Yum, yum….Chris Noth! May 28, 2008

Ok, so I know he’s older than my father. And he’s not hot in a Brad Pitt kind of way. He doesn’t have six pack abs that he shows off on Caribbean beaches. But there is something so damn sexy about Chris Noth.

He’s got that certain air of sophistocation about him. Some kind of magnetism that commands attraction. That kind of elegant narcissism that makes you irresistibly attracted to someone who knows they are good looking.

I am a bit disappointed that he will actually have a name in the Sex and the City movie. John. He deserves a, pardon the pun, bigger name than that. A name that commands as much attention as his physical presence does.

Oh well…I’ll totally get over it. I am so thrilled to see him on the big screen!

 

Sex and the City, the movie! May 27, 2008

Is anyone else so excited they can’t even stand it?!? I seriously can.not.standit! My girlfriends and I, as I am sure many other groups of girlfriends, took Friday off of work to have a Sex Day! We will be meeting for lunch at an adorable restaurant before hand for a bite, and the obligatory Cosmopolitan. Then we will be going to see the much awaited movie!

SO VERY EXCITED!!!!!

“Mom, what’s a strip club?” May 23, 2008

Oy vey!

That is a question I got to answer this morning on the way to school. I always get the fun questions!

Now, I think this came up because the recent Grand Theft Auto game recently came out. Now, I am no video came connoisseur, but this series of games I am pretty sure has strip clubs and prostitutes in it. Therefore, I deemed it not appropriate for my almost 8 year old son. Obviously.

Somewhere along the line I swear Christian had told me that his dad had purchased, and let him play, this recent game in the series. I figured Matt wouldn’t let C play something that was not appropriate for him, so one evening we were at our friends Chris and Liz’s house, and C asked to play. I figured if Matt had let him play, there was no harm in me letting him play for a few minutes. “Maybe it was the last version that had hookers in it,” I thought to myself.

While C was playing, Liz’s son Mason informed me that there were in fact strip clubs in this latest version. Of course I made C turn the game off immediately. And he hasn’t been able to play since. Although when I walked in, C’s character was taking a girl on a date to a bowling alley. So it may be that he didn’t make it to the strip club scene.

So…this morning I am asked by my 2nd grader what a strip club is. As quickly as I can, I run through the options in my head. I can 1) Totally lie to him and make something up. Like it’s a resturant where they serve strip steak, or 2) Tell him the truth, without giving him too vivid of a mental image.

So I told him that it was a club where people danced with little to no clothes on. And he blushed, bless his soul, and said, “Oh.”

And that was the end of it. I really hope that in the future Matt starts getting some of these questions. I don’t want to answer the hard questions anymore!

I’m the best at almost everything! May 20, 2008

According to my son, that is. For Mother’s Day he made me a gorgeous beaded bracelet. Although it is orange and black (Oregon State colors, and I went to University of Oregon) I love it. He was so very excited to give it to me. He even made me close my eyes, and he unwrapped it for me and placed it in my hands.

In lieu of a card, he had drawn me a picture with a note in the middle of it. This is what it said, verbatim. (I will translate below)

Dear mom You are

the best at everything.

Omost everthing. You are the

best at bord games. You

owasy bete me. You are

the best a everting!!!!!!!!!!

That means:

Dear Mom,

You are the best at everything. Almost everything. You are the best at board games. You always beat me. You are the best at everything!

I know he had every good intention of making me feel like a million bucks with that note. But honestly, none of it’s true. It does make me very happy that he thinks that I am the best at everything. The poor kiddo is going to realize that I’m probably not the best at anything. You know that part where he says I always beat him at board games? Not even true. Try as I might to beat him, he actually kicks my ass most of the time. And no, I’m not letting him win. He just has a knack with games. He’s a smart one, that boy of mine. Yes, I know, the spelling can be improved upon but really he’s quite bright.

None the less, I have the letter hanging up in my office. For those days that I’d like to fill myself with delusions of greatness, I will read my son’s declarations that indeed, I am the best at everything! Well, almost everything.

 

A few cool things… May 19, 2008

So this weekend a couple of cool things happened that I would like to share:

 

Cool thing #1:

I saw Jenny (yes, again, of Jenny and the Dustholes!) (Jenny pays me $5 everytime I mention her name.)

Cool thing #2:

I stayed at my friend Jen’s place across the river on Saturday night, and had to go through downtown Portland along the waterfront, through downtown to the otherside of town to get to my Matt’s place in the ‘burbs on Sunday. As I was along the waterfront and weaving through the blocks of downtown there were a ton of cops blocking roads, and roads closed. I knew it was too soon for the Rose Parade so I was confused as to why I had to zig-zag my way through town. Fast forward about 12 hours to last night as I was watching the 11 o’clock news and saw the AMAZING crowd that had gathered along the waterfront to see Barack Obama campaigning. If only I was in the political loop, I would have stopped and enjoyed a little piece of history. But I was *this close* to Obama. Damn it.

4 Things… May 16, 2008

4 things all about me!

I’m always down to write about myself. Talking about myself, not so much. So, here is a short survey all about moi!

