The Rain

We've had so much rain. And yet, last week I was in the depths of despair because I feared it would never rain again. We had six weeks of hot, dry weather...with barely even a cloud in the sky save the one day a tropical storm came by us and spat six drops and snubbed its nose and went on about its business.

So on Sunday night we were all perplexed, amazed, and, apparently, instantly rendered unable to drive properly. Rain came down in buckets. FOR 24 HOURS. Then we had a day of sunshine. Then, more rain, in buckets...for OVER 24 HOURS. I believe that's all over with for us, but our friends in Wilmington should get slammed the rest of today.

Two funny things happened in the rain. On the way to school this morning, my son (who is in a very good mood in the mornings - this will change next year with the 6:15 wakeup) and I were listening to our dj friend as we do. She played a 70s rock song that I couldn't take at that moment, so I switched to our jazz station. A peppy swing number was on. Son sighed and said, "On a rainy morning, I prefer SLOW jazz."

I'm with you, brother.



Another funny thing is that my children reverted back to fort building for the duration of the storm. All sports were canceled...for the first time all season, I might add. This meant some free time and some rare inside time. They took all of the blankets, towels, stuffed animals, weights, hats, and spare paper in the house and constructed an enormous system of rooms and tunnels.

It was more than a little humbling to watch this week's Mad Men with it's destructive quality and then have to get on all fours to exit the den.

They are each writing notes to "my neighbor" and have decorated with comfy pillows, flashlights, and until this moment when I decided to blog, my laptop.

There's more rain called for on Monday. I'm letting them keep it up.

Rap Thursday

If I hear one more person act surprised that I like rap, I'm agonna let them finish...and then....

Seriously! What the hell! Did YOU not like the rap? DO you not like the rap?

Girl rap = bananas.

Summoned

I guess this is pretty much what I've been thinking about.

Hopscotch

There is an indie rock festival in our town! Featuring not only some of the most intriguing new bands of today, but easily one of my top five influential bands, Public Enemy, as a headliner!

And we aren't going.

We are 1. broke, 2. overbooked, and 3. exhausted. One of the many "this is so awesome"/"Raleigh you rock" tweets last night as the festival got underway was a welcome, "I'm having to be satisfied reading tweets about my favorite bands instead of seeing them live. #havingkidschangesyourlifefortheworse" Or something akin to that. I agreed (though not really - I do love my urchins).

So tonight, as a local fave plays in front of my husband's office and then is followed by members of Animal Collective and the band Broken Social Scene, and then tomorrow night when Public Enemy fights the power that be, I shall be here with my children and then at my book club annual retreat. The children just aren't worth the $30 ticket. The book club has been neglected far too long.

So what is the light at the end of this dark, musically-bereft tunnel? The fact that we actually ATTENDED Hopscotch today! For the geezers, they had music DURING. THE. DAY. I blew off an appointment, grabbed my hubby, and went, in mom jeans, to a club. At noon! And there were beers! And good old friends, and some new ones too! And music! By a band I knew a little, and grew to love during their set!

I grew to love my husband a little bit more, too. That was truly one of the best hours I've had in months. Happy Hopscotch Weekend, all you hipsters! I joined you, if only for a little while, in rock solidarity.

Do You Remember?

Ah, Labor Day. A weekend where I....work. However, we have a lot of down time planned this weekend and hope to soak up some local culture, splash in our local pool, and dine on some local summer favorites before they go dormant.

September Sucks is my mantra...school/heavy workload/hurricane season, etc. There have been distractions from the usual mêlée, I must say. Such as:

Injuries and Illness

My Form + Function friend had gum surgery. As I told her, I KNOW YOUR PAIN. Ouchie, oh ouchie ouchie. My pastor broke his shoulder coming out of a Starbucks. His right shoulder - his healing, hugging shoulder. Bless. The many children we know with ailments are all doing ok...some in worse shape than others, but a few actually coming out just fine after, say, having a boat propeller slice up their back, or falling out of a high window....

Ok, on to a more positive diversion:

Nic Cage

I love him, I do. I saw "Valley Girl" four times in the one week it screened in Macon, GA. And I was hooked - for life. So we rented "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans". Yeah, I sat through about an hour until he smoked crack with a (very young) party girl in a parking lot with his gun out and....other things...out...and in. Anyway, harsh. But so great! I thought my husband would love it but he had trouble sleeping after completing the film. And to that I say: nice work, Nic!

