An announcement:

Attention: There are Pancheros in Fargo.

That is all.

Dear Alison,

It's yo birthday
We gon' party like it's yo birthday
We gon' sip Bacardi like it's your birthday
And you know we don't give a fuck
It's not your birthday! (Anymore)

Almost. I do give a fuck, because I didn't tell you Happy Birthday on the right day. Sorry 'bout that. And I hope it was fuckin' sweet. And that you partied the exact amount that you wanted to.

Love,
Kath

P.S. I hope you don't hate 50 Cent.

Count Me In!

The Great Unwashed

Winter!

Around my house today...

(Yes, this is Lenny trying to catch snow.)

(And Princess actually loves snow, but her hatred of cameras won't let that come through.)

Head Over Heels

I watched The Vampire Diaries last night because...well, because I did. I rarely watch it, but every time I do, I'm surprised at how far it goes. It's always just a little darker than I expect it to be, and it's always a pleasant surprise. I'm not going to run out to buy the DVDs or anything, but it's not bad. Last night's episode featured a song that simultaneously yanked me back to my childhood and pushed me forward to the future. I seriously dig it.

Am I too old for this?

Either way, enjoy:

The best

Jordan just let me read all of the email threads from my birthday. All I kept thinking the whole time is that I have the best friends anyone could ever have. I love you all so much!!!

Before & After

Or maybe this one

(From EW)

hair

Alright, kids, I'm doing it. Wednesday at 11:00, I'm going to Estetica in St. Paul and getting this cut. Minus the color. And possibly a tish shorter, Think good hair karma thoughts for me. I do not want to spend the last hours of my twenties mourning the loss of my youth AND my hair.

ohmygodsocute

I love you more than I love this little dude's face. Which is a lot.

(from here)
(which I found at my new obsession)

so sad.

just finished season 2 (the last season by the way) of pushing daises and i am SO SAD. 

what can i now do to fill my time with visually stunning, witty repartee, and 

beautiful beautiful costuming? 

help me supplement, please!

Something Like Heaven

This is not where I was for the past week, but it's something to aspire to. Cut off some of the ruffles and I don't think I'd ever be able to make myself leave.

A Tiny Victorian Cottage

Who, me?

Yes, me. Camping.

Well, cabin-ing, anyway. With my entire family. In one cabin.

Wish me luck. If you don't hear from me by Sunday, come looking.

natalie angier

"It's a sad business when women indict other women for their take on life, for their choice of reproductive and emotional strategy. It may be understandable, given the role of female-female competition in recent human history, but I argue that it is maladaptive for women to continue on this course of she said/she said, the yowling and mud wrestling. We need each other now. " 

~Natalie Angier~
http://www.natalieangier.com/

Just want to thank you birds for not being these types of women.
also i may have to pass this book around to everyone when i finish it. just amazing.

For Al.

Oh. God.

oh bill

i was in the arcade with hubby getting my too fast too furious on and THIS is what was in the animal claw machine...

i seriously tried to get this for aly for like ten dollars worth of fifty cent games. i failed. ridiculous.

i hate forwards...

but i just LOVE this one. i thought instead of clogging inboxes i would put it here. love you.

A  young wife sat on a sofa on a hot humid day,

drinking iced tea and visiting with her Mother. As

they talked about life, about marriage, about the

responsibilities of life and the obligations of

adulthood, the mother clinked the ice cubes in her

glass thoughtfully and turned a clear, sober glance

upon her daughter.

  " Don't forget your Sisters,' she advised, swirling

thetea leaves to the bottom of her glass. 'They'll

be more important as you get older. No matter how

much you love your husband, no matter how much you

love the children you may have, you are still going

to  need Sisters. Remember to go places with them now  and then; do things with  them.'

'Remember that 'Sisters' means ALL the women...

your girlfriends, your daughters, and all your other

women relatives too. 'You'll need other women. Women   always do.'

What a funny piece of advice!' the young woman

thought.    Haven't I just gotten married?    Haven't I just joined the couple-world?   I'm now a  married woman, for goodness sake! A grownup! Surely  my husband and the family we may start will be all I need to make my life worthwhile!'

