HomeSlice

I like to communicate.  Up until my marriage started to fall apart, I used to pride myself on being a good communicator.  I could talk to anyone, at any level - from CEOs to farmers to random people in line at the grocery store.  I love talking, listening, hearing people’s stories.  It’s rare that I am speechless.  Perhaps I should be speechless more often. 

I got a weird package in the mail today from Apple.  It was an oddly shaped package, wrapped similarly to the way Amazon.com wraps their books.  I was distracted - it was dinner time.  I pulled it out of the packaging and at first I thought someone had accidentally shipped me a MacBook - it was white and flat and very Apple-like.  I pulled the cover off:

It’s weird pulling a book out and seeing your own mug on the front cover.  I had no idea what was inside it - naked pictures from Vegas?  Much better, actually.  The pages look similar to this one:

Way back when I met my internet friends*, I had no idea how much a part of my life they would become.  Though we are scattered around the world (literally), these women have been rocks to me (just like the one I broke my cocktail glass with at Nobu).  They are, as a whole, the most non-judgmental, diverse, intelligent, well-spoken, strong and opinionated group of women I know.  We get in tiffs from time to time, but the core group is still hanging together more than 2 years after we met online.  We’ve watched eachother’s children grow, gone through pregnancies, miscarriages, marital issues, family drama, fights, a few trolls, and a lot of alcohol when we’ve met in person. 

When I was hospitalized, one of the first people I called was Amanda.  She had everyone else’s phone numbers and is Ms. Efficiency, so I knew she would get the word out so that my absence wouldn’t cause any worry as we check in with other daily.  It should be a testament to the strength of those relationships that she was one of the first people I called.  She kept in touch with Mike, sent notes out to everyone, fielded phone calls, and generally made herself available.  When I got home, Jess refused to take no for an answer and called and called until I finally answered the phone.  They continue, as a group, to reach out to me, even though I’m a total crap friend these days who doesn’t return phone calls or emails and rarely checks in on the forum we have set up.  They seem to ignore my boring, monosyllabic responses and they continue to love me regardless of how unpleasant I am these days. 

Apparently, Cathy came up with the original idea.  Cathy, who lives in Hong Kong, who has very young baby and a very active boy, somehow coordinated and put it together.  The book is divided into sections.  Each section has two pages, each set written by one of the women in the group.  There are pictures of us together.  There are lists of ways I have affected their lives. Funny memories of phone calls, emails, or our rare meet-ups. There is poetry and some of the nicest things that have ever been written about me. 

Today was one of those days where I don’t answer the phone.  I spent a lot of time being angry that one of my medications IS.NOT.WORKING.  I’m over feeling like shit every day, I’m tired of crying, I’m tired of being a mess inside and putting on a happy face in public.  I’m tired of hurting my husband, and I’m tired of hurting period.  When I opened that book, and forced myself not to focus on how fat I was in some of the pictures (old habits die hard), I got a very timely glimpse of the person I was.  All these days and months thinking that I’ll never be the same again, or be loved again, or be enjoyed by others - well, I will come out of this.  Under the sadness and depression and fear, I’m still there, clawing my way out, trying to redefine myself.  My friends articulated things about me that I haven’t dared think about, let alone say.  They took time out of their own crazy lives and did this thing for me, and I was completely and utterly speechless.

After I cried (this time because I was so awestruck over what they had done), it took me another 30 minutes to try to thank them for what they did and tell them how important they are in my life.  Words really failed me - there is no good way to express the amount of feeling I have about what they did.  I tried, though - and I’m trying again here. 

My family has supported me through this time.  My husband, whom I’ve devastated, has supported me.  And without them, I wouldn’t be surviving.  Equally important, my friends have surrounded me, called me, written me, pestered me, bought me coffee and wine, and beat me until I cracked and bled.  They beat the truth out of me, then helped put me together again.  I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve the people who have formed a very warm and protective circle around me, but I am truly and completely grateful. 

