Dinner Success!

Rory is finally eating some dinner again! I made the meatballs today and they were a big hit with both kids. I thought the funny looking fusilli would entice him a bit, but no. Here is Rory "boing-ing my pastas"

Followed quickly by crying b/c he hates when his hands are dirty

Shelagh, on the other hand, cleared her plate as usual. She didn't want to be left out of the dinner picture fun so here is Miss Serious with her pasta

Mine was great. Roasted Red Pepper sauce again. It has slowly overtaken my favorite "Joe isn't home tonight" meal of pasta with butter and parmesean with a bit of Adobo seasoning. I had a little leftover roasted broccoli on the side. Yum.

Anyone Can Comment Now!!

I had the blog set to only allow comments to people with Google accounts, but now it's open to anyone. Sorry about that! Please comment away!

Not so Crafty Mom

I am not Crafty. I would like to be and have good intentions. I save Oatmeal containers, egg cartons, random cardboard and toilet paper/paper towel rolls for "future crafty projects". We have a bag of shells and a bag of pine cones that I put aside this summer and fall respectively for a project to be named later. I finally put together the kids easel that we got them last Xmas around September and they love being able to color on it with crayons and markers or paint if I'm so inclined to set that all up (not usually although I should b/c Rory LOVES to paint). THIS is why I couldn't be a full time stay at home mom. I'm missing the natural crafty gene.

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

Since we had Annas Taqueria on Sunday, I didn't do any cooking and made both the Roast Chicken and the Pasta w/ Sweet Potatoes & Leeks last night. Poor kids were neglected, but seem to be okay playing with pillows and blankets under the table and singing songs. Joe and I ate the Pasta which was pretty good and, other than the parmesean cheese, healthy too. I'll do that one again. The chicken took a couple of hours of prep and mostly cooking time so I made it last night for tonight. I'll just make the sides when I get home and the meatballs for the kids this week too. The chicken came out okay...I don't think I'll make it again though...it was too citrusy for my taste and of course I overcooked the white meat a bit. Maybe the pan sauce will save it, although I was eating dinner while it was cooking and I boiled most of it away. I'll give it to the kids, but Rory probably won't eat it. Maybe with sweet potato fries he'll favor a vegetable instead. Not likely. Otherwise, still somewhat sticking to the meal plan and haven't had to throw out any defrosted but uncooked meat this week which is a plus.

Notes on a Scandal & Boston Home Show

Pretty mellow weekend all around. I babysat for a friend on Friday night and after the kids were asleep watched Notes on a Scandal with Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench. Really good movie about a teacher (CB) befriended by an older teacher (JD). The older teacher is strict and rigid and lonely and you get the impression she is a lesbian, but has never acted on it physically. She seems to have had emotional relationships (one-sided) with women friends in her past, but when the feeling is not returned in a deeper way, she is alone again. She has a cat and she is constantly writing detailed analysis of her friend of the moment in her journals. CB has an affair with a student and JD finds out and sort of blackmails her into a deeper friendship before CB realizes how much more she really does want. It was really good, but a bit disturbing watching CB make-out with a teenage boy. I just looked the actor up on IMDB and he's 18, but obviously he was younger when this was filmed and he looks even younger than that. It must have been weird for CB and the kids mother I would imagine. Solid movie though. I gave it 4 stars on Netflix.

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

We took the kids bowling for the first time yesterday. They seemed to really like it. I should note that it was Candlepin bowling, not regular bowling, which I think is just a Massachusetts thing(?). The ball is small and the kids can use it easily which is good, but the pins are harder to knock down.














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.

Meal Planning for Wk 1/26

I try to meal plan for the week before I go grocery shopping. If I do think ahead, I usually cook most nights following and try 1-3 new recipes. The ones I clip from Cooking Light or Everyday Food are usually easy enough to do during the week. I always make more for leftovers and I try to make something more complex or that takes longer on my home days or the weekend. The kids eat early during the week and we eat after they go to bed, but we eat together on the weekends. Here's my plan for this coming week:

• 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 just finished a pretty good book, Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates. I should preface this by saying it was relatively depressing. I got the recommendation from David Sedaris when Joe and I went to see his show in Boston a couple of months ago. He warned us that the writing was melancholy, but that doesn't usually stop me. I've been known to steep in sad themes - book or movie. The writing was very good. The story didn't move along so quickly...stuff happened, but it was more of a character piece. Don't run out for it, but I would recommend it if you want to have a nice slow paced read and can handle the sadness.

