He still looks good...

Basketball games can be physical.

Love my PS22 choir! Pure, sweet voices.

Scout wristlets vs. Vera Bradley wristlets

Let's compare, shall we?

Scout Tote-all :

Size: 5.25in.(W) x 3.25in.(H) x 1in.(D

Big enough for any cell phone

ID slot

Inside pocket

Outside velcro pocket

Water resistant

Coated cotton

$20 on www.preppyplayer.com

Vera Bradley Carry It All Wristlet:

3¼" x 5½" x ¾" 

Zip-around 

Four card slots

Zippered coin pouch

ID window and a bill slot

Designed to fit large mobile phones

$42.00 on http://www.verabradley.com

Obviously I am biased as I do sell Bungalow Scout wristlets.... I feel as though Scout wristlets are for sporty, active girls. They work in a gym bag, lax bag or back pack. 

By virtue of the water resistant material they are made of-  they can go anywhere!

Certainly you don"t want to throw them overboard or in the pool- but they can tolerate a splash of water or a spilled soda.

Vera Bradley does top Scout in that there are 34 designs to choose from. I sell 4.

BUT, Scout wristlets are $20

Vera Bradley?

$42

Enough said?

transition-

It sure was awesome skiing in Utah last month.
As many of you know my family has lived there for the last 30 years and I consider it my second home.
But this year was different.
Usually we have a group skiing. My husband, kids, my sister, her kids, maybe another sister and her kids....
This year?
Just a few of us.
Normally,  the large group of us get there 8am. We ski and ski. We stop for a cookie and coffee and then ski some more. We eat a late, lingering lunch-  complete with beer and wine, and then ski until the place closes.

This year?

My sister was nice enough to drive, but we get there at 10:30 and are done by 3:00...
And why not?

There are three of us. We ski so many more runs when you are not in a big group. we skied and skied. Short lunch. Probably did more skiing than usual.

It still was sad.

I missed the old days of our big groups and tail gates after, all our apres-de-ski stories and comparisons.
I thought I loved skiing. I now know I love skiing with my family and friends and that it isnt the same without them

In the future?

I won't be going to Utah again without my posse.

Manners/analogies

Once a week I go to puppy school with little LuLu. 

We, and the emphasis is on we are learning about animal behavior, positive reinforcement, pack mentality, establishing who is the leader/the boss, and so much more.

The most important lessons I come away with each week is that a puppy with good manners/behaviour is a puppy people want to be around, that training a puppy is a lot of consistency, repetitiveness, and hard work.

AND? 

There are no bad dogs, just bad owners.

Which leads me to thinking about parents and children. 

Very often I notice children with bad manners. The parents must not notice the dirty looks from other adults. They must not realize that their children aren't asked on play dates or to many parties, or included in plans other mothers make for afternoon excursions. They must excuse complaints from teachers, grandparents, aunts and uncles.

The parents of bad mannered children must not notice that most other children do not run around stores, interrupt conversations, take food without asking, ignore adult directions. They must not notice that well mannered children always say thank you and please, do not correct adults, accept gifts with a thank you (even if they would rather have something else), help when they see an adult carrying in groceries, or clearing a table.

And I feel the same way about children with bad manners as I do about puppies when we leave puppy school...

That there are no bad children, just lazy parents.

That a child with good manners and social skills is a child people want to be around. That making sure you have a well mannered child is a lot of consistent, repetitive, hard work.

In on the joke

I sell pillows.
During the winter I sell holiday and ski theme pillows. People love them and I sell quite a lot.
What I really should say is women love them because that is whom primarily buy them from me.

The first week in February I start to get in my Summer/Spring pillows. They are beach and animal themed. They sell well as the weather gets warmer. People tend to give them as hostess gifts as a thank you for a stay at a beach house or as a housewarming gift for a newly purchased summer home.
Because of this I tend to bring the pillows to events in April and on.

For some reason I brought a few pillows to a gym I was selling at the week before Valentines day, I think I was in the mood for Spring and the pillows made me feel as though we are getting closer...

Well, thank goodness I did because I wouldn't have had a charming story to share:

I had just set up my table when an elderly gentleman walked up and started chuckling.

I said, "Ok what's so funny about my table?!"

He said," Its not your table, its my wife, I mean your pillow!"

I said, "Huh? What?" Ok, you got to explain that one!"

He laughed a little bit more and picked up the long pillow that said LIVE BAIT.

