verbatim

Book Group

Four of us met at Liz's tonight to discuss Little Children by Tom Perrotta. (My cover had two Pepperidge Farm goldfish on it; everyone else's had two chocolate chip cookies, as does the photo at Amazon. WTF?) Anyhow, we all found it to be a quick, light, enjoyable-enough read, but it just wasn't realistic. The characters weren't fully fleshed out or believable enough.

The first paragraph sent shivers down my spine:

The young mothers were telling each other how tired they were. This was one of their favorite topics, along with the eating, sleeping, and defecating habits of their offspring, the merits of certain local nursery schools, and the difficulty of sticking to an exercise routine. Smiling politely to mask a familiar feeling of desperation, Sarah reminded herself to think like an anthropologist. I'm a researcher studying the behavior of boring suburban women. I am not a boring suburban woman myself.

but the Sarah character didn't hold me. She's a stay-home mom who ends up having an affair with a stay-home dad, but not enough of it rang true for me. And there was a curious subplot about a sex offender who lives nearby and is tormented by a local ex-cop.

We were trying to cast this book as a movie and ended up just discussing our favorite movie stars. Johnny! Viggo! Nicole! Gwyneth! There, that's better.

Next up is The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler.

Another Time-Waster

Ooooh, the colors! Thanks, Jo.

What's On . . . Wednesday

What's On your clock Right Now? (Please, don't just tell us what time it is; describe your clock!! OK?)

There's no clock in here; I just use the computer clock. So I will describe my kitchen clock. It's a dinner plate; the hour hand is a little spoon, the minute hand is a fork, and the second hand is a knife. The numbers are marked by tiny ceramic vegetables. The kids think this is how you tell time: "Mom says we can turn on the TV when the fork is at the pumpkin."

Julie's Eyes

Julie does indeed need surgery on her right eye. But we learned a lot at today's appointment with Dr. Bhatt:
1. The vision in Julie's right eye has improved since she started wearing glasses six weeks ago, although it continues to cross in, even more now.
2. Dr. Bhatt doesn't want to operate until the eye has completed its nose-ward journey. If she operates too early, she'll need to do it again once the eye finishes crossing. Furthermore, the longer we wait, the better the chance that Julie won't need to wear glasses afterward!
3. Julie is currently functioning without any depth perception at all! Dr. Bhatt said that if an adult were suddenly deprived of depth perception, s/he would have trouble just walking across the floor. Kids, on the other hand, are so adaptable, they just learn to take their cues from shadows and such. (Although Julie did fall down the stairs last week. . . .)
4. If we wait too long for the surgery, Julie's brain will forget how to process depth perception forever. So we have to do it as soon as Dr. Bhatt determines that her eye has crossed as much as it's going to. We're going back in six weeks to check on this.
5. Research suggests that wearing a patch on the good eye for two hours a day is ideal. This forces the weak eye to get used, so the brain doesn't just "turn it off," as Dr. Bhatt puts it. They've determined that three hours doesn't work any better than two. So on the days that Julie doesn't complain (like today), we'll keep the patch on her left eye for two full hours.

Pete Two-fer

1. As of last week, Pete is no longer sleeping in a pull-up. He's been dry every morning except twice, neither of which was a major soaking either. Woo-hoo! In related news, Julie has expressed interest in daytime potty training! I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the diaper tunnel!
2. Pete ate pizza tonight. This is a huge deal, since he doesn't ordinarily try new foods, particularly those that are not very bland (plain pasta, plain bread, American cheese, etc.). This is big.

Make Your Own Snowflake

A perfect activity as we approach July, no?

Ten on Tuesday

Poor Andy. Today's assignment was "Ten Athletes You Admire." Since I can't even name ten athletes, admirable or not, I passed it along to Andy. He got all worked up about what exactly was meant by "admire." He ended up picking ten athletes who were the best at their particular sports. Here's his disclaimer: "Trying to represent a variety of sports. I'm horrified at the names that must be left off of this list."

1. Wayne Gretzky
2. Lance Armstrong
3. Michael Jordan
4. Pele
5. Muhammad Ali
6. Jim Brown
7. Babe Ruth
8. Jack Nicklaus
9. Martina Navratilova
10. Jesse Owens

This will probably keep him up all night. He said to me, "It's as if I asked you to pick your favorite punctuation mark!" (Easy-peasy! The semicolon.)

Another TV Chef I Don't Like

Last night we made Smoked Turkey Baked Chimichangas, from the annoyingly perky Rachael Ray. (Now you don't suppose she's reading my blog too, do you?!) It was really just an easy assembly job, and very yummy!

