It Ain't Fleet Week, But It Was Still Fun!

What can I say about Fleet Week? You've made me proud.

Susan and I decided we needed our own adventure last Friday, so we set out for the coffee shop with cupcakes (where the slogan is "Legalize Frostitution!") and pretended it was our birthdays. We wore hats and everything. First we had sushi, then one coconut cupcake and one lavender! The closest I came to Fleet Week boys was one guy looking through the window at me and mouthing the words "Happy Birthday!" Must admit I felt a bit guilty when that happened, but no harm no foul.

Sorry I don't have more at the moment, I gave notice yesterday and work is crazy and I have a manuscript deadline tomorrow! Yeeks!

XOXO

Making Art

I am super busy today. I am lucky that I get to make something relatively creative at work, but sometimes it is still work work work.

I took a moment to make you this Mr. Picassohead. Enjoy!

There isn't much to report anyways. We spent a long, sweaty weekend re-roofing part of the house. Good times.

Now I have to get back to work...

ps. I can't believe that you have no comments on Fleet Week!

Long weekend = long workday

Lots of fun stuff from the weekend, but it will have to wait. For now, you can look at these nice socks I started.

Fleet Week Crackdown

So I wasn't lying about the innapropriate behavior... only I turned out to be the troublemaker.

So, last night we're at this bar, celebrating co-worker's impending emancipation, when in walk half a dozen Marines. It's Fleet Week - Yay!

In true Malcolm Sister fashion, I ended up talking with the boys - they really were sooooooo baby faced - and ultimately (along with three friends from work) escorted them to the East Village, so that they could find more entertaining bar venues than the ones in midtown. One of them looked exactly like Matt Damon. Yum.*

Any hoo, they neglected to inform me that one of their crew was underage - they all looked like babies to me... so how could I tell? I took them to Doc Hollidays, where the trampy bartenders were VERY enthusiastic about them - to the point of pouring liquor directly down the Marine's throats... until we realized that one of their boys was stranded outside.

So, after that, we just ended up walking them all over the East Village until they were due to get back to their ship. I hope they get to have more fun this weekend in the city than walking around with a bunch of married ladies!

After I went and met up with Eugene. He thought it was funny.

He pointed out that I was ten+ years older than all of them. ha. ha. ha.

*This is not to say that Matt Damon is my usual type... but the grin was pretty infectious. Though he did keep calling me 'M'am' which made me feel pretty old.

Something for the lurkers

Okay, I'm looking for comments from any of our lovely friends who lurk and sometimes read these posts.

If you were going to a desert island (or a mountain ranch) what 10 books would you take to read? Assume that you are only going to be there for two months (sound familiar), so it doesn't need to be the books you would want to read for the rest of your life. Just the books you would read while sitting on the front porch in your union suit with your shotgun in your lap and some pony-sized dogs at your feet.

I'm only kidding about the shotgun.

* Do you all know how to comment? Let's see the comments. I know there are at least two of you.
** Union suit courtesy of SundanceCatalog.com - only $19.99!!

Faux pas!

Ooh, man! Tonight? I was not EVEN invited to whatever they are doing tonight!

Dude.

I am so busy.

Unfortunately, for this week at least, when I am at the work , I need to be doing the work.

Tonight is a work get-together for my soon-to-be-departed co-worker. Let the inapropriate behavior commence!

I have heartburn right now, thanks to the delicious - but spicy - lunch I had in koreatown.

My poem for the day?

Skirt? Heels? I rebel.
No stockings, wild hair. Bangles.
Pants are in my bag

I will try to catch up to your prolific posting tomorrow.

Have fun with Dad, Lucia, Crista and Mike tonight! I hope the prezzies I ordered for Lucia got there in time...

xoxo
AMC

And WOW! Now it's totally your turn!

XOXO H

The Tangled Web We Weave

Hi there,

There's a group of folks who participate in a blog thing called Poetry Thursday, which I sort-of watched come in to being about a month ago by reading a blog I learned about through a post-card swap. At my poetry workshop last week I met one of the two women who put it together, quite the coincidence. We had a great group of writers in that workshop, which was a very lucky thing, since there were only four of us.

So, since today is Poetry Thursday, and last Friday, I had the Billy Collins haiku moment, here's a haiku for Thursday.

Do you get to have a title for a haiku? The title is it's own haiku.

_Morning after gift: Double ex-boyfriend haiku (leaving each other)_

We do that old thing
That new lovers often do.
Walk away. Look back.

Again with the socks? Yes.

Hi again. Here's the second of the socks I knit for Pam. It's lounging on Susan's porch. I seem to be heading in to the summer with a strong start on the knitting front. It's important to carry a lot of momentum with you in to summer, if you expect to get all your knitting done when it's too hot to wear any of it.

