The Veepstakes

It's time to talk, er, write politics because it's been on my mind lately as the political scene has begun heating up again. In the next few weeks, John McCain and Barack Obama will be naming their Vice Presidential candidates. McCain's announcement could come as soon as this week, which would give him some attention while Obama is becoming the world's darling out in the Middle East and Europe. (What's up with that? Why is he behaving like and being treated like he's already the President?)

I think the running mate can have a significant impact on whether or not the presidential candidate gets elected, and to me, that's one of the most important roles of the Vice President before they're even in office: to help get the presidential candidate to the White House. So it usually comes down to a matter of strategy when choosing a running mate, and therefore my picks for the V.P. candidates are mostly strategic. Here they are:

1) Barack Obama should choose Hillary Clinton. A lot of people, mostly women, like her a lot and will vote for Obama in a heartbeat if she's on the ticket. It's being said that women in general are a highly coveted group for the candidates to win in this election. Some say he needs to choose a white man who is more middle-of-the-road, and that's not a bad idea, but I think an Obama-Clinton ticket would be powerful. Clinton has many, many resources at her disposal, and I think she has good, solid experience as a Senator and as de facto Vice Prez while Bill was in office. Speaking of Bill, I think he'll be on his best behavior, at least until they win. And I do think Obama-Clinton would win.

2) John McCain. Sigh. I'm going to be shocked if he defeats Obama. I don't think his running mate, no matter how good, will be able to overcome the odds McCain is facing. You all know that I was a Mitt Romney supporter when he was running. I'm still disappointed that he didn't get the nomination because it's very clear to me that he was definitely the best in the field from both parties. I think he would be brilliant as V.P., and from a strategic standpoint he would be great on the ticket when it comes to the economy, which is a major source of concern right now for Americans. But there are too many people who don't like or trust him or know him well enough, plus it would be two white men running together, which would be a direct contrast to the historic matter of Obama running. Though I've heard that McCain and Romney have been getting along well now that they're not competing with each other, I don't think it's very likely that McCain will choose him.

So, I think McCain should choose Condoleeza Rice for his running mate. I have long admired the Secretary of State for her intelligence and articulateness; she resembles Romney in that regard. The Republican ticket would instantly become a historic one with Rice on it. She's black and she's a woman. That's Obama and Clinton rolled into one. It would be a first-time ever thing if they were elected, and people would vote for them because of that. Both women and blacks would be more drawn to the Republican ticket, especially if Obama chooses a man for his running mate. I tested out this theory on my Democratic mother awhile ago and she said that I was right; she would be a lot more likely to vote for McCain if Rice were his running mate. I have a feeling that a lot of people would, including moderate Democrats and disgruntled Republicans who don't really like McCain but do approve of Rice. I know I'd be a lot more likely to vote for McCain if Rice were on the ticket.

There are some drawbacks to Condi. She's strongly associated with President Bush, which isn't a good thing given his low approval ratings. Some would say that she doesn't have enough experience, but I think she has better experience than Obama. However, it's pretty unlikely that Rice is going to be chosen. She has said she's not interested in the job, and she and McCain don't seem all that "tight." It's unfortunate, but apparently true.

As for me, I'm still undecided as to who to vote for in November. I'm really interested in how things will turn out in the next few months. I could be swayed either way. I don't really like either man all that much, although there are things that I do like about each of them. I might still just write in Mitt Romney's name. Hey, I live in Connecticut, which is going to go Democratic anyway, so it doesn't really matter. If I lived in a swing state, then maybe I'd vote more responsibly.

What do you think? Agree, disagree? Who are your V.P. picks? Don't be shy; leave a comment and let your voice be heard (er, read)!

A Weekend of Old Friends

Last weekend was a good one for seeing some great friends from the past. On Saturday, July 19th, two of my best friends from high school, Amy and Stacey, came down from Mass. to visit for a few hours. I hadn't seen them since Stacey's wedding in October of 2006. I've missed them, so it was really nice to get together again.

Stacey, me, and Amy, posing for the camera.
This is what happens when I ask Peter to take pictures. He takes pics like this. I was hoping he'd get some good candid shots of us, but no. PETER!! (On a side note, you can see my arm, which has some fairly good shape to it. If you don't know what I'm talking about, see my previous post.)

