Category Archives: Uncategorized

November 1, 2011 · 7:22 am

Time to Cry Tuesday – Halloween cupcakes

Yesterday I woke up at 4:30 and couldn’t sleep. I would like to say it was because I love halloween and I was so excited, but really folks, women of a certain age just don’t sleep all that regularly.

Usually I would lie in bed and just chill, but yesterday I decided to get up and bake the Funfetti Halloween cupcakes instead, because… well, because if I did not bake them then I would have to wait a whole year. (Funfetti is sort of a religion in these parts)

As I was making coffee and taking on this ridiculous task for no apparent reason, I realized that was the whole point. I was baking Halloween Funfetti cupcakes at 5AM… because I didn’t HAVE to. For so very many years – as a working mom – I found myself baking some ridiculous confection in the wee hours of the morning (the cowboy hat cupcakes at 2AM when Jana was in 4th grade come to mind. btw, these are cool, involving a cookie, an upside down cupcake and string licorice). But now, I was doing it because I wanted to, not to prove that I could do it all.

As I waited for the timer to go off, I sat drinking a cup of coffee while the sun came up and the household began to stir and got more than a little nostalgic about Halloween with younger kids. I have never been one to pine away for the past stages of parenting; but yesterday morning, in the quiet of my kitchen I could not help but remember the sweet chaos of those days. Did I fully appreciate them wile they were happening? I like to think so. But in reality I am sure they were tempered with the rushed obsession to make it all the perfect halloween for the kids and maybe I did not savor it as much as I should have.

I have this thing about the seasons; I wish we could have just one day of beautiful summer beach weather in the middle of the winter and one crisp snowy day in the middle of a heatwave in the summer. Just one day. That’s not asking too much. I feel the same way about parenting now. Yesterday morning, as I was sprinkling the ‘fetti’ on the top of those cupcakes, I wished for just one day with ‘Little Danny‘ and ‘Little Jana‘, as they like to refer to their childhood selves.

Even the year when the little guy insisted on being a cowboy and I stayed up all night making his costume for him to wake up on Halloween and tell me ‘I want to be a Ninja like Dougie’.

I suppose the imperfections of raising kids are what makes parenting so perfect.

(BTW, ‘Big Danny’, since I tortured your dad that we did not have enough candy, you and the boys will be the happy recipients of a big box of candy… watch the package room for it.)

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October 6, 2011 · 12:20 am

Steve Jobs Tributes

It would appear this is a Time to Cry Wednesday. The world grieves the loss of one of the true geniuses of our time. One does not need to be a technophile. Or a Mac User. Or a lover of all things innovative to feel the loss of this great man who died way before his time.

As he was for many, Steve Jobs was my hero. He changed the way I worked as a graphic designer. He made me want to learn… all the time. Even when it hurt (and still does sometimes). In my own little corner of the world, he pushed me to be better. Every day.

This man who forced the world to Think Different, inspired so many.

A few favorite Jobs quotes:

“I want to put a ding in the universe.”

“Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter anything to me. Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful, that’s what matters to me.”

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.”

“Design is not just what it looks like, design is how it works.”

It has been a few short hours since the announcement of his passing, yet the web has already exploded with tributes, both simple and clever… reflecting the man they remember. Even Google – a fierce competitor – posted an understated, extremely classy gesture tonight – a single line of text with a link to Apple’s home page.

Here is a roundup of what I have seen so far:

cultofmac.com

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July 5, 2011 · 10:25 pm

I was already in love with you by then…

This could be my favorite graffiti ever! The guy behind me on Prince Street was none to happy about me stopping a little too long as the light turned so I could get this shot, but it was worth it.

I kept trying to think of what the next line should be:

I was already in love with you by then…

… so it was not necessary for you to try to impress me.

… but it was fun to watch you still working it.

… so the fact that you made the effort was even more endearing.

Ok, a little too romance novel for you. How about these:

… so it was no wonder I did not care that you had just puked on my shoes.

