It's pirate cupcake or nothing; so, nothing

Why is it that I'm so tired right now? I'm super excited to get Mom at the airport in an hour, but you wouldn't know it by looking at me. I'm closing my eyes and dozing, with the computer on my lap and in a loud, video-gaming living room. It's not making any sense to me, and if I thought I could take a quick 20-minute nap and feel refreshed after waking, I would.
But I never feel refreshed after naps. So I'll just have to keep my eyes open and my mind engaged. Perhaps I need more sugar, but I promised that Sydney could have the last pirate cupcake as a snack tomorrow. And there's not a single other thing that I would like to eat for a snack.

Keep your comments to yourself

I think I heard my first anti-transgender person in the bathroom comment today.
Sydney and I were heading into the bathroom at a McDonald's along our route home this afternoon. she wasn't paying any attention to where she was going, she was just walking, and was also heading straight for the men's room door. I had to call out a couple times to get her attention, but finally was able to direct her to the right restroom, saying, "That's the men's room. We go in here."
She lead me in and she went right into a stall. I didn't have to go, so just walked to the sink to wash my hands. The lady who followed us into the bathroom says, to no one in particular, but I think was more meant for me, "I'm not sure that the signs even matter anymore."
The first thought that was in my head was to turn around and give her the stink eye. I ended up just ignoring her as if she didn't make the comment. You know, why give her the satisfaction of thinking that she was either funny, agreed with, or disagreed with. I'm pretty proud of how the comment, in a bathroom full of women as there were three ladies in the line behind her, just kind of hung out there and then dropped to the floor. I hope she was embarrassed by not having any acknowledgement over it at all.
Should I have been more vocal in calling out her ignorance? Honestly, I wonder. Would it be worth it to make a scene in a McDonald's bathroom in southern Arizona? Should I have put her in her place about her hatefulness? Should I have told her that she's probably shared a bathroom with a transgender person multiple times, and just not known or noticed? Is there even any arguing with that kind of tunnel vision? This afternoon, I decided no. I guess all the other women in the bathroom did, too. None of us said anything. And here's hoping that she really was embarrassed to not get a reaction from anyone. And maybe she'll keep her hatefulness to herself.

Just about two months to get it sorted

The Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro will begin in 69 days.
I love the Olympics. Brian loves the Olympics. We're trying to teach our daughter to love the Olympics.
But this year, I'm conflicted. I keep tabs on the events running up to the Olympics, and the news from Rio isn't good. Let's put aside the Zika virus for a moment (which we shouldn't, because it's a HUGE concern, but for argument's sake), and pay close attention to all the other problems. The water pollution is a huge issue, since if someone ingests only three teaspoons of water from the bay they have a 99 percent chance of contracting a disease. Also, from what I've heard, all the construction is delayed and running late, giving the people in charge heart attacks, I'm sure, when it comes to having venues and arenas ready for the Games. And then the general shape of the country and its finances, and the morale of the people. They're not happy about all the money that's going to the Games, according to news reports.
So, here I am. Loving the Olympics and so wanting them to succeed. Knowing that this is the first time the Olympics will be hosted by a country in South America, I want them to succeed. Wanting to reinforce a love of the Olympics in Sydney, I want them to succeed.
But then the devil on my shoulder gets all chatty. She wants to see what a train wreck this could be. She wants to know what an Olympics that is not perfectly pulled off looks like. She wants to see history in the making with the first clusterfuck Olympic Games.
The devil on my shoulder is a horrible creature, but could she be right?

But then let's talk potentially infecting hundreds of thousands of people with bad mosquito-ness, and then sending them back to their home countries to possibly infect so many more. Let's talk realizing that the Games really should be postponed or moved elsewhere. It's not pride at this point, Rio, it's safety.

Because I'll be a busy bee; get it?