1 pound thickly sliced smoked turkey, chopped
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 cups shredded slaw cabbage
2 chipotles in adobo sauce, minced
1 cup tomato sauce
3 scallions, chopped
4 (12-inch) flour tortillas, warmed
1 1/2 cups (6 oz) shredded sharp cheddar, smoked white cheddar, or Pepper Jack cheese
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro or parsley
1 orange or yellow tomato, seeded and finely chopped

Preheat oven to 400°. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray or line with parchment.

Place turkey in a bowl and season with chili powder. Add shredded cabbage, chipotles, tomato sauce, and scallions. Toss filling to combine and season with salt and pepper.

Place a generous handful of cheese near one edge of a tortilla. Pile 1/4 of your filling in the tortilla. Tuck sides up and roll tortilla tightly. Repeat to make 4 large stuffed tortilla wraps. Brush the wraps with some olive oil and bake until deep golden all over, 15 to 17 minutes. Top with sour cream, cilantro or parsley, and chopped tomato.

Lest you think I hate all TV chefs, I must tell you that I absolutely adore Jacques Pepin. He is the real deal, as far as I'm concerned. If you haven't already, you should read his memoir, The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen. I also like Tyler Florence, although I rarely get to see him these days. He was my late-night TV pal when I was nursing Julie.

My iPod's Got the Blues

A blue iSkin, that is! It's made of a neato rubbery material and has a little plexiglass plate over the LED screen. They had only the blue (oops, I mean "Sonic"), black ("Ebony"), and clear ("Ghost") at the Apple store, so I went with the blue . . . er, Sonic. I don't know which I would have chosen if I'd bought it online, where there's also pink ("Blush"), green ("Wasabi"), purple ("Vamp"), gray ("Carbon"), white ("Arctic"), and orange ("Lava").

I also got a charger that fits into the car's cigarette lighter hole, since the iTrip does indeed drain the batteries quickly. (Do any cars actually come with functional cigarette lighters anymore, or do they all just have that hole for plugging in electronic devices?)

QOTW

If you were asked to design a float for the New Year's Day Tournament of Roses Parade, what would make your float unique?

Um . . . um . . . um . . . . I can honestly say that this is something I have never given one moment's thought to. I'm not the most artsy-crafty gal around, so unfortunately my float would probably be unique in that it would suck. Hmmm . . . maybe a giant pan of paella? That would be unique, wouldn't it?

Good News

Stephanie had a great GI appointment today. Her iron is finally back into the normal range (was 43 in March and is 109 now!), her crit (39.3) and hemoglobin (13.6) were high, her sed rate (12) was low . . . all is well! She'll go back down to 1 iron pill a day instead of 2, and Dr. Israel even said she could probably go off it completely, but we might as well wait till next time to make that decision. She'll stay on her anti-inflammatories as well.

Plus she gained 5 lbs. and grew 1 inch since early March! She is in fact getting ever so slightly chunky, but I'm thrilled to see some meat on her bones after watching her waste away last summer and fall. She is quite sedentary, so we need to try to get her moving a bit more, but her diet is just fine—not much fat to trim there. She's got swimming lessons and camp all summer, so that should help.

So one medical worry out of the way for now; tomorrow Julie sees Dr. Bhatt to find out whether she needs eye surgery. I think the answer will be yes, since her eye is still extremely crossed even with the glasses.

Let It Lie

Lay is a transitive verb, which means that it takes a direct object. Which means that you lay something [down]:

Let's have our guests lay their coats on our cat-hair–covered bed.
Don't even think of laying those wet finger-paintings on the rug!

The past tense of lay is laid, as is the past participle:

I laid out all the bread for sandwiches, not realizing the counter was wet.
In our old condo, someone had laid the carpeting down on top of a pair of pliers, which we stepped on fifty times a day.

Lie is an intransitive verb, which means that it doesn't take a direct object. Which means that you just lie there, you don't lie something:

I think I'll lie down until the kids stop bickering.
Why is there a popsicle lying on the floor?

Here comes the tricky part. The past tense of lie is lay:

I lay awake in bed for over an hour last night.
In my teens I covered myself with baby oil and lay out in the sun with a reflector every day.

I know it doesn't sound right, but it is. Trust me.

For anyone still awake, here comes the last bit. The past participle of lie is lain:

He had lain all night in pee-soaked sheets.

Horrible, isn't it?

