Inquiring Minds Want to Know

There is a question that has been haunting me since grade school.

Paste. Not glue sticks or Elmer's. Paste...the kind in the jar, that had a stick coming out of the bottom of the lid to aid in applying the paste to your artwork du jour. Yeah, that stuff.

Well, here's the question: why does paste smell minty?

Subway Blogging

It'll appeal more to those who suffer ride the subway, of course, but I came across this site this morning, a blog written on the subway. Love the idea because you see some pretty crazy stuff on the subway.

Also liked their post about Subway Crush. It's like missed connections on Craig's List, but subway-based. This post is frickin' hilarious.

TSDWD 1st Lesson of the Day: Taking the Subway Every Morning Sucks!

No seats and people seemed less than enthused with the amount of kids riding the subway today. One woman seemed annoyed that the bag Sophie was carrying may have brushed against the hem of her slacks for 1.7 seconds on a very crowded E train. Lighten up lady. If you're worried your clothes that much perhaps the subway is not for you?

Sophie and I left the house earlier than usual but arrived just in the nick of time to register and pick up an ID tag for Take our Sons and Daughters to Work Day. We quick, quick, quick grabbed a bite to eat before the opening speaker began and the teams were shuffled off to their creative briefings.

Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work Day

So tomorrow is Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work Day. For the first time, Sophie is officially "of age" to partake in our company's program but she's been to work with me plenty of times in the past.

On those visits, I ingrained in her head that:

• When you come to work in the morning, people will make a fuss over you and say "HELLO! GOOD MORNING TO YOU! Are you going to have a good day today at work? Yes! Yes, you are!"
• Upon arrival at work you will be showered with all sorts of cool office supplies to keep you busy.
• Everywhere you go you will be lavished with attention and people will ask "how do you like working here?"
• Everyone will eagerly offer to take you to lunch
• People will ask if you'd like to help them with office tasks

In reality, you're lucky if get to eat lunch and aren't responsible for the office tasks because they've been delegated to you. People steal your pens when you ask them to sign off on documents and the only fuss that is made is when you leave to get married or have a baby.

Camping

We are now the proud owners of a camper. We will camp with all the amenities of home like hot running water, cooking appliances, refrigeration, beds, and most importantly, air conditioning.

Lest you think we're total snobs, we will rough it without cable TV. It's a sacrifice we're willing to make in order to enjoy the great outdoors without the hassle of being, you know, outdoors. Plus we're too cheap to pay for a second cable account. Instead we'll read and if we want to watch something we'll have our portable DVD player. Brooklyn Public Library and Netflix: prepare yourselves.

"The Outdoors"

If all goes according to plan, our summer will be full of fun activities like hiking (followed by hot showers), swimming (followed by hot showers), rafting and picnicking riverside (followed by hot showers), campfires and roasting marshmallows on giant stainless steel forks because sticks are dirty and can carry communicable diseases (followed by alcoholic beverages once the kids are asleep). Then we'll talk into what will feel like the wee hours of the night but it will only be 11pm because the kids had us up at dawn. Then we'll do it again the next weekend. Whee!

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Fork"

Holy Security, Batman!

On every train, every subway platform and on all street corners, police are patrolling the citizens of New York. You'd think the Pope was in town or something.

Oh, wait! He is!

Are you ready? Did you submit your Papal Skateboard design? Did you get your tshirt?

Technology is So ROCKING My World Right Now

Welcome Back Kotter!
Benson!
Hill Street Blues!
Bewitched! (with Dick York Darrin!)
Charlie's Angels!
Emergency!!
Fantasy Island!
Hart to Hart!
The A-Team!
Miami Vice!
I Dream of Jeannie!

Not to mention clips of Diff'rent Strokes, Silver Spoons and The Facts of Life plus movies....some full length. All can be found here.*

You're welcome.


*It seems none of these are not complete series but it doesn't bother me in the least and I didn't think you'd mind anyway! My productivity at the office has gone way down...

Index

Things have been simultaneously busy yet unexciting at This Charming Life. Rather that rack my brain for a funny spin on the goings on over the past week, I'll put it in index form, like Harper's.

