It Wasn't Me!

I went with Max's 1st grade class on a school trip to the Queens Botanic Garden. It was lots of fun, and the first time I have ever accompanied either of my children on a trip. He asked me, so I called in sick... So, imagine the pride, just welling up inside, when one of the guildes said to a group of kids: "NO! We NEVER write on the hot house white wash! That lets in the sun and kills the plants!"

Right.

You know, if you are going to do something like that..... draw a smiley, draw a peace sign, write "First Grade Sux!" But your name?!

RecipeSource: Spam Hashbrown Bake

RecipeSource: Spam Hashbrown Bake

Yum. And so healthy, too!

Captain America Arrested With Burrito In Pants - News Story - WFTV Orlando

Captain America Arrested With Burrito In Pants - News Story - WFTV Orlando

My Sea Legs

I had to go uptown today for a meeting. Now, I'm all, all, all the way downtown so when I say uptown it's most people's midtown. (Ok, maybe some other peoples' downtown, but not get too confusing, shall we?)

ANYHOW, the meeting was right by Bryant Park - in the East 40's. Which was nice, nice day, etc, etc.... But the meeting let out right around lunch time and there were SO friggin many people!!

I mean, I've lived and worked in New York City for a long, long time... but my job before here was up at Columbia University... so not a lot of people there.... And where I work now is, like I said, so far downtown, very residential. Granted, it's very close to Chinatown... which I tend to avoid. Why? Because it's so CROWDED. And, I must add, when I come in on the weekends I avoid the crowded turist-y spots & all the people I visit live in residential areas... so not too crowded. I just have been far, far, far from the maddening crowds.

So, I was a bit freaked out today. I would walk at the regular fast clip, but when I wanted to look in a store window -- the stopping and getting OVER to that window? Can you say "Annoyed about 50 people?" Is there some way to do that that I've just forgotten? I felt like such a .... a.... (I can't say it) a.... tourist! (Cue scary music!)

I'm going to have to take field trips up there at least once a week & get my NYC legs back!

Va. Tech gunman writings raised concerns - Yahoo! News

Va. Tech gunman writings raised concerns - Yahoo! News

You know, you read this article and all I cancan see that the gunman was a disturbed....kid. A kid. And yet he was allowed to get a gun - not a hunting rifle - a gun. A gun that you don't need to stop to re-load, but that keeps firing.

You know the"college years" are typically when most people have psychic breaks. Especially boys. Here we have one of those - and he was allowed to buy a gun.

I really hope they don't start demonizing him, and loose focus of the fact that it is our horrible gun laws that did this.

And yes, I should be working now.

Well put

I love Gwen Ifill

what happened to...

upper case letters? Have you guys read this blog? Honestly, I've read many, many blogs - and perhaps I had higher expectatinos for this one... but they were most definitely too high.

Kurt Vonnegut, Counterculture’s Novelist, Dies - New York Times

Kurt Vonnegut, Counterculture’s Novelist, Dies - New York Times

The Week That Was (Part 2)

You can see a pattern to this, right? I start off first thing in the morning, then the next post is at night? Well, if you don't see it - that's the pattern.

Ok. Next.

So I wrote about the first night over on Xanga (think the link's listed on the sidebar, for all you interested people. Two of you.) now's the one you've all been waiting for! Come on, don't be shy! YOu know!! Meeting J's parents!! The seder at his sister's house!!

So I was pretty, kinda, sorta, a little... errr... nervous. He picked us up at my parents' house, I had a backpack packed with everything my kids could ever want in the span of a four hour dinner, and the giant box of handmade matzah.

And, you know what, guys - this is really going to be a very boring post. It was totally cool. Totally relaxed. Totally normal. My kids could NOT have been better (ok, except for Nathan's constant fake burping & "excuse me's" but people thought it was cute... so it passed. Once they get to know him, they might not really think so - but it's the honeymoon period.)

His parents are very nice, all the people there were very nice - we all felt very comfortable. Nathan got right into it & to my extreme embarassment had no qualms about adressing J's father by his first name.

The honeymoon period.

AND - the topping on the Kosher for Passover Cake - at the end of the night J's mom told me that she "approved!" I passed!!!

He's number one!

Can you believe it?! He actually got that number....

Welcome to MY Travel Rights.com

Public Service Message. :)

Welcome to MY Travel Rights.com

some good info.

A fine, fine line...

So this is what I've noticed: There is a fine line between being helpful and being a busy body. Dontcha think? Let me explain.

Say you're sitting in a theater, and you know what row you're in, and you hear the people in the row behind you sort of bickering over their seats. THey are all in the wrong seats. And you hear them distinctly say a row that you know they are NOT in, because they are right behind you, and you KNOW which row you are in... so.... you turn around and say "That's not row B, it's row A."

Busy body or helpful?

Or, lets say you're on the elevator in a department store and you hear two people wondering which floor they have the ladies shoes & you blurt out "third floor." YOu weren't asked. They weren't saying to each other "we should ask somebody" you just... ummm... blurt it out. I mean, it's not like you could HELP hearing what they were talking about - it's the friggin elevator! Right?

Busy body or helpful?

Or you're walking down the street and you hear the people behind you wondering where they should go out for dinner... and you turn around and make a suggestion. (Ok, that hasn't actually happened, but believe me - it's been close enough...and it COULD!)

Busy body or helpful?

I know, not so easy to distinguish. I"m trying. I'm really trying. I. Just. Can't. Helpit!

No fading star: Actress gets roles at 97 - Yahoo! News

No fading star: Actress gets roles at 97 - Yahoo! News

Very cool.

Passover Part Two

I wrote about Passover part 1 - over on Xanga --- but here's part two.

