Monday Meatballs

I got a birth announcement from my mom on Saturday: Trudy, the dove with the blue eye shadow, had her baby. Jill has named her Mackenzie Grace.
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I've been a reading fool lately. Over the weekend, I finished Allen Shawn's Wish I Could Be There: Notes from a Phobic Life. It's a good read--he combines his own story with a lot of really compelling research from psychology, neuroscience, and evolutionary biology in an effort to understand his anxiety, panic, and phobias. If you have a phobia and think it's a good idea to avoid the situation that brings out the phobia, this book will cure you of that notion, tout de suite.

I also picked up Horseradish by Lemony Snicket because I'm exactly the sort of sucker that will purchase anything with Daniel Handler's or Lemony Snicket's name on it. Here's an example of why: "One of the world's most popular entertainments is a deck of cards, which contains thirteen each of four suits, highlighted by kings, queens, and jacks, who are possibly the queen's younger, more attractive boyfriends."

I also read a mystery I enjoyed quite a bit, but afterwards I felt as if it might have had anti-choice messages in it. (My political paranoia: ruining one book at a time!) However, I can recommend the silent-on-abortion mystery Dope.
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A grateful shout-out to the ladies who came to the Mom Expo. I had an excellent time. If you missed it, this is the interview Steph and I reenacted. I got to be Lesley Stahl. Score!