Four-Dee!

I love it. I went over to my friend Lisa's house yesterday to enjoy yet another lovely play date with her and her kids. She was telling me about how, in the Spirit of 40, (even though she's not even close, the young whipper-snap!) she started taking swimming lessons! That may seem like sort of a benign statement--but when you realize she is trying to improve her stroke and abilities so that she can participate in a triathlon, which has been a long-time goal of hers, you understand just how impressive that is. Rock on, Lisa! That's so metal! I'm totally impressed with anyone that does any sort of 'thon'. I may try my hand at 'running' every so often, but doing it seriously and in a race in front of a lot of people is just so not me. There was Kim as well with her half-marathon, getting a medal and everything. (if you look closely you can see said medal in the photo!) Women who rock, women who are pushin' it, Four-Dee!

Of course the Spirit of 40 and doing something metal isn't only for sporty stuff, or only women-- oh no. I am remembering this guy I know who decided out of the blue to audition for the musical Vivian was in last year, Jesus Christ Superstar. He had never done anything like that in his life...never acted, never sang in front of people. But it was something he had always wanted to do, and he got up there and did it. I was totally impressed! He picked what is probably one of the most difficult musicals to sing, too!

And 40 is something you can do in your every day life, as well. Not long ago Stephanie and I were out for coffee at Starbucks--on one of our lovely weekly Friday coffee dates! hooray!--and the Americanos we got were, well, very American. Bland city. It definitely needed more coffee oomph. In the not-so-distant past I never would have said anything, I would have just gone on drinking it and hating every sip. But The 40 took hold and I took my cup AND Stephanie's cup and asked--very kindly, that is the key of course--if they could add another shot of espresso. I offered to pay for it, but the barista was very nice and did us up right for no extra charge. Yeah! Ask for what you want, people. Put yourself out there! Be 40, be Metal.

OK, I'm done cheerleading for today. It is Friday, after all. No exciting plans for this weekend here, maybe just a game night with our friend Tony on Sunday. (which for me IS total excitement!) But it IS Friday after all, and I'm getting ready to meet my date Stephanie for our coffee! Woo! A great way to start the weekend. Maybe this time I won't have to ask for stronger coffee--but if I have to, I will, damnit!

Lucky

Another day, another blog entry. Not much exciting to report on this Wednesday other than a nice playdate at Carleen and Susie's house, I have to say. I'm still remembering the nice evening I had the other night, though, when my friend Darcie invited me over to her house for tea with her and my favorite Brit.

When I went got there she told me she had a surprise for me, and proceeded to turn on the TV and select a Tivo'd Ellen DeGeneres show--complete with my tall glass of soda, Orlando Bloom. He was a guest, and my good friend Darcie just knew it was something I needed to see. What makes this especially nice is that Darc could care less about Mr. Bloom (*gasp!*), but she watched it just for me. Now that's a friend indeed! Orlando actually didn't sound too ridiculous in this interview, which is good. I often feel the need to shush him (even though I love that accent...sigh...) so he doesn't ruin the pretty face. He was being sort of geeky with his lifetime dream to play the bongo drums, I have to say. But I got a huge kick out of Sheila E., who Ellen had brought on to teach Orly a thing or two, when she made a quiet aside that he could play her bongos anytime. Ha! Ellen didn't even catch it, but I sure did. Yeah!

Another funny thing is that Ellen was centering her show about people who are lucky. (Orlando fit this bill because he's been so accident prone and broken so many bones, but alas, he's fine, and well damn...look at him.) In her beginning monologue she was imagining how funny it would be to have the name 'Lucky'. Well of course I thought about my mammogram technician right away, who indeed did have that name. I even got on Ellen's web site comment area and told her so. Who knows, maybe she'll have me on the show? With my luck, she'll have Lucky.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIM!!!

Shorty, it's your birthday. We're gonna party like it's your birthday. Kim had the grand plan to play hookey from school today--woo hoo!--and get the minxes together for some early-morning fun whilst Sullivan was in school. We all met here at the Clubhouse and then headed over to the lake for a nice brisk walk. We were definitely at a good clip, but who notices when you're laughing and gabbing and having a great time?! Then we had breakfast at Yum! Bakery. That is SUCH a good name for that place, let me tell you. That is definitely one of my faves. The food is so delicious--fresh, brought to you quick as a flash, and just the right amount to leave you feeling satisfied, but not overly stuffed. The coffee is amazing too, even their decaf. So of course we had a great time there, and at one point these elderly ladies all shuffled in and the three of us had the same exact thought....there we are, in years to come! Of course the one with the black velour CZ-encrusted track suit was me, the tall one was Stephanie, and Kim said she was the cute little hunched over one. The Golden Girls, indeed. Old age is not so bad when you think about spending it that way--still laughing and hanging out with my peeps. (hilarious, I just accidentally typed 'poops' instead...ha! how fitting...!) Kim is not yet 40--she's the baby of our group--but it's the last year of her thirties and I'm sure, like me, she won't go out quietly! (at least we won't LET her!)

