Followed quickly by crying b/c he hates when his hands are dirty
*** finding the entertainment in everyday life ***
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Dinner Success!
Followed quickly by crying b/c he hates when his hands are dirty
Anyone Can Comment Now!!
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Not so Crafty Mom
I got the idea of making a felt board from GreenStyleMom a week or so ago and actually did it! Not only did I do it, but Shelagh is enjoying it! See below for proof (yes, Shelagh is wearing her PJs in the middle of the day. It's a new annoying thing where as soon as we get home from whereever we are, regardless of time of day or whether we have to go back out, she needs to be in her footie jammies). We had a fun trip to Michaels Arts & Crafts where Shelagh proceeded to pick every color felt they had (at 20 cents per piece I was a sucker and bought every color they had). I'm still not inherently crafty, but I have my moments.
PS - Goal for this weekend is to dig out the HTML book. I hate posting raw links in here and just can't remember how to adjust the code.
Meal Plan for Wk1/26 New Recipe Results
Monday, January 28, 2008
Notes on a Scandal & Boston Home Show
Saturday night we had our Supper Club. We had the babysitter come a bit early so we could go to the Boston Home Show first. It wasn't as big as I thought, but we got some information related to driveways (pavers vs concrete stamping), solar power panels (just curious really), and kitchen design and renovation. A girl can dream, can't she?
Bowling
I am TERRIBLE. Shelagh scored almost the same as me and her 1st turn I think she knocked down 7 (see below). She took it pretty seriously and did a great job all around. Rory did a few turns and then just played on the bench, but he did pretty well also for a 2-year old. His shoes were 2-3 sizes too big so he was more like sliding on the floor. He liked to watch the ball go slowly all the way down. He stood there very seriously until it made it the whole way.
We finished up at Annas Taqueria again. I really love that place and thankfully the kids do too. Shelagh was asking about and planning for her burrito at the bowling alley. She ate almost the whole thing which is insane.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Meal Planning for Wk 1/26
- Saturday: We're out for our Supper Club (every 6 weeks or so w/ 6 other couples rotating houses). The kids can have Mac & Cheese with Peas. Rory will only eat Annies Arthur shaped M&C, so I save it for babysitting nights so he'll eat something. I'll put peas on his plate, but just on principal...he'll flick them off before starting.
- Sunday: Roast Chicken w/ Rosemary-Orange Butter (Bon Appetit), Oven Fries, Roasted Broccoli for all of us
- Monday: Pasta w Sweet Potatoes & Leeks (Real Simple). Kids: Pasta & Meatballs
- Tuesday: Leftovers. Kids: Chicken dinner leftovers
- Wednesday: Steak, wheat rice, sauteed zucchini. Kids: Pasta & Meatballs
- Thursday: Shrimp, wheat rice, snow peas. Kids: Steak dinner leftovers
- Friday: Pot Roast (from Food & Wine), Salad w Balsamic Vinagrette for all of us
I just went through my massive expanding folder of clipped recipes and got rid of anything I hadn't made or wouldn't likely make. I got these adorable new file folders and have started writing notes on the recipes for subsequent tries.
Last 7 Books I've Read
I should note that I keep a journal of all the books I've ever read. A guy I used to work with at the Ann Arbor District Library, when we lived in Michigan and I was about to start Grad school, had done this for 30 years. Can you imagine logging every book you've ever read for 30 years???? I was inspired and spent weeks going through book lists, amazon, and other sources to back track and figure out what I had read. It took awhile, but I think I have a pretty good list now. I stopped from after my honeymoon (5+ years ago) until about a year ago, so at some point I'll try to fill that time period in. I'm keeping up with it again now though. When Shelagh is starting to read on her own, I'm going to get her a journal to do this in and see if she gets into it too. Rory too probably, but I can tell Shelagh is going to be a reader like me.
The last 7 books I've read include:
- Revolutionary Road - Richard Yates
- The Far Pavilions - M.M. Kaye - This was a crazy long historical fiction novel along the lines of Thornbirds (one of my faves - book and mini-series - of all time). It took me about 6 mos to finish...it's hard to get through a 1000+ page book a few pages at a time. I really enjoyed it.
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling - LOVED IT! What a wonderful ending. I should note that I listened to this, and all HP's on CD in the car. The guy that narrates all the books does a fabulous job and I don't think reading this in book form would have the same affect on me.
- A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini - I enjoyed this one so much more than his first book, The Kite Runner. Don't get me wrong...KR was excellent...until the end. It had possibly the WORST ending of all time. It screamed "my editor needs the ending, I can whip this out in 5 pages and be done with it". It truely ruined the book for me. I don't know if I'm going to see the movie. Maybe. ATSS was wonderful beginning to end. I think the author closed things up in a much more gradual and graceful way this time.
- The Book of Eleanor: A Novel about Eleanor of Aquitaine - Pamela Kaufman - I love historical fiction. I especially love historical fiction when it's framed around real people. This was easy to get into and similar to The Other Boleyn Girl which I've recently read as well.
- Scar Tissue - Anthony Kiedis - What a life to read about. Great book. His life philosophy is a little tiresome by the end, but you have to admire the Red Hot Chili Peppers dedication to their music and each other. I loved reading about their friendship the most...definintely gave me more respect for the band.
