Facebook: The Ultimate Procrastinator

So this is what it's come to, I am officially a FBHO, my computer even told me so (see left, if you can't read, click the picture). I sent this screen shot to a friend a while back, whom I thought would appreciate the irony, and I think it's just too funy not to share with you too. Don't get me wrong, I love Facebook. It's kind of like Sesame Street for grown-ups, lots of little quips and pictures, feel goods and funnies! There's nothing better than watching that Friend Count rise to make me feel wanted while I'm marooned here in New Jersey, and I'm still under 100. It's a blast to reconnect with people from my past, and there've been some years in between people! And I am loving the old photos that have been going around lately, some of which are totally embarassing, and others so precious and full of great memories.

But it has taken on a life of its own, for me, and has opened up a black hole of time-suckage (Reality Bites) where an hour floats by and I still haven't gotten my laundry done or finished up a project, but I've perused other people's profiles, including favorite music and books; checked my son's Wall to make sure he's not making off comments that the college admissions office might pick up; tried, in vain, to find an old boyfriend; or thought a little too long about just the right "What are you doing right know" pithy comment. Mine all end up seeming trite anyhow, but I still do it.

So, I'm putting myself on a FB Schedule - 2x/day - once in the am, and once in the pm. No more lolly-gagging around the computer. Keep me honest people, if you see me listed as an "Online Friend" at any other time (just remember, I'm on the EAST COAST) and my green light is on - send me a friendly reminder that there's probably a load of laundry to fold, a dishwasher that needs emptying, or a workout to be had! And hopefully, I won't have withdrawals!

xoxo
P

Open mouth, insert foot

It's not everyday I'm reminded of my past foibles, but yesterday, Ash Wednesday, is one of those days. Being an 'off-the-wagon' Catholic, I only noticed what day it was because I overheard someone in the parking lot. Anyhow, it reminded me of when I was a student at USF. I was taking a Philosophy course taught by this Augustinian neophite; a little uptight, but a really great teacher and I loved his class. In the middle of a heated discussion one day, I stepped out of the student role and said, "Excuse me, Prof. Faulders, but it looks like you've got a little smudge of something on your forehead." I swear to you, as the words floated out of my mouth, beyond rescue, I had this vision of being someone else in the room watching this total 'old' dork (me, I was 37) at a Jesuit College on Ash Wednesday, tell her Augustinian Professor that the sacred ashes of repentance gracing his pious forehead looked like a smudge of dirt. There was a very long, awkward moment of silence; hopefully he was praying for my soul. He did finally say something; I was so mortified, I don't even remember what it was. Thankfully, we got pass it and I did really well in his class, but I still count this as one of my all-time most embarassing moments. I guess it's no surprise to you then, that I was also kicked out of cathechism when I was 11. Thank goodness for angels!

xoxo
P

a little funny ...

My husband left for a business trip today. Hello, the car will be here in 2 hours to pick you up, you haven't packed and you're just now noticing you don't have the bag you need. I, aka 'awesome wife', rush to Target to get the wheeled garment bag he was completely convinced he had already bought. You know, we do what we can. Anyhow, I digress ... on my way into town, I was driving behind a truck, some tanker thing that said , "We're #1 in a #2 business" - took me a few seconds, it was a septic pumper. Geez, really guys!

giggle, giggle

P

music ...

You know when you hear a song and you smile, or your ears tingle a little, a tear comes up and sometimes you can actually feel your heart get warmer. I love the memories music holds for me - both good and bad. I love that I feel music; not just hear it. When I was growing up there was always music in our house - LP's on the hi-fi and 8-tracks in the boat (geez now I feel old). I was weaned on Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, Sergio Mendes and Brasil 66 - I know all the words to 'The Fool on the Hill'. Do you even know that song? And don't get me started on 'The Sound of Music' or 'Paint Your Wagon' soundtracks! Scientists have proven a significant correlation between music and memory; just 'google' it and you'll be online for hours. But, I'm talking about the emotion, not just the memory; I feel it. Wikipedia suggests this comes from a well developed Episodic Memory and a 'unique physiological pathway from the amygdala into the prefrontal cortex'. OK (actually, I understand what that means being all 'sciency' as I am). I hear Acoustic Alchemy 'Ballad for Kay' and tear up at how beautiful my sister looked on her wedding day; Thomas sang Rod Stewart 'Forever Young' to Alexander while I secretly watched and wept; 'La Vida Loca' (gak! Ricky Martin) was the song blasting on the radio while Andrew and I drove from Rome to Perugia and he learned to blow a bubble; the soundtracks from Out of Africa, Legends of the Fall, and Braveheart all give me goose bumps. How about the songs that just grab you real-time - like Coldplay 'Viva la Vida' and Jack Johnson 'Upside Down' just make me happy, and Chris Brown 'Forever' makes me want to dance! Music is food for the soul - go turn it on, keep eating!

