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i just ate a carrot that tasted like bacon. weird?
yet another thing to add to the list of weird presents i'm getting you all for Christmas..
and so say all of us.
pictures from mc's birthday weekend in leeds are here.
a colleague of mine (who shall remain nameless, but it's the one who might have malaria) just read my site back to me. how bizarre to hear my words coming out of his mouth. it's not a big deal, because he's a doofus.. BUT. it was kinda strange.
my friend sarah just reminded me that there are only 13 weeknights until we leave for our christmas holidays. crikey. that's come up quickly. i know i'll spend the next two weeks worrying and making lists to be sure we don't forget anything.
this weekend was the first time i didn't worry about taking loads of mary catherine-specific stuff. i totally forgot to even think about taking the high chair and now she's really in love with sitting in 'big girl chairs' at the table. eek - where's my baby gone?
she goes up to a new room at nursery today. for some reason it's botherine me a little bit. she's been at that nursery so long that she knows everyone anyway, so it's not like she's walking into a completely new situation. but they do have a slightly different routine and she'll be mixing with older children and ... and ... oh i don't know. i guess i'm just having problems adjusting to having a two year old.
just back from leeds... we had a great time for mc's birthday where we celebrated with a's family. i am so lucky to have married into a fabulous family like his. more later.
london nirvana
i have found heaven in soho. pure hickory smoked, piled high bliss. i have either lived in london too long or good food has finally found me. bodeans bbq. if you've ever been to the uk, you will agree with me that food-wise, it's nothing special. i had a fabulous lunch there today and am still reeling with goodness. mm mm mm.
mary catherine's (real) birthday is tomorrow. we've been celebrating so long that it seems like not such a big deal. but hey - my daughter turns two tomorrow. expect me to spend my day tomorrow saying 'two years ago today, i was.........' and driving everyone nuts. honestly, the time has flown. i can't believe she's two and that i've had the joy of her personality in my life for that long.
happy birthday, baby.
what i'm thankful for..
my daughter, my husband and my family
my cat
our friends
our jobs
our house which is warm and dry
the food we have to eat
the great people who take care of my child every day
the internet and computers - gadgets too
the airplanes that take us back home
the clothes we have to wear
senses of humour
the people who read my site
freecycle, because it's a very good thing
charities that work hard on behalf of others
organisations that strive for world peace, justice and equality
the 49% of america that didn't vote for bush
shoes
hugs, kisses and the giraffe sound that my daughter makes
what are you thankful for?
who's goofier? you decide. 
Goofy - again.
We're back from Disneyland Paris. You can check out a slideshow of our photos here.
We had a great time, despire it being really horrible wet and cold weather. Mary Catherine was a trooper and withstood being so bundled up and shuffled from here to there very well. She loved walking around and even enjoyed waiting in line for rides.
I'd say her favourite ride was the Fire Engine car down Main Street (and back down and back up!) and her least favourite was 'Honey I shrunk the audience' 3D film. We sorta forgot that things jump out and go boom. Oops. She also very much liked the Lion King show - and we've adopted a Simba to always remind us of it. More later.. Just getting feet back on ground.
i just can't help it... i get so sucked in by a good gooshy meme. (feel free to send me your answers) you can thank my old friend Meg for this! and you can thank my old friend Kate for this!
1. WHAT IS YOUR FULL NAME? Elizabeth Dunne, just like it says on my URL. Oh how I love being a dot com.
2. WHAT COLOR PANTS ARE YOU WEARING? Medium Blue jeans.. clean ones!
3. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Nothing but the whoosh of the ventilation system at work.
4.WHAT'S THE LAST THING YOU ATE? EAT cafe bacon butty and a diet coke.
5. DO YOU WISH ON STARS? Certainly.
6. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? 'Cornflower blue' .. it's always been my favourite crayon.. although i'm not really crazy about the colour. I am also quite a big fan of 'spring green' and 'flesh' when it used to be included back in the 70s. i have a 'thing' for crayon names.
7. HOW IS THE WEATHER RIGHT NOW? grey but bright and coldish.
8. LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? A colleague who wanted me to know that he's running a bit late.
9. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT YOU THIS? I like her very much - I've known her since high school.
10. HOW OLD ARE YOU TODAY? Today I am 33. Two days ago I was 32.
11. FAVORITE DRINK? Sweet tea.. hands down.
12. FAVORITE SPORT? I don't really like sport. If I had to watch some sport or die I guess I'd watch ice skating. Although having said that, I really enjoyed watching the Olympics this year.
13. HAIR COLOR? Brown. Pretty mousy, I think.
14. WHO WOULD YOU MEET IF IT COULD BE ANYONE DEAD OR ALIVE? I'd quite like to think I'd be cool enough to hang out with a hep crowd of modern artists. You know like, Warhol, Lichtenstein and Mondrian.
15. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? yes - new fancy ones that help me see like no contacts before!
16. SIBLINGS 0
17. FAVORITE MONTH? November because it's my birthday month, MC's as well and the beginnings of the Christmas season.
18. FAVORITE FOOD? A good gourmet cheeseburger.
19. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Bridget Jones The Edge of Reason
20. FAVORITE DAY OF THE YEAR? Christmas day... especially this year - I think it will be so much fun watching MC enjoy the holidays. We've already taught her to say ho ho ho.
21. WHAT DO YOU DO TO VENT ANGER? Take it out on Andrew. or cry.
22. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TOY AS A CHILD? Barbie.
23. SUMMER OR WINTER? Winter, hands down. I'm much cuter in layers.
24. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs, I think. Although kisses from MC are super sweet.
25. CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA? in a milkshake? Vanilla.. otherwise, chocolate.
29. LIVING ARRANGEMENTS? Our relatively new apartment with Andrew and the darling MC.
30. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Whenever I go to the movies - you can bet I'll cry. I get sucked right into movies... big time!
31. WHO IS THE FRIEND YOU HAVE HAD THE LONGEST? Leah from the old neighbourhood. We're actually still in touch. We're talking like 26 years!
32. WHAT DID YOU DO LAST NIGHT? Well it was my birthday - so I had cake and doughnuts with my family and then sat and played my new video game for three hours straight. It was a magical, if not totally nerdy time!
33. FAVORITE SMELLS? MC, gardenia and any other 'old lady' floral scent. Oh and Molton Brown's Air of Puritas. It's amazing.
34. WHAT INSPIRES YOU?? Creativity and kindness.
35. WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF? Going insane and my house burning down.
36. PLAIN, BUTTERED OR SALTED POPCORN? I actually prefer the sweet popcorn we have here in the UK. Although I do bring back a few boxes of microwave Orville R's ultimate butter every now and again.
37. FAVORITE CAR? A super posh Range Rover. Or the Volkswagen Touareg.
38. FAVORITE FLOWER? Tulips and gardenias.
39. NUMBER OF KEYS ON YOUR KEY RING? Four.
40. FAVORITE DAY OF THE WEEK? Friday - most definitely.
41. WHAT DID YOU DO ON YOUR LAST BIRTHDAY? see number 32.
42. HOW MANY STATES HAVE YOU LIVED IN? Two, unless you count Washington, DC and then it's three.
43. HOW MANY CITIES HAVE YOU LIVED IN? Six.
44. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE T.V. SHOW? I am fond of any stupid reality show like the Simple Life, Big Brother, the X Factor. Silly, I know.
45. WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE CARTOON CHARACTER? I have a soft spot for Nemo, simply because my daughter thinks that he's really really cool. I'm also a big fan of Donald Duck because Andrew compares me to him - he thinks I act like him when i lose my temper. nice.
update...
i think i am handling my birthday very well thus far. it helps that my husband actually gave my day more than a bit of thought. he came and took me to lunch and gave me a playstation game he was right in thinking that i'd like. the urbs: sims in the city. now i just have to make time to play it as it looks really cool. he's also given me a gift certificate for the itunes music store over the course of the day and apparently there's more to come. holy moly - he's really done well!
my inlaws were most generous in their card - so a big thank you to them. and both my sisters in law sent cards. i've gotten emails, comments and IMs full of birthday greetings and my good friend Cathy wrote me a most fabulous email that really made me smile. so to everyone - thank you so very much!
well today's the day. and i'm doing surprisingly well. both my mother and andrew told me that after my last birthday related post that they were glad i realised i had a problem. it was like a birthday intervention.
so today... i am 33 years old. i am staring my late early 30s dead in the eye. actually, i'm almost in my early middle 30s, to be honest. oh dear.
MC told me happy birthday when she first saw me this morning and i've had numerous renditions of the happy birthday song sung to me (this is, in part, because it's one of her favourite songs at the moment) and andrew got me a very nice card and i've had flowers delivered here at work. my big present is our trip to disneyland this coming weekend. (i am really looking forward to it!)
so .... today.. so far, so good. :)
oh me oh my
i used to have a shoe fetish for myself... but now, i have this incredible urge to buy them for my daughter. nevermind that she has two pairs of Ugg boots. well - now i've decided that she needs these. is it wrong to dress your children far trendier than you dress yourself?
