SquareGirl

An e-mail from my friend Jen...

2008-03-05T15:47:00.000-08:00

Just because it put a smile on my face, I thought I'd share. I mean what fun is it being obsessive if you don't have obsessive friends to share your obsessions with?

Hello my girlies!!!

Well, today is the DAY!! I woke up this morning and put on my Tim Gunn shirt and headed off the the Loreal Paris Make Up Room...(Ok really my bathroom) I realized I wear Loreal Paris Mineral MakeUp, cool! So, then applied my Target brand blush and eye make up over it, I guess I am just a practical model at heart. Ha! Then I headed over to the Tresamme Hair Salon (bathroom, again) where I sprayed on my Tresemme Shine Spray (which actually works really good) and brushed my hair. Wow, I just need to somehow install the "Bluefly. com Accessories wall" in my closet and they could film the show at my house. Tee Hee. Now I am off to the runway....ok actually my day of the terrible twos and a baby that enjoys spitting up on me....but once all is still and kids are in bed....you know it is time for the PROJECT RUNWAY FINALE!!!! Yippee! I will be watching with anticipation with the cool pillow made from my fabric from "Mood" (the fabric store the contestants use) courtesy of my friend, Nayeli who traveled all the way to NY and got it for me. So to all my friends who love project runway (but are not as nutty as me), enjoy the show tonight. For most of ya, I will have seen the show 2 hours before you, so give me a call if you can't stay up that late and I will give you the lowdown. : ) Love ya

: ) From your Project Runway Freeky Friend,
: ) Jen

P.S. Go Designer Jillian!!!

A less than crazy birth...

2008-02-20T23:56:00.000-08:00

Should you want to make people look at you as if you are crazy...and even express it out loud...tell them you have decided to give birth to your baby in your home with a midwife. In fact I can guarantee you will hear all the "if we were'nt in the hospital...would've (really bad thing)..." and other related yet horrific stories.

I am not a sensationalist or even a vegetarian...but after multiple birthing books and extensive research, I made the unorthodox decision to give birth to my baby at home. I didn't want to be supressed and dictated by doctors in white coats as to what I was Supposed to do and I wanted my baby to enter the world surrounded by people who loved him/her. So needless to say, I gave birth to my baby in the privacy and comfor of my own home.

So call me "crazy" for forgoing the epidural and doctors and monitors and hospital gowns...

Without drugs.

Without Doctors.

Without monitors.

But...

I had candles, and Miles Davis and a warm and comfortable birthing tub and my supportive husband and two midwives who knew me well and respected me and my body's ability to give birth without intervention and drugs. And now the amazing memory of bringing my daughter into this world peacefully and gently, surrounded by love...

I cannot imagine anything less 'crazy'...

Things I have not been able to do since becoming a mama...

2008-02-15T21:35:00.000-08:00

Sleep.
Eat a meal sitting down.
Repond to e-mails.
Go to lunch.
Get a pedicure.
Shop.
Watch a television show.
Make a social phone call.
Have a stimulating conversation.
Get a Thai masssage.
Post on my blog.

Any regrets?

Not one.

Once upon a time...

2008-01-22T23:03:00.000-08:00

I had a blog.
And I wrote posts. And I read posts. And I even commented. And then…well then life kicked into full speed ahead gear and reality took over posting and reading and commenting and well, where do I begin except just diving in by sharing that this last year which has included moving out of my groovy-stylish-bohemian apartment to a house that is near my father and mother-in-law who was diagnosed to cancer, losing my wonderful mother-in-law to cancer just before giving birth to my own beautiful daughter in my own home with the assistance of my husband and an amazing midwife. It’s been a wild ride…and when (and if) it settled, I realized that I missed the part where I shared it all with the very few but wonderful readers of my blog. So assuming anyone whoever read this are still out there…Squaregirl is now a Squaremama, but still here…older...and maybe, hopefully a little wiser.

SquareToddler

2007-01-14T00:01:00.000-08:00

Because...

1) I'm getting lazy

2) I'm developing a tendency to replace words with pictures (as I'm getting lazy as you just read)

3) SquareSis #2 has somehow located and ressurected old family photos which she is sharing with all of us Squares

Here is proof that...

