phatDonna

Here’s one that never fails to make me laugh out loud.

The scene: an Irish Pub right across the street from the hotel at BlogHer ’09 in Chicago. Four friends wanted away from all the party craziness so we planted ourselves here and drank ourselves silly and talked.

Erica asked Shelly to take a picture of us with my phone. So I got in bestie pose with Erica. The moment the picture was snapped, this happened.

Becky just sat there saying “Balls!”

I don’t know if this really qualifies as a fun fact, but here goes.

I cannot burp. Can’t. It happens maybe twice a year, and always completely accidentally. (I am always so happily surprised when it happens that my first reaction is to say “I burped!” and then I have to remember to excuse myself.) Instead I make this weird frog noise that is sort of like a burp that has no power behind it and it gets kind of caught in my throat, and it offers no relief from gas pressure. Instead of burping, I will end up with hiccups after a while. Obviously carbonated beverages are difficult for me because they cause gas. I seem to be building up a bit of a tolerance lately for soda but beer can be downright painful to drink. Which is very unfortunate because I LOVE beer.

The inability to burp is what lead me to my love of drinking vodka on the rocks. Juice has too many calories, and tonic is carbonated, so I will end up bloated, in pain and with hiccups before the night is through. But a nice Grey Goose on the rocks with a twist of lemon is lovely and no bloat and no hiccups.

Don’t you just feel like we are besties now?

Sorry, I’m not even going to try to just pick one here.

“The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value. I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress and grow.” (Thomas Paine) This got me through my struggle with infertility. I had it taped inside my desk drawer at work and looked at it several times daily.

“Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.” (Peter Clemenza in The Godfather) I told you this movie was part of my DNA.

“A woman is like a tea bag – you can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.” (Eleanor Roosevelt) Obviously I love this one because I put it my header up there. This one has gotten me through a lot in the past year or so.

What about you? What are some of your favorite quotes?

Aaaargh! Why is this so hard?? This flingin’-flagin’ challenge seems to want me to choose favorites, and I can’t! Again, I have so many that I love.

I will choose one that I love that I will read over and over again.

The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy. Now, if you have not read this, please do not judge it by the horrible movie made of it with Nick Nolte and Barbara Streisand. Don’t get me wrong, I know it’s bad, but I still watch it when I find it, simply because I love the book so much.

The book is just… beautiful. I have a soft spot in my heart for South Carolina and especially the low country, where Conroy bases all of his novels. The descriptions of the setting are magical. The story is heartbreaking and yet full of healing and redemption. I read this book every couple of years. I don’t hold on to books after I’ve read them unless I’m certain that I want to read them again. This is one that has been on my shelf for at least 15 years. I won’t let it go.

What about you? What’s one book you’ll read over and over again?

Today’s challenge was much easier for me. A no-brainer actually.

My favorite show right now is Parenthood on NBC (Tuesdays at 10/9c).

I don’t even know where to start with what to say about this show. It’s funny, and it’s poignant. It’s about three generations of the Braverman family. Each of the kids is so different from each other but they are all quirky and lovable. Well, at least I love them. It just seems so real to me because although they definitely love each other, you can tell that there are issues and rivalries and all sorts of things just under the surface. This is not a lovey-dovey perfect family. They are flawed which makes them more lovable in my book.

If you aren’t watching this show, definitely check it out!

Damn, this is almost as hard as yesterday’s challenge – picking ONE favorite movie is just not something I could ever do. I have bad chick flicks that I will watch over and over, funny movies that I love to keep on hand for a sick day or a lazy rainy day, or tear jerkers for when I need a good cry.

But this movie, I’m always in the mood to watch. It’s also a holiday family tradition to watch this one. What can I say? We’re Italian. The Godfather. It’s not just a movie – it’s a guide for life. I honestly cannot pick out one bad thing in this movie. It’s just perfect. Romance, intrigue, and good old fashioned murder. I love it.

And in case you were wondering how this movie is a guide for life, I’ll tell you. There are three lessons we can learn from The Godfather that will take us far in life.

First, never let anyone outside the family know what you’re thinking.

Second, never take sides against the family.

Third, never hate your enemies.

Honestly, I’m still working out how to apply these lessons to my life given that I am not part of a crime family, but I feel confident that once I figure out how to make it work for me, I’ll be a much happier person.

Picking one favorite song is not something I could ever try to do. I love many songs intensely, in different ways and for different reasons. So this first daily challenge has taken me longer than I thought it would.

But I finally decided that since I’m still trying to desperately cling to my positivity from late last year, I’m going to pick one of the songs that NEVER fails to make me smile, and drum and sing along.