But she listened to her Mother. She kept contact  with her Sisters and made more women friends each  year. As the years tumbled   by, one after   another, she gradually came to understand that her Mom really  knew what she was talking about.   

As time  and nature  work their changes and their mysteries upon a woman,  Sisters are the mainstays of her life.

After more than 50 years of living in this world,  here is what I've learned:

THIS SAYS IT ALL:

Time passes.

Life happens.

Distance separates.

Children grow up.

Jobs come and go.

Love waxes and wanes.

Men don't do what they're supposed to do.

Hearts break.

Parents die.

Colleagues forget favors.

Careers end..

BUT.........

Sisters are there, no matter how much time and how

many miles are   between you. A girl friend is never farther away  than needing her can reach.

When you have to walk that lonesome valley and you

have to walk it by yourself, the women in your life

will be on the valley's rim, cheering you on,

praying  for you, pulling for you, intervening on

your  behalf, and  waiting with open arms at the

valley's end.

Sometimes, they will even  break the rules and walk

beside  you...Or come in and carry you out.

Girlfriends, daughters, granddaughters, daughters-in-law, sisters, sisters-in-law, Mothers,  Grandmothers, aunties, nieces, cousins, and extended  family, all bless our life!

The  world  wouldn't be the same without women, and

neither would I. When we began this adventure called

womanhood, we had no idea of the incredible joys or

sorrows that lay ahead. Nor did we know how much we  would  need each  other.

Every  day, we need each other still. Pass this on

to all the women who help  make your life meaningful.

I  just did. Short and  very sweet:

There are more than twenty angels in this world.

Ten  are peacefully sleeping  on clouds. Nine are

playing.  And one is reading  her email (or blog in our case) at this

moment.

Egh.

I don't know if it is the mid-summer sweats or blues or just general droopiness but i feel flat-haired, wilty make-uped (it's a word now), unpretty sweaty droopy clothed right now...i am thinking the solution is a hair cut. what do you think? i was thinking a chin length asymmetrical bob or, though i don't feel quite ready for it but always always love it once i have it...a pixie...Audrey Tautou/Ginnifer Goodwin style....what do you think?

Girl Tip of the Day

You need to run out and buy the Goody Spin Pins. They are truly fantastic. They hold my hair all day without pulling or shifting. And they do the same for my sister's hair, which is aout 2.5 feet long and makes a ponytail 3 inches thick.

Puppy Love

How can we have any when there are NO pictures and cute stories about him? Put that fancy phonei to work Puppy Mama! Is he still big on feet? Ladies, you should have seen this dog go for feet--and to hear his little growl! xoxo

So Not Done.

I am the proud new owner of a 2008 Prius.

Already it's a love/hate relationship. I love the car; I hate that I have to pay for it every month.

Oh well. At least I won't get stranded on I-35.

We were thinking of you all!

I wish we all could have been together in Omak as originally hoped for, but I can assure you all that Kathy and Parker have a beautiful home, some wonderful friends, and some pretty serious bocce skills. And Erin and Jordan now have the cutest puppy in the world. And my mosquito bites are all healed, too.

Happy Happy Happy Birthday, Laura!

Image Source

I hope it's the best one yet! Call you later.

Love you always,
Traci

Happy Happy Happy Birthday, Erin!

Image Source


I'm a day late in blog world, but I was right on time in phone world. I hope you had a beautiful day!

Love you always,
Traci

Done!!!!!

I have officially paid off my car.  Hurray!

Do you ever feel like this?

(I do.)

I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. One fig was a husband and a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet and another fig was a brilliant professor, and another fig was Ee Gee, the amazing editor, and another fig was Europe and Africa and South America, and another fig was Constantin and Socrates and Attila and a pack of other lovers with queer names and offbeat professions, and another fig was an Olympic lady crew champion and beyond and above these figs were many more figs I couldn't quite make out.

I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, just because I couldn't make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet.

-Sylvia Plath

Problem!

