated (as of November 2008*) 651,030 Americans who, since 1775, have fallen on battlefields fighting for the rights and freedoms of the citizens of our country.

Please take a moment to remember those who died off of the battlefield during their service to our country. An estimated 539,000 men and women who have died from wounds incurred during battle, and other "in service, non-theater" deaths(*).

Please take a moment to remember the families of those fallen. The hundreds of millions of tears they have shed (over these last 234 years) because their loved ones "laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom." (Abraham Lincoln)

Please take a moment to honor the spirit of Memorial Day... and then go have some fun. They wanted that for you.

*all statistics used in this entry can be located HERE.

SMA Friday!

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I now return you to your previous post.
We get so busy on SMA Fridays looking at that Hot Hugh Jackman, that we forget there is a woman behind that man. A supportive, beautiful wife named Deborra-Lee Furness. Who is, perhaps, one of the luckiest women in the world.

Bloggers and friends, meet "the wife":

Wordless Wednesday

Springtime at Locksley Hall

...where, according to Alfred Lord Tennyson;
"In the Spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love." (*)

Know what I've noticed about the Spring? It seems to be when a blogger's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of all things except updating their blogs!

Come on, ladies, I'm having to search out new material and spend time on facebook. (I am still convinced that nothing good will come from facebook.) Update, I beg of you... UPDATE!!! If you haven't figured it out yet, let me spell it out for you: The internet was invented so I could partake of it's literary amuse-bouche. (Just ask Al Gore.) I don't want to read long, drawn out, in-depth coverage of anything. When I want that, I read books. No, what I want to start my day is short snippets of real life. I love the snippets and stories I find on blogs, and twitter doesn't fulfill me with it's 140 characters. I tried to substitute, I really did. But Twitter is akin to a synthetic opiate... it fills the need if it has to... sort of. Blogging is the real deal, however "old school" it must now seem with the bright and shiny social networks out there that are drawing people in like magpies.

So, for the love of a sisterwife, put down the facebook and come back to blogging. The SMA might appreciate it, too.


*You can find the poem "Locksley Hall" by Alfred Lord Tennyson in it's entirety here.

What a beautiful day!

Imagine my surprise this morning when, on 9News I heard Becky Ditchfield talking about 90 degree weather!!! (That's 32 degrees for all of you heathens who follow the Celsius thermometer.)

No fights with my daughters this morning about what to wear! (Usually I'm loudly telling them, "yes, I know it's Springtime... but you're still going to have to wear jeans because it's cold outside!") Not today!!! Wanna wear your Summer clothes? Go for it. The only warning I had to give was, "You can wear any dress you want - but it is going to be windy so it might blow up on the playground." Other than that? They could go to school in anything but spaghetti straps and flip flops. (There is a dress code, after all.)

And what does Mom have planned for this beautiful day? Lunch with friends? No. A good book to be read outside under the shade of a beautiful tree? Wrong again.

Because I scheduled today to be carpet cleaning day. And not the kind where the man in uniform comes and takes care of it all for while I enjoy a latte and the newspaper. The kind where I break out our handy dandy steam cleaner for (please God) the last time, and tackle the family room carpet.

On the most beautiful day so far this year.
Because I'm all about good timing.

SMA Friday

The Sexiest Man Alive - even in Russia.

Tomorrow

It's time for Dodi's Annual (sadly I admit that I have a garage sale practically every year) Springtime Garage Sale!

Come join us! Among the treasures you'll find:
Stuffed Animals!
Outdated Electronics!
All Things Dora! (Chinese lead included at NO EXTRA CHARGE!)
Care Bears!
Ugly Glassware!
Mildly tattered children's books!
Dress up clothes and used crap that everyone needs!

It's practically a carnival in my front yard!!

Seriously, though, I bitch about the garage sales when I'm getting ready for them... but we almost always have a good time during them. I always have a friend or two joining me for the day, selling their castoffs alongside mine. Neighborhood sisterwives drop by for a chat, people come from foreign lands - speaking the Spanish that remains elusive to me, Mrs. Kravitz joins us for laughs and giggles... it's (as I mentioned above) practically a carnival in my front yard! (OK, that might be stretching it... but it's usually not so bad.) We even managed to have fun last year, with my mother newly gone and GF's dad newly diagnosed with cancer. (GF is one of my tried and true Garage Sale Partners. AM used to join us, but then she rudely moved to Georgia and broke up the Flea Marketing Trio. Boo. Hiss.) This year it is GF's dad who is recently passed, and it's my turn to be there for her. (Although, and those of you who know her can attest, she is the strongest woman I know.) Even if she doesn't need a shoulder, I know we'll have lots of laughs.

