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Good Morning America & Nail Polish & Tutus (The Important Things)

March 6, 2013 by 4 Comments

Oh my, what a crazy couple of days! In case you missed it, the Good Morning America spot aired yesterday. Then an article went up in the Daily Mail. Why yes, it is surreal to see your own face on websites that you check daily for news, why do you ask?

For my eight readers that are asking, I will have the opportunity to do more media on this to expand and clarify my position. I can’t say when or where or what yet, but I’ll keep y’all posted.

It does crack me up that I’m getting so much attention for talking about underwear. I’ve been blogging about news and politics for over four years now, having probably at least touched upon every topic there is to touch upon, and I’ve even worked on a presidential campaign as a senior copywriter. But panties?? LET’S TALK ABOUT THAT!

In all seriousness, I do believe it’s a topic worth addressing, and I’m looking forward to doing so in the near future.

For now, please enjoy this picture of Furbaby, back from the doggie spa. Yes, her nails are pink. She tried to lick the polish off. Is it wrong that I laughed at her? Then I don’t want to be right.

 Furbaby Pink Nails

And this one of Thing 2 dressed up as Thing 2 for Dr. Seuss Day last week in her kindergarten prep class. Because if you’re going to dress up, always find a way to incorporate a tutu. And pom poms.

Thing 2 Dr Seuss

Seriously — I die of cuteness on a daily basis.

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GMA Is In the House

February 19, 2013 by 7 Comments
Thing 1 and Abbie chatting about fashion

Thing 1 and Abbie chatting about fashion

Aggh!!! TV camera on me right now! I’m totally going to have to blog about this. Hmmm … maybe I’ll turn this into a blog post. Yes, That’s what I’ll do.

Remember when I told you Good Morning America was coming over? You know, just a typical Monday for this girl. You see … I wrote this thing about Victoria’s Secret on The Stir … and people liked it. Of course I’m sure some people didn’t, but you can’t please everyone.

So the film crew is here, and I’m supposed to be looking like I’m actually, you know, writing something, so I thought, why not write a blog post about them being here?

Jeff and Becky are the camera peeps, and they are super duper nice. Plus they like my kids — and anyone that likes my kids can stay. The reporter and producer are on the way, but they had to stop at the mall first, because they wanted an Orange Julius.

Haha! Just kidding. They went for shots of VS. I’m guessing. You know, because this story is on VS. I’m bright like that.

Leif got called away for some urgent something rather-or-other, so my saintly mama dropped everything and came over to help. She. Is. Awesome. Seriously, thank you Mom!

 

~~~ Approximately five hours later ~~~

Wowza that was a lot of filming! Had so much fun though. The girls were awesome. I think my favorite line was when ABC correspondent Abbie Boudreau asked Thing 1 whom she looked to for fashion advice … like what movie star?

My sweet girl said that she looked to her mom and gramma for fashion advice. Abbie asked her what kind of advice she got from Gramma, and she replied, “Not to wear socks with sandals.”

Amen, Sistah.

Abbie and her producer Derrick were so fun to work with, and I hope I get to do so again some time. Plus — like Jeff and Becky, they seemed to adore my kids. Seriously people, if you want to get on my good side, tell me how awesome my kids are. I greatly enjoy people that can recognize the truth right in front of them. *wink*

 

~~~ Approximately one day later ~~~

Soooooo … I totally didn’t post this last night. I know there was more I wanted to add, but at this point, I think I’ll post as-is and save more tell-all until after the segment airs.

Tune into Good Morning America on Thursday, y’all! The segment is scheduled to air in the 8-9 o’clock hour.

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Filed Under: Glamlife, Media, Personal, TV · Tagged With: , , ,

Good Morning America Emailed Me & Asked Me to Come Talk About Underwear — No Joke!

February 17, 2013 by 1 Comment

*Tap tap tap*

Is this thing on? I know it’s been awhile — a long while. Like I said in my last post OVER A MONTH AGO, I haven’t had much to say. I’ve been staying in touch with my bff the Internet on Facebook and Twitter, and of course writing very in-depth stories about celebrity pregnancies and babies over at The Stir.