And I have a long list of socks that need work, so I will be knitting all summer.

One of the things I am MOST looking forward to about CO is knitting. I love the idea of being able to knit any entire day away. I love the idea of having a week's worth of handknit socks in my wardrobe. I see knitting as a manifestation of time. Each little stitch is an increment of time.

No, I didn't know about your WC Laydeez. That's pretty funny. I can see how it would have been nice to have them to confer and lament and confess and obsess and rejoice and anticipate with. Is it odd now to see how their marriages play out? Who has kids, who is happy and how? I hope none of them ever undo the marriages that brought you all together.

I'm eating a "Bread & Chocolate" chocolate bar. I thought it sounded good - pieces of french bread in it! I thought there would be maybe little chewy bready pieces in it, but instead it seems to just be crumbs that don't really do anything but add a salty flavor to the chocolate, which itself seems a bit sour. Maybe the sour comes from the bread too, I don't know. I just know it's not at all what I hoped for. But I'm only halfway through the bar, and I have three other bars on my desk that are also failed experiments. I will explain more tomorrow. You must know about the chocolate.

My Laydeez

OMG - you are a total sock hound!

I like the haiku observances - I like to write haikus. Just to send a message or apologize or be silly. A haiku is a great way to be silly. That and Snoop Dogging your e-mail. That's fun too.

What's going on here?

I am feeling a bit tubby, so I sent and bought trail running shoes so that I can run in VT. I don't love running in the city, but I have liked running in the woods before - so we'll see how that goes. Of course, the minute I get a crazy look from one of my neighbors I may bail... or go to the national park to run. We'll see.

Tonight I am meeting the cute baby in the picture above. His name is Declan and his Mommie is Brooke... who was one of my bridal friends.

I don't remember if you knew about my WC Laydeez.

I met them all online at the weddingchannel, when I was planning our wedding. I didn't know anyone else getting married in the city, and didn't want to drive my non-wedding planning friends insane, so I went on the boards for the New York area and met all these great women. They were all getting married around the same time as me and they had a lot of great resources - so I didn't have to do as much research.

We would get together for drinks and talk about our plans, our relationships, our jobs, our tiaras and underwear - just whatever. And I am still friends with them. And they are still great.

So, tonight I get to see Brooke, who is beautiful and a sports TV producer and has run the marathon... and I get to meet her cute baby. And Rebecca might be there. She is wicked funny and enthusiastic and generous. She makes crazy rice crispy treats and likes her margritas. And she turned the wedding planning into a business. I designed her logo.

But right now I have to go rehydrate and do an exceedingly boring online tutorial about a web-site authoring program.

Poetry and sock madness continues

Hi there,

How was the weekend? Are you feeling better?

My weekend was fine. Had the Skagit River Poetry Festival on Friday night in LaConner, which I enjoyed.

The headliner rock star poet of the night was Billy Collins, and it was interesting to hear him read, since you felt like you got some insight into what it must be like to be a full-time poet in every sense.

He talked about how he likes to write haiku, just as a little poetry exercise, and how once he started, he would see and hear haiku everywhere. One example he gave was a haiku he heard on a college campus. Two young women walked by him, and he heard one say to her friend,

And when he found out,
he was like "oh my god", then
I'm like, "oh my god"

We were at the LaConner middle school listening to him, in their big gym, and he called our attention to the fact that while he was listening to the other poets, he noticed that the scoreboard and a poster below it also made a haiku. Then he read it to us. I can't remember exactly what it was, but hearing a scoreboard read as haiku made the whole room laugh.

I continued my sock-making madness over the weekend as well. I've cast on for the second sock in Walter's pair (featured earlier on this blog) and am also going to cast on for 3 or 4 new socks, so that I can send the next sock recipient in the writing group some photos to choose a sock pattern from.

I delivered Pam's rainbow socks to her on Thursday. They ended up looking similar to this. Pretty mismatched, but gorgeous colors. We had a great dinner out on Thursday at Palace Kitchen - until 1AM! I had white asparagus with a butter boached egg and potato crispies. So delicious, but the rhubarb mille feuille dessert was the highlight for me. I got to see the dogs that I'll be living with in October. Gorgeous creatures. They look like dragons, or something from a Jim Henson movie.

What are you doing for the long weekend?

XOXO
H

File Under Coincidence

Remember the cute girl that was getting her dress at Blue? It turns out that she is a friend of a friend of mine! I was reading said friend's blog, and it mentioned that she was going to a wedding this Sunday at St. Marks in the Bowery which is where Cute Bride told us she was getting married!

Crazy small world!

I am taking my sick self home now.