1) I actually have always had my head stuck in a book as I claimed

2) I avoid, and always have avoided posing for the camera. Unlike Squaresis #2, who is obviously the ham of the Squares.

Oh, and yes, I spent a majority of my childhood nekkid...whatevver, You do see that I am in a cage afterall don't you?

Happy New Year!

2006-12-30T16:16:00.000-08:00

365 days ago, as I walked out of my apartment to see the Rose Parade's New Years floats going by as they were being set up for the next day’s Rose Parade, I marveled at the blessings I have in my life. Not only do the New Years Day Parade floats, come to little-ole-me so I don’t have to wake up at the crack of dawn to walk a mile and a half to see the parade, but instead can sit in front of my fireplace and watch them on TV drinking hot chocolate, (you say “lazy”, I say “cozy”). Needless to say, 2006 indeed HAS been a year of so many blessings. So as this is as good a place as any to express my gratitude to the Universe and reflect on all the blessings I have received, I am listing some of the things I am so grateful for:

1. Welcoming my newest niece, Avery into the world, who kept us all on our toes by not allowing us to know weather she was going to be a girl or a boy throughout the three sonograms.
2. My new Civic. It’s so much less about the material possession than about the security and peace of mind it provides me in knowing that I can safely get to wherever I need to go.
3. Inheriting a whole new, loving, kind and amazing family (in addition to the one I already had).
4. Inheriting five other nephews and nieces who ran up to me on my birthday and gave me a card that AUNTIE A2 (Not because they know about this blog, but because my name begins with an “A”) with the gift of one of their biggest fireworks for me to light.
5. My first trip to Hawaii, which after all the hype, didn’t disappoint.
6. Being able to work with the most amazing, caring, appreciative clients and families and seeing how much they are all changing and growing.
7. Marrying an amazing man who loves and supports me unconditionally…I couldn’t have done it otherwise, as my eccentricities can be quite challenging, I’m sure.
8. More material gifts that I could have ever imagined receiving or needing.

But I think one of the most amazing blessing I received this year, has been the understanding that I have always had everything I have always needed within myself and there is nothing external that I need to make me happy, because true happiness and joy comes from within…and to think, years and years of watching The Wizard of Oz and it took me nearly 33 years to figure that out!

Happy New Year Everyone! My 2007 be filled with blessings and ruby slippers for everyone, everywhere!

Christmas with the Squares...

2006-12-28T17:10:00.000-08:00

Hey, if a picture is worth a thousand words, it's as if I just typed over 5,000 words!!

It'beginning to look a lot like an Auntie Blog!!!

2006-12-18T22:41:00.001-08:00

I HATE CHRISTMAS SHOPPING! With all the hustle and bustle and such. And yet I love the sappy corniness of all the Christmas season. T.V. specials and music and “It’s a Wonderful Life”…Merry Christmas you ole South Pasadena!!! But despite my sappy, sentimental spirit, I try to avoid crowded marketplaces, yet being a sucker for my perfectly adorable and amazing nieces, I agreed (well actually suggested) to accompany SquarSis #3 to one of those new, crazy, open malls that have fake snow and restaurants, and music and stuff…oh yeah, and of course Santa. So after a delightful, yet loud meal, and visits to Santa and orders of Boba, Squaresis and I had the audacity to stop into one of our favorite clothing stores with the understanding that at any moment we may be negotiated (i.e. screamed) out. Our rampage-like collection of clothing turned into an intimate party of four in a dressing room and as Squaresis #3 tried on a pink tunicky camisole, my nearly three-year-old-angel/neice announced, “Ooooooooh, you look like a princess!” and then immediately after, when I tried on a long orange hooded sweater (that I eventually bought), told me, “Oooooooh....you look like a teacher!”

Doesn’t she say the sweetest things?

It'beginning to look a lot like an Auntie Blog!!!

2006-12-18T22:41:00.000-08:00

Giving Thanks

2006-11-24T22:27:00.000-08:00

My neices and nephews on Thanksgiving. How blessed am I??

Until Further Inspiration...

2006-10-06T22:12:00.000-07:00

I haven’t been tagged or anything like that, and I originally had an aversion to these things, but until I receive further inspiration ( I have a feeling that my office full of un-opened boxes that need to be put away has something to do with that), I thought I’d fill in with this book meme…I mean it’s about books, so I practically HAD to do it.

