Question of the Day #318

Regular blogger, Lisa D, has a dilemma. She is going to be a secret reader for her little one's kindergarten class and she doesn't know what to read. Her daughter's all time fave is Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, but with the movie coming out, she's worried that pick might seem predictable.

So we ask the perfect audience, which of your favorite picture books might make a good choice for this fab secret reader?

xoxo,
Suzanne

Question of the Day #317

My superagent, Daphne Unfeasible, has made like five sales in the last few weeks. And one deal was this crazy multi-book series sold at auction. Every time I log on the kt literary website, there's more great news! kt literary is seriously on fire.

One of those authors, the incredibly funny and oh so willing to give me advice when we've never actually met face to face, Carrie Harris, is one of the happy authors! Her novel, NO PAIN, No BRAIN was just sold to Wendy Loggia at Delacorte. Woohoo for zombies!!!

And my brother, a football coach in NJ, just opened his season with not one, but TWO big wins!

Am I crazy or are things looking up? Is there a spark in the air? A little upswing, if you will?

Let's share some good news. Who do you know who's on a positive roll?

xoxo,
Suzanne

Question of the Day #316

I just froze the leftover marinara sauce from last night's spaghetti and meatballs and was sort of like...hmm...more meatballs. I love meatballs, don't get me wrong, but when you make them once a week and also for special orders, you kinda don't want to eat them anymore.

Have you ever enjoyed a certain food so much that you actually got sick of it?

xoxo,
Suzanne

Question of the Day #315

Now that we have African safaris on the brain, I must ask, what's the coolest place you've ever been?

I haven't been anywhere too interesting, but B and I once took a helicopter ride (which surprisingly terrified me) over the Hawaiian islands. Swooping around waterfalls and hovering through Jurassic canyons was amazing.

xoxo,
Suzanne

Question of the Day #314

If you went on an African safari, which animal would you be most interested in seeing?

I think I'd like to see leopards in action. There's something super cool and edgy about them. Plus their spots make the hottest shoes.

You?

xoxo,
Suzanne

Question of the Day #313

If you were to be in any publication, which publication would you pick and what would you like to be mentioned for?

For example, I'd like to be on The New York Times Best Seller List. So maybe you'd like to have a recipe published in Real Simple magazine? Your garden featured in Better Homes and Gardens? Maybe you'd like to be interviewed by Sports Illustrated?

What do you think?

xoxo,
Suzanne

Question of the Day #312

It is overcast. Downright cloudy. And in any other part of the world, I'd say it looks like it's going to rain. But unfortunately, there's a better chance of me learning that my long lost great uncle left me 40 billion dollars today than there is of rain in LA.

What a bummer. I love LA. I love the sunshine, the heat. The lack of humidity. But once in a while, nothing is better than a rainy day.

What are some of your favorite once in a while treats?

xoxo,
Suzanne

Question of the Day #311

Through the packing process I have come across mixed tapes from my highschool BFF and single 45s I bought as a tween - before the word "tween" even existed.

I found records in dusty boxes. Like Prince 1999, which I bought when 1999 seemed like light years away. And the CDs. Hundreds of CDs. And I was never a huge music buyer. Not like my rocker friends who have walls lined with jewel cases. I just had your average girl's worth.

I'm getting rid of about 75% of them. Not because I'm not into them anymore, but because at some point, I've downloaded most of the material onto my computer. And since I've purchased more songs from iTunes, sadly, the CDs are sort of obsolete.

So how you do listen to music? Do you spin old vinyl? Rock out to your iPod? Blast satellite radio in your car?

xoxo,
Suzanne

Question of the Day #310

So I wrote a whole other question and then logged onto Facebook. The majority of east coast friends acknowledged the anniversary of September 11. Some of them mourned their friends and family members. Some of them sent up prayers for the servicemen and women who died that day. And some of them just suggested having a moment of silence today.

My west coast friends are posting their usual posts.

On September 11, 2001, my family members were directly affected. I'm not going to share that story, but I will share this. When I went to work (in LA) the next day, nobody got it. My boss, who had never been to NYC, pulled me aside and asked me about World Trade Center Plaza. How big was it exactly? What could I compare it to?

Californians didn't seem to get the scope of it all. And this is NOT a slam to Californians. I'm here 15 years and I'm pretty sure my Jersey Girl label is starting to wear off. It just provokes an interesting question. Unless something impacts us directly - do we even notice?

xoxo,
Suzanne

Question of the Day #309

I think cheese is the food of the gods. (Okay, I stole that label from my sister. She called it the food of the gods first. But whatevs.) It's probably one of my favorite foods. Gouda, blue, fontina, cheddar. Ooo...horseradish cheddar. Goat cheese, manchego, swiss, fresh mozzarella. Whatever the cheese, I'm in love.