Hey, it’s a living and I’m a capitalist. Besides, I also get to write about things that actually interest me, like how I don’t think kids should be used for political gain, a sweet couple that’s been married 80 years, and how the Canadian Parliament is preparing for the zombie apocalypse.

One of the things I wrote this week was about Victoria’s Secret and how they seem to be targeting teens. Appropriate? Inappropriate? My take on it was essentially — so? What’s your point?

I mean really. I’ve been wearing a bra since I was 11, and filling one out since I was 14. Where do you think they came from? Thing 1 is nine, so bra-shopping time will be here in the next two blinks, if I’m calculating her childhood correctly. A trip to Vickie’s will be in order.

Anyway, I had fun writing it, especially because I love writing things that show that not all of us Republicans are stuffy old prudes. I love fun and life and my kids and even pretty underthings. I want my girls to feel good about themselves, and if that means pretty panties and bras from a classy Big Girl store — then so be it.

Fast forward to this afternoon when I got an email with “ABC NEWS” in the subject line. I clicked it because it was Sunday afternoon and email is slow and I was bored-ish, so why not? Figured it was spam. Then I read it four times.

It was freaking Good Morning America. Well, a producer from GMA. She liked my article about teen lingerie, thought I had a reasoned approach, and would I mind giving her a call?

Um, ok. I still kinda thought it was someone pulling a prank or something. It wasn’t.

So here’s the plan — GMA is supposed to send a film crew to my house tomorrow afternoon to tape a segment that should air this week. Of course, the whole thing could be canceled, or they could cut it, or a million other things and I probably shouldn’t be telling you all this until it’s in the can, but dang it feels good to write something on here, and besides, if the whole thing falls through, at least I’ll have had something actually interesting to tell you. So … yeah.

Also, my friends know me well … “Good MORNING America…? Um, what time is this all taking place?” When I tell them they’re prerecording in the afternoon, the respond with some variation of, “Phew! Because you’re totally not a morning person.”

It’s true. I’m not.

See y’all on a major broadcasting network.

*Happy Dance*

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Filed Under: Media, Parenting, Personal, TV · Tagged With: , ,

Turning 30 & Other Chatter

January 3, 2013 by Leave a Comment

So I didn’t get my list done. I mostly blame that whole campaign thing. Did you know you barely have time to breathe when you’re working on a campaign, let alone go shooting or ride horses or take a helicopter ride? Then the whole drama of coming home and everyone needing to readjust to the normal again.

Plus the holidays.

But it’s not the first time I’ve set out to do something and failed, and it certainly won’t be the last. So Imma gonna keep my list and try to keep on trying new things, because what’s the point of life if you don’t?

I haven’t been blogging much recently because … well because I haven’t really felt like it. There’s personal drama. A few of my closest friends are going through their own dramas. My political party is basically a circular firing squad at the moment, and everyone’s either yelling or ignoring each other. My taxes are going up.

“Hey everyone! Things are sorta crappy right now, but thanks for stopping by!” <– Didn’t seem appropriate. Neither did putting on a fake happy face and pretending everything’s hunky-dory. So I’ve shared a story here or there about something cool that happened, but I haven’t been sharing the ins-and-outs of my life like I normally do, mostly because there hasn’t been that much worth sharing.

SEE?? NOW I’M DEPRESSING MYSELF. Gah.

So here’s what I know:

  • Barrack Obama only has one term left
  • This too shall pass
  • Getting older is better than the alternative, which is dying
  • I have some amazing friends that I wouldn’t trade for their weight in gold (that’s saying something in this economy)
  • My girls are amazing

Thing 2 cute story — This morning she hopped into bed with me after Leif went to work, and while nuggling asked me, “Mommy? You wanna know who I love more than even you and Daddy?”

“Who’s that, baby?”

“My sissy. Because she always knows how to calm me down when I’m crying, and then she makes me laugh.”

My heart melted. I want nothing more than for my girls in this life to be close to each other, so moments like this totally rock.

Other things I know:

  • Ashley is going to visit me in a few weeks — YAY!
  • Duck Dynasty is one of the greatest shows on TV right now
  • Convincing myself that cheese for lunch is a good idea because it’s not carbs is backfiring in the form of tight waistbands
  • I’m going to have to start running again
  • Something about endorphins

I just got off the phone with Justin, and mentioned my lament about my 30 List. He said, “Hey, you’ll still be in your 30th year, so you have time!” I told him he was wrong, it would be my 31st year, since a baby is in it’s first year of life, and immediately replied, “Well, by Obama math…” See? I have awesome friends.

