When did basics become persnickety?

I recently replaced some basics in my closet (you know how I love to organize the closets!) and I seem to have purchased some very "non-basic" basics!  My life consists of a pretty heavy dog walking rotation, a decent amount of grocery shopping, around horses more often than people, and a whole gaggle of errands and appointments that keep my Corporate Wife title firmly in place (this is no complaint... this is just my life, people).  I mean, I do clean up nice when I need to - but for the most part you will find me in some seriously comfy clothes.

Back to the non-basic basics.  It turns out that my nifty, fabulous, make me soooooo happy new kick around yoga pants (yeah, I don't actually DO yoga, I just like the clothes a whole lot) are highly flammable and cannot, under any circumstances, be placed in a clothes dryer.  There is actually a tag with a combusting flame on my care and handling tag.  Okay.

And those super-soft and cozy t-shirts I just got, that have arms long enough for my 6ft. wing span and are just the perfect shade of grey... well apparently they have to be dry cleaned.  That's right.  There are now t-shirts in the world that are dry clean only.  I went online to research the brand (a bit late, perhaps) and there are plenty of posts of washing woes.  They rip.  They shrink.  They have a cult following.

My basics are going to be a real pain in the ass I predict.

Oh... and a Dutch person really pissed me off today:)

charge thy neighbor?

When I walked outside my front door this morning I was greeted with about 2 feet of leaves.  We live on a corner where they seem to socialize, have a few drinks, and then reproduce more leaves in rapid succession!  So, as not to look like Sanford and Son (anyone remember that awful show?  Anyone?) I grabbed a broom and started "city raking" them up.

Of course once I got started I just couldn't stop!  So I scooped up the leaves from my neighbor's front door and sidewalk.  Then I ventured around the corner and scooped up my other neighbor's avalanche of leaves.  She opened the front door while I was doing this... We don't know each other well, but we know that we are neighbors versus strangers breaking into our respective homes.  This level of recognition is pretty deep in my Dutch neighborhood!  Not everyone is on this friendly status!

So she opens the door and I say hello.  She asks what I am doing.  I tell her that once I got started at my place I just couldn't stop.  She asks me if I intend for her to pay me for this.  I kind of thought she was making a joke (the Dutch have a very dry sense of humor, so one can really never be sure...) so I replied that she probably couldn't afford my fee.  She closed the door in my face.

Ooops.

Eavesdropping

It isn't polite... but we all do it!  A little sampling of what I picked up throughout my day:

Lunch
Little cafe down the street - me with my nose in a book and a salad that will take the better part of an hour to consume. A table to my left is full of international women, clearly congregating to meet the newborn of a fellow co-worker who is still on maternity leave.  The new mom halfway through lunch says something to the tune of "and can you believe that I am actually thinner now than before I had the baby?!?" - to which I could actually feel the seething of her table mates.  The mood certainly changed at the table, but the new mother was totally oblivious.  She also reached over and took the salt and pepper off of my table shortly thereafter.  I joined in on the seething.

Park
When the sun is out, we hit the park.  It keeps both myself and the dog sane.  Today, both of us were feeling especially social - so there was lots of stopping and sniffing of other dogs (of course I only watched this spectacle!)  One dog was pure white with a smattering of pale brown polka dots on the ears - very cute - almost like freckles.  This cuteness was not lost on anyone... as a small group of dog owners gathered around to marvel at the cuteness of this particular dog.  Of course, the spots were mentioned and even complemented, to which the owner said "yes, but I have often thought that if I had a child with spots on their ears no one would think it was cute."  The woman makes a compelling point.

The list goes on, but the material they gave me was too dull to report on.

The October Syndrome

This seems to happen to me every October in Amsterdam... the rain starts and the annoyances pile up.  I have really been trying to focus on the good (last post was in July, so guess how that worked out?)  But I am overflowing with complaints - to share with lucky you!

