Eight women, one cabin

Inventory for a weekend to be spent in the woods:

Women - 8
Tequila - 1 Litre
Board Games - 5
Books to read in the hammock - 4
Bottles of bug repellent - 4
Computers - 0

Scrambled eggs

My body has served me well over the past 50 years. Unlike many other baby boomers I've never hated my body or wished it to be other than it is. But now I've decided that it would be just-fine-with-me-thank-you if my body stopped producing eggs. I don't need them anymore. Menopause, I welcome you.

I've never considered menstruation to be "a curse." My cycles are regular and my periods have always been brief and pain-free. All forms of birth control worked for me with no side effects. And when I wanted to get pregnant, I did, immediately.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not interested in losing my ovaries or uterus or going on hormone replacement therapy. I'm just ready for the estrogen levels to change and stay changed.

Six word novel

From Utne magazine:

"Ernest Hemingway was once challenged to write a story in six words. The result: For sale: baby shoes, never used."

A portrait of the blogger as a young woman

A college friend just sent me this photo from "back in the day." See if you can find me. (Click on the photo for a larger view.)

No, we didn't dress like this all the time. We were going to a costume ball ... most of us dressed as gansters and molls.

Sleeping through the night

When my children were babies I couldn't wait for them to "sleep through the night" because that meant that I, too, would sleep through the night. It's worse now.

It was 6 a.m. Sunday morning when my son woke me up saying, "Hey mom, I stayed up all night. Isn't that cool?"

And it was 5 a.m. Monday morning when my daughter woke me up saying, "Mom, it's 5 o'clock and I just want you to know that I have to leave for work [at the coffee shop] now and I didn't want you to think I was sneaking out in the middle of the night."

Mr. & Mrs. Fabulous

Imagine Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn spouting witty dialogue whilst wearing bulletproof vests and wielding AK-47s. That's just a bit what the Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie film Mr. & Mrs. Smith is like.

Or maybe its like Rock Hudson and Doris Day doing that slapstick physical comedy thing they'd do when they were trying to ruin each other's life but this time they're trying to kill each other. Yeah, that's it.

I'm sure I missed some of the best lines because I was laughing so much.

Here's one scene: Brad and Angelina are trying to evade three heavily armed BMWs while driving like a bat out of hell in a stolen minivan. She: "I'm an orphan." He: "So who was that man who gave you away at our wedding?" She: "A rented actor." He: "I thought I'd seen your father in Fantasy Island."

Another bit of dialogue (they are hired assasins): He: "How many, you know, have you done." She: "You go first baby, how many have you done?" He: "Well I haven't kept close count but I'd say between 50 and 60." She: "357." He: "357. Really." She: "Well, some were doubles." He just looks at her. [Imagine the classic Spencer Tracy "I dismiss you" wave of the hand here.]

This movie works on so many different levels. There's sexual tension and hilarious comedy. (Remind me to tell you about Angelina's dominatrix scene.)

You've got to go see this film. Call me, I'll go again.