Two Op-Eds and a Rant

ON THE HOSPITAL FRONT:

All better now. Sorta. I'm still coughing but I'm up and going. I laid low all day yesterday, in bed, sleeping to make up for all the sleep I've lost!



REGARDING A CUPPA JOE:

I've been drinking Bug's Chai Tea, and I find it very comforting and nice. It's got some body to it, rather than just a plain cup of teabag-ish tea. I have always preferred coffee. Coffee seems to have an umph to it -- a body, if you will, that tea just lacks. Tea seems kind of thin and watery to me.



Now this Chai Tea of hers is Mystic Chai that you can find at Sam's Club. It's very good. But I'd like to make my own if possible. The trouble is, you have to have cardamom. It's a spice and at my local Wal-Mart, it's $12! That's just too much for a spice unless it's gold-laced saffron or something.



So I'm on the hunt for some cheap cardamom. In the meantime I'm drinking my regular hazelnut with a splash of milk and 3 packets of aspertame.



My dad used to say "You like a little coffee with that cream and sugar?" I now reply to him, "Dad, you just enjoy that black nasty cup of paving tar and I'll enjoy my nice delicious coffee."



I learned to drink coffee when I was a senior in high school. It was a rite of passage for me, since everyone I've ever known in my family drinks the stuff. I mixed it with packages of hot cocoa mix, and it was wonderful. I did gain about 10 lbs. my senior year -- but I thoroughly enjoyed my coffee. And it was nice being able to sit after dinner with the grownups.



In college, I lived on the generic instant stuff and lots of milk and sugar or sugar substitute. How I did that, I can only attribute to the fact that I would also stay up all night and live on Diet Coke and McDonald's french fries. I would also treat myself to frozen cool whip with natural peanut butter, a spoonful at a time. Some people smoked weed or drank too much. Me, I just ate like one of those birds in Mary Poppins.



Now that I am older and wiser, I mix up a nice batch of half decaf, half regular beans. I use Millstone Hazelnut Cream. My mother in law got me a grinder about a million years ago, and I use it to grind the beans as I need them. Then I use a splash of milk and sweetner. It's better if I use evaporated milk -- but I fear that's too many calories for the amount of cups I drink.



Some people I've talked with tell me they enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning. To this, I reply "What lightweights! I drink a POT of coffee in the mornings!" I used to split the pot with Lynnette, my walking partner, but that was many years ago when I would rise at 5AM to do a couple of miles with her. We only really walked for the coffee.



My children will now drink it, although generally it has to come from Starbucks. It was a mistake I made early on, taking them there. I heartily discourage any mom with children to make the trip, even if it does save the mom's sanity. It will cost you dearly, my friends.



REGARDING PROJECT RUNWAY, SEVERAL DAYS LATE:

Well, I know I'm late but I have been sick . . . excuses, excuses! I have failed to make it work!



The final three were LeAnn, Kenley, and Korto. While all 3 collections were gorgeous, LeAnn's really stood out as the most artistic and cohesive to me. It looked like all her pieces came from the same designer. This was kind of a "best of the best" thing for me -- they are all so talented, and all deserved huge accolades.



And LeAnn won, just barely beating Korto and Kenley came in third. They were all very weepy; typical of women contestants -- you'd have thought this might be Miss America. But in their defense, I have to say that there is a lot to be said for putting your creations out for the world to judge. It takes courage.



So now I hope Lost comes back, because there's nothing on TV for the next few Wednesday nights. Except Top Design, and I'm kind of wishy-washy on it. It's more fun to watch for Jonathan Adler's wide ties and Kelly Wearstler's ridiculous outfits.



AND ONE LAST BIT OF PREACHING FROM MY SOAPBOX . . .

My youngest watches Disney channel a lot. Recently, for Halloween, I heard from the other room that you could "logon and make your own spells" at their website.



Ok, that's it. That's taking it too far. I hope those of you with children who watch this channel just turn it off. Making your own spells? God tells us to have nothing to do with witchcraft or the occult. While I am decidedly not of those people thumping my bible and telling everyone who reads Harry Potter they're going to hell -- I do draw the line somewhere.