Amy was one of my bridesmaids when I got married. She and I had a lot of fun in high school. When I think back on it I realize that we were the silliest girls sometimes. We did some really funny things. At least they were funny to us. A few examples:

• We were obsessed with the movie Titanic during our senior year and so we went to see it every week for at least a month while it was out in the theaters. One time I accidentally left my headlights on and so, three hours later, my car was totally dead when the movie got out. My Dad had to come and jump-start the battery.
• Amy was witness to some of the most embarrassing things ever to happen to me when we went on a disastrous (for me) ski trip together in New Hampshire in 11th grade. I haven't been skiing since and I don't think I'll ever do it again. It was that bad.
• We used to go cruising around in her mom's cool green minivan before either of us had our own car. Good times, good times.
• I went on a plane ride for the first time in my life with Amy. It was Spring Break of our junior year, and we went down to Florida, where we stayed with her sweet and amusing grandparents. We went to the beach a lot and of course, to Disney World. So much fun!
• We were just about the only girls at the prom who wore short dresses. Amy and I had good runner's legs, so we wanted to show them off. Everyone else wore long, elegant gowns, but not us.
• We both quit the track team our senior year within a week of each other. We had Physics class together and the teacher was the track coach. He didn't like us very much after that. It was awkward, but at least we had each other!
• And many, many more things that I could probably write an entertaining teenage novel about.

Bridesmaid Amy in action

That's Amy in the middle of the picture, surrounded by my other bridesmaids: my sisters Elizabeth and Jennifer and my niece Hayley. I've always really liked this picture.

Stacey and I endured a truly horrible Chemistry class together in 11th grade. I have no idea how the teacher, Mrs. Bent, ever got hired by the school district. We left that class knowing next to nothing about Chemistry. This probably explains why I had such a tough time with it in college. Thanks a lot, Mrs. Bent! Stacey understands. She and I both married a guy with the last name of Carlson, so we're each "Mrs. Carlson" now. Also, when she got married almost two years ago, her wedding dress was one of the most gorgeous I've ever seen. She looked like a princess bride in it.

The beautiful bride in her beautiful gown...

Mr. and Mrs. Carlson. Now we're family!

Weekend Old Friend Incident #2. My mother came down later on Saturday because we were invited over to the Starr's house for a special lunch on Sunday afternoon. The Starrs are a family in our ward at church. Shortly after we moved here, Cathy Starr and I were chatting and discovered a cool, very surprising connection--she and my mother had known each other as teenagers in Massachusetts when my mother first joined the church. Cathy's family, particularly her parents, helped my mother out a lot during that time. Her mother, LaRae Lowry, was someone I grew up hearing about, and LaRae was visiting this weekend, so she and my mother got to see each other again after many, many years, and I got to meet her. It was really neat and we had such a nice time visiting over there.

So it was a great weekend with some special friends. It's really nice to maintain connections over the years with people who mean a lot to you. I hope these connections will last a lifetime, perhaps even longer. Next weekend I'll be getting together with some other friends from high school. One of the great things about summer is that it's the best time for reunions!

My Summer Goals

I have three of them and I've been working on them since the beginning of June.

1) Yardwork and gardening. Work on our landscaping and finally plant a vegetable garden!
2) Start regularly exercising again.
3) Read lots of books for pleasure.

I'm happy to report that I've been doing quite well on the first two. I will post pictures soon of the work I've done in my yard and the vegetable garden that I successfully planted. In June I worked about a half-hour a day in the yard and now I'm doing about 20 minutes a day, except for Sundays. It's good to be out in the sun working with nature and attempting to beautify our surroundings.

Exercise!: After years of not working out, I got tired of my increasingly untoned bod and finally started exercising again. I love it! I get pretty quick results from exercise, which is gratifying and helps me continue going. I've been doing about five days a week, just 20 minutes a day. I use a wonderful Pilates video that I bought at Target back in January. My focus has been on strengthening and toning my arms and shoulders, and I'm really happy with the results. They've never looked better in my whole life. Not only do I feel better physically, but I think it's also helping me emotionally and spiritually. Plus I feel like I'm fighting off lots of diseases and sicknesses.

