Inside My Head

Under Attack in the Snow!

2009-12-20T08:29:00.000-05:00

So last night was supposed to be the Blizzard of '09. And it happened, all right. I had a bit of deja vu in the midst of it. This happened to me the last time we had a big storm, but at the time, I didn't remember it. I've even written a blog post about it. If you've read it, it's just the same story. If you haven't, here's what happened.

I kept hearing this loud noise, half asleep, and I was thinking, "I've seen the Stealth Bomber before, I know what it sounds like. I wonder why it's flying right now?"

5 minutes later:

"It's the Stealth Bomber again. What's going on? Is there some winter show?"

10 minutes later, the "Stealth Bomber" "flew overhead" again, but this time, there was a big boom sound right in front of my house. That's what woke me up at 3 AM. I thought, "There's the Stealth Bomber, and...Oh my god, we're being bombed!"

I freaked out, and woke up, and looked outside to see...a snowplow. I don't know what it kept hitting, but right in front of my house there was a pothole, or a manhole cover, or something, so that you'd hear the loud roar of the snowplow (which sounds exactly like the Stealth Bomber, by the way), and then a huge boom, as it went over the hole right in front of my house. And a snowplow went by every 5 minutes--I timed it. I should be happy that my town is so vigilant about keeping the streets cleared, but my god, it was a pain in the ass at 3 AM. I had a hard time falling asleep again, but eventually I did.

And that's the story of how we got bombed in Brookline in the snow.

Shelby's Sleeping Lean

2009-11-22T06:56:00.000-05:00

This is Shelby, leaning on a pillow made by my friend Amy. Watching Shelby sleep is one of my favorite pastimes. How cute is she? No, really, I'm asking. I want to tell you that I hope you have someone in your life that makes you feel giddy inside when you look at her/him, like I feel when I look at Shelby sleeping. Warm fuzzies.

Pure Love

2009-11-22T06:52:00.000-05:00

One of the last times I went to New York City, I had this for lunch. I've done this post before, with a different burger and shake. I said it then, and I'll say it now. Ain't nothing like a cheeseburger and chocolate shake from a coffee shop (aka, a diner) in New York City. You can't get a meal like this anywhere else. It brings tears to my eyes, and saliva to my mouth.

I Love When Stuff Like This Happens

2009-11-22T05:47:00.000-05:00

The other day at school, a parent came in with his baby in the baby carrier. He had to take his older child to the bathroom, so he said to me, "I'll just put the baby here in the corner.", and he put her down. And that's right, Dirty Dancing fans, I said it:

"No one puts baby in a corner!" Thank you, Jennifer Grey.

Things Kids Say in Preschool

2009-11-15T23:15:00.000-05:00

Vic: Mama says, "Touch your own winky!"

Saoirse to me: Do you know how to say "hi" in African?

Me: No.

Saoirse: Me neither.

Letter to Dad

2009-11-13T07:29:00.000-05:00

Dear Dad,

Recently, I've come into a little bit of money. I can now afford to pay for you to come to Boston and stay in a nice hotel for the weekend. I'm going to the opera tonight, and I'd like you to go with me. It's Carmen, my favorite. I think I've seen it with you twice. You know how you always tell me the plot of the opera on the way over to the Met, in the cab? Even though I've seen it twice, I want you to tell me again. You're a good plot teller.

I'll pay for you to take the Acela train over here. It's comfortable, especially in business class. I've made a bunch of trips back and forth to NYC over the past two years.

So, whaddaya say? Want to come to Boston? I have the money. Oh shit. I just remembered something. I have the money because you died. Fuck.

Quotes of the Day

2009-11-05T17:06:00.000-05:00

I was at the Science Museum, and a volunteer was showing a kid, about 8 years old, a model of the human skeleton.

Volunteer: Now, look at this...

Kid: You kill people?!

***************************************************

Kaden, 4, was telling me about sports teams his dad liked:

The football team that my dad votes for is The Patriots.

***************************************************

Madeline, almost 4, told me about a new member of the family for one of her friends:

My friends rented a baby.

Alex: What's that?

Madeline: It's when someone else had a baby in her tummy, and had the baby, and gave it to them.

Halloween NIght 09

2009-11-01T07:01:00.000-05:00

Last night was one of the best Trick or Treat nights we've ever had at our house. We got lots of big groups of kids, and lots of older kids (i.e. high school), which I don't mind at all. They're fun to mess with. My three favorite costumes are pictured above. First, there's Obama, with his Obama mask and blue Oxford shirt. I said to the kid, "Oh, you're Obama?", he nodded, and without missing a beat, the kid in the Jason mask said, "I'm a Republican." Oh god, gotta love those liberal parents!

The Facebook page needs no explanation. Love it!

I had some 12 year olds come to our porch with cell phones, digging into our candy bowls while on the phone. I put a stop to that. I said, "You better say 'hold on' and say 'Trick or Treat to me!'" They did, and I emphasized the rudeness of being on a call while taking candy from strangers.

