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What day is this? With my sleeping in, enjoying a leisurely breakfast with friends, and movie-watching today, I would have guessed it was a Saturday. So far, I’m definitely loving this whole staycation thing. I should do it more often. No stressful traveling, no packing, no dealing with crappy strangers. I’m home and I’m loving it.

I spent a lot of time today being sentimental, though. Emoting, if you will. Today would have been my niece Sophia’s fourth birthday, but she passed away from SIDS a few years ago. But every year on her birthday I think about her, and kind of count my blessings. I turn into a daylong Hallmark card. I definitely don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. Typically, I’m a cold, unfeeling, robot with little interest in being mushy.

I watched Marley and Me yesterday and didn’t cry. Not one single tear. I prefer killing the mice in my house to catching them and releasing them. I find it hard to sympathize with people with food allergies. I don’t let cars in front of me in traffic. I don’t trust people who volunteer too much, I don’t like to eat or shop locally, I won’t Start Seeing Motorcycles, and I think bad thoughts about people who stand too close to me at the bus stop. Also, I will never be a “mommy” to a pet.

But today, I’m a bundle of actual emotions - emotions that aren’t used to describe patients in a mental ward. I put on my softest pajama pants and spent a lot of time writing about the people I love. It felt pretty good. Despite the fact that this day is definitely a tough one, I couldn’t help but look up in the sky at the stars tonight and think about how lucky I am. I didn’t even shake my fist at the wintry blast stinging my face, or laugh at the bicyclist who nearly fell over because he was trying to BIKE through the SNOW.

I probably shouldn’t ball up all the good, mushy feelings for so long. I could give myself an ulcer. And if I’m not careful, I’m doomed to become a bonafide Grinch. It really shouldn’t be a rarity that I take the time to really appreciate the people I have in my life, and tell them I love them every once in awhile. I mean, it’s not like it makes me a bad person to be nice to others more often.

So today I’m mushy. I’m a marshmallow filled with clouds blowing bubbles. My Facebook status encouraged everyone to hug the people they love today. In the midst of all my cynicism and smack talking, I’m just going to use this day to prove that not only am I human, but we are ALL capable of these very real emotions and should embrace them. Don’t be afraid to pop in Armageddon and have a good cry, or be nice to a bad waitress, or admit you're wrong and apologize to someone, or just give your mangy dog a big, slobbery kiss. In the meantime, I’m going to sincerely wish you guys a great night. Tomorrow, though, it’ll be back to our regularly scheduled insults and unabashed cynicism.

Blogger Note: I haven’t gotten a chance to make it through all your Lifetime Movie Story Submissions yet. Turns out, people are pretty busy around the holidays, including yours truly. So you still have time to craft the perfect story. I’ll be declaring the winner in the new year! Get pumped, people…

Happy Stanksgiving!

Oh Thanksgiving…a day to give thanks by shoving your face with turkey and gravy and potatoes and pie then taking a nice long nap on the floor. Just like the pilgrims did. I’m sure we’ve all got lots of things to be thankful for. Family, friends, and the love we share. But I feel kind of bad, you guys. I mean, lots of things get overlooked on this fine, festive holiday. Pilgrims and Native Americans didn’t know what they were missing when they sat around in a cornfield and gave thanks for buffalo or polio blankets or whatever. So, here’s just a quick list of things I’m thankful for that got overlooked at the First Thanksgiving.

* TMZ for all the news I need to know
* Automatic car starters in Minnesota winters
* Texting
* My new subscription to Vogue that JUST came in the mail (Eeeee!!!)
* Shoes. Lovely, lovely shoes.
* The ability to Pay at the Pump
* People with British accents
* Spanx
* Kate Spade
* Google desktop, so I can see Facebook, Twitter, Email, People magazine, the weather, and my horoscope all on one page
* Trader Joe’s and their wonderfully drinkable 3-buck Chuck wine
* My Crest Spinbrush toothbrush, ‘cause sometimes I don’t have the energy to do that whole “up-and-down” thing
* Blogs

Yeah, those are all great things that stupid Pilgrims never knew anything about. Okay, so they had turkey and new friends who they would eventually trick and steal from, but I’ll never know how they did it without checking in with Foursquare or eviting people to the shindig.

