Extra, Extra! Jules is Expecting!

Word has it that Julia Roberts is expecting her third baby this Summer! Don't forget, you heard it here first...in my October 31 "Wawaloha" post!

Congrats to Jules!!!

Sloth.

Usually I'm a get up and go kind of person. Take today for instance. It's the last business day of the year, I really don't have any pressing work to do. The Husband has to stick around for a conference call-- the bulk of the office has already left to enjoy their New Year's weekend. Typically I would have been out of here hours ago on a shopping excurison or otherwise. Not now. I thought about those things. I checked out my MTA map to see if there was any way possible of getting to (gasp!) Liz Lange via subway (not quite). I could have taken the BVFD (or whichever one of those actually goes to 59th street) to 59th street and then changed to a 6 train to 77th street but then I would have still had to walk from 77th and Third to Madison. It's not even that cold out! Nope, crossed off the list. Albee Baby Carriage? 95th and Amsterdam. Well-- I could take the 1 up to 96th and Broadway-- I would be but two small blocks away (mind you, normally I'd say take a cab, but today there are no cabs...) nope. again. no stamina. I just can't do it. I'm torn between pure inertia and the desire to shop, who knew pregnancy could do this, of all things???

A Few Things...

So, I've got lunch plans today and was asked for a confidentiality agreement that nothing said at lunch will appear on the blog. I do hope that means that lunch conversation today will be gossip-laden and exciting. :)

Also, it is official, I can be called a pregnant woman-- I received a Boppy as a gift. My dad didn't know what the hell a Boppy was and when I began the sentence with "breast feeding pillow" that was certainly more information than he needed to hear. What amazes me is that how someone has made millions out of what appears to be just a giant travel pillow. Why didn't I think of that?

No New Posts....

Sorry, no new posts for a while! I hope everyone's holidays were fun and enjoyable-- as usual we had way too much food!

You know you're married homeowner when...

Items on your shopping list for Christmas weekend include a turkey and a 12 volt battery and you have to call your spouse to locate the nearest Radio Shack.

For some reason, in connection with the battery replacement issue, all I can think of is Radio Raheem in Do the Right Thing, "D, motherf**ker, D"

Issues.

Today I have issues. Not only do I have the gum/tooth thing going on but now I have some goofy form of laryngitis (is that even how that's spelled?) Going back to the dentist this afternoon and am getting myself ready in the event that I'm told the wisdom tooth needs to be removed, without any numbing medication. I'm hoping that's not the case (and more importantly I'm hoping that thinking that will be sufficient to scare my tooth and gum into submission-- so that they snap out of it and stop hurting). Wish me luck.

Unfabulous

Today I am completely and utterly unfabulous. This is evidenced by the fact that I have on no make-up and am wearing cargo pants-- to work. I am actually wearing cargo pants to work, the Husband was completely humiliated. It would be one thing if they were cute cargo pants, but they're not, they're very much generic, maternity cargo pants that make me look like I should be a paratrooper or something. I had such a chaotic and unpleasant morning that I left the house with semi-wet hair and as a result actually brought my straightening iron to work with me. It's just one of those days and the disappointing part is that its not even Friday yet.

Friendly Advice

To the woman behind me in line at the automated postal machine at the Rockefeller Center Post Office:

No one is disputing that you're next in line. You really don't have to keep hitting me in the back with your package, especially since there is a large counter next to you that you may rest your package on. In fact, if you hit me one more time with that package both you and it will be unceremoniously shoved into the large package receptacle directly next to the automated postal machine.

To the woman behind my in line at Hale and Hearty Soups who pronounced "asparagus, potato and leek" as "As-para-goose, po-ta-too, LEEEK":

We're all in line for soup. Though some of us may choose to also purchase a half sandwich and achieve a "soup and sandwich combo", we are, nonetheless, ahead of you and looking to purchase soup. When the soup specialist calls out "may I have the next person for soup" you don't need to throw your hand up in the air and yell, "As-para-goose!", since there are at least 6 to 7 people ahead of you in line.

Just a little friendly advice from your local, angry pregnant woman. And, personal favor, please stop playing with those sleigh bells.

USPS

Okay, so who ever heard of a post office closing at 3:30pm, let alone 3:30pm during the holiday season? I of course had forgotten to buy packing tape at Target so when I got to the PO I could only send out 2 of my intended four packages because I had taped those up at home before running out. Silly me to think the post office would be open, I'd be able to buy tape and an extra box. Ha! Meanwhile, let's not forget that not only have I not sent out Christmas cards yet but I haven't even bought them. Ut-Oh.

Rachael Ray

So this morning I was watching the Rachael Ray Show (I know, I know... if only Tony Danza were still on!) anyway, she was making some sort of horrible Monte Cristo sandwich concoction with cornbread pancakes, turkey breast, ham and cheese sauce (I told you it was horrible)... and she's got the cheese sauce in a non-stick pot and she used a metal ladle to get the sauce out of the pan and totally scraped it along the bottom-- you could actually hear the scraping sound! Ugh! Use a plastic ladle, woman! You're going to ruin the non-stick! Then again, I guess I shouldn't be encouraging the use of cheese sauce in this instance anyway!

Score!

Okay, I have to share. I bought the Husband a sweater at Saks for his birthday. When I was there a few days ago to purchase said sweater I saw that they had really nice Zegna overcoats. The Husband has been wanting a nice Zegna overcoat and with the fifth anniversary coming up I suggested to him that maybe this would make a good gift. When the Husband opened the sweater on his birthday we realized that much to our dismay the salesman had left the security tag on.

Today I decided to bring in the sweater to get the tag taken off and also take back a Marc Jacobs sweater that sadly did not fit (I can't tell if it was designed for someone with shoulders like Tiki Barber or perhaps no shoulders... either way, it didn't fit me).

I vaguely recall having seen a message in my inbox this morning from Saks which said something to the effect of "give some, get some" implying it was one of their "If you spend $X you'll get a gift card for $Y..." I deleted it without paying much attention.

At lunch time I get ready to head off to Saks and luckily the Husband was able to join me (which was especially good because I am wearing ridiculously high heels today and me walking from my office to Saks required a major feet of engineering...)

We go up to the men's department to get the security tag off of the birthday sweater and lo and behold! Coats are on sale! More importantly the Zegna coats are 30% off! A lovely gentleman helps us locate the right size (54R-- Italian sizing) and we're all set! Next thing, we're offered to have the coat shipped to the house which means-- no tax! Then, David our salesman confirms that yes, we are quite eligible for a gift card.

After our purchase we head to the gift card redemption center and are told that not only do we get a gift card but we also got this neat book on New York... and (in typical retail fashion...) if we only spend just a little bit more we'll be at the next threshold and we'll get more than double our gift card money. Well, who can refuse that? So, I then proceed to participate in the gift card triathalon which includes the beauty floor gauntlet, Diane von Furstenberg relay and Missoni rack pull.

At the end of the day I managed to snag a new rain hat and get the gift card, Husband got a fabulous coat and we got a gift book thrown in. It was a total fit of retail hysteria, but it explains why as Thisbe knows, Saks is our happy place.

Useful Tip #202

If you're looking for a way to get people to not sit next to you on the subway, try carrying a large jug inside of a bag which is marked with the Haz-Mat symbol, and the words "24 Hour Urine Collection". Trust me, it works.

Ridiculousness...

Its 9:51pm and I'm at home, but I'm on a conference call. What's with that?

More Random Occurrences

Saw Andrew Shue from Melrose Place at our local tree farm. He's cute in person, though shorter than expected. It was one of those things where the husband and I and Andrew and his son were the only people shopping for trees, I noticed that he looked familiar and then at one point I was looking at him and he stared right at me as if to say, "would you leave me alone, I'm shopping for a tree!" (Much like the time that my mother was mesmerized by the Enigma in New Orleans...) after that I frantically waved over the husband and said, "I think that's Andrew Shue". The husband was not particularly impressed (not nearly as much as the time we saw Heather Graham massage her own butt, but that's a whole other story entirely).

And, on another note. Was watcing 60 Minutes again and again Andy Rooney was being a complete jackass. He did a whole little schtick about how people send him things and that he intends to put all of the stuff people have sent him over the years in a box, tie a ribbon around it and throw it away. What a ray of sunshine that man is, no?

Thoughts for the Day....

Is anybody actually going to go see Apocalypto?

What does it say about my Saturday night when I find myself making brownies at midnight while watcing Empire Strikes Back? (They were very good brownies, though).

Just Because They Serve You Doesn't Mean They Like You

So, I had this very long, very detailed post about what happened to me on Friday night and how I got stuck at work and had to cancel my dinner reservations. At the end of the day things worked out well, we still made it to the Nutcracker, we ended up sitting next to an older couple also from Princeton and then afterwards we had a lovely dinner with Melanie and Mike at an Italian place near Lincoln Center. All I really want to say about the first part of the evening is, for all of the employers out there... the best way to inspire complete disdain within your employees is be passive agressive. The tagline to Clerks said it best-- just because they serve you doesn't mean they like you.

