Mommy, you make the best salad ever.

The exuberance cutie has when she like something is amazing. I mean it was only salad with her favorite vegies and some Tuscan Italian dressing from Trader Joes.
She says things like that when she gets a present she likes. But when she doesn't love something - she's silent.
We went to the library to list the books we read this summer. When you hit a certain number of books you get a prize. She didn't like the plastic backscatcher. Silence. The other librarian came over and offered her a butterfly container. That she took.
How do I keep up her joy of life without having her fake it for every little thing? Or will she be like me. Get totally excited and passionate when things are really interesting and bored when things are ho hum.
It's in the genre of "if I have one good thought each week, I'm doing well." One exuberance a week - I'm doing something right.

Yes to the GPS

My partner (aka husband) says that I'm negative. My mother says that I'm negative. I'm not really negative, just things don't always meet my expectations so I complain. So here's something I love.
The GPS.

A Mermaid named Cutie - Swimming in the pool

Gotta love camp! She's not only putting her head underwater - she's swimming!

See How My Garden Grows

Second tomato

basil

corn

Cutie was born several weeks early. She came the week we were planning to close our beach house. Since we were living in NYC at the time, we tried to grow tomatoes at the beach. Paulo went to the house alone and brought back our first tiny tomato. It didn't taste that good.

Almost 4 years later I'm growing tomatoes in my backyard. I didn't think anything would happen - but Voila. My first beefstake tomato. We are also growing corn, basil, watermelon (I kept some seeds from last year), some sort of bean that needs a trellis, and spagetti squash. Only the tomatoes, basil and corn seem to be producing fruit. We hope to pick our first (second tomato very soon.)

The weird thing is that there are tomato plants growing near our old sink drainage pipe. Before we fix our septic tank, our kitchen sink water used to just go directly into the ground. Is it possible that these plants are from disgarded seeds? How cool is that?

Shelly is Leaving

I worked at Ogilvy & Mather on and off for about 4 years and loved it. If I were a corporate company and needed an ad agency and had lots to spend I would call Shelly Lazarus. She is stepping down after 37 years. She worked her way up and made women proud. We wish her well.

Everything in NJ

When we decided to move to the burbs - I said anywhere but NJ. When you live in NY you have the opinion of NJ that you could never live there. It's an industrial state that smells when you drive on the turnpike. There's always traffic when you drive through the state - there's just something annoying about NJ.

Now that I live in the NY Rockland County burbs. I'm forever going to NJ for things. And you know what - It's not bad. In fact, it's quite nice. I love my house - but if I found my house in NJ I would move there in a flash. What's so great about NJ? Let's start with the gas. First it has the cheapest prices and they pump for you. - Gotta love that. Every home decorating place is there - my tile place, I bought my bathroom vanity on the internet from there, clothing - I still get my hair done in NY - I'm still afraid of Jersey hair, but for things NJ the place to be.

This Years Garden

This year I'm trying to grow tomatoes, basil, corn, green beans, watermelon, spagetti squash, and a few more things. Since I just throw seeds around and hope for the best, I sometimes forget what I'm trying to plant.

Tomatoes are growing all over the place. Even where the sink water used to drain. This is funny because I didn't plant those tomatoes - but they are growing nicely. I need to get some stakes. They are tipping over with heavy green tomatoes.

The basil is growing nicely as is the corn. I'm not sure the the green beans are doing. Maybe you can help.

Yahoo - What to do?

My first real moneymaking stock was Netscape on a boyfriend tip. Got rid of the boyfriend and tripled my initial investment in 3 months. A year later I bumped into the ex and thanked him for the Netscape tip. He said buy $10,000 worth of Yahoo. It was the very late 90's. I did and did a double in a month. I was greedy so later that year I called for a tip and I was told to short Qualcomm. Big mistake - lost everything I gained. - Pigs get slaughtered. If I'd only have held out for one year I would have been fine. But I was working to pay my margin call - not to mention the rent. I even stopped eating lunch.
Back to Yahoo. So after 9/11 and the tanking market the year that followed, I was picking up Yahoo on the way down. I sold half at the Mister Softy announcement and kept the other because I met/worked with Roy Bostock at one of his ad agencies. He was clueless about the internet then and probably still is. I like to be in the game so I left on the table. I got the Carl Icahn proxy and a phone call to support his team. I was all set to do that except - There is not one women on his board. So now I'm looking to Jerry Yang and want to know his vision.
Will I Yahoo again?

