Top Ten Books of 2009

It's no secret that I love to read. I am an avid reader. Have been since I was a wee lass. In fact, I have a hard time going to sleep if I don't read at least a few pages after I lay down each night. I just love the way a good book can suck you down into its world. I suppose I am an escapist.

I do believe in the transformative power of literature. Of it's ability to lift us up, transport us, transfix us. To scare us silly. And perhaps most importantly, to bring us joy.

The following books were those that most inspired me in 2009.

1. The Book Thief - Markus Zusak: Told from the perspective of Death, this is the wonderful, sad story of a young girl in WWII Germany. I loved this book. I cried, happy and sad tears.

2. Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman: (genre: Supernatural) After he saves a young woman, Richard Mayhew finds himself thrust into a fantastic world under London. In a mad chase to find the murderers of the young woman's family, he finds himself as well. I loved this book! LOVED. IT.

3. Water For Elephants - Sara Gruen: (genre: Fiction) Great book. When I checked it out, the librarian said I would cry. Well, I didn't, but I can see why he (I know, right?!) would say that. It was touching and vivid, a taste of circus life in the 30s. As well as the sadness and frustration of an old man living in a retirement home.

4. Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins: (genre: Young Adult/Fiction) The sequel to The Hunger Games. I loved that book and this one did not let me down. It kept me riveted from the get go, wondering what was going to happen and surprised at plot twists. Now, the torture of waiting for the third (and I hope final) book to come out. Check out my full review at Blissfully Domestic.

5. The Guernsay Literary and Potato Peel Society - Mary Ann Shafer: (genre: Historical Fiction) A truly wonderful book. Told through letters, this book is engaging and emotional. I was reading it on the treadmill when I got to a certain part (when you read it, you'll know where I'm talking about) and I started crying. At the gym. It's that good.

6. The Motion of the Ocean - Janna Cawrse Esarey: (genre: Non-fiction/Memoire) A couple makes a trans-pacific journey on their sailboat discovering more than just how to navigate an ocean. An engrossing and beautifully written book. Check out my full review at Blissfully Domestic.

7. The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman: (genre: Young Adult) The tale of a young boy who after being orphaned as a toddler is raised by the ghostly inhabitants of a local graveyard. A beautiful and well written tale.

8. This Is Where I Leave You - Jonathon Tropper: (genre: Fiction) Shortly after separating from his wife, Judd Foxman's father dies. As a last wish, his father requested that his wife and four children sit shiva, a Jewish tradition where the family stays in the family home to mourn the dead for seven days. Not an easy task given just how dysfunctional the Foxman family is. At times painfully graphic, this novel is intelligent and heartbreaking and real.

9. The Maze Runner - James Dashner: (genre: Fiction, Young Adult) When he awakens at the bottom of a black hole with faces looking down at him from the only opening at the top, Thomas has no idea what has happened or what to expect. What he finds is that he has been placed among a group of boys living in a compound at the center of a maze and all he wants is out.

10. How I Became a Famous Novelist - Steve Hely: (genre: Fiction) After being fired from his shady job writing college entrance essays, Pete decides he'll find fame and fortune by writing a novel. A charming faux-memoire that kept me thoroughly entertained and questioning my own thoughts on popular fiction.

11. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon: (genre: Fiction, Supernatural, Mystery) Daniel finds a book written by an unknown author when he is 10. As he grows older, a search for the author leads him on the chase of a decades old love story.

12. At Least in the City Someone Would Hear Me Scream - Wade Rouse: (genre: Memoire, Comedy) Fabulous gay man drags his equally fabulous boyfriend to a remote Michigan cabin to find his inner Thoreau. Funny, touching, and insightful.

13. Life As We Knew It - Susan Beth Pfeffer: (genre: Young Adult) The diary of a young girl's experience after the moon is struck by a meteor, causing massive environmental backlash on Earth. I loved this book!

Alright, so not all of these were published in 2009. But that is when I read them, and since this is my blog, they're the top books of 2009. Also, there are 13 books on my list. Cause I couldn't narrow it down to 10. Bite me.

Hail Mary

After two weeks of hawking votes from my friends, family and readers, the final day is HERE!



Voting for the Baltimore Sun Maryland Outstanding Blog Awards finishes today at 5pm. So please take a moment to head on over there and cast your vote for the Best Family category. Don't forget to also vote for Best Overall. (You do NOT have to live in Maryland, or even the US for that matter, to vote!)

Top Ten Reasons to Vote For the Land of Bean:

1. LoB could also stand for Lots o' Bacon. And who can't get behind that?!

2. I can recite every word from every single Mel Brooks movie ever made. Holy underpants!

3. I always use turn signals.

4. My hair is silky, silky soft.

5. I use excellent punctuation..

6. If I win, I pledge to improve the food in the cafeteria. Wait, this isn't the campaign for senior class president?

7. I never pick my nose in public. Well, not often. Okay, sometimes...but I'm discreet.

8. I prefer using polysyllabic words whenever possible. Onomatopoeia! Bam!

9. I make a mean bowl of chili. Which in turn makes a mean bowl of indigestion, but it's totally worth it.

10. Because this face:
















Will become this face*, if I don't win:















Thanks for all of your support!

