I stole this idea.

I stole this idea from Steakbellie (who stole it from Iris).

This quick summary lists the first sentence written on my blog from each month in 2005.

January
I am extremely nervous.

February
First of all, I want to send a hearty Happy Birthday to Molly in Omaha.

March
I’ve been reading a lot lately about solicited Word of Mouth Marketing being insincere.

April
We had a wonderful trip.

May
Sometimes I think my expectations are too high.

June
This Industry Week article, Overcome By Indecision fascinated me.

July
The Artful Manager today referred to a brief article in Wired…Remix Planet.

August
My niece, Betsy, started sketching a few weeks ago.

September
Today, I got a link from a friend.

October
Adrants points to iPod My Baby, a site that sells baby clothing with the Apple iPod control wheel.

November
I went shopping.

December
In yesterday’s Buffalo News is a piece written by a friend of mine, Susan Clements.

Happy New Year!

Road trip.

We just got back from religious services. Odd choice for erev-new-year’s eve, but Andrew had a reading part and everyone was bringing menorahs and we’d all light them together. So we went.

The rabbi wasn’t there – the cantor led the service. Accompanied by her husband, who is our substitute cantor. It was a very sing-y service. Anyway, that’s not the good part.

The good part is the announcements at the end. The president of the congregation stood before us and told us of upcoming events. “And,” she added, “The rabbi asked me to tell you that regarding the Israel trip in June, there are a few seats left on the second bus if anyone is interested in joining us.”

Andrew and I looked at each other and burst (spit and all) into laughter. And then Reed told me that he hopes it’s not hot because you won’t be able to roll the windows down on the bus.

Oy vey!

Loveladies.

We went to Loveladies, NJ this week. It’s a beautiful place – about 4 hours from here. We have wonderful friends there – Ellen and Bob (and Dave the Dog).

I could tell you that we ran on the cold sand. Or that we had the most wonderful Bolognese (thanks Bob)or that Reed found a seashell with a smiley face (2 holes for eyes and a crescent for the mouth) and really thought that it was a natural phenomenon. Such innocence.

But for me, the trip was about lifelong friendships. Bonds that are made through crying babies (they were the first to babysit Davis as an infant and he cried so much that they wrote a song about it) and serious illnesses and C-sections and work crises. And through food. When we lived in the same city, we had Sunday supper together every week. For many years. It is a tradition that I miss more than I can say.

These days, we email. We make sure the major news is known, but lots of the details slip. Until we’re together. Then it all floods out. We still argue about politics. Pontificate about religion. Discuss gun contol and its effects on society. Laugh about the kids. Catch up about our extended families. Like no time has passed. And sometimes, we even hold ourselves together until we can be together to let it all go. For better or for worse. Until death do us part.

Lifetime friends.

Glue.

My first thought? I’m rubber, you’re glue. Whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you. Doesn’t make glue sound all that appealing. Thoughts of horses, too. But….

Listening to Morning Edition this morning on the way to the gym…Susan Orleans of New Yorker fame and of Orchid Thief fame…had an essay about crafts. I’d post the link, but I’m heading to the beach and it’s not up yet. (Loveladies, here we come!)

Anyway, Orleans told of a visit to AC Moore, the arts and crafts store extraordinaire. She talked about some of the kits there, talked to a guy who collect carrots (he already had the plastic model that they carried) and to a young girl in the clay department who was working on a model of Earth.

One store employee – whose name I can’t recall – talked about googly eyes and, most importantly, glue. She said that real women have glue guns. She also said that everything in this life is held together with something and that, for her, glue is the symbol of all that cohesion.

People really think about craft supplies that way?

Parts of speech.

Judging others is a dangerous hobby. Without all the facts (and you never have all the facts) it is impossible to understand someone’s decisions, motives, choices on all fronts. Now that doesn’t mean that we can’t relate to others’ issues, challenges, etc. Two things I’ve learned over the years come to mind:

1) You don’t know what happens in someone else’s house.
2) Never say “I never would…” in reference to someone else’s choices. You might one day when faced with the same situation.

I’ve been stewing about something that happened the other day. In order to let it go, I’ve decided to write about it. I drove some kids (including some of my own) to an after-school class. One of the kids was unable to carry his stuff in, so I dropped them all off, parked the car, and, sans coat, trekked across the parking lot to bring the kid his stuff. I was cold. I had a sick kid at home I wanted to get back to. My father had a procedure that day and I couldn’t go sit with my mom while she waited because of my kid at home who needed me. My work was behind schedule due to the same sick kid and the construction noise at the house was really getting to me and to that same sick kid, who cried about his head hurting for hours. You get the picture – the day was not a cake walk. (I always wanted to say cake walk – I hope I used it correctly!)

Walking into the school, I ran into a friend. Not a “hang out all the time” friend, but someone I like and socialize with occasionally. After saying hello, she took a hard look at me and said:

Balance is a verb.

It felt like a punch in the stomach. She has balance so never looks harried? I am unbalanced? I am incapable of managing my life? What exactly was this wisdom she was (unsolicited, I might add) presenting to me? She had no idea what I had done for the past month, let alone for the day. I was really irritated. How superior.

After a day I asked a close friend, who I respect tremendously, what she thought. She said:

Bitch is a verb too.

Happy Erev Chanukah. Merry Christmas Eve. I’m planning on a judgment-free holiday.

Blue or red?

For all you Gladys Kravitzes out there, here’s a great way to know your neighbors’ business. You can see Political Contributions in Your Zip Code with pie charts and little blue and red markers. Click on the markers and you see the name, address, amount and recipient of the contribution. Contributions $200 and over are shown. Yikes.

