1. It had a long metal slide with the metal ladder that in the summer got so ungodly-like hot that it became a dare as to who could stand to climb up it.
2. And then once you climbed the hot ladder, there was the matter of going down a metal slide in the burning sun when you’re all sweaty and sticky in Florida’s summer humidity.
3. The swing sets were even better. Hard wood boards that gave me splinters.
4. Not to mention the dirt from the chains would rub off on my sweaty palms.
5. They transitioned from hard wood swings to those black rubber ones, the kind where if you wore shorts, then your thighs were bound to stick to the swing, and when you stood up, an imprint was left behind.
6. And to think how much I LOVED it.
Prior to third grade, my favorite park was Lake Lucina at Merrill and Rogero Road in Jacksonville. After third grade, my family moved and the park du jour was the one up the hill from my house. A brand new park at the time, it featured all wood structures and woodchips on the ground.
7. There were two trampolines at this park. I use the word trampoline for lack of a better word. It was a springy 3 foot square that you could bounce back and forth between. My brothers and sister and I created a system where one of us ran to one corner of the square and jumped, forcing the one on the opposite corner to jump further, who would then land on the corner of the other square, forcing the person on the final opposite corner to go flying through the air.
8. Regardless of whether nor not that description made sense to you, let it be known that it is *amazing* how high and far we could go doing that.
9. That park also had a tire swing. How wonderful was the tire swing… here’s something you can spin and swing around on until you get dizzy and throw up. And kids just line up to do it. Fascinating.
10. Remember old school merry-go-rounds? Hard wood benches (full of splinters like its swing cousins) and hot metal bars.
11. And hello, the hot metal jungle gym with the beach sand bottom????
12. There is quite a theme here to my memories. Hot and metal. Sweat is a big memory as well, but I felt that my descriptions would cross over into “too much information” territory if I went into detail.
13. Final playground memory? The shaky bridge. Still popular in today’s parks, I marvel at my kids as they stand on the shaky bridge and giggle away. I know I used to do it to, but for the life of me, I have no idea why.
This is a totally neat site where you can upload pictures of your local play areas. The idea is to share the parks and community spaces with the world so that locals and visitors alike can find appropriate play areas for their families, but the result was a mindful of memories.
Did you ever go to the playground growing up? What was your favorite memory of it? And better yet, if you saw your playground of childhood today, would you let your kid play on the structures?
I posted this photo of Pines Park on KaBOOM!
Kids these days… they have it so easy with their safe parks…
(More lists of Thirteen things here.)
(Hat tip to MomCentral for alerting me to the existence of KaBOOM!)
If you have never read Under Construction, then you are missing out. Never have I witnessed such a passionate disdain for the yeti and hippo. He also has a cool wife, and adorable kiddies.
1. Why did you start blogging?
I started as a way to get back into something that took creativity. My job at the time had just beaten me down again for wanting to attempt something that was innovative. I needed to re-awaken the creative side of me and create an outlet for that creativity
2. Did it work?
I think that it did work pretty well. It was not the creative outlet that I think I was looking for, but it did springboard me into a few online communities that have allowed me to stretch and grow creatively. So blogging has been my gateway drug to creativity.
3. What kinds of online communities? Writing ones? Graphic art ones? Something else?
Primarily artistic communities. The main one was “The Drawing Board” which brought me into a move appropriate for me artistic community at “Ten Ton Studios.” The issue with The Drawing Board was that it could not handle sarcasm terribly well and Ten Ton seems to be made from it.
4. Ah, sarcasm. Also known as the lowest form of wit. Would you agree or disagree?
Pfft! Sarcasm is one of the highest forms of wit, if done correctly. The problem is all the talentless hacks out there using sarcasm like a formulaic shotgun. I blame this on the whole “not” phenomenon.
5. Who do you think is to blame for starting the “not” phenomenon? Wayne’s World?
More specifically Mike Meyers
6. So do you dislike Mike Myers in general or just hold the “not” thing against him?
I don’t think I had anything specifically against Mike Meyers until he recently started making the same movie over and over and over and over and over… If he were able to create some new humor instead of dragging out the same set of jokes and pratfalls I think I would hold considerably less against him.
7. Did you see Love Guru?
I think I saw “enough” from the previews.