Happy Birthday, my friend!!!! Here's to many, many more...

A Running Start

A beautiful fall day, another Monday. After getting Sullivan off on the school bus this morning, I went for a walk/run. I love it when I do that, I feel so good about myself! It's definitely best for me to get my working out done in the morning. All I need is my coffee, then to throw on some exercise-type clothes, rub the sleep out of my eyes so I can see where I'm going, plug the old iPod into my ears, and off I go. When Northwest Athletic Club recently sold out and became Lifetime Fitness, I bailed on my membership. It really had nothing to do with the Lifetime thing, although it was a BIT more money per month. Mainly it was a chance to get out of the contract, and let's face it, I wasn't using the gym much lately. I LOVE the gym, but especially in the summer months, sometimes it's just impossible to get enough use out of it. Of course it's ironic that I quit right as school was starting when I actually WOULD have the time, but since I've started walking/running more, I thought I'd try that for a while. Stephanie's friend Maud actually gave me a great idea...thinking about Tai Chi again. I had actually thought about doing that and then decided to do Tae Kwon Do instead...and as most of you know, after getting to red belt, I had to quit because of my gimpy back. Obviously Tai Chi would be much easier on the back, still getting exercise, but yet still having that martial art feel and discipline. I like that. I thought about yoga for a while, too, but I think Tai Chi would probably be more my thing. It all comes down to money, though, and honestly I'm not sure about spending another monthly fee at this time. I'll have to see....but if anyone out there knows of a good Tai Chi place in the twin cities, please let me know!

Tonight my dear husband is working on putting up a fence section in the back yard, to prepare for Digby!!! Luckily most of the yard is already fenced from everyone around us, but there are a couple of sections that need it. I'm so excited, it makes it seem all that much more REAL. Another good thing is that I realized today that Digby is not 3 weeks old as of yesterday, but 4! Halfway to the two month mark, which is around when we can get him. :-) I was just emailing my friend Pat today telling him that I felt like an expectant mother who can't wait to have that baby already! (and then also saying that at least I don't have that horrible crotch pressure that went along with it!) That will be some good exercise, taking that baby for a walk!!!!!

Getting Things Done

Lori just informed me that our new Warbride blog is up and running on our site. Woo hoo, now I have two blogs I get to write in! Of course the Warbride one won't require much of me--the whole purpose of the thing is for us to be able to report our progress as things move along toward completion, and as of now there isn't much for me to do. I've done my part, at least for this stage of the game and most of it now is on Lori. I feel badly about that, as I wish there was something I could do to help her, but at this point it's all re-recording instrument parts, adding guitar solos, and the final mixing--which is all Lori's gig. It's been tough for her to put a lot of time into our thing, what with her working and being involved with her other band, Stream of Passion. But! She's put the pedal to the metal (literally!) and we're trying to get some finished songs up by late fall. We haven't quite figured out exactly how we'll promote them, but, all in good time. Right now the focus is just on getting them done.

I spent most of my time today re-arranging Vivian's room, which became quite the project in of itself. It all started with an innocent "this room could use a deep cleaning--let's re-arrange!", thinking moving things around might help with the purging and throwing bit. Well....before I knew it we were at IKEA--my favorite place, you know--buying a new bed frame, a dresser and a new rug. You know how it is...I love IKEA for it's cool and affordable furniture, but I sure don't love shopping there. This time was no exception to the lousy 'Ikea Experience' rule of the thumb. Luckily the bedroom stuff we wanted was in stock, thank goodness...but the coffee table that we've already checked on once still wasn't there. And then there was the BITCHY employee who actually rolled her eyes at me when she had to help me get something down that was heavy. Pleasant.

But, all's well that ends well, and the room is now (mostly) done and it looks great. Whew! Tired Metal Mommy.

