Where's my infinity pool?

My mind works in weird ways, especially when I'm way overtired from three nights of not sleeping well (can someone explain to me why the very same dog who sleeps curled in a tiny ball in the living room finds it necessary to stretch out and take up as much space as possible if I let her sleep in our bed?  I mean, seriously!)

Anyhow, yesterday I flipped on the TV and there was this commercial for an addiction recovery center. And it was gorgeous. Women relaxing in fluffy spa robes, yoga classes by the beach, a man looking fit and tranquil resting at the edge of an infinity pool. And according to the spokesman, the whole experience is covered by most insurance plans.

And I had to wonder....where is MY infinity pool? Where is my beach-front yoga class? And why can't I get insurance to pay for any of that?

No, I am not an addict. In fact, I never have been. I don't even drink. Never tried drugs. (My mom did a great job of scaring me out of even experimenting with those -- thank you, Mom!)  But that shouldn't be a barrier to an insurance-paid  fluffy white spa robe of my own, should it?

Now don't get me wrong. I am not belitting the horror of addiction. Or the trials people go through in trying to get and stay clean and sober. I have friends and family members who have been down that path, and I have seen what they have been through. And I'm eternally grateful I did not face those issues.

But in all fairness, shouldn't there be a reward for exhausted moms and dads who stayed addiction-free?  An insurance-covered retreat if you make it to say, 35 or 40 without ever having a chemical addiction? Call it a medical pat on the back for managing to make it through the teen years, college, work, marriage, sleepless nights with babies, school aged kids and moody teens of our own (and for some of us, through in divorce, single parenthood and remarriage, too) , without becoming addicted.

Because, when you think about it, that is a pretty major accomplishment! So I think a completely free week or two at a beach-front spa is the least we could get in return. So do you think we could get this passed by Congress?

Let's get one of those petitions going on Facebook for a mandate to all insurance companies to give unaddicted moms and dads something to look forward to after they face all of life head on. With a fluffy spa robe and an infinity pool of their very own. With three nights of bad sleep and a moody teen at home, it sounds awfully good to me.

I think reading health advice is bad for my health

I just came across an article on the Weather Channel website about the things that are terrible for your immune system.  I wasn't looking for health articles...I was just minding my own business and following a link for a forecast.

But then BOOM! Instead of reading about the weather in a Rocky Mountain town where I used to live, I am  facing article that promises to tell me exactly what will reduce my immune system to rubble. And like an accident you can't look away from, I can't stop reading.

The first piece was about isolation, and how people with less daily contacts get sicker.  Great.  I work from home in a town where I have yet to make any friends after over a year. Strike one.

The next part is about not sleeping enough.  Sleep?  8 hours a night?  Yeah right. Strike two.

Chronic stress?  You bet!  Despite yoga and the best of positive intentions to meditate more, the stress continues. So strike three.

Bottling up emotions and feelings and not being positive were items four and five.  Kind of seems like one or the other has to give, but since I haven't gone postal on anyone lately (or ever, for that matter), I guess I might be bottling up something or another. Strike four.  And after reading that article, I'm feeling pretty pessimistic about the whole immune system thing, so I guess that hits strike five.

Yup, I get to strike out almost two times at bat in one article.

Now here's my question...if reading this article increases my stress, keeps me up with worry, messes up my plans to go out to lunch tomorrow, and makes me grumpy (but not enough to take it out on my family), isn't there only one logical conclusion?  You got it!

Reading health advice is the worst thing I could do for my health. Now where was that in their list??

First a chimney sweep, then the kites

The other day, I met a chimney sweep.  Actually, I didn't know he was a chimney sweep when I met him.  I just liked his hat...a traditional black top hat.

We chatted for a few minutes, and then he shook my hand, reminding me that Mary Poppins (the wisest woman in history, according to Charles the chimney sweep) said that shaking hands with a chimney sweep brings good luck.

And I am not one to ever turn down good luck!

And then yesterday, we saw the kites.  Hundreds of kites at Austin's 84th annual Kite Festival.  And suddenly, the sky was full of kites...more kites than I had ever seen in one place.

Kites of all sizes and shapes....

And people and music and of course, dogs!

A cute pup near our chairs

Including Maya.....

Maya Puppy!

 ...who loved meeting all the other dogs. And watching the kites! Seriously!

Anyhow... With chimney sweeps and kites in one week, shouldn't I be ready for the carousel that will take me on a cross country jaunt?  It can't be far behind!

Midnight in Paris -- ahhhhhhhhhh

This weekend, I took myself to a movie. Now before you feel sorry for me, let me tell you, I love going to a movie by myself.  It's relaxing, I can focus entirely on the film, and I don't have to worry about whether anyone else liked it, or it wasn't their kind of film, etc.

A lot of the movies I've seen lately have been "okay, but..." kind of films.  As in "It was okay, but it kind of dragged a bit..." or "It was good, but they showed all the really great scenes in the previews..."  You understand, right?

Saturday night, I went to see Midnight in Paris.  This movie was NOT an "okay, but...." film!  It was not the stupid, trite romantic comedy the preview made it seem.  It was a "Wow, can I see it again, because it was so rich, I am sure I missed things" kind of film.

