Monthly Archives: July 2011

Alexander went with a friend today to see Captain America. There haven’t been many movies for him to see lately and he had a good time seeing it with his buddy.

I’d been looking forward to seeing it with him. Alexander and I love movies at the Gold Class, we love the service, the pillows, the blankets, the space.

Or maybe I love it, and maybe he likes the movies, and maybe he likes seeing them with his friends.

I know it’s childlike to be this disappointed about not seeing a movie with the person I want to see it with. I’ve been trying to think of a good excuse, but I don’t have one.

Last night we sat down to eat dinner a little late. Part way through our meal my phone started dinging and it just wouldn’t stop. I got up and went to turn the ringer off my phone and as I glanced at the screen I saw, “Watching you on Jon Stewart”.

Which is when I started screaming and jumping up and down and the kids were worried that there was another rat in the kitchen.

We continued our dinner in front of the TV and watched this.

I’m going to go ahead and pretend that when Jon Stewart says “nailed it” he was offering me congratulations.

And remember when I said I was tired of talking about this? I was wrong, I just needed a rest. I had a lot of fun talking with Marc Amazon from WLW radio, and we even made a $50 bet that I’m going to win, even though I might have to wait three years to collect. Sheesh.

I got to fly. I flew over water with a jet pack on my back. Why? Because I’m the luckiest woman in the world.

It’s a really long story, but basically Kristi invited me to spend an afternoon in Newport Beach and try out the new JetLev before JetLev Southwest opens. The guys are all certified but they have to practice teaching people how to use the JetLev packs.

Of course I jumped at the opportunity. A few of my friends said things like, “isn’t that dangerous?” and “What do you mean by practice?” I’d looked at the contraption and it seemed safe…

When we got to Newport Beach the folks at Inside Edition were just finishing up. Apparently flying 30 feet above the water is popular.

Here’s the rundown. You have this pack on you and there are two arms, a seat and two boosters that shoot water down. A five point harness like a race car driver or a military pilot would wear holds the whole thing to you. On the dock I received some instruction about how to move your arms (less is more), how to get out of the water (lift your arms up) and how to use the kill switch (this is important so you don’t drown). I listened carefully, the dry dock instruction is the most important part of the day.

The guys strapped me in and then I did this.

Basically there’s a little remote boat that shoots water into the tube, then the water shoots out of your pack back down to the ocean forcing you up. I had a few instances where I wanted to go a little lower but forgot and shot myself higher, one where I went CRASHING into the water from about 20 feet up and a day later my bottom still hurts (see video).

I’ve always wanted to fly. Who wouldn’t want to? I remember being 22 and discovering rock climbing and mountaineering. I remember jamming my fingers and toes into tiny cracks a hundred feet in the air and thinking I beat nature. That exhilaration that one feels only when they know they’ve cheated death by climbing too high, driving too fast, jumping too far and running too fast, that’s the exhilaration I felt yesterday as I flew over the harbor in Orange County. What’s wonderful is that I was completely safe the whole time. On the shore my trainer Ryan Eastman had a remote control that looked a lot like what you’d use for a RC flyer that could override my controls and keep me safe. He was talking in my ear the entire time letting me know what I was doing right and how to maneuver when I got into tricky spots, which I frequently did.

I flew for about an hour, the first flight they controlled my throttle and after the second I took control of the throttle (hence the 20 foot drop). It was amazing, it was breathtaking, it was what man has dreamed of since the beginning of time. I got to fly, just me and a jet pack on the water.

JetLev isn’t open yet, they’re still practicing and if you’re in the harbor on a weekend you might find these guys messing around. Here’s a video of what it looks like when you do it right.

This morning started early. I was in a car at 3.20am to head over to Fox News so I could tape live for their show. I crawled back into bed at 5am and slept fitfully until almost 9.

I sent girls to the beach and took my son bowling. I worked in a few conference calls during the day. I’m working with a great brand that’s looking to connect with parenting bloggers so if I haven’t reached out to you yet, you know where to find me.

Tomorrow I’m going to fly. Really, I am. I’ll have some video for you tomorrow I hope.

I’m tired of talking about the Breastfeeding doll. It’s less creepy to me than a doll with a fake plastic nipple. Breastfeeding is normal. The halter is weird, but kids are weird. I remember the Barbie dream house coming with a chicken that laid eggs. The egg was a tic tac. I really wanted the dream house so I could eat the chicken’s tic tac egg. I also loved my brother’s Six Million Dollar Man doll. Whenever I look at the Intel logo I think of the chips in this stomach.

The wacky phone calls have begun. Hint to the nerds: when you call here pretending to be a reporter they typically start with this, “Hello this is [first name] [last name] from the [name of outlet] I was calling to [fact check/get a quote from you]. Is this a good time.” The phone calls don’t typically begin with, “I’m calling for Jessica, I’m with a small town newspaper.” And then you make up the name of a newspaper that doesn’t exist, ask me if Fox News is scripted and then you hang up. See, I’m helpful, I give tips.

I’m excited that I’ve joined the Moms Clean Airforce. I’d love to ask you to look at what you put into the environment and what you expect to take from it. There are many shades of green, and I’d like to move from lighter to a darker shade of green. Mindfulness is where it begins.

Tomorrow I’ll fly. Tomorrow blogging will be different.

There’s some nice coverage here, and it all started with this post.