Sensing a Theme?

Drink:
Cape Codder

Ingredients:
1 1/2 oz Vodka
3 oz Cranberry Juice
1 Wedge Lime

Mixing Instructions:
Pour Vodka and Cranberry Juice into a High Ball glass over ice.
Stir well
Add the wedge of lime
Serve

*with thanks to The Webtender

Who Needs BlogHer?

When you've got Old Cape Cod?

Scenes (to and) from an Italian Restaurant

Scene 1: Mommy's car. The eight minute drive to meet Andy at a local Italian restaurant.

HRH (age 5): RC? Do you beat me up because you want to be like me?

MM (springs like a cat, sensing an opening): You know, RC, HRH does peeps and poops in the potty...

RC (age 3): Sure, HRH. I want to be like you. (what.ev.)

HRH (this, he can understand): Oh! Okay! When you and I have some private time, I'll show you so you can be more like me.

RC (already losing interest in the topic): Okay.

HRH (mentoring-ly): RC, do you want to sing the ABCs?

Manic Mommy smiles slyly...brotherly love and potty training.

RC (in perfect pitch): A B C D...I don't like you...

Manic Mommy sighs...

~~~~~~~~

Scene 2: Upon arriving in parking lot where Daddy is waiting to point out the spot next to his car.

HRH and RC (excitedly): Daddy!

Daddy: Hi Boys!

RC (as Daddy extricates him from the car): Daddy! We beat you here!

~~~~~~~~~

Scene 3: Upon arriving home in Daddy's car as Manic Mommy extricates RC from his carseat.

RC (enthusiastically): Mommy, I like Daddy better than you!

MM bites tongue...almost bedtime

Won Word Meme

Last week, I joined AllMediocre in the interest of getting a little more traffic to my site (cause I need validation like that) and I'm always interested in reading blogs that might have something in common with mine. Since then, I've been having a good time linking around (cause I'm a bit of a blog slut like that) and reading new friends.

Tonight, I linked onto A Mom Two Boys (cause it sounds familiar) and was on post number 5 or 6 before I realized that it was Meghan who had actually founded All Mediocre (cause I'm sharp like that).

Meghan was tagged with a meme in which you have to answer each question with only one word. Her answers were cute and funny but what made them unusual was that she included a second set of answers expanding on her original single-word answer. I'm stealing both the meme and the extended mix version (cause I like to pay homage like that). I'm also adding A Mom Two Boys to my feeds (cause I like her style).

1. Where is your cell phone? Bag

2. Your significant other? Andy

3. Your hair? Curly

4. Your mother? Me

5. Your father? Dead

6. Your favorite thing? Sleep

7. Your dream last night? ??

8 Your favorite drink? Wine

9. Your dream/goal? Retirement

10. The room you’re in? Kitchen

11. Your hobby? Yoga

12. Your fear? Trouble

13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Designing

14. What you’re not? Confident

15. Muffins? Eh

16. One of your wish list items? Bath

17. Where you grew up? Bostonish

18. The last thing you did? TV

19. What are you wearing? Shorts

20. Favorite Gadget? Cell

21. Your pets? Superfluous

22. Your computer? New!!

23. Your mood? Eh

24. Missing someone? Yeah

25. Your car? Hazmat

26. Something you’re not wearing? Shoes

27. Favorite store? Target

28. Like someone? Huz

29. Your favorite color? Green

30. When was the last time you laughed? 4:00-ish

31. Last time you cried? Years

Now the DJ-AM Extended Club Mix:

1. Where is your cell phone? In my purse. Mostly dead. I have to remember to charge it when I'm home because the majority of my car trips are too short to get a good charge.

2. Your significant other? Andy. Just called me into the living room to watch Princess Leah in chains

3. Your hair? Curly. I got it cut over a week ago but still haven't bothered to style it because it's been too humid. And humid + curly = frizz.

4. Your mother? Me. I know what I'm going to be 22 years from now. Always have.

5. Your father? Dead. I let that sleeping dog lie.

6. Your favorite thing? Sleep. Sad, but at this juncture, probably true.

7. Your dream last night? I dreamed a 3-year-old kept getting out of his bed and coming into mine. Oh...wait...

8 Your favorite drink? Wine or maybe Tea. No. Wine.

9. Your dream/goal? Retirement. Summer on the Cape. Winter in Naples, Fl. Freelancing if we want to. And as long as it doesn't interfere with travel or golf.

10. The room you’re in? Kitchen. Because I need to be sitting at a table or desk to type well.

11. Your hobby? Yoga. It goes with that whole mind/body/spirit thing I'm working on.

12. Your fear? Trouble. AKA something bad happening to my family.

13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Designing. The plan is that after the boys are in school full time, I go back to Boston Architectural College to study interior design. It's good to be nearly 40 and finally figure out what you want to be when you grow up.

14. What you’re not? Confident. I'll let that one stand alone for now as well

15. Muffins? Eh. Brownies on the other hand...

16. One of your wish list items? Bath. As in Master. Whenever we talk about a new house, that is an absolute. The definition of true luxury.

17. Where you grew up? Bostonish. Basically, I've lived in two towns my whole life.

18. The last thing you did? TV. I love almost anything on HGTV. Tonight it was Curb Appeal and Hidden Potential. I can't be bothered to link them.

19. What are you wearing? Shorts. It's 9:46 and still 80 degrees outside. The kitchen temp is 74.7 in case you were interested.

20. Favorite Gadget? Cell phone. I don't know anyone's phone number, I just know their speed dial. I also keep my appointments in there, and take lots of pictures.

