What a Lovely P*ssy You Are

I have partied on bar tops in Rome with men named Alessandro and Matteo. I have blown the doors off of many a joint in Chicago as well. Thing of it is...those were my young single days. Truth of it is...I always have been a bit of a prude. A fun prude...but still a prude (I blame the Catholic Italian in me;P)

I tell you this so you understand, at least a bit, that's just the way I am.

Miss Peach and The Little Man LOVE when I read The Owl and the Pussycat. You know we have a monster cat in our house. When Miss Peach was a little baby, one of the first words she said was "ti ti". That meant "cat". I think she would hear me say "kitty kitty kitty" to Smokey and could only make out the "ti ti". Hence, in our house "ti ti" means "kitty kitty".

Since I am such a prude, whenever I read The Owl and the Pussycat to the kiddos, I replace all the "Pussy" with "Ti Ti"

The Book: "Oh lovely Pussy,
Oh Pussy my love..."

Me: "Oh lovely Ti Ti,
Oh Ti Ti my love..."

Get it? I know...I'm nuts:)

Flash forward to today...Kiddos are in the stroller, and I'm pushing them to the health club.

Miss Peach: "Mommy, Ti Ti is a Pussy."

Me: "No, Ti Ti is a Kitty Cat."

Miss Peach: "Some people call Ti Ti's Pussy. Like in the Owl and the Pussycat."

Me: "Well...Mommy reads it The Owl and the Ti Ti cat."

Miss Peach: "The book says Pussy...I like Pussy!'

The Little Man: "I like Pussy too!"

Me: "OK, well...we're not going to say that word."

Miss Peach: "What word? Pussy. I like Pussy!"

The Little Man: "I like Pussy too!"

Me: (big sigh) "Let's not say that word. Let's say Ti Ti."

Miss Peach: "But I like Pussy!"

The Little Man: "I like Pussy too!"

....and scene.

Damn them for learning to read!:P (I know, crazy Google coming my way)

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Who Gave Good Card?

Well, seems to me, when it came to business cards...you all came with your A game! Look at how creative and colorful these cards are...LOVE IT! Now, I didn't include my card in the mix...but here are some of my favs...(In no particular order)
Sandy from Momisodes had a great card. I just LOVE her whole image/logo...(I told her, it was a design I wish I'd come up with)
Marcy from The Glamorous Life has a great retro thing going on. (You know I gravitate towards illustrations) Loved the font mixes...the whole package;)
OK, this card cracked me up:P I don't know if you can read the thought bubble, but it says "Please don't try and save me" I got a kick out of Shauna's card from is it 5 o'clock yet:)
How can you not LOVE this card? It's from Chicky Chicky Baby...it's too cute!
Here's another fabulous card from DesignHer Momma. Both of these photo cards were on excellent card stock, very thick with a bit of a sheen to them. (I know...I'm a total geek, getting all whipped up about card stock:P)
I don't know why I was so attracted to this card...it has a wonderful mysterious quality to it. Well done Rita from Surrender Dorothy:)
Now, I gotta give an honorable mention to The Bloggess. Girl was giving out stickers...so clever! I really do love the idea...I'm not sure if I'd go with it for me (I kinda hoped folks would keep my card, in case they want design work) Let me just say that Miss Peach grabbed The Bloggess sticker, and now it's on our window (where all the stickers end up)...hmmmm...perhaps a Nap Warden sticker would be a good idea for next year...although if Miss Peach got a hold of them, they'd be all over our window:P

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My Favorite Things

I meant to show you all the business cards from Blogher...then this happened:)

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Blogher '09 (one of many recaps)

How was Blogher Nap Warden?

Good question!

Here's the thing...(and I did wrestle with some bad moments, but largely they were GREAT moments)

One of the first things that happened to me...I ran into a blogger I have read from the beginning. I comment on her site, she has been to mine...I don't know, in the blogger world, I kind of look at that as a relationship...right?

I pulled up my big girl pants, extend a hand and introduce myself. I'm telling you right here and now...girl looked at me like I was VAPOR:P Now, I know I'm not a blogging star...I do. That said, I think if you have had many comments from Nap Warden...you kinda remember the name?

Truth be told, I really didn't let this bother me. I just walked away thinking to myself "If that's the way you want to play it Sister Soldier, you just lost a reader:P" That's the truth...I won't be coming to her trailer in the blogoshpere any time soon.