He went onto explain,
You see, my wife is a very pretty, sweet, and proper lady and I love her to death. She still continues to surprise and amaze me every day and every once in awhile?
She REALLY surprises me!
One day we were driving up to our lake house for a day of fishing and I saw a fish and tackle store, it had a big sign, LIVE BAIT.  I said to my wife, "Oh look honey, Live bait. Should we stop and get some?"
 She looked at me, shook her head and said, "There was a time where I was considered LIVE BAIT!"
And then she burst out laughing. Well, we both laughed for awhile. So when I saw this pillow it made me laugh reminding me that my pretty and proper wife can still surprise me.

He put the pillow back and made his way out the door still smiling and I had a smile too as that was a nice way to begin my day of work.

About three hours later there he was back again! He explained that he had gone to work and thought about it, the pillow would be a perfect valentines gift for his wife, it would be their private joke and a way to let her know that he thought she still was LIVE BAIT! He bought the pillow smiling from ear to ear.

This little encounter made my day and now you too, are in on their inside joke.

It's that time of year!

Just got back from Utah.
Did a little skiing, it was COLD!
Did a little selling, always fun there.
Did some visiting, great to see family and friends. ( especially you Somer!)

Did miss my family.
Did miss my new little puppy.
Did miss playing some paddle.

And now I'm back!
For me?  How ever long I'm gone is how long it takes me to get caught up and back to normal.
I have three more days and then NO excuses.

Scout Lacrosse Stick Bags are in!

www.preppyplayer.com

February Angel

My grandmother gave me one of these for my birthday when I was about six years-old. I cherished it and kept it for many, many years.

When I was little I always felt like a new year began on my birthday, I guess it was before New Years held any significance other than my parent's yearly parties. And even though New Years is more of a clean slate time of year for most people, I still feel my "clean slate" is my birthday!

So I am starting off my new year today, on my birthday.
here are my goals:

1. more organized
2. BLOG
3. work on web site more
4. yoga/gym more
5. puppy school
6. take care of myself more- nails, hair, doctors
7. reach out to friends and family more
8. pay more attention to my husband :)
9. be selective with work
10. donate time more

Oh, and are you wondering about #5?

This our new member of the family and our February Angel!

LuLu

She is a 12 week-old Jack Russell terrier. 

So far, so good.

She is delightful and very well behaved. that might have something to do with crate training and the 5 to 10 walks a day she goes on...

Like the old Irish lady I met at Petco said to me, " A Jack Russell? You'll never be fat ." 

Happy Friday! You're welcome.

I Knew You Were Trouble - WALK OFF THE EARTH Feat.

I'm at it.

I was a vendor at the New York City Boat Show all of last week...

 It was amaze balls.

 In all seriousness? It was pretty interesting.

 Still a lot of rich people out there. Mostly Russian!

 A lot of people still recovering from Hurricane Sandy. They came to the show to... look.

 Saw many customers of mine from Horse shows, lacrosse tourneys and fundraisers.

 Met many, MANY nice people.

 Sold a TON of swim dresses and Tizzie shirts.

Sold a lot of nautical jewelry....

And pillows? You bet!

Happy Friday!

What an opportunist!

Don't know these two but that could have definitely happened in my house.

I think it would have been the year my children were 6 months, 2 1/2 years-old, 8 years-old, 11 and 12 years-old.
That year is a blur, was a whirlwind/crazy time...
And?
Always puts a smile on my face.
In the way that picture does.
A mixture of cute, funny, and... disturbing.

Not really.

Ok.
My blog is as far from sexy as possible but I plan on being more active in the next few weeks...
So don't give up on me!

Do you need to laugh? Happy Monday :)

Don't wait until Christmas morning...

to be THIS excited!

20% off and free shipping for all my readers today until Monday!
Use code-blog

http://www.preppyplayer.com/

When they were with Ford...

So, my children use to be Ford Models.
Since we live right outside NYC, it was easy to get to all the go-sees and auditions.
It was a fun little job and provided our family with lots of adventures.
(In the top pic, my daughter is the girl in the forefront, middle, behind the blond girl with her hands on her head and my son is the boy front and center. He is also in the second pic, forefront, walking towards the little blond girl.)

In 2003, two of my children were asked to dress in white and meet at a building near Times Square. The job paid very well and took a few hours. Two of the images are shown above.

I knew the photographers were a Russian collective of artists and that the photos were to be a part of a series. That is all I knew.
I was able to see the images at a gallery when they first were shown but had to leave quickly to another event and wasn't able to read any of the descriptions of the show.

Over the last nine years every now and then I would google and try and find the images. This week I hit the jackpot and found them. I also found some reviews and you can imagine my surprise when I found out what the "subject" of the series was...
see highlighted...

