Christmas post coming soon

Stay tuned: I hope to write about Christmas and post LOTS of photos this weekend. We had great visits to NJ and KY, but we just got home late Tuesday night, caught up around the house Wednesday, then I was in Seattle all day Thursday. At work now (don't tell). This is my project for the weekend (I have four days - yippee!).

And yes, Weiss Watts won the second game of Scrabble. She asked me to post this when we were in NY. Happy now?

I won

Unlike the UK basketball team, which cannot seem to seal the deal, I did.

If you were wondering how that hotly contested (and three-week long) Scrabble game ended up, now you know. 304-269. Jen had some valiant plays (including the word "evenings" for 65 points), but my slow and steady approach prevailed this time.

Now it's time for a hearty rematch. Scrabulous is fun!

It's a boy!

Join Brian and me in welcoming the newest member of our family (and no, it's not what you think)!

Dawn (Brian's aunt) and Pete welcomed little Zak Raymond Lindia this evening. Even though Zak came about two weeks before his due date, he weighed 6 pounds, 13 ounces. Mother and son are doing well.

Although I don't have any pictures yet, Drew already gave Dale her Christmas gift - a very nice camera. You can bet Dale will send (a million) photos of her new nephew soon. I'll update at that time.

(Post updated on 12/17/07 with photos - isn't he cute?)

Wardrobe Malfunction

Sorry for the delay in between posts. As I'm sure is the case for most of my (five) faithful readers, Brian and I have been very busy.

This weekend we had four Christmas parties to attend - two on Friday and our work parties on Saturday. Both work parties were cocktail attire, and Brian decided he needed a new suit. He looked very dapper in his new suit, and we were almost out the door when the night took a turn for the worse.

Brian was looking into the big foyer mirror, probably admiring his hair, when he noticed that his suit had two vents in the back of the jacket (flaps, as he called them). He went from zero to 60, and suddenly my typically calm husband was freaking out. He went berserk, demanding that we go to Macy's so he could give them a piece of his mind!

I mildly suggested that we call Macy's to make sure that this wasn't the style of the jacket that he had picked out. Brian's never really been into details unless they involve baseball stats, so I thought perhaps this was plausible. He was pretty adamant that he had never noticed this in the store when trying it on, so I started to think perhaps the alterations person didn't sew up the sides of the jacket either...at which point I suggested perhaps he should have payed closer attention (maybe I used the phrase "your fault", but I can't be sure). Needless to say, that didn't go over well.

So we called our friends Kelly and Matt, whom we were supposed to meet for a glass of wine and appetizers before leaving for Brian's party, to let them know we'd have to just meet them at the hotel. Then we were off to Union Square, where traffic was a nightmare, and so was the cab ride...

After what seemed like an eternity later, we finally arrived at Macy's, where the salesperson politely told Brian that indeed, his suit is supposed to have vents in the back. The salesperson then proceeded to turn around and show Brian that his suit was the same style. "See?" he asked.

This is when Brian's face turned bright red and I just stood there.

6:15...the first party wasn't until 7:00, and we were kicking it in Macy's with no interest in shopping. It put a bit of a damper on the night. The good news is that I could see the humor in the situation from the start. The better news is that when I informed Brian that I was going to write about this on the blog, he said, "I understand" or something to that effect. But perhaps the best news of all, is that I have a lifetime ahead of me to tell this story.

Both pictures are from my work party. Pictured with me above are Perrin, Lauren and Camille.

I'm dreaming of a White Christmas

Elfing yourself is fun! Check it out for yourself. More to come soon...

PR people are such easy targets

Honestly, I just laughed when I saw the latest Mac vs. PC commercial. Very clever...

Now I'm worried about being worried

My mom always said, "You come from a long line of worriers." Over the past couple of years I've found myself increasingly uptight and stressed (often for no real reason) to the point that I worry myself almost sick.

The good (?) news is that I'm not alone. A recent article published in Self reassures me that many women feel the same way. However, now I'm worried about why I worry. Apparently it's called defensive pessimism, and it doesn't sound good.

Tips?

P.S. I just re-read this and now I' m worried that you're going to be worried about me once you read it. Uh-oh, I have a long way to go...