4 things I did 10 years ago: (1998 )

1. Graduated high school. With honors. Yep, that’s right, I was a smarty-pants.

2. Went to Mexico for the first time, which in turn required me to ride on an airplane for the first time. It was a great trip, I think…

3. Broke up with The World Worst Boyfriend. Wow, he was really craptastic! I’m happy to report that I have been in touch with him lately, and he has finally pulled his life together, which makes me happy.

4.  Ventured out into the real world, and lived on my own for the first time. Well, if you call having a kick ass roommate, and living in a dorm with 60 or so other people “alone.”

4 things I did 5 years ago: (2003)

1. Went to Fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada for the first time and fell in love. With the city, not a man.

2. Dated 3 men at the same time! I was newly single after leaving C’s dad, and was trying to date which was new to me. I actually successfully dated them all without the others knowing!

3. Got my heart broken for the first time. His name was Paul. It was a whirlwind love affair that forever changed my life. He’s now married (of course he is) and I, am still trying to date. Lovely…

4. Missed my son like crazy! Like I said, I had just left C’s dad and we split custody 50/50. Going from being with him every evening and weekend to only half of that and working full time was absolute hell! That must be why I kept myself busy dating 3 guys.

4 things I did yesterday:

1. Watched my son and his dad’s fiance’s son at their place so they could go to a concert. Yes, I watch her son on occasion. Matt and I have a great relationship (now that we are just friends) and I really like his fiance.

2. Played Rock Band at Matt’s with C. SO.MUCH.FUN!!!! If I had an extra $600 to blow on something, I would buy an Xbox 360 and Rock Band. C played guitar and I was the singer. It was the best time I have had in a while!

3. Watched P.S. I Love You. Wow….if you ever want to cry, there’s your movie. I just recently watched The Notebook for the first time. This movie blew it out of the water! Hilary Swank did an amazing job, as did most of the rest of the cast. Harry Conick Jr. kind of creeped me out though.

4. Spent the rest of the night after watching P.S. I Love You wishing that I could be married to Jeffrey Dean Morgan. And I would make him play guitar for me. And sing in an Irish accent. Hell, I’d make him use the accent all of the time. I wish he was still on Grey’s Anatomy. He was the hottest man on his death bed EVER!

4 shows I love to watch:

1. Grey’s Anatomy. Sometimes I’d really love to smack a couple of characters on that show, but over all it gives me the warm fuzzies.

2. Rock of Love! I and II. As happy as I am that Brett picked Ambre, I’d like it to not work out for them so there can be a Rock of Love III. I just can’t get enough of that aging rock star in a bandanna and eyeliner. It’s the skankiest dating show on tv and I miss it already.

3. Brothers and Sisters. I always end up crying during this show. I love it. It’s my Sunday night cry-fest. I’ll watch Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and bawl like a baby at the end of that show. Then cheer up a little while watching Desperate Housewives, then go back to crying again during Brothers and Sisters. It’s not just the fact that the show pulls on my heart strings…the story lines are great and have yet to disappoint. The acting is fantastic, and the dudes are super hot. Plus Sally Field is in it, who totally is rockin at her age.

4. The Soup. Joel McHale makes me laugh and lust all at the same time. Now, he’s not your typical hot guy, but his witty cynicism really does something to me. And he always brings up how vain Tyra Banks is which is good, good stuff!

So there we go! 4 categories of 4 snippets about me! You should do the same and let me know when you’ve posted it on your blog. What?!? You don’t have a blog? You totally should. It’s really fun, and I’d love to read it!

Wake Robin May 14, 2008

So…my best friend Abby’s husband is in a band. A band that is totally freaking amazing! I saw them again live this last Saturday night at the Bitter End Pub on Burnside. I really cannot explain how good they are. You’ll need to hear for yourself. Here is a link to a few of their songs on their MySpace page:

http://www.myspace.com/wakerobinmusic  

Go take a listen. They make me happy, and I think they will make you happy too!

I totally have a new favorite holiday! May 13, 2008

My friend Jenny (yes, of Jenny and the Dustholes) just informed me that today is World Cocktail Day! I did a little research and as I understand it, it is a holiday which is at the end of World Cocktail Week (a whole week of celebrating the cocktail!!!!) to rejoyce in the genius of the bartenders and beverage artists who get us lit as needed.

I’ve always thought holidays should be celebrated on more than one day. For instance, I celebrate my birthday for a whole week. Apparently the cocktail and I each deserve a whole week!

So sometime today take an hour, or 5 minutes if you chug your drinks, and relax with a nice cocktail and think of all of the great things the cocktail has done for you!

Thud! May 9, 2008

That’s the sound of me falling off of my high horse! Which happened this morning.

Have you ever had one of those mornings where everything just pulled together oh-so-nicely? I had one of those this morning. I was up super early to do some cleaning. I had extra time to get ready this morning. I had a fabulous outfit picked out, with this super cute white skirt that I had forgotten I even owned (funny what you find when you do do laundry!). So I’m rocking the white skirt, which has this great fan-out in the back, a gorgeous turquoise tunic, my killer snakeskin stiletto’s and great accessories. I had plenty of time to whip my hair up into a sassy pony, and spend a little extra time on my makeup. I even had time to put on self-tanner. I was feeling on top of the world.