I'm really at a bit of a loss tonight, on this, Sydney's last day of school for the year. I'm trying super hard to not be too whiny about it, but this will be the first year when I won't be able to play with her all summer. And it's not even just that I'll be working, but I'll be working a lot. Summer is the busy time for my magazine's industry, which means a lot of pages in magazine issues, and a lot of time putting them together. A lot of overtime, sure, but I would rather have the days to hang out on the weekends. From what I hear, the office will be a second home ... in a bad way. I prefer California as my second home, for cripes' sake.
So, the summer is going to be tough, and I'm not going to tolerate it very well. And it'll be super hot because Arizona. Not a whole lot of up sides to the next 10 weeks or so. But Sydney will have fun in summer camp, so there's that.

Dudes. Stop talking outside at 11:12 p.m.

There are a couple of guys doing something outside right now, at 11:06 p.m., and they're having a conversation while they're doing it. My theory is that they're doing some packing or unpacking of the boxes in the garage across the street from my house. Or that they're just talking about it.
At any rate, I can't stick my head to the window because it's dark outside but bright inside, so they'll see my shadow. I'm not so curious as to turn off my light and engage in any crazy subterfuge to discover what they're up to. But I'm hearing them through my open window, and I have to wonder, why would you do this at 11:08 p.m.? I get waiting for the sun to go down. But that was at, like, 7 p.m. or so. Why get productive so late in the evening? And then to be conversational about it?
If I was their neighbor, I'd be pissed, and asking them to quiet the shit down. Like, now. I bet they're building a piece of Ikea furniture, or some other ridiculousness. But really, they need to quiet the shit down, immediately.

Aren't we required to tweet about Twitter?

So Twitter has made/will make some changes. A couple I'm pretty okay with.
1. They changed the "favorite" button to a "like" button. -- I didn't even notice that. Clearly, I'm very aware.
2. The self-retweet. -- One can now retweet their own tweet, thereby putting a tweet at the top of a timeline, as it were, and sending it out to followers again, in case they missed it, or you didn't get enough attention, the first time. This doesn't apply to me, either.
3. Links no longer count in the character count. -- This actually does work out well for me, since I do tweet links and stuff. So now I can go ahead and link up everything, including blog URLs, and they won't count towards my character count. More room for words! Yay!
I like it when changes to something I enjoy have little to no impact on my enjoyment of the thing.

Totally on board for a Harry Potter summer

ITEM!: I didn't post anything last night because I was at work until 11 p.m. Yes, this is, apparently, how this summer at this job is going to go. I did get a couple comp days out of it, in the form of a half day this Friday, and a full day next Friday when Mom is here. So in the end, I'm kind of okay with missing out on my day yesterday if I get some extra time this week and next with Sydney, and Sydney and Mom, respectively.
ITEM!: Sydney is officially reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by herself, and she's enjoying it. I am so pleased with this, I can hardly contain myself! We were lacking chapter books for her to read at home, so she picked up H.P., and dug in. She's been reading it with no arguments the last several days, and even asks for more time at night. She will quickly discover that when she's reading, I will let her stay up way later than normal (if she hasn't figured that out yet, already). Anyway, I'm tickled pink that she's finally going to read an adventure worthy of her efforts.
ITEM!: I've come across a lack of television tonight, and that's because it's Book Reading Season. However, I'm paying bills and posting to the blog, all activities that can't be done while I'm reading, so, I've got Jurassic World on again, until I finish up here. I'd rather have one of my programs on instead, but oh well. I'm almost done, and then I'll get to reading. In fact, I keep typing and prolonging the time until I read. This is stupid.

