Friday, October 30, 2009

Crazy Sock Day


I am a bad Mom. I forgot crazy sock day at school.

Yes, there was a note sent home with a, "Don't forget it's crazy mis-matched sock day on Friday!" stuck in between all sorts of other reminders about the science fair and running club.

I only put two and two together when I picked my first-grade daughter up from school and bumped into a sea of children, ALL OF THEM WEARING the craziest (and yes, mis-matched) socks. Macy doesn't even own one pair of "crazy" socks, much less two.

"You forgot crazy sock day, Mommy!" Macy said indignantly.

"I did not," I replied, thinking quickly on my feet. "You are wearing crazy socks today. As in, you're the only kid in the entire school who wore matching, normal socks. That's pretty crazy, huh?!" She didn't buy it.

I guess I didn't get the memo to have not one, but two pairs of insanely colorful socks on hand, just in case there is another crazy sock day at school. I'm on it. It will not happen again.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

An Internet Love Story


A recently divorced friend of mine has fallen in love.

The interesting thing about the story is that she and her new love have never met. In fact, they've only spoken on the phone 4 times. They correspond entirely via email and text, but they do it incessantly. More nights than not, they fall asleep (in their respective beds), laptops beside them, emailing back and forth into the wee hours of the night.

Theirs is a very cerebral, heady love. Said friend tells me that they aren't caught up in appearances (obviously), nor do they get tripped up by the nuances of verbal conversation (cadence, tone, etc.). Theirs is a love affair of words, the written word that is.

According to her, by stripping away all of the external stuff (oh you know, that physical piece, the talking part), they have really, really, really gotten to know each other. I am intrigued.

Of course, there is a dark side. They do plan to meet in person, soon. They've shared photos, as you might have guessed. But my beautiful friend is afraid that in person she won't measure up. I told her that there is no magic camera that takes a picture of a person who really doesn't exist.

So, I'm pulling for them. I truly hope their long anticipated face-to-face meeting will play out like the internet version of Cinderella. After all, she barely knew Prince Charming when she dropped that shoe.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

The Perils of Working from Home


Working from home is an acquired taste, like dirty Kettle One martinis. As in, once you get used to it, it's all you want.

Who wants to get up earlier than necessary, put on uncomfortable clothes for no good reason, drive in traffic across town and trek into a germ-ridden office (or worse, a cubicle) to get your work done? Is it the riveting water cooler talk? Or the dreaded office politics and gossip? See, by working from home, you can keep up with your laundry and avoid most of that. Plus, you get to watch Mad Men during your lunch hour.

But then again, working from home has a down-side.

I own WAY too many pairs of comfy jeans. I wear out slippers like nobody's business. Going into any sort of office for a day or more wears me out. My suits are very outdated. I can no longer walk with a confident swagger in a pair of heels (I'm so out of practice). I don't hear about great new TV shows until half-way through season 2. And, because I work from home, most people think I don't work. Thus, because I am largely unavailable for many volunteer and social activities, my Mom friends cop to wondering what it is I do all day.

Nonetheless, in my opinion, it's a great gig if you can get it.

Monday, October 26, 2009

I Discovered Hot Tea and It Makes Me Happy


If you are a tea lover (and I was not until last week), you probably knew this already. If you are drinking hot tea made from a tea bag, then it is stale.

I stumbled into the retail franchise store www.Teavana.com (in the Galleria Mall in Fort Lauderdale) last weekend and $xxx dollars later, I left the store with a cast-iron teapot (adorned with fireflies, representing "new beginnings" ... who doesn't respond to that kind of promise?), fresh green and white teas in air-tight decorative tins (packed with anti-oxidants, of course), a glass stove-top tea kettle (to heat the water before you pour it into the other tea pot ... who knew?), a tea cup w/ a saucer (to complete the look) ... oh, and a Buddha statue (how could I not?).

Store manager Katrina carefully explained to me all the tea-making mistakes I'd been making all these years ... ie, watch water temp carefully when working with green tea to avoid bitterness, only cast-iron (and correspondingly expensive) teapots preserve the benefits of tea ... the list goes on.

Anyway, I rushed home to unpack and display my wares (see photo) and make a pot of tea. Totally worth it. The ritual of making a pot of fresh herbal tea for one in a beautiful Asian-inspired cast-iron teapot is, so far, everything it's cracked up to be. 10+ pots later, I'm in love.

The Birth of a Blog (Without a Point of View)


I need to learn more about how blogs work for my job (I own a marketing consulting firm). So, what better way than to start my own. Thing is, I am not at all sure what to blog about. Isn't there someone already blogging about everything interesting?

But ever the optimist, let me get this thing set up, think about it for a bit, and I'll try to drum up some interesting topics to blog about. I'm a Mom and wife (2 amazing kids, 1 amazing husband) first, and a girl with a job second. A loyal friend to a solid few, a lover of many things. Books, fashion, reality television, travel, good food and wine. But, what to blog about? Any ideas would be appreciated.