Then and Now

In honor of our 10 year high school reunion this year, I thought I would post some pictures I found in my "Mr. Eggleston" scrapbook from 11th grade. It was great to catch up with all my DB girls at our annual Christmas Dinner, and I wish I had brought these pics with me to show. But here they are for y'all to enjoy! Merry Christmas!


Then.....


Now.....

(And sorry, Becca...I didn't have any fun pics of you in my book, so you'll have to dig yours up and find some since the rest of us have to be put through this humiliation!!)

Little Turkey

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven...
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance...A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away.."
-Ecclesiastes 3:1-6

This is one of my favorite times of the year. It's a time to take inventory of the past twelve months that are slowly coming to a close and a time to give thanks for blessings past and future. It's a time to get together with friends and family and celebrate the good things in our life, even if the past year has been filled with hardship. We have so many things to be thankful for: most of all for Miller, who has a magical way of making people instantly forget their problems. Here are some pictures from Miller's first Thanksgiving!

Santa Claus is coming.....

Over Thanksgiving, the family made a trek out to the Opryland Hotel to have dinner and see the Christmas decorations and lights. It was M's first visit to Opryland with all of the lights up, and the family's first visit in a long, long time. Here are some pics:


Old Hickory Steakhouse...our favorite!


Lights in the Atrium


Mom looking cute in a Santa Hat!


Stopping for M's dinner...


In front of the Grand Christmas Tree.


Walking through the Atrium


Pictures with Santa! (Had no idea he would be there or we would have dressed up more for the occasion....now we know!)

Confession

It has been brought to my attention that I am really slacking when it comes to taking and posting pictures of M. And I will admit, I have NO excuse. I could lie and say "I have to SLEEP when the baby SLEEPS" and I have no free time for computers or scanning or writing. This is, by the way, the most annoying piece of advice to a new mom that you could ever give and I promise to never dole it out myself.

In truth, I should have all the time in the world. ***knock on wood*** M sleeps on and off from about 11PM to 11AM and is in a semi-wakeful state for the rest of the day. (For those of you who know me, it seems as though she has taken after her mother and can fall deep into a REM cycle at the drop of a hat). So the lack of posting is simply laziness (or obsessive constant cleanliness) on my part. (Now that Nellie is back, I spend a lot of my free time picking up dog hairs, ugh!)

I apologize. And I promise that more updates will be in store.

Things that annoy me in the news...

Since I don't often have the time (or mental energy) to blog lately, it takes a LOT to make me pull the "Things that annoy me" out of the closet and dust it off. This irritates the crap out of me:

Pinhead

So you're a starting linebacker for a football team that is not only expected to win the SEC Championship this weekend, but also a shoe-in for a National title and you can't make a better decision than this? Police said they had to risk their lives just to jimmy open the car window to put the car in PARK after this kid drunkenly fell asleep at the wheel with his car stopped at a stop light! Have the foresight to take a taxi and not throw away a bright future: whether it be yours or an innocent's. It's called "tolerance" for a reason!

Miller gets a B+

Today we went for Miller's 1 month check-up at the pediatrician's office. I was a little worried about her being fussy, seeing as our appointment fell between meals and I was sure she would start getting hungry. But alas, amongst the doors and doors of wailing children, M was quiet as could be. I even think I saw her scoff when one especially noisy child started screaming his head off. I know that today was just a good day and I'm sure there are bad to be had, but I couldn't help feeling so proud as our pedi poked and prodded her and she just laid there smiling. Even after her Hep B vaccination she just turned red, shed a few tears, then perked up like a coffeemaker and gave Dr. Mehrotra a big giggle.

Like we thought, she has grown considerably. It's only been 3 weeks since our last visit and she has grown over an inch and put on about 2 1/2 pounds. No wonder those dipes are starting to get a little bit tight. This puts her at about the 89th percentile of females, which I consider a solid B+.