I realize this may seem unnecessary, but I started making this list out in my head and I realized how many people have really and truly been there for me during this horrid stinky time in my life.  Writing it out was physical proof to me that I am the luckiest person on earth.  Thanks in particular to the following people, and please give me a break if I forgot someone because my medication messes with my memory:

Internet Freaks
Alicia
Amanda
Annita
Cathy
Christina
Jenni
Jess
Julia
Kate
Kristin
Melissa
Sara S.
Helena
and Jae, even though she’s left us for the moment (I love you Jae - come back!)

Twitter Peeps (many of whom are now real-life friends):
TheCheckoutGirl
WxDan
JasonKenney
KnownHuman
Snarketta
TrevorDickerson
Napkins
SheDrivesAJimmy
RichmondMom
MsMaladjusted
NewRose
RiverCityGal
Horhey
KindnessGirl
AnaRVA
CarrieFleck
KatieSmithRVA
UVALeg

Friends Met Through “Normal” Channels:
Susan.  I need to say it again.  Susan.  SUUUUUUUUUUUU-SAN.
Sara B.
Laura freakin’ P.
Julie R.
Julie “Restaurant Week” P.
John, Karen & Emma N.
Kimberly H.
Charlette M.
Dee R.
Rick W.
Pat W.
Brent R.
Chris M.
Amanda W.
Chris C.
Tricia H.
Julie P.
Allison E.
Philip & Mary L.
Michael M.
Bill P.
Ellen M.
Wynne R.
Jill B.
Helen B.
Kathy C.
Jennifer D. (my therapist - and she’s awesome)
Henry S.

My Crazy Family in its Entirety, but Particularly:
Anja
Sally
Risa
Mom and Dad
Dave and Beth
Aunt Paula

To each and every one of you:  thank you for being exactly what I needed, when I needed it. 

*i say this in a tongue-in-cheek way - at Bradley’s recent SMCRVA presentation, he said something to the effect that internet friends can be just as real, if not more so, than our flesh and blood friends. It was validating, because everything Bradley says is unequivocably true. 

I recently had the pleasure of meeting, live and in person, the infamous and city-renowned Kate Hall from Richmond Mom.  If you use twitter, you can also follow her @richmondmom.  Her tweets often make me spew water out of my nose or snort loudly in public, both good things (if not slightly painful).  Kate’s my hero, and I really fell in love with her after we carpooled to an SMC event and she sat down in my car with a purple Solo cup full of red wine.  The woman can rock it!  She also understands completely that just because you own a website doesn’t mean you’re rolling in the cash.  We both work hard, and understood immediately the challenges of being both mothers and business owners.  It’s not all that glamorous, but the good thing is, I get to meet women like Kate because of my job.

Kate is also my hero because she’s a published author.  And she wrote an amazing book for children entitled Richmond Rocks.  In a nutshell:  Richmond Rocks is a brief glimpse into the amazing history that Richmond holds for its little learners. Three Richmond, VA kids discover Richmond’s past by journeying through some of its many historical landmarks and sights, with the help of their mom.  On this fabulous journey, they learn that Richmond really does rock!

As a non-native to this area, one of the things that struck me my first year of living in Richmond was how saturated with history the streetcorners and cobblestones are.  My kids are growing up in a historical environment, but are clueless because we mostly hang in the sterilized green-grassed lawns of a suburb.  There ain’t nothin’ historical about the Starbucks on the corner, or the strip malls.  Head 15 minutes east and slightly south and you’re surrounded by history.  Kate recognized the story idea would be an excellent way to introduce the 4-8 demographic about their hometown. 

One of the things I loved best about the book is that it is all Richmond, 100% through and through.  The author and editor, the illustrator, the photography, and the publisher:  all local.  It’s awesome.  I’m super proud of Kate, and encourage you Richmonders (Richmondites?  Monders?  RichmondPeeps?)  to purchase the book.  Or at least go to her site and send her a message of love and support.  She deserves it. 

Tonight a friend took me out for dinner at the relatively new Water Grill that opened where Karsen’s used to be.  It was a beautiful fall night, and we were able to snag a table outside. 