- The Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory - Loved this book and can't wait for the movie with Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johanssen.
Feel free to add your Last 5+ list into the comments.
Wanted: New Work Out Music
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Last 15 Netflix DVDs Watched
Actually busy at work today, but didn't post yesterday so here is a list of the last 15 Netflix DVDs we've watched and my thoughts. I'm eating a Toblerone bar while typing this. The truffles are officially gone.
- Marie Antoinette - Loved it! See http://mompopescape.blogspot.com/2008/01/marie-antoinette.html for longer rant on what I loved about it.
- Muppets Take Manhattan - Got this for the kids and watched it together when Joe was at the Patriots game. "Would you like something from the grill, Jill? No, thank you, Phil, I'm feeling ill". Good one. Plus, Rory says "HiHo, Kermit the Frog here" whenever he sees Kermit. Shelagh decided she likes Miss Piggy and was annoyed when Rory called her just Piggy.
- Eastern Promises - Liked it, but not as much as all the hype. See http://mompopescape.blogspot.com/2008/01/eastern-promises.html for longer rant.
- The Kingdom - We both liked it. It was great to see Jennifer Garner back in a kick-ass role again since Alias. Her film career doesn't seem to be really flowering, but Alias makes me a fan for life. Jason Bateman does a great snarky side-kick too.
- Dexter Season 1 Disc 4 - We really liked this Showtime series. We recently finished Season 2 On Demand and now I'm bummed we have to wait until next year like everyone else.
- Dexter Season 1 Disc 3
- The Simpsons - It was okay. I'm not one of those Simpsons fanatics...if it's on and I happen to flip by it, I'll watch it and usually like it. You have to admire it's staying power and the quality and currency of the writing.
- Waitress - LOVED this! Highly recommend. I was not a Felicity fan - just never watched it, although I might have to go back since it's J.J.Abrams and I like his stuff (Alias, Lost, MiIII). He was on Stern this morning and now I'm dying to see Cloverfield and can't wait to see Zachary Quinto (Sylar from Heroes) as Spock in the new Star Trek he's working on. I digress. All the characters were wonderful and what could have been a depressing film was actually quite uplifting by the end. Joe was watching football upstairs while I watched this downstairs, but I think a guy would like it too.
- Dexter Season 1 Disc 2
- Dexter Season 1 Disc 1
- Superbad - LOVED it! Joe and I watched this in the Bahamas while we were hiding under the covers of our hotel room we shared with the kids. We had headphones on and were trying to contain ourselves from laughing out loud and it was hard to do. This immediately goes into my Top 5 Comedies of all time. I'll post that list another time. (Yes, ES, What About Bob is still #1 and will probably always be in that spot.)
- 300 - We watched this on vacation while the kids were sleeping too. I liked it. It was violent and bloody, yes, but a good solid epic battle. It would have been nice to see this on the big screen or at an Imax I bet.
- An Inconvenient Truth - I liked it and I thought Al Gore was a good host for it, but I thought it was a TAD too much about him. It wasn't that much about him, but what was in there seemed extraneous to me. Just my 2 cents.
- Rescue Dawn - Great movie. Christian Bale is probably a guarantee at this point. He's not Daniel Day Lewis guaranteed, but he's batting high. He saved the Batman franchise and I'm pumped for the Dark Knight coming out this summer. American Psycho was fantastic if you want a good Christian Bale starting point...Or, The Machinist.
- Away From Her - Loved this too. Sarah Polley wrote and directed this which made me want to see it. She was great in The Sweet Hereafter, Go, and My Life Without Me. I just looked her up on IMDB and she's got a huge list of films - seemingly small and/or independent or just Canadian. She's like the new Lili Taylor or Parker Posey.
Feel free to leave your last 5+ in the comments. I love seeing what other people are watching!
PS - I know I need to add in HTML to polish things up so that the links look better. I learned HTML in grad school (Michigan, Simmons College for Library Science) and haven't used it since then (2003), so I'll have to find my little book and get on that.
PPS - The whole Heath Ledger thing makes me so sad. His daughter looks just like him and it's heartbreaking that she'll grow up without a dad now. It totally makes me think about dying and how devastating it would be to die prematurely and not see your kids grow up. Although, you'd be dead and probably wouldn't feel the devastation that thinking about it makes you fear. Hmmmm.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Gas Station Pump Holding Device?
$200 Orthodontist and Sushi Lunch
I have these permanant wires behind my front top and bottom teeth to keep them in place (and to counter my not wearing my retainers every night. You'd think I'd learn after the 1st time...). The glue on one side of the bottom one popped off last week when I ate a super chewy granola bar. I couldn't get an appointment until today and when the wire started cutting up my tongue, I ripped it out with a pair of scissors. Not as painful or bad as it sounds, but I did have to do it at work in the bathroom. Anyhoo...it has been more than a year since my braces came off and the wires went on and now it's the a la carte menu for services. I said "$200 for a little wire? Are you kidding?". He was not kidding and told me I didn't have to have it put back on if I didn't want to, but after spending a fortune in second-time-around braces and the humiliation of wearing them as an adult, I wasn't about to throw away all that work.