Yes, I did notice other bigger bloggers than me...who KNOW me...acting like they had no time for me (a smaller blogger). There were folks walking around like their sh*t don't stink. As I thought about this, I realized...We never leave this high school mentality. This isn't just reserved to the blogoshpere...

My last job (the stock exchange) was full of egotistical, a**holes who thought they walked on water. That's just the way the world is. Straight up...I'm cool with it. Do I act that way. I sure as heck hope not! I talked to newbie bloggers, I talked to the cream of the crop bloggers, and everyone in between. Isn't that the point...to meet other folks who live in Blogland?

The way I look at it is...if you want to put on an air of "I'm the shizzle nit, and I don't have the time for the little guy..." Good luck to you. All you are really doing is alienating your audience...so have at it:P

I had a marvelous conversation with Pioneer Woman (about as big as the big dogs get)...take a lesson from her. She was gracious, easily approachable, and took time out of her busy day to talk superhero illustrations, and sh*t kicker boots with me. Yay team! I also attacked The Bloggess to tell her how much she rocked the Humor Writing panel...and she was wonderful in real life. I don't think it kills anyone to be nice...ya know? The worst you can get out of that is a fan, right?

There you have it...my two cents on the high school mentality that some folks call the Blogoshpere. You can't just limit it to the Blogoshpere...it's life, some folks suck:P The best thing you can do is...not read them. Read folks you love, folks who make you laugh or cry or think. That's what I'm doing. If they made you feel bad at Blogher...f*ck 'em...don't read 'em (that's hitting them where it hurts)

As far a swag...I really don't get it? I didn't knock folks over to get another free grocery bag:P Some folks were highly aggressive...obviously, it was WAY more important to them than to me...so have at it. I got a cool gym bag from the EA Games folks (thank you). For the most part...I got some stuff that the kiddos loved. (I don't know who gave away the Prima Princessa dvd, but my kiddos have been watching it nonstop...so thank you) If you asked me (which nobody did) I don't think it's a great idea to have 500-1000 folks at a party and only have 100 bags on hand. Just my two cents...perhaps raffling them off would mean less noses out of joint? What do I know...the world is in a recession...companies have smaller budgets for this kind of thing...and I'm sure it's probably a major pain in the a** to organize these events. Straight up most of the parties I went to had great food and free drinks...I'm REALLY not complaining:)

Did Blogher rock the house?

Absolutely, 100% yes!

Will I go next year?

Ummmmmmmmm........Hell. To. The. Yeah!

Now, I gotta go away and organize my business cards. Some of you had great ones, and being a designer, I gotta do a post about that...

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Less Than Two Days!

I can not BELIEVE that in less than two days, a large portion of the my blogging community will be descending upon my city! I. AM. SO. JACKED. UP!

I know you are like me, and you've read tons of posts about what to bring, what to wear, being nervous...I gotta say, I'm winging it. This I say, completely realizing that I am at a packing advantage in that, I don't have to do it:P The fact of the matter is, no matter where you go, you can usually get by with cute jeans and a sassy top...

Are you guys nervous? I'm not. I have no problem walking into a room where I know no one, or at least know no one's faces. Perhaps that comes from trading on a floor for fifteen years. I became extremely comfortable, in difficult situations involving a room full of angry trader men. To me, it's hard to find a situation worse than that;P

What can I tell you about my city???

-Whether you are flying into O'hare, or Midway, take the train into the city. It's quick, cheap and easy. Blue line for O'hare, Orange line for Midway. It costs $2.25, and you can buy a card at the station (they don't take cash). Easy peasy;)

-Giordano's and Gino's East are both gosh darn good pizza:P

-The Sheridan 151 is the bus line that will take you up and down Michigan Ave. It costs $2.25 and the driver takes cash, but has no change.

-If you are shopping Michigan Ave, don't bother going into any store that you have in your hometown mall (ie. Victoria's Secret, Gap, Banana Republic, Macy's...) We have the highest sales tax in the nation. Just shop the stores you don't have at home. I recommend the shoe dept. at Nordstrom's (walking distance from The Sheraton) and Bloomingdale's.

