 I am an East Coast expatriate hiding out in the Midwest... I am an urban gal living in the suburbs and occasionally hiding in the country I am a yoga practitioner, fitness enthusiast, believer in the mind-body-spirit connection... I am a mid-life "revert" to the Roman Catholic faith in which I was raised and which has become an enormous source of support, encouragement, inspiration, and joy in my life... I am a mom, sister, daughter, and wife... I am an explorer; adventurous and curious about the world and people around me... I am educated in the formal sense but I gain insight through everyday living... I created this blog at a time of great fear and apprehension in my life. I chose to sustain it because of the discoveries about myself and the world around me that it has revealed. What you can expect to find here: the documentation of a love-hate relationship with the greater Philadelphia area
reminiscing about the good-ole-days (the 80's!)
complaints about my various ailments and injuries, both real and imagined
pictures and stories of gardening, decorating, shopping, sewing
my love of irony
links to kooky news stories
way too much scatological musing for sane people
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Saturday, February 05, 2005
Tea, Popsicles...and Amoxil
Sooooooo...
Last night after dealing with a 101 fever and BAD throat pain I suspected that I was not dealing with a mere "cold."
A quick trip this morning to the 24-hour acute care center confirmed it: Strep Throat.
Delicious!
The good news is that the doc put me on a mega-dose of antibiotics for today and then back to two per day for the rest of the week. I already feel alot better, but am still contagious until this time tomorrow, so hubby has confined me to my room, lest he or kiddo catch the Strep Bus to Paintown.
Lesson Learned: If it hurts and Advil doesn't help, go see a doctor!
Posted at 04:13 pm by brandy101
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Friday, February 04, 2005
Tea, Popsicles and Eccentric Eagles Fans
Today all that is on my agenda is chugging lots of tea, water, juice...I just made some sugar-free juice popsicles...
Apparently I caught my kid's cold.
Yuk.
I knew something was up the other day when I began to loose my voice. In this climate and with a school-age kid its bound to happen. My only "panic" is that we are woefully low in our ibuprofen supply so I may in fact have to leave the confines of home to venture out for more.
On another note, my sister sent me this picture of her darling cat, Georgie Girl, all decked out for Super Bowl Sunday. Talk about a "rabid" fan...
Posted at 11:36 am by brandy101
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Monday, January 31, 2005
Last night my husband returned home after 9 days (and many, many hours of travel) in Hong Kong. Apparently he now has at least one employee reporting to him from that office and because of his new responsibilities (he got a promotion to a newly-creted position) he will be visitng there more often.
As expected, he was utterly wiped out from some 24-hours of travel including a layover in Tokyo. He began unloading multiple bags of goodies - mostly cheap watches and "hello kitty" toys for our daughter. He thoughtfully brought back a pretty deep lavender pashmina shawl for me, even though I told him not to get me anything. Awww!
I marinated some skirt steaks to grill for dinner, but ne noted that his stomach wasn't feeling quite right.
"Well, what do you thing you want for dinner, Mr. World Traveler," I inquired.
"Hmm, I think some soup would hit the spot. How about getting some takeout Chinese?"
?!?!?
Uh, didn't he JUST get back from CHINA?!?!?!
Apparently since it is such a cosmopolitan town, while in Hong Kong he had little to no "Chinese" food but their group made repeat visits to a Thai joint near the office, as well as a trip for sushi, a buffet at the racetrack (the "organized corporate fun" day) and even had Pizza Hut delivered to the office for a lunch meeting (which, he noted, was just as bad there as it is here.)
So off to our local high-end Chinese/Japanese restaurant I sped, to retreive some soothing Won Ton soup for my returning road warrior.
Posted at 10:31 am by brandy101
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Saturday, January 29, 2005
Since we are still on our own, kiddo and I had a disco party in the kitchen (slippery floors and all that...) Can I state for the record that Peaches & Herb's Shake Your Groove Thing must be among the most peppy, uptempo, upbeat disco tunes of all time?
I think the only K-tel-esque Item I have ever purchased is The Ultimate Dance Party double CD. There are a few clunkers on there but overall its got 'da HITS, baby! (Ktel sells prescription DRUGS now...I guess since their customer base is aging they've moved on from crap-rock compilations to lipotor and viagra...)
When I was in 4th grade, I convinced my parents to throw a Disco brithday party, complete with accessories, party games, and a record-player cake courtesy of Dynamite magazine.
My mother went out and purchased Disco Nights to keep us hipster 10 year olds entertained. I think she also purchased a velour jogging suit (brown, of course) with a sunset applique on it for me as party aparrel. Of course it had coordinating cream/brown/orange/green ribbed knit stripes running down each leg. And lets not forget some kind of hideous puma-ish footwear - I think mine were royal blue with orange trim. I was soooo hooked up!
The only downside of the event was my father donning a Maine fisherman's hat and belting out "Macho Man" into a banana. That is etched into my mind for all eternity.
Posted at 12:15 pm by brandy101
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Thursday, January 27, 2005
I was over at Michelle's, admiring her Bon Jovi obsession when I recalled a purchase that I have been hankering to make for some time now.
None other than a faux- Bebe shirt, encrusted in swarovski crystals, that looks like this:
Yeeeeeeaaaaaaah. That's what I'm talkin' 'bout! It's just so "Jersey."
Posted at 01:48 am by brandy101
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Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Poor Chrysalis noted that the Penn State song is pounding in his brain, so I'll subject all of you to an earworm courtesy of the internet research of Miss Ginger.
