Yeah baby, a new winter bag for me!

Who says it's Christmas without buying something for yourself???

Behold, the newest "winter" addition to the BagMomma closet.

Are gift cards all that bad?

Ok- let's talk.

How many of you buy gift cards in lieu of an actual holiday gift?

I used to be one of those people that thought that I would go to hell for giving such a "thoughtless" gift. I've since gotten over myself. Not only are gift cards convenient for the giver, but the receiver can't secretly gripe what bad taste you have in gifts.

I used to be a hard core Christmas shopper. I chose each gift on my list with thought and care. I wanted my gift to send a message that "I care so much about you I searched for this gift for so long it became a second job"

When I couldn't come up with an appropriate gift, I made it. Yep, the crafty person I am (was) would whip up something bound to receive oohs and aaahs. One year when I first got married (12 years ago) I made my Mom and MIL hand painted bird houses. I took a tole painting class to perfect my technique. My Mom and MIL still display those birdhouses to this day, and I think it's not out of guilt, but they REALLY liked them (or so I hope to believe).

For my first nephew's Christmas (4 years ago), I bought an unfinished children's rocker and hand-painted that. It was a couple week project. Not that a 4 month old could sit in a rocker (I was pregnant at the time with my son so I had no idea about babies). Anyway, I got oohs and aaahs on that too.

Nope, I never bought gift cards. I was sure the person would consider me some lech on society, thoughtless, and uncaring.

After I had David, I tried that first Christmas to be ingenious, crafty. I ended up stressing myself out so much buying for my list of 16 people I didn't enjoy it. ME not ENJOYING SHOPPING. Shudder the thought. Anyway, I ended up getting the most vicious two-week long flu that Christmas, which I think altered my brain forevermore.

Gift cards are now my friend. Sure, I still put a lot of thought into my very immediate family (S., David and the parents), but I refuse to stress myself out anymore in the gift-giving department.

My husband mentioned the other night that Christmas is really all about David now, and he is so right. I get more joy watching David give and receive than all the gifts I broke my back for searching/buying for others in the past.

And, because I lifted this self-imposed weight off of my shoulders... I am starting to enjoy the holidays again.

Did I mention I am 85% done shopping for this year? Thank goodness for the internet and coupon codes.

And for those friends, family, teachers, caregivers to which I am giving gift cards to this year, I love and appreciate you.

Rest assured, I put a lot of thought in deciding what gift card to buy you.

And if you are buying for me, I love gift cards.... especially from Target, Sephora, and Coach!
lol

Manic Monday

Quiz time. Who sang the aforementioned song? If you don't know then you are either way older than me or younger, in which case you suck.

hehe, just kidding.

ok, not really.

I am recovering from a looooong weekend, and really don't feel like crawling out from under the rock I am presently comfortable under.

Monday brings the reality of a few thoughts... 1) I am behind on Christmas shopping 2) I feel fat from eating WAAAY too much over the weekend 3) Work does not stop just because I want it to.

I am also annoyed because I thought of the perfect gift for my "incredibly difficult to buy for" father, only to realize that the item I was planning to get at Target was on sale only for Friday and Saturday. I missed the boat. And, on this cyber-Monday (some said it's the busiest online shopping day) I am searching for digital photo frames, and not coming up with anything under $100 (the Target version was $69.98)....

Can I please go back to bed?

And for those of you who didn't get the question, the answer is The Bangles.

Happy Thanksgiving

Enjoy the day.

Too cute, possibly freaky

You just can't help but laugh...

Thanksgiving Memories

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, hands down.

It's one of the only holidays yet to be ruined by external forces. No pressure, no gifts to buy people you don't like... just an opportunity to have a meal with those you love. And, there's the food, which, from a food junkie perspective (that's me) is the pinnacle of celebrating and eating. Diets are out the window... bring on the gluttony.

Nothing better that that turkey-induced drunkenness.