Serendipatiousness

There are two things that got my mind rolling this weekend about all of the strange coincidences that have occurred in my life.

First, I happened to catch one of my favorite movies: Serendipity with John Cusack and Kate Beckinsdale. I love this movie even though watching it now (and not in HD) makes me remember exactly how old I am. Over the years I've become a total believer in "fortunate accidents."


Second, D's longtime friend Tony came to visit for the weekend. As I listened to them swap stories about their glory days playing for the Thundercats in Knoxville, I realized another strange parallel in our lives. If I had happened to hang out with a few younger, more catty group of "kittens" in my sorority in college I might have met him or his friends years ago. And this isn't even the start of it! The following are some more of the "serendipitous" parts of our lives that ended in our eventual meeting:

1) D was swimming for a country club in Knoxville when I was swimming for a country club in Nashville. His Dad and my Mom were both meet officials. Though D eventually quit swimming to play football, I continued on. When I moved to East Tennessee I swam in meets at Oak Ridge High School, where his Dad was the swim coach.

2) My swim team used to work the Vanderbilt football games to raise money for our booster club. I was probably filling drinks and counting change in the concession stands when D was out on the field playing ball.

3)When I was a senior in college, I interviewed for 2 jobs for after I graduated. One was a position with Gallo where I had the chance to go to either Oklahoma, Texas, or South Florida. I chose South Florida and accepted their offer. The other job was working in Knoxville...for D's Dad's company. Just weird.

4) Little known fact: I actually met D at a bar in Deerfield Beach the week I moved to Florida...a week before we started working for the same company, in the same division. (Little-er known fact: we both caught each other's eyes because we were the only two people in our office that could see each other over the cubicle walls!)

5) And the most "fortunate" accident of all...Hurricane Frances. If our company hadn't had a late meeting the night Broward/Palm Beach counties were evacuated, D and I may not have become so close. You see, I had no gas and by the time we got out, there was none to be had. So I was forced to hitch a ride with whomever I could. 24 hours later we were still in the car evacuating. Needless to say, we then became quite good friends.

So as you can see, I feel like the stars aligned after several missed encounters. It's funny how life goes sometimes, isn't it?

Catching up...

So there have been so many things that I've had the urge to blog about lately, all of which are lost on the way to actually sitting down at the computer. Between bottles, visitors, changing my and baby's clothes 10 times a day from all the spit up (and consequently doing a bazillion loads of laundry a day) it seems my brain has become accustomed to thinking about the same 5 things over and over. It's turning into Jell-O. I need to blog like a senior citizen needs to do his crossword puzzles. So I'm going to cram all the random things I've thought about this week into one Blog O' Mini-Blogs. Here goes:

1. Banana Bread. I made it with chocolate chips this week. Simple but brilliant addition that I recommend you try next time you have bananas lying brown and stinking on your counter because you don't have time to eat anymore. Thanks D for holding our child for ten seconds while I could bake.

2. Champagne. (Excuse me, rather "California Sparkling")
I don't get to indulge as often as I used to, but when I do I make sure it counts. My lovely friend Hector with Freixenet sent me a bottle of their new sparkling from Gloria Ferrer called 'Va de Vi'. In one word: REFRESHING! Probably one of the most satisfying sparklers I've had in a while. It tasted like a fuzzy navel sno-cone from BeachHut smelled, bringing back great memories from high school. (Kingsport ladies give a holla!)

3. Speaking of High School. Found my old scrapbook from Mr. Eggleston's 12th grade AP English class. Laughed like hell when I turned to the "Likes and Dislikes" portion of the project. I liked "Black Mercury Cougars" and disliked "Paying $1.50 for Gas." My how times have changed. I think at some point I will have to scan some of those pages and write a whole post about how fat I thought I was back then. Jesus.