This Google Mashup was done by Matthew Kane for a class at Indiana University.

Thanks to Researchbuzz for the pointer!
Photo comes from Wikipedia.

Immature, but very funny.

It’s hard to be mature when you read things like Jenne’s post …. I laughed out loud! (So did Davis

Be sure to read the comments.

Ham.

I love ham. When I was a kid, we’d go out to eat at Goetz’s (now defunct) and I’d order the hamsteak with pineapple slice. Still, that’s my choice at any diner for dinner. I love it. I love ham and eggs. I buy shaved pit ham and eat it as a snack.

Ham is not a popular food among most Jews. My father’s family was very southern and, I suppose, that’s why we ate ham. My mother does not like ham. Not with a fox or in a box. Not in the rain or on a train. But she came from a kosher home and never acquired the taste.

At any rate, today the doorbell rang. It was UPS. With a big box from HoneyBaked Ham Company. This, in itself, is not funny.

BUT, the label said “HAPPY CHANUKAH from John Smith” (not his real name)…okay what is funnier than a ham as a Chanukah present?

PS: I opened the box and it was really a smoked turkey breast. Yum!

Wendy.

Not a name to grow old with. Sorry WJG – I know it’s your birthday, but you’ll always be younger than me and you’re not THAT old.

In my search to replace my photo, I did some (you guessed it) research.

At any rate, growing up, there were no Wendy role models. There was the Wendy in Peter Pan, of course. The origin of the name. And Wendy the Good Little Witch. And there was Wendy the Weathergirl – but I always thought that was just to humor the girls – Willie the Weatherboy was the big rage. In fact, I can’t even find a reasonable reference to her online. That’s how popular she was.

More recently, there was Wendy the Snapple lady. And Wendy Testaburger from South Park. Wendy Ryder seems a bit cooler than the others, but still dresses pretty oddly. That’s probably because she’s an Idol singer who evidently showed the emulator Ishtar that singing can be for fun and not just for war. (who thinks of this stuff?)

Then there’s Wendy Webb – lacking some real details, if you ask me.

There are some famous Wendy’s (courtesy of Wendy.com):

Wendy & Lisa

First these singer/musicians were known just as “Wendy & Lisa”. Now they have the name “Girl Brothers”. A few of their albums are “Wendy & Lisa”, “Eroica” and “Fruit at the Bottom”.

Sister Wendy Beckett

A British nun who made a name for herself because of her television series called “Sister Wendy’s Story of Painting”. She has a large series of art books as well.

Wendy Carlos
A composer whose work you’ve probably heard and don’t even realize it. She did the soundtrack for the movie “Clockwork Orange” and has several CDs of electronic music available. (And she actually CHOSE the name!)

Wendy Fitzwilliam

Winner of the 1998 Miss Universe contest.

Wendy Kilbourne

Her most famous role was as Constance Flynn Hazard in “North and South”. She also appeared as “Devon” in “Midnight Caller”.

Wendy Lands

Canadian singer and songwriter born in Montreal. Her debut album is called “Angels and Ordinary Men”.

Wendy Lawrence

An American astronaut who has flown several space shuttle missions including docking with the Mir space station.

Wendy Makkena

Best known for her performance as the shy nun in the movie “Sister Act”.

Wendie Malick

Movie and television actress who played in the series “Just Shoot Me” (Nina Van Horn) and “Dream On” (Judith Tupper Stone). Her recent movies include “Cahoots”, “On Edge” and “Manna From Heaven”.

Wendy Matthews

A singer, her best known album being “Stepping Stones”.

Wendy Mesley

Canadian broadcast journalist, host of CBC’s “Undercurrents”.

Wendy Page

Welsh singer-songwriter who joined the group Tin Tin Out.

Wendy Phillips

New York born television actress who was in “The Stand”, “Promised Land”, “Savannah”, and “Falcon Crest”.

Wendy Reves

Former model and well-known philanthropist. She and her late husband donated a lot of their art and antiques collection to the Dallas Museum of Art.

Wendy Richard

An English actress with a very long career, Wendy Richard can be seen in shows such as “Are You Being Served?” and movies such as “Gumshoe”.

Wendy Robin

Singer and Model.

Wendy Schaal

An actress whose movies include “Out There”, “Going Under” and “The ‘Burbs”.

Wendy Waldman

Singer-songwriter, member of the group Bryndle. Her albums include “Wendy Waldman”, “Love Has Got Me”, and “Strange Company”.

Wendy L. Walsh

Author and TV Anchor who wrote “The Boyfriend Test” and has a string of appearances as host and anchor on television.

Wendy Wasserstein

A playwright who explores in her work the themes of women’s rights and feminism. Her work is comedic with serious and sometimes controversial topics. Three of her plays are “Uncommon Women and Others”, “Isn’t It Romantic”, and “The Heidi Chronicles”.

Wendy Wilde

A radio talk show host whose can be heard online at her web site.

Wendy O. Williams (1949-1998)

Lead singer of The Plasmatics.

Wendy Wilson

Singer in the group Wilson Phillips.

So what do all these Wendys have in common? Don’t know. How many have you heard of? Not many, probably. I think I like Wendy Wildstar the best for now.

The 5 simple secrets to a perfect relationship.

I just got this email from my sister. I was sure it was one of those motivational blah blah blah emails. But read on:

1. It’s important to have a partner who helps at home, who cooks from time to time, cleans up and has a job.

2. It’s important to have a partner who can make you laugh.

3. It’s important to have a partner who you can trust and who doesn’t lie to you.

4. It’s important to have a partner who is good in bed and who likes to be with you.

5. It’s very, very, very, important that these four persons don’t know each other.