How Good Could They Be?

Inspired by Miss F's post yesterday about shoes and heels, I took a peek in my own closet to see what was there. While I have a generous shoe collection (yet very modest, by most female standards), I realize that I wear the same 3 or 4 pairs most of the time, and the others sit there and collect dust, no matter how much I loved them when I bought them.

In reviewing the quantity of shoes, the question of quality....and price....also struck me. I always see beautiful shoes in store windows -- Pradas, Jimmy Choos ($960 above), Kate Spades, Gucci, Dior, Weitzman and on and on -- at outrageous prices, and I wonder how good could they be, and who is it that buys these shoes? Because while I admire them, I never purchase them. In fact, the most I've ever spent on a pair of shoes is probably $150 on a rare, rare occassion, and that's because somebody talked me into it. (and I've worn them twice in a year.)

I always remember the 'Sex and the City' episode where Carrie laments the fact that she has no money in her savings account, but she has $40,000 worth of shoes in her closet......

Which got me to wondering....What does the average woman spend on a pair of shoes?

Yoga, Baby

I have just discovered that my gym has a pre-natal yoga class on the schedule tomorrow morning. It says you don't need to have a 'baby on board' to participate, so I think I'll go, not say anything and just dare someone to ask me about it. LOL

I've been keeping up my gym workout regimen (with doctors' approval), but I've been wanting to add a yoga class, and this sounds like a good opportunity to join in.

Don't Tell, Don't Tell

Earlier this week, I spilled the beans on my "news" to my blog (and anyone who happens to read it), and I told the lady at the maternity clothing store yesterday, but I am having a really hard time finding the right time to tell people who actually know me. And I'm not sure why.

I guess the shock has still not worn off. And truthfully (right or wrong), I'm feeling a little embarrassed that while I'm perceived by friends and colleagues as someone who is generally in control of her life, this one got away from me big time. And I found out I'm not really in control. So while I am still seeking to find humor in all that.....believe me, the irony is infinite.....I've not yet found a good way to spring the news on others.

Also, I feel like people will be looking at me like 'what is someone your age doing having a baby?'.....And while it shouldn't matter what other people think, it is quite a different reaction than I would get if I were 25. And it's a bit unfair....it's my first baby, and why shouldn't I be allowed to be as excited about it as someone who is 25? But I feel like people will dampen that excitement with a different reaction, which is so not fair.

I am very pleased with my OBGYN so far. Other than making sure I was aware of some of the stats on older mother births, she treated me as if I were 25 with my first baby. I didn't feel at all like an 'older mom' in there, and I was very pleased by that.

But the other thing is that I still feel it's early and something could happen. The doctor told me that miscarriage is only about a 5% chance after we've seen and heard the heartbeat (as we did on Monday), but I'm still skiddish about getting completely attached to the idea and spreading the news far and wide. Maybe I'm just overly cautious, but right now it feels better to keep it to myself (and the few who know) than it does to shout it to the rafters.

Maybe that will change shortly. I'm starting to get more used to the idea now.

Africam

This is cool. It's a webcam pointed at a watering hole somewhere in the wilds of Africa. If you watch for a while, you'll see all manner of wildlife coming to it for a drink. Yesterday, elephants and wildebeests. It's pretty neat!

http://www.wavelit.com/popup/playerAfricam.asp#

Turn your speakers on to get the whole experience!

Surprise Package

Following up on my earlier post re: The Joke Is On Me.....I'm ready to spill the beans, even though I'm not yet having a knee-slapping good time. Not just yet. I am, at least, starting to catch my breath finally, and I've been afraid to write this down, because writing it down and/or telling people makes it real. But, okay....here goes. It was confirmed today.



i am preggers.

Knocked up. Bun in the Oven. The Rabbit Died. Yes, all of it. And there is nobody more shocked than me and my husband. We thought we were way past all that. The odds against it at my age are really, really high. Maybe we should have purchased a lottery ticket that night instead. :)

At any rate, now I have to rethink my entire life and halt all the momentum that was headed in the other direction. I have real estate issues, insurance issues, lifestyle issues and pure shock to deal with. And my poor husband just turned 50. He is more stunned than I am, if that's possible.