Seems like people really got into the Halloween spirit this year, maybe because it was Saturday night? While running around during the day, I saw a lot of adults in costume on the subway. Saw a couple of Willy Wonkas, some really great Oompah Loompahs, a Mad Hatter, and my favorite on the subway: The Man with the Yellow Hat and Curious George.

Happy post Halloween, everyone! No candy left, and an extra hour of sleep. Things are lookin' good.

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T10:01:00.002-04:00

That's Why They Call Me The Enforcer

2009-10-31T09:54:00.000-04:00

My good friend Emily and her son Sumner were having a conversation. Sumer's a former preschool student of mine. I'm a teacher at Corner Co-op Nursery School, and Rosie is the Teacher/Director, i.e., my boss.

Sumner: Mom, Alex is in charge of the Corner Co-op, isn't she?

Emily: No; actually, Sumner, Rosie's in charge.

Sumner: Alex kind of acts like she's in charge. But I always thought that Rosie should be in charge.

CVS--Cashier Very Sad

2009-10-25T16:04:00.000-04:00

I just had a depressing visit to CVS. I had to make photo prints for school, and I had to get milk. I made the prints at the NEW PRINT STATION!, where they print out your pics immediately and then give you a receipt that doesn't have the price on it.

I got the milk, and noticed that they also had yogurt and eggs. I need breakfast for tomorrow, so I got those too. It depressed me to buy my eggs at CVS; call me a snob.

So I went to the register and I handed the cashier guy my receipt. This guy seems depressed. He's one of those quiet, greasy haired lonely guys who doesn't like his job. I asked him how the new system worked--did I give him the receipt and he'd tell me how much it was? He said, "No, just tell me how many prints you made." I was trying to remember, but then he scanned the receipt and told me how many. I told him that it was an "interesting" system; I mean, theoretically, I could make 50 prints and tell him I made 10, or not say anything, and walk out of the store. He said, "You wouldn't do that, would you?" Of course I wouldn't, but..."I'm just telling you, for your design system." He replied, "If I designed systems, I wouldn't be working the cash register."

To which I said, "GOT it!" and beat it out of there. Oh god. I'm glad I'm a happy person and that I love my job. This particular CVS has so many characters. There's the pharmacist who looks like early man, the mousy depressed cashier, and a new cashier/manager guy who reminds me of the "bad" brother from Slumdog Millionaire. He's very nice, but just a little too slick. Thing is, this CVS is 2 blocks from my house, so I go there all the time. Never a dull moment, I guess.

M.I.A. - Paper Planes

2009-10-22T17:47:00.001-04:00

I just got the soundtrack to Slumdog Milllionaire the other day. One of my favorite songs is "Paper Planes" by M.I.A. I played it for the kids at school over and over, until I brought it home and really listened to it. I realized that part of the song is the sound of gunfire followed by a cash register. Oops. Not a lesson I'd like to impart to my little ones. But I still love the song.

Heinous Halloween

2009-10-17T07:45:00.000-04:00

What? You didn't want to just get rid of the tree???

I can't wait to see what it looks like at Christmas.

Puzzled

2009-10-08T20:43:00.000-04:00

We have this puzzle at school. I call it "Breaking and Entering". You'll notice that the chain slide lock on the top right was totally broken off. Who knows where the kid who did that is now. Hopefully not in the Big House; maybe he or she is an engineer.

Sweet Enough?

2009-10-08T18:57:00.000-04:00

Last night I had dinner with my friend Melissa. She had made cookies from the South Beach Diet book; they only had 3 ingredients: peanut butter, Splenda, and an egg. The cookies came out sort of crumbly, and by the time they reached me in a Ziploc bag in Melissa's purse, they looked like the topping on a sundae. She asked if they were too "Spelenda-y", and I didn't think they were, though the aftertaste was a little reminiscent of artificial sweetener, which I dislike.

I told her no problem, we'd go over to the local ice cream joint and I'd sprinkle the peanut butter crumble on top of some frozen yogurt, which I figured would be healthier than ice cream. I ordered some NS vanilla yogurt, and asked, after I placed my order, what the "NS" stood for. I was told "no sugar", and Melissa asked what it was sweetened with. We were told, "Splenda, and sometimes NutraSweet." Great.

I got home and ate most of my dessert. Tonight I think I'll have one of the Fudgsicles in my freezer.

Soak

2009-10-01T20:53:00.000-04:00

I went into the kitchen to wash some dishes, when I accidentally came upon Fork taking a bubble bath. Sorry, Fork, I didn't see nuthin'. Sponge, on the other hand, was definitely trying to sneak a peek.

