I think that it is fair to say that at some time in most of our lives, the following sentence has escaped our lips...
"I will never act/say that like my mother".
As a teenager, you cling to that. I mean, who would want to act like a woman rocking a denim jumper with an apple/teddy bear/sunflower motif on the front and the surburban housewife helmet hair mold?
-- and for the record, the denim jumper was quite the rage in Kansas circa early 90's. I have pictures, not making it up --
And so you go on, vowing vehemently not to find yourself uttering the same phrases that routinely were heard as you went bounding out of the house.
And then, well --
There is this moment. I can't quite remember the first time, but it comes in short order. Sometime in your early 20's. The words come out, and like a bubble in a cartoon, you want to yank it back from reality. And you hear her voice in your head as you say the EXACT SAME THING that she did. Whatever the circumstance.
At that moment, you swear that is the only time it will happen.
And its totally self-delusional.
My big ones....
My mom always used to clean the house from top to bottom whenever my grandparents would come to visit. I never understood it. My thought was with 4 kids in the house, we lived in a state of clutter. Why hide the reality of the house on most days from your parents?
Yeah - right.
EVERY time people come to visit, I am a whirling dervish of cleanliness. And yes, my house on a normal day is full of clutter and more than a few dust bunnies.
The other one that used to kill me was her purse. She had the largest purse in the world. Hell, at one point she had a purse within her purse. And of course, she could never find a single thing in it, but she always had exactly what you needed in there.
And I have steadfastly held to my vow in that space. I am not going to carry a big "mom-bag".
What's that, the shadow of the crow that I am about to eat just flit across the screen??
Until recently.
Up to this point, we have had the diaper bag. And when needed, throw the wallet in and we are all set. But we have gotten beyond the pure diaper bag need. We really just need a diaper, some wipes and a toy or two... not the 8,000 things we have traditionally hiked all over with us. And this streamline need has me thinking, I don't need the whole diaper bag but, the purse I am currently carrying is too small for my stuff and a small load of Finn's stuff. So I have started looking at bigger bags.
You know the ones I am talking about - like you could fit Mary Kate AND Ashley Olson in the bag.
This is the moment my mom would be loving right now....
Like the "I told you so" moment would have been HUGE. The self gratification more rewarding than she could have imagined.
Now, I have not actually purchased said mom-bag. But it is on the horizon. There will come a day in the next few days in which you will feel a slight tremble in the cosmos -- and you will know that the deed is done. And at that point, I will have fully earned
my mom-card. Without question, my initiation into the club will have been completed. As long as I don't start rocking the mom jeans, I think I can still hold on to whatever vestiges of my former self that are still out there.
Here's hoping.
Now Listening:
To Finn bang toys....
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Wedding Spectacular-Spectacular
Remember when you were like, 23/24 and EVERY weekend for the entire summer was spent at weddings. And odds were good, you were in one or four of them.
Yes - I remember it well. And there are still more than a few dresses hanging in the closet to remind me. And, no its not some 27 Dresses type thing -- There really is only like, 4 of em' in there.
Suffice it to say, I thought we were long past those days.
Not that I don't enjoy a good wedding -- or more importantly a good reception. But, I think we are pushing it this year.
I am a decade past the summer of 23 and all its Innocent, Martial bliss. So these days, its more like, 2 or 3 in a given year.
Until this summer/fall.
We had three this summer.
And kicking off last weekend......
One Friday -- AWESOME party Courtney & Rob
One Saturday - congrats to Tim & Emily.
We have one this weekend.
One the weekend of the 17th
--that makes 2 in Sept and 2 in Oct for those of you keeping score --
And then we hit the high mark -- 3 in November. Two of them destination, and 10 days apart. And I am in one, and Joe is in one.
And we just got a Save the Date for December.
That's 8 weddings between now and the holidays.
That boys and girls is a lot.
So our Saturday's for the next few months will consist of a few glasses of cheap red wine or keg beer, an over-cooked chicken breast or 4 -- and a few turns on the dance floor to either Wonderful Tonight or Wonderful World. With some Black Eyed Peas, I Gotta Feelin' kicked in for good up-tempo measure.
This is not complaining by any stretch of the imagination, just one of those -- holy cow sorta deals. I told Joe at some point we should try and plan a date night that doesn't include a wedding.
Novel idea.