Listen, I'm 30 years old and highly capable for the most part. So why am I still suddenly inflicted with the feeling of needing to throw up when I think about calling A Boy? I mean, really. Really. What is this? College? Wait, I had this problem after college too. Seriously, does that ever go away? I've said it before, and I'll say it again, and once again add no offense: I hate all of you for having husbands/boyfriends. Hey! Who wants to call this boy and pretend they're me? Also who wants to clean my room? These are reasonable requests, gals. Pony up.

OK now my fingers are starting to tingle. My body is going numb! If I don't call him I may end up in the emergency room! Then my apartment will never get clean...Augh. That's it! I'm joining the convent.

Why the MTV Movie Awards are stupid

The MTV Movie Awards are stupid because The Runaways, which was a fairly good movie about a band, got exactly one nomination for, of course, Best Kiss. Why? Because it was between Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart. So original, MTV, glorifying hot girl-on-girl action. When in reality it wasn't even about that in the movie, it was like a pivotal moment, not some excuse to watch chicks get down. Of course Kristen beat herself when Twilight won for Best Kiss. She also won for Best Female performance in Twilight and while I haven't seen it, I would venture to say that she probably did a better job in The Runaways. But not as good as Dakota Fanning who f***ing rocked and got nada recognition. So as per usual, nice job, MTV, she said with heavy sarcasm. Good luck with that.

P.S. Old Work Crush is dunzo and New Work Crush is way, way cooler and came over for a beer last night. Goooooal!

Why I love a long weekend

I read 3 books and the entire Sunday New York Times between Friday and Monday. I am a word fiend.

I really enjoyed Cassandra and Jane by Jill Pitkeathley and am planning to send it to my sister. She'll love it as much as I did. Thank you, Laura, for the gift!

I breezed through 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff and I think Laura and Kathy would love it, too. It's the most perfect thing for a relaxed Sunday afternoon (and that's all the time it will take you).

Alison, go find The Sky Always Hears Me by Kristin Cronn-Mills. I loved it, and I think you will, too. Plus it's published by Flux, which is local!

Sorry, Erin and Coley, I have no recommendations for you this time.

discovery. also possible million dollar investment.

so i just went jogging with hubby and here is what i have discovered:

i think i need a sports bra for my butt.

As if swimwear weren't nightmarish enough

E, I dreamed that we almost shop lifted some swimsuits. You had picked them out, one for each of us, and they were weird, no offense, yours had that weird feathery yarn stuff that people knit/crochet with. Mine was this ugly 70's thing. I do not think Dream Erin has the same eye for swim apparel that Real Erin does. Thankfully.

Oh for the love of God!

Quick...someone write something hilarious before I am lost forever to the seedy world of college-level statistics.

Please!?

UPDATE: Nevermind. My husband just arrived with a vat of wine. I'm good.

Going Back...

...to the poor camel's broken back, I know what book was sexy for our generation and/or the generation just before ours. Forever by Judy Blume. I just finished reading it and I'm glad it was short because if it had taken me much longer, I'm afraid I'd be blushing for the rest of my life.

don't google this!

What is the average number of times a woman touches another person per day?

Who here watches Lost?

Discuss!!

It's doing a job on my forehead wrinkles

Guys, I never post here or on my regular blog! What's up with that?

I've sat down and drafted posts but they're always about, um, how much I don't like my job. Bo-ring. No one wants to read about that, especially in a job market where so many people I know can't even find jobs.

Does anyone have any tips, though, for dealing with work anxiety? I'm worried all the time about stuff.

Boys on boys, but not like that

Do you all remember Sean Callahan? He was so gorgeous, he had the chin piercing. Anyway I'm going through all of my old writing and I totally found the Mark phase, and there was this day when Ruth and I were hanging out and ran into Sean and he said the funniest damn thing ever, which was: "My advice is to trip him--metaphorically--and then make sure that you land on the ground before him." Good times, good times.

And so it begins...