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:

1. Revolutionary Road - Richard Yates
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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

As much as I love the newest Foo Fighters CD, it's been on a long rotation on my iPod I use when I'm at the gym. It's time to infuse some new music (along with a new routine - mine is definintely getting dull and I'm reading more than I'm sweating). I don't like Pop music generally and am not at all up on what's going on there, but I do have a few Pop songs, embarassingly, that I like to have on my iPod for a lovely surprise during shuffle. I admit to having a Britney Spears song (I heard it first on Entourage, so that makes it ok, right?), a Justin Timberlake song (don't tell), a Kelly Clarkson song (I hate American Idol, but she can rock out now and then), an Avril Lavigne song (just shameful), and a few more I'll keep to myself. I like really upbeat feel good songs for the gym. Disco works sometimes (Jamiriquai is great for the elliptical - think Napolean Dynamite - Shelagh loves this song and danced with me in the kitchen the other night to it.) as does harder alternative like Foos. On the flip side, I also like mellow feel-good music for weights like the Garden State soundtrack...who knew I'd be doing squats and lunges to Paul Simon, but I do. I tried to just surf on iTunes, but other than listening to some cuts from singers I read about on blogs, it's a crapshoot. Any suggestions are much appreciated.

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.

1. Marie Antoinette - Loved it! See http://mompopescape.blogspot.com/2008/01/marie-antoinette.html for longer rant on what I loved about it.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Dexter Season 1 Disc 3
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. Dexter Season 1 Disc 2
10. Dexter Season 1 Disc 1
11. 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.)
12. 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.
13. 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.
14. 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.
15. 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.

Gas Station Pump Holding Device?

Who knows what they are called, but where are they???? My new mom-van has a gas cap that is attached by a cord which is not long enough to prop up the pump so I can sit in my car and stay warm. Every once in awhile you get to a pump that has the silver attachment thing inside it so you can click it into place and let the pump do it's own work. Why do I feel like most gas station owners rip those little clip things out so you have to stand there???? Even if I had a detached gas cap, I'm getting gasoline on my gloves (they are cheap old navy ones that retain that gasoline smell for extra long) or my hands or I'm pinching a finger trying to jam it in there with just the right angle or it's flying out and landing under the car on one of the few days I actually dress up for work (not many). IS THIS SO HARD????

$200 Orthodontist and Sushi Lunch

I have had braces twice now in my life. Once from ages 11 to 13 (along with glasses and a bad feather cut made for tough times in Jr High) and again from ages 33 to 34. It was tough being an adult with braces (who also looks younger anyway). At one point I had Shelagh who was almost 1 1/2, I was fully pregnant with Rory, my rings didn't fit by then, I had a too-short bob like hairdo and I had the braces. Looking back on it, these two time periods probably rank highest as my really tough stages in the looks department. Thankfully, all that is over now and the hair has grown out again, the braces are off and I have a semblance of my old shape back (altered permenantly from childbirth of course).

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've been in our house for 4 years. Our living room used to be a combination living room/den/playroom until after Rory was born. Then we decided the basement was a priority and we had it renovated into a playroom (and laundry room). It was the best decision - the kids love it and have lots of space to play and their stuff is out of the living room now. I actually have space to do things in the laundry room which looks out into the playroom. I'll take a picture and post it when I get home (yes, blogging at work again).

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.

