We had some weather

30 Oct 2012 3 Comments

by wifemothereventplanner in Brave New World Tags: , , , , , ,

Hurricane Sandy came and went and thankfully we are intact. Parts of the Jersey Shore and NYC bore the full brunt of the storm – and we woke up thinking about those affected.

Here’s the worst of our damage – every leaf on every tree on the lawn.

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Since Friday, when we first started hearing about the reports, I’ve been stressed. Expecting. Waiting. Here’s where I’ve been stationed. Partly working, partly parenting, full-time meteorologist groupie. Wrapped up in a blanket staring at radar. I could run those reports at this point.

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Speaking of blankets, during our 24 hour stint in Vermont, I did some shopping. Let me tell you about The Vermont Flannel Company. They are the new love of my life. They make this 8 pound, flannel patchwork blanket that lulled me into a deep, safe sleep when I wasn’t stalking the TV.

Not a paid advertisement, just some facts. To all my East Coasters our there – stay safe!

Short but Sweet

28 Oct 2012 3 Comments

by wifemothereventplanner in I need to tell you about this right now Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Oh Sandy.

Right now, at this minute, we are supposed to be tucked away in Vermont. But instead we’re home, having cut our trip short. Doesn’t everyone drive 6 1/2 hours each way for a day and a half? I’m not bitter. It was a great little visit full of food and family and fun.

The East Coast of the country is a flutter – the perfect storm, a hybrid Frankenstorm is on its way! Save yourselves!

I’m not making light of it. I hope everyone is safe and sound.

So we headed home and bought a ton of crap and some booze to get us through. Isn’t that really what storm preparedness is all about?

Here’s some quick shots of our weekend.

All good times start with my munchkins -here they are on the farm.  We missed the foliage by about 2 weeks – typical.

So during that short time, we went on a cheese tasting and a maple syrup tasting. We were busy.  I liked the lightest and darkest versions of the syrup. All or nothing for me baby.

Cheese wise I’m not picky – except for anything “smoked” which is the devil.

 

And because I’m making a conscious effort to “stay in the picture” (read Allison Tate’s post on The Huffington Post called,”The Mom Stays in the Picture”).  Here’s me with my husband’s gorgeous cousin. She’s the hot blond on the right. That’s her hubby getting personal with a horse on the farm.

  

We went to Quechee Gorge which was really cool and funky. It also reminded me of what a chicken shit I am about heights, large falls, falling to my death, etc.

Here’s my girl and my sister-in-law – this is one of 40 photos I took titled “Gorge Glam”.  What?

As I posted this I noticed that my girl is a wee bit taller than her god mother! Then I cried about how fast time goes by and about how my sister-in-law was just holding her swaddled up in a rocking chair. Yesterday. Anyway. I digress.

9 year old pumpkin

25 Oct 2012 6 Comments

by wifemothereventplanner in I need to tell you about this right now Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

On October 25, 2003, I had planned on waking up and going pumpkin picking with my little girl.

Instead we welcomed a little pumpkin of our own.

 

You’ll be shocked to know that he was just perfect.

He slept for most of his first year of life. Went in at 7pm and woke up sometimes at 8am (no joke).

When he was awake he just stared at you with that face. And those eyes. It was killer. Still is.

 

Then the hyper speed went into effect.

He grew and grew and grew. Notice the curls. The perfect, insane curls.

 

 

And grew

 

Cut to today.

Cake for breakfast with a 9-year-old silly, funny, happy but sleepy boy. Two seconds after this picture was taken, and right before he blew out this candle, he lifted his leg and farted. True story.

 

 

 

Storemade with love

24 Oct 2012 6 Comments

by wifemothereventplanner in I need to tell you about this right now Tags: , , , , , , , ,

There are things that have fallen by the way side during this crazy busy time.

Covering up my grays. Dusting the house.  Planning for retirement. All put to the side.

Wondering why I haven’t done a cooking/baking post? No? Nevermind.

I love that I can be honest here and you don’t judge (or at least I don’t hear you judge or see you roll your eyes). I really love that my mother doesn’t know I blog – actually she doesn’t know what a blog is but whatever – I’ll take it.

Here’s what my family will eat tonight for dinner:

Thank you McCaffrey’s for thinking about making angel hair pasta with fresh tomatoes and basil, and for making Tilapia covered in breadcrumbs so I can call it “fish stick fish” for my son.

I’ll cook again soon. In 2013 at the latest.

Argo go f’yourself

22 Oct 2012 Leave a comment

by wifemothereventplanner in I need to tell you about this right now Tags: , , , , , , ,

When I first met my man, 1,000 years ago, we went to the movies every Friday night. Rain or shine. Good movie or bad. We have always loved the movies. Then all kinds of stuff happened. The kind of stuff that happens to everyone. Work. Babies. The urge to sleep when you have an extra 2 hours.

