my new favorite things: July wrap-up

Haven't done one of these in ages!

Thomas's Blueberry Bagels: OMG. I have to split this in half because they're diet wreckers. Soft bagels. Mmmm...with cream cheese.

L'Oreal Colour Rays One Step Brush-on Highlights/ Fuchsia Flash ($12.99 CVS): Because it's made for dark hair, the color is *very* vibrant (the lightener is 30vol for DIY beauty shop junkies). My hair is pretty gray too, and I obviously ignored the warning on the box. 1 application/box is a waste if you're only going to do highlights, unless you have super-long hair, but it's hard to measure the proportions right. One box was enough to color my short hair--and have leftovers to spare. The applicator is like a big mascara wand that really grabs the hair from end to tip; wash it out and save if for another time. The color is staying put (but then, I haven't been washing my hair everyday either. TMI?)

Almay Smart Shade Makeup (SPF 15/light): This is an amazing base for hard-to-match skin tones. Takes the guesswork out of figuring out if your skin has warm tones, rose tones or whatever confusing jargon the makeup companies come up with. Covers evenly and also does ok masking small blemishes.

Neutrogena Fresh Cooling Mist Sunblock SPF 45: It's not greasy, and yes, fresh and cooling too.

Lexie Barnes handbags: I have the Hermosa 8&1/2" x11" bag and it fits whatever knitting I bring around with me. Found it at Webs 'cause the it's imperfect (aren't we all?), sewn upside down, but you'd hardly know it. ($13.99)

Brooklyn Industries' Heritage Lexy Bag: Mine isn't on the website anymore since I got in on clearance ($36). The print is excellent, the pockets all make sense, and it's roomier than you'd think on the inside. The handles don't slip easily off my shoulders--another bonus. Yep, I'm a bag fiend!

boingboing.net and mcsweeneys.net: Better late than never. Read Noisy Outlaws, Unfriendly Blobs... last year and loved it; the website didn't occur to me until I saw news on gawker.com. Found Cory Doctorow through Neil Gaiman's blog, and loved Overclocked.

Ok, my seat is sinking in on itself (it's one of those storage stools with a foam top but old and cat-clawed) and it's way past my bedtime. Again!

weird, random, stupid things maybe you don't want to know or I shouldn't tell you

It's weird being a cartoon character. It's also pretty cool too. Naming myself was the weirdest part. Having your husband ask is weird too. I keep thinking that I should have put together cooler names to choose from. (Marie is my middle name; Campana is a family name, and the last name of my cousin who was in 4 of the 5 Planet of the Apes movies, and her sister was the model on the 60s version of the Nancy Drew books)

Every once in awhile, I think of changing my name to match the rest of my family. Then I realize that I really like my name, and I get my stubborn pants on. Part of me wants to blend in, and part of me fights that urge tooth and nail. I spent so much of high school wanting to be cool (in the Molly Ringwald Pretty in Pink way), trying not to care that I was pretty far from the mark. Then I went off to college and ended up being kind of cool after all. Being part of the beginning of the edgy alt-news weekly was also incredibly cool and DIY and also gave me a purpose and focus I didn't have before. Part of me misses it fiercely, and then I remember how burnt out I was working basically 2 full time jobs by the time I had Owen. I missed a deadline when I went into labor and that was it.

So it's funny running around on Yelp, seeing 1st reviews for places I wrote up years ago. Part of it is nice & reassuring that those shops are still around, and people are getting that jolt of excitement. And it's a high, a rush, discovering someplace special. Another part of me is jealous and missing my old silly self that used to go around exploring neighborhoods for days--that I don't have the time and energy to really do that anymore. That all the cool points I had pre-momhood have been used up, which gets me down, and now I'm trying to put some of the pieces back but they're fitting in a weird way. Not in a pity party/boo-hoo/woe-is-me kind of way, but just that I get the feeling I'm doing something wrong or bad, and I don't know what it is. And no one wants to tell me, either. OR maybe everyone goes through it and you just have to work it through yourself.

Oops. I wasn't supposed to drop off emotional baggage. Too many nights of writing between 11pm and 2am. I was supposed to post pix of the FOs; talk about how crazy Hogwarts Sq was (and being called Tonks!); that I loved Order of the Phoenix; that I colored over most of the pink hair but left the pink shock in the front (and got complimented by girls on the subway and a hair stylist on it). Well, the hormonal post has been brewing for awhile. Sorry. When you all look at me funny next time I see you at least I'll know maybe why. Or maybe you'll tell me your story.

yelping away

I've been writing a bunch of reviews on yelp.com, which has been fun. Kind of like what I used to do for the Dig except I don't have a theme or a deadline or manage/find, writers. The word count is short so it helps me try to keep the writing tight and still fun. And I just got asked to be on the Elite team, which feels like being one of the cool kids. The downside is that I've let the blog slide, but I'll catch up tomorrow.

