I Need a Red Shell

If you heard someone say "I need a red shell" what do you think they'd be referring to?

Although there aren't any red ones here, you'd probably think of sea shells.


(Photo courtesy of the gorgeous beaches of Sanibel Island, Florida.)

Well, the red shell that I'm talking about looks more like this:


If you've ever played Nintendo, and any Mario game, then you recognize the red shell. I've already talked about how great I think the Wii is. Well, now that the newest version of MarioKart is out, Wii is even better.

When you play you are a Nintendo character (i.e. Mario, Luigi, Donkey Kong, etc.) driving a cart or a motorcycle (with names like the Super Blooper or Sugarscoot). The game comes with a small steering wheel that you put the Wii remote into. The race courses are places like castles, the jungle, a gold mine, and lots of other places from other Mario games. So obviously it doesn't seem "realistic" when you play.

Yet for some reason, after playing the game for a couple of weeks, it sort of changes the way you feel when you are driving your own car. I first realized this when I was a passenger and my husband was driving and muttered under his breath "I need a red shell" in response to the heavy traffic we were in on the highway. (A red shell is an item you pick up while racing that you can hurl at people in front of you. It hits them and knocks them into the air, allowing you to gain on them.) A few days later I found myself in similar traffic, and I honestly had the same thought cross my mind--if I just had a red shell, I could knock this annoying minivan in front of me out of the way.

I've seen recent news stories about concerns over video games being too realistic. The premise is that playing violent video games leads to aggressive and violent behavior in children. I wonder if playing MarioKart could be linked to incidents of road rage in adults?

Right Brain vs. Left Brain

This is an interesting test to see whether you are more right brain dominant or left brain dominant. Which way does she spin for you? Clockwise means you use more of the right side of your brain.



I can only see her spinning clockwise, no matter how hard I try. For a brief moment I thought I saw counter clockwise, but it was just a split second and then it was gone.

*Update: After much staring, I finally see counter clockwise also. And I can switch back and forth between them!

Lament Of A Working Mom

While I enjoy reading other people's blogs that include rants about various things that annoy them, as of yet I haven't written any posts that would fall into that category. (The closest to a rant would probably be complaining about my dogs destroying Christmas trees or stealing muffins.)

As any working parents know, juggling work and family schedules can be challenging. My daughter is now 9, and for some reason things seem to be getting tougher.

When I came back to work after a 3 month maternity leave, I was determined to handle it all. I continued nursing exclusively, refusing to give up and rely on formula. I had milk pumping and storage down to a science. I never gave my kid a single drop of formula. She slept straight through the night. I was excelling at my job. This working mom thing isn't so tough, I thought.

I still think I'm doing OK with balancing things as far as "getting it all done" goes. Not great, but at least keeping my head above water. But lately I've been running into situations that really are just impossible for working parents.

It's just little things. Like the cast party for the play that someone was thoughtful enough to schedule at 3:30. The tennis lessons that would be really fun, but start at 4:00pm. The awesome horseback riding camp that is 9:00am--Noon Monday--Friday.

I don't need my child to be completely over scheduled, with an activity happening nearly every night of the week. I just want to be able to say yes more than I have to say no when she asks about getting involved in something. Instead, I always have to say "We'll see, let me look into it" and then hope that whatever it is happens after 5:30pm or on a weekend.

Lately I've just been feeling like the only Mom that acually has to be at work from 8 to 5 every day. Well, maybe not the only one, but certainly feeling like I'm in the minority.

So even though no one that could matter will ever read this, I'm going to pretend for a moment that they will. Planning summer activities for children? Well, in addition to the "Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10:00am--11:00am" option, why not throw in a 6:00pm--7:00pm option? Does the swim team need to practice exclusively weekday mornings in the outdoor pool? What's wrong with an evening or Saturday morning in the indoor pool instead? And most importantly--if it's a one-time event for something my kid is already involved in, DO NOT schedule the ending celebration at 3:30pm on a Wednesday. Is that so much to ask?

I Hear Voices

Some of the blogs I like have posted about their issues with annoying sounds. I have a pretty sensitive sense of hearing myself, but not so much for strange noises. I can recognize any celebrity voice, whether it is in a commercial, or in an animated movie, or as a narrator in a film. Sometimes I know who a voice is as soon as I hear it, other times it takes me a bit to figure it out.

I remember seeing The Incredibles in the theater and obsessing over who was the voice of Syndrome. I had to figure it out by the end of the movie, before the credits. That was a kind of tough one, but I did it.

Thanks to my precious TiVo, I rarely am forced to watch commercials. But when I have to, the only ones I pay attention to are those with celebrity voices. George Clooney for Budweiser, Gene Hackman for Lowes, I can name them all.