But some people hate it.

How do you feel about cheese?

xoxo,
Suzanne

Question of the Day #308

My friend B posted this status update last night:

"Tonight i can vividly recall being in 4th grade and sneaking out every single weekend night to ride bikes at 3am around my town. and i wish anything i was doing right now in my life made me feel as alive as that did."

I TOTALLY get what he means. Remember when you were a kid and everything was crazy exciting? Stomach flips when your crush looked at you? Excitement for weeks over your BFF's upcoming parentless party? The electric buzz on the last day of school before summer?

Sneaking out during the night was thrilling. Dodging behind bushes when headlights appeared. Every tiny wind whistle or branch snap sparked shivers down your back.

When was the last time you felt that kind of "alive"?

xoxo,
Suzanne

Question of the Day #307

My friend P asks wacky questions. Like the other day, while gobbling a plate of mashed potatoes, he said, "Kid, if you only ate mashed potatoes for the rest of your life, do you think you could stay alive?"

Then there was, "Would you rather have someone smash your knee with a bat once or get sand thrown in your face once every hour, at any point during that hour, so you don't know when it's coming, for the rest of your life?"

And of course, "If you had to choose between never having sex again or having to pour maple syrup on every single thing you eat for the rest of your life, which would you chose?"

The entertainment is endless.

How would you answer P's questions?

xoxo,
Suzanne

Question of the Day #306

It's Labor Day. One of the biggest BBQ days of the year.

What kind of fun did you cook up this weekend?

xoxo,
Suzanne

Question of the Day #305

I drove to breakfast this morning without hitting any red lights, driving the speed limit or a tad above, and I didn't slow for traffic once.

LA on a holiday weekend is a holiday. It's like being on vacation. No crowds, no lines, no traffic.

It's heavenly.

What's your town like this holiday weekend?

xoxo,
Suzanne

Question of the Day #304

It's Moving Sale Day and I'm cleaning house. Seriously. Furniture, clothes, cds, plants, electronics, whatever.

The idea of living a little more lightly is really appealing. Forget the stuff. Concentrate on actions.

So, what stuff in your home would you like to get rid of?

xoxo,
Suzanne

Question of the Day #303

My eye is twitching. It started yesterday while packing, cleaning, and doing other moving chores, which we have now nicknamed "Labor Camp."

I went to bed early, slept almost 10 hours and woke to more eye twitching. The natural cause would be stress, right? I'm definitely stressed. No doubt about it. But usually I get pain in my shoulders and neck or I have nightmares. Now this. A twitchy eye? Seriously?

How does stress manifest itself in your body?

xoxo,
Suzanne

Question of the Day #302

Enjoy Shannon, friend and waitress extraordinaire on Spaghetti and Meatballs Night.

Clearly, she's quite the promoter.

Anyway, that got us thinking about t-shirts with crazy sayings on them.

"I have one that says, 'Got Wine?'" said E.

"N had one with, 'This is what awesome looks like,' written across it," I said.

"I don't have any t-shirts with writing on them," said H.

"This could be a good question," said E.

"Why, yes, yes it could," I replied.

So the question is, do you wear any t-shirts with funny sayings on them? If not, what have you seen that you like?

xoxo,
Suzanne

Question of the Day #301

I'm getting ready to move. And I have tons of stuff. So I'm looking at the whole thing as a purge. I'm selling and donating just about everything I don't use on a daily basis.

So yesterday, as I sorted through my clothes, removing anything donatable, I found a top I thought I might like to keep. When I tried it on, I noticed something was missing.

The ball that holds my belly ring in place had disappeared. In 15 years, that ring has sat securely in place and yesterday, while I scrambling to pack a huge house into two boxes, it somehow fell off.

I searched the shower and my bed. I got on all fours and scanned the floors. After a while I realized I needed professional help. I had no idea where to go. And I was completely annoyed.

I got my belly pierced when I was 22 years old. At a place on Melrose Ave in Hollywood, where all things cool happened. But the shop couldn't still be there, could it?

I didn't even remember where it was on Melrose. But after some googling, I found a tattoo and piercing shop in the same area, grabbed my shopping list of ingredients for tonight's Spaghetti and Meatballs Night, packing tape, banker boxes and bubble wrap and drove down there, one finger on my navel, holding the horseshoe in place.