Now that our kids are giants, we are slowly getting back to those days of popcorn glory – kinda.

Long intro to start a movie review eh?

Last night, yes a Sunday night, we went to the movies! And because it was a school night, we grabbed a friend to ease the guilt.

Argo

I give it 2 thumbs up! Are those dudes still around?

Smart, funny, and nerve-racking. Will they make it/won’t they make it.

The CIA runs a covert operation pretending to be a movie production company to rescue 6 trapped diplomats in 1979.

Ben Affleck. Brian Cranston. Alan Arkin. How can you go wrong? Ben had me at The Town, and ofcourse Cranston can do no wrong for me post Breaking Bad – and Arkin.  He was one of my favorite things about The Slums of Beverly Hills and Little Miss Sunshine.

I won’t go into all the details that make the movie so clever and entertaining – you can google that.  But I loved it and I think you all should see it. The end.

(the title of the post refers to a funny line Arkin says when someone presses him to explain the title of the movie. Old men saying swear words. Hysterical)

Can we stop celebrating now please?

21 Oct 2012 2 Comments

by wifemothereventplanner in I need to tell you about this right now Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

*burp*

It’s been a month full of festivities.  Last weekend we kicked-off the fun by inviting some family and friends to ring in the Fall.

My sister-in-law took this shot of my hubby and his pals.  She always gets these shots of him. Not just smiling, but literally giddy. Some spirits were involved.

Here’s a shot of my boy and some of his pals from that same get together. Please notice the can of soda that was imbedded into his hand the entire night. A good time was had by all.

Cut to this weekend.

We were invited to Staten Island to go to a local Oktoberfest – how could we refuse? I like this picture because it masks all my problem areas and was taken at a slight angle down – not to mention the photog was miles away from us. Perfect.

This morning we hosted my baby’s 9th Birthday party a few days early. Glow Golf anyone? Because I’m so together and organized I forgot to take my camera and had to rely on my phone, which did the job but everyone has evil eyes.  And yes, I could fix them all, but I’m tired!

There are a few more fun weekends ahead.  Then I plan on getting into my winter cave and not coming out ’till the New Year. Just sayin’.

Sorry the posts have been so far apart. It’s hard to do things and think and write. For me anyway.

Pop Culture Vulture – Fall Edition

17 Oct 2012 5 Comments

by wifemothereventplanner in I need to tell you about this right now Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

I’ll start with the Real Housewives dynasty. I think we’re done. I don’t know if I’m bored or growing up, but I’ve had enough. The fake tans, the fake problems, the fake boobs…everyone needs to a good hot bath.

The Real Housewives of New Jersey:

The Reunion(s): I love Andy Cohen but how could he? Three episodes of the reunion! Outrageous. This season was all about Melissa being a stripper (or not) and …nothing else. That’s literally what the entire 9 episode arch was about. Riveting. But it’s not your fault. I still watched.

The Real Housewives of New York:

I’m not sure what the season was about. But I have been obsessed with the new ladies that joined the show. Aviva with her fake leg, Heather with her girdle empire and Carole with those insanely uneven lips. Yes Ramona drank and Sonja didn’t make sense – and when will Luann finally admit she’s really Louis in a dress? She’s got more testosterone than most men I know.

Moving away from Bravo and diving right into TLC – which has more trashy shows now than HBO after dark.

Here Comes Honey Boo Boo:

I know many people around the country are up in arms about this show. They’ve called it exploitive, creepy, and sad. I call it genius. I love me the Thompsons. You know why? They are completely in on the joke. They are laughing at each other as we laugh at them. I think it’s a cheeky, hilarious good time – and I for one am thrilled that they’ll be making some cash. Bless their hearts.

My life isn’t all about reality shows you know…

Dexter:

Last season sucked. Where is the serial killer I first fell in love with? Trinity was the last good bad guy we had together. Then we slid into Julia Stiles – I can’t even remember what that was about. And what happened to your Dad? No more advice from beyond the grave? Sigh. I miss the good old days – like when  Dexter would chop up a bad guy and be back in time for a police briefing.

Boardwalk Empire:

After last season’s Jimmy/Mommy issues I’m very excited by Bobby Cannavale and his demented character.  Suspicious, untrusting, evil and funny. All my favorite characteristics in a gangster.

