DailyCandy

So, Stella Marie Soap Company got a big break. I was asked if I could be featured in DailyCandy Boston. Naturally, I was beyond excited.

Today is the day, people! I got in!

Stella Marie Soap Company Halloween 2008 Promo

I just made this little promo for my Halloween soaps. Enjoy!

Up to 70%

The oncologist up'd my mom's chemo to 70% this week and she's still doing great! I've been enjoying one of her zucchini breads all weekend. Mmmm ...

Paul Newman

Paul Newman died yesterday. What a remarkable man. He earned his living through Hollywood, but didn't allow it to define him. He was generous, philanthropic, kind, talented as hell and pretty easy on the eyes (how hunky was he in Cool Hand Luke?).

I saw this at the end of the article from the Associated Press and was really touched:

He sometimes teamed with his wife and fellow Oscar winner, Joanne Woodward, with whom he had one of Hollywood's rare long-term marriages. "I have steak at home, why go out for hamburger?" Newman told Playboy magazine when asked if he was tempted to stray.

My awesome boyfriend aside, do people like this still exist?

Big Pet Peeve

The way a person moves through a salad bar can say a lot about one's character. This afternoon, I encountered a salad bar "wanderer." These people approach the salad bar like the ghosts in a Pac Man game. This particular person moved through at a snail's pace, then decided that they wanted sliced tomatoes and cucumbers, after all (both available at the start of the line). I guess they figured that they didn't have to go back to the beginning. No, the better course was to simply work backwards and jerk around with the line of people moving in the proper direction. Where do people like this come from? There is no reverse in the salad bar line! Oh, I didn't see that there was feta cheese! I think I need that on my salad, too! Look, Mr. Magoo, there are other people in line here!

It's the little things that get stuck in my craw, I'm telling you.

RED SOX CLINCH WILD CARD BERTH

Hurray! And just in time for Johnny Pesky's birthday. Incidentally, the organization is retiring his number on Friday night.

By the way, why does Papelbon feel the need to embarrass himself every time the Red Sox clinch anything? Someone asked him if he would be dancing (as part of the celebration) and his reply was something like, "Yeah, in bed tonight!" Too much information, Jonathan.

* this photo is from Boston.com

Mom Stuff

For those of you all not in the know, my mom has been feeling really great as of late. With her chemo cut in half, she is feeling better than ever! The oncologist is going to contiue to increase it until she reaches her threshold. The goal is for her to be able to function without horrible fatigue and nausea during her treatment. She is going to a wedding this Friday evening and she is all excited to be getting her nails done and dressing up. The outfit she picked up is very nice.

I asked her if she thought she might be able to go back to work part time, but she said that she is afraid to in the event her platelets go down and she becomes susceptible to infections. I forgot about that part. She is a nurse and she's around sick people all day.

I really think we are going to have a normal Christmas this year.

So, this is what I've been missing!

For the last 6 years or so, I've been without a land line. It was done to avoid the duplicity of paying two phone bills. I survived perfectly fine with my "cell phone only" lifestyle. With the recent move, we decided to get a analog phone for the house. This is mainly for Jere, who refuses to get a cell phone (bless his heart).

It seems I've had a nice six year vacation from telemarketers. I've discovered, however, that on top of the annoyance of their solicitation, they are now scaring the hell out of people. Yesterday morning, I ran to the phone only to listen to a guy name Jeff or Josh tell me that I had six thousand dollars worth of outstanding credit card debt! I'm sure most of you are familiar with this routine by now, but this is all new to me! I panicked. I stayed on the line and complained to the operator. She finally said, "M'am, we don't have any information about your credit." Are you kidding me with this?

Commute Woes

My morning commutes for this week:

Monday - 1 Hour, 15 minutes
Tuesday - 1 Hour, 45 minutes
Wednesday - 2.5 Hours (truck rollover on route 1)
Thursday - 1 Hour, 45 minutes

What the heck am I going to do? Obviously, this cannot continue. Leaving at 7:15, only to arrive a hair before 9 is unacceptable. My commute home is exactly 1 hour.

Rolling from Walpole to Waltham in the morning is a slow form of torture.

Meanwhile, what a disappointment last night's game was. This is what we get for letting Carlos Pena become a free agent. We should have retained our local boy. Liking some of these (Devil) Rays is new, weird territory for me. Hinske, Pena, Baldelli, Flyod. All old Red Sox players, with the exception of Rocco, who I like (a) because he is from Rhode Island and (b) that's one awesome name!

Block Island is Amazing

I grew up a stone's throw from the Rhode Island border, but never ventured to Block Island. We used to take the ferry to the Vineyard and tootle around there. 

I had no idea what I was missing! We spent the entire day there yesterday. The day did not start out very promising as there was heavy fog and a bit of a chill at Point Judith, where the high speed ferry took off. But, just like a movie, the sun burned through and a beemed on the island just as we docked. 

We rented bikes and cycled up to the northern point, picked up a few rocks (Jere's mom tells us that all the old New England town's cobblestone streets were created using rocks from Block Island). We then biked back, but not before swimming and lounging on what I can only describe as the most beautiful and smooth beach I have ever experienced in New England. And no bugs ruining it for us! Afterwards, we took a taxi to the Mohegan Bluffs and witnessed the beauty of the cliffs on the other side of the island. We ended the trip with an awesome meal at one of the inns near the ferry and a little bit of shopping. Here are the pics:

[pre-trip fog]

[the tip of the island from a distance]

Basement Transformation

I just posted about my new soap workshop at my company blog. Check out the crazy transformation of our basement!

We just got internet service and I've got tons to catch up on. I'm hoping to post house pics soon, too. For now, suffice it to say that we are very happy campers!

P.S. Dustin Pedroia is super human.