A few years back, I joined a book club at my church and I actually did pretty well keeping up with the books and the meetings. About six (or more) books ago, I decided to take a break from the club and read The Hunger Games. (I know! Would you just be quiet over there?) SO, I read the first two Hunger Games books and then I read Juliet, Naked and Gone Girl and Skipped Parts and The Fault in Our Stars and In One Person. I received the e-mail a few weeks back that the book club is now reading Not Like Other Boys. I immediately requested it from the library, because why join a book club and then stop reading the books?!
Not Like Other Boys is due back in two days, and I Cannot Get Into It.
It’s not that it’s a bad book, because it’s NOT. It’s just that I really want to read The Hotel New Hampshire. I hate that life is so short. (Sadly, part of me justifies returning the book unread because I know a few people who NEED to read it. People who have actually told me that they would disown their own child if he/she ever came out. Perhaps I should buy several copies of the book and mail them anonymously!)
Do you remember about a month ago when I went to the new haircut place and it’s right next to a chocolate place and it ended up being a perfect day? I went back yesterday, and I took in a photo of a bald Charlize Theron. Because my new hair lady is a genius, I walked out with my very favorite haircut.
(I’m wearing my new favorite shirt with a favorite scarf and it sort of looks like I’m on a journey to Duck Face, but I can assure you that I am not. Hey, look! The left side arm rest fell off of our rocking chair, but we’re holding off on getting another chair until we can move! Also, I never *really* want to replace the chair because it’s the chair that supported me while I was feeding the girls in the middle of the night. It’s a great chair for knitting and reading and checking texts and Scout takes naps on it and one weekend I read most of East of Eden while sitting on that chair holding a feverish baby named Meredith and Hey! Pope Benedict is on television right now leaving his apartment for the last time. I wonder if he feels attached to any of his chairs.)
Heather talked about her hair today. I love her, so I followed her lead.
If I say Mouse Races, what do YOU say? Our school used to host a trivia night in the spring, and the turnout was never huge. I believe it has something to do with the fact that our school holds students from something like 23 different countries. Trivia Nights aren’t a big thing all over the world, and if you don’t know American pop culture, it might not be a fun time. (I’m FIERCELY competitive at these things. Because of this, if I was invited to a Mongolian trivia night, I would probably stay home because I know I wouldn’t stand a chance.) ((WAIT. Before you start raising your eyebrows at me, let me say that I KNOW a Mongolian trivia night would probably be very educational for me and that I am Exactly What Is Wrong With Our Country. I would DEFINITELY go to an event called Meet Mongolian People, Chat About Their Heritage, and Eat Food! I just don’t want to sit at a table feeling like a loser because I don’t know this song.))
Anyway, this year we’re taking a break from the trivia night and going with mouse races instead. When the idea of mouse races was introduced, I had to ask if we’re talking about Real Mice. (We are.) The mice will not be eaten, but they will be given fake names and they will be yelled at to run faster so people can place bets and win money and it all sounds so crazy to me, but I’ve heard it’s an amazing time! Have you gone to mouse races? (Would you LIKE to go to mouse races? If you’re in St. Louis and you want more info, shoot an e-mail my way!) Mice! Running! Adults only because of the betting and the drinking and the screaming at the mice! (Yes. There will be drinking. The drinking might make some people jump up and down as they yell loudly at their chosen mouse. The drinking might make some people sit in the corner and send PayPal donations to animal rights groups. I won’t tell you which hat I might be wearing.) ((Disclaimer: Drinking is not required, Silly. Neither is reading Fluid Pudding. I love free will. (I also love determinism!)))
I’ve been told the races look a little something like this:
Again. Let me know if you’re local and interested. (In mouse races. I’m not trying to date you, although I *will* high-five you and make awkward eye contact if you show up!)
This evening for dinner we’re having a vegan shepherd’s pie. My friend Erika shared the recipe, and it led me to purchase my first parsnips (Life List Item #82!). Tomorrow morning will find me at the hospital at 6:00. After that, there’s a 70% chance of Pilates followed by another sleepover for Meredith. Also, I’ll be starting The Hotel New Hampshire. (Oh, John Irving. You stir me every time.)
Oh! Wait! Bread Pudding! A few of you want to make bread pudding, so let’s do it next week! I’ve marked my calendar for Thursday, March 7th. It’s the Second Ever Fluid Pudding BreadPuddingAlong!!! Aren’t we amazing? We Are. ‘ ‘ ‘text/javascript’>
As someone who has sold bushels of smencils as a PTO volunteer, I have to say that mouse racing is a truly bizarre fundraising idea.
Your hair! YOUR HAIR! It is so, so wonderful! That cut was made for you. You look just lovely!
Parsnips are so tasty roasted along with carrots and turnips and potatoes.