Number of science projects researched and completed: 1
Number of penguins harmed in science project research: 0
Number of incidents involving bodily harm around the house: 5
Number of family members who sustained the bodily harm: 3
Person who sustained the most boo boo's: Harry
Location of boo boo's: head and face (oy!)
Number of people in our household who are suffering allergies: 2
Number of sneezes occurring over the past five days: we lost count
Of those suffering allergies, percentage of sufferers that are parents: 100
Number of robins spied in backyard: 3
Number of northern flickers spied in backyard: 1
Number of bumblebees seen, proving once and for all that spring is finally here: 2
Number of Mo Willems "Pigeon" books read over the last seven days: 3
Percentage of readings that involved rereading the books: 100
Estimated number of Thomas the Tank Engine video viewings: 45
Percentage viewed online: 30
Percentage viewed on demand: 20
Percentage viewed on DVD: 50
Number of songs imported into my ipod library from my dusty cd collection: 3667
Number of books I've read since receiving my ipod: 0 (it is very sad)
Number of visiting relatives in the NYC area: 4
Number dinners in Little Italy with said relatives: 1
Number of dental visits: 1
Number of xrays taken to determine that nothing is wrong: 1
Work days missed due to dental care: .5
Batches of brownies made in my new Bakers Edge pan: 1
Number of dark chocolate squares and peanut butter "open face sandwiches" consumed: 8
Calorie count of "sandwiches": don't ask

Science Project

Sophie's science project is due tomorrow. Now I know all there is to know about penguins and their 17 (or 18, depending on whether you are citing Zoobooks or National Geographic Kids) species, their general disposition, habitat, diet, swimming ability and what threatens them globally.

After researching penguins and studying for two math tests and one spelling test, my general disposition was much improved with the addition of a brownie to my diet and resting in my habitat with a dvd of the Tudors (season 1).

In Which I Narrowly Avoid The Birds and Bees Discussion

Spring is in the air and lots of ladies we know are having babies, which is fodder for all sorts of interesting conversations in our house.

The other day Sophie told us that she saw an episode of a Baby Story on TV and knows "all about having babies now."

I had a heart attack and died. The End.

Not really, but there were many heart palpitations and white knuckles and much bracing of myself as I said "Oh. So what do you know about it?"

"Well, I know how it feels."

"Really? How does it feel?"

"HORRIBLE."

Paranoid Mommy would have said "yes, it IS horrible but it is less horrible if you are over the age of 30 or have a law degree and a husband. But I took the high road and was Honest Mommy and merely said "That about sums it up!" while praying that would be the last of that conversation and luckily it was. I'm not convinced that Honest Mommy said the best thing but what's done is done.

Guilty Pleasures

I have a new guilty pleasure: watching commercials of the 80's here.

I suddenly miss my Simon and my Stretch Armstrong. I also miss eating Sugar Smacks without a nasty crash of my blood sugar.

He Says "Secret Stash" Like It's a Bad Thing

Have you seen that show "I Can Make You Thin"? The one where the British guy Paul McKenna teaches you techniques to overcome your weight problems, lik tapping yourself in the face, then the hands, then your wrists in order to overcome emotional eating? (That is a gross generalization but you get the gist.)

I caught the last half of the episode that taught the Tapping Technique and discovered something about myself: I have a food stash in my house and apparently this is not good for me. Pfft.

I take my health very seriously and eat as healthy as I can everyday most of the time. So what I want to know is: what's in your secret stash? What do you keep hidden or just set aside in a special place that is just for you?

I'll go first.

For me, it's chocolate. Right now, that last of a sleeve of Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers are on the top shelf of my kitchen cabinet, kept in an zip top bag. They've been there since New Year's Eve but were only opened in last month or so. Once they're gone, the space they occupy may remain empty for a few days but then I'll put something else there, like dark chocolate squares or a Hershey's Take 5 bar or a box of Thin Mints but it is always chocolate in some way shape or form. I don't indulge everyday, maybe two or three times a week. Sometimes I go an entire week without visiting the secret stash. But I know it is there.

So c'mon. Talk to me. What do you keep for yourself?