1. One book you have read more than once.
Well, I tear through books faster than I should to really enjoy them and if I really like the book, I immediately turn to the first page to read it again as soon as I’ve finished it. So let’s see, the short list includes, 100 Years of Solitude, House of Mirth, Like Water for Chocolate, Franny and Zooey, all Tenessee Williams plays, Jane Eyre, A Wrinkle in Time, Peter Pan, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Snow Falling on Cedars…this list could really go on and on, so I’ll just stop now. Oh yeah, and I’ve read almost every Dr. Seuss book like 80 times apiece…if those count.

2.One book you would want on a desert island.
That’s a lot of pressure. One book? Hard to say if I should choose a book I’ve read or one I’ve wanted to. This is such a big comitment, I might just have to pass…

3.One book that made you laugh.

Both of Bridget Jones Diaries’. Don’t judge me until you read them. They are hysterical.

4.One book that made you cry.
Throughout school, I was so blessed to have some amazing English teachers who recognized that I preferred having my head stuck in a book than to say…talking to people. Needless to say, almost all of my English teachers would recommend and loan books to me outside of the curriculum. Often times these books would feature, extremely shy, awkward, quirky or misfit girls (huh?, that’s an interesting coincidence…) and one of these books was Bridge to Terabithia, loaned to me by my 5th grade teacher. I hardly know a soul who has read it, but I loooooved it and while I don’t know exactly how many times I’ve actually read it, it made me cry everytime.

5.One book I wish I had written.
I’ll let you know when I write it.

6.One book you wish had never been written.
Textbook.

7.One book I am currently reading.
The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby by Tom Wolfe. I know it’s a little too groovy for a Square, but how could I pass with a title like that??

8. One book I have meant to read.
The Lord of the Rings. I mean, if my brother could read it SEVEN times (yes, he did), I can make it through the darned thing at least once!

9. One book that changed your life.
A Wrinkle in Time. I initially thought this was going to be a hard question to answer being that I loved so many books, but when I thought about it, I remembered that this book served as a sort of solace for me throughout my adolescent years as Madeline L’Engle writes about socially awkward, introverted and misunderstood teenage girls like no one else. Heck, I even had my own Charles Wallace, my bright baby brother that I ADORED and was extremely connected to. As sentimental as it sounds, this book provided me with companionship and a feeling of belonging that comforted me during a time that I could’ve felt like a complete misfit…so seriously, this book really did change my life.

Gracie and Muffin...

2006-09-16T23:51:00.000-07:00

The other day while visiting my precocious, whimsical, charming, quirky and slightly sensitive two-year-old niece Gracie, I was showing her a few photos of my private Hawaiian ceremony and said “see, there’s Uncle M.” To which she sweetly leaned over on the sofa and asked “Is he your boyfriend” (only it was like “boyshen’). Of course although I have no idea where she came up with this, I told her “well actually he’s my husband…we’re married. Do you know who else is married? Auntie Well and Uncle R are married and Amaxti and Papas are married…”

“And I can marry MAMA!!!!!” she announced excitedly…to which I told her, “You know who mama is married to? She’s married to dada!” Inadvertantly causing her to begin to get upset and well up with tears realizing she was the only one being left out of this whole marriage thing apparently. I didn’t quite know what to tell her, but she seemed to calm herself down and started to smile and announced “I can marry Muffin!”

“Sure! You can marry Muffin” I told her, turning to my sister to ask her if “Muffin” was a character from one of her books or television show or somewhere.

“No,” my sister informed me. “She’s talking about a muffin. Gracie loves to eat muffins.”

I see.

Crisis averted.

I think?

Things to love about Hawaii...

2006-09-08T19:07:00.000-07:00

1. The beaches. I had never been to Hawaii so I was uncertain about what to expect and a little worried that it was all gonna be too touristy and crowded, but it turns out there are so many beaches that you can find exactly the one that suits you, including fairly secluded ones and whichever beach you choose has the clearest water, you can actually see your own feet!! I was in Santa Barbara last week and I actually said “Ick” when I saw the beach and imeediately realized that I have become a spoiled brat.

