Terpening Summer Olympics

My kids are obsessed with the Olympics. They watch for a bit and then they make their own Olympic Games, complete with bathing suits and body dives. This morning I kept my daughter busy for almost an hour making Olympic medals in gold, silver and bronze. I love when some wrapping paper, ribbon and tape can buy me an hour of relative peace.

Ught Oh!

Only 4 weeks left of summer and so much left to do with the kids. Yikes. I'm feeling like a big failure.

Japanese Garden
UW Water Activities Center
Local Farmers Markets
U-Pick Farms
Woodland Park Zoo
Seward Park
Magnuson Park
Madison Park
Matthews Beach
Ella Bailey Park
South Lake Union Park
Seattle Mini-Ferry from UW to South Lake Union
Volunteer Park
Golden Gardens
Burke Gilman Trail
Discovery Park
Sculpture Park & the Seattle Waterfront
Pike Place Market
Kelsey Creek Farm Park
Ballard Locks
Monorail
Pacific Science Center
Space Needle
Mountlake Terrace pool
Seattle Aquarium
Chihuly Garden & Glass
Jetty Island
Bainbridge Island
Vashon Island
West Seattle
Gas Works
Ride the Duck
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium
Museum of Flight
Seattle Art Museum
Snoqualmie Falls
Enchanted Village/Wild Waves
Mariners Game
Sounders Game
Seattle Great Wheel
Vancouver

Chihuly Garden and Glass

I can't wait to see the new Chihuly Garden and Glass exhibit.

I'm eager to read other reviews but thought this review from The Stranger was interesting... 

"Class Art"

How to Explain Why You Feel How You Feel When You’re Standing in Dale Chihuly’s New Museum

The Weight of the Nation

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I heard the HBO special, "The Weight of the Nation," is a must-see documentary. It's a 4 hour special you could break up over a few nights. A fitness guru I know and respect said that it's filled with useful information and that even if you are already pretty educated on the subject, it's still worth watching.

"HBO joins forces with the Institute of Medicine to create a 4-part documentary that explores the consequences, choices, children and challenges — all through the lens of the obesity epidemic."

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The Art of Flight

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I bought the documentary, The Art of Flight, for my husband for his birthday and we both loved it. I was mesmerized by the talent and fearlessness of the snowboarders, the beauty of the places they ventured, and the cinematography that captured it all. It is such a cool film and one I would definitely watch again. The cinematography is incredible and breathtaking. The maneuvers had me on the edge of my seat and I didn't want to look away from the screen for the entire length of the movie. Absolutely worth renting.
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Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail

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I just finished the book, "Wild," by Cheryl Strayed and highly recommend it. I loved it and couldn't put it down.

"A powerful, blazingly honest memoir: the story of an eleven-hundred-mile solo hike that broke down a young woman reeling from catastrophe—and built her back up again. At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she'd lost everything when her mother died young of cancer. Her family scattered in their grief, her marriage was soon destroyed, and slowly her life spun out of control. Four years after her mother's death, with nothing more to lose, Strayed made the most impulsive decision of her life: to hike the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State—and to do it alone. She had no experience as a long-distance hiker--indeed, she'd never gone backpacking before her first night on the trail. Her trek was little more than “an idea, vague and outlandish and full of promise.” But it was a promise of piecing back together a life that had come undone. Strayed faces down rattlesnakes and black bears, intense heat and record snowfalls, and both the beauty and intense loneliness of the trail. Told with great suspense and style, sparkling with warmth and humor, Wild vividly captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddened, strengthened, and ultimately healed her."


Click here to see a YouTube clip about it.

(Thanks Marly for the recommendation!)

Article Hour

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Here are some interesting articles you might enjoy. Happy reading.

Modern Love: What the Psychic Knew
The psychic's predictions were three-for-three. But what about the most important one?

Modern Love: Even in Real Life, There Were Screens Between Us
College students’ entries in this year’s Modern Love essay contest reveal a shift to technology-enabled emotional intimacy. Here is the winning essay.

We'll Always Have Darth
When preschoolers play games based on a movie they have never seen, something sociological is going on.

How My Daughters Learned to Eat Like the French
A preschool-level lesson in French food culture

A Chicken Without the Guilt
Why use the poor chicken as a machine to produce meat when you can use a machine to produce "meat" that seems like chicken?

Is a Calorie a Calorie?
A new book reminds us that weight loss isn't a simple matter of taking in fewer calories

A New Persian Empire Plants a Personal Flag
Bravo's new reality show "Shahs of Sunset" raises questions about the "Persian-ness" of modern Iranian-Americans.

