April 2009
“8: The age of Dakota Fanning when she burst onto the movie screen. The age of Mozart when he wrote his first symphony. The age Tiger Woods was when he won his first golf tournament . The age I was when I finally learned how to stick a straw into my Capri Sun without parental assistance.”
—
~ Chiara Atik, via Meghan Asha
After spending the better part of the last 10 years serving as a part-time babysitter, I still don’t think I’ve mastered those damn capri sun containers.
“Look, I don’t even know if I can afford to go to these two fancy new ballparks, much less pay for the beer. I have children about to go to college, and paying $9 for a can of Pabst, even the 16-ounce can at Yankee Stadium, is one of the least enjoyable ways I can think of to blow their college fund.”
—~ Eric Asimov in today’s NYTimes article on the beer choices in the new Mets and Yankees ball parks. His solution? American Pilsners.
Craving a Bit(e) of my Childhood
In elementary school, we had the option of going home for lunch, and I would often take advantage of this freedom. I still remember how nice it felt to run home for 45 minutes in the middle of the day, and to have something warm and cooked in my own kitchen for lunch. I often had spaghetti-o’s, soup, and my absolute favorite - grilled cheese. Oooh, grilled cheese. Potato bread with yellow american cheese, made golden brown and ever-so-slightly crispy, and when you pulled it apart, the cheese would become all ooey-gooey. Grilled cheese was one of the first things I learned to make for myself, and I would make it ridiculously often.
Even now, when I think of comfort food, I immediately jump to grilled cheese. And though now there’s a better chance I’ll have it in the form of panini with a variety of gourmet cheeses and on bakery bread, or with roasted vegetables and truffle oil, there are times when I just get a hankering for an old-school grilled cheese with american “cheese” cooked in my kitchen at home. When I want to run home at lunch, and sit in the chair with my legs swinging back and forth cause they don’t even reach the ground, and wait for that ooey-gooey goodness. When you knew you had to run back to school in only for a short while, but for right now, all that mattered was that a warm grilled cheese sandwich was on its way. Comfort in sandwich form. … I think I know what I’m having for dinner.
Judy Blume just left me a message.
…and this is why I screen calls. I would have dropped the phone and stuttered had I just picked up and heard, “Hi Jenny. This is Judy Blume calling. Just a quick question for you…”
Okay. Now to call back one of my favorite authors. (And yes, I did blog this before calling her back. What of it?)
Running by the river is my urban version of driving with the windows down on a beautiful day.
Compliment a Stranger
Today I walked through Brooklyn in a big brimmed hat and white gauzey/crocheted dress and a few nice people spoke up and gave me a compliment. I admit I get a little nervous telling someone I don’t know that I love her outfit, but after feeling so great from the kind words of others, I’m gonna give it a better shot.
Today - Give a stranger a compliment!
Good idea! Spread the summer smiles.
Keep it classy. Zip it up.
I just walked the 20 minutes home from my babysitting job and in those 20 minutes, I passed no less than four, FOUR, men (all independently) peeing onto the corners of buildings. Now, gentlemen, just because you have the ability to whip it out on the street, thereby skipping over annoying lines or dirty bar bathrooms, does not mean that you should. And honestly, the last thing I want to do when exhausted and sober after 7 hours of babysitting on a gorgeous Saturday night is step over streams of your pee as it flows down the sidewalk. Gross? Yeah, I know. So, here, let’s just make a pact, shall we? WHEN IN PUBLIC, KEEP IT ZIPPED UP. C’mon guys, at least TRY to keep it classy.
“hold your own
know your name
and go your own way
and everything will be okay.” —~ Jason Mraz, “Details in the Fabric”
know your name
and go your own way
and everything will be okay.” —~ Jason Mraz, “Details in the Fabric”
“I have no idea how we could talk about women’s rights, motherhood, cremation, flaming arrows and poop all in the same night - but it’s awesome.”
—
~ my friend, Aubrey
Last night was just another killer bookclub meeting with the group of hilarious, opinionated, intelligent, and tipsy girls I get to call my friends. We read “Loving Frank” and it definitely led to one of our best conversations ever (normally we only talk about the book for 2.7 minutes). The story revolves around married Mamah Borthwick and her affair with Frank Lloyd Wright around the turn of the century (yes, it’s historical fiction). It is easy reading, but still with depth of characters, historical details, and controversial topics. Highly recommended.
NYC Tax Refund came in
Thank you, NYC, for paying for my new running shoes and haircut! I’ve got the shoes ordered and on the way, now if only I knew what I wanted to do with my hair…
