Wife in the Fast Lane

I was recently asked to review this book. I'm horrible at reviewing books, but here goes. I had read the author's (Karen Quinn)earlier book The Ivy Chronicles and thoroughly enjoyed the ups and downs, ins and outs to getting into the elite prep schools of NY. Very eye opening and almost unbelievable what goes on before these little angels are allowed to grace these schools with their presence. So I thought I'd read this book, Wife in the Fast Lane, as it similarly dealt with upper crust of NY. This was a fun read. It centers around the main character (totally forgot her name as I finished it about 3 weeks ago)and her journey to the top with her sportswear company. She's a former Olympic athlete and realizes she has "made it" when she is 38, single and finally invited to a highly selective conference in Switzerland. CEOs abound. Here she finds romance and her life changes very quickly. Thrown into the mix is a child from an unlikely source and here is where chaos ensues. However, she handles it all very well and it's an interesting ride to the end. Her experiences with the PTA "rich bitch" are the best parts of the book in my opinion. So I'd recommend it if you're looking for an easy read. It's fun.
I needed something light after reading The Shack.

Check my sidebar for the very cute book I'm reading now. This was written by a Duke University French professor and it is a comical autobiographical story of when she met her husband while studying in Paris, France. I'm really enjoying it!

Dilemma

So was this a dilemma at your house last night? Which to watch?



OR



I must say I DVR'd The Housewives of OC, but had to keep switching back and forth out of curiosity. The Wives all had their girls on display...you knew they would! Tamra took extra bitch pills before filming this reunion show. Vicki appeared to have developed amnesia on how she treated Lynne and Gretchen at the horse races party. Lynne was still clueless as ever and Genna just played it cool in the middle of teams Vicki/Tamra and Grethchen/Lynne. It was exhilarating to watch, but I need to go back and watch the whole thing to appreciate it all.

Funny, I didn't DVR Obama, but did enjoy his speech despite Nancy(i?) Pelosi, in an outfit that strangely looked like a hoodie, practically squealing in delight in the background. She was highly distracting to me.
Was it just me? I preferred Biden's calm, collected demeanor. And did anyone catch Obama giving Hilary Clinton a kiss on the MOUTH when they greeted? That was different. Mr. Pink and I gave each other weird glances at that one. He gave everyone else a kiss on the cheek. Ok, that's it. It's all I've got. Pink out!

FIRSTS...

I saw this bouncing around Facebook. Thought I would do my answers for all to enjoy or laugh about.

1. Who was your FIRST prom date with? I opted out of prom (or that's a better way of saying I didn't go!)
2. What is the name of your FIRST pet? Sammy, a sweet grey and white cat

3. What was your FIRST alcoholic drink? California Coolers that came in a 2 liter bottle. Anyone remember this stuff?

4. What was your FIRST job? babysitting or, if that doesn't count, a giftwrapper during Christmas season at Belk's department store.

5. What was your FIRST car? An ugly brown Pontiac 6000 (was my dad's old company car)

6. Who was the FIRST person to text you today? No one has sent me a text today. Don't do that too much.

7. Who is the FIRST person you thought of this morning? My son. Didn't hear him up and about after I heard his alarm.

8. Who was your FIRST grade teacher? Mrs. Nivens. She was cranky and mean. I probably thought it was going to be a long road ahead for me with the school business.

9. Where did you go on your FIRST ride on an airplane? Jacksonville, FL to see grandparents.

10. Who was your FIRST best friend & do you still talk? Melanie and no. Moved away.

11. Where was your FIRST sleep over? Probably at my friend Lori's house.

12. Who was the FIRST person you talked to today? Mr. Pink

13. Whose wedding were you in the FIRST time? my cousin Holly at The Citadel chapel. Cool wedding. They had the sword arch for the couple to walk through.