Alright, if we could bring down the house lights and get a little serious up in this piece for a second, I just wanted to say that there’s some real stuff I’m thankful for.

* My sister Prinna. She literally INSISTED that I start blogging all those many moons ago. She showed me how to design my page, helped me come up with the name, and designed the header. All for little ol’ me. She’s like the bombest person ever, and I’m very thankful for her.
* My mom who reads every blog SECONDS after I post one, and then writes me little emails when she really likes a particular entry. She is the ideal fan, and I love her.
* My dedicated, and sometimes wonderfully vocal, group of readers. Especially: My grandmaman, Padrin, Aunt Sarah, Cindi, Geo, all the boys who admit to reading a girlie blog (and liking it!), Liz, Ally, Madeline, and Kim for actually SHARING the blog on Facebook which spreads the blog like it’s the flu. You all rule.

Yes. I love writing this blog. I’m very THANKFUL to have it and that you guys read it. I’m thankful that my parents put me through college to write, only to end up reading about how much I love my couch and my thoughts on Lindsay Lohan. Classic.

Enough with the wishy-washy. I’m going back to my vodka tonic and deciding which sweatpants go best with cranberry stains. Have a fabulous Thanksgiving, everyone!

Wednesday Winner

Well, you knew the time was coming. You knew, in your heart of hearts, that I couldn’t give you a shallow, self-serving Wednesday Winner every week, didn’t you? The time has come, dear friends and faithful readers, to reveal that this week, the Wednesday Winner is someone who is actually a person, and actually someone I hung out with this week.



That up there, ladies and germs, is my mom, Martha. On first glance, I know you thought, “Wait, you hung out with Sally Field this week, Pharon?” But no, the striking resemblance my mom bears to the star of such projects as Cybil, Mrs. Doubtfire, and Boniva commercials has not played a part in this week’s selection process.

Now, I don’t know if my mom even reads my blog (FACE! She reads it every single day), but last night, as I was leaving her and Prinna at the mall, she casually yelled over her shoulder, “HEY! Maybe I’ll be the Wednesday Winner this week!” Well Mom, your time has come. And sure, while the fun shopping trip we went on last night was a factor*, it was but one of several reasons you have won this week.

*When we went shopping, my mom “treated me” to a couple things at the mall. One of which was a pair of grey heels. They are even better than the grey shoes I originally drooled over. Yummy.

Keeping in mind that this is a weekly award, I shall limit my reasons to events that transpired in this week alone. I've got all the juicy stuff saved up for a rainy day...

Alright, Reason 1: This week was my parents 39th Anniversary. Say whaaat? That feat alone deserves a pat on the back…or possibly a head examination. How do you keep a marriage together for 39 years? Answer: Be my parents. She got an iPad from my dad for their anniversary. In the spirit of honesty and hilarity, I am inclined to tell you that, well, she hates/is not good at texting. She doesn't use iTunes. And sometimes she gets confused on Facebook (“What’s the difference between Top News and Newsfeed?!”). But, now she’s got an iPad and really loves it. Success!

Reason 2: I love shopping with my mom. And not just because of the above-mentioned perks I get. But typically I can manage to get my mom out of her comfort zone a little bit. This week, instead of buying her 4th go-to pair of brown loafers, she got the cutest pair of Rocket Dog gray flats. She would NEVER have picked them out had she been alone. Historically, I’ve also been (at least partly) responsible for her first pair of Jessica Simpson shoes, and her gorgeous bluish/purpley one-shoulder dress she wore to Perek’s wedding. I like that she actually takes my suggestions sometimes. Other times, of course, she’ll laugh until she’s red in the face while I stand there holding up a bedazzled pair of jean shorts urging her that she totally has the bod for them.

