Lepidopterotica

I didn't want to do the friends-only thing but circumstances render it necessary for a while.

If you would like to be added, leave me a comment here and tell me who you are and why you'd like me to add you.

Thanks.

Archer, Eleanor, boutell, jeremym and I went to see They Might Be Giants at the TLA.

Archer has never been to a rock concert before - he saw an SJ Tucker house concert, which he loved, but being in a venue packed to the gills with excited fans, with the band on stage with a full sound system - totally new experience. At first he was annoyed because he expected that they'd play all songs from their newest album and he didn't know some of the songs they played, but I explained two things to him: 1) bands play a variety of songs at concerts from different albums and 2) this is a place where you can sing and dance and clap all you want and no one will tell you to be quiet or sit down. After those ideas got through his head, he had a great time.

We all sang and danced and jumped up and down. They played "I Am A Paleontologist" and Archer and I did the Pachycephelosaurus dance. TMBG had two sock puppets called The Avatars of They. The sock puppets sang "Don't Cross The Street In The Middle of The Block" and claimed that they were the headliner and TMBG was their opening act.

They did "Dr. Worm" as an encore and then they ended the show with "Istanbul", which Archer knows and loves. He said he had a great time. After the concert we got milkshakes with Tom and Eleanor and Archer was telling us all that "Istanbul" came from an album called Flood.

I said, "Archer, when Tom and Jeremy and I were in college, we used to listen to Flood with our friends and sing the songs together." I'm so excited that Archer got to enjoy TMBG with me and my college friends and with Eleanor who is another one of the second generation of us.

As we were driving out of Philly, I got a text from Jeremy who said he had something for Archer from the concert and asked us to stop by if we could. We did, and Jeremy gave Archer the set list!!! Archer's first concert at 7 years old, and he comes home with the set list. This is one of the many reasons why Jeremy rocks.

They Might Be Giants also rock.

I am a paleontologist.
That's who I am, that's who I am, that's who I am ...

"At school everything is ok for me right now. Mom is telling me to write something cool, so ok, I'll write it. I played with my Bionicles today. Apparently Takanuva is fighting some God and Takanuva is winning even though he is a God because he is the son of another God."

His Mom Says:
Today at work they migrated our email. That was a serious clusterfuck. Luckily I ended my day by helping two nurses with documenting flu vaccines and I feel useful and helpful instead of frustrated and angry.

Archer says it is time for the end of Livejournal and more Goodreads. He is addicted to Goodreads, which is fine with me. There are worse websites to be addicted to ... like maybe even this one. :) Definitely Facebook. That's not Goodreads, that's Badquizzes.

Archer wrote and illustrated a poem at the Philly Spells Writing Center and they posted it online. It's called "I'm from Media", you have to scroll down a bit to see it. Click on the image to read the whole poem.

http://phillyspells.org/gallery/

Also, it's here, but the image is not as good:

( Archer's Poem )

Philly Spells is a great organization - they hold free writing workshops for kids in Philadelphia (you don't have to be a resident, that's just where the workshops are). Their mission is as follows: "We strive to excite young people about all forms of writing through imaginative and often wacky programs that will engage their creativity, nurture their writing skills, and develop their self-esteem."

More details here:

http://phillyspells.org/about/

thank you to everyone who has congratulated us and wished us well and who enjoyed our wedding with us.

we're still recovering.

more later.

I was trying to think of my favorite moment of our wedding and the list is so long I don't know where to start. If you were there and had a favorite, fun, or just memorable moment, please add it here in the comments so we can keep the memories. If you were not there and want to see what it looked like, go here:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/piratewedding/

Thank you to all of our wonderful family members and friends and friends-who-are-family-members for sharing our ridiculously awesome day with us.

As my Powder Monkey would say, "LOVE!"

So LJ is now banned at work. Poor, sad LJ - no fun at CHOP for you. And less of me.

so it goes.

I will be married in less than a week.
I read my draft of some of a wedding vow to the Boy and he thought it didn't suck.
I think he was actually touched. Or touched in the head, whatever.

AV Flox has some good songs on blip.fm. I have been listening. You can listen here:
http://blip.fm/avflox

I have also been watching the Monday Night Game and don't want to say anything because I'm superstitious. My mother never DID break her back even though I know I stepped on a few cracks as a kid, but maybe she just got lucky.

Incoherence signals a need for sleep.

Diet: Weight Watchers Online

Time on Diet thus Far: almost 2 months

Weight Loss: 8.6 lbs

What Helps Me Stick to It: I can eat anything I want, just not all of it all the time. Microwave popcorn is not fattening. Neither is fresh fruit. (assuming you don't eat it by the ton, that is) My partner is also dieting and is very supportive w/food choices most of the time. I eat basically the same stuff every day for breakfast and lunch during the week because it's easier (small variations) and save the variety for dinner and weekends.

