You Know You're A Grown-Up When ......

I just read this article in the May 2009 edition of Redbook Magazine and wanted to share. It's titled "You Know You're A Grown-Up When ..... "

"... HGTV trumps MTV"

"... you can spend an hour in complete, cozy silence with your guy without wondering if he's mad at you."

"... you finally appreciate what all the fuss is about on Mother's Day."

"... someone you went to high school with shows up on the cover of a magazine as "entrepreneur/philanthropist/artist of the year."

"... you figure out a graceful way to get off the phone quickly when your friend starts one of her hour-long rambles about kitchen renovations."

AND MY FAVORITE ...

"... you still roll your eyes - but only when no one is watching."

So true. So true.

Picoult - Not For Me

Even though I don't have a lot of time to read, I'm always on the lookout for a great book. I e-mail friends seeking recommendations. I ask strangers standing by the book section at Target for suggestions. I check out "People" magazine to see which new books are getting four-star-ratings.

So for many, many months I've been told by many, many people to read "My Sister's Keeper," by Jodi Picoult. I put it off because I know that Picoult's writing typically ventures into disturbing, real-life topics that will leave me, not uplifted, but upset and sad. My friend finally got me to start the book because the movie is coming out and she insisted I read it before we go see the story on the big screen.

Here's what I discovered: I didn't like the book and I'm not going to see the movie!!!!

I love Hollywood endings and that book definitely did not have a Hollywood ending. Yesterday, I sat in the big red chair in my family room and bawled as I finished "My Sister's Keeper." Let me tell you this: every day I read real news that is depressing and sad. I don't need any help worrying about what happens in the world. I do that on my own. A lot. Ask my husband.

I also figure that if I want cry, I'll do that in the privacy of my own home and not in some crowded movie theatre where everyone will need a tissue. So I told my friend that she's going to have to go to the movies with someone else.

Don't get my wrong. Piccoult is an amazing writer, weaving through storylines and creating memorable characters but I don't think I want to read any more of her books right now.

I think I'll just stick with my "beach" book or what I call "light" reading. i.e. trashy novel. All kidding aside, I do love a trashy novel once in a while but I mostly enjoy women's fiction that deals with relationships. If you have any suggestions, please pass them along. :)

Happy reading!

Flag-Day Celebration

Every year on June 14th, people across the United States honor the American Flag and all is symbolizes. It was on this day in 1777 when the flag was adopted by the US by resolution of the Second Continental Congress. (Wikipedia)

June 14th is also my wedding anniversary.

Do you know this story?

My name was Flagg. My husband's name was Day. We got married on Flag-Day 12 years ago. Our color theme at the wedding was red, white and blue. (It was not tacky! My wedding party wore blue and white dresses and carried red flowers.)

One year later, on Flag Day, our wedding photo and "Flagg-Day" wedding announcement was on national television. It was on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" during his Monday night headline bit. I sent it to the show and we watched for months but it never showed up on air. Then a year later, on the next Flag Day, the show aired it.

We missed it but lots of people called to tell us they saw it.

So this weekend, we celebrated Flag-Day with a wonderful dinner date and some time to reconnect.

And every year it's the same. Neither one of us gets in trouble for forgetting our anniversary because all of our friends and family remember .. and call to remind us. :)

What Did You Say?

What that's thing called? Ya know ... that thing ... the thingie ... the whatchamacallit ... the hard thing ... the plastic tube at the end of your shoelace?

Yep, it has a name.

Everything's got a name.

It's called an aglet.

I don't know if you knew that or if you even care but I came across this tidbit in my new "O" magazine. If you want to impress others with your expansive vocabulary you can check out a new book called "The Whatchamacallit: Those Everyday Objects You Just Can't Name (and Things You Think You Know About, but Don't)", by Danny Danziger and Mark McCrum (Hyperion)

It's filled with all kinds of words that you may not have known existed: words like muselet or borborygmus (I found this one amusing).

Now you're asking yourself, "Why would I use those words in a sentence, anyway?" Well check out their definitions. Who knows .. maybe you can impress your friends, significant other, or ....

Okay, you're probably not going to impress anyone .. maybe you'll just find them amusing like I did. Enjoy!

Here's the short list I found in "O" magazine:

aglet : the plastic tube at the end of your shoelace.

borboygmus: (pronounced bor-buh-RIG-mus): the rumbling sounds your stomach makes.

interrobang: the punctuation mark rendered as "?!"

muselet : (pronounced mew-zeh-LAY) : the four legged wire cage on a Champagne bottle

tmesis (pronounced tuh-MEE-sis) : the division of a word by the insertion of another word; e.g., abso-bloody-lutely or un-freaking-believable.