This is my girl when I told her no. She’s still cute.

Don’t feel sorry for her, we’ve been shopping all week and she made out better than the rest of the family put together.

I found myself with three hours to kill while once again waiting for the boy last Monday so I went to Barnes and Noble to have a decaffeinated latte and work on my computer.

I was happy for the latte and the free wireless but didn’t realize that I couldn’t plug my computer in anywhere. Details.

So I purchased this book and I read it in one day. I finished the book last night while sitting at Chick Filet with the girl. I read while she ate. I haven’t been this engrossed in a book since I read Angela’s Ashes and cried for two days.

We returned to the book store again after the girl’s dinner and I purchased another book written by the superb Khaled Hosseini. I started it last night before bed and truthfully, I’m pretty emotionally spent after finishing the Kite Runner so perhaps I’ll wait until tomorrow to dive into another powerfully, haunting and moving experience. One can only take so much.

The bad thing about buying books is that I want all the accessories that go with the book like book marks, pretty pens and M&M blondies masquerading as brownies.

I don’t know if I’ll ever read a book electronically. People say it’s no different and I’m sure they’re right. Maybe some day…

Wrestling practice started yesterday for the boy. I will be posting really graphic wrestling photos for the next three months, aren’t you excited? Meals for the last week and a half consisted of some kind of fast food or other on most days. It’s awful but it’s the only thing we have time for. We have literally been on the run. I allay my guilt with this – after this week, there will not be anymore fast food during the wrestling season because the boy has to watch his weight – so the rest of the family will as well in solidarity. So eat up now kids!

There are no girls on the wrestling team this year so no social commentary, just lots of sweats and singlets.

I received this photo from the girl last week with this request, “Can we get one pleeeeaaasse?”

Pillows and donkeys – what’s next?

This is me and Johnny Depp. Remind me never again be photographed in the husband’s over-sized red pull-over – especially if there’s a chance of running into a celebrity.

Hope your mid-week day is special – and fun. Why not?

I am taking the opportunity to catch-up and follow up today. Yes, I’m doing it in my brand new Old Navy pajamas. I wish I could wear them to the office.

I had a request for input today and as I am wont to do when I can’t remember the details, I google(d) it. Google is apparently a verb now. Waiting to see when Webster’s is going to catch up.

I started typing the search and I google filled in the rest for me.

I started typing “fun ways to ….” and you can see how google filled in the rest of the search. Are there that many people who google fun ways to smoke weed that it’s second?

I remembered the search we did during the seminar. “why cant i .. . ” Look at the second search result. Too funny.

I was trying to google a French horse artist the other day and however I re-worded it, a link for a French artist who injects herself with horse blood would always appear. I didn’t click on it. I can’t believe it would contribute to my life in anyway to find out.

What will be good for me – body and soul is this -

My friend Alicia-girl has been such an inspiration with her work-out lately. Case in point – she drank six bottles of water from the time the seminar started to its end.

This was my bottle at the end of the day. I still had water left. I informed her that I drank a couple of glasses of water during lunch. She tsked tsked me.

I’m working on it. I don’t want to be tsked anymore.

Have a great Wednesday -

I’m not abandoning Reader all together but I did find it cumbersome at times – here’s why. At times, days will pass before I check my reader and when I did, I would toil through the piled up unread articles all screaming for me to open them. I would then have to slog through to “clean” up my reader. I felt like I needed to leave it a clean slate for some reason. The bold letters were screaming at me, “READ ME!”, “READ ME NOW!” Don’t leave me bolded on your Reader!

It’s how I feel.

I recently started experimenting with Twitter – I know, fashionably late as usual. I’m no expert but I do find it’s easier to keep up with some blogs, and I don’t feel like I’m constantly having to clean house as I did on my Reader feed. It’s a stream of consciousness and some days it’s all I got – a little bit here, a little consciousness there.

Then I came across this article by Shannon Turlington. She explains my feeling well. So I’ve switched some feeds off of my Reader and onto Twitter. I can then choose to engage or not. And there’s no constant reminder that I haven’t read anything. Of course, I may miss something but I’ll take the chance.

I’ve kept personal blogs by bloggy friends on my reader but most tech, photography, house and garden, and food blogs have been moved to Twitter. These blogs I follow because I’m interested in their content but I do not necessarily engage in comments. I also find it easier to follow from my phone.

Below is a list of blogs that were on my Reader and now are on my Twitter feed. As you can see, I like to read a little of everything.

