Snippets and Blabbery

RSS Feed Homepage

Articles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

bad eye sight
2008-01-10 06:35:00
Tonight we ate at Macaroni Grill. I love Macaroni Grill. I love the rosemary bread. I love the house white zin. I love the chocolate cake. Since it gets dark at about 5 pm, my husband usually drives us everywhere because I have TERRIBLE night vision. So, lucky for me, I get to enjoy a glass of that white zin, because I know he’s driving. My real point is about my eye sight. My prescription is about 20/400. In contacts, that equates to a -7.5 in both eyes. Luckily for me, my eyes are the same, so I can get by only purchasing one box of contacts. And since I’m usually too lazy to put them in, that box lasts a long time. During Christmas, we stayed in two different hotels, and both of them had the kind of makeup mirrors that extend out from the wall. I swear I want to buy one of those and put it in my bathroom. I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to apply eye makeup with no glasses and no contacts and being legally blind. You probably haven’t. Let’s ju...
More About: Sight

Vegas, baby.
2008-01-07 00:27:00
My brother-in-law took his family to Vegas yesterday. They have a direct flight to Germany today. I’m sad to see them go. We should have gone with them and stayed in a lasvegas hotel. I’d like to stay in New York, NY, or at the Wynn. Sadly, the Wynn is waaay out of my price range and I don’t think they’d recognize my black jack genius in time to give me a free suite. Especially since I usually only gamble with about $50. But still, I want to go. I can’t believe we live so close, and we’ve still never been. I mentioned in an early post about David Sedaris talking about people that poop in department stores. He also mentioned people that poop in their pants at slot machines because they don’t want to leave. That’s crazy, right? He said, “I can see that happening at the craps table, but not at the slots.” Ha ha ha. That cracks me up every time!
More About: Baby

AV geeks unite!
2008-01-07 00:21:00
One of my resolutions this year is to become more technically savvy. In a nutshell, I want to figure out how to have my Tivo, my cable box, my DVD player AND my VCR connected to my tv. I want to know how to use my infernal s-cable without messing up the sound on one or all of those boxes. I want to NOT be suckered by Best Buy into buying cables that I really don’t need. Attainable goals? I hope so. BTW, I really don’t like Best Buy.
More About: Geeks , Unit

going greener
2008-01-07 00:15:00
It’s a struggle. We buy our son toys that are so over-packaged in crazy plastic, that I wonder what possible improvements we could make that would ever counteract the waste we’re producing. The sad fact is that that kid loves his Thomas and friends trains, and we want him to have them. So we do other things. We recycle that packaging. Lately, we’ve been really focusing on unplugging all of our plugs - especially cell phone chargers - so that we’re not wasting all that leaking energy. I found this super cool little gadget - the Kill-a-watt - that tells you exactly how much energy your appliances are using when sitting dormant. The Kill-a-watt and a whole bunch of other cool eco products are available to make life easier. For example, it turns out my TV is energy efficient. It has an off switch so that I don’t have to unplug it. I have to physically turn the switch back on in order to use the remote, but it’s not using any standby power in the meant...

power tools
2008-01-06 23:58:00
Each year at Christmas, Father’s Day and my dad’s birthday, I wander the aisles of Lowes and Home Depot, looking at all the power tools and wondering if my dad already has them. This year, I got him this funny little wrist magnet that straps on his wrist and has a little magnet tray for nails and screws. This gift idea was inspired by my wrist pin cushion, which effectively keeps pins out of my mouth during sewing. I thought it would be handy, but who knows? Then I see fancy stuff like the Ingersoll Rand air tools, and I wonder if that’s what he really needs? Honestly, I’m pretty handy with my Black and Decker screw-driver/drill set, but I wouldn’t know the difference between a air gun and an air ratchet. I fear that my dad is destined to get gift cards for eternity.
More About: Power , Tools