No Fleece, No Socks, No Problem

After six days of sunshine and temps chasing 80 - we are rejuvenated - hence the happy feet. The Casa Marina in Key West was great. The hotel looks just like the pictures, the rooms are spacious and modern, and the service was fantastic. The staff is about 95% European, which made for fun conversation. Some of our daily treats included: Bacon every day for breakfast (room service, of course), a Cabana Boy poolside - who supplied a constant flow of water, lemonade and Coronas, The Drink of the Day (interestingly served at 10:45), yummy lunches (I still think there's something wrong with eating in a bathing suit!) our favorite was the Mahi Mahi Wrap, and popsicles at 1:00, which we rarely missed. The boys swam like fish all day and slept like logs all night. It was totally relaxing, utterly decadent and we loved every minute.

Thanks to some nice people we met by the pool, we had an extensive restaurant list by the end of day one. Our favorite was El Siboney; authentic Cuban food - nothing fancy, but WOW, yummy. Blue Heaven - delicous food, but I couldn't get past the cats wandering around - you might not mind that, but I did. Lunch at the Banana Cafe was surprisingly good - it's French and served delicious crepes. Another was El Meson de Pepe (more Cuban, get the theme here), which is just on the edge of Mallory Square; the must-go-at-sunset place. Complete with street performers, crafty crap, 'Pretty Good Popcorn' (no, it's really called that), and wafting smells of sea salt and urine - it's kinda gross if you ask me, but I guess you gotta see it once!

Apologies y'all, but Key West, the town, is manically hedonistic, full of bumbling beach bums, sneak peeks of skin, and gobs of gay men; that's cool, doesn't bother me - just didn't think about it. Duvall Street, although famous, is a little tacky. I especially liked the t-shirt that says "I (heart) to Fart" (although I didn't buy it). We laughed a lot, and more so because we were driving around in an electric car and looked like total tourists! The boys thought it was so cool; we were just happy not to hear them whining. After a thwarted attempt to rent bikes with 3rd wheels, and walking 12 blocks (it was really hot); we caved and got the car. It worked out great, we went to the Southern Most Point (Mile 0) from which Cuba is only 90 miles ("I can see Cuba from my house"), the Butterfly Conservatory (really peaceful and beautiful), the port with the big cruise ships (including the "Mickey" Ship), and just tootled all around.

We played with the kids, lazed in hammocks, watched numerous sunsets, talked a lot and laughed even more. Despite the oddities of the town, Key West gave us exactly what we needed: warmth, relaxation, time together. Although, we were missing one pair of feet (his in California for a visit), we deemed it one of our better vacations; we would definitely return. It was hard to put socks on again. But there's something very New Jersey about being tan in the middle of winter!

xoxo P

Crystal structures, 25+ random things .....

One of the things about living here that makes it great is experiencing it through my kids eyes. On school days, as of late, after they're bundled up and we've made the short trek to the car (really it's just a few yards, but when it's 13 degrees, it feels like a trek) they can't wait until I do the windshield thing! Mind you, not the smartest thing to do unless you have the Special Windshield Juice (probably full of antifreeze, that's why it's pink!). Anyhow, it is the coolest thing - one squirt, one wipe and then we wait to see how long it takes for the 'thing to happen' - crystals everywhere in all shapes and sizes - it's absolutely beautiful and they think it's so awesome! Of course, my geeky science mind kicks in and I start explaining about crystal formation and lattice structure. They ignore me, but I could care less - I'm ecstatic that my long term memory is still working.

So we've all seen this email going around - list 25 random things about yourself and share it with everyone. At first, you think, I couldn't possibly think of 25 things I want to share, and by the time your at #13, your editing and re-reading, thinking am I cool enough, am I fun enough, did I mention my family enough, do I sound arrogant, am I self promoting. I'm betting my list would change depending on how I was feeling on any given day. Here's the list I sent, would I make the same list today, maybe, maybe not.

