Shame Shame Everyone Knows Your Name

Shame is the new Hitler. 

That's right. I said it.

It's garbage. And the word is out. Out. We're on to the crap shame creates. And we're so over it. 

This generation. Our generation. We're taking it down.

I see the rumblings and movings of this everywhere.  And I know, I know, I know that a movement is starting. A change in the way we look at the world and each other.  A movement, people! 

Maybe. 

If we keep talking about it.

And Brene' Brown is talking about it.  (I heard her speak last week. She's absolutely amazing. She blogs too! Follow her. I'll be talking much more about her later this week. Watch for it.)

Chris Rock's mom is talking about it. (Check out her book...review and GIVEAWAY on cool stuff today. It's seriously seriously good. )

And I'm telling you people, the shame is going down. We know its name. And its name is dead to us. You watch. 

Things will change.

Join the movement.

Loves Me Some Corn Dog

Where The Heck Have You Been?!!!

This is the question that I got asked this week. A lot. A real whole lot.

Because, sure, I did unintentionally take a little hiatus for three weeks. The longest amount of time since I started this bad boy two years ago. But it was an accident. Sort of.

See, I just didn't post for a couple of days, which turned into a week, which turned into another and so on. And you were cool about it. Until this week. Then I started getting the question. A lot. A few of my favorites.

"What happened to the Queso? I haven't seen you post in a while? Or is this one of those nightmare things where your family moves and no one bothers to tell you?" -Em

"Did you die. Write me and tell me if you did."  Isobel

"I'm sick of that yoga lady picture. Make it stop."  Rebecca

"Dude." -Jenny, the Bloggess

So I'm back. If anyone's still out there checking to see if the yoga lady picture is gone, or at least lower on the page. 

Here's a look at what I was doing while I was unexpectedly away:

1. Not blogging. I was twittering some and sk*rting a bit. But just not blogging. No one knows why. Not even me.

2. I have become addicted to a dumb show on iTunes (and probably on TV somewhere) called Greek. It's like 90210 but with frat houses and text messaging. In other words, it's completely craptastic and totally not worth blogging about. Unless some of the rest of you watch it. And then, let's talk about Cappie and why he's so completely repulsive and yet attractive. Weird. And Rebecca? What's up with her? And how can you not love Dale the Bible kid? For starters.

3. I went to New York to see friends and ended up working some. And talking on the phone a lot. About work. I also went to a super fun sk*rt meetup. So there was that. 

4. I hung around with Jenny.  She did not slash my tires.  She's all talk.  Or type. Whatever.

5. I re-read the book The Bright Side of Disaster by Katherine Center. Because tonight sk*rt is doing a LIVE book party with Katherine. That's right LIVE. Its going to be like American Idol. And the presidential debates. So I'm expecting some fantastic singing and name calling about who's the better American. Or maybe just book talk over mexican food and beer. This will be taking place in Texas after all, where everything happens over mexican food and beer. It's just what we do.  Want to join us? Visit sk*rt tonight at 8 p.m. Central (9 Eastern, 7 Mountain, etc.)

6. Lots of other things. So I'll have a lot to say. I'm back.

Six Simple Words Can Communicate Volumes.

Last summer I met Larry Smith of Smith Magazine, the purveyors of the six-word essay. You know. It is all the rage. And the gist is pretty obvious. You tell a story in six.

Like for Eliot Spitzer: She wasn't worth the hourly rate. See? Get it?

It's very Zen. And speaking of. I was in a Bikram yoga class last weekend doing the 26 poses, slipping into a heat-induced purple haze when I started thinking in six words. Maybe it was a Zen thing. Maybe I didn't have enough liquid in my brain, but I started to think. In sixes. And then I thought, six words is way more than enough to communicate what is really important in life. In fact, we should all stick to the sixes. Or even fewer. And start to consciously communicate more with less. Like...

You are one of my favorite people.
I'm lucky to know you.
You are enough.
I love you.
You matter.
Breathe.

Ah. Zen. Wouldn't the world be such a better place if we all practiced it. If we were more succinct. More direct. More with less. And then I thought, wow, yoga really does do wonders for your soul.

And then the instructor came over, looked at me with sympathy and spoke a volume with six simple words...

'Hi, this is the advanced class.'

Nice.

So much for Zen.

(Sorry Karen! Love you!)

Balls.

Okay sure, I know nothing about sports. But I do know that they're really popular with the kids these days. And other people too. Maybe.

I also know these things:

1. The Dynamo won their CONCACAF quarterfinal game against Guatemala's Municipal team last night. So there's that. Plus, while witnessing this, I consumed an artificially-colored bright orange margarita. You know. Team spirits.

2. The Final Four. Or Sweet Sixteen. Or Awesome Eight. Or whatever. It's happening now. And if you're like the HcQ, you are flying to Tulsa to watch your favorite team that's playing in Washington D.C. And really, I don't ask. I just assume that televisions and high-definition technologies are far superior in Oklahoma. Because obviously that would be so.

3. I just heard about this excellent way to potentially win tickets to the 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship South Regional Finals on both March 28 and March 30 2008. Check it out. If you can't watch the games televised in Tulsa, you might seriously consider trying to win this chance to see them live in Houston.

4. Over an impromptu dinner tonight with these girls, I learned that Rockets Power Dancers might have drunkorexia because they allegedly love a new drink that I like to call The Drunkorexia because it only contains 40 calories. That's less than 100-calorie Pringles, y'all. Do the math. And making the soon-to-be-famous Drunkorexia, is actually simpler than math. Of course. You just combine water, Absolut Citron and two lemon segments in a glass. And bam. Drunkorexia. Serve it with heaping yummy bowls of air. And enjoy.

5. Of course, if all sports featured antics like this, I'd watch more sports.

6. And that's all I've got on sports.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Five years ago today, I said a prayer of thanks and excitement and blessing in St. Patrick's Cathedral right after my favorite person surprised me in Central Park with a ring and a question.

I answered with a yes.

And I've been thankful ever since. And I can't think of a better reason to celebrate with green beer. Lots and lots of green beer.

Sk*rt Cupcakes and Unicorns Go Together Like Sarah Jessica and Parker.

The sk*rt get together, sponsored by Everyday Food, was all that. There were goody bags. There were freebies. There were cupcakes. Plus also a unicorn. We had a fantastic time meeting sk*rt users, eating breakfast and handing out super-cool swag. It was such a great way to start the morning — thanks for joining us!

10 lucky winners received a one-year subscription to Everyday Food plus a goody bag with two super-cool items: a counter top magazine holder (to rest your latest issue of the magazine against while you’re cooking), and a darling green storage box sized to fit a whole year’s worth of Everyday Food — plus, everybody who dropped by was delighted to receive a copy of the lastest issue.

SXSWi is the kind of place where crazy is the norm. So when the unicorn (who was popping up in all the coolest places) made an appearance, we considered it an honor of the highest sort.

And really, what’s better than meeting a unicorn over a cupcake breakfast?

The correct answer: Nothing.