David Sedaris
2008-01-06 23:36:00
I’ve been listening to This American Life free podcasts quite a bit. If you are at all interested in excellent stories, I highly recommend it. You can find them on ThisLife.org or on iTunes - for free. The most recent program was called David and Goliath, and it had a funny story about a mom trying to create a little peace between her five year old and her 12 year old. As a girl with a sister who is five years older, I found this story relate-able and wonderful. The mom’s concern was that the older sister really didn’t like the younger sister, and that this negative opinion would carry on into adult life. As the younger sister, I definitely carried some anger and resentment for my very powerful, very witty older sister. In fact, well into my 20s, I planned the day that I would just knock her out cold. Not for any specific reason other than I finally could. I never did it. Now, I don’t even want to. 99% of the time, anyway. But it was a great story. Next was a...
More About: David Sedaris

My treasure for a caucus
2008-01-06 23:24:00
Wouldn’t it be fun to be an Iowan? I have been begging my family and friends to discuss politics with me. My mother-in-law, who lives in Paris, and my German sister-in-law, had more opinions on US politics than any of my fellow country-men. What does that say about the system? I would love to be a caucus-goer…debating with my neighbors about why my team is the best. “Come to my side…here’s why!” The problem is, I don’t have a side. Well, I have a side, and it’s decidedly DEMOCRAT, but among the dems, I’m a little confused. I’m having trouble figuring out how to really find the minutia of the plans of Obama, Edwards and Clinton. I’m increasingly more and more in support of John Edwards, but I’m afraid he’s just not going to have enough money to see the process through. My brother-in-law made a comment about “what’s the point? The free mason’s already know who the presidents will be for t...
More About: Treasure , Caucus

ahhh, family
2008-01-03 04:53:00
As I’m sure is true with many of you, these last two weeks have been a whirlwind of family. Mother-in-law in from Paris, my brother-in-law’s wife and two kids (that he’s been “separated” from for the past year) in from Germany. Trips back and forth between my sister-in-law’s house. Hotel stays on Christmas night. It’s been a lot. I started back to work today, and I really feel unprepared. My brother-in-law’s family is still here for a few more days and they’ll be staying with us for the weekend. I don’t know how I’m going to do my work-from-home job and entertain these people. I’m sure it will be fine. Anyway, I got the most beautiful key chain for Christmas from my friend Megan. It’s AWESOME, but sadly, I keep forgetting to call her and tell her it was my most treasured gift! I got lots and lots of awesome gifts. And most of my handmade gifts went over really well. I know for sure that two of the scarves ...
More About: Family

Gold Medal Wine
2007-12-21 01:11:00
I was considering getting my sister a wine of the month wine clubs subscription for Christmas, but then she stopped drinking! Who would of thought! So, I decided to try it for myself. I am not a wine connoisseur by any stretch, but I’d like to know more, and so I thought this would be cool. I picked Gold Medal Wine because they ship their monthly wines from small vinyards in California. Now I get to feel like I’m supporting local farmers while I get my drink on! Awesome. My first selection came from a small winery called Madrona - securely packaged in form fitting styrofoam were two bottles. One of Merlot and one of Cabernet Sauvignon. Now, normally, I’m not a red wine kind of girl. If I do drink red, I pour it into a sprite and make it a spritzer. (All the wine drinkers just gasped!) But I drank the cab in a wine glass like an adult - sans soda. And you know what? It was great. We grilled steaks for dinner, and it went very nicely. Enough about my bad wine reviews...

rings
2007-12-13 21:44:00
I was in Macy’s last night, looking at the huge CZ rings in the jewelry dept. Sometimes I wish I had a fancier wedding band. My husband and I have had our little silver bands since the day we eloped. We bought them from a silver jewelry kiosk in Coconut Grove, Miami. Don’t get me wrong, I love my little no nonsense ring. In fact, when I was at the spa a few weeks ago, I got a manicure, and while the girl was working on my nails, she put my little ring in cleaning solution. I’m pretty sure that’s the first time it was ever cleaned Anyway, it looked great - brand new again. But still, I’d like to get a real set of wedding rings. You know, an engagement ring and band and a matching band for my husband. Someday, right? Probably around the same time we have an actual wedding ceremony. Maybe for our ten year anniversary.
More About: Rings

