I tell you, it's all about affirmations. Co-worker has had trouble with her computer since day 1, and has constantly yelled at it, pounds her mouse, etc. I've explained time & time again why it hates her & her evil soul: she has too many things open on it (memory); unfortunately her computer doesn't have a lot of memory so backs up, defragmenting, etc. are key; she willy nilly keeps AOHell & Yahoo messengers which makes her computer angry at her (also once it interferred with some changes we made). It's all about caressing & lovin'. Sweet sweet electronic lovin'.

Speaking of food, tilapia was on sale & I picked it up - I've had it in restaurants plenty and am thinking of just doing it simply with garlic, pepper, olive oil, maybe a hint of paprika or cumin for spice? Planning on just putting it on ye olde George Foreman 15 minutes pre-Survivor. Any other suggestions?

Yeah: Don't cook it the entire 15 minutes, unless you want to use it to re-sole your shoes. 8 to 10 minutes should be plenty.

Oh, and I'm leaning toward paprika over cumin. (-:

Yea, I'm all about fish not tasting like my flipflops.

I saw a recipe on line with cumin, and though it's a plain fish not sure if that's what I want.

Talapia.... mmmm. I don't have a recipe for talapia, but I have enjoyed it with a horseradish crust in a restaurant. My favorite sauce for fish is your basic saute onion and garlic, add a bit of canned whole tomato, add olives and capers, and then serve sauce with the George Foremaned fish. Wow, that practically qualifies for Hildy's three ingredient cookbook! Anyway it's easy and a bit salty, which I love, and did I mention it's easy? Serve with some brocolli rabe for the wilted green experience and you've got a healthy, fairly tasty, and easy to prepare dinner.


Would love to meet you too, Last Dodo, though I can't Con this Thursday. Mr Yogi and I have a wine tasting to attend, and I love a nice wine tasting almost as much as I love Survivor. But we can meet any old time since we are practically neighbors. I would sincerely enjoy it!



Lord, Tracey Bee - That just put me off ever making another copy for life! I've got to get a list of affirmations from skagirl - quick. And Wow, I'm a dude! I kind of like that. I have to say, it's not a nickname people often send my way for some reason. I'm more of a dudette. Maybe it's all the pink...

What sort of meat does MamaBlevins like Jennblevins? I have some very easy and tasty recipes that would fit the bill because Mr. and Little Yogi are unrepentant carnivores. I tend to make a lot of dishes that can be made ahead as I can't cook for hours after work. Let me know if I can help. And by the way, what is Red Robin?

Last night, I had one of my dearest friends to dinner. She's getting married in Abruzzo Italy this summer. She is my third friend to get married in Italy this year. I may actually go to this wedding as I truly love her. We have such a bond, even though she is in her twenties and I ... am not longer, heh. All the Yogi Family adores her and her family. They all came to Thankgiving dinner at our house last year. Anyway. I'm thinking about it. She is getting married at a 12th century abbey and the reception is at a castle overlooking the adriatic. We looked at all the pictures on the internet last night after dinner. It's very enticing.

I did offer to give her a shower. Instead of tea sandwiches, we are going to have Mr. Yogi's famous lasagna plus lots of other food. Hey, I'm not inviting a bunch of Italians to my house without serving a couple courses and a dessert table!!! It will be fun.

Oh, hey! I got one of those a few weeks ago and I absolutely love it. Now I'm grilling tons of things I used to just microwave or whatever. (I'm far from what you would call a gourmet chef!)

For a while I was experimenting with marinades, but I noticed that you could barely notice them, so either it's not good for that or I'm not good at marinading.

ETA: Yeah, that would be great, yogi! It sounds like your life is definitely more hectic than mine, so when you have any free time, just email!

Tilapia? Never heard of it. But I'm assuming it's some kind of fish that you cook in the previously explained to me George Foreman. Sometimes I do find it hard to follow all these Americanisms, even after having lived there, but I am sure learning heaps from you all.

Yogi going to a wedding in Italy sounds fantastic! A 12th century abbey and castle, wow, what a beautiful setting for a wedding. I've never been to Italy, but have been to other parts of Europe that are similar to what you mentioned. I once stayed in a 900 year old castle in Germany overlooking the Rhine - it's now a youth hostel. Of course we did the ABC tour in Europe - "another bloody castle". There are so many of them, and you do tend to become blase about it after awhile. When I lived in Oxford some of the colleges dated back many centuries, and locals were referring to one college as "New College" because it was only 400 years old! Heh. Here we've only had 200 years of white settlement, so buildings that old fascinate me.

It's Friday morning here, 9.30am. Which means that on the east coast of the USA it's Thursday 7.30pm and Survivor will be starting in half an hour. Will be thinking of you (and feeling just a little envious)!

