This weekend I am off to sister's birthday party. It's karoake fare. I think our family is uniquely addicted to karaoke. I had it at my wedding instead of a DJ, we sing at every holiday, family reunion, and celebration. We even got addicted to the Playstation American Idol game for some time. As a family we watch American Idol and secretly fantasize about being on that stage. Does that make us weird? If it does, I embrace weird!
Saturday, March 07, 2009
DAY 63: Ragamuffin
These are the days that try mom's souls...Well, that might be being a touch dramatic. We are at that age where Elena wants to choose her own outfits, she has for some time. It used to be the entire outfit was centered on some themed shirt...aka "the horsey shirt" or "the kitty shirt" would make the entire outfit and we could usual offer tips and edits on the pants portion of the outfit. Npw she likes dresses. This is a good thing.
As it turns out, however, we get a lot of hand-me-down dresses that don't exactly fit right, nor would they be dresses I would choose for her. She, of course, loves them. So, off she goes to school looking a bit mismatched and ill-fitted. Oh well, not a fight I am willing to have. I try to channel my inner "Maria von Trapp" and think about when she made the children play clothes out of old curtains. I try not to here the Captain's voice in my head, "DO YOU MEAN TO TELL ME MY children have been ROAMING about Salzburg in nothing but some old drapes?!?" Sometimes he shouts louder in my head, though.
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
DAY 62: Dorkus Majorkus
Lame attempt to self-photograph. Why am I such a dork? Well, because today was the day of my annual cut and color at Shine Salon. I tried to show what a lovely job they do there. So natural.
DAY 61: Gonna Shoot that Groundhog!
Staring out from the warmth within.
Staying in pajamas all day long.
Happy, warm and content.
Life is good.
And yet I long for spring.
Sunday, March 01, 2009
DAY 60: Pretty Dressy Lanes
My poor children. Forever subjected to photo shoots since the time they were born. In the last week, Elena has started wanting to wear dresses everyday. And this, brings on a flurry of paparazzi activity from her mother. I can't help it! She's so darn beautiful and photogenic. I love taking her picture. The good news is, she seems to be embracing the one-on-one time as well. Anyhow, this is my favorite of the sixty pictures I took for day 60.
And this is my favorite "artsy" shot:
DAY 59.5: Bluetooth Loud N Clear
Yesterday, we had our Saturday family day with Daddy. My ex-mother-in-law (Momzilla) cracked me up when she thought my bluetooth headset was a "Loud-N-Clear" device. I at first had no idea what she was talking about. The conversation went like this...
MZ: "Kristen, how do you like that thing in your ear?"
ME: "Um, it's great. I like it a lot."
MZ: "They make them in Norwalk, you know."
ME: (distracted) "Oh, really?"
MZ: "Does it work? Can you hear?"
ME: (slightly confused) "Yes, it's very clear."
MZ: "Where did you get it? On TV? Was it 19.95?"
ME: (increasingly addled) "No, this was my friend's and she handed it down to me."
MZ: "Well, where did she get it?"
ME: "Staples, I think."
MZ: "Oh. Can you get them anywhere?"
ME: "Pretty much, these days."
MZ: "I see people all the time with them. I am surprised so many people have bought them...Can I listen to yours and see if it works?"
ME: "This is my Bluetooth headset. It's for my phone. Are we talking about the same thing?"
MZ: "Oh...I was talking about the Loud-N-Clear thingy."
I had no idea what she meant, so I went home and did some research. She seriously thought that all the people walking around with Bluetooth headsets had bought these Loud-N-Clear things off of TV and were using them to eavesdrop on the world. If you want a good laugh, watch the video below. It's classic infomercial fare, but the acting is superb!
MZ: "Kristen, how do you like that thing in your ear?"
ME: "Um, it's great. I like it a lot."
MZ: "They make them in Norwalk, you know."
ME: (distracted) "Oh, really?"
MZ: "Does it work? Can you hear?"
ME: (slightly confused) "Yes, it's very clear."
