Workin' That Skirt...

Makin' Whoopie Comedy Show, Sunday 11/6, 6:30p

2011-10-12T11:24:00.001-04:00

Awkward Family Photos

2011-04-22T07:29:00.012-04:00

Seems like the dog is the only one who knows something is off.Millions of people will take family pictures this Easter weekend. My parents are visiting, and as I write this entry, we are planning a deggcorating party which will involve a photo shoot where I'll ask them all to smile, say cheese, look this way, ok nevermind, just ignore the cam. The oh-so-desired traditional picture seems to elude

The Most Beautiful Place in the World

2011-04-14T10:53:00.006-04:00

Ok, I gotta brag because I'm a proud mama and I like living up to my last name! My little man, David Dean Bragg, wrote an essay on the most beautiful place in the world and he won! It was for the Bethesda Literacy Festival and the ceremony is this Saturday where he will stand on stage and read his work. The entry came home in the homework folder and I asked him if he wanted to do it. "

Whoopie Love

2011-04-01T16:59:00.003-04:00

Whoopie, it's such a great word! It is an interjection - a shout of exuberant joy. It is a verb - to make whoopee is to engage in uproarious merrymaking. And it is a noun - the best chocolate cream dessert on the planet. There's also another meaning. See/listen to the song by Nat King Cole about "Making Whoopie." Weeelllll, here's a song and video about BAKING whoopie, hosted by Gigi. >>>>

Can't bring sexy back...

2011-03-24T14:32:00.012-04:00

...cause it never left. Actually, there was a time when the steam was zapped out of my hot pocket. It was a few years ago after moving to the burbs and becoming a SAHM. Yes, there's even an acronym for the Stay at Home Mom. The peculiar thing is that there are lots of other ladies in the burbs who are not getting it on and most of them are married, which means they could have as much sexy as

After Me Lucky Charms

2011-03-17T10:04:00.007-04:00

St. Patrick's Day - wearing green, drinking green, chasing after me lucky charms. It's all so magically delicious, quite enough to make me riverdance! But as I dove into the historical pot o gold, I realized there's a bunch of blarney about this glorious holiday. * 390 A.D St. Patrick was not Irish - he was actually a well-to-do British boy.* He was kidnapped at age 16 and sent to Ireland

Look Great Naked

2011-03-11T12:16:00.006-05:00

With Spring just around the corner I find myself, like the Earth, leaning toward the Sun. I went outside the other day and stood in the back garden to let the golden orb shine on my face. Ahhhhhhhh. It's hard to get a little color in 40 degree weather, even lubed up in iodine and laying on a silver blanket. I was freezing my lady balls off! Since it was Fat Tuesday, I warmed up with a slushy

The Sheen

2011-03-01T10:33:00.013-05:00

We are rubber-necking the Charlie Sheen train-wreck and am a tad embarrassed to admit that I'm experiencing schadenfreude - pleasure derived from the misfortune of others. But in the words of CS - "I don't live in the middle any more, that's where you get slaughtered, that's where you get embarrassed in front of the prom queen." Well, I was the prom queen and let me tell ya, it's not all what

Don't be a drag, just be a queen

2011-02-25T09:35:00.014-05:00

I've got the vapors - tying up a tutu, putting on a wig, and glitterizing skin creates euphoria for a costume-loving, 40-something SAHM (Stay At Home Mom). Had to do it for my hang with Lady Gaga at the second stop on her Born This Way tour. Three things I said yesterday that I've never said before:1. "Do you mind if I wear the same wig as you?"- to my friend Deb.2. "I'll be ready in 10

Five Minutes to Funny

2011-02-17T11:10:00.009-05:00

What has been going on? Two months have passed since I last posted...been busy doing an adult swim - wading in the shallow end of comedy, treading the murky waters of joke delivery, and diving onto the stage. Many people say that doing stand-up is one of their biggest fears. For me, it is a rush to get a laugh. The "Five Minutes to Funny" class was taught at the DC Improv by comedian Chris

Remember to Remember

2010-12-03T11:23:00.002-05:00

Something popped off the TV the other day that I can't shake out of my mind. It was a story about a woman who, while on a safari vacation, wrote a desire in her journal. She noticed that the kids clothes were torn and filthy. She wrote, "I'd like to see if a women's group would like to begin to sew little dresses." The crazy part is that she didn't sew! And now she has a warehouse of

The P Word

2010-11-18T10:05:00.009-05:00

Pat downs! Ooooh you cheeky monkeys, you thought I was going to use the other p word right? And I will but not in this entry, although, being a graduate of the School of Womanly Arts, I encourage you to use it. Today I'm thinking about those pesky pat downs that hundreds of thousands of people will experience next week as they travel to their Thanksgiving destinations. I traveled through

The Winking Witch

2010-11-03T16:28:00.003-04:00

"At first I thought you were some crazy lady.” My witch cackle filled the air. "But, nahh, you look good,” said my garbage man this morning while the white sanitation truck passed with honking horn. I was walking home from the bus stop in full Halloween regalia. My shirt says: THE WINKING WITCH…COME AND SIT FOR A SPELL.Now here’s the thing, anyone who knows me for five minutes, realizes I