But today, I saw and heard the tiniest little heartbeat just thumping away. Yes, God does have a brilliant sense of humor, and I believe He has a plan. I sure hope so, because I don't. At least not yet.

I never wanted to be a mom, but it looks like I will be in November. Go figure. Time to think about life in a whole new way. And maybe that's the biggest gift of all.

Home Again

Took a break from the blog this weekend, as I had things to do. We shut down the house in Florida and headed back to Texas on Saturday. We'd been there for six weeks straight, and that's the longest we'd been away from the house in Dallas.

Got home, and despite our lengthy absence, all seems well. Still pouring through the mail (most of which is junk), dusting the furniture and compiling a list of to-do's to catch up things around here, but even though we were gone for over a month, looks like nothing crashed and burned while we were out of town.

Thankfully, the weather has warmed up here and it's Spring outside. The brown grass has given way to green, and the pansies in my front garden are spilling over the Austin stone surrounding them. Looks like we may have new baby ducks in the lake, always fun to watch.

I have a very important meeting this afternoon, and after that meeting, I may be able to talk more about my earlier post....the one where I've said the joke's on me. Should be an interesting session today, and I'm looking forward to getting some answers.

I am working on Easter plans, trying to get the siblings and family together to attend Easter Mass at the cathedral together in East Dallas and then go to my favorite little wine bistro for Easter brunch. My sister and her family are in, but my brother and his family can't make it. They plan to be in San Antonio that day instead. Wish my parents could make it, but they are not up to the trip from South Texas, unfortunately.

Dancing with the Divorcee

Last night was the first installment of this season's "Dancing with the Stars". Now this show is so incredibly cheesy, but for some reason, everybody's watching it (including me). I think it must be the beautiful dancing, the glamorous outfits, etc. We'd all like to think if they can figure out how to dance like that, we can, too.

Anyway, I haven't been able to decide what's going to happen to Heather Mills on this show. On the one hand, I keep thinking people will toss her immediately due to her nasty McCartney issues. On the other hand, the morbid curiosity to see if her leg will go flying off may keep her on the show from week to week. I hear there are actually websites taking odds on how long before the leg comes off. (Are we a sick society or what?)

But last night, I encountered a third option (and the one she is hoping for). I genuinely got the feeling that people will keep her on because they admire her courage and determination to show people that they can overcome a handicap and do whatever they want. When she finished dancing, she got a pretty big ovation, like people were finding all that really "amazing" and deserving of praise.

While it's hard to argue with that aspect of it, I can't help but think because it is Heather Mills, that whole angle is a bunch of bunk, and she is using it all for self-promotion. She bills herself as a 'Charity Organizer' or something like that (as opposed to gold digger divorcee). And I'm having a hard time giving her the benefit of the doubt.

In the meanwhile, my husband's critique is that her performance is just "too wooden". He thinks he's a funny guy. :)

In some related irony, perhaps fitting, Heather's score from the the three judges was 6-6-6. Hmmm.....

A Little Comic Relief

For all you fellow DC fans out there, if you haven't seen this, go to the link below and watch it. He's shamelessly teasing us now. :) Hilarious.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCJ--Wrhx38

Looks Like the Joke is on Me

God has a huge, massive, mammoth sense of humor. He's quite the jokester, really. More on that later, after I start laughing along with Him. And that might take a couple of days, but I'm working on it.

Trying to Kick the Habit

No, not smoking.

Every day in London, around 5pm, we sat down and had tea (or cappucino) and scones. Now every day in Florida, around 5pm, we crank up the cappucinos (and try to substitute something for scones because we just can't make them here like they do there.)

This is a bad, bad habit. Eating plan being totally dessimated. Must figure out a way to kick this habit. Fast. :)

Just Shoot 'Em

Because my 'Shoot' list is probably easier than my 'Dinner' list, I'll take a shot at this one first:

1. Al Gore. IMHO, his global warming crap is a flaming pile of hooey and mostly an attempt to gain power and position in the world (since he can't do it through other means). Left unchecked, his alarmist agenda will cripple businesses, jobs and economies and cost us all big money, all for naught. There actually are credible scientists (whose voices are being drowned out) who believe that the earth constantly goes through natural heating/cooling cycles, caused by changes in radiation from the sun, which we can't do a heck of a lot about (no matter how much they tax us). 'Sun as main cause' seems to have merit when you consider that ice caps on other planets in the solar system are melting. I really don't think my SUV is causing that.

