Zoe Writes About Me

Zoe had a writing assignment where she had to write about someone close to her and she chose to write about me! She decided to type her final version into the computer so I don't have it in her handwriting, but this is still great.  I love it...

My mom

In my book my mom is the best thing since peanut butter. She is my role model. She has taught me many life lessons. She is always there for me and has never made me sad, angry, or forgotten. She says she loves me everyday and I always say the same thing back. She fills me heart and makes me smile almost everyday. My mom is always there for me. She always makes me happy before she is. My mom is one of the best people in my life and I am lucky to have her. 

I have and always will be my mom’s little girl. She has told me she loves me more times then the earth has trees. She loves me and I love her. I always will. She gives me hope and she gives me confidence. My mom is one of a kind and I don’t think anyone could even be like her.

My mom loves me. I love her. She has friends that love her too. My mom is my mom is my mom and that is not why I love her. I love her because she is a nice wonderful person. My mom is one person and if that person is her then I’ll be happy.

Working from home vs. Working at work

I've been at my new job for about 10 weeks now.  Things are going well and I am very glad I made the move.   I was nervous about adjusting back to work in an office, but that hasn't been too difficult.  However, I have made some observations about the differences (some good, some not) which I will share with you now.

1. When you are in the office no one expects you to simultaneously work at your job and do housework or errands.  
2. When you are in the office most of the week you have to set aside time on the weekend for getting the laundry done.
3. When you are in the office it is not unusual to spend 15 minutes or more just chatting with your co-workers about this and that.  You can actually spend time getting to know each other.
4. When you are in the office your co-workers can interrupt your work any time they step up to your desk or into your office.
5. When you are in the office all day you can sometimes come home to find someone else preparing dinner and that is a wonderful thing.
6. When you are in the office all day you cannot run out to the supermarket at lunchtime and get the [fill in ingredient] you need for the dinner you'd planned.
7. When you are in the office and have a meeting in a conference room it can be just as hard to concentrate as when you're on the phone at home.
8. When you are in the office and have conference calls all day you can't help thinking you could have stayed home for that.
9. When you are in the office (at least in my office) people do look at you funny if you wear jeans.  
10. When you are in the office no one looks at you funny if you are wearing fabulous high heels and you are likely to be complimented.  

Halloween 2011: A Pictorial

We started the night with Guacamoldy and Chips.

The dinner menu included Monster Meatloaf and the ever-popular Mummy Hot Dogs:

The costumes were put on. I never got a good shot of Zoe as a Bumble Bee. I think this is the best one:

Trick-or-Treating and Halloween Decoration Admiring began promptly at 6:30.  This was the best jack-o-lantern.



















Finally the nigth was topped off with Tombcakes (because yes, in addition to candy, you need dessert).

Book Review: Fathermucker

I received this book from LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.

Fathermucker is an interesting, sarcastic, humorous, and slightly depressing look at both modern fatherhood and modern parenting. Josh, our hero, is a stay-at-home Dad, or as he calls it a SAHD and the book tells the story of one tumultuous day in his life with two young children.

The story starts a little unevenly, but by halfway through it picks up steam and the tale that unfolds is one I think both modern mothers and fathers can relate to. I enjoyed the Dad's point of view as much as I enjoyed seeing a man struggle with raising young kids while keeping a marriage intact just as many women I know, myself included have.

Overall this is a thoughtful and enjoyable book that I think any parent can appreciate.

Loafer Loveliness

I guess I should save this for Tuesday, but who can wait? 

Back in July I blogged about the gorgeous penny loafers from Tory Burch.  But in all honesty, they were a bit out of my price range so I never got them ... until today when they were on SALE!  I felt I had to share such good news. 

I am happy to report that these beautiful red loafers are on their way to me as I type.  Joy!

Check out Heather!

So exciting!  My friend Heather is in a TV commercial for Kettle Chips:



How awesome is that!!

12 Years Ago Today...

...I married the love of my life.

