The Velveteen Rabbit

Just when you think you love your kid as much as humanly possible, he goes and does something that proves you wrong - you can love him even more.

When I was a kid, one of my favorite stories was "The Velveteen Rabbit". If you've never read it, it's a story about a boy that loves a stuffed rabbit so much he becomes "real". But then the rabbit has to be burned because all of his stuff gets thrown into the fire after the kid's bout with scarlet fever. In the end a fairy rescues him and turns him into a "REAL" rabbit.

After I got done reading the story, Colin burst into tears. This story had always made me cry, too, although I can't exactly say why. Technically, it has a happy ending because the fairy rescues the rabbit from the fire. But underneath it all is a sad melancholy tale related to love, loss, and the way we are forced to say goodbye to our childhoods.

The fact that Colin intuitively picked up on the underlying themes of the story AND cried about them melted my heart.

Maybe it was his own recent, bizarre, case of scarlet fever ("The Velveteen Rabbit was written in 1922 when scarlet fever was more common), or maybe it was the deep love he feels for his own favorite stuffed animal (a giraffe named Niloc - Colin backwards), but something about the story definitely resonated with him.

When you have children you love them - that's pretty much a given for most of us. But when you really share something with your kid on a deeper level, well, that's more like meaning of life stuff.

Or at least it was for me. I am not saying that only people who are parents live lives that matter - your life has meaning regardless. But sharing that moment with this little guy I created (mostly ;)) myself, it was special. I love the fact that he is understanding love. It makes me feel like a successful mother.

A Year in the Life

Lately whenever I get text messages to my cell phone, my phone tells me that the memory is full. I finally figured out that this was happening because I had way too many pictures stored. I haven't thought about the memory you need to save all the pictures I've taken all year. So now I have to get rid of some.

But before I hit delete on these forever, I present to you.... random pictures I had stored in my phone:

I put these Groucho glasses in Colin's Easter basket this year

A few weeks ago I saw this Metro bus broken down on Montlake Blvd. All these passengers got out to push.

This is a bald eagle I drove past a block from my house. I got out of the car to get a closer picture of him. You can't really tell from the photo, but this bird was huge. He was trying to carry away a dead possum. I was bothering him and he probably wanted to claw my face off, but he didn't.

These are black and red licorice cupcakes I made once

I saw this SUV with multiple pug-related bumper stickers one day in the parking garage at work (in Seattle). Then I saw it the next day not far from my house (in Lynnwood). I've never seen it before or since. Creepy, huh?

This was part of a Muppets exhibit at the Science Fiction Museum. They were really, really strict about not allowing photography, but I snuck in this picture.

This is from when I tiled the entryway of my house. All by myself! Thanks to a youtube video and a couple of really nice guys at Lowe's, I did a hell of a job, I say.

Good-bye, year of my life! What new pictures will I take now with all my free memory?!

The traditional gift is tin, so I guess I could have done worse...

Saturday was our wedding anniversary (10 years), and instead of going out for a nice dinner, we took the kids out to an obnoxious lunch at the Rainforest Cafe at Southcenter (Hey, we don't have any babysitters).

The Rainforest Cafe is the ultimate fine-dining experience for people under the age of ten. Aquariums, giant butterflies, lightning storms every 20 minutes, trumpeting elephants, and a very loud family of anamatronic apes. Oh, and food, too.

Since it was a special occasion, we went all out:

Crazy drinks

Mini burgers for Colin, mac & cheese for Lucy

I got fish & chips, served in an embarrassing metal cone thing

Fish Tacos - it's hard to tell from the photo, but the taco wrappers were shaped like fish. I thought it was clever, my husband was less impressed.

Volcano cake for dessert

Gee, I can't wait for our 20 year anniversary celebration.....

Look Look! Nook Book!

Someone really got rewarded for 10 years of marriage this weekend. And it wasn't my husband, who got a half-off certificate for a wine tour I got from an online savings club.

It was me! I got a Nook, from Barnes & Noble. I didn't even know what a Nook was, but it's just like an amazon Kindle, only cooler. The Nook can browse the internet, has games, oh, and you can read books on it, too.

Once I figured out how to use it, I ran over to Barnes & Noble to pick out a Nook cover. I got the turquoise faux-book jacket with changeable photo square.