Now Watching: The Colbert Report
Yes - I remember it well. And there are still more than a few dresses hanging in the closet to remind me. And, no its not some 27 Dresses type thing -- There really is only like, 4 of em' in there.
Suffice it to say, I thought we were long past those days.
Not that I don't enjoy a good wedding -- or more importantly a good reception. But, I think we are pushing it this year.
I am a decade past the summer of 23 and all its Innocent, Martial bliss. So these days, its more like, 2 or 3 in a given year.
Until this summer/fall.
We had three this summer.
And kicking off last weekend......
One Friday -- AWESOME party Courtney & Rob
One Saturday - congrats to Tim & Emily.
We have one this weekend.
One the weekend of the 17th
--that makes 2 in Sept and 2 in Oct for those of you keeping score --
And then we hit the high mark -- 3 in November. Two of them destination, and 10 days apart. And I am in one, and Joe is in one.
And we just got a Save the Date for December.
That's 8 weddings between now and the holidays.
That boys and girls is a lot.
So our Saturday's for the next few months will consist of a few glasses of cheap red wine or keg beer, an over-cooked chicken breast or 4 -- and a few turns on the dance floor to either Wonderful Tonight or Wonderful World. With some Black Eyed Peas, I Gotta Feelin' kicked in for good up-tempo measure.
This is not complaining by any stretch of the imagination, just one of those -- holy cow sorta deals. I told Joe at some point we should try and plan a date night that doesn't include a wedding.
Novel idea.
Now Watching: The Colbert Report
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Awareness
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Not to be Debbie Downer or anything, but sorta a big deal in the Smith household. For a lot of reasons. Its one of those things that is a little bit of a bitter pill. Part of me is always so proud and blown away by the courage of the survivors. And they should be celebrated. Part of me really struggles with why we had to be on the other end of it. What statistical, karmic influence decided my Mom was one of the ones that wasn't going to beat the odds? And why we still don't have an answer for something that plagues so many families.
Boo.
**dusts self off from moment of sadness**
That being said, we (my sisters and I) are very tuned in to what is going on in the world of research, prevention and care. For good reason. Its not just my Mom. My great-Aunt (maternal), my Aunt (paternal) and too many friends have fought the good fight as well. So we support things in whatever way we can. Which brings me to my advertising blog of the day.
Two events that need support. Both of them fun, a great time and the end result is money in the hands of the researchers and the organizations doing all they can to help care for those that can't afford it -- the whole national health care debate not withstanding. That would be a WHOLE separate post. Trust me.
So here they are in calendar order....
Ride for the Cure 2009
A spin-off of Komen's Race for the Cure this event takes me back to my rockin', motorcycle riding days. Oh how I miss them. Sturgis, leather, SeatCandy --- yep, it was a blast. That being said, this is an event for my more rebellious readers. Those who run with the wind if you will. And the really cool part of this, is a spin-off of the spin-off. The inaugural 2010 Young Riders Calendar.
The deal is you pay a small fee, and you take your kid in to get photographed. With the spin being rebel/motorcycle themed outfits, setting etc. Once they have all the pictures, there is going to be an online poll and the 12 winning photos make the 2010 calendar. With all proceeds -- you guessed it -- going to Komen. This is perfect for all my parents. If you are in the Des Moines area, consider it. I mean come on, how many of us out there don't want more pictures of our kids? Exactly. Crack the wallet open and get registered.
And the other big annual event is the actual 2009 Komen Race for the Cure here in Des Moines. I of course, have a team this year. But alas, it is not the Save Second Base of old. Nope, someone beat me to the punch and stole my team name.
I Heart Boo Bees
And the following graphic to go along with it
So get registered already. And you can join my team if you want.
Go here: Komen Des Moines
Select the team, get your wallet and viola! You have joined the team. We are going to get t-shirts made with the above logo and of course, the usual breakfast back at the house on the day of the race. All in all, a good time and of course, the money going to a good cause.
Online registration ends on 10/02 so, get a registering...
Now Listening: to Finn bang toys together.
Not to be Debbie Downer or anything, but sorta a big deal in the Smith household. For a lot of reasons. Its one of those things that is a little bit of a bitter pill. Part of me is always so proud and blown away by the courage of the survivors. And they should be celebrated. Part of me really struggles with why we had to be on the other end of it. What statistical, karmic influence decided my Mom was one of the ones that wasn't going to beat the odds? And why we still don't have an answer for something that plagues so many families.
Boo.
