Hump Day Hypothetical Question #2

I can't believe a week's gone by since my last post! I have to post about the weekend...it was an awesome weekend of Halloween thrills!

Okay, since my only reader won last week's Hypothetical Question by default- don't worry SS23, you'll get your prize- I'll give her a shot at this week's Question:

If you could move anywhere in the world tomorrow, where would it be and why?

Comment by midnight Sunday, November 2, and I'll pick the winner by random (HA!) drawing.

Don't forget to turn the clocks back on Saturday night!

Hump Day Hypothetical Question

It's hump day. We're starting on the downward slide to Friday. This weekend should be lots of fun. Zombiegirl has her first Girl Scout outing Saturday morning. Much to her dismay, they're going to see High School Musical 3. Now this is a kid who would rather watch Dawn of the Dead right before bed, and who is going as Sweeney Todd (the Demon Barber of Fleet Street) for Halloween. Having to go see one of the "popular" tweeny movies is tantamount to pulling out her fingernails. But she said she'd go because her whole troop is going. Who knows- maybe she'll replace the song "Bones" by the Killerz with "Right Here, Right Now" from the movie on her MP3 player!

(I looked that song up. I really have no idea what the movie is even about!)

We also have a Halloween party for Soccergirl K (Mandy's daughter) Saturday night- I get to be a Fortune Teller! Last year I was a witch- see my myspace page. On Sunday, we get to celebrate my nephew Raymond's 4th birthday. My SIL Paula usually does a Halloween party for him because his birthday is the 29th. Funny- Beena would NEVER let me do a Halloween birthday party for her growing up. She was born on the 30th! Maybe for her 21st....

Anyway, I'm happy it's Hump Day. And I'm going to start a new tradition! Answer the Hypothetical Question in the comments section by October 26th, and the next day I'll pick someone (all one of you) at random for a giveaway! Here is Hypothetical Question #1:

If you could have coffee with anyone in the world, living or dead, who would it be and why?

Comment by October 26th, and I'll email the winner on the 27th. Happy Hump Day!

Update to the Epiphany

It's been one month since my life-changing epiphany. How is my new vegetarian life going? Not as hard as I thought it would be. I'm still cooking meat for the family, but it's practically no effort to cook something else for me to eat. I do feel it's hypocritical of me to cook animals for everyone else while I'm protesting the meat industry, but my family is not going to change. One less person is better than none, I guess.

Healthwise, I feel great. I've lost 5 and a half pounds. I'm not as hungry as I used to be. I don't feel as grouchy as usual (people may dispute that, but that's how I feel!) For the first few weeks I didn't have any migraines, but then they showed up like bad realtives at Christmas. The changing of the seasons, and the fact that I haven't been to see Dr. Evelyn, my chiropractor, probably has a lot to do with the frequency of occurences. I just found a video that totally captures my "aura"- the time when the migraine shows up visually. Link is here.

To recap, I'm:

• not eating meat.
• not eating dairy, except for 3 mozzarella slip-ups, for which I paid for in bathroom visits.
• trying to eat organic.
• not eating refined sugar, except for finishing up the package of Twizzlers I bought.
• limiting myself to 1-2 cups of coffee a week, in dire emergencies.
• trying new veggies. Broccoli IS good!

I'm also taking my vitamins every night, and walking to and from the train/bus stop every day.

It's evident that this can be a healthy way of life for me. It takes a little planning, and things cost a little more, but the way I feel is totally worth it all for me!

Goals for next month:

• Try 5 new vegetables
• Have dark greens every day
• DRINK MORE WATER!
• Make a large meal on the weekend for lunches for the rest of the week.

Thirty days. That's what it takes to change a habit. And this is one "habit" I'm glad I changed!

Ode to Soccer Moms

Never, ever in my life did I imagine myself being a soccer Mom. Growing up in Queens, we played softball, basketball and football, but soccer was unheard of. Must've been the concrete playgrounds and schoolyards that discouraged soccer games. Did I ever think I would be driving a minivan with window paint saying "Go Lady Jaguars!" or "#87 Rocks!"? Would I be wearing a Soccer Mom T-shirt that proclaims "We Y our girls! Never in a million years.