The burglar's best friend (aka:  our alarm system)
A funny thing happened 2 weeks ago.  The night before we flew out to Mexico our home intercom / door lock / security gizmo went on the fritz and started beeping non-stop.  It also got stuck on the "unlock front door" mode.  Not good!  So Dan disconnected the system and we contacted the property manager for an appointment with an electrician.  Fast forward to us getting back and having it repaired yesterday - and last night the beeping and magical door-unlocking started all over again - FUN!  I contacted the property manager today and this is what I got:  "apparently the electrician ordered the replacement part late and didn't have it with him yesterday, can he come back when he has the part?"  Are you kidding me?  The electrician put the old system back in and just hoped for the best?  Will wedge a chair under the front door knob before we go to bed tonight.

Zeros - not as universal as you would think (aka:  wtf?)
Since the rainy months are upon us, I am sporting my house shoes pretty much 24/7 these days, which I think warrants an upgrade.  So I picked out some oh so ugly and oh so comfy Ugg slippers today to put a spring back in my step.  Not so quick!  Uggs are display items only it seems (at least at my local shoe store - that stocks Sergio Rossi mind you - so they know how to move an expensive shoe) - no, Uggs are to be ordered once your selection has been made.  Alright, I kind of get it, and really - what can I do?  So I filled out the order form and when the sales associate read back my phone number she stopped dead on the zero.  It went something like this:  "what is this?"  "oh, it is a zero..."  "really?"  "yep."  and then she traced another circle over my circle... and then drew an arrow to it and put down another circle.

Why do they make it so hard for me to thrive here?  I want to like it.  I try to like it.  I just don't like it.

Lest you think I am miserable

Though I find Amsterdam a bit challenging at times... there are also those days that I enjoy it tremendously.

Here is a sample of my last 24 hours:

I found a Starbucks in the city!  Yes, there is one at the airport and one at the train station - but this one is just a 10 minute walk from my house.  And they spelled my name right!

I have a new friend, Jort.  He is short and stubby, has terrible breath, and a crazy mohawk.  When I have a riding lesson that about does me in, Jort consoles me and flashes me a big-toothed smile.

Why are bells ringing all over the city?  The bridges are raising for the big boats to make their way through the canals.  Always exciting!  Never get tired of seeing this.

Perhaps my greatest discovery in a long time... the Shellman Gallery, where all furniture and decorative objects are adorned with shells.  This is not a small gallery, by the way, which has me believing this isn't the niche market I expected, but a major presence in Dutch home design!

surely it was just a bad dream

I woke up this morning with a nagging feeling in my stomach, something was off, and then it all came rushing back to me.  Could it have just been a dream I wondered briefly... and then my mind played it through like a movie.  This wasn't a nightmare - this actually happened.

The scene:
(how anonymous can I make this?)
The apartment of a couple we are fairly good friends with - an intimate dinner party (6 of us total)

Within a minute of cracking open a bottle of bubbly upon our arrival - the gentleman belonging to the other invited couple gave me a compliment.  It went something like this...

Guy:  "you've lost a lot of weight"
Me:  "ummmm... I don't think so"
Dan:  (stares on in absolute horror)
Guy:  "maybe I am remembering you wrong, but you used to be much bigger"
*we have indeed crossed paths and chatted at other parties many times
Dan:  "no, my wife has always looked this way"
Me:  "well, maybe I have lost a pound or two"
Guy:  "you look better - it is a compliment"
Dan:  (stares on in absolute horror)
Me:  (stares on in absolute horror)
Guy:  "well, at least you lost weight in your face"

And then we were seated and dinner was served.  Can't say this little exchange did much for my appetite!

star-crossed lovers or potential dinner?

We have a new neighbor.  We don't know much about him.  He is orange, has 4 paws, and spends a lot of time peering over our patio wall...

In the evenings, when we open up the patio doors for a breeze, we have started to notice Lola heading outside.  She sits patiently and stares up at the neighboring patio wall.  Just around dinner time this is what we see...

It is a short exchange, perhaps 15 minutes total.  Then someone will inevitably be called back inside and the encounter comes to an end.  At which point Lola attempts a closer vantage point!  Not sure if this gesture is unrequited love or more epicurean in nature... 

just breathe...

Well the emails have been pouring in that I appear a bit stressed these days... very perceptive you all are!  I really do try to see the beauty and goodness of dear Amsterdam - we just seem to be at odds at the moment.

