Friending people on FB

Today, running sucks, and I want to know what's up with friending people on Facebook. I have found that if you send a Friend Request to someone and they accept it, they don't say anything. It's like they wait for you to say something first. I guess because you sent the request. But, if you accept a Friend Request, wouldn't you then say Hey, thanks! It's great to see you, bla, bla, bla? What's up with that? Is there some Facebook etiquette that I'm unaware of? And how about the people that connect, but don't say anything at all? I don't understand how that's possible. You haven't seen each other in 10, 15, maybe even 20 years, and you've got nothing to say?! Come on!

Seriously, I need something else to do with my time. This really is quite ridiculous. Look for pictures of knitting projects in the near future.

My Favorite Subjects

Wordless Wednesday

Annual Zaniness

The annual Phillies with our friends never disappoints. The weather was beautiful and the game was good.

We had good seats and a great view.A rare blimp made an appearance. I think I watched the blimp blow around in the wind more than the game. And, of course, crack.

Then the craziness ensued. After a Phillies game, you must head to McFadden's. But only if you've been drinking. Otherwise you won't be able to tolerate it.

A calm moment.

Not so calm.

Rose met some other friends. She'll dance with anyone. Slut.

Afterwards, we landed at the Oyster House. I have no idea why. But it led to the oyster shooter.

Lots of fun. Laughs. Zaniness. And the first time someone inhaled vodka. Really. I should be too old for this.

The perfect weather blues

The weather here is gorgeous. Perfect. Low humidity, clear blue skies, low 80s. Perfect. My motivation to be indoors, under fluorescent lighting, staring at a computer, feeling my ass go numb from sitting all day is null. It's days like these that I really envy the stay-at-home-mom. Even more so today because our nanny started today. She gets to have all the summer fun with the girls. They go on field trips, do arts and crafts, play outside, go to the pool. A life of leisure. It's my goal. I just haven't figured out what it's going to take to get there.

Anyway, I don't want to be repetitive so go here for a quickie update. We had our annual Phillies game with our friends, The Hattons. I did not want to schwart my get-in-shape efforts from the week so I was a little unmotivated to indulge in a game/beer/food/hangover. I'll upload pictures tonight. It'll be apparent that I got motivated.

I love summer

Summer means playing outside. And it also means -- crab season! I love crab season. It reminds me of when I was young, growing up in Maryland. We would have huge crab feasts with all our neighbors. We'd put all the picnic tables together, cover them with newspaper and bring the bushels of steamed blue crabs in. Usually we did this on the Fourth of July. When it would start to get dark, we'd run around trying to catch fireflies or writing our names with Sparklers. And, when it got really dark, one of the dad's would set off fireworks. It was so much fun.

We just had our first crab feast, on a much smaller scale. Here, Ella is checking out the live crabs.

We've had a few crabs get lose or put a death grip on an unsuspecting finger, but Rose, our resident crab steamer, takes on the challenge.

The first batch of crabs. Always males. Always large or bigger. Always, always, always with Old Bay... and beer, of course.

The secret to getting to the claw meat is to NOT crush the shell. Marc has not mastered the technique. He's not from Maryland.

This guy's not from Maryland either. In fact, we're still not sure who he is. He just showed up.

The best part of a crab feast is getting together with friends.

I'm not afraid of change. I just need some serious motivation.

It's July. Not one of my favorite months. It's hot. Humid. My hair usually looks like shit. I have to wear less clothing, even get into a bathing suit. EEEEK! A frightful sight for many, I know.

So I'm sure you noticed the obnoxious ticker up there. I've decided to take certain matters into my own hands (because, quite frankly, who else would?). I'm on a lose-20-pounds, get-my-fat-ass-in-shape, shrink-the-boobage mission. Sure, mid-summer isn't the best time to get motivated. These things should happen in winter. So when the warm weather arrives, you can unveil a beautifully trim body like it was always there, just hidden under turtlenecks. Well, that didn't happen for me. So, matters are in my hands and I've signed up for a 5K to make sure I don't slip up. Once committed I follow through. At least that's what I'm banking on.