8. I imagine you made the right choice by avoiding it. I watched about the first 20 minutes before throwing in the towel. My husband thought it was funny though. But enough about Mike Myers. Are there any other SNL cast members/alum who you harbor ill will towards for impacting American pop culture in a negative way? (Personally, I’m not fond of those MacGruber commercials. And though it’s not a cool thing to say right now, I’ve had enough of Tina Fey too.)
I have never quite understood the mass appeal of Adam Sandler.
9. Personally, I’m part of the mass appeal. Adam Sandler is funny (or at any rate, used to be). He also appears to be a generally nice guy. I think if I was famous like him, I would totally put my circle of friends in all my movies. If you were going to make a movie, which of your friends and/or celebrities would be in it?
I do not want to suggest that Adam Sandler doesn’t do some funny stuff, but the overwhelming adulation for him is a bit confusing. Hmmmm… If I were in a movie who would accompany me… it would have to be an epic movie with an ensemble cast of thousands–
Friends: Wifey, Capt McArmypants, Dr B Dawg, Lord Pithy,
Celebs: Andy Richter, Most of the Muppets, Jack Black, Jim Gaffigan, Bruce Campbell, Nancy Travis, Lucy Liu (Little Man has a cute little crush on her because she was Viper in Kung Fu Panda), and throw in a swimsuit model.
10. I’m going to overlook the fact that I have not been included (don’t give me that “but I said cast of thousands” argument) in favor of this question: Um, why Nancy Travis?
Ummm… ah… Next question please…
11. Wow. Now I’m fully intrigued. You should have just lied and said something like “I really loved Three Men and a Little Lady.” Speaking of which, what did you ever make of that rumor that there was a ghost in Three Men and a Baby?
Sadly, my crush on Ms. Travis started with, oddly enough, “So I married an Ax Murderer,” which is the funniest Mike Meyers movie because it is all new material in that one. As for the ghost in Three Men and a Baby? I have seen the stills and the frame by frame stuff and honestly I find that it is inconclusive. I have not heard what anyone thinks of that since HD and digital came to the forefront. I would love to see what shows up with better scrutiny now.
12. Best line in “So I Married an Axe Murderer?”
Now, that was offside now, wasnnit? He’ll be cryin’ himself to sleep tonight on his huge pilla.
13. Excellent choice. On to other questions, did you celebrate Easter?
We had a nice meal with family and the kids each got a basket, but that was about it.
14. What would you say is the best use for leftover hard-boiled eggs?
Cobb Salad?
15. I just finished my second egg salad sandwich of the day and may have filled my egg quota for the day. So perhaps cobb salad tomorrow. Do you know why they call it Cobb salad?
I am only guessing here, but I suppose the first person to create the salad had the last name of Cobb. It seems that Wikipedia agrees with this guess.
16. What a boring origin. I was hoping for something wild and exciting, perhaps involving a train wreck or underground elves, dare I hope both? That sounds like the kind of question I would send you for your 20 questions. Speaking of which, I don’t think I’ve ever asked you — how did you come up with the idea of a 20 Questions Tuesday?
It started with not being able to come up with topics for posts, so I would scour the internets looking for questionnaires and such. Most of the early ones ended up being 20 questions long. Much like the game 20 Questions. I started doing it more often and then I started asking people I knew for 5 random questions a piece. Then I came up with topics for the questions because the people complained loudly about how hard it was to come up with 5 random questions. Then I made it a regular feature and thus 20 Questions Tuesday was born. So it shall be written, so it shall be done.
17. Are there any particular 20 Question Tuesday posts you are especially fond/proud of?
Hmmm… I honestly do not have a great gauge on what works with the 20QTues and what doesn’t. I have really been enjoying the interviews. Those are fun. Either me interviewing or being interviewed. The ones about the family are fin ones as well, but if I were pressed to think of a particular one of the 132 20QTues’s that I have done, am not sure I could come up with anything concrete.
18. Wow, that was a very roundabout way of saying no. I guess that’s how it feels when people ask me to pick a favorite something or other. Have you ever considered interviewing a yeti hunter, and if so, what would you ask such a person?
