Fragmented Friday or a post about nothing

Welcome to another edition of Friday Fragments - please visit my friend, the lovely lady Mrs.4444.

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I am so not ready for the all-Christmas music all the time radio. It's not even December yet, time is ticking so quickly already. I know I had a Santa sighting last week, but that was in Europe and they're ahead of us, right? Bah humbug.

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On my trip last week, I made an effort to pick up a little something for each kiddo, and a scarf for the man. ( If only we had the selection of men's clothing over here that you find just walking down the street in any major European city - for years the man had even stolen a cheap acrylic scarf that I had picked up for myself outside a metro station in Paris, uh, like over 10 years ago...). But I'd forgotten to get something for my Mom.

You know, the Mom who is always here whenever I need her to watch the kids, no questions asked, she's here in a heartbeat? Who also happens to be one of the most difficult people to shop for?

So at the airport, I popped into the duty-free and picked up a collection of tiny Estee Lauder perfume bottles. They were cute, I knew she wouldn't "love" them, but it was the thought. Oh, and I bought a souvenir coffee mug for her too.

When I got home and gave the kids their stuff - I handed her the package.

"Oh, I don't need this mug. I have no room in my cupboard. The last time you got me a mug, it crowded everything and another one came out and crashed and broke. You keep it!"

Okay. Now the perfume.

"I don't wear perfume. You shouldn't have! You know what I did with my old perfume? I use it to deodorize my toilet. Down it goes! You keep it!"

"Mom, why don't you just check them out, and keep the ones you want and I'll take the others, okay?"

"Oh, don't worry, I won't flush these down the toilet, I know they're expensive. Okay, I'll keep maybe a couple."

That's my mother.

*****

The other day hubs and I were talking about the latest headlines. Yeah, we're such a romantic couple that way, with our water cooler talk.

Hubs: "Oh my God, did you read about the woman who had her faced ripped off by a chimpanzee? She was interviewed on Oprah".

Oh yes, at the temple of "O".

Me: "Really? That's horrible. How did that happen?"

Hubs: "Well, apparently she was going to a friend's ..."

And while he was talking, I had this image in my mind of a woman, going to a friend's place, all dressed up ....don't ask me why, so I interrupted with:

"...at a friend's party??!"

Hubs just started laughing. "No, not at a party. What would make you think it was at a party? Her friend has a chimp as a pet or something."

And then we both cracked up at how ludicrous the situation would be with a chimp at a party.

Hubs: "Okay, note to file, no chimps allowed at our next party."

Yeah, we're slightly demented, me in particular.

*****

Speaking of parties, we're going to a holiday party tonight.

Good news: No chimps. But seriously, I tried on the party dress that I wore to my first ever company party, oh, about 20 years ago, just for the hell of it. I got the zipper up, and it fit.

Bad news: Not that I could move in it, and there were a few extra folds around the mid-section.

Solution: Get a dress WITH folds in it. Eureka! (I'll have a pic soon).

Also get shoes with bands to match. I'm afraid that I'll sprain my knee again, but they are pretty hot, aren't they?

*****

Speaking of hooker shoes, I was in WalMart last night to pick up some milk. After 9 PM. There were so many children out, I couldn't believe it. But one thing that I knew for sure upon passing the photo lab at the entrance - I don't need a blanket with my face on it.

Thanks Walmart, but no thanks.

Hope 4 Anissa

It was a lovely summer evening in the windy city. I couldn't believe that I was actually there, standing in the hotel lobby, waiting with a bunch of women I had never before met. Many of them knew each other, chattering away excitedly, talking about previous activities of the day, or the last blogging conference that they had attended. I however, didn't know a single one. The introvert in me wondered again, "What am I doing here?"

I then boarded the bus with the other bloghers, looking forward to what would be the first of many events of the evening. And this vivacious bundle of energy sat down in the seat just across from me. She had been moving from conversation to conversation, not missing a beat. I recognized her, as her blog was in some of the same circles as others that I frequented. It wasn't just any blog - she writes with passion and poignancy, with honesty and hilarity, and you would be guaranteed to be glued to your screen once you logged onto her site(s).

But I didn't know her, and we had never met. I was lucky that day.

"Hi, how ARE you?", she said to me with the wide smile on her face, in the most welcoming tone, as if we'd known each other forever and we had just had coffee a few days earlier.

I was great, especially after meeting the wonderful Anissa Mayhew.

(Sandy, me, Anissa, Jim)

Meeting and chatting with her for just a little bit at BlogHer was one of the highlights of the experience for me.

After Chicago, I kept up the conversations with her whenever I could, via her blog(s), twitter, always reading while stifling a giggle or grinning from ear to ear.