I was closing the windows in the new casa last night and I decided one of the rooms smelled bad because of the carpet.  I went to the corner and started to pull.  I had the whole thing out before Jordan even came back from closing the other windows.  Beautiful hardwood underneath.  It ruled.  Today I pulled down the nasty backing in the kitchen and another room's carpet got the boot.  I'm going to try and be good about before and afters and will post up on Knick Knack.  Bug me if I don't.

Congratulations!

Congratulations, Erin! I do believe you've got something to blog about.

That's right. I'm calling you out!

Always a bridesmaid...

The thought of going into David's Bridal made me want to punch my leg for some reason, I mean I love fashion and dressing up but that store is huge and daunting and what if the zipper doesn't go up, you know? So anyway I recruited my friend Cathleen to go with me as time-wise we are getting down to the wire for ordering a dress for my brother and Randee's October wedding, so it was either bite the bullet or go naked. Luckily Randee has excellent taste and had picked out 7 styles to choose from; this was the clear winner once I tried them on. I love the brooch detail on the side and we were already plotting to skip a necklace and go with something in my hair. Plus the cut gives the illusion that I actually have a waist. This is the color it's going to be too which will look good on me. What groomsman will be able to resist? Definitely not the one I have in mind!

Love you so.

Constant use had not worn ragged the fabric of their friendship.

-Dorothy Parker

wild rose deodorant

aly!

i just bought this wild rose deodorant and it smells like you and your roses so i think of you every time i smell my armpits-it is kind of awesome. thought you should know.

love love


ps. i will find appropriately scented body ointments for all of you as well. then i can walk around with all of you on me. is that weird?

I just want to slap someone. Is that wrong?

i find that the older i get the more comfortable i am ...

with the idea of just slapping someone. 

just whacking them across the face for the stupid, disgusting, inane, politically incorrect (or correct), hilarious, hot, lovely things they say. it has no logic obviously bc it is not tied to any one negative emotion, or even just negative emotions in general. i just want to feel that surge, know it is my moment and take a swing. who knows when it will be but every time i see tina fey's alter ego liz lemon take a whack at someone i can feel myself getting closer. it is only a matter of time.

Once a crushslut, always a crushslut.

I just wanted to assure everyone that even though I am a seemingly mature 30 year old I still act like a complete and total jackass around a boy I have a crush on. Like when my co-worker Work Crush shows up and addresses me it takes me like, 30 seconds to form a normal sentence and all the while my brain is screaming the words. And when I normally am able to run my mouth with a witty comeback for most situations, when the following happened my response to was to turn and run:

Alison: Do you want to go out?
Work Crush: You mean like go steady?

Augh! Such a brilliant zinger! I had no response! I tucked in my tail and ran! Why I didn't add the word "tonite" after my question was also a real head scratcher as that is what I meant.

The thought of having to date makes me want to throw up in my mouth. After we broke up there was a good week where I kept thinking, "Now I have to start all over!" Really annoying. Especially when I'm the oldest and everyone else has cool husbands/boyfriend and I have baby fever. So don't take this the wrong way, girls, but you all suck. Take that in the most positive way possible, please. I don't even know how I'm going to meet anybody, I detest people. The older I get the quicker I am to dismiss all these hipster d-bags who correct my pronunciation of celeb names. Not to mention Drew, the man who spent half of the Black Rebel show hitting on me only to respond to my query of Do You What To Hang Out Sometime? with the crushing blow of "Married." Sigh.

P.S. Just in case you're worried if Work Crush were in a social group, he'd be a Gamma. I'm trying to avoid any adult version of an Axe, Delt, or Owl. Did I ever get a crush on an Owl? That could be the only group I missed!

One more for good measure

Verse for a Birthday Card, by Wendy Cope.

Many happy returns and good luck.
When it comes to a present, I'm stuck.
If you weren't far away
On your own special day,
I could give you a really nice glass of lager.

Happy birthday Cole! (also belated)

Chocolate truffle wishes

Happy birthday, Cole!  I too am a day late, sorry!  I wish I were there to make you some decadent, low fat/low sugar (I found a recipe!  I'll let you know how it turns out) dark chocolate birthday truffles!

love,
erin

For C

Happy day-after-birthday, Coley! May this year bring you wonderful things.

