Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Little Blond Munchkin Love of My Life

Today is my last regular babysitting day with my little man, Clyde. Those of you who know me know that Thursdays have been the highlight of my week for the past year because of him. In honor of our final day together, I made him a book (he loves books). It won't look nearly so nice or well-organized on blogger, but I'm sharing it here anyway.

Thursdays with Clyde and Phoebe

Every Thursday for a year,
Clyde's friend Phoebe would appear,
Ready for a day of fun,
In the rain or in the sun.


In the park were many things -
Clyde's favorites were the swings.
"Little push, little push, big push!" he'd cry,
And after the pushes he'd go "So high!"




Slides to slide down and tires to climb,
There was never enough time,
To do all the things Clyde loved so much,
Like sniffing roses, puddle jumping and such.




Clyde was fond of things with wheels -
Fire trucks had the most appeal
So they'd walk (they'd never drive),
To see Tower 1 and Engine 5.




Lights went on and sirens wailed,
While trusty Sparky's watch prevailed.
Those trucks were big - they were not tiny,
And their wheels were always shiny.




Then Phoebe would say, "Hold my hand!"
And Clyde would reach up just as planned,

And they'd head home to eat their lunch,
Getting messy as they'd munch.

After nap it was time to venture,
Back outside for more adventure,
Looking at flowers all around town,
And stepping "Up!" and stepping "Down!"

On their walks they loved to play
With their shadows on sunny days.
When shade came, shadows would hide,
And Clyde would say, "Where's Phoebe and Clyde?"

Often they would walk some more,
To the library or bookstore.
They would sit and read together,
In sunny or in rainy weather.

At the library, Clyde liked best
The "Oops! Book" and "Froggy Gets Dressed".
But at the bookstore he'd request
"Yummy Yucky" and "No no Yes yes".

Then at the end of each Thursday,
After lots of fun and play,
Phoebe had to say "goodbye"
And head back to her home nearby.

So Clyde would from the window stand,
As Phoebe smiled and waved her hand,
And Clyde waved back each afternoon,
Knowing they'd play again very soon.


Monday, September 15, 2008

MNF Quote of the Week

"You know how good this game is? We haven't even mentioned Jessica Simpson!"

Thursday, September 11, 2008

No Words

I thought perhaps if I slept on it, I'd have words to write this morning, but I'm still at a loss.

Yesterday two of my dearest friends in the world became parents of a little baby girl, and I became an honorary Aunt. I am beside myself with happiness for this new family and apparently my happiness leaves me speechless.

Welcome to the world, Baby M.


Wednesday, September 10, 2008

To Bling or Not To Bling

Yesterday I got the official offer for my new job, which included a start date (September 22) and a salary. The salary isn't huge but it's definitely decent by social work standards, and anything is going to feel like a lot after having no income for the past two years.

Today I had to run some errands that required that I go to a mall where there is both a Gap outlet and an Ann Taylor outlet. Naturally, I had to stop into both and see what kind of deals they had for some new work clothes. Though I don't have the income to purchase a lot of new clothes now, I definitely felt that I could justify a few new things - especially a new "first day of work" outfit (thank you, H, for putting that idea into my head!).

Sitting around tonight watching the Sox game, I found myself online browsing jewelry on craigslist (I accidentally clicked on the "craigslist" tab and then decided I should click on something I had never clicked on before, which is how I got to "jewelry"). Most of the pieces listed were entirely forgettable. But this one caught my eye:


It wasn't the gold band that did it for me (I'm more of a white-gold/platinum gal myself), but the setting. It's interesting. It's different. And according to the post, the diamonds were hand-cut by the seller's grandfather in Kentucky. That's pretty cool. 

However, despite using the change in my employment status to justify my clothing shopping spree earlier in the day, I did not use that same logic on the ring. I determined that only if my salary were 3-4x larger could I justify purchasing celebratory bling, and so the ring remains online. My two pairs of new pants and three new tops, on the other hand, are hanging happily in my closet.

Left at the Altar

An appropriate comparison, given that I spent last weekend at a wedding, only to return and find I (along with all other New England fans) had been left at the altar. Thank you, Sports Guy.

The "Left at the Altar Loss," when you're waiting for months and months for the season to start (like planning a wedding), then you have your fantasy drafts (the bachelor party), then you have the rehearsal dinner the night before (making your starting fantasy lineups, making your bets, figuring out which games you'll watch Sunday), then you go to the church for the actual wedding (getting in front of the TV for the 1 p.m. ET games)... and as you're standing on the altar, you find out your bride either changed her mind or got run over by the limo driver. That was me and every other Patriots fan Sunday -- we had our tuxedos on, we were ready to go, and suddenly we were sitting in a waiting room in a hot tuxedo waiting for medical updates on our comatose fiancee and halfheartedly trying to talk ourselves into one of the bridesmaids.