New York Times Lens
Passionate About Baking
PetaPixel
PhotoInduced
Scott Bournes Photofocus
Planet Photoshop – still following on reader but following Corey Barker on Twitter
Darren Rowse at ProBlogger Tips. Should probably read this more than I do.
Alice Currah at Savory Sweet Life
Techcrunch
geeksugar
The Heritage Foundation
Scott Schuman – The Sartorialist
Kirk Tuck – The Visual Science Lab
Vandelay Design
The wacky people at featureshoot
The really wonderful Brooke Giannetti at Velvet and Linen
The Wild Apricot Blog
Use Real Butter
Pixiq
Stephane at Zen Can Cook – weird, I wouldn’t think he looked like that.
Mission Aviation Fellowship Blog – love these guys
Rebecca at Life With Kaishon – love her life
The really great Ali Edwards at Ali Edwards | Memory Keeping for the Modern World
JPG Mag
The Huffington Post – Food

This has lightened my load – considerably.

Here’s something I can’t figure out – at times someone will pop up on my feed that I’m not following. I don’t see a tag or anything to indicate why. Also, there seems to be a lot of marketeers who started following me after I added the above sites to my twitter feed. I don’t think they are interested in what I have to say but I guess that’s the nature of the digital world.

Who are my favorite people and what are my favorite places to follow? I love National Geographic. It takes me away. And Vision and Verb is a close second. I would love it if you followed me but I understand if you don’t. I speak a lot of nonsense, but it’s applicable to me at the time.

I keep discovering – and making mistakes at the same time. I just over loaded my facebook account with my blog feed – live and learn…

I just wanted to post some iPhone photos today for no other reason than – it’s Monday. I cooked these fish over the weekend and we ate like kings and queens over during Hurricane Irene’s rage through the east coast. The dog’s nose was quite stimulated.

These photos were all edited with the PicFrame app. I didn’t realize how short I was until I stood next to the Jolly Green Giant. On the left, we are of equal height, on the right – not so much.

I’m not short, he’s just tall.

And finally some fresh fruit and veggies. The image on the bottom right is of figs. The husband and I picked some at Neighbor Corinne’s house before the storm. During the storm, a tree came down on their home and destroyed the front of their home. They are alright thank God. Not sure how the fig bush fared though.

Well, that’s my stimulating intellectual and creative input for today. Perhaps I’ll return later with a Shakespearean reading.

I started a new beautify regiment six weeks ago. I have a friend whose lashes are beautiful and lush and I commented on it. I’m going to share with you what she shared with me.

This is the product she uses. It’s called Rapid Lash and it has amino acids and proteins that stimulate lash growth. I have heard about products that do just that – like Latisse – but I never wanted to try because I was afraid of oh -  blindness.

My friend had been using the product for about a year and still had her eye sight as well as beautiful long lashes so I decided it was worth a try.

These are my eyes prior to the beginning of the treatment. Scary huh?

I have always had short, stubby, fine and almost non-existent lashes. As a result, I can count on both hands the rare instances that I have worn mascara. It didn’t seem to make an impact so I decided it wasn’t worth the effort.

Six weeks later, these are my eyes today. You can definitely see growth. I can actually feel them now. I know it may be hard to tell the difference so therefore -

I put on mascara this morning so you can really see the difference. This was not a careful application by the way. I am no mascara expert.

I am so thrilled. I put Rapid Lash on once a day at night time after I’ve done my nightly face cleansing routine. You can see that my lashes are extremely long and it certainly was rapid growth, especially in six weeks.

My lashes are growing like my hair, I have very thick hair but I don’t have a lot of it. My lashes are growing the same way. As you can see, I don’t have any lower lashes yet. My friend assures me that it will take longer but that they will grow. I can’t wait!

What are the side effects you ask? The product can sting slightly when you first put it on but it’s quite tolerable. Since I am now wearing mascara, it takes about twice as long to put on makeup. Other than that, there is no negative side effect whatsoever. One “bottle” will last between four to six weeks depending how often you put it on. I just ran out and you can be sure that I’m getting another one this week!

Disclaimer – this was truly a product that was recommended to me by a friend. Here is the Rapid Lash website. I purchased this at Jacqueline Morgan Day Spa in a town close to where I live. Perhaps your local spa carries it. I also edited the above photos to hide some of my freckles, sunspots and wrinkles. People will sometimes tell me how young I look but I see myself in photos and I am truly horrified so this is quite a brave thing for me to do. I didn’t edit my eyes though. I wanted to show them in all of their true and unedited glory.

I’m watching my bottom lashes carefully. I’ll let you know if they grow. Now I have to get my brows waxed. It’s slippery slope . . .

I – and half the world – watched and didn’t realize we were holding our breaths.

My initial thoughts as I turned on the tele was, “Wow, there are so many British people on the air today.” It was like being back at Trafalgar Square all over again. And that’s exactly where I wanted to be.

