Cluck cluck

I'm going to New York this weekend. As in "the City". I say that because to many people, just saying New York could mean "Upstate", and "Upstate" is not "the City". Though I suppose technically, New York could mean Long Island, but anyone going to Long Island would be from Long Island, and call it Long Island. (Pronouced: lawngeyeland.) Because Long Island is also not the "City."

And all of this is just a mindless preamble to a post about my lil' sister. You see, she has decreed the next month shall be "All Amy, all the time". ;-). Sissy understands the above paragraph. Actually, I remember visiting her office once, and they had transcribed literal spellings of common Tri-State area phrases, like "fugeddabowdit". (n.b. That was from memory, and not necessarily an actually New Yorker's spelling.)

Amy does epitomize New York. I've now lived up here longer than I ever lived in NYC. I lost most of my accent. I lost my walk. I lost that NYC swagger and mojo. Although in all honesty, I'm not sure I ever had any. Not like my sisters did anyway. Biggest Sissy could sell you the Brooklyn Bridge. Lil' Sissy would make sure you were happy with your purchase on the way out, making sure to tell you "how great your outfit was, by the way, and where did you get it?"

We are going to get sangria and chicken this weekend, at Pio Pio. Did you know that "pio pio" is the sound a chicken makes in Spanish? Amy taught me this. Also, apparently, her oldest daughter---who is 3, thinks the name of the restaurant is actually "Pio Pio-Rice-&-Beans". (I guess it's good she doesn't think the name of the restaurant is "Pio Pio-mas-sangria-por-favor".)

So, over sangria and rice and beans, Amy will supply me with insanely amusing anecdotes for me to blog about. Though we also have to do the Celebrity Death Watch.

Mama say, mama sah, mama koo sah

It was a Princess Di moment. It was that big. He was that big. And unfortunately because of everything that happened in the last 15 years that impact somehow became diminished. After that point he went through life almost encouraging the farcical image the world has begun to have of him.

But I remember sitting on Terri's stoop in 1979, listening to my copy of "Off the Wall". I was a still a total disco babe then, listening to Disco 92 and Jay Thomas in the morning. I loved that album. I think I loved it more than Thriller. But now if you ask me, I think Thriller has more hits I like.

Sissy Amy called me last Thursday afternoon. I was running around like a nut, trying to get the kids the carnival and pack up my stuff to fund raise for the walk at the same time. I had just talked to her like an hour or two ago.

"Hey, what?" I asked, as I answered the phone.
"So, does Michael Jackson dying trump Farrah?"
"...WTF are you talking about??"

I put on CNN while she said TMZ was reporting he was dead, and with all the little shit reporters they have everywhere they were usually always right.

Bizarre. And surreal. Because it was the furthest thing from your mind. Not that I should really give a shit, because he was a musician far removed from my everyday life but still...

It was a Princess Di kind of moment. This icon of a generation---my generation. Michael Jackson--- who defined music videos; who was appointment television before there were DVR's. He was the man who pushed the envelope, who inspired fashion, not to mention countless performers to come after him. I listened to Justin Timberlake's "Future Love Sex Sounds" and said, "he's totally copying 80's Michael Jackson."

And while my kids seem to "get it", I can tell they don't. And that is when I realized. I am over forty years old, and I have over decades watched as "legends" of stage and screen died. I've watched retrospectives and said, "awe". Paul Newman, Bea Arthur, and countless others have had their obits published in recent years. But while I could appreciate their talents and impact on entertainment, I didn't live through their comet blaze across the sky. Those of us born after 1965 watched the taillights of the baby boomer generation's entertainers fade to black. But they didn't belong to us. MJ belonged to us. He was disco, pop, and MTV. He was an Elvis for the 80's. He is to my kids what Elvis was to me.

He's the first one we've lost. Him and Farrah- who launched a million young boy's fantasies. Who inspired a hairstyle decades before Jennifer Anniston. And not withstanding what happened in this man's troubled life, the impact he had on pop music and culture is immeasurable.

One TV analyst said, "But, could you really imaging Michael Jackson being 80 years old?" And no I couldn't. Not that that's any justification for a life shattered by drama, abuse, and most likely drug addiction. His soul at least is at rest. And God knows, he had a lot of it.

Interesting Tidbit of the day

Did you know the internets are not kosher?!!! It’s true. Your average, uber-orthodox, Jewish friends can’t surf the Web like you and I do, because while searching for a licensed plumber they might stumble across an ad for low mortgage rates with a woman dancing back and forth for no apparent reason, or pictures of T.V.s and other assorted instruments of pleasure not allowed in the orthodox universe. Que Horror!