The King of the Forest

Robert Leonard and Janita Craw

"Advertising agencies know they can always use beautiful wide-eyed children to pull on our heart strings and prize open our wallets. It's the feel-good factor: fresh-faced kids sell the future, attaching their appeal to any product or ideology they're aligned with. AES+F address this in their film trilogyKing of the Forest (2001–3). Recalling the medieval folk tale of a King who imprisoned beautiful children in his palace for his pleasure, AES+F 'steal' hundreds of children, recruiting them from local model agencies, ballet schools, sports clubs... They dress them generically, in classic whites, sometimes suggesting sports kit and underwear. They install them in picturesque locations, film them in lingering slow-mo, then cut the footage to music. AES+F chose locations in the Old World, the New World and the Third World. Le Roi Des Aulnes(2001) was shot in the gilded, mirrored halls of Tsarskoye Selo, Catherine the Great's St. Petersburg palace. This film of beautiful children caught in a hall of mirrors suggests a mass audition or a ballet studio study after Degas. The kids instinctively court the camera, striking poses. More Than Paradise(2002) was shot in Cairo's mosque-castle Mohammed Ali. AES+F required the children to demonstrate well-known ritual situations such as processions and circling, which have become cliches of the Islamic world in the Western media. For a complete contrast, KFNY (2003) was shot in the hubbub of New York's Times Square with Navy recruiting ads playing on overhead video screens, displaying dramatic images of battleships, warplanes and helicopters. Attentive to the ironies of the new world order, this final installment involves a deep contradiction. Its all-embracing multi-cultural cast of 'heroes' — its 'rainbow coalition' — lining up on the side of America.

King of the Forest drips with art, advertising and pop culture associations. AES+F put a real spin on Vanessa Beecroft (with her performance-tableaux of inscrutable glamorous naked women), Shirin Neshat (with her orientalist videos of massed milling 'Others') and Art Club 2000 (a tribe of identically dressed juveniles who gathered in Times Square to be photographed). It also recalls fashion advertising campaigns for Benetton (whose multicultural appeal veils dubious third world labour practices), Calvin Klein and others. The King of the Forest trilogy remains ambiguous. The films are like ads which largely forgot to mention their product. The children instead seem to absorb the background ideological associations of their locations. The films' extended duration grants us the chance to map a variety of contradictory interpretations and affects: to see the children as innocent and knowing; as vulnerable and sublime; as the filmmakers' patsies and as coquettish spoilt agents. One moment we are jealous of their perfect existence and good looks, the next fearful for their safety. Equally our concern over their possible exploitation gives way to a realisation that their beauty can be used to exploit us. Kids may be captive but they are also captivating, their beauty exercising a magical force over us. As Elena Zaitseva explains, AES+F leave us 'balanced on a fine line between nobleness and treachery, bewitched by a beauty that has turned into a trap.' 'Our protest against the "stealing" of children does not prevent us from admiring them.'

Sometimes reality intervenes after the fact, changing the significance of an artwork forever. It's hard not to read King of the Forest in this way. On 1 September 2004, terrorists calling for Chechnyan independence 'stole' hundreds of staff and students at a school in the Russian town of Beslan. They herded their hostages into the school's gym. Deprived of food and water, the hostages were forced to drink their own urine; to cope with the stifling heat they were stripped to their underwear. On several occasions, released or escaped children were photographed fleeing in their smalls. By targeting 'innocent children', the terrorists were guaranteed the glare of world attention. The media milked it for all it was worth, giving the terrorists the publicity they sought, viewers something racy, and their advertisers a bigger audience. Three days in, a shoot-out between the terrorists and Russian security forces claimed the lives of over 300 hostages, more than 170 of them children. Despite moralising over evil, the media would be criticised for participating in it by running exploitative suggestive images of traumatised children in their whites. It is at such moments that our moral panic over child abuse spectacularly aligns with reality, and our obsession with safeguarding childhood innocence reveals its pornographic underbelly."

OOOOKKKKAAAYYY!

We thought it was a fun little job. it was safe, (the barricades and security officers were photoshopped out of the pics) the kids were given lots of breaks, were well fed, and got to be with their friends.

Who knew that the "subject" was about exploited children, as in our case-models.

So bizarre to find out nine years later.

meanwhile?

My kids think it is cool to finally see the pics of that fun day they remember from years ago.

Now THAT is innocence.

Another storm is coming...

Just like last October.
There are still leaves on the trees and lots and LOTS of damage from Sandy....

And now comes the snow, a Nor'easter packing a big punch of 40 to 50 mile an hour winds.