MZ: "Where did you get it? On TV? Was it 19.95?"
ME: (increasingly addled) "No, this was my friend's and she handed it down to me."
MZ: "Well, where did she get it?"
ME: "Staples, I think."
MZ: "Oh. Can you get them anywhere?"
ME: "Pretty much, these days."
MZ: "I see people all the time with them. I am surprised so many people have bought them...Can I listen to yours and see if it works?"
ME: "This is my Bluetooth headset. It's for my phone. Are we talking about the same thing?"
MZ: "Oh...I was talking about the Loud-N-Clear thingy."
I had no idea what she meant, so I went home and did some research. She seriously thought that all the people walking around with Bluetooth headsets had bought these Loud-N-Clear things off of TV and were using them to eavesdrop on the world. If you want a good laugh, watch the video below. It's classic infomercial fare, but the acting is superb!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Day 59: Lemme Just Weep Out This Here Hole
So, as some Saturdays go, this one started out with things falling apart. Our small trash "drawer" has been getting more and more difficult to open. After some physical cajoling and wiggling, I managed to get the rusty old drawer out of its hole. Liam wanted to help all along the way/ When I was unscrewing, he was "unscrewing" (and banging and poking). When I was cleaning, he was insisting on "helping" too. And, when I got out the broom to sweep out the hole, his glee could not be contained. "I want to weep out the hole, too!!!!!!"
Day 58: Cottonball Clouds
I really love when you sit on the edge of a stormy front and the clouds all gather together like cotton balls. It reminds me of a crowd of people smushed together and expectant...waiting for something...in this case, the rain.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Day 57: Almost Warm Enough for Outdoors
It was almost 50 degrees today. It makes me itch for spring. I am so excited to be able to go outside in sandals without a coat. I can't wait for a tan. I long for the sun to be beating on my face after 4:30 in the afternoon. In our family, the birthdays line up in spring, one in each month. Mine's third in May. I will be 39. My only trepidation this spring. Oh well...better to keep in shape and keep outside than live like a chubby little pale skinned mole inside, right?
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Day 56: Ash Wednesday 2009
Reading this wonderful book to Elena from the Metropolitan Museum of Art tonight before bed. I can't remember when we slimmed down from three to two books, but when she picks a book like this one, I am grateful we are only reading two! Anyhow, this is a book that involves the counting of "things" in art. This can be HIGHLY irritating when said objets d'art are hard to count and bothersome to her (and me). She gets downright frustrated when she has to start counting again because she loses track of where she is. Anyhow, beautiful book, just can be a bit of a challenge when you get up to the numbers eight, nine and ten.
So, we got to this page and I was dreading it. It's the "9" page. I know she loses count on numbers this high. So I sigh and turn the page. She immediately gets all excited..."MOMMY!! You got asses like that today, too."
"Huh?"
"Asses, Mommy, Asses like that woman [in the top left photo]"
"WHAT?"
"Mommy (she is speaking slow and deliberate now), you got asses on your forehead this morning at church, too."
Anyone out there speak four-year-old? ;-)
One other funny from Elena on the Ash Wednesday subject. I went to church this morning and she decided not to come. I came home and she was fascinated by the ash marking on my forehead. I told her today is a special day at church and that it is very meaningful for me to go to church on this important day. She clucked her tongue, frowned at me and said, "You see Mom, that's why I didn't want to go to church today. I was afraid that they might put that black marker on my forehead."
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Day 55: Us Wie Down Gether
Liam begged to lie down with me in my bed. He asked to "cubber up his toes" and "cubber up your toes TOO, Mommy." Very cute...