To keep all the gory details out of this fun, always-family-friendly space, I started a new blog called The Thinning Chronicles. I need to be held accountable for my actions. I can't explain why that works for me. It's just does. So check in there every once in while, or not. Things like how much I weigh and pictures of cellulite (ha, just kidding) may cause you to like me less, so if that's the case, I'd advice you to avoid it all costs. I need to be liked.

Handmade - not

I am all for supporting handmade products. I love to create and make my own stuff. If there were 30 hours in a day, I'd be able to work again on my candles and start the bath product line I was researching years ago. All the supplies are patiently waiting in my basement for that day to come. Which will be never. However...there are some products, well, many really, but one product in particular should not be handmade. And that would be deodorant. I came across the recipe and then realized, it's just deodorant, NOT antiperspirant. Eck! And it's essentially just corn starch and baking soda. Either way, I'd rather leave my BO and sweaty pits to the experts. But, if you're into the au naturale way of living and you want to dabble, go here for the recipe. And try to stay out of hot, crowded gatherings.

No fuss kid treat for the summer

There's something fantastic I must share. If you already knew about it, shame on you for not sharing first. Yogurt pops for kids. Okay, I know that's not so fantastic, but what is fantastic is how you make them, and then of course the fact that the kids LOVE them. Buy one of those kids yogurt cup packs, like Danimals or Trix (which are better because they are two-toned, which is much more fun), stick a popcicle stick right through the foil lid. Pop in the freezer. Wait a couple hours until frozen. Run under luke warm water until it pops out, and voila! I can't keep them in stock!

Rainy days at the beach?

The sun has come out once. Here it is...

Rainy days at the beach with young children is disaster. DISASTER! They're excited to be at the beach, but stuck in the house because of the weather... DISASTER! The tv died in the middle of Thumbelina (Good for adults, bad for children). Dead tv + rainy weather + beach = nightmare.

I underestimated the self control of a 5 and 7-year-old (as if there is such a thing) and took them to the beach Wednesday morning before the rains set in. I expected, because of the cold, that we'd put our feet in, collect some shells and be done with it. That's not quite how it played out. How quickly I forget what it's like to be a kid at the beach...weather schmeather, who cares if it's 55 degrees out. They don't feel it. And I wasn't prepared. We had to make a beeline back for the house to put bathing suits and sunscreen on. It's not even summer yet!

The weather wouldn't let us spend the day on the beach so we ventured out for miniature golf. Tiger Woods we are not.Pirate golfers we are. As I took this shot I could see that Kyra was doing something, but I couldn't keep up. I could sense the attitude though.

So, I zoomed in. Always drama.

The next day... rain, wind...the flip flops flapped...

There is nothing but thunder and lightning that would keep kids away from the ocean. 55 degree weather is nothing. Who knows the temperature of the water? I thought in between rain storms, we'd venture down to the beach, collect shells, rocks and head back. High tide was in so there was no collecting. There was barely a beach, but the girls hiked up their pants and in they went.

The surfers were out... you know the water's crazy.
Why not us...? Deeper and deeper they got until ....

Kyra (predictably) got knocked over by a wave and the only thing dry on her body was her left shoulder. Hypothermia was sure to set in.

First vacation of the summer

The girls both finished school on Tuesday so we rushed out for our 3rd annual trip to Ocean City, New Jersey. Rushing is never good. You tend to forget important things like cell phone chargers, food and the pet fish.

Going this early in the summer (or rather, late in the spring) does not really lend itself to roasting in the sun and swimming in the ocean. It is downright chilly! We got down late Tuesday so we headed right to the boardwalk. The fashion style worn by everyone - hooded sweatshirts. One of the only places it is ever acceptable to wear sweatclothes out in public. The other place is the gym.I happen to love the beach when it's cloudy and chilly. I don't know why. Maybe all the years laying in the sun has me burned out from it. That pun worked out nicely. It also keeps the crowds away.

