Greetings from the Stone Age

Would you believe, I just discovered the wonder of playlists?  I know! It's amazing I even have electricity in my cave.

Oh, and the Flintstones say hello.

Blogher '10 Doesn't Bug Me

In case you haven't heard...

BlogHer ’10 will take place on August 6 & 7, bringing over one thousand attendees together to celebrate 2010.

All the other bloggers are talking about what they are going to wear, who they are going to meet, which parties they are planning to attend. And in past years, left to tend the home fires while the other bloggers party it up,  I've felt a tad disappointed.  I tend to sit around that weekend like a wistful Cinderella,  wishing that the BlogHer fairy godmother had gifted me with a conference ticket and a babysitter.  I avoid reading the after-BlogHer blog posts.  I might even pout a little bit.

But not this year, folks - this year, I'm glad to stay home.  And why?  Because this year, my friends, the conference is being held in New York City.  While I consider New York City to be one of the best cities in the world (and the only place to get a decent bagel), there is one problem with this location.

 Did you click?  Bedbug capital of the world, people...New York City is turning into Bedbug Central.  Have fun!  Network!  And sleep tight...just don't let those bedbugs bite...

I'll be sitting right here at home with my peculiar bundle of bug phobias, feeling not wistful at all.



[NYC photo credit: geeks.pirillo.com]

Home, Sweet Home

We're back.  I'm not saying it was easy.  I'm not saying I didn't contemplate leaving the car at a rest stop this afternoon and wandering off.  But we made it.  6 hours on the road, sitting crammed behind the front passenger seat and next to a 5-year-old who never stops talking, I tried desperately to enjoy what should have been quality creative time ("What are you making, Mommy?  How many?  Is it done yet?"); but really, I just wanted to stab myself in the head repeatedly with my crochet hook....

Family travel is not for the weak.

We spent the last few days (on Grandpa's dime) at a resort-y place in the mountains.    Now, Larry and I are used to vacations where we drive someplace cheap (usually some military recreational base), cook our own food, drag our offspring to local historical sites and natural wonders, and occasionally find some water to swim in.  The afternoons are spent watching the kids play with other children who are staying near us while we lie around and try to recover from the morning's outing.

So non-stop entertainment of children is not our norm.  Not that we didn't have fun, but it was a hectic sort of fun - we needed a schedule.  Boats on the lake in the morning, swimming in the afternoon.  No opportunity for naps.  I mean, my nap - the kids don't need them anymore.  It was exhausting.

One day it rained; in desperation,  I introduced Susie and Rachel to the joys of BINGO.  The game appealed to them, which is no surprise, given their natural gambling proclivities.  Then we visited the HUGE indoor playground, where - wonder of wonders - there was a vending machine which sold socks.

Striped socks.  Pink socks.  All sorts of socks to wear in the playland...we had never seen the like.  We gazed upon this marvelous machine like noble savages catching our first glimpse of modernity.

Oh!  But the best part?  There were bars at the pool.  Bars at the lakefront.  Everywhere I turned, fancy summer drinks were being sold.  Now, I am not a drinker.  The taste of alcohol holds no appeal for me.  But that first day, when we went down to the splash pool where a big sign advertised the "Drink of the Day" - a Caribbean Cooler, if memory serves me correctly - I had a sudden urge to lounge elegantly by the pool, sipping my glass of cranberry and orange juice with a dash of vodka, while my children played in the water.

I had no idea people did that anymore - I mean, it is just so Mad Men, isn't it?  Is this how the rich still live?

And do you think Larry and I could pull it off?


[HappyRoadTrip image: carandcaboodle.com]

[Sock picture: picturesdepot.com]

The Search For Tetris

Well, we're set - packing's done, right down to the requisite knitting supplies for a 6-hour car trip.  I managed to jam enough sock-weight yarn into my bag to make 4 pairs of socks.  Which I can start on once I finish the one pair that I have been working on for the past 2 months or so...let's see, 2 months for one pair...and, um, 3 days for the next 4.  That makes sense, fellow knitters, right?  Isn't there a certain momentum built in if I immediately start a new pair?

But just in case my math is off, I also brought the yarn Susie wants a scarf made out of; oh, and then there are the 3 skeins of cotton that I am crocheting place mats from.

I hope I don't run out.

Larry and I hit 3 stores tonight, frantically searching for a handheld Tetris game for the car.  The one that saved our sanity on the trip last year is fading away, and we're scared to embark without this addictive marvel of electronic amusement.  We learned, to our dismay, that this item is the elusive holy grail of the toy kingdom.  We left Best Buy (our last stop) crestfallen and emptyhanded, but not before I noticed what looked like a Hello Kitty version of Tetris.  Eureka!

Alas, there was no such thing; what I had espied was simply a Hello Kitty shell for an Ipod Touch.

Did anyone catch that?  I'll repeat - a Hello Kitty shell for an IPod Touch.  Can someone please explain to me who is spending 200 dollars on expensive electronics for girls young enough to be into Hello Kitty?

Fare thee well, my imaginary friends!  Larry is waking me at 5 tomorrow morning, cruel man that he is.  But that's all right - I'll make him listen to Tommy Makem and the Clancy Brothers for the entire ride.  Listening well is the best revenge.

Ice Dreams

Look - I'm trying not to complain about the heat around here, okay? But truth to tell, all I can think about at this point is buying a large Slurpee at my local 7-11 and smearing it all over my face and neck.

Aaaaah.....

Luckily, we are escaping to the (hopefully cooler) mountains for a few days this weekend (thanks to Grandpa, who has decided he sure as heck can't take it with him). We're meeting Grandpa and Uncle Matt somewhere 6 hours from here - you know, just throwing the kids and a few suitcases in the car and hitting the road. We're nothing if not spontaneous. All I have to do tomorrow is wash everyone's laundry; pack clothes, food, and enough emergency medicinals to save a small village from the plague; and clean out the minivan formerly known as pristine.

And shop for "car snacks," as my kids affectionately call them...

And go to Brian's band camp concert...

And take the children to the pool because it will be approximately 357 degrees here on Friday...

Must. Have. Slurpee.

So maybe it would be a good idea to get a decent night's sleep tonight. No staying up to play Scramble...no hanging out on Twitter...absolutely no blog-hopping...

Although I might just squeeze in a quick trip to 7-11 before bed.