ouch.

How much would this hurt?

maybe.i'm.blind

I'm embarrased to tell you that I kind of like this song. Okay....I really like it. How can this happen? I pride myself on being a good music chooser. I feel like my music taste is very solid, and isn't easily influenced by outside forces. You know when you were a teenager and you flipped back and forth between what you liked and didn't like? There was probably a point at one time or another when you couldn't say what you really liked because you were so concerned with what was cool that you'd lost touch with what you thought. I feel like my music taste never went through this stage. Sure, I like some of the more well known groups (jack johnson, etc) but I also "discovered" Train before most people on the east coast had even heard of them. So. This new interest in a bad song, sung by a bad girl, written by (probably) a bad person, is just unacceptable. Maybe I should download it and listen to it over and over again so I get sick of it faster. Ya...maybe that's what I'll do.

so.good.so.so.good

Nice. The sox just beat the mets 9-4. It means so much more because the mets are pretty much the only team in the national league who doesn't suck right now. They were third overall with a .627 going into this game. Only detroit and chicago were ahead of the mets. Now we're ahead of the mets. Ten straight wins in a row. Very nice. Very nice.

On a related note, while waiting in line at the pharmacy at one brookline place today, the pharmacist was very excited to announce (to anyone who would listen) that Pedro was in there 30 mins before, and signed a red sox lottery ticket for the pharmacist. He was more excited than a little kid on christmas morning.

new.baby

My friends *kb* and *ab* had a baby last night! Congratulations guys! (Really just *kb* had the baby, but you know...) The little guy wanted to hang out for longer than they would have liked, but he managed to make his way out just before midnight, and therefore wasn't quite a week late, but almost. I'm excited. They live nearby, and since my other friends who've recently had babies don't, I haven't had much of a baby fix recently. I told *ab* that I was going to come over every night and hold the baby while they did other stuff. I really will too.

order.opiliones

Evil asked me about my daddy longlegs comment yesterday. The curious creatures guy told us that they are not really spiders, and Evil asked what they were. I did some research, and have some answers. Here we go.
First of all, there are two different creatures that are referred to as daddy longlegs. The "real" daddy longlegs live until logs and rocks, and apparently aren't often seen. The little guys that we call daddy longlegs are actually cellar spiders, but are so often confused with daddy longlegs that spider guys now refer to them as "daddy longlegs spiders" to differentiate from the real daddy longlegs.
Now on to the technical differences. Arachnida is a main animal category, and there are different subgroups (orders) within this category. Spiders are in the "order araneae", scorpions are in the "order scorpiones" and mites and ticks are in the "order acari". Daddy-longlegs are in their own separate subgroup of arachnida called "order opiliones". They have one main body segment onto which all eight legs are attached, and they only have two eyes. The main difference is that they don't make silk, and therefore don't hang out in webs unless they're being eaten by a spider. Daddy longlegs spiders are spiders, and therefore have two main body segments, eight legs attached to the front segment, eight eyes clumped together in the front of the body, and produce silk and webs. So really, the things you think of when you hear daddy longlegs are actually spiders, but the real daddy longlegs are not.
How's that for an answer Evil?

**I think that I must live under a log or rock, because the "real" daddy longlegs (the top picture) are what I think of when I hear "daddy longlegs". I don't recall seeing this "daddy longlegs spider" guy at all. He's kind of ugly.

animal.house

Today we had an array of "curious creatures" come to our house. I learned new things; daddy longlegs are not really spiders, an alligator has a U shaped snout while a crocodile has a V shaped snout, a chinchilla is the softest animal and lives for 30 years, and most shockingly...this little turtle walks fifteen miles a day. Holy crap.

travel.progress

We got our tickets to Europe today! Although it's coming up soon (and Rick Steves recommends purchasing summer tickets by March) we ended up with tickets that, while not exactly cheap, were $150 less than what I was expecting for August travel. We fly direct from Boston to Frankfurt on August 5th, and then from London to DC to Boston on September 4th. As you may expect, my blog updates will be severely reduced during the month. I'll try to update when I have computer access, and will fill you in on all the fabulous things we do. I'm getting a bit ahead of myself...we don't leave for a while yet.
On a similar note- I got my backpack! I'm not sure if I posted about this yet. I don't think so. I had been on a search for the perfect backpack for quite some time (like since last August when we first started thinking about the trip). At first I was all for travel packs which are built more for the backpacking/hostel type of trip. They have front panel access and often have a detachable daypack which zippers or clips onto the front of the pack. I decided that I wanted a smaller pack than the normal traveler, and was having a hard time finding a travel pack that was in the 50-55 liter range that had the daypack. Most of them were around 65-70 liters. Then I talked with a guy at EMS who recommended I buy a hiking backpack instead because the structure is much more comfortable than in travel packs. (ie- the weight is much closer to your body in a vertical style as opposed to the more horizontal weight dispersion in travel packs.) Good point. I still was having trouble finding the perfect pack- the size would be right, but it was top access, or the design was good, but the pack was ugly (superficial I know, but I am not spending this kind of money on a hideous pack that I have to live out of for a month). I said to *tm* at one point that I wanted the right pack to just pop out at me- everything about it would be just what I wanted. I think I equated it to the perfect man or something. So, my sister and I went to Hilton's Tent City on my birthday, and that's exactly what happened! My new pack is an Osprey Switch 55. It's technically marketed as a snowy weather pack (for hiking around in the wilderness with your skis or something) but it's perfect for what I need it for. It has a nifty back panel access (like front panel, except people can't sneak into it as easily) a water bladder insulator, is red, is 55 liters tops, and....it has a removable daypack!!! So exciting!