… so  I overlooked the fact that you were wearing that shirt.

… but I am not all that sure I was into you leaving the bathroom door open just yet.

Ok, time to open this one up in the comments. Don’t be shy, you know you want to throw one in here.

 

 

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June 14, 2011 · 12:30 am

Time to Cry Tuesday – Laundry and Toilet Paper

I am so very fortunate to say that my family is whole for a few weeks. I have said this before but I never get tired of the feeling of laying my head down on the pillow knowing that both my kids – albeit no longer children – are sleeping in their own beds.

The window is short, but NEVER under appreciated. There is always too much laundry and not enough toilet paper and I love every moment of it.

We fall back into the usual banter:

Q. What’s for dinner?

A. I’m not up to that yet?

Q. Do we have rolls?

A. Nope, and while you are out picking them up can you get me a Starbuck’s iced latte (don’t forget the chocolate and cinnamon)

Q. Do you want to sleep in my bed tonight?

A. No Mother.

Q. Be careful (upon leaving)

A. Yes Mother.

This mom thing, it’s like riding a bike!

All joking aside, in light of the very tragic disappearance of Lauren Spierer and her incredibly brave and dedicated parents, I do not spend one moment taking for granted how very fragile our lives are. Please join the effort anyway you can. Help these these parents find their beautiful daughter.

I am posting these links again this week. If you know or hear anything, speak up. If you can, donate. If you are in the area, help with the effort.

Official Website where you can make donations to help fund the search effort.

This page has been added as the official family page in reaction to false information and irrelevant comments on other pages. They are verifying info and request that there be no comments on the page.

Facebook group Missing: Lauren Spierer

Facebook event: Please help spread the word about Lauren Spierer’s disappearance!

Facebook profile page: Lauren Spierer missing

Facebook community page: Help find Lauren Spierer – Missing from Indiana Universtity

Follow the effort on twitter. And the twitter blog

Follow hashtags #LaurenSpierer, #FindLauren

Bloomington Police Tip Hotline: 1-812-339-4477

America’s Most Wanted: 1-800-CRIMETV

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May 6, 2011 · 7:50 pm

Cat Hairball Jewelry… file this under Ewwwww!

I kid you not on this one. Thanks to my fabulous friend Tony O, I now know about jewelry made from the fur that your cat sheds. Today he linked to this post on ecouterre. The long and short (hair) of it is that Kate Benjamin of Moderncat  felt the need to mark the celebration of National Hairball Awareness Day (who makes these awareness days up, anyway?) and commissioned the wildly talented jewelry designer and friend, Heidi Abramason to make her some pretty cool looking stuff from… you guessed it, her cat’s hairballs.

Ok… Ewwww.

In case you did not read this post, I wrote about someone who made jewelry out of human hair so I guess this is not so far-fetched. (how does this stuff find me?)

Wait, can we get back to National Hairball Awareness Day? Is there a reason we need to be made aware of hairballs? Are they not glaringly obvious to cat owners and who the hell cares to the rest of us?

And the cat in this picture? Anyone else getting a major heebie jeebie from this kitty?

Just a tip, don’t buy me this jewelry for Mother’s Day if you were running out to do so… very allergic to cats. Oh, and vile things too. Those I am highly allergic to.

But for all you cat people out there (and you know who you are)… Heidi takes commissions.

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April 3, 2011 · 12:19 am

Looking bad if you are 70

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40 isn’t fatal.

50 isn’t fatal.

60 isn’t fatal.

70? Hmmm… This may be concerning.

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January 24, 2011 · 11:28 pm

Time to Cry Tuesday – Community

Hi, my name is Amy and I am a recovering volunteer.

Ok, so maybe I have fallen off the wagon of late, but in a good way. For the past year or so I have taken a back seat on the volunteer front. Partially for work and family reasons and probably because I needed a break.