My Two Cents

Aunty Em, Aunty Em! When Sullivan woke me up at 7:00 on the dot this morning, I couldn't believe it wasn't the middle of the night...what a dark and stormy morning! Rain all day yesterday, looks like rain all day today. Good thing I'm meeting Stephanie for coffee, the perfect day for it. (when I said that to my husband he laughed and said, "what do you mean?? ANY day is the perfect day to have coffee with Stephanie!" Does he know me or what?! And he's so right.) This is the third Friday in a row that Steph and I have had a morning coffee date whilst Sullivan is in school, and it's been lovely. A luxury, fo sho. OH, did I say luxury? That reminds me of this woman who commented on Stephanie's blog yesterday. I'm not going to go into details about it, but basically this woman felt like she needed to give Stephanie her unwanted opinion--which wasn't very nice.

Basically the whole thing started because Stephanie talked about finding balance and moderation for herself and this woman lashed back and told her to be grateful and stop complaining. ! I don't get people who do that on other people's blogs. I mean, this is a total stranger you're barking at. Would you walk up to someone on the street and and start telling them how they should be living their life?! At one point in the back and forth this woman said she thought we (Stephanie and others who were clearly saying they understood Stephanie's position) 'needed a perspective'. Who the hell is she?! She was saying how a blog isn't the place, one should only talk about these things with friends. Well lady, a forum is the place where people go back and forth with their 2 cents--not a blog. A blog is about people's everyday thoughts and well, sometimes people actually want to 'complain' or-- *gasp*--mention something that isn't going 100% peachy-keen in their lives. I don't care where you are at in your life--you can be the most successful, rich, well-loved person in the world. You have problems. And why should you not be allowed to have your problems? What got me the most is that this person actually assumed that my friend wasn't grateful for what she had, and didn't know a damn thing about the details of the matter or what she is like as a person. And why the hell does she care?! There is no point to get on someone's blog and be hurtful. Not that anyone really cares about some lunatic stranger's 'perspective' anyway--but it's just the idea of her thinking she has the right. UG!Stephanie was smart and deleted all comments about the situation, it was getting WAY too out of hand. (so sorry, you can't read them!) Stephanie has WAY too much class to stoop down to this woman's level. (more class than I do--her comment back was much nicer than mine! Ha!)

I just had to rant about that because the whole thing made me so angry. If anyone tries to hurt my friends I automatically want to karate-chop their ass! Ha! I know I don't have to say this to most of my readers out there, (all 5 of them!) but I just have to get MY 2 cents in....please take my advice and remember that a blog is a blog. Don't shoot off horrid un-wanted comments to total strangers. It's not your place. And it all comes down to this simple solution--if you don't like what you are reading, then stop reading it!!!!!!!!!!!

Dogs

Last night my minxes came over for another podcast. We were due, it felt like it had been forever! (it's will be live later tonight--Coreman didn't get a chance to get it up there yet) Always a blast. Kim got pseudo-Digby all set up in his little sleeping bag/bed thing, complete with toy ball and rubber bone. Maybe that can keep me satisfied until the real thing gets here...either that or just letting Sullivan be the dog.

Sir Digby!

Is there anything better than a warm bowl of oatmeal on a cool, crisp morning?? And I doctored it up right, let me tell you. I made just your every-day plain oatmeal and then mixed a bit of milk and then a HUGE dollop of this strawberry 'spreadable fruit' in there....oh man. Delish. Nothing like warm fruit. Warms you right down to your toes, as it is CHILLY this morning. Wow, fall sure came fast. I don't mind this at all, in fact I like it...but it does depress me to think about what's just around the corner...a long-ass Minnesota winter! Like most people who live here, I love the seasons, but when the holidays are over--like by mid-January--I am OVER the snow and butt-biting cold.

But enough about the weather. Last night I got the email I was waiting for...more photos of what-could-be my Digby!!! OMG, can you even stand that face?! How distinquished he looks with those Harry Potter-looking glasses-shaped circles around his eyes...Sir Digby, indeed. But the latest thing to worry about--isn't there ALWAYS something to worry about?!--is what kind of fur this little guy will end up having. It recently dawned on us that these puppies will either have more of the Bichon coat, or more of the Cavalier. Obviously, because of Vivian's allergies, the Bichon type would be the safer bet. And of course there is no way Cindy will know what type of coat this little guy will have until he's about 5-6 weeks old. It's KILLING me, because I am already wayyy attached to this one but there is no way of knowing whether or not he'll be ours yet. Sigh. So all of you send good vibes our way, please, that this indeed will be Sir Digby. Indeed! 2 weeks old, and counting! 7 more weeks until he is in our hot little hands....:-)

**Update!!! I talked to Cindy and she said it is VERY rare for the Cavachons NOT to have the Bichon fur, and that with the wavy look of this guy's fur already it's pretty much gauranteed he will be for us!!!!!!! WOO HOOOOO!