I drowned myself in sorrow by getting Sushi from this place next to the ortho that I love, but Joe does not like so much. We can't get Sushi take-out from them b/c of that, so I try to get it now and then on work days for lunch. It was heavenly...Salmon Nigiri, Yellow Tail & Scallion Maki and Wonton Soup. Oh yeah...best part is that they serve part Japanese and part Chinese. How great is that????? 2 truffles left after the one I just ate.
New Furniture!
We got an awesome TV for the living room and just a few months over a year ago got a great leather couch. It took until yesterday to find a coffee table we liked, but we did! I went to West Elm and got a coffee table, 2 side tables, a small bookcase piece, and some accessories. HUGE difference...we may actually finish a room in our house! All we have left is a media shelf for the TV components and some lamps and then I think we might be done. Then again, hanging things on our walls always takes us awhile...hopefully we can do it next weekend. I promised Joe that once we got the rest of the furniture I would finally do some window treatments. We have these terrible vinyl window shades that just ruin the room. We have nothing in the windows in the dining room at all (which is kind of freaky at night), so now I think we can do both and start to get somewhere decorating. I'm thinking Faux Wood blinds or maybe shutters.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Full Circle Tantrums
The day went on and the kids played in the playroom and the tantrum was a faint memory...we had some neighbors over for the kids to play with and all went fine. At around 630 Rory starts crying "Mommy, I want my bed. I want to go to bed. I so tired." Seriously. So 30 minutes or so later we mosey upstairs for a bath and bed and he loses his mind. "I DON'T want tubby. I want to go in my BED". Hysterical. Joe walks him into his room for bed and the crying stops instantly "Daddy, you read me a book". Unreal...it's amazing how much of the tantruming is self-induced and sort of fake.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Marie Antoinette
Little Dinner Party
I made the Tri Tip roast again, rice with onions and mushrooms (forgot to salt it though), and this awesome roasted broccoli with garlic parmesean butter recipe from Food & Wine. There was a food restriction of no Flour, no Sugar so coming up with a dessert was tough, but then I remembered a recipe for roasted pineapple and that seemed to work. For apps I made mozzarella balls with prosciutto and roasted peppers, got some salami and some cheddar and Camembert cheeses with crackers. I love Camembert...I'll need to figure out how to use the rest of it, though. I never do and it goes bad after having people over and not finishing it. Maybe a white pizza with the leftover broccoli?
Saturday, January 19, 2008
The Whole Album/CD is good
- Dave Matthews Band - Under the Table and Dreaming
- U2 - Joshua Tree
- Pearl Jam - Ten
- Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians - Shooting Rubber Bands at the Stars (I know this is an old one, but I LOVED this album back in the day)
- 10000 Maniacs - In My Tribe (same here...I listened to this over and over when I was backpacking after I went abroad my junior year in college)
- Foo Fighters - any album - I just love them
- R.E.M. - Automatic for the People
- A variety of Soundtracks: Singles, Almost Famous, Pretty in Pink (Joe will roll his eyes when he reads this one but at the time it was great), Garden State
I'll update when I think of more later.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
My New Laptop and 'Akeelah and the Bee'
While I was working on this laptop project, I was watching the movie Akeelah and the Bee. While it was predictable, it was a really lovely movie. It helps that I enjoy Lawrence Fishburne in almost anything he does. The little girl that played Akeelah was quite engaging and since watching that Spelling Bee documentary a few years ago (excellent by the way), I was riveted to the process of watching her prepare for the Nationals. Shelagh woke up from her nap while I was watching it and I was trying to explain that the girl was really smart and could spell tons of big words and that she liked school so much. If I keep showing her these types of people and telling her how fun school is, will it guarantee that Shelagh will become a good and interested student? Just kidding, but it did cross my mind. If it happens to come on or you have room in your DVR and you'd like to see a nice feel-good family type movie, watch it.
Lindt Truffles and the Peanut Butter Cup Debate
Speaking of chocolate and peanut butter, I'd like to share the best kept secret in delicious chocolate. That is the CVS brand Peanut Butter cup. If you are my friend and you are reading this now you might have heard my rant on the CVS PBC. I swear by them and simultaneously avoid them to protect myself. I love a good Reeses, but I'm serious...the CVS cup is better. Here's why...the peanut butter is so creamy as opposed to the slightly crumbly pb in the Reeses cup. The CVS cup is like a really good Buckeye. (If you haven't had one, Buckeyes are found in Ohio at random stores like paper and stationary stores and are usually homemade. They are also found when brought in by a co-worker who has some Ohio-person in their family tree). Plus, at 99 cents per bag of small bite-sized cups, who can go wrong? Trust me and pick up a bag next time you are in CVS and you will thank me or curse me later.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Lots of Snow & Caught up on Greys
By the time I got in, it was 7 and I hadn't figured out dinner for the kids. I tried these mini-frozen pizzas, but since they weren't triangle shaped, Rory wouldn't go for it. He had a pumpkin muffin instead (vegetable, yeah!) and that was it. I haven't been doing a good job of planning their meals lately and they've been eating crap. Rorys pickiness doesn't help matters.