What Messes Me Up: Booze and chinese food. Also I fear Cheez-Its in large numbers. :)

Exercise: Gym - cardio 30 minutes, shooting for 3x/week. The gym is at work so it depends how busy I am.

When I will stop dieting: Never, though weight maintenance is a bit more forgiving than weight loss.

Archer's 7th birthday, held at All Star Baseball Academy and featuring 9 rowdy 7 and 8 year old boys in a wiffleball free-for-all was a big hit. He had a great time. Also, Archer got to see DeSean Jackson get a touchdown while he was surrounded by his friends and wearing his DeSean Jackson jersey. The rest of the game didn't go well for the Eagles, but at least Fang got that big birthday splash.

Yesterday - Archer has an outer ear infection, H took him to the to the Dr.; ear drops and antibiotics.

Today - picture day at school. I hope he smiles, his ear still hurts a lot.

Finished Towing Jehovah by James Morrow. The subject matter was riveting but his style didn't draw me in as much as I wanted to be drawn in. I am still not sure why.

Wedding, wedding, wedding.
Oof.

Happy New Year to all those who celebrate.

Aunt Mim (who always held the family Rosh Hashanah parties) died this year, so we were not sure if we'd all get together, but luckily Cousin Steve is still holding the party and the family tradition continues.

Mr. Fang has his first spelling test ever today. He aced the practice test, so I know he knows the words. Also, as we read the Percy Jackson books, he decodes the Greek Mythological references before they are explained, before I even hint at them. His 7th birthday party is on Sunday. Saturday night is the Great Cupcake Experiment. We'll wear goggles.

Reading
Towing Jehovah by James Morrow

Wearing
Stripy sweater
Jeans that are falling down (yay Weight Watchers!)
Stripy socks
Black jewelry
Black Doc Martens

Planning
Game night!
Soccer, week 1
Rosh Hashanah
Cupcake Experiment
Fang's Party
Football (not sure who my matchups are, but I see that Fang is playing Scott)

You?

Last night the boys and I went out to dinner with ladyandromeda and the charming Miss Rachel. Archer was very excited by the baby (Rachel is about 9 months old now, I think - wow, that was fast!) and proceeded to entertain her with song, motion and some first contact speak ("I come in peace," said he).

Archer told me that he likes some songs from musicals but not all of them and he's not very big on "jazz hands" anymore. I think Mr. Soon-to-be-Step-Dad is having an influence on him. At least he's still a fan of 1776. For god's sake, John, sit down!

Being a short summary of the summery ...

Cruise to Bermuda, Day 1, At Sea
We locate our cabins, have a lifeboat drill and a very fancy dinner.
Mr. Archer goes to Pop-Pop and Grandmom's suite for card games and H and I go to 80s Night at The Chamber, a nightclub decorated like a medeival castle (if they built one on a cruise ship). H and I brutally mock the "step-touchers".

Cruise to Bermuda, Day 2, At Sea
We go swimming. The water is rough, the air is cold and I fear that I will not be able to stand the chill ... but the rocking of the ship and the breeze make the pools into wave pools and swimming is like a roller coaster ride. We all had a fantastic time riding waves and we discover that Mr. Archer can, despite all protestations to the contrary, swim. We and his Pop-Pop are very impressed.

Mr. Archer goes to the Chamber for kids' Rock-n-Roll night and gets crowned King of Rock-n-Roll. He returns home wearing a large red and gold crown which (of course) fits him perfectly.

H and I go to the casino for "International Spy Night" and win a whole bunch of stuff, including a free mini-facial, some free drinks and a dinner for two at Portofino's (the ship's Italian Restaurant).

All of us winners go for 1 am Ben and Jerry's because we are on vacation and we CAN! Yes, there was a Ben and Jerry's on the ship.

Cruise to Bermuda, Day 3, At Port
Lunch at the Frog and Onion. Best Onion Rings Ever!

We swim with the dolphins and brush their teeth! We also saw the inner workings of a very large clock and watched the bells strike the hour.

After the dolphins and some shopping, H, Archer and I head out for the beautiful beach where we swim in clear blue water and listen to 80s music that is pumped out from a beach bar. We can't stand the cravings so we return to the Frog and Onion for more O-rings. I end up wearing some Bloody Frog. We catch up with Dad and Jon and ride back on Lefty (the story about Lefty is something that requires audio, so ask us when you see us).

We go on a Sunset Swizzle cruise with unlimited Rum Swizzles. Mr. Archer has unlimited cups of ice to chew up, which he loves. Also he loves riding on the nets in the catamaran.

More late night Ben & Jerry's.

Cruise to Bermuda, Day 4, At Port
Mr. Archer hangs out with the folks while H and I go wreck snorkeling. We saw the wrecks of the Constellation and the Montana. We shopped and bought a yellow bracelet.