The Emmys

I am starting to hate award shows...even though I am pulling most faithfully for people I love who might be up for said awards....but then there was this:



Happy!

Also, some lovely ladies....refer to Go Fug Yourself for highlights. Speaking of Glee, Heather Morris who plays Brittany, was possibly my very favorite.




Sparkly!

Long Overdue

Love him or hate him, Kanye West is first an artist. His new video proves it. I'm hopeful you've seen it before but if not, voila.
Please be patient and watch the commercial first. And then push it into full screen.

I Hate This Part Right Here

Everyone I know is in a funk...whether they are sending a kid off to school, tired of the heat, or tired of the rain (all day today!), or bellyaching about going back to work...they are just funky.

I'm the worst offender.

I feel so...sensitive. So delicate and easily broken. I know the anticipation of the busyness and crazed schedule is worse than the reality - I know it! But one can't tell oneself that, it seems.

So how to stay calm in a crazy time. Yes, yes, we all remind ourselves how lucky we are. And boy, we are REALLY lucky. I have some dear friends going through some shit. Sorry for the NSFW but this is legitimate shit they are going through. Like, health shit. The worst kinds. Also financial shit. The recession has affected me in ways that don't seem that high-impact. I mean, we were always frugal and we didn't paint ourselves into financial corners. But there are those that are AFFECTED. I do think gratitude is an important part of every day. One can always turn to The Gratitude Journal app for iPhone ™. Just tap tap tap what you are thankful for right into your phone for daily affirmation and reminders.

The Vision Board app, also featured on the above link, just makes me tired. Look at it! Stickies and pictures of money - blech.



Exercise is a great stress-reliever for me. It is a great energy-producer for my husband. I like to take Body Pump and Body Flow classes at my gym, but lately I've really enjoyed the Wii Fit that my daughter got for her birthday. I was anti-video game for so long and now my day is not complete without doing plank or Ski Slalom or Kung Fu on the Wii. My Mii is plump but lately I've noticed her getting trimmer. Plus, she is FINALLY at a decent "real age" after I was able to find a good center of balance.



As you know, I enjoy the alcohol. I look forward to a drink after a long day...especially if I don't have to drive a carpool later on that evening. My friend Lynn hooked me up with Canton, a ginger liqueur. She serves it with pear vodka, but I find that it is just as delicious mixed into straight vodka for a gingery martini. Hubby pours a splash into his Maker's Mark. Wowza! Ginger is a naturally calming root, too. And mixed with vodka, hell! It's a wonder drug!


Finally, where would we be without relaxing music. I would offer up some of the cool hip indie music I have in rotation, but a lot of it is disturbing or so deliciously rocktastic that it will not soothe you (Arcade Fire, Vampire Weekend, Kanye, Matthew Dear). Some of it is chill. ax. Zero 7 is a favorite of my spouse's and they have a nice new compilation out, Record. On iTunes radio, under the Ambient section, they've taken away my beloved Groove Salad station (it got me through several tropical storms) but you can get it on the sona.fm web site. I also listen to Café Monet and the hilarious Birdsong radio (um, a bunch of chirps. Surprisingly calming!). Jazz-wize, I've been enjoying Nnenna Freelon (Durham's own!) and her latest release. She sang on Mad Men and I didn't even know it! Beach House can be sweet, and they are playing Raleigh in October. (I'll be at a soccer game, so someone let me know how that goes.)



So there you have it - a few ways to relax. Just writing this has been incredibly therapeutic for me, I must say. Of course, I have nothing for dinner and soccer practice in an hour and school starts tomorrow....let me go put on that bird tweet station....

Triumphs

There are three summer triumphs I can think of to write about at the moment. I'm sure there are others....for example, I have actually lost weight this summer despite drinking more than the daily recommended allowance for women over 40. Also, my children went two full weeks without screen time which now qualifies me to nod knowingly as I read John Rosemond's column in the paper. (This is probably worthy of another post, but EVERYONE I know agrees with this guy! And yet, one reads his column and recognizes not only one's own problems and parenting faults, but everyone else's too! I have yet to find a parent who says they don't like him, at least part of the time, but no one seems to really follow his precepts.)

Ok. Back to the three triumphs.

1. My daughter just handed me the copy of Twilight I loaned her, with a bookmark about halfway through, and said, "I don't think I wanna finish this, Mom." !!!! "Why?" "Because the girl just seems so....incompetent."