Food critic I am not, but I had a fabulous dinner.  We split two appetizers - the fried buffalo oysters recommended by @rivercitygal and the edamame hummus.  Both were delicious.  For the main event, I ordered the seafood pasta, which was served over whole wheat linguine in a tomato broth with shrimp and mussels.  I loved the fact that I could get whole wheat pasta at a restaurant (it’s all I eat at home).  My friend ordered a pork chop in a cranberry glaze with a poached pear stuffed with bleu cheese.  I drooled over the pear.  We splurged and got dessert - a hazelnut toffee torte and lemon sorbet.  Hilariously enough, the sorbet came out in a martini glass and had two round lumps.  Two blueberries perched on the lumps.  My friend exclaimed, “Oh look, titties!” when they came out.  It was a big hit with the gray hairs next to us. 

I’m no restaurant critic, nor is my palette refined like WhineMeDineMe, but I loved the entire experience and really appreciated a dinner out with a friend I haven’t seen in at least a year.  Especially when I didn’t have to pay   So nice to just forget about everything and indulge in good food and conversation, two of my favorite things.

Awhile back I somehow got lucky enough to stumble onto The Checkout Girl’s blog.  Here’s a few reasons why I love her, and her blog:

1.  She’s in Richmond, VA. 
2.  She’s really funny.
3.  She calls it like she sees it.
4.  She makes fun of the same people I do.
5.  She makes fun of herself.
6.  Her tweets are really funny.
7.  She works near where I live, which means I’ve probably run across her in my daily life. 
8.  She only blogs when she has something to say - no verbal diarrhea for The Checkout Girl.
9.  It’s totally fascinating to see Richmond from the eyes across the conveyor belt.
10.  She’s got a great work ethic, which is pretty rare these days.

I’m also a little jealous of TCG.  I’m a little jealous because she’s managed to stay anonymous.  This means that she can say whatever she wants, as long as she manages to keep her specific store and identity veiled.  Sometimes I wish that I was anonymous too - then I could REALLY let it hang out!  She also won best new blog this year (local bloggy awards).  I like her blog because it’s readable and fun.  Some of the other “famous” blogs of Richmond are really heavy, intellectual, or political.  Could y’all just dumb it down a bit?  Not that TCG isn’t pithy or sometimes heavy, but she does it with a light heart.

Unfortunately, BECAUSE she’s anonymous, I can’t just send her an email and say “Hilarious blogging woman! Let’s hook up for coffee and dish the dirt.”  I mean, I could, but she couldn’t really accept, could she?  And she probably wouldn’t, because I could be some crazy internet stalker.  Not that she doesn’t deal with enough crazy people on a daily basis - I would be nothing compared to that. 

Whether you live here or not, you should read it.  And maybe be nicer to the person at your local grocery store.  Because they could TOTALLY be blogging about you right now. 

About a year after Jennifer and I started working together on the marketing consulting front, my good friend Sara decided to strike out on her own.  She formed a company called Neat, and it was like Sara and her new venture were a match made in a heaven.  Sara’s calm demeanor, her love for all things organized, and her desire to help people who are organizationally challenged (did you know there is actually a disorder called Chronically Disorganized??? Yeah, there is) melded perfectly into a sweet delicious career. 

I remember those days fondly because we worked together a lot, trading marketing advice for organizational help in our 2nd office on Franklin Street.  We had many long lunches where the three of us strategized about taking over the world of Richmond in our various ways. It was exciting to be in start-up mode with someone else, especially one I respected so much. 

Sara has come a long way since then - she has a podcast on iTunes, she has headed the local NAPO chapter here, and she mentors people whenever they need it.  She’s got certifications out the wazoo, and she’s worked with people that would within 30 seconds make me slightly insane.  And she actually ENJOYS it.  Although she seemed a bit shy when I first met her, she has turned into a master networker and knows the ins and outs of this weird town we both call home. 

Sara helped me a few times around my house, although she focuses primarily on businesses.  She did me a favor and organized my very first playroom.  She took the disaster that was the room and laid out a floor plan, ordered all the stuff for me from Ikea and Container Store, hung everything, labelled everything, and most importantly, taught me the “whys” behind where she put things.  It was fascinating to watch the way her mind worked.  She watched the girls play, then organized their toys into places they could reach - logical places.  My idea, until that point, had been wandering around Target, randomly pulling baskets or storage shelves and placing them equally as randomly into whatever room I was bothered by the most. I’d never learned to do it with forethought or planning. It was the ultimate. I gave her a budget, she spent my money, and suddenly I had a playroom to end all playrooms. 