Happy Happy Birthday, Cole!

Image Source

Happy Birthday, Coley!

(I am a day late and a dollar short, per usual. By now you know that this is not a reflection of how much I love you.)

I wish you a year filled to the very brim with joy!

My Mother, the Otter

We have a follower!

Yes, it's my mom...what of it? She thinks we're hilarious!

the convo that broke the camel's back (except we are many camels. camels plural.)

cole:
what were the sexy teen books when we were in high school? the ones we didn't want our parents to know we were reading? also, if you know them what are they now? thanks and love love

laura:

every teen is reading twilight but their moms are reading them too.

ever since gossip girl got made into a tv show it seems like nothing is really taboo...

 

when i was a teen i feel like i read adult books. there wasn't so much YA lit being published. i'm super curious to hear what you guys say!

traci:

The book I hid in the zipper-backed stuffed animal when I was 14 was Valley of the Dolls. That probably says something about me.

 

I just read Gingerbread by Rachel Cohn and it was way more sex-involved than I anticipated.
 

cole:

i read forever by judy blume but that was really more mom's generation. i was also reading, go ask alice and a child called it but i can't think of any really sexually explicit books i was reading other than the harlequin romance novels passed down to me by my grandmother bc i was the "grandchild that liked to read alot" and boy did i read the shit out of those bc they were racey for a twelve year old. my mom actually took one away from me. i wonder how that conversation with her mother went. funny.

my students were reading this series called the zane series which was seriously crazy when it came to sex by they are not technically ya books. i am are we just squares or did those books not exist for us?

 

laura:

zane wasn't around when we were teens--they're super sexy, basically urban erotica. not YA.

 

i liked tamora pierce's alanna books which i remember being sexy but i think really all that happened was alanna disgusised herself as a boy and one of the other guys saw her bathing and figured it out. woo.  

aly:

The sexiest thing I read was Sweet Valley High. Blond twins! Hey-O! 

 

traci:

Oh my god, I just recently read that Francine Pascal is going to publish an adult Sweet Valley book.  Per BookPages:

 

...Francine Pascal has signed a deal to publish Sweet Valley Confidential in early 2011 with St. Martin's Press. The book will follow Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield--and all their Sweet Valley friends--into their late 20s and early 30s. No word yet if it will be a single book or the start of a series, or if the target audience will be teens or adults. of the book, Pascal says, "I've had thousands of queries from fans over the years wondering what Jessica and Elizabeth would be like as adults....Well, Sweet Valley Confidential should give them all the answers. And I can guarantee they will be very surprised. Actually, more like shocked." Will Elizabeth get back with boring Todd Wilkins? Are Jessica and Lila Fowler still frenemies? Will the twins still be a "perfect size six"? We'll have to wait until 2011 to find out.

 

kathy:

Those Blonde Twins.  OMG.  I have never even read one.  Can you believe it?  I was too busy with the Baby Sitters Club.  I also read adult books, most murder mysteries, sometimes they get sexy.  I don't think a sexy teen genre existed when we were young.  Think about how far TV has come even since we were in high school.  When we were tweens/high school it wasn't really there.

 

 cole:

yes! sweet valley high! good call aly!

ok. so the consensus is that we acted (or were) appropriately naive when we were young; and teens today, or maybe just teen writers, are slutbags. got it. consider my teen literacy project basically done.

also, we should totally just starting publishing our conversations. for real. love love love. 

aly:

Oh my god it's ridiculous how old kids are today. The stuff they're watching/reading/listening to, my parents would have killed me. I had a hard enough time hiding my Marilyn Manson CD's.

This would have made an entertaining blog, I must admit. If we all had a gmail account we could use blogger.

 

erin:

I feel like such a nerd.  I never read any of those books.  I mostly read sci-fi and fantasy (ala Ender's Game or the Xanth books).

 

traci:

See? THIS is what I am saying! We would make a hell of a blogging team.