I have tried to stay away from any actual cryptozoologists, mainly because I do not want to seem belittle the work that is being done by the actual scientist cryptozoologists and I do not want to interact with the crackpot bat-shit crazy cryptozoologists, what would I ask? So have you bagged a yeti… you know what I mean, *wink* *wink* *nudge* *nudge*
19. Imho, I think that would be an excellent question to ask an actual scientist. Scientists have senses of humor too, you know (not to mention an appreciation for Monty Python references). On to your other enemy, The Hippo — I was at the library today and saw they had put out stacks of poem-in-your-pocket cards (likely to celebrate National Poetry Month). One of the poems was “The Hippo,” and went like this:
“A Head or Tail — which does he lack?
I think his Forward’s coming back!
He lives on Carrots, Leeks and Hay;
He starts to yawn — it takes All Day –
Some time I think I’ll live that way.”
–Theodore Roethke, “I am! Said the Lamb”
Any thoughts on this?
It burns
20. We are at question 20. For all my interviews, the last question is the same: anything else you’d like to say? (if you don’t like that question, the alternate option is this: who is Wifey’s Nancy Travis and how do you feel you measure in comparison?)
I think the burning fire of all consuming hate that I have towards the hippo is a good note to end on.
This was The Boy’s calendar picture for April. I love the umbrella. There have not been many showers this month in Cali, but I suspect we will still see flowers nonetheless. In fact, I’ve received my first bouquet of virtual flowers from none other than The Boy’s recent IEP meeting.
Last year, at The Boy’s IEP meeting, I was very frustrated by the triennial review. What bothered me was the school psychologist’s assessment of The Boy. It was as if she was talking about someone else. Her assessment of The Boy was so foreign from the Boy as I knew him, and I honestly suspect it had to do with the first time she met him.
The first time she met The Boy was when he’d just started preschool and was still scared of attending. Not so unique, right? Plenty of kids go through a transitional period. The difference between The Boy and typical kids, though, is that he has severe eczema. And when he gets upset, the first thing he does is scratch. Everywhere. Face, arms, legs, anywhere he can touch, he will scratch. The first time the school psychologist met him, he was crying and scratching nonstop. I admit, it didn’t look good.
So at last year’s IEP, they recommended Special Needs Kindergarten. I debated back and forth on whether I was going to sign the IEP or not, whether I would fight for General Ed Kindergarten with a shadow or the Collaborative Kindergarten where half the kids are General Ed and half the kids are Special Needs. After meeting with the Special Needs Kindergarten teacher, I decided to agree to their recommendations. This is partly due to the fact that a personal friend of mine who was a teacher at the same school gave me the dish on the Special Needs Kindergarten teacher and how amazing she was and how she’d had students from the Special Needs Kindergarten with better handwriting and reading skills than General Ed because of just how wonderful this teacher was. Strong words, no?
So that has been this past year. Special Needs Kindergarten with the woman who turned out to be the world’s best teacher. I love his teacher. I hope all future teachers are just like her. And what I like the most about her is that she sees The Boy as I do. I just attended The Boy’s annual IEP, and she said she’d read the assessments of The Boy from the previous IEP and felt that they didn’t sound like The Boy as she knew him. The rest of the IEP was just like that. The therapists, the teacher, and the General Ed Kindergarten teacher, all saying what I’ve always seen: The Boy is in league with his peers and doing well. His test scores aren’t topping the charts and he is a tad slower to complete a task than his peers, but he is academically on par and with that in mind, they recommended he mainstream into General Ed the rest of the year.
The Boy came home from his first day of General Ed talking up a storm about his new teacher. I emailed the new teacher to see how things went, and he said it was no problem and that The Boy just dove right into the new class full of people with no hesitation.
Fittingly, The Boy camped at Joshua Tree National Park over the weekend with Y-Guides and among other things, climbed to the top of some very big rocks. I am reeking of Proud Mama because, well, look at him:
I remember hearing about 10-10-10 when it first came out as an article in O magazine. The concept is great. Before every action you take, what are the consequences 10 minutes from now, 10 months from now, and 10 years from now. In other words, what are the immediate consequences, the consequences of the foreseeable future, and long term effects.
Apparently, the idea was such a smash that Suzy Welch started receiving fan mail aplenty from people successfully applying 10-10-10 to their lives, and lo and behold: we have 10-10-10 The Book.