Thomas and other trains…
2007-12-13 21:37:00
Tuesday was a birthday around here, and we had a ball. I baked a cake, my husband bought our son a life size Thomas the Train, and he wouldn’t ride on it. Anyway, so we got this crazy train, and it made the baby cry if we put him on it. So he just pushed it around. Which he loved. I was not in favor of this present. Oh well. I also took care of most of the Christmas shopping yesterday, thanks to the Real Simple gift guide. I bought almost all the gifts I still needed online. Awesome. I found great stuff at Portsmouthtea.com, moma.org, and spoonsisters.com. I also really liked port authority clothing. I just have a few more gifts to finish making/buying. Luckily, lots of family is coming here, so I have a little more time with their gifts. I just need to get the rest of the packages and cards in the mail early next week.
More About: Trains , Homa

I miss my blog
2007-12-06 01:04:00
I’ve started this new part-time job that uses up all of nap time each day. Also, my brother-in-law is staying with us, and the computer is in the guest room, so my blogging time has been greatly reduced. There’s actually been so much to blog about, it makes it even harder to get back to business. I will say that I’m loving this new job, although there doesn’t seem to be enough time to complete everything I need to - it’s mostly because I’m not very efficient yet. I have faith that I’ll improve. I just watched Marie Antoinette again (with Kirsten Dunst), and I love all the sexy corsets. I can’t imagine wearing them, or dealing with the crazy hairstyles, but I still love that movie. I’ve been trying to catch up on the two weeks of shows we tivoed while we were on vacation, plus all the shows that have recorded since we returned, and I’m way behind. I just want to say that I LOVE Life, Chuck and Brothers and Sisters. Those thr...
More About: Blog , Miss

I live in a zoo…
2007-12-02 06:50:00
As in, “happy birthday to you…” That’s right, I look like a monkey and I smell like one too. I’ve been celebrating my birthday all weekend, and I want to say a special thanks to my friend Stephanie-doo-dah, who “enabled” me to shop my booty off at Joann’s today. Thanks, dude! Also, thanks to Melanie, who bought me a coffee and a lowfat egg and cheese sandwich. And thanks to David and Sara, who bought me new music on iTunes (I’m really in love with Amos Lee). I got my haircut today, and it looks great thanks to Becky’s skillful blow drying. If only we could keep the salon blow-dry style everyday. You know, by magic. Tomorrow I’ll be back to my wavy, frizzy moppiness, but today, I’m pretty awesome. We just saw The Kingdom, and although it was excellent (funny, sad, action-packed - it had it all), it left me feeling decidedly hopeless. My brother-in-law said, “that’s reality.” This didn’t ...
More About: Live

car shopping
2007-11-28 20:38:00
I purchased an Electric Lime Saturn Ion Quad Coupe a few years ago. Its got these cool back doors that open away from the front doors. It’s got OnStar and a six CD changer and it’s a 5-speed, and I love it. Then we got pregnant. I couldn’t imagine trying to get the car seat into those funny doors in California’s small parking spaces. And my husband got a job 80 miles away from our house. So he started driving the Electric Lime Saturn, and we traded in his VW Turbo GTI for a Passatt. He hates that green car. He’s always admiring things like the VW Toureg (retails for a cool $50,000) and various BMWs and Mercedes with fancy wood grain. He really loves the Chrysler 300 accessory packages. Clearly, we cannot afford these vehicles. So this weekend, he sends me a Costco ad for a Hybrid Altima. Turns out the Altima has a great tax incentive, and it’s only available in certain states that have California emission standards, so it may actually retain a li...
More About: Shopping

city guides
2007-11-24 06:51:00
As the chief travel planner in the house, I’m always on the lookout for new and helpful sites. Recently, I stumbled onto HotelsbyCity .net, a search engine of sorts that helps you find good hotel rates. At first glance, the city list is a little bit of a mess because it’s not categorized by state or even alphabetized. I clicked on Carslbad - thinking it was Carlsbad CA, and it was actually, Carlsbad NM. So then I clicked on Paris – under cities in Europe, and found a very informative little city guide, with great hotel links as well as municipal links like the official City of Paris site. (It’s a little funny to read in English, but informative.) There’s also a section of International links, which is odd, because there’s a section for US, Europe, Canada and Australia. I guess International means all cities that don’t fall into those areas already listed. My real point here is that it’s good to branch out from my normal sidestep and orbitz every once i...
More About: Guides , Guid