Reading: I have a bad habit of not making enough time to read for pleasure in my life, even though reading has long been one of my greatest joys. I try harder in the summer to loosen up and read more, but old habits die hard and I find myself always trying to get things done or work on a project so that I can get it done. So far this summer, I'm still letting too many other things take up my time and attention over reading (I read newspapers and magazines daily, but I'm talking about good old-fashioned books--the best kind of reading out there). I've read three books so far this summer. One of them was a potty-training book so I guess that doesn't really count, since that pertains to my job of mother rather than a book for me. I have a stack of the ones I want to read before the fall on my desk. So I'm going to focus on reading for pleasure more. I think it's just as important as the previous two things.

As I said earlier, I'll post pictures sometime soon of my yardwork and garden. Maybe if someone begs me I'll post a picture of myself flexing my increasingly awesome arms and shoulders. Ha ha! I'm kidding about that one. And I'll report in August if I got through my stack of summer books. I hope everyone who reads this is having a good summer!

A Cat's Life

Sometimes I wish I were a cat. This is what they can spend all day doing, if they so desire. What a life!





No responsibilities, no nagging To Do list, no serious matters to deal with, just plain old relaxing and living life. Someday, I'm going to try living like a cat for a week, simply sleeping, eating, and grooming myself. Maybe for leisure I'll throw in some reading time instead of chasing bugs around. It sounds like a pretty ideal life to me, at least for a little while. I wish I could do it right now!

Art is Good for the Heart

Well, Peter isn't too crazy about my last post regarding PMS, so to make him stop PMSing at me about it, I'm going to put something new up. (Ha ha, I couldn't resist that one!) As an aside, since this is a post I meant to do weeks ago, there are many things I'd like to write about or post pictures of on my blog that I never get to do. If I spent time doing everything I wish I could do with the blog, I would have to neglect my son and my house and making dinner and several other things. So I just have to fit in blog posts when I can. I really wish there were more hours in the day!

Anyway, a few weeks ago on a rainy weekday afternoon, John actually did some artwork. Hooray! With the exception of my amateur photography hobby, neither Peter nor I are all that artistic, and I'm afraid that as a result our child doesn't seem to be very artistic either. He hasn't shown too much interest in art except for a brief, messy love affair with finger painting last summer. So I was very pleased on that rainy day when I asked him if he wanted to paint and he said yes. He made some nice pictures that I then hung up on the fridge to dry and display. He enjoyed it, and I'm now motivated to make this a more regular part of his life. My plan is to make art projects fun and interesting for him, because it is important and it's a good way for a child to learn to express himself. (Thank you, Alyson and Caroline, for inspiring me to bring the joy of art into his life!)

"Hey! I actually like doing this!"

Other Things PMS Stands For

1. Psychotic Mood Swings

2. Pardon My Sobbing

3. Puffy Mid Section

4. Pass My Shotgun

5. Pimples May Surface

6. Pack My Stuff

7. Potential Murder Suspect

These are so funny, because they are SO TRUE!

Life Without the Internet...

It stinks! We were without Internet access at our house for almost ten days until it was finally restored today. It turns out that our modem was dead, possibly hit by lightning. I am so glad that it's all fixed now. I found life without the Internet to be isolating and very inconvenient. I couldn't go check the news and my e-mail and blogs and weather and anything else I felt like doing. For example, I was watching a Red Sox-Yankees game and the announcers said something about A-Rod being in the news again for something he allegedly did, but they didn't say what it was, and I couldn't go run to the Internet to find out. Another time I needed to get directions for an appointment and couldn't go on to mapquest them. Aargh! It made me realize how much I've come to rely on the Internet in my daily life.

The good things about no Internet were that I was able to get some other things done in place of the time I would have spent on the computer, and Peter and I spent more time together than we usually do in the evenings. So that was nice. But we're certainly happy to be connected to the world again via the World Wide Web. I've missed you, my blogging friends, and I've missed reading your blogs. Now, I need to go tackle the over 300 messages in my e-mail that have been waiting for me...

Weekend in New Hampshire

On June 15th we had our six-year wedding anniversary, and last weekend we celebrated it with a nice little trip to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. We left John in Massachusetts in the care of my mother and my sister Elizabeth and then we were on our way.