1,000,000 Mile Saab...

Apparently, a man in Wisconsin drove his 1989 SAAB 900 SPG over 1,000,000 miles. I used to own a 1991 SAAB 900 S. It was great while I had it (until it started doing this thing where you would step on the gas and the car wouldn't go-- that can be problematic, and of course, there was also the whole thing where the windshield wipers would go on and off by themselves, but I just said that the car had "personality"). I do, however, have some doubt about the 1,000,000 mile mark. Not doubting that it hit 1,000,000 (okay, well maybe I do *doubt* that a SAAB made it that far...), but quite possibly, whether it actually went considerably more than that.

For instances, one time, after one of the drives from Atlanta to Ithaca, New York, the odometer indicated that when I got to Ithaca, I had only gone a total of 65 miles. Just for reference, MapQuest estimates this would have actually been a 958.46 mile drive. I guess those SAABs are just optimistic.

Hawaii's Favorite Treat...

I'm sitting in my office and the woman next door to me is on the phone. I just hear one word ring out through the rest of the droning conversation--- SPAM! And, immediately, my mind thinks... "Oooooooh, Spam!" Of course, I think she was talking about email spam, but in my current state all I could think of was pork shoulder and ham-- Spam! Thank God I don't have access to any Spam right now. So much for trying to eat healthy.

Farewell to Max

Sadly, we learned on Monday that George Clooney's pig Max passed away. Let's all have a moment of silence for Max, and perhaps now, George may be ready to break down and find a wife!

Making my Mark on Rockefeller Center

So, I'm pregnant. Rumor has it pregnant women have morning sickness. This is a myth. I'm certain a myth possibly created by a man, because "morning" sickness doesn't do it justice. It really should be known as something along the line of: "Any Time of The Day or Night If You're Awake, Or Even If You're Asleep, You're Going To Get The Shit Kicked Out of You Sickness"

It was 12pm and I was very, very hungry. The Pria Bar from this morning was just not doing the job and I needed to *eat*. For me, the "morning" sickness beast can be somewhat calmed by eating. Of course, this has to be done carefully, since one morning I ate a graham cracker stick and the old body decided we're never eating those again. Yet things like egg mcmuffins, they do just fine.

So the husband and I head down into the concourse to find lunch. After deciding against the selections at Hale and Hearty we make our way up the escalator to the main floor in 30 Rock to head out to Citarella. Unfortunately, we get to the top of the escalator and there is some sort of noxious fume. Husband claims it was a significant quantity of cigarette smoke, to me it was like mustard gas. Two inhales of this and I'm doubled over. All I can managed to make out to say is, "I have to get away from that smell!"

Next thing I know, I'm up against one of the walls of the lobby, eyes watering, coughing, doubled over. The poor husband keeps saying to me, "let's move over to one of the buckets"-- there are potted plants scattered about the lobby area, and I've suddenly turned into Linda Blair. My mind thinking "I'M NOT MOVING OVER TO ANYTHING, THROWING UP HERE IS JUST FINE!!!!!!!" At the end of the day all that really happens to me (besides the racking of my body by coughs and other unpleasantries) is that my head begins producing an entirely too great amount of saliva, tears and for lack of a better descriptive term, clear snot, etc., etc. Essentially, my entire head tries to produce my body weight in fluid, mostly coming out of my nose and eyes. In a few minutes, I'm fine and I can make my way to Citarella to pick up food... but I think the most important thing to take away from episodes like this is at some point in your life that sense of decorum which is usually very important to maintain can be thrown by the wayside.

Breaking the News...

Careful blog followers may have already figured this out, but I figured it was about time to break the news (after having already notified friends and family...) we are expecting!

Reactions have varied. Most people are extremely happy and excited for us. Dave, of course, had already figured it out, and yet another friend actually rushed me off the phone before I had the chance to tell them. Boy, nothing kills the excitement like that, huh? All in all things have been going well, though I have managed to experience every pregnancy symptom in the book. I've got morning sickness (otherwise known as any time you're awake sickness), nosebleeds, general tiredness and malaise and on Sunday I was sidelined by a migraine. No terribly exotic food cravings yet, though I will say that food commercials on television are having an unusual amount of sway in my mind.

Not to mention, there's the whole "emotional" thing going on. I made the mistake of watching The Lake House with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock and even though I had already read the spoiler and knew how it ended (and more specifically, I knew that Keanu doesn't die and they do end up together) I still bawled terribly. One night on the way home, Dean Martin music made me get bleary-eyed. Anyone who was at my wedding knows that I have a tendency to blubber easily, but this is just getting ridiculous.

Anyhoo, you may notice a few posts that seem out of order-- I'm going to start putting up some of the posts that I have written over the past few weeks that I hadn't yet made available to the general, unknowing public.

Be aware, we will be finding out if we're having a boy or a girl-- I'll have that info probably next month.

Love and Kisses,
Wonder

Thoughts for the Day...

Puff Plus with lotion. I love those damn things. After two days of bloody nose and a weekend of lots of nose blowing thanks to a miserable head cold, nothing was quite as refreshing as Puffs Plus. Kleenex had truly become like sand paper.

Sadly, For Your Consideration was pretty lame. Dave was a good sport and let us all go and see it during our Chrismukkah celebration, but the general consensus was that the only good line in the movie was-- "Next shot, a close up on the kugel."

Of course, 410e9th tried to cause trouble by claiming that I was talking about how bad the reviews were before the movie, when really, to be fair, so was he! :) But we gave it a go anyway.

A few more random, Larry King-like observations...

Domino's new Brooklyn style pizza is pretty darn good-- shout out to the Folks. They suggested we try it. What can I say, yesterday I was totally out of commission with a migrane and the head cold remnants. All grand plans to make Green Curry Chicken went out the window.

A Rose Grows in December???

Who knew? This lovely rose was growing in the backyard!

The Nativity Story New at IKEA

Leave it to Italy for politcians to suggest a boycott of IKEA because the store doesn't carry nativity scenes.

A representative from IKEA summed up the store very concsisely, indicating that: "we sell furniture and typical products from Scandinavia like meatballs and herring... rather than Nativity scenes which are more of a southern European tradition." Ah yes, meatballs, herring and a nativity scene, because apparently Italians like to display nativity scenes around their house at Christmas.

I thoroughly believe this since many Italians (both in Italy and elsewhere in the world) also like having statutes of the Virgin Mary on their front lawns. My question is, why would that translate into expecting that a Scandinavian furniture store in Italy would be compelled to stock such items? Besides, what would the nativity scene be named at IKEA-- the Nativiklop? the Bethlekoov?

Nosebleed!

And I'm not talking about bad seats at Yankee Stadium. Have you ever had one of these? The mom has had a history with nosebleeds (including the one that wouldn't stop and required cauterization.... ouch!) as was the grandfather... I've only had a few brushes previously with nosebleed imposters. This morning I got a gusher. I've had a cold for the past week and it seems to come and go and last night it was in rare form. All night my right nostril was completely plugged. At one point at about 4:30am I rolled over onto my left side and it opened just a bit but not enough to make sleeping like that comfortable, so I just rolled back to my right and was contented to only be able to breathe out of one side of my head. At about 5:27am I asked my poor husband to go downstairs and get me a bottle of ginger ale. Did I mention the sore throat? I figure it had to be a combination of half breathing out of my mouth and half some kind of awful post nasal drip (pleasant!) Miraculously the ginger ale seemed to do the trick. I managed to sleep soundly until 7:30.

Then I'm up and around, I shower, etc. and after I brush my teeth I realize that my nose is starting to unclog but I clearly have to blow my nose. It was one of those feelings where it seems like the Titanic is quickly sinking and if you don't act fast it will be at the bottom of the Atlantic. If you don't get rid of some ballast quickly, you'll be all congested once again. I take my opportunity. I don't even blow my nose with much force or gusto. What happens? All blood! Freaky, scary, bright red BLOOD! I semi freak out. Blood actually starts coming out of my nose independently and dripping on furniture. I tilt my head back and realize that's a bad idea! The husband tries to calm me down and suggests I stuff a tissue up my nose. I don't want to be one of "those" people, but really there's nothing else to do. This goes on for a good ten minutes. We have to leave for work.

By this time I have a headache in what I imagine to be the origin of the nosebleed somewhere up in between my eye and my nose. I have a bottle of Evian and a pack of tissues and we're trying to get to work. I find that the Evian bottle, when squished into my eye socket relieves some of the headache pain. We're driving on route 1 and I have a tissue shoved up one nostril and a bottle of Evian on my eye. I must have looked like a million bucks.

Eventually things seem to quiet down, we've moved on to my nose now just being runny and there doesn't seem to be any more blood. I get onto the train and try and sleep for a bit. When I arrive in NY apparently the jolt of having to stand and walk around made my nose decide, what the hell, let's start up again! It was less than before, but still, doesn't it just seem a little odd and unnatural for blood to be coming out of your nose? I'm at the job now and things seem to be better, though I'm still congested and at any time I might use that Evian bottle again.