I give you…..

“Laid” by James

I dare you to listen and not drum along.

I really love writing this blog. But lately between Bridget and trying to get all my work hours in every week,and writing for Buy-Her, I find I am neglecting this site, which I desperately do not want to do. I’m definitely not burnt out on blogging, just partly distracted and partly uninspired.

But I’m stealing this idea from Shelly who stole it from someone else. I love having a blogging assignment
30 Days, 30 Topics.

Day 01 — A favorite song
Day 02 — A favorite movie
Day 03 — A favorite TV show
Day 04 — A favorite book
Day 05 — A favorite quote
Day 06 — A fun fact about me
Day 07 — A favorite photo
Day 08 — Something I crave
Day 09 — Pet peeves
Day 10 — A photo of me taken over ten years ago
Day 11 — A photo of me taken recently
Day 12 — Something I bought recently
Day 13 — Something I want to buy
Day 14 — An old photo
Day 15 — My celebrity crush
Day 16 — A favorite food
Day 17 — A photo of my family
Day 18 — A baby photo
Day 19 — A fun memory
Day 20 — A hobby of mine
Day 21 — A favorite recipe
Day 22 — A favorite joke
Day 23 — A video
Day 24 — A travel story
Day 25 — A favorite photo
Day 26 — A funny (true) story
Day 27 — A child I love
Day 28 — A place I love
Day 29 — A person I love
Day 30 — Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days

Who wants in?

Lately I have not been feeling the Twitter love. It’s taken me a while to figure out exactly why but I think it’s several things.

I just miss the days when people would post some really funny random thoughts consisting of a maximum of 140 characters. Now it’s just so full of retweets and links that it makes my head spin. I will most likely not click on links in a Twitter stream because I’m lazy, and also because I don’t like to click on random links. I need a little preface before I can commit to opening a link.

But here’s the thing I am really hating lately. People are using Twitter as an instant messenger service. It’s very awkward to be sort of eavesdropping on a conversation between people who aren’t talking to you. I mean, I follow them both, so they have to know that others are there, but they are talking to each other, not me. And yet there it is, filling in my Twitter stream. Seriously. If you have that much to say to each other, get on IM.

Also, if you have so much to say that it takes six consecutive Tweets, it’s probably just time to write a blog post.

I used to love to catch up on Twitter in the mornings, or on my iPhone while I was out. But lately it’s just too much trouble to sift through all those tweets. I know I miss a lot of tweets from my friends, maybe even tweets directed at me, but my patience and attention span are limited.

I’m sure I just sound bitchy. This is probably  just a natural evolution of Twitter. Maybe the social media gurus predicted this turn it would take. I didn’t. Maybe I just need to cull down the people I follow so it’s easier to sift through it all. I don’t know. Maybe it’s just time to take a Twitter break.

What do you all think? Is Twitter still all you thought it would be? Do you still like it, or do you Tweet out of obligation – to keep up your social media credibility? More importantly, do you think I’m just a bitch?

One of my (many) idiosyncrasies is that I seem to attach a lot of memory and emotion to smells, maybe more even than sights or sounds. I just always have. Smelling lilies will always remind me of my wedding day, no matter what, even at a funeral. There is a certain cologne for men that has been worn by two guys I have dated. They were both assholes, so whenever I smell it, which is thankfully not that often, I think “Oh, that’s the Asshole Cologne,” and I think of both of them. Two weeks ago when I saw The King’s Speech, I started to smell the cologne of a man sitting near me somewhere. It was very nice, not anything I could name but I liked it a lot. And now I am convinced that is what Colin Firth smells like.

Today on my coffee date, I was early because the weather was bad and I thought parking would be way worse than it was. I was also a little nervous so I had to pee a lot. I went to the bathroom and then washed my hands, like you do. Fast forward to the date, which was nice. We sat and chatted for three hours and never had an awkward pause. He’s nice looking, not HAWT but I don’t care about that. But I kept thinking, “Wow, I really don’t care for his cologne AT ALL.”

After the date was over, I got in the car and I could still smell it  and it was driving me crazy. The I realized it was not his cologne at all. It was the smell of the hand soap from the bathroom at the coffee place. I think another date will be in order so I can decide how I feel about him, sans the lingering odor of industrial hand cleaner.

Oh god, what if he thinks that’s how I smell?

P.S. We are going out again either Wednesday or next Saturday. As I said he’s super nice. The only thing that concerns me a wee bit is that personality wise, he reminds me quite a bit of The Ex. Could be good, could be bad. We’ll see.