Furlough Friday activities!

I'm fast runnin' out of Furlough Fridays to document! This one was the last one I'll be spending in which I enjoy Mommy Free Time, as the youngster is conveniently OFF during my next 2 scheduled Fridays off. This is both awesomely convenient, and a bit of a bummer. ;-)

Anyhoo, this past Furlough Friday, I was joined by Mr. Siegel. We started the day at The Boy's school awards ceremony, then headed up into the Hollywood Hills to check out Runyon Canyon. We've heard alot about it as a nice place to hike... plus it has an off-leash dog park within. So we thought we'd drag Kelsey up there and check it out.

It's rather unconventional as off-leash dog parks go. It's not fenced, so if you had, say, a crazy Siberian Husky you were particularly fond of, you would not want to bring him here. But our pup was fine and stayed pretty close while still enjoying the steep hillsides.

On the way out, we ran into Reese Witherspoon in the parking lot. In my effort to "look natural," I slammed my finger in the van door. #CelebrityEncounterFail

Hope you enjoyed your hike, Reese.

CONGRATULATIONS are in order...

It's an exciting day here at The Siegel Files... The Boy won several awards duriing the May awards ceremony at school! One was Student of the Month for Language/Literature, another was Student of the Month in Science, and the last one -- the big surprise -- was that he took 3rd place in the Science Fair in the Physics category! WE HAZ PROUDZ! Plus, they gave the kids TROPHIES! WTF?! How awesome is THAT?!

For more info on his Science Fair project, look here!

Old-age Barnacle!

Yes, Ladies & Gentlemen, first it was shingles, and now I apparently have AN OLD-AGE BARNACLE on my face. Also known as seborrheic keratosis, or "Seb Ker", this is a benign growth commonly affecting us oldsters.

Thankfully, mine is tiny, and easily removable. But, still. Wikipedia calls it a "senile wart".

SUPER. As the kids would say, that's an EPIC WIN.

"Twilight" backlash: Sexism?

Is the backlash against ‘Twilight’ rooted in sexism?

This was the question that popped into my head recently after watching the movie “Twilight”. (Which is funny, because I watched a RiffTrax of it, and you wouldn’t think I’d be left with such a serious question after viewing THAT little slice of comedy… “LINE?!” But anyhoo, I digress…)

What first struck me was, “JESUS, that was a funny
RiffTrax.” After that, I got to thinking how extremely cool the Twilight STORY is. Seeing the movie actually made me want to read the books. Not because of the vampire romance – I can take or leave vampires. What I loved was the framework of the story – that the vampire “Dad” (who is the town doctor) actually saves people’s lives, in a way, by turning them into vampires when they’re gonna die anyway. So in the story, the Doctor’s family is comprised of these young people that he’s saved (including Edward), and a “Mom”, all of whom have been given eternal life by this vampire/doctor. Oh, and they don’t live on people-blood, these vampires, they live on animal blood, so as not to take innocent human lives. They’re like a band of vampire humanists, I guess.

So now, as the basis for a book series, I ask you… HOW FREAKIN’ GNARLY IS THAT CONCEPT?!

Okay, so then… why all the mockery, and, at times, vitriol? Remember, the anti-Twilight “movement” – if one can call it that – began as a reaction to Stephenie Meyer’s books (which I will NEVER understand, being a big fan of ALL BOOKS and anything that makes someone read). It reached a heightened pitch, certainly, after the release of the movies and the surrounding teen-heartthrob hubbub, marketing blitz, etc., but it was in full-swing before there was even TALK of a movie, before R-Pattz and K-Stew were even CAST! Grown women were forced to cover their Twilight books in their kids’ schoolbook covers in embarrassment, for cryin’ out loud!

Being a library worker, I have lots of literary-snob peeps, bless their hearts, who were among the Twilight haters. I’m not callin’ y’all sexists, so don’t get yer collective academic panty in a bunch. I’m just wondering -- MUSING, if you will -- as to whether, on some subconscious level, a deeply ingrained, societal sexism had something to do with the rather bizarre anti-Twilight backlash. I don’t believe for one minute that a book series aimed at, and appealing to, teenage boys, would have met with such a public flogging and complete dismissiveness. I think it’s full-on, socially ingrained, sexism in action. People who would never think of bashing Harry Potter, for example, bashed Twilight … in many (most?) cases, without ever having cracked even one of the books open.

Interesting, no?

I welcome your thoughts on my hastily fleshed-out theory.

Particularly if you’ve actually read the book(s), which I have not.

More Zany Captchas!

As y'all know, I am a big fan of the zany captchas one sometimes gets when trying to post comments to blogs and Facebook and whatnot.

Here are a couple more particularly awesome ones I recently got:

BEST. MOTHER'S DAY. EVAR.

Mother’s Day. It’s like Christmas for Moms! At our house it is, anyway. My boys knock themselves out every year to give me everything I want on Mother’s Day. I LOVE it! It’s also one of the few days per year where I fully DEMAND everything I want, and enjoy it all, guilt-free.

This year, I got flowers; breakfast made by The Ev; a trip out to Hollywood Forever cemetery where I have not been in well over a decade; and my favorite dinner of grilled flank steak and potatoes, as expertly prepared by Mr. Siegel. For dessert: brownies! SQUEEEEEEEE! I had a wonderful, wonderful day.