*These photos were taken approximately 1.7 seconds apart.

Friday Top Ten: A Traveling We Will GoGo

To condense our trip down into a palatable selection, the top ten travel tidbits from the Kansas Trip of Aught Nine:

1. On our way to the airport, we saw cops chasing a bad guy. On foot. It happened about five minutes from our house. We live in a NICE suburban neighborhood. Two cop cars had stopped to talk to the guy, he got spooked or whatever and took off running. The two cops ran after him. We were driving by at exactly the right time to see it happen. At one point he was running right next to our car. It was wild.

2. Once again the "Cara Curse" struck. No matter where I go, I bring bad weather. My parents have threatened to hire me out to farmers in need of rain. Despite weather forecasts in the upper 70s/low 80s, it was quite cool the whole time we were there. So cool, in fact that I had to go buy heavier clothes for Sophie and a cardigan for myself. Which is why she was in the baggy clothes during our croquet match. Her 23 month old body just doesn't fill out 18mo clothes.















3. The GoGo Kidz Travelmate is freaking awesome. Seriously. If you're traveling with a toddler any time soon, you MUST get one. They made life so much easier. Sophie even liked riding in her car seat through the airport.

4. Sophie loves riding in my parent's golf cart. Almost as much as my husband likes driving around in it. So it's a win/win. Too bad neither of them like golf.















5. Grandpas are physically incapable of resisting the wiles of a smiling two year old grand-daughter.

6. While she will violently fight being put into one and climb out within minutes, one of her favorite activities at (IN) my parent's house was being pushed around in her stroller.















7. The flight there was pretty painless. The flight back? Not so much. It's amazing how much noise one tiny little body can make and how loud that will seem in a quiet, dark airplane at 9 o'clock at night.















8. A knee walker will keep a toddler occupied for a surprisingly long time. Like four days. A mother will get tired of pushing a toddler around on a knee walker after about 10 minutes.






















9. Amazingly, despite the fact that I ate pretty much everything that came within my reach, including some of the best barbecue anywhere*, I only gained one pound. It seems that vacation calories really don't count. Yay!

10. I have the wingspan of a King Vulture. I'm trying not to read anything into that.
















*Add to the Only in a Small Town file: When the rib joint we got carryout bbq from forgot to pack my sandwich, we called up and they brought it out to us. They do NOT deliver, they're just that nice. That's Kansas courtesy, folks.

Friday Top Ten: Reasons I May Not Actually Be A Girl

I know you've all been saying to yourselves, where oh where has the Friday Top Ten gone? I love lists, I really do, but doing the FTT started to feel a little flat, so I shelved it until I had something interesting to write. I didn't want to do it just to do it, juknow? But I've been inspired.

Lately, I feel a little on the outside. I just don't seem to fit in with the girl set. Obviously, I'm a woman, I have the scars from the fourth degree tears to prove it, but sometimes I don't think I'm a girl.

Top Ten Reasons I Don't Qualify For The Estrogen Club

1. I love Sci-Fi. Star Wars was my first love and it has only gone on from there. I'm about a half step away from showing up at Comicon in a Princess Leia costume. Btw, have you seen District 9? IT. WAS. AWESOME.

2. I am not a phone person. Which isn't to say that I don't settle in for the occasional telephonic gabfest, but days and days will go by where I don't talk to anyone on the phone other than Neil. And I'm okay with that.

3. I text, but like twice a week. I just don't have that much to share.

4. I don't enjoy shopping. Don't get me wrong, I like looking good, but I just don't enjoy spending much time having to think about it. I want in and out and done with it. And window shopping? Ranks right up there with a root canal.

5. I can't stand reality TV. American Idol, The Bachelor, So You Think You Can Dance, The Hills, Survivor and so on. Major snooze. And sometimes actually kind of creepy/sad.

6. I don't like cleaning. Who does, right? But many women seem to have this compulsion to do it, maybe it's a nesting instinct. Whatever it is, I don't have it. As evidenced by the shetland pony sized dust bunnies galloping around my living room.

7. I have no gift for interior decorating. I just can't seem to visualize the big picture. I would like to buy pages 17, 26 and 43 out of the Pottery Barn catalog and magically transport them to my house.

8. Despite using it for more than 20 years, I still feel hopeless and a little bit Tammy Fae whenever I attempt to apply makeup beyond my basics: bare minerals powder, concealer, mascara and lipstick.

9. I eat like I'm in a competition. Seriously, I can take down a sandwich like a python with its jaw unhinged.

10. Foreplay? Take it or leave it.

There you have it. I'm clearly not a girl. Can we still be friends?

Friday Top Ten: Anywhere But Here

I've been feeling pretty frustrated lately. Sophie is so inquisitive, which I guess is good, but she is also EXTREMELY willful, which is not so good. She is into everything and simply will not accept no for an answer. Maybe someday that will do her good, but for now it is driving me crazy. Some days I just wish I could teleport myself away. Away from the crying and screaming. Away from the "Stop! Don't! Get down! Please eat! Don't eat that! Another poopie diaper?! Arghhhh!"