More Movies

I'm telling you, Netflix has to be losing money on us!

"Life Is Beautiful": Yes, we just now got around to seeing this one. I couldn't stand the first part. It was exactly the type of goofy old-style physical humor that I have no patience for. All those pratfalls and exaggerated spit-takes, ugh. I actually said to Andy at one point, "When are we going to get to the concentration camp already?" Then we got to the concentration camp already, and it became very poignant. I still found Benigni to be completely over the top—in my opinion, this was not an Oscar-caliber performance—but I did enjoy the character and the story. So, a mixed bag, I guess it would be fair to call it.

"In America": The DVD sleeve from Netflix was very misleading on this one, calling it a "heart-warming drama." How about heart-wrenching? Did they forget about the dead kid? Well, once we got used to the idea that this was going to be really, really sad, we enjoyed it well enough, although I can't say I loved it or anything. The little sisters were wonderful, but I'm getting weary of the "dying magical black guy" who keeps cropping up in movies. Oh, and I spotted Frank Wood, who graduated college with me—he played the pediatrician.

Now we're rewatching the first season of "Northern Exposure." We loved that series when it first started but lost interest as the Joel-Maggie thing heated up.

Scammed Again!

Got this funny one from Geoff over at Cooks Talk.

Timing Is Everything

I missed the Care Bears lunchbox on ebay by 3 minutes. I can't stand bidding early anymore, because there's really no point. Unless the point is that you'll forget otherwise. So Julie will have to be satisfied with Tenderheart Bear instead of Cheer Bear when she starts preschool camp. Phooey.

English as a Second Language?

I'm giddy with excitement over this vocabulary quiz I took today, thanks to Susan. It has been a long time since I've seen so many words I don't know—words I've seen before as well as words I swear I've never met. I was mighty pleased with my score of 166—and also with the fact that virtually all of those I got wrong were wild guesses (that is to say, I didn't have the wrong meaning in mind for a word I thought I knew). See how you do! And let's start peppering our posts with some of these doozies (I won't mention any here so as not to spoil the quiz for the other serious word-hounds).

I Love Him for His Knowledge of Geography

Opposites attract. I stunk up the place on the geography quiz, and Andy got 'em all right. He also did remarkably well on the other tricky ones, like Asia. I even did poorly the second time 'round. Why wasn't I taught this stuff in elementary school? At least I know all the state capitals—do you?

Too Many States

Phooey, I got only 114 out of 150 on this U.S. geography quiz (thanks for nothing, Pam!). My gosh, the South and Midwest are just two big (somewhat merging) jumbles to me. Embarrassing and depressing, all at the same time!

Embarrassment of Riches

I've finally committed myself to putting all my music on my iMac and iPod, so I've been busily importing CDs all week. (Note to self: Find person who invented CD jewel case. Kill said person with shards of all crushed jewel cases.) So now, with some 1200 songs loaded—and room for about 7 times that over again—I feel a bit more confident participating in Rox's Friday Random Five (in which, you might recall, one chooses "Shuffle" on one's iPod and then reveals the first 10 songs that come up):

1. Cormac McCarthy, "Waltz with the Captain's Daughter"
2. Martin Sexton, "So Long Suzanna"
3. Peter Keane, "Pack Up Your Sorrows"
4. Eric Clapton, "San Francisco Bay Blues" (live unplugged)
5. John Hiatt, "Tip of My Tongue"
6. John Prine, "Grandpa Was a Carpenter" (live)
7. Lyle Lovett, "Cowboy Man"
8. Chris Smither, "Homunculus"
9. Prudence Johnson, "Who Woulda Thunk It"
10. Dave Matthews, "Me and Julio" (live)

Lists

I still haven't waded through all the "5ives" yet—I get to giggling so hard, I have to take a break. So then I switch over to McSweeney's Lists and laugh some more. Trust me, these are worth checking out.

He's the One in the Middle

Keep the drunk guy upright with your mouse! I've gotten him only 27 meters so far.

Any of you know German? What do the signs say?

Movies in Brief

Visit the Editing Room—these are very funny.

Meow!

I keep hearing that a surefire way to increase blog traffic is to post cat photos. So here, without further ado, are Grace and Mr. Jones.

How we tell them apart:
1. Grace is smaller.
2. Grace is slightly darker.
3. Grace has a black nose; Mr. Jones has a pink nose.
4. Mr. Jones has some dark fur near the right side of his nose; Grace's is all white.

They are clearly litter-mates, but did you know that litter-mates can have different fathers? Think that one through for a moment, won't you?