Lucky me.  Yes, of course, Rob is lucky to have me, but it really goes both ways.  I'm not sure I really understood feeling loved until Rob and I got together.  I can't imagine having faced parenthood and so many things without him by my side.

Happy Anniversary my love.

Halloween Costumes Update

So we went to the party store to look at costumes.  (I always feel guilty just buying costumes since I, of all people, former costume designer, should really make her costumes, but I can't do everything.)  The costume we went looking for was that of Mixed Martial Arts fighter.  I didn't have much hope, but I did think we could find a boxer's costume or some accessories that we could use.  The closest thing available was this:

But I think this might be a little too, um, sexy for a 9 year-old.  

There were a lot of other great costume ideas at the party store.  I made a ton of suggestions.  All of them were shot down.  Including this Athena costume which I thought we could easily turn into an Artemis costume:

But Zoe wanted no part of it.  She's convinced no one will know who she is supposed to be if she wears it and I think she despises the idea of wearing a dress.  Sigh.

Somehow Zoe was ultimately taken in by a set of bumble bee wings and so that is her costume, bumble bee.  It is kind of disappointing in a way that doesn't make sense.  I mean, it is her costume so she should be happy with it and that should be enough for me, right?  Yeah, right.

I'm still thinking of ordering the Athena costume, just in case she changes her mind.  Sigh.

I Don't Know How She Does It

A couple of weeks ago I went to see the movie I Don’t Know How She Does It, the movie based on the book of the same name by Allison Pearson. It was cute, somewhat trite, yet entirely perfect for a girls’ night out. Despite it’s forgetability, something about it stuck with me, some voice in my head said something wasn’t quite right. I listened to the audiobook of this title when it first came out in the U.S. sometime in 2003 and I haven’t carried the best impression of the book with me. If you had asked I would have said it was just an OK book, but I couldn’t tell you why exactly. After seeing the movie, I was pretty sure the moviemakers had either missed something or not quite gotten the story right. No surprise in that happening in a movie adaptation, but I couldn’t remember the book well enough to recall the problem.


Luckily Audible saves your purchased library for all time so I was able to download the book and give it another listen and alas I was able to discover what was missing. In the book (SPOILER ALERT) Momo, Kate’s (the protagonist) protégé, is subjected to sexual harassment in a particular nasty way. The slimy Chris Bunce (played right on target by Seth Meyers in the movie) puts her head on pictures of naked women performing lewd acts. This spurs Kate into action setting up the evil Bunce to get fired and then resigning herself (this does not occur at all in the movie and Kate does not resign). Second, her husband actually leaves her, instead of just implying that he might.

Lastly, and most important, the overarching message of the book seems to be that working too hard and succeeding is not a good thing for a woman – or at least not for her family. Kate and all the other likeable women characters eventually end up either as stay-at-home Moms or working at much less demanding (high-paying) careers. Kate, smart, powerful, highly paid woman, gives up her job so her husband doesn’t leave her and so her kids don’t hate her. This is what brings happiness to husbands and children.

The movie, on the other hands, ends on a note that says women can do it all (except an affair, of course, even if it is Pierce Brosnan), it is just a careful balancing act. I guess I subscribe more with that version of reality for obvious reasons.

In reality I suppose both conclusions are true, depending on who you ask and when. In this current economic climate, I don’t think a story about a woman giving up a high-paying job to spend more time at home would go over well since most don’t even have an option. And while I know for a fact that most stay-at-home moms actually work much harder than I do, I don’t think that staying at home necessarily makes a better mother as the book seems to imply. That’s my gamble, anyway.

At least now I know why my recollection of the book was iffy and I have a new appreciation for the movie rendition.

The one good thing that the book and movie share is how annoying that statement really is, "I don't know how you do it."  I do know.  It's not magic, it's not really anything special.  It's just living.