epaule.spalla.hombro.schulter

I messed up my shoulder. I'm not quite sure how this happened since I didn't physically injure it, but it sure hurts like heck. It all started on Sunday when I was sitting in the movie theater watching "The Davinci Code" for fathers day. (It was much better than I was anticipating since many people told me it was crap. I actually liked it.) My right shoulder started feeling stiff, but I thought it was just from sitting still for a while. By dinner it hurt to raise my arm forward, but I could still do it. That night (actually Monday morning if we want to get technical) I was up from 3am-4:30am because it hurt so badly. Even if I lay completely still, there was no position where it didn't hurt. I took some meds, and slept with a bag of ice on it. By Monday morning, I couldn't even move it forward or to the side at all. I could move it backwards (with only moderate pain) which was helpful in the dressing dept. So I decided to pay a visit to my favorite primary care doctor- Dr. Coggins, but found that he was on vacation this week. I didn't care. I needed to get in there to see someone, so I saw another PCP. I got an appt for 10am, and after dropping *m* and *l* off at tennis camp, *e* and I headed down to Mass General. The doctor pointed out that it was swollen (something I hadn't noticed since I was so concered with making the pain stop) and then had me make my arm limp while she moved it around. It didn't hurt much when she moved it up and forward, so I let my guard down a little. As she started to lower it, I was hit by a wave of pain so severe that I almost started crying. My eyes actually teared. (For those of you who don't know me...I NEVER cry. It's almost like I was genetically altered at birth since the other females in my family cry at the drop of a pin.) So the Dr. seems to be worried about there being fluid in the joint since apparently it's not common for there to be swelling and intense pain in shoulder injuries (without the obvious cause like being hit with a sledgehammer or something). So I patch together coverage for the kids (thanks *tm* and *j*) and spend my day getting blood tests (for infections), x-ray's, and consults. What did I end up having? A dislocated shoulder? Bursitis? Nope. They don't know. My WBC was high, but apparently not so much that there could be a raging infection going on. So after spending $7.50 and $8.00 for parking, $15 co-pay, taking trips back and forth from the hospital to the PCP office, shuffling the kids around, and putting out my friend and sister, all I got was a bottle of ibuprofen, a fancy grey sling, and an appt to see an orthopedic on July 12th. All I have to say is that if my shoulder is still hurting this much, I will not be sitting around until JULY 12th waiting to see what's up with it. That's three weeks away. Crazy doctors.

moo.moo.moo.

You know how they had the big parade thing with all those cows out in Chicago a few years back? Well now they've migrated to Boston. Apparently it's going on in Lisbon too, so I'll see the Portuguese cows in August! We ran into many of them on our recent trek's through our favorite city. Here are some of the photos we snapped:











Mmmm...dirty cow mouth. It's amazing what kids will do. Actually, what's more amazing is the fact that they don't get sick more often.

milky.way

Bowling at the milky way was fabulous. I forgot how much I like bowling, especially when it's in a cool location (as opposed to the geeky league type places). We started in lane four, but after a bit, the machine that clears and resets the pins started acting up. At first, a pin would fall out of the machine as it was lowering the rest to set them up. Then nothing would happen when we pressed the button. So we hung out for ten minutes while they tried to fix it. It was funny...at one point we're sitting there drinking our drinks, and we see a white sneaker (and the leg it was attached to) hanging out of the pin area. So they fix the machine and we play a little longer, and it starts to happen again. This time three or four pins fall while the rest are being lowered. It was like they were falling from the sky. It was definitely amusing! Finally we got to switch to lane 9 to finish our second round. So *ac*, who only played candlepin bowling two weeks ago for the first time, kicked our butts the first round. While none of us are ready for professional teams, it was pretty amazing. I managed to get a spare during the second round, and beat *ac* by one point. I think they let me win since it was my birthday and everyone knows how competitive I am! Oh ya, and we got kamakazi shots. They were blue. Here's a picture.