But while I'm on the sidelines screaming at the refs because the other team pushed our kids, I am joined in this insane harmony by...

Other soccer moms.

These ladies that I now call my friends.

After a Girl's Night Out in NYC a few months ago, on the LIRR coming home, I realized something- none of these women piss me off. If you know me, you know I get pissed off very easily! But our personalities mesh with each other. They're thoughtful. Mandy brought me a stress frog, fat free candy and a candle during a period of teenage angst in our house this past week. They're kind, always quick with a hug when you need it. They don't judge. If you don't want to wear makeup to the soccer game, they don't ask if you're sick, or make snide remarks. They buy you coffee. They take you kids for the whole day, feed them and never comment on their bad habits. They give you sweatpants when you need them. They invite you to see the Rachel Ray show, and insist they won't go in without you when the folks there say they can only scrounge up 3 tickets and you offer to go back to work. They support you and listen to you when you have doubts about how you're raising your children.

I haven't had many good female relationships. In grade school, Maryellen and Virginia and I were BFF. Through high school, I had close friends, but they turned out to be toxic. I'm extremely lucky to find these soccer moms. They don't even get mad when we do this to their vans for their birthdays:

And their kids. These are the kids I blogged about a few weeks ago when MR and I took them to the Medieval Fair. When Zombiegirl and the other girls get together, their giggling is infectious. She'll have them as friends for a long time- through high school. Which is great, because then I get to keep their moms.

Love you guys! You are awesome! Go Lady Jaguars!

Selflessness=Painful

I gave platelets today. I went over to the Citicorp building on 53rd and Lex. at lunchtime and got my blood pumped out of me. The procedure, called Apheresis, entails putting 2 needles in one arm. The blood is taken out, centifuged, pulling the needed blood component out then adding an anticoagulant before returning the blood back into my arm. And it's not a restful procedure. You have to actually have a relationship with the machine- squeezing and pumping on the intake turn, and resting on the return. I'm tired.

Why give platelets? Because my blood is rare, whole blood donations are not in demand. But you can give platelets to anyone. Cancer patients, those receiving organ or bone marrow transplants, victims of traumatic injuries, and patients undergoing open heart surgery require platelet transfusions to survive. You can donate platelets every 3 days or so, because they're not taking whole blood, and they're giving back most of it.

So I'm sitting in the Blood Donor room, and my left hand has 2 needles in it. I was told not to move, or I would blow the vein. I tried to read, but everytime I tried to concentrate, I'd forget to squeeze and the machine would beep. It snitched on me! The technician would then come over and repeat the directions all over again. About 45 minutes into this, my hand goes totally numb. Then my lips, then my nose. Have you ever tried to squeeze something while your hand is asleep? It hurts. Fifty minutes into the procedure I look up and see the yellow pus, I mean platelets, hanging above me. Great. I can stand seeing blood, but this turned my stomach and I broke out in a sweat. 5 minutes later the room starts spinning. I told myself I have 13 minutes- I can do this for 13 minutes. I forget to squeeze, the machine beeps, and adds another 4 minutes. Argh! Finally, the machine beeped one last time and I was done. This was the first time I had such a strong reaction to giving.

I was going to try to do this once a week, but I think I'll have to scale it back to once a month. After this, giving blood is a dream. So remember- when the blood mobile comes around, donate!

Medieval Fun

Flashback time. MR and I took Zombiegirl and 3 of the soccer girls to the Medieval Festival in Sands Point Preserve a few weeks back. I was excited to see the knights- shining armor and all. I'm not sure what the girls expected.

When we arrived, much ado was going on at the King's Court. Knights were fighting, swords clashing against wooden shields, metal clanging against metal. The girls squeezed their way up to the ropes, and MR and I stayed in the back. We watched their expressions while the knights were fighting, and they were absolutely mesmerized!

The knights seem to take these battles very seriously. In fact, all the folks at the Medieval Festival take their roles seriously. I was watching a young girl dressed in a long gown watching from the actor's tent. She had a bottle of 21st century water in her hand. I thought- Aha! She's out of character! My surprise when she poured it into a metal tankard and drank.