In this way, I’m very much my mother’s daughter.  My house is usually pretty neat - but open a drawer, especially in the bedrooms or kitchen, let alone my closet, and you have a bit of chaos.  I suck at filing - I hate it - so unless I have a system, everything just piles up.  When I saw how Sara had magically transformed the playroom, I started foaming at the mouth.  I would have spent half our income at Container Store if Mike hadn’t reeled me back in by asking how organizing the attic would help if we couldn’t pay the mortgage.  I reasoned that if the playroom made me feel more calm (I dreaded picking up at night a lot less), perhaps I should keep going until my organizing frenzy resulted in a permament state of Om.  I started siccing her on the garage.  Then she helped with my bathroom.  I sent her to my parent’s - she organized their pantry. At that point, I did my closet on my own, following the guidelines she’d showed me.

This past weekend, Mike and I both went on an organizing binge.  The closets were getting unmanageable again, and as I worked, I realized how profound of an impact Sara’s had on me.  Now, instead of just “cleaning” everything (meaning shoving the same items into the old places), I actually sort through them, figure out what I really need, and then look at the space I have to work with.  It doesn’t sound like a big deal, but when my house is chaotic, I feel chaotic.  Bringing some order to my filing system and hme office were imperative for me to be able to be effiicient.

Best of all, Sara just announced she’s pregnant - so pretty soon I’ll be able to bounce her little monkey like she used to bounce mine.  I can’t wait to see if she manages to hold onto her sanity, as well as her fantastic ability to transform people and places, once the newest Bereika arrives.  I’m sure she’ll make it look like it’s no big deal.  That’s just how she rolls. 

A while back I got a message from Schmap asking for permission to include a fun picture I snapped of Lily at the Children’s Museum in their guide. I said, “Well, SURE!” and lo and behold, it was included!  Here’s the link if you want to check it out.  I had never heard of Schmap before, but it’s really cool.  And I feel honored to have a picture included in something that more than 2 people might actually look at. 

Yesterday, the whole of my immediate family plus Jennifer, Troy and Sophia loaded up cars, snacks, water and food and headed north for Washington DC and the XM Radio Kids Traveling Roadshow.  Well, the main reason we went was to see Meredith Brooks - she was performing from her new kids CD “If I Could Be . . . ” and to meet some other online friends.  Christine lives in the DC area, but another friend drove from Greensboro NC for the show (Kirstin, you rock!). 

Meredith has recently been talking me through some ugly episodes of child rearing. I didn’t know who she was when we first met - and I probably wouldn’t have cared if I had, but it might have made me a bit more nervous.  The best thing about Meredith, other than how awesome she is with kids - is how utterly normal and down to earth she is.  She’s a mom first - everything else second.  The only difference between her and most of the moms I know, including myself, is that she appears to really have her proverbial crap together.  Mike and the girls were excited to go to the show, and we couldn’t have asked for better weather (74 degrees, low humidity, sunny) or for better company.  Everyone who came was so much fun.  We met up with Meredith, her husband Jody and son Troy about 20 minutes before they went on stage.  Troy decided he wanted to give Lily and Arden and Christine’s daughter Bridget musical instruments.  I didn’t even lecture Meredith on why loud toys should not be given to kids (kidding!).  They played backstage with each other.  We met Lisa Loeb - the kids were totally unimpressed, but it was a good thing Mike wasn’t with me because he has a thing for girls with glasses. 