Today's Quote

"The most important thing is to create a world we would like to live in when we are no longer the world's only superpower." — Bill Clinton

Thank Heaven for Johnny Depp

I mean that as a general statement—it's a pleasure just to know there's such a beautiful face in the world—but also in terms of the movie we saw last night, "Secret Window." Without him, it would have been absolutely worthless to watch. (John Turturro was good, too, but his role wasn't big enough.) Even if it's possible to put aside my wild crush on Depp, I think I can objectively say that he's an extremely talented and versatile actor.

Meanest Mommy in the World, Part Deux

1. No, you may not chew gum.
2. No, you may not wear sandals to the playground.
3. No, you may not watch "SpongeBob SquarePants."
4. No, you may not use the paints today.

(Hey, this could become a regular feature . . . !)

Next the Walls Will Be Breathing!

Hey, wow, man!

Meanest Mommy in the World

1. No, you may not have a treat.
2. No, you may not watch "Pokemon."
3. No, you may not wear flip-flops to school.
4. No, you may not get your ears pierced.

A Ray of Hope

It's true, I once voted for a Republican: Bill Weld, when he ran for governor against John Silber, who is a total loose cannon. I still think Weld is (at least, relatively) one of the good guys. This comes via Pesky'Apostrophe:

While current Republican Governor Mitt Romney was in Washington telling a Senate hearing that if Congress doesn't pass a constitutional amendment gay marriage will "spread like wildfire" across the nation, former Massachusetts GOP Governor William F. Weld was officiating at the gay marriage of his old college roommate. Mitchell Adams, Weld's closest friend at university and a former Mass. revenue commissioner, married Weld's former chief of staff Kevin Smith. . . . Weld told reporters that he's opposed to any constitutional amendment barring gay marriage. He said that if he were not at the wedding he would have been in Washington opposing Romney.

That Sounds About Right

This comes from Mark Morford via Athena:

(BushCo Fun Comparison: 1) Budget allotted the 9/11 commission to investigate one of the most horrific atrocities in American history: $15 million. 2) Budget allotted Ken Starr and his flying monkeys during the GOP's appallingly nasty effort to crucify Bill Clinton because he had mediocre oral sex in the Oval Office: $70 million. Just, you know, FYI.)

Everything But the Kitchen Sink

What's On your desktop Right Now?

iMac and all its friends: keyboard, mouse, speakers, USB hub, wireless router, cable modem, Palm dock, iPod dock, scanner (printer's on the floor)

old G3 (unplugged, never used anymore—why is it still here?)

box of Kleenex

calculator

scissors

pens and pencils

Post-It notes

thousands of scraps of papers with tiny bits of important (or once-important) info

emery board

Keb' Mo' CDs I'm importing into iTunes

paper clips

keyboard dust spray

iPod accessories box

This Is What I'm Saying

Ten on Tuesday

Ten Things You Look[ed!] for in a Mate

These are in no particular order:
1. Intelligence
2. Sharp sense of humor
3. Kindness
4. Love of kids
5. Commitment to family
6. Good looks
7. Values compatible with mine
8. Positive outlook
9. Well-adjustedness
10. Short last name ;-)

Three and Holding

I think I've finally accepted the fact that I'm not having any more kids. When Julie was just a baby, I still entertained the idea, but it's thoroughly unlikely now. I absolutely love the idea of having four kids, but I just feel too old and tired these days to start all over again. I love-love-love being pregnant, and breastfeeding is something I'll miss for the rest of my days, but other than that, the infancy stage is not my favorite. All three of my kids were horrible screaming wretches as infants, and I just don't think I can go through that again. (And I'm certain Andy can't.) The sleep deprivation is the worst. Beyond that, I don't think I could stand another miscarriage—I had one after Stephanie and another after Pete, so I can't help thinking I'd have another one after Julie as well. It's enough, already, five pregnancies. So, I guess I wish I'd started earlier and that Julie were already my fourth, but that's that. As for Andy, when I suggested a year or so ago that I might want a fourth, he wished me and my new husband loads of luck.

In April I gave Judy my favorite maternity clothes, so that clinches it.

QOTW

Assume that you have to spend six months in total seclusion, in a room about the size of a one-car garage. You will not be allowed any visitors during these months, but you may take with you any three objects of your choice . . . provided you can carry them in your arms when you enter the room. Food, drink, and clothing will be provided for you daily. What three objects would you bring along?

