Weekend Events 8/29 - 9/1

Friday, August 29, 2008

Have a great holiday weekend!

Art
The Leucadia Art Walk is Sunday from 10-5 on Highway 101 in Encinitas.


Scrapbook Expo at the Convention Center today and tomorrow.

This is the last weekend for the
Etch A Sketch exhibit at the UCSD Arts Library. (photo from here)
Music
Chris Cornell at the
House of Blues tonight. (photo from here)

Beaches
Apparently this is a good weekend for
Grunion Runs (mostly Sunday/early Monday) Eeew!


Pets
12th Annual Weiner Nationals at Qualcomm Stadium Saturday at 9:30 (this has happened 11 times before?!)

Baseball
The Padres play the Colorado Rockies today, tomorrow and Sunday.

Kids Puppets on Parade Monday at Balboa Park.

Movies
Not a huge movie weekend despite the holiday. The only one I've heard of
is Traitor.

Dance Party Friday

Anyone remember Dance Party USA? I used to watch it religiously. I would call my friend and we'd watch together over the phone. Ahh, memories. Happy Friday and have a great holiday weekend!

SeeqPod - Playable Search

Wordless Wednesday #12 - Playing Calvin Pool with Drama Dad

Going Through Withdrawls

Monday, August 25, 2008

I can without a doubt say this was the best Olympics I've ever seen. I don't know what to do with myself at night.

Thank you Team USA for making it so compelling.

Thank you for giving families an opportunity to sit down and watch TV together.

Thank you for giving us parents a way to show our kids what hard work, dedication and perseverance can achieve.


Thank you for handling yourselves with grace.


Thank you. Just, thank you. No, really, thank you. A lot.

I cheered for you and shed tears for you. Can't wait to see what you do in 2012.
(Photos from NBC, MSNBC and Phelp's abs from here)

My Life in Six Words

Friday, August 22, 2008

The most awesome Mommy Pie tagged me last week in a meme. I have to describe my life in six words then tag five other people.

My answers to these types of things always depend on my mood. Today is Friday and I'm not in the best of moods.

Let's see if I will answer this differently next week.


My Life in Six Words on Friday:

1. Boring

2. Routine

3. Good

4. Hopeful

5. Mellow

6. Happy

My Life In Six Words on Tuesday:
1. Stasis
2. Good
3. Happy
4. Optimistic
5. Funny
6. Evolving

What a difference a weekend makes. I'm not tagging anyone. I'm sorry. Feel free to play along either here or on your blog and let me know if you do!

A Little Funk for Your Friday

A few songs to put a wiggle in your butt, bob to your head and bounce in your step. Happy Friday and have a good weekend! (Sorry for any earworms!)


SeeqPod - Playable Search

Wordless Wednesday #11 Yum!

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read - Groucho Marx

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Since I still can't string a sentence into an original post, I give you my reading wish list. Well, part of it. I keep a running list of books I want to read in my PDA. Here are a few. Click on the book title to go to a synopsis. If you've read any of the titles, let me know!

Why Girls Are Weird, Pamela Ribon


The Senator's Wife, Sue Miller

The Rest of Her Life, Laura Moriarty

Mermaids in the Basement, Michael Lee West


The Heroines, Eileen Favorite

Don't You Forget About Me, Jancee Dunn


The Grift, Debra Ginsberg


(Book covers from Google Images and Amazon)

Brain Cells Not Firing

Monday, August 18, 2008

Because I have absolutely nothing interesting to say, here's what I put on my iPod today. If you have any 'shake that booty' music to add, please leave it in the comments. I love having great music in my playlist for my walking or housecleaning!

Thanks to Moosh In Indy, San Diego Momma, Single Working Mommy and Modern Single Momma!

Weekend Events 8/15 - 8/17

Friday, August 15, 2008

Beaches
Surf Competition and Beach Festival at the Oceanside
pier today through Sunday. (click on photo, picture from there)


Surfrider Foundation beach clean up at Moonlight beach with after party at The Belly Up.