Overheard in New York

Last night I left work and as I was walking west on 50th Street between 6th and 7th a Grey Line double decker tourist bus was heading in the opposite direction. Atop the bus was the tour guide using his microphone to tell this bus full of tourists all kind of odd information about Manhattan. Just as the bus went by, a random pedestrian yelled at the top of his lungs to the bus passengers, "Don't listen to him, he doesn't know what he's talking about. It's all LIES!"

Wow!

It's been six days since my last post and I'm having serious blogger withdrawal. What can I say, I didn't open my own computer since last Tuesday. Much was going on over the Thanksgiving weekend, a tremendous amount of cooking (Wednesday was lasagna, Thursday was turkey, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, onion tartlets, green beans and the infamous Sonny's baked beans and last night was pulled pork, macaroni and cheese, home made cole slaw and corn bread...) interspersed with various pizzas, White Castle and all other such generally unhealthy but tasty stuff.

We also managed to finally see Casino Royale which is the longest Bond film known to man. Okay, Kudos to Daniel Craig. He was good-- rugged, actually muscular so it is believeable that he could do some of these stunts and stuff, but how long do you need to be playing poker for? The poker game went on for like four days. Why did they need to start out with ten players? Couldn't they have had five, double the buy in and let the game last half as long? And, how long would it take you to sail from the Bahamas to Venice? And, Eva Green. Bond Girl goes boring. Vesper Lynd was nothing but unlikeable.

I will also give kudos to the scenery-- they went to Lake Como, twice (and once again proved that yes, Venice and Lake Como are within driving distance of each other) ;) Though something's telling me Bond didn't make the trip in a BMW wagon.

Rosie, Kelly and Clay

I was reading my entertainment news today and saw a piece on how there was a feud brewing between Rosie O'Donnell and Kelly Ripa. Apparently, while Clay Aiken was co-hosting Live with Kelly he put his hand over her mouth to keep her from speaking (because really, what fill-in co-host wouldn't do that...??) and Kelly made a remark essentially saying, don't put your hand near me, I don't know where it's been.

Rosie, of course, comes on The View and goes on about how Kelly is homophobic. Rosie indicates that Kelly certainly wouldn't have made that remark if her co-host were someone like.... Mario Lopez. I'm sorry, Rosie, but get real with your examples. I'd have to say I'd be just as likely, if not more so to say that I didn't know where Mario's hands had been... I mean geesh, the man couldn't stay faithful to Ali Landry for five minutes, does it look like Clay ever even has had a date, with man, woman or vegetable?

Even better, I hadn't even thought of the best angle out of this whole story. While Rosie was being so quick to point a finger at a "homophobe" didn't she perhaps just "out" Clay??? Shouldn't that have been his decision, if he even is gay? Maybe Rosie would like to answer everybody's burning "is he or isn't he" questions... Tom Cruise? Anderson Cooper? Oh, wait, silly me, heaven forbid we could respect someone's privacy!

Over the River and Through the Woods...

Okay, so in preparation for Thanksgiving, I just wanted to let everyone know that the folks are heading into town. They started their journey at some point in the middle of the night (4am?) and are motoring their way up the Eastern Seaboard as I type this. The parents also happen to have two very important things in tow, Sonny's baked beans and a fifteen pound turkey. I had tried to get a turkey at Wegman's but when I went last week they hadn't put out their usual Thanksgiving spread. There was one lone mini Butterball in the freezer case and a bunch of off brand birds. I think it is fair to say that only a mom and dad would consider hauling a fifteen pound Butterball in their Volkswagen Bug Convertible fifteen hours to New Jersey.

Thanks Mom and Daaaaaad!!!!

No Rest for the Weary...

So last night I slept and I dreamed. However, it was not a peaceful sleep. Instead in my dreams I was performing in some sort of competition and when it was over, I said in my sleep-unconscious state, "Now I have to go up and vacuum."

Other random thoughts for today. Speaking of vacuuming, you know those commercials with James Dyson where he goes on and on about finally having invented a vacuum that "doesn't lose suction?" Yeah, well. I managed to find a way to make a Dyson lose suction.

Suck up an entire roll of gift wrap ribbon through the wand attachment.

I was vacuuming the bedroom, using the wand to get at dust bunnies under the dresser and the next thing I know I hear a "thup." "Thup, thup, thuppppppppppppp!" I pull the wand out from under the dresser in just enough time to see the suction from the wand frantically unravelling the ribbon from its little plastic caddy thing and the next thing I know it pulls the taped end right off the caddy and the ribbon is gone. Then the Dyson starts getting much quieter than usual and I notice it really doesn't have the same suction strength as before. I use it a bit more and when it kind of starts to smell like something is burning (always a bad sign) I finally decide I'll empty the cannister.

Yeah. That was a mistake. I go to unhook the canister and its so full that a giant dust bunny falls out of the hole in the cannister where dust goes in and then it is followed by a waterfall of green gift wrap ribbon. Ooops.

Once I emptied it, things worked fine again, but I think this may explain why I felt the need to vacuum in my dreams.

Hmpf. What else. Grocery shopping the Sunday before Thanksgiving should be considered a contact sport.

And, finally, on Saturday I got to spend some quality time with Mel and Thisbe and the Wee Kraken! It was much fun and we must do it again soon.

Wedding Tips for the New Mrs. Cruise

Msnbc has a useful little article this morning onWedding Tips for the New Mrs. Cruise. Some of my favorites include: "there’s nothing wrong with your marriage that vitamins and exercise can’t fix", "to be safe, it’s probably best if you just stopped aging all together" and, lets not forget that in 1996 Tom Cruise rescued a family at sea. Hopefully, now that they're getting married, all this hubbub can stop and we can get back to the really interesting celebrity news like who has Angelina Jolie's security team manhandled this week.

This morning I woke up far too late. I was tired from staying up late the night before, having waited for the husband to get home, and having made stir fry and subsequently having eaten myself into a food stupor. Yellow rice flavored with a generous serving of lemon, chicken stir fry with green peppers, yellow peppers, orange peppers, bean sprouts, mushrooms, carrots, zucchini... yum. (What can I say, I was watching Top Chef and got carried away).

So this morning I had approximately 20 minues to pull myself together. I didn't have an outfit picked out, and I had to shower. Bad things. I manage to shower, try to fix my hair, brush my teeth and am then struggling to find an outfit. It's supposed to rain heavily this evening so this creates shoe consequences. Thought about wearing wellies (with work shoes to change into)... couldn't find brown tights. Ended up with a brown corduroy theory pleated mini skirt and a pink sweater. Pulled out the black riding boots from J Crew. Ran downstairs in socks, a t-shirt carrying my boots and the sweater (luckily my coat was in the car).

Once I put my shoes on I realize that the skirt I am wearing is entirely too short to have on without tights. I hadn't ever really noticed this before. I always wear tights in fall/winter under skirts and hadn't really noticed that this is a bit too much like a cheerleader skirt and if I sit down the wrong way someone is going to get a glimpse of waaaay too much thigh. Somehow, when said thigh is swathed in tights it just doesn't seem trashy. Now, with just boot socks on, I suddenly felt naked.

I figured, okay, I'll go to Duane Reade. Surely, they'll have tights. Well, yes and no. At first blush all I found were black ribbed queen size tights from L'eggs. I briefly toyed with the idea of going to the Gap, but they don't open until 10. I managed to scour through the racks and find at least a size B. Thanks to the ridiculous amount of stretch in these tights they actually fit better than the "small" pair I bought from Banana. Of course, they too are ribbed and black. Luckily when they're on you really can't tell what color they are, but I am generally, more mismatched than I would like to be.

Note to self to make tomorrow a better day: Wake up earlier, or at least pick out an outfit ahead of time!

iPod Gremlins

Do you ever get that feeling that certain electronic equipment may have a 6th sense that allows them to read your mind?

For instance, yesterday on the train on my way home I pulled out my iPod. This being the new iPod referenced in a post last month. Now I had just listened to the thing the night before. I knew it was charged and I knew it had been working. I press the center button and what ho. Nothing happens. The screen is blank. No apple symbol comes up on the screen-- nothing. I think, okay, you must not have hit the button, try again. Try I do and same result-- no response. It is at this point when I think to myself: "I can't believe you. It hasn't even been a month, and already-- broken, what's it going to be this time. Damn you, iPod." but then, the fog lifts, my brain responds with-- "wait, this is no big deal. We've got the buyer protection plan from Best Buy. We'll take this puppy back and get a new one, thank *god* we bought that!"

And it is at that instant that the Apple symbol flashed on the screen and everything started working.

Its like the iPod knew it was being threatened with a return.

Overheard in the Office....

From snotty co-worker:

"I hate people like that. That's why lawyers get a bad name."