Princess Peachy xxx

Jennblevins, I love Salem. Of course, it always rains in November! Expecially that one year we had the flood; was it 96 or so? I remember being stuck on our little hill for over a week because the creek washed out the road. Where do you live in Washington?
It was sunny today too, but a little chilly in the morning. Of course I drank up some sun for you guys! If it stays nice like this for next week, I may get a chance to play softball *outside*! Yay!
Yogi, you're friend is getting married in Italy? I'm envious now. I've always wanted to go there. Only two more weeks until vacation! I'm going to England this time around and might meet some of my friends who live in Paris, if they can get off work. I'm excited!!
Wonderful Thursdays to all!! (And Fridays for Aussie Girl!!)

I want to go to the TWOPCON! (whine).
Let's schedule another at The Whitney Biennial!

Ricci I want to go to the TWOPCON too! Why don't we schedule it for over here? Hmmmm??? LOL.

pretty you're going to England? Lucky girl!

Yogi, Red Robin is a chain of table-service burger restaurants. They're mostly located on the West Coast, I think. They have a website. Burgers and 'bottomless' fries are $6-$7, other stuff more. There's a ton of them around here so they're kind of the upscale McDonalds of eating out -- a fallback. They like serving drinks in strangly shaped plastic cups. They're very loud. They have a bunch of TVs and corporate-wacky decor. I think that chains which fill similar niches must exist around the US.

As for MamaBlevins, she generally cooks the hunk-of-meat, two veggies (one plain, one with something, like sauce or cheese or whatever), one starch type of meal. To make things worse, about the only meat we can all agree on is chicken or turkey. I'm figuring on making vegetable toad-in-the-hole the first time they come over for dinner, and maybe spaghetti if they come over again. Boring, but easy.

Pretty in Pinki, I live in Seattle now. And I definitely remember that flood! I think I still have a pair of pants around here somewhere that stiff have grunge from filling sandbags! It was February of 96, I think. And then water rationing afterwards ... all that grit and dirt and not being allowed to do laundry or take many showers. Yuk, I hate floods. It did provide lots of interesting stories from my friends, though! All I did was sandbag, but one of my friends ended up passing library books to upper floors as the water worked its way up the shelves. I don't think they put any more library books on the lowest shelves after that.

Ooh, Seattle. I looove Seattle. Oh, yes, the sandbagging. I also remember our school being flooded and having to replace the intire gym floor because no one sandbagged around it. So everyone had pe in the music rooom while they redid it. It was definitly a bunch of bulls in a china closet. And the water conservation, that didn't affect us that badly, but I do remember hearing about it. We were on our own water system, and I do remember all the grit coming through the pipes. Yuck, definitly.
To further help Yogi, Red Robin is insanely cheap but has good food, if you know what to order. Some places are better than others, but they have about the same menu everywhere: lots of bugers and spirits. And fries. Can't forget fries. And never go there on your birthday if you don't like public humiliation. They sing. Loudly. All of them. Even the chefs come out. At least in the ones I've been to. It's horrible.
Thank you, Aussie Girl, I know I'm lucky to be going. I still feel bad about some of my friends that are staying here for break.

Hi everyone!! Oh, I'm so jealous! I wish I were going to Europe. I went to Germany once, years ago, and I absolutely loved it! I couldn't believe it when I saw women out at 6:00 in the morning on their hands and knees scrubbing the sidewalks. The whole country was just so clean! The only places that were dirty were the places that the American GIs went. Go figure! And the first thing I noticed when we got back home was how dirty everything was compared to Germany.
I can't wait to "hear" all about your trips to Italy and England!

Hee, Birdlady. England is kind of the opposite ... every time I go there (haha, now I sound like I travel internationally a lot ... not) I come back home and think how clean it is here. Sounds like I should have gone to Germany.

Birdlady, I'll be happy to tell you all about it when I get back. The subways in England are just sickening. Makes me shudder to think about it. Whenever I go anywhere besides the States, I just look around and think, "where are all the trees?" I know I sound like a spoiled brat, but we live waay out in the country and are surrounded by trees, and I miss them when I go places. Germany sounds nice. I wouldn't want to live there if the people are that clean, I'm such a slob, sometimes I disgust myself.

Gosh, I was so disappointed that I didn't get to go to England too when I was in Germany. I guess I should be glad I missed it. I'm just so glad I got to experience Germany. We spent most of our time in the Bavarian Alps. Breathtakingly gorgeous!! And most of the people we met were so nice, and the FOOD!!! Fantastic!
Pretty in Pinki, I too am surrounded by trees. And I love them too. (Except in the fall when I have to rake up all the leaves, ha ha!). I grew up in the country, (in upstate NY) and had to move to Lawrenceville, MA when Birdman and I both lost our jobs due to layoffs. It seemed like the whole city was just concrete and bricks, hardly any trees or grass or flowers. I hated it!!

birdlady we went to a place called Bachararch (or at least it sounded like the composer!), I think it was about half an hour from Koblenz. Very beautiful part of Germany. Also spent some time in Tubingen, my sister attend uni there.

jennblevins I agree with you about parts of England - dirty. When I lived in London, I couldn't believe it. We called it the land of spit, urine and dog shit. Filthy. But away from the Tube, and out in the country was lovely and clean.