 

cole:

so everyone needs to get a gmail account and then... WE CAN PUBLISH THIS BITCH. and make a ton of money and fly to see each other whenever we want.

then, when we are being interviewed on whatever woman steps into oprah's britches next they will say so thoughtfully, so empathetically: "You all know that you have touched women all over the world but what we want to know is why you all decided to do this?" We can say honestly that it was because we could never afford to see each other so we needed a forum to be together... although...Catch 22...once we can afford to see each other will the blog cease to have meaning...Existential Crisis!!!

No. I will not have an existential blog crisis until we actually have a blog. So...?

 

erin:

I'm in.  I have an account already.  You don't even need a gmail address, I used my yahoo one.  Word.

 

kath:

I have gmail already.  I am the only blogless one (which may make me the least qualified) so I can try to set it up if you like.  Or if there are any other takers...

 

cole:

i can do it bc today is my day off or i can defer to traci if she prefers bc she was the first soul brave enough to mention it. if i send everyone a link tonight and check on formatting etc does that work for everyone?

let me know. i have to go to the nutritionist but will be back in less than an hour. you should all know that if i went up in pounds at all since the last time i saw her i might very well make the entire blog black.
like death.
black black.

(although the day of champagne, and chocolate, and elderflower at laura's might have been worth it.) we all really need a cabin to gather at.

love love. 

 

traci:

Coley, Hope your appointment went well!  As for the design, I say knock yourself out. I'm home and working and therefore attached to my computer. Holler if you need anything!

 

cole:

So i am pretty much done except for one tiny detail...the name of the blog?

any idea? kind of can't believe i didn't think to ask this before i started. 

Options:
Lady Birds (obvious)
Just the Six of Us (like that tv show that i don't think i have ever actually seen)
WFT? (ha)
I have no fucking clue bc you are better than me at this...
Help. 

 

traci:

Headed to the gym. Will think on this while Ivy & Ash are ignoring me.

 

cole:

OH! What about the Vagina Oligarchy!!? Funny or inappropriate?

Inappropriate I think.

I am going to just wait for morning and you birds bc this is pathetic. love love

 

traci:

As much as I love my vagina, I'm going to go ahead and veto anything with vagina in the title. Imagine the google results!

 

Here's what I came up with (slightly disapointing, all)

1. The Madness of Maps

2. Girl Tip of the Day

3. Shout Outs and Shake Downs

4. Scatter, Love (or Love, Scattered)

5. [something with "Matriculate"]

 

Or

 

In Hysterics

 

?

 

aly:

TACKLE is an anagram for all of our first names.

 

laura:

I kind of love TACKLE. 

 

kathy:

Tackling life, love, and the pursuit of happiness.  I think we do those things.  And I think that is what the blog will be about.  Especially the nature of tackling.  Figuring it out, wrestling with it.  Traci seems to think we are all in interesting times in our lives, which includes a lot of transition still.  Wrestle-full transition can be.  (My Yoda sentence for those that just think I can't form sentences.)  I am goofy.  My coffee is waiting...

xo Wish we could get a coffee/cocoa together xo

 

cole:

K. if tackle works for everyone I'm gonna do that. Woop woop to Aly! I feel like a hot woman football player.

However, I also really love the ideas of madness, maps, hysterics, and scattered love from Traci. Traci, do you think we could turn that into the one or two sentence intro to the blog? Everyone let me know if you have a beautiful wordy way to do this.

So excited bc i am having coffee now so it is kind of like having coffee with you...kind of. love. 

 

kathy:

Sexy Six.

 

Yes, in my mind we are having coffee together.

 

traci:

Love TACKLE. And I knew Aly would come up with something good!

Drinking coffee with you,

 

cole:

invites are out! how do we drink champagne online?

Oh, Al

I'm not surprised Al came up with the perfect title.  She's kind of great at that sort of thing.  What I'm excited about is seeing the post titles K comes up with.  Anyone remember her genius of titling articles in the Cornellian?  Love you birds!

testing testing

can you fell the love, birds?
shit, i mean feel.