Because the Superbowl is Sunday (No, no one in this house will be watching any such nonsense. We’re having a contractor, who’s also a friend, come over to give us an estimate on finishing our basement. Fun times!), I thought I’d post this hilarious video of a drunk [...]]]>

Because the Superbowl is Sunday (No, no one in this house will be watching any such nonsense. We’re having a contractor, who’s also a friend, come over to give us an estimate on finishing our basement. Fun times!), I thought I’d post this hilarious video of a drunk Packer fan who is distraught over her team’s loss. I’m sure you’ve already seen it, but it’s worth another look, no?

Dude, I’m experiencing some serious winter weather this week! The likes of which I haven’t seen since that Storm of the Century in New York City in 1993. Wow. That was a long time ago. I’m old. Anyway, we’ve got Snow! And Freezing Rain! And an Ice Storm! [...]]]>

Dude, I’m experiencing some serious winter weather this week! The likes of which I haven’t seen since that Storm of the Century in New York City in 1993. Wow. That was a long time ago. I’m old. Anyway, we’ve got Snow! And Freezing Rain! And an Ice Storm! And now it’s melting and is a mess!! Woohooo.

This is our third snow day. I must give credit where credit is due. My neighbors are amazing! I heart this neighborhood so, so much. Not only is it filled with kids who are my girls’ schoolmates and buddies, but all their parents are  super cool! We have all had the best time this week sledding, watching the kids sled (or in my case, sending them out to sled while staying in drinking chardonnay), warming them up with hot cocoa and sending them back out again.

I’ve got to say, it’s all much better with power! Last winter’s snow storm kinda blew because we were without power for about 3 days. It’s all fun and adventurous for 12 hours. 24 tops. 3 days is just not fun.  So let’s all give a big shout out to electricity!!

I actually broke down and busted out the canvases and paints I bought the girls for Christmas. And guess what? It wasn’t that bad! They didn’t make a huge mess or dump paint on the floor. Yay.

I just might survive this snow stuff.

It’s a sad, sad day here at the Breakdown house. My bestest friend and most favorite person in the whole wide world (don’t freak out friends, you are close seconds) was supposed to arrive this afternoon. She wanted to spend her 40th birthday celebrating with ME! Me! She [...]]]>

It’s a sad, sad day here at the Breakdown house. My bestest friend and most favorite person in the whole wide world (don’t freak out friends, you are close seconds) was supposed to arrive this afternoon. She wanted to spend her 40th birthday celebrating with ME! Me! She has a ton of friends (with her personality and charm, of course she does) but she wanted to usher in her 40th year with little ole me!

And we have been so excited! Making plans and dinner reservations, buying wine and goodies. But, alas. This fucking snow storm has put the kabosh on all that fun and merriment. I held out hope – and so did she.  She was on the plane, people! She even purchased snow boots! But conditions are just too bad. The restaurant where I made my reservation called this morning to tell me they wouldn’t be open today. The airport runways are iced over. And we currently have freezing rain.

So she and her husband (who I also love a bunch!) are making the best of things in their sunny hometown of San Diego. I believe they are dining al fresco and sipping cocktails to numb the pain. But we miss each other! And we’re bummed! And she really, really wanted to celebrate her big day on Bainbridge Island with the best broad she knows!

However, plans have been altered. She and her husband and hopefully their amazing kids, whom we all love, will be here for MY birthday in March! So we’ve agreed to say that it’s her birthday too and we are both turning 40! Why not, right? Lemons = lemonade.

I love you, Lisa. I hope you read this (she’s my bff and the catalyst behind this blog, but she only reads it twice a year. I refuse to nag her any more about it. I do have some pride, people).

So we went to the Mochi Tsuki Festival at Islandwood today. And, yeah. Not so much. It was super crowded and therefore hard to see the guys actually pounding the rice into mochi. Also? The Japanese drumming that we were so excited to see [...]]]>

So we went to the Mochi Tsuki Festival at Islandwood today. And, yeah. Not so much. It was super crowded and therefore hard to see the guys actually pounding the rice into mochi. Also? The Japanese drumming that we were so excited to see (only Big Daddy was excited for this. Zeta & Nita saw them at school and their verdict? Too loud.) only had tickets available for the show that was scheduled to start 3 hours from the time we arrived. I knew we weren’t going to last 3 hours.

We didn’t even last one hour. Or a half hour. I think maybe we were there twenty minutes. Because? The mochi is yucky. And we thought we were going to get ice cream. That’s right. We’re idiots. We thought we were going to get the mochi ice cream like you get at Trader Joe’s. What dopes!