Rhythm Child was awesome! I need to pick up that CD.  We had so much fun listening and dancing.  Here’s a video of Sophia and Arden going nuts during Norm’s performance:

After, Meredith took the stage.  Troy, her very cute, very sweet, and very well-behaved nearly 4-year old son got on with her and bounced and sang a bit.  She even pimped him out in Very Excellent Baby, which we sell on our site.  He eventually got down because his feet were hurting him, and he’d had little sleep. In true rock star form, he was jetlagged from all his world traveling:

Then, Meredith decided to be super cool and nice and invited Lily, Arden, Sophia and Bridget on stage with her.  This was awesome - once the girls stopped being shy.  All the other parents decided to also allow their kids on stage, so it was mass kid mayhem on stage with lots of dancing and singing.  Lily proved she has listened obsessively to the CD by belting out the words right next to Meredith. In fact she was so close for most of the show that I feared Meredith would bash her accidentally in the head with her guitar.  Arden on the other hand danced like a maniac with Sophia, then took to running in big circles around the stage while making googly eyes at the drummer.  Turns out the band that backed up Meredith are Until June, and after checking out their music I promptly bought the CD.  They’re great, and any bunch of really cute guys that were nice to my 5 and 3 year old on stage are okay in my book. 

After Meredith was done performing, she signed autographs and hung out with the XM people.  I felt bad for her - this really creepy guy kept leering at her and talking to her.  It was a kids show, for god’s sake - he had no kids with him, and he was all sweaty and nervous.  Jody was behind her the whole time, and I was trying not to roll my eyes at him while making overt hand gestures at the creepy stalker dude.  While Meredith finished up her PR duties, Christine and her family showed us some cool sites near the monument as we wended our way toward the Capitol City Brewing Company where we were meeting for dinner.  It was interesting walking all that way with kids, but we managed.  Mike only called it the Bataan Death March once - and we promptly got a cab.  All in all, we couldn’t believe how well behaved the girls were.  They even got to ride a Carousel - but Lily skipped that because, as she told Christine, “I throw up when I get dizzy.” 

We had a great time at dinner.  Our waitress was hating us, but the kids all played together and mercifully we were in a corner of the restaurant where they could get down, run around and be goofy.  They played hide and seek.  Meredith warned me that Troy likes the older ladies (Troy as in Meredith’s Troy - not Jennifer’s Troy - just had to make that clear), and he hung out primarily with Lily and Bridget.  Even Arden was being good until she shoved Troy (because he wouldn’t get out of her way, she exclaimed later) and called him a dummy.  She had a time out and eventually got it together, but poor Troy had his feelings hurt. 

We said goodbye outside the restaurant. I know I’ll be seeing Christine, Josh and Bridget again - they are all so much fun, and so kind. Bridget is one smart little girl. She made beautiful necklaces for the girls and one for Meredith that she wore on stage.  Hopefully next time I visit my family in the Durham area I can hook up with Kirstin too.  As usual, I’m so glad that I’ve met such wonderful people online - it makes the 1 or 2 trolls I’ve encountered worth it. 

We had a couple funny “big city” moments - including our first cabbie telling us that a giant egg-shaped UFO landed on the Washington Monument in 1999, and another cabbie asking Jennifer and I for directions to Capitol Brewing because he had no idea where it was.  It was fun being in the taxi with Sophia, Arden and Lily, and no cell phones .  . . Troy and Mike had all that stuff in the other cab.  Eventually we got there, slightly freaked out and annoyed.  Jody also had a big city moment when he lost or misplaced his cell phone.  Nothing like being far from home and losing your lifeline. 

After dinner we rode the Metro back to Meredith and Jody’s hotel, which was much swankier than ours, and Meredith let Arden and Lily jump like maniacs on the bed while she gave me some more stuff and Jody tore the room apart looking for his phone.  By then, it was 9 PM and the girls were completely wacko. No naps, up early, on the go all day.  We had hoped to meet up with Meredith & Co. again today, so we didn’t have an extended goodbye which was a good thing. 

We didn’t get to our hotel in Alexandria until nearly 11 PM.  The girls tried to go to bed, but were still so excited it took them a while.  Lily ended up having diarrhea all night and in the morning, she threw up a bit.  We tried to hang around and wait it out, but her diarrhea really didn’t get better and I just couldn’t imagine trekking back into the city and subjecting her sore little rump to a day of sightseeing.  Troy slept until nearly noon anyway, so by the time I spoke to Meredith, we were already back in Richmond.