Ten things I wish I was doing right now, if time, money, distance and my 30-something metabolism were no issue:

1. Sipping a cup of tea in a sidewalk cafe on the Champs Elysee while I admire the gorgeous fashions of zee French ladies.

2. Sunbathing on a white sand beach in Playa del Carmen, Mexico while charming little Mexican men bring me salty, limey margaritas.

3. Laying in bed. All day. Anywhere that has no kids. And no cats. Just me and a stack of books.

4. Looking out over Loch Ness from the battlements of a medieval castle, fancying I see a head poking up through the waves.

5. Eating beignets in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Listening to all the fun accents and wishing I could live in one of the beautiful wrought-iron adorned homes.

6. Driving on the back roads of Kansas. Nothing but wheat and cornfields in any direction.

7. Enjoying a full day of pampering at the spa in the hotel we stayed at for our wedding/honeymoon in Cabo San Lucas.

8. Drinking copious quantities of ale from gigundus steins in a beerhaus in Munich.

9. On an unlimited shopping spree in New York City with my best friend to tell me what not to buy and a personal driver so we don't have to toddle around on our mile high Louboutins. (How freaking fabulous are those shoes!!)

10. At an all you can eat crab leg buffet, melted butter up to my elbows and a never empty ice-cold Dr. Pepper at my fingertips.

Where would you go? What would you do?

Have a great weekend!

Friday Top 20: Random Things

Becky tagged me for this a couple of weeks ago. I thought it would be hard, but turns out I'm pretty random. So here goes, twenty random things about myself:

1. I can juggle and ride a unicycle. But not at the same time. What am I? A circus performer?

2. I am incredibly indecisive. It took me a half an hour to pick out one tube of lipstick at Sephora. Imagine what it is like for me trying to decide on an item from the catalog-sized menu at Cheesecake Factory!

3. While I have now lived in Maryland almost longer than I lived in Kansas, I will always be a Kansas girl at heart.

4. I hate being hot. You can always add more clothes or blankets to get warm, however when it's hot, you can only go so far. At some point you're naked and still hot.

5. My daughter has the same name as one of my childhood pets.

6. Grape gum turns my stomach.

7. At least one foot has to be uncovered when I sleep. But it absolutely, positively can NOT hang over the edge.

8. Every night, as I head up to bed, I have to check that all the doors are locked. Even if I have just walked in one of them, locking it behind me, I will come back and pull it to make sure.

9. I am a phone-phobic. I get super nervous whenever I call someone, even someone as benign as pizza delivery. I'm sure it dates back to my short-lived telemarketing career. Never yell at telemarketers, it may scar them for life.

10. I love Coca-Cola, but only over ice or in a can. I can't drink it from a plastic bottle. It just tastes wrong.

11. Against all odds, I'm actually not hating working out every day. Who'd a thunk it?

12. I can't stand country music, but I love me some Patsy Cline.

13. I was crazy about Star Wars as a kid. I wanted to be Princess Leia so bad I could taste it.

14. I am pretty sure I am the reincarnation of someone rich and famous, otherwise how do you explain this imperious attitude?

15. I have visited New York City more times than I can count and have never been to the Statue of Liberty.

16. I was not given a middle name at birth. It's something of a family tradition that girls are not given middle names with the expectation that when we marry we will make our maiden name our middle name. And so I have. We didn't give Sophie a middle name, either.

17. I have three first cousins, total, all only children.

18. I sleep on the left side of the bed, which according to some theories means I am in the driver's seat of our marriage. That sounds about right. (I love you, Neil! :))

19. When I was a kid, I had a pet turtle we found on the side of the road. We kept it in a kiddie pool and I made grasshopper soup for it by mashing up live grasshoppers. Yeah, that's not gruesome at all.

20. About once a week, I actually try to move things with my mind. Someday it's going to work.

So there you go, more Cara quirks. I'm not going to tag anyone, but feel free to do this if you'd like.

Have a great weekend!

Friday Top Ten: Why I Hate Going To The Lady Doctor

I had my annual exam today. I should start this by saying that I actually love my Ob/Gyn. I've been going to him for 8 years. He's been super supportive through some rough patches and a great encouragement in the good years, including the birth of my daughter. He has been nothing less than an excellent physician. He tells me I'm pretty and pinches my cheek, and not in a pervy way. Despite this, going for my annual visit is just not fun. No matter how nice the doctor, how gentle his touch, it feels like an invasion and it doesn't really get any easier the older I get. But beyond that, there are a few things that drive me a little nutso.

1. Waiting - First in the waiting room and then in the exam room. I know it is impossible for them to keep exactly, to the minute, on schedule, and maybe if I were waiting for, say, a massage, or cake, I would be less on edge, but the minutes just drag by.

2. The Paper Gown - First off, I always rip it when I am putting it on, so it's more like I'm wearing two shoulder covers, and secondly, could the thing be more scratchety? I'm betting these wonders are not super cheap, so why can't they be made out of the same material as fancy paper napkins? That, I would be happy to wear.