I finished knitting the fugly vest, and I'm going to donate it. Owen refuses to even try it on, and I don't blame him! The trim and the colors are all wrong. Maybe next time I'll use a pattern! Circles knitting salon in JP closed its storefront today, and I "helped" them by buying up some of the stash. oops. Allison, the owner, was very sweet and gave Owen one of the trucks from the kids area. There's also a binder sitting on my kitchen table crammed full of circular knitting needles that need to be inventoried now that I have them all in one place.

wotcher!

me at 3am with book 7 & pink hair

the things kids say

Some funny things Owen has said in the last couple weeks:
When being grilled on who his favorite character was, Owen replied, "Mama."

He points to my Harry Potter book and says, "That looks like Mama!"
(I'm supposed to pick up my copy of book #7 at Borders at Downtown Crossing, but haven't decided if I should see the events at either Harvard Sq or Coolidge Corner, where there are going to be all kinds of events. This also means going out after Owen is asleep and taking a cab home.)

Decides he likes changing his clothes in his egg chair from IKEA, and emerges waving his arms, flies around, and says, "I'm a beautiful butterfly." He then makes both Tak & I fly around for the rest of the morning.

if wishes were fishes

We now have fish in the house again. It was kind-of a last minute decision; we'd talked about it in vague terms. So, we went to the pet store to buy cat food and came home with a fish: a blue and red Betta/fighting fish named James. We haven't had fish since Owen was born and we moved. Our managuense ended up at New England Fish and Reptile; our chinese water dragons Bode and Bisley died before or while I was pregnant. Tak and his friends always had fish (M the arowana, a variety of South American and African cichilds). Wiley has been good with the new fish so far. He used to sit on top of the managuense tank and stick his arm in the water to taunt the fish; he even got bit a couple times!

Owen is now a reader: a couple weeks ago he read the whole book of Today I Will Fly. It was awesome to see him recognize words he knew and figure out the ones he didn't. The book is a good one because it has repeated text, words that are slight variations of each other, and lots of picture support. Owen thought it was funny, too.

Secret Asian Man is up daily. Check it out at comics.com.
My work has also been pretty insane too.

Lastly, I finished Ilona's scarf after a year, and a cap for Tak's dad.
If you ever wanted to knit marzipan, here's how.

catch the magic

In gearing up for the Harry Potter onslaught, I'm re-watching movies #3 (my favorite) tonight and #4 tomorrow night, and will hopefully see #5 over the weekend. I re-read books 5 & 6 last month, too.

Neil Gaiman keeps letting people know about Stardust, which should be in theaters later this year.

Over 4th of July, our friend Dan had his annual BBQ. Once again, the numbers are intimate, about 20 people. I think for his 30th (or 29th?) birthday, there must have been 300+ people there, and amenities included a DJ, a band, bar with an ice sculpture shot slide, and port-a-potties. Crazy. One of the best though, was the year ('96? '97?) people got up on the mic, (we think--the memory is vague) Scruffy from the Dropkick Murphys played bagpipes against some drumbeats (amazing), and f-14s flew overhead towards the end of the night. (BTW, if someone reads this who was there, please correct me if I'm wrong on any of these points!) Anyway, again, happy birthday Dan. You rock!

The fireworks in Dorchester lasted at least until midnight, and people were still lighting them off until Sunday night.

Lorie from NYC stayed with us, and I kidnapped her to sleep overnight at my parents' house with Owen. We went blueberry picking (TreeBerry Farm in Scituate), lunch at Haddad's in Brant Rock, and a jaunt to Scituate Harbor. We did a lot of driving around, too. It was awesome to hang out (sans Owen) with Rob & Jude, go out to an excellent dinner at Petit Robert, visit the Dig offices, and cap off the night at JJ Foley's. Lorie left the next morning. Sadly, her guy Pete couldn't come up because he has to save his vacation for San Diego Comic Con, where he & co will be doing their Comic Book Show. Woo-hoo! We missed him, but we know how fantastic ComicCon is, too.

Last bit of news: Tak's comic, Secret Asian Man, should (fingers crossing, wood knocking) start running daily on Monday in the Patriot Ledger and other papers all over the place.