2. My son, when asked today if he wanted to accept an invitation for a swimming date/sleepover, said, "Nah, I don't think so." !!!! "Why not?" "I'm always really tired and grumpy after sleepovers. I don't sleep all that much and then I don't have any energy the next day."

3. My children, every day since our family viewing of "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure", have imitated Pee Wee Herman. !!!!! "Mad Dog! GRRRRRR" "I know you are, but what am I?" "I'm a loner, Dottie, a rebel."

Take THAT, John Rosemond!

The List

Posting will be light whilst we in my household attempt to cross more things off of our summer goals list. Yes, we made a list. It is written in my husband's illegible script on scrap paper, and posted on the fridge.

So far I would say the big highlight was choosing to go to the Northeast on a (somewhat last minute) jaunt to see friends and chillax. The small highlight would be the classic movies we've screened - only two (what happened to all that movie watching???) but they were both HUMONGOUS hits in the house. More on those later.

Off to some expensive, loud fun park and then to the farmer's market to make some whack recipe my daughter chose.....

Mad Women

I have very few tv shows on my must-see list. Obviously, LOST was a huge priority, and you know, the Bravo habit, ahem. But from season one, episode one, I've watched "Mad Men".

The premise alone was enough to hook me - late 1950s New York! I LOVE a costume drama. What I didn't realize, tuning in, was that I would be getting a dose of feminist history.

For you see, I think the show is really about women. Hold on, don't tune out or throw things...just think about it...if you are a fan, you'll remember that season one turned on Peggy's changing role and affair with Pete (and the subsequent consequences of that affair). Season two had a lot to do with Betty and Joan....Betty arguably the less strong female, but the one who left her cheating, lying husband (albeit to go with another man) in season three. Joan married, but instead of living the dream, found she missed work, was not appreciated at home, and essentially was humiliated and violated by her husband. And now we have season four...back to Peggy (her hair! Finally!) and Joan, both of whom have major leadership roles at Sterling, Cooper, Draper, and Pryce. Lane's wife (SPOILER ALERT IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THIS WEEK'S) left him. The real Don Draper's wife is the only person Don seems to love. The one woman Don has a legitimate date with keep's him at arm's reach (a feat unaccomplished by anyone else except maybe the retail store heiress...but even she gave in). Betty...well, we'll just see how Betty comes out in the wash as feminism becomes more prevalent.


I read online that this season seems to be the one where Don becomes pathetic and that the world is moving on without him. Watching the excellent opening credits (with the catchy, catchy licks by my fave RJD2), you see a silhouetted figure's office falling away from him and that theory seems correct. But the silhouette is a man. And the times, they are a' changin'.

Working

It's time I admit, after admitting earlier this summer that I 1. love Bravo, and 2. am a suburban mom and 3. have decided that cooking isn't all that bad, that I am a working mom. I'm not really a stay-at-home mom, though my schedule makes it seem that way. And that's a dangerous thing.

For you see, I am free some mornings - mornings that I often fill by volunteering at school or trying to catch up with friends. I am home in the afternoons with my children, making me available for homework help and carpooling to activities. Most of the summer, I'm free. Folks tend to forget that I actually have a paying job with duties that are somewhat important and co-workers and congregants who are relying on me.

If I had to complain a bit about my very flexible schedule, I would say the following: I have had to essentially quit my book club as it meets during a weekly work event, and I'm generally considered the go-to parent as my husband's job is not nearly as flexible. Yesterday, for example, I worked for a good chunk of time, constantly fielding phone calls and texts from home when, say, the power went out due to storms! Or someone wanted to open a new container of nuts! Needless to say, I was a half-ass employee.

And half-ass parent, I should add.

Which is why I quit full-time work just before I had my second child. I felt like I was not doing a great job at either place, home or work. I wanted to be 100% SOMEWHERE. As it turns out, part-time work is really good for me in terms of my emotional health...challenging, fun, adult time, and the money. But part-time work is not recognized by a lot of circles (I'm looking at you, PTAs of both schools!). So here I am again, in half-ass land.

My husband has been generally great, as a lot of the times I work are when he is home (Sundays, evenings). Still, there are the predictable squabbles over logistics, schedules, and who-does-what.

The money I make has enabled us to go on trips this summer and to send each child to a camp...so it's worth it. Right?

In an age when women truly are getting the upper hand, why does it seem like I still struggle to meet all of the expectations and goals I have? I believe some of it has to do with the area where I live. Most moms here don't work full or even part-time...partly the reason we moved here to begin with (I was very lonely in our other neighborhood where no one was even procreating). That tide seems to be changing a bit, especially as children age out of the preschool years.