3. The Vaginas and Uteri - They're everywhere. Pictures on the walls, plastic models on the tables and counters. I suppose they're used for explanatory purposes, but I could do with seeing a little less of my insides.

4. Peeing in the Cup - No matter how much I've drunk in preparation, I always get stagefright. My bladder, that lets go when I even think about sneezing, gives me the big thumbs down and I wind up hovering and worrying that I won't be able to produce the needed 1 to 2 ounces. Then when it finally does get going, my aim leaves a LOT to be desired. I understand a woman's anatomy (thanks to all of the diagrams) and I still don't know where the pee actually comes out.

5. The Magazines - I don't go to the doctor to read O and Harper's Bazaar. I want the guilty pleasure stuff I won't buy for myself: People, Us Weekly, heck, I'll even take a Reader's Digest. I mean who doesn't love Humor in Uniform?

6. Getting Weighed - Why, oh why, do we have to go through this torturous ritual. I swear the nurse puts her foot on the scale behind me. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

7. Stinky Feet - I always worry that my feet will smell. That my doctor will be doing his business, just inches from my piggies, and he will be overcome by the stench. He will then put a black mark in my file and I will be blacklisted from Gynos everywhere, a la Elaine on Seinfeld.

8. The Surly Phlebotomist - I'm not sure if it's just the ladies I have encountered or if the somewhat gruesome nature of the job gets to people after a while, but the bloodletters always seem so cranky.

9. Pharmaceutical Company Free Gifts: The card holder sponsored by Vagimel (wasn't he a character on the Smurfs) or the calendar by Hysterigard. Seriously, who comes up with these names?

10. The Aftergoo. How can I put this delicately? Doctor requires lubrication. Lubricating material doesn't disappear after its purpose is completed. Is that non-graphic enough for you guys? All I can say is, yuck.

What's your least favorite thing about going to the doctor? (Lula, you don't count because you have the perfect doctor!)

Have a great weekend!

Friday Top Ten: Why Cats are like Toddlers

The other day, Sophie climbed up onto the table next to the recliner. Instinctively, I turned to the squirt bottle that I use to "discipline" the cats. A term I use loosely because after 8 years in the case of Potter and 3 for Gomez both are still doing all of the behaviors that will get them squirted. I had my hand on the trigger before I realized what I was doing. It was then that it dawned on me just how similar life with our two cats is to living with a toddler. But the similarities continue:

1. I have to clean up both of their poo*.
   
2. The both hear me say "NO!" and keep right on what they're doing.
3. They are both incredibly finicky about their food and have been known to dump the entire contents of their dishes out in protest.
4. Toddlers like to drag things/cats like to chase things.
5. Both the cats and the toddler feel the need to put themselves in between me and whatever I'm working on, looking at or reading.
6. They both have an uncomfortable (for me) interest in the toilet, and not for its intended use.
   
7. They both pretend not to hear me about 95% of the time.
8. Both knock things down for no reason other than to see it fall.
9. They both manage to take up 75% of the bed despite the fact that neither has a body mass that exceeds 15% of either my husband or myself.
10. They both love boxes.
    

Have a great weekend!

*Or shadoobie, my new favorite word, as the wonderful Lula would say.

Friday Top Ten - Thoughts of a Ski Bum

After a couple week hiatus, I bring you the triumphant return of the Friday Top Ten! Growing up, we went skiing pretty much every year. Our usual destination was Colorado, since we lived in Kansas and it's just next door. Although it is still a 10 hour drive, which is really long when you're stuffed in the back seat of an extended cab pickup with your younger sister. Which we took because it was four wheel drive and my mom's corvette wouldn't fit all of us. Obviously. Listen to me complain about taking nice vacations. Also, our house was too big and I had too many friends. Boo hoo.

Anyhoo, we often met my mom's brother and his daughter who is four years younger than me. We three girls would generally head out on our own while the adults did their own thing. On one occasion, my cousin managed to get her jacket caught on the lift as she got off and was lifted into the air as it circled the top of the lift. She made it about 15 feet, mostly upright but screaming the whole way, before they stopped the lift, reversed and got her down. My sister and I stood there watching, mouths most likely hanging to our knees, until they got her back on terra firma and then we laughed, hysterically. To this day, it is one of the funniest things I have ever witnessed and I kick myself for not having had a camera with me. Unfortunately for the subject of today's Top Ten, plenty of people did have cameras.

My parents told me about this story shortly after they returned last week from their own luxury ski vacation at Vail, Colorado (not bitter and jealous, at all) and then my friend Dennis was kind enough to send me a link to the story. (You absolutely, positively have to click on the link.) It's a fellow who ran into a mighty unfortunate snag while loading an express ski lift at Vail. Here are just a few of the thoughts that probably ran through his mind as he dangled (in many senses) for FIFTEEN minutes waiting to be rescued.

1. I think this is what you call BAD NAKED.
2. I paid $100 a day for this lift ticket and it takes them 15 minutes to hit the reverse button?
3. Don't judge, it's cold!
4. You know when you say that felt like the longest 15 minutes of your life, well that was the longest 15 minutes of my life.
5. Wish I hadn't just trimmed, I could use a little coverage right about now.
6. My kid sat looking at the underside of my junk for 15 minutes. Yeah, that's not gonna affect him.
   
