The Power of Duh

Like fossils that keep on surfacing out of the rich Siberian mud, "Duh" has made a comeback in my life. It is as ripe an expression for Kate as it was for me when I was a teenager. From about 13 to 16 years of age, I used
'Duh" all the time to express annoyance or incredulity that the person in front of me could be so incredibly stupid and/or clueless. And now that my daughter is a teenager she too uses it to express all those same emotions. "Have you brushed your teeth,?" Duh. That could mean yes, of course or I'm gob smacked because I hadn't really thought about running some twigs across my teeth. Another variant of this is "Oh, Mom, duh." That is often used as a response to such diverse questions as Did you do your homework, write your grandmother and clean up your room. Or even, I'm going to go walk the dog, how's the weather?

Duh

What else is so all purpose and satisfying?

High Heels

I am wearing high heels today which sounds like a simple statement but for someone who probably hasn't worn heels for months and months except maybe occasional boots, this is a big deal! Big deal i repeat. And I might be able to finish the day in them! That's quite a success story considering that I always used to wear high heel slingbacks.

Ok enough of my story.

Kate seems to be feeling better and certainly has more energy, thank god.

Maybe Mono Again

Kate's been tired, too tired for a normal high energy kid. The other night she was too tired to chew and finally stretched out on the foyer floor because she liked the way the wood felt.

Yesterday she fell asleep in school twice and when she came home took a 5 hour nap. I know how that is going to play with her friends. "I took The longest nap ever." No, I took a long nap too. these girls seem to be stuck in an endless game of one upsmanship....But the point none the less is that with a break for a quick dinner Kate slept through until the morning. We are thinking that this is a relapse of her mono. or a return in a more powerful way. Of course exams are coming up so the timing, while never good when it comes to being sick, is really awful. Let's see.

But now it's Friday. I resolved my angst with my new boss about a run in we had yesterday and so now I can breathe more easily It's amazing how pervasive problems with work can become. It's part of life and a pretty nasty part. So, all is good, and it's Friday.

Celebration

Kate was jubilant last night when she finished her assignment to write about paper her Community Service Project which she had just barely started over this past weekend. It was a very good paper and she was so proud of it that she thought she could and or should celebrate. Far be it for me to say don't celebrate but as we were talking about what shape this celebration might take, she began to recount a conversation she had with her friend Jessica from school. This 7th grader said that she just wants to be smart. But what about having a sense of humor, kate asked her. Not important. Just important to be smart. How will you get along with people? Not important because if I'm really smart they'll have to put up with me. What about being happy Kate asked. Not important, it's just important to be smart.

I think she's crazy Kate reported.

Now that conversation and the inherent life philosophy is worth a celebration.

Shoes

It's not about feet my friends, it's about shoes. And yesterday I received an advance notice about new shoes from Christian Louboutin at Saks. So, I casually clicked the button which took me immediately to dominatrix boots. Holy cow. They would hurt. But I kept on going and suddenly there were some 50 new shoes with 5inch heels. But they were all so beautiful and well made. I kept flipping back and forth between the pictures of pink shoes, green shoes, cork shoes and the descriptions of the heel heights. Finally I found the perfect pair of snake skin shoes and I am drooling over these pieces of art. 3 inch heels should be a piece of cake for me even thought I have been wearing sneakers and flats almost exclusively for the last year. I can do it. 3 inch heels and the price was a mere $1,097.

I decided to share my anticipatory pleasure so I sent out the Saks ad to almost everyone I know. If I'm generous then maybe the shoes will come to me. OMG. Or, maybe I will have to go visit them in their temporary home.

Signs of summer

One of the most reliable signs of summer is the first night we can have dinner on the roof. Sunday was the night. Kate and I had spent our morning in the park with Miss Murray running and watching folks, some 45,000 folks to be exact, stream into Central Park for a massive AIDS walk. So it was a beautiful day! Homework, lunch and a swim with Grandma Dot, bang, it's all gone.

After dinner Kate went off to deliver fresh salad which she had made along with a vinaigrette to the Friends shelter as part of her community service assignment for school. An assignment she almost forgot and really wanted to blow off! My opinion. In the early afternoon we went to the super market near Grandma Dot to buy various salad greens and to my horror the total bill was $25. No wonder they wanted salad and not cookies. But then to Kate's horror I insisted that we deliver them in a pillow case which keeps everything crisp. I also discovered that Kate had no idea how to make salad. She has a good grip on a vinaigrette but actually getting the greens together was a new trick for her. She took a head of lettuce and put the entire thing in the salad spinner. Ok, time for a life lesson about how to make salad.

Arnie heard today that he is out of the running for what would have been a very exotic job in Abu Dhabi. I think we're both sad but it was going to be a very two edged opportunity with some great ups but also numerous other attendant problems. This morning as I walked to work I kept hearing an old Rosemary Clooney song in my head, "Whatever will be, will be."

Bob Hutchinson's famous quote about exercise

The Hutchinson quote about exercise goes something like this, "Whenever I feel the urge to exercise, I sit down until it passes." Well, that not my feeling about exercise but it is definitely my feeling about PC eating. i went on this diet with protein powder which repeated on me and egg whites which are slimey even when cooked and general felt like hell. Could have also been my stress level for that week, the moon in the wrong position or the pollan count. But basically I felt like hell. Even so I soldiered on and made spaghetti Bolognese everybody's favorite dinner with Turkey. Kate took one look at her dinner and put her fork down. Isn't it good, I asked? No, she said, and besides when did Spaghetti Bolognese have white lumps in it?
Oh, thats the turkey.