We gave up our generator to someone who needed it more. We still haven"t recovered from Sandy.
My business has been severely affected. School just started after a ten day absense.

All this is better than most of what the people around here have been experiencing.
So many people have been so generous and helpful, usually the ones who have suffered the most!

On the other hand, you cannot believe how terrible others have been. I think because people are on edge, tired cold, and upset that the worst is coming out in the strangest of places.
Ive heard a lot of petty exchanges in the A&P parking lot, on gas lines,  at grocery store and  deli.

Hopefully, we will all be back to normal- soon.

Plug your nose.

I don't judge anyone by their politics, unless they are extremists of any persuasion. I try to keep my opinions to myself regarding politics because...

I am not consistent.

I guess I would say I'm a little bit of a Republican with a large dash of Democrat, some folks would say that means I am a fence sitter.

I  think of myself as a Buffet Catholic. I take the parts of the religion that I want to follow or believe in.

I would say that I am very similar with my politics.

There is some Republican ideology that makes a lot of sense to me. I tend to side along with most Democrats regarding social issues.

So now what?

Well, it kinda stinks.

I don't feel strongly about either candidate or party...

First time ever.

At this point?

I think I'm voting for Chris Christie.

And this rings true!

This is only acceptable when I am are stuck home because of a hurricane. Scouts honor I don't normally "stalk!"

I LOVE your-ecards!

These are a few of my favorites...

What I didn't know was that you can do your own, 

So I did!

I thought I would stick with my theme this week- Sandy!

Do you want to have some fun and make your own ecard?

Go here:

http://www.someecards.com/usercards/create

Make sure you send me one :)

Sandy, 2012

image taken at LBI, Beach haven 2012

I don't think any children will be named Sandy for quite some time, at least not in the New York area. Especially not in New Jersey.

Even those love/power outage babies, born about 9 months from now?

I doubt it.

This is a tough one folks.

Just starting to understand the ramifications. The reality is setting in.

The immediate problems are a pain. 

We will probably not have power for ten more days. But we have a generator.

There are gas shortages and hours long lines to get gas. Since we need gas for the generator this will be a problem.

There are not many grocery stores open and those that are do not have much food or water.

Many roads are closed due to fallen trees or phone or electric wires, this will take a long time to clean up. It makes it very hard to go anywhere as there are constant detours.

School could be out for another week. The kids will be going to school till July!

Getting in and out of New York City is almost impossible. The trains and subways should be up soon. Until then?  Three to a car or you will be denied access to bridges and tunnels. 

All these problems are minute compared to the long range problems that may occur.

Our beloved Jersey Shore with its landmarks and distinct architecture is forever changed. 

Many businesses and homes will never be rebuilt. It will take many, MANY years to recover.

It is the same story from Hoboken down to Cape May. 

Our entire shoreline has been devastated geographically, financially, and emotionally.

We worry about the bridges and roadways along the barrier islands as many have been ruined.

We worry about real estate and resell for those along the Jersey shore. It will be many years before people forget and dare to buy in beach towns.

We worry about lower Manhattan. The subways and Brooklyn battery tunnel were filled with salt water, will they be safe?

Is New York City safe during future storms?

All things I had never thought about until this week.

I feel so lucky and blessed compared to so many of my friends, many whom have lost their dream homes or primary residences. 

One of my neighbors bought her home because of the huge, old oaks that gave her home shade and privacy. 

It looks like a giant came along and pulled up a bunch of carrots...

Seven oaks- roots and all, down on her home and lawn.

So, no "woe is me" here.

Just prayer and hope that this won't happen again for a long, long time.

We are fine here...

Yup.
No flooding. High winds that knocked down trees and devastated homes on almost every block in our town and that of surrounding towns.
We won't have power for a week to ten days.
No school until next week.
But?
We are fine here.
We have a generator. No damage to our home.
We consider ourselves lucky and blessed.
Our prayers are with all our friends and neighbors who have suffered damage and loss here and down at the shore.

I don't think we can actually get a grip on how everything will be different going forward...

Public transportation in NYC? We shall see.
Summers down the shore?
Doesn't look good for awhile.
Here are some images of our favorite place, Long Beach Island.
The bay met the ocean for two days and we will see how they come out of this-

The Chicken or the Egg, every one's favorite late night diner.

The tennis courts in Beach Haven. I can't tell you if behind the courts is the ocean side or if it is the bay side- very disorienting.

The famous "shack," a landmark known to us all. It sat in a marsh on the right as you cross the causeway onto the island. It is now gone.

 Our favorite restaurant on the island.

 Devastating damage to boats on the island.

At low tide. Sand is everywhere. So much damage.