4. Fall. Both as the season and the verb. I love this time of year. I hate when D leaves the swing in the middle of the bedroom floor when I have to get up in the middle of the night. Let's just say I'm glad I didn't use many of my post-partum painkillers when Miller was born because I'm needing them for my jacked up knee now.

5. My friend Heather. I could kiss her for all the comic relief she brought to my life this week. (Not to mention all the diaper changes I didn't have to do because she was so excited to 'take care' of Millie.) Here's just a tid-bit: "Hey, isn't that the guy from the Red Stripes?" she shouts loudly as Jack White sits down at the table next to us for dinner. Good thing Chrissy was light on her feet and started talking about Jamaican beers. I'm still laughing about it now.

Ok, so I think that's all I have time for today. Hopefully I can be a little better in the future about finding a few minutes to blog-as-I-go during the week. (And so my brain doesn't turn to mush like those bananas on my counter.)

**she says as she stuffs her face with chocolate banana bread, yum**

Miller makes the funniest faces....

....that I can't even imagine trying to capture on camera. So here's the closest I thought I could get to illustrating her funny looks for you all:



I see each of these grumpy looks about 20 times a day. What a silly, silly little girl! If I can manage to get this on digital, I will edit this post when I do!

Happy Birthday to me!

I never really subscribed to the whole "astrology" thing until my friend Lindsay gave me a book called 'The Secret Language of Relationships' that blew my socks off. I never realized that all of my closest friends are either Cancers, Scorpios, or Pisces. Ironically, all water signs. (And D's birthday just happens to be 180 days from mine...a perfect trine in the astrological calendar.) Don't get me wrong, I don't live my life by the laughable blurbs in the Horoscope section of the newspaper. But it is nice to read the following as I forge into year 28 of my life. Geez, when did I get so old!



The Year Ahead: Forecast for November 2009 to November 2010

If You Were Born Today, November 5: You possess a rare balance between introspection and extroversion. You are able to look within for answers, and often do, yet reaching out to others and making social connections also comes fairly easily to you. You are quietly ambitious, and a strong sense that you will achieve can carry you far. You have an aptitude for the written word and/or you are able to charm others through your words. You are more adaptable than most Scorpios, yet you are determined in whatever ignites your passions. You perhaps appear to be more versatile than you actually are. You possess your own unique vision, and you are not a conformist. Driven by a quiet sense of a personal mission, if you follow your intuition, success is almost guaranteed. Famous people born today: Roy Rogers, Tatum O'Neal, Art Garfunkel, Bryan Adams, Vivien Leigh.

Your Birthday Year Forecast: The Sun conjuncts Mercury and squares Mars in your Solar Return chart. Your energy levels run high this year, but you should watch for hasty or impetuous behavior. Remember that "haste makes waste". This year is likely to be especially busy. You could be rather willful and impassioned, and it would be best to channel excess energy into healthy physical outlets. Others might find you temperamental. You feel a great need for action, but if you don't know where you're headed, you might take the wrong turn. As long as you channel the excess energy constructively, instead of wasting your time arguing or getting yourself into conflicts with others, you can accomplish much.

This can be a year when bursts of restlessness, rebellion, and impatience figure prominently. You have a tendency to take risks and to act on sudden impulses without considering consequences. You assert your will and individuality powerfully, and you are ready to fight for freedom. There may be changes in work schedules, or life's circumstances could challenge you in such a way that you need to change your goals or actions. This can also be a time when you tend to resist others and challenge them if they are trying to hold you back. Energy fluctuates this year. If you aren't too rash or impulsive, you might be able to free yourself from restrictive circumstances. You could also have more courage than usual to do things that break the routine, and confrontations engaged in this year could clear the air and help you to move forward.

Venus trines Neptune and Chiron, and you are likely to find yourself more accepting and understanding of your friends and lovers. Contentedness in love is likely to figure and to attract positive circumstances (and people) into your life this year. You are more imaginative and attuned to the world of beauty and romance this year. Gentleness with others is the best way to harness this energy and to attract what you want into your life. Social opportunities might increase, and a boost in your personal popularity and magnetism is also likely. Others are looking on you favorably, particularly friends and lovers. You'll have a chance to heal old wounds with regards to love this year. You're also bound to find new ways of making money.