For me, it is a day of family. Because wherever the year has taken you, you can count on gathering around the table one day a year. No one in my family eats out at a restaurant (even though my Mom threatens to every year). No siree. Come hell or high water, we always manage to be in the same room together on turkey day.

When I was little, one of my earliest memories of Thanksgiving was at my Grandmother and Grandfather's house. My Dad was one of 6 siblings (4 girls, 2 boys). Each of his siblings had at least 2 kids. So you're talking more than 30 people at a VERY large table. When I say LARGE I mean it... Grandpop would make a table the length of the entire kitchen out of plywood on sawhorses, covered with that plasticy table cloth. I'm not kidding by the way. I remember sitting at the end of that table and thinking I was in the cafeteria at school.

Unfortunately, or fortunately my Dad became estranged from his sisters, so that tradition stopped (*another story, another day on that one!) and my Mom started hosting Thanksgiving at home for just me, my brother, Dad, and my other Grandparents (Mom's side). Come to think of it, I'm not sure when that happened, but my Grandfather died in 1976, and after that, Gram was always with us on Thanksgiving.

My Dad was (and still is) the chef. He loves making turkey and his FAMOUS sausage stuffing-- guaranteed to give you heartburn for three days afterward, but man! does it taste good.

After my Gram died in 2002, I started hosting Thanksgiving here. My Mom was just "done" as she puts it. To tell you the truth, I think it was the memories of Gram that kept her from hosting again. The three grandchildren were born (all within one year), and I as the first born in my family inherited the family feast (Dad still cooks the turkey and stuffing... I do the rest).

This year we will be celebrating with my Mom and Dad, my brother, SIL, my two nephews, my in-laws, my BIL and his wife.

Thanksgiving sure has changed over the years (in locale and attendance), but it's a tradition that I look forward to with anticipation and glee.

Bring it on! and pass the alka-selter for dessert. Now that's good eatin'...

Gone shopping

Still here, just busy preparing for Turkey Day and trying to get thru work. Back tomorrow with a new post!

Thoughtless Thursday

For sale in the Neiman Marcus catalog... someone will buy these, and that scares me.

Can you hide in technology?

This comic brought to mind a subject I want to talk about which is irking the hell out of me. Primarily at work, but this subject applies to everyday living.

How is it in the technological world we live in that people are more inaccessible? Yeah, I know what you're thinking.... I thought that we are all toooooo connected nowadays?

Well, sure, we have laptops, pda's, cell phones, blackberries, and multitudes of techie toys... christ..... you can talk on the phone, email, IM, listen to music, and cruise the web on an object that is no bigger than a credit card. You practically can do anything with it ... well, with the exception of making your toast in the morning and picking up your drycleaning.

But, haven't you noticed that we are reverting into a world where you can't reach someone when you need them?

Think about it...
How often do you call someone and they actually pickup the phone before it goes to voicemail?
Ever instant message someone at work and they are set to "away" all day?
Ever sent an e-mail that goes unresponded to, for weeks?

Technology gives people many places to hide. And even more excuses for people to hide and get away with it.

"oh my, my cell phone wasn't charged/on, sorry"
"did I miss you on IM? damn, laptop froze up again and I didn't see your message"
"I've been having so many issues with my e-mail, darn server must have not delivered your e-mail!"

I have to admit, at work, I do want to hide sometimes... but when I do, I put my IM on DND (do not disturb). I always respond to each and every email, voicemail, IM... same day or with 24 hours at the worst. It's my personal SLA. "Service Level Agreement", for you non-corporate types.

Now, don't get me wrong, everyone needs/deserves a little space. I am not that annoying co-worker that hounds you down until you provide an answer to a question.

I do, however, wish that people all would have equal respect for their own and other people's time.

Having a bad day? That's ok, we all do. Feel free to not log on, turn off the cell phone.. HIDE.

Hide every day??? Nuh uhh. Come out and face the world, baby. It's not going anywhere.

When decades collide, Duran Duran meets JT?

Now I know I am getting way old.

