Life is sweet

Magnet #890 - Life is sweet

Ok. C'mon. How freakin' CUTE is this magnet.

Cupcakes, lollipops, candy, ice cream. It's like my own personal food pyramid. So many happy things at once. So. Darn. Cute!

You know what's even cuter? Almost everything at the Bored Inc site. We discovered these guys at Comic-Con* (hey, who says trade shows don't work. Wait, does one consider SDCC a trade show, really?), and they had tons and tons of superadorable stuff, but I had to settle for only a couple of magnets - otherwise, I would have gone home with every single one of their magnets, except maybe all the scatologically-focused ones.

I'm picking this one for today, because it's my sister's birthday today, and as she's explained before, she loves the cute-cute. It's also why I bought her this Mochimochi knitting book for her birthday. This way, we alllll benefit from her fun pasttime.

Anyway, sorry I'm not there today, and sorry I wasn't able to get Zachary Levi or Nathan Fillion to wish you happy birthday, but I hope you're having a terrific birthday anyway!

*Note to other SDCC exhibitors - you know what drew me to the Bored Inc booth and made me stay for a good 10 minutes? Besides the cute-cute, she had a ton of magnets at her booth. For sale. I'm just saying.

Forward-looking statement

Magnet #889 - Believe

Another one of my word collection magnets from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Picked for a good reason today - for the past year, I've been following my friend's DOWNsized. But NEVER out. blog that she started when she was let go from her job.

She's been truly inspiring, with her blogposts from Panera, her positivity, and her firm belief that something great is waiting for her. Because it is.

Now that I'm in the same boat, I find myself trying to emulate that positive attitude, staying upbeat, and trying to soothe those left behind with stunned, shell-shocked faces. I mean, we should be used to it by now, given the year we've had saying good-byes. I'm really just another body in a long line of them.

I'm taking a page from Barb's book - I refuse to be all sad and heartsick about it. Anyone who has read joy magnetism for any length of time knows how unhappy I've been for ages - it wasn't healthy, clearly, because I was getting sick all the time, worrying about stupid things out of my control, and letting the situation control me and expressing itself in a very un-joylike attitude.

So, this is a good thing, people. While I will miss the terrific friends I've made and the brilliant colleagues and clients I've worked with, I have no regrets in my 12-year-career there. (Well, except for whomever poor soul has to deal with all the loose ends that have to be resolved.)

I do find myself looking forward to what the future brings. To quote one of the many people who have reached out (thank you), "you'll find yourself looking at what you can do, but be asking yourself what can't you do." (Wait, does that make sense the way I just said it? I dunno, but you get it.)

In the meantime, I'll be looking to Barb's blog for more inspiration on positivity, and to my friends and trusted colleagues for guidance, support and ears to the ground.

Ready. Set. Go.

Where the Turf Meets the Surf!

Magnet #888 - The Magnet

I bought this magnet from the superawesome Morgan Library & Museum, because it seriously just cracked me up.

It took me a good 15 years before I finally made it to that library - even if I worked literally across the street from it. We went for the Jane Austen personal notes and letters exhibit, which was amazing, even if you aren't her biggest fan. But I loved the new addition by Renzo Piano - pretty snazzy.

Anyway, like any good magnate/robber baron, J.P. Morgan was quite the art collector. This is The Magnet, a cartoon drawn by Joseph Keppler, Jr. for Puck magazine. That's J.P. Morgan on the top left, using his dollar sign magnet (totally looks like something out of Richie Rich, by the way) to attract all of Europe's great art treasures to America.

I feel like I keep going to museums built by families who made their money the old-fashioned way - starting from poor families and managing to build up successful businesses from the ground up, and managing to collect art along the way, in the end, giving it back to the peoples. The Morgan Library & Museum, the Frick Collection, the Timken Museum here in Balboa Park in San Diego. Small collections worth millions, and worth hours of my time.

Thank you, wealthy families of America. If you've managed to reach one person here in America, it's me. Yay, for you guys.

I'm using this for today, because we went to the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club race track today. So fun. I loved that we were toting around 4-year-old and an almost 2-year-old rambunctious set of boys. And who knew the track was so popular among pretty much every demographic you can think of - the cuteboys with the cuteboys, the old, the young, the rich, the skeevy, the desperate.

Bing Crosby and two buddies built the track way back in 1937, and he became a fixture at the track until his death in 1977. I love how the Del Mar race track became one of the old-school Hollywood places to be, given it's proximity to well, Hollywood. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Betty Grable, and countless others. Plus, Seabiscuit raced here, so says the pictures on the walls of fame around Del Mar track, and the historic Stratford Inn.

And to think, the only thing I knew of the Del Mar track is this grand front area in front of the paddocks, where I could have sworn one of our Loveswept authors had us use as the backdrop of Anticipation.

I had to laugh today, though, because while this magnet has to do with earned money, today on the way into the track, I heard a guard yell out to one of the oldies, Hey! I hope you get a 1099 today!

We named the *dog* Indiana

Magnet #887 - Professor Henry Jones

SuperTaj and THE SHADOW and their mom and I went to Legoland this week.

First, it's ridiculous that people actually thought that I - of all people - wouldn't enjoy Legoland. I mean, hello, it's Legoland!!! There's a big part of me that thinks they built Legoland just for me.

I flippin' loved it. I want to know exactly how many items made out of Legos are in the park, and how many Legos it took to make everything. How freakin' awesome is that park?