Got Your Number

2010-10-21T09:25:00.010-04:00

Her face could be used in a Fibonacci diagram. You know, the ratio of phi, the golden number which indicates divine proportion. Sally Blenky-Tchassov has divine proportion and she's coming to DC soon, hailing from her competitive dancing tour and her husband Alex's teaching studio in NYC. Sally and her hubby are our guests of honor at the gala for the Noyes Children's Library on Friday,

Tin Roof, Rusty

2010-10-13T17:05:00.012-04:00

“What a way to go, in a bubble bath with candles and a caved-in ceiling,” I thought while I enjoyed my moment. It had been one of those days with the kids fighting over everything from “her donut is bigger than mine” to “I want to carry the flashlight.” After getting those little people who call me mom, mommy, mamo, or mama down to sleep, I just wanted to settle into a nice, warm bubble

What's In A Name?

2010-10-07T14:42:00.022-04:00

While watching the news last night, I was tickled by name of the Chief of Defense for England - Sir Jock Stirrup. Really, his parents named him that?! With our last name, even though we love the name Will, we couldn't go there - Will Bragg! Dan knew a guy in high school named Mike Hunt. Imagine that announced at the restaurant, "Mike Hunt, your table is ready." Tee hee. He also knew a girl

Hello, Petal!

2010-09-29T12:46:00.013-04:00

Years ago I lived in London and became fascinated by everything Anglo - love the way their intonation goes up at the end of a sentence, enjoy their subtle wit, adore the luxury of tea time, and am charmed by their Brillo-pad way of saying English phrases. "Easy peasy. Isn't that lovely-jubbly! Daft as a brush. Brilliant. Mind the gap. In a tick. Right, right, carry on." A dashing British

Project Run-aways

2010-09-09T15:18:00.024-04:00

It's Fashion Week in NYC and the glamazons are catwalking what we'll wear next Spring. The hemline index indicates that "skirts get longer as the financial concerns heighten."* I think this means it's time to pack up those hot pants girls in order to avoid the DON'T list. A few other "what not to wear" items came up recently that are not to be missed!My parents were here last weekend and my

Back at it...

2010-08-31T12:36:00.013-04:00

Helllloooooooo! It's been a while and I'm back at it. Yesterday, I was complaining about the drains of early morning-get-out-the-door, back-to-school, back-to-life, back-to-reality. Then I got a call from Dan telling me Discovery was in lockdown because a crazy man was wielding a gun in the lobby. As things were unfolding, he would call or send a text of his whereabouts. Then a shocker - he

Is the Universe Friendly?

2010-07-13T16:29:00.011-04:00

An accident rocked my world last week and whatever I write seems inapt. Here I post a letter of gratitude and a few thoughts...Dear Mane & Roger,How fortunate to have brushed up against you. Since last Wednesday when I had the horrendous experience of hitting a pedestrian, my shoulders have been heavy. How quickly life can change. The gentleman who ended up on the hood of my car is physically

I Love It When We're Cruising Together

2010-06-30T11:24:00.023-04:00

Riding past the town of Gross Proud and seeing signs for the Hungry Mother State Park were just a few noteworthy points about our RV trip to the Cecil Family Fish Fry Reunion Hoedown Hootenanny Shindig. There was also the false start when the engine in our rented Cruise America motor-home was seemingly on fire and started smoking, filling up the cabin and leaving a trail behind us on Route 66.

Say "YES"

2010-06-18T10:36:00.012-04:00

Do you ever have a yearning to do something and you hold yourself back? It could be something on your wish list or a dream you've had since you were a child. You never got around to doing it because you got sidetracked, or were afraid, or, or, or. Maybe it is a mid-life awakening but I'm living loud and proud with those buried desires. It is about saying "YES" to the dreams that empassion you.

Picture This

2010-06-09T10:12:00.021-04:00

The gang was all in white, lined up for the family picture. The brother got pissed off at his sister, picked up a pile of mud, and wiped it all over her lily-white top. Mayhem ensued and the shots the photog got were the best ever. That episode of Modern Family jogged a memory about our "sitting" a few months ago. We were dressed accordingly and feeling a bit stiff. After 20 minutes of

In the Zona

2010-06-03T05:46:00.014-04:00

Have you been carded lately? It was a thrilling experience last weekend when I was out with my friend Heather in Scottsdale. (They card everyone who looks like they are 30 years old!) Lucky for me, the guy had bad eyesight. There is a standing policy that if asked to show my ID, the requesting person gets a smooch on the cheek. However, in my giddiness of such a special moment, I forgot

Urban Drifting

2010-05-27T16:41:00.012-04:00

Urban Drifting is where you walk along without a goal or mission. It is a phrase I learned last weekend at The School of Womanly Arts in NYC. How great to allow yourself to slow down! I had to try it out and here's a video of what was discovered >>>p.s. Would love your thoughts on my new, fabulous logo created by the extraordinary designer Katherine Leyton.