The thing to remember is that God tells us this to protect us. It is highly self-indulgent and out-and-out-conceited to think that we could possibly understand the unseen world. It will trick us and get us into serious trouble if we mess with it. There is a battle going on between Satan and God, my friends, and we are the battleground. Satan uses us and hurts us purposely, solely because we are loved by God and hurting us hurts God. Satan could care less about us. And if we dabble the unseen world, he's all the more delighted to take advantage of us.



So be careful. Be smart. And don't be logging on to create your own spells. Bad idea.



Instead, go have a nice cup of Chai Tea or really good coffee -- any way you like it!



xox

The Thursday Lineup

1. On the Migraine front: it's pretty well gone although it took until yesterday to be gone completely. A migraine is like a runaway train -- I had it on the tracks by Monday, but it was a struggle keeping it there until yesterday. Lots of ibuprofen and sudafed and caffeine. Surprising, a combination that usually works for me. Ah, the lack of a migraine . . .


2. On the Tennis Front: Rose won! She beat the conference champ in a nail-biting tiebreaker by just 2 points. We had conference matches all day yesterday. I watched until I had to leave for play practice -- with my first sunburn of the year! Rose will probably meet this same girl, Niechelle, in regionals next weekend. Hunk O Man came in and said "This was the best match IN THE WORLD!" Both are excellent players and regionals should be very interesting. Our local sports guy even interviewed the "3 Sisters of Tennis." We'll probably see that footage tonight. What is it with kids that they're not impressed about being on tv anymore? Ah, the video age . . .


3. On the Broken Camcorder Front: and we will have video footage of regionals because -- hooray! -- our camcorder is fixed! It broke late last year when Barbie knocked it off the tripod and it fell, damaging something inside. Turns out that thing that was damaged was going bad in all the cameras of that type, so all you had to do was send it in and get it fixed. I did that, and got it back yesterday -- too late for conference tennis, but in time for Babydoll's birthday tomorrow and regionals next weekend. Ah, free is always so good . . .


3. On the Play Practice for Peter Pan Front: All is going well and Babydoll is an excellent Wendy -- who got measured for her "flying" harness last night. We had choreography and we learned to waltz. Ah, dancing with an 8-year old, a thing not to be missed in one's lifetime . . .


4. On the Saving Money front -- I gave the dog a haircut last weekend -- he kind of looks as if I used a lawnmower to do it. Oh well! It saved us $35 for grooming, and I also cleaned out his ears and de-flea-ed him. He was very patient. Ah, good dog . . .

5. On the Project Front: I also got this done --





I'm not sure if I'm going to post it for sale on Etsy or just keep it for the upcoming craft show sponsored by our local Arts Council -- but I'm working on another, and have to get a wedding gown hemmed and a halloween costume done for a one-year old. Ah, the sewing I have to do . . .



6. On the PR Dishing Front: Ok, so here's the scoop -- Kenley's in -- with this strange and wonderful fairytale wedding gown -- Barbie's comment was "OMG, it's the swan dress reincarnated!" I think she meant the one that Bjork wore to the Oscars one year --







and Jerrell is out! The top three competing for the big prize are Kenley, LeAnn, and Korto. LeAnn has already won in my mind -- her pieces are just gorgeous.



And just so we're clear -- what goes around comes around. Jerrell and Korto, the two responsible for the most sniping at Kenley last week, were both on the chopping block. Ah, the justice that comes when you least expect it . . .

7. On the Wistfully Sad but Good Front: The big birthday bash is tomorrow -- my baby turns 13! As of tomorrow I will no longer have anything but teenagers for children -- Ah, how times flies. Sniff sniff. . .

PR Non-dish

I realise that I didn't post about Project Runway yesterday. The episode really made me a little sad.

The designers were all supposed to create an evening gown based on a photo they took at the New York Botanical Gardens.

(BTW, the NYBG's were gorgeous)

What actually happened, though, was that three of the designers -- namely Jerrell, LeAnn, and Korto, ganged up on Kenley and were very mean to her.

Kenley has had her moments. She is very young, and probably things come out of her mouth that shouldn't. She has some growing up to do. She is also very direct. Basically, it adds up like this: no tact+tells the truth+very opinionated+wants to win=upsets everybody else a lot of the time.

She may well be what I would term "Hoo! What a piece of work!" But that isn't really my point here.