Where we live here is clean and with lots of trees and birds too, even though we are in the midst of suburbia. When we lived in Montana I really, really missed having any "green" around me - grass and trees. Longed for it and when the first few signs of it came I loved it. Here, even in winter, everything is still green.

Some bad news, a friend of mine got skin cancer and died a few days ago. Very sad. Mother of 3 and only 47 years old. We knew she had been given weeks to live, but she died just a week later. Her funeral is tomorrow, and I and most of my family are going. We lived next door to her for a long time, our mothers are good friends, and her sister and I went through high school and remained close after. So, it's been a strange few days here.

Oh, Aussie Girl, I'm so sorry for your loss. That's terrible. How old were her children? I wish I could make it better. I'll be thinking of you and her family. It's so sad to lose someone to cancer. My mother's friend from France died two years ago of cancer of the heart. It was a rare disease, and her doctors knew barely anything about it. She was in her thirties with two children, ages 18 and 7. It was very sad when she died, we got the news on my mom's birthday. I hope you're doing okay, though. Lots of love sent from me to you!

What a tragedy, Aussie Girl. I'm so sad for you and your friend's family. What a terrible, unspeakable loss.

Skin cancer is so much more serious than what we once thought. At one time, people sort of had the attitude that you could just cut out the mole or whatever. I worries me when I see people doing a lot of serious sunning, as I also know a healthy man who died from skin cancer last year, leaving two children under five. I say, embrace the paleness! Of course, I am so pale that I only burn like an egg in a hot frying pan in the sun, so I stopped sunning years ago, but I do remember as a teen-ager lying about with baby oil smeared about - crazy me. Can't be said enough - wear your sunblock!

Oddly enough, much as I travelled through Europe, the dirt never seems to bother me too much. I'm always so happy when I'm travelling. I never noticed that England seemed dirty at all. I once travelled to Sicily with a group of French people, and they never stopped commenting on how dirty it was. Of course, I was diplomatic enough to refrain from mentioning that I found it no more dirty in Palermo than in Paris. Certain sections of every city are clean and certain ones dirty, and the suburbs are always cleaner than the cities. Cities are filthy, let's face it. The polution from all the cars alone creeps in through the closed window and leaves that black greasy dust on everything. Ugh. It's just icky.

I didn't travel much in Poland, but I would bet that Poland is a remarkably clean place. Polish people I knew in Chicago always seemed to be washing the floor or cleaning out the ovens with Q-tips and toothpicks. Their houses weren't clean, they were spectacularly clean. I remain forever impresssed with the cleanliness of the Poles, and the baking prowess of the Scandinavians. That's my Monday morning assessment of cultural gifts.

Wow, Jennblevins and pink one, even the website for Red Robin is loud! It looks like fun, though a bit daunting. Mr. Yogi and I cook every night during the week, so I only really go out on week nights on special occasions, at most once a month and probably less than that. We are really committed to the family dinner. We always have a nice healthy soup (I make a big batch and keep frozen choices) or small portion of pasta to start, then an entree with lots of vegetables, and then a small selection of sliced fruit for dessert. I write a menu and shopping list on Saturdays, then Mr. Yogi and I hit the stores for the week's staples. It makes it easy, and we have lots of tasty dinners that way. We are really committed to being there for Little Yogi every night for homework and then dinner. Generally, we don't have babysitters. For various reasons, it's hard to leave him with anyone. Over the years, I've had a few wonderful people, but I worry so that usually the babysitters have a master's degree and/or years of experience with children. But for the last two years, my family takes Little Yogi in August so that he can play outside, and then Mr. Yogi and I take lots of evenings out! Whoo Hoo!

I love the idea of the Biennial, or any museum visit, for a Con, Ricci! Of course my most favorite museum is the cloisters harking back to my former life as a medievalist. I especailly love the herb garden with it's views of the Hudson and New Jersey. But it's never hard to get me to a museum. What do you think, Last Dodo?

Aussie Girl, very sorry for your loss. It's extra sad given that their are young children and a woman at the prime of her life.

Not to sound ignorant, but since parts of Australia are so warm year round and you're an outdoorsy people, is the rate of skin cancer higher? I know in the US, many people are unaware just how damaging a bit of sun can be, especially in areas that aren't hot year round.

For me, since my mom's been a dermatalogical nurse for XXX number of years, I'm pretty diligent about spf & protection in the sun. She actually was testing a new camera at their office a few years back and had virtually no sun damage whereas one of her Latina coworkers had tons, but since she was much darker she had not bothered with high (or any) spf for years. Pasty makes you much more aware, I guess.

AussieGirl - my heart goes out to you and to your friend's family. What a tragic loss. The family must be in a complete state of shock. Usually when cancer is diagnosed, even if it's not curable, loved ones have a chance to be with the person and kind of adjust to the horrible turn of events, but your friend was taken so suddenly. Cancer sucks, that's all there is to it.

yogi - I owe you an e-mail, which will be coming soon! I'm so impressed by your diet!