Stuffed Up Id My Head

I am sick sick sick today.

Congested, sneezy, ache-y and miserable.

And yet, here I sit at my desk. Boss is out sick, Admin is out on vacation, and soon-to-be-departed co-worker is taking vacation so here I am.

Miserable miserable miserable me.

To answer you questions:

1) Title of Bio: Mummy, I want a Candelabra: Tales from my delusions of grandeur

2) The last good book I read.... hmmmm... I really enjoyed the Julie/Julia book - does that count? Right now I am reading The Cardinal's Cap, which is a look at the life of one of Lucretia Borgia's sons. It's interesting because the author basically found all of the financial records and accounting from his household and is using that as the thread of the story. I just found it at the library. I also picked up Another Bullshit Night in Suck City, but I haven't been able to start it yet.

3) The best breakfast of my life was on my honeymoon. Euge and I were staying at a hotel in Grenada that was a converted convent and we had a private balcony. Sitting out there, with our delicious breakfast in the sunlight. See picture above of silly husband serving coffee.

4) My favorite indulgence is video games. When we go to VT and it's raining (like last weekend) I play and play and play. I like to kill thing! I like to roll things up in my Katamari!

5) The fictional character I would like to date is... ummm... geez... with all the snot in my head I can't even think... later on that.

Photographic evidence of Kristina, and some poetic evidence that Kristin will recognize

So funny about Kristina! I'm sad that I don't have more photos of me in her stuff. You have to let her know that I still have and wear a dress and skirt and top that she made for me. They are still gorgeous and still fit perfectly!

Now, here's your poem for the day:

_1990_

We freshman read Greek tragedies, and sang in chorus in the Great Hall

I still wore long sleeves most of the time, and black, and glasses

My mother joked that after graduation, I would move to New York, find John John, get married

On the adobe balconies of the college, cats from the pound were dissected, kittens found inside

I cut my hair short. The professor with the Kennedy accent asked me
"What are you in mourning for?"

Evidence from my poetry workshop yesterday with Gary Short. The exercise was to write a quick poem (we had about 5 minutes) after the poems "1967" by Nick Flynn, and "1969" by Lance Larsen. I'm loving the workshop, it's a small group of us, four women, and Gary. He is very charming, funny and talkative, and there's something very gentle about him, which of course I appreciate since this whole poetry thing is a bit scary. The question that keeps rattling around my head is "how do you make a poem better?". I don't know why this seems like a more mysterious thing than "how do you improve your fiction", but it does.

More poetry workshop this afternoon. We are bringing in a draft of something we want to work on more, and I know just what is calling me. We get to hear Gary and Pam read tonight (Dakota will be there, yay!), and I finished Pam's socks, so I can check one knitting project off my list when I give them to her this afternoon.

This is my baby-like project, since the baby thing sure doesn't seem to be a path that's calling me at the moment. I'm interested in hearing more about that from you, but will have to ask questions later.

Going Bridal

So my friend Kim is getting married (in Austin on Friday the 13th in October), and we went last night to order her dress. Where is she getting it, you might wonder? The answer is - Blue.

Yes, Blue of the kooky Christina.

I can never imagine that - given all of the women she meets by doing dresses - she would remember me, or you, or us. But she does. Vividly.

She asked me last night if you were married yet - she still remembers you coming in and mentioning the possibility of her doing your dress. And she talked about how she could never forget 'de crazy party you gave for de Oscarsss'.

I think you can imagine what that would sound like with her crazy accent.

Of course, I said 'wow, I can't believe you remember that - it was like ten years ago.' To which she replied 'oh no darlingk, it was more like fourteen - you were just a baby den.'

There was something mildly embarrasing about it, but she went on about how you were one of her first customers and how great it was for her to see me come in, 'all grown up now, and a lady.'

In the end it was sweet, though it made me feel a bit like someone who has stayed too long at the party formerly known as the East Village.

Any hoo, Kim's dress is going to be fabulous and, while we were there, the most adorable little bride came in to get her blush-colored, strapless, wasp waisted, full-skirted, tea-length gown fitted and it reminded me of the dress Audrey wore in Funny Face.

We all agreed that she was just about the prettiest thing ever, and said a little prayer that her outdoor wedding doesn't get rained out on sunday.

It's funny that this happened right after you posted the picture of Kirsten and her son. It's amazing to me how much things have changed since that time, when we were all here. All the good things that have come into our lives - even out of bad things.

But it's also amazing to me that I still feel at the beginning of a path. I still don't know, any better than I did then, what I want to be when I grow up. Sometimes I still feel like I am waiting for some universal signpost to appear and say THIS WAY!