Thanks so much, fellas. Ah *lurrrve* yew. xoxoxoxoox

2-year Anniversary of The Siegel Files!

I can't believe it! Has it *really* been 2 years since I started this blog?! In some ways, it feels like I just started it, and in others, it feels like a lifetime ago that I met this asshat and his dumb baby who unintentionally dragged me kickin' & screamin' into the blogosphere.

I love blogging. I love having a place where I can share what our family is up to, as well as just random silly thoughts. I used to think in terms of a blog needing to be something others wanted to read; at some point, I made the transition into seeing that it really needed to be... whatever the writer is compelled to express. Because you can't write a blog if you're not somehow driven to do so.

Speaking of compelling... A lovely lady named Virginia Corbett (she of the Roots & Zest blog) apparently finds MY blog compelling, as she presented me with a Stiletto Award a few weeks ago! SQUEEEEEEEEEE! This blog award was created "to salute the women who balance life, family & relationships with style & class ... who share their experiences with us ... who encourage us, inspire us, teach us, make us laugh and basically keep us going!" I am completely tickled to have received this (although I think there are those who would take issue with the "style" and "class" components. HA!). For full into about the Stiletto Award, go here.

Note that I do not require my recipients to pass the award on. I know alot of people just don't do this sorta thing, and I'm totally jiggy with that.

And so, without further ado, here are my Stiletto winners.

A BOY NAMED SEUSS.

Read about the adventures of my friend Jessica: self-proclaimed "aging punk rocker, cat herder, wife & mom". I've never met anyone quite like this platinum-blonde, inked-up Jewess. She'll make you laugh, cry... and wonder how the hell she looks SO. DAMN. GOOD. ALL. THE. TIME.

CIRCUS ACTS.

The unusually introspective Miss K shares the ups & downs of life in the Big Top with her hubby and 2 precious behbehs. You'll feel like she's talkin' directly to you... because, I think she really IS. Go for the prose; stay for the pictures of the *redonk* little girl in the pigtails!

THE ADVENTURES AND MISADVENTURES OF ONE MISS KELLY P. BERGIN.

Go there. Now. Your jaw will drop. Is this chick drunk? Is she ill? Is she completely BATSHIT?! You make the call. One thing's for sure -- you will laugh hysterically, weep unexpectedly, and generally marvel at The Kellinator.

GUST GAB.

My friend Darcie. Like all of us, she's busy with her own shit -- kids, husband, job, household. Yet somehow, she finds time and energy for other people/organizations/causes... you name it, she's helping out. The world needs more Darcies! Follow her antics here at Gust Gab.

INTROVERTED WIFE.

This is my friend Sabrina. She's CRAZY talented. Deadpan sense of humor. Makes wedding-dress paintings, MST3K pendants, and anatomically correct soaps, among other things. Topics on this blog include but are not limited to: couscous, trees, Labrador Retrievers, and eyeballs.

And there you have it.

It feels good to celebrate my blog's 2-year anniversary by honoring other bloggers!

Keep bloggin' everybody! And I hope you'll continue to check in with us from time to time here at The Siegel Files.

Mother's Day Luncheon @ Middle School!

The Boy's redonkulously awesome Middle School hosted a *lovely* Mother's Day lunch for all us moms ... and even a few grandmas! It was sooooo nice. We had many delicious foods to choose from, and TWO cakes! We all played a rousing game of "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?", in which we all discovered that the middle schoolers ARE, but the moms have forgotten some stuff. :-0

My Last Quad-Venti Mocha

Ladies & Gentlemen, I give you: my last quad-shot venti mocha. I have never -- and will never again -- pay $5.50 for a coffee. I don't care HOW many shots are in it, or what exotic wild animal pooped out the coffee beans.

At these prices, they should install defibrillators in the stores. I almost had a heart attack when they told me what I owed 'em.

Open House!

Tonight, we attended our first Open House at Ev's middle school.

It was just LOVELY! We got to see all his teachers, and look at all the great work he's done of late. As usual, we're just exceedingly proud of our little fella, and continue to be delighted with this wonderful school we chose for him. I could not possibly be more thrilled with the education he's getting.

All the Science Fair stuff was up in the cafeteria (you might recall Ev working on his a few weeks ago, as chronicled here) -- so neat to see what everyone's experiments were! One of the older kids had made a hovercraft and was giving people rides!

12th Birthday!

The Boy seemed to enjoy his birthday...

He got many awesome prezzies from many generous friends & family members, and he got one of Daddy's yummy homemade chocolate cakes!

He also got his dream-gift: The Nintendo DSi-XL. So, yes. He was surprised and happy!

Such an appreciative little fella... He's fun to buy for.

One more year 'til he's officially a teen! Jeebus help me...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EVAN!!!

Happy birthday

my beautiful boy
my trusty sidekick
my Scooby Doo
my greatest contribution to the world

You make me SO proud, EVERY. DAY.!!!

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

My "baby" turns 12 tomorrow!

Let's take a stroll down memory lane, shall we?

Here are highlights from Ev's b-days past.

Tomorrow, we celebrate #12!

::sigh::

Can somebody slow this ride down? I think I'm gonna barf if it goes any faster...