More things I know:

  • Nancy is taking me out for my bday tomorrow
  • My mom is taking me out Sunday
  • Leif is staying home from work on Monday (the BIG day)
  • It’s atrocious that I have to turn 30 on a Monday
  • I looked it up, and at least I get to turn 40 on a Saturday
  • My dog desperately needs a bath
  • Sniff sniff … I, um, could probably use a bath too

Sorry.

Here’s to a better 2013, everyone!

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Filed Under: 30 Things, Adventures, Personal · Tagged With: , , ,

The Time Ashley Taught Me About Football

December 19, 2012 by Leave a Comment

I really did want to go to a professional football game before I turned 30, but then I looked up how much tickets to those things cost, had a heart attack, and decided that learning about football in a sports bar in Las Vegas with my best friend Ashley sounded fine by me. More money for beer!

And we watched college football instead of professional football because it was Saturday and also because it was some big important game called the SEC or something. Hey, I said I learned about football, not about the divisions and structure and whatnot.

We were at the bar with a pitcher, and there were TVs all over the place with all sorts of football stuff going on. At this point, I knew there was something called a down, and it might be ten yards long. Seriously people, I was a football dunce.

Ash was an awesome teacher. We got a take-out box and turned it upside down to make our ‘field.’ Then we couldn’t find a pen, so we used lipstick to diagram. We are very resourceful girls, after all. She explained to me about the four chances to move the ball ten yards closer to your goal, and I asked why the quarterback didn’t just throw the ball down the field, then thanks to our lipstick players on our take-out field, I answered my own question — because then the other team would catch it and gain possession. Ok, that makes sense.

We eventually found a pen.

Whenever there was a big play in the game, Ash would (very patiently — I love you Ashley!!) take the time to explain what just happened. We talked about the advantages and disadvantages of strong offense or strong defense. I remembered Leif telling me one time that there’s a version of football where the same players play both offense and defense for their team. I asked her about that and she said, “Rugby. That’s called rugby.” (Later Leif told us it’s called ironman … I think that’s right.)

At one point they moved the sticks, and I was understanding what was going on, and asked what else there was to know about how to play the game. Ash told me that I got it. I mean, of course there are tons of plays, nuances of players on the field, coaching styles, etc., but as far as the how-to-play-the-game-of-football part of it was concerned, I got it.

“Are you telling me that this entire game consists of guys in tight pants chasing a ball up and down the field in 10 yard increments?” I asked incredulously. How come no one had ever told me that before?

“Yup. God bless America.” Bless it indeed.

“How come no one ever explained it to me rationally like that?”

“Because you’ve probably been taught by men, and they always make things more complicated than they are.”

That’s a fact.

And now I might even watch the Superbowl for more than the commercials.

P.S. I’m sure all eight boys that read my blog are wanting to explain to me right now that it’s much more complicated. Chillax, guys. I watched football and I didn’t hate it. Be proud of me. 

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Filed Under: 30 Things, Adventures, Personal, Sports · Tagged With: , , ,

The Time I Argued with a Libertarian in a Bar in Vegas and Got Free Aerosmith Tickets.

December 3, 2012 by Leave a Comment

New York New York is totally the same as NYC, right?

Even though there are still weeks until Christmas, the likelihood of actually getting myself to New York City to do the whole Rockettes thing is slim to none. I didn’t end up winning that lottery, and since I try to be responsible with my money, NYC is out.

So I did the next best thing and went to Vegas with Ashley.

We had planned to run the Rock and Roll half marathon like we did last year, but she had foot problems and I had campaign problems, so training was out the wayside for us. Instead, we just went for a fun weekend of girlfriend time.

There was plenty of food, fun, wine (there was much wine), and lots of laughing (because we are hilarious and also probably because the wine), and not even a little bit of running.

It’s time for a cool story and a lesson in why it sometimes pays off to argue with libertarians in bars in Vegas at 2 a.m. On Friday night, Ash and I headed to bed relatively early, but after chilling out for a bit, I wanted to go back down to the scene. Ashley was asleep (we’ll blame the time difference for that).