Cutie Speak

Cutie Speak.
For over a year cutie comes up with her own words and definitions.
Chalisy Chalisy means I want to dance.
Ten means you have the last house.

Speaking of dancing - Zumba is the exercise class I took today at the JCC. Yes, even though I think the JCC tagline "you belong here" is pathetic and didn't join earlier because of it. (I want to be part of something that is cool - not where everyone goes. And, of course, the Woody Allen quote rings true for me - I never want to belong to any club that would have someone like me for a member.) But with the contractors coming everyday to work on our house - I need a place to go while they are working. Anyway.

Zumba is wrong for me - I don't do well with aerobic classes. I'm too tall and thin. I need to stick to yoga, pilates, and things that guys do.
Oh well.

Spain Design Gets It

I'm coming back from Fuda tile and see a sign "kitchen and bath" Porcelanosa. Never heard of them. Stop by anyway. WOW - It's me. I felt like Cutie in a toy store of fairy mermaids (she's into that these days - more on that later).
OMG - Porcelanosa gave me chills. Finally someplace that has what I like. And it's not that expensive. It's more than Fuda Tile but less than the slate tile I bought at Home Depot.
The amazing thing is that Laura at Fuda Tile (The New Yorker should do a story on her) can read people and direct them to the tile that you didn't even know they were looking for. You come in clueless, she asks you a few questions, picks out a few things, you take it home and OMG - it's it.
Porcelanosa style looks like a Prada showroom. They manufacture everything from tile to fixtures to cabinets.
The thing is that tile I pick out and had in my car trunk was similar to Porcelanosa. The bath vanity from Sonia was similar. Both my Sonia and Porcelansosa are Spainish companies.
Italy - you are losing me to Spain.

I could have told you that.

using history as a yardstick, life actually is better and richer and fuller, with more opportunities than ever before.
"Objectively things are going real well," says author Gregg Easterbrook, who discusses the disconnect in his book "The Progress Paradox: How Life Gets Better While People Feel Worse."
We are very spoiled.

Renovations On The House

We started fixing things. First it was the water, septic, and roof. Now it's the broken bathrooms, electrical and general things that don't work or are dangerous. Rockland County isn't known for good clean design. It's so hard to find modern anything. Most people here think expensive in terms of square feet and they have middle class tastes of what looks good.
I wanted a Duravit bathroom. I was told I had to wait 8 months for a toliet. So I'm doing toto. The bathtub and vanity will be purchased online.
Here's a list of people and places we recommend:
Contractor - Joseph Franco
Septic system - (to come
Well water - to come
Tucek - roof
Fuda tile in Ramsey NJ - thanks to my friend who recommended them.


Here's a list of people who could be more helpful.
Home Depot and Home Expo - useless. You can't even find someone to order something.
AF plumbing Congers. you got to know what you want- They make you pick stuff up and check. No returns
Rockland Tile -Valley Cottage - The jury is out. At least they are always there.

Latest Cutie Photos

Here's some photos from a wedding a few weeks ago.

Too Sad to Say Please

Cutie is whining. She want's OJ and can't say please because she is too sad. Whay? Daddy's not home.

We just got something from Cutie's school that is leading me to believe I made a "not so smart" decision. First the mailing should have been paperless. Second how they phrased things in the mailing was really stupid.
1. What's this crap about choice between Spanish and Talmud. They should have both
2. Why are there two math classes. At level and Above level. There is no reason why everyone shouldn't be above level. That's what happened when I was in 7th and 8th grade. If they put me in a lower math class, I wouldn't have felt that I could do it. Stupid Stupid Stupid.
3. What so many binders. One binder with sections.