I keep thinking what if, what if...what if my parents lived here and could help me...what if we made enough money to warrant hiring someone to help with the house, or with shuttling the children....what if I was able to indulge myself a little more with free time or time with friends....

but mostly, I think our situation is working.

Fist World Gratitude

Things I'm thankful for on a cloudy August morning:

Cloudy and relatively cool temps before the heat onslaught today

Air conditioning (see above)

Zyrtec

The thingy I can plug into my iPhone that enables me to play music in the car

The car

The iPhone

Reading glasses in every room

New Yorker magazines in every room

iPhoto's ability to create slideshows from our recent vacation

Our recent vacation

My clogs, worn to ease my aching feet after my long walk at a pastoral field out in the suburbs

The suburbs, and

The free time in which I took said walk.

Embracing the Cooking, Summer Edition

I didn't cook a lot, or didn't cook much in a creative vein, on vacation last week. This week, however, I want to take advantage of summer produce. So we are having:

Baked Pommes Frites

Fresh red-skinned potatoes cut in half lengthwise, then into slices
Put in cold water for a soak
Toss with olive oil, kosher salt, pepper
Bake at 400 for 20 - 30 minutes, turning once
Serve with:

Curry Ketchup

1/2 cup ketchup
1 tsp Curry powder
1/2 cup mayo
1 tbsp finely chopped onion or shallot

No-Gas Gazpacho

Chopped fresh tomatoes (at our newest local produce market, Bickett Market, I was able to get "Cosmetically challenged tomatoes" for a good dollar less a pound.)
Chopped fresh cucumber (maybe one cuke to two tomatoes is what I did)
Chopped onion
One ginormous garlic clove, minced
fresh basil - about a large stalk
fresh parsley
the juice of a lime
a tablespoon or so of red wine vinegar
Hot sauce (your fave)
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Mix all this up. Add some tomato juice (I used Clamato). Blend about half of it in a blender, and add it to the chunky bits.

I'll have this with Trader Joe's Crab Cakes, which I'll serve with

Horseradish Mayo

1/2 C. mayo
lots of horseradish
Lemon zest
lemon juice
salt
pepper

and then popsicles for dessert.

I'm posting on an iPad, in the Apple store. Days after Apple announced that the iPhone 4 kinda doesn't work right. But. There must be 50+ people here, including children. Very tech-savvy children who are turning iPads upside down, tapping on iPod Touches, and navigating giant monitors. Elvis Costello is playing but I can only tell from the bass line. It is loud in here.

Everyone seems happy and productive.

We are in training to learn to use iMovie better. And i won't lie - the minute I find a "genius" who isn't closing on a multiple-thousand dollar sale (it could be a while), I'm going to ask if they can get my iPhone case off for me. The new case protects the big crack in my year-old iPhone.

If this place isn't a church, I'm not sure what is.

I made a decision recently. Why? I'm not sure. I did finish the profane, sometimes funny, and ultimately unsuccessful book "Julie & Julia". Maybe Julie Powell's book influenced me? Maybe Nansch and her cooking experiments at Remlerville helped? Maybe being in my 40s? My decision is to embrace the cooking. The cooking that must be done all the time for not only my family, but for the bereaved and the celebrating within my social circle. So what if my stove only has two working burners! So what if my oven was built circa 1959? I can take my time, go to the store without the children (a new and wonderful development!), watch a little Bravo, and enjoy the cooking.

I tried last night with fish tacos.

Fish Tacos a la Whilst

Marinate two large fillets, cut into chunks, in:
olive oil, the sauce from peppers in adobo, a chopped jalepeño slice, cilantro, cumin, and oregano, whisked together
Dredge the filets in meal or flour
Pan fry in a bit of oil
Serve with:
whole wheat tortillas
chopped tomatoes
chopped cilantro
sour cream with lime juice whisked in
guacamole or chopped avacado

And don't forget the cheeps and salsa.

I made that last night whilst everyone was outside rip sticking or whatever, and drinking a vodka martini (because OH MY GOD they had Russian Standard in Atlanta!! Will it come here? Has it come here??? Well, I imported my own from Georgia.) We sat down with candles and some vihno verde - thanks for turning me onto that tasty summer treat, Carole!

It was a good summer night. I did NOT do the dishes.