After the battles, the King announced that each knight would do battle for a fair lady's hand. Each knight circled the meadow looking for a lady to defend. Since we were behind the girls, we were pointing and yelling that we had 4 beautiful girls here to pick from. Sir Adonis came over, and picked Zombiegirl! He led her to the king, where she sat with several other damsels while we cheered on her knight to win!

That's our fair maiden in the red hat...

Unfortunately, Sir Adonis was defeated. He claimed his lady, gave her a corsage, and led her back to her people.

The girls all agreed that he was "hot!"

We walked around the commons to sample the wares of the kingdom, and to partake in a few of the recreations. Hey! I'm getting into this! At one table, the girls tried on armor...

After visiting the castle and having an ice cream break, we went over to see the jousting. Yes, they use real horses. Yes, they use real lances. Yes, they are really charging at each other. It was very cool when we discovered one of the knights participating in the joust was a woman- Lady Genevive. What a great role model for our young girls!

The jousting was awesome- the lances split apart when they crashed together!

The girls each got a piece to take home.

In the middle of the jousting, a commotion was going on by the King. The girls yelled that the King was hurt, and when we looked over, Sir Stephen had picked up the Queen and kidnapped her, running through the crowd.

They took the Queen to the castle, where the King's knights laid siege, and rescued her after a fierce battle. Huzzah!

No Festival is complete without purchasing swords for slaying dragons, or going into battle. The girls had a blast, and talked about it for days afterwards! They're looking forward to going back next year, and talking about which "princess" is going to have Sir Adonis defend her honor!

The Epiphany!

It's been way too long since my last post! I have to write some flashback posts of everything that's happened since August.

But first and foremost- my epiphany.

SS23 and I were making our weekly library trip (Columbus and 10th) and the book I had reserved somehow went to the Midtown library. Panic sets in. What will I read for the 2 hours going home? SS23 gave me one of her books to read- one that I had picked up in Borders over the summer, but put it down in favor of Twilight. Sometimes, SS23 will reserve books I had been thinking about, or had read in the past and absolutely loved- I think she's a little psychic. Out of all the books she had reserved, when I bemoaned the fact I had nothing to read, this is the one she handed me- Skinny Bitch.

Get thee to the store and buy this book.

It was last Friday. I read the whole book during the commute home. I was numb when i got off the train.

I don't want to give a whole synopsis on the book. You can read it on Amazon. But I want to tell you- it changed my life. I wish I was ALOT younger when I read it!

Since then I've:

• Switched green tea for coffee. I've come to realize that my drinking coffee is a ritual, a social thing. I LOVE coffee, but I never drank it alone. I was always making a pot for MR., buying it for the soccer game, brewing it in the office for the girls. Whenever I had me-time, I would always reach for a cup of Red Rose tea. I never drank coffee by myself. So taking the social aspect away, I'm drinking green tea. And I don't miss the caffeine- that stuff has just as much as a normal cup of coffee!
• Stopped eating dairy products. Later in life, I became lactose intolerant. So this was a no-brainer. Rice milk, soy yogurt (yummy!) olive oil spread. As the book says- we're the only species on earth that drinks the milk of another species. Ew.
• Cut out the refined sugar. The title of the book is Skinny Bitch. Emphasize the SKINNY!
• Started eating only organic products. The trace amounts of pesticides used on my vegetables is building up in my system. Many EPA-approved pesticides were registered long before extensive research linked these chemicals to cancer and other diseases. Will cancer show up eventually? I'm protecting my family, and buying organic. It might be too late for me, but I'm going to try to protect my kids.
• Shunned meat. No chicken, beef or pork. Read the book and you'll understand why. Unfortunately, I can't impose this restriction on my family, but hopefully, over time they'll see the light. In the meantime, I'll double cook. It's not hard. They need the veggies, too. (If MR brings home a deer, however, I'm eating it! It's organic, and was not subjected to the cruelities of the meat-packing industry.)
• Become a vegetarian. In one week, I've eaten new things. I've learned to cook differently. I've had to plan. This has shaken up my life, and it was the best thing that's happened to me in a long time. How complacent I'd become! It's a new adventure, and one I'm excited to embark on!

So it's been a week. How am I doing?

I've dropped 4 pounds. I have more energy. I sleep better. I've become "regular" in my potty activities. I don't feel as irritable as usual. I feel lighter. Soulspeak will probably know what I mean. She read the book too.