Some shore staples...

This is just a failed shot. Tried to get the flag blurry. I still like it.

We will be visiting Wonderland every night while we're here. I'm grateful the girls are tall enough and brave enough to go on the rides without me or Jeff. Another round on the Teacups would surely give me permanent vertigo.

Freezing...

Maybe another night when the wind chill isn't 20 below.A few rounds in the race cars is sure to get the blood flowing.Topped off with caramel popcorn and cotton candy, the sugary night could go on for hours.

Tomorrow... Brown's doughnuts fresh and hot. Seashell collecting, sand castle building and back to Wonderland.

Pole Dancing - an Olympic Sport

I was flipping through my latest Marie Claire over lunch as I hid from children in the kitchen, and came across something so disturbing I must mention it here. People are trying to get pole dancing as an Olympic Sport event. That's right. POLE DANCING. As in, the STRIPPER POLE.

The Olympic games are said to have been originated by Heracles and Zeus (Surprised I knew that, huh? I love Wikipedia.) and were mainly athletic but also combat and chariot racing events. These were athletes of extradinary strength and courage. Sure, the games have changed with the times. Although, have you noticed that gladiator shoes are in style? Hideous things in my opinion. But I digress. Now there's synchronized swimming and badminton. There are, of course, certain guidelines that must be met for a "sport" to qualify as an Olympic event. But POLE DANCING?

Apparently, our friendly pole dancers consider it gymnastic art rather than erotic. You can probably even find a pole dancing fitness class at your local gym. Don't forget your stripper shoes and tiny clothes. I agree it takes great strength and flexibility to hang on to the pole, and I'm sure it's a fab workout. But an Olympic sport? Seriously.

Where's the tradition? The Olympics have become so commercialized that they'll do anything to keep the events edgey to attract an audience. It's now more of a spectacle. I say, lets go back to where it started and watch the strongest of the strong battle it out. Duels to the death!

Or, how about synchronized pole dancing? Now that's a sport.

Performances

I have spent a significant amount of time this week sitting theater style watching children sing and dance. In fact, we're talking about a record amount of time.

Ella was a lifeguard in the first grade musical, which included no less than 80 kids, on stage at once. Not only did my formerly shy child sing, but she delivered her solo line perfectly. Was she nervous, I asked. Not at all. I'm excited actually. Really, she said.

Kyra has already declared her need to begin prepping for her first grade play. She is very proud of her sister.

After that celebrity-studded evening, we watched Kyra graduate from preschool, complete with paper graduation cap to boot. She even received an award for the best storyteller. If you've never heard her stories, you should head over to The Adventures of Barney. I'm a little behind on updating because I simply can't keep up with the amount of stories.

Then, of course, Kyra who seems destined for the stage because she is essentially Miss Drama, had her first dance recital, which was really a bunch of preschoolers in costume jumping around in utter confusion.

And so continues my life...

Working from home sucks!

There's something glamorous assumed when someone mentions they "work from home". But I'm here to tell you there is nothing glamorous about it - and I'm not referring to working in your pjs and curlers, unshowered and make-up-free.

Everytime I work from home, I'm busier than normal. In fact, I'm busier than any normal human being should be. And usually it's due to the fact that, well, I'm trying to get work done, and trying to take advantage of being at home and get home stuff done - for instance...

• 5:15 - ignored alarm for all of 17 minutes until the sheer disgust of not exercising drove me out of bed.
  
• 5:40 - weight lifted with 4'2" and 60 lbs of Cathe Friedrich. Oh lets face it. That woman works out 8 hours a day and doesn't eat. Why do I bother?
  
• 6:30 to 7:15 - worked on two e-mails for a brand new product.
  
• 7:15 to 8:30 - got kids off to school, including breakfast, dressing, teeth brushing, packing lunch and lots of irritation.
  