I remember years ago Ivan Lendl wore one of those french foreign legion looking hats at the Australian Open because of the intensity of the sun, since it covered his neck as well as shaded his face. Basically, people with skin tones associated with English people (pasty white) weren't meant to live in climates like Australia. I think using high SPFs started there and moved to the rest of the world gradually.
When I lived in London ('86), I was so grossed out to see that when I blew my nose, what came out was black. I guess emission laws were different in UK than they were in the states back then. I don't know if that's changed, but I live in NYC now and have regular snot colored snot. Sorry if that grossed anyone out.

HEE!

Aussiegirl, so sorry for your loss, and that of your friend's family. I can't imagine leaving my little ones behind.

I'm in the midst of recipe-testing hell, y'all. I think my head is going to fly off very very soon.
Although on a lighter note, I did purchase a pair of black boot cut pants this weekend that one could say are hip huggers. Not butt crack jeans, but they do sit below the waist. As I am not in the first (or second, or third) blush of youth, I had second thoughts about hip huggers. But Mr. Hildy was enthusiastic, so I said, What the hell.
Plus, they look great with my slutty boots.

Are those boots made for walking, or for.... other things, Hildy? It sounds like a great outfit. I can imagine that Mr. Hildy was enthusiastic. Heh.



My diet is indeed very impressive, Babalu however it does not translate into a skinny yogi. I have seen nutritionists and doctors from all over the country, and though they agree that my diet and exercise regime is quite excellent, I have little luck in the weight loss arena. So I just focus on being healthy and wait for the day that my metabolism decides to kick in.

I'm wondering if so many cigarette smokers in the eighties and secondhand smoke would have some effect on snot colorage? In addition to the emissions of car, etc. Thank goodness things have improved in these areas.

I saw Starsky and Hutch this weekend, speaking of the 80s. Gosh, brought me right back to the disco fashions I so happily sported during high school. I thought I was something else in my quiana and gunne sax dresses and blouses. For those of you who do not remember quiana, it is a polyester fabric, clingy and satiny that looked so lovely (or so we thought) whilst doing the bump and hustle. Heh. Quiana. No animals were even consulted in the making of this product.

And you're right, Babalu, cancer does indeed suck.

Totally random: it's the end of the day, my hair looks like Pat Benatar's and I'm yawning up a storm (did not sleep well) but don't want caffeine because I'm donating blood in an hour. Am afraid that I'm going put down "Love is a battlefield" as my address. Lonoonnnonnngg Monday.

Awwwe, skagirl, have a cookie. It will make you feel ever so much better, especially with the blood donorness and all. And by the way, good for you!

AussieGirl, I'm also very sorry to hear about your loss. It sounds like you have a lot of shared history and great memories with her, which makes it all the harder.


Oh, I absolutely LOVE the Cloisters! I went there with a fellow TWoPer last summer and my mom in November. You know where I haven't been since 1993 and I've been looking for an excuse to go back? The Met itself.

So hey...for a change I actually have a lot of good stuff to report! I had a date Friday night with a guy I'd met while out on Sunday, and it went quite well! We had dinner and then saw a movie called Maestro, about the NYC underground dance clubs of the 70s and 80s. (Worth seeing, but you can wait for rental/TV, definitely.) And in contrast to the idiot from a few weeks prior, he paid for everything even though I completely wasn't expecting him to! It was nice to be pleasantly surprised for once. And he was quite easy to talk to.

Saturday I tried the Date Bait thing again. Didn't get any matches this time, but then I started talking to this one guy afterward who hadn't matched either. I wasn't attracted to him, so I hadn't put him down as a match, but we went for coffee and then drinks and had a great time as friends and exchanged info. Then after he left, I stayed, and I met this absolutely adorable guy who just moved here from Kentucky a couple months ago. Odd thing is, we have the same name (although I go by my initials), and we're born almost exactly 10 years apart--only off by 4 days! I talked to him on the phone for awhile yesterday and he just seems really genuine and sweet. We're supposed to get together some time this week, perhaps tomorrow.

But I'll tell ya though--it crystallizes that for whatever reason, I just don't click with guys my own age! I think that's probably why I had no matches was that it was the 20s/30s event. The guy who took me out on Friday was 48, the friend I wound up making after Date Bait was 42, and the guy I just met is 21. And it's true--most of my boyfriends have been older guys who preferred younger guys or more mature, grounded younger guys who found most people their own age too flighty...but with almost all of them there's been at least a 5 year difference.

But hey...for the first time in ages...options! Options are good!

I'm also excited because I submitted a script (not one I wrote) months ago to the head of a theatre company I'm a part of (although we haven't done anything in ages), and I got an email from out of the blue on Saturday and it looks like he'd like to move forward on it! I hope so because it's a great script and I'm dying to act again. Plus, this would be a great part for agents, etc., to see me do because it plays to a lot of my strengths both in comedy and drama.

I also found a great new hairstylist this weekend, thanks to skagirl. The guy who did it before--you saw the pics, but underneath the last guy shaved it short almost all the way to the top of my head, so really all that could be done was to chop most of the top off to even it out and start over. (As this guy put it, "Yeah, this would have been great if you were a skateboarder in 1993...what was that guy thinking?") I'm bored to death with having short hair, but it definitely looks a lot better than it did, and it'll grow and it'll be good for interviews.