No, actually its people like you that give lawyers a bad name.

Sexiest Man Alive

People has named its Sexiest Man Alive for this year-- George Clooney. I know, I know, he's got that strange head bobble thing, but I just love him. People is trying hard to make up for when they gave the title to Nick Nolte in 1992.

The Tourist, or Mr McGregor

Okay, so can anyone help me locate where "The Tourist" is being filmed here in the Big Apple? I've been taunted by a couple of postings on the Gawker "Stalker" map, but I'd love to be able to try and find that great convergence of both Ewan McGregor and Hugh Jackman. (The husband claims he saw Ewan once at LaGuardia, but I don't have an autograph or a photo, so it's as good as a claim to have seen Bigfoot ordering a latte at Starbucks).

I'm too Sexy

Thanks to over an hour of work-related citrix computer problems it is now 1:06am, I'm not alseep, but instead I'm listening to Right Said Fred on my iPod.

I thought the torture was over when I left the office.

Luna Bars...

I've always wanted to like granola bars. Ever since I was a kid I got hooked in by the creepy Quaker Oats man and the image of those granola bars with little chocolate chips in them. I don't know why. I'm not a fan of trail mix, I hate oatmeal, farina, cream of wheat and all of that. I've also had an odd relationship with yogurt, however, also wanting to be able to "develop a taste for" that... something which I had managed to do right up until I had that one bad experience. Anyway, I digress. While some people try to have an "acquired" taste for beer, I try and acquire a taste for strange health foods (which I understand is completely counter to the fact that I won't eat fruit-- though, in my defense, I will eat fruit products and I have been very proud of myself that at the age of 30 I bought a juicer and have made a concerted effort to learn to love orange juice).

These days I'm in need of vitamins. I used to eat Frosted Flakes cereal bars for breakfast until they no longer carried them at Wegmans. Then one day, at brunch, a friend of a friend was talking about how on a walk around Manhattan up in Inwood she couldn't even find a Luna Bar. I had tried Pria bars, but never a Luna Bar. I filed this away in my memory.

The other day I was at Wegmans and I was drawn in to the power bar aisle. It is a scary place, really, burt's bees products on one side of the aisle and box upon box of various power bar related products on the other side. Cliff Bars, Luna Bars, Power Bars, Protien Bars, Pria Bars. Who even knows what to buy? And they all have strange "flavor" names like Dulce de Leche, Lemon Zest. Really, how is it that we're going to make this thing taste like Lemon Zest? Well. I got lured in. I bought a cookies and creme Luna Bar.

The next day at work, I try it. I'll give them credit, it's not half bad looking, at first. It kind of looks like someone made a rice krispie treat out of Cocoa Pebbles and then dipped the whole thing in a small layer of some sort of speckled frosting product. So for the taste. It leaves a bit to be desired. As long as you get some of the frosting stuff it's okay, but the main problem is that you have to look at this thing as its coming closer to your mouth. I swear, I think I saw tree bark.

I know, I know, it has folic acid, calcium, iron, various alphabetical vitamins, but still. Tree bark. It was in there. I know it.

Saturday Night Live

We managed to snag tickets to Saturday Night Live thanks to the ticket lottery which is held each August. Back in September I got a call saying we were on for the 11/11/06 show. We were both very excited when we found out that we'd be seeing Alec Baldwin and Christina Aguilera.

So, we headed into the city at about 6pm and thanks to theater traffic we ended up dropping the car off and heading to dinner at about 7:51pm. (After already having had to yell at other NJ drivers trying to navigate the merge into the Holland Tunnel.) Because apparently the family of four in the Hyundai Elantra just doesn't care if they're trying to drive us into traffic cones.

Anyhoo, we grabbed dinner and ended up heading over to 30 Rock at 9:30. We had been told to ask for "Kat's Line" and to get there not later than 10:15. By the time we got there there were already three lines formed and at least 20-30 people ahead of us in "Kat's Line." I'm at Rockefeller Center five days a week. I've just never had to actually stand in the lobby in a line after hours with no HVAC before. It was roasting. I should have known better and brought a bottle of water, but the NBC Pages made it very, very clear that going to the bathroom was verboten so I guess it's for the best that I didn't have any liquids on me. At about 10:30 we made our way through the metal detectors and up in an elevator to the 8th floor. This was just meant to bring us that much closer to the studio, to again wait in line. At least, however, we were now in a hallway at NBC which was actually air conditioned. All of us with lottery tickets were on one side of a hallway and all of the actual "Guests" glided right by us on the other side of the velvet rope. After a while the couple in front of us got too tired of standing and decided to sit on the ground (and they also whipped out a cross word puzzle). A bit later, two snooty snotty girls who thought they were Paris Hilton walk past this scene and say "This is soooo awkward." Moments later NBC Page Nazis come by and tell the two in front of us that they *have* to stand up. Meanwhile, we're just standing, waiting... I saw a partner from my old firm wander by with his wife-- sure he was in the "guest" line! Ha! Then we saw Stephen Baldwin, Kirsten Dunst and, much to the husband's delight, Maria Bartiromo (who looks much younger in person, by the way).

At about 11:20 they finally led us into the studio which is actually much smaller in person than it appears on tv. We managed to get front row seats but they were on the far left, but since so many of the skits are done on movable sets randomly scattered about the studio, there seemed to be no good seat and no bad seat in the house. In the moments before the show started we were both reprimanded for having our feet on the railing in front of our row and the husband got a nod of acknowledgement from Tracy Morgan who was sitting on a drum kit basically four feet below our seats.

Then the show started... (and someone explain to me how the partner from my old firm actually had a floor seat-- better, in fact, than even Stephen Baldwin???) Alec, Tracy and Tina Fey did the opening monologue. A few skits in, who shows up in the studio but Steve Martin, Martin Short and Paul McCartney!?! Then, the next thing we know, while Alec is doing his Tony Bennett bit, who comes out (and enters the set from right below our seats) but the real Tony Bennett? (The husband gets kudos for this because for the past week he's been wondering aloud whether Tony Bennett would make an appearance...)

Let's not forget Christina, by the way. There was certainly no lip synching going on during her performance. Let's not forget, too, that Christina and Tony did a duet as well. Anyhoo, it was all pretty neat. Especially being close enough to be able to read the cue cards and see that Alec Baldwin does a lot of spot on improvisation.

Once the show was over, we all filed out, but thanks to the husband's quick thinking we made a detour past the closest exit so we could both walk past the "essence" of Maria and get within close range of Stephen Baldwin. It was pretty cool, sure he's the crazy Baldwin, but who didn't love him in the Usual Suspects? I got to walk right past him on the way out! At the end of the night I blackberried with the partner from my old firm. We both agreed, great show. of course, he was off to the afterparty, we, well, we were off to New Jersey.

I told him to make sure he said hi to Sir Paul for me.

Lame Excuses...

Okay, so today I don't really have anything interesting to say (which I know, makes the terrible presumption that any of these posts really say anything interesting!) Anyhoo. I went to H&M on my way back from lunch and though I was very, very tempted to buy a black 100% cashmere ballet wrap sweater, I realized that it was approximately the same price as it would be at Bloomingdales. H&M is supposed to be about bargains. Checked out the Viktor & Rolf collection-- not nearly as interesting as last year's Stella McCartney line that sent shoppers into a riot.

Finally, I'm reserving more interesting things for tomorrow. We have tickets to see Saturday Night Live (the real, live performance at 11:30, not just the 8pm dress rehearsal). I've been told I can't take pictures (but as we recall from the Faith Healer/Ralph Fiennes post this hasn't stopped me before). I'm hopeful that I'll have stories to tell.

Love and Kisses,
Wonder

Tights...

A quick random posting about opaque tights (since it appears that a number of people have been interested in my search for opaque tights at old navy).... I went to Banana Republic (the same day I tried to exchange my boots) and saw some interesting tights. I ordered them over the internet-- they seemed to be kind of ribbed and mostly cotton. They were a bit pricey for tights... when they arrived at home I took them out of the package and even though they are a "small/medium" they are appoximately the length of a football field. I know they really don't have stretch in them so they have to be relatively close to real size, but come on?? I put them on and there was so much excess tights left over they already bagged up at my ankles. I thought to myself, fine I'll just pull them up really high like a girdle. Wrong. They were made for a 6 foot tall woman yet had an incredibly short rise, if you get my drift. They were super-low-rise 6 foot long tights. Because there's really such a great demand for that product.

Faster than a Speeding Locomotive...

This morning we're on the platform, in our usual spot awaiting the train. Since I logged a complaint on the NJTransit website the 8:23am train has been showing up at approximately 8:19 which is just early enough so that the "dinky" riders from Princteon Proper haven't managed to arrive at the station yet. While this tactic hasn't actually eased any of the excessive overcrowding on the train it does give those of us who drive to the station a leg up on the dinky riders. (Though this has meant having to run from the car to the platform as we hear the train approaching). A unique answer to my compliant that there aren't enough cars in the train.

