Sisterhood46

No matter where I reside, whether in the city or the burbs, I am appalled by McDonald's. I am appalled by the way corporations in this country poison consumers, young and old, and have the nerve to label their junk with health claims! Read New York Time columnist Mark Bittman's account of McDonald's latest "wholesome" offering and see what set me off! http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/22/how-to-make-oatmeal-wrong/?partner=rss&emc=rss

Jackson Pollock "Galaxy" I am so grateful that I moved to the suburbs in the 21st century! I can't imagine what my life here would have been like if I didn't have a high speed internet connection. Thanks to this precious connection I've taken online classes and finished a degree. I keep in touch with my family in Europe via Skype. I've been able to share my journey to the burbs with friends! Last night I discovered yet another use for the internet. After dinner, my son and I visited the Reina Sofia museum in Madrid, MOMA in New York, the Tate in London and the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam in about half an hour. All thanks to the Art Project by Google that he had been shown at school that day. Thanks to this amazing program you can walk around museums around the world, zoom in on specific art work and even take a peek at the street outside!  http://www.googleartproject.com

I consider myself a pretty brave City Girl. However, when it comes to the dentist.....I am a BABY! It's embarrassing how scared I am of going to the dentist. Anyway as you know last week I broke my tooth on a pistachio nut. Well it turns out I not only broke the tooth, but I also damaged the nerve. Net, net today I had to have my first root canal!!!!! Let me just say the only image a root canal conjures up for me, is my mother coming home after having one done and lying on her bed in the dark for the rest of the day! Anyway, I went back to Dr. Susan Levine today and she rocks! She actually made my root canal pain free! I spent most of the hour waiting for agonizing pain....but nothing.  So if you're in Fairfield county and you need a great dentist, this city girl recommends Dr. Levine.  http://www.drsusanlevine.com

One of the things I miss about the city is the option of going to see plays. Mind you with three kids I didn't exactly go every week but it was a nice option. One of the reasons we chose Westport, CT beside the schools and the beach, was its reputation as an art town. This winter I discovered a fabulous and easy way of seeing a couple of plays in town, it's called Play with Your Food. Here's the deal. Once a month, you show up for a buffet lunch, catered by one of the local restaurants and you are then treated to three short plays. The actors are professional actors from CT and NYC so the quality of the acting is fantastic and the range of plays offered is really interesting and broad. I roped in a couple of friends to sign up for the season so I get a lunch date and creative relief at the same time! Of course I had to get over the fact that I was now a "lady who lunches"and that half of the people there are senior citizens (not good for someone who just turn...

I came across this quote this morning and it jumped out because it really encapsulates why some enjoy suburban life and others may not! "To different minds, the same world is a hell and a heaven." Ralph Waldo Emerson. "Our subjective interpretation of the world matters; what we focus on makes a difference." Tal Ben-Shahard, Phd

This afternoon, at about 2:00PM, my friend and I were debating the pros and cons of keeping our doctors in New York versus finding new ones in the burbs. Pros: you trust them, they know you, you feel comfortable and they're competing in one of the toughest cities in the world so they're probably at the top of their game. Cons: they're in the city and you're not. Fast forward three hours. It's after-school time. The kids are home playing and I'm munching on some pistachios. On my third pistachio I hear "CRACK." I'm like, no "f***ing way, did I just break my tooth!" I feel around with my tongue to find a distinctive crack in my molar and the pain is raging from my gum. So I  speed dial my dentist. This being the ONLY doctor I have switched to locally..... She answers the phone. Panicked I say: "I think I just broke my tooth and I have to lead a workshop tomorrow at 10AM!" She replies: "how fast can you get here?" I...

It's really hard for a city person to imagine suburban life. We have our stereotypes of course but we really don't know the half of it. I've shared with you the fun of being in the burbs in the summer, by the beach. Let me even it out and share what it's like in the winter. 1. Snow days are a constant not a novelty. The first year we were here, I wondered why school got cancelled with only a couple of inches on the ground. I can get my kids to school I thought! Yes, but the problem is that the school buses have to be cleaned and the teachers who sometimes live quite far away have to make it to school too! No teachers + no buses = no school. 2. You shovel your own driveway, no doorman is out there in the early morn throwing salt for you. And of course it's way harder than it looks and it has to be done a couple of times at least.  You could hire someone to do it for you but you'd better get on the waiting list pretty fast. Let me just say that I never ever...

I'm sure I'm not the only one who's done, really done with the endless snow days.  It was fun the first couple of times, bearable the third and fourth, now it's just annoying.  I love my kids but I never signed up for home schooling them! How do I know that enough is enough?  This afternoon my kids begged me to help around the house. Thus far my kids today have: emptied the dishwasher, cleaned the dishes, cleaned the kitchen counters, cleaned the guest bathroom, their own bathroom and made their beds.  Can we all say cabin fever? :)