-I haven't been in the club scene for a while...but if you find yourselves wanting a late night club, I'd hit The Lodge on Division (spent many a drunken morning belting out Paradise by the Dashboard Lights, followed by Summer Lovin') I also have a soft spot for PJ Clarke's on State;)

-If you must wear heels, toss a pair of comfy flats in your purse. Chicago is a walking city, you'll be so glad you did:)

What else? Any questions??? I can't wait! (DM me some phone numbers @napwarden)

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Happy Birthday Miss Peach

I know we all say this...but, I can not believe my Miss Peach is four years old! Where has my little baby gone? *sniff*
We tried a new bakery for the Princess cake. Holy white chocolate mousse filling Batman! The cake was the yummms:P
Needless to say, Miss Peach LOVED the cake...(seriously, what's not to love?)After a quick costume change...(Don't all Princesses have a costume change at a party?) Miss Peach went right on opening presents. She was beside herself...and of course her last question to me was "Mommy, when will my next Birthday be?"

Slow down Miss Peach...Mommy can't take it...*sniff*

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Mooooo

Well, I feel like I have to tell you the Kohl's story. I mean...I'd hate for someone to think there is something wrong with Kohl's, right? At least...I don't think there is anything wrong with Kohl's. Vera Wang hangs her hat there fer Chris'sake!

Flash back my friends to the 80's. I'm a girl from the wrong side of the tracks who just graduated high school. For whatever reason, the high school I went to was just full of rich kiddos. I'm talking crazy rich. Let me give you an example...The guy I had a major crush on was named Briggs (is that a name?)...he owned two cars. One, a white Volkswagen Scirroco, the other a white convertible Volkswagen Rabbit. Can you imagine being in high school and having two cars to drive!?! Oh, and he had an indoor basketball court in his house (really).

So, there I am, playing tennis and hanging around the Country Club crowd, while driving a car that we nicknamed "The Crate". This car would shake if it went over 55 mph, and sometimes would spontaneously burst. into. flames. Other than that...it was a fine car for a high schooler to drive around in:P

You guessed it...I worked at Kohl's. The Kohl's of the 80's was not cool. I don't know if Kohl's is cool now. I'm just thinking if it's good enough for Vera Wang, it's good enough for me;) Truth be told, there isn't one anywhere near me, so I really don't know.

I was an Esprit/Forenza/Guess wearing Madonna wannabe. 80's Kohl's was not where the hip kids hung out. I used to hate walking through the mall, past the Benetton, past The Limited...to Kohl's:P

Needless to say, high school Nap Warden had a bit of an attitude problem with her retail job. So bad, that I had been known to answer "not here" with a valley girl accent, when asked where she got her cute outfit. I know, so obnoxious...

Well, one day, my manager called me into the managers office. He sat down at his desk and looked disapprovingly at me.

Him: "Do you know why you have been called into my office?"
Me: "Ummmm....no."
Him: "A customer asked to speak to the manager after you rung them up. They claim you treated them like cattle in your register line."

To this day, I have no idea what that means? Does that mean anything to you? Perhaps I wasn't chatty enough in line. I promise I'm a good person. I'm just very methodical, and very efficient. Wouldn't you think 80's Kohl's customer could cut poor Crate driving high school Warden a break?

Ah well...from that moment on, I have always thought (and Husband agrees) the Ad campaign for Kohl's should be "Shop at Kohl's...Where the customer is treated like cattle;P"

So there you go...nothing wrong with Kohl's...just a moment in my past that now makes me chuckle...and no, way to serious manager guy did not fire me, I lasted the whole summer, and then went away to college:)

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Princess Peach

Princess dress on sale at Target for $12.99. She shops, she scores! (wait a minute...I think that's a Kohl's commercial...remind me to tell you my horrible Kohl's story...I say while raising an eyebrow...)

*Now if I can just get Miss Peach out of it...at least for bedtime:P

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Conference, Clothes, and Cards

I'm going to let you in on a little known fact...(I have been to Blogher)

Yeah, I barely had even started blogging, and I heard about a blogging conference at Navy Pier. I asked Husband if I should go...he said sure...so I went.

I. WAS. CLUELESS...but I went.

So there I am...little ole me walking into the big blogging conference. Who sits down next to me (I kid you not, in at least three of the sessions) Bossy. At the time...not only did I have no idea who she was...but at one point, I thought she was stalking me (no, Bossy was certainly not stalking me...she stalks John Cusack fer Chris'sake)

Who else did I plop myself next to? Rocks in My Dryer Shannon. She dumped a TON of info on me, she is a smart cookie.

I did not keep in touch with them. I didn't know that blogging is about networking. I didn't know anything about blogging AT all. (I did however, by complete dumb luck, meet and keep in touch with Formerly Gracie...yay! I wish she was going to Blogher this year.)