Case in point:

When I moved here 2 years ago it was pretty much impossible to get a pedicure - anywhere.  Coming from the 24/7 NYC lifestyle - this really sucked.  But very recently an amazing spa moved in down the street and I have been frequenting their shop with reckless abandon.  Yesterday I booked a pedicure to "take the edge off" so to speak.

I arrived 5 minutes early (b/c the Dutch are never late... often early / never late).  I saw my usual pedicure person sitting outside on a bench having her lunch as I walked through the door... and I waited... and waited.  I waited 15 minutes for her to come inside and kick off the party.

But here is the best part... when she finally came inside and saw me she said:

"Oh... I was just coming inside to call you to see where you were"

Me:  "I have been here for a while now"

"I didn't see you walk in the front door - I have been looking for you"

Me:  "No worries... I have just been looking around until you were ready"

"Oh, what a shame, we don't have time for the pedicure now..."

Certainly not the end of the world by any means - painting your toes in bed can be very therapeutic!

Just the facts

For the sake of time and inevitable procrastination - this one will be short - but hopefully sweet as well!

1.  Today I actually saw a woman riding a bicycle while breast feeding her baby who was in a baby bjorn strapped to her.  It was a surreal moment.

2.  Last night at an opera event my Italian friends admitted that they rarely understand more than 70% of the Italian sung in an opera.  Hmmmmm... who knew that even the natives struggle?

3.  Yet again, my butcher has taken total control over the quantities of food that my guests will be enjoying this weekend.  While placing my order with him he asked the who / when / why and discerned that I was purchasing too much meat.  So we had to negotiate - I got more chicken wings, but less beef skewers.  This man has that much power.  This @$%& is real.

Oh the Dutch

You have probably heard of Dutch Courage.  Certainly the phrase Going Dutch - and perhaps even of the trait Dutch Directness.  But I have one to add to the list... Dutch Discord.  As you can imagine, this stems from something that happened to me recently.


My week started off with a bang for sure.  Still struggling from jet lag (how can this be?) I was out repotting a tree at our front door at 7:30AM this Monday morning when I was greeted by a little old Dutch woman and her dog.  She had a few things to say about the poor state of my tree (and it really did look sad, I discovered it was diseased and had some sort of parasite, so it was being repotted, remember...) and the exchange went a little something like this:

She:  "I am so happy to finally meet the person who lives here... you never water this tree"

Me:  "I water this tree every morning when I take my dog out"

She:  "No, you never water this tree - the poor thing"

Me:  "Really?  Do you watch my house?  I water this tree every morning.  It has a disease... it has a bug"

She:  "What?!?  What is a bug?!?"

Me:  "Google it"

She:  "You should not be allowed to have anything living"

Me:  "Go away" 

She:  "I can see you are an angry person from looking at your eyes"

Me:  "Go away"

She:  "Do not tell me to go away"

Me:  "Go away, go away, go away..."

She:  "In all my 20 years I have never met anyone so rude in this neighborhood"

Me:  "I have been here 2 years and I feel the same"

She:  Well I never...

Me:  What?  You never go away?!?

And so out little tête-à-tête came to an end.  I know I handled this in a most obnoxious and immature way... believe me, I am not proud.  But slowly they (you know who they are) are driving me crazy.  They are wearing me down one day at a time.  Because there is always something... every day there is always something.  Being upbraided at your own front door - it is going to bring on a little Dutch Discord. 

Nouveau Cujo

80s fans... I know you are out there.  Remember all of those amazing John Hughes movies?  I can recite every line to Sixteen Candles.  But what about the darker side of the 80s film genre?  Does anyone remember a little gem titled "Cujo" by chance?


5 second synopsis:


Lovely family dog (St. Bernard) contracts rabies and terrifies a small town with grizzly encounters.  In my opinion, not Mr. King's best work, but here I am 25 years later rattling off the plot to you.  Yes, it made an impression.


Unfortunately, I know another dog with a 4 letter name that has been terrorizing a small town of late... L-O-L-A.  It pains me to say it, but our beloved pooch is kind of a nightmare these days.  Case in point, a snippet of an email I sent to my husband this afternoon after a shopping trip gone bad.

