songbird's crazy world

so last night Jen called me from school and asked me to buy a DVD "before Disney puts it back in the vault." the DVD she wanted was a prequel to the classic "The Little Mermaid". Jen has always loved Disney movies, but I think "Mermaid", in all of its incarnations (movie, TV show, sequel, prequel, Broadway show, soundtracks, Disneyword performances) has always been her favorite. on Jen's 3rd birthday, my sister Andrea -who has long red hair- borrowed a mermaid costume. Jen was so excited! she wanted to wear the costume. fortunately I had some pretty green fabric in the house, which I wrapped around her like a sarong, and she was overjoyed. so of course I went out and bought the DVD for her.

this is "Hungry", the mascot for Weight Watchers' new "Momentum" program. everyone at the meeting yesterday would like to have one. hey, if Ty can make Sasha and Malia doll, why not make a "Hungry" doll, too? I'd keep mine on my desk at work, for inspiration. same reason I watch "the Biggest Loser" every Tuesday night. I'm trying to find my groove. or actually, "rediscover" would be a better word. I lost 70 pounds...then stopped eating right and stopped exercising, and gained back 40. last night I did a 30 minute workout and thought I was going to die. I'm doing "Relay for Life" in June, I've got to get back in shape for it!

bought myself a little pick-me-up on this dreary winter day This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless! To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture . Note: To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime� 6.5 or higher is required.

if you can't see the whole picture, click on it to enlarge. Here's Jen in the dress she wore to senior prom: and here's Becca in a dress she wore to a friend's sweet 16:

don't let my smile fool you, I am HATING this winter weather! normally our winters on Long Island are relatively mild, maybe a week or two of extremely cold weather, maybe one or two snow storms. this year we've been hit with one storm after another after another. and I am sick of it! you have no idea how miserable I am right now.

Jibber Jabber commented on Suzanne's blog and mentioned that 1776 is one of her favorite soundtracks. it's on my hit list too. I'm a Broadway baby and majored in history in college. I own the DVD of the movie, starring William Daniels. and after seeing Brent Spiner in the Broadway revival, I bought the CD of the revival cast. my ex husband -- all 5'4" of him -- played John Adams in his high school production. Remember that old series, St. Elsewhere? Ed Flanders, Ed Begley Jr., William Daniels, Howie Mandel, Denzel Washington, Mark Harmon, among others. A lot of black comedy and inside jokes. the series was set in Boston. In one story line, William Daniels' character, Dr. Mark Craig, visits Philadelphia (I think his character was supposed to have gone to medical school there). And during that episode, he sings one line: "It's hot as hell in Philadelphia!" when I saw that show on TV, I almost lost it!

I visited the school district's website today. and there it was. the 2009-2010 school calendar. the first day of school. each vacation day. the last day of classes. graduation. Becca's senior year, laid out on a neat sheet of paper. the last year my life will be governed by a public school calendar. when the girls were little I figured out "Jen will graduate from high school in 2008 and Becca in 2010." 2010. wasn't that an Arthur C. Clarke novel? it seemed so far away. and now it's almost here. and I'm not ready to let her go.