Let the games begin!

About 20 years ago, Poppy taught me to play Scrabble. He was a great teacher. So great, in fact, that I don't think he's beaten me at Scrabble since 1990 or so. Granny K. snuck in a win somewhere in the mid-90's but I still maintain that it was a fluke. Mom never stood a chance. Dad readily admits having trouble spelling his own name (R.W.).

When we moved to Sacramento, I met my true competitive match in Jen Weiss Watts. As I recall (and you know how modest I am), she is the only person who has beaten me at Scrabble in the last ten years.

When Jen and Mike moved to NY earlier this fall, I thought our game nights and Scrabble days might be over. So imagine my surprise and sheer joy (yay!) when she invited me to play virtual Scrabble with her on Scrabulous!

It's so awesome. Perfect for friends in different time zones. You just play off your board and your competitor gets an email notification that it's her turn. And it goes on. I have no idea how long it takes to finish a game (I suppose it has to do with how much you're checking your email). Anyway, I'm sure you'll read about the results on one of our blogs in the near future!

By the way these photos are from our last game night this summer (before they moved to NY). We played wives vs. husbands that night. Mike was supposed to be the Eiffel Tower, but Brian's never been as good at games as his wife...

Comment challenge

If your picture appears in this post, you may be interested to know that I've played around with my blog settings so that you no longer have to sign in or register to leave comments for me.

I know how at least one of you doesn't like registering for extra things (you know who you are), and I have a feeling the others probably feel the same way.

Now let's see who leaves a comment first. My money's on Granny K. (Please don't let me down).

Sunday Night Blues

About 20 years ago, Susanna Hoffs (lead singer for the Bangles) sang that she wished it were a Sunday, 'cause that's her fun day. Though I can relate to the premise of the catchy Manic Monday, I disagree about Sunday. Sunday tends to be my mopey day, and today is no exception.

After more than a week off (if you include the weekends), I am not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow. Don't get me wrong, I really like my job and I'm grateful for all the opportunities I have. It's just the principle; it's work (hence the name).

So rather than dwelling (I've been doing that all day, so I'll spare you the details), here's a little run-down of all the great things I did this week during my time of leisure.

Things I did (this is not an all-inclusive list, nor is it in any particular order)
1. Worked out almost every day (skipped yesterday out of laziness, but justified it as relaxing)

2. Started my Christmas shopping (got all the easy people done - my mom, Granny K., Brian, etc.)

3. Got my hair cut and highlighted (it's not really orange - see?) in the middle of the day and still had time for dinner with a friend

4. Slept in when I wanted and went to bed when I wanted without any regards to how much sleep I would really need to have a productive day the next day

5. Ran little errands I normally don't find time for during the week (got my engagement ring cleaned and checked, took old clothes to Goodwill, went to the library)

6. DECORATED FOR CHRISTMAS (photo coming soon - a friend is sending it to me)

7. Watched Regis & Kelly and The View at least twice each

8. Had breakfast and/or lunch with Brian almost everyday

9. Saw Brian when we were both awake, for that matter

10. Watched several feel-good movies, including Love Actually (twice), Because I Said So (twice) and Mystic Pizza (once and a half - it was on Lifetime all weekend)

Things I wish I had done more (or at all)
1. Re-loaded our iTunes (still haven't done this since the Motherboard incident)

2. Read (though I'm half-way through the mind-stimulating final installment of the Shopaholic series, I still have a backlog of periodicals I suppose I'll peruse on the Muni)

3. Relaxed (still trying to figure out how)

Overall, it was a really great week and I suppose I should be refreshed and I'm sure to some degree I am. I'll try to remember that as I'm plowing through the 115 emails I missed from work...

Go Cats, go Cats, go Cats!

I don't really care about football, but for some reason we always get the best SEC football games out here. (Remember UK beating LSU earlier this season in three overtimes?)

UK and Tennessee are just beginning the fourth overtime right now.

Oh shoot! As I was writing, the Vols just scored and got their two-point conversion. Nooooooooo...

(Commercial break)

UPDATE (posted at 3:15 p.m. PT) - At least Wake Forest won...