At a shoe store (local designer - nothing too posh - which is a good thing you will realize as reading on) I was looking around and I noticed that Lola had seen herself in the floor to ceiling mirror behind where I was standing.  So I stopped and watched her, b/c as a puppy she loved this game.  

So she locks her gaze and then lifts her front paw and starts to point.  Cute, right?  Then she starts to growl a little bit... and all the shop ladies laugh a little b/c we realize she is trying to intimidate her own reflection.

And then all HELL broke lose.  She charged the mirror barking like the worst Cujo impersonation you could ever imagine.  Then she got on her hind legs and started clawing the mirror and biting it - getting it all smudgy from her mouth and nose.  I had to PULL her away from the mirror with all of my strength and then calm her down.  She was absolutely crazed and out of her mind.  Women starting screaming in the shop that didn't know what was going on b/c they thought some poor dog was being murdered by another dog.

I stayed there and calmed her down... one shop lady came over to help me pet her and shush her.  Then, we were asked to leave.

Our sweet pooch has been having some random rage episodes recently... so we have enlisted Amsterdam's version of the dog whisperer to give us some insight in the coming weeks.  I will bore you with the details soon.

Observations: Prague

Just back from the Czech Republic... never a dull moment over here!  Beautiful city, lovely places to stroll, and a few oddities.  In no particular order of importance, here they are:

ATC (aggressive table clearing)
In every restaurant we ate at, from the lowest to the highest (i.e. hotel breakfast buffet to private dinner in a palace) one thing held true - your plate was never safe!  My husband missed his entire main course one evening just because he was deep in conversation with the person to his left.  Someone swooped in and removed his plate at lightning speed and he had literally taken 2 bites.  Another friend at lunch was asked if he was finished 3 times (this while he was in the act of actually eating) and finally... a dear friend actually had to put her elbows on her plate at another dinner to ensure that she ate a full meal.  Someone still came by and tried to take her plate - while her elbows were resting on the plate.  It almost became a tug of war.  ATC starts out as comical and strange... but after 4 days on an empty stomach, it really starts to piss you off.

SS (strange salutations)
There were many, but this one takes the cake.  After making a purchase from an antiques dealer, I thanked him for lowering the price of the object for me... the dialogue went something like this:
Me - thank you very much for helping me with the price, I really love this piece
Owner - I am sorry, I just had hot soup for lunch
Me - blank stare and walk away

ITP (impossible to purchase)
The one thing that I was absolutely set on was bringing some czech glass home.  After managing to miss our scheduled glass factory tour, a friend and I hit the streets and made our way to renowned Moser glass (there are 2 showrooms in Prague, both equally stunning).  You couldn't help but find a million things you would love to have!  However, you also couldn't help but be told that none of it was in stock!  It took ages to locate a few scotch glasses... I think the sales associate reported that there were a total of 6 in the entire country.  So much for starting a bohemian glass collection on this trip.

All in all a wonderful trip.  Would definitely go back.  Will certainly be prepared!

Frenzied times

Things are getting extremely busy around these parts... I think I can breathe again come July.  We are just gearing up for lots of travel - which has us all on edge just a smidge.  At the moment both my dog and my husband are bounding up and down the stairs nonstop, but for very different reasons.

Out of my intense guilt of sending Lola off for weeks at a time between now and the first of July, I have been indulging her every whim.  She leaves tomorrow morning for the first round - and she has already exhausted 2 new toys along with an extra helping at dinner.  Now, before bed, we are having one last hurrah and are playing "find the treats" - sure to be her absolute favorite.  It is quite simple... I hide some treats around the house and she runs around like a crazy dog looking for them all for about 30 minutes.  Having 3 floors to cover keeps her very busy!  Got to love these narrow Dutch houses for something.

My husband, however, is not playing "find the treats" but instead one of his own favorite games... "install the gadgets" - tonight being a Sonos sound system.  Since this is our last quiet night at home before madness ensues, this job must be completed immediately - or wait a few weeks - which would absolutely kill my husband.  The thought of this new system staying in boxes for weeks on end would keep the man up at night - honestly.  Installation also requires him to be on all 3 floors at different times along with the dog.  There is a bit of a traffic jam on the stairs at the moment.

