songbird's crazy world

I am a terrible mother, i just failed a very important test. Jen was in her early childhood education class this afternoon, and they had a discussion involving parents' memories. Jen sent me a text message. she asked me "how long was I and what did I weigh when I was born?" I replied "19 inches, 6 pounds 8 ounces."she told me "no, it was 6 pounds 6 ounces." when Jen was born, my aunt made a needlepoint for her, a cute teddy bear that hangs over her bed at home. on the needlepoint my aunt embroidered her height and weight the day she was born. Jen sent a text to my sister and asked her to go look at the needlepoint. Jen was right. I was WRONG. owie.

1. They’re creepy and they’re kooky, mysterious and spooky, they’re altogether hooky. Who are they? 2. In which horror movie series does “the Jigsaw Killer” set elaborate traps for his victims? 3. The premise of this current Disney channel show features three siblings with magical powers involved in a competition to determine which one of them will keep his/her powers as an adult. Name the series. . 4. In Squidward the Unfriendly Ghost, the main characters of this popular children’s series destroy a wax statute of Squidward, and, believing they have killed him, mistake the real Squidward for a ghost. Name the series. 5. Spooky Island, a monster-based theme park, is the setting for which of these movies: (a) Scooby Doo; (b) Monsters Inc., (c) Beetlejuice; (d) The Mummy. 6. According to legend, tattoos, hairy palms, a unibrow and a long middle finger are all signs of what? 7. In Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”, which famous House of Wax star does the voice over at the end of the song? 8. Th...

RedPurpleBlue Check out this political blog. I found it this morning, at the invitation of wvrevy . I've known most of the contributors for years -- from the DIS or WDWWOW or similar places. they're running a contest right now, guess the outcome of the election. as a proud blue stater, you know how I voted...or do you?

2 points for anyone who can tell me where they've heard that phrase before (hint, it's a book title). I love my daughters, I truly do, but obviously there are things they haven't seemed to learn from me... I was on the train last night when becca started texting me...she needed to go shopping ASAP to buy a pinata. seems Madame President was planning a party for the Spanish club today in honor of El Dia de los Muertos . My guess is she's known about the part for at least a week, maybe two, but waited until last night -- when I had a board meeting at the temple -- to tell me about it. she's lucky her aunt andie loves her. she got the perfect pinata, it looks like a skeleton's skull. today was the frantic texting from Jen. this coming weekend is family weekend at URI. Drew and I are planning to visit our oldest child, of course, though I'm not sure Becca will be joining us. (she wants to stay home, she's got a freind who lives in florida coming t...

we lived in East Meadow until I was 8 years old. I don't remember much about Halloween in East Meadow, though I do remember that we had a huge picture window in the living room and that we hung Halloween decorations in that window. I remember trick or treating once, at night, walking around the neighborhood in the dark -- without a grown up (hey, it was the 60's and it was suburbia) when I was 8 we moved to western Suffolk, and 40 years later we're still here. trick or treating around here took place in the afternoon, after school. we'd have a costume parade and party at school, then head home and grab a pillowcase, and climb hills as we trekked from house to house. one year my best friend and I wore kimonos and went as Japanese ladies. another year I was a hippie, put my costume together from odds and ends in my wardrobe. I stopped trick or treating when I was 12 -- that was the year I went out at night and came home covered in egg and flour. I think my most creative c...

so this morning my phone rings, and it's the head of my department. and he asks me to come into his office, and all the unit heads are sitting in his office. and my thought? what the hell did I do wrong? turns out to be something fun... last year our department had a Halloween party, and I drafted a trivia quiz. we're having a party Friday morning, and TPTB want another Halloween trivia quiz. I'll post the quiz after the party.

good Lord, it was at least 5 inches long! bad morning today, cold, with a steady rain and lots of wind -- my umbrella turned into a useless pile of purple fabric and broken wire. had to wade across the street near the train station. on the train, I accidentally stepped on one man's toes, and knocked a lady's travel mug over (though she probably should not have been keeping it on the floor in the first place!) and when the train arrived in Penn, I stood up and walked to the door. and just as I was about to step onto the platform (ever mindful of the gap -- someday they'll actually fix it)...I saw THAT THING scurrying along the platform, not more than 12 inches away from me.

on the MeMe last week I said I don't like bleu cheese. guess what. had gorgonzola with my lunch today -- au bon pain makes a dish with tureky, gorgonzola, cranberry chutney and asparagus. I guess I like bleu cheese after all.