Movies
Moonlight Movie in Del Mar. Showing Surf's Up around 8pm. Free

Lots of movies opening this weekend including one with a little controversy. Drama Dad is taking a vacation day Monday to take Drama Kid to see the new Star Wars.
Leo Carillo Film Festival every Friday through September 12th. Showing films from Hollywood's Golden Age. Free

Home and Garden

Summer
Remodeling Show at the San Diego Convention Center.

Music
B Side Players Saturday at
The Belly Up.

The Wailers at the
Del Mar Fairground tonight after the races.

LegoLand

The
Sea Life Aquarium opened August 11th. Open until 8:00pm through the end of September.
(movie photos from Fandango)

38 Miles

Thursday, August 14, 2008

According to Mapquest, that's the distance between my front door and the salon I'll be going to today to get my hair done. Why? Because that's where the stylist I go to, and have followed around the county for about 10 years, works. Because once you find the person who can work magic with your hair, they own you. I'm nothing if not loyal.

I have always had a love hate relationship with my hair. When I was little, I loved having hair, hated getting it done. I wasn't "tender headed" but the tugging, pulling
and hurt knuckles from those giant beads at the end of the elastic hair ties as well as  the occasional burn from the hot comb (heated on the stove) made me (and my mom) a little cranky.
   
Now, as an adult, I love getting my hair done but hate the expense and the time I have to spend on it. I love my highlights. I love the scalp massage (almost orgasmic!). I love the look of a fresh blowout. I love how shiny and bouncy my hair is when it's just been done. I love that my husband and son remember to compliment me when I get home.

I hate the three to three and half hours I spend in the salon (though with travel time there and back I get a nice amount of 'me time'). I hate the smell of the relaxer. I hate the occasional chemical burns on my scalp.
But, ethnic hair is high maintenance hair so high it's ho, high
ho down the freeway I go. I don't think there is anything else in my life that I will schedule 9 weeks in advance, secure a sitter and make sure the car has a full tank of gas for other than a night out with my husband which better end with sex.
   
So, if you happen to be at My Happy Place later this afternoon and see a woman who looks like me with shiny swinging hair, please stop and say and hello.  

(hot comb photo credit here)

Wordless Wednesday #10 Superheroes - Just Like Us

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

My Inner Lolita

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

I was 12 the first time I was seriously attracted to an older man. I had just seen White Nights, and fell in love with Mikhail Baryshnikov. And man, did I want to be a dancer! I wanted someone with his eyes and accent and body to hold me and dance with me the way he did in the opening sequence of that movie. And I wanted to dance to Say You, Say Me by Lionel Ritchie.

Misha's (I can call him that) grace, beauty and passion are legendary and unparalleled. He oozes sex appeal. I watched White Nights whenever it was on cable. The politics of the story was lost on me, but the dancing! The dancing was so moving. I am a fan of ballet (and Misha) because of that movie.



There's more August Movie Madness over at Jen's. (photo from here, movie sequence from You Tube)

Sunday News That Didn't Make the News

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Does nose candy age the same as wine?
Feline Hale Bopp prepares to demonstrate what a catwalk is really about at a cat fashion show in New York on Aug. 7. Show cats clad in everything from an Elvis costume to a sequined satin dress strutted their stuff at the city's Algonquin Hotel.
Members of Spain's Olympic synchronized swimming team practice in the pool on Aug. 6 in Beijing. The hybrid of swimming, gymnastics and dance emerged as an exhibition sport at the 1948 Olympic Games and debuted as a full medal sport in 1984.

Farmer Rhett Davis put up a backyard fence made from three cars after his new neighbors complained about his Utah property. "This is just a fun way for me to say, 'Hey boys, I'm still here.' This is my redneck Stonehenge," Davis said.

Isabella the dog nurses three 3-day-old white tiger cubs July 30 at the Safari Zoological Park near Caney, Kan. The cubs' mother abandoned them.

MacNuggets of Wisdom from Bernie Mac

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Go with God, and keep them laughing in heaven! [From TV Guide Magazine]

People come up to me all the time asking for advice. They want advice about their love life, they want advice about their job, they want advice about their clothes. (OK, they might not want advice about their clothes, but damn, some of these people need serious help.) They come to me because they know Bernie Mac always tells the truth. I say what everybody else wishes they could say. So when they ask me about raising kids, I tell them straight up: The biggest mistake you can make is trying to be your child's friend. You cannot be your child's friend.