Any regrets? Besides not doing this sooner? One so far. MR made his famous chicken cutlets the other night. They're awesome.

Interwebs friends

With the exception of Soulspeak 23, I haven't actually met any of these bloggers. And they certainly haven't heard of me. But I pop into their lives every so often to check up on them. They're worth reading and worth getting out of My Favorites and forever immortalized in my links.

Bookish Penguin, the muse behind my 101 in 1001 list.

Ms. Banshee at Inverse Candlelight. Fully prepared for a zombie apocalypse.

Stan and Bunny over at 86'n It. Fellow architect renovating their "crack house."

Chris from Notes From the Trenches. She has seven kids. And somewhat holds it together.

Brittany cracks my shit up- read Barefoot Foodie. Now.

Jenny from The Bloggess. Like Mother Theresa, only better.

The Unbearable Banishment. This smart writer shares my disdain for cell phone users on the train. And does something about it.

April, Clay and their four kids down on the farm at Coal Creek Farm.

Another Hot Mess- some messes aren't meant to be cleaned up.

Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer. She's all kinds of awesome.

Ginny at Praying to Darwin. More kinds of awesome!

My Bucket List

Things I want to do before I die:

• Make homemade ice cream...Done!
• Blow glass
• Wake up to the sound of the ocean
• Get a tattoo...Kinda done!
• Have a house with a front porch
• Milk a cow
• Have beignets and coffee in New Orleans
• Have my teeth fixed
• Run the NYC marathon
• Buy hubby his heart's desire...Done!
• See a Zydeco band and dance like there's no tomorrow!
• Hike the Appalachian Trail
• Stay at a 5-star resort
• Have a tummy tuck
• See a ghost
• Make a quilt with all the kids old t-shirts
• Swim with Bioluminescent plankton in Puerto Rico
• Stay in the Ice Hotel
• Tour India by train
• Drive cross country for vacation
• Grow my own vegetables...Done! (Well, kind of. More herbs than veggies. This year I got one pepper!)
• Live in Italy for a year

Olympic-sized observations

This year we've been watching the Olympics with Zombiegirl pretty religiously. She's at that age where she can appreciate the performances of the athletes, being an athlete herself. She's also at that age where she's questioning everything (like last night's question, "What's masturbation mean?") Here are some of her observations and a few of my own:


Why do the women's volleyball teams have to wear such skimpy bathing suits? I understand it's a beach sport, but the men don't wear Speedos, so why do the women? If the women's swim teams can wear full wet suits, why can't the volleyball teams wear shorts, at least?

Misty May looks like Zombiegirl's soccer tournament coach, btw.

Walsh and May are an awesome team, and we love watching them, despite the skimpy bathing suits!

Why can't any of the American athletes who have won Gold medals sing the national anthem? Some of them mouth the words for a few lines, but then totally stop. Is Michael Phelps that waterlogged in the brain that he can't sing the anthem? He's set records, won gold and has become a national hero- where then, is the Patriotism? Michael- the whole world is watching you! At least make an attempt to look like you're proud to be an American.

The Chinese gymnasts are scary. They're all serious warming up for their event, but the minute their name is called, they put on the biggest grin and stick out their chests. Then, in a flash, the smile is gone. Creepy.



Shawn Johnson does the same thing. We don't trust her and her fake smile. Zombiegirl gets a big kick relating one of her comments in an interview that Shawn goes to the store to see herself on all the Wheaties boxes. And a butter statue? Please. Nastia Liukin is so much more graceful in these Olympics.


"The Pole vaulting event is probably the hardest event in the Olympics." This event is incomprehensible to 9-year old Zombiegirl. How they get their bodies over a 10' bar with a skinny pole is probably the greatest achievement an athlete can attain, in her eyes.

Women swimmers look like men.

We love Bela Karoli's mustache!

We like the Rowing events because of the "sculls". (Zombiegirl loves skulls!) Who are all those bicyclists riding along the river in the background? Coaches? Spectators?

And finally- don't bother us on Thursday, at 9:00. We'll be watching the US Women's Soccer Team go for the gold against Brazil. We miss Mia Hamm and Brandi Chastain, but we like Angela Hucles! Go USA!