I was pleasantly surprised at just how nice Portsmouth was. It's an old seaport town, so it's got a lot of history as well as tons of cool shops and restaurants. Instead of staying in a hotel, we tried a Bed & Breakfast, since Peter had never stayed in one. It was a nice change, and the fresh homemade breakfasts around the dining room table with the other guests each morning were a real treat. We loved it! http://martinhillinn.com/

We stayed in the Typhoon Room. The floor was a bit sloped because it dated back to about 1815. I thought that was cool. I wondered about the many other people from those days up until now whose feet have walked those floorboards. Here's a picture and description of our room from the Inn's website: http://martinhillinn.com/typhoon.html

The Inn had lovely gardens out back.

We spent much of Saturday at Canobie Lake Park, an amusement park in Salem, N.H. that I went to from my childhood days up through high school. It was great to be back there, this time with my husband. The only bad thing was that it made me miss John a lot when I saw all of the kiddie rides and the new waterpark for kids and I knew how much he'd love them. So we're planning on taking him there, probably next summer.

I guess I shouldn't say that was the only bad thing. I made a poor choice and went on a circular ride at the end of the day and was nauseated for hours after. I had a feeling I shouldn't do it but I just wanted to try, thinking/hoping I wouldn't get sick. But apparently I can't go on fast circular rides anymore. With the exception of the nice, slow Ferris Wheel, they leave me way too dizzy and nauseated. I used to be able to do them just fine, so I guess it's a sign that I'm aging. My father is the same way, so maybe there's a genetic link. Thank goodness for roller coasters and non-circular rides!

Canobie Lake Park is a lovely, clean, old-fashioned family amusement park.

I nearly fell out of this roller coaster when I was a little girl. My Uncle Tommy was sitting next to me and he had to hold me in! I don't know what the ride operators were thinking letting me on it because I was just a tiny little wisp of a thing back then.

I love how the park is in the woods and right by a lake. I took this picture while atop the Ferris Wheel. You can see the Log Flume, one of my favorite rides.

This roller coaster was FUN.
This is the HUGE splash that the Boston Tea Party ride creates. The water feels so good on a hot day.

This is what happens to the bad girls.

Canobie Lake is beautiful.

On Sunday we got a good dose of history by going to Strawbery Banke, a settlement in Portsmouth dating back to the 1600s. ("Strawbery" is spelled with one r, according to how they used to spell it. So I guess I can let that misspelling go.) It's a very good place for history lovers to visit, as it has many beautiful old historic homes and gardens, with the houses going from the colonial era up until the 1950s, when the settlement/neighborhood closed. That's four centuries worth of history! In some of the houses people were dressed up and acting like the original inhabitants. I always try to keep a straight face with that but it does make me smile. I get a kick out of grown-ups playing pretend and getting you to play along with them. http://www.strawberybanke.org/aboutus.html

This was once the governor's mansion back in the 1800s. I like the widow's walk at the top.

This is the actual wedding dress of one of the governor's daughters. She had her wedding celebration there in the house.

Ascending a classic steep spiral staircase. Watch your step Peter!

The flowers and gardens were gorgeous.


I liked how the wooden planks in the living room of this house are painted this light color. It really brightens the room up nicely. It's totally impractical when you think of things like muddy shoes, but that's not a problem here since people can't actually go in the room.

This door reminds me of The Secret Garden.

Unbelievably steep! How in the heck did they walk up and down these things without falling?

Milky Ways are one of my favorite candy bars. This is what they looked like during WWII times. There was a cool 1940's shop set up with the products and prices just as they would have been back then.


I recognize that baby! I wish those prices were still the same today.

I really like the color and style of this house. My dream house might be this color.

This is one of the oldest houses in New Hampshire, built in the 1600s. I can't believe it's still standing!
Sometimes I really wish I'd lived back then.

The seaport is right across the street.


It was a wonderful weekend in a beautiful place!