Tough love, that's what kids need. You don't negotiate with kids. You don't worry about hurting their feelings. If they ask, "Why?" you tell 'em, "'Cause I said so, that's why." Kids need to know you love them, but they also need to know if they do something wrong.

I'm not talking about child abuse here. I'm not talking about hurting kids. Just getting their attention. When I was growing up, we not only had ass whuppings, we had appointments for ass whuppings, just so we could think about it all day. My mama used to tell me at nine o'clock in
the morning, "When your granddaddy gets home, he's gonna whup your ass." Man, my whole day was messed up. I couldn't eat, I couldn't play sports. I'd be playing baseball, thinking about my grandfather coming home, and I was in such a trance that the ball would go right past me. Everybody was hollering, "Bernie Mac, what is wrong with you?" And all I could say was, "My grandfather is gonna whup my ass." He never did. But the threat of the belt was enough.

As a parent, you're not here to be liked. I'm 44 years old, and it was my
generation that dropped the ball on this. The older generation — my mother and my grandmother — they knew how to discipline. They taught us respect, and they made sure we followed rules. They used to say, "This ain't no popularity contest," which is a good thing, 'cause they'd have damn sure finished last. But they didn't care. They'd send me to my room, and I'd say, "I hate you." And they'd just yell back, "We hate you, too. Now, you're gonna go in there and clean that room." And I did.

Parents today don't want to be parents. They want to be too cool. They want to be hip. They don't want to be the bad guys. Well, that's our job. We're not here to make those kids like us. We're here to save their lives. When they do something wrong, it's our job to tell them what they did wrong and in a way that they understand. You can't sugarcoat it. You can't worry about them being mad at you. I say, "I don't care if you're mad or not. You'll get over it."

Now we want to reward kids for everything. We give 'em money for grades. "I got all Bs." "Oh, here you go. Two hundred dollars." "My teacher said I didn't cause any trouble today." "Really? Here's $50." No. Uh-uh. I am not gonna pay you for doing something you're supposed to do.

You can say that's too harsh, but our parents were harsh, and we're better people because of it. I'll give you a perfect example. When I was 14, we had a cat who stayed on our block who looked like he was having all the best fun. Kids in that house could stay up till six o'clock in the morning. They had the girls, they had the beers.

I mean, their house was the house. But my grandmother wasn't having none of that. We had to be in the house at eight o'clock, by the time the streetlights came on. And I don't mean on the porch in front of the house, I mean in the house. We hated it.

But when I go back to my old neighborhood, those cats are still there. They haven't changed a bit. They've got no discipline, no sense of responsibility. They don't take care of their kids, they don't take care of themselves. They are just careless with their lives, 'cause they never had anyone to keep them in line. No one gave them any drive. I am so grateful to my mother for making me come home. If she hadn't done that, I don't know where I'd be. But I wouldn't be as successful as I am. I know that.

So, once you understand that raising children is like waging war — there will be victories, there will be defeats and there will be casualties — you've got to follow the basic rules of warfare, the most important of which is:

KNOW YOUR ENEMY. There are things you need to understand about kids and how they operate. Yes, they are small, but they are sneaky and do not have a conscience. So, here's a short list of things you need to know about your children.

KNOW THAT THEY WILL LIE. Kids will lie to you in a minute, even if they know that you know they are lying. Kids wanna play and stay up late. They wanna watch television and wear the same drawers every day. And they will lie to accomplish these goals. I once told the minister that my grandmother was choking me, even though I knew she'd done no such thing. The minister (and a social worker) ended up having a talk with my grandmother, and I spent the rest of my childhood unable to sit down.

KNOW THAT THEY WILL EXPLOIT YOUR WEAKNESSES. Kids know how
to look innocent, even when they are caught in the act. They will give you a look like a puppy dog, as if they're weak and helpless. Because they are ruthless, they will use this against you.