Whoops-the fur edition

2009-09-30T07:27:00.000-04:00

The other day I took out the rubber kitty brush/massager and gave Shelby a good treatment. She loved it. After awhile, there was a huge pile of fur collected, enough to maybe knit a sweater. Her fur was so soft afterwards. The next morning, as Shelby was eating her breakfast, I noticed a bald spot on her back. Oops. Guess I got a little too into it. Sorry, Shelby, hope it grows back soon!

Post #600!

2009-09-29T22:28:00.000-04:00

I found this photo while looking through my photo library, and I don't think I had posted it. My friend Courtney and I like leopard print. A lot.

In Sync on iPods

2009-09-29T22:25:00.000-04:00

Today a guy on a bike passed me as I was crossing the street, and I realized we were both listening to George Michael on our iPods at the same time. I was listening to a ballad, "John and Elvis are Dead", and he was listening to "Flawless". I knew, because he was singing, "You've got to go to the city..." I thought that was pretty cool. And random. We love you, George!

It's Fall

2009-09-28T18:48:00.000-04:00

Important Call

2009-09-25T16:22:00.000-04:00

Today I heard an interesting ring tone. It sounded almost like an ambulance siren; it was called "Alarm". I commented on it to the man whose phone it was, and he said that was the special ring tone assigned to his wife. I had to keep my laughter to myself as he answered the phone. I almost had to go into the next room.

Shelby's Sleeping Safety Spots

2009-09-22T13:32:00.000-04:00

Shelby often likes to sleep with at least two body parts touching an object. Here are some examples:

From the top: This is her special corner. I had put the fan there after I took it out of the window, and she immediately used it as a napping leaning place. Back touching the fan, feet on the books and table leg.

Next: close up of feet touching books and table leg. They must touch.

Next: Face mushed into green chair.

Next: Paw touching corner of loft.

Next: Face mushed into loveseat.

South Beach Diet in Pics

2009-09-21T18:53:00.000-04:00

Big ass salad (and yes, I like to eat my salad with chopsticks), oatmeal with blueberries, walnuts, and cinnamon, NO sugar, sirloin burger w/grape tomatoes & onions instead of ketchup (and yes, I like my burgers well done), grape tomatoes w/mozzarella & balsamic vinegar, and my first shopping cart full of SBD food. It's expensive, and time consuming, but it's made me a better cook, and I take time to prepare food instead of whipping something up in a microwave or going out. AND I've even learned to like V-8 juice. A lot!

South Beach Diet--Wanna Try It?

2009-09-21T18:41:00.000-04:00

I haven't even talked about being on the South Beach Diet. I started it on June 29th, when I weighed an average of 115 pounds. I've weighed myself every day for the past 2 years or so. Back in...hold on, let me get my calendar. Back in January of 2007, I weighed an average of 107.5 lbs. December 2007? 112. June 2009? 115. You see where I'm going with this. I know, at 41, that I can't eat whatever I want anymore. Metabolism has slowed. Took me about 3 years to accept that. When I saw 117 on my scale one day, I decided that enough was enough, it was time to get drastic. Plus I had just gotten a back tat, and back tat + back fat = ick. And muffin tops should stay on baked goods.

Now listen, I know this is all relative. I know most people would kill to be 117 lbs. But I'm 5'1", I'm very small. Curvy, but small. I didn't feel good at 117. Or 115. I wanted to lose 10 lbs. and be 105, which is not unheard of for a woman of 5'1". I went through my 20's at an even 100 lbs., and I thought that was my adult weight. HA!

A friend of mine told me she lost 25 lbs. on the SBD. I was inspired by her tale, and got the book. I was mentally prepared, and I did it. I've been 108 for about a month, and only have 3 more lbs. to go. If you're intrigued, buy the book. I just wanted to say a few things about what I've learned.

*Phase 1 is very very important. It helped me to kick (actually, greatly reduce) my muffin/cake/cookie habit.
*In order to keep weight off, I believe you must eat at least one big salad every day; it helps to have a small salad with dinner, too.
*Another tip to keeping weight off--eat sweets once a week. See how nicely that flows off the tongue? Any more, and you'll gain. I know how to gain and lose half a pound like a pro. And when you eat a sweet, make it only a little bit. Like half a muffin. Or a few bites of whatever.
*Nuts, lowfat cheese, and Fage yogurt with fresh fruit you add to it are great snacks for mid-morning and mid-afternoon (note, one of those, not all three).

I also workout with a personal trainer semi-regularly, and I walk everywhere. I don't drive. Good luck to you, if you want to do this, and thanks for reading. Leave a comment if you need support/tips.

(to my special friend who almost passed out in the mall after being on SBD, I wish I had been there for you)

Even a Three Year Old Can Do It!

2009-09-21T17:55:00.001-04:00

I played charades with a 3 year old. His mom said, "We went to New York City and saw...", and Rowan made one movement with his hands, pushing them down forcefully. I guessed, "Stomp!" I was right. I'll remember to bring Rowan as my partner if I'm ever on a game show.