OMG is my hair orange?

Brian and I like the color orange. As many of you know, Paris High School colors are orange and black. Not only are the Syracuse colors orange and blue, but now its mascot is simply the Syracuse Orange. The hallway in our apartment is orange, which is cool even if we didn't paint it. And don't forget edible orange foods than rank high on my list: oranges (hence the namesake), pumpkin, cheddar and of course, carrots!

Hair, however, should not be orange.

I almost freaked out last night when I got home and checked out my new hair color. In my aforementioned week of leisure, I've gotten to catch up on a lot of things that needed doing - including my roots! As we move into the winter season, I decided that I would go a little darker and leave the blonde for summer. Some of you have probably heard me talk about my stylist, Hector, who has a very strong and flamboyant personality. He's great.

Which is why I was absolutely shocked when I got home and thought my hair was orange...

I know what you're thinking, don't they have mirrors in this salon? Yes, in fact they do. I suppose they also have different lighting than what is in my very bright bathroom. I thought the color and cut looked awesome in the salon and was so excited to have chic fall hair! But when I got home, it looked a little more like pumpkin pie than I would have liked.

Ok, I'm exaggerating. I'll stop the rant now. My friend, Ashley, came over and inspected closely (under other bright lights) and convinced me I'm just having trouble getting used to the color. The blonde parts have slight red undertones, but primarily it's a light brown/honey blonde. Plus, Brian really likes it so I felt better. He definitely would have told me if I had Cheez-it hair.

If we had our camera back, here's where I would insert a photo and let you decide for yourself. Oh right, our camera is in NY.

Bottom line: I don't like cantaloupe to eat, and I don't want it for a hair color either.

Coming soon: Thanksgiving musings and Christmas photos (I'm going to ask a friend to bring her camera over. LAME-O).

Real deal or steal?

They say imitation is the greatest form of flattery, and I suppose that is the case. I wonder how the Hotel Collection (sold exclusively at Macy's) feels about its new knockoffs, Springmaid's Platinum Hotel Collection (available at select Wal-Mart stores).

If you've been to our home, you may recognize the Hotel Collection color block design from our bedroom or perhaps you saw it on our wedding registry. Can you tell which one below is real and which one's a steal?

Pricing is not available for the Springmaid wanna-be collection online, but you can be sure it's less than the original.

There’s even a full-page ad on p. 149 of the November issue of Real Simple!

At least it's not available at the Super Wal-Mart in Paris…

Brian kicked me out of the house!

Before you get ahead of yourself, it wasn't that dramatic (but you're reading, aren't you?). We were having some friends (Julia and Dave) over for dinner last night and as usual I was on top of the "to do" list. I had prepared all the food, so Brian was on tap for the cleaning. The thing was, it was mid-afternoon and it wasn't getting done, and you know how that gets to me... I suppose I was being a helicopter (hovering) when finally he told me to leave and do something fun. At first I tried to put up a (stubborn) fight, but then I realized I was being a big idiot and that I should take my free pass. So I went for a long (foggy) walk by the bridge (which I couldn't see) and then bought some awesome holiday towels from Pottery Barn.

Other updates you may (or may not) find interesting

1. I'm off work all week. YAY! Many of you know I got pulled into some last-minute campaign work which kept me in Seattle most of latter half of October. I got some comp days as a result of my unwavering commitment (hehe). It was all I could do to save them until this week, but I'm soooooooo glad I did. It's Sunday night and I don't have a care in the world about my "to do" list for the next day.

2. In case you're wondering, yes, I still have a "to do" list for the week I'm off. Before you roll your eyes, it's full of things I've been wanting to do (Christmas shopping, decorating, exercising, etc.).

3. I have pilgrims now. Talk about someone with commitment. My mom is awesome, and she totally pulled through for me when all home decor stores here let me down. On Thursday, I opened up a package with the cutest (and classiest) wooden pilgrims. Hopefully soon I can take a picture...

4. But our camera still hasn't made it back from Frank's wedding. This is when Brian thought it was stolen but really one of Frank's coworkers picked it up by mistake. Well, it still is in NY "with all those memories," as Brian says. I really hope we get it back soon so I can update this post with the pilgrims and take new photos on Friday when the house is decorated.