Full Circle Tantrums

Well, today opened and closed with a tantrum. Shelaghs whole world came to a devastating halt because while unpeeling her banana it broke. This child can't have anything broken. I have to go through the whole cheese stack to find the unbroken piece and only after I go through that exercise would she accept a semi-broken piece MAYBE if she's in the mood to be agreeable and let me off the hook. Do you know how hard it is to separate cheese from the deli especially when you asked for it sliced thin??? This tantrum was a doozy. When I told her we weren't wasting the banana and she couldn't have a new one, she flipped out and screamed and lost her mind. We removed her from the room calmly (for once) and she had to go on for a good 15 minutes. Finally it ended and she was a doll for the rest of the day. Maybe tantrums are a childs way of punching the wall or eating all the crap in your refrigerator...you just feel better afterwards.

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.

Marie Antoinette

I just watched this movie from Netflix and LOVED IT! It reminded me a bit of Moulin Rouge in that it was so beautifully presented that you almost forget what it's about. You are just following the flash and taken by everything going on. The coloration was so bright and young and flirty. The food presentation was breathtaking...it's amazing I didn't eat a huge sundae while watching (shocking actually...I was so involved I forgot to make one). The current music selection against the time period worked really well too, except for the very beginning (intro mostly). The masquerade scene in the middle was awesome - I have to see what song was playing while they were dancing. The costumes were insanely beautiful - dresses, shoes, the hair and makeup too. I went in with mixed feelings. I really enjoyed both of Sofia Coppolas other films - Virgin Suicides and Lost in Translation so I was expecting it to be at least good. However, it didn't really get much kudos and I'm 50/50 on Kirsten Dunst. I think she was perfect though. I just looked SC up on IMDB and no wonder the visual was so stunning in this movie...she's done everything - director, producer, costumes/wardrobe, acting, cinematography. I watched the Making Of extra in the Special Features and that was worth watching as well. SC comes across kind of blase and snotty, but whatever...she did a good job and is 3 for 3 in my book. Anyway, it's not a chick flick really but it's certainly not a macho film. I would recommend it highly.

Little Dinner Party

Two families came over for kids play and dinner yesterday. Both are college friends of mine from UVM. I haven't seen ES since Easter and LB since summertime I think. They haven't seen each other since college probably. We had a really fun night. The kids warmed up and had a nice time and seemed to be finally at a point where we can leave them on their own more often than not which is nice.

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?

The Whole Album/CD is good

We're making pancakes and listening to Dave Matthews Band this morning when I started thinking about CDs where every song is good. It doesn't happen too often, but here's the list Joe and I came up with. I'm sure people have some to add - please do so in the comments.

• 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.

My New Laptop and 'Akeelah and the Bee'

I FINALLY got a new laptop. The old one was 8+ years old and was a work laptop I've just always used for personal stuff too. It was painfully slow and we finally decided it was time to get a new one for our personal use. After a good 3+ hours spent loading software and playing with it yesterday I can confirm that it was a good decision and I am officially in heaven. My new digital camera was not compatible with the old laptop, which helped clinch the decision, so I hadn't downloaded pics since Thanksgiving. There were 431 pictures on my camera that I just downloaded...I apologize in advance to those people on my monthly picture distribution list and I will try to break them up into more reasonable albums so as not to bore you to death with pics of my adorable kids over the holidays and in the Bahamas last month.

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

Lindt truffles are just heavenly...I love em. I'm not often at Borders or Michaels, but if I am I always have to buy one at the register. Every year, my mother in law gets a bag of them for Christmas from her neighbor and passes them right on to us. I thank her and then with a big sigh state to my husband that they can't stay in the house and I'm bringing them to work. At which point, I keep them in my drawer and secretly eat them for weeks after. I just ate the 4th to last one and it was just awesome. It's warm in my cabinet so they are slightly melted and soft. We only got milk and dark chocolate this year...usually I look forward to the mixed bag so I can get the Peanut Butter ones too which are definitely the best ones. Now of course in my mind right now I'm rationalizing why I might as well finish off the last 3. It's just going to drag my bad chocolate eating at work out and why wouldn't I just have 1 really bad chocolate day and then be done with it. Answer...not a good idea...in a few days something else will crop up and I'll be eating more chocolate at work again. It's inevitable.

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.