** GREYS SPOILER **
Since Joe was out, I just had some pasta with a nice roasted red pepper sauce and watched the last new episode of Greys Anatomy from last week. Cried through it since it was about a baby and that gets me right away. I'm so glad McDreamy dumped Meredith...it's about time. I like the new chick, Rose, too. The actress that plays Georges mom was in Devils Advocate. She was Al Pacinos assistant, I think, and she had this super freaky devil melty face thing going on that I can't get out of my mind when seeing her in anything else. I know most people hated that movie, but I actually really liked it. Joe makes fun of me for liking it, but whatever. Keanu aside, it was great Charlize Theron and Al was pretty good too.
I also watched the last new episode of Private Practice...it's really not a good show. I don't know why I'm still watching it, but the fact that it's been in my DVR since before Xmas should tell me something.
Monday, January 14, 2008
I am crazy
TV in General and Golden Globes, Part 2 - The TV Awards
I watch a LOT of TV, but I'm okay with it b/c I feel that I'm an otherwise semi-well-rounded person. I never watch commercials so an hour show is 45 minutes and a half-hour show is 20-25 minutes. Plus, there are plenty of times when there is nothing on and I might let a show collect over time and watch it later on. I'm probably still a total loser.
There is a lot of crap on TV now-a-days. But, there are some really excellent shows out there still and I've not given up on TV yet. Some are not recognized. Some general rules about it...
- Any original series on HBO is worth seeing and 85% are not just good, but great shows (In case you are wondering, I didn't really love Deadwood or Carnivale and I hated Arliss)
- Ditto for FX original series.
- I think the same for Showtime might apply, but I've only watched 2 shows so far
- Most Network shows are just ok. It's not the lack of nudity or cursing or anything like that I don't think. I think it's the lack of originality and risk. Maybe that naturally goes hand in hand with taboo topics, but who knows.
- It is a travesty that Arrested Development and Freaks and Geeks got cancelled. Not relevant to the topic at hand really, but I had to get that off of my chest.
Okay, with that being said...onto the Golden Globes results for TV:
Best TV Series Drama: I don't watch House, I haven't watched Tudors or Mad Men yet but plan to shortly. I have a complete chick addiction to Greys Anatomy but can still be objective in that it has no place being nominated. It's a soap opera, people. I am thrilled to see Big Love and Damages in here. I had a slow start with Damages, but ultimately really enjoyed it. I've heard Mad Men is really great and it's replaying starting this coming Sunday so I'll hold out my opinion on this category.
Best Actress TV Drama: This is a big list of nominees and while I'm pleased to see so many cable shows on here, I'm not watching half of them. I watched Medium when it first came out and it was pretty good, but it got boring. Never seen Saving Grace or Closer. Watched the first few eps of The Riches and Minnie seemed really good, but gave up on that one. To me, this is a race b/w Edie Falco and Glenn Close and I'm happy to see GC win it. She was awesome as Patty in Damages. She was awesome on The Shield in Season 4 so I was really happy to see her get her own show on FX. We can't get enough of her acting overall. Edie Falco is really good too, but she got the GG for this either last season or the season before which included that intense episode between her and Tony when they flipped out on each other. She has also done a nice turn on 30 Rock recently I might add.
Best Actor TV Drama: Once again, haven't seen Mad Men and heard great things about it, but I really would have liked to see Michael C Hall get it for Dexter. He's got me riveted to that show.
Best TV Series Comedy: 30 Rock and Extras are both fantastic as is Entourage, but I'm happy to see this go to Extras. I didn't love Season 1, but Season 2 was hilarious. So was 30 Rock, but I think it was all the celebrity cameos (Daniel Radcliffe was priceless) that puts Extras over the edge.
Best Actor TV Comedy: How can anyone justify Alec Baldwin not getting this award? I can't say anything else about this.
Best Supporting Actor TV Series: How can anyone justify Ted Danson not getting this award? Side note...his characters name "Frobisher" just works. It's quirky and I can't stop thinking the name over and over...it rolls off the tongue. I love Jeremy Piven on Entourage too, but enough is enough...it's not a stretch for him...this is the only guy he can play (all those John Cusack movies, Cars, Smokin Aces, etc, etc)! And Kevin Dillon??? He's possibly my fave guy on that show, but mostly b/c you have to imagine he is clearly playing himself. Should he get an award for that? Side note...Could someone please interview him and find out how much of this really is his life? Or interview Matt Dillon and ask the same thing. Or interview Marky M (yum) and find out how much of this crap really happened. I don't care which. I just need to know.
That should do it for now...my list of future topics just grew ten-fold, by the way.
I can't believe I spaced on the Golden Globes
I just realized while reading Pop Candy that the Golden Globes were announced last night...holy anti-climactic. While I love the process of the awards, they have 3 big flaws:
- Joan Rivers is no longer front and center during the Red Carpet. Let's be serious here...Joan is great and despite the fact that Melissa is TERRIBLE, I love listening to her fumble and rip on peoples outfits.
- They always miss really significant performances from being nominated. Of course I can't think of anything right now, but they just do.
