Gradually Going Green

Tin Can Robot Kit

I want one.

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Can we talk about this pencil sharpener for a second?

I sat there and stared at the offereings: modern? electric? plug-in? battery? 20 bucks? 50?

OR...old school?

I SO made the right choice. I sharpened 10 pencils in under a minute.

Now, that's something to blog about:



Yes, I was a crosstitcher in a past life. It's Fall Ya'll!

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Demo

Reality TV anyone?



I shot this demo earlier this year after much stressful deliberation as to whether or not to participate. I thought it was a big secret, but apparently not, so go ahead and watch it!

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Ready

I spied BIC Mark It ultra fine point permanent markers at Staples.

They will be perfect for the addressing I have to do...

This year the girls want to sign their own names. After some discussion, we decided we would try to tackle 10 per day. We will be done by the 25th if we stay on schedule....just in time for my Day After Thanksgiving mailing.

PS. Having a 4-year-old participate is magical. She is practicing writing her name over and over and counting how many she has done and how many she has left in her stack. It's a writing and math miracle!

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The Pond-Opening Day

We couldn't resist opening day at The Pond at Bryant Park yesterday.

Both girls were on single blades this year. Lolly did so great, MUCH better then last year. She fell a lot when she got distracted by expert skaters doing tricks in the center, and by any groups of TEENS, but in general did great.

The music seemed to be a range of 70's. Loved hearing non-Christmas Karen Carpenter: We've Only Just Begun (reminded me of singing that in my 5th grade play!).

We only got around the ice about twice before it was time for Zamboni:

Tired girls after a few hours of skating. I was tired too. I am so grateful for my new skates. My ankles are much less sore this year, because I have a better-sized boot.

Looking forward to continued mild weather so that we can get our skate on some more!

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Pants

I have been flirting with a cold for the past few days, but it finally HIT me like a ton of bricks yesterday. I even skipped knitting group, that's how bad it is, was, is.

And now I have a callback for Olive Garden. I think this is the third time I have been called back and put on hold for OG. Last week at the first appointment some of my fellow actor's sitting around in white shirts and khakis were commenting on my white shirt and pencil skirt and yellow-striped leggings with tall boots. My agent did not specify khakis, I even double-checked the email. Apparently, actors have been sent home at callbacks if not wearing the exact proper attire.

So, since it has come to my attention recently that I have not booked a commercial since Feb. 2008 (I have been on hold for about hundred and two of course, but no dice), I feel it is important to not mess this up. I needed khakis. BUT! Khakis are not hitting the shelves just now. After failing at the Gap (really? only cropped and size 16? what?), I headed to J. Crew. I picked up the only 2 pairs that qualified there and now I know why I don't own khakis:

The pair on the left cost 15 dollars and the pair on the right, 50 dollars, only because they were on promotion, so I got 10 dollars off. I thought I might look better in the ones on the right, but really I just look bad in both. YES, I tried a size lower but they were a little tight in my FRONT-THIGH fat (a new addition since "the 30's"), and so these loose, unflattering khaki's are it.

I chose the left pair because I like the color better, they are incrementally more flattering and 35 bucks cheaper. And I'm hoping a whole lot of good luck!

After a long day of feeling cloudy, depressed about khakis, lamenting the fact that I happened to wear my white shirt the entire day before I had to wear it again, and wishing to be cozy in my bed with my fuzzy socks on, my friend Mr. Gilbert gave me exactly what I needed: My first forray into the unknown world of Pumpkin Spice Hershey's Kisses:



I've been searching for months, ever since he started Facebooking about them, and even had a false alarm when he met me last week to deliver them, but accidentally brought CARAMEL instead. And they were worth the wait. They're kind of great.

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Third Person Thursday

She got her filling replaced last Wednesday. 1 shot of lidocaine, then 2. He was good, very little pain.

The drilling began. She could feel it. She asked if it would get worse then that, because she could tolerate it if it stayed. It didn't stay. She felt a sharper pain and could feel her body tense up, so she asked for a little bit more.

BAM. She could tell that final shot was right in there.

She was numb for the next 5 hours. When it finally wore off she was relieved until the pain set in, then she was wishing she was still numb. She's had 3 root canals, 2 crowns, 4 wisdom teeth pulled and 2 previous fillings, and she could not recall pain like this. The pain was not the tooth, it was where that 3rd shot went in. She popped some ibuprofen and hoped it would get better.

It's now been a week, and guess what? Yup.

So, she looked it up:

"Wikipedia on local anesthetics says:

Localized Adverse Effects
The local adverse effects of anesthetic agents include neurovascular manifestations such as prolonged anesthesia (numbness) and paresthesia (tingling, feeling of "pins and needles", or strange sensations). These are symptoms of localized nerve impairment or nerve damage.
Risks
The risk of temporary or permanent nerve damage varies between different locations and types of nerve blocks.[1]
Recovery
Permanent nerve damage after a peripheral nerve block is rare. Symptoms are very likely to resolve within a few weeks. The vast majority of those affected (92–97%), recover within four to six weeks. 99% of these people have recovered within a year. It is estimated that between 1 in 5,000 and 1 in 30,000 nerve blocks result in some degree of permanent persistent nerve damage.[1]
It is suggested that symptoms may continue to improve for up to 18 months following injury."

After reading this, she thought: Of course, she's the one. She just hopes it's a few weeks of discomfort and not 18 months or FOREVER.......!

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