The only guy in the shop was a tattoo artist, who admitted to having no idea about piercings. My hope sank. We tried to screw on a new ball, but I don't think it was the right size, plus my unsteady hands got nowhere. He asked if I could come back after 2:00 when his boss would be in, but I needed to have packed 10 boxes by 2:00.

I told him I was in the middle of moving and he must have seen the defeat on my face, because he called his boss, who showed up two minutes later.

The boss looked at my impaired jewelry, found a new silver ball, and screwed it onto my belly ring - professionally, with tools. Not shaky hands. Then he told me the whole thing was free of charge.

I was sooo relieved I could have hugged the guy. This may sound like a minor thing to someone else. I mean, I could have taken the ring out. And I considered that, and asked myself if losing the piece was a sign to let go of that too, but the piercing isn't just a pair of jeans I haven't worn in a year or a lamp I might not ever use again.

As silly as it may sound, it's a part of me.

So I'm very thankful that in the middle of a crazy time, those two guys made an upsetting loss disappear. And did they did it out of kindness.

So I have two questions today. Feel free to answer either or both:

1. What piece of your life are you not ready to part with yet?

2. What kind thing has someone done for you lately?

xoxo,
Suzanne

Question of the Day #300

I'm borrowing this one from If...Questions for the Game of Life:

If you could be invisible for one hour, where would you go and what you would you do?

xoxo,
Suzanne

Question of the Day #299

The winds have shifted and it's pretty smokey here. I'm expecting it to snow ash soon. (Yes, seriously. That happens.)

I'm still praying for the fire victims. But I'm also praying for the firefighters - big time. I cannot imagine working in 100 degree weather, fighting a raging fire in rough terrain. Must be really scary and really exhausting. Beyond anything I can imagine.

I really admire them.

Who do you really admire and why?

xoxo,
Suzanne

Question of the Day #298

The beach was amazing. It's been crazy hot in LA - like 110 in the Valley, 105 in Hollywood and 95 in Santa Monica. When it's 95 at the beach, you know it's hot.

It felt sooo good. The water was warm and the waves weren't superbig so we got to swim and stay in the ocean for a long time. All was perfect on the beach.

Except when we turned around and looked back at the city.

There's a huge wildfire in Angeles Crest Forest. 32,000 acres have burned and it's only 5% contained. Three homes have been lost, three people have been injured and the temperatures are rising.

It's fire season in LA. And while it comes every year, there's still something incredibly unsettling about lazing around on the beach and bodysurfing when people are in danger so serious that you can see it from 30 miles away.

A blatant reminder that while we're out having a good time it's important to think of and send good vibes to the people who aren't.

Who are you thinking of and wishing good things for?

xoxo,
Suzanne

Question of the Day #297

You're never going to believe this. Or maybe you will. But, I never got to the beach. I wanted to go Thursday. Guilt killed me. Yesterday, I decided to take a stand against my guilt, but then I ran out of time.

Today, I'm going. Like after the "xoxo, Suzanne" I'm shutting down the computer, putting on my suit, spritzing on my Coppertone and heading out the door.

What have you been wanting to do but just haven't been able to?

xoxo,

Suzanne

Question of the Day #296

I did not go to the beach.

I let guilt win.

But not today. Screw guilt.

What are you going to take a stand against today?

xoxo,
Suzanne

Question of the Day #295

I'm thinking about going to the beach. Crazy, huh? I don't have to be anywhere until 5:30. Then why do I feel so guilty about having a beach day? I'm not even there and I feel guilty.

What are you feeling guilty about?

xoxo,
Suzanne

Question of the Day #294

With all the catering and waitressing I've been doing lately, there's an odd shift in my schedule. Like last week, on Wednesday, I cooked for Spaghetti and Meatballs Night at Sonny McLean's. Thursday night I waited tables. Friday night I waited tables. Saturday morning I cooked for the Fantasy Football Draft I catered on Sunday. Then I waited more tables during the Red Sox / Yankees afternoon game. Saturday night I cooked. Sunday morning I cooked and delivered the food.

And suddenly, Monday and Tuesday have become my weekend. (Although I did work on a writing assignment so there was some work involved - just a different type of work.)

This is totally odd. I have been a Monday - Friday girl my whole (post college) life. And right now, although I'm thankful for the work, I'm a little turned upside down.

What's got you feeling upside down?

xoxo,
Suzanne