Lots of Snow & Caught up on Greys

We got a nice dump of snow yesterday in New England. If I skiied more I'd be pretty excited right now. But, I haven't skiied since before I was pregnant with Shelagh (4-5 years). Rather, we have a broken snow blower and a huge driveway and Joe was at the Celtics last night. He did a bang-up job in the morning before work, but there was a good 6+ more inches when I got home. I plopped the kids down in front of a movie (Cars, of course) and shoveled the whole thing. It was a little irritating having to shovel, but then again it was exercise (I think I read it burns 400 calories/hour), it wasn't that cold out, it was nice and quiet, and I don't know how to use the snow blower anyway even if it did work.

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.

I am crazy

I just looked at how much I've written today and I am seriously crazy. Let's hope my work friends that know about this blog don't report me.

TV in General and Golden Globes, Part 2 - The TV Awards

I'm back...Turns out I still don't want to be working...

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...

1. 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)
2. Ditto for FX original series.
3. I think the same for Showtime might apply, but I've only watched 2 shows so far
4. 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.
5. 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

Actually, I can. This is going to be a long one, folks. This is what I think about most and I have lots of opinions on the topic of Movie awards and over/under rating of films and actors.

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:

1. 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.
2. They always miss really significant performances from being nominated. Of course I can't think of anything right now, but they just do.
3. 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

I've been scolded for not writing about my Saturday night which was actually not a home night watching movies for once. So, here I go.

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 LOVE this show and am so happy the last season has finally started. The first 2 episodes have been great and once again I'm totally in and can't wait for each Sunday to come so I can watch it. This year is about the media and I'm already completely entrenched in the story.

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

Shouldn't it be expected that if you live in New England you can drive in the snow? Well you'd think so. Not the case. I watched a woman slow down at the bottom of a hill today. What a goober. You just knew she was getting stuck, so I backed up a good 1/4 mile. No way my mom-van was making it up that hill at 5 mph. She should have gunned it right up. I sat there for 5 minutes down the street watching her inch forwards and backwards with cars on both side stopped and waiting for her to manuever while Rory listened to me yelling at her. He was just excited to see all the snowplows. That kid is truck crazy.

Eastern Promises

Our Netflix choice for last night was Eastern Promises with Viggo Mortensen and Naomi Watts. It was pretty good. It had gotten good reviews from what I recall. Definintely a few violent moments - a couple I had to watch through squinty eyes, but overall it wasn't a constantly violent movie. Viggo was great, as usual. I had read that he did a full frontal nude fight scene. It was intense. Great fight, but a tad bit distracting with the goods flopping all around though. Not good or bad, just distracting. The slick robber guy who danced all around those lasers in the museum from Oceans 12 was in it as Viggos partner. I loved him in O12, but he was kind of annoying in EP. He kept falling down all drunk and with his squiggly hair he reminded me of Kramer from Seinfeld. Overall, solid movie though...I gave it 3 stars out of 5 on Netflix.

If I Could Eat Nothing Else Ever...

It would be pasta with butter and parmsean cheese. As I'm eating it off my kids plates right now, I'm thinking that it really is possible. I could eat nothing else. Ever. Doesn't even matter the shape. Sometimes the shape of the pasta does matter. I have to have fettucini with alfredo. I have to have gemelli with any kind of vegetables. I have to have oriechette with this white cannellini bean recipe I got from my mom and eat all the time...those little saucers just collect the bean sauce perfectly.

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

By request, I'm posting the Pork Tenderloin recipe. It's from Bon Appetit, but it's not on epicurious.com. It's credited to Jeannette Hermann at Wild Olives (no clue what city).

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

** ER SPOILER **
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

I made some sweet potato ravioli from a recipe in Cooking Light. I always walk by the wonton wrappers in the grocery store and think about ravioli, wontons, dumplings and think "What a pain in the ass". But, I love all those things and finally found what seemed to be an easy recipe. Shelagh helped me with the filling...it was sweet potato, cinnamon, nutmeg, and maybe some salt and that's it. Other than the labor of filling them, it was super easy. They got all stuck together b/c I wasn't patient enough to let them freeze thoroughly on a tray before putting them in a freezer bag. They still tasted really good though. I made a brown butter and sage sauce for them which was not healthy and cancelled out what otherwise would have been pretty healthy. We ate them last night with the leftover Tri Tip roast and some roasted broccoli.