Also, my children have my DNA so they are adverse to waiting in line or joining in any sort of crowd (unless it’s for wilding. Then they’re at the front of the pack). So they weren’t really too keen on waiting in a very crowded line, inside a very crowded room to get the opportunity to pound rice into a doughy blob that tastes like paste. (Not that I would know what paste tastes like. I was not one of those kids).

It is just rice, after all. I’m not sure why I expected it to taste any better. The pounding was cool to watch though. So we did have that.

A lot of people really enjoy this festival, so don’t go by us. I think we’re pretty lame. Last year there were over 1300 people.  What do we know? We thought we were getting ice cream. Yeah.

I was driving home today and noticed lots of Christmas lights still up on houses in my neighborhood. I even saw a tree in a window or two. Which is completely crazy to me. It’s a Christmas tree, people. Christmas is over. We are the family that takes [...]]]>

I was driving home today and noticed lots of Christmas lights still up on houses in my neighborhood. I even saw a tree in a window or two. Which is completely crazy to me. It’s a Christmas tree, people. Christmas is over. We are the family that takes the tree and all decorations down on December 26th. Always. Every year. There has never been an exception. It just bugs me to keep it up after the fact. And we are also that family who puts the tree and trimmings up early. Thanksgiving weekend or right after. So after a month of the ho, ho, ho we’re ready to dismantle and get back to normal (or you know, our version of normal. Which is not all that normal).

So, how long do you keep your tree up? Come on. I know there are a couple of you out there who won’t take it down til Valentine’s Day. Admit it.

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to [...]]]>

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” Steve Jobs

I had the privilege of hearing Carol Jenkins speak at the closing keynote at Blogher last weekend.  So much of what she said moved, inspired and surprised me. But the trailer for the movie her organization, Women’s Media Center, screened at the Sundance Film [...]]]>

I had the privilege of hearing Carol Jenkins speak at the closing keynote at Blogher last weekend.  So much of what she said moved, inspired and surprised me. But the trailer for the movie her organization, Women’s Media Center, screened at the Sundance Film Festival touched me the most. As the mother of three girls, the clip gave me pause and was a sober awakening to what they are up against. A lot has changed, ladies. But a lot hasn’t.

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I am sick to death of listening to and reading all the crap about bullying. Why doesn’t anyone teach their kids to toughen up any more? Don’t you realize we are raising a generation of wimps? People who will run out of the room crying if someone makes [...]]]>

I am sick to death of listening to and reading all the crap about bullying. Why doesn’t anyone teach their kids to toughen up any more? Don’t you realize we are raising a generation of wimps? People who will run out of the room crying if someone makes fun of them? People who will tattle to their bosses if someone isn’t nice to them?

Yes, it’s a terrible thing to be picked on for being homosexual, or black or a female, or too tall, fat, short, skinny or because your eyes are too far apart. Or your name is weird/foreign/hard to pronounce. But so fucking what?! What happened to they’re only words? Yes, you will get your feelings hurt. But so what?! That’s life, kids. You get teased throughout school so you can deal with the real bullies of the world.

The ones who steal your ideas and take credit for all your work. The ones who take the promotion that should have been yours. The bitch who goes after your man. What are you going to do? Cry to your mommy about it? MAN UP, KIDS! Tell that big meany to fuck off or leave you alone. Tell him or her you don’t really give a shit if they think you’re gay, short, fat, too tall, ugly and wear dorky shoes.

Teach your kids that other people’s opinions don’t really matter. Teach them that all they need to know is how they feel about themselves. If you are confident and happy, then you don’t care who has an issue with you being homosexual, black, having a vagina or being too tall.

There have been bullies since forever and they aren’t going away. The answer is not to expel them from school or charge them with a felony. If your child killed himself because his homophobic, probably still in the closet, college classmate videotaped him having sex with another man and showed it to some people, it’s not because he was bullied. I can almost guarantee that. Your poor child had been hurting and hating himself for awhile in order to take his life.

Political correctness is going to be the downfall of this country. Do you realize Roots would never be able to be shown on TV today. Or All in the Family. No. Way too offensive. Someone might get their feelings hurt.

Teach your kids to be compassionate and kind. To not tease other people for any reason. Of course.  The goal is to raise a generation of people who treat each other with respect and demand respect from others. But let’s not legislate that. I don’t know about you, but I think we have enough laws in this country. Sure, there should be punishment for the bullies on campus. But let their parents decide what that punishment is. Not the school administrator. Not the district attorney.

Tell the bullies to piss off. Tell your kid to love him or herself and remind them that we have no control over how we look or who we find attractive. That’s right, news flash, people are born gay! And that there is something “wrong” with each and every one of us. Even the bullies. No one is perfect. Everyone is different. And, yes, that’s what makes us all special.