**dusts self off from moment of sadness**
That being said, we (my sisters and I) are very tuned in to what is going on in the world of research, prevention and care. For good reason. Its not just my Mom. My great-Aunt (maternal), my Aunt (paternal) and too many friends have fought the good fight as well. So we support things in whatever way we can. Which brings me to my advertising blog of the day.
Two events that need support. Both of them fun, a great time and the end result is money in the hands of the researchers and the organizations doing all they can to help care for those that can't afford it -- the whole national health care debate not withstanding. That would be a WHOLE separate post. Trust me.
So here they are in calendar order....
Ride for the Cure 2009
A spin-off of Komen's Race for the Cure this event takes me back to my rockin', motorcycle riding days. Oh how I miss them. Sturgis, leather, SeatCandy --- yep, it was a blast. That being said, this is an event for my more rebellious readers. Those who run with the wind if you will. And the really cool part of this, is a spin-off of the spin-off. The inaugural 2010 Young Riders Calendar.
The deal is you pay a small fee, and you take your kid in to get photographed. With the spin being rebel/motorcycle themed outfits, setting etc. Once they have all the pictures, there is going to be an online poll and the 12 winning photos make the 2010 calendar. With all proceeds -- you guessed it -- going to Komen. This is perfect for all my parents. If you are in the Des Moines area, consider it. I mean come on, how many of us out there don't want more pictures of our kids? Exactly. Crack the wallet open and get registered.
And the other big annual event is the actual 2009 Komen Race for the Cure here in Des Moines. I of course, have a team this year. But alas, it is not the Save Second Base of old. Nope, someone beat me to the punch and stole my team name.
Bastards.
So - we took things a new direction this year. With the creative juices of my good friend Liz G., we came up withI Heart Boo Bees
And the following graphic to go along with it
So get registered already. And you can join my team if you want.
Go here: Komen Des Moines
Select the team, get your wallet and viola! You have joined the team. We are going to get t-shirts made with the above logo and of course, the usual breakfast back at the house on the day of the race. All in all, a good time and of course, the money going to a good cause.
Online registration ends on 10/02 so, get a registering...
Now Listening: to Finn bang toys together.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
My Tween Vampire Crush.
Back from the right coast -- that's East coast for those of you not looking at a map. Or just unfamiliar with Meghan speak.
5 Whole days in Baltimore. Well -- not quite. 1 day for travel out and 1 day for travel back.
Some highlights - you mean I did things other than sitting in a conference room for 3 days, with the same 10 people talking about data models, data loads and ETL processes? Riveting as it may seem, yes we did other stuff.
The highlight of course was my dinner at Volt. I know I have mentioned on more than one occasion that we are sorta foodies at our place. Sort par for the course when one of you is a trained chef. This means we watch a lot of food shows. Top Chef having always been a fav. Seems this season of Top Chef has some crazy talent. Like James Beard winners and accolades like crazy. Additionally, this season seems to have culled talent from the Baltimore/DC areas only. I think like 4 or so of the chef-testants are from the area. Including one Bryan Voltaggio . He is one of the brothers that are competing this season. I think it is fair to say he is one of the early front-runners.
Weeeel - with a HUGE thanks to Heather & Sebastian -- we were able to score a reservation for dinner on Wednesday night. In the kitchen. It was a 5 course Prix Fixe Menu with wine pairings.
And it was
Ah-
May-
Zing -
No exaggeration needed, The menu was sublime. We had our choice of two tasting menus'. One "The Kitchen" and the other "The Garden". The differentiation was simple, one was all meat, the other all vegetables. I went with the meat but swapped my 4th course for the vegetable offering -- with the approval of our waiter. So I had --
Tuna Sashimi
Duck Foie Gras
Artic Char
Chickpea Gnocchi - this was my swap course. The others had Pork Belly
Filet Mignon
Dessert - it was this deconstructed Dulce de Leche -- a flan-like custard with a cinnamon tuille and dehydrated caramel. And it was fantastic.
Of course, all of this was started with a three amuse bouche
A Beet/Foie Gras gum-drop (my words, not theirs)
A gaspacho with cumin air
Avocado ice cream with salmon roe and basil
I think it is fair to say that it wasn't your run of the mill meal. Not to mention, we were in the kitchen so we got to see all the action. And I was personally served by the Chef twice
Yep - bragging.