• 8:30 to 10:30 - included more work, a semi-shower, prepared a fruit platter for Kyra's pre-school graduation, conveniently held at 11 am in the middle of the week.
  
• 12:00 - Post-graduation: dragged Kyra to get blood work done, which included chasing after her as she screamed bloody murder back down a busy street when she realized where we were going, carrying her into the hospital screaming bloody murder, and wrapping my entire body around her while she was stuck with a needle and had blood drawn, screaming bloody murder.
  
• 2:00 - Entered toy store for Web Kinz treat after suffering through needle.
  
• 2:15 - Left toy store because there were only two TWO Web Kinz. This cannot be put off. Must get Web Kinz to make getting stuck with a needle all better now.
  
• 2:30 - Entered book store that sells Web Kinz. Get side tracked oogling knitting KNITTING? books. Get Web Kinz!
  
• 2:50 - Home. Run to email. Projects waiting. People wondering if I'm coming into work. Throw some horrible Barbie BARBIE! movie on to get Kyra to stop talking to me so I can concentrate.
  
• 2:55 - Suddenly remember that Ella's friend is coming home from school with her. This could be good. Or very, very bad.
  
• 4:00 - Walk to bus stop. Uneventful. Start making cake pops for Bake Off at work tomorrow. I summon my inner Martha Stewart. Work.
  
• 5:00 - Still need stuff for cake pops. Also need to get newletter files delivered to printer. Where is friend's mom?? Work some more. Intermittently check on kids as they dig holes in my yard in search of worms. Worms.
  
• 5:30 - Friend's mom shows up 30 minutes late. Then, we gab for 30 minutes. Make a mental note to not be so friendly when busy.
  
• 6:00 - Make dinner for kids. Try not to kill them. Continue making cake pops.
  
• 6:30 - Exhaustion sets in. Husband gets home. Tantrums begin. More work to be done.
  
• 7:00 - Get cake pops chilling and newsletter to printer.
  
• 7:50 - Say good night to the girls. Get dinner started for hubby and me. Pour wine. God help me, wine.
  
• 8:45 - Forget the cake pops. Fuck the Bake Off.
  
• 9:00 - Eat dinner. Keep eyes open long enough to catch some worldly news.

No, I didn't get the dresser.

Need opinions - STAT!

I found this great dresser on Craigslist. And I want it! But, I only want it if I can find a home for it. I was thinking it would look great in my foyer which is like it's own room. Add a couple lamps... But I'm not sure if it's right. Here's my foyer (before we moved in) ... It would go against the wall on the left in this pic.


What do you think? Would it work here?

For the children!

Summer is fast approaching. This can be great, or very, very bad. If you're like me and you work outside the home (See how PC I am? Stay at home mom's work too!), you're relying on other people to keep your kids occupied this summer. Or, if you're home with them, the pressure's on you. Either way, these two websites will keep all of us out of the doldrums. Check them out and rejoice! Tot classes is pretty much what you'd expect but it's not just for tots. And Dancing Meatballs keeps you updated on local activities, and affordable to boot!

Can you tell I have nothing else to do today?

Yeah, work is a little slow. Three posts in one day is unheard of around here. Typing makes me look busy though.

I am 11 days away from having a child in second grade. Well, I suppose technically that doesn't really happen until September, but still. First grade is about to end. I am way to young to have a child in second grade. WAY too young. I look at the other parents at the school events and the birthday parties, and I'm certain they are older than me. Unfortunately, it's not very likely. It's not like I was 21 when I had my kids. I was 30 for crying out loud!

I don't think I have ever felt my age. When I was younger, I wanted to be older. Acted older. Felt older. Now, I feel like I'm closer in age to my twenty-something co-workers than other parents even though I'm constantly reminded of my responsibilities. I can't make the happy hours because I've got birthday parties to plan and babysitters to relieve. I can't go to the inter-company football game because I have a first grade play to attend. Not that I'm complaining...entirely. I just wish there was time to work it all in.