And what have I been doing to keep myself busy during all of this?  The urge for organization bit me hard this morning and the pantry, refrigerator, and bathroom cabinets have all been scrubbed and organized accordingly.  Just a little taste of our brand of crazy for you.

back for more

Today I ventured back into the land of mega facials.  I recently discovered Cougar Town on my Apple TV and Courtney Cox is running some serious game on the fabulous scale.  So I did something I swore I would never do again... the very un-fun microdermabrasion.

I was soothed into the idea after wandering into the greatest spa / salon EVER that just opened around the corner from our place.  Hand milled soaps from Florence - check.  Bespoke perfumes from Paris - yep.  Little satin pillows to shade your eyes while you snatch your beauty sleep - oh yeah.  Do I need any of this... not really.  But, I had to wander in and take a look!

And then I met her - the woman behind the counter - who had that Courtney Cox radiant glow, sans any makeup of course.  She runs the spa program and swore that her microdermabrasion facial would whip my mug into shape in no time.  Naturally I signed up on the spot.

The verdict?  It wasn't bad!  No pain - a little scratchy.  There was a cool laser involved at some point and then she buffed my skin with a big metal disk (hmmmm... a bit odd).  I left looking refreshed and honestly, just better.  Oh, and I seem to be missing a small mole that I have had since childhood.  Now that just screams "results" to me!  Sign me up for another round.

Dual Entry

Ahhh... when it rains it pours!

Just back from a relaxing holiday and ready to report the latest and greatest from lovely (and dysfunctional) Amsterdam.  As luck would have it, I have 2 topics to report on today.  As one involves my lovely dog, I just couldn't choose...

Topic ONE:  I think my dog is a cougar

Today, running around the Vondelpark, trying to exhaust my 8 year old Weimaraner (Lola, as you must know by now) I realized that my girl was being pursued like a hot pancake throughout our walk by quite a few hounds.  Not one to rain on a parade, I let Lola socialize all she wanted, and what I observed was eye-opening!  After close observation, I have realized that Lola may in fact be a cougar... meaning yes, my dog is a 50 something that likes the younger variety.  Observation: she tried to bite any dog with a greying muzzle that looked at her twice, vs. playing coy hide and seek with any dog that was bouncing around like a pubescent 18 year old.  Girl's got game.

Topic TWO:  I feel for the guy

Also today, I witnessed a terrible social event.  At "THE" cafe in my neighborhood (which I happen to frequent about twice a month.... at best) I saw the unthinkable.  Let me set the stage... Kim Kardashian look-a-likes a plenty, Birkens out the whazooo, a fair amount of hair extensions as well as lashes... I think you know this crowd (you don't really "know" this crowd of course).  Well, the sun was out in full force today, and this cafe was beyond max capacity, when the sun shines the Dutch do get their drink on.

Here he comes... server with a tray full of 10 - 15 drinks - champagne / coffee/ water / wine - and on his ever so small path to navigate on the patio... one woman shifts her chair back into his space about a foot, as another woman pushes him a bit from behind while trying to leave her table.  The perfect storm.  Watching from across the street while airing up my bike tires I saw him struggle to keep his burgeoning tray steady.  But of course you know how this ends.  He lost control and dumped his tray of drinks on approximately 8 women busy "lunching" - and I am pretty sure he has lost his job as a result.  So yes,  I feel for the guy.

chicken and egg, meet the ATM conundrum

Today was one of those days where you feel like you are on the outside looking in - looking in on someone else's life to be precise - and what I saw was Amsterdam kicking me hard in the &%$.  Test of the day:  the ATM would only dispense large bills.  The Dutch only like to accept small bills from you when you purchase anything.  They also absolutely hate having to make any type of change.  They will patiently watch you dump out the contents of your wallet and pay with 47 coins as opposed to breaking a 50 note.

Knowing this predilection, I bicycled from bank branch to bank branch to exchange my money once I realized that the ATM had essentially given me the finger.  Interesting development, though... none of the banks had any money inside - they operate strictly ATM only here!  There aren't even bank tellers present, but just a person that greets you at the door and shows you to the ATM.  Honestly, the banks don't have money inside them here... I am still baffled by this.

