All Baby, All the Time

Lili and I are embarking on a little project together:

http://awesomebabyjuno.blogspot.com/

Unlike past "projects" of ours this is totally legal, our parents can know about it and it's unlikely either one of us will lose our underwear in the process. Woo!

Miss Juno clearly needs her own space and I feel a little weird throwing in updates and baby photos of her here mixed in with my talk of boozin' and sexin' up Tina Fey. So, check out the new blog if you are so inclined. However, as a proud Auntie, I will still post the occasional photo of the wee girl on this site because I adore her to pieces...in case that wasn't obvious.

Me, Me, Me, Me, ME

I saw this on another site, and figured I don't share NEARLY enough about myself, so here's more personal info, but in list form. Goddamn I love lists. Supposedly another blogger should "tag" you to do this, but I'm just going for it and tagging others. Look at me bucking convention and rules. I'm a loner, Dottie. A rebel.

Anyway, here goes...

Four jobs I've had:

1. Lunchlady/Deli Biatch at the Puget Sound SUB - HOLLA! No joke, I had a following because I make fantastic sandwiches. Also, I showed up to work drunk once. It was great.
2. Training Coordinator for a General Contractor - Probably the best job I ever had. There were Red Vines in the kitchen. Need I say more?
3. Satan's Assistant - Working for an investment firm nearly killed my soul, but I did lose 10 lbs from the stress alone. Sweet!
4. Professional Hippie - Sustainability Projects Coordinator

Four movies I can watch over and over - Bonus: I can also reenact these films for you.

1. Tommy Boy
2. Sixteen Candles
3. Billy Madison
4. Old School

Four places I have lived:

1. San Francisco, CA
2. Tacoma, WA
3. Stafford, VA
4. Chico, CA

Four TV shows I love:

1. 30 Rock - CKD+Tina Fey 4Eva!
2. Arrested Development - Oh, how I loves me some Bluth men.
3. Battlestar Galactica - So say we all.
4. The Daily Show - Don't tell Grandma, but I would totally convert for Jon Stewart.

Four places I've vacationed:

1. Vancouver, Canada
2. Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica
3. Honolulu, HI
4. NYC

Four of my favorite dishes:

1. Dave's Famous Mac n' Cheese
2. Grandma's Potato Salad
3. Mom's Lasagna
4. Sushi - all of it, all the time

Four sites I visit daily:

1. The Superficial
2. Jezebel
3. Facebook
4. Mighty Girl

Four places I would rather be right now:

1. At home, reading a book
2. At Banshee, drinking a beer
3. At a park, playing pirate ship with Evan
4. Kevin Bacon's house

Five people I am tagging - Yeah, I'm adding an extra spot. What are you gonna do about it?

1. Cece
2. Mo
3. Circlestar
4. Rico
5. Roadtripper/Bad Wolf

Spotlight On: Almost 21 Months (Cantilevering), Julie's Adventures in Oz, Raising JD, and The Heff's Blog

This week's theme is "Baby Blogs" for my spotlight special. It's no surprise that I love kids and I am so lucky that my amazing friends are breeding equally amazing shorties. Let's get to know them a little better, shall we?

Cantilevering (Almost 21 Months) is all about Sam, son of my friends Stephen and Cabrelle. Stephen and I met while working together when we were young single twentysomethings. It's funny to think my old drinking and dancing buddy is now a daddy, but looking back, Stephen had the makings of a good dad. Much like a toddler, my moods could swing from a-OK to freaking the hell out, so he's had some practice at the whole soothing a flipped out kid gig. Luckily for his parents, Sam seems to be a pretty chill little guy, and they clearly cherish every experience they get to share with him. I love all of the photos and the captions are priceless. If you like your baby blogs on the "funny" rather than "precious" side you'll dig this one.

Julie's Adventures in Oz comes to us from the Land Down Under! Julie and I go waaayyy back. How far back? Our moms have been friends since the first grade. So yeah. She and her husband Don relocated to Australia with their son Makoa when he was tiny, and it's great fun to read about their adventure. I miss them terribly (they lived in SF when Julie was pregnant and when Makoa was first born) but love the idea that I have a place to stay in Sydney. This has been an ideal way for Julie to keep friends and family at home updated on Makoa's milestones, as well as share some of the fun quirks of living abroad.

Raising JD is the long-awaited follow up to Rico's Dirt Sailor. Happily home from Iraq, Rico is back with his family: Attractive Wife Beth and little boy Joaquin (Jack). Young Jack is almost three, full of personality, and quite possibly the most mellow kid I've ever met. Now, we haven't spent a great deal of time together, but I have never seen him act up or even remotely cranky. Maybe he got the memo that his parents will send him to Gitmo if he dares step to them? Well-played, Alvari!