That has all changed now, my friends, with the introduction of “Koogle”.

A play on words with the fabulous noodle dish and Google, the site “omits religiously objectionable material, such as most photographs of women which Orthodox rabbis view as immodest”. And of course, there is no posting or shopping on the Sabbath. Koogle won’t let you.

Damn. Now I want Kugel.

(Reuters)

Grub and booze

I’m trying to decide between cleaning the house, and walking 10 miles. I suppose I could clean the house first, then walk, but that’s only marginally less taxing on my body and psyche. I also need to come up with a design for my “team” tee shirts, and get in touch with Wendy, my lone teammate. Not too mention fund raise more. Crap it’s only 6 weeks to the event!

We went to a wine tasting last night to benefit the library. Maintaining the town library has always been important to me. It always seems to be the thing that has to take cuts, and has been asking for upgrades for ages and never gets approval. It was held at Oak Grove Farm, and pretty much everyone there was as old as the historic farm. After tasting six or eight wines, of which three were decent, we high-tailed it over to our favorite bistro for an little shot of martini vitality. And a lobster fig pizza. Seriously good stuff.

Here are some wine rec’s, some from last night, and a few that I’ve read about and had recently.

Crios Torrontes-2008 from Argentina, a nice rich white that would pair well with appetizers and a seafood dinner. $12

Pine and Post- a Washington state label- This is a bargain. It’s a $9 3 for $25 special that pretty good, especially for the party/BBQ season. Try the Chardonnay and Merlot.

Altovinum Evodia 2007: is 100% Spanish Garnacha grape, and for $12 another really nice drinkable red for steaks, burgers, etc.

Sleeping on the interstate

Training for this walk is time consuming. Walking miles and miles can be very boring. You do some with friends, but even your closest, physically fit friends don’t want to go 8-10 miles with you.

Even with the music going, your mind has little to do but think about things. I spend many mornings pondering what I have to do once I get home and shower. I mentally tick off a grocery list. Then there is the introspection that comes with solitude, which isn’t always wanted. I get to obsess over how I’m ruining my kids lives, why aren’t you writing or blogging anymore, blah blah.

I have to try to plan my walks so every 3 or 4 miles I pass somewhere to pee, or buy more water if I am out. Usually I make Dunkin Donuts the last stop before home so I can grab an iced coffee for the last mile and a quarter.

One thing about walking around town is that you notice more things than you do driving. I’ve enjoyed people’s gardens and the seeing different variety of flowers. I’ve discovered houses I never new existed set way back off the road. Unfortunately I’ve seen more roadkill than one person needs to in a lifetime, a gross variety of flattened garden snakes, squished chipmunks, skunks in the middle of the road… I wonder who cleans that up? Or does it just sit there until the wildlife takes care of it?

Speaking of wildlife, our neighborhood has a coyote. Fun huh?

See this is why I’m not writing or blogging. This post is supremely boring. Bonus points for the song the post title comes from.

Man I suck

So I get all apologetic about not posting, and then make this big deal about revamping the blog, and promising I'll post everyday.

Yeah right. I wouldn't believe me either anymore. The killer is, I waste more time bitch slapping stupid people who comment on news stories at Boston.com. Time and energy I could be writing those same thoughts here.

The thing is, the stupid people don't read them here. I don't have an audience. What's an attention whore to do?

Have faith in herself that's what!

I can write.
I write well.
I can get an audience.
I need to start writing again.
I should keep a journal.
Maybe that novel will eventually appear.

School is almost out. 'Tis both a curse and a blessing as many of you with school-age children know. The lack of alarm and the lure of the mattress. The lazy days, but alas, you also have to feed them lunch. But... we have a new pool going in. We have WiFi and laptops. Sweetness.

Now all I need is a pool boy... ;-)

Rocky Mountain High

First of all, no one warned me that when my $40 Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer traveled from Boston to 10,000 ft above sea level it was going to erupt like Mount St. Helens. There was no stopping it. It poured all over my hands, the counter, and the sink basin. Same for my travel night cream.

So, while my skin may not have been beautiful, (after burning even with SPF 55 on) the scenery was. I couldn't get over the moutains. White-peaked, and stone faced against the bluebird sky---they were breathtaking. I could've looked at them all day. But that would've made it hard to ski without crashing into something or someone. hee hee. I think one run from top to bottom was more than I ski in the morning at Sunday River! I did some steep bump runs and felt really good.