HEE! Well, you'll know you've gone over the edge if a guy harasses you on the way home from work and you and a bunch of other women scare him away by shaking your breasts at him.

First, sorry for your news Princess Peachy.and belatedly, I would love to have a TWOP con in Austrailia. I know I will return there someday!
For the near future I would love to meet up with people in NYC at the Whitney or Cloisters...I was hoping to go to the Thursday event, but alas I WILL be in Chelsea all day with 60 high school students and must get on the bus to come home.
I love today's weather, am shocked with the news of another snowy forecast. As soon as I get the doctorate I am so out of here (East Coast). I hate snow. So at least the bad weather drives me to keep writing the dissertation (as opposed to TWOP Boards).
How old is little Yogi by the way, Yogi?
Dodo, what's up with the dating schedule. You must get yourself to another bingo laundry night or whatever they are called and get some more dates. I told you I am living vicariously through your adventures.

edited to add... C'mon Dodo, what timing! Thanks for the update, I will now how to remember - Bingo is my dog, laundry I need to do, Date-Bait is to meet people. Skagirl just smear your makeup towards your hairline and you are there! edited again, cause i couldn't get in last night to fix things!

Gah, Yogi,, I must have gone to school with you as we wore the very same things! Plus, of course, the skirts slit up to HERE and these dreadfuly slutty shoes known as Candies which were generally worn with my Gloria Vanderbilt jeans and a Quiana top. Then there was the Mia clogs and alligator shirts worn under an oxford shirt with a whale ribbon belt. The look was either Disco or Preppy. I vacillated back and forth. My mother said she'd have to bite her tongue when I went out the door on Disco Days as I looked like a denizen of the combat Zone. (where the hookers used to hang out in Boston.)
Then I went to a tiny preppy college in the up in teh cold North and came home wearing faded baggy Levis and Icelandic sweaters and ancient scrofulous prep school sweatshirts permanently borrowed from my boyfriend. The only constant was the Mia clogs. Ah, good times. I think I'll go put a Bob Marley record on now.
As for my boots, well, they ARE made for walking. They have attitude. I've always found that it's very important to own at least one pair of boots with attitude. I have a pair of excellent cockroach killer cowboy boots that I've owned for years that also make me feel as though I have seven league boots on.

Dodo, way to rock the dating scene! I sucked at dating. I have a good friend who is very reluctantly coming to the (correct) conclusion that she should separate from her hubby, and one of the things she's dreading most?
Dating.

Ricci, you hate snow? Oh my. Well, I hate the idea of snow this week b/c I don't have time for this nonsense. I have a 4 year old fairy princess party to organize. but in general, I like the white stuff.

So would it be over the top to color our snots pleasing pastel colors when we do the Easter Egg thing? Would Martha approve from her country club jail cell?

Thanks for the walk down memory of fashion lane, Hildy! Our closets were indeed interchangeable. I had many pairs of those slutty Candies, one favorite was a pair of four inch high heeled clogs with a fur lining that I used to wear in the snow! Because they had fur, I thought they were appropriate for walking around in a Chicago winter. How is it that I didn't break my neck? Sheer luck of the foolish, I tell you. But I also had the preppy clothes - all the yoke neck wool sweaters. I still have a few beautiful ones that I can't bring myself to give away. And of course I had a whole drawer full of hair ribbons to compliment my perky pony tail. I liked to wear two or three at a time to complete my ridiculous ensembles.
Ah, Good times....

Congratulations on the great date and the acting possibilties, Last Dodo! You have indeed had an excellent week! I'm glad you've met some nice people that recognize your dearness, whatever their ages. Fingers crossed that all will work out in both the acting and relationship fronts.

But what's this about not having been to the Met in so many years?! Scandalous. We should definitely all take a tromp through the Met. Also, have you been to the Neue Gallerie? I love it. Austrian art with Cafe Sabarsky, an Austrian cafe with dreadfully delicious yummies, right inside the museum. Very enjoyable on several sensious levels.

Where are you taking sixty children in Chelsea, Ricci? Gosh your students go on a lot of field trips. I have started writing an enrichment program of field trips for Little Yogi. We are going to Valley Forge next month, but I would love to hear some good social studies places to visit in NYC, if you have any suggestions. He learns so much better from experiences. My wish, and his too, is that he will be able to go to a college somewhere someday. He is twelve and a half now, but we will need to work very hard over the next few years to make it possible. He is very motivated, but it's a long shot for a child they were not sure would ever speak or read, but he progresses, and if he wants it, I want to help him make it so.

I am totally jealous, Hildy. I want to go to the fairy princess party. I have the perfect outfit, and you know I have the shoes. Lucky sweet little Hildy. Or is the party for you?! ;D

Heh. I'll see your Candies and raise you Famolares. Remember, the ones with the rippled soles made of rubber? I had some Gunne Sax dresses, too, and lots of peasant tops. The 70s were an astoundingly ugly decade.