My new job!
2007-11-24 06:28:00
Did I tell you guys about my new job?! I’m so excited. It’s with an honest to goodness virtual company. And not of the “pay us for the envelopes, then stuff them on your own time and earn up to $1 million a year!” I’ll only be working 10 hours a week, doing Outbound Marketing (a.k.a. phone calls), but I’m calling corporations during business hours, not residences, and I’m not selling anything, so I consider this an excellent opportunity. Besides, the company is growing fast, and I think that down the road there will be good part-time but more hours or even full-time opportunities in PR. Anyway, the extra money will really help us, and it’s the PERFECT schedule for me and my son. I am a very lucky girl! Oh yeah, they use this super cool server, so I just log in with my hand high speed internet, and I have a virtual desktop with all of their programs on it. I’m sure this technology has been around for a little while, but I think i...

Life at Zero Gravity
2007-11-24 06:15:00
While on vacation, we spent one day at the Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL. We took lots of great pictures, fostered a new addiction for my son (space shuttles!), and went on some crazy ride where you sit in a seat and shoot up into the air, at least 10 stories. For a second at the top, you’re weightless. I think it was called Zero G ravity or something. Anyway, it scared the crapola out of me. My husband and I both went on it. I had to take my glasses off so I wouldn’t lose them, so I couldn’t see my son who was safely on the ground with his grandparents. All I could think of was how stupid it was for both of us to go on it at the same time considering I still don’t have any life insurance. Not even a burial policy. But we were fine. And I guess it was fun in a scare-the-crap out of you kind of way. Consequently, this was my second trip to the Space and Rocket Center. Last time, they had no rides. They’re really souping it up. They also had a ...
More About: Life

my birthday gift
2007-11-24 06:02:00
I haven’t been the greatest blogger lately. First, we were vacating. Then, I was unpacking/doing laundry/forcing my kid to return to Pacific Standard Time. Then I was cooking my first Thanksgiving dinner ever. (Thanks, Martha, for the great recipes! Pictures coming soon.) Then I was shopping. Today, for the first time in my life, I partook of the great American tradition of stampeding poorly prepared cashiers and customer service people in retails shops of all kinds. My birthday is next week (31!), and I was on a mission to find my perfect gift. Did I buy perfume or diamond rings? No. Of course not. What I did buy was a new Singer Confidence sewing machine. YAHOO! It is awesome! I got it for $399, normal retail is $599, and it kicks my old Singer’s booty. I also got a new Rowenta iron, normally $80, for only $30. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some sewing to do.
More About: Gift , Birthday

better than cash
2007-11-21 07:00:00
I’m always on the lookout for unique gifts. As I’m sure you are. This year, I’m making most of our gifts (sewing) and most family members are getting a photo book off of snapfish. But this new photo gift card might just be my favorite gift yet. Next to Oxfam Unwrapped, of course. GiftCardLab lets you create custom Visa gift cards with your picture on them! How cool is that? So in addition to the custom stamps I want to order with my sweet kid’s face on them, the photo books I’m having made with my sweet kid’s face, now I can also send a Visa gift card with my sweet kid’s face! It’s like a dream! Seriously, I love this idea. So much better than cash. I guess you can also upload custom artwork instead of photos. How cool is that? I really really love this idea.
More About: Cash