5. Unlike me, we just realized that Brian hasn't left the "manor" (aka the house) all weekend. Taking out the trash does not count, especially because it wasn't voluntary!

6. We have our ugly Christmas sweaters picked out and ready to go. Now if we can just find Brian a red turtleneck. I suggested that he consider wearing a dickey instead of a turtleneck. He looked at me like I had five heads. (Apparently he had never heard of a dickey before...)

Coming soon: Updates on my week of leisure. I can't wait!

My Dentist asked, "Do you want to have kids?"

Today I went to the dentist, and he seriously asked me this question. I responded, "Umm, not right now."

At first I thought he was coming on to me (ok, not really), but I thought the question was weird considering pregnancy questions are usually not in his job description, if you know what I'm saying...

He proceeds to tell me I need to have all my amalgam fillings (the ones that look silver) removed if I want to have healthy kids someday. What? I've never heard of this. I have always been aware of mercury in the fillings, but there's also mercury in fish and other foods we eat. Plus, I've never heard a news story about this (and of all people, trust me, I would hear about this one way or another). Even the ADA says amalgam is perfectly safe.

Oh, and by the way, even with your insurance, he says, that will be about $75-100 per filling. At this point I'm starting to catch on...

So then I remember how two visits ago he wanted me to get a $400 mouthguard because my fillings were shiny (meaning I grind my teeth in my sleep). Funny he didn't mention how "dangerous" amalgam fillings are then when they were bright and shiny. Nor has he brought up the mouthguard again.

What's more, he's the speediest dentist ever. I'm not even sure my teeth are clean he moves over them so fast. My appointment today? Record time = 19 minutes. Not kidding.

My mom's calling good old Dr. Fight tomorrow to find out if what I suspect is true - that I'm getting flossed by my dentist.

After all, Granny K. had fillings when she was pregnant with my mom, who had fillings when she was pregnant with me. Just look at how we turned out! (On second thought...)

8 Updates Since My Last Post

1. We attended our first same-sex wedding this weekend - Brian's coworker BW and her wife, Kieren, were married in a beautiful ceremony in Walnut Creek (about 45 minutes outside the City). The wedding was supposed to be outside in these awesome rose gardens by a fountain, but it rained so the festivities were brought indoors. I don't know BW well, but it's always nice to be present and support two people who are making a lifelong commitment to each other. Do you know what impressed me most? The dancing. These ladies could move! Apparently Kieren is a dance instructor, so they had this choreographed first dance that made Brian's and my first lap around the floor look like a middle school dance. I'm really glad we went. And I figured out what to wear, in case you were wondering.

2. We learned that Momo's has really good food - It's not just the crowded bar across the street from AT&T Park. We met Brian's Uncle Steven and some of his coworkers in town for Oracle World there Saturday night (much to my initial chagrin) and it was awesome. If you're local, I'd totally recommend it for a nice dinner. ($20-30 entrees)

3. We booked our Christmas plane tickets - FINALLY! Bottom line: Arrive in NJ Wednesday, 12/19 (Brian's birthday) in the afternoon; travel to KY Saturday, 12/22 in the afternoon; leave KY Tuesday, 12/25 (Christmas Day) in the afternoon. Not a ton of time with either family, but we're excited and grateful to see both this holiday season.

4. I got a prelude to the ugly sweater party - Tabitha is hosting an ugly Christmas sweater party this year, which I'm pleased to say we'll arrive just in time for Saturday night (see above). Almost as festive as I am, my mom has already helped me start planning for what we're going to wear. As I was walking down Broadway the other day (the mansions part, not the part by the Hustler Club), I spotted this guy wearing a sweater with a teddy bear on it. I'm not kidding. He was about 45 years old, walking his preppy King Charles Spaniel, wearing a Polo sweater with a teddy bear like the one pictured here. I wanted to ask him if Brian could borrow it for the party but then I realized it wasn't Christmas themed. I didn't know grown men wore those sweaters in real life. I hope he got it on sale.