So you can guess where this is going, right?  I had to beg shop keepers and grocers to accept my euros in their unfashionable denominations all day long.  I really can't put into words just how annoyed the Dutch get about having to make change.  It truly was as if I had personally insulted every person I had to pay today.  People muttered under their breath at me... others waved their hands about in disgust.

A bit surreal... the ATMs dispense large notes at random times  / the banks don't actually have money inside them to make any change for the euros their ATMs have just dispensed / and the general populace hates making change.  How?  Why?  Help!!!

Game ON horse!

More horse talk - as I am obsessed with my lessons at the moment.  So I found those horse riding instruction books and have been studying them with much tenacity.  I chose the more zen and horse friendly manuals - but find myself learning from a very strong-willed oompa loompa like character at the stables.  My instructor is all of 4 1/2 feet - and she is FIERCE.  She likes short reigns and firm kicks.  I like stroking the neck and making cooing noises.

Today she took the leash off of Flair and I rode a horse without training wheels for the first time.  It was pretty thrilling.  Then Flair stole the show and tried to walk us out of the ring and back to the stables.  It is hard to remember what you read the night before in your zen horse manual when you are basically being hijacked by a horse.  Oh Flair - why do you hate me so?

So today I learned how to use a riding crop (I prefer the sound of that vs. what oompa loompa calls it:  horse whip).  I have been dreading this day... I don't want to kick a horse, let alone whip one.  But I must say that it did keep my horse in the ring (hooray) and on the path (mostly).  Midway through all of this chaos Flair tried to shake me off, and then bite me.  It sounds a lot worse than it was - however, if she didn't have that massive bit in her mouth I would have run for my life!  Apparently she is testing my resolve.

And now I am on the hunt for some horse psychology books asap.

Will it come to horse bribery?

I have recently started learning how to ride horses.  Coming from Oklahoma, I am a bit shocked that I missed this crucial lesson growing up (that and not having to take any foreign language in high school - really?)  Better late then never!  Luck would have it that the most beautiful riding stable happens to be mere minutes away.  Sometimes luck also throws an instructor that speaks english my way, too!

My lessons started a few weeks ago with me in bootcut jeans (best I could do) and my worn out Frye boots.  I looked kind of idiotic, and certainly didn't exude any authority with my horse (Flair, who happens to be a complete diva in the horse stable community).  However, just back from a trip to the ever-so-lovely Dallas, Texas - I am fully geared up and certainly look the part of horse enthusiast.

I think I rode a little bit better today.  My boots certainly didn't slip out of the stirrups per usual.  My helmet actually fit my head for once, and the spandex of my britches was a very welcome and comfortable surprise.  Sorry Mr. Ralph Lauren, but spandex really does trump all-American denim when it comes to maneuvering your steed.

Lots to work on... big surprise:  I am too nice to the horse.  I need to find my horse voice and start using it! Must download horse voice finding books onto my kindle ASAP.  In the meantime, someone working in the stables told me that Flair has a weakness for peppermint candies - so I will be loading up on those in a big way.

Oh happy day

Things are looking up:

1.  Lola has a fat deposit - harmless - but might require doggy liposuction down the line if it disrupts her ability to walk.
2.  The sun is out and it is starting to feel like spring is just around the corner.
3.  My neighborhood grocer just started selling Rice Krispies - which means I can now wow all of my dutch friends with rice krispie treats!  They will be puddy in my hands...
4.  Reminiscint of my NYC days, I am off to meet some girlfriends for cocktails and sushi tonight.  A very welcome deja vu.
5.  Finally, after years of talking about it, just started horse riding lessons and have already fallen in love.

That's the short and sweet of it on this side!

what a dreary day

It is a grey and rainy day here, which is never inspiring, and I am just back from the vet's office.  Lola has some wonky bump on her that we had checked out, and it is either:  1. fat, or 2. early lymphoma.  Here's to hoping for fat in a big way.  I really hate this part, knowing there might be trouble around the corner (scratch that, waiting for the trouble that is inevitable when you have a pet).