I was catching up on news this morning with my giant cup of coffee, and I saw this....

Headline: Timberlake Works on Duran-Duran Album

http://www.comcast.net/news/entertainment/index.jsp?cat=ENTERTAINMENT&fn=/2006/11/12/519217.html

Duran Duran (and U2, Depeche Mode, INXS) are my absolute favorite bands growing up. I once slept out in the rain for front row Duran Duran tickets when I was 19 years old. I did that at least 10 times in my teenage/college days. If you were living in the Philadelphia area in the early 80's you would also remember that one of the first appearances they made in the US was on the local TV show, "Dancin On Air".

Seeing this headline triggered some fast math, and I just realized I have been following this band for 26 years. oh my!

I must admit, I also own the newest Justin Timberlake CD. I don't LOVE him, but I like his music (catchy, easy to dance to.... great to make swift work of housecleaning whilst listening to my iPod).

I know I am risking sounding like a TOTAL geek, but this matching might be really cool.

OK- I'm going to shink back in my corner now, laugh at me if you must!

Turkey for beginners

Are you hosting Thanksgiving for the first time, or just a little apprehensive about roasting a turkey? I have an on-line friend that just blogged about some tips for baking turkey. So well written (thanks Natalie) that I wanted to share with my cyber buds too. Click on this post heading to go there!!!

Thoughtless Thursday

A new feature on my blog, because I often run into pictures, comics, quotes that are just too good not to share. And most require no description! Enjoy.

F stands for...

Admit it, you were thinking of an expletive when you read that title.

Actually, if someone asked me what is the first work to come to mind when you see the letter F I would say Food. I know, pitiful.

In any event, this post is not about dirty words or food.

My son, as you might already know, is in preschool. Lest you think preschool is just another word for supervised babysitting (which it kinda is at times I guess).... I am lucky to have David enrolled in a preschool that has a curriculum (gotta get something useful for the $800 a month ).

They have a "lettter" of the week. And to reinforce the "letter du jour" they have activities around the letter like: show and tell, naming objects that start with the letter, tracing the letter, identifying the letter on paper... etc.

I am from the old school where no one taught anything logical until 1st grade. Kindergarten was pretty much play, coloring/crafts. and pulling hair.

Toddlers in this century are far more advanced.

Sometimes it's scary.

So David comes home after writing his short story.... (just kidding) comes home from school with his firetruck in hand (the one he used for show-and-tell). F stands for Firetruck he tells me. And, then, he goes on to tell me about 8 other words that begin with the letter "F". How did he memorize this?? I can't remember where I left my keys but this child has memorized the lesson plan from his teacher. Amazing...

His teacher has informed me that he will be writing his name by the Spring.... !?! are you kidding me???

It won't be long before my son is more (booksmart) than me. Just a matter of time before all our toddlers are teaching us. I am having a hot flash thinking about elementary school, middle school, high school... homework that I won't be able to comprehend!

I better start cracking the books.

They don't do algebra in kindergarten, do they????

lol.

Circle of friends

"Glory days, well they'll pass you by
Glory days, in the wink of a young girl's eye
Glory days, glory days" ~ Bruce Springsteen

Often I post things in this blog which bring back some serious memories good and bad. I don't like to spill my guts all over this blog, but I remember that one of the reasons I initially wanted to do this blog was to document memories, and have a place of my own to go to when I am stressed out, happy, or just contemplating something silly like a new handbag purchase.

I have to confess, I have a major source of guilt? sadness? that stalks me wherever I go.

I woke up last night with a dream I remember vividly. It was a dream about friends. Specifically my former 3 best friends in the world.

Nancy, Lisa, and Camille.

We met at different times in our childhood, but by the 9th grade we were stuck together like glue. Lisa and Camille and I were friends as far back as 4th/5th grade. Nancy came to complete our foursome in high school (she was a good catholic girl that spent grades K-8 in the local catholic school).