Halloween Costumes

It's that time of year when a young mind's fancy turns to thoughts of candy and most of all costumes. What a big decision that costume is.   In fact, Zoe has been contemplating her costume since about November 1, 2010. She is still firmly undecided, but I've been keeping track of her ideas since spring.  First came the barbarian. I have no idea where this came from.  Then it was all about Artemis. This was an idea I could get behind because she is so into Greek mythology. We even bought a plastic bow and arrow set over the summer.  Next up was a Viking. Another idea that I have no idea about.  The next strong contender, so strong that I almost ordered part of this costume, was an M&M dressed as rapper Eminem. Since Zoe doesn't even know a single Eminem song, I am completetly clueless on where this idea came from. She seemed so committed to it. Until last night... When she informed me she wanted to be a Mixed Martial Arts fighter. Really? I was hoping yo buy a costume this weekend, but now I'm not so sure. 

9 Years and Growing Fast

The change from baby to toddler and toddler to kid are obvious, marked changes, but the change from little kid to just plain kid happens so slowly that you don't notice it until one day you're folding laundry and you realize that your daughter's t-shirts aren't much smaller than your own.

Zoe turned 9 over 6 months ago now, but with the new school year underway and watching Zoe in her various activities and interests it has hit me lately that she's so damn grown up now.  She's in 4th grade -- a grade I really remember.  I think its an age when you start to come into your own as an individual.   Or maybe I was a slow starter because I think Zoe has known herself for awhile now. 

In any case, she has her own interests, her own likes and dislikes, her own tastes in books, movies, etc.  I love seeing these things develop in her -- especially as she pursues things like Greek Mythology and softball -- things we really don't share.  I'm pretty sure the Percy Jackson series of books will be to her what the Little House books were/are to me.  At the same time, I have to admit to being also saddened to see her so obviously grow away from me.  I know that's part of the overall goal behind raising a child -- to send a good person out into the world, but it hurts a little to think at some point, she won't need me.  Of course, I hope she'll always need me, but it won't be as a baby or kid needs their Mommy.  She won't ask me to get her milk or tie her shoes.  She won't want me to wash her hair. 

However, whether she needs me or not, I'm not ready to lend her my t-shirts.  Thank goodness her feet are still way too small for my shoes!

Zoe and the Babysitter

Saturday night Zoe's favorite babysitter came over so Rob and I could escape to dinner at a restaurant that has no chicken nuggets and an R rated movie.  (We saw Contagion which I thought was great.)  The next morning  I asked Zoe what she and the babysitter did -- watch a movie, play Wii, play cards?  She said, no, they made YouTube video.  Now that is something new! Luckily I trust the babysitter so I know it wasn't inappropriate and I was sure it was just silliness. Which in fact is exactly what it is.

Here's the video (which, I think is funny if you are 9):

Neglect Part 2

OK, so now it seems I am neglecting my blog.  With everything going on all at once I've been wiped out.  So much so that I find myself with a cold this weekend.  Yuck.  However, it has given me the perfect excuse for afternoon naps so I am not completely knocking it.

Here's a quick report card on the last month:

Vacation:  B (would have been an A if Rob could have joined us)
Hurricane Irene:  C (we were fortunate enough to not lose power or sustain damage, but too many other people were affected badly)
Start of new job:  B (might have been better if Hurricane Irene didn't make things screwy the first week)
Start of school:  A+

And here's the newly minted 4th grader herself looking pretty rad if I do say so myself:

Overall average: B+  (Not bad, but room for improvement)

OK, I promise I am committing to getting back to normality, reality, and all that stuff on Monday so blogging should then resume with regularity.

Neglect

I've neglected a lot of things lately and obviously my blog is clearly one of them.  I am on the path to correct my ways, but first let me say it's been one crazy summer in which I learned a rather important lesson.

I pride myself on my multi-tasking abilities and while I am constantly busy being Mom, employee, daughter, friend, etc. I often forget to pay attention to myself.  As a result I woke up one day in June and found I was suffering severely from my own self-neglect.  I was both physically ill and rather depressed and the stupid thing is, I didn't even know it until I reached the point when I just wanted to stay in bed all day.  Anyone who knows me, knows staying in bed all day is not ever my M.O.  I prefer to go, go, go until I drop and then get up early and start again.

