It's all about the passion

One of the quirky things about Evergreen is that there's an abundance of gatherings where people sell stuff.  The Tupperware parties of the 20-teens.  They can be for linens or cooking accessories or actual person accessories... you name it. I've already been to more here than my entire previous life, and I've been invited to more than I've attended.

Last night, however, was the bomb.  Have you ever heard of a Passion Party? 

If you haven't guessed yet, it's all about sex toys.  According to CNN, it's even a thing. 

The "consultant" (fabulous boob job, fabulous floofy hair, perfect teeth, actual last name of "Diamond," VERY knowledgeable) started with the mild and moved to the wild.  She passed around massage lotion, asking that we rub it into our right hand but save the top of our lefts for "the edibles."  Then, she passed those around, too.  The "wild" went from the pocket rocket to the way-too-intimidating-for-me in the blink of an eye. 

And, it was far, far easier to spend money on this one than on the kitchen gear.  It might have been because we drank far, far more wine.  Or, perhaps, it was for other reasons altogether.

Who wants to be a beta-tester?

Or, "The one in which I ask for your help."

Collectors Quest is getting very close to our relaunch, which is a happy day for us all here.  As anyone who's worked at a start-up knows, it's also a very big, very important day for us.

In advance of the relaunch, we need to do some serious beta testing on the site.  Which means we need some people who didn't build it to look around and let us know about any problems with the site.

Now, I think beta testing is fun.  You get to see a website pre-launch.  You probably get to find some problems that the development team is unaware of.  And, in this particular case, you get to help me out. 

So if you have some time next week - I'd kill for an hour, be thrilled with half an hour and settle for 15 minutes - and the inclination, let me know!  I'm not looking for software engineers (though I'd not turn you away, either!), but just regular people who, you know, use the internet.  Leave a comment below... send me a message on Facebook or Twitter... even good old fashioned telephone or email will work!  I'll give you the particulars, and voila!  You'll be participating in the launch of a new company, with all the satisfaction that goes with it.

My happy day

In honor of Mother's Day, the Bug's school has over-delivered with the adorable all week long.  We had breakfasts at the school both Thursday and Friday, and the kids made jewelry boxes, painted flower pots and made tissue paper flowers.

After my extra day of sleeping in (I generally get Saturdays), we went out for a super tasty brunch.  Then we headed into Denver to take the girls to the Children's Museum.  I'd never been there before, and it is truly a fantastic museum.  The girls played in the fire truck, painted, performed a puppet show, did some science and had a short-lived stint in the bubble room. 

Also, Joker got my T-bird detailed for me.  Talk about a sweet gift!  I am going to look too awesome with the top down this summer... expect to see plenty of rocking out around town.

A happy mother's day to the rest of you moms - I hope yours was as fun as mine!

The Last of the Mohicans

James Fenimore Cooper wrote The Last of the Mohicans, which was probably his best-known novel, in 1826.  Unlike many of the other 17th and 18th Century books I've enjoyed, this one wears its age on its sleeve.  It was clearly written in another era, one in which the women are referred to as the "delicate" or "fragile" ones, and the Native Americans are called "savages," with much being made of their savageness and lust for scalps and hatred of the "pale faces."  It was apparently also a time when novels were big on the long-winded, with far less regard for the story-driven plot line.

I started the book with only a vague recollection of the 1992 film of the same name.  That movie has very, very little to do with this book. 

• That homestead massacre of Hawkeye's friends? Never happened.  In fact, those people weren't even in the book.
• Hawkeye was not Chingachgook's adopted son.  They were friends, more of a respected peer relationship.
• And of Hawkeye, who I fondly remembered as vintage 1992, super hottie Daniel Day-Lewis... The book neither confirms nor denies this was the case. (To be clear, it also never claimed Hawkeye to resemble vintage 2007, super creepy There Will Be Blood Daniel Day-Lewis, either.  Thankfully.)
• Which might also be why there is no - read it, NO - romance.  None. 
• Plus, different people die in the end.  In fact, the entire ending is different.

Anyway, the book tells the story of Hawkeye, the white scout who has a close, mutually respectful relationship with Chingachgook and his son Uncas, the titular Mohican.  The three of them rescue the Munro sisters (the moderately admirable Cora and the completely weak Alice) along with their military escort, after the hateful Huron Magua double-crosses them.  There are beautiful passages that talk of the natural landscape, when you can hear the streams gurgling and the mocassined feet making no sounds.  There are also long, wordy, plot-free passages that beg to be skimmed, and quickly.

With all of the wonderful literature out there, I can't recommend this to anyone who is reading as an escape.  Maybe as an assignment for class?

Next up: Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. 

Her bags are packed

Big excitement at Chez Okie-Dokie tonight... a trip to Disneyland tomorrow!  But not just your run-of-the-mill old family vacation.  The Bug is traveling with Mima, my Aunt Lori and our cousin Alicia!  She packed her new suitcase herself, which means there's no telling what magical outfits she'll pull out of there.  And she wanted to take "all her dolls" and "lots of books."  Good luck with that carry-on, Mima!

You can call me --what-- ???

Now that the Bug and the Bunny are settled into a Better-Manners Routine, wherein they both speak when spoken to by adults at school/daycare, we're ready to fine-tune the process.  But as we set out to do it, Joker and I realized it's not as straight-forward as we thought.

What do our friends, and the parents of our kids' friends, want to be called by the wee ones?

For me, there is only one answer.  Call me Angie.  Yes, I took my husband's last name, but I NEVER signed on to be a missus.  I don't use "Mrs." when filling out forms or on my federal identification; I use "Ms."  I just don't think that my marital status is anyone's business, thank you very much.  And I'd prefer that kids, regardless of young-ivity, call me "Angie," too.  Period.  I'm not a teacher, I'm not a mother-in-law.  I'm just Angie.

But there are other equally acceptable positions.  For example, the traditional "Mr. Lastname" and "Mrs. Lastname" work for plenty of people.  Around Evergreen, I frequently hear "Miss Firstname," which sounded alright to me (added respect for your elders versus your preschool peers, I totally get it)... until I realized I have more than one friend who'd be "Mr. Bill."  And I cannot say or hear that without thinking of the play-doh character from SNL.  The Bug's teacher correcter her when she called one friend's mom "Christy" at school... only two days after Christy and I had discussed our severe dislike of being called "Mrs. ---".  (I, on the other hand, was pleased that she was addressing an adult by name.)

Leading me to ask around about what other kids' parents want the Bug to call them.  I think it's up to the person being addressed.  Thus far, my (rather limited) market research shows that very few people have a strong opinion here.  If left up to me, I want the kids to use names instead of nothing - I think it's far more polite - and I'll prompt them to use first names for my peers by default (my grandparents' peers will default to more traditional means of address).  I mean no disrespect to anyone; we're just trying to raise polite kids here.  And I hope grownups will correct me (or my kids) if they prefer some other form of address.