He's also a hypocrite. It was just reported that the energy consumption at his "compound" in Tennessee is 20X higher than that of the average American household. It's "do as I say, not as I do", as usual. Guess he just wants the rest of us to conserve, not him.

And since he's just become the darling of Hollywood, there is no doubt he is a total loon.

A green bullet for Mr. Gore, please.

2. Hillary Clinton. She's a Socialist. This is a Capitalist country. Next candidate, please. And both barrels for the Hildebeast.

3. Kate Moss. She's unattractive, classless, is a druggy, loves a druggy, yet the fashion industry worships her. I am so tired of seeing her in ads. I just don't get her at all. Bulemic bullet for her.

4. Rosie O'Donnell. Because she clearly knows everything and is the only one entitled to an opinion. And because she sees the world through gay-colored glasses. Everything is an agenda about gaydom. Why can't she just be a person first? I don't mind anyone being gay....heck, be gay, gay, gay...be the gayest person ever, if you like. Enjoy! But stop accusing everyone and everything of being homophobic. It's not all about you, believe it or not. And I'm not homophobic; I'm Rosiephobic. Big, bully, butch bullet for her.

5. Bill Maher. He used to be a comedian. Now he's just old, bitter and not funny. I've never really liked him, but he sealed it for me when he donned his 'Crocodile Hunter with-barb-in-chest' Halloween costume last year. What a classless POS. I can't think of anything more disrespectful to Steve Irwin's grieving family, who had just lost him weeks before. Bill Maher gets a bullet, right in the unfunny bone.

6. Sienna Miller. I don't understand how such a totally unremarkable person can be labeled the "it" girl. Has it really come to this? And also because she supposedly slept with Daniel Craig in a revenge move against Jude Law (who should share the bullet). A pox on your box, Sienna. Sleezy bullet for her.

7. P-Diddy. Or whatever he calls himself now. This person gets paid an exorbitant amount of money to do something, and I have absolutely no idea what it is. What is it that he contributes? I have no clue. But he's everywhere, constantly throwing the "it" party. Drive-by shooting for him.

8. Group Hit. The parents of Britney, Lindsey, Paris, Nicole, etc. for creating and unleashing their little monsters on society. One big fabulous bullet for them all.

9. Heather Mills. Because somehow she thinks Paul McCartney owes her more than $60M. Somebody please shoot her before we have to watch her lose her leg on 'Dancing with the Stars'. Wooden bullet for her.

10. Donald Trump. For a myriad of reasons, but most recently because he's promoting a seminar where 'little people' like us are supposed to go sit and hear his daughter, Ivanka, educate us on the secrets to becoming wealthy. Um, let's see - be born into it? That seems to work well. A gold leaf laden bullet for the Donald (and Ivanka).

I feel certain there are more destined for this list, but I need to stop and go reload now.

Watch Follies

It's hard to beat the DC watch story, but I did have other watch excitement in London this weekend.

I have developed a hankering for watches from a store called Folli Follie. Discovered the store in Santorini this past summer....bought a watch...then found another store in Barcelona a week later.....bought three more (one for a gift). They don't have much presence in the States, with a single store on Madison Ave in NYC and another in Hawaii (oddly). So I go crazy whenever I run into one.

Lo and behold....there was Folli Follie in London on Oxford Street. Yay! Bought a lovely black watch, which was the color I had been desperately missing.

The next day, I ran into another Folli Follie in Chelsea. I did have the restraint not to even go into that one, but I was quite happy to see it there.

I like the watches because they are colorful and stylish and although not cheap, they are also not outrageously expensive (135 GBP for the black one). Also, the glass on the watchfront is crystal and does not scratch. A nice feature. Plus, since you can't find a location in the States easily, almost nobody has one here, making it a rare find, not so easy to have in our global society. I get so many comments on them from people wanting to know where I found them. Very cool.

So go in and take a peek next time you see a Folli Follie. Watches are great; handbags and wallets are quite nice as well.