  
it's friday! it's friday! and to ease you into that weekend kinda mood, a few MC pictures. sorry i've been scarce around here lately. i just haven't had anything very interesting to say, i'm afraid. above you'll find MC in one of those 'put a coin in and go up and down' type rides commonly found outside the grocery store. the great thing is that she doesn't know that you can put money in them. she thinks they're fabulous just as they are. my wallet likes that part. you'll also see A holding ihsan's new little sister, iman. i have to admit that picture makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.
this weekend A's mom is in town and we have a birthday party to go to on saturday. all MC's friends are about the same age - so we get to november and it's birthday party central. i love it! and so does MC. of course, i can think of two other birthdays coming up.
last night, i went out with the girls to see the new Bridget Jones movie. was very cute and very bridget. a very nice night out. many thanks to 'the girls' for joining me.
in case you were looking for gifts for that special someone .... here's a coupon that you can use on products from my store. click here to visit!
cheesy email meme.
got this in an email today - and since my birthday is around the corner i've been feeling pretty old. so here, have a dose of reality courtesy of me and my mid-life crisis.
Just in case you weren't feeling too old today, this will certainly change things:
-- The people who are starting college this fall across the nation were born in 1986. They are too young to remember the space shuttle blowing up.
-- Their lifetime has always included AIDS.
-- Bottle caps have always been screw off and plastic.
-- The CD was introduced the year they were born.
-- They have always had an answering machine.
-- They have always had cable.
-- They cannot fathom not having a remote control.
-- Jay Leno has always been on the Tonight Show.
-- Popcorn has always been cooked in the microwave.
-- They never took a swim and thought about Jaws.
-- They can't imagine what hard contact lenses are!
-- They don't know who Mork was or where he was from.
-- They never heard: "Where's the Beef?", "I'd walk a mile for a Camel", or "de plane Boss, de plane".
-- They do not care who shot J. R. and have no idea who J. R. even is.
-- McDonald's never came in Styrofoam containers.
-- They don't have a clue how to use a typewriter.
And he can see no reason, cos there are no reasons
welcome to monday.
did you think i'd forgotten about you?
friday we went to bluewater with sarah and patrick. had a nice time - picked up a christmas present or two. then we all went to the farm and met up with duaa, ihsan and baby iman. we tried to be brave and pet a cow - but man, oh man can they moo loudly! it was just enough to tip our girl friday over the edge. she now calls cows 'scawee'. i can't say that i blame her.
weekend was nice - birthdaypalooza lately for all mary catherine's friends. it's been a whirlwind of present wrapping and party going. i'm loving it - and so is MC. big time. she's going to be so disappointed when she realises that going to awesome playspaces, eating lovely cakes and gulping juice boxes isn't really our normal 'thing'. bless.
speaking of birthdays.. mine is a week from tomorrow - woohoo! i am a nutcase when it comes to my birthday. i mean, i am wacko. you should immediately begin to pity those who are forced to deal with me on the day. in my mind, it's bigger than christmas or any other 'standard' holiday. i have no idea why i act like this, but i take them very very seriously. it usually leads to disappointment - i build up so many scenarios for surprises and lovely things in my head and reality almost always fails to live up to what i dream up. it's daft really. and not very nice for the people who have to live up to my idea of birthday perfection.
so ... um. yeah. i'll try and be better this year. honest.
tomorrow is a mummy day for me... i live for those.
hope everyone is coming down from the 'hope high' we all got thinking kerry could win. back to reality. four more years. it's really scary. i think i'll just go ahead and start lining up for andrew's visa now.
*sigh* anyway - bigger and better things to think about. like my day off tomorrow and our trip to disneyland paris in a few weeks. and mc's 'real' birthday and our trip to the states for the holidays. see - i'm feeling better already.
sorta.
mary catherine's good friend drew had his birthday party this past sunday. we had an excellent time at the museum of childhood's soft play space. mc and i climbed all over the area and had many, many good laughs. andrew managed to snap a few pics - although the camera flash was acting up. hence the grainy, cctv-ness of this photo. just look at my girlie. man, oh man am i in love with her.
10:24am GMT
R254 D252.
close... very very close.
what are you doing reading my site? get outta here - go vote! here's a piece written by Michael Moore for today. Love him or hate him - I think it's a very good read. I know it's long but it contains some very valid points. Read. then go Vote.
edited to take out big long michael moore letter... you can read it here.
one day to go....
whenever i speak to a bush supporter about why i'm voting for john kerry - they always mention the words 'flip flop'. i'd like to meet the spin doctor who dreamt that little gem up - because it's amazing how 'bush people' like to refer to it.
but it seems that kerry isn't the biggest 'flip flopper' out there. check this out make sure to click on the pages to see the entire 'catalogue'... why not use this last day before the election to read as much as possible and make an informed decision?
hap'halloween!
just for you... a loverly slideshow of our halloween weekend activities! click here.
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