Maybe I feel this way, the top-of-the-rollercoaster-feeling, because I would like to have a wee baby of my own. Not that a baby is any sort of universal signpost - or maybe it is. Did you read the short story 'Adina, Astrid, Chipewee, Jasmine' in the New Yorker last week? My internal GPS seems to be leading me in that terrifying/wonderful direction.

I have to think upon your questions... they are kind of daunting, but I will get back to you on them.

Back to the grindstone for my nose!

xoxo
AMC

Baby love

Look who I got to see last night! Kirstin and Rhone. Aren't they sweet? I went by to visit after work and Kirstin's husband fed me a delicious meal while Kirstin tickled Rhone and made him smile for me. He's really looking like a little boy now!

It was a gorgeous night in Seattle last night. Warm enough to just wear a t-shirt, and there was a nice sunset for my evening walk. This afternoon and tomorrow I have a workshop with the poet Gary Short. I'm really looking forward to thinking about poetry again. There was a time when I didn't think writing fiction was interesting at all, I only wanted to write poems. Admittedly, I was a teenager, but still...

Hey! I've got some questions for you! From the Powell's web site:

1. If someone were to write your biography, what would be the title and subtitle?
2. How did the last good book you read end up in your hands and why did you read it?
3. Describe the best breakfast of your life.
4. What is your favorite indulgence, either wicked or benign?
5. What fictional character would you like to date, and why?

Love you!
H

I Heart the Blogging

I too am a sad blog addict. Maybe it's genetic?

My name is Allison, I am a blogaholic

I don't know Posie Gets Cozy, but I will have to check it out. I keep thinking that with all the free time I seem to have in VT, that I should do more crafting. Though I am not sure tahat we have the space to live with the results of said crafting.

Tonight, I am volunteering again with the kidlets!

So sadly, despite myaddiction, I have no time to blog myself!

xoxo
Bagel Face

A post from a top 10 blog

Hi there,

I haven't linked you to any of my favorite blogs yet, but today I thought I would. Posie Gets Cozy is a great blog written by a crafty woman in Portland who sells her lovely crafty things out of a shop there called Ella Posie. She's a great blog writer! She makes it look very easy, as though she is just having a little chat with you, but she has written some of the most moving posts. Just TRY to read her posts about the serious accident she had that left her bed-ridden for a long time without feeling tears well up in your eyes, both in pain at what this person (who very quickly starts to feel like someone you know, after reading just a few postings) had to go through, and at her very touching gratitude for the life she has and the people who helped her. It's saved on my Bloglines (as well as 23 other posts that I like from her) because it's the sort of thing that reminds one of the Big Picture. Good if you are feeling petty.

The post I am linking to today is just about blogging. It's like reading a good book about writing, inspiring and thought-provoking and I though you might enjoy it.

Go here to read it.

I like to confess to friends and acquaintances that I am an avid blog reader, and most of my friends think that's a little odd, one of my little quirks. Like the obsessive knitting, or my Veronica Mars fascination. But for me the blog thing has been some silliness and fun, but also a really satisfying world to peek in on.

I think people think the blog world is odd because it seems voyeuristic to read someone else's blog, to think things and feel things about a person you have never met (sort-of like our fascination with famous people). But I think it's radically different from reading US Weekly, because we are invited in to the blog world.

I also think the blogs I like end up having a certain kind of prayer inherent to them. Behind each of the blogs I enjoy is one human who is working on creating a life, a world that is something they can be proud of. That human is also usually working hard at being grateful for her life (yes, they are all women that I read so far) and at being happy.

Noble pursuits!

Rain Rain, Go Away

My weekend was rainy. It rained non-stop. Water outside, wood dust inside.

Once again, my darling husband was using our living room for a woodshop and covered the place in a fine mist of cherry and ebony dust. There was no escaping, due to the crazy rainfall outside.

I burned a lot of brain cells playing video games.

My look for the weekend was blue baby tee and plaid flannel pajama bottoms. It was hawt. How could Euge resist such loveliness?

On a more productive front, I tried cooking haddock for the first (and second - because I bought too much) time. It was delicious - white, moist and flaky. With crispy potatoes and olives cooked with paprika. I also made waffles.

I have to go to the dentist this afternoon to get some fillings in my famously weak teeth. It's been years since my last filling and, I have to say, I am not looking forward to it. I am also supposed to get a root canal re-done sometime soon... but I am putting it off for the timebeing.

Scarlet shares my fashion sense

So, you know how my new fashion ideal is the 70s mom? With the wrap skirts, and big hoop earrings and things? Don't you think Scarlet has the look going on with the whole kerchief thing she's rockin?