Homeland:

Carrie has lost it. Again. After electro-therapy she’s teaching English at a local college when she’s asked to go to Beirut to meet an old informant – foreign espionage ensues. Is this the best show on TV? I think so. I love Claire Danes, but can we talk about Mandy Patinkin? I’ve always been a fan. From his Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride to his turn as the evil Huxley in Elmo in Grouchland (which I had to watch 1,800 times with my son).  Anyone?

So there you have it. How I spend my free time. Help me.

Girl, Uninterrupted

12 Oct 2012 6 Comments

by wifemothereventplanner in Brave New World Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Yesterday was “International Day of the Girl”. Did you know that? I didn’t. I thought it was “International Day of the Conference Call”.

CNN.com asked some of the most impressive women in the world what they’d tell their 15-year-old self. I won’t tell you how many times I tried to link that article to this post and failed. Just know that I tried.  WordPress is getting under my nerves. I digress.

Here’s what I would tell my 15-year-old self if I could:

  • Even though they are driving you crazy right now – your family will be the most important thing in your life.
  • Although you’ve been plotting to get the hell out of Pennsylvania – in about 20 years you’ll be back – and love it.
  • Be kind to everyone. You have no idea what they are going through.
  • In 4 years you’ll meet the man you’ll spend the rest of your life with. Sorry. It won’t be David Canfield. You’ll do much better.
  • Go get your eyebrows waxed. Today. Now.
  • All the reasons you think you’re goofy, dorky and weird will be all the reasons why people love you. Lighten up.

Not as eloquent as Melinda Gates or Oprah – but there you have it.

I couldn’t find a picture of myself at 15 – but here’s one that’s close enough. Yes, that’s a maroon velvet vest I’m wearing. There may or may not have been a matching skort on the bottom.

La Jolla, CA and other things I love

11 Oct 2012 1 Comment

by wifemothereventplanner in I need to tell you about this right now Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

October has always been a busy month. Busy and fun and my absolute favorite. The weather changes, there’s plenty of birthdays and reasons to get together.  And it’s the opening act for November – my next absolute favorite time of year.

I say all this as a massive excuse to why my last post was so long ago.  What happened to daily posts you ask? Same thing that happened to my diet – it went off a cliff. Actually, I may have pushed it off a cliff. I’m tired!

Let me catch you up. Here’s what I’ve been up to:

  • Went to La Jolla, CA and fell madly, deeply in love with San Diego.  I think I’m really a surfer dude inside (without all the physical activity)
  • Although I was there for work – I had a life changing make-up/product experience. More below. Thank you Kathy the make-up artist!
  • I’ve decided that living next to the ocean needs to be in my future.  I’ll have to clue my husband in on this plan.
  • Came home and swiftly over decorated for Halloween.  I need help.

This should be everyone’s view from work…

 

 

Or this…

 

When not staring at the ocean, I was staring at all the goodies our make-up artist brought. Her name was Kathy. She set me straight.

For the majority of my life I’ve been searching for the perfect lip color. In high school I wore a bright red lipstick every day – cause I was cool like that. Then I moved to a more bronzy brown for most of my 20’s. My 30’s were obsessed with finding the perfect nude lipstick (damn you Jennifer Lopez).  In my 40’s I’ve given up and gone with chapstick. And then Kathy walked into my life. Or I ran into her make-up bag – whatever.

In one quick minute she told me,”you can’t wear a nude shade on your lips. It doesn’t look good. You need a plum. Let me help you.” What followed is tears, joy, and triumph. Too much?

Here’s my perfect color.  I would never ever have guessed it.

 

Although these pictures are blurry – I told you I was excited – it was important to show you.  This lip liner went on like butter and stayed on all day. I’ve already bought some. Thank you Sephora and Lisa Watier.

 

Here’s some other random stuff in her bag that was genius. Yes, I went through her bag.

 

To the left, antiperspirant for your face.  Even in full on humidity and heat – your face stays completely matte and dry. To the right, the reason everyone on TV looks like they have perfect hair. Sigh.

So that’s it. That’s what I’ve been up to, in to, at. That and you know, work, motherhood, wifedom, etc.

And here’s a look at our front door. Christmas sweaters here I come!

In Lego we trust

05 Oct 2012 1 Comment

by wifemothereventplanner in I need to tell you about this right now Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

 

My son is finally in Sunday school. By the end of this year he’ll be confirmed…errr….baptized….committed. You know. He’ll have a big party.

He’s loving it.

Here is the “Kingdom of God” per him this afternoon

 

This pod is “where sins go”. I asked what a sin was and he said,”it’s what sinners do.”

 

Here’s God himself. Looking very much like a Ninjago game piece.

 

As we were chatting, someone else was flown into the kingdom of God. I hope The Republic doesn’t mind.

 

Happy Weekend everyone

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