14. What was the FIRST thing you did this morning? make mini#1's lunch for school.

15. What was the FIRST concert you ever went to? Rick Springfield when I was 12!

16. FIRST tattoo? No tats on me.

17. First piercing? Ears at age 8. Only piercing and no double piercing.

18. First foreign country you've been to? The Netherlands with my dad before my senior year of high school.

19. FIRST movie you remember seeing? All those Disney "Herbie" movies. Am I old or what?

20. What age were you when you had your FIRST child? 30

21. What was the first state you lived in? North Carolina

22. Who was your FIRST roommate? Regina- we had a tiny dorm room.

23. If you had one wish. What would it be? financial stability for everyone

24. What is something you would learn if you had the chance? Snowboarding?!

25. Who do you think will be the next person to post this? Whoever feels like doing this list. Just tell me if you do it so I can read, too!

Misc Monday

Last night was so much fun catching up with an old friend. Her dating antics kept my other friend and I laughing all night. Prior to dinner we saw The Reader and I was thoroughly moved. Several times I felt the tears springing to my eyes, but I blame PMS for some of that. Yes, I am allowed to say I have PMS, but no one else, read as Mr. Pink. Kate Winslet deserved her Oscar and wasn't her speech so gracious and unpretentious? She looked so beautiful, too. I was glad she won, but my friend and I agree she is due to be in a romantic comedy this year. Her last two were UBER serious!! Then again she didn't get any Oscar nods for The Holiday which definitely falls under "chick flick" category.



Saturday and Saturday night were dedicated to cub scouts. Saturday a.m. I had to supervise mini#1 baking a cake for his Blue/Gold award banquet that night. Whoa- he needs practice on cracking eggs and two minutes with a mixer seemed like an hour to him. Nonetheless, he and Mr. Pink crafted a scouting tent and campfire out of sugar and various pantry items. The results gained him a 2nd place award at the banquet in the "scouting" category. He was really proud. It was a fun night! He's officially a wolf cub now thanks to his hard work and Mr. Pink helping him earn his achievements. Here he is with cake and award. Hope all had a nice weekend!

Oscar Night

So if I were invited to an Oscar party (at Brad Pitt's request of course), here's what I'd wear. Instead I'm going to see The Reader this afternoon with two friends (one in town from Atlanta), then dinner at a French restaurant and back to my friend's house so all of us can have our own mini Oscar night soiree in front of the TV. Then my movie viewing days are over for a while and it's back to a crazy week coming up. However, I will enjoy today. Will you watch tonight?


Oscar Night - by pinkinaseaofblue on Polyvore.com

Movies

I saw this movie last weekend. Have you seen it? It is definitely worthy of 10 Oscar nominations. Excellent film, but it is very difficult to sit in a comfortable theater seat munching overpriced popcorn and see how children/people are living in such an underprivileged area of the world. This film makes you want to do more for those less fortunate than you and want to make sure your children realize how much they have while others fight to survive each day. Anyway, I highly recommend this film. Stay for the credits and enjoy the dance scene. Is this called Baliwood dancing? Not sure.



My friend and I are quickly trying to view Oscar nominated films before the award show on Sunday. Are we the only ones that do this? We saw Revolutionary Road last night after we (really it was just me. She ordered the healthy stuff) gorged ourselves on Thai food. Anyway, this was such a well-acted movie. Such a serious movie. I can't say I thoroughly enjoyed it, but it is very thought provoking. It definitely makes my own marital quarrels look like a sunny walk in the park.
The movie was so focused on Kate and Leonardo's relationship that you rarely saw their kids. My friend and I kept commenting on this (I think to give us some comic relief not provided in the film) and wondering why the heck she DIDN'T want more children. If my children were never present I'd probably add another 2 myself! I still would recommend this film, just be forewarned it doesn't leave you with the warm fuzzies at the end. It's been nominated for 3 awards. I'm very surprised that the realtor's son was nominated for best supporting actor, yet neither Kate nor Leonardo were nominated in best actor/actress categories.



Tonight, in an effort to resume our neglected family movie nights, we will be watching Space Chimps. Oh, how I look forward to it. Wink, wink. Mini#2 has wanted to see this for the longest time so today I rented it. Hopefully, I'll stay awake!