2. The Aloha Spirit. Everyone kept talking about this “Aloha Spirit” and until I was actually in Hawaii, I couldn’t fully appreciate the laid back, calm, friendly vibe the island seems to create. I loved it! Hawaiin culture does tend to have a bit of corniness with their Ukelele’s and Hawaiin shirts and spam (the canned meat not the kind you get e-mailed to you) and grass bedskirts, but in Hawaii it somehow all just works and you are overcome with the Aloha Spirit and come to embrace what you once viewed as a little corny.

3. The clouds. They move so quickly in Hawaii, you can’t help but remember how to cloudwatch.

4. Ice. You can literally make a meal of just ice…well and syrup too. I am quite the healthy eater, but after a morning in the water and sun a cup of shaved ice turns out to be quite satisfying. I strongly recommend adding a scoop of ice cream at the bottom. I know what you are thinking “Ice AND Ice cream together Square? Now that’s just craaaaazy talk!”, but trust me it’s a combination made in the paradise that is Hawaii.

5. Aloha. It means both “goodbye” AND “hello” as well as “I love you”. You’d think that’d get confusing, but it doesn’t.

6. The flowers and plantlife. Beautiful!! And soooo fragrant!

7. The culture. Hawaii has a rich culture and history that most local Hawaiins seeem to value and respect, which is something that seems to be missing in most America…there is an amazing respect for the land and Hawaii’s history, which is typically passed down orally and through chanting…we wer’e both blessed to get to hear our first Hawaiin chant at our wedding ceremony.

8. The rainbows. When I first saw that the Hawaiin lisence plates were white with a rainbow on them, I thought it was kinda silly. This of course was until I realized that you see so many rainbows in Hawaii. I saw three in one day (the day before our ceremony) and was told by Manulele (our officiant) that this was a very good sign.

9. The Sunsets. Amazing. Even the dogs stop to enjoy the sunset.

Aloha!
SquareGirl

goin' to Hawai'i...

2006-08-07T21:59:00.000-07:00

...and I’m gonna get marararied…

No Church, just sand…ahhhhh.

No rows of guests, just fish…ahhhh.

No uncomfortable shoes, just our bare feet in the sand…ahhhh.

No photos…well, maybe a couple photos.

No reception, no parties, no candle lighting, no bridal party, no stress, just the ocean and the sand and the seagulls and me and my guy and the minister and an orchid or two…ahhhhhhhhhhhh.

Not that I've been very actively bloggin lately, I'll see you all in a couple weeks!

SquareGirl’s Movie Trailer Reviews #5

2006-08-04T23:42:00.000-07:00

Because apparently I have lost all inspiration or creativity to write anything else (I blame the weather…it is darn hot here in So. Cal. It must be depleting some brain cells)

Little Miss Sunshine

Hysterical. A must see. A trailer about a dysfunctional family including a teenage son who has voluntarily given up on speaking because of his devotion towards Neitzche, a melancholy Steve Carrell (you know, the guy from the Office and the 40-Year-Old-Virgin) who is depressed over losing the love of his life,who was a graduate student of his and also a male, an overly optimistic motivational speaker played by Greg Kinnear, who has a drug addicted father and a plain-jane (yet adorable in her own way) daughter who has by default, made a place in the “Little Miss Sunshine” pageant many, many miles a way. I literally laughed out loud.

Snakes on a plane

Seriously. This is a movie trailer about snakes. On a plane. This is a movie trailer about Snakes ON a plane. I’m not kidding you. Snakes snaking through the aisles, lunging at passengers…on a plane. Yes, the entire trailer features scary snakes aboard a plane. And no, it’s not a joke (I was suspicious). And for some reason Samuel L. Jackson is in it as apparently playing a Jedi Knight does not actually give one the wisdom and sense one might expect. Warning: This trailer is not for the skeptical of heart.

Spiderman 3

Oooooohhh. We have finally reached the point of the series where the superhero explores his darker side. So in this movie we get a much darker (and I literally mean darker, his suit turns from red and blue to black) Spiderman. There are inferences of betrayal (shots that imply that Mary Jane is gonna kiss that guy who used to be Parker’s BFF and Parker grasping at what appears to be his wedding band floating away from him). Being that I’m a sucker for Superhero trailers, I thought this one was pretty good and would definitely recommend you arrive early to Pirates of The Carribean: Dead Man’s Chest in order to catch it.