- Finally and most annoying, I hate when they nominate a great actor or actress for a not-fantastic role b/c they gipped them previously - which happens all the time! Case in point - Denzel Washington for Training Day. Come on - Training Day? It was a good movie and nice to see Denzel as a bad guy, but an Oscar-worthy role? I don't think so. He kicked serious ass as Malcom X and if anything should have won of his, that should have. Do you know who beat him that year???? Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman which was a RIDICULOUS and STUPID movie. I love Al, but this was such a dumb movie and certainly not his best performance. In fact, Al winning in SOAW was another example of this phenomenon since he got gipped on Godfather I and II. I could go on forever...
Back to the Golden Globes...As usual, since I am a mom of young kids, I've only been the movies maybe 4 times this year (Shrek 3, Bee Movie, Bourne Ultimatum, and No Country for Old Men)and I haven't seen most of the nominees, although almost all are on my Netflix queue. Here are my preliminary thoughts...
Best Picture: No Country for Old Men and Eastern Promises should NOT have been nominated. NCFOM should have a few actor noms, but not for picture. EP was good, but not award-worthy. Haven't seen the others, but I'm dying to see There Will Be Blood. Daniel Day-Lewis in a film pretty much guarantees a great movie (also agreeing with me will be my friend DS who swears by him).
Best Actress: Julie Christie was amazing in Away from Her which I recently saw on DVD while Joe was out one night. I really like Sarah Polley who wrote and directed it (her first time) and it was such a great movie. The other noms seem reasonable from what I've read about those movies except maybe Jodie Foster. The Brave One seemed like a trite idea to me but whatever. I LOVE Cate Blanchett and she was gipped for Elizabeth the first time around, but having her win this time would probably fall under item #3 above. She lost that year to Gwyneth P in Shakespeare in Love. That was a little tougher of a call b/c I loved that movie and GP in it, but Cate was fantastic in Elizabeth and really should have won.
Best Actor: Haven't seen most and it seems like it was probably a tough call. But, as usual, DDL is just tops and probably totally deserved it. It's a given, isn't it?
Best Animated Film: While I think it's nice that these movies have a category, aren't there usually only 3 or 4 of them anyway? That means they all get nominated, even if they are crappy.
Best Supporting Actress: First of all, I really have no interest in seeing that Bob Dylan movie. I don't know why...there are some great actors in it and the idea is really cool. I just don't care about it. It's not even on my Netflix list, which is saying a lot since I have 180 movies on there right now. I just must say this...Julia Roberts is completely overrated and I cannot believe she is nominated again. THERE. I SAID IT. Those who know me well know how irritated I get over all the accolades she gets. Okay, I loved Mystic Pizza - who didn't? Mostly b/c of Lili Taylor of course, but a solid 80's movie. Satisfaction too - a guilty bad movie pleasure. Steel Magnolias - good. StepMom - pretty good. Pretty Woman was an ok movie and she has a great laugh, blah blah blah. Erin Brockovich was a boring movie and not CLOSE to Oscar worthy - this was one of the biggest Oscar travesties of all time - do you know who she beat out????? Laura Linney in You Can Count on Me, Ellen Burstyn in Requiem for a Dream, Joan Allen in The Contender and Juliette Binoche in Chocolate. ALL of whom should have beaten her (I probably would have gone with Ellen Burstyn - RFAD was an insanely good movie and she was freaky good. Made me think of that awesome movie Resurrection she was in way back when). This was when my I-will-only-see-your-movies-if-they-are-otherwise-highly-recommended phase with Julia Roberts officially began. (Renee Zellweger falls under that category too). More mediocre performances: Oceans movies, Pelican Brief, all those sappy romantic comedies (Notting Hill, Best Friends Wedding, Runaway Bride)...oh I'm bored just listing them out. I'm drained from this one.
Best Supporting Actor: I just wanted Casey Affleck to win. For no other reason then I just like him and Ben gets too much attention.
Best Original Score and Best Original Song: I love the Into the Wild soundtrack. I've lost interest in Pearl Jam in the last years, but loved them in and after college. I thought it was awesome that Eddie Vedder wrote this soundtrack...he seemed like a good choice for it and I just saw him on Iconoclasts with Laird Hamilton and was wondering what PJ was up to. Haven't seen the movie yet. Don't like Sean Penn b/c I think he is probably a dick (And now I don't like Robin Wright Penn b/c she married him, although 1) they are now getting divored and 2) she was awesome in Princess Bride and Gump). I will admit he does have talent though and do really want to see ITW. Glad this won for music.
I need to take a break and actually do some work today even though I'm only 1 of about 10 people at the office today. I'll post later on the TV side of the awards...
Sat night: Good Restaurant & the Pats
We had plans to meet up with a good friend of mine from college and his girlfriend for dinner and to watch the Patriots game afterwards. Joe got Pats tickets (good for him) and I didn't want to cancel and waste the babysitter so I went anyway. It was a really fun night. I hadn't seen SV since right before I gave birth to Rory and before that since right before I gave birth to Shelagh. He's only seen me 8+ mos pregnant in the last 4 years and his girfriend had only met me pregnant. He was the first person I met at UVM the first day I got there and we've been friends ever since. An awesome guy and no matter how much time passes between seeing each other, it's like no time has gone by.