AussieGirl, my heartfelt condolences.

Yogi, Hildygirl would think you were the absolutely most perfect Mom in the world with your predilection for pink, and if you want to come, we'd love to see you! We're going to play pin the crown on the Princess and other exciting games. And decorate our own cupcakes.
I happen to know that she is getting a pink Cinderella dress from her Auntie, complete with tiara and cape and glass slippers, for a birthday present. I think that will constitute her ensemble for the grand Fete.
The problem is, many kids think 'fairy princess' and automatically think "Disney" these days b/c of all the marketing that goes on. That really bothers me that imaginations are so robbed and frogmarched over to the House of Mouse. (and I do apologize if I inadvertantly offended somebody. I'm not anti-Disney, per se, although I don't have great love for them. I am anti-marketing to preschoolers, however. It really burns my bacon.)
Famolares? Oh My. What about Bobbie Brooks? Does that ring a bell?

You guys were more provocative than I was in the 70s. I had the Gunnie Sax dresses, but no Candies for me. I did have a pair of yellow corduroy Gloria Vanderbilt jeans, but with denim I didn't go with GV. I remember having one pair of Calvin Kleins. The insanity is that now all I want is a pair of jeans that fit properly that don't have any markings of any designer on them. I went to Gap the other day and after trying on about 8 different pairs of women's jeans in three sizes, I wound up buying a pair of men's jeans. If that isn't incentive to lose weight, I don't know what is.

Snerk. MamaBlevins (mum of Mr. Blevins) and I were at one of those Wrangler-VF-whatever outlet stores a few days ago and she pulled out a pair of plaid pants and asked my opinion. Unfortunately all I could think of was a really awful picture of my father in college (in the 70s) wearing nearly the same pattern on his pants. It must have shown in my face because she didn't buy them. I'm afraid my own clothes in the 70s were a bit more boring ... baby clothes! (Baby clothes from a cash-strapped military family, no less.)

I did suffer through the 70s again -- in the 80s, when I received all sorts of hand-me-downs from cousins. I had a lot of cut-off bell-bottoms, if I recall correctly.

Edited to clarify: the picture is awful not so much because of the pants as because of the condition (faded), the skill of the photographer (minimal), and the facial contortion of the subjects (they're squinting, because they're looking into the sun).

Please see http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/faq.c...i?show=0&q=1541

Oh, how funny - memories of jeans in the seventies. In addition to the good old Levis that I wore every day to the barn, I had several pairs of designer jeans that I literally had to suck in everything I had and occasionally lie on the floor to put on. Oh my heck. It was not unlike wearing a denim girdle. How frightening and embarassing - and yet, I was far from alone in my quest for the most form fitting jean.

Were I to try on jeans today, it would probably be a similar experience for a whole different reason. Heh. And also Boo.

I'll take your Famalores, Tracey Bee and I'll raise you one earth shoes. Along with mood rings and pet rocks, the most ridiculous marketing scams of all time. Of course I owned at least one of each if all....

Poor Jennblevins. I don't know which is worse, wearing 70s fashions in the 70s or wearing them in the 80s. Luckily, as a baby, you didn't have to lay on the floor to assume your jeans! And I think I know exactly what those plaid pants looked like. Hee, Hee, poor Daddy. It's so awful to have our crazy fashion moments caught forever by the poloraid. Squinty eyed and fuzzy as well.

But all princesses look beautiful on film, Hildy, so be sure to take lots of photos of what promises to be a fabulous party. I sincerely do wish I could be there to give your sweet daughter a little princess gift. Mr. Yogi and I are absolutely atrocious with all our nieces, we spoil them terribly. Particularly Mr. Yogi, who thinks every little girl is a princess and always tells me - I bet you were just like her when you were little - cause he thinks I'm a princess too. He is such a little sap - you know those sentimental Italian men with their little girls... I think I'll just go give him a kiss while I'm thinking of it. The little sweetheart.

It's not random, not at all. When Jeff "tallies the votes," he's working with the production staff to create maximum drama when he pulls the votes. I believe that former contestants have said that he's back there for quite a long time sometimes.

yogi, I had a mood ring! We all got them in our stockings for Christmas one year, and sat around rubbing the backs of the stones to make the colors change. And don't I remember those tighter-than-tight jeans.

My sister gave my niece a princess party a couple of years ago. The kids loved it.

Well, in all fairness, it's not like I've been here the entire time. I've lived here in the summer of 1993 (when I last went to the Met), 1995-96, and then this time I got here in September 2001. The last two times I wound up moving back to Chicago. I've never been to the Neue, but it sounds great. I've also never been to the Whitney. Should it bother me that the first thing "Whitney" makes me think of is the Passions character?

I love the Museum of Television and Radio, but unless you're going to watch the same things, that's usually easier to do alone.