Now that my life has changed somewhat since that fairly carefree summer, I have to admit that I have been delinquent in the blogging aspect of my life. So imagine my shock when I read yesterday, that Anissa had a massive stroke last week and is now fighting to recover.

What???!!! After all that she and her family have already endured. She is only 35 years old!

This isn't right. So I'm posting for Anissa, for her family. I feel so helpless, and this seems so very little. But it is something. Go here for more info on how you can make a difference. (I'm losing my blogging chops as there's a beautiful button that I can't get to work on here...).

She is fighting, hard. And we're hoping for that miracle.

(for updates from her husband, check out her original blog)

Weekly Winners - Blondes, bikes and boots

Well, I'm back...and it was a great trip. What a lovely city. You can tell even with my less than amateur capabilities with my point and click. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

(TS-when are you coming to Canada?)

(Santa on a shopping break)

Casual, friendly people all dressed in the coolest hats, scarves and boots, glorious boots. Making their fashionable way about town on their ubiquitous bicycles.

Yes, customs officer, I did go for business.

But there's always, always time for shopping, and boots were indeed part of the purchase.

For more photo fun, check the home of Weekly Winners, chez Lotus.

NaBloPoMo'd - Fail

What was I thinking?

I guess I really wasn't. November, for some reason, even when I wasn't working full time, has always been the busiest month for me. And certainly not the time to be contemplating NaBloPoMo.

Knocked out at Day 12. I can barely keep the blog up, let alone post every day.

I guess it was worth the try. I honestly have all sorts of posts in my head, but not the time to put them down in any comprehensible format.

And then there's the matter of me travelling for work all next week. Uh, yeah.

It will be interesting to see how the man fares, flying solo with the kids for the first time for more than a weekend. A peek into my tornado days of daycare pickups, lessons, meals, groceries...

I'm looking forward to being able to get up in the morning and just worry about me, myself and I. No packing lunches or snacks for a week. Heaven.

As for NaBloPoMo? I guess there's always next year.

Wordless Wednesday - Respect and Honour

My kind of playdate

The kids were off school yesterday, and I took a vacation day to spend time with them My daughter passed on the opportunity- she opted to spend the day with her best friend. But my boy, he wanted some quality time with his Mom.

We went for a sushi lunch, and then caught the matinee showing of "This is It".

If you haven't seen it yet, even if you're not an MJ fan... you should see it. This was just his rehearsal. His concert tour would have been out of this world.

My favourite part? Watching my son's eyes fixated on the screen, with excitement and awe as Michael Jackson danced, sang and slid across the huge stage in front of us. His most favourite MJ song now? "Smooth Criminal", because MJ played a mean gangster.

We've now got moonwalking practice as a regular after school activity in the hallway. Now if I could only perfect the move where my boy slides and balances on his toes. Who am I kidding - I can't even try!

Mad Single Dad

I caught the season finale of Mad Men last night.

(are these people unbelievably beautiful or what?)

I've been so out of it over the last few weeks, that I actually missed the previous two episodes ... one during which Don was caught and had to reveal all of his past life to his wife, Betty and then dumped his mistress. The part of the storyline I've been waiting for, for two seasons. Can you believe it? Grrrrr....

So Don, Betts is finally handing you divorce papers. Your affairs will no longer be extra-marital. I wonder how fun it will be to make the rounds now that you'll actually be a single Mad Man?

A single dad, Mad Man. Hmmmm.

How about you fast forward 40 years and try something a little different...a particular Asian cougar comes to mind...

(Just kidding mind you. My slightly dough-ier husband, after giving his toast about his beautiful wife and kids being the reason that his 40s have been the best years of his life ... well, he's definitely fitting the bill. I've got my own smooth Don Draper operator in-the-house).

How am I going to handle waiting until summer 2010 for Season 4? Ackkkk!!!

Party

We went to a friend's 40th birthday celebration last night.

It was a great night out. A wonderful dinner, with cocktails, wine, three course meal, and then more drinks - Grey Goose and cranberry anyone? And then the dinner tables cleared and there was dancing.

Dancing? I hadn't gone dancing in forever...at least not with my husband. (There was the matter of that small July partyfest in Chicago.)

The music was pretty bad (an incessant Pitbull beat that underscored every song) but it didn't matter. It was a party.

But I was a bit wrecked this morning. Just a bit.

Oh to be turning 40 again.

Two Career Family

This is my first Saturday post in a long while, and it will be brief (well, for me, anyway). There is so much swirling around my head about work, but the one thing I told myself when I started full time again, would be that I would post about work minimally if at all. I'm an all consuming type of gal, and the last thing I need is for that part of my life, which already occupies more than half of my time, to seep into my blog hobby. But it threatens not only to seep, but to flood.