I Hate Canker Sores

For the past week, I've had a large canker sore inside of my bottom lip that's been sucking the joy and normalcy out of my life. Canker sores hurt like heck! It's been making me miserable. It's amazing that, relative to the rest of the body, such a small little thing can have the big, awful effect that it does. It's difficult to talk and especially to eat because of it. I must have dropped a few pounds because when the pain is really bad (which is often) it's just not worth the additional pain that is caused by eating and drinking. Also, I feel guilty because I can't read books to John for very long or talk with him much because the pain is just too much. I can't go on much longer like this. I've been rinsing my mouth often with diluted hydrogen peroxide to clean the sore and using a pain-relieving Orajel medication, which helps numb the pain. For some reason, ever since my late teens, I get one of these about every other year, usually in the summertime. Maybe it's the increase in citrus fruits that I eat then. All I know is, this thing better be gone in the next day or so or I think I'm gonna die. I'm going to go write about our New Hampshire trip now to cheer myself up and distract myself from the pain of this cursed canker sore.

Murder in my Hometown

One of the bigger news stories today is the conviction of Neil Entwistle, who was found guilty of killing his 27-year-old wife and 9-month-old baby girl. I've been following this case with interest over the past two years because these murders took place in my hometown of Hopkinton, Massachusetts. What's more, they happened while I was temporarily living there in January of 2006. (We were in the process of selling our condo in New Jersey and house-hunting here in Connecticut, and Peter had started his new job in Hartford, so it was easiest for John and I to stay in Mass. at my mother's house during most of that time.)

It was big news in Boston when this double murder came to light, and the mystery quickly made the national news. Hopkinton is a pretty quiet town without much crime at all, which made it even more bizarre. I felt like I could relate in some ways to the victim, who was a young wife and mother who had a baby and was from Massachusetts and liked to do things like vacation on Cape Cod. I've felt that her husband was clearly and unfortunately guilty almost since the beginning. His apparent reasons for committing such a horrendous act come down to money and sex, two of the biggest potential vices out there. It's a sad story all around with no real winners. But I'm glad that we have a good justice system that will put him in prison for life now.

Here's the news story:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25372783/

The $1,300 Gift Ribbon

Oh, the price we sometimes pay for the animals we love. Two weeks ago, on Sunday, June 8th, I noticed that my cute little cat Brody who I love to play with was throwing up some liquidy stuff. On Monday, he was still doing it and he wasn't quite himself. By Tuesday I was pretty worried. He was still vomiting and he was just laying around, totally lethargic, and he seemed to be in pain when he walked (he couldn't really even run anymore). This was extremely unusual for normally active and mischievous little Brody. So I called the vet's office and they said I should bring him in that day, which I did, along with my little helper John.

The vet found that poor Brody's temperature was 104 and rising, and that he was extremely dehydrated. His X-ray didn't give much indication as to what the problem was. I had to leave him there overnight so that he could get IV fluids and some pain-relieving medication. Later that day when I was at home, something told me to go down into the basement. So I went down and there at the bottom of the stairs was a small piece of blue gift ribbon, all shredded at one end. I'd been down there earlier in the day but if it was there I didn't notice it. This was the probable answer to the mystery of what was wrong with Brody. Unbeknownst to me, he'd nabbed a curly blue gift ribbon that John had gotten around a little gift at his preschool ceremony on Friday, June 6th, and he'd eaten almost all of it. That's a potentially suicidal act when you're a cat.

I talked to the vet on the phone and told him what I thought it was, and so the next day, Wednesday, when Brody's condition still hadn't improved, he decided it was time to go in and do some surgery. Sure enough, there was the ribbon all bunched up and stuck in his small intestine. The poor cat! Fortunately the surgical procedure worked, and we were able to bring Brody home on Thursday evening.

He still wasn't himself for a few days, and his stomach was all shaved and stitched and very sore for him. It made me keep thinking about my C-section and how painful the recovery was from that in the first few days. Recovery from abdominal surgery is no fun for human or, apparently, feline. But after the first few days home he became much more like his usual self and seemed to be feeling a lot better. So he'll be fine, as long as he doesn't get into any more ribbons or things like that. We'll have to be very careful about that from now on!

The cost of this innocent little gift ribbon turned out to be a whopping $1,300. But a beloved little kitty cat who is alive and healthy again? Priceless.

Brody, post-surgery and home again, with his shaved and stitched-up tummy.