Cocktail dresses and plastic seats ... concert time!

I went down to the bar and ordered a Grey Goose and soda, because that’s my go-to drink, and I fiddled around on my iphone. A couple dudes made sloppy passes at me and I totally brushed them off (because gross), but I actually got to chatting with this coherent guy named Rocky.

We did the whole “what do you do” song and dance, and I admitted that I just got off the Romney campaign … and he admitted that he likes Ron Paul. Nooooooooo! Say it ain’t so, Rocky! So we talked about validity of ending the fed, what national security means to us, etc, and I told him he was wrong. Chemtrails did not come up. Thankfully.

Guess what Rocky does? He works for Cheap Trick. Cheap Trick was opening for Aerosmith on Saturday. Rocky asked me if I wanted tickets. Um, yes please. I wrote my name and number down on a napkin with no expectation of ever hearing from him, especially when he bolted fairly abruptly soon after that.

Steven Tyler still rocks for being approximately 108 years old.

The next day, I was at a sports bar learning about football when my phone buzzed. It was Rocky. I had two tickets at will call. I told Ashley, who immediately did a happy dance before going stone cold sober and asking, “We’re not going to have to have sex with him, are we?”

“I don’t think so…” (Don’t worry Leif, I wouldn’t have)

We went to the concert. Great seats. We were next to the stage with other “friends of the band” and one of the things I love about Vegas is that when I met Doug who was sitting behind me, he said that “built this place,” referring to MGM Grand, and I honestly don’t know if that means he’s a major investor, or he swung a hammer.

We didn’t get to meet up with Rocky again, because by the time Aerosmith with done playing (AMAZING, in case you were wondering), he was already on the road to the next show. But it was a really nice thing to do for the argumentative Republican chick in the bar.

Thanks, Rocky!

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Filed Under: 30 Things, Adventures, Personal · Tagged With: , , , ,

I’m Playing the Lotto. Kinda.

November 28, 2012 by 2 Comments

Did you know that you can’t play Powerball in California? Seriously. I don’t know why, but I’m sure it has something to do with the fact that California has a lot of stupid rules.

Anyway. I’ve been hearing a lot about this today because the jackpot is up over 500 million bucks, and since I have “play the lotto” on my 30-List, I decided to play. I know I’m more likely to get eaten by a shark or struck by lightening or listen to an original Nickelback song than to win the lottery tonight, but it’s not about that. It’s just fun!

Since I can’t play myself, I asked a friend in another state to buy me a ticket with my numbers, and we’d split it if we won. I’m like, totally sure this won’t be an issue or affect our friendship whatsoever. Things like splitting tickets always go so smoothly for winners, right?

I’ve decided it’s fun to spend a couple of bucks for a shot at a half a billion dollar jackpot. I’m not spending my kids’ grocery money on a gambling habit, I’m allowing myself a bit of whimsy to get caught up in the moment and daydream about buying my own island and crowning myself the queen.

Who doesn’t like to daydream? Haters, that’s who.

If you don’t hear from me again, it means I’ve bought an island and have escaped to a hammock and a glass of wine. Hmm, maybe I’ll buy a vineyard.

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Filed Under: 30 Things, California, Personal · Tagged With: ,

New Chapter

November 27, 2012 by 3 Comments

It’s 8:22 a.m., and I have the next six and a halfish hours to myself. No one asking for a third cup of chocolate milk, no one throwing a tantrum because it’s nap time, no one asking me where something is, only to have me get up and find it exactly where I said it would be.

I’ve been home from Boston for almost two weeks, but this is the first day of the New Normal. The girls were out of school for the entire week of Thanksgiving, and even though they went back yesterday, we had a parent-teacher conference at 11:30, then Leif was home the rest of the day.

Side note: Thing 2 is doing extremely well in K-prep. Her cognitive skills rock. Also, her teacher says she shares well and doesn’t get her feelings hurt easily, to which Leif and I asked, “Who??” 

Anyway. This is my first day where I can just get crap done. And oh boy, do I have a laundry list. And laundry. That needs to get done too. And I need to finish Christmas decorating. Write some things. Call some people about a job. Maybe I’ll even have it together to have snacks ready for when we get home from school.

