artsy fartsy,  half assed posts,  Paris

The Great Insane Paris Project

August 31, 2006 /

I must be crazy. I got a wild idea that it would be really cool to upload all my pictures from my Paris trip last year into Flickr and then make a QOOP mini flip book out of them. (Minibooks are so cute! I am in love with them! So handy! They fit in your purse! Memories in your pocket! Woo Hoo!) Why did I think I could do this when I don’t remember any of the names of the places AND I can’t spell AND I don’t speak French? I’m nuts. Not to mention I have a baby and I only get three 1.5 hour breaks a day that I should be using to vacuum and do dishes and scrub crusty food off the highchair. Oh yeah, I have some freelance clients who need some work done too. Why am I so dumb?

Be a superdoll and do me a favor if you are bored at work and you happen to be a smartypants Francophile who knows the names of all these places and such. Leave me notes in the flickr comments and I’ll be your best friend forever. Really. Maybe I’ll send you something from my Paris shop. Or don’t. No biggy. It’s not like there’s a deadline for me to get this new wacky crazy project done. It’s not like I don’t already have a zillion projects half done waiting for me to finish. One more won’t hurt. OR… leave me the wrong names and mess with my head! Yeah, that’s even better!

And since we’re just posting by the seat of our pants, here’s some random questions for the internet:

1. Do you like lots of hurried half hazard posts (like this one) without relevant pictures and movies or fewer posts but with better content and care?

2. Does anybody know anything about jogger strollers and which ones are better? I keep hearing that they are so big and a big old pain because they don’t steer properly. I’m thinking of buying a used one (because in my dreams I am the hot mama who runs every morning… more on that later).

Okay enough from me. Must go drink coffee before the baby wakes up. Must get rainbow connection song out of my head! I’m singing it so much it’s making me sick!

p.s. I’m not even done uploading Paris photos….there are so MANY!!!!!

22 Comments

  • Lisa

    August 31, 2006 at 8:36 am

    i don’t mind the hurried posts – they are real life and since i’m going to be staying home with a baby myself in a few short months, it’s nice to get the real scoop.

    as for jogging strollers, i have a runner friend with a 7 month old who swears by the Jeep brand jogging stroller. they sell it at Target and it’s about $170. she said it’s the best for steering and whatnot.

  • Felix

    August 31, 2006 at 8:39 am

    Love all posts – half assed or full on. :)

    I got a hand-me-down jogging stroller from a friend. I would recommend getting one with a front wheel that swivels. The one I have has a stationary front wheel so it is a little hard to turn. They are bulky but so much easier to run/walk with ’cause they have such a wide wheel base.

  • Lauren

    August 31, 2006 at 9:01 am

    about the jogging stroller … buy used .. keep looking on craigslist and something is bound to pop up .. i had a baby jogger (babyjogger.com) that i got for $50 .. i didn’t ever run with it but we did go one walks that were made a ton easier with the baby jogger .. however, DO NOT walk to the grocery store and then hang all your bags on the back of the stroller .. your kid will flip over and you end up looking like an idiot. trust me.

  • Liane

    August 31, 2006 at 9:37 am

    Ditto on getting a front wheel that swivels…I found a double stroller on craigslist which was a great deal but the front wheel is fixed in place. It’s fine for straight stretches but if the road curves even a little, you basically have to pick up the whole stroller to re-adjust it. Huge pain…fortunately I live in Michigan where everything is flat, straight and dull…
    Any of your posts are great!

  • MamaBear

    August 31, 2006 at 9:58 am

    OMG! SAJ that website is so funny and appauling at the same time.

    Regarding the posts: What I like most about your blog is the great content AND frequent updates. So the answer is a mix of both. I don’t like waiting too long for a post and I really like it that you blog almost daily. On the other hand, if all you had were quickie posts, I’d probably get bored of them eventually. So just blog about whatever is on your mind. What I do like, however, is when sometimes you loop back to previous posts. I’m curious, so where do you sleep now, still with the fleas? Where do you laundry, how is it going?

  • Jennifer

    August 31, 2006 at 10:13 am

    I’ve never made a well thought out post so I enjoy reading jumbly and slapped together. I dated a guy from France one summer but I never asked him to tell me the names of places where he lived, sorry :( Dont know much about jogging strollers as I’m more of a slow walker when I’m pushing one. I’m really helpful today.