He has a funny little spot that was shaved on his leg for the IV fluids to enter. He looks like he's wearing a Michael Jackson or Madonna glove from the 80s. Ha ha!

Resting in comfort and just about back to normal. (The little stinker!)

The Celtics Rule!

Last night was a thrill for native Bay Staters who have any interest at all in basketball and sports. The Boston Celtics won the NBA Finals for the first time since 1986 in thrilling fashion, beating the L.A. Lakers by 39 points in Game 6. The Celtics were once the powerhouse of professional basketball with sixteen championship victories, but since 1986 and up until just last season, when they only won 24 games, they had definitely lost their magic. For them to turn it around like they did and win 66 games this season and go on to win the Finals was amazing! It was the biggest turnaround in NBA history.

It was even better that they won it in Boston, not in Los Angeles. Boston fans are very good about supporting their teams, and when those teams win big, the fans know how to celebrate. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to celebrate in Mass. with our teams when our teams win because: 1) the Superbowl will never be played in New England unless the Patriots get a super-dome stadium there, and 2) the Red Sox have won their last two World Series away from home...maybe this year they'll do it at Fenway! That hasn't happened since around 1918. So the victory in Boston last night was awesome for many reasons.

I used to like watching the NBA Finals when I was in middle and high school. I haven't really been into it since then, until this year. I'm not a big basketball fan, but this was a good series to watch and last night's win brought tears to my eyes. Perhaps its partly genetic because my mother and her family all lived through the Celtics heyday in Massachusetts back in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, and I've grown up hearing about those glory days with Larry Bird & Co. I hope the glory days are back for the Celtics like they are for the Red Sox. I might just have to take up an interest in basketball again if they are. One more bonus is that the team's general manager, Danny Ainge, is a Mormon. Go Celtics!

Confessions of a Frustrated Mommy

I love my son. I love him a lot and I have an affection for him that goes deeper than just about anything else. But lately, he's been driving me crazy. I've heard that the age of 3 can sometimes be more difficult than the age of 2, and I think that's what we've got on our hands here: the terrible threes. John was a pretty mellow 2-year-old. As a 3-year-old, he's still easygoing but he's also more...bratty. I mean that in the nicest way possible, "but there it is" (as Elizabeth Bennet said in Pride and Prejudice).

John isn't difficult to handle most of the time, but he's definitely been testing Peter and I a lot more in the past few weeks by doing such things as simply disregarding us when we ask or tell him to do something or to stop doing something (like getting a kick out of kicking Mommy in the car. Ouch! You brat!). Sometimes it's total and utter disobedience, which is difficult for a control freak like me to know how to handle. What happened to my compliant little angel? Now he's a non-compliant little angel.

I wish I'd been able to potty train him earlier, because with his older age he's much more stubborn and set in his ways, and it's such a challenge to get him to do his business on the toilet rather than in the Pull-Up. If this is what the age of 3 is really going to be like, then I hope March 8, 2009 will come very quickly. That's when he'll turn 4, but hopefully this phase will be long gone by then. It better be just a phase, and a quick one at that!

In spite of all of this, I have to end on a positive note. The challenges of parenting are difficult, but it's totally worth it. I am extremely grateful to be a mother and to have John as my son. I love that this is my job and my life's work right now. Now if only the job would get a little easier...

hot, Hot, HOT!

I love summertime and its accompanying warmth, but this heat wave we're in right now is intense and it came on pretty quickly. Today I've been fighting off a headache because of it. The heat has prompted me to make a list. As you may know, I love lists. So, here is:

My Summer Survival List
1. Water, lemonade, and various juices--I drink gallons upon gallons of this stuff during the summer, but still probably not as much as I should. I'd literally die without these drinks!

2. Air conditioning. Our house doesn't have central air, but we do have three good window units that are lifesavers. We put one in the living room, one in John's room, and one in our room. I love the people who invented air conditioning. They should have gotten the Nobel Peace Prize.

3. Sunblock. If I don't use it then my skin burns quickly and easily. I've been a pretty good everyday user of sunblock since my teens. No sunburns, skin cancer, or premature wrinkles and age spots for me! (Knock on wood.)

