thanksgiving weekend, redux

Is it possible that this four day weekend is already over? Bah, humbug.

We had a very nice weekend. Thanksgiving went pretty well. Jane was in such a festive mood that she refused to take an afternoon nap, which really blew by the end of the day, but otherwise it was fun, despite the fact that I didn't win any money during our games of LCR. Do you know this game? Left Right Center? Oh it's great. A monkey could play it (as long as said monkey could roll dice), and there's cash prizes involved. Except it wasn't so great this year, when, like I said, I didn't win.

Friday we decided, very spontaneously, to go to the mall at around 8 a.m. I know this wasn't the 4 a.m. madness that some shoppers thrive on - you know, like those freaks who tramped a Wal-Mart employee to death in Long Island - but still, it was really early. I've never done the Black Friday thing, and truthfully, I had no idea what to expect. I thought a couple of the stores would be open - Macy's and Nordstroms and what not - but not ALL the stores, including, of all things, Sbarros. Who the hell wants pizza at 8 a.m.? I got a little bit of shopping done, but mostly we just enjoyed watching the crowds.

Saturday Todd and Alan came over for the 2008 holiday card photo shoot extravaganza. My asshat dogs were out of control, which was fairly humiliating, but we got some good shots of the three kids (not all together, of course. I don't think that will happen for several years, at least.).

And today was just a laying low kind of day. We saw the first snow of the year, which morphed into rain pretty quickly, thank God. Despite my lifetime in Connecticut, I am no hurry to have the snow piling up. We also did a major purge of one of our bedroom closets. I bid adieu to a ginormous pile of clothes that I finally had to admit would NEVER FIT ME AGAIN, no matter how many miles I log on that *(*&!*(& treadmill. My pre-Jane body days are over, not that they were so great to begin with.

I hope everyone else had a great weekend!

so Jane has really been enjoying feeding herself...

...and Jimmy has been enjoying it too.

do something good

Every day, I visit The Hunger Site, and by clicking through the various links on that site (The Hunger Site, The Breast Cancer Site, The Literacy Site, etc) I have the chance to help people every day. And I don't even have to move my lazy ass! You should do it too. I have helpfully added a link over there on the right. DO IT!

good stuff friday

I'm writing this quick, but here's some good stuff that happened this week:

*Got to make an ass out of myself on the radio on Thursday (it was fun)

*I have an interesting blog project that I will share with you at a later date

*Jane has started dancing, and while her moves resembles Elaine's from Seinfeld (a full-body dry heave), it's just about the most awesome thing ever

*Found out we have two extra days off during the holidays in December

*Had lunch with my BBCS gals today

*Thanksgiving is coming up! Short work week, PLUS lots o' food!

*I managed to not eat like a moron AND go on the wretched treadmill all but one day this week

What good stuff happened to you this week?

good reads

Lisa has decided that this week we're writing about our five favorite magazines. Being a huge magazine junkie, this is easy.

In no particular order:

1) New York. Not to be confused with the New Yorker, which is much more literary. New York is about politics, culture, and the arts, and much of it is New York-centric, although some of it has a more national bent. I have a subscription to this magazine, and it's my weekly homework, because it's not a magazine you can just flip through. I (heart) New York.

2) US Weekly. Yeah, whatever, I love it. I used to read A LOT more gossip mags, but this is still the one I manage to read weekly. I prefer to read it by myself at Borders with a mocha, but it doesn't always turn out that way. Sometimes I just stand it front of the magazine rack and look at the pictures while Jane pulls on my leg. I'm not the expert I used to be on all of Britney's comings and goings, but I still have a pretty firm grasp on what's going on with Heidi and Lauren and Spencer and Brangelina and whatnot.

3) Cookie. This is a pretty cool upscale parenting magazine. It has a celebrity factor as well, which you know I'm a sucker for. It's always good for a couple of interesting features, and I always laugh at how much they expect me to pay for children's clothing.

4) People. Perhaps this falls in the gossip magazine category as well. It certainly has gotten more gossipy in recent years. A friend of mine subscribes to this so he passes it on to me. It's one of those oldies but goodies I think I'll always like.

5) Glamour. I've always loved this magazine. First of all, who doesn't love the Glamour Do's and Don'ts? From fashion to features to health news and love advice, it's my fave women's magazine, and I've been reading it since I was a teenager (obviously a zillion years ago.)

good stuff friday

Well, Jane decided to get a little stomach thing yesterday, so I wasn't so much with the sleeping last night - so I'm having a hard time remembering my name, nevermind the good stuff that happened this week! Let's see...

Got a very complimentary letter regarding a project I did at work

Went out to dinner with a friend who I haven't seen in a long time, who is newly-pregnant, so I got to feel like a baby expert for a while, which was nice, since I usually feel like a baby idiot

Went out to lunch with Todd and Alan, and had quite a marvelous time - but probably not as marvelous as Jane, who loves herself some Todd and Alan (see how happy she in in the pic)

Going to see some friends I haven't seen in a while at DIP NIGHT tonight!