Mammograms and Mousse

(Oh my God, that poor woman! I hope she got paid a hefty sum for this photo!!!)

40 indeed. Today I had my very first mammogram. Badda Bing, Badda Boom--didn't waste much time there, did I? I have to say, for those of you who are reading this and have never had one before (or those of you--namely MEN-- who may actually still be reading this after seeing the word 'mammogram'...!) I have to say it's one of the weirdest experiences of a woman's life. I made my way through the winding corridors that is Abbott Northwestern Hospital to the Breast Institute. Well, a person has to feel like they are in pretty good hands (doh! a pun!) in a place with that name. They gave me a robe and had me undress form the waist up. Then I was actually offered something to drink--I saw empty porcelian tea cups and saucers around. I guess they want you to feel pretty pampered before they grab your boobs like a coupla side's o' beef and shove them into the machine. That's exactly what happens. You stand in front of this machine and they have you grab on to a bar. Whether you are holding this bar to have something to squeeze or whether it's just to position you just right, I have yet to know. (maybe a bit of both?!) Then a woman literally takes one of your boobs and pushes and prods, kneads and tugs, until it is in the exact position it needs to be between these two movable plastic shelf-like things. Then the shelves start to close. And they get closer, and closer. And just when you think they couldn't POSSIBLY squeeze you any harder, hummmmmm goes the machine as they indeed go in a bit more for the kill. Then you have to hold your breath as they snap their picture. What relief it is to have the machine loosen up and set that baby free! Then of course, you are on to the other breast. The tech took 4 photos in all, from two different positions. That woman could have been a circus entertainer, from the way she was juggling my boobs. Craziness. Then it was like, "Okay! You're done! Goodbye!" I wondered if maybe we should have had a cigarette together. Now comes the fun of waiting to hear the news. It's not like I'm really worried, but I suppose any test like that leaves a nagging feeling in the back of ones mind, that 'what if' question. Well, the tech's name was "Lucky", so maybe that's a good omen?!

On a lighter note, Cory and I finally used our gift card we had at Salut Restaurant last night. Our friends Dawn and Mark had Cory take photos of their daughters, and paid him via this generous gift. We had never been there before, and I have to say, it was excellent! I didn't get anything overly fancy, I just wasn't in the mood. But the steak sandwich I had was superb, and even better were the fries. OMG-- light, crispy, salty heaven. I ate WAY too many, I couldn't stop! Because of the fries I was too full for dessert, but I had a decaf latte--what fun, it came in his handle-less bowl with sugar cubes a lovely baby chocolate croissant on the side. The service was great--we got our food quickly and at one point the server even brought a little taste of a 'compliments-of-the-chef' something that she called an 'excitement for the mouth'...I had to keep myself from a throw-back laugh at that one. It was mini a wooden spatula covered with a bite-size amount of salmon mousse covered with some sort of cous-cous mixture. OMG, I could have eaten a whole plate of it. Even the french bread and butter were amazing. I would DEFINITELY go there again!!!!!!! I felt pretty spunky, too, because as far as I know even my foodie friend Stephanie hadn't been there before. :-) You'll have to go, Steph, and tell me what you think!

Enough Said

Speaking of Middle Earth....now THIS would explain a lot.

Let's All Go Back to Middle Earth!!!

Well, I am truly a LOTR freak--I just signed an online petition to get them to make a film version of The Hobbit. As you all know, the movie trilogy was made from the JRR Tolkien books and to put it lightly, I am a fan. There were rumors way back when Return of the King was made that Peter Jackson would go back to the beginning and also do The Hobbit, complete with the same actors from the first three movies. Of course I've been chomping at the bit, and was a bit disappointed when I heard Jackson's next project was not Tolkien's first 'ring' book, but King Kong. (I never did see King Kong, and heard it wasn't all that great.)