Because it's going to be Garage Sale Day at Dodi's house.

Now... if anyone has any large, plastic outdoor toys? We need something to draw the buyers in... as Mrs. Kravitz (once again) has refused to offer a bikini car wash next door. She's killing our profits!

Yaaaarrrgggghhhh!

Too much to do!
Too much to do!
Too much to do!

(I'm feeling a little overwhelmed, does it show?)

Go Flat Stanley!

Second graders around the country are rejoicing today:

Flat Stanley made it to the White House Correspondents’ dinner this weekend! I would never have guessed during our trip to NY last year, that "Flat" (as he came to be known during our journey) would be the dinner date of Ed Westwick just one short year later.

Flat Stanley? That's MISTER Flat Stanley to you!

SMA Friday

Whew, almost missed it again! Here's Hugh in Paris. I think the two go really well together.

Wordless Wednesday: The one that makes cleaning the bathroom not all that bad...

Our dog Bo

Have I ever told you how Bo came to be a beloved member of our family?

Five years ago our darling boxer, Kirby, died. We were devastated, and Hannah, our Husky and Kirby's best friend in the entire world, went a little crazy - or a lot crazy depending on the week. By the end of the Winter we knew that it was time to get another dog for her. We called Boxer Rescue. They didn't have a dog that fit our needs (as we wanted a male who was about her same age), but they'd let us know.

About a month later they had a dog for us to meet. His name was Bo, he was about a year younger than Hannah, and he was being surrendered from his second home. Hearing this, we were sure we'd find a hyper dog with something wrong with him.

The dog we met was the most mellow, loving, adorable boxer boy ever (along with Kirby, of course). The woman from Boxer Rescue said she would only place him with us if we agreed to be his forever family. We couldn't imagine not loving this dog forever - but asked why he had been surrendered to Boxer Rescue not once, but twice? His first owner had to move out of state, and didn't want to take him with them, and his second owners were getting a divorce and could no longer keep the dogs they had. How awful is that? I cannot stand people who think a pet is no more important than a piece of furniture. It doesn't quite fit? Get rid of it. It's really hateful.

Our DD1, who was 5 at the time and had clasped herself around Bo the second he came in to the room, told the woman "we will love him forever." The woman from Boxer Rescue cried, and we told her that - barring any bizarre behavior in the next month or so - we absolutely took animals in to our home as a "forever" agreement only. Bo would be our 3rd rescue dog, and we took that responsibility very seriously.

And, to this day, we cannot fathom anyone ever giving this dog away for any reason. He came to us with the most perfect manners and the most gentle disposition of any dog we've ever had. He was a joy, a love sponge, so amazing with our kids - never, ever minding them prodding him and being showered with their attention. After his first year, some of his impeccable manners had lessened, we're a fairly relaxed group about things like joining us in the same room for dinner - and his playful side had appeared. He was so dear!

We were his forever home. We loved him, we treasured him, and we never forgot how lucky we were that he found his way in to our lives. Bo had two little funny swirls of fur, one below each shoulder. In reading DD1's story journal not long ago I read a story she wrote about that being where his wings were attached when he was an angel.

Bo died on Friday night. We are sad, and we miss him so much. The unconditional love of a dog is a gift, and we will forever be grateful for the gift of his love, and hope we loved him enough in return. He will always be our angel dog.

Tribute to forgotten Wordless Wednesday

This week is going by WAY too fast - I haven't even had time to look up a good SMA picture yet. I was going to post this comic, sent to me by my friend, Rebecca, yesterday... please do enjoy.

A year ago today...

...was the day we lost my mom. This last Saturday was the day my kids had their dance photos taken, and my mom NEVER missed a recital. She loved to watch my girls dance, she'd even attend a class or two during the year so she could watch them. Last year my kids weren't able to attend picture day at the studio because it was the last day my mom was alive (although I didn't know it that day - all we knew was she was really sick and that they couldn't do anything else to save her), so Husband and I were at the hospital most of the day.

I thought a lot about her on Saturday while doing the girls' hair and makeup, getting them dressed, watching them preen in front of the mirrors.

When we got home from the studio I snapped off a couple of pictures since they looked so cute. (My DD1 completely has my mother's smile!)

I miss you, mom.

SMA Friday!

In honor of the new X-MEN movie that opens May 1st which I doubt I'll see.




Confession time: I've never seen an X-MEN movie even though I love Hugh. I cannot stand when Hugh has a square head.

Wordless Wednesday

A class of Twitter Grads