In my pursuit of 70s mom fashion, I bought several of those safari-type shirts, you know, the kind with the pleated breast pocket, very narrowly cut, and best of all! the little button tab on the sleeve that lets you roll the sleeve up above your elbow. So chic! I bought two in a very light cotton, one brown, one sort-of light aqua green, and then a black jersey version that has the breast pockets, AND laces up the front and has the little epaulet-type things on the shoulder. Love all these shirts, would wear them every day if I could!

I also bought the first season of V Mars on DVD. I couldn't help myself.

How was your weekend?

Oh Joy! A Cellphone Picture!

The Circus! The Circus!

And do you notice the cute headband I got at Henri Bendel! I heart it very much, even though it cost $50.

That's right, I paid $50 for a headband.

But my purse was only $20 at H&M!

The picture of happiness!

Okay! I've got those photos you have been waiting for! Me and Barbie! That's Eden hiding off camera to the left there - she is shading her face as though she has been caught in a dark alley with Barbie. And Barbie does look like she came out of a dark alley - these photos don't quite show the hard wear that those dresses have suffered, but Candice and I spent some time laughing about how they looked like they had been run over by a truck. And for good reason - do you see that hot pink dress? Look familiar? It's from back in the day! A gown worn by Candice's own Barbies from the same era as ours. Do you recognize the blue and brown dress on the face-down in the gutter Barbie that's right in front of Eden? Yeah!!!

Oh, we had a good time. In this photo, I am probably saying to Eden's Barbie "Nobody likes you since you locked Skipper in the basement!". I was all for the dramatic soap opera storylines. Isn't that how you play Barbies?

Too Much of a Good Thing

This has been one of those weeks of NON-STOP ACTION! Every night a party!

And now I am done. I need to go to Vermont, drink some green tea and some sour cherry juice and cleanse my system.

We had the charity casino thing monday, Cirque du Soleil wednesday and a co-workers going-away-and-leaving-the-company-party last night. Plus I am trying to get another Statement of Qualifications out for Dad... and I am trying to figure out something to do for Mom for Mother's Day....

So my head is hurting.

Rather than give my tepid reviews of the Cirque (it was like a re-run without the great make-up, costumes and storytelling of previous Cirque shows.. plus the performers didn't seem very on their game - whoops there's my review!) or the bar where the party was last night (I will never understand bartenders who are beeyotches for no apparent reason - whoops another review!) I will answer your meme.

Four Movies I Could Watch Over and Over

1) Harold and Kumar Go to Whitecastle - I have, literally, watched this movie over and over and over. At least 15 times. Why? Because it is endlessly funny and every time I see it, there is a scene that I've forgotten about or something funny that I didn't notice before. Plus, I love me some Doogie Howser, yo.

2) Batman Returns - Michelle Pfieffer as Catwoman? In patent leather? Did a girl ever have a better role model? Plus, Michael Keaton remains my favorite Batman - despite the noble attempts of Gloria Steinem's shirtless step-son. I mean he's hot, but he went for Katie (excuse me - Kate) Holmes. Ewwwwwwwwwwww.

3) Lord of the Rings - The whole extended trilogy. I could happily lose a whole weekend that way. Elves! Viggo! Plus it reminds me of our trip to New Zealand. Need I say more? If it's raining this weekend, you know what I will be watching.

4) Sliding Doors - The only Gwynnie movie I like. For some reason I find the concept of the movie so intruiging that I am willing to put up with her faux-british accent. Plus I heart that scottish actor that is in it.

I would add The Philadelphia Story as my honorary classic film... I don't really need to tell you why, do I?

Four Television Shows I Love to Watch

1) Grey's Anatomy - McDreamy? McSteamy? So McAngsty and McFunny at the same time. Plus it is set in Seattle!

2) Veronica Mars - Oh LoVe!!!! Sweet LoVe!!!!

3) Bones - Forensic anthropology, wisecracks, un-fulfilled sexual tension and a super-nerdy chick as the lead character.

4) Top Chef - Drama! Cooking! Like Project Runway in the kitchen. Classic line? "I am not your bitch, bitch!" Not as cooking inspirational as Iron Chef or Nigella, but loads more friction. All the Iron Chefs are too nice to each other.. not enough feuding for my taste.

Four Things I've Been Eating Lately

1) Sauteed Ramps with Pancetta and Angel Hair Pasta - Tis the season for buying sweet, delicious ramps at the Union Square Greenmarket! I live their slight onion-yness combined with the sweetness of the stems and the saltiness of the pancetta. And I love any excuse to shop at Union Square.

2) Roasted Vegetables - I love carmelized roasted peppers and tomatoes and garlic and onions and asparagus. Some olive oil, salt and pepper and a touch of lemon juice.