A small miracle occurred in mid-June that helped propel me out of my funk and into change.  An old boss of mine emailed me about a potential job.  I know I've already shared that I got a new job, but my reaction to that initial email made me realize just how unhappy I was in my job and seeing a light at the end of the tunnel elevated my mood.  Somehow that also inspired me to finally call the doctor as well.  I described earlier my health scare which luckily turned out to be something simple.  Earlier this week I had (very minor) surgery to fix the problem and I am happy to report that I now feel better than I have in months.  It is pretty amazing actually.

So, now that I am feeling energetic again and excited about my life changes and generally much happier,  I realize how foolish I was to neglect myself for so long.  How could I have been the best Mom, employee, friend, etc. I could be when I was feeling so awful?  Sometimes taking care of yourself is not selfish.  Who knew?

Zoe at Softball Camp: A Video Presentation

Tuesday Shoesday: I Need Shoes!

OK, no pictures of actual shoes today, but I am happy to report that I actually need to buy shoes so I'll be going back through past posts.

How can I need to buy shoes, you ask?  Well, I'm kissing my work-form-home life good-bye because I got a new job!

Anyone who knows me well knows I've been pretty unhappy in my job for awhile, but anyone who's been searching for a job lately knows how tough the job market is these days.  I've been looking on and off for awhile, but not having any luck.  Then lightning struck about a month ago and just yesterday I resigned from my current job.  I'm excited about the new job and that alone is a good feeling, but they also made it clear after the interviews and in the offer that they really want me.  That feels great.   I mean, I know it is a job, but it is good to feel valued at your job and I think (I hope) I am going to feel that way at the new job.

I am going to have to get used to commuting again, but only 3 days a week and there is an option to take a train so I'm not too worried about it.  Before I start I'm going to get almost 2 and a half weeks off.  I haven't had that much time off in a row since my maternity leave.  That's good because I'm going to need some time for shopping for shoes -- and clothes, of course.

Lucky Me

The past couple of weeks I've had a bit of health issue that involved a biopsy and waiting for the results of that biopsy.  I am very fortunate that I can say the results of the biopsy were negative, but it was so hard to keep my head on straight while waiting.  Most of the time I tried not to think about it, but every once in awhile my mind would go there.

What if I have cancer?

What if I die?

And in thinking about those questions I was really thinking about Zoe.  I can't leave her -- not yet.  She still needs me.  Just contemplating that thought was, still is, a lot to take.  I know if the results had been different that I would hardly have been the first mother of young children diagnosed with cancer and I know I could fight it and have good chances being youngish and healthy, but in the waiting moments that stuff didn't matter.  All that mattered was who would take care of Zoe.  Who would buy her tampons and help her with her first heartbreak?  Who would take her prom dress shopping or help her choose a college?  Who would cheer her on the whole way? It has to be me.

I am so lucky that I can be relatively sure it still will be.

Tuesday Shoesday: More Love of Loafers

Looks like loafers are in for fall.  After the complete drought of shoe love this spring and summer this makes me so happy.  Here are some fabulous pairs I've seen lately:

Anne Klein Walnut

Enzon Angiolini Balinia

Kate Spade Connie

Me Too Nerissa

Looks like I am going to need some space for shoes.  I don't think Rob really needs his own closet, do you?

The Ambitions of a 9 Year-old

Tuesday Shoesday: I Love Loafers

OK, maybe summer shoes just aren't my thing, but fall shoes are definitely squarely in the "my thing" category especially since they often include variations on the loafer.  As much as I don't want to rush summer along, I do like ogling the coming fall fashions.  One of my favorite early looks is this penny loafer from Tory Burch.

Are those gorgeous, or what? They are on the top of my "want" list right now.