Flash forward to now. Blogher is in Chicago! This time...I have a CLUE (at least I think I do;)

I had to think about that first Blogher, because I have spent way too much time sweating what I'm going to wear:P I did go shoe shopping this weekend (success=not). Now I realize...at night, I'll be wearing hot jeans, a cute top, and black patent stilettos. You know what else...during the day, I'll be wearing hot jeans, my favorite Nocona cowboy boots (hot and comfy) a cute top, and I'll probably top it off with a sassy jacket (it's cold in those hotels).

So...if the crowd goes dressy, I may pop in at home and switch out the jeans for a little pencil skirt, or dress...I don't have to pack, so I can play that by ear a bit. I'm just done thinking about it:P (and so lucky I don't have to pack)

I just can't wait for Blogher! If I can give you one little piece of advice from my doe eyed, newbie at her first conference experience...it would be...Get business cards made.

Seriously. Just get your name, and your url on a white card. You will be SO glad you did. Go to Kinko's, order from Zazzle...whatever. Would you like to see mine? I love how they turned out...hold on...I'll run take a pic...(sing the Jeopardy theme song while I'm gone....lo, lo, lo, lo, lo, lo, lo...)

OK...that took longer than I thought (truth be told...I'm watching a cheesy show Maneater with Sarah Chalke...cheese:P)...any way...here is my business card...
Don't you love 'em?!? I LOVE 'em! Illustration on front...business on back...cute and to the point;)

Now it's roll call...who's going to Blogher? Show of hands...and what'cha wearing?;)

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Shake Shake Shake

I don't know what it is about this video that makes me chuckle...

Is it the fact that The Little Man is running around in a pirate hat and his widgie? Possibly.

Is it the fact that Miss Peach is wearing her pearls, a huge t-shirt and cowboy boots? Maybe.

Could it be that they never stop shaking the shakers? I don't know.

Might be 'cause they're my kiddos, and they just crack me up;P

15

Remembering

How weird was today? Yes I totally watched the Staple Center Memorial for Micheal Jackson. Wow...is about all I can say.

A few folks have asked me if I was an MJ fan. You know...I had to think for a moment. Truth is...he is the soundtrack to a LARGE part of my life. I think about it, and realize that even though I don't own any of his music...I can sing (almost word for word) every song he ever sang. It's crazy...Who doesn't know all of his songs?

I totally remember being a small town girl (living on a farm in the middle of nowhere) watching the awards show when he first moon walked across the stage. All of us little farm kids went to school the next day and tried (pathetically) to do it ourselves. At the time...it was the BIGGEST deal ever...and I still remember it today.

Oddly enough...I married a man with no pop culture knowledge whatsoever. I kid you not....I was watching the Dateline special last night about the making of Thriller. Husband sat down for a moment, watched, and then said "I didn't know Thriller was about zombies."

Ummmm....what!

Yes, my peeps...I married the ONLY man on earth who has not seen Thriller...EVER! I swear to you right now he is a martian!

It really was amazing when they showed the shots of people around the world watching the memorial...I mean we are talking all over the world. This was a huge deal...and I'll tell you what, I was bawling like a little baby when Brooke Shields gave her speech. I got it back together, and then his little girl stepped to the microphone...hello gushing tears. How heart wrenching was that?

Lordy...what a weird sad day...

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Back Together Again

Did you hear that...

Listen closely...

Yep...that's my deep sigh of relief...(SIGH)

The hardwood floor in the basement is finished, and everything in my house has been put back in place...thank goodness:)Now if I can just get rid of the piles of carpet on the patio...all will be well...

10

Living Through Rehab

Remember my lovely minimalist town home? Currently, it is a house of CHAOS! I have completely lost control...

Long story short...we are putting hardwood floors in the basement. There was just no waiting. The carpet that was down there...had nastiness growing in it:P (you don't even want to know, I'm talking dogs and cats making contributions)

I had NO idea how loud it was to put down the sub floor! They actually use shot gun shells to get the plywood attached to the concrete:O It sounds like a shoot out in my basement (I am sure the neighbors LOVE it...not:P)
Look at the mess that is the family room...where did my tidy little family room go?

Think that is bad...check out my dining room...Yeah, that's basically where most of the stuff from the basement is...I am so out of sorts over the state of our home:(

Oh, and in case you were wondering why we are having a cold and rainy week...Yeah...it's because I have a leather couch, wrapped in plastic, sitting on my patio table:P

Just look at all that nasty carpet...I can't wait until it's gone.

What are you doing for the 4th? It's gotta be better than mine;)

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