The Top Man at 'Mad Men' Isn't Mad Anymore
Don Draper and hos colleagues will return on March 25 for a long-delayed fifth season, but Matthew Weiner, creator of "Mad Men," will reveal nothing about where the action will take it.

Is It Safe to Play Yet?
Some new parents are going to extreme lengths to protect their children from household toxins. But how far is too far?

Where Pimps Peddle Their Goods
Backpage.com and similar Web sites help find buyers for enslaved young girls.

The Best Nanny Money Can Buy
Why do some New York nannies earn more than doctors? Faulty economics (for starters), but also because they can groom horses and speak Mandarin.

VIEWPOINT: A Partial Defense Of Invisible Children’s Kony2012 Campaign
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Currently Listening To... (on repeat)

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My friend Whitney showed me this video for the song "Somebody That I Used to Know" and it's incredible. Love the song, love the video. Watch it if you haven't seen it. 
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Best New Word Ever

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Bro-tox

Because vanity knows no gender



Come One, Come All

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My friend Beth is the VP of Public Relations & Special Events for Barneys and is coming to Seattle for an event at the store. Barneys is celebrating Simon Doonan's latest book "Gay Men Don't Get Fat". Come down to the store Thursday night (5-7pm) to meet Simon and pick up a signed copy of his book. RSVP to the event at 206-622-6300 ext 221. Should be fun. Hope to see you there!
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Interactive Art

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I read about Ryan Molenkamp’s Portrait Challenge project awhile back and thought it was so creative. After people went nuts for the interactive art project at Bumpershoot, a new Portrait Challenge was presented at the Seattle Art Museum. (It's not currently showing. It took me a year to post this.) 

You could use this idea as inspiration for a fun kids art project for school, a birthday or play date, or you could make it a funny game for your next adult cocktail party or big birthday bash (everyone could draw the guest of honor). Some good clean fun that could be made all the funnier after a few cocktails. 

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Shit We Say

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These "Shit Girls Say" videos are hilarious. I can't stop laughing about a few lines.

Episode 1

Episode 2



For All You Bret McKenzie Fans

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A quick read from The New York Times Magazine...

"On Composing for Kermit the Frog"

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“We all get dressed for Bill”

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I finally had a chance to watch the documentary Bill Cunningham New York and loved it. I have a whole new appreciation for his weekly photo column in the Sunday Styles section. Watch the trailer here.


ABOUT THE FILM

“We all get dressed for Bill,” says Vogue editrix Anna Wintour.

The “Bill” in question is 80+ New York Times photographer Bill Cunningham. For decades, this Schwinn-riding cultural anthropologist has been obsessively and inventively chronicling fashion trends and high society charity soirées for the Times Style section in his columns “On the Street” and “Evening Hours.” Documenting uptown fixtures (Wintour, Tom Wolfe, Brooke Astor, David Rockefeller—who all appear in the film out of their love for Bill), downtown eccentrics and everyone in between, Cunningham’s enormous body of work is more reliable than any catwalk as an expression of time, place and individual flair. In turn, Bill Cunningham New York is a delicate, funny and often poignant portrait of a dedicated artist whose only wealth is his own humanity and unassuming grace.
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Good Times

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My friend Marly hosted a little post-baby, baby shower today for our friend Courtney. Once the group dwindled down to the last six of us, the games came out. We played a new game called The Game of Things and it was so fun.

In each round, players answer questions like "What would you not encourage your children to do" or "What should you no longer do at your age." The answers are read aloud and players take turns guessing who wrote each one. We were buckled over with laughter from the answers in every round. Great Christmas gift idea. I'm ordering it for my hubby right now.

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Vietnam in HD

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I'm a sucker for a good documentary so I'm really enjoying the series Vietnam in HD on The History Channel. Last night was the first night so it's not too late to catch part two and three.

Life in a Day

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I really want to see this...

'Life In A Day': The World According To YouTube

Has anyone seen it yet? Any good?

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What's Your Sign?

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My friend Marly told me about the site Astrology Zone for incredible, detailed horoscopes. I never tend to read horoscopes in magazines or the like, but I am loving these. I always end up reading them later in the month, which makes it fun because you can look back at what she (Susan Miller) predicted for you and whether or not it rang true. I'm pretty amazed at some of the things she says and how spot on she is. Kinda silly. Kinda eerie!
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Love Her...

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New York Times Magazine article...

"A Long Day at ‘The Office’ With Mindy Kaling"

Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead

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I can't wait to see this....
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