I've always loved socks, and now I'm happy

I finally made it to Target and took the time to wander through the store's sock section. I picked up a potential set for wearing with my Toms at work, and another possible type to wear with my Vans. And now, having tried on both types of socks, I can confidently say that I'll be wearing my Toms to work again, and buying more socks to wear with all my other shoes, and therefore refilling my sock drawer. (They had a fun selection there, to be sure. It was a feat of self-control to not buy the Marvel socks. I had to be sure first.)
I used to have a stupid-awesome selection of socks, with all kinds of fun colors and designs on them. But they have grown very tired over the last several years, and some got holey, so my collection isn't even half as impressive as it used to be. I sense that Target may fill that void very well, and that's exciting to me. (I'm going to buy those Marvel socks within the next few days, mark my words.) And now, knowing that I have a viable alternative, I'll go through the drawer a bit more aggressively and pull out the socks that aren't comfortable but are okay enough to wear for donation. This will get fun for me very soon!
Also, I'll be buying more Toms.

It's late ... dog vomit

ITEM!: I don't remember what I was doing last night that kept me from blogging.
Oh, wait. Yes, I do.
I was at work until 9:15 p.m., and when I got home, all I wanted to do was sleep.
And come to find out that I'll probably end up having to go into the office on Sunday, too. All day on Sunday. Not some cute little hour or two. But like, a full day of work on Sunday.
There was a time when going to work on the weekends meant comp days during the week. I'm not sure how they work full days of work on not-work days, but I'll be asking.
ITEM!: Brian and I watched a cheesy movie tonight that we both couldn't believe that we actually watched. It was one of those instances where the movie sneaks up on you. Like, the movie you were actually watching ends, and then the next movie starts but you're too lazy to change the channel. And then one interesting thing happens, and then you realize that an hour has passed. And then, well, then you're invested. Might as well see what happens at the end, right? And there went my early evening.
ITEM!: The pile of magazines next to my bed is embarrassing. I don't even attempt to keep them stacked neatly anymore. They're a splay of paper, as well as other paperwork and stuff, and all I do is look at them from above, and then leave them there. Maybe they'll get read on Saturday.
ITEM!: I'm making my list for the weekend though, in case I don't work on Sunday (I will). Sydney and I are having a day with Katy on Saturday, and I will not have anything disrupt that. So depending on how much time we get to do that, and whether I'll have time Sunday, the things on the list may or may not get crossed off.
ITEM!: And then the puppy gets sick. ... Time for bed.

There may or may not be a whole lot of bees

Wanna know something cool but a little bit scary? I think there's a bee hive in one of the ground holes near my house. You know those holes and ground level cabinet things where utilities are maintained and controlled? There's one across the driveway from my garage, and for the last several weeks, I've noticed a few bees buzzing around it. Every time we walk past it, there's a bee or two entering or exiting the cracked lid, and I'm super, super curious.
What I will not do though, is open the top. Because that would be stupid. And some evidence to the contrary, I am not stupid. So I'll just continue on my merry way, being all curious but not proving anything.

A Bee Haiku
I buzz, buzz, being a bee,
I may, may not sting,
Open this box, and find out.

Go away, little Alex; you're bothering me

I am definitely, totally breaking up with Quantico. Like, for reals.
Oh.
Wait; hold on.

SPOILER ALERT. I will be talking about last night's Quantico season finale here.

There. If you're still reading this and you haven't watched last night's show (and care about that), that's your bad.
So, back to the break-up.
I'm so over Alex Parrish. I hate those girls that learn that their boyfriend/husband/significant other has lied to them, and they ask the man deliberate questions to see if he'll continue lying or tell the truth. Alex did that tonight. I can't stand it when a character thinks that every decision that every other character is making is somehow centered on them, and that it was made just to affect their life. Alex did that tonight, too. I don't like it when there's nought but running around, and random coincidences that lead to breakthroughs. Yes; she did that, too.
Question: Why would Liam leave a nuclear bomb sitting in the middle of a hallway? It was supposed to be "hidden," as they said throughout the episode. Cleverly done, Liam. Leave it where literally everyone walking down that hallway would trip on it.
Another: Why would Miranda get promoted to the highest ranking female ever in the FBI? She got caught snooping; was beaten up, shot and thwarted by the bad guy; and did absolutely nothing to save the day. Congrats on just not dying?
And: Ryan's beard. Ugh. Why?
One more thing: I can't believe that the actress Marcia Cross was okay with all those close-ups displaying the gray roots in her hair. Sure, it was mostly red, but the roots were there, and viewers with HD televisions saw them. I would have words with the hair department at the beginning of next season, Marcia.
Speaking of hair: Can we finally kill and burn Shelby's extensions?
Speaking of Shelby: I can't understand her motivation, to be so mean to Caleb, when her parents are the assholes, and he's not. She's deliberately acting to hurt him, because she loves him? Because he hurt her feelings? She's all about being the emotional and psychologically abusive ex-lover, for sure. If I watch this show at all next season, it will be to fast forward most of the episodes to see what happens with these two. I'm shipping them, for sure.
And finally: And now the CIA? Will they be changing the name of the show next season to Langley?