5. We deep-cleaned the entire house - This is not interesting, but it does reflect how a significant portion of our Sunday was spent. I wish we had a Tony Micelli or a Mr. Belvedere.

6. Brian took me to Target - For those of you who are single or who live in suburbs, this is not a big deal. He never wants to venture outside the City on my little "I'm not sure what I'm looking for, but I bet they have their Christmas stuff out" trips, but he did last night. He even picked out a holiday pillow for us that has moose on it. He also almost broke a bunch of snow globes throwing this Spiderman doll, which would have been so typical. He rewarded his good deeds with Twizzlers, of course.

7. Dean & Phil are engaged - I'm so excited for a wedding next year. Yippee!

8. The oil spill made me sad - By now most of you have probably heard about the boat that crashed into the base of the Bay Bridge and dumped more than 58,000 gallons of oil into the Bay. In my opinion, the entire situation has been handled poorly. From the blatant omission of exactly how much oil was spilled (for more than 12 hours the Coast Guard said 140 gallons, then suddenly it was 58,000) to the lackluster response in protecting the affected wildlife, it's been a literal disaster. 485 birds have already died and another 650+ have been rescued. Some of my friends volunteered to help clean the birds this weekend, but they were turned away for not having proper training. A lot of people went ahead and did what they could, but a lot of locals are really disgruntled in the response. What really got me was when, in a press conference yesterday, a Coast Guard commandant said decisions not to disclose the vast amount of oil spilled more promptly were "errors of omission rather than errors of commission." He said they were so busy enlisting help, etc., but I can tell you that disclosing this type of information is exactly what the communications staff was concerned with at the time. They were probably just trying to figure out how to handle it. Too bad they did it poorly, in my opinion.

Happy Saxophone Day!

I don't discriminate when it comes to holidays. Religious, cultural, commercialized, I'm ready to celebrate regardless.

November 6 just happens to be Saxophone Day. Even though I just learned of Saxophone Day today, it already holds a special place in my heart. Mr. Grigson would be proud...

Those of you who have met me in the last 10 years (and I assume that's most of you) may not be aware that yes, I was in the high school band. And yes, it was the "cool" thing to do in our high school. Ok, that's what I tell people when they give me weird looks when I admit this as an adult... The truth is, I really enjoyed the band and despite my infamous vocal talents, I had some mad sax skills. (Plus, it didn't hurt that band really was cool at Paris High School, or that we took the best school trips around).

So in celebration of Saxophone Day, I'd like to share with you a music video that is near and dear to me. Not only does this video feature one of my favorite 80's pop saxophone solos, but it also is performed by some of my favorite artists. I'd be happy to sing my rendition of "the woman is wild - woooooooooooh" for you any time. Enjoy:

Dance Lessons

Now that the Watts have posted a Jib Jab on their blog, I kind of feel like we're in some 2,500-mile-away contest to see whose are better. Perhaps this competitive spirit is sparked by Mike's jabs at me that I like to bend the rules, shall we say, at board games. Well, I decline to comment on this speculation, but I will say I'm pretty proud of the progress we've been making in our dance lessons.



The funniest part is that Brian actually makes this face when dancing.

Thanks to Amy, I'm now obsessed with Jib Jab and have made several of my own movies. Here's to the original:

In the fine tradition of my mother and grandmother before me, I like to decorate for the holidays. When I say like, I mean "am obsessed with". I've been looking forward to this since Wednesday night - partly because I can't stand to still have past-due decorations out, partly because all the decorations remind me of my fun holiday bridal shower. Now that November's here, I've packed up all my ghost candlestick holders, Halloween cookie cutters, and all-things jack-o-lantern and have moved on to turkeys.

"Why do we have so many turkeys?" Brian asked.

I didn't think it was that many, but it seems we have seven. Eight if you count the picture of my dad on the fridge with a big jake (not the dog), and 36 if you count the turkeys on my dishtowels. (For the record, I'm not counting the dishtowels; 36 does seem like a lot.) Salt and pepper shakers, wreaths, more candlestick holders - even a turkey with tail feather spreaders. I think it's cute, Brian thinks it's a little overkill for a one-bedroom apartment.

