Miguelina

Back in Boston

Hello!

We're finally back, and I have tons to tell you about our trip. I wasn't able to write while away (obviously) Internet cafes are non-existent in Austria as are "free" WiFi signals, but I made do by twittering a few things on which I promise to expand on.

In the meantime, we're working on recovering from jet lag (I beg of you, do not ask me about yesterday. Or the flight home. Hell hath no fury like two exhausted babies. I'm forever scared and won't be going to Europe until the kids are teenagers. MARK MY WORDS.) so my brain has turned to mush. Which of course means that I just HAD to check YouTube instead of tackling email or being otherwise productive, and it was a good thing I did, because it now has video recommendations and what it recommends for me is eye-opening to say the least:

Seriously folks, they couldn't be more on target. YouTube gets me.

I laughed. I cried. I thought. Not bad for a lazy Sunday.

This makes me laugh:

This makes me cry:

And this makes me think.

Have a nice Sunday, everyone.

You say you want a revolution? Here you go:

This is a brilliant idea and, like most ideas that have the potential to change the world, it wasn't mine. Dammit.

I was going to kick myself for not coming up with this first, but I decided to spread the word instead. I'll let The Elegantologist explain:

June 7th, 2008 will mark the 230th anniversary of Beau Brummell’s birth. I propose that the 4,000 - 6,000 readers I have mark the event with a day of celebration of personal style. Our mis-en-scene will be the world at large. 

Make it a point to gather several well-dressed friends (the more the merrier) and head for a local watering hole, museum, theatre or other public venue. Dress better than you have to. En mass, a statement will be made. Beauty will be in the eyes of the beholders and maybe, just maybe, someone will think it’s a movement. The news media will pick up on the sudden reëmergence of elegance. Strangers will be compelled to rethink the day’s shabby wardrobe choices. Long dormant manners will see the light of day. Heads will turn and polite smiles will be exchanged.

JUNE 7, 2008 - Mark your calendars. Have fun and be fabulous! I can't wait!

Someone's been watching too much Telemundo...

This takes me back to South Beach - specifically GrooveJet (or Liquid, same difference) circa 1997 and it makes me laugh because those guys? Were EVERYWHERE. All that's missing is the plastic cup of rum and coke.

(If you think this is funny, you should see me ordering food at a French restaurant. Let's just say I point and say "Si!". A lot. Turns out a semester of French isn't very helpful either.)

Saturday Randomness

It's been five days since I last posted - don't you find that the longer you wait between posting the easier it is not to care?

• I don't really have a real reason for not posting, other than working really hard finding cute pink and brown wedding stuff and making inspiration boards. (OK, one. But since Photoshop and I are not friends it was hard, y'all) Have I told you how much I love writing for a wedding blog? I love it *thiiiiiiis* much. Because getting paid to look at pink shoes? IS AWESOME.

• I've cut back on some commitments and it's been a huge relief - the biggest one by far was for the local mother's group (500 mothers strong - my husband calls it the Local Mother's Mafia) where I was responsible for securing discounts for our members from local merchants. As much as I enjoyed combining my marketing experience with the influence of 500 MOMS to extort convince local businesses to hook us up, it was just taking up way too much valuable outdoor time. So goodbye!

• Speaking of Mother's Mafia...My one male reader seems to be getting a little bored with all the feminine content on the blog. Why do I say that? Oh, because he made fun of people who blog about celebrities and their strollers exactly one day after this post.  I joked about being hurt by this and must not have been the only one, because the next day he wrote the Celebrity Stroller Post to End All Celebrity Stroller Posts. Everybody wants to be a mommyblogger these days! (Good work, Neil! I'll be back to poking you on Facebook soon!)

• You've all seen the lovely Whoorl featured in the NY Times, right? I'm so proud of her! Go and spread the hair gospel, girlfriend!

Links!

I've finally gotten around to adding a links page.(It's right here.) Please note that this is not a list of every blog I read. It's not even a list of the greatest websites I've ever come across. It's just a snapshot of some really good reads I'm digging right now - a work in progress, if you will.

Anyways, it's a big internet. If you're looking for something good to read, it's as good a place to start as any. Enjoy!

Linky Love: March 21

I think I have a crush on this blogger. Stalk her, she speaks wisely: Easy and Elegant Life

So sweet! Instant Happy! Mamalogues

Where does all the time go?  Kerflop has the answer. Thanks for the kick in the pants!

Wait? So my kids will be teenagers someday? Yikes. Check these ladies out to get a glimpse into the future:

I See Famous People ... Just kidding! Sort of.