There is/was this kooky glam-rock band in the 80's/90's in LA called Redd Kross. Apparently they are still going strong...
Anyway, they have some sort of homemade "sitcom"/drama on their site called "Bitchin' Ass". The acting, camerawork, and sound is tremendously bad (likely, on purpose) but the theme song RULES!!!
http://www.reddkross.com click on the Bitchin' Ass icon and on any episode to hear the theme. Not good for at work or in front of small impressionable children (the theme is "pg" but some episodes have R-rated language.)
I found it tape-looping through my brain as I shoveled snow on Saturday..."I got a bitchin' ass tooooooooooo!"
Posted at 12:48 pm by brandy101
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Monday, January 24, 2005
One Team. One City. One Dream.
I said I wasn't going to post about it but goshdarnit, I am just giddy over my EAGLES getting into the Superbowl! I am holding my breath, though as Chad Lewis can't play and Owens is not 100% either. Boo :(
I have enjoyed football - IF its a team I care about - since I was a little kid, and my dad sat us down to watch Paterno and Penn State every Saturday.
I think what has amazed me is the rabidity that my sisters (and their sports-luvin' husbands) have generated for their Team over the past few years. Its utterly infectious. My daughter, at age 5, can yell out (and cheer for) players by name merely by spotting thier faces. She knows the spell-it-out cheer, and I plan to begin schooling her rigorously on the faux-colligiate Eagles fight song.
Even though the college I attended (Northwestern) has an unreliable football team, we do have a darn good fight song and (imho) rousing alma mater theme.
Equally as stirring, especially for a pro-team, is the good-natured, get-the blood-pumping "Fly Eagles Fly" - excerpted here, with graphics and links from www.philadelphiaeagles.com
Click here to sing-along to the Eagles Fight song!
Fly Eagles fly, on the road to victory...
Fight, Eagles Fight...
Score a touchdown 1,2,3...
Hit em' low, hit em' high, and watch our Eagles Fly...
Fly, Eagles fly, on the road to victory!
E- A - G - L - E - S - Eagles!
Posted at 10:19 pm by brandy101
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My home seems to have a revolving door on it.
Last week, we had a quickie visit from my parents, on Friday, my husband left on a 9-day trip to Hong Kong for work, and today I dropped a friend off at the airport who came to visit for a few days.
So, I am now a "business trip widow", just having a quiet week at home with the child.
*sigh*
Posted at 01:37 pm by brandy101
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Thursday, January 20, 2005
Talk about a ring of fire...
Before I continue this post, please promise me, dear readers, that none of you will call the SPCA/Humane Society on me!
Yesterday was a banner day for workouts for me - a 30 minute Pilates reformer session in the morning(a rather tortuous/medieval-looking machine that I use along w. a videotape) and then 45 minutes of Yogilates in the evening. After all of that contorting and stretching, I felt a hot bath was in order to ease my back and muscles.
To further set the zen-like ambiance in my faux-Feng Shui bathroom, I lit a plumeria-scented candle and set it on the counter.
Hubby came home while the tub was filling and decided he needed to use the facilities before my appointed soaking time. As is usual for evenings, my sweet, but rather clumsy and dippy 14-year-old long-haired cat, "Buster", also entered the bathroom, since he enjoys the warmth of the steam.
I was putting something away in the kitchen when I heard my husband screaming, "MOVE, goddamn it!"
When the door opened, he noted, "Well you'll have a new scent to delight you in the bathroom now." I thought he was referring to a particularly pungent excretory experience he had while on the throne but NO!
He clarified his original statement, "Buster was on fire."
Confused, I began my reply, "Wha...? You mean like smoldering or...?"
"No. In FLAMES. On FIRE. Didn't you hear me yelling? He just sat there on the counter oblivious to the fact that he whisked his tail across the candle and it was engulfed in flames! I had to get off the toilet to put it out!"
In fact the cat's hair is so long that it didn't even burn close to his skin, and so we had to take scissors and cut away the melted stubs of hair on part of his otherwise mega-fluffy tail. Of course we checked the little guy and he's just fine but a bit annoyed about the scissors issue.
Do you know how BAD burnt hair smells???
Talk about putting a wrench in my chi...
As a postscript, here is a saccharin-sweet picture of Buster giving his trademark hug, eyes closed, the purring resonating deeply. Clearly he has forgiven any (accidental) wrongdoing, as he was hugging and nuzzling me just moments ago. I have had this fuzzy guy since he was 5 months old - and that was back in 1991!
Posted at 04:47 pm by brandy101
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Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Winter Blahs, Seasonal Affective Disorder, Cabin Fever...
Well, whatever you want to call it I think I have a touch of it today and so to reflect on warm, blue skies of days past, I offer the following photos from August, 2004. Yet more surfing pics, although man, was it WINDY that day! There was a crazy southbound "current" although it was really just the wind pushing the water - and us on our funboards - in that direction. I think we are giggling because we were struggling to hold the boards upright for the picture due to those gusts. I think the clouds look very cool , if not slightly intimidating. I think this was one of the first times I went out on a "real" board before - my sister is pretty darn good and she gave me some good pointers, even though it was a lousy day for it.
And here we are "setting up" to attempt to catch a ride in...
I am looking forward to more surfing this summer...until then I will have to manage to navigate the ice pond in my yard.
Posted at 04:32 pm by brandy101
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