Why I Love Twitter

Most people dismiss Twitter by saying, "I don't have time for that." Well, I'll tell you what I don't have time for -- reading all of the news, or watching CNN, or actually turning on ESPN to see where LeBron goes on a book club Thursday night. Instead, I open up twitter.com and read CNN Breaking News, @cnnbrk. Or I get a Haiti update from musician Richard Morse, @RAMHaiti. @SarahKSilverman and @ruthbourdain (an amalgam of Anthony Bourdain and Ruth Reichl that pokes fun at foodie culture) never fail to make me gasp at their obscenities. (And then I laugh my head off.) I love my Raleigh tweeps - @jetmars, @pinkpodster, @jrr4 among them, and I keep up with the Triangle culture and music scene almost solely through Twitter since I work Sundays (thus too sleepy to go out on Saturday nights) and raise children (thus too sleepy to go out on Friday nights). @_CCDs is my beloved Carolina Chocolate Drops' chronicle of their climb to fame and fortune, @BUSYBEECAFE always sounds so hip, young and fun, and @AmerDanceFest is enlightening.

I can even keep up with friends who live far away and have world-tripping, fabulous careers!

My own Twitter missives (you can read them in the sidebar) are mostly relevant to me and me alone. I love to "re-tweet" stuff I find interesting and I especially love when someone replies to me. I like to think of myself as a local Raleigh promoter/observer of culture/mommy Tweeter.

And yes, since you asked, writing 140 characters is a hell of a lot easier than writing a blog post!

July

Ooops, didn't make it under the wire to enter in another "nice thing" post in June. Suffice to say, I'm looking forward to a quieter few weeks than the past ones. I'm currently in my nightsuit (a family word), drinking cuppa coffee #3, done with the paper, done with the dishes and doing laundry, and planning our next....

CAR PURCHASE.

Alas.

So we lost a car in the great ice storm of ought-two, then the replacement car we got for that was faulty and has died this week (or, rather, could be resusciatated to the tune of four grand), at some point our beloved 13 y.old Mazda went South, and now we have a used car with 60K and the aforementioned illin' minivan.

Bad car luck.

Shopping has been quick and dirty. Test driving with opinionated children is somewhat hilarious. "Mom, is this the V-6? I think the headroom is not that great, look at Daddy's hair sticking to the roof! Mommy, you want a black car, just like your first car after college!" Finding a car that has great MPG and is affordable is just plain dirty. But I will say car shopping has meant some soul-searching, and I've discovered some truths about our little clan.

First, my daughter will be driving in four years!! FOUR! That's not that far away! Secondly, we do have serious environmental concerns. I actually walked away from a car that would have suited us yesterday due to fuel economy. Third, my husband is a tightwad. Love you honey! Fourthly, we are social people. The car we all liked the best is probably not going to work - because it cannot do the jobs of: carting around my parents when they are in town, carrying our baby cousins + the big kids, carpooling to school and sports, or carrying our bikes if we want to ride the greenway.

We carpool enough that I think it warrants the bigger vehicle, and we also feel like for four years (until daughter is driving) we can justify another minivan/crossover or SUV (as long as it gets decent MPG). Our 2nd car is small and very fuel-efficient, and we will take it on long trips just as frequently as the new car.

Our latest idea is a car that is not a minvan but actually gets better gas mileage than "ole Bessy", and will be a great people hauler for me during the week and a great sports-activity transporter on the weekends. It's not a hybrid - we couldn't afford it - but I'm going to strive to drive as little as possible whilst raising these crazy kiddos and do what I can elsewhere to offset my carbon shoe size.

There, have I justified myself? I'm a suburban mom...it's time I admitted it. And that's a title I'm glad to have. Thoughts/comments welcome!

Summer Movies

Ok, ok, I haven't seen any of the new releases, save Shrek The Fourth or whatever it's called (which I loved, natch, because of the cat). But I have seen a bunch o' movies in the last couple of weeks. We've had early mornings and busy days so I keep falling asleep. Thus, many of these were seen over a couple of days. But I get 'er done.

Zombieland was recommended by a good friend who said she guffawed through the whole thing. Friend, you are a bit twisted. But so am I. It IS funny...it's just GROSS. Vile, disgusting...but the kid in it is going to be a major star. And congrats to Woody Harrelson for making a wonderful life from a walk-on guest starring role in a tv series.