So I am a little down today.   I've had a self-imposed rule only to write on here when I have something to share that I think you might like to read about (if you don't happen to be a dog fan, apologies!)  But then, as several of you have pointed out, there has been a lot of radio silence of late... so I am changing up the formula a bit.  Being more honest if you will.

Well, honestly, the walk home from the vet made things even more sad.  Just a few feet from our front door Lola and I came across a man who looked very confused, very scruffy, and had bare feet that were different shades of blue.  An absolutely heartbreaking scene.  He is now in possession of my snow boots - I could persuade him to take them from me, but not to put them on.  Some days absolutely suck.

check that off the list

Today I ventured a little further into physical maintenance... If I am guzzling green juice and attempting to stick with yoga, I figured I might as well dabble a bit further into self improvement.  So I booked a mega-peel at the medi spa down our street.  I just got home from this appointment.

First off, a Dutch mega-peel is the equivilant of microdermabrasion in the states.  Never having it there, I really didn't know what to expect... but I had somehow conjured up visions of an intense, yet still enjoyable facial.  I have read about the procedure, and I guess all the talk about the "little crystals dancing across the face" really lulled me into some serious optimism.

Ummmm... ouch!  The reality is that a mega-peel is just about as bad as it sounds.  Kind of like industrial grade sandpaper is quickly being swished across your face in short little bursts.  My eyes watered - nonstop.  I had to enlist some breathing techniques to get me through a few spots.  And although I am very pink at the moment, I am still hopeful that this will be a miracle procedure well worth the discomfort (and disrobing!)

They grow up so fast

Self proclaimed "dog mom" that I am - I can't help but boast that today is Lola's birthday.  It saddens me  to know that she is aging - and I refuse to buy into the dog years vs. human years math - so today we celebrate 8 lovely years with our wonderful pooch.

Older and certainly wiser, Lola continues to teach me new things every day... such as:

Always opt for the softest spot - stop at nothing to get it - claim it as yours!

Try to eat a diverse diet

Exercise is more fun when you are being chased

And most of us peak in cuteness in our puppy pictures

Amsterdam ER - kind of like elementary school

Today I found myself at the ER much to my surprise.  My left hand started cramping the other night and this afternoon it ballooned into a puffy and mangled claw in the course of 2 hours.  Not entirely sure what to do about this, I took a picture with my camera's phone and sent it off to my husband for his speedy diagnosis.  He found this a bit odd.  Off to the hospital we went for a professional opinion.

We tried a new hospital today.  Much better and brighter than where we found ourselves last year when I was down with bronchitis (remember, I tend to get sick here... a lot).  So we were remarking today on how bright and shiny and relatively new everything looked - and then we got to making comparisons about how the whole set up resembled both of our childhood school nurse offices.  I will leave it at that.  Just let that sink in.  I was happy to be getting medical attention in a place that boasted all of the glitz and technological advances of an elementary school.

I ended up in a sling.  It is comprised of one large cotton square that has been masterfully tied behind my neck by the head nurse - with one safety pin anchored at my elbow.  Sometimes, simplicity does the job just fine.

January in a blender

January can often be a tricky month in my house.  Along with most everyone else, we adopt a detox lifestyle, force ourselves into aerobic motion, and are obsessive calorie counters (well - that last one is more my thing).  Now, for 2011 add to the mix our most recent purchase:  an industrial grade juicer!  Remember those infomercials from the 80s (and 90s and probably 00s) - where the host drops 1/2 a cabbage right down the chute?  That host is now my husband.

I kid you not.  My husband is a juicer... and let me tell you, this man was BORN to juice!  For someone that discriminates against many vegetables, it amazes me that in blended form he has no problem with spinach.  Or broccoli for that matter.  Sometimes I think an alien has invaded his body - such as when he asked me this morning if an avocado was ripe enough to throw down the chute.

Honestly, I love it!  Drinking my way through the month is turning out to be pretty easy - and extremely entertaining.  This January has become all about turning the impossible into the possible - it isn't about what we can't have (alcohol for starters!) but now more of what we CAN have (through a straw to boot!)  No vegetables are safe.  Tomorrow we'll throw in a beet - just for the hell of it.

A slice of my life - in a jingle nonetheless!