OK, so the plot thickens with regards to these guys. I've gotten a St. Patrick's Day email from a "Guess Who?" where I don't recognize the email address. The same "Guess Who?" has sent me flowers, although I haven't received them yet; I came home to several messages last night from the florist and now I'm just waiting for them to reroute them to me here at work. Originally I had thought that the guy who took me out for dinner on Friday had sent the flowers, which I thought was sweet. Then I decided to do a Google search on the email address, and I'm 99% sure now that it's the "friend" guy I met at Date Bait (the name and age of a person who posted in a guestbook with that email match). Which is still sweet, but...

I never gave him my address.

Our 411 has a "reverse directory" feature where you can get the addresses for phone numbers, so I called and asked mine and sure enough was able to get my address. So it's not like he spied on me or anything; he just used available technology, just as I did with Googling the mystery email addy. But still, it does creep me out a little.

So I don't know--if someone used reverse directory to get your address to send you flowers, would you think it was sweet, creepy, or both?

Also? I am ready to KILL my one credit card company. I ordered copies of all my statements from last year for tax purposes because stupid me didn't realize I should save them. They sent nine. I called to reorder the missing 3. I got 2. So I had to call a THIRD time last night to reorder the last one. And they refuse to take any money off the service charges as a courtesy for screwing up. And each time we're talking at least 20 minutes long distance. (I have one of those packages where I pay a flat rate for unlimited local and LD, but they don't need to know that!) GRRRR. I'm waiting to see if this time it'll only be one of the pages or the wrong month or something!

First, my sincerest condolences AussieGirl, I lost a very good friend to skin cancer last year. My heart goes out to you and your friend's family.
Next, don't get me started on the tight jeans in the '70s. If they didn't look like they were painted on, I wouldn't wear 'em! I'm so glad I finally got smart and decided comfort above all else!
Hildy, I've never heard of a princess party. I'd love to see pictures of yours. My daughter was pretty much a tomboy when she was little (still is come to think of it). I had to fight tooth and nail to get her in a dress after about age 7.
And Dodo, HURRAY!!! I'm so glad to hear your week went so well. As far as the anonymous flowers, I think it's sweet and creepy at the same time. It's so sad that we all have to be so careful now, that we can hardly appreciate sweet gestures like that. My first thought when I read your post was "Oh my God!! I sure hope Dodo's friend doesn't turn out to be a nutcase or a stalker!!" Here's hoping that it turns out the guy is just inventive and sweet! But.....be careful!!!

Hi all. Well the funeral yesterday was just incredibly sad. She had 3 children, the youngest of whom is about 12. Her husband (she apparently had an extraordinarily good marriage) was just devastated. A very sad and emotional funeral.

I really felt for her mother - this is the third child she has lost. The first was killed in a car accident 25 years ago, returning from his honeymoon. The second son died just 18 months ago from damage sustained from heavy substance abuse over the years. And now this daughter, from skin cancer. You know the saying that parents should never have to bury their children, that it should always be the other way around? This woman has buried three of her children now, and I can't even begin to imagine her grief.

Re skin cancer, the state I live in, Queensland, has the highest incidence of it anywhere in the world, an appalling record to have. When we were growing up we lived next door to the woman who died last week, they had a pool and we were always hanging out there, rubbing in the baby oil and baking in the sun. We had never even heard of sunscreen then. She had very, very pale skin and red hair, and people with that colouring are very susceptible to skin cancer.

But something nice has come out of yesterday's funeral. I decided that our two families are so very linked for over 30 years now, we all live in the same town, but just don't see each other much, so I have decided to organise a night out in a couple of weeks and intend to maintain contact.

But all in all a very sad and emotional day. However the posts about snot etc did help cheer me up (thanks). Life goes on.

Yogi it is not really "my trip" per se, it is the art teachers and the junior/senior art students. I am assisting with my super-chaperone powers (and love of art). I actually get tagged for a ton of chaperone jobs (like Washington/model UN) and really love them. I have traveled all over the world with kids in that fashion. The Chelsea trip, btw, entails giving the groups of 6-10 kids and chaperone a map of galleries with starred exhibits and off you go! hopefully it won't be WET.
Dodo i know what you mean about the stalkerish flowers. But it sure is cool too. Please don't think of the Whitney and Passion in the same way. Of course I have never seen Passion and you have never seen Whitney.
Since we are still talking about fashion will someone tell me what was scandelous about Candies? I recall them being "jellies" or something like that.

Candies are hooker shoes - blonde wood high heels with a strip of leather or fabric across the top (open toed, of course). I'm sure someone has a link to a photo.

Happy St. Patrick's Day, all! (And how fitting that this is a green forum!) I'm going to try to squeeze at least one episode of Ryan's Hope in today as it's only appropriate. I'm not going out though because I have plans for tomorrow, Friday, and Saturday and I just need a night in!

So I finally got those flowers today and it was a St. Patrick's bouquet, which helps me feel a little less squicky. Green carnations, baby's breath, and some other assorted things. Sounds tacky but it's actually quite pretty. I confirmed that it was that guy; he just wanted to reiterate that he'd really enjoyed hanging out together and he said he was able to find my address through Yahoo! since we both have Yahoo! emails. Eh, I guess it's harmless enough. The thought was sweet at any rate.