It was Paris (and better than that, part of it was Paris in the rain!)

• It was the 1920's
• It was Hemingway and Stein and Picasso and Dos Passos and the Fitzgeralds (especially loved Zelda) and...the list went on and on
• It had a message that resonated - really resonated
• It had dialog that WAS dialog, the way people really talk, with interruptions and  hesitation and misstatements -- rather than a script where lines are delivered (writer/director Woody Allen is a master at that....even if you hate his films --- and this is NOT a Woody Allen film in any way you would expect -- you have to give him credit for that)
• The cinematography was beautiful 

Can you tell I kind of liked it????  

 It came out of the film festivals -- Cannes, to be exact, which explains the quality.   But in a world where movies so often mean violence and more attention paid to special effects than content, this movie was a wonderful treat. 

And I am so ready for a walk on a rainy Paris night, at midnight.....soon!  Soon!

Okay,.so here's the questions for you...
1) Do you like going to the movies alone?
2) What is the best film you've seen in the last 3 months?

And there is a give away!  A randomly selected commenter will receive a Paris gift basket (Unfortunately, sent from Florida, unless someone want to send me a ticket to Paris, so I can be really authentic and mail it from there!)

Ready to play? 

The many shades of pink....

Did you know that there are a least (at most?) 32 words which contain the work pink? Well, 31, if you leave off pink itself. Some of them I know, most I had no clue about...so here's the list, along with my personal guesses about the meaning of a few of them -- and dictionary definitions for those of you who simply must know the real meaning.

firepink - I think this is a new color dreamed up by the fashionistas on South Beach ("This season's hottest look will be firepink feathered skirts, topped with..." 

firepinks - The plural of course, always in a sentence with the most improbable combination of colors or patterns...as in "Consider mixing bold zebra stripes in aqua and orange with your firepinks"


(In reality, at least beyond my own, firepink is an alternate spelling for a wildflower that is, surprisingly, usually quite red.) 

Thank you, U.S. Forest Service for this lovely red "firepink"

pink
pinked


pinken - This is the missing brother in the classic children's bedtime poem/fairytale "Winkin, Blinkin and Nod"   After a falling out with the other brothers over the distribution of royalties for their first gig at the Garden (as in the Enchanted, not Madison), Pinkin changed his name to Pinken, and started his solo career as a singing tour guide. Unfortunately, he had incredibly bad luck in picking locations and travelers for his tours, and after the "Real Housewives of New Jersey Luxury Tour of Iraq and Afghanistan" turned out to be an epic fail in late 2009, he disappeared into obscurity, eking out a living delivering singing telegrams and waving down hungry motorists while dressed in a chicken suit.

(As an aside, after their Garden debut, brothers Winkin, Blinkin and Nod shot to the top of the nursery charts, and have graced the walls, blankets and sleepers of babies ever since. No one, however, can sing their theme song well.)

pinkened - A past tense verb used to describe a meteoric fall from imminent success by making a really dumb choice at the worst possible moment. 

pinkening  - A common slang term for shooting yourself in the foot.  Active verb. 

Image from www.elfwood.com

The real meaning?  This was disappointing...it is "to become more pink"  wow.....

After that let down, I think I will let the rest of you play.

Send me your best, most creative definition for any of the remaining terms on this list.  Post it on your blog and send a link.  Pictures count for extra points.  And just for fun, I will give a random player a surprise gift from sunny but sooo chilly right now South Florida. 

pinkens
pinker
pinkers
pinkest
pinkey
pinkeye
pinkeyes
pinkeys
pinkie
pinkies
pinking
pinkings
pinkish
pinkishness
pinkishnesses
pinkly
pinkness
pinknesses
pinko
pinkoes
pinkos
pinkroot
pinkroots
pinks
pinky

Happy Pink Saturday! 

PS...My favorite holiday movie is "Christmas in Connecticut" -- as a writer, I can soooo completely identify with the main character!

Alphabet Thursday Games

I was walking along by a pond on Sunday. I saw a family having a picnic. It was a big family!...Thirty or forty at a minimum. But a big part was missing. Can you find out what?

Hints

I saw:

Four or so boys floating boats in a pond
Two moms grilling hot dogs
A group of moms knitting and talking and laughing
A bunch of girls playing Monopoly
Kids with iPods
Six boys and girls tossing a football around
Dads and granddads talking about sports and politics
A baby girl with a big black toy train and a baby boy with a small pink toy lion
Lots of food!  So much food for a picnic lunch! A giant sub sandwich or two, four kinds of soups, fruit of all kinds, chips and dip, cinnamon rolls, popcorn, candy, sushi, pasta salad, fruit tarts, flan, puddings, nuts of all kinds -- YUM!

And funny things, too....

A dog who was drinking milk from a glass!
Cats who could walk on two paws without falling!
A pig who could draw with chalk! And paint, too!
A duck who had on sandals and socks, and a small pink t-shirt that said "Quack!"

This family all had on ski hats and big coats, too, but it was sooo hot that day! Almost as though it was July or August, not autumn. It was an awfully odd day for coats and hats outdoors! But still, all had fun that day, hot or not. .

So what was missing from this family picnic?
.
.
.
.
.

Why, E is Exceptionally Absent! Happy Alphabet Thursday!