I of course, didn't bring the camera, brought the cell phone and managed to snap a few pics of three of the courses. For whatever reason, cell phone pics can't be manipulated here, so I loaded them to the Flickr account -- check them out here. Keep in mind, cell phone and low light - but you get the idea, the plates were GORGEOUS.
And then we got to watch the weekly episode. That got cut short due to the fact that there were too many people there and we couldn't actually follow anything that was going on. But still, all in all -- an exceptional evening - both the food and the company.
The other highlight of my trip was an evening with Scott and Julie -
The menu that night
Antipasta plate
Peperoni Pizza
And it was lovely
But more importantly, got to just chill with them - catch up and hang with one very precocious 21 month old - Ms. SamKat herself.
She kills me. If she doesn't like something, she says "No Thank You"
At one point, I was sitting in "her" chair. And she comes up to me and says "Excuse Me, No Thank You"
Translation: Listen Lady, get the hell outta my chair.
I cracked up. Suffice it to say, she is polite, cute as hell and a handful. But was just thrilled to just spend a few hours with them. Don't see them nearly enough - so I take what I can get.
Oh, and work -- we got some stuff done.
And my last little update -- I am a reader. I think I have shared that with you in the past. Well, plane trips are just the perfect vehicle for easy reads. And last time I was out East, I was lamenting the fact that I had finished the book that I had brought along. Julie says to me - Have you read any of the "Twilight" series. I of course, say no. I had promised not to get sucked (pun not intended) into another series. I already had Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, The whole Anne Rice series -- so No -- didn't need another series, and didn't need MORE vampire lore.
But she persisted. Its an easy read, take it here -- and shoves her copy of Twilight into my hands. And so I read it. In one day one the way back to Des Moines, Yep - easy read. And while I was curious as to how the other stories moved forward, I was able to move on. Until yesterday. Again, I had finished the book I brought with me and was in need of another. And there I was, at the gate at BWI and wandered over to the Hudson News. And wondering, what should I get? The new Ted Kennedy? The new Dan Brown? Nope. Those were all hardback. Too expensive. So I hit the best sellers section in paperback. A Nicholas Sparks chick-book? Not my style. Jodi Picoult? Couldn't handle another mom/family drama that would make me cry. And then my eye fell down a row. There it was - tempting me. New Moon. My immediate thought was no. And then I looked over the rest of the offerings. And came back to it.
Shit.
I was going to have to get it. And as added bonus, I got a poster with a picture from the up-and-coming movie. Which if is anything like the first movie - will be terrible. Or so I am told. So, I have a poster of Bella and Jake with the looming eyes of Edward to put up in my room and crush on. Joe will just have to deal.
So now I am on this crazy pop-culture path. Tween romance between a human and a vampire. Yep -- got sucked in (pun intended) and can't let go. So much so that when I got home and got Finn to bed, did I queue up a weeks worth of season premieres to watch? Nope. Finished the damn book.
Stoopid vampires.
Two more trips out East and I will have the whole series knocked out.
On a high note - after the whole cable saga - we finally got our cable via DirectTV. However, we were still down in the internet category. Which is very trying to me. But this morning, on a whim, kicked on the laptop and VIOLA! Wi-fi.
So thank you neighbor whomever you are that is currently allowing me to surf at will. I know, I know -- shouldn't steal internet. And its not secure -- but I needed a few minutes online to get the fix.
Now Listening: The Loft - the XM station on the DirectTV.
5 Whole days in Baltimore. Well -- not quite. 1 day for travel out and 1 day for travel back.
Some highlights - you mean I did things other than sitting in a conference room for 3 days, with the same 10 people talking about data models, data loads and ETL processes? Riveting as it may seem, yes we did other stuff.
The highlight of course was my dinner at Volt. I know I have mentioned on more than one occasion that we are sorta foodies at our place. Sort par for the course when one of you is a trained chef. This means we watch a lot of food shows. Top Chef having always been a fav. Seems this season of Top Chef has some crazy talent. Like James Beard winners and accolades like crazy. Additionally, this season seems to have culled talent from the Baltimore/DC areas only. I think like 4 or so of the chef-testants are from the area. Including one Bryan Voltaggio . He is one of the brothers that are competing this season. I think it is fair to say he is one of the early front-runners.
Weeeel - with a HUGE thanks to Heather & Sebastian -- we were able to score a reservation for dinner on Wednesday night. In the kitchen. It was a 5 course Prix Fixe Menu with wine pairings.
