Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Lil' Cavvy Cav gettin' jiggy wit it

Lucy and Cavitt's favorite restaurant is La Pinata, not because the food is muy bueno but because they have cheap toy machines that are as addictive as crack. My babies are completely hooked on draining Super Steve and me of every quarter in our posession because, Look, you can get a pinky nail sized plastic puppy dog or a sticky hand or a high-bouncing ball or best of all - fabulous jewelry!

Super Steve and I enable their addiction because (1) it keeps them busy in the foyer of the restaurant where there is a very slight chance they will be kidnapped to Tiajuana and (2) it gives us a little more time to drink our margaritas in peace. If they never outgrow their obsession and have to go to a special Mexican-Restaurant Cheap-Toy-Machine Rehab then we, as parents, must attend Cheap-Toy-Machine-Anon meetings. I'm hoping it's just a phase and not a gateway to more expensive pursuits like the mechanical crane that fishes for plush toys. I don't think I could handle that!

The last time we went to La Pinata, Cavitt got a gold necklace with a dollar sign pendant. He was so overjoyed with his luck that he declared he couldn't wait to get some black pants, black shirt and black shoes to wear with his new jewelry because that outfit would make him super cool. When did my son become a rapper?

Thursday, March 22, 2007

The Secret of my Success

I work at a great independent bookstore called Turnrow Book Company. It's something I thoroughly enjoy because I am exposed to so many books and we get advanced copies that the owner let's me take home to read. It's an easy little part-time job that I can forget about once I step over the threshold and I like that. I'm making a little pocket money and no stress is involved.

I also got to interview Grisham when he came in November and that was a thrill even though I'm not a big fan of his work. I was a Kappa Kappa Gamma at Ole Miss with his youngest sister. Of course, back then I didn't know her brother would be "John Grisham, world-wide best selling author" In fact, I didn't think she could possibly have any relative that could be very literary. She was, to put it delicately, a little rough around the edges.That's why when she told me her brother just wrote a book, I kind of shrugged and wondered if her brother was doing a how-to book about shotgunning beer or killing something.

She took me to her room to see a review a local paper did of "A Time to Kill." I didn't think too much about it until much later when "The Firm" became a best-seller and I recalled how I didn't make a big enough fuss about her brother back in 1988. Too bad I wasn't clairvoyant enough to buddy up with her and become her BFF so I could go to the movie premier. Oh, the regret!!!

Last night, the bookstore hosted three authors while debuting a new second story porch that patrons can lounge on with a cold beer in hand while browsing a book. Kevin Sessums, Vanity Fair and Allure magazine editor and now, #35 on the New York Times Best Seller list, read from his new book Mississippi Sissy. Sonny Brooks,an Alabama author, read from his unfinished manuscript. Davids Adams Richards, author of Friends of Meager Fortune, read from his book and Steve Yarbrough, End of California, introduced everybody. It was so great to hear people read from their own books. These people are at the top of their game and I was in awe and a little jealous because that's what I want be. I want to have a book with a real cover with my name on it to read from. This is my way of practicing "The Secret" I am putting it out to the universe and now I will attempt to do the work to make that happen. Thank goodness I didn't have to actually buy that crazy book to learn that bit of wisdom. I do something I call my daily "Secret" I Ching.

I grab the book off the shelf and randomly open it to see what the universe wants me to know on that particular day. Yesterday I found out that if I want money I have to visualize it and speak about money as if I have a lot of it. I had to say things like, "Money is no object for a big spender like myself." "My pockets are jammed full of mad money." I gleaned from those wise pages that I should just order the new Gucci bag I've been admiring on the internet because acting like you have money attacts the money molecules. That purchase shows the universe I believe I am rich and we all know rich people attract money. That's why they're rich. So by believing I am rich, speaking like I'm a millionaire and carrying the accessories of the rich will make me...a broke idiot. That's the real secret.

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

I give and I give and I give

Hi! I'm tired but it's been a whole month since I posted so sensing that my audience (yes, all two of you. Hi, mom!) was withering away without benefit of my profound insight, I am forgoing The Search for the Next Pussycat Doll, and instead I am putting a little somethin' somethin' down for your enjoyment.

See, I'm a giver!

My lack of posting wasn't an intentional snub. I've been so busy and mentally very,very lazy! Everytime I wanted to post, I would crawfish. I didn't feel confident to thread together a coherant sentance much less a paragraph.

I have wanted to post about everything from civil rights to Britney in rehab; from depression to an event that forever re-shaped how I perceive life and death. I never felt I could do any topic justice, especially the seriousness of Brit's predicament. You don't just gloss over Miss Spears' spiral into madness. You've got to have your facts straight and your theories about her bizarre behavior well thought out. I simply couldn't get myself together to do it.

Why? Life, baby, Life - that's been the problem . Real life and all its boringness has sucked my will to write right out my heart, hands and mind. I've been busy cleaning this little house of mine so I can sell it and get one where I will live in for the next 10 - 50 years.

Cleaning may not sound like much of a hassle but the Cookstons and their lively little dog live like happy little piggies in a sty. No serious buyer would want our house if they happened to pop in on us with less than 24 hours notice.

The amount of trash and clutter that accumulates in our home in one day is staggering. I can mop and vacuum but a few hours later, one would never know we owned either household tool. The laundry, the sheets, the KITCHEN, Oh my Lord, does it ever end????

To top it all off, I despise household duties and I get ZERO satisfaction from doing my chores. It would be different if I could bask in the beauty of my clean and orderly house but NOOOOO, as soon as Frick and Frack get home from school everything I worked so hard to get done gets undone.

Where's the glory? Where's the beauty? I'll tell you where it is...it's under Capri Sun wrappers and Doritos bags. It's under the rocks that Cavitt pours out of his tennis shoes onto my freshly mopped floor. It's under the filthy clothes that get tossed carelessly wherever they get peeled off. The glory is outshined by the sparkly watermelon flavored toothpaste caked to my kid's sink and counter. The beauty is marred by the pee and poop on my rugs. I can't take it!!! Please buyer(you know who you are)Hurry! and purchase my house so I can stop the insanity of trying to be a compulsive cleaner.

Now that you know the reason for my vacation I promise to update at least 4 times a week no matter what! That's quite ambitious, you may think. But you know, I'm a giver!