Quietn night Friday. Both girls went to the high school pep rally and no one needed a ride from Mommy. Saturday was Homecoming. Usually there's a parade at 10 AM, followed by the class skits and presentation of the court at 11 and the game at 1, with a big halftime show, and the announcement of the winners of the skit contest and the king and queen at the end of the game. But the weather didn't cooperate, so they cancelled the parade and held the skits in the gym at noon. Becca wanted to see the skits, and came home before halftime. Jen wanted to hang with the cheerleaders, and she skipped the skits but went to the game. It was a little weird for me not to go to Homecoming this year. As a cheerleader, Jen was always in the parade and at the game. The dance team dances during halftime, and Becca was on the team for two years. And Becca was in the skit for two years as well. But she's no longer on dance team and she didn't have time to do the skit. So there was no reason ...

seen at Fortunoff's on October 25...too early to decorate the mall for christmas!

Jen's coming home from college tomorrow. I've been asking her for a week which trains she taking back and forth, but she still hasn't bought her Amtrak tickets. anyone care for some wonton soup or spareribs? I've got a ton of leftovers from last night.

Kidlet and I are having Chinese tonight. We don't get to eat Chinese all that often, my dad is on a low sodium diet and the soy sauce alone could kill him. But the 'rents are at the theater tonight, so Becca and I are dining alone. If I order all the dishes she asked for she'll be eating leftovers for the next three days...but she's my baby, even when she frustrates the living daylights out of me. (teenage girl + cell phone + laptop with PC card = ginormous Verizon bill).

No, not the name of some Mexican tourist guide or an old Jackie Gleason TV movie. So last night my mom says to me "Jen said the school may send everybody home." it seems they had a little water contamination issue going on -- the dreaded e coli. I called jen, and she told me that the problem's been going on for days now, they told the students it's OK to use the water to shower but not to drink, and they've been brushing their teeth with bottled water. She didn't know what caused the problem, what the school is doing to solve the problem or when the problem will be resolved. My daughter being SO informative, I had to check out the school's website myself. Here are the details: the school uses its own well to supply water to the campus. they test the water for contaminants every week. Last thursday-- the 16th -- they got a "positive" for e coli near the Biology building. since it's possible to get a false positive, they came back Frid...

Just got off the phone, I placed an order for....well, I won't say what I ordered. What I will say is, some young lady who is turning 18 on November 7 is going to have a happy birthday.

borrowed from Suzanne, who borrowed it from Grandy (and now I'm going to have to start reading Grandy's blog): 1. Do you like blue cheese? Blech. 2. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Half the people in my contacts list share the same first name, "doctor". I've become very high maintenance when it comes to my health care. I'm no longer nervous, in fact I think there's a little fear in their eyes when they realize I'm an attorney. 3. Favorite Christmas Song? Call me a geek, but I actually saw Andy Williams live and in person for his Christmas show. More than once. Anything on an Andy Williams christmas album is bound to please me. 4. Do you work with people who idolize you? No, my colleagues like and respect me, but idolize...nope. 5. Do you have A.D.D.? No funny answer here, sorry, I've got too many friends dealing with it in their kids. 6. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment. - 1) that tuna sandwich I had at lunch lunch was delish ...

click on the phooto to expand it

I was in Staples tonight buying ink for the printer (again) and I overheard a conversation between two 20-somethings. One girl said to the other "the music in here sounds like Christmas." So I listened to the music, and it was an old Karen Carpenter hit. I haven't listened to my Carpenters albums in ages, but tonight in the shower I was able to sing all of their big hits -- and I remember all of the words. Heard a cover of one of my old favorites from the 60's on the radio the other day. You're just too good to be true. Can't take my eyes off you. You'd be like Heaven to touch. I wanna hold you so much. At long last love has arrived And I thank God I'm alive. You're just too good to be true. Can't take my eyes off you. Pardon the way that I stare. There's nothing else to compare. The sight of you leaves me weak. There are no words left to speak, But if you feel like I feel, Please let me know that it's real. You're just too good ...