I was really bummed out we didn’t get to spend some time with them today. So was Mike, and you know Mike - he doesn’t like most people.  I think he enjoyed talking to Jody - they are both history buffs. Thankfully he didn’t find out until tonight that Jody manages The Alarm - otherwise he would have been all geeked out.  However, this is the deal with being a mom.  I had to tell Lily that no she couldn’t see Troy again even though she cried a little bit, and we all had to suck it up and come back home. 

It was great 24 hours - and for the girls, a once in a lifetime experience to be on stage and dance and sing like that!  We all had so much fun.  Lily has decided she wants to be a singer like “Miss Meredith”.  I’m sort of on the fence about that idea after seeing what Meredith has gone through in her life.  Although everyone has dreamed at one time of being famous or singing or rocking out, I think I prefer my relative anonymity, especially when you have kids in the picture.  It’s just so much easier being normal and plain and not having to worry, additionally, that some nut job is going to take a picture of your child (wait, I did that!  but I had permission).  It was great to see Meredith and her husband together.  You can see they are very much in love, and they are great parents.  Troy is a lucky guy.  Hopefully Lily and Arden will think we’re awesome one day too - even when we make them leave a fun day in the city because of intestinal distress. 

So to Christine:  thank you so much, to you and Bridget, for making such beautiful necklaces for the girls. They wore them all day today!  I loved meeting you and getting to know your family.  You guys are the best!

To Kirstin and Melody:  hope you had as much fun with us as we had with you.  I loved meeting you all!

To Meredith, Jody and Troy:  Thanks for everything - the musical instruments we will be tormented with for the next few months, the kindness you have shown my family, and for sharing your beautiful boy with us.  Thanks especially for sharing your love of music with my children - they think you’re the coolest!

***********************
Here’s the Flickr slideshow, for all those interested in the nitty gritty details and my double chin.  If you can’t see the badge, you can click here.

Congratulations to the Detroit Red Wings, who will commence pounding the Penguins shortly in the Stanley Cup Finals (at least I hope they pound them).  Go Red Wings!!!!

I’ve long been a fan of Dove’s “Campaign for Real Beauty” - as where else on television can you see pictures of normally-sized women?  Their latest ad is focused on kids and their exposure to needing to be perfect starting at a very young age.  Unfortunately, that “perfect” ideal only exists in Photoshop.  The whole topic is near and dear to my heart.  A little more self-esteem and pride in my shape as an adolescent, then teenager, might have saved me from years of bodily abuse trying to whip my short, widely-hipped frame into a model’s torso.

Here’s a link to the video with more information on the campaign:

http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.com/home.asp?source=octddo_video

It’s quite ironic, frankly, that after one of the worst days I’ve had in a while, we end up having one of the best days we’ve had.  Life has a way of balancing out.  It’s also ironic that on a day when Jennifer and I decided to part with a significant chunk of money to hire a PR firm to help pitch our nap mats to a variety of outlets including television, magazines like Parents and Parenting and Working Mother, and local and national newspapers, we get 5 seconds (literally) of fame for FREE.  FREE!!!! 

It all started this morning around 9 AM.  We sell a onesie that says “I’m Told I Like Golf”.  It was very popular around Father’s Day, but this morning we started getting orders back to back for it.  Out of the blue.  That NEVER happens.  One customer told us that they “saw us on CNN” during a segment about Tiger Woods’ new baby daughter.  Jennifer was so surprised she was in rare form:  she was speechless.  We just assumed that our manufacturer had gifted the onesie to Tiger (she had).  For those of you who don’t live and breathe celebrity baby apparel, one of the ways manufacturers promote their products is by “gifting” their clothing to celebrities and hoping that they put it on their children and that the paparazzi photograph them wearing their threads.  So it was natural for us to assume that a picture of Tiger Woods’ daughter, wearing “I’m Told I Like Golf”, had hit the internet somehow and CNN had picked it up. 

We continued taking orders all day for the onesie and t-shirts.  The manufacturer was going nuts trying to find the segment on CNN because she, like us, had no idea it had aired.  She also assumed that it was featured because Tiger had put it on his daughter. 