3) Eggs with Cheese and Bacon on a Toasted English Muffin - I love to make these using my egg rings and vermont cheddar and maple smoked bacon. It would be my breakfast of choice if it wasn't the quickest route to cardiac arrest.

4) Sour Cherry Juice and Selzer - I loathe the crazy lines at Trader Joe's and this is the only thing that can motivate me to go there. It is so yummy and tangy and yummy. It makes my mouth water just to think about it.

Back to the grindstone...

xoxo
Ali

Where did all the bloggers go?

Hello,

We need a meme or something. Something to break up the paragraphs that threaten to take over this post due to my lack of photos....

Here's one - the first one I found, and only select questions, since some of the answers to the other questions (e.g. 4 places I have lived) would be so very obvious and boring to my sister.

4 movies I can watch over and over

• Almost Famous (watched just this weekend! The key is that the dialogue is so good, you never get tired of hearing it, and the soundtrack is good, AND every time I watch I think I want to pay more attention to the outfits on Kate Hudson, and then every time I get too wrapped up in the story to remember to pay attention... anyway, I'm too old to get away with wearing a sheer vintage shirt with only a couple of ruffles covering all the interesting bits)
• In The Mood For Love (gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous! and also importantly, good soundtrack and makes you hungry for a big thing of takeout noodles)
• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (not completely sure about the inclusion of this, but I know it's something I've been FEELING like I could watch all over again right now, even though I've already seen it twice and it hasn't been out that long)
• It's A Wonderful Life (did you think the vintage movie was going to be Breakfast at Tiffany's? it could be, but I chose this one because I think someday I might feel like I have seen BaT enough for one lifetime. IaWL changes as you age, and though it has a reputation for being sappy, there is actually some brutality to it - like when he takes Donna Reed and shakes her while they are on the phone, and he's yelling, and she's crying, and there is so much angst!!)

4 TV shows I love to watch

• Charlie & Lola!!! Have you seen it??? Love it!
• Veronica Mars - o! we all know about our love of LoVe. Love what they did with Logan's hair in the season finale, btw. He looked better than ever. What happens now? Do we know if it's going to be back next season? My life won't be the same without her. Now I want the whole series on DVD
• Project Runway - This is sort-of obvious.
• America's Test Kitchen - or whatever the show is called. Who would have thought I would love a cooking show? But I do, and I've even made recipes from the episodes we used to have on Tivo! Chicken under a brick! I watched it just this weekend, they were making a roast, and I knew I wasn't going to make the roast, but I watched anyway.

4 things I've been eating lately

• medium-boiled eggs with buttered toast and black tea for breakfast - made with my new handy egg cooking tool! Yesterday morning and today I got up early enough to eat this nice breakfast and take a bath. Today I even ate the breakfast in the bath, while I read a poem.
• sashimi - salmon is my favorite. so buttery. eating some right now!!
• potato chips with cottage cheese - learned this one from the Pamfa ladies. who knew this would be good? i convinced susan it was.
• buttered raisin toast with a single tall latte - this is the weekend morning meal of choice, at the coffee shop down the street. i walk down there with my journal, and sometimes write a few pages.

I think I will stop there - what about you??

Picture me here

Take Me To Powell's

I Want To Go To Lint

Hello!

At last, a post from the missing blogger.

I had a great weekend in Portland. First I got to see Amber and Seth, and their adorable kids, Beryl and Fisher. Then I drove over to stay with Candice and Mark, with another helping of adorable kid - in the form of Eden, 7, and Scarlett, 1. Candice got some great photos of the Barbie fun I had with Eden, so that's something for you to look forward to later in the week!

In addition to playing Barbie's, we got out and about in Portland, two big girls and two little ones. We spent a LOT of time in Lint, one of my favorite yarn stores, and Candice and I laughed about how this was one of those annoying grown-up things that kids get dragged along to. Eden was very good and patient about it, though, certainly better than most of the grown men I know. Walter being an exception.

We also went to Powell's, of course, where I dropped another $100 (the yarn store also left me out $100) on all sorts of goodies, including an old copy of the Wizard of Oz, like we had as kids, and Ozma of Oz. I also bought some poetry, a book of essays by Virginia Woolf, and other things.

More about Portland as the week goes on...

XOXO
H

Gambling Away Our Lunch Money

Last night, Euge and I attended a casino-themed benefit for an organization called The Catalog for Giving. Daniel Craig (Mr. Sexy-New-James-Bond) was not there, but it was pretty fun nonetheless.

And since I am a boring married lady, who thinks her husband was pretty damn fine looking in his french cuffed shirt and pinstripe slacks, I probably wouldn't have noticed Mr. Craig anyways. Right?