The second night of Passover - for the second seder - we will be going to J's sister's house. I will be meeting his parents & his neices. My boys will be meeting his parents & his neices. For the first time. At the seder. A nice, calm relaxing first meeting - dontcha think?

I mean, I'm nervous and I'm not. I suppose I would have preferred meeting his parents first - just the four of us - before this. Before I have to have five eyes to keep on my kids who will be in a strange house, with strange things and people they have not met before.

No pressure, or anything.

And that's not to mention that this will be the first time my kids will be sitting through BOTH parts of the seder.... so imagine, if you will... sitting at a table (albeit with food, singing, etc, etc) for a good three hours or so. My kids. While a service is going on.

No pressure, or anything.

So, we'll be going there the second night... and I'll be meeting his parents, watching my kids, worrying about their behavior, worrying about them eating, worrying about my behavior, worrying about my eating... worrying about the state of the world we live in, worrying if the gerbil is ok, worrying about US debt, worrying about if they spill something on the table, worrying about if I left the coffee pot on....

No pressure, or anything.

I'm joking. Half joking. I'm a little bit worried about all this... I mean, it will be a lot - but then I just have to realize that they're kids, that his family are probably all very nice & oh - have a few glasses of wine.

What year is this?!

Kentucky.com 03/26/2007 $27 million anti-evolution museum to open soon

Good Morning!

Hi! How are you? How's it going? Have a good week? (How long has it been since I posted here last...? Not really sure.) Keeping out of trouble? Good. I'd hate to think that my blogging rate in any way correlated to the amount of trouble you guys got into. (You guys! See how I make my readers plural -- when if I'm lucky there will be one! Ha!)

So anyhow, as you can tell from that introduction I got nuthin'. Nothing to write about. Oh, well maybe....

Facilitating. I had to facilitate a break out group at our all staff "conference" last Friday. All week it was weighing on me. Heck, since I found out about it it was weighing on me. But, my boss said it "looked good" and I was "nominated" to do it because she "knew I could".... and blah blah, blah -- lots of other stuff supposed to make me feel really good about myself. Which. Ok. I suppose it did. But still made me feel nervous as heck.

People don't think I'm shy. I speak up in meetings, always voice my opinion, make little wise cracks.... and they don't think I'm shy. But I do.

Although, I suppose if you analyzed my behavior it wouldn't really seem like that of a "shy" person. But I still see myself like that. Maybe like a really overweight person.... when they lose weight they still see themselves as fat? I don't know. Kind of like a phantom limb, maybe...

So anyhow, I get down to the area where the group is supposed to meet & I'm the first one there. One or two people come & I'm fine with that. I'm fine with chatting. I'm fine with banter. But then they're all there. Twenty friggin five of them! And they are ALL LOOKING AT ME.

So I start & realize I'm drenched with sweat. I talk and realize the minute something comes out of my mouth I have no idea what it was... But they are all looking at me, with the same attentive look - so I must not be making too much of a fool of myself.

I make a little joke. They laugh.

Finally, I start to feel relaxed, and it's over. I bump into one person later: "You did a good job." Wow, did she know I was feeling so crazy about it? Ok, but that was nice.

In the end I feel like I didn't keep them as focused as they should have been. That I didn't really explain what we should have been discussing well enough - but you know - the other group who discussed the same thing came up with the same suggestions... soooooooo Something must've happened.

We went back to the main room. All the directors are thanking me. Thanking the facilitators.... Ok, so now I'm known at the agency. Not a small agency, either. So that's good. I guess. Isn't it?

But I get back to my desk and I crash. Crash, crash, crash. Must. Have. Nap. We got out of work early, I went up to J's place, fed his dog, and crashed a big crash.

It's over.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
My friend H. who teaches public speaking says that fear of public speaking is the most common of phobias. She said she will work with me to give me some pointers.

NATIONAL BUY DICK CHENEY A CHEESEBURGER DAY

NATIONAL BUY DICK CHENEY A CHEESEBURGER DAY

Happy Anniversary!

Thought this was a fun way to way to chronical my first meeting of J. (Ok, maybe not fun, but different. Informative? New? Unusual? Well, whatever. I just wanted to, ok?!?) The two copied posts are from my Yahoo 360 blog (that was private) and the linked one is the Xanga blog.

FROM THURSDAY, MARCH 9, 9:17 PM
Or crack myself up -- which I actually do on a fairly regular basis....
So I switched the dates. My Saturday night date with mask man has been switched to Friday - and I'm going to be going out with Fun Wednesday Night Date Saturday.
I'm not even sure WHY I am going out with Mask man - except for the fact that I told him I would. I'm totally psyched about the 2nd date with Fun Wednesday NIght Date...
Then I have a lunch date with another guy on Tuesday.
ANd, at this point - all I really want to do is just go out with Fun Wednesday NIght Date again. It was THAT good...

Also THIS from THURSDAY, March 9th

FROM SATURDAY, MARCH 11, 9:01 AM

So you know what - I totally cancelled the date with Mask Man. When I first moved the date his response was: "Well, you know that the skirt that you're wearing on this date just got shorter." Huh?!? I thought he must be joking. Nope.
Then, when I cancelled (well, ok, I'm a wimp - it was more like I postponed...) he was like: "I don't think there's a skirt that's short enough to make up for this." DOuble huh?!?
No more mask man.
TOTALLY psyched for my date tonight, though. TOTALLY.

FROM SUNDAY, MARCH 12th 1:29 AM
Omigod!
Guys!!! Great date! Omigod! Great, great, great!!
I think I really like this guy! Nice, cute, normal, funny, smart... he just has a great "way" about him... (Thank you, Billy Joel...)
I'm feelin' some serious liking coming

What a Working Woman Needs: A Wife - New York Times

What a Working Woman Needs: A Wife - New York Times

It's so true.