Fast forward to 8 PM tonight.  Jennifer, the master of searching on the internet, couldn’t find anything in the transcripts from CNN.  Our manufacturer had been obsessively watching CNN for hours.  No mention.  She was beginning to wonder if our customers were hallucinating or making it up just to torture her.  I broke down and called Helen who is the master of all things PR. Within 2 minutes, she’d found the transcript and the full 5 seconds of our mention.  Jackie Schechner had reported on some fun things for Tiger’s “cub”.  Here’s the excerpt: 

SCHECHNER: Ah, actually, I have to show you. I found this Web site called Baby Golf, which is all dedicated to things golf and little younguns. I also found this onesie on line that says, “I’m told I like golf.” I thought that was kind of fun, too. So, I bet she will start really, really early.

Apparently, she showed a screen shot of the Baby Golf site, and a screenshot of . . . yes . . . .wait for it . . . SassyOnesies.com!  I am pooping in my pants right now!!!

Those 5 seconds of CNN prompted a horde of people to google “Sassy Onesies” and buy this item from us.  As Helen put it, “That’s the power of PR right there.”  And it feels so good!  I’m actually looking forward to plopping down thousands of dollars on PR in the next three months!  This is better than drugs, sex AND rock and roll, combined!!!

So, if any of you happened to see the segment on CNN’s American Morning today around 9 AM, PLEASE let us know! In the meantime, we’re trying to order the actual segment so we can see what it looked like. 

I’m sure most of you have noticed the Dove “Campaign for Real Beauty” ads out right now.  They are pretty cool.  Here’s a link to one of the commercials. I haven’t seen it on television, so I thought I’d post it here.  Made me feel a little better about all those PMS pimples I seem to have. 

Yes, I just received notification - Jennifer and I are going to be speaking at the national Accounting Marketing conference in Denver in June. I don’t know whether to barf or jump up and down for joy. The barfing because speaking in front of that many people, especially senior marketing directors in our industry, scares the living bejesus out of me - the jumping for joy part because once you speak nationally, it’s much easier to get additional speaking engagements - FOR MONEY. It’s one of those rare moments that I will savor as I can actually feel our company breaking through another barrier. Usually I don’t realize we’ve surpassed something we wanted until much later. I don’t stop and smell the roses very often. So for the next 30 seconds, before I begin to freak out about what we’re going to talk about for an hour and fifteen minutes that involves branding and e-mail marketing, I’m going to enjoy this moment and cackle internally at all the other speakers we beat out for this gig. HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!!

Lily found out about bathtub crayons last night. They are the coolest thing - you can write all over the shower/tub and they rinse right off. The only problem with them is getting the child to release them from her deathgrip in order to towel her off or wash her hands. I wonder if giving them to her isn’t creating a major problem - how will she know the difference between bathtub crayons and regular crayons? I can see her decorating my mother’s house with primal art on the walls.

We’re leaving for Asheboro tomorrow, to see my aunt and uncle and take Lily to the zoo. Saturday we’ll go to Pinehurst for a quick stopover and then head back to Richmond on Sunday. It will be interesting to see how she does at the zoo, or if she’s even interested. I love looking at the animals so at least I know I’ll have a good time! My silly uncle was concerned about all the walking I would have to do there - you know, in my pregnant state and all . . . I guess if I can’t haul my fat butt around efficiently they can get a wheelchair for me and just pull me around, or I can try to fit in Lily’s stroller with her.

May 23, 2004

We had quite the active weekend - Lily should be sleeping well tonight. Physically she is making huge leaps and bounds - learning to crawl up things by using her feet as suction cups (or her rendition of a suction cup), learning to slide, climbing everything (including our bookshelves, legs, and any furniture she can heel-hook), and running as fast as she can. It gives me a heart attack, but the worst that can happen is a skinned knee I suppose.

Saturday we ordered all the new baby furniture we will need for Number Two. We got a crib, a dresser, and a changing table that converts to a dresser later in life. We also ordered a crib guard for Lily - because soon she will be ready for us to convert her crib into a toddler bed. The thought of her being free to leave her bed at will is a little frightening! We took her to the mall and let her play and run around like a maniac. She was so tired after playing all morning that she fell asleep in the car. I can tell you, the last time she fell asleep in the car, she was about 3 months old. My child DOES NOT sleep in the car.