SquareGirl’s Movie Trailer Reviews #4 (at least I think it’s #4)

2006-07-10T23:17:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: I ended up seeing like a cajillion movie trailers (okay maybe not a cajillion, but at least eight) so I will only review the ones I remember. And of course even those that I remember I may have forgotten important details. The titles for instance.

FUN FUR ALL

Get it? Fun “Fur” all? Hahaha. I never would have thunk of that! Needless to say, this trailer was about a bear, a domesticated bear in fact who lived in a garage and was named Boog (or something like that, and even had a doggie, I mean Bearrie bowl with his name on it), until one day a (sorry I have no idea what kind of animal it was only that it was voiced by Ashton Kuther) introduces Boog to the wild and then hijinks ensue. There are lots of furry critters eating wood and protecting themselves against hunters ETCETERA, ETCETERA.

THE ANT BULLY

Yes, another animated animal movie, because we absolutely cannot get enough of those I suppose. There is a boy and some ants who shrink the boy down to ant-size and an exterminator who the shrunk-down boy rallies the ants against and that’s all I remember before the next animal movie trailer called…

CHARLOTTES WEB!

Ta Daaaaah! WOW! Special effects have finally evolved to the point where we can now make Charlottes Web with REAL LIVE actors! And of course the fact that there is a girl under the age of thirteen in the book/cartoon/movie, we should all not be surprised that Dakota Fanning plays Fern. And Julia Roberts voices Charlotte (and by the way, I forgot to mention that she also plays a voice in THE ANT BULLY, which would be pretty unimportant except for the fact that she voices not one but TWO insects, assuming a spider is an insect which if I remember it isn’t, this summer).

THE ESCAPE CLAUSE

I think it’’s actually SANTA CLAUSE:3 The Escape Clause, but being that I never realized there was a Santa Clause 2, I’ll use THE ESCAPE CLAUSE as the title to this trailer. Anayways, Tim Allen as Mr. Clause again and Martin Short as Jack Frost who resents Santa’s popularity and attempts to usurp that, eventually taking advantage of the “Escape Clause” reversing time and discovering dead Santa’s body and becoming Santa instead of Tim Allen and to be honest I suppose you had to be there. Funny, because Martin Short makes me laugh for the most part.

Square's turning 33!

2006-07-03T21:22:00.000-07:00

I tend to accumulate nicknames. Very few people who know me well actually call me by my real first name. And I say I accumulate nicknameS because I have several. In fact it can be very convenient because depending on what my friends call me reminds me of when and where I met them. In college for example I was initially “Alanis” (it was when Alanis Morrisette was popular…and no it wasn’t because I was an angry female or a singer), which became “Atlantis” which became “Space Shuttle Atlantis” or “Lost city of Atlantis” whenever I said something that made me sound, well, spacey. Or lost. I heard that one quite often. I was always referred to as “Atlantis” and often people were surprised when they found out that “Atlantis” wasn’t actually my name. I must make it clear that I have never CHOSEN the nicknames I’ve acquired (no, not even SquareGirl), but I learned it is best not to attempt to avoid them. Just sigh and accept they are a part of who you are, and then you can actually enjoy being say “Square” rather than try to convince yourself your actually cool.

Tomorrow is Independence day here in the good ole US of A and happens to be my birthday (I’ll be 33 so technically not a “girl”, but “SquareGirl” nonetheless) and for this reason and the fact that apparently I look like an all-American gal, I am referred to as “Miss America” by a specific group of friends. It is my least favorite nickname, but just as I’ve learned to accept my squareness, I’m coming to terms with it.

So Happy Independence Day to any American Square enough to be blogging today! And if you get a chance, light a sparkler in the name of all Squares everywhere!

Me and my auntie Square!