Christian and I stopped at Starbucks for a quick coffee. Man did I strut around that place. Even though I’m a little heavier, I know I looked good, and I felt good. I passed a table of 5 or 6 really good looking guys and gave them the half-smile, one-second-too-long glace. Once I sat down I realized they all had bibles in front of them…oops!

So Christian and I get our order, and I drop him off at school still feeling pretty on top of the world. I got to work, and pulled down my mirror to re-apply my lip gloss. And oh my goodness! The mess that looked back at me was so scary! It looked like I had done my makeup in the dark! On both sides of my face I had somehow missed the “blending” step of applying foundation. I had the streakiest mess going on on my face. It wasn’t a subtle mistake. I am shocked people didn’t laugh at me in Starbucks! Where was the girl who glared at me when my skirt was broken and my flab was hanging out? Where was she when I needed her again?!?

21 with B May 8, 2008

So things with B are so funny. He has been so attentive these past few weeks. Last Wednesday night he came over after a concert he went to. Not a “booty call” because we don’t do that, remember? But just to spend the night. He knew I was having a hard week, so he came over to be with me.

Last night he came over after work, and we hung out for a bit. Then we went to dinner at the Chinese place we go to, then to a tiny old school movie theater to see the movie 21. The movie is based on the book, Bringing Down the House, by Ben Mezrich. The book was captivating! I read it in less than a week. I was very, very excited to see the movie.

Now I know when books get turned into screenplays a lot of sub-plots and storylines get changed. I get it. The movie was good, don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed it. The fact that they changed SO much was a disappointment though. If you have read the book and are going to see the movie, don’t go in trying to match things up. It doesn’t work like that. Even the main characters name is changed. I have no idea why they did that.

Anyhow…good date, good movie, good night. This whole B thing just cracks me up now!

Happy Cinco de Mayo! May 5, 2008

Well…I made it through the weekend. I still haven’t recovered. It was physically and emotionally draining. I’ve never cried so much in one day before. I will give you the full run down when I have more energy stored up.

I know I already posted a blog about the lessons that I have learned since Terri’s passing. The biggest one that I have learned is how much I am loved. I reconnected with so many friends that I had lost touch with on Saturday. It feels really great to feel that loved. As long as I live I will never forget the emotions that I felt on Saturday. My people are pretty damn amazing!

Lessons I’ve learned in this past week May 2, 2008

These past six days have been the worst six consecutive days of my life. The heartache and emotional exhaustion has been more than I ever thought I could bear. But I have made it through every day so far. Some much more difficult than the others. In these six days I have learned some very valuable lessons, which is what I think Terri would have wanted this to be. A lesson, an experience to grow and find something good in tragedy. Because that’s what she would have done.

Lesson #1:

There is not enough beer in the world to get you drunk when you are mourning the sudden loss of a friend. Numbness+beer=Numbness still. Beer is like a zero in that equation. It just doesn’t matter.

Lesson #2:

I, hands down, have the most wonderful friends in the world. I don’t know how I have been so fortunate to collect so many amazing, beautiful people and keep them in my back pocket. Without all of them and the strength they give me, I don’t know what I would have done this past week. Thank you to all of you. Even those of you who didn’t know what to say, or what to do….thank you for being a part of my life and supporting me and loving me. You make my life beautiful!

Lesson #3:

My son is the smartest person I know. Not the smartest kid, the smartest person. He has always been wise beyond his years, and I’ve always had the impression that he has lived in this world before (even though I’m not sure if I believe in that.) The maturity that he deals with people floors me. Throughout this last week, he has been the support I needed the most. I know it isn’t suppossed to be like that, but it has been. He is a saint.  He has such an instinct when it comes to people, and says just the right thing at just the right time. His insight suprises me.

Lesson 4:

Tell everyone you love, that you love them. And that you appreciate them and that you will do anything for them. I’ve always felt this way, but Terri’s death has made me realize how important this truly is.

Lesson #5:

Live every day like it is your last. Terri lived her life that way. She made everything a happy fun time. She wouldn’t mourn the failures, she’d celebrate the effort. I wish I wouldn’t have let so much time pass by without calling her and seeing her. I know that she knows that I loved her. I just wish I could have been around the last few months to tell her myself. I didn’t realize that her time here with us was so limitied. She lived her life big, with a smile on her face and now I will try to follow her example.

Lesson #6:

Don’t leave your friends behind. No matter what you are going through, don’t leave them behind. I left a lot of people behind when I moved last year. And I only moved about 10 miles. I needed to make some changes in my life. At that point I thought I needed to distance myself from those people for a while in order to make the changes. That wasn’t necessary. I just needed to change the situations in which we saw one another. Isolating myself from these people could have eleviated a lot of the guilt that I have right now. I’m trying not to dwell on that, but it is hard.

So my friends…I share these lessons with you hoping that they may make some small difference in your lives. You never know when you are going to loose someone you love. Don’t take their presence in your life for granted.