Another cuteness from our "bed party" (this is a term I coined for rolling around together with my kids on the bed) was when Liam was shocked to hear me say his eyes are blue. He scrutinized mine up close and said, "You have blue eyes too, Momma!" Such a perceptive little guy.Monday, February 23, 2009
Day 54: Bruit Snack Stonehenge
I bought these fruit snacks at Target the other day because Liam cannot go a day without "bruit snacks." So, I bought these Florida's Natural Fruit Nuggets...um...BEST THINGS EVER...Both Liam and I love them to the point of obsession. Before I tried them, I thought it was just the fact that they had the word "nugget" attached to their name, but then I tried them. The orange ones basically taste like when I used to run my fingers around the cardboard inside of the can of orange juice concentrate. It was sweet and tart...these are too. Try them, you'll like them. I liked them so much, I built little buildings, cities and towers with them. They're fun to stack...Liam liked playing the wrecking ball and eating the rubble. Mother and son bonding over food. There's something new.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Day 52.5: Gleeful Girl
We went to the children's museum in Norwalk, CT with the kiddos. They LOVED it...This is Elena being happy...you can almost see her horizons broadening...can't you?
Day 53: Carnegie Hall - All Mozart All the Time
Turns out you can't take pictures inside of Carnegie Hall, but they can't stop me from documenting my day by photographing the outside while I was driving by...I know, I know, I am insane, but I am still alive. No accidents...
Here is the show we saw:
Program Details
Orchestra of St. Luke's
Roberto Abbado, Conductor
Andreas Haefliger, Piano
MOZART Symphony No. 35, "Haffner"
MOZART Piano Concerto No. 15 in B-flat Major, K. 450
MOZART Symphony No. 41, "Jupiter"
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Day 52: Thomas the Tank Engine and His Friend Liam
Thomas and Friends, in this house, means Thomas and Liam. He is completely obsessed with Thomas. Loves the show. Loves to read about Thomas, play with Thomas, build tracks, etc. He even has fingered his Thomas catalog so much the pages are crispy and weathered. I was laughing today as he was saying the name "Clarabelle" (one of the trains on the Thomas show)...It sounded exactly like "Crap-Out." Clarabelle, Crapout...whatever...they're all our friends in this house!
Friday, February 20, 2009
Day 51.5: Striking Terror in the Hearts of Parents Everywhere...
Sure, it looks like a serene bedroom scene. "Cute sheets," you might say. Well, I am here to tell you that this is one of the scary sights of my parenting career. With my first baby, I was blessed, but spoiled. I lay her down in her big girl bed and two or three months later she figured out that she could actually get out of the bed herself...she had also never figured out how to spring herself from her crib. Suffice it to say, this is yet another point on which my kids are diametrically opposed.
I could say I am grateful for my first being such an angel and I am. Extremely grateful and now realizing how lucky I had it. I am slightly bitter, however, that she taught me none of the parenting skills I need to raise Liam. It appears that these two opposites, these yin and yang siblings, have exposed me to two completely different sides of parenting. I feel unequipped.
Anyhow, on with the story. Today, Liam jumped the rails of his crib repeatedly. When he arrived at the top of the stairs for the fourth time, I put him in the big boy bed in his room instead of the crib. He wailed for an hour and a half, but eventually zonked out. I only had to make about a bazillion trips in there to tell him to lie down, beg him to go to sleep, assure him he was NOT coming downstairs and finally get him to STAY IN HIS BED AND GO TO SLEEP.
So, tonight, I protected myself from myself and disassembled his crib. If the big boy bed is one of the scariest images for a parent, the disassembled crib is one of the most poignant. The baby is not a baby anymore. The bed that has housed the bambino for over two years, is now going to be retired. The screws, stripped from all the rocking, banging and bouncing, have been removed. I tried to get some artsy shots to show you what I was feeling. I took some pictures of the crib rails on their sides. I got a shot looking up at the crib pieces in a tent formation. 
And then I noticed this...Liam had tried to 'bix tings with his drewdriver." Here is what I saw...
DAY 50: Muddy, Muddy, Paw, Paw
My sister had my daughter in hysterics yesterday describing her beagle terrier as Muddy-Muddy-Paw-Paw. We went on a walk with the kids and dog. Let's just say Muddy-Muddy-Paw-Paw should be Ruby's nickname. The kids and dog were covered in mud.