Sometime last week I informed my husband that he would be on lone daddy duty on Sunday because I'd made plans to have coffee with a friend that was visiting from LA.

"Sure!" He said - no questions asked. It wasn't until Saturday afternoon that he finally asked me who my friend was.

"It's Sarah."

"Sarah? Did you go to school together? I don't remember you ever mentioning a Sarah from LA."

"That's because we didn't go to school together."

"Then how do you know each other?"

"We've been reading each other since...huh, I don't really remember! It's been at least since she before she got pregnant ..."

"Hoooold on...OK. So - let me get this straight...you're going to meet up with a woman you call a 'friend' because you read her on the INTERNET?"

"I guess so. Yes."

*Sigh*

He was silent for a minute. I guess I had rendered him speechless with my nerditude. (And you know what? I don't blame him - it does sound crazy - I know it!)

"Tell me one thing - how do you know she's not insane? Or a stalker? Or a man pretending to be a mom?"

"Oh, she's not an insane-stalker-man!"

"How do you know?"

"I just know! It's Whoorl!"

The only thing I could think to do to make my case for "just knowing" that I wasn't meeting up with a random internet psycho was to show him her site. He clicked around until he found a picture. This one, to be exact. And then he had one thing to say:

"Can I come too?"

(Answer: HELL NO! I missed out on shopping for beauty products with Metalia because he was out of town on Tuesday so the kids were ALL HIS on Sunday. Fair is fair, bud!).

ANYWAYS, off I went to meet up with a total stranger who wasn't a stranger at all. And despite the fact that I knew she would be lovely (and she was!) I was still amazed that a Boston-girl-by-way-of-Miami could meet a California-girl-by-way-of-Oklahoma for the very first time and instantly have the type of girl talk that good friends catching up on old times have. If that's not awesome, I don't know what is.

(What do bloggers meeting for the first time talk about? Boys, handbags, hair (hello!), work, kids...the same things girlfriends all over the world talk about over coffee.)

Now I have a GREAT excuse to go to the west coast - and for that, I have the internet to thank.

(Thanks, Al Gore! I owe you one!)

The Great Interview Experiment

Neil from Citizen Of The Month (one of the funniest blogs ever - but you knew that already) came up with this great idea for a Great Interview Experiment. If you haven't already, sign up here. All the cool kids are doing it!

Anyways, a couple of weeks ago I signed up to do it (so maybe it's not all cool kids) and I got to interview the lovely Jennie of She Likes Purple fame. It was hard to come up with good questions because she has the longest FAQ on the internet, but she's so darn clever that she managed to make my mediocre questions sound somewhat coherent. You should read the interview over at her site, or click on the next page if you insist on reading it here. It's up to you!

Of course, the point of the experiment is that someone interviews you as well, and since my comment was right below somebody named witchypoo she was assigned the task of interviewing me. She contacted me right away, and wondered if I would be comfortable with her as an interviewer. I thought that was strange until I realized that I had just written this post where I said "...someone like me, who is turned off by spacey new age types..."

People, my interviewer is a psychic. OF COURSE. Her blog is named Psychicgeek, she sells crystals and reads people's auras and stuff.

Oops.

Anyways, turns out that witchypoo was gracious enough to interview despite my having inserted my entire leg in my mouth, and the interview is here. I like her. I may have a new friend. A psychic friend even.

However, I think she may have messed with karma a bit, because she wanted to know why I don't write about poop. What a strange thing to ask, right? Little did I know it wasn't a question that came out of the blue. Of course not - she's a psychic, remember?

Instead, it was foreshadowing. Just hours after she posted the interview my kids came down with a stomach virus. And then it was viral diarrhea (apparently they're two different things), and then I dragged the sick kids out on Super Tuesday because we had to vote and then they caught colds. And then the kids were better and then I caught their cold. And now I feel slightly better, which brings me to today.

I think the karma's all straightened out today. Finally.

What bothers me about it

The whole Heath Ledger thing is so indescribably sad and I can't really put into words exactly why;  but she did:

Heath Ledger, it has been reported, had pneumonia and was on a possibly-fatal combination of antibiotics, sleeping pills and antidepressants. ANTIDEPRESSANTS. That's horrifying, that a young man with a thriving career, critical acclaim, millions of dollars and all of perks that fame brings - endless attractive sexual partners! fancy clothes! interesting drugs! - was that unhappy. (this was meant ironically, people!) What does our society possibly have to offer anyone if the winners aren't happy with their prize?