The snow was amazing. The first day we got there, there was about 4-5 fresh inches. It made it hard for the kids to practice their events, but me and my MissDemeanors loved it. With three kids compting in almost all the events they were elegible for, my skiing was pretty limited, but we grabbed some runs in when we could. I made it to the top of Copper, but never got down the back bowls. I took some tree runs with the Littlest One. Thought I was going to die, as usual. But I made it out unscathed and triumphant. Took a steep bump run off the rim with hubby---it was a blast!.

When we weren't skiing we were hanging out in Copper's Center Village, either listening to awards, (of which Maine grabbed several! More to come...) or drinking beers and margaritas. It was very cool than the kids all pretty much hung out with each other---either at someone's condo watching movies, or at the Woodward gymnastics center, and the grown-ups could socialize.

Tomorrow I will give a full wrap up of how the kids did, how The Maine Mountain Series did, and oodles of pics and video.

Off to Copper, CO!

I'm headed for a Rocky Mountain High folks. For those of you who don't know (as I have been shouting it to the roof tops) Dave and the kids are competing in the USASA National Championships in Snowboarding. The plane leaves this afternoon!

Send super good vibes for my East Coast competitors who tend to have the deck stacked against them vs. their western mountain counterparts who are on the snow many more months of the year and can train more. I will most certainly update the blog and Facebook with news, photos, and video!

xoxo
G.

Walking the Walk

I'm doing it again.

I didn't do it last year, and I regretted it. But life was really hectic with the move.

It is the Breast Cancer 3Day Walk to benefit the Susan G Komen for the Cure. This amazing event has over 1000 people, women and men walking 60 miles over three days. We live, camp and eat together. It is a blast-- well, as much as punishing your body like that can be...

As a woman at risk, with a daughter, this cause is important to me. I have added the donation "widget" to my side bar. Please click the link and donate if you can. Even better? Walk with me. This year, I finally did it and registered as "Team Tough Titties". LOL If I can do it, you can. The training can be time consuming, and the fund raising a little intimidating, but it's all worth it. I think there will be a team training blog too, that I will link here.

Cheers!

Obama, Leno, and Wingnut hypocrisy

Ugh! Obama was NOT making fun of Special Olympians!!! The comment referred to the way Leno “patronizingly” praised Obama’s admittedly poor bowling score. Like you would reinforce the work of someone challenged.

People need to get real. You know, for years conservatives have been harping on liberals being the “PC” police, yet all this umbrage over this? Give me a big fat effing break. Score another #1 on the Hypocrite Hit Parade. I would wager more than half of the people getting all outraged over this haven’t even seen the interview, they are just hearing about it after it’s been distorted three ways from Sunday.

I hate hypocrites. It’s like the people who jump on the bandwagon to protest some purportedly “controversial” book or movie that they haven’t read or seen. People vehemently apposed to abortion but have no issue with capital punishment or how many soldiers and Iraqi people have been killed since the war started.

In other news I had a great shift at work last night. If you leave out the part where my car got towed. Who would think to look for a parking rules sign at a meter????

Probably my last weekend at Sunday River for the season. Ciao!

My Favorite Things

Look under your computers! Everyone reading gets their own goody bag!

Yeah ok, not. But I would if I could.

You've heard of "products queens"? I am a self-proclaimed "product whore." I could spend 4 hours in Sephora and rack up a bill to rival Imelda's shoe budget. And I've been meaning to share the love, at least in terms of reviews, even if I can't give you all a tube of Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment.

Some of this stuff is a little pricey, but people who tell you there's no difference between this and drug store brand? They're lying. Or they don't wear make-up or use moisturizer. And recession be damned, you should not be skimping on yourself in terms of looks. There's job interviewers to impress, or you know maybe in some cases Sugar-Daddys to seduce. So here are some of my favorite products and "must haves".

Pevonia Botanica is a line of spa products that I discovered getting facials at Bella Skin in Newton. (Love that place!) Like most skin care companies, they have various lines based on aging, acne, moisturizing based on need. The first thing of theirs I tried was their sunscreen. I was looking for something that was more than 15 and better for my aging, big pored, adult acne proned skin. I wear the Hydrating Sunscreen every day, unless it's pouring rain. It's not greasy, it acts as a daily moisturizer and gives me the SPF 30 I want. Then I took home a sample of the Hydrating Cleanser that the esthetician used for my facial. You really don't know the meaning of "soft, and no residue" until you use this and then go back to a drug store cleanser for a weekend because that's what you have up in the Maine vacation house. I was like, "ick" after using the "Oil of Olay" foaming daily cleanser. I have tried a dozen cleansers over my adult life and I have to say, I love this stuff. (I was about to type that I will never use another, but I realized I am lying...as evidenced further in the post.) Work a quarter sized amount onto dry skin with wet fingertips and rinse with a clean washcloth. Finally, Pevonia's Age-Defying Marine Collagen Cream is a joy to put on morning and night.

