treat yo self

It's September, birthday month, so my mantra for the month is three little words ...

throwback happy birthday thursday

Happy happy birthday my now ELEVEN year old girl! Time flies when you're having fun!

throwback thursday: birthday girl

It's funny, but I can only find some birthday pix from childhood birthdays. I know I celebrated my birthday in my teens and twenties (and beyond), too. I guess I was too busy celebrating to take a photo ...

birthday month

Being it's birthday week, I have been paying a little extra attention to horoscopes. The Hairpin had a quite delightful one the other day:

Virgo — In Greek lore, you were once a goddess named Astraea, last of the immortals to live in the Golden Age. As the Iron Age came on and Pandora’s box crept open, you fled to the heavens—up and away from the monstrosity of mortal life— and became the constellation Virgo. Legend states that one day you will return and bring with you the Golden Age you represented. I have no idea what that Golden Age would look like in this century but Virgo, I do know that this world is ready for you so come back.

There is nothing on Earth that you can’t face, nothing you have to be afraid of. Let this be your year of disillusionment, of staying present and asking for exactly what you need. Here is a beautiful song by BOY. Play it for me?

Happy Birthday Bright Star. When you return, from wherever you’ve been, there will already be a table set in your honor. You don’t need a costume or even an offering. Your arrival, your truest self, will be all we’ve been waiting for.

I like the Galactic Rabbit's horoscope so much, I found myself reading all the month's horoscopes. I may have to read them every month from now on, regardless of my birthday.

fun at the movies and the arcade

The kid's birthday festivities continued this afternoon with a (re) viewing of The Lego Movie and lots of fun at the arcade.

happy birthday, pop

My dad may have been the quiet, studious one in the family, but when it came time to take a group photo, he was usually the biggest goofball. Can you spot him?

Here he's just a baby, and in danger of sliding off the settee.

Copping a studly pose on the beach.

As he got older he was usually behind the camera, but at my uncle's house he got corralled into a group photo on the front stoop

One of my favorite photos of him, taken by my mom, while they honeymooned in Nassau.

i went for it

One of my brother's favorite phrases used to be "I got a good deal," and I have to admit that I'm happy to say that I did, recently, too. We have two iPhones — one replaced our landline at home and the other is my long-time cell-phone. The "home phone" is a 3GS, and in today's smart phone world, it is still a great, working phone, but it is no longer able to be updated with any new operating systems. The other, a 4S, I've had for two years, and September is my birthday month ...

Long story short, I was able to basically get one (a 5C, above right) for free when I traded in the 4S, and the 3GS I upgraded to a 5S (above, left). Two new phones. And I have also finally committed to living here in Florida — I changed both of my old phone numbers from their DC area codes to our local Florida codes. And thanks to  very helpful person at AT&T (yes, really!) I got some savings in the process — I was actually paying a DC tax for using the phones. I got grandfathered in with my old unlimited plans on both phones (whoo hoo!) So much has been going wrong lately that it is a really nice change to have something go my way. And the phones are damn cute, too. Happy birthday to me!

what a year

Like a lot of folks, I think of the year's true start as being in September, as opposed to January. Partly because that is the beginning of a new school year and I am a perpetual student, but mostly because I am a September baby. It's my birthday month and that's when everything started in my world.

September, at least September 12, is still considered summer, so I am a summer baby. As was Henry Hudson, Barry White, Jesse Owens, Ian Holm, Maurice Chevalier, Francois Premier, Madame Curie, Ben Shahn, and Jennifer Hudson, to name a few. This past year, September to September, has been, well, eventful, to say the least. But here we are. I'm still standing, as the saying goes. And looking forward to next year.

It's been such a busy year that I haven't had the time to kick back and do as much reading as I'd like lately, but I have found some photographic evidence to show how books (and lots of them) have always been a part of my life.

So many books on the bookshelf — where to begin?

Holding Bow Wow! Meow! A First Book of Sounds — one of my favorite Golden Books — which I was sure to read a lot to my little one many years later

At the Ocean County Library — one of my favorite teen haunts — not sure what I was researching — Greek mythology? Embroidery?

the month-long birthday celebration continues

Believe it or not, the kid has never been to Chuck E. Cheese. There wasn't one close to where we used to live in D.C., and most of the birthday parties we went to were hosted at the homes of her friends. So when I asked her what she would like to do this year to celebrate her last single-digit birthday, she asked to go to Chuck E. Cheese and I of course said, "O.K."