Reason 3: During the planning/execution phases of setting up for my niece’s birthday party at Prinna’s on Monday, my mom just sort of quietly left the room while I abused the feathers and glue sticks. After a little while, I looked up and saw her quietly repainting and reorganizing one of Prinna’s closets. While she may not enjoy harnessing the creative juices that flow out of a glitter pen, she does have a knack for keeping busy and being productive.

Reason 4: When I called her this week, she said answered with “What up?”

Reason 5: Finally, this week my mom wins the prize, because she is hilarious. Sometimes on purpose, sometimes not (when ordering a pretzel last night, she said “I don’t like cheese. I’ll have the parmesan pretzel.” Uh….) Also she’s honest with me. I was complaining to her about something life-changing, a ski trip I think, and during my little whine-a-thon, she straight up told me I was not good at taking the high road and that I was being a jerk. Touche, Mother.

So Mom, here’s to you. Thanks for making my week this week. And might I add “I like you! I really like you!”

Smile Because it Happened

This weekend was my favorite 4th of July celebration to date. My whole family was able to stay at Faith’s Lodge in Wisconsin ( Faith's Lodge Website ). Faith’s Lodge is a ginormous cabin on 20 acres of land, and it is a place for families who are faced with the challenge of having sick children, or for families who have suffered the loss of a child. My sister Prinna and her husband Chris lost my niece Sophia to SIDS in 2007. Since then, they have been very active in raising funds for Faith’s Lodge, because it was such a special place for them to visit after losing Sophia.

So this weekend, we all got together and celebrated Sophia’s life with the dedication of a bridge in her name. Fun? Absolutely. But having my whole family together can be a bit overwhelming sometimes. There were almost 20 of us, plus 8 kids, with Chris’ family and my own. There were just some insane moments. There were costume contests, poker games, dance contests, slip n’ slides, fishing, kids were melting down left and right, crying. My little brother got a fishing hook stuck in his finger and minor surgery had to be performed in the Sun Room. My brothers and my boyfriend put on a truly spectacular fireworks show, complete with music. And there was lots of food, lots of beer, and lots of…well, everything. It was a crazy good time.

But there were 2 moments in particular that I’ll treasure for the rest of my life from this weekend. The first was when Prinna and I randomly took a paddle boat ride around the pond. Just the two of us, there wasn’t really much talking. Just kind of quiet. Peaceful. We picked flowers from the lily pads (which, oops, is like totally illegal I guess), and just sort of chilled. It was immensely important to me to share that tiny moment with Prinna at Faith’s Lodge. I felt honored to be there with her, and it really made me happy.

The second moment was when I was tasked with decorating the bridge before the ribbon cutting ceremony. I went to town with the yellow crepe paper, purple ribbons, and balloons. I was down at the bridge alone, and there could not have been more mosquitoes, the threat of ticks was everywhere, and it was a zillion degrees. But there I was, standing on the bridge by myself. Thinking of Sophia. Missing her. And I looked around me, and there were dozens and dozens of rocks that parents paint for their beloved children and put them around the bridge. Names of babies, dates of their passing, special words from their parents. I didn’t know any of them, but nestled by a tree was Sophia’s. Among all those rocks, all those names, I did know one of them. I just missed her so much.

But then the ribbon cutting ceremony started, and the whole group of us stood together and remembered Sophia, and honored her life. It was incredibly moving. I thought, as I looked around, how lucky I am. Twelve hours ago, all these people were dancing around a room together, laughing, singing, and being together. And it was all because of Sophia. We all came together for her, and we had fun. We cried, yes, but we celebrated too.

I encourage you, dear reader, to find moments like this. To look around and remember how special the people in your life are. And when you find yourself on a bridge, sad and alone, remember that you can cross over it. And my hope for you is that you’ll find a whole mess of people who make you smile.

Oh, yeah, one more thing. Happy B-day, America. You rock. Thanks for the freedom. :)