KNOW THAT THEY HEAR EVERYTHING YOU SAY. And they will use it against you. Kids may not be able to remember why they took off their clothes in the grocery store, but they will remember everything you said, in complete detail, and they will quote it back to you whenever it suits them. They've got some kind of special memory bank inside their head. Kids will crawl under your bed to hear your conversations. They will spy on you, and if necessary, they will tap your phone.

In conclusion, just remember that when you are tough on your children, it's for their own good. Letting them have their own way is the same as telling them you don't care. And if you think you're being too hard on them, try to remember the words of Nietzsche, who said, "What does not destroy me, makes me stronger."
(photo from Google)

35 Things to be Happy About Today

Friday, August 8, 2008

1. I am healthy.
2. I have a great husband.
3. I have an awsome kid.
4. I am a homeowner.
5. We live near the beach.
6. Our house is in a great neighborhood with good schools.
7. It's an absolutely gorgeous day.
8. Football pre-season starts this weekend (I don't count last night's exihibition game).
9. I got my Wii Fit age down to 27 (last week).
10. I just finished a GREAT book (
The Time Traveler's Wife, Audrey Neffinger).
11. We're having friends over for dinner tonight.
12. There will be margaritas at said dinner.
13. I got 2 pairs of new shoes (SO cute!!).
14. I've met some great bitches friends recently.
15. I had a fabulous day at the spa.
16. There's still money left on my gift cards for said spa (Bitches- what do you think?)
17. I think I've lost a little weight (based on a pair of pants I haven't worn in ages).
18. I got a beautiful new
ring (first posted about her here).
19. My husband has a good job.
20. We went to the movies Wednesday and had the theater almost all to ourselves (only 2 other people).
21.I had a great hamburger for dinner on Wednesday.
22. And an awesome chocolate dessert.
23. My son has been behaving MUCH better lately.
24. My house is pretty clean.
25. I paid off my credit card!
26. School starts in ONE month!!
27. I have new book on hold at the library that I'm excited to read (
Certain Girls, Jennifer Weiner).
28. The opening ceremony for the Olympics is on tonight.
29. I have a stack of books to read courtesy of the library book store.
30. My son is really enjoying Ta Kwon Do. I love to see him proud of himself.
31.
The Bloggess was here!
32. My reader has 795 items. I have a new Passion Fruit tea. It will be a good weekend.
33. I got all my carnival prizes mailed out .
34. I will be heading to Henry's soon. They sell Gummi Bears by the pound.
35. 36 is still 363 days away.

Do Not Disturb

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Wordless Wednesday #9 (a series)

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

The Dark Knight- So, So Good!

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

First, let me get this off my chest: Being a parent means life often passes you by. There are movies you don't get to see until they are on DVD. Concerts you don't go to. Spontaneous weekends with friends that you have to pass on (have fun in Vegas girls! I demand pictures of Sunday's outing!).

It sucks. Believe me I know. But it happens when you decide to procreate. There are going to be times when you sit on the sidelines while others have all the fun.

An 8:00pm movie will most likely be filled with with adults. Adults on dates. Adults without kids. Adults who do have a son and even though they don't have a lot of family nearby were able to leave him at home with his grandmother who took the train down to visit and enjoy their first movie at the theater in about a month. Your crying babies are not appreciated!

So, on behalf of those of us who WERE able to get a sitter, do not bring your infants and toddlers to the movies. I have zero sympathy for you and I will give you dirty looks and I will make comments not-so-under-my-breath.

Back to the movie. Go see The Dark Knight. It was really good! This movie is not for kids. It is not Michael Keaton's campy Batman. It is dark and violent. But Heath Ledger and Christian Bale do an excellent job.


I do have one complaint. It's minor but I hope the director of future films takes note. It will be interesting to see where the franchise goes next. No one will be able to play The Joker the way Heath does. He blew Jack Nicholson out of the water.
(photos from IMDB)

Bloggy Carnival Winners

Saturday, August 2, 2008


Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who entered! I'm so pleased with how this carnival went and my sponsors are too. October, and the next carnival, will be here before we know it

Here are the randomly chosen winners: (Check your email or blogs!)

Day 1. Geri


Day 2. Molly C.


Day 3. CanCan


Day 4. GirlyMomma


Day 5. Paula H.
 
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