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Etiquette
I like to read Miss Manners’ column in my local newspaper. I like how she explains the rules of etiquette, and what they’re for. Etiquette can sometimes seem arbitrary and confusing, but mainly it’s a set of rules that helps us disparate humans to get along together, without offending each other or hurting each other’s feelings. For example, a gentle reader writes in, asking how they should best go about telling their neighbor that their new painting is crass and ugly, or perhaps that cousin Bertha’s new baby looks amazingly like a small chimpanzee, and really, isn’t it my DUTY to let them know how I feel? Isn’t honesty the…
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Dear Me…
The idea for this post comes from Miscellanous Mum, and I’m very sorry to say that I’m not positive where I first saw it. (Edited to add, I believe I first saw this on Ginger’s blog, Stuck On Survive. Thanks, Ginger!) It’s a nice idea, though…you write a letter to yourself, the you from the past, and post it for the world to see. I’ve been thinking about this for awhile, trying to decide which me needs my help the most. 😉 I’m going to go for 1987 me, I think. Dear 1987 J, Welcome to San Francisco, to the city you’ve always loved, the place you’ve always wanted to…
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5 Things To Do In San Francisco
(This picture is from 2001, when we got snow in the hills….though sadly not outside my house or anything handy…but just so you know, the hills are not usually white…they’re green, or brown, but not usually white…) Flitting about the internets, I found myself at hamelife, where I saw this contest. Hmmm. A list of 5 things, huh? Any 5 things I want? OK. Some folks I know are coming to San Francisco in the semi-near future, so, in their honor, Five Things To Do In The City….and since they’re only in SF for a short time, I’m going to plan it like they are doing all 5 things in…
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Real Moms teach by example…
Have you noticed, when you get to know people, how sooner or later, your story comes out? Unless you’re hiding it, and sometimes, even if you are. But assuming you’re not hiding anything, your story explains to people who you are, how you got to be this person that they are talking to, how you grew and developed, what your strengths and scars are… Part of my story isn’t really mine, it’s about my parents. I’ve told it before, but the short version is that my mother wasn’t married to my father…or my brother’s father, and they weren’t the same man. My mother was divorcing her first husband when I…
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What About Prom?*
Prom time is here…going to the bridal salon with Cherry, we saw many young girls trying on dresses, full of anticipation and hope of what this special night might mean. Hoping to dance and have fun with their boyfriend, see all of their friends, have a great time. For some it will mean drinking, or drugs, or sex, or all of the above. For others, it will mean just going and having a good time. For some, it will mean expectations set too high, a fantasy of a perfect night, dashed by the reality of a crappy dinner and sore feet from too-pointy prom shoes. But for me, seeing the…
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The Namesake (A Joint Review, with Py and J)
The Namesake Saturday morning found Maya selling Girl Scout cookies…and, like always, a Girl Scout event for Maya means free babysitting for us! So, we took advantage of the opportunity to go see a film that Ted has been wanting to see, The Namesake. The Namesake is based on a book by Jhumpa Lahiri. I’ve read some of her short stories before, but I have not yet read the novel, so I came into the film not really knowing what to expect. We’ve decided it might be fun to put together a dual post, with a sort of, He Said, She Said quality to it, so you can read both…
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What if…
Ted’s girlfriends, the Dixie Chicks…. Started a reality show, where they went on tour with Ted, and Curtis Stone (The Take Home Chef) and Curtis and I cooked for Ted and the Chicks…and lots of wacky hijinks ensued… Would you watch? I would… Totally…
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Friday Foolishness
You Are Bold And Brave But daring? Not usually? You tend to like to make calculated risks. So while you may not be base jumping any time soon… You are up for whatever’s new and (a little) exciting! How Daring Are You?
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Firing of Prosecuters…
I have a confession to make…when the whole thing with the firing of the Federal Prosecuters started hitting the news, I thought that it was somehow related to the Army Military Hospital in Virginia. I have read about the problems in this and other Military Hospitals for the last couple of years, I believe at Salon.com, so I wasn’t shocked, and thought I knew what was going on. Then, as people talked more about it, I realized I was just confused, so I went looking around a bit for a decent summary. Here’s what I found, which I cribbed directly from Echidne of the Snakes, in case any of you…
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The Good China
Whilst out and about, watching a certain Bride to Be try on beautiful wedding dresses, I have recently had occasion to peruse the bridal magazines that they have sitting around at the salons. Anyone remember these? They’re full of pictures of dresses, of course, tips on how to get in shape before the wedding, ideas for fun honeymoons, ettiquette advice, and checklists galore. Things to be done, and when (6 months before the date, pick your venue and your dress…3 months before the date, order invitations, etc.). They also have suggestions for your bridal registry. Different people register for different types of things, some for the conventional china and silver,…
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Wordless Wednesday – Don’t Bother Me, I’m reading…
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Pi
Oh, also, today is Pi day…3.14, you know. Pie Day was in January, but it seems like today would be another good opportunity to, well, eat some pie. Right? (And yes, I’m totally a dork. But I’m NOT singing happy birthday to Albert Einstein. I’m not THAT much of a dork.)
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The House of Mirth
I’ve fallen terribly behind in my “Winter Classics Challenge”. I had vowed to read 5 classics during the months of January and February, and here we are, almost at the Ides of March (BEWARE!), and I’m just now finishing my 4th classic. I’m going to spread the blame out here, because East of Eden was kind of slow for the first 100 pages, and it was a mighty long book, too. Then there was the time I spent trying to get into Tell My Horse, which didn’t go very well, due to a regrettable lack of interest on my part. Add to these factors the return of Lost, Battlestar Galactica,…
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Food Meme
I’ve been tagged by Ms. Mama, and since I do love food, I’m in. 🙂 1. What’s your #1 comfort food? Um…maybe mac and cheese? 2. If you were on a deserted island, what one food would you want to have with you? Pasta with veggies. 3. What is/are your signature dishes? (What dishes are you ‘known’ for?) I don’t know if I’m ‘known for’ any dishes, but I’ve passed on my recipe (well, Greens recipe) for Black Bean Enchiladas, and I have gotten a few folks hooked on my version of my favorite pasta at California Pizza Kitchen. I love that dish. We eat it a lot. Probably a…
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I’m Blue…but not sad…
Your Brain is Blue Of all the brain types, yours is the most mellow. You tend to be in a meditative state most of the time. You don’t try to think away your troubles. Your thoughts are realistic, fresh, and honest. You truly see things as how they are. You tend to spend a lot of time thinking about your friends, your surroundings, and your life. What Color Is Your Brain? OK, maybe I’ll come up with something of my own later…but I didn’t write anything yesterday for today’s post, and now I just finished exercising, and have to jump in the shower, wake up Maya, get her to school,…