My point would be that no matter what, you don't gang up on somebody like that. You don't leave her out to dry. It's a competition, folks, and you don't decide one talented person doesn't get to belong simply because you close ranks and keep her out.

That's exactly what they did. It was so unfair, and I felt terrible for her.

To add insult to injury, Korto started in on her about how she got what she deserved -- while they were sitting in the green room, waiting for a decision on who would be out. And this after Korto, Jerrell, and LeAnn had stood there on the runway and said that they would like to be in the running with each other. Every one of them stated clearly that they wanted Kenley to be out.

This wasn't based on her designs or her ability -- on which the competition is actually based. It was all about watching a bunch of kindergarten-minded bullies gang up on the odd kid.

Bad timing, Korto.

Shame on all of them. The judges left them all in, and said they'd all be on the chopping block once they created a collection.

In other words, everybody should PLAY NICE. I think they all needed a nap!

And if you've watched the runway shows from Fashion Week, which happened in September, you know that not only Kenley got to show her collection, but so did Joe and Suede. So the end result is the same for all of them -- they all got to have that international exposure that Fashion Week affords.

In the end, I think there should be some code of honour that says that you can't "throw your fellow designers under the bus." Just my opinion -- and this specifically because I was a little girl who was frequently the new kid at school, who never felt like she belonged (even in my own family), and whose creativity made her somewhat odd, honest, and definitely in need of a huge dose of tact! My greatest goal in life is to speak the truth IN LOVE. At 49, I'm still working on it.

So you can see why I can give Kenley the benefit of the doubt. She'll probably grow up to be a very nice person in the end, and a great designer to boot. Everybody deserves a chance, and especially when the others gang up on you and force you out. Good for her for standing her ground.

I should probably also mention that I'm really miffed today because the dishes aren't done and my sewing room is messy after somebody used it to do a project either last night or this morning.

Plus, Hunk O Man was telling me how to drive when I took him over to drop him off to drive the bus for the tennis team to their away match.

HOWEVER, in all honestly, this man could write a book on how to drive. He recently got his CDL, along with his motorcycle endorsement. I think he has almost everything you can get in the way of driving and licensing. He really does know his stuff.

I think I'll take the dog for a walk and refresh my attitude with some of the unbelievably gorgeous sunshine outside today. Man. If ever there was a reminder that God is good and most things are of no eternal significance, it's that sunshine!

xox

No PR Dishing This Week

I've had an awful time with my internet connection this week. And PR was kind of blah -- the only real dishing I can do is to say that Kenley's "skinny jeans" should have been wide-leg 40's trousers. The designers (only 4 left at this point) were given a musical genre and told to dress each other in outfits that reflected said respective genre. In a word, yech. You can find photos and more info at their website.

On Top Design, they decorated bachelor pads and Shazia is out. I wasn't impressed with any of it. Maybe I've been having an off week! Same thing here -- you can find more info at their website.

The Marco Polos are descending upon us tonight for pizza and a movie. I doubt much movie-watching will get done -- these kids are so ADD that they end up doing about 500 other things while the movie is on. But Bruce Wayne has apparently been asking for my pizza for a few weeks now.

There is no finer compliment to one's cooking than to have a teenage friend of your teenager asking for it.

So I'll be making lots of pizza tonight. I've been cleaning up the kitchen to spare Rose lately; she's had tennis and projects and all sorts of stuff going on. It's felt good to me, actually. As much as I hate routine, I rather like getting in there and cleaning up and feeling both a sense of control and accomplishment.

And yesterday, amid my regular daily stuff, I got to switch out a mac keyboard on Babydoll's laptop. Whoever said that being a mom was monotonous and required no skill?

xox

P.S. I made cookies yesterday, and ate least 20 of them myself (why say it was only 10 when we all know I was grabbing 3 at a time at least 5 or 6 times?). I sabotaged myself knowing full well that having a "down" day today (and not eating) would not change anything. And this bingeing after a visit to a new primary doc, where the labs revealed that my triclycerides are over 300! Good grief! How did that happen? I am ordered back to the pool for exercise -- and I am hanging my head in shame. It is a PAIN getting older!

It was an Inspiring Evening of PR Dish.

Well, Barbie and I watched PR last night, and dished and ate popcorn and dished and then we watched Top Design. I swear, if I had been drinking something, it would have come flying out my nose. That Barbie Doll of mine is flat hilarious. I nearly fell off the bed laughing.