Realistic optimism is your main avenue to success, while impatience or succumbing to tension and stress are potential downfalls. Social opportunities increase and an expansive, faithful attitude brings many rewards.


2009 is a Number Nine year for you. Ruled by Mars. This is a year of completion and transition. It is a time when we need to let go of things that no longer serve their purpose, and hold on to things that have a future. It is a time of cleaning out dead wood, not necessarily for new beginnings. It can be a time when a burden has been taken off your shoulders, and it can be a year of giving of yourself. Advice - let go of things that are holding you back, give of yourself and express your sympathetic, compassionate side.

2010 will be a Number One year for you. Ruled by the Sun. This is a year of action. The seeds you plant now, you will reap later. Others might find you less sociable, as you are busier than ever and you focus on your activities and your needs. Still, you are outgoing and your initiative is stronger than ever. Advice - Stand alone, take action, start fresh, express independence.

Four Generations...

Miller met her Great-Grandparents yesterday! We spent an evening in Knoxville with D's grandparents who were stopping by on their way to Florida for the winter. It was a whirlwind of a day, but so worth the drive!


The whole gang....

Happy Halloween!

From the 'Bergs....
Click Here

Welcome to the World, Baby Girl!

So on Tuesday, October 13th our baby girl decided to make a surprise entrance! Since I was one week past my due date, D and I had scheduled a birthday for Miller on the 15th. But I guess my body had it's own schedule.

After a questionable "was that my water breaking?" moment, we decided to go to the hospital to get checked out on Monday morning. We were 99% positive we would be returning to the house because I had absolutely no other signs of labor: no contractions, no dropping, no pain whatsoever. After sleeping in and having a nice breakfast, we made our way to the Labor & Delivery floor of Vanderbilt Hospital, joking that it would be a nice way to deliver a baby if it was the real thing.

One hour later I was prepped and ready for induction. My water HAD broken...which we couldn't believe! (Less than 15% of women have their water break before going into labor and reaching the hospital.) I was having contractions 5 minutes apart and not even feeling them. Thank God for good genes- this kind of painless labor also happened to my mother when I was born. I love you Mom!!!

20 hours, one episode of running out of the epidural, one allergic reaction to Penicillin, and 2 1/2 hours of pushing later....baby Miller came out to play! Face up, the only thing I remember is D laughing at the top of his lungs when her little chubby cheeks finally made an appearance. We had an overall GREAT experience and are really enjoying "learning" her. She definitely has a lot of personality. (And she looks JUST like D....what a cutie!)

I was back on my feet that day and doing spectacularly. (Well, other than the grotesque swelling that still makes my legs and feet look like giant sausages...ironic, isn't it? I thought that the last 6 months of cankles would be sufficient, but I guess my legs have other ideas.)

Stay tuned for more updates and pictures...and welcome to the world, baby girl!!

Baby Shower!

So it's been a little while since I've posted, but believe me, I've had a good reason....let me tell the story from the beginning.

BAM! Flash! Ears pop and my hair stands up on end. Yes, my house was struck by lightning (while I was upstairs on the couch, nevertheless) Of course Darren is out of town on business for the rest of the week and I'm left to freak out and make sure the house isn't on fire. (Thank God for good neighbors!) Anyhow, we officially lost 2 satellite receivers, 1 phone line, 1 digital phone, and the internet for about 2 weeks. So that is my excuse...if excuses are even necessary in the blogging world.

So I'm back on line and have some baby shower pictures to post! Thanks to Chrissy, Heather, and Gina for hosting! It was a beautiful day at Gina's beautiful house....I really couldn't have asked for more! Thanks to everyone again for making it such a special day!