2006-06-25T09:07:00.000-07:00

Today get to take care of my nephew while my sister and brother-in-law go to the Dodger game (as Dodger Stadium is ten minutes from my apartment). And while I babysit quite often, it is usually AT the location of my neices or nephew's, thus in a more baby proof environment. The last time I watched my nephew at my place I realized just how NON-babyproof my apartment actually is and wrote this post on another site:

Dear Mamma and D-A-D Dad,
I like our house and all, really I do, but after hangin out at auntie Square’s last night I realized that our house really isn’t very baby FRIENDLY after all. Let me show you what I mean…

See! SquareGirl's doors actually OPEN and are not stuck together (by the way, her toilet seat opens too). and why is this? That’s because Auntie Square TRUSTS me mom…you ever hear of that word? "TRUST"? Maybe YOU should try it sometime.

Oh yes, and the shelves…look at all these fun things for me to pull down...er I mean, look at.

Auntie Square has an actual fireplace, the perfect size for me to walk into. I tried.

See that vase behind me? It is totally real live genuine GLASS. And these candleholders? Much better than any of the toys you sent with me.

And let’s talk about the television set…It’s my perfect height! I can touch it and everything! AND auntie Square let ME hold the remote…see? I liked the news. That Sesame Street DVD is getting a little old.

Oh yeah, and that whole eating in a high chair thing you make me do? Well auntie Square doesn’t believe in those restrictive chairs so at her house eating time is actually fun…eat a bite and run, another bite then play some more…really mom, you can learn a thing or two from her.

All in all it was a wonderful night with my auntie Square, and I am quite sure that midway through the evening, she could hardly even wait to start having kids of her own.

Love,
Your son

I think this time I'll take him to the park.

So glad i'm it!

2006-06-22T20:16:00.000-07:00

Upon completing this post, I became very glad about being tagged by MOM-NOS as it gave me a good reason to go back into her archives and re-read some of my favorite Bud posts, so thanks MOM-NOS for including me in this game of tag.

I’m generally not a fan of tag and probably normally wouldn’t want to participate, but I’ve been tagged by MOM-NOS who happens to be one of my favorite bloggers of the entire blogosphere. Her blog is one of the first I ever discovered and fell in love with her writing and her son Bud so much so that hers is the first and only blog that I went through and read EVERY. SINGLE . POST. So for her and Bud, I am actually more than happy to join this game of tag. So here goes…

Oh and if you haven’t been reading MOM-NOS, I suggest you skip this list and hop right on over there right now and get acquainted with her entertaining, charming, stunning, heart-warming and occasionally heart-wrenching posts about her experiences with her delightful son Bud.

5 things in my refrigerator

Tortillas (always, always, always have tortillas in my fridge…their my staple)

Tomato juice (that I bought over a month ago because I had an unexplainable craving for it when I was at the grocery store and have yet to even open it)

Snow peas

Easy home-made chili/salsa (a small can of tomato sauce, fresh chopped cilantro, finely chopped onion, chopped serano chili, crushed red pepper flakes…I like mine really spicy and put it on everything, eggs, chicken, baked potato…yum!)

Garlic (another Square staple)

5 things in my closet (significantly less than before now that I’ve cleaned a lot of it out)

My Clippers Hat

Make that two Clippers caps and two Clippers beanies.

That’s five! ...oh wait, it’s actually four.

My favorite groovy embroidered scarf.

5 things in my purse

A travel-size dental pick (gross, I know, but not as gross as stuff in your teeth…did I mention that my childhood dream was to become a dentist?)

Postage stamps (cause you never know when you’re gonna need postage stamps)

3 library cards (that reminds me, I have an overdue book that I need to return tomorrow)

A keychain with photos of my niece and nephew (gonna update to include my newest niece when I get a photo)

A rubber band (Because a Squaregirl needs to be able to throw her hair up in a moments notice)

5 things in my car (mind you, it’s new-ish, so there is really not much)

An extension for an ipod (I don’t actually own an ipod, but I’ve actually used the extension when other people with ipod’s were in my car)

Change (for meters and newspaper and postage stamps and stuff. I realized after I traded in my Jetta that I actually still had at leas forty dollars in change in the ashtray, darnit!)

Various CD’s (Curious George soundtrack, Depeche Mode, Indigo Girls, David Bowie, Lyle Lovett, Johnny Cash, U2...my music taste is somewhat eclectic)

Post-it notes with a principal or positive phrase to contemplate for the day (Yes, I know…I sound like a nut!)