We went to the restaurant, Grotto, in Beacon Hill and it was really good. Kind of nouveau Italian/Mediterranean I'd say. Apps were all great...we shared an Arugula salad with prosciutto in a lemony vinagrette, cavatelli with sausage in a light tomato cream sauce (great!), and a shrimp/calamari salad. It was tough to pick an entree...I ended up with tenderloin with risotto and asparagus. SV had gnocchi with short ribs and gorgonzola and B had scallops with a pasta "blanket" over the top. It is my policy to try new things at restaurants and look for the weirdest thing or the item with a combination of ingredients that I wouldn't do at home usually. So, the tenderloin was an out of character choice for me. Further, I am REALLY picky about risotto. The truth is, I make great risotto and I never like it in restaurants...it's either too al dente or not rich enough or watery. I like it heavy and rich and kind of gooey. The waiter recommended it highly though, so I got it and it was pretty good. I was going to get the gnocchi, one of my favorite things, but I can't stand funky cheese and the gorgonzola scared me off. Plus, I'm also really picky about that...it's usually too soft at restaurants and I like it heavy and filling. It was awesome though.
Great chocolate cake thing for dessert to share and then off to the Red Hat to watch the game. I'm not a big bar person, but it wasn't too crowded so we got a table and could still watch the game and hear ourselves talk. Plus, SV was able to do his guy game thing and I could talk more with B and get to know her better. SV and I always chat about college friends, which is usually not as much fun for the person who didn't go. Happens with me and Joes friends from PC all the time, although I know most of the people they are generally talking about anyway. Second time for me drinking my new drink of choice - Raspberry Vodka with sprite and a splash of Cranberry. It's like a pregnancy drink (every ladies fave sprite and cran) with kick. I don't usually drink hard liquor drinks since I'm such a lightweight and get hungover so easily, but I was in the mood for a straw drink. Sidenote: Yeah Pats!! So glad they won again and keeping fingers crossed for a Patriots superbowl. Rory just got a Pats sweatshirt for his birthday and can now say "Go Pats!".
I didn't overdo it by any means, but still felt a little crappy in the morning. Joe was out until 130 or so but was a great sport and got up at 8ish with the kids so I could go to yoga. Good class, but proved that I've not been working very hard at the gym otherwise b/c yoga kicked my ass. I need a new routine. Perfect excuse to buy more magazines and start clipping exercises.
The Wire & TV Shows on Netflix
I read an awesome interview with David Simon (http://www.believermag.com/issues/200708/?read=interview_simon) thanks to a link from Pop Candy last week or the week before. He seems like an intense guy. It really helped to hear about what the plan was for the whole series as opposed to thinking about it season to season. A friend of mine from work also sent me this (http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/09/what-do-real-thugs-think-of-the-wire/) from the New York Times. It's about a guy who watched the 1st episode with real street guys. Pretty interesting too.
I HIGHLY recommend this show to anyone that likes police dramas, heavy drama, shows with intensity, shows with excellent writing and character development (with a huge cast nonetheless), any HBO shows, etc. Some people think you can start watching from any season, but I think this is one of those shows you should really watch from the beginning. It doesn't focus on the same characters each season, but a lot of them appear from year to year and it helps to know their background and connections. This would have to be one of my favorite shows ever. And, what a great project to embark upon during this writers strike. Joe and I took a year to watch all 5 seasons of Alias last year and it was a great show and fun to watch especially during normal TV downtime like summer, pre and post sweeps weeks and over the holidays. You could whip out 1 45 minute episode on a work night or you can watch a whole disc in place of a movie on a weekend night. Yes, this is my life
Crazy New England Snow Drivers
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Eastern Promises
Friday, January 11, 2008
If I Could Eat Nothing Else Ever...
The shape matters to Rory...he won't touch a single pasta (which means I'll be eating all of his even though I'm having my own dinner later - hopefully sushi if I have my way). He ate the same thing with stars yesterday - 2 helpings - but no, an egg noodle is just too far of a stretch.
You could argue that Chinese food could be eaten every day. I just think that choice wouldn't make it for the long haul. Unless you are getting it from a nice gourmet restaurant where it isn't too heavy maybe. Sushi could be a possibility, but I couldn't subsist on a diet that didn't include cheese I don't think. Ohhh...just thought of a possibility. Annas Taqueria. If you are from the Boston area, you know what I mean. Simply the best burrito I've ever had in my life, no question about it. And, only $4. I could do that.
Pork Tenderloins w Apples, Dates, and Baby Potatoes
Pork Tenderloins w/ Apples, Dates and Baby Potatoes
2 1-lb pork tenderloins
10 applewood-smoked bacon slices
1 Tbl olive oil
2 small onions, peeled, quartered
2 Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, quartered
12 baby Dutch potatoes or baby white-skinned potatoes (about 12 oz) unpeeled
12 Medjool dates, pitted (I used dried dates - Sunmaid i think)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp grnd cinnamon
1 tsp grnd cumin
3/4 cup apple juice
1/4 cup water
Sprinkle tenderloins with salt & pepper. Wrap 5 bacon slices around each tenderloin. Tie with kitchen string to secure.