From our friendship, we created a giant circle of friends around us. We became a group of 10 or more (girls and boys) and our circle of friends carried forward for many years... beyond high school... beyond college. The four of us, plus our merry band of friends... Laura, Amy, Jennifer, Kenny, Bobby, Brian, Keith, Tony, Darance, Dennis, Chuck, Rob. We were a group of diversity. Jocks and geeks. Bookworms and popular kids. Black and white. It was amazing how the differences drew us closer. We were like a band without instruments (except for our loud voices, which got us in trouble from time to time). In High School, we had parties, went to the movies, went to theme parks, went to the shore. Most of us were the Class of 1986. We were kids of the 80's. We listened to Bruce Springsteen, The Cars, Duran Duran, Journey, The Cure. It was the time of high hair, mullets, Jordache jeans, and day-glo sweatshirts (with the collar cut out of course, a-la Flashdance).

When college came, we all went our separate ways. Lisa went to Rowan, Camille to Rutgers, Nancy to U of Maryland,... I went to LaSalle. Our other friends went away too, some to the greatest colleges/universities in the country. Some stayed home. It didn't matter where we went, we always came home for the holidays and part of the summer. The "girls" had beach week in the summer. The guys always came down for a day to make sure we weren't getting into too much trouble (and to make their own trouble). In the winter we always had a Christmas party at Camille's house. Her mom would make the best spinach dip, and we would gather in the rec room to talk about all the exciting things we did during the school year. Someone always threw the New Years Eve party, and every year we'd open a (few) bottles of champagne and drink/toast the new year.

The girls, usually me, Lisa, Camille, Nancy, and Laura., had a tradition that we started... I don't know, maybe when we all got our drivers licenses... where we would go shopping every year on Black Friday. We never, never, missed that. We would drive to mall, blasting the radio and laughing and gossiping about everything.

When we all graduated from college, some of us went into the work world, some went on to pursue MBA or doctoral degrees. Camille was in publishing, Nancy was in social work, Lisa and I still searching for what we loved. I ended up in technology, and Lisa did a myriad of jobs along the way. Nancy moved to New Orleans, and Camille to North Jersey. Which really just gave the rest of us an excuse to travel to see each other and find new mexican restaurants and cute boys.

Eventually, we started to find significant others and marry. Lisa was first (age 27) and then me, in the same year. At first, it didn't really affect our friendship, but as you might imagine... having a husband and other responsibility just added more to juggle. Lisa had a baby shortly thereafter.
I remember going to her son's christening party, and just thinking how different we all were. Something felt odd.

As we approached our 30's, there were fewer and fewer get-togethers, and one year (the year I turned 31) we didn't get together at all for our Thanksgiving shopping tradition. Soon after, the phone calls dwindled, the birthday cards went unanswered.

One day I woke up and realized that I lost my best friends. There was no fight, no one incident that changed things, we just drifted away.

Years later, you would think that I would just look back at the fond memories. And I do, but to be honest, I feel absolutely awful that this happened. I feel like it's my fault... that I should have been the glue to bring everyone together. I think about them often. I wonder what they are doing.

Lisa and I saw each other maybe 2 years ago. She had another baby, a little girl... the same month I had David. We met for lunch and talked about how nice it would be if we could find the other girls and get together. We never did.

I run into one of the guys now and then. I dated one of them back when I got out of college. Briefly, I was reunited with my guy friends, but they eventually disappeared too. It was hard to drift away from the outer circle of friends, but I knew it would happen eventually... I just never thought that the four of us would give up so easy. I was fully prepared to have a baby who would have an Aunt Nancy, Aunt Lisa, Aunt Camille to dote on him/her for life. No such luck.

Why would we invest so much time only to lose the ones we love?
What could we have done differently?
Do they think about me?
Are they married, do they have kids?
Are they nearby or far away?

Questions I might never know the answer to. Which seems odd when you have been connected at the hip for almost 20 years. All I know is I feel like I lost my sisters. Every year, around Thanksgiving/Christmas I am reminded of them. Like ghosts. They invade my dreams every once in awhile, and in those dreams I re-live what was and what could have been.

