Saturday, January 29, 2005

Hey Jiggelo! No, I didn't spell it wrong and no, it doesn't refer to an obese male prostitute. A jiggelo, according to Mary Breidenbach of Indianapolis, is a jello shot, only kicked up a notch. Mary should know. She wrote the book - actually co-authored it with Barrett and Sharon Calhoun - and the name of the book is "Jiggelo: inventive gelatin shots for creative imbibers." Read more about it here. Mary is also a fabulous and fun 41 today - Happy Birthday Mary!     7:12:36 PM    comment []

	Thursday, January 27, 2005

So I'm 40 now. So what? So nothing, that's what. Young people still consider you old, no matter how "young" you say you feel. And you get no sympathy from those who have already made it past that point in life. Last Saturday was my 40th birthday. It was smooth sailing until toward the end, after running my teenage son back and forth in a snowstorm, then coming home to my husband and daughter both vegged out in front of separate TVs, I thought, "Hey, I'm 40 and fabulous - I should DO something!" But it was 9:30 at night, so instead, I cleaned the vanity sink, which only fueled the self-pity machine. My husband got the hint, went into the kitchen and made brownies, only he half-baked them so at 10 p.m. we sat down and ate these runny chocolate things that were like crust with warm batter in the middle. Kind of good actually. But a stomacheache afterwards. Here's a question for you. If Hollywood wanted to make a movie of your life, who would you want to play "you"? In one of the few jobs where I had to hire people, I would ask this during the interview. I don't know why - I wasn't trying to throw anyone off or see how well they could improvise or read any deep meaning into it. Still, I'd get some interesting answers. If you asked me now, I'd choose Diane Lane. For one thing, we've got the exact same birthday. Plus, wouldn't you choose someone better-looking than yourself? And besides her roles in "Under the Tuscan Sun" and "Unfaithful," who knew she played leading roles in the movie versions of those Jr. High lit classics - "The Outsiders" and "Rumble Fish"? 9:31:14 PM    comment []

	Friday, January 21, 2005

Dobson vs. Squarepants: It's on! BIKINI BOTTOM, Pacific Ocean (1/21/05) - Perhaps spurred on by post-election hubris and the fact that even NPR News can't ignore him now, Focus on the Family's Dr. James Dobson took aim at yet another source of social evils: Robert "SpongeBob" SquarePants. "Does anybody here know SpongeBob?" Dobson asked the crowd during a black-tie dinner celebrating the re-election of President George W. Bush. He went on to reveal that SquarePants, his cartoon colleague James "Jimmy" Neutron and others were appearing in a "pro-homosexual video." The few audience members who raised their hands in response to Dobson's initial question quickly pretended to be signaling the waitstaff, waving, or providing a sign-language interpretation of his speech. The web site for the children's cable network Nickelodeon mentions nothing about the sponge's stance toward homosexuality. However, it does say that SquarePants has "a knack for getting into trouble without really trying" and notes that he "gets on the nerves" of his neighbor, Squidward. Sea sponges are hermaphroditic, meaning that a single sponge has both male and female sexual organs. Still, some conservatives insist that a sponge's sexual orientation is a lifestyle choice having nothing to do with biology. SquarePants, accompanied by longtime pals Patrick and Sandy Cheeks, held a press conference during which he denounced the leader of the Colorado Springs-based evangelical ministry and foundation. "I'm no Tinky Winky," said SquarePants, referring to the purple Teletubby who was the target of fundamentalist anti-gay outrage a few years ago. Winky, unlike the popular yellow cartoon character, never stepped forward to defend himself. Sponges are generally non-violent unless provoked. Of Dobson, the undersea pineapple dweller said, "I think I can take him." 1:51:51 PM    comment []

	Thursday, January 20, 2005

I know it's Inauguration Day, but... I'm not going to write about it. It's also Not One Damn Dime Day, but enough has been said about the pros and cons of that too.   Today is also the 10th birthday of my niece, Abby. Happy Birthday Abby! Congratulations on making double-digits! Recently at my parents' house I came across a photo from my own 10th birthday party. That's me in the t-shirt with the number "10" on it - a coincidence, I think, that I was wearing that. It just happened to be my favorite shirt at the time. I had a slumber party, and this photo was taken in the morning, so we're all looking a bit worn out from staying up most of the night making up dances to our favorite selection from the K-Tel Album "Today's Greatest Hits." We didn't mind that "Today's Greatest Hits," like much of the K-Tel genre, featured a sound-alike band singing those classics like, "Rock the Boat (Don't Rock the Boat Baby)" and "The Night Chicago Died" and "Billy Don't Be a Hero."  We would rate each other on the dances we made up. If I remember correctly, the contests were pretty competitive and there were always sore losers (I was the worst one), leading to the inevitable slumber-party argument. If there was one song on "Today's Greatest Hits" that both baffled us and grossed us out, it was the cover of Paul Anka's hit, "Havin' My Baby." I can still remember most of the great lines in that duet with (unknown female singer), including "I'm a woman in love and I love what it's doing to me," and "you didn't have to keep it, wouldn't put you through it, could have swept it from your life but you wouldn't do it...and you're havin' my baby!" Eeeww. But we sang it matter-of-factly back in '75. And I can still name everyone in the photo - my brother Bob looking bored on the couch, Kimmy next to him (best friend since 2nd grade); Casey Willard who lived on the air force base and whose family got transferred the next year; Terri Gillespie, who took dance classes with me at the Judy Bowers School of Dance; in front of Terri, my swim-team pal Jeanne Daley (who went to the Catholic school), and on the other side of me, my next-door neighbor Jenne Rouch, holding my baby brother Dave. Besides Kimmy, I don't know what happened to the rest of my friends. I moved after 5th grade and quit taking dance lessons a couple years later.   9:10:09 AM    comment []

	Tuesday, January 18, 2005

Mamapalooza! I haven't said much about what I do for a living yet. One of my occupations is as the news editor of a web site. I go through the Associated Press wire stories each morning. Here's a great story sure to be inspiring to 40-something moms - you can rock out just like we did back in the '80's... And there really is a Mamapalooza. If I go, I'm definitely getting the t-shirt! 11:52:16 AM    comment []

	Sunday, January 16, 2005

So here goes... This is a blog about turning 40, written by someone who is about to turn 40. But it's not just that. Like anything else, there's only so much you can say. I imagine some of the posts here will have something to do with this blog's title, and some won't. Saturday Jan. 22 is the big day. Stay tuned. Meanwhile, I'm trying to figure out how to use this software. If you think it's easy, good for you...and bite me. 7:29:38 PM    comment []

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