It was utter mayhem and she had a wonderful time. I have to admit I did, too. I mean Skee Ball. Took me right back to my childhood arcade days on the boardwalk at the Jersey Shore.






Happy birthday, darlin'.

50 things

Celebrating a birthday makes one look backward as well as forward. I thought it might be nice, if a tad self-indulgent, to jot down some favorite memories, or things that have made me smile over the years. If you can't be self-indulgent around the time of your birthday, when can you? These don't get overly personal or intimate — I like to keep that sort of stuff to myself — and are in no particular chronological or prioritized order, except #1, of course.

1. The birth of my daughter.



It doesn't get much cuter than this.

2. Deciding to go to art school/move to New York City.
3. My asking to play the Middle Billy Goat Gruff in 1st Grade, a part that had been originally intended for a boy. Our teacher presented the roles in the school play as boys will be billy goats and girls will be flowers. Then she went around the room and asked who wanted to play what part. I was familiar with the story and knew that I wanted to be one of the three leads. It was probably the first time I really sounded off for myself, and tried to grab a bit of the spotlight. The pattern was formed.



My grandmother made the costume. The tinfoil horns were genius.

4. Starting my blog. It's led to so many good things for me, for my mind, for my well-being.
5. The homemade ice cream at T-Cone in Shipbottom, Long Beach Island, in New Jersey. I loved their strawberry, but the blueberry was out of this world and my absolute favorite.
6. All of the wonderful people I have met in my life so far. Thankfully things like the internet have helped us keep in contact, or reconnect after many years.
7. Appearing off-off-Broadway at the Henry Street Settlement in George C. Wolfe's Return to Glutten, where I got to act (and sing!) on stage.
8. Getting a sell-out crowd for two nights for a performance piece I co-wrote, Flesh, in New York; and a positive review in The Washington Post for my role in a dance/performance art piece I co-produced, Hammer.
9. Happy cocktail hours with good friends — with my daughter in tow — in Washington D.C.



The greatest opening that I ever attended at MoMA.

10. Getting dressed up for the Warhol opening at MoMA and bumping into Steve Martin, who, said "Excuse me!" He was hanging with his friends Julian Schnabel and Paul Simon.
11. Hanging out in the East Village and beyond in the '80s with friends — Dojo's, the Blue & Gold, the Holiday, the Kiev, the Pyramid, Danceteria — the list goes on and on.
12. My junior year at Parsons was wonderful. I had great teachers and was given the freedom to express myself and worked in all media — painting, drawing, sculpture, performance, you name it. The following year, my senior year, was unfortunately oppressive and just a countdown to graduation.



Rutger Hauer from Blade Runner facing out, and Mary and me on the right

13. Plastering New York City with posters publicizing Guilt Free Enterprise, a company, or more accurately, a state of mind, formed by my friend Mary and myself. My brother, on a weekend leave from the Navy, helped us guerrila-decorate.
14. Lying on a blanket in the middle of Central Park in the summertime, with wine, bread, cheese, and friends, and staring at the stars while a Metropolitan Opera star sang Puccini.
15. Running out of candy on Halloween night when I was in 3rd grade — my dad set up his telescope and gave looks at the full moon to the late trick-or-treaters and my brother and I got to stay up, too.
16. Seeing a movie in seventh grade science class about Stonehenge and saying to myself that one day I would go there. And being able to make that dream come true many years later on a trip with my mom to London.
17. Being lucky enough to get my 11th grade English teacher Mr. Brown, who recognized how much I loved to read and just made me want to learn more and more.



A large-scale photo collage I did for drawing class

18. Painting and drawing while my record player blasted Sandinista.
19. Having an "aha" moment, whether in relation to something in a meeting at work, in front of a blank piece of paper or screen, or just walking somewhere peaceful, where my mind can open up and receive new ideas.
20. Holiday celebrations with my family, where I'd get to see my cousins and aunts and uncles and eat Grandma's amazing food.
21. Turning 20, visiting home in New Jersey from New York, and lying outside in the front yard, looking at the stars at midnight. It was a nice feeling being separate from my family, but having them nearby, while being one with the universe. It seemed a fitting way to bid goodbye to my teenage years.
22. Visiting Venice during acque alte.
23. Getting my first car, a golden Acura Integra.
24. Requesting a lemon cake with orange icing for my fifth birthday — and getting one (and then many years later, having a friend try to replicate that cake again for me).
25. Writing a story about a little red fish for school when I was in first or second grade — my dad was so impressed with it he took us out after dinner and bought us a fish tank, full of tropical fish — and a red platy, which I named after my character, Redert.
26. Flying to Palm Beach, Florida on my own, at the age of 14, to visit my grandmother. She took me everywhere, introduced me to all of her friends. I had my first vichysoisse, went to Lion Country Safari, saw polo, and rode on an elephant. And now I live here.