But the book isn’t just a reiteration of the idea along with testimonies. It’s a complete analysis of WHY 10-10-10 made such an impact. In her book, Welch breaks down 10-10-10 into different components to show that it is “a life-transforming idea” because it’s no longer just some approach to making good decisions, but in fact, a way of life. A philosophy, if you will (she doesn’t use that word). Apply it to life, love, the pursuit of happiness, your job, your sex life, you name it, 10-10-10 can handle it.
I admit, I’m not generally one of the first people on the bandwagon with these kinds of books or ideas, but I have kept 10-10-10 in my mind ever since my friends first read the O column. Why? Well, for one thing, it’s simple to remember. Two, it’s easy to understand and explain to others. Three, it just plain makes sense. Even my kids comprehend it. I don’t make them examine things from the 10 minutes/10 months/10 years perspective because that’s a little too big for them, but 10 minutes/10 hours/10 days works.
Welch writes in the intro that “learning how to live from experience is part of the human condition.” Well said. If you’re in a rut (and let’s face it, who isn’t these days?), then check out 10-10-10. It’s a quick read (seriously – a couple hours) and you might feel good from all the heartwarming tales of people who overcame their struggles or you might feel inspired by Suzy Welch’s constant encouragement and faith in our individual abilities to triumph, or you might just think to yourself, hey, not a bad idea. Let’s give it a shot. In any case, it’s a win-win.
So now, the only question I’m asking myself is – what are the consequences of me bingeing on the whole tub of Dreyer’s Tagalong ice cream?
The Boy went on his first school field trip, a visit to the Santa Ana Zoo.
Santa Ana Zoo is a small zoo with loads of active primates. All of them were alert and moving about as the Kindergarteners observed with excitement. A special shout out to the White Handed Gibbon, who in addition to moving to the front of the exhibit so the kids could get an up close look, can scream like a police siren.
The Santa Ana Zoo also has a farm exhibit, with ducks and wild turkeys, feral pigs, goats that like to be fed, and, according to the zoo employee, one goat that doesn’t like to be fed, the San Clemente Island goat:
I will ram you. Ah ha ha ha!
There were wallabies and rheas and an animal that looks like a llama but isn’t one (nor is it an alpaca). It’s called a guanaco:
Why, hello there!
I attended the said zoo trip not as a chaperone nor volunteer parent, but as The Woman Who Is Allowed to Give Her Son Benadryl.
I was concerned that going to the zoo might result in a breakout of hives. The Boy’s skin has been unusual of late, with hives breakouts for no reason and I suspected that being at the zoo would have been an opportune moment for hives to strike. I asked the teacher about the Benadryl and as any of you familiar with public schools know, she can’t give him Benadryl. I also can’t give the Benadryl to The Boy to give to himself because one) I’m not guaranteed he’ll remember to do it and two) the school principal said no to that option too (I imagine part of the concern was that he might give it to someone else). So I took Little No Limit out of preschool for the day and we enjoyed ourselves a little trip to the zoo and no hives made themselves noticeable that day and all’s well that ends well.
AllStar Buddies is home to the virtual world of Varisty Heights, where kids ages 6 and up can login and play games by themselves or against other players. They take on the personas of different sports balls. Plush versions of these All Star Buddies can also be purchased at toy stores, to really give your kid’s virtual thrills a real-life touch.
I’m fond of Blitz, the football:
(because I love football)
Deuce, the tennis ball:
(because he looks cute wearing his cap sideways)
Deke, the hockey player, scares me a little:
(but then again, real life hockey players scare me too)
AllStar Buddies is relatively new, having only come out last November, and developed by two moms who say they created a toy based on the two things they know a lot about: kids and sports. So, go on, give them a chance. Visit the website here.
As you may or may not know, April is National Poetry Month. At the library, they’re showcasing collections of poetry and giving out Poetry-in-a-Pocket cards for people to carry around little poems. To celebrate National Poetry Month, I’ve got a wonderful interview for you with Ginny Kaczmarek, Assistant Editor in Poetry for Literary Mama and fellow New Orleans lover. She also blogs at Ginny’s Tonic and Broadsided.
1. Are you doing anything locally to celebrate National Poetry Month?
I’m embarrassed to say not much. As the stay-at-home mom of a young child, I don’t get out much. I do try to participate in local readings–there are several weekly and monthly poetry series — and to stay abreast of what’s going on around town, but now the decision is whether it’s worth getting my husband or a sitter to put our kid to bed (not to mention wanting to be in bed scarily early myself).