The Adventures of Moco and Bubba makes me laugh every time I read it. Yeah, the stories Cece tells about her daughter Memphis (Moco) and Grayson (Bubba) are funny. BUT for me, the entertainment value is in seeing a college friend being all...Mom-like. Don't get me wrong: she is an excellent mother and her work/home life balancing act is a thing to behold. Still, it kills me that someone who used to dance against a wall to Biggie in the Sigma Chi basement is taking the Brownie troop to the movies on Friday nights. If you'd like a study in contrats (ie what happens when the two kids spawned from the same womb are total opposites), this is the site for you.

The Heff's Blog follows the adventures of Mary, Brian, baby Francie...and Baby Number 2 on the way. Mary and I went to high school together and reconnected at our reunion. This is basically an online baby book...that will put ANY baby book to shame. Seriously. Each post features a ton of photos and a who's-who? in the Simonson/Heffernan family. I feel like I know every member of their family, as well as many friends. Which, if I ever meet them in person, is going to be a creepy interaction. "Oh, hi there. You've never met me, but I saw every picture of you last Halloween. What's up?" Mary is an amazing photographer and manages to capture great photos of both special occasions and every day events. Also, they have a bounce house, so I'm moving in with them. Surprise!

Spotlight On: Karma vs Dogma, Mighty Girl and Oh Happy Day

You might wonder what's up with my reading list over there on the right side of the page. Much like me, it's a wondrous mix of wit, humor, charm and style. No? Not really? OK. Maybe this is a cop-out to devote posts to other sites but whatever. Mama's tired kids. Cut her some slack.

I've decided to start giving the blogs their due notice and attention in case you haven't bothered to check them out yourselves. Lazy bastards.

My Karma Ran Over Your Dogma is co-written by Roadtripper8 and Bad Wolf. I have yet to have the pleasure of meeting Bad Wolf in person, but hope we will get together soon and share a pint and make each other LOL in person. Roadtripper and I? Well, we have a fascinating "How do you two know each other?" story. Basically, it involves why I moved back to California in June. Want more details? Buy the book. Anyway, you might be wondering how on Earth could I be on speaking terms - let alone shout-out terms - with this woman. Well, that's our business, but the short answer is she's a damn cool broad and a pretty sweet writer to boot. One of the things I love best is how both writers don't take themselves or their site too seriously. This is not to say they half-ass it, but they aren't afraid to out themselves as geeks or make goofy pop culture references. I rarely read a post without laughing, so do yourself a favor and check it out if you dig funny.

Mighty Girl is the work of San Francisco's Maggie Mason. I stumbled upon her blog while reading Dooce and was instantly taken with her style and the tone of her writing. Speaking of style, her other sites - Mighty Goods, Mighty Haus and Mighty Junior - are amazing if you ever need to buy anything for any person for any occasion (or no occasion at all). Seriously. Love shopping? You'll enjoy the wide variety of goods offered without worrying about closing times or lugging bags all over a mall. Hate shopping? You'll love that you can narrow searches by occasion, recipient and/or price to narrow it down so you can get in and out. Bonus: Many of the options offered are actually affordable for people in real life (read: those of us who are freaking out as we see our 401k's take a hit) and available at both brick and mortar stores as well as online. One of her most recent posts about 10 Little Luxuries Under $10 led me to my bitchin' new red lipstick, so hey...I'm a fan for life.

Oh Happy Day is also written by a San Francisco-dweller by the name of Jordan Ferney. Her about me reads, "I like good weather and pretty things." I can get on board with that. A former Anthropolgie employee, her style is not trendy, but brings out the best in vintage, classic design but not in a costume-y way. Her site provides great inspiration for interesting pieces for home, wardobe, and entertaining. Fluffy stuff, yes, but don't we need that once in awhile? It also inspires me to put down the Van Halen 1980 Invasion shirt and strive for Pretty Lady status.

So there you have it. Three of the sites I check out on a regular basis and think highly enough of them to share with you. Nothing but the best for you, Interweb.

Why She's My Best Friend

Me: need a tagline for my blog. any ideas?

Lili: I got it - "you can't accuse me of cockblocking"

Me: I love you.

Lili: or... "your ass looks fat in those pants"

Does Your Mother Know?

I fancy myself a badass, but we all know I'm a Nice Girl. Proof? I'm rated PG, bitches.

Wait, wouldn't "bitches" kick me up into PG-13 territory? One can only dream.

Having a Little Work Done

My original blog layout seemed a little bland so I decided to switch it up a little. What do you think? Any suggestions from you creative types out there? Not fishing for compliments here, just seeking some feedback - go for it in the comments section. But if you feel like telling me I'm pretty and I smell nice, too, I wouldn't punch you in the head or anything.

New Look, Same Great Taste!

I added a "Links" section to some blogs I enjoy at the bottom of the page. I may add new ones here and there so check it out from time to time. If there is something you would like me to add (your own blog or just something you enjoy), please feel free to send it on over.

Also, you can now click on the envelope icon at the bottom of each post to email it to...I don't know. I really don't know who you would want to send any of this to, but you can. So there.