7. Maybe I should have skipped that last Irish Coffee.
8. Mark off one more place I'm never visiting again.
9. This brings new meaning to "exposure."
10. Man, my cheeks are RED.

This is especially apropos as we'll be off skiing in the wilds of western Maryland next weekend. Keep your fingers crossed that no one in our party runs into this sort of trouble!

Have a great weekend!!

Friday Top Ten - Procrastination

I should be baking right now. Or Christmas shopping. Or cleaning. I just can't get myself going. It's amazing how many ways you can find to postpone doing things that you aren't super excited about. Which is weird because I actually do enjoy baking and shopping, I guess it's that I have to do them that makes them not so much fun. Cleaning, on the other hand, never fun. Here are the top ten things that have been distracting me:

1. Blogging. Always with the blogging. Neil says I am an addict. I resent that. Mostly because it's true.

2. Cutting my husband's hair. He was WAY overdue for a cut. It absolutely, positively had to be done tonight.

3. A nap. Sleep is very important.

4. Printing out more Christmas cards. Crap. I ordered Laser paper when we have an Inkjet. That's $25 down the drain and now I need to find more paper lickety split. Gotta cruise the internet to look for it.

5. Reading last week's Entertainment Weekly that somehow I haven't finished yet. Gotta get my Hollywood fix.

6. Organizing my craft shelves. Is it bad when you're avoiding work with work?

7. Play with Sophie. She NEEDS me to assist in 52 pickup.

8. Watch that episode of the Mentalist that has been sitting in the DVR for too long.

9. Find out how fast I type. (78 wpm)

10. Play with the present that I wasn't supposed to open until Christmas. Oops! Cat's out of the bag. I have no self control.
















Now, I really do need to get to work. Have a great weekend!

Friday Top Ten - Secret Santa Spectacular

I'm going to my first holiday themed moms' get together this afternoon. Of course, there will be the obligatory Secret Santa gift exchange. I always agonize about what to get, worrying that whatever it is, they will hate it/already have it/get the same thing. Plus, it's so hard to find things that fall under the price limit. For this event, we put a limit of $10. I decided that the $10 limit didn't include tax, so I went just a skosh over, but I won't tell if you don't. It got me to thinking about what are good gifts for women for this sort of thing and I came up with the following list.

1. Candles - They're an oldie, but a goodie. I don't know a single woman that doesn't enjoy candles. I have so many that my husband threatened legal action if I went to one more PartyLite party. You can do the always popular Yankee Candle or something a little more festive.

2. Lotion - I confess to having a lotion fetish. A bottle can be found in pretty much every room of the house. Probably because I have crazy dry skin. A great option is a collection of travel sizes. They're perfect to toss in your purse and use on the go.

3. Tea - I fall on the side of confirmed tea fanatic, but even if you don't love it, it's one of those things that is nice to have in the house.

4. Eye mask - I never thought I would use these, but lately I find a mask is really helpful for those midday naps that new moms HAVE to take.

5. Mixing cups/bowls - Most women, even those that don't really enjoy cooking, like neat kitchen toys. And what's neater than a collapsable mixing bowl? It's super functional and saves space.

6. Picture Frame - What woman doesn't love putting up pictures of her loved ones? Not any that I know.

7. Kitchen Utensils - Super functional stuff is a can't miss. So many of us will be cooking turkeys over the holidays and who couldn't use a basting set?

8. Cocoa Mix - It is so lovely to sip a warm glass of cocoa on a cool day. It warms you from the inside out. There are so many varieties, but you can never go wrong with Godiva!

9. Socks - What's better on a cold winter's night than a pair of fuzzy, super-soft socks?

10. Calendar/Planner - I know so many people have Blackberries and Palm Pilots and so on but there's just something about the old fashioned paper planner. It will never run out of power at just the wrong moment. You can update it with the swish of a pen. And you don't need a degree in Information Technology to figure out how to program the reminders.

Happy holidays!

Friday Top Ten - A Meme

There's a meme going around where you list your favorite ten things that begin with a letter. I decided to play along and I was assigned F by the fabulous Jen. If you don't already read her, get to it! There are a couple of very obvious things that begin with F that I love, like family and friends. There are also a couple of less than PG things that begin with F that I like, but we won't go into those.

These are a few of my favorite F things:

1. French Fries - Really it could be a section for all things fried but we'll narrow it down to fries for the sake of brevity. I love french fries so much I wrote a paper about them in a college writing class. Curly, steak, traditional, seasoned, whatever, it's all good.

2. Fire - There is just nothing like the feeling on a cool winter's day of coming in from the cold to a blazing fire. As a kid, alright and an adult, I've always loved stretching out in front of a fire, having to roll from back to front as one side gets too warm. Toasty.

3. Fudge - I'm not much of a chocolate person, but I can put away some fudge.

4. Facials - I'm all about pampering. If I could get a facial every week or even every month, you better believe my butt would be there.

5. Fairy Tales - What little girl didn't grow up believing in fairy tales? I always had a pretty rabid imagination and my fantasies were fueled by the Brothers Grimm, Mother Goose, et al. I was the fairy princess and my prince was coming to save me. There was magic in every corner.