Now, what to read? I don't usually buy new books. Or old ones. I usually go to the library and pick out whatever looks good on the new book shelf, or I buy older titles from the Half Price Books clearance rack for $1, or I wait for my mom to give me a book.

Has anyone read anything good lately? I need download ideas for my Nook....

Lunch is important

Working at the UW means that every once in a while you have to eat lunch at U-village. Well it does if your co-workers like to eat lunch out a lot like mine do.

If you don't know the Seattle area, U-Village is a shopping area really near the UW with lots of trendy stores and restaurants. The Gap, the Apple Store, Banana Republic, Anthropologie, ect. It's the daily destination for many of the city's stroller moms.

You'd think with all the hot shopping there would be a lot of really good restaurants vying for your lunch dollars, but so far our dining experiences haven't been so great.

Delfino's - Italian/Pizza was awful and expensive

The Ram - only so-so and expensive

Blue C Sushi - pretty good, but expensive for sushi (notice the trend?)

On Friday we tried Sonrisa Mexican grill. And I am very happy to report that it was great.

They home make the chips and salsa



I ordered a "macho burrito" . It was spicy good


Mahi Mahi tacos on a crazy-long serving dish, the photo does not do justice to the size of this plate.


Some kind of chicken sandwich

My co-workers were all surprised when I did NOT order a cocktail at lunch. What's that supposed to mean?!

After lunch at U-Village, it's customary to stop at Trophy Cupcakes. I have the excuse of buying cupcakes for the kids.

It's like phantom limb pain

I left my cell phone at work tonight!

I was on the bus home this evening when I realized that my cell phone was not in my purse. I checked all the zippered compartments, all the inside pockets, and nothing. I mentally flashed back to my desk at work. I had stacks and stacks of papers on my desk today. Was my phone hidden by one of them?

It was. I don't usually pull my phone out at my desk, but today after lunch, I was showing co-workers the pictures I took of our entrees at the lunch we had (exciting blog post to come soon) and I must have left my phone sitting on my desk top. Hidden away by my pile of audit paperwork. Poop!

I'm trying to reason with myself - not too many years back, I didn't even have a cell phone. I've lived so many years of my life without one, what's the big deal about going one weekend without it?

But how will I call anyone? Cell phones take away any need for brain power, they memorize phone numbers for you. The only current phone number I know is my own home phone, and I'm already here. I don't need to call myself!

How will I text clever and funny messages to anyone this weekend? Certain individuals may really need to know the new thing I see at Trader Joes, or the brand of beer I am buying. How will I communicate?!

I miss my poor, lonely cell phone. If you don't hear from me in a few days, now you know why.....

I'm not very good at depriving myself

Look what came in the mail today!



I know, I shouldn't have done it. But they're so, so pretty.

And now I reveal to you all, the shameful truth of my shoe collection. It's pretty massive. And I hardly even wear most of them. They were all bargains, though. I know that counts for something, right?

Under the bed Box #1

Under the bed Box #2

Under the bed Box #3

Under the bed Box #4

Hanging hallway closet shoe trees

Actually that isn't even all of them. I squirrel other pairs away under my dresser or in the bedroom closet.

Shoes are on your feet all day, taking abuse from supporting your body and insulating your feet from the floors, roads and other surfaces we travel on all day. You should have a wide variety of shoes to choose from. I encourage you all to go and buy a new pair of shoes right now! Go!

To buy or not to buy...

I read a lot of magazines. I like to flip through them while I eat, wait for things, or sit in the sauna at the gym. Thanks to the cheap deals ($5 per year!) at amazon.com, or thanks to some gifts from family and friends, or thanks to the deceased doctors who get still get magazines sent to my office, I get the following every month:

Redbook
Good Housekeeping
Cosmopolitan
Glamour
Marie Claire
Prevention
Cooking Light
Popular Science
Men's Journal
Food & Wine
Entertainment Weekly
Parenting
Esquire
Rolling Stone

One thing all these magazines have in common is that they all feature pages of stuff you should be buying. I can't think of anything I've ever seen in a magazine that I felt compelled to run out and buy, but that all changed when I flipped though the latest copy of Redbook, saw these babies, and fell in love:

They are soooo cute. But $70 is a bit spendy for me. What should I do?