So which films have you enjoyed lately? I think I need to see something lighthearted next. Maybe Confessions of a Shopaholic. Ha! Speaking of shopaholics, I am very proud to have purchased a dress today that I had tried on a month or two ago when it was marked down only slightly. Today this $150 dress was mine for a mere $40! Enjoy your weekend.

Confessions of a sometimes slacker mom

So, first of all, why did one mini have school and the other didn't this President's Day? That's not fair.

Anyway, I thought I would be nice and meet Mr. Pink with mini#2 in tow for lunch near his office. I may have also had to return a couple of items to HomeGoods also near his office. Sue me. I like to multi-task. I was envisioning a nice big salad at Jason's Deli, but Mr. Pink had other ideas. Italian food at some chain restaurant I've already forgotten the name of. Not Olive Garden or Carrabba's. J. Carino or something like that. So I gave in and ate Italian. It was tasty. Artichokes, capers, olives, tomatoes over angel hair, but I ate far too much bread. Afterwards I went to HomeGoods. Here's where the slacker part comes into play. I was having such a good time (yes, mini#2 was even still with me!) I forgot to check my watch. However, when I did, in the check out line at the register, several curse words raced through my head. It was 2:00 and mini#1 gets off of the bus at 2:25 and we were 30 mins away! Being that I don't consider myself a slacker mom, I immediately assumed something was wrong with my watch; not me. However, I rushed mini#2 into the car and raced ahead frantically because I was quickly feeling more and more like a slacker mom. A smart one though. I called my next door neighbor, explained the situation and told her I may or may not beat the bus home and could she inform easily excited mini#1. And had I not had to go through two school zones, I may have been on time...given I was speeding most of the other parts of our trip home. All was fine. I was about 3 minutes late. Mini#1 was happy. He even got peanut butter kiss cookies next door from non-slacker mom! Ok, I must go before I am forced to write the second installment of confessions of a sometimes slacker mom entitled "My mom doesn't help me with my homework because she thinks blogging is far more important."

Cupids and Lemonade

Thank you Displaced Southern Prep for this thoughtful award! I am glad she's back telling us stories of her 2 divas. They make me laugh and think of my minis. I give her and all of you other bloggers with traveling husbands a huge pat on the back. There's a special place in heaven for you all.

I believe I've seen this award on several blogs I read so I won't select 10 to pass it on to today. That would require too much research on who has and hasn't received it and I'm feeling a little lazy this early. Am I honest or what? And anyway, I enjoy all of your blogs! Instead I think you all deserve some lemonade today. And if you slip a little vodka in it before 5:00 today who am I to judge? Raise your glasses. Cheers to all of us moms.



Does everyone have big Valentine's Day plans? Mr. Pink and I have opted to stay home tomorrow night. We've been out of town for the last 3 weekends and we just want to stay home! However, we do plan to eat dinner, just the two of us, after the minis go to bed at 8:00 so it at least feels like a semi-date. Ok, off to gather Valentines to take to preschool and then buy groceries for our Valentine's Day date. Have a good weekend everyone!

Let's catch up a bit...

Sorry for sporadic posting. Busy time and no post-worthy material! I shouldn't be posting at all. I hear mini#2 screaming at mini#1 in frustration. We just completed his Valentines for school, but it took twice as long because mini#2 wanted to attempt a few letters of their names. I finally left him to try to write his teacher's names. Ok, I'm back. Had to resolve their issues! Good grief. Can you advertise kids on Craig's list? I have one, possibly two I'm considering. I cannot wait for book club tonight.