I’ve always heard that it’s life changing when your littlest starts fulltime school — and even though I’m only 20 minutes into it, it’s kinda awesome.

This morning when I went to buckle Thing 2 into her carseat (because they have to stay in them until they’re old enough to drive the car themselves in California — it least it seems like that), she told me that she could do it herself. I rolled my eyes and then watched in disbelief as she did it herself. For nine years, I’ve watched with naked envy those moms that could just tell their kids to get into the car without having to buckle them all up.

I’m officially in the Mom of School-Aged Children Who Can Buckle Themselves Into the Car Club.

Don’t even think about asking me when I’m going to have another baby.

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Filed Under: Glamlife, Parenting, Personal · Tagged With: , ,

Home From Boston

November 17, 2012 by 1 Comment

I’ve been home two days. It’s weird and dazy and strange and hard to believe that less than two week ago, my biggest worry was trying to figure out if I could make a bicoastal commute somehow work within the confines of my family.

Mitt was headed to the White House, yo. And I was going to be part of it.

There are a million reasons I could ponder on as to why we lost. Actually, there’s only one – we didn’t get enough votes. I know! By all accounts, it doesn’t make sense.

Now I could contemplate how we could be so wrong about our numbers and voter turnout, mention Obama’s superb ground game, or wonder why my generation seems more concerned with government-sponsored birth control than borrowing from our Children’s piggy banks, but that would be boring.

Instead I’ll just cliché it up: Nice guys finish last.

I don’t feel like the end of the world is here because Obama got reelected. I just feel like it’s going to be on hold for four more years. At best.

Oh, and I got a letter in the mail saying that my doctor no longer accepts my medical insurance. And my premiums went up about 30% last year. But Big Bird and binders!

Seriously guys, how did we lose this?

Double whammy for having worked for Romney: 1) He lost, and I’m out of a job, and 2) He lost, so companies aren’t hiring because they can’t afford to pay for everyone’s birth control and sex change operations.

I wasn’t there when my kids heard about Mommy’s Governor Romney’s loss, but I’m told that they said, “We may be poorer, but at least we have Jesus and our family.”

Love those goobers.

Meanwhile, I wrote about the 5 Stages of Election Loss Grief over at The Stir. I think I’m somewhere between incredulous and annoyed at the moment.

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Filed Under: 2012, 30 Things, Elections, Mitt Romney, Parenting, Personal, Red vs. Blue, Uncategorized · Tagged With: , , , ,

No One Will Vote for Mitt, But He’s Going to Win Anyway.

November 5, 2012 by 2 Comments

Yes, I voted for him.

Ashley visited me in Boston last week, and even though I had to work most of the time, I had a great time with her in between the work and the sleep. On Saturday, she stopped by the office to see where we work our hineys off to elect Mitt Romney as the next president.

Because she was a guest, I had to check her in at the security desk, and while we were there we saw two older ladies waiting to get checked in to volunteer for the campaign. They were sweet, and very talkative in obvious long island accents.

We got to chatting with them, and this is what one of them had to say …

“I’ve been a registered Democrat for over 40 years. I voted for Barack Obama in 2008, and I regret it and you have my deepest apologies. I’m an independent now, and I will work as hard as I can to elect Mitt Romney.”

I’ve been hearing these kind of stories from people, and I always want to know why.

“Because he’s failed to lead. I’m paying more for gas. I’m paying more at the grocery store. People are still unemployed. This is a recovery? Ha! Some recovery.”

I mentioned that we’re optimistic for the outcome of the election.

“Oh, we’re going to win, and I’ll tell you why … the first time I said out loud that I supported Mitt Romney, I got called a racist bigot. Can you believe that? That sealed the deal for me — those people are trying to win votes by fear mongering. And I’m telling you, there are people that will not admit they are voting for Romney because they’re a afraid of being called racists. But no one knows whom you vote for in the voting booth. They’re going to vote for Romney, even if they won’t admit it to the pollsters.”

The chick has a point. And many, many thanks to her and everyone else working hard to get out the vote.

Let’s win this thing tomorrow.

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Filed Under: 2012, Elections, Mitt Romney, Racism · Tagged With: , ,
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