Today, however, was different. Today they had a different engineer than usual (though, by no mistake not an engineer that we haven't encountered before). This morning the train was three minutes late. Perhaps in an attempt to make up this difference, the train barrels up to the platform. We all step within the "yellow" line, but it's one of those things where you can completely tell: THE TRAIN IS COMING TOO FAST. ITS NOT GOING TO STOP.

About three weeks ago we had encountered this problem for the first time. The train blew right past the platform. It ended up stopping about three hundred feet from the end of the platform. Waited there (as if it were at it's usual stopping place, ready to accept passengers), didn't back up to the platform to actually pick up the passengers... and then just rolled away. On that day, out of some sort of random miracle everybody was let on the Amtrak which used to come at 8:36 (which has now been permanently suspended after three mysterious fare hikes...)

So, this morning we're all pretty much expecting a repeat of the last time. As the front car sped past us on the platform you could see the engineer (who looked to be about 16) fumbling in the cabin frantically looking for the brakes. He managed to stop the train with three or four cars still on the platform. This, however, threw the conductors into a tizzy because they had to now figure out how to only open the doors in the cars on the platform and not any of the doors of the cars which were just suspended over open track. We sit. Waiting. There are people inside the train who want to get off. It's a tense moment. We're all half expecting the train to just pull away (because, that would be typical of NJTransit).

Surprisingly the doors open, people are let on. Its the usual stampede for seats. We politely ask the conductor to remind the engineer that when he gets to Penn Station, there will be a wall at the end of the track so he may want to take it easy.

Dewey Beats Truman

Okay, so I know at the end of the day Bob Menendez did beat Tom Kean, Jr. (and really people, it's spelled KEAN not KANE, it's like Brett Favre-- pronounce it how it's spelled, but I digress...) but last night at approximately 8:30 Wolff Blitzer and Anderson Cooper on CNN were "giving New Jersey" to Bob Menendez even though only 5% of the polls were reporting and Tom Kean, Jr. had 51% of the vote! Their rationale was "well, you know, New Jersey is a "blue state", it's always heavily Democratic." Okay, but I've turned on CNN *while the elections are happening* not for a prediction or for their analysis, but actually for them to report the news. So, if at 8:30pm, with 5% of precincts reporting Tom Kean, Jr. has *more* votes than Bob Menedez, then he is, at least at that moment, winning. Give the man a break, let him have that false sense of hope. I mean they didn't even back it up by saying that the precincts not yet reporting are historically democratic, yada, yada, yada, just that "Jersey is a "blue state"."

I mean, if it's 11:30pm and the Yankees are playing a game on the West Coast and the score is 5-3 in favor of the Angels, or whomever, does Marv Albert tell us that based on the Yankee's having won the World Series 26 times we're just going to give them the game?


ps. Random Thought of the Day: What does it say about a person when an Egg McMuffin settles their stomach?

When Co-Workers Attack.

Bad enough that I go into the ladies room and get trapped into a conversation about a conference call scheduled for later this afternoon, but as I'm exiting I'm told by my pregnant co-worker, "You look tired, but you don't have nearly as good an excuse to look tired as I do."

Yeah, whatever makes you feel better about yourself. I may have generally lost much of my motor skills and the will to live generally but I am dressed in matching clothes, my hair is combed and I have lipstick on!

Weird Dreams....

So I'm sure this is in part spurred on by that commercial for sleep medication that has Abe Lincoln and a badger in it, but this morning was my turn for a weird dream.

I was at a work sponsored holiday party (but in true dream fashion it wasn't my actual work, it was some other, more glam, fictional work...) and I was waiting in the buffet line for deli sandwiches with Woody Allen and Diane Keaton. It was great, we all knew each other, Benny Goodman's "Sing Sing Sing" was playing. If only Alan Alda had been there.

And no, I haven't recently been watching Manhattan Murder Mystery.

Random Thoughts...

So, here's my Larry King-esque posting for the weekend.

How nice is it when you just happen to be sitting on the couch with your laptop and all of a sudden a little grey cat comes and curls up next to you and starts to purr. (Okay, maybe she's not so little, but she's still all soft and warm, so that counts for something!)

Cupcakes. Mini cupcakes. I love mini cupcakes.

Another nice thing is to have the Sunday paper (the New York Times is especially nice. I'm still a sucker for the weddings section, and real estate. I just realized I haven't even cracked a page yet!

Random thought. When I bought tickets to go on the Radio City Music Hall Backstage tour, I really didn't expect that a tour of the men's room would be part of the package. I also didn't expect that a stop at the ladies room would be featured and that a couple of men from Barcelona would follow us ladies on the tour into said ladies room.

Antiques Roadshow...

In response to Thursdays post, what do you do to follow up Pizza on Wednesday? Burger King on Thursday. Truly a food mistake. So that meant we had to try and do something decent on Friday. We figured we would go to Serafina for pizza, but considering last time we went somehow we managed to score the very in corner table at 61st Street I didn't want to press my luck. I knew I was totally unfabulous and would get stuck in the back by the pizza oven. So we chose Inagiku in the Waldorf, thanks in part to Open Table.

It was great, the husband got some sort of fancy shmancy beef flown in from Japan (down side of which is he had to cook it himself on a hot stone presented to our table) and I got chicken yakitori and spicy chicken rolls.

Lo and behold, while sitting and enjoying our dinner who walks by with his son but one of the Keno brothers! What is even more odd is that this is the second time we've run into this Keno at a restaurant, the last time being about two years ago at Serafina on 79th Street. I still have no idea if it is Leigh or Les, but does it matter- it's still totally random!

Advice...

Don't order pizza on Wednesday. Last night we had pizza. Now it's Thursday and the thrill is gone. What are we going to have for dinner tonight that's fun and exciting and a way to say Friday is almost here, it's almost the weekend? Nothing! All the fun is gone. What a let down. Pizza on Wednesday, what for dinner on Thursday, pasta? Frozen pizza? Ugh. How lame.

The Hog of Steel

In response to Ana's message, for a full bibliography and images of the infamous Wonder Warthog...

Zoophobia! Zootopia, Zoo something or other...

We went to the Bronx Zoo on Sunday with Dave, Emily, Jake, Raf and Katie...

The Cheetah was bored, generally.



Birds in motion!

Lunchtime Adventures

I went to Banana Republic to exchange a pair of boots for a different size and to return the oft-discussed wool pants that I've been meaning to return for over a month. I go and I try on replacement boots in a size 7 1/2 and all seems right with the world. I go up to the counter and ask whether I can do an even exchange-- and am told that I can. With one hiccup. My original boots (bought online and sent to New Jersey) were sans sales tax. This completely stymied the employee. He tells me, it's an even exchange, but you'll owe $14.74 in sales tax." But I say, "it's an even exchange". He agrees, but then he follows this picurean logic by saying, that I'm "buying" the new boots in New York, so there's sales tax. It's a "state thing" and "there's nothing" that he can do about it. But "I'm not 'buying' the boots, I'm exchanging them!" I say. Then I ask to speak to a manager and I get the famous-- "he'll tell you the same thing." But wait. If I'm doing an exchange, this Banana still has a pair of boots to sell-- New York will still make its sales tax. If they charge me sales tax and then some other poor lug tax on the pair of boots I'm exchanging NY has now made $30 dollars off this whole thing. So, eventually I gave up. He didn't quite get it and tries to give me back the boots I was going to exchange. I remind him that they don't fit and I want my money back! Finally I just ordered a new pair on the web. Geesh.

My second lunchtime adventure happened at McDonald's. I know, I shouldn't be going to McDonald's anyway, especially since there's always one McNugget in the bunch that's shaped like a boot. But, to McDonald's I went and I asked for their hot mustard sauce for my McNuggets. I knew in advance this might be problematic because on more than one occasion in the past I have only ended up with actual mustard, rather than mustard sauce. What do I get this time? A packet of mustard and a tube of "mild picante" sauce. Who even knew McDonald's carries picante sauce!?! Is this given to those rare brave souls who actually buy a breakfast burrito? Needless to say I went back to the counter and asked to "exchange" my sauce for sweet and sour. Luckily they didn't try and charge me sales tax.

Ever meet

one of those people who starts all of their conversations in the middle of a sentence? Possibly, a sentence not even about the present but about an event that happened yesterday, or the day before? For instance, I just had someone pop into my office and start saying:

"very verbal, she's really very verbal, cute kid isn't she?"

I'm assuming he's taking about his daughter who visited the office yesterday, but it's a little odd because I haven't spoken to this man in at least a week and I didn't speak to him or his wife or daughter yesterday-- I just saw them pass by my door in the middle of the day.

This is similar to last week when he popped into the office of my co-worker (with whom I was sitting, as we were actively engaged in a conference call) and he shouts into the office something to the effect of "we collected $85 grand on that one!"