I carry this guilt with me wherever I go. Like a bad habit. I do think that it has impacted my relationships with other people. Often I find myself specifically not getting too invested in friends for this reason. It makes me sad.

As we near the Thanksgiving Holiday, I remember my old friends. Every last one, but especially my "sisters".

So, if you are out there Lisa, Camille, Nancy (and the all the rest of you).... I miss you.

Remember the 90's

I had such a crush on Luke Perry. I named my cat after Luke Perry. My cat is now 14 years old! And Luke Perry is over 40 (YAY still older than me!!!)

Anyone in my age group (rapidly approaching the late, late, thirties thankyouverymuch) will fondly remember 90210. This was a show that defined my 20's. I watched it religiously (Melrose Place too).

The Peach Pit Gang is out promoting their first season DVD (why did that take so darn long?)

So we all know what the old cast members have been up to, but what's with Andrea? Did she ever do anything beyond that show? :)

Turkey planning time

Time to break out the recipes for Thanksgiving. This year, I am in need of some good side-dishes. If you have one that is a hit at your table, please e-mail me the recipe. I always have a sort of mental block when it comes to sides.

I am having dinner for 15 people (basically mine and hubby's immediate family). I finally have table seating for all this year, which will be nice. If only my kitchen were bigger!

Cute handbag Betty!

If you aren't watching ABC's newest show Ugly Betty, you should... so cute, I love it.

Betty is presented as "fashion-challenged" on the show, but I spotted Betty with a cool "very fashionable" handbag in a recent episode!!

It's the Lucky Brand Jeans Large Patchwork Mailbag. And, you can fetch it at Macy's on-line, which I already did!!!

http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=204554&CategoryID=4084&LinkType=EverGreen

Above screen capture from the Ugly Betty Blog:

http://uglybettyblog.com/2006/10/20/episode-4-feys-sleigh-ride/#more-7

A wiggily illness?

Attention all you Wiggles fans out there.

Seems a wiggily illness is keeping Greg Page (the yellow Wiggle) from his wiggily family.

Say, how many times can I say wiggily in one post?

In any event, seems he is suffering from some unknown illness (rumor mill has said he is suffering from everything inbetween a bad flu and cancer) and has been (GASP) replaced!!

My son would be horrified to learn this. We just saw them in concert not more than 2 months ago, and Greg was happily jumping around. He was like the best singer in the bunch, how will we get thru "Fruit Salad" and "Hot Potato" without Greg???

Here's the official word:

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20681256-1702,00.html

Get well soon my wiggily friend.

Wiggily out.

Fashion DON'T

I've been flipping thru some fashion magazines lately, and I stumbled on a new trend that should have stayed in the 70's.

Jumpers...

Are you kidding me??? These outfits are not flattering on anyone. It's kind of like the overalls thing.... A-L-W-A-Y-S a fashion DON'T.

Leave jumpers to little girls under the age of ten. That is cute.

Jumpers on women, ridiculous.

Sugar hazed

I've never seen such a mass of kids in my life last night. We bought 600 pieces of candy, only to run out early evening. It was a madhouse.

I think the issue is my neighbor does such a HUGE display, word is traveling fast and we are now getting neighborhood kids + truckloads of other kids.

David basically had candy and sweets all day. He came home from preschool all fired up to go trick-or-treating. , so we put on the Pirate costume (excuse me, Johnny Depp) and he RAN to about 10 houses and then announced he was done with Halloween. He started taking the costume OFF as he ran home, me chasing him.

By the time we got home, the grandparents, Aunts and Uncles stopped by to see David, but of course his costume was now a memory. Face painted in chocolate, peanut butter, and sugar. He was a sticky mess.

At about 8pm, he fell asleep on the steps going up to his room, apparently a victim of his sugar-induced coma.

At which case I sat down and opened up the white chocolate reese's peanut butter cups I found at the bottom of his bag.

aaaaah, heaven.....