While we were walking, some strange dark clouds swirled in above our heads and it started squalling. Snow was coming down so fast the pavement went from gray to white in a matter of moments. It was quite amazing and really neat to be out in it.
DAY 51: Mission Style Shadow
There was a time...oh heck, I am still in that time...where I aspired to have a beautiful bungalow home with traditional Arts and Crafts furniture and art. I actually have sold Arts and Crafts collages on ebay, I bought a bunch of tiles with traditional Glasgow roses on them and framed them in oak frames for my home. Right now, I live with my parents. I don't have a home. I long for the day I can paint my walls with earth tones and grays...put up wax stained oak trim and Bradbury and Bradbury wallpaper borders and pretend I live in a real Arts and Crafts bungalow.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
DAY 49: The Most Dangerous Roads Around
Can you imagine growing up and learning to drive on roads that move up and down like a tilt-a-whirl? I was in Michigan last week and I was thinking about how much snow they get there. I can drive on any amount of snow on flat roads like in Michigan. Here in Ridgefield the roads are completely not like that. They are twisted and turny and ridiculously crazy. But, man, even though I am not a great driver, I was at least raised learning to drive on these challenging roads. I should probably put away the camera while I am driving in the snow, however.
DAY 48: Steam
I love coffee. I love my coffee hot. Every morning, I preheat my mug...this mug. It's a little out of season in the summer, this mug. It's got snowflakes all over it. I love the shape, size and thickness of this mug. It's perfectly wonderful. I love mornings. I love that first sip. Nothing tastes better. Can't wait for morning.
DAY 47: President's Day...Driving into NYC
See that? That's the George Washington bridge as you head into New York City. You are driving down the Henry Hudson Parkway, by far my favorite approach to New York City. Well, my other favorite approach was when I was flying into the city on Sunday and we flew up over the Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn and Queens. We must have flown over fifteen nameable landmarks. I was fortunate enough to be seated beside someone who had never flown into New York before. She was happy to be regaled with details...there's the Empire State Building, there's the World's Fair Grounds, Yankee Stadium, JFK Airport, Long Island, Central Park, Prospect Park, and HUGE graveyards. I love NY...
DAY 46: Luck of the Irish
My husband taught me this phrase. He says Irish luck is both good and bad. It's apparently a mixed blessing. I am still not sure I know what it means to have luck like that, but I sure love shamrocks. I took about ten pictures of my friends' shamrock plant.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
DAY 45: Dan's Ding Dong
How could today NOT be a Happy Valentine's Day post? This is the homemade ding dong that Mel gave Dan. She got it at a restaurant that had a little bakery attached where she went for dinner on Friday night. It looks very yummy. Low-carb girl is jealous. Although, low-carb girl has eaten some chocolate mousse she made...bad girl!
DAY 45 (Bonuses): I Spy With My Little Eye
Another couple bonus photos...I have driven and ridden over a thousand miles in this little Toyota over the last five days. Today, she just sat outside and gathered moss...er...snow. Lovely, lovely day of rest at my good friends' house in Farmington Hills.
Friday, February 13, 2009
DAY 44: Making Mousses
I made chocolate mousses with and poached pears with raspberry sauce for my friends in Michigan. They are yummy...I just ate one and now I am a bit full, but fat and happy is a good speed for me.
DAY 43 - WOOD Trip!
So, the Detroit trip has been a success! Ten meetings with as many different clients. Collecting payment, gathering orders and getting networking leads. I could probably stay here and continue to crack this market for another couple of years. But alas, it is time to go home and see the kiddos. I miss them...There are so many things I wanted today's picture to be that it is not...
Farms with cows and horses that you had to wind almost through to get to huge office buildings. One potential customer had a penchant for stuffed animals, the real kind. He had a stuffed coyote, rooster, beaver and harp seal. Cute, but a touch tragic. One of my favorites was a therapy office called the "REALITY COUNSELING SERVICES" which I SOOO wanted to be today's picture. Unfortunately, GPS took us by it on our way to one of our meetings and I didn't catch a photo, but took us back a completely different way. The little joke in the car was to come up with slogans for the Reality Counseling guys...