Why on Earth are Stride Rite shoes $48?

Am I a huge sucker or are these shoes actually better orthopedically and therefore warrant the extra cost? Somehow Target is getting the same job done for $12.99. Rory did a great job getting a shot at his 2-yr checkup today so I thought I'd reward him by making him go shoe shopping. Everyone was having sales today so I did get Stride Rites for him (No, Joe, I did not spend $48). Of course the ones I liked were not on sale, but I went for the ones I didn't like as much b/c it's ridiculous to pay full price in there on principal.

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

I thought of a few more things I've been doing to be a bit more aware.

• 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?

While snuggling in bed this morning Shelagh asked me why she didn't want to come out of my baby belly. I replied "I don't know. You were probably comfy." To which she said "Why? Is there a bed in there?". That's what I get for letting her watch the baby birthing videos at the Museum of Science, I suppose.

My Good Eater & My Not-Good Eater

Shelagh is an awesome eater. I could give her pretty much anything I would make for Joe and I and she would eat it. I might have to urge her along, but ultimately she will try stuff and will do anything for dessert. Rory, on the other hand, is a terrible eater. Not only will he eat very few things, but he isn't consistent about it. One day he loves chicken, next day forget it. For months he wouldn't eat any pasta, rice, or potatoes. Even with dipping sauce. Even with melted cheese. Insane. I had no go-to meal for him. Plus, I refuse to make them different dinners. As it is, they eat at 6 or so and we eat later after they go to bed on week nights. If I can give them leftovers from our meal the night before, I do. Otherwise, I try to keep it pseudo-healthy and try not to fall back on the nuggets and mac & cheese too frequently.

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!

With such an insane TV habit, I've held off on getting Showtime for a LONG time. We have a 50" Plasma TV with full cable including HBO, a DVR, and Netflix...isn't that enough? The answer...NO. Actually, the cable company called me and told me it was cheaper for me to add in Showtime than to keep what I had b/c the price was going up. What could I do? Truely I had no choice but to add it in. Of course the movie selections are mediocre on all those pay channels, but the series are what really gets me. I will watch ANY series put out on HBO b/c almost all of them are awesome (more on that some other time). I had a feeling Showtime would be the same, but resigned myself to watching those shows on DVD after the fact and attempting not to be a complete glutton.

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

This is a shout out to my friend, C.C., who will love this topic...

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

Here are all the things that go against my green goals:
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

Like everyone else lately, I'm trying to be a bit more green. I've always been an aggressive recycler. I went to college in Vermont and I lived in a house that had a million different bins to divide everything and that was in the early 90's - white paper, colored paper, newspaper, cans, a few different kinds of plastic, etc. I seriously think there were 7 or 8. I got used to it and have done it ever since. Our recycling gets picked up every other week and we definintely have a ton every time.

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).

Some Things About Me

Here are some other 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

I've been doing a lot of cooking lately. Luckily, with a really flexible job, I'm home early enough to cook most nights. I made a pork tenderloin with apples, dates, onions, cumin and cinnamon that I got from Bon Appetit this past weekend that came out pretty good. It helps that it's wrapped in bacon - isn't everything better with bacon? I haven't cooked much with cumin and I think I liked it enough to try something else. I've been eating a lot of bacon lately. I also made a chicken breast (with bones and skin) that is browned in the pan after having cooked some bacon. Plus, my 2-year old loves it and we've had it with breakfast the last few weekends. Time out for bacon.

Hello

I've been wanting to do this for awhile. Honestly, coming up with a decent name has been keeping me from starting which is pretty silly. I'm not so crazy about this one, but I'm also Type A and wanted to start this as a 2008 project. Thanks to Bob for helping me create a starter name at least.

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.