Despite the proven history of my ability, my power is still met with doubt. Sometimes, I can't prove who a voice is, especially with commercials. But I just know I am right. The most recent that comes to mind is the voice in Hyundai commercials. I am certain that my statement of "That's The Dude" is 100% accurate, even though I cannot definitely prove it.

I found two fun online games, if you want to test your own ear:

Celebrity Challenge

Animations Anonymous

My Awesome Garden

I'm not sure if there is a more perfect food than the fresh, home-grown tomato. (Well, maybe smoothies. But since they aren't a single food item, it's not the same thing.) I love it when people bring bags of fresh-picked tomatoes from their garden in to the office later in the summer. I like the other things from the gardens, too--zucchini, beans, peppers--but you can keep all of those if I get the tomatoes.

Every year since I've owned a house I've thought about planting my own garden. I think I may have even attempted it once in my last house. I have just a vague memory of a few tomato plants and some chicken wire, but since that's literally all I can picture I don't think it went well. I must have blocked it out.

So finally, this is the year. Really, it is. I got smart about the whole thing. I had a landscaper put in a small (12x6) raised bed, fill it with lovely soil, and surround it with chicken wire.



Now since the hardest part is done, I am excited about getting the real gardening started. While I truly know virtually nothing about gardening, I think with the head start I have this year I should be able to do OK. I mean, how hard can it be?

I have a rough idea of what I want to grow, and I'm looking forward to picking out the plants. A few pepper plants (jalapeno, habanero, pablano) zucchini, cucumber, some herbs, and a few tomato plants.

We also have a giant cabbage plant that I was hoping to make room for, but after reading about it I think it's going to have to go in its own spot somewhere else. My daughter has named him "Tim" and thinks he is going to have a prime spot in the garden. But he needs 3 feet on each side and that would take up pretty much the whole garden, so he's going to need a separate home.

So wish me luck. I just hope that I have this same motivation when it's 90 degrees outside and humid and the garden needs to be weeded...

Doggie DNA

Both of my dogs are mutts. My definition of mutt is simply a dog that is not considered "purebred". I really take offense to the definition that says a mutt is "an inferior dog". My dogs may be goof-balls. They may not be the most well-behaved that you will ever encounter. They sometimes chew things they aren't supposed to, they bark too much, and they have poor table manners. But they are also affectionate, loyal, smart, laid-back, and happy.



Gypsy is a Shepherd and Elkhound mix. She weighs just over 50 lbs., but her ideal weight is probably closer to 40 lbs. When she was a puppy people always thought she was a full-bred...something. You look at her and you first see the shepherd, then you realize her tail is curled up, and upon closer inspection you realize you can't tell what she is exactly. When she was around 3 (and much closer to her ideal weight) people always thought that she was a young puppy because of the look she has, like she still had some growing to do. She's nearly 12 now and if it weren't for her girth she could still pass for a spry 3 year old. (In human years that's like saying she's 84 but could pass for 21. She would definitely get carded.)

Luna's picture should be next to "mutt" in the dictionary. When we got her last May she was only 3 months old and she looked like a black lab puppy, with just a little white on her chest. She's now 14 months old, and if you didn't know any better you'd still think she was a black lab puppy. She weighs about 33 lbs., she's still mostly all black, but her chest, belly and toes all have some white. Not a lot of white, just a coating. And that's what it looks like, too--like someone just brushed some white paint lightly over her just underneath. Underneath everywhere, including her tail and her chin. Her face actually looks like she stuck her snout into a bowl of milk, sort of a milk goatee. So based on the coloring and the size, there is no telling what she's mixed with. Lab for sure. Maybe beagle, maybe some dachshund too.

I have a friend who sent her dog's DNA to a lab to find out what breeds he comes from. It's been a few months and she is still waiting for the results. I thought about doing it for Luna. She used the Canine Heritage Breed Test, but there are several different products available. If her dog's results come back and are interesting I may do it.

I Got Carded!

It was a nearly empty bar in the Pittsburgh airport. My flight was delayed, so I decided to grab a beer to kill some time. I order some food and a Sam Adams, and without missing a beat the waitress asks to see my ID.

"Really?"

"Yes, I'm sorry. We have to check for anyone that looks close."

"No, it's no problem. No problem at all. Here you go."

It only takes a quick glance, and she raises her eyebrows, looks at me, then back to the ID.

"Oh, geez. Wow. Sorry."

So the shock at seeing my actual age was really unnecessary, don't you think? It almost undid the joy of her asking to see the ID in the first place. Almost.

Since 40 is right around the corner for me, I felt I had to document this event. This could very well be the last time EVER that I am legitimately mistaken for someone under the age of 21.

And I don't care what anyone says, she wasn't doing it just to get a good tip. I routinely tip 40% for the high-quality food you find in airport restaurants.