So I content myself with Poets.org’s Poem-A-Day and doing what I can through Literary Mama to keep the poetry flowing.
2. What first turned you on to writing poetry (a certain poem or poet, a moment or inspiration, an object, or…)?
Even when I was a little kid, I wanted to be a writer, and I read and wrote poetry along with fiction and nonfiction all through school. But it was as an undergrad at San Francisco State University that I had that moment of Ah-ha! We were studying some really difficult Language poetry and I realized that there really wasn’t any big secret to “getting” this — it was all about my interpretation of the words on the page and how they made me feel. The rest — the craft, the theory, the history — was just tools of the trade, like the mechanics of photography or music. That opened up the possibilities of poetry to me, as if I discovered that the big mystery of poetry was that there wasn’t any mystery at all. To me, poetry is not that different than sculpture or knitting or painting. Once you learn a bit about the basics, you can create whatever you want — and likewise, read it with more pleasure.
3. Knowing nothing about poetry, I wonder: how much editing goes into a poem? I always had this notion that they just come out as they are, but given that fiction is 10 % first draft and 90 % revision (at least for me) I’m wondering what it’s like for poetry.
I think it’s the same as for fiction or any other art form: you have an idea (or a word or a phrase), you write it down, then you play and work the language until it’s in a shape that pleases (or surprises) you. Maybe occasionally a poem comes out “whole,” but I think that’s rare. I think traditionally, poets have been responsible for perpetuating that myth of the poem that springs forth from the poet’s brow. The Romantics (Wordsworth, Keats, etc) were particularly fond of writing about themselves and their art like that, and then the Beats took up the mantle of “first thought best thought.” But Ginsberg, Kerouac, all those guys revised like mad! The trick is to make the poem feel spontaneous, but it takes a helluva lot of work to get it there. I console myself by remembering that Walt Whitman, the master of spontaneous-sounding poetry, only wrote one book, which he revised over and over for his entire adult life. Makes my year-old unfinished poems seem a bit less pathetic by comparison.
I was also surprised by how much editing happens once a poem is accepted by a publication; the editors often ask to tweak this or that or chop lines here or there to improve the poem. It’s not like in a workshop, but I find it comforting to know there’s room for improvement even after I’ve submitted something, that it doesn’t necessarily have to be Norton anthology-worthy from the get-go.
4. Who are your favorite poets?
I like so many different poets for different reasons, and I’m always discovering new ones (or old ones I never read deeply before). I go through phases, too. Lately I’m really into formalist poetry, sonnets, villanelles, rhymes and meter, so I’ve been reading Gwendolyn Brooks, Claude McKay, for their takes on old forms. I love Thom Gunn, who wrote formal, British-proper poetry about biker gangs and his gay lovers and the plague of AIDS in the ’80s. Annie Finch inspires me with her feminist formalist experiments. I love Beth Ann Fennelly’s work, which is funny and true and elegant, and Wendy Cope for sheer hilarity. X.J. Kennedy, Billy Collins, and Kay Ryan remind me that poetry can be both fun and meaningful. I recently re-discovered Walt Whitman, whose longer works take my breath away, but the shorter ones tend to leave me thinking, eh? Then I feel better that even a genius has off moments. And shout-outs to Adrienne Rich for her complexity and Elizabeth Bishop for precision.
5. You recently recommended Blood Dazzler on the Literary Mama Essential Reading list, which is a collection of poetry inspired by Hurricane Katrina. What are your thoughts on literature that incorporates current, life-altering events such as Hurricane Katrina or 9/11?
Ooh, good question. I just heard Billy Collins read, and his opinion was, “Poetry’s not about history, it’s about time,” meaning that poetry shouldn’t take on current events as much as universal themes. But I’d have to agree with my professor, John Gery, who taught that the poet has importance and value in society because of her ability to offer deeper, personal–and yet universal–commentary on the events of our day. I think immediate, event-based poetry can be an extremely valuable tool to help us understand the world around us. The challenge is to create poems that are still relevant 5, 10, 50 years from now, to discover how the personal or immediate translates into a universal, timeless expression of the human condition. Blood Dazzler did that impressively, transforming the personal stories of a collection of characters living through the hurricane and its aftermath into a mythological tale of heroes and villians in beautiful, powerful language.
