Goodbye Mona

She adored me, I adored her for almost 16 years.  She could leap into my arms from the floor.  In her younger years she was fond of riding on my left shoulder.  Recently she slept tucked under my arm every night.

When we first found each other, she was in a coma. The paperwork from her blood tests stated “incompatible with life”. When she came out of it, she was blind and angry.  It took a few months of visits for us to bond, and from that point on we were hooked on each other.

Life without her is going to take some getting used to. 

 

Lilyism

While trying to explain the unexpected death of someone close to John:

Lily: Was he old and his body quit working?

Me:  No, he had an accident.

Lily: You mean he peed in his pants and died?

Phrases I’ll never use again

after this class ends:  Quartile deviation.  Transformed Z score. And there are oh-so-many more.

I have the pleasure of a 9-5 Statistics Marathon each Saturday for the next month.  I surprised myself by following and mostly understanding the 4-hour lecture part.  Then even got a couple of problems correct in practice.  Of course there are entire chunks of info I haven’t wrapped my brain around yet.  I have lots of homework. Due on Monday.  I haven’t recovered yet from today, and I need to face more Greek symbols and painful thought process tomorrow.

I feel fried after class today, but not yet defeated.  I’ll let you know after next week.

Mary wore her Red Dress…

 

 

I’m attending the opening of the Red Dress Collection next week, and just check out some of the models:

More than 20 prestigious designers are creating red dresses, which will be modeled by musical luminaries including Amerie, Bebe Neuwirth, CeCe Winans, Christina Milian, Debbie Harry, Eartha Kitt, Jossie Perez, LeAnn Rimes, Lee Ann Womack, Michelle Phillips, Nelly Furtado, Sheryl Crow, Shirley Manson, and Thalía. During Fashion Week, The Heart Truth booth will offer free heart disease risk factor screening and special promotions from the Red Dress Collection 2006 sponsors.

Yes, Shirley Manson.  I could not possibly be any more excited to maybe meet her.  Be so close to her.  And to think that these are just the big names on stage….many more will be in the audience.  They will see my face to open the show….yikes!

 Go Red!

Friday, February 3rd is the day to wear red for women’s heart health and the fight against the #1 killer of women:  heart disease.  Any bit of red will do:  socks, tie, top, purse, shoes, scarf, whatever you’ve got.  Check these resources to get yourself a Red Dress Pin, and to find a list of Red Dress activities in your area:

Go Red For Women

The Heart Truth

 

Hard to explain

Today Sandy stopped by to say hello.  We chatted for just a few minutes, she picked up some things I had borrowed, and she stopped in the dining room to say goodbye to Lil. 

Lily was attached to the basement door doorknob by way of the dog’s leash hooked to her pants.  She was surrounded by blocks which she had built into a pen, complete with a bowl of unicorn snacks and water within reach.   Lily happily “neigh-neighed” goodbye.

Thankfully Sandaura is not our adoption social worker, and hopefully no one will ever catch us when we’re using the laundry basket as unicorn jail. 

Ethiopian Idol

Hard to believe the Idol craze has even taken over Ethiopia.  The average family income per year is $400.  Who is watching this show?

 thanks, mom.

Lilyism

While gazing up at John from the shopping cart:

“Hey, Daddy….I think there’s a spider stuck in your nose.  I can see its long black legs up there.”

Red Dress Collection 2006

We spent the day in NYC to shoot a video for the opening of the Red Dress Collection runway show on Feburary 3.  I was a bit nervous, but the production agency was lovely and made us feel right at home. I had a manicure with seriously red polish, and 2 hours on hair and make-up.  Sometimes several people were fussing with me at once.   I was interviewed for about 45 minutes, although it didn’t seem as long.  Kevin Krier, the owner/director of the group creating the show did the interviewing.  He was delightful. He’s been to Africa.  I wanted to have the rest of the afternoon just to chat with him.  Here is another photo on the set, taken by an extraordinarly handsome camera man.  I’m hoping I come off better on video than in these photos.

Then it was Lily’s turn.  She was charming, as usual.  I felt a bit like a stage mom, standing on the sidelines making sure she didn’t say or do anything ridiculous. 

The show is Feburary 3rd, and I will attend if I’m not in Ethiopia.  This year the theme is music, and many musicians will be modeling.  They wouldn’t tell me who, but don’t think I didn’t try to get it out of them.  I mentioned Tori when asked about my favorite female rockers.  Maybe she’ll be there. 

Wouldn’t it be a riot if my bum heart was the reason I got to meet Tori?

I’ve moved!

Just moved in, and the comments didn’t move with me from my old place.  It’s nice here, many more options and a pretty layout.  Glad you found me!