Shipwrecked & Comatose

This weekend blowhard du jour, Glenn Beck, and his air headed cheerleader, Sarah Palin, are rallying the country to "take it back." Some folks are cheering them on. Some folks are scared. Some are indifferent. Me? I'm just incredibly sad. What has this country come to? Here is a quote from Beck: " My role is, as I see it, to wake America up to the back-sliding of principles and values and, most importantly, of God. We are a country of God. As I look at the problems in our country, quite honestly I think the hot breath of destruction is breathing on our necks." From Palin: "What else do we have, at the end of the day," beyond faith in God ." Well, Sarah, that's a good question. I'm sure many of the people reading this are asking, "What's wrong with what they're saying? God is an important part of my life and how dare you tell me it can't be. You're Christian bashing." Let me assure you that I am not. I believe stro...

I’m on my way. I have booked my trip to Paris. Kevin and I will be spending October 2-9 getting fat on French food and acting like crazy American tourists in celebration of our 9th anniversary. I’m staying at Hotel Les Rives Notre Dame (once the residence of John Steinbeck). I’m hoping this hotel is as great as it looks. It’s a 10-room boutique hotel in the Latin Quarter with a view of the Seine and Notre Dame. The guide books and TripAdvisor all seem to have positive things to say about it. I’m hoping it’s as pretty and convenient as it looks online. It goes to show you that perseverance does pay off. Just a few dollars here and there really can add up to the things you want. I will admit I did have some help from my family though, and I thank them for that because otherwise I think I might have to put this trip off for a year or two. Even if that happened, I still believe I could have made this happen even if it did mean waiting. I can’t stop putting money away though. I ...

I am not one of those virtuous people who says, "food is fuel and nothing more," then never eats more than necessary to maintin daily living. I don't eat to live. I live to eat. I'm sure I would be much thinner and healthier if I didn't take quite so much pleasure in eating. Unfortunately that's the truth. I love preparing and consuming food. My kitchen is the center of my world. It's not as if I don't have other pleasures in life. I love riding and performing and reading and blogging and the sweet sound of my husband's voice. Eating and cooking, however, for better or for worse, rank up there with all of those other pleasures. I think at times the "Food is Fuel" food police are a little too stringent. Food is a major part of so many cultures and sharing a meal with loved ones is a universal pleasure. What I'm trying to understand is why such a pleasure has become so toxic in our culture. Earlier this week I was at the gym ...

Well, you know I have to tell you all about it because that’s how I roll. Day 1 – We were off to a good start. We left home right before 7AM and had a quiet ride the whole way down to Virginia. We stopped at a turnoff on the causeway so we could get our first glimpse of the new bridge. It was strange coming onto the island right on Maddox St. When we arrived at our hotel, it was two hours till check in time so we thought we would walk around a bit and check in later. Then our room suddenly was ready. Once we unpacked, we headed to the beach. On our way there, we stopped at the pony pens. Only the southern herd was there at that point, but we could at least say hi to Surfer Dude. I saw my mother and Don there. They were on their way back from the beach. Mom warned me the water was quite cold. She was right. It didn’t stop me though. I just grabbed my boogie board and took the first good wave. When you have something to concentrate on, the water isn’t so bad. We had dinner...

I was purchasing some beach reading for my upcoming vacation at Barnes & Noble and needed a pen to sign the credit receipt. I asked the cashier for one. I might have had one on me, but I knew I could never find it easily in the giant bag I was carrying. How did I get to this point? In college I did what was expected of me and ditched the traditional purse for the more utilitarian backpack. While walking around campus I didn’t need to be carrying anything other than books, pens, notebooks, and my key. When I wasn’t going to class, I never needed more than my room key and ID card, both of which would fit nicely in my pocket, provided I was wearing clothes with pockets. My ID card holder/key fob combo could also hold small amounts of money and driver’s license if need be. Things that didn’t fit in my pockets and didn’t need to be transported via backpack were rarely necessary. Post college I took on the same attitude. When I went out, I much preferred to carry things like a man. The w...

In the past 15 years I have thrown countless dinner parties, one wedding, and one very large birthday party. I find that one of the toughest aspects of throwing a party, no matter how small and casual or how large and spectacular, is getting people to actually tell you they're coming. Sometimes it feels as if etiquette is a lost art. Obviously there are plenty of aspect of traditional etiquette that have been thrown out the window in the past few decades and rightly so. Trying to fall along the lines of specific modes of behavior to the point where it makes people uncomfortable is not an admirable goal. On the other hand, there are aspects of etiquette that I feel should not go the way of the raised pinky. These are the rules that exist because they're not only polite, but can also avoid confusion, unnecessary expenditures, and hurt feelings. I'm talking about responding to invitations, whether that invitation is a quick phone call or a formal invitation. It seems that thes...

After weeks of wondering and anticpating and trying ever so hard not to overspeculate, my birthday has ended. I did my best not to discuss it with Kevin. I didn't want him to feel pressured, nor did I want him to give anything away. It was hard to wait though. I kept wondering about the who, what, and how of things. A week ago, after reading this blog, Kevin cracked and told me it would be a "family party". Of course that's hardly a surprise. My family never misses a party! I did have a bit of fun razzing my friends and family. They knew something and while I wasn't going to try to worm it out of them, it was fun watching them try to keep their voices calm and keep a straight face while discussing it. I'm so evil! Sometimes they made things a bit too obvious. My mother asked me a week ago how Abbey was and if she planned to visit any time soon. That seemed like a big setup if ever there was one. Speaking of razzing - I learned from the master! She wanted to se...