Be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it. Overnight the campaign signs have sprouted up. And on my street that means the signs are mostly Republican. that doesn't reflect the demographic, it's just that the Democrats in my neighborhood don't feel the need to advertise right now. and the guy who sellls t-shirts and hats and etc.in front of the PATH Station at the World Trade center is selling many more Obama-Biden items than McCain-Palin merchandise. As Obama's lead widens, the campaign is getting nastier and nastier. I hear McCarthy-istic rhetoric coming from right wingers and I want to cringe. This race is going to be won on economic issues, though. the Wall Street bailout is just the beginning, i'm afraid. In the past few weeks I've noticed something that I haven't seen in NYC since the Dinkins administration. The homeless are back on the subway trains in huge numbers. today I saw a homeless man, dressed in rags and smellin...

Today was the annual Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk at Jones Beach. This was the third time I participated. I do two Ameerican Cancer Society events every year -- Relay for Life at our school every spring, and Making Strides every fall. I found out about this event in 2005, when Jen walked with her cheer squad. In 2006 Becca and her friend A participated for Key Club credit. Jen was supposed to walk, too, but she was ill and opted out. I drove Becca and her friend, and walked alone while they did their own thing. Eventually i found Jen's cheerleaders and walked with them. Last year, Jen walked with the cheerleaders, Becca walked with A, and I walked with a group of ladies from temple. But they walk a lot faster than I do. This year Jen is away at college. I was invited to walk with the ladies from my cancer support group, but they were meeting at the Survivor's Tent at 7:45 in the morning, and Becca didn't want to go until later because she'd been at a party ...

And I'm home alone. and loving the peace and quiet. Becca is at a sweet 16 tonight, they went into the city, and she does not need me to act the chauffeur. unlike this afternoon, of course. she asked me to pick up A and drop them off at the new Halloween store, they met up with S. the three girls plan to dress alike for Halloween. I went to CVS while they shopped. they didn't like anything at the store, so they asked me to drive them over to Party City. I shopped in target and Michael's. S and A found a costume, but they didn't have it in Becca's size. back to the Halloween store, but they had a different costume. so I drove the kids home, and Becca got ready for J's sweet 16 -- they went into the city, but I don't know what they planned to do there. dropped Becca off at J's house, then drove up to Cedarhurst Paper. they had a costume very similar to the one the other girls bought. I would have bought it, but they didn't have it in Becca's size. ...

The other day the Cirque del Soleil clowns hit the street outside my office to promote Wintuk.

it has been a long week. my employer is still in the news, and not for good things. we're trying hard to maintain a "business as usual" attitude. there was a water main break a few blocks from the office and we were in the "boil water" zone, so no water or coffee available in our office all week. Becca is taking her PSAT right now. Idon't know her plans for the rest of the day. got a text from Jen. it's homecoming weekend. she goes to a real rah-rah college, so it should be fun. I have some errands to run today but no real plans.

The LIRR is experiencing major delays from Penn to Jamaica tonight - signal problems. On a Friday, no less. But I guess I shouldn't complain...J.let us all go home at 4:20 and I made the 5:22, first stop Wyandanch. So I am blogging from the train. The musician I saw in Penn tonight was actually pretty good - classical violin. Some of the artists who play Penn are very good - I actually bought 2 of Wendy Savits' CD's ( have always liked folk music). And the musical styles are varied -classical, folk, rock, doo wop, bluegrass....but sometimes I am glad I have my iPod and can tune them out. It seems that these days any loser with a karaoke machine can call himself a "singer" and get a performance slot at Penn. But it does keep things interesting, doesn't it? So it's Friday night and i am wondering if Becca has plans for the night. I would prefer that she stay home because she's taking the PSAT tomorrow. But Becca has always been self-driven acade...

I think it's time I joined the 21st century, don't you? It's October, the air is cool and crisp, the leaves are starting to turn (I love fall foliage!) and as I drive to work every morning I see the signs along Straight Path -- big, pumpkin-colored signs, each bearing the words "u pick" and an arrow pointing to the pumpkin farm up on Colonial Springs Road. Can't say that I've ever actually been to that farm, but ... Well, when I was a kid, we'd go to Meyer's. Each of us was allowed to go into the field and choose one pumpkin. We'd take them home and paint faces on the pumpkins, and then put them on the front porch to display. Eventually the squirrels would get hungry...and there'd be pumpkin seeds all over the porch. when my kids were little, we'd go apple picking in the orchards out east every September, and the we'd stop at Tanger to do some back to school shopping. In October we'd go to several different pumpkin farms for the...