1. A 17-inch PowerBook G4 (assuming that I can connect wirelessly to the Internet and that I have electricity). Then I wouldn't need books, photos, my iPod, or a phone.
2. A good lamp.
3. A very comfy easy chair that pulls out to a bed, complete with pillows and bedding. (Yes, that's one thing!)

Genetics 101

Stephanie figured out why she, Pete, Julie, and Andy all have dimples and I don't. "People who were born in Boston have dimples. People who were born in Framingham don't."

That settles that!

A Lotta Bull?

Today's Sunday Times Magazine had an interview with Trent Lott. First I was predictably horrified:

You recently created a stir when you defended the interrogation techniques at Abu Ghraib.

Most of the people in Mississippi came up to me and said: ''Thank Goodness. America comes first.'' Interrogation is not a Sunday-school class. You don't get information that will save American lives by withholding pancakes.

But unleashing killer dogs on naked Iraqis is not the same as withholding pancakes.

I was amazed that people reacted like that. Did the dogs bite them? Did the dogs assault them? How are you going to get people to give information that will lead to the saving of lives?

But then I was very unpredictably—and pleasantly—surprised (if still a bit suspicious):

How do you feel about gay men adopting and raising children?

It's so important that children have parents or family that love them. There are a lot of adopted children who have loving parents, and it comes in different ways with different people in different states.

Where did this come from?? Lott has repeatedly voted against expanding hate crimes to include sexual orientation, against same-sex marriage, and against prohibiting job discrimination because of sexual orientation. Did I misread the above quote, or does he sound almost tolerant?

Success!

Well, we pulled it off. Daddy was awakened at about 7:15 with shouts of "Happy Fathers' Day!" and the aforementioned tray of breakfast fare (plus a little vase and flower—nice touch, eh?). He got to spend most of the day helping Steph learn to ride without training wheels. I will be surprised if he can stand upright and take a step without wincing tomorrow. Then we had dinner at Barbara and Jerry's, and the kids were very happy and giggly and cute and loving.

Fathers' Day Plans

Tomorrow morning I plan to return Andy's favor from Mothers' Day. Here's what I will do, as you are my witness:
1. Wake up earlier than Andy.
2. Get the kids up and dressed without waking him.
3. Take the kids and run out to Starbucks or Peet's for Andy's morning java. (I don't drink it, so I don't even know how to make it well.)
4. Toast a poppy-seed bagel and top with cream cheese, lox, and tomatoes (all already purchased).
5. Arrange the bagel and coffee (decanted into a mug, of course) on a tray, along with the Globe sports section and the cards and drawings from me and the kids and serve him breakfast in bed!
Wish me luck.
P.S. Andy, if this doesn't turn out right, at least you know I had good intentions.

3 Movies, 3 Dinners

1. First we tried to watch "Rangeela." We really did. We just couldn't stand it, Aamir Khan notwithstanding. What did we eat? Hmmm, oh yeah, it was Baked Chicken with Herbs, Garlic, and Shallots again. Yum.

2. Next up was "Master and Commander." As Andy likes to say, this movie was long but boring. Thank heaven for subtitles! I still didn't know what half of them were saying even while I was reading it. It would have been impossible otherwise. Plus, I couldn't seem to forget that I've heard that Russell Crowe is a big jerk, so I had trouble concentrating on him as Jack Aubry. I made a pseudo-paella, which was pretty delish, but I can't call it real paella because it didn't have soccarat.*

Pseudo-Paella

2 lbs. chicken pieces [Update: I've made this many times with about 1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut up, which cook faster and are easier to eat in a rice dish.]
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/3 lb. chicken sausage
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 1/2 cups uncooked Arborio rice
1/2 cup diced plum tomato
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon saffron threads, crushed
1 garlic clove, minced
3 cups chicken broth
3/4 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup (1-inch) diagonally cut asparagus
1/2 cup frozen green peas, thawed

Preheat oven to 400°.

Sprinkle chicken with rosemary, salt, and black pepper. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook for 3 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Remove chicken from pan.

Remove casings from sausage. Add sausage to pan; cook for 1 minute, stirring to crumble. Add more oil if necessary. Add onion and bell pepper; cook for 7 minutes, stirring constantly. Add rice, tomato, paprika, saffron, and garlic; cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Return chicken to pan. Add broth and bring to a boil. Cover pan; bake for 10 minutes (I do about 15 minutes). Stir in shrimp, asparagus, and peas. Cover and bake for an additional 5 minutes or until shrimp are done and most liquid is absorbed (closer to 10 minutes or even 15).

