Blurbs from the Burbs by Chickysara

It’s late Sunday morning and I’m working and watching Sex and the City the movie. This is not the first time I’ve seen the flick. I hated it the first time and I hate it more every time I see it again. And I hate myself for watching it over and over again. But for some reason I just can’t help it. I think it’s because I keep hoping it won’t be so ridiculously stupid time after time, that somehow, it will all make sense. But no, each time it’s the same. Carrie is finally marrying “Big,” the guy who’s been screwing with her for the past ten years—the man who led her on before marrying a Calvin Klein model half his age only to cheat on her with Carrie. You would think Carrie might consider that he just might put her skinny ass in the same boat should she choose to follow the same path, but apparently this does not cross her mind. Good thing he finally decides to leave New York before he can screw up her life further—of course he doesn’t let her know he's leaving the state (with her i...

It’s been years since I’ve been in high school but some things never change. Since becoming a mother and a school yard regular I’m finding that in-crowds and playground cliques are still very much au courant—and I’m not talking about the kids—I’m talking about the Moms that hang out at the school. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Pom Poms & Prom Moms The mom who used to be the perky cheerleader in high school? She’s the bright-eyed-and-bushy-tailed extrovert with the entourage of other bubbly moms who never show up at school without full hair and make-up—no matter how early it is. They do everything together—vacations in Tahoe, nights out at wine bars, regular pool parties and play-dates (with and without the kids), and nobody else can play. Their husbands, usually ex-nerds that they wouldn’t have looked twice at in high school and who are now mid-to-upper level managers in various high tech companies, or ex-jocks who are now construction workers, are all best p...

Things that are overrated Text Messaging Rachael Ray Krispy Kremes Working from Home Musicals Cinemax Simon Cowell French Wine Things that are underrated Carbs Flip-Flops Big Macs Flannel Top Ramen Fresh Breath Randy Jackson Tap Water

After having had a good heart-to-heart with Nor, I have decided to spend today in bed feeling sorry for myself. Just for today. Tomorrow I will get up feeling grateful and productive and will stop being a big crybaby. Sometimes life gives you lemons and you really don't feel like making lemonade. What you would really like to do is take the lemons and throw them back as hard as you can. Sometimes you really just feel like being really ticked off about the flippin’ lemons and yelling every single swear word you know at the top of your lungs. But if you are always within earshot of young and impressionable people like the children, then you will be forced to yell out substitute swear words–which are not even remotely satisfying. Thank goodness for friends who tell you to go ahead and hide under the covers, think your worst possible thoughts, cry your eyes out, and to be as ticked off at the world as much as you want, then remind you of every single good thing you have in your life s...

J has been getting in quite a bit of trouble lately for being mean to his little brother. I understand that there may be some sibling rivalry here. Especially because T is very sharp in keeping up with J at reading and math which J finds incredibly annoying. So, I was quizzing the boys on three tiered math problems like 4+3+5 and T was keeping up with J very well and eventually one-upped him which definitely irked J. So J made up an equation of his own: Nerd + Nerd + Dumbhead = T. Obviously, this is unacceptable.

I was absolutely heartbroken that I missed my chance to see T doing the dash and the three-legged race at the Kinder Olympics yesterday. While the Kinder Olympics were going on, I was on a field trip with J’s first grade class. That is the problem with being able to be at only one place at a time and having more than one child. The Husband was there to capture it all on video, but still…it’s not the same as being there to cheer him on in person. It turns out that T won first place on the three-legged race with his pal McK! I am so proud! T is one of the littlest in his class but he’s very smart, and apparently, also quite athletic. Of course, I may be bias because I’m his mother, but I’m saying it anyway. The child is smart. Recently, during the reading level tests, the teachers had to keep going up one level after another because he was reading so well. As the teacher went up level after level, T said to his teacher, “I may be the smallest, but I’m the smartest.” Anyway, I’m still rec...

The economy has been hard on everyone and our household has not been exempt, so as a way to generate some sort of extra income, we participated in the neighborhood garage sale. Due to some heavy duty socializing the night before, I was not even close to being prepared for the early morning merchandising I would have to do on my driveway. As a result, we ended up with an unattractive mish mash of junk sprawled out on the lawn and part of the driveway. Unfortunately, the big ticket item that my girlfriend was supposed to bring over to lure customers never materialized as she too fell victim to the over-socializing the previous evening. Therefore, we were relying heavily on various strollers and large plastic vehicles that the boys had outgrown to draw in the crowd. I had been hanging on tenaciously to these items for years for sentimental reasons but the economy being what it is and my desire to make some extra cash for a sushi dinner and possibly a movie urged me to bid farewell to all ...

The other night, after literally years of planning, I finally got together with my girlfriend Ruthie. Ruthie and I were best friends in the 5 th grade. She has a memory like a steel trap. She remembers stuff that of which I have no recollection. Like the time we played hooky and hid in the bushes until the school bell rang. Then we walked to my house and considered smoking a cigarette that she had sneaked from her dad, but gave up without a fight after we realized we had no way of lighting it. Both of us remember distinctly the day I walked two and a half long blocks to her house with my mom’s padded bra attached to my sweater. In my rush to come over, I grabbed my sweater straight from the dryer and pulled it over my head without noticing that my mother’s flesh-colored, padded bra was spread across my back like a giant arachnid. When I got to Ruthie’s house, she took one look at me and broke out into hysterical laughter. I couldn’t figure out what she was in stitches over bec...

IM-ing with the Diva about America's Next Top M o del when I should be working: diva: i'm watching ANTM on youtube chicky: omg diva: this show is annoying but i'm addicteddddddddd! diva: i like love the dang show chicky: there's that one girl that looks so weird but her picture was good diva: ewwww with the big eyes??? chicky: yes m'am diva: i JUST got to her diva: just now chicky: she's scary diva: her eyes are freaky! diva: and she loves blood diva: she's freakin weird diva: i hate her hair chicky: like if i ran into her in a dark hallway i would run away screaming chicky: okay but TELL me that tyra is not so full of tyra chicky: i mean hello chicky: she needs to get a new wardrobe chicky: and quit dressing like a drag queen diva: i know!!! seriously! diva: i absolutely love miss jay's bowl haircut!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! diva: he looks SMASHING with his bowtie

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only. ~ Charles Dickens , A Tale of Two Cities~ Years from now when we look back at how things are at this moment in time, I’ll bet we can all agree that good old Charles D. put in a neat little nutshell with that one. These are hard times. There’s no way to sugar coat it—recession, unemployment, foreclosures, etc, etc. I was sitting in my car the other day scratching my head, wondering h...