1. My left foot is 1/2 size larger than my right

2. Of course, I color my hair

3. I love cheese

4. My husband flew to Italy to find me and propose.

5. I love to spend time alone

6. Crafty, I am not, but I love my Knifty Knitter!

7. Cooking makes me happy

8. I love books more than shoes

9. I graduated college with honors at 38

10. I am a certified massage therapist

11. I can still name most of the bones and muscles in the human body

12. My brother-in-law calls me and my sister 'the town criers' - we're really sappy

13. I love to sing outloud, but supposedly I'm not that good!

14. I love kimchi

15. I'm embarassingly afraid of riding on motor cycles or ATVs - I prefer to power my own recreational equipment (cycling, paddling)

16. My family has no clue how much tofu they really eat!

17. I spent one week in Paris alone

18. and the other week cycling in the Loire Valley

19. I've snowmobiled in Yellowstone

20. I've been flyfishing in Alaska

21. I ran a 1/2 marathon in the snow in Seattle

22. My three sons are my pride and joy

23. I drove a boat before I drove a car

24. My parents are still married after 50+ years.

25. I live in jeans.

You guys probably have this too, but I just discovered the best yogurt and it's Cho-funny!

Did I mention we're off to Key West in a few days - 10-day forecast mid-70's. Guess that means I get to take my socks off - YAHOO!

OK and last thing, Teleflora did not use "Make Her Thorny" as their Valentine's Day tagline?

xoxo P

Alone at last ......... ahhhhh

Finalmente! Everyone's back in school. After two long weeks of Monopoly, Blokus, Pokemon Yahtzee, a gazillion hours of cartoons, a bunch of Wii, and a plethora of drugs (not me, them!) -the kids are healthy and it's back to school man. I'm sitting here enjoying my second cup of coffee, blasting The Verve 'Bittersweet Symphony' - smiling 'cause it's snowing again - knowing that I can finally get all my stuff done at warp speed! Don't get me wrong, I love my kids more than anything in this world - but it's tought to be home with them (one, both or all three) for so long and not go a little nuts! So today, I reclaim my space! (Oh cool - Supertramp 'Even in the Quietest Moments' - apropos).

I did sneak out last Friday night. With Andrew as my date, (Thomas was on duty at the infirmary) we attended the Rumson Fair Haven Crew Fundraiser, aptly named 'Frostbite Regatta'. A big group of people I don't know who know we're 'the people from California' required a big deep breath of gumption (read: one speed glass of chardonnay). The Crew community here is friendly, generous and deservedly proud of how far their program has come in a few short years. (Ah, Tom Petty 'Here Comes My Girl'). Apparently, at Andrew's first Erg practice, his coach greeted him with "Please tell me you're a triplet" - they love tall, skinny guys. Anyhow, we got to meet Bobby Ojeda and Dan Beery. Turns out, Ojeda lives in our neighborhood (well a few streets up where the lots are huge), and the nicest guy. Dan Beery didn't pick up an oar until he was 21 and look how that turned out - Olympic Gold! (Paul McCartney 'Maybe I'm Amazed'). Hey, no pressure Andrew!

There's at least an inch of new snow on the ground - it's all twirly and beautiful - snowflakes the size of jumbo marshmallows. 'The snow reminded me of the beauty and mystery of creation, of the essential joy that is life.'—from Snow, by Orhan Pamuk, thanks for sharing that quote MKB. (Sheryl Crow 'I'm Gonna Follow the Sun' - hey, that's cold!)

My BFF in HMB (I can't believe I actually just typed that) is on a mission of cleansing - body, not house. She informed me that she's not doing wine during the week - you go girl friend - I'll be doing wine all week! (Not sure why I find the doing part so funny, but I do).

Anyhoooo - I'm so proud of Kurt Warner, you go old man - except for that last kind of pathetic play - they had a shot and I loved watching it with the big men in the house. We laughed, screamed, cheered and ate 'snacks' (read: crappy carbs). (Rod Stewart 'Forever Young'). And is Bruce not the epitome of cool - hey, I don't endorse that link, it's just that I wanted to make sure I spelled 'epitome' correctly, and GOOGLE, (like: voila) this link came up - interesting list though.

On a similar note, check out my virtual bookshelf on FB in the next few days. I'm adding some "Want to Reads" of historically challenging proportions, thanks for the recommendations AZ. (Colbie Caillet 'Bubbly' & Sarah Bareilles 'Love Song' - two of the coolest female voices today!)

So, hopefully you're all caught up, had a little laugh and a sampling of my quirky music taste. Need to shift into Warp Speed now. (Chris Brown 'Forever').

I'll leave you with - Eric Clapton 'Tears in Heaven' - this one's for my sister, I love you. And one of the best, live in the present songs - John Mayer 'Say'.

xoxo P