Ahhhh, Lord of the Rings. It's hard to explain why it speaks to me so. I had tried to read "The Hobbit" back when I was young, and could never get into it so I didn't get very far. When the first movie came out, "The Fellowship of the Ring", I ended up renting it on DVD and it totally blew my socks off. I ran right out and bought all of the books, starting with "The Hobbit". I had to know the story from the very beginning! Ever since then, I may be living here in 21st century America, but my heart is in Middle Earth. I'm not quite sure why, either...I mean, Middle Earth was full of totally creepy things like Orcs and *gulp* giant spiders. But that story totally spoke to me at that time in my life. It's definitely a story of hope and victory against all odds. Of the smallest of beings being able to do the biggest of things. It's a story of undying friendship, of people that work together and stand by each other, people that will go there with you even if it means you'll be going through darkness and despair. And a story about how all of these little things various people do all fit together like a giant puzzle to create a masterpiece. Oh, and of course, who wouldn't want to be with an elf?! (especially if he looks like Orlando?!)

When the movies were done, I was so depressed. When I finished the entire extended version of Return of the King, I was devastated! I even put off watching the very last part of the 'behind the scenes' of that final DVD collection as long as I could so it wouldn't officially be over. So, if you care at all for the movie or me, sign the petition to get The Hobbit made! :-) I promise I won't tell anyone.

Apples, Potato Salad, and a Leg or Two

Ahhhh, a weekend up north in September. There's not much better than that. We met my sister-in-law Kim and her new husband John for a reception up there, given by Connie. Kim brought her friend Dan, he was a total hoot. We had a blast! The reception was lovely and there was much fun to be had picking apples and playing Apples to Apples. (I sense a theme here...?) We even found an alien mushroom and Dan threw caution to the wind and picked it. We are still eating leftover potato salad that Connie sent home with us, yum. I've been eating wayyyy too much of it!

It's amazing that I even have an appetite as I work editing a script about cannibalism. Yes, you read correctly, cannibalism. Heck, if it pays I don't care what it's about. It's actually been quite fun, I have to say. First I recorded a voiceover for the trailer of the movie, and now I'm helping out with the script. Definitely my line of work. Now if only I could get more of it! Day at a time, day at a time. Now pass me the potato salad.

9/11

Where were you when you heard the news about the Twin Towers? Not unlike the OJ verdict, I'm sure many of you remember. But unlike the OJ verdict, this news caught us all totally off guard. And although loss of human life in any form is tragic and should never be overshadowed, it certainly was with the trial. That whole thing was a complete circus, even down to the nursery-like rhyme of "if it doesn't fit, you must acquit' saying. And although it is tempting to overshadow the 9/11 tragedy with thoughts of random terrorism, I think somehow the 'simple' fact that we lost all of those people that day needs to be what is focused on. Mothers, Fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, best friends....the list goes on and on.

I remember where I was that day. I had just come back from a beautiful walk. Vivian was at school, Sullivan was just a baby, and he and I had strolled the neighborhood on a glorious early-fall morning. We came in the house and soon after the phone rang--it was Cory, telling me that a plane had crashed into one of the towers and nobody knew what was going on. Like everyone else, I turned on my TV and watched the horror unfold. It was like a nightmare. And even though I was shocked and saddened it really didn't hit home until I saw footage of people, probably total strangers, holding each other's hands as they chose to plummet to their death instead of suffer what they knew was inevitable. Would I be able to choose that path? I hope I never know. But that image still haunts me to this day.

I think I'll always feel a bit removed from the whole thing, not living in any of the areas that were immediately affected by these tragedies, and thankfully not knowing anyone that died in the process. I consider myself very lucky to be so removed. I think because of that what saddens me the most about the whole thing is the loss of innocence that we all have now and will forever have. We CAN'T ever forget, because our lives are forever changed because of it. Most of us now live with more fear than we ever had in our lives. What a sad and tragic thing.

So, I'll continue to live in my "Leave it to Beaver" dreamland, always expecting the best from people and thinking on most days, today will be a good day. But today, September 11th, I want to say I'm sorry to anyone who was personally touched by this and that I hope beyond all hope that someday the world could be at peace. I'll be extra thankful for my family and the people in my life that I love and make this world a nicer place to be.

Another Day, Another Milestone

Sigh. There's my little baby, getting ready to board to school bus to take him to his first day of Kindergarten. He didn't seem nervous at all, just excited--which is great! He climbed onto the bus hand in hand with his little neighbor-friend Grace, then before we knew it they were swallowed up and being driven away. It's funny, I haven't felt teary about it at all--up until this morning. It definitely hit waiting for the bus with him. Dad and big sister were there, too, so it was a family affair. Wow, 40 and sending the last one off to Big School. Craziness.