So, Project Runway.

Joe is out. Pity. Nice straight guy with a great eye. What is with all the straight guys being Italians?

Maybe there is something to the idea that all great fashion comes out of Milan.

Joe made this, for a girl who just graduated college and will be looking for a job as a graphic designer. And her mother was involved:

Pretty girl -- but the outfit speaks for itself.

Jerrell won with this, for a girl who loves being in a t-shirt and jeans --

What a transformation. This guy really is talented after all!

LeAnn made a very cute jacket and dress for a very short, very young elementary school teacher. But she was in the bottom 3, and that wasn't good. It really was a cute dress.

And Kenley stole my heart with this outfit for another girl working as a fashion buyer:

Kenley is a great fan of 40's vintage, and creates everything to reflect that. I happen to love that as well; it's very feminine, and very pretty. And flattering to most every body.

Plus she has a cool name. Kenley. Wish I'd thought of that one.

Honestly, all these designers really are incredibly talented. I know they've all been to design school and all, but come on! I've been sewing for 30 years, and I still need a pattern most of the time. These folks come up with this stuff out of their imaginations and a fabric store. THAT is talent.

We also watched Top Design, the Project Runway of home decorating.

First off, I have to say that Kelly Wearstler is the oddest, strangest looking person I have ever seen in my life. Barbie and I decided that she must just wash her very long hair in hairspray, dry it upside down, and then go out in the humidity. And then she puts on a hat.

And what is up with her SOCKS?

All I can say is this: You know you're getting old when you fail to be able to distinguish between "cutting edge" and "just plain ridiculous."

Margaret Russell, on the other hand, is the absolute Martha Stewart of fashion in terms of the way she looks on the show. Always impeccable -- beautiful clothing, beautiful and basic hair. Wow.

As for the contestants this season, my favourites are these --

Wisit, a strange, odd little person who can sing fabulous opera --

And Kerry, who is officially out of the competition as of last night, but who proved himself a man of good design and wonderful integrity:

These two were teamed together to create a window display for previous PR winner Jeffrey (whom I insist to this day cheated and shouldn't have won). Jeffrey is looking like an unkempt biker dude lately, complete with handlebar mustache. Apparently winning PR means you never have to shave or cut your hair.

But I digress. He made this outfit that he said was inspired by the movie Bladerunner. Cool movie, but you have to be old enough to remember it. Interestingly, neither Kerry or Wisit, above, had heard of it. And that's a pity, because it's a great movie. I spent quite a bit of time explaining the look of it to Barbie.

It basically looks like urban Japanese streets in the pouring rain.

So they should have made the window look like Bladerunner, but didn't, and now Kerry is out because he was the project leader. I am sad. He was so talented, and funny! Last week Barbie and I nearly died laughing, repeating him saying in his deep, slow, southern drawl, "You got to have ya a work ethick. And you got to bu-leeve in yerself.

You can have your American Idol and America's Got Talent and America's Got Entirely Too Many People Lining Up to Have Some Celebrity Say You're Good Enough. I like these design shows. Hunk O Man hates that they're so subjective; he also hates gymnastics and ice skating for the same reason. He says to give him a good track race anyday. You can't argue with the clock. True enough, but I like the subjectivity. And the brilliance of these people really comes through, whether or not you agree with those who are chosen to be the best.

This type of brilliance is less rare than you'd think. One look through the things on Etsy will tell you that. The way communication has connected the world is really a good thing for the arts communities.

Beauty abounds. I am inspired yet again to look at God and just marvel.

Wow.

PR Dish

Well! Finally a challenge that got rid of two designers, and got us down to a manageable amount of people to compete. And now there are only six.

Firstly, the designers were not at all happy to find that their designs would be judged by former contestants of PR. To this I say, "Get over it."

Then they weren't happy to have their own auf'ed compadres as partners. To this I also say "Get over it."

(by the way, Bug and Rose are on kitchen for their chore this week, and once again I woke up to a kitchen full of dirty dishes. They say they hate doing it. To this I reply, "Get over it!")


So they were supposed to make an Avant Garde "look" inspired" by an astrological sign.

avant garde: unorthodox or daring; radical. (from http://www.dictionary.com/).