Calgon, take me away?

I’m feeling very anxiety-riddled today. I’ve got a knot in my stomach that I can’t shake, and my brain is running at 200 mph, with nowhere to go and nothing to focus on. I am very aware of some of the sources: summer camp, bills due this month, summer camp. But having settled on those things, and knowing what I can and can’t do about them at this very moment isn’t lessening the issue here. And I’ve been suffering all morning. I woke up all weirded out. It’s been constant since my eyes opened. And the vibe in my office is kinda odd today, too.
I’m at a loss, for sure.
I did pick up the new Meghan Trainor CD at Target at lunch, as well as a new charging cable for my kid because she doesn’t know how to plug in her phone without ruining it. Well, she does now, of course. Also, I grabbed a pair of liner socks to try with wearing some Toms tomorrow. We’ll see how that works.
I had a list of stuff I wanted to do yesterday, as I told you, and today that list is less one stop. I’m thinking Costco tomorrow, so I can get some chicken for Brian and some string cheese for Sydney. And hopefully I’ll be able to bust through it relatively quickly.
But the book I started yesterday is pretty okay, so I’ll finish that maybe tonight. Finally. I’ve had it for a couple months, I think. I’m on my fifth renewal of it. The book that I had to return unread a couple weeks ago is back in my possession again, and reading it is my reward for finishing this current book. And then I’ll add more books to my queue. I’m very excited to be finishing up television for the season.

[Written at 1:45 p.m. today.]

My goodness, I totally bailed on the day

For a day in which I had a bit to do, I certainly didn't do any of it. I had a trip to Target planned, and the grocery store, and the clothing donation bins, and to Home Goods for a picture frame. And what did I end up doing? We watched Captain America: Civil War again, and I read some of a book. Granted, it's a library book, so that's kinda productive, but really, that wasn't on my list of stuff I needed to get done today. One other task, that of signing up for a couple summer camps, was thwarted by the fact that both camps need emails to get the registration set up. I'll get that taken care of tomorrow, probably. My dogs did get bathed and groomed today, so that was something that I actually did have on the schedule that did get done. It looks like my lunch hours will have to be much more productive this week, so I can make up for my lack of motivation this weekend. *sigh*

No sunburn for me this time

We spent the day on the lake, and aside from a few issues here and there, we had a wonderful time.
I'm feeling pretty good about myself tonight though. I remembered to bring my rash guard,  and I wore it. And now, I have no sunburn on my chest, shoulders or back! It shouldn't be a triumph to not get burned in the sun, but with my track record of forgetting and not caring, it's pretty amazing how comfortable I am right now. The only places I have redness and a potential issue for some skin achyness are on my legs and my lower arms, wrists and the back of my hands. I don't anticipate anything irritating, though.
I super pleased with the rash guard, you guys. I picked it up at Old Navy last summer, and ended up using it only once over the summer (because of the forgetting and not caring). I decided to grab it for today though, and am super pleased that I did. I love the rash guards so much anyway, because they're so great for Sydney in the summer, and today's protection for me, and for Sydney, has made me more than the die-hard believer that I was already. Given the opportunity, I'll probably pick up another one or two for each of us, so we have a selection.
Now, what we need are some biker shorts or leggings in rash guard material.