Buy or not buy?

I'm doing my part to stimulate the economy

I was at the airport today, and while in the Southcenter area, I checked out the deals to be had in the neighborhood at DSW, Marshalls, and Nordstrom Rack. I had to pick up a few needed items:

New running/walking shoes - I was in desperate need of these

Bye-bye, old, yucky shoes

New Franco Sarto Spring tote - I'm retiring my Scottie print Dooney & Bourke for the spring/summer season

Etienne Aigner chocolate leather mary janes - super comfy when I tried them on. I need them for obvious reasons....

Earlier in the day we went to Pike Place Market to hang out for a bit with my parents while they were in town. There is a store down there called Kitchen Basics, and they specialize in Fiestaware. They have TONS of pieces in stock in all kinds of shapes and colors. You have to pay full retail for any retired colors, and current colors are only 15% off retail, but the selection offered is unrivaled by any other Fiestaware outlet I know of in the area.

Fiesta peacock juice tumblers (also perfect for bourbon)

Fiesta candlestick holders (these were actually a gift from Mom and Dad, I didn't buy them. But aren't they awesome?!)

These are the rose cereal bowls I got in Snohomish the other day. I had to add a picture here because they're so cool.

These are vintage glass drawer pulls I also got in Snohomish. I don't know what I'm going to do with them yet, but I love them

This is a persimmon rimmed soup bowl and gusto bowl. I got these yesterday at Macy's. They are clearancing all the persimmon out, as the color is being retired

The next new Fiesta color? Paprika.

Hold it until you get home, or use the McDonalds down the street, please

My mom is visiting me this week, and today we went up to downtown Snohomish to do a little antiquing.

Lucy came along with us, and every two minutes she'd say, "can we go, now?" or "let's go home". I don't know why small children don't enjoy browsing rows of old dishes and jewelry.

Antiquing is a great way to add to your Fiestaware collection, and today was no exception. I scored three retired rose cereal bowls. Price for all three? $10.20.

The last store we went into had two levels. The bathroom was in the corner of the top level. We went up there to use it, only to discover that there was only one unisex bathroom, and it was occupied. Occupied a really long time by a man. And as soon as he came out of the bathroom, it was obvious that he'd been in there pooping. Who poops at an antique store? We had to let it air out for a while before going in.

As it turns out, kids poop at antique stores, too. I had to take Lucy in there before we left. She did her business and then I took my purchases downstairs to be rung up at the register. I realized that I'd left my purse in the bathroom. So I ran up there, not two minutes after we'd left it, and it was occupied again (keep in mind there's only about five people shopping in this place in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday).

Several minutes later another guy emerges, and it was quite obvious that he too had been in there pooping! What are the odds of that?

I held my breath and ran in for my purse.

It is not classy to poop in an antique store. I thought this was just common knowledge, but since I was proven wrong twice in a row today, I thought I'd share that bit of etiquette with all of you.

Best Movie Speech Ever

For some reason, I've always thought a good blog post would be about my all-time favorite movie speech. I wanted to lead in with a couple of other good ones, and then end with the one I think is the best of all. The only problem is that I couldn't really think of any other examples off the top of my head. So I did what all good writers do- I asked google.

According to google and film.com, these are the top 10 movie speeches:

10. Micheal Douglas in "Wall Street" (didn't see it)
9. Robert De Niro in "Taxi Driver" (didn't see it)
8. Jack Nicholson in "A Few Good Men" (meh)
7. Al Pacino in "And Justice For All" (didn't see it)
6. Al Pacino in "Scent of a Woman" (that was a good one)
5. Ned Beatty in "Network" (didn't see it)
4. Alec Baldwin in "Glengarry Glen Ross" (I know it was good, but I don't actually remember it)
3. George C. Scott in "Patton" (I saw this in high school when Mr. Maher made us all watch it for some reason. Any of you remember that?)
2. Robert Shaw in "Jaws" (Ooh, this was good. So good I'm bothering to add a youtube clip. Watch it if you have four minutes to kill)

1. Charlie Chaplin in "The Great Dictator" (has anyone under 80 actually watched this one?)

I can't fathom why, but my favorite speech didn't even make the top 50 on this list.