    I live in the land of never ending projects. I think that would be a great mini book. I’ve yet to have any made myself. I keep forgetting to start one.

    DAMN YOU for mentioning The Rainbow Connection. When that song gets in my head I only hear it being sung by Kermit the Frog. AAACK! I only sing it like him too.

  • KaguyaHime

    August 31, 2006 at 10:59 am

    Hello, Miss Josephine!

    I’m been lurking around your webpage for ages, ever since I saw it listed on Suburban Bliss. I *love* your blog! Your Baby Bug is cutest little thing (she never fails to brighten up my workday when I visit your site), and I really enjoy reading about all your life’s adventures. I really hope I’m not sounding too stalker-ish, but I just wanted to give you props for such a wonderful blog and never failing to make me smile.

    In a small (read: *very small*) attempt to repay you for the happiness your site has brought me, I clicked around through your flickr page and commented on the Paris pics I recognized. I only did the ones that popped right into my head (Notre Dame, the museums, Versailles), but it might give you a little help in your minibook-making endeavors. Enjoy!

    Drop me an e-mail if you ever feel like. I swear, I would feel like I was getting e-mail from a celebrity!! Take care!

    –Kaguya Hime

  • josephine

    August 31, 2006 at 11:53 am

    Kaguya, you are my hero! Of course I will email you. I’m not a celebrity at all.

    Gramma: I know! I know! I have to sit down and do a pantoum. I will focus and knock one out for my next post. I don’t like those silly number puzzles anyway. My dad can keep his crazy sodoku obsession.

  • shay

    August 31, 2006 at 12:54 pm

    I just bought a jogging stroller, with a swivel front wheel! Babyjogger.com is great, I got a lot of great general info there. I had it narrowed down to the Schwinn Safari TT (listed on babyjogger) or the Expedition LX by Babytrend (but if you try to look this one up online you will likely only see the fixed wheel version, although it is on the toys r us website) The only difference was the Safari had an adjustable handle but the Expedition has a sun canopy that tilts. I live in sunny GA, so I went with that and it came in handy the first day. I absolutely LOVE it so far, it is so smooooove! The seat reclines, which is good for little babes, or napping on longer outings, and I can foresee the swivel wheel being a great option for festivals, the zoo, just walking, etc. , plus you can lock the wheel for light jogging (no marathon training, hahh, as if!) But I determined that would be fine with me since I’d probably only do 2-3 miles 1-2 times/week. But, since you’re not supposed to jog til 1 year, we will be strictly power walking for a while, and it is so nice for that. Oh, and about folding — it is super easy, and folds down pretty small. You just press a button on each side and the top half backbends into the front half, and its a nice little square. Also it has an aluminum frame (which usually is only found on the higher-end ones) which makes it lighter, and is good for the beach (rust resistant). I also like the big front wheel fender footrest — on some of them it is just so small that once their legs get longer they can hang their feet off teh side and hit the wheel. Maybe you will prefer to go with one of the higher-end names, but let me tell you, if you want to spend a mere 150 bucks and have it NOW instead of waiting for what you want to come up on craigslist (plus, I haven’t seen any used swivel-wheels yet, I guess they are just too new?) I highly recommend this one (or the Schwinn)
    The Toys R Us website has both, and a picture of the Exp. in folded mode. Sorry for blathering, but I hope it helps!

  • gorillabuns

    August 31, 2006 at 2:54 pm

    to know about jogging strollers would mean i actually have to go outside with the kids. not happening!

    as for your posting, any posts from you are good ones:)

  • shay

    August 31, 2006 at 3:09 pm

    oops, the website I meant for info was not babyjogger.com, but joggingstroller.com. Also I meant to mention that the parent tray cupholder on the Expedition holds a Starbucks iced Venti cup perfectly!

  • Oiseau

    September 1, 2006 at 5:16 am

    I’ve left the locations on some of the photos that I recognised. I no longer live in the City of Light, having escaped to the provinces, so I’ve also reverted to tourist mode when in Gay Paree. The first area is mostly the Marais where my flat was. Sigh.

    After the first 100 or so of your photos, I too began to feel guilt for the freelance clients who are awaiting my travail. I’ll may do some more when I’m back in distraction land!