Outside on Gina's deck...it was 70 degrees and sunny!

Presents! Look at the cute duckie feet!

Putting the stroller together....one of my favorite moments from the day, I don't think I've ever laughed so hard!

okay, so maybe I did laugh harder that day....Dale and Darren putting together the pack 'n' play

Southern Food & Wine Show

So this weekend my company kicked off our very first partnership with The Food Network at the "Southern Food & Wine Show." It was exhausting, but fun...and I'm really proud of us for pulling off such a top-notch event in so little time. (They gave us a little over 3 weeks to prepare!!) Next year is already on the schedule, so make your plans to come and mingle with winemakers and celebrity chefs from all over the country!

This was before I logged about 8 miles walking around Opryland

Yay for our Florida friends! So glad to have Chris (aka Snowflake) working in Nashville now.

Larry David Spills Seinfeld Reunion Secrets...

Okay...so I just stole this from E! Online....how exciting!

"The context is that for years I've been asked about a Seinfeld reunion," he says. "I would always say, 'No. There's not going to be a reunion show. We would never do that. It's a lame idea.' And then I thought it might be very funny to do that on Curb. I kept thinking about it. I started to think of different scenarios and how we can pull this off. I called Jerry and Jerry was game. I said, 'Well, I'll call the others.' And I did and we did it. So we're doing a Seinfeld reunion show on Curb."

What exactly will we see during the creation of a faux reunion special? "We're going to see writing. We'll see aspects of the read-through, parts of rehearsals. You'll see the show being filmed and you'll see it on TV. You won't see the entire show. You'll see parts of the show. You'll get an an idea of what happened 11 years later. It will be incorporated into regular Curb episodes, so the castmembers will be playing themselves on Curb while all of this is going on."

Though it seems this could take up the entire season, he explains, "The reunion is scattered through the season and I think the cast will be on five shows. All four won't be on all five shows. Jerry is on five shows; the others will be on at least four. The season finale will be about the reunion show. It could very well be [a one-hour episode], but I haven't finished editing it yet. But that's a good possibility."

Friends don't let friends drink friends....

So you might say that D and I are slightly obsessed with the new HBO series TrueBlood. If we don't catch the new episode on Sunday night, you can be sure it's on our DVR. I've even gone so far as to read the books (which I will warn you are addicting. I swore not to get ahead of the show, but now I'm on #6, go figure...)



But we both agreed that this is taking it a little too far.

The fictional beverage "TruBlood" has now been officially launched through HBO.com. You can order it from the website, but word on the street is that this sweet, fizzy, blood-orange flavored drink is already making its way to the Happy Hour scene for TruBlood vodka martinis and other fancy cocktails. Can you believe it?

I don't think we'll be seeing this in Nashville, but I have to admit I might try it if I did. For right now I think I'll have to pass on ordering it from the net...my weekly dose of True Blood is enough to get me through.

For those of you who are a little late catching onto this show, a little advice: watch from the beginning. And if you haven't already been convinced...maybe this pic of Ryan Kwanten (who plays stumbly southern sweetie Jason Stackhouse on the show) will tempt you to check it out:




What a cutie!

Get a load of this....

Meet Miller! So it's taken my latest supercreepybutawesome ultrasound pictures to get me out of my posting funk. So here's our little angel! (Of course, take a look at those hands...I think she's rubbing them together plotting how to jab me in the rib or roundhouse me in my spinal cord. She's going to be a handful!)

She has Darren's nose

We call this one the "Beauty Pageant" picture...her umbilical cord looks like a "Miss Tiny Womb" sash

Don't worry...she doesn't have a hole in her head, she's just squished up against my bellybutton in this pic.

And for those of you who got really creeped out by these pictures, let me assure you that I did too! There's a real baby in there!

Big Baby

Okay, so this is my greatest fear, people....