4. Lightweight skirts and t-shirts. I wear an outfit of these two things almost every day during the summer. So light and comfortable!

5. Sandals and flip-flops, because I've gotta let my feet breathe. Otherwise they'll stink. I'm pretty sure that 90% of the sweat glands in my body are on the soles of my feet.

6. Books, books, and more books. I love to read year-round, but I especially enjoy it during the summer, when everything is more relaxed and I tend to read a lot more "fun" books.

7. Lip gloss, another year-round staple. I need the moisture and the SPF it gives. Blistex Silk & Shine has SPF 15 and a light fruity scent and it's my favorite. My lips always have a nice healthy sheen to them when I use it.

8. Since I use sunblock and don't even try to get a tan, in order not to look totally like my very fair-skinned self I use a lotion with subtle self-tanners every morning. It gives my skin some color in a safe, easy, inexpensive way. I like Dove Energy Glow Body Lotion.

9. Mario Badescu Facial Spray with Aloe, Herbs and Rosewater. A few spritzes of this on my face, neck, arms, legs, and feet feels so good when it's hot out. And I love the light rosy scent too. http://mariobadescu.com/productDetail.asp?ProductID=152&CatId=1

10. Red Sox baseball games. It's good to be back in New England so that we can watch all of their games on TV again. I just love having a good ball game on in the background on a warm summer night. Baseball is definitely a summer staple in my life and has been ever since I started playing softball in 4th grade.

11. For some reason, when the warm weather hits, I start speaking in Spanish more often. I don't know what it is. Maybe I feel like I'm in South America because of the weather. I like it because it helps me to use the language that I spent years of my education trying to master instead of losing it. But I do need my trusty Spanish Dictionary sometimes for help.

12. Regular pedicures, because what winter does to my hands, summer does to my poor feet, in the form of calluses and rough heels. Yuck! Neo Nail Spa in Granby gives very good pedicures (including a nice calf and ankle massage) for a good price. It's been helping my feet to look and feel better than they otherwise would ever since I stopped wearing socks for the season a little while ago. The other good thing about a pedicure is it's nice to have your toenails painted when you see them all the time during the warm weather months.

13. My sunglasses. It took years, but a few months ago I finally found a pair that I love and that don't make me look bad. I got them for under $20 at New York & Co. They also have UV protection and are thicker on the sides to protect my eyes from the sun. I wear them almost every day and I love 'em!

Without these things, summertime would suck the life out of me. But it doesn't, and summer is my favorite time of the year. Of course, right now I'm writing this in air-conditioned comfort with a mug of icy lemonade at my side, which makes it easier to love the season even in the middle of a searing heat wave. Wait, it's not even officially summer yet. Yikes!

All Quiet on the Blogging Front

Hello there, my peeps and loyal readers (all two or three of you. I love you guys!). I have a number of things I want to write about on the blog, but not enough time to do it right now. I've been so busy this week, and I have a pretty busy weekend ahead too. So when I get some more time or when I need to procrastinate doing something or just when the blogging bug hits, I'll start posting more regularly again (don't worry, I won't deprive you too long).

Some of the things I've had on my mind to write about
-my review of the month of May
-politics (Obama, Clinton, McCain, and my choice for McCain's V.P. Hint, hint, it's not Romney!)
-Big Brown and the Triple Crown race on Saturday (I gave up watching horse racing this year, but I'm tempted to watch this race. But if I do it, I just know that something bad is gonna happen. I think I'll DVR it and if I hear after it's over that things went well, I'll watch. If not, delete. I want Big Brown to win and get the Triple Crown, which hasn't happened in thirty years, but even more than that I don't want any of the horses to get injured during the race. There, I wrote a blog post in a few short sentences!).
-The FLDS/state of Texas debacle and why this crazy group should be disbanded as soon as possible by its own members. I've been feeling frustrated for weeks over these people.
-Pictures of Peter's new desk (a vast improvement over the old one), my gardening and landscaping projects, and my in-progress makeover of our screened-in patio.
-Tomorrow is John's preschool recognition ceremony and I'll have to write a little something about that.
-Some more dresses and skirts that I like.
-My goals for the Summer of 2008, which I've gotten a good start on. One of the things is making a great difference in my life already. Stay tuned!