From the monthly archives:

August 2010

If I Had a Million Dollars…

by Amber on August 31, 2010

Internet, I’m feeling rather broke right now. And when I feel broke, I like to imagine what it would feel like to not be broke. To, instead, have a well-padded bank account, credit cards with no limits (and no balances), and the ability to buy anything I want, whenever I want. To pretend, in other words, that I am a millionaire.

If I had a million dollars, I would…

Send all my laundry out to be cleaned. Sheets, underwear, dirty socks…all of it. I would let it pile up to monstrous heights and then drop it all off at the nearest laundry services center. Then I’d hire that launderer to come to my house and put it all away (after all, that’s the worst part).

Hire a personal chef to make all my weekday meals. Did you know  that there are people out there who will come to your house and make you gourmet meals that they then stash in your freezer for your re-heating pleasure? It’s true. And they bring all the groceries with them. Heaven, that’s what that is.

Get daily maid service. Bi-weekly cleaning ladies are so bourgeoisie. If I had a million dollars, I’d hire someone to come in every day. And leave me little Andes mints on my pillow. And maybe even make me one of these:

Towel Animal

Hire a stylist so good that she could do my hair and makeup while I get Tori ready in the morning. Because I usually get so caught up in chasing her around that I end up with a half-done face and hair that needs ten more minutes of styling to look good.

Get a personal assistant to pimp my blog. I am certain that the best way to get big is to comment endlessly and pimp relentlessly. But I don’t have that kind of time. So, clearly, if I am going to be the next dooce, or heck, even the next Aunt Becky, I need someone to do my pimping for me.

Get a body double for photographs. I don’t take good pictures. I just don’t. What I need is someone who has been trained to pose successfully. Then, of course, I’d need…

My own personal Photoshop pro. The airbrushing tools in Photoshop can work wonders. I should know, I work in advertising. This pro, would, of course, also handle every photo of me tagged anywhere on the internet.

Pay someone to invent run-proof tights. That’s just a dream of mine. Because I?  Never fail to punch holes in mine the first time I put them on (but continue to wear them for months, nonetheless).

Buy a sweet little jet, with a pilot to fly it. That way, when I get one of those urges to just. run. away? I could—and still be back in time for dinner.

I’d also need a private villa on the Caribbean, a team of baby wranglers at my beck and call and, of course, a personal trainer to whoop my body into shape. Maybe I’d even take up Scientology or one of those other religions crazy rich people get into (just kidding about that last one). At the very least, I’d pay off every damn one of my credit cards. Dare to dream…

What would you do with a million dollars, dear readers?

{ 17 comments }

Seven Little Things.

by Amber on August 29, 2010

Next week, my daughter will be seventeen months old. I’m not sure how that happened, since it seems like it was only last week that I was complaining about the spit-up on my shirts and cheering her on as she rolled across the floor. But here we are. I’m pretty sure the next time I blink, she’ll be seven. Before we get there, I feel it necessary to record some of the things that make Tori “Tori” at this moment in time. Things like:

Running across the room to grab our legs and hug them. That little girl loves to hug—she even hugs the other kids at daycare. But the best ones are when she stops what she’s doing and tackles us, saying “Hi, Mommy” as she does (I think that’s code for I love you).

Practicing her Miss America wave every chance she gets. She has a wave that’s pageant-ready, complete with a perfectly turned wrist and an ear-to-ear smile. Too bad I have no plans to enter her in an actual pageant.

Throwing world class tantrums. If tantrums were an Olympic sport, she’d get the gold medal for sure. They are fantastic specimens, complete with a red face, stiff body and ear-shattering screams. I’m going to film one and show it to her first boyfriend (so he’ll know what he’s getting into).

Choosing broccoli over chocolate cake. Someone must have forgotten to tell her that toddlers aren’t supposed to like vegetables, because this girl? Will pass up hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, and even the aforementioned cake if there’s something green and vegetable-y on her plate.

Dancing around the house, singing tunelessly. I have no idea what song is playing in her head, but it gets her moving, that’s for sure. She waves her arms around and sings, waiting for us to join in her secret dance party. Sometimes she even wakes up singing.

Trying to run away from home. Put her in the front yard, and that girl heads for the hills (literally), running down the driveway and straight out into the road, saying “by-yee” as she goes. Luckily, we live on a cul-de-sac. Otherwise, we’d have a smooshed Tori on our hands by now.

Begging for a cookie every chance she gets. Brian taught her to say “cook-ie!!!” last week (exclamation point her emphasis), and now she asks for one every other minute. Fortunately, the way she says it is absolutely adorable. The giggles keep me from going insane.

That’s my Tori. Right now, anyway. I’m sure next week she’ll be on her way to being a completely different person, stealing my heart again with each new discovery. But that’s what being a parent is all about, right?

{ 10 comments }

Call Me A Convert.

August 26, 2010
oh la la dress from Shabby Apple.

For many a year, I resisted the siren call of high-tech torture devices in disguise body shapers. They, I insisted, were for only the vain and insecure. And while my body was far from perfect, I preferred to disguise its defects with well-designed clothing, not girdles. Then I had a baby. After which, the lumps [...]

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The Big Apple in Pictures.

August 25, 2010
the closest I got to the real deal

Three weeks ago, I was wandering around New York City, in awe of the people, the buildings…the sheer strangeness of it all. It marked the beginning of a weekend packed with nonstop activity, including some sight seeing. It was definitely an adventure – one I’ll always remember. I can’t wait to see what the next [...]

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Change is Hard.

August 24, 2010

Tori recently started at a new daycare center. An expensive daycare center. One stuffed with toys, doting teachers and kids her own age to play with. It’s a fantastic place for her to learn and grow and laugh. She’s happy there – or so they tell us. In fact, her teacher informed me Tori’s just [...]

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An Open Letter to All You Would-Be Copywriters.

August 23, 2010

Nine times out of ten, when I tell a non-advertising person what I do, the reaction is, “A copywriter, huh? Gee, that sounds like fun. I’ll bet I could do that.” Usually I just laugh and say, “well, it’s a lot harder than you’d think.” But every so often, I get someone who’s more determined. [...]

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