Any hoo, it was a fun evening, though we gambled away all of our play cash. There was an open bar and your typical rubber-chicken appetizers, but the fun of playing blackjack, without the risk of actually losing all of your real money, made it super fun.

Plus, it was for a good cause and I got extra kudos for designing a pretty sharp invitation. If I do say so myself.

Thou Art Kidding

You, you get to go to Oregon.

Whereas I, I will be driving to Virginia.

It's Mother-in-Law's 60th birthday and we're trekking down for a surprise (sssssshhhhhh! Good thing noone reads our blog!) birthday party.

In order to conceal the party from her we get to go to Colonial Williamsburg and boy am I excited! People in costume! Drinking ale from tankards! I could pee my pants (or skirt rather, I am at work, you know) just thinking about it!

Do you think Euge will mind if I rent a costume? Can you rent a costume? It seems like you should definetly be able to rent a costume. And ride a horse. I should definetly get ot ride a horse, or at least ride in a carriage. And I hope they have mead or ale. Though we're going on sunday morning, so maybe mead or ale would be a bad idea.

Or maybe I should just behave myself so that when summer rolls around, and all the rennaisance fairs are on, I can sucker him into going to one with me. He's never been to one with me... so that could be a true test of our marriage.

Especially when I try to get him to wear tights.

Bwahahahahahahahahaha.

Tonight is Cinco de Mayo and all the young singletons in my office are stoked to go out and get their Margarita on. I will be going home and lazing on my couch. We leave at 5 AM tomorrow.

Plus, I don't know where my sombrero is.

A Little Girlfriend Therapy

Hi there.

I am very fortunate to have great girlfriends in Seattle, but I ALSO have great girlfriends in Portland. Here are photos of Amber (with her cute daughter Beryl in the net) and Candice, with her always stylish daughter Eden. This weekend I am taking Natalie and driving down to visit them. I can't wait to eat the little cakes that are baked in a tin with beeswax, making them a little chewy and honey-ish. I also can't wait to go to Lint, a great knitting store there. Yay!

The weather is gorgeous right now, hopefully it will stay that way so that I can drive to Portland with the roof down!

What are you doing this weekend?

XOXO
H

My Favorite Picture

This is my favorite picture.

Ever.

You are even cuter than a guinea pig or a hamster.

Advice from Ella

Hello! In light of my recent pissy and unpleasant mood, Kristin's daughter Ella has some advice for me. She seems to know just how I feel. Take this demonstration, for example:

Kristin says "Ella can't get down and she can't go forwards or backwards. She is stuck. "

Yup. Sound familiar.

So here are some options for me.



Play dead while others make smiley faces












... or distract myself by performing manual labor














..... or walk alone looking beautiful, in a poncho













... but maybe the best option of all is to make friends with the girl next door, put on my tutu and chase butterflies.


Ella is so full of good ideas.

Crazy@ the Met

I saw this photo from Monday night's Costume Institute Gala, and I couldn't help but laugh at how completely nutbag John Galliano looks.

He's like the love child of a drag queen and Captain Hook.

I can't comment on Charlize, because I am so very blinded by his sparkly pants and mickey mouse vest.

Oh, and the hair.

The burnished orangy-gold hair. My god. someone make the pain in my eyes stop.

And his facial expression is FIERCE! Like TYRA!

I'm just glad that the internets allow me to share this with you.

On the topic of getting out of bed over the weekend - if Eugene hadn't forced me to go to a neighbor's house for a drink, I never would have changed out of my pajamas.

I'm still irritated that I had to change out of my pajamas. And it's Wednesday already.

Here Comes Trouble

Are we becoming an all Veronica all the time blog? Did you watch last night? Okay, that's all I'm going to say about that show now.

In other news - here's a photo of Susan at my neighborhood coffee shop. Can you see the cute barista in the background? Here's wearing a t-shirt that says "Here Comes Trouble!" and then I think it has a firecracker or something on it.

On Saturday, I had to call Susan to make me get out of bed (I know, it sounds desperate, but we laughed about it later) and she did, and we went to the coffee shop, and sat there and ate toasted bread products and watched all of upper Queen Anne's beautiful yuppies come and go. Then we went down to Second Ascent, where I bought a rain coat based on the fact that it was purple. I needed a rain coat anyway, but this was more like a mountaineering coat, and when the guy tried to direct me to a more appropriate model, I said "But it's not PURPLE!". Yes, I know enough to be ashamed of this behavior. But I just can't stand the thought of increasing the amount of sage green or even lime green gore-tex that is wandering around in the wilderness right now. It's too much, really.

Puka Beads

Yes, in real life Logan is a scientologist. And married! I don't care about the real life Logan, I care about V. Mars Logan, who has suddenly recaptured the hotness of the end of last season.