These aren't hers, but hers are this colorful

My puppy is insane for socks. He loves them so much, and finds them very entertaining to play with. We can't leave a sock anywhere in the house, else Cooper will find it, flip it around, and bring it to you for throwing. He's pretty funny.
Anyway, Sydney has grown out of a significant number of her pairs of socks, and we recently emptied out the sock drawer so we could donate the pairs she won't wear anymore. We piled them in the guest room, up on the sofa.
Cooper has found them. They have been his endless joy the last couple days, and it's cracking me up so much that I'm not even picking them up anymore. Every time he leaves the bedroom, he comes back in with a new pair in his mouth. They are littering the floor of the guest room. Also, there are at least five pairs downstairs. It's Sydney's responsibility to corral them, but when Cooper goes nuts and drags them throughout the house, it's all good. No trouble for him, because it's adorable. You have to imagine this little black dog carrying around these bright, super colorful socks everywhere, and appreciate the aesthetic awesomeness of him.
There is at least one pair of socks in every room of the house, and right now, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Shows I'm breaking up with soon:

Quantico ~ I think I was about three episodes into this show when Alex Parrish's self-righteousness and attitude began to really grate on my nerves. The fact that I've lasted this far into the season is a triumph of will. I liked Quantico at the beginning because, seemingly, the female characters were strong and smart, and because the plot seemed interesting. And then Alex got all nosy, and tattle-taling, and all about how her problems had to be solved but everyone else should just forget about theirs because she knew better. And Shelby and Miranda and the sisters started whining. And then Ryan's beard was all scary; and Grayson from Cougar Town was creepy. And I just can't wrap my head around these characters anymore. I decided a couple episodes ago that I would be done with Quantico as soon as the season finale's ending credits began. ... Looking forward to it, for sure.
Marvel Agents of SHIELD ~ It hurts me to say this. It really does. I'm such a Marvel junkie that deliberately walking away from a weekly fix is almost unfathomable. But there, I said it, "almost." At this point, there is so much randomness going on in this show that I'm losing interest. I can't point to any one plot device ... oh, you know what? Now that I say that, I kind of can. It was when they killed Ward. He was a totally awesome bad guy, and a hottie, and Coulson killed him. I was shipping Ward and Skye (she'll always be Skye to me ... another plot device that turned me against them, I guess), and with Ward dead, the ship has sailed. ... I'll stick with my movies from now on.
Sleepy Hollow ~ The show killed its main female character. There are so few really strong, smart and capable female characters on television, who are central to the show's premise. Fox managed to destroy one for ... well, an indeterminate reason. I mean, there are two witnesses. Why kill one? And why would you feel like you have to kill the female one? I will grant that the male character is more  fun and intriguing to watch, but really, the show did not have to kill Abbie. She was so cool. I'm disappointed in their lazy storytelling. Every show can kill someone. The challenge is in taking what you've got and keeping it fresh.
Blindspot ~ I'm not breaking up with Blindspot in its entirety, as of now. It's got the two episodes on my DVR and the season finale to convince me to keep watching. Currently, Brian and I are hate-watching the show, because it's ridiculous. And so many close-ups. It's an exhausting show to watch. Understand that I'm tired after watching the show. I'm too tired to get so tired. But actually, since I'm quitting three other shows, I may be able to handle this one better.

