Stop & Shop to the Rescue

I didn't have time to bake n' frost 36 cupcakes for Claire's birthday celebration at school today, so instead I ordered up some tye-dyed ones from the Stop & Shop, which I picked-up & dropped-off already.

We're going to do a whole bunch of celebrations for her birthday, so I'll whip-up some cupcakes then.

Double 1's for the Putch

My sweet, sensitive girl w/ the sense of humor of a college fray-boy turns 11 today.  She's had quite a year at 10 & I hope this one rocks even harder & better than before for her.  She's got a style of her own & I'm so proud for everything she believes in & does.

Below are a couple of pictures of her & my dad when she was just months old.  It was her first trip to Florida.

 

HAPPY 11th BIRTHDAY, CLAIRE

This Middle-Aged Girl's Gone Rockin'

Carl's still out & Claire's finally asleep after watching "Pitch Perfect" (fun movie) & singing along to "Les Mis" songs on YouTube (I still choked-up, but didn't cry this time).  So, what's a gal to do on a Sunday night at almost 11pm at night?  Watch "Adult Swim" on Cartoon Network & search YouTube for full concerts that are new to me, like, these two from 1966 (3 years before I was born):

The Beatles in Japan


Thelonious Monk... somewhere (Doesn't seem like Japan to me)

I Joined the Masses & Bawled My Eyes Out

Yesterday, I finally saw "Les Miserables" w/ my dad & Claire after weeks of waiting & boy howdy, I cried like a baby throughout the entire movie.  I mean, I knew that I'd cry a bit b/c I always did when my dad & I would see "Les Mis" on Broadway, but man-oh-mammy, I didn't expect the tears to flow even after the movie ended at just the mention of a scene or humming of a song.

At least I'm lucky enough for Claire to not have her ipod touch w/ her on the walk home on Austin Street b/c I really don't need something like this going around of me:

Kvell Alert: Claire Fisher Borgatti, Kidsday Reporter

I still use a non-texting cell phone, so, far be it from me to say anything about Bonni for not being on Facebook so it'd be easier for everyone to "share" w/ her at the same time as others.  No biggie.  I'll just re-post these two articles by Claire that were featured in the Kidsday section of Newsday over the past week here.

"Proud" is such a weak word to describe what I truly felt when I read them in the paper.  The first is on our lunch box collection at home.  The second is about Max & Mina's Ice Cream shop on Main Street in Flushing, Queens.

So, here they are, Bon (& anyone else who missed this on Facebook).

The Ginger-Walking Dead House

Claire went w/ my mom & her cousins to a Gingerbread House-making Party a week or so ago.  Below are two shots of the Putch's zombie'fied creation:

Claire's New 'Do

Last night it took over an hour to comb through Claire's super-thick, very-long hair, so when she asked if she could get it cut like Ramona Flowers, I was pretty darn quick to say, "yes."

 

When we got to the salon after school today, they thought that she could donate her hair to Locks for Love, so Claire went for a little shorter of a 'do.  It turns out my little rock-n-roll chickareenie's bleached-&-dyed-pink hair can't be used in wigs for people in recovery, but it can be used to make bouys that help clean areas where there's been spillage of yucky stuff... or something like that.  I've got to look more into this.  (It's amazing what you can find on the Internet.)

 

Any old ways, I'm so proud of her regardless of where her old hair goes b/c it takes a very brave soul to make such a drastic change.  Below are two pictures -- back & front -- of her new 'do.  In the second, she's holding one of ten ponytails worth of hair that was cut off today.  And, yes, she's closing her eyes on purpose -- she wanted to make it look like she's blinking.  Gotta love the Putch.

 

 

Per Claire's Request: Les Miserables

Claire's latest request: Les Miserables, 25th Anniversary Production from, I think, Australia.  That I'm not sure of, so you'll have to watch n' check yourself.

I used to see "Les Miz" on Broadway all the time w/ my dad back in the early to mid '90s.  They would have $15 ticket offers in the nose-bleeds, which was fine for us b/c we've already seen it so often & the seats really weren't that bad.

Any old ways, I would play the original cast recording for Claire when she was a wee thing, but haven't in awhile.  Then, my dad played her "Castle in the Cloud" recently & now we're hooked again, which is a good thing b/c the movie adaptation is coming out later this month.

Till then... enjoy, Putch & all...

All Frosted-Up w/ No Place to Go

I guess I gotta face it... Thanksgiving just ain't my holiday.  This year we stayed home again & missed my sisters.  We were close to going to Janine's w/ Bonni & all our families.  I even whipped-up a bunch of cupcakes for the occasion this morning, as seen below, but Claire got a fever & Carl was overtired from his trip to Atlantic City that he just returned from, so... well... you know.

Carl, Claire & I stayed true to our tradition of watching a movie together, at least.  This go-around: "Brave" -- not too shabby.  Dare I say, I even shed a few tears towards the end.  Gotta love a Princess flick where the mom isn't dead.

halloween cupcakes 2012

well, thanks to hurricane sandy, school was closed last week, so these puppies didn't get to see the light of day until today.  ladies & gentlemen, may i introduce this year's halloween cupcakes for claire's class...

(tho & stacey... i was thinking of you two while i was frosting.)

 

 



my favorite time of year

tonight was PS 196Q's annual halloween party.  it was bittersweet knowing this was our last one since claire's in 5th grade & moving on to middle school next year.

 

claire was a greek goddess this year.  no one imparticular.  could be athena.  could be... well, one of the others whose name slips my mind at this time.