So over the last few days I've:
- volunteered at mini#1's school.
- booked a beach trip for June.
- got my hair highlighted, but added low lights again so I don't have to go every freakin' 6 weeks for touch up!
- written a ton of thank you notes for funeral arrangements, food, etc so Mr. Pink doesn't have to worry about it.
- Had a first of a few to come estate sales at mother-in-law's. Have to go ahead and do this. We don't know if we'll rent or sell her house just yet. Lots of decisions to make. Tough weekend for Mr. Pink, but he's doing ok considering.
- cut back my roses today. I'm ready for spring!
- had coffee Monday with an old friend I hadn't seen in a while. Fun catching up!
- made coq au vin for dinner (French chicken in wine sauce dish). Yum-O!
- watched Housewives of OC last night. Tamra-hide your girls please. Lynn- get a brain, Vicki-I don't care for you, Gretchen- stop partying and visit your sick fiance, Jenna- get some hair help. It's a lame show so I can make petty comments.
- bought a spring dress today and a cute top at Old Navy. Both are navy. Think this is my new spring color. Love it.
- went running for the first time in ages last night. It may be ages before I do it again. No, I'm hoping to be able to run a 5K in May. We'll see.

Ok, so this catches you up on the mundane existence I've had lately. Aren't you glad you stopped by? Sometimes I'll take mundane over stressful or exhausted. What about you?

A good way to start the day?

Ok, so I won't win mother of the year award when the judges find out I gave mini#2 a Poptart for breakfast this morning. Blueberry. I buy fruit flavors. Never the chocolate flavors. And he had a banana. Does this win any points back? However, he did give this tired woman a very good laugh at 8:12 a.m. He usually likes them right out of the package. This morning he advised me "Mom, I want my poptart roasted this morning." So I pulled out the toaster and said, "Ok, sweet baby. I'll roast your poptart." Priceless.

My brain can only take so much

I am still so tired from the last week. Therefore, once I retreated to my bed last night I easily fell back into The Bachelor. Is it just me or is this bachelor just a little too wimpy? I'm just not feeling the emotions this time around. I missed the first hour, but that girl Naomi (24) was making me gag with her syrupy sweet interactions with said wimp. And take that hood off of your head. I see high schoolers doing that and, granted, you only left high school 6 years ago...you DID leave so take that hood off of your head. Mr. Pink, unfortunately, has to watch this crap with me if he's in our room. He thinks Stephanie, aka Steph by Jason, is really a man. He made this comment a few weeks ago. I think he may be onto something, but I did think she was sweet in a mother hen sort of way (to the other girls). She kind of creeped me out making ga-ga eyes at Jason. I didn't think he was feelin' the love. He seems to really like Jillian, but it appears depression runs in her family (next week's previews). She might be forewarning him that Prozac is really her first love. I think I like Melissa(?) best. The cheerleader girl. She's cute. Wait is that all that is required to find one's lifelong mate? I missed their one/one date. Anyway, enough of this show. I do like the hometown dates. They always prove to be interesting. Who do you like?



If The Bachelor wasn't enough mindless TV, I immediately switched to The City on MTV at 10:00. I love this 20 something show and love NYC so it's fun to see where they go eat, shop, drink. But, the above picture is also the reason. Jay the Aussie is such a little hottie isn't he? He wasn't on too much last night so he's getting some "air" time on my blog today. Whitney's former boss Kelly was all over Allie (model) about her weight. "Are you ok? Are you sure? Do you need help? You're way too skinny." It really ticked off Allie. However, in my opinion, Kelly is in the fashion industry and secretly resents all the pretty, thin models. You know she sees a therapist weekly to sort through her own image issues.

Ok, now back to my reality. Got to write tons of thank you notes for last week. Have a great day!

Blogiversary!

I'm back. It's been a long, sad week, but we'll be ok. I am worried now that we are away from relatives and back into a routine that it will finally hit Mr. Pink hard. So far we've been in react mode and have had to handle a lot of personal things. Continue to think of us. And THANK YOU all so much for your kind words and comments. It really meant a lot!

In all this whirlwind I missed my blog anniversary on Saturday. I cannot believe I have done this for an entire year...and that I still have readers! I have really enjoyed blogging and meeting so many new friends. Now back to laundry, sorting through boxes and working on homework with mini#1. I promise more exciting posts in the future!