Honestly, I would have been happy without any of the rides - maybe because we only rode the rides for 36" and over, and under 3YO, and so I don't know what I missed. But, I loved everything they built out of Legos.

What's not to love? A mini-USA? Complete with a Grand Central Station, a Flatiron building, my absolute favorite building in NYC - the Fred F. French building? OML. Their Vegas didn't have a Bellagio or an Elvis, but that's ok. I totally loved their tiny towns!

Plus, their gift shop? The fact that they call it the BIG SHOP? Ohmygoodness. LOVE. Where else would I find Professor Henry Jones? C'mon! I couldn't believe it, either. I can't wait to get home to unpack the rest of the magnet sets I bought.

Because you know I just bought a tiny town of magnets.

Enough of this pasty, waify s**t

Magnet #886 - Jocelynn Drake's Dayhunter

I got this magnet from last year's NYCC, from Jocelynn Drake herself. She has a new book coming today called Wait for Dusk, the next in her Nightwalker series.

I picked it for today, because it reminds me of the Supernatural panel we went to on the last day of Comic-Con. I mean, can you get any cuter than the Winchester Boys? Uh. No.

They had a great panel, for their supposedly last and final season, wherein Jensen Ackles said enough of this pasty, waify shit, let's show 'em how to really kill vampires.

Lore (Legend? History?) is a funny, funny thing. I mean, if you buy into the vampire thing, over the years, you learn that there are just certain rules about slaying vampires that everyone adheres to. The garlic, the holy water, the wooden stake through the heart, direct sunlight, etc.

But, it always cracks me up when those rules get broken. Suddenly garlic doesn't work, it doesn't matter if the water's blessed, the stake can hit near the heart, and the vamp can hang out under piers.

I can't wait to see more of what they can do on Supernatural, and how Dean (and Sammy) Winchester's gonna light 'em up and knock 'em down, and "teach folks how to do it right" - a Jensen quote, which was yet another of the many, many Twilight slams that happened at Comic-Con. Which kinda made me giggle a bit.

Until I sat through the Vampire Diaries panel...which (pretty boys and all) made me giggle a lot more.

Who are those guys?

Magnet #885 - Butch & Sundance

I got this Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid magnet from my Union Square magnet guy a while back, and I'd been saving it to talk about branding (go with it).

But, I'm staying with a good friend of mine, and her family. The last time I was out here was for a wedding, and I've never met either one of her young boys, about four and just under two. But now, I feel like I'm hanging out with a baby Butch and Sundance.

First, let me set the stage: If you know anything about me, ya'll know I'm a baby whisperer. Babies always love me. They come into my arms from the get-go, and we're best pals after that.

It's my fat face. They see themselves in it, and immediately think I'm one of them.

So it was disconcerting for me to get into the back seat of the car yesterday and have the youngest boy panic and not stop crying for a good ten minutes. I'm sure it was because a complete stranger got into his car with him, because he eventually he warmed up to me. But still. Disconcerting.

Second, while the baby was down for his nap, we got to hang out with the oldest boy, who, aside from his baby brother, is just the coolest kid ever. My favorite incident with him by far, is watching him tie a tether ball to his giant playset...and proceed to try and sit on top of that ball. Uhh, yeah. You see where this is going, he's not quite Eagle Scout-level at knot-tying. So we had to run out to the backyard and come grab him before he truly let go of the beam to sit on the tetherball. Whew.

It's funny for me, because I grew up mostly around girls, so watching two little boys rough-house and interact is so much different. We spent most of the morning with the youngest boy while his older brother was at school. He's an explorer - running around and choosing to play with sticks, rather than watch the giant elephants at the zoo.

But, when we picked up the older kid, the youngest's personality totally changed. He became much more animated - keying off everything his older brother did and said. It was like the oldest one had a tiny little shadow. I love it. They're so great together, it's lovely to see.

And of course, fresh from Comic-Con, I've already given them a superhero names -

SuperTaj!!!!...and THE SHADOW.

(Yeah, you kinda have to hear it to like it. The boys sure love it, though, cuz they burst into giggles whenever I say it.)

See ya, Comic-Con! Back in a....

Magnet #884 - The Flash

Hmmm. I'm trying to decide if I'm coming back to Comic-Con next year.

This year was my virginal San Diego Comic-Con experience. Having done a couple of New York Comic-Cons, I kinda knew what I was getting myself into when I signed up last October for 4-day (w/o preview night tickets) - big crowds, long lines, tons of costumes. So, nothing really surprised me at the convention center.

We had a ton of fun, sitting through cuteboy panel after cuteboy panel, taking picture after far-away picture, and squeezing the floor in wherever we could, and we hit pretty much everything on our list.

I won't lie, we totally missed the big stuff - the Scott Pilgrim first sneak preview, the Harrison Ford/RDJ panels and a ton of fun activity and giveaways on the floor. But, I think that's the trade-off when you have to pick between either Hall H or Ballroom 20. And, I wouldn't really trade anything from the last four days.

Hmm, maybe the parties, though. We missed a ton of parties. Which was fine if you think about it, since first, we all know I hate breaking that fourth wall, and second, we're hoi polloi, and not A-listers. Besides, even if we made it in, I don't know that I'd even have fun there. (Well, except for maybe Zachary Levi's NERD party.)

So, do I need to come back again next year? Maybe not.

Do I want to come back next year? Yes.

But am I coming back next year? Stay tuned.