What one? What are you talking about? We're not working on anything together, we don't even know what you mean!?!

Wawaloha!

Happy Halloween! Unfortunately, I don't have an exciting costume. I'm just dressed as a boring lawyer today-- what else is new.

I've already, though, heard some interesting things today.

My co-worker in the next office was talking about how the King of Spain (being a former, 19th century King of Spain) was in the chain of title for the 57,000 acres of land in New Mexico which is part of a deal she is working on. It's never a good thing when oil and gas leases and references to European monarchs are all shown in a title report. She also keeps arguing with various people about how a trip to New Mexico isn't warranted. I just want to make sure that somehow I don't get stuck being sent to New Mexico. As that troublesome t-shirt from Urban Outfitters used to say, New Mexico. Cleaner than Old Mexico. (or something to that effect).

Rumor has it Julia Roberts may be pregnant again. This is good news for everyone who is currently pregnant because the only other famous people pregnant right now are Sofia Coppola (Sofia is not bad, but she doesn't count because she's already like 7 months along) and Tori Spelling. Tori Spelling. Unacceptable.

Thoughts on last night's episode of Heroes? I was generally saddened-- there was too much Niki, not enough Hiro and Ando.

Thoughts on the Bachelor? I haven't seen it yet, but since Tuesday is generally a bad night on TV, I expect I'll be making the husband watch last night's episode when we get home.

Thoughts on Reese and Ryan? I always thought she was too good for him. Sorry, Ryan.

In other fronts, we went to the Zoo on Sunday. It was pretty lame. Great company, lame zoo. I'll post pictures soon!

Love and Kisses,
Wonder Warthog

Black Strap Molasses and Key Lime Pie...

When you feel the way I feel right now having to hear how your co-worker ate an entire bag of fritos really doesn't help matters.

Amazing Race....

Now that the Amazing Race is on Sunday nights, it seems every week the 4pm football game runs over which means 60 Minutes cuts into the Amazing Race and everything gets all backed up. What this has meant for me is that for the past couple of weeks I've gotten stuck watching Andy Rooney. Sure, Andy Rooney might have had a good sense of humor when I was a kid but by now he's mostly just an old coot.

College Saturdays...

Okay, so I know that Ana loves college football, but I went to Cornell. This means that my most exciting college football memory was the day that our marching band assaulted the Princeton Tiger (which, by the way, Leda and I almost missed since we decided to take a bus out to East Hill Plaza to get lottery tickets during half time. Hey, you never know.)

So today, the only thing on tv has been college football. Navy and Notre Dame, etc., etc. All I can do is while away the hours until Ebert & Roeper is on.

More Movie Quotes...

Sent by 410e9th and I just thought it was appropos, especially on a Friday afternoon.

"Why are you asking questions about dead lawyers?"

New York's Best Doctors, 2006

So, the doctor I've been seeing needed to give me some referals. I got three names, lets call them, Manny, Moe and Jack. I call up Manny's office and I'm told that Manny won't be practicing after January. Any alternative's? Manny's office gives me the number for Moe and Jack (as if there aren't any other doctors in town). I do a quick Google search for Moe and lo and behold I find that Moe has been sued (and lost) for malpractice for just the sort of think that I'm looking for help with. So, that crosses Moe off the list, call me old fashioned. I try Jack (despite the fact that Jack and Moe share an office and I might end up getting stuck with Moe anyway)... Jack won't call me back. I've tried three times and I'm told, "they're backed up with calls, they'll call you today." Okay, what if it was an emergency? Great service! I did some research on my own and found a guy listed in New York Magazine's Best Doctors of 2006. I figured there was surely no way in hell that he'd give me an appointment, and I was right. Thanks, Blue Cross Blue Shield--- why even show this guy as in your plan? So, I ask this guy's office for a referal. The give me another name. I call them. I'm interrogated as to why I'm looking to switch doctors and then I'm told that I can drop off all of my records at a mysterious location on the way Upper East Side and Dr. Hoity-Toity will review my records and make a determination as to whether they will consider giving me an appointment.

FYI, I'm not looking for a plastic surgeon.

Shout Out

To 410e9th. It's one thing if you're too busy to post new blog entries, but its another thing if you're "too busy" to see The Departed. Next thing you're going to tell me is you don't want to see it because it couldn't possibly compare to Infernal Affairs. Hmpf.

It was a long night...

I've been very tired lately. It happens. Unfortunately, right now the husband has a cold. What this means for me is snoring. The husband only snores when he is either a) excessively tired or b) has a cold of some sort. Let's not forget that whenever the cat manages to wedge herself between us while we sleep, she snores too.

Last night at about 4:30am I am awoken by the ever increasingly loud snoring. To be fair, now that the frogs in our yard are out of season its very quiet at night, which only makes the snoring seem louder than it really is. I'm awake. Fully. So awake I should probably be taking up Sudoku out of boredom. After a few minutes the husband rolls over from his side to his back and the snoring abates. I start to fall asleep (the cat meanwhile has moved from wheezing to grooming, so now I'm just hearing the sound of her sandpaper tongue...)

Right before I'm about to drift off the husband rolls back on to his side and the snore symphony begins again. I bolt awake. I try to wait it out, but I'm sitting there thinking, I'm never getting back to sleep. ever. Do I wake him and ask him to move? Finally, I do. (After a few attempts of patting, as a minor pat tends to sooth the snore beast as well, but that only works to limited effect). Husband sits up, and then falls back asleep. Flat on his back. This works for a good fifteen minutes. Once again, I'm almost asleep. Then the snoring starts even with him lying flat. I swore I heard a frog croak in the distance, as if to mock me.

Matchmaker, matchmaker

I participated in the chain of emails today at the job....

To: Weef!
From: webdr@webdr.com

You may think that this email is out of left field, but do you know a Janis Spindel?

To: webdr@webdr.com
From: Weef!

I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't know anyone by that name.

To: Weef!
From: webdr@webdr.com

ok, thanks
here's the reason
she is a matchmaker,
she said she has the "perfect person" for me, named *****, double Ivy grad etc...
there arent that many who fit that bill
my sister is an attorney and looked in martindale
thanks
webdr

To: webdr@webdr.com
From: Weef!

Sorry, wrong *****, but by all means good luck with your search!

To: Weef!
From: webdr@webdr.com

thanks
i told my sister that google had you married, so i thought it was a long shot

Old Navy

Why is it that 99% of the items for sale on the Old Navy website contain high levels of polyester? I was on the site today and trying to find something substantially made of cotton was like a scavenger hunt. Bad enough I'm at the Old Navy website (drawn in by a need for cheap opaque tights, it is, after all, fall once again...) but then further disillusioned by the presence of all man-made, all flammable fabrics. Yeeech.

Things to Think About....

Maybe right now Mac and Cheese wasn't the best choice. Okay, not to mention, it's never good when you eat french fries to "settle" your stomach.

This morning started with ritz crackers. (Okay).
Then tomato soup and more crackers (oyster variety)-- this ended up not being enough food.

Then we got to the french fries.

Now Mac and Cheese. According to the "Blood Type Diet" featured in this weeks "In Touch" magazine I should be focusing on meats and avoiding carbs. Maybe that explains it.

Marie Antoinette

was generally disappointing, though the coolest thing in the whole movie was a quick shot of Marie trying on some shoes and in the background were a pair of pink converse low-tops.

Just a few minutes ago I saw a new trailer for Casino Royale. My plans are set for November 17th.

Lexus

I just saw an ad for a Lexus that can parallel park itself. Do we really need this? Aren't there better directions for research and development, like, perhaps hair dryers that don't blow fuses, or cold fusion? Besides, if you can afford a Lexus, shouldn't you be able to parallel park on your own? Better yet, if you've managed to get far enough along in life that you've both got a driver's license and you've got a new Lexus, just park somewhere else.

Can I go home

and pass out now?

Chou d'amour

Some days walking past Mendy's and getting a big, robust whiff of sauerkraut is just not a good thing.

Updates and Indian Food

Last night we tried to make up for Saturday by making home made indian food. Thanks to a great recipe for Chana Masala from Orangette and a good dash of Chicken Makhani Sunday night dinner was much better than Saturday's.

In other news, I forgot to mention that the best part of getting a new iPod was buying the warranty plan from Best Buy. I'm pretty confident that within 6 month's time I'll be using that. Now I just have to make sure I don't lose the receipt.

And, I finally got my cd from France-- and, even bigger shock, it actually works! Amazon.fr is a secret weapon in the world of import records! I even downloaded The a la menthe to my iPod. Of course, my new iPod doesn't use my old iTrip, so I can't listen to it in the car, but alas, that will be some other visit to Best Buy.

Saturday.

We had a plan for today, it was go to the dry cleaner, head up to Bridgewater Commons to get the iPod fixed, pick up a new black cashmere cardigan at Bloomingdales (since I've worn my last one so much I have actually worn through the elbows...) check out the new Maggiano's, go to PC Richard and look at dishwashers. Not too exciting, but a full day.