On the left- Meet Chelsea Rose Mackay, the largest baby ever born in Australia, weighing in at a hefty 14 lbs. She looks like a toddler sumo-wrestler! This is a picture taken in the infants ward of Townsland Hospital in Queensland, Australia, showing Chelsea next to a 2 lb. preemie named Melissa. This picture scares the crap out of me!

And Really Quick....

I just added some new songs to the playlist:

1) "Keep it Together" Dedicated to Brooke & Brittany Maness for their miraculous 1400 mile trip to save shelter dogs! Go girls!

2) "Bad Things"- the opening credits to "True Blood" that I'm SO glad is back for it's second season.

3) "Beautiful Mine"- the opening credits for "Mad Men" that starts back August 14th! Can't Wait!

4) "A-punk"-the opening credits for my favorite XM radio show "Broadminded" that I can now listen to at home with my new XM receiver! YAY! I was so worried that I would miss out during my maternity leave...thank God for good incentives!

My Big Fat Geek Wedding...

I just have a photo post today: a couple of pictures of my cousin took(she is getting married next spring) . She is very fancy in her thrift store wedding dress...aren't these are the most awesome pictures ever!?!

Wines for the Weekend...

With yet another weekend upon us, I thought I'd offer up some general assistance this time around. Summertime offers several unique opportunities for indulging. Here are my recommendations:

Grilling Out-

I could drink Zin all the time and be a happy camper, but the varietal does offer a certain something special when matched with just about any grilled food. The wine usually has a burst of juicy fruitiness and a touch of some exotic sweet spice, making it a perfect match for that nicely charred goodness. Burgers, steaks, barbecue...you name it and Zinfandel brings out the best in it.

Disclaimer: Friends Don't let Friends BBQ Drunk!

Boating-

On a hot humid day, there's nothing better than being out on the water catching some rays. One mostly thinks of a cooler full of beer in these types of situations, which can be oh-so refreshing. But let's take a moment to think outside the box. Or in the box for that matter. My recommendation is the *gasp* box wine for any mobile water fun. We aren't talking about your parent's Franzia anymore, people. The quality of most boxed wines has improved dramatically over the past decade or so. Just make sure you fork out at least 20 bucks for a 3L box (it IS four bottles of wine, y'all) and you'll be sure to get something that doesn't make your mouth pucker. If it really is a hot day, I'd try to find a Sauvignon Blanc or Riesling to cool yourself off, just make sure you take the time to chill thoroughly before departure!

Black Box now makes Marlborough SauvBlanc in a Box!

Pool Party-

Okay, here I will recommend one specific wine. It's portable, it's refreshing, it's just cool: Sofia Coppola Cans. It's sparkling wine in (what looks like) a soda can! You can lounge by the pool with your pals and the kiddies won't even know! Now keep in mind it is a Blanc de Blanc, meaning it is a true, yeasty French-like sparkling. You'll need to have some nibbles nearby or you might find yourself with a case of the dry-mouth. Find it (or ask for it) at your local specialty store:

It even comes with a tiny straw!

Consumer Reports...

I have to admit, both D and I are not really into this whole "Global Warming" trendy green movement. Don't get me wrong, Darren's not driving down the interstate throwing wads of paper out the window and I'm not running the water while I brush my teeth...God Forbid! We are both just thinking more along the lines of not being wasteful than trying to prevent Florida from being overtaken by the Atlantic. So sue me.

Nevertheless, the endless displays of "green" dog treats and recycled toilet paper at the grocery store don't tend to catch my eye. But imagine my delight when I first see the new Dial Eco-Smart Refill Pouches! The idea is so simple! No more trying to tip the gigantic economy size plastic tubs of refill at exactly the right angle to pour into the soap dispenser only to have it come out too fast and doughnut up over the sides. To me it doesn't matter if it says "Eco" anything on the front...if it saves me time and money *dingdingding* I think we have a winner. (Although I must say it is satisfying to think of all the plastic bottles I won't be throwing in the trashcan.)