Here's my attempt at Susie Homemaker. I made one of these school bus cakes for Vivian when she started Kindergarten, too. Why is it that they never turn out the way they look in the magazine?! Of course for someone like Rosemarie, I'm sure they do....but alas, not for me. One definitely needs the right materials, and the black frosting that was like mud and impossible to squeeze out of the tube or the runny black gel that drips and smears everything definitely don't help. Ah well, Sullivan certainly won't see those imperfections. Besides, it's very Metal Mommy, don't you think? Sweet, but Twisted. :-)

Puppies!

No more icky spider-talk in this entry, you'll be happy to know. Instead, I'm going to talk about puppies. Puppies!!!!!! Cavachon puppies, to be exact, since they are what's taking over my brain right now. The breeder we're getting ours from, Cindy, has called me twice now to let me know that so far 3 litters have been born!!!! She is waiting on one more litter. It's so exciting! I can barely stand to wait. To think more than likely our little baby is now in the world, just waiting for us to get him. It's been so hard waiting to hear the news, now it's going to be AGONIZING waiting the 9 weeks we need to wait until we can get Digbee in our hot little hands! Yes, Digbee. The name has now changed from Shubee to Digbee, in true 'waiting-for-the-baby-to-come' form. Sir Digbee, to be exact. :-) Can you stand how cute that little guy is?!

Positively Icky

Most of the time I love it when I learn some new benign fact. It's fun to be able to throw these things out at a party, makes you seem like you actually know something of the world. Sometimes, however, you get information that you wish you never knew you knew.

You know that "Little Miss Muffet" rhyme? Well, according to my 'Zoo Tracks' periodical I got in the mail today, I guess there really was a Miss Muffet. Now I don't know if she actually sat on a tuffet and all that jazz, but it said that her father was a 'spider expert' and made her eat mashed spiders when she was sick. Apparently back in the 1800's, this was a common cold remedy.

As if that nursery rhyme wasn't disturbing enough...at some point we've all been minding our own business when suddenly a grotesque eight-legged nasty decides it's going to ruin the party by cascading down from the ceiling and give us a scare. (I don't even want to think about how many have probably landed on my head, unbeknownst to me) Now every time I hear it I'll think about Miss Muffet not only eating her curds and whey, but a ghastly concoction of spider guts and legs, too. Yummy.

So now I've shared this fact with you and it can haunt your thoughts as well. See how I am? Although you know, this fact may very well be fun to share at a party. Especially a Halloween party. Heck, according to Target it already IS Halloween....!

Calm Before the Storm

Happy Sunday of Labor Day Weekend. It's a gloomy day here in the Park, but it's been a nice, relaxing day. We have no real plans for the weekend, which is kind of nice. Sort of a nice calm-before-the-storm, storm meaning the start of another school year. This year I'll have every morning to myself, with Sullivan going off to Kindergarten! Weird! I'm looking forward to that, of course. I mean, I'll miss my little man being around, but it will give me some more time to work on my own stuff. I can write more music for my online business, Mod Pod Music, which will provide theme songs for people's podcasts. I can go back to working on my Sugar and Spice story, and hopefully get some more Warbride work done. Plus I'll be making some jewelry for a holiday party. Of course I suppose I'll have to start thinking of things I can do that will actually make REAL money at some point--like possibly get a REAL job (*gasp!*)--but I think I can put that off for another year, when Sullivan is in school full-time. Who knows what may pop up in the next year? 'Tis the year of 40, after all.

This has absolutely NOTHING to do with my post today, but this photo is just priceless. I nabbed it off of Stephanie's blog, with her blessings--you can do that sort of thing with a best pal--and of course it is totally ME. Although I have to admit, it's a bit disturbing seeing The Bush defiling something as sacred as the metal sign. But it's still funny.

Size Doesn't Matter, Indeed!

HA! I see I'm not the only one protesting poor Pluto's demotion from it's planetary status. This is such a hot debate, even five year old Sullivan and his friend Elliot were arguing about it the other morning. Darcie and I entered Sullivan's room to their cries, of, "Pluto!" "Dwarf!" "Pluto!" "Dwarf"! Hilarious.


Well, happy Labor Day weekend, everyone. It's supposed to rain the whole time here, but so far it's only been cloudy and cool. I went for a nice run around Lake Harriet this morning, and this afternoon--podcast!!!!! WOO! This is new for us, a podcast in the afternoon. It just worked out the best that way with our schedules. Should be interesting, having a little brewski during the day. I'll be asleep by 7:00.