Today we took her to Deep Run Park, where we played on the teeter totter, slides, swings, and learned to walk across a suspended “bridge” (it’s only 2 inches off the ground). After lunch and a nap we went out for a walk. Soon it will be bathtime and bedtime - and both Mike and I need that almost as much as she does.

I do have one non-Lily related note - I must tell it on the mountaintops for XM Satellite Radio. Okay, I accept that we live in one of the worst cities for radio. For a place as big as Richmond, we must have the WORST radio stations. I think even Raleigh had us beat, and Raleigh was about as white-bread as it gets. Finally after a year of watching most of the radio stations either fail or be taken over by some huge conglomerate where the playlists are prepared in some factory somewhere, I gave in and bought Mike (maybe US would be more appropriate in this case) the equipment for XM. Not only did I have it installed in his car, but I bought another set of equipment for my car, which he uses on trips. Now whenever he takes my car, he can just take the unit out of his car and drop it into mine. We were both enthralled with it - no commercials, no people screaming about furniture and car sales . . . no Britney Spears (unless you want that, of course), no annoying morning talk shows. In addition to the best programming I’ve heard since my days in college radio, they have non-stop CNN, ESPN, Weather Channel, and for those of you who desire nastiness, an additional $2.99 per month fee for the Playboy Radio Channel (which, I must tell you, we did NOT subscribe to). I almost can’t wait to get into the car just to listen to it. I’m sure it’s like any new relationship - the honeymoon will end at some point - but hey, for $9.99 a month, not having to listen to crappy Richmond radio anymore feels like it’s FOREVER.

Geez, even my uncle has been checking the blog and noticing my lack of updates. This is called “start up” mode - add to that a small head cold for Lily (with fever), and a regularly overscheduled life, and your sponsors would like to apologize for the interruption. I wasn’t even aware that anyone read my blog, let alone looked forward to it - except of course, maybe Risa.

First, let me just share with you these glasses I fell in love with. I assume Lily would love them too, because they have things for her to poke at. Unfortunately, they are glass (which means breakable), but they are so cool BECAUSE they are glass. You can get them at your local Crate and Barrel.

I’ve found that since I stopped working for corporate America (read: I’m not on the gravy train anymore), I covet even more so than ever the little weird things I used to buy without thinking too much about it. I have a lot more self control these days than I ever wanted to have. I might even be slightly proud of it, but then I run into an item like these, and I feel nothing close to pride. I just feel bummed out that someonen else is drinking from the fish glasses. Woe is me - I need to get some real problems.

Lily is walking a lot now, and starting to run. She can climb up and over things, and she only uses her cart now as a type of plow or to ram the dog. She wants desperately to walk down the stairs going forward, but she’s not quite there yet. Today I ran some stuff out to the car in the garage and I turned around and realized she was at the top of the stairs, looking at me. I had left the kitchen door slightly ajar and she decided she wanted to walk outside and help. Scared the crap out of me. I was similarly scared when she decided to stand up in her high chair the other day after I had removed the tray to wash it. It only takes a second - she was wavering up there like a drunken sailor and all I could envision was her splatting on the Pergo. Thankfully my mom instinct kicked in and I grabbed her before she tipped over. Mike says that all moms have “Stretch Armstrong” capabilities - either when your kid misbehaves or is in danger. He says it just seems like the arm of the mother can flick out, in slow motion almost, like a lizard’s tongue, and grab any child away from whatever is enticing them. It cracks me up.

Here’s the website for the most recent book I read (and I thought it was great). I also just finished reading all of Jennifer Weiner’s stuff (which is also very entertaining, although I kept having to look up all the Jewish references). We saw a really cool movie over the weekend called “Personal Velocity”. Mike even picked it. Ever since meeting me, he’s developed a knack for picking out good Sundance winners and actually enjoying them with me, as long as subtitles are not involved. If anyone out there has read anything good lately, or seen any great movies, please advise.