As we're about to leave the husband gets an email from a client-- "need you to call immediately." Client then emails me, asking for Robert to call him, "immediately". We quickly regroup-- I say I'll go to the DC (have to get some pants hemmed anyway) and I'll pick up lunch at the Fil-A (thanks for a gift card from Mom and Dad). We figure after lunch we'll start our day and go to Maggiano's for dinner.

First issue-- seamstress isn't at the Drycleaner today. Okay, no biggie. Pick up my clothes and head over to the Fil-A. Shocked when Fil-A cashier actually knows about the gift card protocol and seems excited to see one! Two chicken sandwiches and extra large waffle fries later I'm at home. We've had our lunch and are ready to go. Husband gets another email, this time from Boss-type person saying, "thanks for telling me you spoke to client, call me immediately."

Eventually, approximately 3 hours later, we're back on the road. While riding through Rocky Hill we see a sign for a book sale and pull off. Books Sales are one of my many weaknesses. We head into the library and ask where the book sale is (there is a little white clapboard house right next to the library, but at first we couldn't pin point the sale location). Inside the library they say, sheepishly, that they're not the sale referenced in the sign, though across from the ladies room there is a shelf which always has books for sale. There were about 10 books, right next to 60 years worth of old phone books and yellow pages. We quickly head over to the little house. The little house (which I have driven by for almost 3 years now) is neat but also kind of creepy on the inside-- it was a good thing that it was manned by a little old lady with a British accent (that is, unless you've seen Arsenic and Old Lace). I managed to come away with a very, very old leather bound two volume set of Ben Hur, a first UK edition of In Cold Blood and a couple of other pretty neat finds. Things kind of went downhill from there.

We got up to Bridgewater and the first thing was Bloomingdales had no black cardigans. Okay, fine. Then we head to the iPod store where I was greeted by an employee who looked far too much like Jake Busey. In fact, given Jake Busey's past career moves, it may have been Jake. He asks if he can help me and I indicate that I'm carring two broken iPods and I want to talk to someone about getting them fixed or at least getting some sort of a credit. He asks, "Do you have an appointment?" Am I at the dentist? Have I dropped in on my dermatologist? It's the iPod store for christ sake and it's not even a very big one at that. I guess this should be a sign that they have enough products with problems that they actually have to take reservations for people to come in and deal with them. I find out that the next available appointment is 2 hours away and I have to make 2 appointments, one for each damaged pod. Okay. Now we're at a mall, we can kill two hours, right? Not so much. Bridgewater Commons is a really lame mall. No JCrew, no Banana, no Saks. I had to make a return at Williams-Sonoma, it was a miracle they had one of those. Though it was a small enough store that they didn't even have the full line of Emile Henry products (just some lousy mugs and a lone bowl).

At this point I'm thinking its highly unlikely that I'm sticking around to come back for my iPod appointment and I'm pretty well liquored up and pissed off about having to make an appointment in the first place. I've given up and lucky for the store employee I managed to do so without hurling some sort of cloud of obscenities about both their product line and their approach to customer service.

Instead, we head over to the new "Village at Bridgewater Commons" an outdoor sub-mall that's just gone in with a Crate and Barrel and the Maggiano's as previously mentioned. Now I've been to centers like this in Atlanta-- and it's a bit of a nice throw back to the old style outdoor mall. However, much like Orchard Park in Illinois mystified me, so does the Village. Who the hell is going to want to walk around this joint in New Jersey when it is winter time? Hell, today was October 14th and it was too damn cold and windy to walk around outside. Tried again for the Banana-- it is opening in "Fall 2006" which when they say Fall they must mean something akin to January 2007 because they looked far from done. We did however manage to confuse the other shoppers since we were carring a Banana Republic shopping bag (yet another failed mission-- those unflattering wool pants will just have to wait another week to be returned). At this point we're disappointed but we figure we'll give Maggiano's a try. We thought we'd put our name down and then head over to Best Buy.

Maggiano's-- 2 hour wait. 2 hours? I mean we found a really great parking space, but still, 2 hours? In 2 hours we could have driven from Bridgwater in to New York City and gone to a real restaurant, with time left over to spare.

Upside, we headed to Best Buy and after about an hour of working with a former computer programmer who was trying his damnedest to bring Dilbert to life we walked out with a new HP Laptop, a new iPod and a "rewards zone" membership. Now our only remaining goal was dinner (PC Richard and the quest for a new dishwasher had quickly falled by the wayside).

This is where things get interesting. We harrass our dear friends at the BMW Concierge service and try and get ourselves dinner reservations. Needless to say the BMW "Concierge" was totally humilated to have to be calling the Olive Garden in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. The Olive Garden one-uped them, of course, by not accepting reservations. P.F. Changs? No reservations remaining for the evening and an undeterminate wait-- call back when you get closer we're told.

We then proceed to go back to town. We figure we'll try a drop in on the Garden. When we get there--- 40-50 minute wait and the entire place reeked of fried food...!?! PF Chang's. 2 hour wait, and considering that by now it was 9pm and they close at 11pm would suggest that those people at the end of the list might not actually be fed.

Romanos? 45 minutes. Random Mexican Chain Restaurant. 1 hour, and by the way, the kitchen is closed (does that mean all I'll get is some chips and dip?) Now to be fair we didn't try Hooters or the new establishment "Cheeburger Cheeburger", but we were generally discouraged and headed back into Princeton proper. Mediterra? 45 minutes. Main Street Bistro, you can walk in, but it will take you ten minutes to drive here and our kitchen closes in 20 minutes. Sure, you could say, well if you had just waited at the Olive Garden you would theoretically be seated in 10 minutes. True, but by this time it was the principal of the thing. Used to be a time where we'd be in Manhattan and you could always find a restaurant with no wait. Here all of the food is for the most part crap and they want you to wait anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours to get it. In New York you can (a) wait for 2 hours for a great meal, (b) walk right in to some place else with no wait and have a great meal, (c) wait for 2 hours and have crap or (d) walk right in and have crap, the choice, at least, is yours.

Moral of the story, we came home and made frozen manicotti.

Pancho Villa

I've finally jumped on the Gaucho bandwagon, albeit a bit late. Today I'm wearing for the first time my Theory maroon-ish corduroy Gaucho pants with a cream colored turtleneck and brown boots (which look more wine colored next to the maroon)... I was hesitant to buy Gauchos (other than the ones they sell at Target for $5.99 that are suitable for in-home wear only) but I was at Loehmans and found these puppies for 50% off of $30.97. I'm sure Gaucho pants will be out of style in about three minutes, if they aren't already.

Cheeseburger Happy Meal

My lunch today was very unsatisfactory for some reason. I had wanted to go to Le Pain Quotidien for tuna. I should have. I was up at 70th and York and I know there is one near by but I didn't have the address and I hailed a cab too quickly (giving me no time to try and figure out where to tell the cabbie to go) so I just went back to Rock Center. On a quest for Tuna I went to Cucina and it was okay but not great. I had half of a half of a tuna sandwich and some jalepeno potato chips (even those weren't good). Needless to day I was hungry this afternoon. I finally decided I'd head down to the lobby and get a snack. I knew I wanted something substantial and by the time I got down stairs I was debating between Au Bon Pain and McDonalds. I voted for McD. I wanted a cheeseburger. (I know, I usually don't eat beef, but really, is McDonald's beef??) I though a Happy Meal would be perfect-- a smigden of fries a tiny coke. Everything's right with the world. Went to McD, they actually prepared the stuff fresh for me since I was practically the only person in the joint. I came back to my office (after having the chance only to stuff two french fries into my mouth...) and what happened? The *second* that my bag hit my desk my co-worker from the office next door shouts for me to come in to her office because she wants us to return someone's call.

I go in. I tell her I'm sorry she missed me when she was looking for me (this was word on the street as I stepped back into the office itself) and mentioned that I had gone down to get some food because lunch was bad. She comiserates and says that her lunch was bad too and asks what I got. I advise Happy Meal. Do I get a-- "why don't you go and eat it real quick, we can meet back in ten minutes"? Hell even five minutes? No, of course not. And it's not like my food was hot or anything. So I'm thinking, fine, it should be quick maybe we can just get it over with.

Not quite. We called back this gentleman from another firm and he was very nice, very helpful but also one of those people who has to give you 37 different examples all of the same thing. He was just a teensy tiny bit LONG WINDED. Meanwhile I can smell my food (which is sitting on my desk in the next room) getting cold. What was a nice touch of irony is that now I'm getting nauseous. Nauseous in that whole if you don't eat that cheeseburger now you're going to be hitting the floor face down in about thirty seconds...