6. Filet Mignon - I likes me some steak. Hey, I'm a Kansas girl at heart, they inject beef directly into your veins out there.

7. February - It's my birthday month. And who doesn't love their birthday? Crazy people, that's who.

8. Flowers - There is just something about the extra something flowers bring to a room. And don't even get me started on how amazing it feels when you get a surprise delivery. *cough* Neil *cough*

9. Fountain Pens - I have a strange and wonderful obsession with office supplies, but in particular, pens. Not just any pens, though, fountain pens. I love the way they write. I get an old fashionedy feeling when I use one that is incomparable to a felt tip or (cringe) a ballpoint.

10. France - I am a serious Francophile. I took French all through high school and even started out as a French major in college. I've been there twice and am dying to go back. Even though the last time I was there (for my thirtieth birthday, X years ago, sigh), my fellow traveler Aparna got her wallet stolen on the subway. Amazingly, six months later, she got a letter saying it had been turned in to the police and she was free to come pick it up at her leisure. I tried to talk her into a return trip to retrieve the wallet but she declined.

So those are a few of my favorite things. If you want to play along, let me know and I'll assign you a letter.

Have a great weekend!

Friday Top Ten

Nursing a Thanksgiving food hangover, this Black Friday Top Ten is going to be short and sweet. I spend way more time each day cruising the internet than is good for me. I am making efforts to make it slightly healthier, though. I've got the laptop on top of the DVD cabinet, so I have to stand while I blog. I'm doing butt clenches as I type. I've now burned off one bite of dinner yesterday. Woo!

Anyhoo, here are some of my favorite time-wasters:

1. Go Fug Yourself Charting the hits and misses of celebrity fashion, these guys are fun-ny!

2. Cake Wrecks You will be amazed at just how bad the cakes are that some stores are willing to sell.

3. Engrish They say English is one of the toughest languages to learn. This website proves it is one of the easiest to have fun with.

4. It's Lovely, I'll Take It Real estate, with a twist.

5. Itty Bitty Kitty Committee These kitties are so cute, you won't be able to stand it.

6. Beauty Snob My resource for all things beauty.

7. Overheard in New York They said what??

8. Television Without Pity A confirmed television addict, this site is a must.

9. Facebook. Yeah, I'm that girl.

10. The Onion All the "news" that's fit to print.

For those of you not out fighting the crowds, check out one or two of these, you won't be disappointed.

Friday Top Ten: Thanksgiving Edition

I know it's still a week off, but I've already got the Thanksgiving spirit. Thanksgiving has always had a special place in my heart. My grandma always put out such a great feast. Her mashed potatoes are to. die. for. Plus she had a complete ensemble of Thanksgiving china: pilgrim shaped salt and pepper shakers, pumpkin platters and a turkey gravy bowl. Festive! (That's me, circa 1978. Clearly my love affair with Thanksgiving began later. How about that dress!)

There is so much to love about Thanksgiving. The entire top ten could be my list of favorite foods but I'll sprinkle some other aspects in as well.

The Ten Bestest Things About Thanksgiving:

1. Turkey! This might be the perfect food. Dark or white meat, it's all good.

2. Napping. There's just something about a tryptophan induced nap. I have spent many a Thanksgiving afternoon stretched out on the floor in front of the fire.

3. Football. Whether you just watch it or have a family tradition that includes throwing around the old pigskin in the backyard, this sport defines the season.

4. Pumpkin Pie. Topped with real whip cream or cool whip, its spiced goodness is hard to resist.

5. Family. Bellying up to the table with loved ones that you don't see nearly often enough. Priceless.

6. Four day weekend. Although some chintzy companies require their employees to work on Friday (like my husband's) most people still take the day off and have a nice long weekend.

7. Shopping. Okay, this one scares me a little bit, but the deals just can't be beat. I will NOT be out at 6am on Friday, though.

8. The beginning of the holiday season. The lights start going up around town and the Christmas decorations come out in force. 'Tis the season to be jolly!

9. Leftovers. Turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce, all piled on a day old roll. Yum.

10. Giving thanks. Even in the worst of times, we all have something to be thankful for, I know I do.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Friday Top Ten

According to all of the books, naptime is supposed to be productive time for the stay at home mom. This is when she's supposed to get all those things done that are "challenging" when looking after a baby. Obviously, I have a real problem with listening to that advice because here I am blogging when there are about a thousand things that need done around here.

Among the many, many things I should be doing right now while Sophie is napping:

1. Sleep. Sophie is sick right now, so you can imagine what sleep has been like the last couple of days. That's right. Bad. Tragically, I'm so tired I can't sleep. Woe is me.

2. Vacuum. I just watched some show about all the nasties that live in carpet. Why do I do this to myself?

3. Watch that movie from Netflix that I ordered and Neil won't watch with me so it's been sitting on the TV stand for two weeks.

4. Take the last scraps of nail polish off of my toes, leftover from my last pedicure in August. Really, it's only a couple of largish blobs on my big toes and a few smallish blobs on some of the other toes. Eh, it'll come off on it's own by sandal season.

