A Letter of Forewarning

Dear Martha Stewart and The Queen of Clean:

I am writing to inform you both of the up-and-coming competition you will soon have. Much to my surprise and utter enjoyment, I am raising up my very own Domestic Diva. Although she has only 18 little months under her belt of life, she boasts an array of household talents. From sweeping the kitchen floor with grace and efficiency, to baking mouth-watering fudgy brownies with the quick stir of her special spoon, she is by all means accomplished. She even finds self-satisfaction in organization through the stacking of various spice jars on our kitchen floor. Why would one so small choose to master such a task, you ask? It is merely evidence of her advanced domestic progression.

What's more astounding is her need to do it all in women's pantyhose. It is not enough for her to carry out these domestic duties in any old outfit. She prefers a scarf of suntan pantyhose draped around her little neck.

As the child's proud mother, I have enough foresight to know that you will hardly believe these admissions without hard evidence. Below I provide you both with what you may feel is necessary. It is with the utmost respect that I write to you two distinguished ladies in advance so neither one will be taken by surprise when "Makenna Mann: Domestic Diva" is a household name in a matter of a few short years.

Earnestly yours,

Kara A. Mann

January's Perk

Is anyone as giddy as I am this week with all the best shows starting up, or resuming new episodes? This is the ONE serious benefit of it being January, my least favorite month of the year (apologies to all those Jan. b-days). The festivities that accompany the holiday season have come to a close, my BIRTHDAY has come and gone, we've had to say good-bye to loved ones until summertime, it's constantly FRIGID outside, all the leaves are gone, and in general I always have a "blah" feeling during the entire month.

But wait, don't you fret over the above-mentioned misfortunes, for alas... Primetime TV has come to save the night.

Monday: Last week we watched as Jason became our new Bachelor, the first single dad in the show's history. This week we watched, dumb-founded, as Shannon was given her second rose. WHAT?

Tuesday: Last night was a hit with American Idol kicking off its eighth season in my hometown of Phoenix, AZ. I personally favor the new, younger, fourth judge Kara (props just for having my name) Dioguardi. It's evident she can hold her own among the 3 other veterans.

Wednesday: Next Wednesday the much-anticipated return of the drama Lost will come back to millions of television sets across the nation. What will happen when the Oceanic 6 have to return to The Island?

Thursday: The Office. Tomorrow night. Need I say more?

Friday: It's a good thing the projected high for Friday in D.C. is 20 degrees, with a low of 2. Drew and I will be cozying up in front of our fire and watching the season premiere of an unlikely favorite, Friday Night Lights. It's a good hometown drama that has a small, but devoted following.

Now if those five reasons don't spell out "Happy January," then maybe you have your own set of Must-Sees of the season. If so, what are they?

Home for the Holidays

We just returned home to freezing Virginia from sunny Arizona Wednesday night and are currently suffering from the early stages of frostbite. Nothing serious, just a little black around the fingertips and nose. Right now, all I can do to keep my mind from dwelling on the below-freezing temperature, is reminisce of our Desert Holiday....


A few of the highs, and lows:

LOW #1

After prepping Makenna for over a month for her first social meet-and-greet with St. Nick , even teaching my little elf to chant "Ho Ho Ho" at the sight of the jolly old man, she crumbled under the pressure of a 2 1/2 hour wait and screamed bloody murder when placed on his knee. Like any good mother would do, I ran in to save the day, holding her on MY knee (but pushing her leg up onto HIS so it would be official), whispered my short, but precise, wish list and then scurried away in 4 minutes flat. I can't WAIT to make this a family holiday tradition.

HIGH #1

Christmas lights with the family on Christmas Eve. Since my empty nest parents got rid of their van some years back, we had the pleasure of piling into Daniel's gargantuan truck and cruising the town.

The best house by far, which speaks volumes as to the holiday cheer that resides in Arizonan hearts...



Take THAT Clark Griswold.

LOW or High #2 (depending on which way your bread is buttered)

It was a high for me to get the best Christmas present Mother Nature could give. Arizona's version of a White Christmas... RAIN ALL DAY! To wake up to the sound of pitter patter on our rooftop at 7 a.m. warmed my heart, and then to have it continue on into the evening warmed it even further.

(It's hard to see, but that's rain in the backyard, sure enough.)

HIGH #3

This High is two-fold. The first part being that my dear, sweet mom began reading the Twilight saga, per her daughter's recommendation. She did not just read them, she began to develop strong feelings for them, as I knew she would. (The argument, "But I'm over 13!" just does not hold up when you know what you're dealing with). The second part of High #3 is that she went to see this with me not only once, but TWICE! Below is the evidence, should it be required.


Part HIGH, Part LOW #3

The High being my exhilarating Girls' Night Out with with my sassy BFF from high school. We had a delicious meal here to celebrate my birthday (Note: I am still in my twenties; please no one forget that for another year). Then we did not have to twist eachother's arms to go see a movie together and use very expired student ID's to get $2 off. A night spent laughing to our heart's content (mostly at the expense of old high school acquaintances).

The Low being a heinous crime committed to the Bird Mobile while we were inside movie hopping. I came out to our car and low and behold, THESE were all missing. The nerve of someone who has nothing better to do on a Friday night than steal some metal embellishments of a Camry in a nice part of town during the Christmas season is beyond me.

HIGH #4

An insane amount of fresh citrus from the backyard including oranges, tangelos, lemons, and grapefruits. Leading to a killer homemade Lemon Meringue Pie, pitchers of orange juice, fresh grapefruit for breakfast, and an expansion of Makenna's love for picking fruit.


HIGH #5

Family Time. Need I say more?


After three weeks spent across the country, it's nice to be back in our little home sweet home. Traveling, especially at Christmas, with a "lap child" as the airlines refer to them, with presents up the wazoo in not-enough suitcases, meeting and greeting relatives, and coping with rowdy crowds is difficult.

Even my 17-month old knows that...