So without further ado, I present to you the most awesome movie speech of all time:

(Please forgive the fact that the only English version I could find on youtube was from someone just filming their TV)

Man, that speech gives me chills every time. And yes, I know how stupid that sounds.

As a side note of geek trivia, the first lady from "Independence Day", Mary McDonnell, went on to play President of the 13 colonies in the new "Battlestar Galactica". And before that she was the love interest from "Dances with Wolves", and before that she was on a short-lived sitcom called "ER", which also starred the then unknown George Clooney, who would then go on to find fame in the hugely popular drama also called "ER". And no, I didn't need IMDB.com to tell me that. It's all locked in my brain. I actually watched all those shows with her in them.

Hey, don't judge. And I dare you to name a better movie speech.

Kids these days...

After taking Colin to the new, fancy 3D version of "Clash of the Titans", I decided to make him watch the old school version. I felt he needed to know the awesomeness of the original movie.

Well, he wasn't very impressed. According to Colin, the new movie has realistic monsters, and the old movie has monsters that look like big, fake puppets.

How can he say that?! The old clay-mation monsters are so cool! Am I totally out of touch?

This isn't the first time Colin has picked something new and shiny over something tried and true. Like Star Wars. Yes, the new movies have lots of good special effects, but they suck! Colin loves the new movies. He loves Jar Jar Binks, he loves the CGI version of Yoda, and he even likes Mace Windu.

It's like I'm not even his mother.

Today I tried to convert him to another old classic, "The Beastmaster". Colin liked this movie fairly well, but I just know if a newer, fancier version were to be made today, he'd prefer it.

Is it because he's a kid? Is it because he doesn't understand the concept of quality over quantity? Am I just old?

Colin also hates Star Trek. Who is this little freeloader that lives in my house?

Clash of the Titans vs Clash of the Titans

I just saw "Clash of the Titans" in 3D. As someone who owns the original version on DVD, and holds that movie near and dear to her childhood heart, I feel pretty qualified to judge this new version.

Old Movie Story: Perseus finds his destiny (guided by the Gods); to defeat the Kraken and save the Princess

New Movie Story: Men don't believe in Gods anymore, Perseus doesn't want to be the son of a God, finds his destiny and defeats the Kraken. Gods fight each other for some reason

Winner? Old Movie Story. Sometimes simple and straightforward is the way to go. The new movie tries really hard to weave in some sort of higher meaning related to man not believing in God anymore. Which is stupid, because who wouldn't believe in a God that poofs into the town square and unleashes flying monsters on the city? I'd be on my knees, I tell you that.

New Perseus


Old Perseus


Winner? Tie. Harry Hamlin had wavy, cool hair and wore a toga. New Perseus has a no-nonsense buzz cut (the only man in the movie without long, snarly dreds). I miss the old Perseus style and flair, but new Perseus seems a lot more likely to actually win a fight.

New Zeus


Old Zeus


Winner? Old Zeus. I love Liam Neeson, and he does a good hammy job with what he's got in this role, but you just can't go up against Lawrence Olivier.

Old Medusa


New Medusa


Winner? Old Medusa. When I was little, that rattling sound of Medusa's tail was so creepy. New Medusa was pretty cool, and she looked neat, but all the did was laugh really annoyingly.

Old Stygian Witches


New Stygian Witches


Winner? New Witches. They weren't as funny as the old ones, but they were way scarier and uglier.

Old Pegasus


New Pegasus


Winner? New Pegasus. He's brown. Way more manly for a studly hero to ride in on.

Old Scorpions


New Scorpions


Winner? New Scorpions. The way they come into play doesn't make much sense, but these are probably the best fight scenes in the movie.

Old Kraken


New Kraken

Winner? Old Kraken. Even though he was campy, he was still better looking as a monster then the new guy, who is just a huge tentacled thing with a bizarrely small head. New Kraken kind of just looked like the Rancor from "Return of the Jedi".

Best Movie? Hands down the original classic is the winner. This new movie is fun, but you'll enjoy it a lot more if you don't think about it too much. And don't even get me started on Calibus.

Lame

Awesome

Also, say farewell to Bubo the Owl, Giant Flying Vulture, Three-Headed Dog, and Burgess Meredith.