5. Organize my sock drawer. Seriously, it's a disaster. I only wear the top four or five pairs because the rest are jumbled in the bottom. The good news is that I could go like two months without doing laundry and continue to have clean socks. They may not all match, but who's counting.

6. Tile the laundry room. I did the 12x5 area outside the laundry room a few months back before we had the carpet replaced. I stopped at the door, though, so the laundry room is still bare concrete. This one is going on my BIG list of things to do.

7. Sew. Something. Anything. I have a growing collection of sewing projects that I just can't seem to finish. It might help if I knew what I was doing with the damn sewing machine.

8. Get together a Salvation Army Bag. I'm not going to fit into those size 8s anytime soon. Heck, the clothes are already out of style its been so long. Sigh.

9. Create a Photo Album. We have literally thousands of pictures on the computer documenting Sophie's life, but only a dozen or so printed out. What if the computer died? Yes, we have backups, and backups of those backups, but still.

10. Work on this year's holiday card. I create and print my own. Last year's was actually pretty awesome, if I do say so myself. I'm so last minute, though, it will probably finally get done around Dec. 22. That's enough time to mail it to 100 people, right?

This is what Sophie was doing while she was supposed to be napping:














What should you be doing right now?

Friday Top Ten - You Were Looking For What?

When we installed Google Analytics on the Land of Bean, I was at first most interested to see all of the states and countries represented. It was months before I started looking at some of the other criteria. When I began paying attention to the search criteria that brought visitors to my little corner of the internet, I got a pretty good chuckle. Now, that's one of the first things I look at. I just don't understand how Google or whatever thought, "Hey, I'll bet someone looking for info on Cava Beans would love to read an obsessive mom's rantings about an underweight baby in Baltimore!"

But the strangeness continues:

1. Lindsay Wargner Feet - This isn't so crazy, since I have a post loosely related to Lindsay Wagner, but not sure how her feet play into the scenario. And that was their typo, not mine, btw.

2. Brazilian Wax - Not sure if they were looking for a definition or visuals. Either way, they came to the WRONG place.

3. Gooey Poop - Why on earth would someone search this??

4. Rutger Hauer Lookalike - Not a shining day for me.

5. What Language Do Wookies Speak? - I understand this, sortof, but how could I possibly have made it to the top, oh, 100 search results for this? There must be a thousand Star Wars sites, blogs, etc that have more and better information.

6. All Season Gnome - Oh my sweet little Toby. But really, are there seasonal gnomes?

7. Alleviate Inner Thigh Chafing Pain - I don't have the answer, but I've had the problem and it ain't pretty.

8. Buying Hillbilly Beans - Who knew this was actually a dish? True to its name, its primary ingredient is canned pork and beans. Um, yum?

9. Donna Tartt Secret History - I have absolutely no idea on this one.

10. Massage Naked Spa - I'm betting the person who typed in these search terms was not looking for a mommy blog.

Have a great weekend, y'all!

Friday Top Ten: Halloween Edition

The first true horror movie I went to see at a theater was in 1989 at the tender age of 15. With a couple of my girlfriends, we went to see Pet Sematary at the local multi-plex. To say that I was scared is an understatement. I looked for Gage underneath beds for years after. In fact, I will occasionally still make a running leap onto my bed in fear. There's a reason Stephen King has sold about a billion books and had dozens made into movies. Dude is scary. Interesting tidbit: when I was waiting tables during the salad days of my early twenties, shortly after I had moved to Baltimore, I waited on Stephen King and his wife. He was a good tipper.

So in honor of this, All Hallow's Eve, I have the LoB Horror Movie Edition of the Friday Top Ten:

1. The Shining - All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. ad finitum. The twins in the hallway, the snowy maze scene, the woman in the bathtub, redrum. Jack Nicholson played a fantastic psycho. A little too good, methinks...

2. Jaws - An entire generation of kids frightened to go back into the water. Myself included. To this day, I can't go in murky water for fear of jaws. Ridiculous, I know, but then so's a giant animatronic shark. Still really freaking scary.

3. Poltergeist - "They're hee-eere." The scene where the boy's clown comes to life and wraps its arms around him ruined me forever for clown dolls. Sadly, my mom loves them and keeps giving them to me. (I'm 34.) I don't have the heart to tell her that I am forced to put them in little prisons so they won't attack me some stormy night.

4. Shaun of the Dead - Not quite a full on horror movie because it's just too darn witty, but not quite a comedy either and the horredy category is pretty slim. The scene where they beat the zombie to Queen is priceless. Simon Pegg is awesome. Period.

5. The Lost Boys - This was the movie that made me want to be a vampire. My best friend and I drank undiluted Hawaiian Punch syrup, pretending it was blood after seeing this at the movie theater seven times. No kidding.

6. The Blair Witch Project - I know this movie is a love it or hate it kind of thing. Obviously, I thought it was really terrifying. The scene at the end with the guy standing in the corner. Oh. my. god.

7. Se7en - I included this in my all-time list a couple of weeks ago because it transcends the horror genre. It's that good. And that scary.