*Socarrat (soh-kah-raht, from the verb socarrar, which means to toast lightly) is the caramelized crust of rice that sometimes sticks to the bottom of the pan. It is the prize in a well-made paella. To get some, increase the heat at the end of cooking, paying close attention to the sound of the rice (it crackles) and the smell (toasty but not burned). After one or two minutes, poke around with a spoon; if you feel just a touch of bumpy resistance on the bottom of the pan, you've got socarrat.

3. Tonight was steak frites again (this is becoming a Saturday night tradition!), and "Unfaithful." A lousy movie, but good performances from Diane Lane and Richard Gere. The plot and script and character development were so lame as to make it almost a joke, though.

TV, Shmee-Vee P.S.

I forgot to mention I've also never seen "Oprah." That's right, never! I know who she is, of course, but that's it. I also never saw the Rosie O'Donnell show when that was on, or any other talk show for that matter. I think I would have to be bedridden for months and barely conscious enough to focus in order to sit through one of those shows.

Classic Stephanie-ism

I open a foil sleeve containing two Pop Tarts and slide them out. One is cracked. Without missing a beat, Stephanie says, "Awww, Pete, yours is broken!" It never dawns on him to question this.

I like to watch her, trying to figure out how her mind works. For instance, if I offer the kids a plate of chocolate-chip cookies, I can see her brain making a dozen different calculations for each cookie (number of chocolate chips, lumps that might or might not contain additional chocolate chips, diameter of cookie, thickness of cookie, browness of edges, etc.) and then, long before the other kids are even aware that there's a treat forthcoming, she has already chosen The Winner.

Random Friday Five

1. Pete is done with preschool. Forever! Sob, sob.
2. When dropped from counter level, a 32-oz. Pyrex measuring cup will shatter into a bazillion tiny shards, some traveling as far as 15 feet away in multiple directions. Be sure to be barefoot when this happens, just for excitement.
3. These days when Julie's doing something she's not supposed to and I tell her to stop, she invariably says, "I was just doing someping." I have to hide my smile every time. She also announces, "This is so amazing!" for no apparent reason throughout the day. That, and "Nice to meet you!"
4. I ran into a friend I hadn't seen in over a year. She had lost a ton of weight, so much so that I didn't even recognize her. I said, "You look fantastic!" Then, before I could stop myself, I said, "You lost a ton of weight!" Ouch.
5. Pete pointed right at a very zitty teenager and said (loudly), "Mom! Look! Chicken pox!" The poor girl will probably be in therapy for life now.

So Many T-Shirts, So Few Days Until November 2

Go see the finalists for the T-shirt contest at Designs on the White House. How will they ever choose?

iSkin, youSkin

Are these cool or what? "So bright . . . so beautiful . . . my precious." Now I have to figure out the difference between the EVO and the EXO2. (Do I have a third-generation iPod?) And which color to choose, oh my!

So Far, So Good

Use farther for actual distances (I live farther from the school than you do); use further for everything else (Let me know if you need further information). Here's a handy rule of thumb: If both farther and further sound correct, use farther. Use further only when farther won't work.

TV, Shmee-Vee

I don't watch TV. Well, the kids are allowed to watch a few shows on PBS Kids, Nick Jr., and Disney Playhouse, so I guess I have "seen" many of those shows indirectly. And every now and then I flip on the Food Network while I'm folding laundry. I'm always hoping to get Tyler Florence, but as soon as I hear one "Bam!" out of Emeril, I flip it off. I just can't stomach him!

So, I have never seen a single moment of any reality show. Not "Survivor" or "American Idol" or "The Apprentice" or "The Bachelor" or "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" or "Joe Millionaire" or any of the other dozens I hear people talking about. I just have no interest whatsoever in this stuff.

I'm told I would like "The West Wing," but I'm so off TV that I can't even tolerate a single commercial anymore. Sometimes in the evening Andy flips through the channels while I'm reading, and the commercials make me absolutely crazy.

As far as I'm concerned, the TV is there just to watch DVDs through.

I'm Part Vulcan

Thanks to help from two Susans, I can now tell you with certainty that Leonard Nimoy is my second cousin, once removed (his father was first cousins with my grandmother). It's all explained here.

UPDATED 6/22 to change "his mother" to "his father" and "my grandfather" to "my grandmother." OOPS!

So Let It Be Written

Susan came up with a much better vanity plate for me: STET.

Play Bush Hangman!

Found this little diversion Down The Rabbit Hole.