A funny read

Every once in a while I remember to check Blogs of Note to see if there's anything I'm missing. And I found this. She writes well, is funny and clever. The best combination. Check it out for a good laugh when you have time to read.

Sweet!

The Carnival Party

Ella's Carnival Birthday Party was a blast. With just 14 kids, it didn't get too chaotic after all. We started with a craft as kids arrived. We made circus animal magnets from Oriental Trading (This place rocks for party stuff!) Then, we headed outside where all the games were set up. We had our friends and my mother working the game booths. The kids would play the games to win tickets (real carnival tickets from good ol' OT) which they could exchange for prizes (again, from OT), tattoos or balloons.

We had basketball, where you had to get three balls in the basket, which was literally my laundry basket. Ping Pong, a table of cups in which some were colored. To get tickets, they had to get the ball in the colored cup.

There was the Ring Toss, the Milk Bottle Toss (from OT) and the Bean Bag Toss. There was a lot of tossing. These guys started giving out dollar bills as prizes for knocking down all the bottles and getting in all three bags. They were fighting for "customers". Everyone really got into it, which really made it a lot of fun.

Here's the Duck Pond (ducks courtesy of OT). Our babysitter was excited to help out too. The kids had to find the matching numbers on the bottom of the ducks.

The prize bucket was the big motivator. Tons of stuff in there (You guessed it. From OT.) One ticket per prize. I gave the kids their goody bags when they came in. They were mesh net back packs that they carried around with them to hold their loot. (Yep, from OT. It's the best place ever!)

Or, they could get tattoos. One ticket per tattoo. That's my mom tattin' up the kids!

Ella showing off her star tattoo. The star of the party, of course.

They could also get balloons for tickets. These kids had a lot of tickets. I started to worry that my prize bucket would get emptied before their tickets ran out.

After everyone loaded up on stuff, we headed over to the pinata. This happy guy looks like he's hanging from a noose. Ella stuffed him full of candy. Two giant bags full. He weighed about 10 pounds. I thought for sure his head would rip right off from the weight of it all.

He was pretty sturdy but I was still afraid if I let them swing at him without a blindfold on not everyone would get a chance. We let the little ones go first without blindfolds. Kyra swinging with all her might. We blindfolded everyone else, until one girl jumped the gun when I put the bat in her hands and wacked the clown. His neck ripped open, and that was the end of him.

After all that fun, the kids made their own sundaes. Delish!

And then this little guy jumped in the Duck Pond. Just try and get him out.

His diaper soaked up the whole pool!

The parents came and picked up their kids. Everyone had fun, and Ella had the best party ever!

And, the carnival workers...well, we drank.

I need more 3-day weekends

I am really looking forward to this weekend. The official unofficial start of SUMMER! And, summer hours at work start today so I can leave at 2 pm every Friday, unless of course some schmo decides to schedule a meeting because "that's the only time everyone had available." It's happened before.

The only plans we have are Ella's 7th birthday party, which is going to be a carnival theme at my home. Thank God for nice weather! This one will be much more involved and chaotic than Kyra's Princess Party. I don't know why I do this to myself. We'll have about six carnival type games, like the Ring Toss and the Duck Pond, a craft, a clown pinata (nothing like watching a bunch of kids beat a clown with a bat!) and then make-your-own sundaes. We're even going to have a helium tank so kids can exchange tickets for balloons. The goody bags are mesh net backpacks and the goodies are all the prizes (read: junk) the kids will win at the games. I even have real carnival tickets that each kid will get when they come in. Tons of balloons. Tons of streamers. Tons of fun! I'm really excited about it, and it's my tribute to the birthday parties I had growing up - the kind you have at home with your closest friends. Of course, this is a little over the top compared to what I had. But still. Look for pictures later this weekend.

Ever so inadequate

Every once in a while I google some long lost friends from high school. I'm not one to go to reunions. That's way too much pressure. And quite frankly, I'm not THAT interested. I'm just curious what these people are doing with themselves.