Reality Counseling, for those Who Live in a Dream World
Reality Counseling, Helping People Take Life MORE Seriously
Another memorable moment was when we were sitting at dinner in Holland at a cute brewery there, I noticed a person taking a photograph of the neon sign outside the restaurant on the sidewalk. Then I noticed it was more than one person, it was a whole group of people out at seven or eight o'clock at night with tripods set up, taking pictures in the dark. I wanted to grab my camera and hokey pokey right on in!
Our five meetings on "Day 43" were to trot our wares out to: Worden and Co., Grand Craft (mahogany boats), Heritage Guitars (which is run by ex-Gibson guys in the old Gibson plant), Herman Miller of the office environment fame and Dooge Veneers...this cool statue was the last thing I saw before heading off to the hotel.
After a brief rest at the hotel and the Irish/Mexican restaurant next to it (Carlos O'Grady's...weird name!), I got picked up by an old friend from work and went to spend an evening with he and his family. He likes to have private cooking lessons, so when I am in town we cook a meal together. This visit it was pasta with pesto and chicken francese. It was quite good, actually!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
DAY 42: Holland Michigan
This is Haworth, the office environment company. This one of the four meetings we had today. We are trying to sell these companies on a patented invention we own. I thought this picture particularly communicated the day because it captured the four story high windows in the background and the red tulips in the foreground which just say Holland, MI to me.
DAY 41: Kiki Goes on a Business Trip
I took a bunch of random pictures around the airport, but ultimately settled on this one. I love the way I am peering into the mirrored pillar...I keep thinking Kiki goes on a Business Trip sounds like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington...or, Debbie Does Dallas, but I try to repress that one.
DAY 40: Liam Loves Rocks
Liam, like his mother, loves rocks. I always collected them and kept them, my most precious possessions. When I was a little girl, the tooth fairy even brought me polished river stones instead of money. I couldn't have been happier!
I have some "grown-up" rocks I collected at Thatcher Mountain State Park in Albany, NY. I hiked the Indian Ladder Trail, and meandered off the path. I ducked under the railing that was supposed to keep people (people just like me) from skittering down into the gully. I climbed, spider-style, down into the gully. Down there, I found fossils from the Ordovician and Devonian periods. I found crinoids and tentaculites. An amazing find! At one point, I remember pulling myself up to a ledge that was under running water. It was covered in swimming tentaculites. It was an area five by two feet large. It was incredible! Breathtaking! Who thinks this way about rocks? I do. Liam does. My family does. Go figure.
Monday, February 09, 2009
DAY 39: Kristen, Kristen and Kristin
In college, sophomore year, I got a single in Moore Hall. This was desirable. There was a lottery to determine when you got to pick your room. I was in the top third. My friend Kristin was close to last. She ended up in one of the older dorms (was it Penfield?) with a roommate. Her roommate was Kristen Zebrowski. Kristen and Kristin became fast friends, best friends. They could not have been more different in a lot of ways, but they complemented each other beautifully.
Spring semester, I was in a bit of a phase. Lots of walking to campus, working out, playing racquetball...it brought me to Kristin and Kristen's room often. I would head over there after a workout to go hit the dining hall. It was a very comfortable room to visit.
I had a car in college, my aunt and uncle's old Volvo wagon. At the end of the year, I would drive Kristin home to her house in Virgina when she missed her flight...forever late Kristin! Anyhow, I am finally getting to the funny part...One day, I was driving along in my car with the two Kristi(e)ns and I saw another friend of mine from Moore Hall walking. I offered her a ride. She hopped in. I collapsed into paroxysms of laughter as I went to make the introductions. You see, this was my friend Kristin Petherick...Kristen and Kristin, this is Kristin...Kristin, meet Kristen and Kristin...It just cracked me up.
The first telegram my parents sent to my grandparents when I was born spelled my name Christen...you see, they thought they made it up! Silly parents!
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