I listened to the commentary and received a good lesson on English history and ceremony. I ate it up, all of it. I think we all became anglophiles today. At the very least we all had British accents in our heads.

This wide angle shot of the ceremony is amazing. It’s a new thing for me to have the guests facing 90 degrees to the bride and groom. It’s actually the best view of the bride as she walks down the aisle. I wonder what amazing lens took this photo.

I love this close up and I love how he is looking at her. And secondly, I thought, “What a lens.” I think this is my favorite shot.

I, and many others, love the wedding dress. It was so simple and classic. It’s reminiscent of Princess Grace’s dress when she married Price Rainier. Grace Kelly and Katherine Hepburn remains the two most beautiful women in the world, past and present – at least in my eyes.

But on April 29, 2011, Kate Middleton captured that honor.

I couldn’t help but compare the train to Lady Diana’s train. I thought Diana’s train was much longer but apparently they were the same length. It’s funny how one’s perception after thirty years can be so wrong. I was wistful when I looked at these two photos. The similarities are striking.

The Queen was radiant in her daffodil colored suit. I wore this same color at Easter and I believe it’s my color of the season. She and the good Man of the Cloth complemented each other very well.

Here is a photo of the Queen’s wedding. Her husband, Prince Phillip, looks so much like young Prince William don’t you think? This must have been quite an event back then.

As beautiful as all of it was, my favorite part of the ensemble was Kate’s tiara. It belonged to the Queen and was given to Kate for her wedding day. It was classic and understated as far as tiaras go. And the fact that is has such history is amazing.

And when I wax nostalgic, I tend to compare the then and now.

This is the now.

And this was then. If only we had a crystal ball. Would we have changed anything?

Initially I thought that the train on the wedding gown was slightly too short. When Pippa, Kate’s sister, lifted it, I thought we would be able to see right into the skirt. This photo shows that you can, but I suppose it was purposeful. I would only hope so.

The inside of the gown looked like a pale pink or blush color. It was gorgeous.

Pippa wore white which surprised me. I know it’s not tradition but it really worked. Her dress was classically understated as not to upstage Kate. I loved looking at the hats. The suits were classic and elegant but it was the hats that really made a fashion statement.

Here is a hat tour.

This is the Spanish contingent. Not recognizable by most Americans but elegant and beautiful and completely European.

Now we all know who these American transplants are don’t we?

Isn’t this a stunning outfit? I think it’s my favorite.

And I believe this is on the other end of the favorite scale.

Have you seen the movie Johnny English? You should! Rowan Atkinson was hilarious and looking quite dapper here in his tall hat.

No wait a second . . . I believe this is my favorite hat, outfit, and shoes. I want a hat like that, I’d wear it to church. Don’t you wish for a second that we can do this? We are way too casual here in America.

The monarchy has not only survived but is strong. I wish nothing but happiness for these two young people with the weight of an entire country on their shoulders. I do hope that one day Prince William will become king.

All of these shots are from dailymail.co.uk.

He said, “It was just a small hole in the roof. No one was hurt, everyone is fine.”

It was just a small hole in the roof.

The advice – Don’t overreact to the news and always put on your mask before helping young children. They’re not kidding.

I had just finished a big web project last month and I worked so hard at it that I had very little intellectual brain power left to do much else. I admit it was hard on my family, hard on my co-workers, and hard on my psyche.

But it’s over and I’m giving myself the chance to truly rest. And so this week, I vowed not to take on anything that will put me back in that awful churning mode. I have been spending some quality time with a friend who happens to also a certified counselor. He is always supportive but never enabling. He tells it like it is and he manages to always give me the exact right advice. He does however, use terms I don’t understand, like co-battler. I suppose that’s a part of what he does. And the only thing it cost me was a Starbucks coffee.

The advice – Accept the peace after the storm and reach out to good friends – especially if they are trained in the art of psychology.

One of the rewarding things about doing that project however, was populating the website with some of my own photography. It may seem a little self-centered but I’m giving myself permission to be so because I love this little hobby of mine.

Looking back through my archives made all the hours I spent a little more bearable and a little more motivating. And though no one who goes to the site will know that it’s my photography, I’ll know.

The advice – Embrace your creative side.

Now that the project is over, I find myself coming back to my own skin again, and a much needed peace is returning. The small details are being seen and appreciated.

The advice – See the small things.

Sadly, I’m sick again. The husband has a compromised immune system and he spends half the week flying around with 150 people and all of their germs. He came home very sick last weekend and wouldn’t you know it – now I too am sick.

My necessary sarcastic side says, “Thanks a lot.” My reclaimed peaceful side said, “Well now I can really rest.”