It seems the people I was most friendly with are no where to be found, which makes sense because that's how I wanted to be. None of them are on Facebook. None of them can be found by Google. How is that possible? I mean, hasn't everyone done something to land their name on Google?

I did find one person, however. He was a smart guy in high school. Borderline nerdy. But cool enough. Turns out he's an immunologist, assistant professor at PENN, and was even named by Smithsonian Magazine as one of 'America's Young Innovators' developing a universal vaccine for the flu!

And here I am, just a lonely old copywriter for an ad agency. God, do I feel little.

RSVP

Lesson learned: If you want people to RSVP in a timely manner to an event, you must include an "RSVP by" date. Otherwise people will wait until the last minute, thus screwing up certain preparations, like personalized goody bags (!). Or they simply don't RSVP at all. And to those people I say, "FU. You're f-ing rude." And I'm not going to invite you to another party again. Bla!

Rockin' in farm country

When you live in a large city, you don't expect to have to take a road trip to see a concert. But, what the hell? We've got friends up for the adventure, reliable babysitters and a cooler full of acoutrements. Off we go...
But after a while, each farm began to look like the next. Farm after farm after farm to get to a major artist.

And then cars for miles and miles and miles. The problem with farm country is the endless two lane road. Not quite equipped for 35,000 people decending into town all at once.

However, it allows us the opportunity to check out the town's characteristics...like this firehouse and music academy in one. I'm guessing the firetruck doesn't get out much - notice the bench in front of the garage. And streets with cute names like Chocolate Avenue and street lights that look like chocolate kisses. Can you figure out where we went?

Because the Bruce Springsteen concerts in Philly were sold out, we decided a trek to Hershey, PA was in order. What's an hour and a half for a concert, you know?

Only after all that traffic, it's not an hour and a half. It's more like two and a half. We were very happy to arrive and have a little bit of time to tailgate. I had never seen Bruce before. I'm not a huge fan. I like him, but if it was up to me I wouldn't see him in concert. And I definitely wouldn't opt for general admission and subject myself to standing for upwards of 3 hours. But, I didnt have a choice, and all I can say is ...

Bruce rocked!

And everyone had a blast!

Pet Peeve alert: Bad email etiquette

I don't understand how a person does not respond to a direct email. I have actually emailed people for specific information for a volunteer project and received absolutely no response. WTF? Maybe I check my email too frequently, but I always respond to an email. Most people are emailing me to either tell me something or ask me something. How can you NOT respond? I am so irritated by this bad etiquette that I'm probably not going to volunteer my time on this project any longer. And, what's worse, now I don't even like these people because I'm so irritated by their bad etiquette. To me, it's simply disrespectful.

Pet Peeve alert: Merging Behavior

What is it with people who refuse to merge? I'm not talking about on the highway, but that is just as infuriating. I'm talking about a crowd of people merging onto the train.

I've been taking the train long enough to know the process--and there is a process. One from the left, one from the right. It's like being at a 4-way stop sign. Everyone takes a turn.

Apparently, this angry old lady thinks its her world, an she ain't followin' no process. She flat out refused to let me get in front of her, and it was my turn! What's worse is that this was the second time she did that to me! Bitch!

Do It Yourself Stained Glass

We have Amityville Horror windows in our bedroom. I've gotten past that, but what I couldn't get beyond was the closeness of our neighbors. The same ones who don't know how to share a driveway. I wanted privacy and I wanted it to be inexpensive and quick. It wasn't long before we found our answer at Home Depot called Artscapes. It's essentially thin vinyl that sticks to glass or plastic. I was afraid it would be difficult to work with but it actually wasn't too bad. After tracing the panel shapes on the back of the vinyl, I cut them out with an x-acto knife and followed the instructions. Which was basically wetting the glass and sticking the vinyl to it, then trimming the excess vinyl.

Good-bye neighbors!

There are a few different patterns, some looked more like etched glass rather than stained. But now I'm eyeing up other windows in the house to see where else I can put this stuff!