A very serious, or very tired, 14 year-old

27. Buying my first legal drink, at 18, at the Lone Star Cafe, across the street from Parsons School of Design, and just around the corner from where my dorm was on Union Square.
28. The first time I was on an airplane, at age 8, visiting my grandmother in La Crosse, Wisconsin. I'll never forget the thrill or the feeling when the plane's wheels left the ground.
29. My first taste of my Grandma's sfincioni.
30. Visiting Greece with my mom, seeing so many places I had read about for as long as I could remember, like the Acropolis and Delphi, and being surprised and amazed by the difference in terrain as we moved through the country — hot in Athens, snow in Meteora, temperate in Corinth.
31. The frescoes in the Palais des Papes at Avignon.
32. The Botticellis at the Uffizi in Florence.
33. Having the ocean so close, the feel of sand under my toes.



It's hard to beat that view

34. Impressing my mom and cousin Ann and Aunt Paula with my Italian while we were traveling in Italy. I really just had enough to get by, but they loved that I could converse with the Roman taxicab drivers and get us around the city.
35. Staying up late and whispering with my brother, debating when Santa would come.
36. Visiting Mont St. Michel and staying out on the plain after we returned to the mainland from the city — we were waiting to see it in the sunset, not realizing that in the summer the sun doesn't set until long after 10 p.m. — but the sight was well worth the wait.
37. The Gainsboroughs at the Frick in New York.



"The Hon. Frances Duncombe," by Thomas Gainsborough, Frick Collection, N.Y.

38. Spending enough time in Florence to really feel that I could live there, that I knew the city. Maybe someday ...
39. Inheriting my dad's insatiable curiosity and life-long student status. There is always a topic of interest that I want to research and know more about.
40. Traveling to Paris by myself and day-tripping all over the place — Versailles, Chartres, Giverny, and the medieval walled town of Provins.
41. My mom making me feel that I could do anything, achieve anything, and that she would always be there for me.
42. My mom's idea of a lullaby for my brother and me — tucking us in as the Beatles' Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds drifted up from the stereo downstairs.



Probably waiting for Roy White or Thurman Munson to come to bat.

43. Going to see the Yankees games with my dad, from childhood to adulthood — just the two of us went one time, while I was living on my own in New York.
44. My first glimpse of the Pyramids.
45. Having a sense of humor, in pretty much all circumstances.
46. TV shows, books, and movies that have moved me or entertained me that I can share with friends and family, and being able to talk about them later over dessert, which helped hone my critical skills.
47. Going on a road trip to Kentucky with my cousin Ann, and the millions of other journeys we took together before and after the birth of my daughter.



Celebrating at Obama's Inaguaration



The kid took this picture of Ann and me at The National Arboretum, one of our favorite haunts in D.C.

48. Being able to share my love of family with my mom and other relatives. My mom, daughter, and I recently took a trip to Salem, Massachusetts after I discovered one of our ancestors was one of the first to be accused and executed as a result of the Salem Witch Trials. History is amazing and always brings us back to human nature.
49. Any opportunity that I get to sing.
50. Knowing that if I put my mind to it, this list could go on and on and on. I've got lots of fun things to remember and share. I'm sure we all do, if we sat down and thought about it for a while.

birthdays are so great when you are a little girl

Birthdays are so great when you are a little girl. You get to cut the cake.

You get to eat the cake.

You get a cool gift from Mommy.

And other people give you presents, too.

My focus is no longer on presents or cake, but I think I'm going to enjoy this birthday.

birthday girl

My grandmother was born today, "Christmas in July." She was born in 1899. She was a talented cook, seamstress and an aspiring opera singer, a very creative lady. She is still missed.

A little internet cruising showed that she shares this birthday with some other interesting and creative people:

Thomas Eakins, Self-portrait, 1904.

Maxfield Parrish, Princess Parizade Bringing Home the Singing Tree, 1906, oil on paper.

Walter Brennan, To Have and Have Not, "Was you ever bit by a dead bee?"

Happy birthday, Grandma!

the bro's a gemini

Happy birthday bro!