I need to be smart and resist my urge to "blurt" everything out in one post, though. I have that tendency, to tell every stranger my whole life story (gee - have you noticed?). Now it's starting to happen at work; well, not my whole life story, but sometimes, in the interest of trying to bond with new co-workers, I know I've been suffering a bit from verbal diarrhea, and my inside-the-head voice is screaming," Okay, TMI, shut up, now...".

The one thing that is abundantly clear to me after 7 weeks on the job is that it is no longer just a job. As I suspected, I have thrown myself into it wholeheartedly and it is what it is. I take work home with me in my bag; I bring my laptop home; I compose memos - at home; I ponder my departmental resources and how to deal with HR issues - at home; I think about long term strategy - at home. It's all in my head, even if I don't lug the paperwork.

It's a career again.

We are a two career family.

In the almost five years I was at home with the kids, doing a bit of consulting, I did contemplate and was completely open to the possibilities of re-locating with the man if the right opportunity ever came along for him. Out of the country - even WAYYYYY out of the country. Something that took the oh-so-conservative me years to even imagine doing. The fact that I didn't have job ties was incredibly freeing that way.

Guess what? An opportunity has sort of come along. Murphy just loves us.

Because now that I have a career again, it's no longer so easy to make that leap. And to give credit to the hubs, it's a huge consideration for him now too. He wants to make sure that I give my job, my career, a chance to build up again. I feel guilty about that too - especially as it's all so new to me and I'm not sure that I love the whole career thing just yet.

Another opportunity will come. But DAMN why didn't this happen a year ago? I would have quite happily enjoyed the sunny U.S. or taken the kids on weekend train rides through the European countryside. You know, while their Dad slaved away at work. At his career.

Friday Footwear Fragments

Well, hello Day 6 - NaBloPoMo-ing along here.

Welcome to another edition of Friday Fragments - please visit my friend, the lovely lady Mrs.4444.

Hubby got up at 5:00 AM this morning for a flight - so what's a girl to do - go back to bed?

No, she must take pictures of her shoes. And then post them. A nutcase, for sure.

As promised, an overview of the latest additions to the foot wardrobe...

Sexy librarian/habberdashery:

Gray's the new black
Too taupe to handle (I know, corny, but it's early)
Pretty bowed
Remember these shooties from last year? I'm still wearing them even though the combination of not 100% knee and bunion is killing me. But they are killer, aren't they?

My Dorothy shoes... taking it home...

*****

The school sent my boy home on Wednesday, his first day back, for a cough. I was in a meeting, and the boy was "quarantined" in the office until the hubs picked him up. We were pretty ticked, though. Granted, the boy had been off sick for a couple days previous, but he'd been home, had a full course of treatment, and had no fever. He's got allergies and refuses to take medicine, and this is what happens. Grrrr!!!

We sent him back the next day, with a note outlining that very fact. Funny, he'd been in class all day but they kicked him out at 2 PM. What was the difference between 2 and 3:30 PM. I understand that it was protocol, but annoying nonetheless. And my boy felt like a pariah.

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Is there anyone else out there as old as I am who remembers the original "V" miniseries? I LOVED it, watched it religiously, as mad as I am about Mad Men today. So I was naturally excited but a bit skeptical about the ability of the new series to capture my mad passion.

Not anymore. Whoa, have you seen the first episode? Sexy aliens (and Scott Wolf,

but who's looking?). I am officially hooked, and conflicted, as it's on at the same time as So you think you can dance AND my Bodyjam class.

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Oh my crap, I've got to post over the weekend too. Forgot about that! Catch you then.

We interrupt this blog post ...

for some must-bloggable moments.

I know I had promised a post related to Michael Jackson, but that will wait a bit. I just had to capture these rambling Thursday thoughts as they come to me. I can't hold them until Friday. Hmmm, maybe it's time for a Friday footwear post. Anyhoo...

The man had taken Tuesday off to be with the kids while they recover from the flu. Of course, just as I expected, he got absolutely nothing done. I suppose they've been used to me being around, so when I was working from home on Monday, I actually got some work done. But with their Dad, it was different. They were all over him.

So this morning, as we were running around getting ourselves and the kids ready, and the man says to me: "Hey, I'm looking for that really nice checked shirt that you got for me, the one with the French cuffs, have you seen it?"

And I replied, "Yeah, it's on the floor in that pile next to your side of the bed".

"No it's not, I looked."

I promptly went over and pulled the shirt from on top of the pile next to his side of the bed and handed it to him. Man search. Grrrrr. Let's call that superior wife moment #1.

Next, we went down to the kitchen. I was so exhausted on Tuesday night that I didn't have the energy to put the coffee maker and timer on. So this next morning, I put enough coffee in for a cup each, and turned the maker on, while I went to get the kids' schoolbags and lunches ready. Then I hear from the kitchen: "How much coffee did you make there, look at it!" and I ran back into the kitchen to see the pot almost completely full.