A Thomas Guide (I live in Southern California, so it’s a must for me)

5 friends I am tagging (hmmmm, never been a huge fan of tag and not great with rules, so I’m not gonna pressure anyone to do this, but lemesee…)

Minka (unless you’ve done this one)

You know, Almost all the other blogs I read have either already done this, or I can’t imagine that they would…so anyone who might, Tag. You are now it.

I have c-list celebrities calling me now!

2006-06-21T21:57:00.000-07:00

This evening I received a phone message from Carmen Electra. Really. Yes it sounded like a recorded message, but nonetheless it went something like this: "Heeellloooo there! It's me Carmen Eelllleeeectraaa and I had to call to say heeelooo and tell you how I've teamed up with Dr. Phil.." (hold on there...what the heck? Carmen Electra and Dr. Phil? Is this for reals?) "...to team up with a new numner that you can call to meet up with available singles in your area..."

I can't tell you the rest.

Because I hung up.

Seriously? Carmen Electra and Dr. Phil? A dating servie?

No thanks.

And I really wish I were making this all up...

Happy Birthday Paul McCartney!

2006-06-19T18:43:00.000-07:00

Hope you got the valentine birthday greeting and the bottle of wine!

And of course we still need you and surely someone will feed you now that your sixty-four!

What a Mess!

2006-06-16T18:23:00.000-07:00

This has been my 2 year old nieces newest favorite catch phrase, which she uses whenever she anything out of place or say drops like 2 cheerios, being quite the fastidious little girl. Needless to say, my home sweet home has become quite the mess with piles of clothes draped here and there, as I begin the process of simplifying, re-organizing and downsizing, getting the energy flowing if you will, in my living space. I won’t bore you with details here, but BIG changes are on the horizon for this Square…

So in my downsizing efforts, I have chosen to start with the closets (yes “closets”, I have three). I have resisted doing so in quite a while, mostly because it means admitting to myself that I will never be the effortless size six I used to be and because I really like some of my smaller clothes, I have maintained the delusion that I would be able to wear them again one day.

But I’m stepping into reality. My niece (well she’s not technically my niece, but my “niece” nonetheless) is graduating from high school today and will be working at USC over the summer so although her style is more of the groovy, punk, mod eighties thing that kids are doing these days, she’s always liked my clothes and tells me she’d be more than happy to inherit some of them, making it much easier for me to detatch from them knowing that someone will appreciate them (yes, I know, it’s only clothes).

Needless to say, I am creating different piles of clothes around my house based on where they will be going and I am actually realizing quite a lot by looking at things I used to wear…

For example, see that dress with the groovy print? Well, by hanging it in the window, I am realizing that it is quite, er, transparent. And while I can’t remember exactly everytime I wore this dress, I do know that I once wore it to a Picasso exhibit at the Norton Simon museum a few years back, and to everyone there, I apologize…I am just not fussy enough of a person to wear slips and such...but I really had no idea exactly how sheer it actually was…so I really hope you’ll accept my apology…

And that turquoise shirt, pretty huh? Well at least I think so…It’s actually Versace and the most design-ery piece of clothing I have ever owned, bought for me by my good friend Chris...(Dear Chris, I appreciate the shirt, really I do, it is soooo my color. And I know that in your five foot, ninety-five pound, size zero world that this “Large” actually seems large, BUT seriously girl, that is not a “large” shirt…well, I hope not at least).

Does it look “large” to any of you?

Needless to say, I have only just begun…after the closets comes the bigger projects, i.e. dismantling my office/guest bedroom that rarely gets used, moving my current bedroom into aforementioned office/guest bedroom, moving my television into my current bedroom, re-painting the walls a new color (don’t actually know what color yet) No more T.V. in the livingroom, more yoga and reading, less STUFF. I am in the process of further simplifying my life and unplugging…Of course something tells my DSL will be the last to go…

I suppose it's gonna get messier in order to get better, but isn't that how it always goes?

Have you ever...

2006-06-15T20:35:00.000-07:00

suddenly heard loud music right outside of your house and gone to the window to see if there’s a guy with a trench coat holding a boom box over his head (Not necessarily in your direction of course).

No?

Oh.

Um, me neither.

Conversations with MamaSquare

2006-06-14T20:19:00.000-07:00

SquareSis, you'll appreciate this one!