But over the past few weeks I have stepped back into a couple of my favorite volunteer  jobs. And I have to say I am truly happy to be involved again. Not so much for the work I do, but more for the people I do it with.

There is something about being part of a community that is like nothing else. To share a common goal with a group of people that you would not normally meet in your regular day is so unique. Committees and boards are made up of a mixed demographic that broaden the way I think and the the way in which I look at the place I call home.

Tonight I was at a meeting where people were asked to define what made this place so special. I was brought to tears with each response. Some answers touched me personally while others helped me get to know the person that shared them one step further. It was quite remarkable. There was something about the way that each person defined community that made me realize just how rare this place is.

I am a big shot. I have always said when my kids were grown I would be out of here in a flash. But when I think of all that I would leave behind I am not so sure. The people who hold me up when I am falling and make me laugh till I could cry (when I have the time and of course on Tuesdays) are not so easily replaced.

Community is what you are fortunate enough to have when you invest in the place you live. The people become part of your life and you become part of theirs. When you are truly a member of a remarkable community like mine, help is there before you even think to ask for it. The rewards outweigh the work you put in and the relationships you form last a lifetime.

And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.

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January 11, 2011 · 12:48 am

Time to Cry Tuesday – ‘That’ dream

You know ‘that’ dream. The one you have when you are a little stressed out. When you are probably more anxious than you care to admit and it needs to go somewhere.

And there it is, in the middle of some really good REM you find yourself going down that rabbit hole to the land of no return. Somewhere in the back of your mind you know you are dreaming but it still gets you every time anyway.

Mine is the classic, late for class, didn’t study for the test and have no idea whatsoever where the hell the classroom is. And it is in the middle of the semester. AND, I am in High School, no less.

I had this dream last night. The added twist this time was that my daughter was in my class but she did not wait for me. I had no idea what classroom it was in, nor did I remember what my schedule was. I found my way to the office where my friend Rona was working and she typed out my schedule for me on my iPad (she can be sweet that way). Then I ran into an actual friend from HS and she acted like this was all very normal.

Ok, seriously, I am 51. I don’t even have any KIDS left in High School. Don’t you think it’s time I upgrade the anxiety dream?!

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December 29, 2010 · 11:14 pm

Voice Texting

I am sorry, is this not the most absurd concept ever? Voice texting. Hello… if you are willing to talk into the phone, why don’t you just… TALK into the phone.

The theory behind this is to make texting safe while driving. So, in practice, the recipient does not want to chat, they still want to text. And in all fairness, the caller may also not want to chat either but they are driving and want to be safe.

I guess I just find the whole thing sort of silly. A contradiction of terms. I think the texting wave gets taken to a whole new level here.

I have to commend the development of the technology in the name of safety. But it makes me sort of sad that we have reached a point in communication evolution that makes a quick vocal check in undesirable. I get the convenience. It comes in handy for the times when you need to ‘talk’ to someone who perhaps is hard to get off the phone. And you know I am a major lover of technology, early adopter, geek of another color. But this one… leaves me cold.

What next?

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December 28, 2010 · 10:12 pm

800

This, my friends, is my 800th post! Crazy right? I know what you are thinking, ‘How did the crazy bitch come up with 800 things to write about’.

Well, I think the operative words would be ‘crazy bitch’.

I really can’t remember my life without blogging. I am not quite sure what I used to say in place of the words, ‘this would make a great post’.

It became part of the fabric of my days. A place to share an observation, a photo, of course something absurd and a whole lot of stuff about my dog.

Thanks for reading. I hope it amuses you as much is it does me.

I decided to take a look back at the first post I wrote. Well, it was technically the second post as the first one was an intro. Honestly, it was one of the funnier things I have ever written so I will share it here again.

Feel free to let me know if there are posts you liked, ones you didn’t or anything you would like to hear more about (I know, Dr. Jimmy, I need to write about the virtues of hotel sex).

Here’s to the next 800. May the universe continue to throw amusing things in my path.

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