Last time it took me three weeks to get over an illness like this. I think I alluded to it a little bit on this site – it was a long three weeks. I’m determined to get over it faster this time, which means I invest the time in getting better. As much as I like to think so, the world will not stop if I stay home a couple of days.

So that’s what I’ve done. The couch and I have become very intimate. I don’t think I’ve slept this much since I was in college – which is how I think I got through school:)

The advice – Know your weaknesses and submit to self-care (that’s what my counselor friend told me.)

But it doesn’t mean that I can neglect my responsibilities. My control side was trying to be responsible and cancel all of my activities for the day. I couldn’t teach my yoga class so I searched around for a last minute substitute. I wasn’t successful. I don’t know why no one answers their phones at 6 in the morning:)

I have a very important person in my life. Her name is Stephanie and every other week, she comes over and cleans up the massive amount of dog hair on my floor among other things. After I called all the yoga instructors I could at 6 am, I called Stephanie and asked her not to come. As chipper as I am at that early hour, I’m not sure if everyone was happy to hear from me.

The advice – Phone calls at 6 am are generally not appreciated if it’s not an emergency.

After I canceled as many appointments as I could think of, I collapsed on the couch and didn’t wake up for hours. I woke up to answer some emails and then fell asleep again for a few hours. And so it went.

The kids have been very understanding. The boy missed the bus yesterday and instead of waking me up, he ran after it until the next stop. I felt badly at first, but then I thought it might be a teaching moment. After all, I don’t rush him in the morning just for the fun of it. I wasn’t awake to hurry him along and I won’t be there to to do it when he goes to college or after he gets married.

Or at least I don’t think I will.

The advice – Accept the fact that your teenage son will need you right up to the day he moves away. That’s when the umbilical cord is truly cut.

The husband gets home today – just in time to take care of me.

I think I’ll go lay down again . . .

I find equine art particularly beautiful. There’s something wild and majestic but endearing and serene about horses. No one captures these great animals better than my friend Diane of Diane Schuller Photography.

And lucky us – she’s giving one of her beautiful photos away on Kelly’s blog at JAX Does Design. Kelly is a designer and blogger. She is graciously giving away a Diane Schuller fine piece of art and I think you should visit and see for yourself how beautiful it is. Be warned – every time I go to Kelly’s I want to throw out all of my furniture and purchase new.

So visit Kelly’s site to check how you can win the beautiful art above. And visit Diane’s site to check out her other horse photography. I promise you will be blown away.

Update: Speaking of girl and horses, here’s a video of her riding at one of her meets this year. That’s my girl! She’s a beautiful rider!

Personally, I thought that Slash of Guns and Roses was the best part of the entire show. The tune was recognizable by everyone, even old people like myself. The Black Eye Peas were entertaining to a certain extent but the show as a whole didn’t resonate with me. I didn’t “get” it.

I didn’t see all of the commercials because I fell asleep before the game was over. But I did see this Star Wars commercial. It was so adorable and hands down my favorite.

The distant second belongs to this Snickers commercial. It was funny until Roseanne Barr was leveled by the log. I say it was gratuitous violence – but the husband burst out laughing. Of course.

I wondered who the man was in the commercial. I’m probably the only one in American who didn’t know who he was. He is Richard Lewis, a comedian. I don’t recall ever having seen any of his work, but he was funny in this commercial:)

Thanks for reading my comprehensive analysis of the game:)

This year I will be watching the game with just my little family. We tend to like watching the Big Game by ourselves because I’ll start tsk-tsking at the husband when he starts yelling at the television in front of a room full of people. He doesn’t like to be tsked at, and I don’t like him yelling at the tv in public. I want to pretend we’re mature. My three sports freaks are watching hockey and just starting yelling TIMMYYY! at one of the hockey players. It’s going to be a loud afternoon.

So we are social miscreants when it comes to the Super Bowl and we isolate ourselves away from others so that they don’t start squirming in seats and looking at us sideways.

Besides, no one asked us to a party this year. I think I know why. And I didn’t have the energy to plan a party so . . . we’re alone.

I just finished the sloppy joes and opened a bottle of wine. I know it’s early but it’s the Super Bowl! Baked macaroni and cheese will be started soon.

In the meantime, I am going to reflect on one of the other things that I find fascinating about the phenomena called the Super Bowl. It’s the commercials.

The commercial that was my hands down favorite from last year was the one with the incredible Betty White. She’s my idol. I want to be just like her when I’m 90-something.

It makes me smile every time.

And this one is a close second. I just think it’s darling.

I’ll do some analysis of the commercials this year as well. And I’m sure I’ll watch some of the game in between.

I must ask the question: Who are you rooting for?