Preheat oven to 350. Heat oil in large ovenproof pot over medium heat. Add pork; cook until browned on all sides, about 12 minutes. Transfer to platter. Add onions and apples to pot; saute until golden, about 5 minutes. Add potatoes, dates, garlic, cinnamon, and cumin; stir 1 minute. Return pork to center of pot. Add apple juice and water and bring to a boil scraping up any brown bits. Add S & P. Cover and roast until pork is cooked through and potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes.
Remove string from pork. Slice crosswise. Divide pork, onions, apples, potatoes and dates and pan juices among plates.
Serves 4.
Thursday Night TV
As usual, I cried at least 2-3 times during ER last night. Yes, I still watch ER and Yes, I easily cry watching TV, Movies, listening to the Radio and even commercials. ER is such a good show...what other show has lasted so long switching actors/characters every couple of years almost completely (other than those 2 nurses). Maura Tierney is an amazing actress...she needs an award or something. I seriously choked up when she admitted to her co-workers that she had fallen off the wagon and was sorry. What a bitch Sam was afterwards, but who can blame her really.
Could 30 Rock have been ANY funnier? I was iffy when it first started but it is hilarious. I could listen to Alec Baldwin call Tiny Fey "Lemon" for hours and still crack up. I wasn't crazy about Tracey Morgan or Jane K but they have both changed my mind over time. Jane K always makes me think about Ally McBeal (although the fat suit episode might have finally shaken that visual). That was a good show in the beginning, but just SUCKED by the 3rd season or so and got ridiculous. To this day, I can't look at Calista Flockheart without cringing. I tried Brothers & Sisters when it started, but I couldn't get over her no matter how much I love Rachel Griffiths (she ruled Six Feet Under and Hilary & Jackie - an awesome movie from several years ago about sisters that just kills you).
Of course we also slipped in 1 Dexter before 30 Rock started while we ate dinner and 1 Weeds between 30 Rock and ER.
Making Ravioli
Why on Earth are Stride Rite shoes $48?
I love getting great deals for the next years clothes. A couple of times I haven't shopped ahead for one of the kids and it sucks to have to buy a whole wardrobe when they first come out for a season. Gymboree had 60% off today on some stuff. Let me just say that I have a Love/Hate thing with Gymboree. Some of the clothes are way too cutesy with all those hearts and little horses and balloons and crap (I'm not a fan of characters or animals on clothes despite my daughters current infatuation with all things Princess right now). But, sometimes they have cute striped dresses or boy rugby shirts. I refuse to pay full price in there also...you're looking at $75-100 for an outfit. But, the sales can be very rewarding. I got a couple of things for next year for both kids, nothing over $10, including an awesome rugby shirt for Rory which Joe will love.
By this point, Rory was melting down so I had to forego the 9.99 and under sale at Childrens Place across the way which was hard to do. I was tempted to tough it out and risk the full-out tantrum even though it was lunchtime, but it takes so much to make Rory grumpy and he already was...that would be really mean. He turned to me by then and said "Mommy, I tired" and put his head down on my leg...so damn cute.
Being Greener - The Little Things
- Joe got me a water bottle to refill instead of all the plastic individual bottles. I actually have a problem not drinking enough water so maybe this will kill 2 birds with 1 stone. Not likely.
- When I wash my hands in public bathroom, I try not to use the paper towels to dry. It seems like such a waste when you see a trash can full of sort of wet/sort of dry towels. It helps to have a huge mane of big hair to dry them in instead.
- I'm REALLY trying to cut down on my Ziploc bag usage. This is tough b/c the snack bag is the best thing when you have little kids.
- I've been recycling batteries. This actually takes a trip to the dump, which I happen to drive by often. I'm particularly proud of this one.
Couple more things to add...
- Unplugging things not being used (not appliances b/c that is too much of a pain in the ass and I can be lazy at times) like the cell phone chargers.
- Trying not to use the stirrers for coffee, especially when it's a full plastic straw and not a wood stick.
Is there a bed in there?
Thursday, January 10, 2008
My Good Eater & My Not-Good Eater
Tonight they had roast beef from last nights meal (which came out great, I must say - I used a Tri Tip and it had just enough fat to make it flavorful but not too marbled), little star pastas with some butter and parmesean (or grown-up mac & cheese as I've convinced Shelagh), and edamames. Rory is finally eating some pasta - just this star shape - but is now off beef. He wouldn't even eat a beef hot dog the other day! The organic ones I get don't taste as good as a greasier one, but they are still pretty good and how the heck do they know the difference????
I made all of Shelaghs baby food and gave her everything under the sun. Plus, she was the 1st so I stuck with it into solid foods. They are only 19 months apart, so by the time he was eating solids, I made about 1/2 of Rory's food and definitely didn't stick with it. He used to be just as good as her. I haven't given up on him yet...he just drives me crazy. If we have another, I'm going back to making all the food and really planning it out so the variety continues longer term. I don't know if that's what did it for her, but it's worth another shot.
We have Showtime!