He is a heartbreaker. And a poor, broken toy.

And I love Veronica and her poor sad face in the elevator.

All Hail Veronica!

O how I love Veronica!

Last week after I saw that episode, I wanted to call you and tell you how much I love that show, and tell you how I love the way it's scary, but not TOO scary - it's like you are riding a bike and you know that Dad is holding the seat to keep you from falling, but you still think you might! But you know you won't! But it feels like you might!

And V in the elevator with her sad eyes! Oh! Crush me!

I'm sorry to say this, but I believe Logan is a Scientologist in real life. I'm sorry. I know you didn't want to know that. But you had to hear it, just like you know that Logan on the show really is bad, and she really shouldn't be with him. But you sort-of want her to, but she shouldn't! Cause think about how he got all mad and threw things and stuff. And that's not good.

I do like that they make Logan hot, because he really ISN'T! Like if you saw him in a bar, you'd be like "Yeah, right, frat boy!" but they have built him up so that you like him the way you like a guy in high school who maybe isn't that hot objectively speaking you have known for a while and who has built up a kind of mystique. Oh wait. Am I talking about anyone in particular? OMG, even the same dumb frat boy necklace! Hmm...

Er. Hmm. Hate that guy. Where's Duncan, anyway?

Haiku for Veronica

Favorite girl sleuth
Infected, alone. Sad thing
Condoms are best, right?




ps. Logan is Hawt!

Sock of the Day

Hello!
Finally! Knitting content! Here's the sock I am making for Walter. We picked the yarn when he was out here. See how I'm at the toe, and almost done? Yay! There's a little yarn and tea shop on Bainbridge Island, so on our ferry field trip, I got to drool over some yarn. That's always my favorite part of any trip - the yarn. It's my favorite souvenir.

I am sorry that you smell like sawdust. I hope that no one throws peanuts on you because they think you are the floor of McSorley's. Or worse...

I love Robocop. The guinea pig. Not the other Robocop. I do not love the other Robocop.

I'm going to have to rate my weekend a 4 on a scale of 1-10. Please keep in mind that any lower would probably have to involve a trip to the emergency room, and that the Rat City Rollergirls and an America's Next Top Model viewing session are the only things that even rated the weekend THAT high.

I did find out that I was accepted in to the writing workshop with Nick Flynn (author of _Another Bullshit Night in Suck City_, and Extremely good book) at the Tomales Bay conference in October. It's good that I don't have to hang my head in shame over being rejected. That would not have been well-timed.

XOXO
H

Ode to cuteness

I should have brought your book meme to the library with me. I just spent a fruitless hour wandering the racks, looking for a new read. Everything seemed too sad, to serious, too braniac or too dumb.

Even I am over the Bridget Jones-ification of the world. Must every book for young urbane women be a rip on a Jane Austen theme?

Sophie Kinsella - Ack! How many books can a person write about being shopping-compulsive? I find shopping an incredible frikking bore anyways - unless I have a serious Mission - so reading about shopping horrifies me.

Any hoo (that's my e-mail catch-phrase, in case you were wondering) Sparky strikes me as a lovely name for a hamster (hahahahahahaha.. Sparky... strikes.... whatever). I would love a little furry, affectionate, low-maintenance pet.

Insert Eugene joke here.

Actually, one of my co-workers just got a guinea pig and, oh how my heart aches with jealousy! Every day when she gets home there is the WHEET WHEET WHHHHEEEEET-ing and the sweet sniffing nose and the warm little body and sharp little nails.

And the best? She (and her fiancé) named him Robocop.

See the photo of the cute little niblet? He even has a wee bit of lettuce that he's dropped. And you can see how much his owner loves him... she's squeezing him only a little bit.

In other news, my husband succeeded in turning our entire house into a sawdust-covered woodshop this weekend.

Apparently making a quilt rack (for his mom's 60th birthday) entails not only extremely expensive wood products ($100 worth of ebony - straight from Africa! $150 worth of first quality cherry!) and a slew of new tools (stock tip: buy Home Depot! Buy! Buy!) but also gallons and gallons of wood dust. All over my living room and kitchen. Yum.

I still smell like sawdust this morning. Oh, so charming.

On a happier note, I didn't have to throw myself into sub-freezing water at the kayaking festival. Instead, I got to sleep in (despite a woodpecker attacking our roof starting at 7am) and even made hot chocolate - FROM SCRATCH!

We were out of coffee, and I was desperate. Euge had taken the car to Massachussets and New Hampshire, on his exotic wood quest – so I couldn't just pop over to the store.

And may I say? It was delicious.

But not as yummy as a guinea pig.

Darn Blogger!