louise on the left (coast)

Birthday party dilemma and advice from a sloppy cupcake baker: Okay. So, my screwed-up mommy thoughts these days are: Did my kid's first grade party invite get sniped by another first grader's party, or am I just socially greedy? "And now," she said, speaking with a semblance of hindsight: "The answer is I was not technically sniped. However, I am someone who could be accused of being unreasonably hoggish regarding the sharing of party-goers." And so, I'm now asking the PTA Fairies ; Just what is the right way to handle dueling invites in grade school? Just to be clear: What I mean is, what happens when two kids -- different classrooms, same grade, same friends-- have conflicting parties at the same time? Admittedly, I made the biggest mistake right off the top: I tried something new. I put "Regrets Only" on the invite. Hey, can you blame me? So many people just blow off RSVP'ing these days that I figured by reversing the process o...

Actually, I was half-asleep, but I think I turned down something similar to this late last night. This would explain why he woke up all cranky. Anyhow. Can someone please throw me a blogging bone to explain why none of my links are getting posted properly? Also, my code shows up on bizarre spots on my computer...Places where no cursor could dare be expected to type. Clearly, I'm seeing stuff, like dead people, that nobody else does. Is there some The Blogging For Dummies Who Use Laughably Obsolete iMacs To Blog Book , somewhere? And WHERE is the best place to blog, because I don't have the time to figure out why my posts don't display links at all, let alone correctly. Here's my dream come true: Down or upload this entire blog here into far easier to use other blog elsewhere...With no glitches. Any chance something like that exists? Thanks, in advance, for any blogging wisdom you may have to share. L.

Thanks to a re-run of the same UTI for over 6 weeks and the cool opportunity to try out all the major antibiotics of the past decade I was able to take what I'm hoping is a short stroll down Urology Lane. Anybody ever have a camera up the bladder while it's being filled with water? Wow, that was really unfun and humiliating. Nothing like funny banter with a man while he's looking up your wee-wee. Today was interesting, too. It wasn't a bit as painful or embarrassing as the camera episode, but I did have an interesting thing happen. They gave me a lot of tasty LA tap water to down, which was a lot better than the barium swillers on my left in the "waiting room," (not really "a room" at all, it was a hallway with chairs.) In any event the nurse said they'd put an IV in my arm so they could inject dye into my system in order to film my kidneys and bladder, etc. They said it might make me feel "kind of warm or flushed." Okay, so that s...

Last night I went to my first and only Elton John concert. Check THIS out: My ticket! That's my ticket , my friends! That's my ticket to Elton John ...Last night. Finally, after all these years. Wow. That's my teen-age idol out there! I mean -- his play list was almost too much to take it in. You have to understand, he was my idol, but I had never once made it to an Elton John Concert. Here he is striking a pose. Let me backtrack; If you knew me growing up, (say, anytime between 1970 and 1982) you would know what a huge, major, big deal going to an Elton John concert for the first time really would be. What can I say? I was an only child living in a somewhat rural part of New England with what can only be described as astonishingly un-hip parents. This meant nobody took me to a rock concert or even drove me into the next town to buy anyone's latest album, either. I was on my own...However, I learned to be very resourceful that way. I was a dedicated fan...

Standing up to the big boys: I love it when someone has the guts to stand up to the big boys. But, in particular, it takes real guts to be an actor who lectures the NAB. Which is why everyone should listen to what Tim Robbins was recorded doing the other day at the NAB convention. The message he sent wasn't just directed at media production, but media consumers, as well. And that would be, us. It's all so dark and cynical out there. Did I mention sensational? I am no prude. Trust me. But, geez. It's getting bad out there. Naturally, this has been disturbing to me as a parent. How do I stay honest about our leaders and not kill my children's hope for the future? Knowing there are those who feel as I do about this issue is encouraging to me. Mr. Robbins should be thanked for having the courage to challenge those in in charge of our "collective dreams." We need to keep reminding them that they are in a position to change society, not just make money off ...

I mean, at the Getty

I loved this exhibit. It was like visiting the palace of Louis XIV as imagined by the creators of Blues Clues.