6. How long have you lived in New Orleans?
I’ve lived here almost eight years. My husband and I first visited on our honeymoon in 1998 and didn’t want to leave. In a way, we didn’t.
7. I enjoyed reading your post on the violence that besets New Orleans. In consideration of that, what is it that makes you love New Orleans? Actually, that would probably be too long and complicated an answer, so why don’t you tell me three things you love about New Orleans instead?
Glad you liked the post. Living here is all about contradiction, the beauty and the violence, the third-world qualities despite our American address. I guess I love those contradictions, how this is a city unlike any other. The physical beauty of the place–the architecture, the flowers (now in glorious bloom; the streets smell like jasmine), the majestic oaks–overwhelms me sometimes. I also love the decay, the sense of history, the mish-mash of cultures and customs. We’ve got world-class music, art, and literature, and at the same time, lots of local, street-level performances that feel like anyone can join in, that we are all part of the ongoing project that is New Orleans. I feel like I could spend my life uncovering all of the facets of this city and always find some new way to participate in its culture, its community. I never felt that sense of belonging anywhere else I lived.
8. Besides Literary Mama, what other publications have you worked with?
I worked as a copyeditor for about 7 or 8 years, at CNet.com and then freelance for a variety of tech and computer book publishers. I went to grad school to focus on my first love, poetry, and was a reader for Bayou magazine and a copyeditor for Ellipses through the University of New Orleans. I am just beginning to develop relationships with Women’s Review of Books, Umbrella Journal, and Rattle, which I am hoping will continue, and am always looking for others.
9. What advice do you have to newbie and longtime poets who seek getting their work published?
Gosh, I’m still figuring it out myself! I guess first, just start sending your work out there–it doesn’t do any good sitting in your desk (or on your computer). You’ll get rejections–everybody does–but it’s the only way to get acceptances. To better your chances, seek out journals, contests, and magazines that have a niche you might fit into: for my work, I look for journals that focus on formalism, feminism, motherhood, New Orleans, and the South. A good way to begin developing relationships with editors is to submit book reviews, interviews, and essays about poets or poetry; they get to know your name and might look at your consequent submissions more closely. Definitely follow up with any that reject your offering but invite you to submit in the future–don’t let your bruised ego get in the way! I am also learning to take more risks: to submit to what might seem like a long shot, to offer my meager expertise when I see an opportunity (that’s how I got my gig at Literary Mama). Once you develop a reasonably thick skin, “No thanks” no longer seems like the worst thing to hear, and you begin to get more yeses. Start a blog–it’s a fun way to have a place to publish your stuff, get some feedback, and offer examples of your writing to potential editors.
10. How does one go about getting their work reviewed in Literary Mama?
Book authors and publishers send their books (or informational queries) to the reviews editors, who then contact me or other reviewers to see whether we’re interested or able to do reviews. I think authors who have had poems published on Literary Mama might contact Sharon Kraus, the poetry editor, about their forthcoming books, and she’d pass the info along to the reviews editors. Sometimes I find something on my own, by reading another review of a book or seeing a poem I like in a journal or online and looking into the author, and then I pitch it to an editor.
11. So I know you didn’t make it to the Tennessee Williams Festival this past year, but you’ve attended in the past. Tell me about seeing Yusef Komunyakaa. Did you hear him read his work aloud and/or speak on the subject of writing poetry? How did he inspire you?
I do usually go to the festival, but missed it this year. Seeing Yusef Komunyakaa a year or so ago was amazing. It was just him and an interviewer in an intimate conversation (well, as intimate as it can be with an audience). I was impressed with Komunyakaa’s ease and grace, his humor and his intensity. I’ve long admired his work, so hearing him speak about writing and living as a Louisianian was inspiring. Seeing someone like him makes poetry feel necessary, important–as if what poets have to say (and the ways in which we say it) are valuable resources for greater communal understanding. At the same time, I felt like he made poetry seem accessible, like any other vocation, one that requires hard work and gives personal satisfaction in equal measure. As much as I regard his work with awe, I felt like I got a glimpse into the worker at his bench, hammering it out. It gave me and my hammer hope.
12. To end with a lighthearted question, what is your favorite Mardi Gras parade and why? (I’m partial to Krewe d’Etat, on account of a wonderful memory associated with my first attendance of it.)