Ummm, I want these. Like, now

I'm in withdrawals for my Toms. I miss wearing them so much.
What I need is some very thin cotton socks that I can wear with my Toms, so my feet can be cute and comfortable in my shoes, but then not sweat like crazy. I'll tell you that the leather inside my shoes is starting to warp from the sweating and the drying from my days at work. And that makes them weird to wear. And that is unacceptable, because I have an insane amount of Toms, and now I'm afraid to wear them.
Besides that, there are a couple pair I want to buy, and I can't justify buying more Toms if I don't wear them to work. So that's the prize of my most pressing hunt. Super thin cotton socks.
And then I can get the pink ones. And the blue striped ones. And maybe the floral ones. Wait. There is a gingham pair? Yummy.

Forever a Sun Devil! Go ASU!

Earlier this month, I think it was just about nine days ago, I mentioned that it had been 25 years since I went to my senior prom.
That was fun.
I saw on Twitter today that tonight was this year's Arizona State University spring commencement. That means that it's been 20 years this month, since I myself graduated from ASU.
When I was talking about senior prom, it was all melancholy "remember whens." But when it comes to 20 years since graduating from college, I have to tell you, I feel every one of those years. A whole super lot of stuff has happened since 1996, and 20 years is a long time. I feel as accomplished and defeated as ever, really.
Having said that, I'm too tired to get too philosophical about it.

Captain America wished me Happy Mother's Day

So we went and saw the totally awesome Captain America: Civil War this morning. And it was just as amazingly heartbreaking as I had feared it would be. But I enjoyed it very much anyway, and I agree that it was among the better of the Marvel Cinematic Universe offerings.
It was a perfect way to start my Mother's Day, and the homage to motherhood continued with a delicious lunch at my favorite Mexican restaurant. My dessert was one of the tasty brownies I made yesterday and a couple scoops of strawberry ice cream enjoyed together. As for the rest of my afternoon, I did some stuff in the garden, and took a tiny nap, and chatted with the awesome moms in my life, and then made Brian watch the end of Music and Lyrics (which is far less awesome than Captain America) with me. For dinner, I went a lot more low-profile, and we had sandwiches from Potbelly.
I made my old dog spoon with me on the sofa for a little while, too. He napped, so I know he's one of the dogs that does enjoy hugs.

Legitimizing the n-dash, from 1998–2016

So I've started subtly changing the editorial formatting of the magazine's articles.
The one thing I noticed, bright and loud, when I first started reading the magazine's stories, is that their paragraphs were super long. Like, crazy long. And I am not a fan of huge, mind-numbing blocks of text. No one enjoys reading that. So in my editing, I've started loosening up the content, and spacing it out, by instituting a liberal paragraph and indent policy. It seems to be working so far, because the articles aren't as painful to just look at anymore, and they're easier to read.
What I enjoy about having had so many jobs in my life is that I've picked up random editorial quirks from every magazine I've worked at. At one place, the editor hated, hated, hated verbs separated by other words. Example: Group nouns, also called collective nouns, can also be confusing. Technically, that sentence is grammatically incorrect, because the word "also" is inserted in the middle of the verb "can be." It should be: Group nouns, also called collective nouns, also can be confusing. This happens more often then you could imagine, and I always notice it, and I always fix it, because that editor hated it so much.
Having said that, I, of course, have my own editorial quirks: In addition to the paragraph thing, I've also started instituting the beauty of the n-dash into the magazine. I don't know when I decided to make the n-dash my own personal editorial crusade, but it happened a while ago, because I've been fighting for its existence and acknowledgement everywhere I've worked forever. Very rarely have I come across a magazine and editorial staff that used it properly, and I love using it when it should be used, but isn't, because they just don't know. Yes, that makes me a punctuation snob like no one's business. (I told you, it's a crusade, and I'm a snob about it. Learn about the n-dash here.) Examples: The 2010–2011 season was our best yet. She is a National Book Award–winning novelist.
My personal favorite usage is as a span between dates and/or numbers, and with compound adjectives (above), even though, if that link is to be believed for reals, that is an argument of aesthetics. Well, I believe in the aesthetics of the n-dash in compound adjectives, and I've started adding them to the stories I'm editing. (I had to lull them into a sense of security.) And I get a super happy feeling in my editor's heart when I see them in the articles. And it makes me sad when they're not in there. But I don't feel like teaching the rest of the staff how to use them, because they'd just tell me that they don't matter anyway. So I'll just sneak them in whenever and wherever they go when I have the chance.

