It’s good to see you. Thanks for hanging in with me and welcome to the new digs. I felt like I’d outgrown the old space and the old design; so much has changed since I started writing there. So here I am, at my very own address, using a new platform, with a flashy new design (thanks, Delicious Design Studio!). I’m still tweaking some things (links within the old posts are of questionable accuracy, for example), but so far, I love it.
I’ve missed all of you and I have some good stories to tell and I’ll try to catch Theo bossing me around on video so I can share it with you.
(Also, don’t forget to update your bookmark and subscribe to my new feed.
The Oscar pool deadline is fast approaching. Don’t forget to enter.
Also: if you’re Julia who submitted the very first ballot (gold star for promptness – seriously, I love it), please submit another one as there was a glitch with your entry.
I unearthed a batch of mix tapes over the weekend. I hung onto them through the CD years when it was all but impossible to create mixes myself, during a time when I didn’t even own a tape player. Listening to old music is such a time machine experience, and I feel like I spent my Saturday afternoon as an early twentysomething, just graduated from college and flailing blindly through my life. Thank heaven my friends introduced me to some good music. Here are my mixtape favorites, that I downloaded and compiled into a playlist I named the Cassette Mix.
Heal The Pain by George Michael This is so much better than “Faith,” why don’t I ever hear it on the radio? Come Back Down by Toad the Wet Sprocket I still don’t understand this band name. Dela by Johnny Clegg & Savuka I’m a little horrified that this was part of the “George of the Jungle” soundtrack but I swear I was listening to it back in 1992. I’m not sure why that’s better than hearing it for the first time over the credits of a Brendan Fraser movie but somehow it seems like it should be. Occasionally by Melissa Etheridge I almost always prefer the acoustic version of any song. Ergo, I really miss that MTV “Unplugged” series now that MTV only broadcasts Real World spinoffs. Longview by Green Day Theo loves this. I can’t wait until he starts shouting the swear words from his car seat. Let the Day Begin by The Call Apparently this has become a popular choice as a campaign theme song. However I learned about it via my roommate and she first heard it on from the guys down the hall who played it to start their campus radio show that no one ever listened to. Maybe that’s how Al Gore first heard it too? Waiting for Somebody by Paul Westerberg Remember “Singles?” Man, Matt Dillon sure looks a lot better without the hair and the soul patch. Alison by Elvis Costello I only figured out who Elvis Costello was in my twenties, but it feels like I’ve always known about this song, and I never get sick of it. Kayleigh by Marillion This is one of those awesome eighties videos featuring children in military costumes and a mournful yet indecipherable message. Hymn to Her by The Pretenders This is a beautiful song. I can’t believe no one (Jessica Simpson? Mandy Moore?) has released an inferior cover version. All That You Have is Your Soul by Tracy Chapman
Last year I worried that a five-minute video of Theo’s first year was too long. But this year I don’t care, and I made it over eight minutes long. Mostly because I suck at video editing and the software I was using made me want to cry. But also because my child is eight minutes’ worth of fascinating. I thought about ending it with a shot of myself pulling out my hair and hurling my laptop into a ravine in frustration, but then I remembered it’s not ALL about me.
Today was cold and rainy, just the kind of day when I drag out my recipe binder and dig through to find my grandmother’s chili recipe. It’s written in her handwriting on a recipe card from her kitchen. Although it doesn’t require any exotic ingredients or unexpected flavors, it’s what I crave when I want some chili. Haul out your Crock-Pot and enjoy when you’re sick of leftover turkey:
Grandma Liz’s Chili 2lb hamburger 1 cup chopped onions 1/2 cup chopped green pepper 2 (15oz) cans chili or kidney beans 2 (16oz) cans crushed tomatoes 1 (6oz) can tomato sauce or paste 1 clove crushed garlic 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp chili powder
Brown hamburger, then add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for one hour to 1 1/2 hours.
(Special note from Grandma at the bottom: “I cook mine in Crock-Pot overnite on low, Grandpa always had a bowl full for breakfast.”)
Well, that was a big success. Apparently you all dislike America. Or else everyone has stopped reading since I stopped posting. It’s funny how that works.
Since you probably want to move to another country, why not go over and read my guest post at Katie’s blog. And don’t forget to scroll through her archives because it will make you happy that you don’t need a chest x-ray in order to legally enter your workplace.
I was proud to be invited to join the team at Mamas Worldwide, a new international parenting site run by my blogging friend, Christina. I’ll post a series of product reviews there in the coming weeks; my first review is up today.
Here’s a meme I stole from The Badger. Click on the mosaic to see a larger version.
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search. b. Using only the first page, pick an image. c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.
The Questions:
1. What is your first name? 2. What is your favorite food? 3. What high school did you go to?* 4. What is your favorite color? 5. Who is your celebrity crush? 6. Favorite drink? 7. Dream vacation? 8. Favorite dessert? 9. What you want to be when you grow up? 10. What do you love most in life? 11. One Word to describe you.** 12. Your flickr name
*I’m not sure why my high school name resulted in a pyramid of nearly-naked people, but I kind of love it. **I chose “learning” and this is what I got.