Barbie was watching this with me and noticed that her sign, Gemini, was not represented. The conversation went like this:

Barbie: Those are totally not zodiac signs.
Baby: Yes they are.
Me: Yes they are.
Barbie: No they aren't. They so are not zodiac signs.
Baby: Yes they are, Barbie!
Me: Why do you think they aren't?
Barbie: They're not zodiac signs. They're astrological signs.
Baby: YES THEY ARE ZODIAC SIGNS.
Me: Honey, they are zodiac signs.
Barbie: Then where's mine?
Me: Honey, just because they don't have your sign represented doesn't mean they
aren't zodiac signs.
Barbie: That's so not fair! I want an outfit too!

So Blayne is out.

Buh-bye, Blayne. I have no problem with this because he's so young and has so many more chances to make his mark. And this outfit was just ridiculous.

He'll grow up a little and get better. Nuff said.

Terri, on the other hand, is also out.

She's made some decent things, but honestly, I hated her attitude. It was like somebody put a burr under her seat. Jeesh. She was so uncooperative with Keith, her partner, who could have really helped her.

I know it's all about the outfit, but I'm glad she's out just because she was such a pain!

Korto (whose name is apparently pronounced "kah-toe") was once again robbed of a win.

This was gorgeous and flowing and very water-like. I loved it. It looked gorgeous coming down the runway.

LeAnne was also robbed, but then she's won a couple of the past weeks in a row, so there you go. Maybe she wasn't robbed after all.

This is supposed to represent the idea of a scorpion. And it's supposed to be a dress, not a costume, so I think it does the job. It's "inspired" by the idea of the thing. That's one thing that LeAnne seems to do exceptionally well; I think it speaks highly of her as an artist.

This won. It was made by Jerrell.

Once again, I have to say that I am a normal person, a mom living in the real world, and roughly 20+ years older than most of these designers.

And I ask you. Are you kidding me? THIS won? It beat the other two things just above?

Well.

Fashion is certainly in the eye of the beholder.

I'm just sayin.

So that's it until next week and what looks to be the Lady-I-Had-As-A-Former-Schoolteacher challenge. That should be interesting.

Actually, I'd love to hear what you think if you watch this show, or even if you just have something to say about the photos of things above. What is it with youth these days? We couldn't possibly have been that full of ourselves, could we have?

(wink wink)

PR Dish

STELLA! STELLA! STELLA!

Leatha Stella is OUT! Whatever the leatha shall we do? My leatha heart is just breaking!

She said to Heidi as she left, "Well, my ego was a little too big for this place." In the words of our Bunny, "true dat."




She made a nice outfit with a leather cape, which made the whole thing just look silly:



for the legendary Diane Von Furstenberg's new collection, based on a "spy" look:







(is it me, or is this woman's speaking voice just AMAZING? I could listen to her talk all day long. She could easily replace Edward Hermann's voice putting me to sleep every night)



LeAnne won with this -- I like LeAnne, and I hope she gets into the top 3 --





Although I had a hard time deciding whether or not Korto got robbed of a win with this:




because it looks very DVF from her runway collection. But I'm not wild about Korto as a person, so there you go.

Suede, the one with the blue mohawk, made this:

to which I replied with this:

I think Stella's outfit was better. But I do like Mr. 'Speaks of Himself in the Third Person' Suede, so I'm glad he's not out.

I really think that being out has more to do with whether or not your outfit was good enough and whether the leftover people constitute "good tv."

Talk about subjective.

On a whole 'nother subject, thanks everyone for the giveaway comments! I'll choose one via Random Integer Generator tomorrow around 3PM, and I'll have a recipe for you!

And I am loving the Alternate Day Diet! 6 lbs. so far! Wa-hooey!

PR Dish

I had a feeling this was going to happen.

As much as I like Keith and his designs, he got caught in one of those rock-and-a-hard-place situations. I feel badly for him. That thing he made for Brooke Shields a couple of weeks ago was really nice.

And what a challenge! Make an outfit from pieces of a CAR?

Maybe it's me, but I think trying to get a dress to fit perfectly is a lot to ask, when it's made from car parts. That was the criticism on this dress -- made by Blayne --

Are you kidding me? This doesn't fit? It's made from seatbelts and a broken rear-view mirror!