I can't pick sides! Please don't make me!

Since Sunday is Mother's Day, I'm in charge of all family activities for the day. I'm still in the process of figuring out exactly what I want to do, but one thing is decided: I've already bought our tickets to see Captain America: Civil War in the morning.
But I'm conflicted. Not about seeing the movie. I want to see it. I'm like a junkie finally getting my Marvel fix after a year.
But I love Iron Man so much. And I love Captain America. And I enjoy how everyone is when they're together. And I like it when Black Widow and Scarlett Witch are bad-ass girls. The whole dynamic makes me giddy.
But in this movie, they're all fighting. They're like, really fighting. It's like 12 of my favorite friends, and they're arguing something fierce, and I love them all, but the circumstances of the argument are going to make me choose sides, whether I want to or not.
That's the crux of my conflicted feelings. I don't want to love any one of them less, but the plot and actions of the characters are going to make me think that one is less awesome than the other. And that makes me all nervous about how the rest of my Sunday will go. I like it so much better when they're all friends. ... I'm just hoping for a happy ending.

Start the lessons early, and maybe she'll be safe

So Sydney has downloaded a new app, called Musical.ly, to her phone, and now is addicted to it. It's kind of similar to Instagram, but instead of photos, users are invited to create little music video vignettes and then share them with their friends. Also, you can follow your friends and see the videos that they are posting.
"Hello, Kimberly. Welcome to the world of Your Kid is Obsessed with Making Videos of Herself."
I don't want to live in this world anymore. It's annoying.
I've downloaded the app to my own phone, and signed in with her account so I can keep an eye on what everyone is posting. I haven't seen anything to raise any yellow or red flags, but I do see why I should begin to fear for our future. These kids are so into themselves it's pretty amazing. Though they are having quite a bit of fun. Still, she's got a friend who's posting five and six videos in a sitting, and none of them are particularly entertaining or creative, and the whole app is enough to make a sane person go batty.
But because I'm me, and I'm protective of her future, I did take a few minutes to remind Sydney that an app is the same as the internet. And posting something to the app is the same as posting it onto the internet. So she needs to be very careful about everything she does online and with her phone. Even if she's just messing around, she needs to remember always that the internet never forgets, nor is it forgiving.

Three awesome tires, and one new awesome tire

This happened today. It's kinda weird how I saw the low tire pressure warning light at lunch, but I figured it was just some low pressure. The tires looked fine. This afternoon, when I left to pick up Sydney, I forgot about the light, but figured that it was just low pressure, and I'd get the tires looked at in the morning. But then the car felt weird as I was driving it to her school. And it sounded weird when I went around a corner.
When I arrived at school, I was surprised and shocked to discover that I could smell rubber as I exited the car, and the tire was super flat. Like, two inches from riding on the rims flat. I called my neighborhood Discount Tire right away, and they were cool and said, "Come on in!" So I picked up my kid and got back in the car.
Let me tell you; that drive from the school to Discount Tire was nerve-wracking. I could swear, with every turn, that I could feel the tire flatten more, and that at any moment, the tire itself would blow, and I'd be stranded on the side of the road with my baby in the backseat.
Happily, we made it to the tire shop just fine, though I still smelled rubber when I got out of the car. The guys at Discount Tire were super efficient, and got me in line right away. Bizarrely, it seems as though Brian and I had some kind of foresight when we bought the tires because we also bought the tire insurance. So, the new tire, which I had to get because I'd done so much damage to the tire by driving it so much while it was so flat, was no cost, and all I had to pay for today was the insurance on the new tire. Which wasn't much at all. ... Anyway, I'm proud of us for buying the insurance. We aren't usually so proactive. Or when we are, it usually doesn't work to our advantage.
So, it was a nail that got all bent and nasty in there. And now I have a new tire.