21. Your pets? Superfluous. Not true but I needed just one word. They were my practice babies. While we're on vacation, we're making my sister stay at my mother's house so Maddie doesn't need to go to a kennel because at 8 years old, my dog has never spent a single night by herself. I don't think she knows she's a dog and not a person.

22. Your computer? New!! The funny thing is I needed a laptop so I could blog anywhere yet somehow I always end up in the kitchen.

23. Your mood? Eh. I'm in kind of a weird place right now. The boys are kicking my ass and I'm having trouble getting back in the zone.

24. Missing someone? Yeah. My best friend, Chris. It's a long story.

25. Your car? Hazmat. Not only is it my car but it's the family car, too. Just today, I proposed we hang onto it for a boat hauler/winter vehicle for Andy because the trade in will be junk anyway. This will leave me free to get something that still works for the kids and us but has a little more style/better fuel economy. I'm thinking possibly a CR-V.

26. Something you’re not wearing? Shoes. Now it's 79.7 degrees outside

27. Favorite store? Target. Where else can you go to buy a printer ink cartridge, personal lubricant, and five pounds of almonds? Exactly.

28. Like someone? Huz. Andy and I have these 'dates' where we sit in the kitchen, drink wine, and talk. It's sort of nice after 8 years of marriage to still have something to say to one another.

29. Your favorite color? Green (like my cooking)

30. When was the last time you laughed? Earlier. When I came downstairs and found a naked RC coming in the back door stating "I just peed on the deck."

31. Last time you cried? Years. My mom calls us 'the frozen chosen.' Just keep pushing those emotions down, pushing them down.

And hey, look! I'm breaking with tradition and tagging JCK at Motherscribe (cause she's going to Blogher and I'm soooo envious) and Fran at Merlot Mom (cause she is too, dammit!).

Redefining Funny

This email was sent to me by my friend, Nancy. It's basically spam so I'm not able to confirm its contents or origin. It still cracked me up and so I wanted to share. Enjoy!


The Washington Post has published the winning submissions to its yearly contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words. And the winners are:

1. Coffee, n. The person upon whom one coughs.

2. Flabbergasted, adj. Appalled by discovering how much weight one has gained.

3. Abdicate, v. To give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.

4. Esplanade, v. To attempt an explanation while drunk.

5. Willy-nilly, adj. Impotent.

6. Negligent, adj. Absentmindedly answering the door when wearing only a nightgown.

7. Lymph, v. To walk with a lisp.

8. Gargoyle, n. Olive-flavored mouthwash.

9. Flatulence, n. Emergency vehicle that picks up someone who has been run over by a steamroller.

10. Balderdash, n. A rapidly receding hairline.

11. Testicle, n. A humorous question on an exam.

12. Rectitude, n. The formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.

13. Pokemon, n. A Rastafarian proctologist.

14. Oyster, n. A person who sprinkles his conversation with yiddishisms.

15. Frisbeetarianism, n. The belief that, after death, the soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.

16. Circumvent, n . An opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.


I'm torn between # 7 and 13 as my favorite. What's yours?

Independence Day Traditions

From the time I was 8 years old until just a few years ago, this is where I spent every Fourth of July (and often the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd as well); The Hatch Shell on Boston's Esplanade, watching the Boston Pops.

The first thing everyone always says is "how do you deal with those crowds?" The answer is simple:

No kidding. Back in the day, Front Row Center involved showing up with my dad and siblings around 8:00 pm on the night of the 3rd with a tarp and a blanket to secure your spot, then hanging out all night. I lived my tween and teen years there. First under the closely watchful eye of my father and later with increasing freedom to move.

We met hundreds of people, spent time with family we might not otherwise have seen, made friends with all the police and service people you could think of, and met a ton of local celebrities. I've brought my closest friends, flirted with my cousins' friends, walked along the Charles River, and watched the sunrise over The Public Garden with my father. I know what it is to truly feel patriotic. In those moments, I'm supremely proud of my country.

The question the reporters always asked is "Is it worth it?" I've been there in the pouring rain, like today. I've been there in the broiling heat with my parents demanding I drink more water and contemplate taking us home. And I've been there in jeans and sweatshirts - and one year even a turtleneck! But as the sun begins to set and the orchestra arrives and begins to tune up, you know; it's so worth it.

As the years passed and we "went national," and especially as the world became a more dangerous place, it became necessary to get there earlier, and more and more restrictions were placed on our movement. It became more work and less fun. And that's when I said 'enough.'

The Pops used to play a few more concerts at the Esplanade throughout the month of July and even after the 4th became a major event, you could still go to the Esplanade with just a blanket and picnic basket and enjoy a wonderful summer's evening set to an amazing soundtrack. I miss those days.

Lying on a blanket in The Oval, watching the sky darken, listening to live classical music remains 'my happy place.' In my mind, I go there often.

Today, my brother and younger sister are there (sans significant others - for some reason, none of our four S.O.'s ever really 'got it'). My older sister turns 41 with her family, down in Williamsburg, VA (Happy Birthday, Dan), and my mom's joining us for a barbecue with our neighbors.

Whatever you do today, celebrate and enjoy. Happy 4th of July.

Car Talk

Click and Clack have nothing on HRH.

Scene: As we're leaving Starbucks' parking lot.

HRH: Mommy, I think I see a car that looks like Lila's daddy's.

MM: Oh? Which one?

HRH: Right there, next to the black one.

MM: Close they're both silver but that car is called a Pontiac. Lila's daddy's car is called a-

HRH: Beef Wellington?

MM: ?????