today.i'm.the.big.two.eight

Today's my birthday. Yay! I have lots planned. The day consists of walking all over Boston with my sister. We'll do some shopping on Newbury, Boylston, and at Downtown Crossing and then head over to the North End for some yummy mike's pastries. I also want to stop by hiltons tent city to check out some backpacks and gear for our Europe trip. Tonight I'm meeting up with my three Boston pals *nn*, *ac* and *tm* for drinks, and then we're heading over to the milky way for some bowling. Woo hoo!!

refreshing.summer.drinks

I made my first mojito of the season last night. I have some mint in the garden that I rooted from my aunt's house on the cape last year. I also bought a muddler at Sur La Table which is made for mashing up mint leaves and the like. Superfine sugar, rum, seltzer, and lime juice make it a super-duper warm summer drink. We ran out of limes though, so I had to use a lemon. There wasn't too much of a difference, but I do prefer the limes when I get to pick. It was delicious. I love summer.

early.celebration.yay!

My birthday's coming up on Saturday. It's the big two.eight. Today was my first official mini pre-birthday celebration. I took my little pals to the public gardens for the typical "picnic/swan boats/run around and get your energy out" type of day. My sister is babysitting this week for *g* and they came down with us. We did the same thing last year, but it was actually on my birthday, and *j* made me a cake and brought the whole thing down there. It was a special treat:) So today we finished our lunch, and she busts out a tupperware of cupcakes! An early birthday treat- there's not much I like better! She made them at a friend's house who didn't have any cupcake pans, so she put the paper cups on a cookie sheet. The result was very creatively shaped cupcakes! We all enjoyed them, as you can see in this picture of *e*.

retro.games

My brother *b* and I saved up forever to buy a Nintendo when we were kids. My dad drove us to several different stores to find a bundle (the unit plus Mario bros.) for a nice price. We ended up in NH since it's only 30 mins from my parent's house and they don't have tax there. We got this thing home and were addicted to it for quite some time despite my mom's time limits and forced outside time. When I won the game for the first time, I think we high-fived. I was now as cool (or almost as cool) as the cool kids on the bus who had beat the game some time ago.
Our little brother *k* would get a full blown workout playing nintendo. He used to reenact the movements of Mario or Luigi, and could be seen jumping continuously while jerking to the right or left. His pre-adolescent Mickey Mouse voice also came into play when he was particularly excited. When his time ran out, he was sweating like a grown-man after running a marathon; I'm not sure why my mom felt he needed to go outside to get exercise.

jumpy.jump.jump

Don't you remember being a kid and jumping around in those inflatable bouncy castles at fairs? I remember taking my shoes off and jumping for as long as the ticket collector would let me. I'd invariably end up falling over and getting stepped on, but that was part of the fun! Today I went to the yearly combined birthday party for my little friends, and they had a "jumpy" there. Actually- they've had one every year for the past three parties. It's a much easier form of entertainment for 4-8 year olds than other party gigs since they can pretty much do everything themselves. The best part of this is that there's no time limit (except for when the rental place comes to pick it up again); the kids can stay in as long as they want. And they do. As usual, I was strongly encouraged (forced) by the youngsters to bounce around for a while. It was a much more strenuous workout than I'm use to. I had to take a break every few minutes during which the kids all tried to bounce me up and down. All this led me to wonder why children really do have so much more energy than adults. I remember having grown-ups comment on how much energy my siblings and I had as children, and thinking that they were crazy. I never noticed a difference energy-wise, I just figured that they were old, and therefore did old-people stuff. I never considered the fact that they may be interested in running around more, but just wore themselves out faster. Now I realize that I do the same thing to kids; I ask them how they got so much energy, and why they're not immediately asleep at bedtime. I'll have to look into research done on this front.

we.*heart*.katamari

I picked up a new playstation game the other day- We *heart* Katamari. I played the original version in October and loved it, but it was on my brothers projection tv screen, and I felt incredibly motion sick in a very short period of time. Since my television isn't nearly as large, and I was looking for some fun, I thought I'd give it another try. This game is incredibly entertaining. The concept seems so simple it's almost silly- you're a little prince guy who rolls a ball (katamari) around different places which rolls up objects increasing in size as the katamari grows. So you start off being able to roll up little things- paperclips or matchbooks, and eventually can roll up people, buildings, etc. The idea is to get the katamari as big as possible and then the "king" puts the katamari into the universe to create planets, stardust or satellites. The part of this game that appeals to me the most is the cleaning-up aspect. I tend to be a bit anal about clutter and messiness, so pushing a ball around and rolling up as many things as possible is very satisfying. It's like free therapy.

fun.fabric

While reading one of my many favorite magazines, I came across an add for this site. It's pretty much a dream come true for me since I am crafty, yet not willing to drive much further than my local Joann's for fabric (and while they do have fun patterns sometimes, you have to search your wazoo off to find them). Here are some of my favorites from the quick look I just took;








I guess that I like blue more than I thought! Now I just have to figure out what to make with this new found bounty. And I have to plan a crafty day soon. Any interest?

cake.a.lake

Finally!!! Blogspot's been fickle the past few days, and I haven't been able to get on and update. While I'm okay with missing a day here and there, I'm really let down when the blogs I read aren't updated regularly. (Ahem..my brother's friend *ll* who, I might add, he still links to even though he specifically states that he's "starting to trim this list only to those who regularly update, because it was getting really long." Mmm.hmm) I like to keep them coming without writing pure gibberish. (If I start going down this road, please let me know and I'll limit my entries in favor of more quality control!)