Ok moving back to my unhealthy but delicious eating habits. And I am going to be making real sauce Bolognese tonight.

A perfect September Day

I'm right. It is a perfect cool but sunny september day and I'm wearing a tweed jacket and big boots so that I look like a dominatrix for a variety of meetings today! It's working and everyone seems to be falling in line.

This crazy weather follows a brillant weekend with very little humidity. We had an abortive outing with some friends on Friday night to try a new hot chic french restaurant in tribeca that I had been reading about. They just forgot to tell me when I made the reservation that they didn't have a liquor license. Nothing to drink on a Friday night? 4 crestfallen adults. Who soon took to their phones and moved on to a fabulous Italian restaurant that I had known nothing about. Alays great to go to a new place.

Saturday was a whirlwind of the usual of taking Miss Murray to Park and then taking Kate to what I think is the last of the mitzvahs. Besides which we've run out of clothes -- repetition appears to be a big sin -- or so I've been told. Off to dinner with friends and Kate baby sat for their daughter. They were both eager for us to leave and let them play and we obliged and went down the street to a french restaurant. Finally.

And then the fabled mother's day when I'm often surprised that I'm part of this club. But it was a lovely day because everybody in the family was fooded out and so we didn'thave to go out at all. I was able to take naps all day, on and off, and gather for dinner at some reasonable hour and watch an old movie with Clark Gable and Sophia Loren made in the 1960's and filmed in Capri. Wonderful.

Time for a trip to Italy. Actually when is it not time for a trip to Italy?

A kindler gentler Friday

Kate and I bought Alice an aquarium with all the fixtures and fittings as a farewell salute to some 10 years with us. It was Kate's idea and much better than my suggestion of a scarf. All this I think I've recounted before. But Alice was thrilled with the aquarium, she just needs to add fish and enjoy...It took us well over a month to get it together but I'm really glad that we did.

Kate and I left Alice standing in front of the builidng looking for a taxi to go to Brooklyn in the middle of rush hour which made me somewhat nervous that she would still be standing there when we got home from our impromptu dinner in the Park. All good. No Alice. Good dinner of Chinese takeout as we watched the yogo class stretch and om.

Ice cream capped a perfect evening.

Rants

I've decided to make Thursdays my rant days and just take off. Today's vitriole is saved for The today Show that never broadcasts any news and the story about the Lacross player in Virginia who was murdered by her boyfriend who was known to all her friends to be abusive.

Women do not have to be treated badly and should not tolerate that behavior. Nor should they tolerate it for their friends. If the guy isn't nice, then get out. Fast.

That's my Thursday rant.

Proper Eating

I am not a believer in proper eating as its currently defined. I subscribe totally to the French ideal of eating which is to sit down and respect your food which should be good.

I'm not sure how I got to that point except that my mother was a nutritional nazi who endlessly pointed out that carrots were good for your eyes -- clearly not mine -- and fish was brain food -- jury still out on that -- eggplant had potassium, wheat was toxic...you get the point. And of course she didn't really give a damn about food. Her favorite meal as I remember it from my far off youth was two boiled eggs on white rice.

So I was determined not to make dinner a power struggle with Kate and also determined not to have those conversations, like eat your strawberries because they are good for you. I positively exploded at some of our friends once when they said that to Kate and I asked why they didn't talk about the color of the strawberries, the aroma and the taste.

But recently, although I am still hanging on to my principles which include food is love and food is pleasure, I have taken on a new eating plan which includes egg white omlettes, protein powder shakes and time and measured infusions of protein. It's working I think. I am slimmer but certainly not happier...

This morning after I dropped Kate at school I strolled through the Farmers Market looking for Mache but what I found was far more fabulous. Three kinds of radishes, lettuces and fabulous whole wheat bread.

More from this semi reformed eater later...

Round Up

We all dressed up on Friday in our best bib and tucker for a celebratory dinner at the Cos Club with Grandma Dot to mark our 5 years as a family. I had bought Kate a really pretty pink sundress with tigers several weeks ago and exhorted her not to crumple it in a ball and step on it. At least not until after this dinner. After all why hang things up? Actually I think I did the simply dropping of clothes on the floor and stepping on them for many years until I had to pay for my own dry cleaning and laundry. Deprivation is the mother of innovation. I'm sure thats not how that saying goes. Kate looked gorgeous and to my mind appropriate. Arnie looked very handsome and since I had just been to my high school reunion -- not telling how many years ago that was -- I looked as good as I possibly could. After all when you haven't seen people in years, you want to stun them with how good you look. Don't you? But my high school reunion was great and I was reminded of how important these sub groups are in one's life. I have kept up with many of these women over the years and see right now that Kate keeps in touch with nobody. Arnie either. I am the super duper track 'em down and keep in touch. Important. So we all gathered for dinner with Grandma Dot and were able to sit outside for drinks and then have dinner on the porch of the Club which made me think that I was in Italy. How great is that?

Then Saturday night after we picked Kate up from a bat mitzvah she didn't want to go out -- again a sensational night to pass amongst them -- we went out alone. Tamarind Margharitas and Indian Food. That did me in quite happily.

Made a presentation today for the office on social networking. Always fun to sound authoritative...maybe not accurate....