Am loving that this effort is happening - www.jointheimpact.com

What good stuff happened to you this week?

vacation all I ever wanted

Lisa called me out on my last post about being a lazy blogger. And it's true - I think after my 31 day marathon, I feel like I don't have that much more to say! I know I'm supposed to be posting about my five favorite vacations and five favorite holiday movies, but truthfully - I kinda HATE holiday movies! They are always sad to me for some reason. So instead I will attempt to write about vacations.

I haven't been on too many fabulous vacations. Lately, the bulk of my vacations have taken place right at home. But here is my list:

1) Hawaii, 2004. Greg and I went here for our honeymoon. We went for 12 days and split the time up between the islands of Kauai, Hawaii (the Big Island), and Maui. Each island was wonderful in its own way - Kauai was very lush and serene, Hawaii was super cool because of the volcanoes, and Maui was fun in a touristy kind of way. It was like being on another planet, honestly.

2) San Diego, 2005. Greg and I went here because U2 fanboy Greg wanted to see U2 kick off their Vertigo world tour, and San Diego was the first stop. Considering it was gross March, it was the perfect time to go. This trip was when I decided that San Diego was the most perfect place on earth, and not because Bono was in town either. But between the concert, the San Diego Zoo, La Jolla and the sea lions, I never wanted to leave.

3) San Diego, 2007. This is what dorky parenting websites call a "babymoon" (GAG). I was about six months pregnant, and my doctor said that if we were going to take a trip, we'd better take one now. So we basically replayed the previous vacation because we both loved it so very much (without the U2, of course). Once again, I never wanted to leave.

4) Ireland, 1999. I went to Ireland for a trip with three of my friends. We went all over the country and, like Hawaii, it was like being on another planet (in a much less tropical way). I would love to go back again to spend more time in the Dublin area, because I loved it so much and I wish we had more time there.

5) Family summer vacations at Connecticut shoreline, all through my childhood. Since my parents owned a Dairy Queen, there wasn't really opportunity to take far-away summer vacations, because they had to be relatively close to the business, in case there was an issue. But each summer, we rented a cottage with my grandfather down in Old Lyme, and spent our days at the beach, getting Italian ice, and having cookouts. When I think of my father, my mind instantly shoots to these vacations, because like me, he absolutely loved the beach.

good stuff fridays

So, in honor (that's "honour" to you, Alan) of my previous posting about trying to be a better person, I'm going to try to make this post a little less complain-ey (that's a word) and a little more...oh, I don't know...happy? Optimistic? Words I'm not always familiar with, at least in blogdom, but I'll try.

So that said, I bring you"Good Stuff Fridays," where I mention some good stuff that happened during the past week. This week:

*The excitement, anticipation, and ultimate elation of Tuesday night

*My friend got an extremely well-deserved promotion

*My rad new blog banner, created by the one and only Lisa (I have to say I was slightly worried, when I saw it on Tuesday morning, that it would jinx the election - but Jane's endorsement obviously helped!)

*Jane learned a new word (up) (or, in her words, "upaupaupaupaupa")

*the delightful and unseasonable warmer temperatures

*the new Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate at Starbucks. Hello deliciousness. I have found you.

What has been the good stuff in your week?

OK, I know I'm totally contradicting my last post, but....

...this guy is such an ass.

OK, now back to my regularly-scheduled trying to be a better person.

the chance for us to make that change

I'm still thinking, like most of us, about last night. There is already so much anger from certain segments of the right about the results of the election, already rallying how things will change in two years, then four years. But what I am hoping, instead, is that we decide to focus some of the monumental amounts of energy we directed at this election towards a new cause. Wouldn't it be great if everyone who so desperately wanted this candidate for change decided to work towards making some sort of positive change in their community? Say you spent an hour a day thinking about, talking about, and reading about the election. Imagine if you used that hour to help a neighbor, volunteer, be a better friend - something? All that positive energy would certainly amount to something palpable, perhaps something even more powerful than what many of us felt last night.

Just something I'm thinking about.

"This victory alone is not the change we seek - it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you. So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other."

"while we breathe, we hope"

What I took away from last night was this:

The problems we had yesterday we most certainly still have today. But now we can approach the solutions with dignity, grace, and a glow of hope that has been absent for at least the last eight years.

It was a day I wasn't certain I'd see in my lifetime.

Yes, as it turns out - we can.

yes we can

I have voted in every presidential election since I turned 18 years old. I voted for the winner twice and the loser twice. I think it's time for another win.

I had a big, fat grin on my face when I filled out my ballot this morning. My anxiety has been building all day. I'm about to put Jane to bed, crack open a bottle of wine, and watch the results with very very guarded optimism.

This was the first presidential election I wasn't just voting for myself. I voted for Obama for a lot of reasons today. Here are three very important ones:

It means her rights as a female won't be compromised anytime soon.

The idea of an African-American president won't be a special thing to her. It will be a normal thing.

Her country, while facing some incredibly difficult challenges, will have an aura of hope, rather than fear.

Here we go....

Boo!

Well, Halloween was festive for one and all. Jane dressed up as a flower, I dressed up as a hockey player, and everyone ate lots of candy. Here's some pics for your enjoyment.