And have you ever made a banana bread pudding. Wow amazing. Though I recently acquired a recipe for an apple and bourbon recipe I would like to try.
Wow, There’s a lot going on in that picture! Cute haircut, and I can help you fix that chair if you still have the pieces…especially if it keeps you from moving. Don’t be like the Pope!!
So, wait, do we have to make the bread pudding on the 7th? Or just share it that day? :)
That hair is amazing on you! You are gorgeous, my friend.
Also, school fundraising is exhausting.
While I like the concept of a unique school fundraiser….mice squig me out. Now frogs, on the other hand…….or turtles, maybe……
My sister’s school does a cool “Amazing Race”/Scavenger Hunt thing, that seems like a LOT of fun, I think it’s called a rally? Anyway – they are in Kansas City, which is not so far from St. Louis, so….
I will be making bread pudding. Not sure yet what type, but I will report back!
I soooo wish I could rock that haircut like you, but alas it is not to be!
<– reads "A Prayer for Owen Meany" every year
and cries every time.
Your hair is not quite as short as mine.
I am going to pretend there were no mice here.
Your hair is PERFECT. And your taste in books is fabulous. If there are any John Irving books you have not yet read, screw book club. Drop everything and fix that. STAT!
Great hair!
Once at a party I met some Mongolian guys who were playing a kind of singing drinking game. From what I could gather, you had to sing as many verses of a song as you knew, then drink, then sing some more. Their English was poor and my Mongolian is non-existent, so maybe I didn’t get the rules straight–but you might want to learn a song or two if you do get invited to a Mongolian party!
P.S. You must also read A Son of the Circus!
P.P.S. I’m in for the bread pudding–it’s my favorite dessert!
The haircut looks great!
I would pay to be assured I would never have to see a mouse race ever. I have some mouse phobia issues. But good luck on the fundraising, I hope rodentphobes are few and far between at your school.
What does it say about me if the only thing I got out of reading all of this is that I want to cut my hair off and eat bread pudding?
Your new haircut is amazing. And I’ve heard of mouse races as fundraisers here in central IL, but I’ve not attended one and don’t hope to. I also admire your ability to mix stripes and patterns. Your outfit looks perfect. I bought a really cute black and white striped shirt and bright! yellow cardi at Ann Taylor and felt very pleased with myself. There’s something very French and timeless about b/w stripes. Lastly, I had a negative blood test following my second IVF today, and I’m kind of lost and heart broken, so I appreciate the distraction of your cute hair and this post. Awkward high five!
Your hair looks soft as a downy chick’s, and parsnips are one of my favorite ever vegetables. Earthy and sweet. I love them roasted, or mashed, or pureed in to a soup (sometimes if I have a lot of them, that is the progression they follow).
Sometimes you make me burn with envy–like your ability to look fabulous with very short hair. Ah, the envy it burns.
I also envy your ability to keep on track with a book club.
People sometimes freak out when you admit you envy them. But my envy is the friendly kind, truly.
I just want to understand how you manage your time. I can never have a normal shaped head. But do you not surf the internet? Or get up really early? I can only do about 1/10th of the things you seem to do.
Your hair looks amazing! I still have to lose 15 lbs! Is your house for sale? Ours is going up again tomorrow… wish me luck!
Haircut – terrific. Recipe – looks delicious. Book – depressing as all get-out.
Trivia nights are not just not world-wide, but they are not that common elsewhere in the US. They appear to be a particularly St Louis thing.
http://www.npr.org/2013/02/08/171279214/in-st-louis-trivia-is-no-trivial-pursuit?ft=1&f=1001
Add me to the legions who envy you for being able to look so cute in short hair.
The Hotel New Hampshire is a fine choice, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
The Mouse Races would be a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day for me. I would be sitting in a corner sniveling in between jumping out of my skin at the thought of a mouse getting loose. I’m not proud of my rodentphobia, but I’m too old to stop it now. Snakes, I’m fine with. Lizards, cool. Spiders, no problem. But rats are my downfall, and don’t try to tell me that these are just cute little mice and not rats — because there is no such thing.
But I hope you make a lot of money at the fundraiser. Drinking and gambling sounds delightful. I don’t live anywhere near you, and I don’t want to spoil things for those who enjoy a little sport, just give us a warning if you decide to post pictures of the winners, mmmkay?
Oh, just saw this! Guess I need to look up a good recipe to make today. :)
We moved to the STL metro east a few years ago, and I find a lot of things to be bizarre about this area. I have never heard of mouse racing as a fundraiser, but I have seen that thing where mice get dumped on a spinning color wheel and run into a hole.
I went to a trivia night at a Moose Lodge a couple of weeks ago. A MOOSE LODGE with a big moose head on the wall. I knew that those places existed, but not for really reals. I didn’t know trivia nights were really a thing, either, but there were hundreds of people there.