So..I can't remember what I was going to write about yesterday, but today I'm going to write about my new career. Some of you may be under the impression that I'm applying to grad school for my masters in statistics. Well, I hate to break it to you this way, but I've found my calling. I am going to be a cake decorator. I will, of course, require the assistance of two small girls. I feel that this will be a positive direction for me (and one that does NOT require the mastering of multivariable calculus!) because it incorporates many of the qualities which I find rewarding in any task; it is creative, the time between beginning and completing is limited, the final product is tangible and quite satisfying, and I have access to free labor! Here is a picture of my first try. Quite "wedding-cake-esque," no?

gym.clothes

Here's a good dream I had not long ago.

I went to the gym, and one of the trainers (who organizes all the challenges) told me that I had won the most recent challenge, and that she had nominated me for tlc's What Not to Wear. According to her, I had been secretly filmed for 2 weeks. I was confused. Wasn't this supposed to be a surprise? Weren't Stacy and Clinton supposed to show up and embarrass me in front of lots of people? The trainer said that I'd have to act surprised when they arrived with the cameras. I was so excited about this (it's been a real-life dream of mine to get on that show), and yet at the same time, I knew that I was dreaming. Surely enough, I woke up and was sad to realize that Stacy and Clinton weren't going to show up and give me $5000 to hand myself over "body, mind, and wardrobe."


Feel free to jump in here if you're familiar with dream analysis. There are several things wrong with this dream, but what bothers me most is this; how on earth could the trainer have nominated me when she's only seen me in gym clothes? How could she know how truly wrong my clothing choices are when I'm just wearing t-shirts, gym pants/shorts, and sneakers? I realize that there are those people who spend a small fortune on athletic gear, but really...that just tells me they have way too much money. In fact, I think that I dress nicer than many others who show up to work-out. My former gym buddy *tm* once saw a woman working out in her underwear and nylons. When she told me this, I thought the woman must have been wearing some sort of leotard (in the '80s style as I've seen others wear), but *tm* insisted that this woman was wearing underwear- like she had gone to work, stopped at the gym on the way home only to realize that she didn't have a change of clothes, and just whipped of her skirt and worked out anyway. Unbelievable.


**By the way. Anyone who is interested in nominating me for the show in real-life; you're more than welcome (in fact encouraged) to do so. I'll even arrange for you to have unlimited access to my sad closet, and will pretend to know nothing about it when filming begins!

happy.birthday

Today is *kc's* birthday. Happy birthday *kc*!! I used to babysit for her when she was a kid. Once when she wasn't doing what she was supposed to be doing, I told her I'd give her a wedgie if she didn't start listening. She didn't, and I picked her up by her underwear. They ripped. It was pretty darn funny. Last year for her birthday, I bought her some Sesame Street underwear from Target. You know the ones- they're boyshort type with a little elmo or bigbird on the front. I tried to find a pair to link to, but had no luck. Anyway- it was pretty funny.

what.am.i?

Does anyone know what kind of plant this is? I just got it, but it didn't have any info with it and I don't want to kill it. The only label it had was really the price tag, and it just said tropical foliage. My mom thought it was some sort of succulant (which it does kind of look like in the photo) but it's not. The leaves are flat and thin, not thick like succulant leaves are. Whoever responds correctly first, wins!

can.you.say.

...pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis? I can.

The Red Sox were off tonight, and there was nothing to watch, so I switched on the Spelling Bee on ABC while I finished folding laundry. Now I'm the first person to make fun of these shows- after all, how interesting can it be to watch a bunch of nerdy kids spell words I've never even heard of. Strangely enough, I found myself completely drawn in to this show. I felt an attachment to the girl who was booted out, only to be brought back in when the judges realized that she had spelt the word correctly. She didn't win the whole thing, but she made the final three (all of whom were girls). I even liked the nerdy boy who was predicted to win. His favorite word is the same one that my own brother used to flaunt at age 7; pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. I'm proud to say that I can pronounce this word (after just a little coaching from *b*). With this new interest in spelling bees, I may just go see that movie "Akeelah and the Bee" which I previously thought would be stupid. I'll let you know what I think.