Don't Freak Out, I'm OK But...

A 7:00am phone call is never a good way to start the day. Hardly anything good ever comes from one.

Lauren: "Hi Mom, don't freak, I'm okay but..."

Me: "but what?"

Lauren: "I got hit by a cab last night."

Me: "Oh my God, are you okay, did you get hurt, holy crap" (my voice is rising and respiration increasing by the nanosecond)

Lauren: "Mom! Mom! Mom! I told you not to freak out. I'm okay. I just needed a few stitches on my face."

Seriously, parenthood is not for the faint of heart. Sounds like she'll now have a scar near her eyebrow just like I do. She's got some road rash on her leg and is bit sore from hitting the ground and tired from being in the ER half the night. I know it could have been much worse.

The ironic part is that Lauren has a seriously bad reputation for jay-walking (I do too so I can't say anything). In fact, her old boyfriend used to call her Tenacious J! But last night she was in a crosswalk crossing with the light. She didn't even see it coming.

I guess the upside of being hit by a cab is a free ride to and from the hospital. I'm thinking she should get free cab rides for life! With that rite of passage behind her I think she can officially call herself a New Yorker now.

Jamie Oliver's TED Prize Wish

Have you seen this? Jamie Oliver gives a twenty minute talk on obesity, nutrition, school lunch, and home cooked meals. No new concepts here but I'll props to him for giving traction to a topic that is timely given the statistics about our ever-widening society.

Fueled by his Food Revolution project, which is tackling obesity, poor nutrition, what passes for food in the school lunch program and teaching families how to prepare home-cooked meals in one small town in West Virginia. Full episodes of the show which airs on ABC are available online.

Addendum: In this morning's Salt Lake Tribune there is an article about the results of a survey about the new school lunch items given to the West Virginia school kids participating in the Oliver's Food Revolution. The results are funny. You can read it here.

Book Review: Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage

Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

As God as my witness, I will NEVER complain about ANYTHING as long as live.

The conditions that Shackleton and the crew of the Endurance endured is mind-boggling. An unbelievable story of triumph in the face of extreme adversity.

View all my reviews >>

Sunrise, Sunset

Dang, Ban's nieces are looking more and more like young women and less like little girls! We celebrated their birthdays yesterday by making pizzas at Gloria's house. Ban and I picked up a couple of derby t-shirts from my friend Veronica who has her own derby-related clothing line Scarred Derby Designs. You can check out her website here. I also picked up a few pairs of knee socks from Target which went the shirts. The girls decided to wear mismatched knee socks. I think they look adorable! Plus, the girls were looking great on their skates. Future derby girls?

♣ Happy St. Patrick's Day! ♣

Some St. Patrick's Day fun.

My cute tights.

Here's the link to a Pandora station playing Irish music.

I'm bummed that I forgot to wear my claddagh ring today.

No corned beef and cabbage green beer on tap for me today. I'll probably just have some grilled fish and a glass of wine. Lauren's favorite meal used be corned beef and cabbage when she was a kid but now both kids have been vegetarians for years. No worries though, it was never a favorite meal of mine! I hope my Dad is having corned beef today. I forgot to ask him last night.

Finally, an old Irish blessing (which used to hang in the kitchen of my family home when I was a kid).

"May the road rise to meet you,

May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields and,
Until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand."

Movie: Coco Before Chanel

Last night I watched the French film 'Coco Before Chanel'. I've been enchanted with Audrey Tautou, who plays Coco, since first seeing her in 'Amelie' (if you haven't seen that film, stop on your way home and pick it up). 'Coco Before Chanel' chronicles her early years and the struggles that she and her sister faced after their mother died and their father left them in the care of a Catholic orphanage. I enjoyed the film and was curious to know more about Coco Chanel and her rise to prominence as fashion designer.

A quick review of the Wikipedia page about Coco reveals some details of her life such as an affair with a Nazi spy and being charged as a collaborator to a British spy. The British royal family intervened and the charges were dropped. Coco Chanel not only influenced the way women of her time viewed fashion but also women's role in society. She never married and successfully launched the fashion empire that still bears her name.

AWOL

I have been so uninspired to write lately. I decided to give myself a break and not feel badly about not posting but the weeks have flown by. I am changing my strategy now and getting back into the habit of writing.

This morning I had a great time skating with Cleavers during a private practice. I loved seeing the girls and meeting the new Cleavers. The team looked great. The new girls are fit and enthusiastic. Before today, it has been months since I've been on my skates which is so strange since for two years I was on them anywhere between two and four times a week. Not too surprisingly, my tender little foot is now sporting a blister and my right hip is aching from the pressure of skating those tight circles. Amazing how quickly you lose all that conditioning.

I'm excited for the Cleavers and can't wait to see them bout although I think it may be hard to just watch from the sidelines.

I ♥ NY

The Sandpit from Sam O'Hare on Vimeo.

As many of you know, a giant piece of my heart currently resides in my birth place, New York City. One of my favorite cousins sent me the link to the amazing video of the sights of daily life in New York over the course of the day. Be sure to let it fully load and view it on full screen if possible. Watching it made me start checking air fares. I need to go back to see my girl and my city.

Happy Friday!