Here's a video that explains it a little more. Don't worry, you're not a bad person if you laugh at the SuperSavetheEarth-man narrating it....I found it very humorous too.

Wilderness Adventure

This is unfortunately the only picture I was able to take before my camera battery died because I stupidly left the thing on for the whole car ride down. But yes, this is the view from the Lake House that D, myself, and 14 of my co-workers stayed at for a week at Lake Oconee in Greensboro, GA (aka the Wilderness).

We had a heck of a time relaxing, cooking-out, and playing poker....which I won by pulling out a Full House in the last round of our game....Sweeet! For a work trip, I must say that I rather enjoyed having a domestic, low-key vacation. (For those of you who remember last year's Cancun fiasco and my 2 week near death experience afterward which I termed the "Mexican Flu," you will recall that I never want to see a Mexican Airport ever again.) The house was amazing and we ate the most marvelous food. Between the waffles, filets, and Mitchell's killer Cast-Iron Pot Jambalaya, I'm not sure what was my favorite. Remembering the food makes me almost forget that I missed almost a day and a half of our trip after a horrific spider bite that landed me in the ER in Deliverance Country. Good thing it was a run-of-the-mill spider and not a scary-fancy-spider, otherwise the syringe of Benedryl they gave me might not have been enough. I guess it wouldn't be a trip to the wilderness without someone getting bitten by something....

(One thing I did learn from this experience, however, is that I will never use sleeping pills again! One Benedryl and I'm out like a light for at least 9 hours.)

What I'm Listening to....

You have to have a certain amount of respect for the children of famous people who don't end up a total waste product, much less make something of themselves. Here are some artists who are beginning what I think will be pretty amazing careers. Check them out:

Ben Taylor, son of James Taylor and Carly Simon

His voice sounds just like his dad's if you catch it just right. And although some tracks on his album 'Another Run Around the Sun' are misses, there are a handful that I really love. Look for "Nothing I Can Do" on my MixPod (a song played at D and I's wedding) and "Digest." He also has a wonderful cover of Macy Gray's "I Try" out there, although I'm not sure what album it's on.

Schuyler Fisk, daughter of Sissy Spacek and Jack Fisk

I've been a fan of Schuyler's music since the beautiful duet with Joshua Radin called 'Paperweight' was released on The Last Kiss soundtrack. I've been a fan of Schuyler in general since her debut as Kristy in The Babysitter's Club, one of my favorite flicks from teendom. (Do you recognize her without the ballcap??) At long last she has come out with an album, called "The Good Stuff." There are some outstanding songs, like the catchy "Hello" and "From Where I'm Standing" that have been in her repetoire for years. Newly written tracks like "Good Stuff" and "Sunshine" show that there is only good stuff to come for Ms. Fisk.

Consumer Reports

There are very few things in life that I say I could live without. Shoes, contacts, computers, thai pickle chips from PM....the list is actually quite small in the whole scheme of things. I am going to start a new mid-week series of posts, however, for those household items that I believe have been the greatest consumer products launched on the market in my short 27 years. I will start with my favorite:

Ladies, what did we do before the Pledge Multi-Purpose wipe?? I mean besides constantly spraying (and inhaling) Windex micro-bubbles of cleaner. Someone really had their thinking cap on when they thought of this ingenious product. Or maybe it was just a distraught housewife, tired of constantly being on the dust-bunny hunt. I find that keeping a pack of these in a drawer in each one of the rooms in the house really helps me keep my sanity. (And D probably doesn't even know they're there.)

One Dog at a Time...

Nellie says click HERE!

Please visit my friend Brooke's blog "One Dog at a Time" to learn more about an awesome adventure she is undertaking this summer....all in the name of puppy love. I had no idea that people do what she and her sister are planning to do. (You must click to learn what I'm talking about.) It is so admirable! Please help her help shelter animals!