8. The Silence of the Lambs - "It puts the lotion in the basket." To this day, I'm not sure who was scarier Buffalo Bill or Hannibal Lector.

9. Scream - Admit it, that opening scene with Drew Barrymore had you on the edge of your seat. And made you want Jiffy Pop.

10. The Ring - The faces of Samara's victims keeps me awake on dark nights. The way she moved, all herky-jerky out of the tv absolutely scares the bejeepers out of me.

What's your favorite scary movie?

Friday Top Ten II

There are a lot of things I love about Halloween, it just might be my favorite holiday. Some people say its a dumb holiday to call your favorite, to them I say show me another holiday where you don't have to worry about family gatherings, you get to eat like a model on furlough and you can dress in whatever you feel like, no matter how bizarre. However, there are some things that drive me crazy:

1. Teenagers who work the neighborhood with no costume and a pillowcase. You can't slam the door on them, that is unless you prefer your car gets shoe polished.

2. Gaining five pounds because you ate all of your kid's candy. I mean, you can't throw it out. That would be wasteful.

3. Spending $6 to get in and then $2 for each tiny pumpkin at a "pumpkin patch" that is just a field where they threw out a bunch of pumpkins.

4. Finding the jack-o-lantern that took you two hours to carve splattered all over the street by neighborhood punks. (Do I sound like a cranky old lady? Who says punks?)

5. Seeing one of the signs on your neighbor's door that sex offenders in Maryland (MY STATE!) have to post.

6. Stores already have Christmas stuff up. Can't we just enjoy each holiday as it comes?

7. Spending four weekends sewing a costume for your kid and then have them be embarrassed because they don't have the latest one from Toys R' Us.

8. Parents who take their less than one year old baby out trick or treating. Yeah, that's all about the kid.

9. Spending $30 on candy and then having no kids come because they're working the townhouse community down the road.

10. The giant pimple that turns up on your chin because you ate all of the leftover candy that didn't get handed out.

What's your least favorite thing about Halloween?

Friday Top Ten

I've never had a weekly thing and I think it's time. Since I love lists, I present the LoB Friday Top Ten. My inaugaral post will be something near and dear to my heart: movies. I love movies: old ones, new ones, black and white, color, romance, comedy, sci-fi, suspense, action, drama, I love them all. I have an almost eidetic memory for movie scenes and lines, which that and a dollar will get me a cup of coffee. So without further ado:

Top Ten All Time Favorite Movies:

1. The Princess Bride - Maybe the most quotable and quoted movie of all time. What girl hasn't longed for their Wesley to say "As you wish." My husband and I do Fezzig style rhymes pretty much every day, because we're just that kind of dorks. At least we're well matched.

2. Young Frankenstein - Mel Brooks is a genius. Gene Wilder was an incomparable comedian, absolutely perfect as Froderick Frankensteen. Putting on the Ritz will never sound the same again. As fabulous as YF is, I would be remiss if I neglected to mention other Mel Brooks masterpieces: Blazing Saddles, History of the World Part I and Spaceballs. Clevon Little, Harvey Korman, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman, Gregory Hines, Rick Moranis, John Candy. Just to name a few of the absolutely hilarious and wonderful actors he featured in his movies.

3. Sixteen Candles - Has anyone gotten teenagers since John Hughes? So funny, so poignant. Who didn't have a crush on Jake Ryan?

4. Star Wars - I was totally head over heels for Luke Skywalker at the tender age of 5. I had Star Wars sheets. Star Wars action figures. Star Wars space ships. You name it, I had it. I don't have a clear recollection of going to see the movie itself (I was only 3 when it came out), although I know I did, but I do remember waiting in blocks long lines with my family to see the Empire Strikes Back in 1980 and then the Return of the Jedi in 1983. I'm not sure I have ever been so excited to see a movie, before or since.

5. The Wizard of Oz - Hello. I'm from Kansas. Had a dog named Toto. Both my grandmothers were named Dorothy. Need I go on.

6. The Way We Were - Oh, Robert Redford. Oh, Barbara Streisand. I cry when I watch this movie. Every. Single. Time. "Your girl is lovely, Hubbell." *bawling*

7. Groundhog Day - Strangely when I first saw this movie, I didn't really like it. And yet, I have watched it over and over and over (Apropos, yes?). Where at first it made me sad, now it makes me optimistic. I heart Bill Murray. He has such a droll, sarcastic way about him.

8. The Big Chill - Perhaps one of the all time best soundtracks. A great ensemble film, there isn't a weak link in the bunch. It isn't often that you get a cast of such talented actors that play off of each other so well.

9. The Shawshank Redemption - How could you not love this movie? It's about anger, sadness, resignation, revenge, hope and, of course, redemption. Every time I watch it, I ask myself if I could crawl through 100 yards of a nasty, disgusting sewer pipe to attain my freedom. I don't know if I could. Could you?

10. Se7en - The only suspense/horror movie on my list. This movie had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. It haunts me as few movies have. Each of the deadly sins, played out in horrific gruesomeness. Kevin Spacey, Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman were, quite simply, amazing.

So that's it. My top ten movies. What's your favorite?