Favorite Things About London

What a great trip and a great city. Here are a few of my favorite things from this weekend:

1. The energy. Love, love, love the energy of that city. It revs me up!
2. Cultural diversity. Everybody from everywhere. So interesting. The people watching is outstanding.
3. The shopping. I don't buy much (exchange rate is horrendous right now), but the shopping is fabulous. If you can't find it there, they don't make it.
4. Scones. Plain ones. And Devonshire clotted cream. Yum, yum, yum. Blew my eating plan all to hell, but what a way to go. I will try to make them here, but I am told they just aren't the same....something to do with a difference in flour, maybe the water, etc.
5. Fashion. So very British. So many things I'd wear there that I don't think I could get away with here. Love the hats. Love the tights. Love the fabrics. Love the shoes.
6. Cars. In Central London, every other car seemed to be something beautiful and artful. And very expensive. I've never seen so many Porsches, Bentleys, Aston Martins (*pulse races*), Ferraris, Lambos and on and on and on. It was pure car heaven.
7. Beautiful townhomes. White stone, black wrought iron, flower boxes, topiaries. Lovely. And now I want one. :) (husband = nervous)
8. Friendly cabbies. The nicest taxi drivers with great, dry wits.
9. Food. Used to hate the food in London but found out I was just making some bad choices. Once I let somebody "in the know" pick our dining destinations, the food was excellent. Le Caprice was one of the best I've dined in, and Veeraswamy was the best Indian food ever. Yum.
10. Getting around. So many easy choices. The Tube, the bus, taxis, a great strolling city.....if I lived there, I wouldn't even have a car. How wonderful!

There's a lot more, but these leap to mind as some true favorites.

Watch This!!

Okay, here's something really cool...to me, anyway....

I wore Daniel Craig's watch to the theatre on Thursday evening. Yes, I really did (re: my earlier post about my Florida friend and DC's watch. ) It was way too big for my wrist, but I wore it all the same. It gave me happy, happy thoughts -- I mean, THE MAN actually wore it on his very own wrist. There were small scuffs here and there on the band clasp, no doubt put there by DC himself. *swoon*

Since this was my first trip to the London theatre, it was so very cool to actually be wearing it. I happily reset it to London time; the last person to have done that would have been Daniel himself. *melt* And one day I will meet him and tell him about it (*she dreams...*).

I will post a picture of the watch on my wrist later (when I can access it from my digital camera), but for now, check out the watch on Daniel's wrist in the photo. That's the one! *sigh*

*screams like a silly teenage girl*

The Gory Details

And here are the details...play by play....

Wednesday:
4:30 pm EST: Car service to Miami
8:20 pm EST: Flying the friendly skies

Thursday:
8:55 am GMT: Wheels touch down at Heathrow
11:00 am GMT: Late breakfast at the Carlton Towers
2:00 pm GMT: Harrod's
4:30 pm GMT: A stop at Waitrose to pick up a few items
5:00 pm GMT: Tea & scones at the hotel (yum!)
7:30 pm GMT: Dominion Theatre, 'We Will Rock You'
11:30 pm GMT: Late night eats, Bertorelli, Soho
1:30 am GMT: Hit the hay (not bad for old folks with no sleep, eh?)

Friday:
10:00 am GMT: Breakfast at the hotel
11:00 am GMT: Hit the streets of London -- shopping, people watching
2:00 pm GMT: Light pub lunch
5:00 pm GMT: Tea & scones at the hotel (yum!)
6:30 pm GMT: Dinner at Veeraswamy, Regent St. (next to Gaucho's)
8:30 pm GMT: Prince of Wales Theatre, 'Mama Mia'
11:00 pm GMT: Dawdled back to hotel
12:30 am GMT: Cocktails at Gilt Champagne Bar
1:30 am GMT: Lights out!

Saturday:

11:00 am GMT: Cappucino in the lobby
12:30 pm GMT: Off to Notting Hill and Portobello Market
2:30 pm GMT: Light lunch at Notting Hill pub (name escapes me)
4:00 pm GMT: A walk through Chelsea
5:00 pm GMT: Tea & scones at the hotel (last chance...yum)
7:00 pm GMT: Dinner at Le Caprice
9:30 pm GMT: Leisurely stroll back to hotel
11:00 pm GMT: Nightcap at the hotel
12:30 am GMT: Lights out!