MamaSquare has a tendency to start her dialogue in what sounds like the middle of a conversation. My theory is that she can never remember which part of which conversation she has had with each of her five children and seems to think that we must all telepathically communicate and know what she has told one or the other of us. When we lived together it was easier…we can piece together parts of our own conversation with her to collectively come up with one sensible (depending on how you look at it) conversation. But my MamaSquare tends to call me and begin talking to me with the assumption that I’m up to speed…and our conversations tend to be pretty amusing to me (although indeed very serious and important to her). Last Friday night the phone rang and our conversation went something like this:

SG: Hey mom! (I have caller ID)

MamaSq: Hey beautiful! (we’re all “beautiful” or “pumpkin” usually) So you can get a bowl or a leash or a collar…

SG: Huh? Wait, mom, what are you talking about?

MS: For your father.

SG: I see…why a bowl and a leash?

MS: Oh, well I got him a puppy. For Father’s day.

SG: Wait! Is Father’s day this Sunday? And I thought you said you weren’t getting a dog again? (Which she’s been saying adamantly for the last four years when our family dog went to doggie heaven. In fact were instructed to NEVER get her a dog EVER AGAIN.)

MS: Not this Sunday, the next Sunday. And I had to.

SG: I see, you had to…why did you “have to” again.

MS: Well you know me and you know how I say things without even thinking about it, well when me and your father were looking at the house tonight (after moving out of the old Victorian house that we grew up in being that all five kids had moved out and the house was HUGE, my parents decided to have a much smaller house built and it is currently in construction…needless to say the smaller house has four bedrooms and an office) I told him “well I guess now I have to get you a dog”…and his eyes lit up so I HAD to get one.

SG: Clearly. You HAD to get him one after making such a binding commitment. Wait, you said that to him tonight?

MS: Yes

SG: And you say you already have the dog.

MS: Yes. A golden retriever. It’s a girl and she doesn’t have a name yet because we want to get to know her better and find a name that matches her personality.

SG: How did you find this golden retriever? (coincidentally the breed of our beloved Goldie)

MS: Well turns out there were some in Covina so we went by and got one…so she needs a bowl and a leash and a collar and…oh wait! I have to get that call, I’ll call you right back.

She didn’t. Don't worry, I din't expect her to.

Square Girl's Weekend Movie Trailer Reviews #3

2006-06-11T18:06:00.000-07:00

THE LAKE HOUSE

As much as I appreciate the whole concept of the bending of the space and time continuum, this trailer about a woman (Sandra Bullock) living in a Lake House 2 years after a man (Keanu Reeves) lived there, yet somehow they were somehow there at the same time and date and could communicate with each other via letters. Highlights include Sandra leaving a scarf with a note explaining that there was a freak blizzard that day two years earlier (when he was living there) and a note from Sandra saying she missed the Lake House prompting Keanu to plant a tree from the Lake outside of her city apartment, that two years later (when Sandra’s) there is a fully grown tree. To be honest the trailer seemed a little silly to me…

LOWER CITY

Narrator: “Two friends” (screen shot of two men, obviously friends)

Narrator: “One woman” (screen shots of an attractive women)

This is followed by screen shots of the friends and the woman together (and narration I can’t remember). And a rapid succession of screenshots of the each friends with the woman, dancing, kissing, throwing glass bottles at wall.

SG's review: Huh?

WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR?

Interesting. Very interesting. This trailer starts by reminding us all that ten years ago we had a sleek, fast, cost-effective electric car that insured that our dependency on oil would be resolved by this car. It included footage of Tom Hanks praising it on David Letterman and some other various celebrity endorsement.

But! Dun, dun, dun…whatever happened to this amazing invention? Why did the electric car mysteriously disappear? Well according to our narrator (not the same narrator from “Lower City” by the way), the business of selling oil is not over as there is over a trillion dollars worth of oil still to be tapped into and sold. In other words, get this people, it is ALL ABOUT MONEY! GASP! Say it isn’t so in this ethical and honest country of ours! The trailer ends with Huell Howser interviewing one of the men in the junkyard who is shredding the electric cars asking why these cars are being destroyed and the man responding with “I don’t know. It’s just a mystery.”

Mysterious indeed!