Los Secretos de Sus Ojos won the Best Foreign Language Oscar. It was good, if not transparent...i.e. I felt as though I could read the filmmaker's thoughts. There were beautiful moments and huge human truths...all thanks to great acting. My husband kept comparing it to Almodóvar...but I think a better comparison would be with some other noirish director, like Taylor Hackford.




Invictus is what I'm going to call a family movie. For my two, old enough to deal and curious enough about the world to be interested, (not to mention their sports-fanaticism) this was a great choice. Also? MATT DAMON. I loved it...I think Clint Eastwood has great tricks for subtle exposition. The story is much bigger than the rugby matches shown, and I think the film did a respectable job of highlighting apartheid's horrors while showing the - gradual - improvements in South Africa. For a harsher view of apartheid, see: District 9.



Breathless was part of my annual desire to become more well-versed in film (see: the great Fellini experiment of ought-eight). It's outstanding! I like the strange pacing, the whole look of it, and the freshness. Yes, it still seems fresh lo these many years later. I know just about nothing about Truffaut or Godard, but I can see that this was vanguard filmmaking in its day. We'll be exploring more. By the way, we were able to see this on the Wii! You can stream movies, if you didn't know, through a Wii with a Netflix account. Since my children don't play the Wii all that much it works for us...the picture quality is not stellar but I hear they are working on it.



An Education was not my cuppa. Well, yes it was - it evoked the time period in which it was set quite fully (see: Mad Men; Friday Night Lights). And I'm not immune to the pleasures of Peter Sarsgaard. However, the characters were basically despicable and the plot was predictable. Am I the only one who felt this way? (oh, I guess not.) Maybe it's all Nick Hornby's fault. And what's with the dumb blonde? That was ridiculous.




Shattered Glass was a movie I knew nothing about - but again with the Peter Sarsgaard! This was a well-told tale and a fascinating one to boot. Mindless summer fun with just enough injustice to make you distrust the media. I was especially loving the interactions between the journalist Stephen Glass and his work colleagues. Office politics at the most smarmy and needy!! Recommended for your viewing enjoyment.




Next up: we're going to let the children see Avatar, we're going to go sob through Toy Story 3, and my pre-teen has requested to see The Notebook. (God help us all.)

Things That Made Me Laugh This Week

They will make you laugh, too:

Comic Sans essay on McSweeney's (NSFW in terms of profanity, but SFW in terms of hilarity.)


Colbert's Word: PR-mageddon. The only way to laugh at the oil spill.

The Onion (which is just overall generally very much something that makes me laugh) on the NCAA conference realignment.

This (loved mainly for Marion Cotillard) (moderately NSFW):

Forehead Tittaes w/ Marion Cotillard from Marion Cotillard

Hot

How to beat this heat? Well, there's no beating it. I remember sitting on a porch for over an hour in my childhood, rocking or bouncing in a wrought iron chair, and realizing it was safer to sit there than to play. I remember lifeguarding all day under an umbrella and seeing the bank thermometer read 104 at 4 p.m., then jumping straight into the pool at 5. I remember passing out after softball games in Savannah, revived with Gatorade (I love it to this day), bananas, and a mint-alcohol rub down.

This heat, really, after all that, is just not that bad.

But we've been hot for sure. Here are some of the things my family has done in a muggy June week:

1. Frozen our tubes of yogurt for a quick snack right out of the freezer.

2. Filled empty Gatorade bottles with water and frozen them to take in coolers when we go out and about.

3.Went to the new North Carolina Museum of Art and enjoyed the cool, then jumped in the fountains (where, by the way, one kid got a hell of a cut on his knee - friends don't let friends wear Crocs!)

4. Rented an Alfred Hitchcock movie. We went with North by Northwest as recommended by this site.

5. Pool time at our friends' delightful, landscaped backyard getaway and at our pool club. I took watermelon and cantaloupe balls in a cooler, and cucumber sandwiches with hummus spread. The children were noshing maniacs when they weren't flipping, diving, and throwing the ball.

6. Went to the mall to check out the Lego store, eat an international meal at the food court, and play with iPads.

7. Drove to the beach for a quicky trip, rode in the waves, ate shrimp, and fished in the surf.

8. Did a yoga tape in our arctic den. We used throw blankets for yoga mats.

9. Made banana blueberry ice cream - kinda sorta low fat - very tasty! Low fat sweetened condensed milk, 1 quart half and half, smushed banana, and I added blueberries at the very end of the freezing process.

10. Currently? We are lying around, reading, singing, and playing online Scrabble.