Sunday:
5:00 am GMT: Up and at 'em
6:00 am GMT: Taxi to Heathrow
8:45 am GMT: Take-off for Miami
2:45 pm EST: Wheels down in Miami
5:30 pm EST: Arrive Delray Beach. Greeted by happy Shitzuh :)
7:30 pm EST: Sushi and martinis by the beach
11:30 pm EST: Lights out!

All fun, all the time. No naps, no healthy eating, no ground rules!

I'm ready to do it all again in a heartbeat!

London Calling

Just returned from London and had a wonderful time. The weather gods shined gleefully on us, the City was beautiful and people were friendly. We couldn't have asked for more, except maybe more time. No one wanted to come home!

Will post more detail later, but in the meanwhile, here's a photo of us perusing Portobello Market on Saturday.

Cheers!

Pond Hopping

I'll be offline from this blog for a while as I scoot across the pond tonight from Miami to Heathrow. Will be coming at you live from Knightsbridge over the next few days. Stay tuned!

Cheers!

Squirrels Getting No Tail

Just saw a news report that the city of Santa Monica, CA is planning to vaccinate 1000 local squirrels with a 'birth control serum' that will stunt their sexual development in order to help get the squirrel population under control. Imagine that. All those nuts and no sex. :)

Wow. Has it really come to this? If they can do that to squirrels, there's a whole list of human equivalents who should be next in line.

Fifty is Nifty (for him...)

The love of my life is turning 50 this Saturday (yes, I said FIFTY), and I can hardly believe I will soon be married to a 50-year old man! That sounds so incredible on paper, but it just doesn't seem to register that way in real life. I've been joking with him that a young chick like me has her limits, and very soon I'll be trading him in for two 25-year olds. He pretends to be amused. LOL

I didn't know what to get him for his birthday, especially since it's a big one. Birthdays are always a problem for me. I'm not that enamored with them -- as long as you aren't dead, everyone has one at least once a year, so really, what's the big deal? In contrast, I have a friend who likes to bask in the spotlight whenever possible (she's an only child and does not let us forget that), and she throws herself a big birthday party every year, like it is a big deal, while the rest of us are happy to quietly observe the day with a few select intimate loved ones.

Anyway...I didn't know what to get my sweetheart this year....he pretty much already has everything that's within reach (the garage is like an adult version of Toys-R-Us ...sports car, scooter, motorcycle and every other form of wheels known to man), and he is quite content with all of that.

So I decided since he's 50, he needs a makeover, a new image. I went with him to the hair spa, and we got him a brand new haircut (thank you, Daniel Craig) which looks fabulous and has taken 5 years off of him. It looks so good, I even talked him into leaving it mostly gray rather than touching it up with a hint of color, like he usually prefers. He's also only shaving every few days now, so he has that sexy, manly scruff thing going on along with the new haircut.

Then I made him go clothes shopping with me. Bought him some awesome new and updated key wardrobe items. New slacks, a few Nat Nast pieces, some Tommy Bahama items, new black Manolos and a few other suave duds.

I must say, the man is looking very HOT at this point. And I may have created a monster. :) But a really HOT monster. :) And all mine. *smack*

Writer's Panic

I woke up at 5am today, panicked that my monthly magazine column is due on Wednesday, and I have not yet begun to write. Yikes! The magazine has given me a theme, and generally, something clever and witty gets immediately written in my head that will more than suffice. However, this month, I have been unusually distracted by other activities, and the ideas just aren't flowing. I love writing the column, but I hate those times when I have to force creativity. Happens now and then. I'll get through it by locking myself in my office this afternoon and not coming out until the wit and sarcasm are bubbling over.

Blondes "Re-decorating"

About the time I've decided it might be fun to go a shade or two lighter on my hair color (from brunette to something a little sunnier), I see a story on 'Nightline' last night about how it's suddenly all the rage to be brunette. Suddenly? I've been brunette for a thousand years. I guess I've been out of vogue until now.

Apparently, hordes of female glitterati are losing their blonde locks to a color called 'chocolate' invented by some hair dresser in L.A..

Not sure why it's all so 'in' now. I'm thinking that maybe all those "blondes" out there simply decided it'd be nice to have the drapes match the rug for a change. If you know what I mean..... :)