Which leads me to the question: Why are turkeys really the only Thanksgiving decoration? I have platters with non-specific fall leaves that can stay out for three months and I didn't carve my pumpkin so I could keep it through Thanksgiving, but seriously? No one decorates with pilgrims anymore, so I'm going to make that my mission this week. Must find classy pilgrim decoration to make the turkeys a little less intense. We're going shopping tomorrow, so I'm sure this will be really fun for both of us...

Coming soon: Not sure...feeling a little spontaneous. Hopefully something funnier than this.

Here are a couple more pics...

What an eclectic group of women: Miss Teen South Carolina, Amy Winehouse and Martha Stewart! Meantime, Richard gets a leg up on the others in the costume competition. Too bad he didn't win. Looks like all that be-dazzling was in vain...

Happy Halloween!

Halloween was so fun this year! I had been traveling a lot for work the couple of weeks leading up to the spooktacular holiday, so I wasn't sure how much I could commit to a costume, let alone a party. Friends of our friends Carolyn & Ryan invited us to their annual Halloween bash here in the City, so Brian and I decided we couldn't stay at home. Carolyn was coming into town and so was our friend Jen, so by the time Friday rolled around we were pretty excited.

Due to my travel schedule, I decided to pull together a costume based on things I had in the house already. With my domestic diva apron, a stiffly starched shirt, a basket full of homemade cookies and Living magazines, I was a decent Martha Stewart if I say so myself.

No surprise, 2:00 Saturday rolls around and Brian still hadn't chosen a costume. I thought we were going to be destined to another year of the Yankees jersey. We headed to the way too crowded Halloween superstore on Van Ness, where we found the perfect wig and even fake chest hair. After a trips to American Apparel (shorty shorts) and Walgreens (Queen Plus size panty hose), Richard Simmons was born!

I'm so proud of Brian for bringing his A-game to Halloween this year. It's a good thing.

Another good thing is Christmas carols. That's right, we're just cusping November and I'm ready for Joy to the World. Carolyn, Jen and I got a taste of some holiday tunes at a local eaterie on Saturday night - a full four days before Halloween if you can believe that! Premature? Definitely. Still great? I thought so, but I was the only one. I think Jen was still bitter with Target for replacing their costumes with Christmas ornaments before Halloween. I don't know why she was so upset though, she made an impressive Amy Winehouse. Tupperware alert!

Coming soon: How in the world do I change the formatting of these pictures? This might be harder than I thought...

Talk about Neal News - We're Blogging!

Just when Web 2.0 is jumping the shark into "has been" territory, leave it to us to hop on the blogging bandwagon. As reluctant as I am to let 80's music remain in the past, there's no way I could let the opportunity to talk more continue to pass me by! Brian might say it's kind of like being a Red Sox fan - suddenly chic despite perhaps my better judgment- and I guess I can go along with that (now that baseball season is over, after all).

So this is a big thing for us, and I'm kind of proud of myself for thinking about it. I just learned how to post pictures (I thought this one was appropriate), and I'm still working on HTML basics, but you can bet I'm going to get pretty good at these details over time.

Good and obsessed. Probably, but also grateful. I've been thinking about a blog for a while, and I must give credit to our friends Mike and Jen, who really inspired us (me). Check out their very funny and irreverent blog here. They definitely lit the fire. Plus, they have a black cocker spaniel, Cooper, so that automatically makes them fine people. Just ask my dad.

Speaking of whom...Dad, have you ever read a blog before?

Well, either way, I'm excited to be writing without a deadline or an approvals process. I was hoping Brian would be pumped, too. I figured if I put Ron Burgundy allusions in the title and a baseball reference in the first graph, he would be on board pretty quickly. I don't think he wants to make a major commitment (after all, this does not involve sports), he says he might be a guest contributor from time to time.

I think that brings us to the conclusion of my first successful blog posting! Feel free to bookmark this page and check back periodically. Hopefully this platform provides a creative outlet for us and an ongoing source of entertainment for you. And it wouldn't really be newsworthy if we didn't put a tease in the end, would it? So here you go. Coming soon: Halloween pics and Christmas commentary. -Katie