 

i had a good time -- despite manning the school spirit sales table in the lobby & missing out on the festivities.  i heard it was fun downstairs in the cafeteria, even w/ the first hour of it being hot-as-heck w/out A/C.  i just love that our families didn't let that stop them from partying away.

 

& no, i'm not toxic waste... i'm a cupcake.

 

happy (almost) halloween.



My Greek Goddess & Patchy the Scarecrow

experience "black tie beach," youtube-style

improv everywhere's video of 2012's "black tie beach" mission is up on youtube & embedded below here.  there're a few, very-quick clips of me, claire & our friends, which is pretty neat.  (go, purple dresses.)



for my earlier posts about our participation in this very cool mission, please check out:

BLACK TIE BEACH 2012 & BACK TO BLACK TIE BEACH

& once again, thank you to charlie todd/improv everywhere.  BLACK TIE BEACH & the MP3 EXPERIMENT, which i still need to write & post about here one of these days, made my summer incredible.  looking forward to future missions.

i would be a good mother if...

... i took a photo of claire today on first day of fifth grade & posted it here on my blog or on facebook, but dang me b/c i did not get a shot of the putch on her last first day at PS 196Q.

then again, i was at school all day since 7:30am this morning to sell t-shirts & serve refreshments to the parents at drop-off & kindergarten pick-up.  (i did take one break for lunch on austin street & to seek the elusive "forest hills rooster" w/ my friend stacey, & we did meet a bunch of really neat parents at school, which was quite nice.  we're going back tomorrow AM to hawk more school spirit gear (ie: fancy-talk for "t-shirts") & w/ this PA president gig i've got going this school year on top of everything else i was doing before... heck, i think i actually am a darn good mother, regardless if i took that picture or not.

[update, just a bit later: i did a search for the "forest hills rooster" & it turns out that it may actually be a chicken, as reported by CBS local news.]

[update, just a tad bit later than the "rooster vs. chicken" update: i noticed a reporter at school this morning, so i did a search & found this DNAinfo article by nigel chiwaya about the first day of school, featuring PS 196Q.  cool beans & neat-o, eh?]

us & them

[open letter to bonni: you could've seen these photos from yesterday last night if you were on facebook.  alas, you're not, so here they are for your viewing pleasure.  it's kinda neat-o seeing us & them together like this.  i LOVE that they're both a year apart like we were.  & i hope they stay super-close.  (though w/ family, there's bound to be some ups n' downs.)  okie-doke, i could go on & on, but i'll stop now.  here are the pics.  i LOVE you.  & let's get a set of these w/ maddi & janine in 'em, too.]

 



us at the bronx zoo



them at umberto's

black tie beach 2012

i don't have time to yammer about yesterday's incredible time at the 3rd annual black tie beach event -- this year at coney island -- so thank you to ari scott for taking these photos & sharing them on flickr, so i can share them here (there was a link allowing me to do it, so please lemme know if this ain't kosher &'ll remove 'em).  & thank you to carl for taking some snapshots for us to share, as well.  it's much-appreciated.

as you can see by the photos, we had a seriously fun time having a regular ol' day at the beach in our (thrift store) best.  in a quick nutshell, hundreds of us dressed-up in black tie attire & descended on the coney island beach to have some fun in the sun amongst unknowing beach-goers.

(many thanks too to charlie todd from improv everwhere -- the man who has been creating & executing amazing "social experiments," such as this.  check out the link for more pictures from three other photographers at the beach & details of all their missions.)

[update, 8/20: you can view more photos here.]

want some?... psych.

another proud moment today when claire told me she wanted to show me something funny she found on youtube... eddie murphy's "ice cream" routine.  here's his entire show for her & you -- my two faithful followers -- to enjoy:

insomnia

[found this in my "drafts" -- it was rather late when i wrote this a couple of nights ago & i completely forgot about it until now.]

claire's at camp.  carl's in TX.  i'm on my own & can't sleep, so i'm scouring the internet for items of interest, like this song that i used to sing to claire when she was a baby:


& there's no special meaning behind this one. i'm just tired & have the beatles on my mind b/c of the last song:



is this really appropriate for wee ones?  "mama, just killed a man... gun... head... trigger.  now he's dead."  yeah, not really, but i still like this & all those other rock n' roll lullabies.

it ain't cejwin, but it'll do

just dropped the putch off at sleepaway camp for her very first summer.  i could ramble on about how i miss her, all my fears & hopes for her, & so on & so forth, but instead i shall simply post these four pictures from drop-off -- which ran very smoothly, so kudos to you, camp laurelwood:

white bunks w/ green trim, just like cejwin -- yay, i continue to live nostalgically & vicariously though my daughter's sleepaway camp experience.

curious to see how this'll look in a four weeks on visiting day.

me, bonni, carl & the girls.  (wolf & milton were already on the campuses.)



this is going to be a good summer...

procrastination at its finest

"nothing like waiting till the last minute to do something"... that's my unintentional motto.  see, there are less than 48 hours before we leave to drop claire off at sleepaway camp & true to my nature, i have yet to begin labeling & packing her clothes & gear.  now, typically, i'd waste another day, but i've got carl on my ass supporting me to break my procrastinating ways, so, i'm gonna put some albums on & get crackin', starting w/ "rubber soul" by the beatles:

kvell alert: spring concert w/ claire in the senior chorus

a few lil' diddies i found on youtube from last week's spring concert at PS 196Q... (thanks for the first one, chin.  & thanks to the mysterious parent who posted the other two.)

under the sea (claire is in the headband & ponytail, playing the xylophone on the bottom left-hand corner)


i'll stand by you (claire's in the white shirt... get it.  i made a funny.)


count on me