What?!

I swore I only put enough water in for a couple of cups; so I pontificated...:

"Hmm, that's weird. I'm positive that I only scooped a few spoonfuls and poured enough for two cups. I wonder if I poured some last night and forgot... or maybe I did set it for more... geez, that's really bizarre, but, hey, do you think that maybe YOU might have poured the water and forgot to make some yesterday ... well, probably not, you would have had to have been pretty darn out of it "...

... while the husband was shaking his head, no, it wasn't him. No it wasn't him. But he remained mostly conspicuously quiet.

And then as I went to pour the coffee, or rather, brown water out, he conceded with a hearty laugh, "Yeah, it WAS me!". Superior wife moment #2.

*****

The hubs is a huge fan of Howard Stern, and Howard had the comic, Dane Cook, on his show. The hubs thought he was pretty hilarious, and when he googled him he found a picture of Dane Cook's girlfriend and thought she was pretty hot.

So I countered, 'Well, Dane Cook is a pretty good looking guy himself. Interesting how that is, though. I find with funny guys, I have to think twice about them being good looking; somehow the humour makes me think of them less as sex symbols, I guess. Don't you think?"



Hubs: "Yeah, I have that problem. I mean, most of the time I'm just too darn funny, yup, yeah, that's a big issue for me."

And I countered by laughing hysterically. Maybe laughing a bit too hard.

Love and marriage.

This is it

This, this is a movie that I would love to see...



But chances are, as any parents of young children, I won't be able to see it until it comes out on DVD.

I think I could get the boy to come see it with me, no problem. He's actually become a huge MJ fan since he's heard some of the songs. The boy even scrounged through my closet and suggested that the class jack-o-lantern be carved in the likeness of MJ. Yes, I have a hat like MJ's - I never said I wasn't a packrat. But the girl, I don't think she'd sit through the whole movie.

As consolation, I brought home the commemorative CD that was released with the movie. When you listen to the music in the compilation, it really hits home how brilliant he was, an amazing entertainer and showman who was about to unveil an unforgettable show. The more the shame of his tragic death.

So for now at least I have my morning commute to work, as I drive through the suburban streets to the commercial parks, the music energizes me and gives me strength for the upcoming day ... the strength to be startin' somethin'. Ooooh!



(And tomorrow, my friends, my story around Billie Jean and life lessons.)

Helpless

It's the worst thing, seeing your babies so sick.

You know your girl is burning up when she asks you to feel her toes because she bets you could cook on them. And indeed they felt like little hot coals. Her temp was registering at 102 with the ear thermometer.

It's amazing, this pattern. She's following the exact same symptoms as her brother, just 24 hours apart. He hit a whopping 105 for a while (but he is prone to exaggerating and comes by that quite honestly). But I should have figured she would hit a low again today, after she seemed almost 100% better this morning. It seems though, that the night time is the worst. Needless to say, I haven't been getting very much sleep myself.

At least the boy is on the mend. He ate sticky rice, soup and about 3/4 of a pizza for lunch today. He had a lot of catching up to do, which was a really good thing.

My kids are generally in good health. I cannot imagine having to deal with a chronically ill child, what a mass of nerves and bundle of worry I would be. Just a few days of this and I'm a wreck; the man has to remind me sometimes not to sound so alarmed when I see another symptom that I hadn't previously googled.

And a lot of good I am to them. I'm starting to feel a bit queasy myself sometimes, but I don't know if it's just psychological, whether it's that time of the month, or whether it's just my gall bladder acting up. I know, I know, I've got to get that taken care of.

But first, we've got to take care of the kids.

Send me good vibes to help us kick this virus in the ass, will ya?

Everyday, everyday I write ...

the blog.

I know, I'm nuts.

But I can't ignore a challenge.

NaBloPoMo 2009. I met some great blog pals back in 2007 - some that I still follow to this day, a full TWO years later.

Wanna come along for the ride?

Guess what flu in with November?

Yeah. Great.

Poor boy, he woke up on Saturday morning - Halloween morning - with a sore stomach, thinking it was hunger pains.

I made him breakfast, then took the girl to dance class, leaving the boy with his Dad.

A 101 deg. fever and a trip to the bathroom to "throw the ball" (our code word for throwing something else), nixed the evening festivities with his friends. "This sucks. It's the worst day ever!".

The girlie went out with her Dad last night. Trick or treating as Cinderella, and I must admit she looked like quite the princess.

And then this morning, the princess had a sore tummy. And a fever of 100. "Mommy, I just want the sick to go away."

After spending most of the day with both kiddies, feeling helpless, I went to get groceries.

And the girlie threw the ball. Twice.

Nice of me to leave the fun stuff to their Dad, eh?

So thanks, November. Things better get better.