serious as a heart attack
2007-11-21 06:47:00
I can’t tell you how nice it was to spend a little time with my dad and step-mom, and watch them enjoy my son. He’s still small and cute and fun, and he doesn’t annoy my dad yet. (My dad has little patience for rambunctious kids - he’s a little crotchety these days.) But of course, as was the time I spent with my grandma and aunt, the trip was much too short. Today, my husband’s boss’ father-in-law (did you get all that) had a heart attack. When my husband told me, the first thing I did was call my dad. My dad smokes and has a rum and diet pepsi each night. He takes medication for high blood pressure. He’s had a couple emergency room visits when his blood pressure got too high. He’s been a nurse for almost 30 years, and he still behaves this way. So I called him to tell him I love him and to quit smoking. I’m not naive enough to think that not smoking would solve all of his health problems, but I can’t see how it would hurt...
More About: Heart , Heart Attack , Attack , Atta

WaMu
2007-11-21 06:32:00
I never heard the term “WaMu” until I moved to California. I’m sure it’s not a regional phrase, since the bank uses it in their advertisements, but I thought it was so clever when my friend said it, I thought she had made it up. I don’t bank with them, but if I were going to change banks, I would choose their free checking account. Here’s why. They don’t charge for outgoing wire transfers. Right now, we have a few different accounts with different banks. I sometimes transfer money from bank to bank, and I always pay a fee. This discourages me from transferring money, which means I don’t always transfer what I can or should to savings. This annoys me. If WaMu does it for free, why doesn’t my bank?

Ah, the tropics…
2007-11-21 06:24:00
While I was on vacation, I got to watch my Aunt’s wedding video. You may (or may not) remember that she was supposed to get married in Nov. - hence the trip - but had moved her wedding way up, so I was unable to go. Anyway, we watched the video, so it was a little like we were there. It was beautiful - everyone looked great, the music was lovely, and we all cried watching her mom (my grandma) cry. I especially cried when my Aunt added extra vows to her new husband’s son - including him in the ceremony by promising to love him along with his dad. Beautiful. So, it got me thinking about weddings. I’m patiently waiting for my own ceremony. I’m also waiting for Stephanie’s wedding (hee hee). And in the meantime, I buy every copy of Martha Stewart Weddings - even though they’re mostly ads of things I’d never buy. I want to get married in the Dominican Republic in Casa de Campo at the Altos de Chavon. There’s a gorgeous little chapel that ov...

travails and travels
2007-11-19 03:55:00
Our trip was very interesting. Half of it was spent with family - fun and stressful at the same time. It’s hard try to coordinate the events for 12 people and still make everyone happy. Impossible, really. The second leg was spent at Pinehurst - world renown resort with 8 golf courses. Pros: I got to see my awesome grandma, aunt and her new husband. I got to see my sister and her family. I got to see my Dad and step-mom. The visit with all of these people was too short and too full of activity, but it was wonderful anyway. I got to see UCF beat UAB. I got to spend quality time (although, not enough) with a few old friends. Cons: My sister and my dad kept using me as a go-between to make plans when they were the ones with strong opinions on what we should be doing. Five days isn’t enough time for a small reunion. The family members who weren’t there were greatly missed. As for Pinehurst, I will tell my tale in a future post. It was lovely and snobby and beautiful an...
More About: Travels

whew!
2007-11-19 03:43:00
After a whirlwind 8 days of travel, family and friends, I feel like I need a vacation! Isn’t that always the way? I’m short on time, but here are some topics I want to discuss in the next few days: Lisa Williams - I love her. Gossip Girl - too raunchy? Snapfish gifts - photobooks all around! My new job! Spa treatments and my related awkwardness. Hope all is well in your world. More soon…

unsigned and awesome
2007-11-07 21:42:00
I have a myspace page. I’m a 30 year-old mother and wife, and I love myspace. Mostly, I keep in touch with old friends, but I love the grassroots political movements happening on there, and I especially love to find new music. But it’s kind of hard - I find someone I like, then I check out their friends, and sometimes they’re good, and sometimes they’re not. Either way, it’s a time consuming process. I found a new site called Unsigned .com. It’s a huge assortment of unsigned singers and independent bands. Every genre is covered - I went straight for folk music, and found an awesome band called Choonz - gorgeous fiddle and guitar musicians from England. It’s like a treasure trove. I also found a ton of cool bands, like the Club 7 Jazz Band when searching the jazz artists. I always feel like the radio and the internet are telling me who to listen to, not playing who I want to listen to. Unsigned.com is a nice change of pace. It’s also a ...
More About: Awesome , Some