Another skin care line I really like is Philosophy. Their products smell amazing. Their best know item is probably "hope in a jar". It was a Sephora "Best of" winner last year. I tried this stuff. It's not for heavy moisturizing, or anti-aging, but it is really soothing to the skin. I love it when my skin is irritated from sun or wind. It's like a mousse that is instantly absorbed. The Purity made simple skin cleanser is a bargain, and also very gentile that leaves little residue.

One of my issues was I had a lot of sun damage and hyper pigmentation. I did some micro-derm abrasion to try to get rid of it. It didn't really get at too much. Before taking the next step to laser treatment, I took the advice of the esthetician and tried vitamin C. I was always skeptical about that, because I knew it was very unstable, and any product that claimed to have vitamin C to help your skin aging probably had very little by way of concentration to have any benefit. Well, Philosophy has this turbo booster C powder. You dissolve a scoopful in your favorite serum (such as Philosophy's "when hope is not enough firming and lifting serum") and you have a way to fade age spots, and lighten brown, blotchy skin. And it works! It took a few weeks, like 4 maybe, but I saw a difference in my skin. The next thing I buy from them is "eye believe" and "hope in a tube" eye and lip firming cream. I got a sample and it was really rich and soothing.

Ok. This post is way long now, and I know the average attention span has grown brief in this age. So...

To be continued...

The crazies

I know I said I was going to write about product rec's, but this caught my eye:

SURVIVAL SEEDS--Plant a full acre survival garden!

Now, this is my blog, so I get to comment however I want without the urge to be politically correct. It's the beauty of the internet. And God knows they do it enough, so...

These extreme Right wing, neocon, wignuts are flipping lunatics. Here are some choice excerpts from the website to illustrate my very judgmental opinion:
You don’t have to be an Old Testament prophet to see what’s going on all around us. A belligerent lower class demanding handouts. A rapidly diminishing middle class crippled by police state bureaucracy. An aloof, ruling elite that has introduced us to an emerging totalitarianism which seeks control over every aspect of our lives.

As the meltdown progresses, one of the first things to be affected will be our nation’s food supply. Expect soaring prices along with moderate to severe shortages by spring. If you don’t have the ability to grow your own food next year, your life may be in danger.

Could you and your family get off the grid and survive in a panic? Do you have enough seeds to plant a survival garden and feed your family? Do you have the right kind of seeds to plant? If you’re answering no to these questions, you need to stop wherever you are and ask yourself… “What would I do if the grocery stores closed?” The answer sadly is that you’d probably go hungry.

And so it goes. Are you envisioning the Branch Davidians hunkering down with stockpiles of ammo, guns, and 16 year-old girls to marry off to older cousins? W.T.F. There are unfortunately, way too many of these people for my comfort. I hope the ATF and DEA are keeping tabs on these people.

Comments

Are fixed for now. Not sure if more than two of you out there care. I guess the whole "embed at the bottom of the post doesn't work. Sorry J. Back to the pop-up window, since I hate navigating away from the page.

My word on just about everything

What else is a blog, right? So in order to get over my "blogger's block" I have re-vamped the layout (feedback solicited to the left). So here we go. Not So Desperate is back---bigger and better than ever. Some business on the agenda:

I backed up my old template, not understanding that the data in the little "page layout" widgets would not be saved. If you remember some links I had, and should have back, please remind me. If you want to be linked please tell me.

I want my readers back, and some. So please keep coming, tell your friends if you'd think they like the blog. I will be writing regularly again, and adding features.

Coming soon: The self-proclaimed product queen tells you some of my favorite items.

This place needs a makover

I just looked over Blogger's templates and they are the same sorry shit they had like 2 years ago. What's up with that?

I'll have to summon up some Google mojo. In the meantime, what's new? Anyone been laid off recently? Had your 401K plummet? Finished any knitting projects? I am being the queen of procrastination. Sort of. I have been keeping up with house and kid stuff, but today, when I have free, quiet time, I am like, I should write! I should blog! I should knit! So naturally I just started surfing the news and getting sucked into wignut vs. liberal political commentary. But I'm weaning myself off I swear. I can to blog instead. Well, I came to putz around with my design, unsuccessfully. So I decided to write a brief love note, to the six or so people who still drop by. I am gradually stepping back into the writing of commentary, rather than reading it.

Promise.

I know, I sound like an abusive boyfriend, all talk. But I will.