songbird's crazy world

Jen was homefor spring break this week, and Becca came home for the weekend.  and it occurred to me that I hadn't spent any time alone iwth either of my girls in...well, in forever.  so today we went out to brunch, just the three of us....pancakes and french toast and eggs at our local diner.  talked about school and boys and work and summer plans.  they're not little girls anymore, they're both grown women now...

Funny what brings a mom and daughter together, isn't it? Jen received the first Harry Potter novel when she was 11 years old, the same age as Harry was in that first novel. Jen read it.  Becca read it.  I read it. Not only were my children hooked, so was I.  I have always loved fantasy  -- I read the Lord of the Ring Trilogy in high school, I love the Pern books, and anything to do with Merlin and Camelot has me weak in the knees. As each new book was announced, we'd pre-order it so that we'd have it the very first day.  By the time Order of the Phoenix came around I was ordering three copies of each book. And then there were the movies.  We've all seen them, many times.  Own each one on DVD.  Pre-ordered Deathly Hallows Part I.   Counting down to Deathly Hallows Part II in July.  Remember when my kids bought The Tales of Beadle the Bard for me? We had loads of Harry Potter stuff from the late, lamented Warner Brothers Sto...

I think this is going to be a great season. I will be rooting for Ralph Macchio. It's a case of home town pride. Ralph went to high school with my sister.  They were  friends.  I didn't know him, maybe spoke to him once at her sweet 16.  But I remember going to their school shows and seeing him dance. Thought he was adorable back then.  Yes, I'm a fan....

FINALLY got the tickets....8/19 at Jones Beach!!!!

today is the first day since 12/27/10 that I can honestly say there isn't a single patch of snow on my lawn, driveway or deck. that may be normal for some parts of the country, but for Long Island...well, I have never seen a winter quite like this!

(cross posted at Midcentury Modern Moms ) Becca will be home for spring break on Friday.  She plans to pick up a few shifts at the clothing store in the mall.  Of course, this means she has to buy some new outfits to wear to work...She's due back at school on the 21st. Jen's spring break doesn't begin until the 18th. So they will be home together for the weekend of the 18th-21st, but each of them will essentially be home for spring break alone. That just feels...weird.  They're on completely different schedules. They're on completely different life tracks. Jen's plan has always been to become an elementary school teacher.  She knew what she wanted before she left high school. She's hit some snalgs and bumps in the road along the way, but she has never wavered from that goal. Becca has jumped from idea to idea to idea.  But she has finally announced plans to major in political science and then go to law school. I am amazed.  But maybe I sho...

Jimmy Buffett tickets go on sale Monday morning for the Jones Beach show...Friday August 19....before our WDW vacation.....

One of my treasured memories is Paul McCartney's concert at Citi Field July 17, 2009   I loved every minute of that show, but one of my favorites was when Billy Joel joined him for "I Saw Her Standing There". But what I didn't mention...How desperately I had wanted to see Billy Joel at Shea the previous year.  I tried to get tickets, but the shows sold out in minutes and secondary markets like StubHub were outrageously priced.  I cried.  Seriously/  I had not felt so bereft since I missed Simon & Garfunkel's 1981 concert in Central Park. Over this past weekend, though, my pain was eased.  I finally got to see The Last Play at Shea. What movie can boast a cast that includes Billy Joel, Paul McCartney, Keith Hernandez, Tom Seaver, Mike Piazza, Tony Bennett and Garth Brooks?    The documentary talks about Robert Moses, the building of Shea, the Mets, the music -- especially the Beatles -- a Billy Joel's biography growing up on Long Isl...

Shortly after I got married in 1987, my grandmother's health began to decline.  It was not unexpectd, she was 85 years old when I got married (At least, I think I think she was 85, we were never sure exactly how old she was because there was no birth certificate....)  She passed away in 1995, after a long period of steady decline.  It was difficult to watch, over the years, how a once-vital older woman slowly lost bits of herself.... Last year we lost my aunt, my mother's younger sister.  She fell sick in early February with what should not have been a fatal illness, but one problem led to another, and she passed in April.  My father says he is a miracle of modern science, that he would not be here but for 21st century medical advances.  He never thought he'd live to see 84, but we celebrated his 84th  birthday last month. He's had health issues for a number of years. Of course it affected him, but he still enjoyed life.   I n...

So why did I feel annoyed? I'm facebook friends with Sharyn. I know her from synagogue and because her older daughter was in Becca's class in school.    Both of Sharyn's daughters are dancers.  Her older daughter was on dance team and her younger daughter is a current member of the team. Sharyn and I roomed together one year when the team went to WDW.  I like Sharyn and I like her daughters. but I felt annoyed at her post. The dance team is in WDW right now for a competition.  Sharyn posted about it on facebook.  And then I found out that Erica went to WDW with the team. Erica owns the salon where my mom gets a manicure every week.  My mom mentioned she had to reschedule her appointment this week because Erica went to WDW. I've known Erica for 16 years, ever since her daughter and Becca were in class together in preschool.  Erica's daughter didn't go to the same high school as Becca.  But Erica's best friend Kathy has...

So, my first ever Jimmy buffett concert was in November 2009, I won the tickets from Newsday -- floor seats at Madison Square Garden.  Concert happened just as we were planning our Caribbean cruise, and the timing couldn't be better.  When we took the cruise in February, we walked past Margaritaville in the Cayman Islands, but didn't have time to go inside.  And the Margaritaville in cozumel was too far out of our way....but we did go to the one in Niagara Falls in July. We saw Jimmy at Jones Beach last August.  That time we sat in nosebleed territory.  I bought the tickets on Stub Hub because I wasn't able to get them directly from Live Nation.... What happened  -- Jimmy announced his summer tour dates while we were on the cruise.  We came home from the cruise on a Sunday, and I didn't read the Sunday papers until Monday afternoon --- and the Sunday paper had an ad annoucing that the tickets would go on sale Monday morning. So this year, ...

Spring officially arrives March 20, less than 3 weeks from now. Although we've been known to get snow in March, and occasionally even in April, for the most part the worst of the winter weather is over.  We're in the home stretch now. I'm not quite ready to put away the snow boots or break out the flip flops, but I am looking forward to exchanging the heavy winger coat for a lightweight jacket. Spring...bring it on!