yummy recipes
2007-11-06 22:59:00
Sometimes I post things that seem like a sponsored post, but they actually aren’t. Like this one - I love the container store (like, obsessively). Look at this cool link they sent me: http://www.containerstore.com/experthelp/ recipes/index.jhtml It’s all stuff you make and stuff into containers for gifts. My favorites are the easy play clay and the all-natural dog biscuits. I’m totally making those this year. Now I have a reason to go to the container store As if I needed one.
More About: Recipes , Yummy , Reci

More crafts
2007-11-06 20:13:00
I’m officially in the mad rush of sewing for Christmas. Here are a couple projects - the purse and zipper pouch are from Bend-The-Rules Sewing, and the sweatshirt is my own creation. My friend Sara has a question mark tattoo on her leg, and we decided it would make a good logo for her sweatshirt. She got the sweatshirt at WalMart for $10, and I added some cute Denyse Schmidt fabric and blue thread. My first foray into customizing clothing, I think it came out pretty cool. I got the instructions from DIY’s Creative Juice tv show. You can see better pictures (and more projects) on my flickr page. Thanks for checking out my crafts!
More About: Crafts

An International Phone Card Affair
2007-11-06 19:46:00
My husband’s family is spread all over the world. Mother in France, Father in Mexico, Grandmother in the Dominican Republic. As you can imagine, we have an international calling plan on our phone. But phone cards are still the best bet, sometimes. We keep a cell phone in the Dominican Republic, so that when someone goes there to visit my husband’s grandma, they have a phone to call the states. Usually, whoever is there just purchases a phone card or two for the duration of their stay. The problem is that there’s a bit of a monopoly on the phone cards, just as their’s a monopoly on many things in the DR. But if we didn’t use the cell, my mother-in-law would have to go to a call center (which is crazy and stressful). So we found this site, The RichCom.com, which is an excellent source for all international phone card needs. You just plug in the country, select the dollar amount, and purchase them. My environmentalist mind likes the fact that they just ema...
More About: International , Phone , Card , Phone card , Affair

Book #64 - World Without End
2007-11-06 00:39:00
Ken Follett, writer of my all time favorite book Pillars of the Earth, has done it again. With his new tome World Without End, he takes us back to Kingsbridge Prior and introduces us to the descendants of Jack Builder. Coming in at just over 1000 pages - I still managed to read it in about three days. I won’t say it’s as good as Pillars, because it’s not, but it definitely stands on it’s own and is excellent. You don’t need to have read Pillars either, because other than being set in roughly the same spot and alluding to some of the main characters, it’s not a sequel. Basically, it chronicles the life of two brothers, and two girls. One brother moves through the life of knighthood to earldom while the other brother goes from apprentice to architect. The two girls live distinctly different lives - one being high-borne and one being very low-borne. Their lives continue to intersect and there are more twists than in daytime drama. Throughout, the tow...
More About: Book

Mutsy - must see
2007-11-06 00:08:00
Our son is almost two. I have a jogger (given to me for free!), an umbrella stroller (given to me for free!), and our travel stroller - a giant monstrosity that holds an infant carrier and came with a base for the car. This thing was handy, but it’s so huge! Add to that my feeling that I’m always in other people’s way, and it’s a bad combination. I tried to be one of those mom’s that assume because they have the big aisle-hogging stroller, they get the right-of-way, but I didn’t have the heart for it. I always give in and scoot us out of the way. Anyway, I always see these cool minimalist strollers, and I finally stopped a mom and asked her what it was. It’s called a Mutsy. Who knew they made such cool, convenient strollers? So I went to their website, and found out that they’re totally convertible. You can use the frame to hold a bassinet (which can be removed so the baby can sleep in it), an infant carrier/car seat, a regular reclini...