And it was
Ah-
May-
Zing -
No exaggeration needed, The menu was sublime. We had our choice of two tasting menus'. One "The Kitchen" and the other "The Garden". The differentiation was simple, one was all meat, the other all vegetables. I went with the meat but swapped my 4th course for the vegetable offering -- with the approval of our waiter. So I had --
Tuna Sashimi
Duck Foie Gras
Artic Char
Chickpea Gnocchi - this was my swap course. The others had Pork Belly
Filet Mignon
Dessert - it was this deconstructed Dulce de Leche -- a flan-like custard with a cinnamon tuille and dehydrated caramel. And it was fantastic.
Of course, all of this was started with a three amuse bouche
A Beet/Foie Gras gum-drop (my words, not theirs)
A gaspacho with cumin air
Avocado ice cream with salmon roe and basil
I think it is fair to say that it wasn't your run of the mill meal. Not to mention, we were in the kitchen so we got to see all the action. And I was personally served by the Chef twice
Yep - bragging.
I of course, didn't bring the camera, brought the cell phone and managed to snap a few pics of three of the courses. For whatever reason, cell phone pics can't be manipulated here, so I loaded them to the Flickr account -- check them out here. Keep in mind, cell phone and low light - but you get the idea, the plates were GORGEOUS.
And then we got to watch the weekly episode. That got cut short due to the fact that there were too many people there and we couldn't actually follow anything that was going on. But still, all in all -- an exceptional evening - both the food and the company.
The other highlight of my trip was an evening with Scott and Julie -
The menu that night
Antipasta plate
Peperoni Pizza
And it was lovely
But more importantly, got to just chill with them - catch up and hang with one very precocious 21 month old - Ms. SamKat herself.
She kills me. If she doesn't like something, she says "No Thank You"
At one point, I was sitting in "her" chair. And she comes up to me and says "Excuse Me, No Thank You"
Translation: Listen Lady, get the hell outta my chair.
I cracked up. Suffice it to say, she is polite, cute as hell and a handful. But was just thrilled to just spend a few hours with them. Don't see them nearly enough - so I take what I can get.
Oh, and work -- we got some stuff done.
And my last little update -- I am a reader. I think I have shared that with you in the past. Well, plane trips are just the perfect vehicle for easy reads. And last time I was out East, I was lamenting the fact that I had finished the book that I had brought along. Julie says to me - Have you read any of the "Twilight" series. I of course, say no. I had promised not to get sucked (pun not intended) into another series. I already had Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, The whole Anne Rice series -- so No -- didn't need another series, and didn't need MORE vampire lore.
But she persisted. Its an easy read, take it here -- and shoves her copy of Twilight into my hands. And so I read it. In one day one the way back to Des Moines, Yep - easy read. And while I was curious as to how the other stories moved forward, I was able to move on. Until yesterday. Again, I had finished the book I brought with me and was in need of another. And there I was, at the gate at BWI and wandered over to the Hudson News. And wondering, what should I get? The new Ted Kennedy? The new Dan Brown? Nope. Those were all hardback. Too expensive. So I hit the best sellers section in paperback. A Nicholas Sparks chick-book? Not my style. Jodi Picoult? Couldn't handle another mom/family drama that would make me cry. And then my eye fell down a row. There it was - tempting me. New Moon. My immediate thought was no. And then I looked over the rest of the offerings. And came back to it.
Shit.
I was going to have to get it. And as added bonus, I got a poster with a picture from the up-and-coming movie. Which if is anything like the first movie - will be terrible. Or so I am told. So, I have a poster of Bella and Jake with the looming eyes of Edward to put up in my room and crush on. Joe will just have to deal.
So now I am on this crazy pop-culture path. Tween romance between a human and a vampire. Yep -- got sucked in (pun intended) and can't let go. So much so that when I got home and got Finn to bed, did I queue up a weeks worth of season premieres to watch? Nope. Finished the damn book.
Stoopid vampires.
Two more trips out East and I will have the whole series knocked out.
On a high note - after the whole cable saga - we finally got our cable via DirectTV. However, we were still down in the internet category. Which is very trying to me. But this morning, on a whim, kicked on the laptop and VIOLA! Wi-fi.
So thank you neighbor whomever you are that is currently allowing me to surf at will. I know, I know -- shouldn't steal internet. And its not secure -- but I needed a few minutes online to get the fix.
Now Listening: The Loft - the XM station on the DirectTV.
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