Krewe d’Etat is wonderful–I love the political satire and the emphasis on skull and skeleton imagery (the wannabe goth in me!). This year I caught a blinky gargoyle! But my favorite has got to be Muses, the all-women krewe that also has clever satirical themes (this year’s was Muses 009: License to Swill) and the best floats. Who doesn’t love a giant, sparkly shoe or an enormous bubble bath complete with blowing bubbles? Not to mention how generous and creative the women are with the throws: hand-decorated shoes, high-heeled shoe beads, shoe bracelets, (see a theme developing?) drink coozies, martini-glass-shaped beads…it’s just such a great time. Oh, I almost forgot the walking krewes in between the floats: the New Orleans Rollergirls on skates, the Rolling Elvii (dudes dressed as Elvis on mini-scooters handing out silk scarves), the Pussyfooters and the Camel Toe Steppers (grown women in costume dancing en masse). One of these years, I’m gonna get myself in there: I think being a Camel Toe Stepper would be a blast! That’s the parade that I’ll stand in the rain for. You get the best throws that way.
13. Anything else you’d like to say?
I think I’ve said enough! Thank you so much for your interest!
So are you ready to celebrate National Poetry Month? Check out Literary Mama’s poetry. Some really great selections in there!
When I was a sophomore in high school, I won second place in a citywide essay contest with a theme along the lines of “How I Help the Environment.” My essay was entitled “My Environment, My Community” and it was about things I did with my oh-so-cool Environmental Club at school to contribute to a healthier environment — volunteering at the bird sanctuary, adopting a manatee (this is a popular thing to do in Florida), beach clean ups, etc. I was invited to a luncheon with the mayor and the environmental club sponsor attended it with me. For dessert, they served mudpie out of flower pots and we used little shovels to scoop it onto our plates. I thought it was hip and cool but in the high school scheme of things, it didn’t exactly make me Miss Popular.
These days, I still participate in beach clean ups and I’m still adopting animals, but eco-friendly has become way cooler than it was when I was in high school.
I mean, hello, Kelly Ripa think it’s cool.
It seems I have an obsession with Electrolux and Kelly Ripa, but the truth is they always run nicely community-minded marketing plans. To kick off the release of their new Kelly Green eco-friendly front-load washer and dryer, they are planting a virtual garden that yields real money crops:
So if you win, you can fulfill all your romantic notions of being a tree hugger, while avoiding the dirty clothing and bad odor that often accompanies the territory.
“Feel good, look good, and get more out of life.” That’s the tagline on MakingLifeBetter.com.
Making Life Better is an easy-to-navigate family website with tips and advice on anything and everything. Recipes, coupons, advice, product reviews, health and wellness… wow, it’s like my site without the snark or talking dogs.
Here is a neat bit of advice from an article on raising green awareness that I hadn’t heard before: weigh your garbage and challenge the family to each produce the least amount of weight. I think that sounds like a fun project that would coincide nicely with our family’s Wii Fit plan to lower our BMIs. Everything in my house is on a diet, even the garbage can!
I was also intrigued by the recommendation that lemon fragrance increases productivity. Perhaps I should invest in a potted lemon tree and stick it right next to my computer, which I’ve been avoiding like the plague lately. Hmm. I wonder what scent might increase my ability to get a job? I’ve been on four interviews (all wearing my “Dress to Impress” Cole Haan pumps, as advised by Making Life Better). I’m sure you’re dying to know what the best question was:
“How would you grade the human race?”
Yes. That was a question. How. Would. You. Grade. The human race.
I narrowed it down to how would I grade the human race within the United States in terms of its attitude towards health, and even that still felt like way too large a demographic to just give a single letter grade. But in the end, I gave us a C.
Incidentally, I did a word search for grading the human race on Making Life Better and the search yielded no results, which just goes to show – there is one topic that Making Life Better does not address and that is the topic of Stupid Questions. Thank you, Making Life Better.
Off to weigh my garbage…
Can I take my shoes off first?
(This site brought to my attention by MomCentral.)
Take a couple shoe boxes and a pair of scissors, add some colored tape and stickers, and voila — an hour’s worth of entertainment and *very* personalized Easter baskets. I kind of dig Little No Limit’s cascading fairy stickers off the yellow bunny’s ear (unfortunately, you can’t really see them in this photo, but they’re behind the purple cat).
