From the monthly archives:

January 2012

Boring

by Marinka on January 31, 2012

Last week my 13 year old, formerly known on this blog as My Beautiful Daughter and now re-christened as Teenage Daughter, told me that I’m a very boring person, no offense.

For weeks there’s been this not-quite-tension-but-weirdness with her and me.

Like things that she used to find funny that I did, she now finds annoying. And although she’s not overtly rolling her eyes at me, it’s implied in many, many sentences.

“I love you and everything,” she told me, “but you’re just really boring.”

“I am?” I droned on.

“Yeah. You are. You don’t have anything interesting to say. Like ever. It’s annoying.”

“I like to think that I have some interesting stories,” I monotoned.

“I’d like to hear one,” she crossed her arms.

“Well, I saw a program on the television set today that there was a reckless youngster who tried to jump on a moving train and her legs were severed.”

“That’s DISGUSTING.”

“Disgusting, yes, but a cautionary tale. Let us discuss the lessons we can learn from it.”

“What kind of a person would try to jump on a moving train?”

“It was some kind of a college prank/dare situation.”

“It’s not very smart.”

“You are right, it is not very smart. Very foolish. Very dangerous.”

“Did they have video of it?”

“No.”

“Re-enactment?”

“No.”

“That’s so terrible!”

“Very tragic. Very sad not to have legs.”

“Wow.”

“I know. Pretty interesting story I told you there, right?”

“OMG. You just ruined everything by asking that. Because it’s like you just want attention or something. YOU ARE SO DIFFERENT MOM. YOU USED TO BE INTERESTING! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?”

“I do not know. Perhaps I’ve always been very boring and you just recently became a lot more interesting and so I seem a lot more boring in comparison?”

“I didn’t even listen to that.”

“Ok, honey. Don’t jump on moving trains.”

“Duh.”

{ 23 comments }

What I’m Reading

by Marinka on January 29, 2012

This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

This post was inspired, as most things in my life have been, by Alice Bradley.

I’ve been doing a lot of reading, on my new Kindle Fire.

Even though I’ve had an e-reader less than a month, I already don’t understand how anyone can read regular books.

“I like paper books,” a friend told me when I tried to shame her into e-reading.

There’s always one. Probably when books came out there were all these people who were all “I prefer cave etchings! I guess I’m just old-fashioned.”

But not me.

I like that it’s light, I like that I can have a kazillion books on it and can read what I want depending on my mood.

For example, on the subway, I’ll often read Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant. I’m reading this seemingly endless series of books because Young “I don’t like to read” Ladrinka is reading them. He’s a few books ahead of me and every evening he asks me what part I’m up to and then nods knowingly.

When I’m on line at Starbucks, I’ll glance at Bossypants. I’ll be honest. I wanted to like this book so much more than I did. It’s a good read because it’s TINA FEY! But.

At home, I just started Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austern? Austen? I can’t keep track of all these up and coming sensations. I don’t quite believe that I’ve never read it before, but I can’t remember doing it. To my horror, I know that I did read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies a few years back and I’m not even a zombie person. THAT I KNOW OF.

I’m also really enjoying Tigerlilly’s Orchids by Ruth Rendell. I’m a huge (ok, of size) Ruth Rendell fan– and this mystery-suspense novel is a real treat. Thank you to the lovely Wendi for recommending it.

Speaking of mystery-suspense, I recently finished Laura Lippman’s The Most Dangerous Thing. It has all the elements that I like. Childhood friends, a mysterious death, The Big Chill-type reunion years later. But it fell flat for me. I wasn’t satisfied. Which I’ve been feeling a lot with Lippman lately. I think it’s because What The Dead Know was so strong and compelling that I haven’t found anything else of hers that has lived up to it. Dilemma.

I’m looking for recommendations especially in the mystery/suspense. I like books that are mysterious and suspenseful but I just can’t read ones that have a private investigator. A childhood spent with Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot will do that to you.

Any ideas?

Are you reading anything wonderful? Or anything not wonderful? OMG, do you even know how to read?!

{ 34 comments }

Ahem

January 27, 2012

You’ll be relived to know that yesterday’s clogged toilet dilemma was resolved when Husbandrinka came home and taught me how to flush the toilet. Apparently, I haven’t been holding the handle long enough. He said I have to hold it until I see “the whirlpool action” which makes toilet flushing sound almost exotic. I’m very […]

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Woe Is Me

January 26, 2012

I am sick with a cold/flu situation and my toilet is clogged and try as I might to put my usual optimistic spin on this experience, I just can’t seem to get it together. Mostly because I’ve been trying to battle the toilet for the past hour and what I’m smelling is definitely not victory. […]

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How I Host The Big Game Party

January 25, 2012

I am not a Big Game person by choice.  And not even by marriage. Yeah, my husband likes to watch a game occasionally, but our house has never been Game Central until our son was born and grew up to boy, I mean, man, the remote control. Now I’m living baseball and football seasons in […]

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Miami

January 23, 2012

I am planning on going to Miami in March. To play mah jongg with my mah jongg playing friends and possibly become a Golden Girl. I started playing mah jongg again last year with a new group of people and to celebrate my addition to the group the ladies suggested that we fly some place […]

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The Perils of Marrying a Heterosexual Man

January 21, 2012

Marinka: Heidi and Seal are auf wiedersehen. Husbandrinka: What? Marinka: Heidi and Seal are auf wiedersehen. Husbandrinka: Heidi is.. a person? And seal is a seal? Marinka: OMG. Husbandrinka: Who is Heidi? Marinka: Heidi Klumberg. Husbandrinka: Heidi Klum? What is Seal? Marinka: Sealberg! Her husband, SEAL. Husbandrinka: Heidi Klum is married? Marinka: $%^#@*&!!!

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How To Unsubscribe From E-Mail Updates

January 19, 2012

1. Subscribe to an email alert. Perhaps it’s from a local restaurant. That offers a .3% discount if you subscribe to their email alerts. 2. Receive an email update. Think, ooh! an email update! How fun! 3. After two years of daily email updates of such ilk as panini sale! And get ready for summer […]

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