This summer we watched Seasons 1 & 2 of Weeds and loved it. I immediately added it to my SAVED list on Netflix and just waited for the most current season to end so I could watch it after the fact. Now I have Showtime so we've been watching it through On Demand and I still love it. Kevin Nealon couldn't be any funnier. Seriously, where has this guy been? I'm not too crazy about the brother-in-law, Andy, and the youngest kid, Shane, but they are growing on me. Elizabeth Perkins is awesome too...just as bitchy as she was in About Last Night (one of my fave 80's indulgences). We're only a few episodes into Season 3, so no spoilers if you are ahead of me!
Dexter is another show we started on DVD recently. Thank you, writers strike. I really thought I'd have a hard time shaking the gloomy David out of Michael C. Hall, but he easily created this fantastic new character and just the smiles are enough to forget him from Six Feet Under. I'm totally hooked and into Season 2 On Demand as well. The Intro completely skeeves me out, though, so I always have to skip it. We're seriously watching 1-2 Dexters and 1-2 Weeds per night. Thank God there is nothing else on and my husband is such a sport about not watching sports when we're watching together. Thank you, sir.
Work Bathroom Protocol
What is the proper work bathroom etiquette? Does having a favorite stall trump the "don't take the stall next to another person" unspoken rule? I have a favorite stall. Stall #1 has a full wall on one side and it flushes well all the time which is more than I can say for the other 3 in there. If someone is in stall #2, should I go right to Stall #4 to allow for a 1-stall barrier between us or do I stick to my guns and head for my fave? Tough question. I've been tending to stay with mine, but I feel badly when I do that. I'm always annoyed if someone goes for #2 when I'm in there first. This is what I'm thinking about at work today...
Anti-Green
1) We just bought a mini-van. I REALLY wanted a hybrid, but they don't make them yet...maybe Lexus does, but I can't afford a Lexus. Our van is way too big, but we're thinking of a possible 3rd child and the thought of 3 kids being squeezed into a sedan/wagon and me losing my trunk space was too much.
2) Our house isn't insulated. We live in an old Victorian house and while we have replaced all the windows and we did have some insulation blown into one corner of the house (I don't think that worked very well, by the way), I'm sure our heat is escaping left and right. Side note...my oil bill was $600 this month. How insane is that????
Trying to Green
I just started using reusable grocery bags. They are actually really strong and fit a ton. 3 out of 4 times I get half-way through shopping before realizing they are still in the car and out I go with the kids to retrieve them. That's a pain. It's also a bit of a struggle to get the baggers to get the point. Why do they still wrap things in plastic and then put them in my bags? Is a thin plastic bag really going to protect my eggs and prevent them from breaking? Does a single greeting card really need an entire plastic bag to keep it pristine? Usually, I wait until they are done and then unpack all the stuff in the extra plastic bags. Now I need a solution for veggies and fruit plastic bags. I still use those since 1/2 my cart is that stuff and it would take 3 hours to check out if that stuff wasn't divided. At least I reuse them for poop diapers when I'm out.
Some other things I've implemented in the last months...1) using those energy efficient light bulbs, 2) trying to break my paper towel habit, 3) really trying not to waste food, 4) tried a CSA last year and will try a better one this year, 5) elected to have 1/2 my electricity come from renewable sources and will hopefully switch to 100% renewable (it's more expensive though).
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Some Things About Me
- I have a magazine addiction, especially cooking magazines. (subscriptions: People, Entertainment Weekly, Blueprint, Cookie, Bon Appetit, Food and Wine, Cooking Light, Everyday Food). Now and then I'll buy single issues of any number of different rags. It's the only thing that keeps me going to the gym. I can do a whole magazine on the elliptical except maybe EW. I'm going to try to cut these down in 2008.
- I LOVE my Sirius Sattelite radio. I got it right before Howard Stern moved over and haven't turned it off in my car since. Oh yeah, I love Howard Stern. I often wonder if it's weird to switch channels between Stern and the Martha Stewart channel, which I also love. It's a challenge lately to listen in my car. While I don't think my kids are really hearing it when I put it on in the front speakers only, every once in a while Rory will chime in repeating some place name or word he hears. I suppose I'm kidding myself, but I still try. Thankfully, he hasn't repeated anything terrible.
- I have 180 items in my Netflix list and I rate everything. There are a few TV shows which have lots of discs and a good size list of things that haven't come out yet, but it's still pretty pathetic. Can you say "Little Kids and No Life?"
- I can't watch LIVE TV anymore. If it's not on my DVR or on a DVD, I hit pause at the beginning until I'm at least 15-20 minutes in. Anything to avoid commercials.
Bacon makes everything better
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Hello
Now a little about me...I'm 35. I'm from NJ, went to college in Vermont, then moved to Boston and have been here ever since for the most part. I love New England! My husband is from this area. We both have a lot of friends and history here so we're probably here to stay. Plus my kids already have a Mass accent (which my mom is always trying to undo) and we all love the Red Sox and Patriots.
I work part-time 3 days per week. Sometimes I think I want to be a stay at home mom (when work is boring) and other times I think working more would be good (when the kids are sick or stir crazy in the house on a cold day). Ultimately, I feel like I'm getting the best of both worlds.