Mr. Archer marches in a pirate parade. We took pictures. He was vicious and terrible and all of the cruisers feared him. There is no Half and Half in the "English Pub". Yes, I know, it's Irish, but the English still serve it, or at least know what it is.

All the "kids" have dinner at Johnny Rockets while my Mom and Dad have a romantic dinner togther (we gave them the dinner we won at the casino). The JR waiters all sang and danced to YMCA. Jon and Mr. Archer loved it. I loved the fountain soda cherry cokes.

Some time during this trip, Mr. Archer invents his signature drink: The Bloody Sprite.

Cruise to Bermuda, Day 5, At Sea
We give Mr. Archer the swim test he would have taken at camp (but didn't) to get to the next level of swimming. Swimmers who pass earn a yellow bracelet and the right to swim in a deeper part of the pool. He passes - then we realize that he only did half of the swimming required because we misunderstood him. Then he does ALL of it (so 1 1/2 times total)! He passes with flying colors and earns his yellow bracelet!

Ice Show - much wow. Among other wonders, we saw a guy on a bicycle on ice in skates on a moving cruise ship who didn't fall over.

There is more, some of which will be revealed in "Travels With Gog", a photo series by the King of Rock-n-Roll and his associates.

Gog like cruise.

Since people have asked: YES! Pirate costume not required, but Greatly Encouraged!

I am awash in girliness - hair stuff, new makeup (I have to get hypo-allergenic foundation that isn't years old because the last time I bought foundation was some time in the 90s I think ...).
Also I am feeling better because of the weight loss. If I can return from the cruise and not have gained any weight, I will count that as a win.

We leave for Bermuda tomorrow. About damn time. H and I really need this vacation. We also really need to have the Fang back for a whole week. Seeing him 2 days out of every 14 has been almost unbearable and I am very very happy that the summer schedule is over as of TONIGHT!

Tonight I pick up the Fang and we packity packity pack and then go sail the seven seas in a ship that's as big as a city block.

Arrrr!

So this is the cake decorator who will be doing our wedding cake:

http://staceyssweetshop.blogspot.com/2009/05/happy-40th-birthday-bob.html

There are many great cakes on her site, that's my favorite in terms of dimension and detail.
She works with the Town Crier Bakery in New Hope.

http://www.towncrierbakery.com/

We met the Town Criers last night and they're great people, their cake sample was delicious and they can do what we want for the money we have.

( diet and body image tmi )

So on Saturday Fang and I went to Barnes and Noble, where they have a summer reading special. If a child reads 8 books and then fills out this form (writing title, author, favorite part for each book), he is entered into a contest to win an autographed Percy Jackson book and also he earns a free book.

Fang and I filled out the form together (I wrote titles and authors, he wrote favorite parts). He wrote his favorite parts in a lot of detail, though he didn't sit still for one second. I thought he was going to fall off the kid-sized stool in B&N's Children's section. Luckily sitting still was not a requirement. He chose Soupy Saturdays with the Pain and the Great One by Judy Blume.

I am SO proud of him!

Jeremy Moskowitz rocks.
He doesn't know everything, but he knows more of everything than most people.
And he can sing.

Happy Friday!

This title borrowed from mah girlfriend.

Stuff I Am Working On

Wedding
Wedding
More Wedding

New job - yay new job!

Working out my daily routine - when I get up, when I arrive at work, how to do all of this and get the most efficiency w/the trolley schedule.

Not fighting with my ex even when he drives me crazy. I failed at this yesterday. Today is another day.

Getting our home in order, prepping for the Big Media Yard Sale.
Yard Sale is September 12 and 13 so anyone who is local may want to check it out - basically the whole town is out on our lawns, selling our stuff.

Getting ready for the cruise (we're going to Bermuda the first week in September)!

Fang's birthday - organizing the aftermath of the toypocalypse (which will increase this weekend) and playing with the toys and games with Fang.

Fang's school supplies, rewards, routines.

Helping H clean up after his very pissy cat (she goes to the vet this Saturday - yay, I hope they can find out what's wrong and I hope it is not just her attitude).

Losing weight on weight watchers - 5 lbs down, 5 to go, 5 more if I get really ambitious.

Getting some exercise - so far I have been pretty lame at this.

Some worldbuilding for a novel, but very minimally since I am a little overwhelmed (see above).

More Wedding.

How about you?
What are you doing?

Fang would like to thank everyone who wished him Happy Birthday yesterday.
He also says, "Thankkkkkkkkkkssss ... ngggaahhhh."
I fear he is turning into a zombie.
At least he is a thankful zombie.
He says he is not a ... DON'T EAT THAT!!!

This is a picture of Fang with his favorite birthday gift (thank you Steve!).

I'll Get You, You Varmint!!!

Fang was born.