LeAnne has been my favourite for awhile. I think she got robbed in episode 3. But then again, it's all subjective . . .

LeAnne's design won this week, though, and I agreed. It was fabulous. Made from car parts. Jeesh, can you even believe this?

Did I mention it was made from CAR PARTS?

And poor Keith chose not to rip his outfit into tiny shreds of things, as is his custom, and he lost.

Plus the model sat down in it, after he expressly told her not to, and ripped the thing right up the front. Talk about adding insult to injury -- he couldn't finish the back of the top because he was doing damage control on the front of the skirt.

WHICH WAS MADE FROM SEAT BELTS.

Maybe they should have called this the Seat Belt Episode.

I think I'd-a smacked her. Or something.

(not really)

At any rate, I think this should have lost, because it's so randomly odd, and because Jerrell annoys me a bit --

What in the heck is going on with her hair?

Perhaps it's a jack from the trunk of the car that you'd use to repair a flat. Or flat hair.

This is design? I am embarassed for these people in front of God, who made that gorgeous colour of pink that everyone likes -- even if you don't like pink -- when the sun is setting. Now THAT is design at it's pinnacle.

Oh well. At least we still have Leatha Stella to enjoy for one more week. With her leatha boyfriend, and leatha phone on which she calls him, and her leatha clothes, and her leatha brain, and her leatha family . . .

Finally!

Finally there's something on television. And it's SPECTACULAR!

I'm sitting here watching that US Cellular commercial, seeing Mr. Cuty McCuteCute smiling yet again. The commercials are getting old, but the Olympics just keep it coming.

Hunk O Man repeated again tonight, for the zillionth time, "I love the Olympics."

We're hearing a lot of "YESSSSSSSS!" and "Stink!" "Stinkin Puke!" "Whoa!" "Ma-ah-ah-an."

He does love the Olympics. He watches everything. He called me today just to tell me that Blake upset Federer in tennis.

I was trying to get the internet connection up and going again, after endless restarts and recycles of the modem and router. And about 45 minutes on the phone with the cable company.

(I didn't really care so much at that point who won at Olympic tennis)

And then there's Michael Phelps, teenage girls drooling, and all of us shouting "No way! No way! He did it! He did it again!" to the television. We love the green "world record" line. How cool is that? All the swimmers are breaking records. I personally think that pool is really just clear blue snot and their suits are all made of oil that has coelesced onto their bodies permanently. Where else would we get the phrase "slicker than snot?"

And always entertaining: watching the swimmers adjust their goggles.

I admit I was even impressed when the Chinese girls won the gymnastics. Their tiny bodies just look so beautiful as they do those layout back flips. It's a moment when you look up at God and say "Whoa." The beauty -- it's breathtaking. Like sculpture that's come alive.

And Bela Karoli is definitely the comic relief. I honestly think they have him on just because he's good tv! Hunk O Man keeps saying "I vant to suck your blood" everytime they have him on. The man can barely stay in his seat, and I loved it when he nonchalantly commented on the underage Chinese gymnasts. Pretty hilarious.

We took a break last night and watched Project Runway. We are all addicted, even Hunk O Man.

And so here's the dish: I didn't think Kelli deserved to be out. I was much less impressed with Blayne's outfit. However, Blayne is Mr. Whine About My Fake Tan Fading and makes for better tv than Kelli, apparently. Ultimately I think Daniel should have gone right out the door with his "impeccable good taste."

This won. I like Keith, and I guess it's nice.

But I really liked this better. It was Stella and Jerrell's.

JB and Bunny LOVE PR and they have been spouting PR-ese all day. And this thanks to

"Leatha Stella:"

Non of us can stand this woman (or her designs), but it is hilarious to hear the girls talk about "leatha." Or "leathuh." Today as they cleaned the kitchen I laughed and laughed as I heard, in a perfect Brooklyn accent by JB, the endless commentary regarding the leatha dishes in the leatha dishwasher and the leatha counter and leatha sponge.

It was definitely a leatha moment.

OK, back to tonight's Olympics, and swimming. I just saw Ryan Lochte win a gold medal in backstroke.

I honestly don't think they made'em this good looking when I was a kid.

Be still my beating heart.

What an amazing week of television!

What are you watching?