Tiny Thing #327: I scream for a lot of ice cream

Feels like a good day for writing about a Tiny Thing to Write About. Following is #327.
What was your favorite flavor of ice cream as a child, and why?
When I was little, the only flavor of ice cream I would eat was chocolate. It always was a single scoop of chocolate ice cream; no sprinkles, or marshmallows, or anything nifty on top of it. Just ice cream. But sometimes I would choose strawberry.
What's your favorite flavor now?
Adulthood has brought me many benefits, one of which is the ability to latch onto an ice cream manufacturer and taste as many flavors as I choose as often as I choose. In Boston, I decided to live and breathe Ben & Jerry's. The little corner grocer down the street had an incredible selection of Ben & Jerry's, and I tried different flavors a couple times a week. I did try so many, except for those with stuff I knew I would not like, such as Chunky Monkey, which is an ice cream poisoned by banana. But my favorite flavor at that time was Brownie Batter, which was chocolate ice cream with a swirl of brownie batter throughout.
Later, when we were living in Houston, I discovered Blue Bell ice cream, which calls Texas home. Sydney and I tried so many flavors, and the basics were pretty good, but my favorite was a seasonal flavor that I fear they will never make again, Key lime pie ice cream. Sydney really liked Southern blackberry cobbler, and we had still have a half-gallon of that in the freezer. It is old and should be tossed out.
But a constant in my freezer has always been Haagen Dazs. Their strawberry ice cream is the best, and their chocolate is beyond delicious.
Currently, ice creams in my freezer include: Ben & Jerry's Strawberry Cheesecake, Brownie Batter Core, That's My Jam Core, and The Tonight Dough; Baskin Robbins' mint chocolate chip; and Haagen Dazs's strawberry, and chocolate.
What flavor have you always wanted to invent?
Honestly, I feel like the ice cream universe is doing so well on its own, I would probably only hinder its advancements. Maybe I'd just ask Ben & Jerry to start making Brownie Batter again.

It's been quite some time since prom night

It's May, and getting on towards the end of the school year for my own kid, and several kids of my friends on Facebook. I'm seeing prom pictures, and awesome dresses, and all kinds of good stuff. Which led me to the following frightening observation: it has been 25 years since my Senior Prom. Let's take a few moments and reminisce about that event.
• My boyfriend/date's name was Brian. He was a year younger than me, and I knew him through our school government class. He was super cute, but he had a rat tail hairdo (c'mon, it was 1991). In all seriousness though, he was an awesome prom date.
• As is every girl's waking nightmare, I actually did have the same dress as another girl in my class. It was even weirder because we were friends, but we both had a sense of humor about it, and both wore it. There was no drama, and no one returned the dress to find another one.
• I had my hair done for the occasion, and it was a ponytail pulled back into a banana clip. Go on, be jelly.
• The dance's theme, to my embarrassment, was based on Richard Marx's song, and named after, "Hold On to the Night." Cheesy? Indeed. Again, 1991.
• Brian rented a mustang convertible for the night, because he thought that would be an awesome car to go to the Prom in. It was fast, certainly, but I'm not impressed by cars, so the entire gesture was lost on me.
• In the ultimate cliche move, we did get a hotel room, and that night was the first time that I had sex. They write songs about it; I did it. I lost my virginity on prom night. It was not wonderful.
• My best friend and her boyfriend, another dear friend and her date, and then another dear friend and her date. It was exactly as a senior prom should be, and we had a blast. I have ridiculous portraits to prove it. I find myself wishing that there were photo booths and whatnot back then. We'd have had so much fun with that.
I'm actually pretty impressed with how much I remember about that night. These are just the highlights, really. I can't believe it's been 25 years. I'm feeling O.L.D.