But enough about that. The really important news? I still can't fit into all my "regular/thin" clothes yet, but I'm now able to fit into my old dress pants, which are three inches smaller around the waist than the "fat" ones I bought in the fall! SQUEEEEEEEEE!

Good for you Dodo. Any tips you'd like to share on shedding inches?

SoapNet should have done a Ryan's Hope marathon today with all the St. Pat's episodes all in a row. I could hear Maeve sing Danny Boy all day long.

I've done the South Beach Diet for about 2 months now. I'm pretty faithful to it, but on the rare occasions when I do indulge when I'm out, I take Carb Cutters beforehand, but I don't abuse them or use it as a license to cheat constantly. I also, instead of just sitting there watching TV, jog in place in front of it for either 45 minutes or an hour depending on how much energy I have, then follow it up with pushups and situps; I do this about 5 times a week. I've come to really enjoy the jogging as it's a great tension and stress reliever; I dread the other stuff!

I was only 3 when Ryan's Hope started, so I never watched it before, but I started watching the SoapNet reruns when they started from the beginning and it's pathetic just how absolutely hooked I am. Excellent writing and acting (besides Helen Gallagher as Maeve, Kate Mulgrew is still on as Mary and she's amazing) and it's just got a complete realism to it I've never seen in soap operas. (It's set in New York and the apartments actually look like you'd send everything flying if you turned around too fast, which is refreshing.) Since it's all new to me, I swear I look more forward to it than most current shows!

Happy St. Patrick's Day Meet Marketeers!

And what a crazy day it has been here in NYC. Even though the parade no longer draws out the drunken insanity of former times, it still pulls a pretty big group of much more well behaved revelers, ladies with green carnations, families with little children and grandchildren, and all the portly gentleman with green sweaters and red noses. I was out and about in it all today, and though the traffic made me temporarily grouchy, I overall enjoyed the decorations and celebrations all around me. I was proud to share the bar in the restaurant where I had lunch with my local fireman all decked out in their dress blues. I couldn't help but think of September 11th as my local firehouse, just two blocks away from me, lost 11 firefighters that day, and I silently toasted with my glass of Burgandy those fallen heros while their commrades enjoyed toasting each other with their whiskey. Cheers!

Lucky you, Last Dodo getting a nice bouquet on St. Patrick's Day! As long as your friend signed the card, it doesn't sound that creepy to me. But I've been known to look people's addresses up in the phone book to send them a gift. Anonymous gifts are creepy, but I've always found a gift from someone you know with a little card and sentiment attached to be a nice gesture. I hope it made you feel positively.... Irish! on St. Patrick's Day!

I must say, Ricci, that you are probably one heck of a darling to enjoy taking all these children and teenagers on field trips. It takes a pretty special person to do that sort of work well. I bet the school where you work feels very lucky to have you as a part of their staff, and I bet the students love you too.

I wish I knew what happenned to my mood ring. Remember how hard it was to make it a passionate mood, Tracey Bee? We had to rub the darn thing for fifteen minutes.... Good times.

Just wanted to say a quick HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY to everyone! I'm staying in tonight, after all Survivor's on!!

Heh. I read the last paragraph really fast and skipped the first sentence. Rereading it doesn't make it seem as naughty now. Darn.

Heh, suctionprints. Heh, Heh, Heh....

Ugh, the snow. The icky, icky March snow. Thankfully, I have taken Hildy's excellent hiking boot advice, and I am now properly shod for this icky, wet mess. But I'd really rather be wearing the new pair of shoes I bought during the streak of warm weather when we all thought spring had arrived. They are fabulous! Of course, they are pink. and strappy. and they have a 3 inch stilletto heel. and they have a beautiful pink fabric flower. Oh, so lovely, so lovely that in fact the store has had to reorder once already this season. Though practical, hiking boots can hardly compete with such prettiness. They were irresistable. So now, I'm ready for spring, baby! I think they are the perfect princess party shoe...

Yogi, It's a sin and a shame that you can't wear your lovely strappy sandals with a fabulous new outfit and a big cartwheel hat and sashay out to enjoy the spring flowers. I, too, am disgusted that I had to dig my boots out of the basement where I'd already packed them away. Premature Packulation, I guess.

Hee suctionprints, I must admit that I thought something very similar. How goes the blog? How goeth the strike?

Actually, it was anonymous. It was signed, "Guess Who???". But speaking of that kind of thing, I figured out who it was by Googling the email address the similarly anonymous e-card came from--I came thisclose to thanking the wrong guy before I did that. So it's not like I can't do the same thing as well.

So today I discovered I may have jumped the gun a little on my "thin" pants. I'm wearing a shirt I have to tuck in today and when I do that, they're still a little too tight. GAAAAHHH!!! So close and yet so far--but I think they're still the lesser of two evils as I'm drowning in my "fat" ones. And at least I'm moving in the right direction!

So hopefully I'll see some of you at the TWoP gathering/reading tonight!