I was on this call for 20 minutes. Blood sugar dropping. When I was finally released I promptly went into my office, picked up my Happy Meal and transported it to the garbage can in the kitchen. Nothing is worse than a cold cheeseburger. The cheese really turns back into yellowy-orange plastic after about 10 minutes exposed to the elements. I want my $3.78 back. I want my hot cheeseburger. Instead I went downstairs and got some sort of curried lentil soup from Au Bon Pain that who knows how many other people sneezed in since its part of the self-service soup bar. I just couldn't bring myself to go back to McD and have to explain why I'm back for seconds.

Quite the antithesis to a Happy Meal.

Columbus Day

You know you're in New York when not only is the Columbus Day parade is televised on NBC, its hosted by Joe Piscopo.

iPod

Is it just me, or is there some sort of iPod conspiracy out there? First I had an iPod mini which was great, but it had that whole "lets recall them because the battery doesn't work" problem. Nothing like having to charge it every five minutes, then I got the new iPod 20GB "Photo" ipod. This model was on the market for about five seconds in between the iPod Mini, iPod nano and the new fifth generation iPod "video". Well, the other day I'm out in the car and it freezes. I do the whole "reset" thing. Then what happens-- I get the "sad" iPod icon. This is basically a very small picture of your iPod and on the screen are two "x"es for eyes and a downturned frown. Also accompanying the "sad" iPod is an exclamation point inside of a triangle. The same sort of thing you see on the Autobahn when your coming around a sharp curve and rocks have fallen.

What does all of this mean? According to the website and the instruction booklet, I may have a "hardware" problem. That sounds omnious given that all the iPod is is a piece of hardware. I follow the instructions on Apple's website, and ultimately give up. The next step is to sign up for service (you can either sign up and have the offending sad iPod shipped or you can visit a store in person, I opted for shipping)... I fill out the forms (am of course told my iPod is out of warranty) and am then asked to input my credit card information since it will cost $277.77 to "fix" my iPod. (Mind you, Apple is selling a 30 mb "video" iPod for $249...) Excuse me? What? Can you explain? You haven't even seen it and you're telling me it will cost me more to fix this antiquated iPod than it would be to buy a new one? You haven't even seen it. What if I didn't follow the "reset" "restore" instructions properly and you could actually fix it with a few key strokes? $277.77? Are you crazy???

So I guess that helps make that whole mac or pc question that much easier to answer. I mean, is it me, or are they designing these things to break? I wouldn't even mind if I had really gotten a lot of use out of it, or if I manhandled it. Come on my iPod had been in its jelly-protective sheath since I brought it home. It lived inside my purse and I used it frequently but I'm not one of those crazy people you see on the subway who have actually had their headphones permanently implanted into their ears... I would use it in the car, on the train, occasionally while cooking (thanks to the Bose iPod dock).

Now what? Sure, the price of a new iPod is approximately what I may monthly for cable (which says more, I think about my cable bill than anything else). But still, I'm really disappointed. The best invention of the 20th century right next to air conditioning seems to be a moneymaking scam. I've had cell phones that are more reliable, and that's saying a lot.

The a la Menthe

How much do I love Amazon.com? I've been trying to find the song that's playing in Ocean's Twelve while Vincent Cassel is doing his whole capoieria thing for ages. Bought the soundtrack, not on it. Very disapointing. I did a little internet research and found that the song is by a band called La Capture and that the song itself is "The a la Menthe". Needless to say, here in the states, it's no where to be found. Amazon.com doesn't have a copy in stock, you can't listen to it, nothing. But, if you go to www.Amazon.fr, it's there. Not only is it there but you can listen to selections. I navigated my way through Amazon's french site and supposedly I got the last copy in stock. It's being express shipped. Yes, I had to pay as much in shipping as I did for the CD (that being said Amazon in France is just as cheap as it is here, so neither shipping nor the CD was that expensive!)

More Fall Line-Up... and other happenings..

410e9th doesn't like Heroes. What, I think it's not bad. Anything's a step up from Reality television and the story seems to be moving faster than Lost.

Thoughts on "Help Me, Help You"? It seemed a bit boring, but I'm willing to give it at least one more chance. What about "Ugly Betty"? Haven't seen that yet, TiVo acted up last week...

And, tonight is the big Project Runway reunion special. This season has been interesting-- for the most part they had a lot of talented people and while Jeffrey is trying to be the class bully he's just not nearly as entertaining as Santino. Word around the watercooler is Michael is a shoe-in to win. So far, funniest scene this season was when Michael Kors imitated Uli and Heidi gave him a very dirty look. Don't mess with the accent.

Random question-- have you ever been to a Greek wedding? You should ask me about it sometime. There was a lot of Greek music, but disappointingly, no dolmathes.

Hmpf. in other news, as we all know, the Cafe at Saks is the happiest place on earth (even if the service may leave a bit to be desired)... yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting Thisbe, Ellie and Cecelia for a ladies lunch. What a better way to break up the afternoon than with good company and a half sandwich and a cup of corn and crab chowder!

Otherwise not much is happening. This weekend is the big birthday weekend, we've got lunch at Le Cirque and we're going to see The Departed. Why is it that I'm most excited that Marky Mark is in this? (Because, as 410 would say, I'm losing my edge).

Fall Line Up

Tonight is one of those rare nights where there are actually a lot of good things on tv. Its nights like this when the TiVo may explode. The Packers are on Monday Night Football on ESPN, and at 9 the premiere of the Bachelor (with Henry's friend, Lorenzo Borghese, as Bachelor) on ABC and Heroes on NBC. All summer there was crap on tv (with the limited exception of Project Runway)... now on one night, 3 things to watch all at once. And, for a double surprise, I may actually get home early enough to watch some of this stuff...

Tomato and Zucchini Risotto

I had a great Tomato and Zucchini Risotto once at Serafina I had recreated it before at home, but I didn't write down what I did last time, so today when I felt like making it again I googled for recipies.

When I searched "tomato and zucchini risotto" I found among other links, a link to
Jamie and Belle's recipe. It looks good-- I'll have to try it! The version I had in mind is a little bit different-- with more of a tomato-based sauce of sorts. Here's my try. Let me know if you like it.

Tomato and Zucchini Risotto

Drizzles of Olive Oil
40 oz. Vegetable Broth
1 cup Dry White Wine
1/2 cup finely chopped Sweet Onion (Vidallia or Mayan)
16 oz. Arborio Rice
1 medium Garlic Clove, minced
1 large (or two small) Zucchini sliced very very thin
1 can diced Tomatoes
1 can chopped Tomatoes
2 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar, or to taste
Black pepper and salt to taste

Simmer vegetable stock in a sauce pan.

While sauce is simmering, saute onion and garlic with a drizzle of olive oil in heavy sauce pan. Saute until onions are translucent. Stir in arborio rice.

Add a ladleful of broth at a time, stiring until broth is absorbed. Stir constantly (so that risotto doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan). After you have added two or three ladles of broth, add half a can of diced tomatoes (with juice). Continue to add broth and continue stiring. Add one cup of white wine, add remaing tomatoes, broth and keep stiring.

Once risotto is creamy and slightly al dente, add in sauteed zucchini, balsamic vinegar and seasoning to taste. Makes about four servings. This is great as a summery light risotto (to the extent that any risotto can be light!) We paired this with herbed goat cheese toasts. The toasts are simple-- you can thinly slice a baguette or other crusty bread and then spread soft goat cheese on the bread rounds. Add herbs de provence, thyme and black pepper. Toast in the oven at 350 until the edges of the bread rounds are golden brown.

Tomorrow we're making Ina Garten's Potato and Leek soup from her Barefoot in Paris cookbook. I'll let you know how it goes!

Apple?

So, the query is out there-- should I switch to a MacBook? I have this goofy desire to have an iMac desktop in the kitchen, but I'm waiting until that fateful day when we eventually remodel. In the meantime, take the plunge or stay with a PC? Thoughts?

It's Tuesday again.

That seems to happen every week. Why is it that Tuesdays tend to be rather boring?

Bin Laden Dead?

Supposedly a French intelligence report leaked word that Osama Bin Laden may be dead. Or, to paraphrase Monty Python, "'E's passed on! He has ceased to be! He's expired and gone to meet his maker! He's a stiff! Bereft of life, He rests in peace! .... THIS IS AN EX-PARROT!!" Maybe he knows where my hair dryer is?

Bad hair day.

Can anybody tell me where the hell I put my hair dryer? It has been sucked into the vortex, only to be found days from now, together with my left slipper and some size 10 knitting needles.

More Movies...

Did I tell you about Crank? Poor Jason Statham, and to think, he seemed to have a somewhat promising career. Okay, with that over, we decided to check out some On Demand movies. Ultraviolet? Please, the cat and I were asleep through that one. While Mila Jovovich was good as The Fifth Element, Ultraviolet was pretty lame. Then there was Inside Man. Not bad, a little long, but overall not bad. I think Spike is losing his edge though. And, as a blast from the past, I just watched the end of The Big Easy. Who doesn't like Dennis Quaid as Remy McSwain?

Madama Butterfly on Seventh

How cool is it that the Met simulcast Madama Butterfly live in Times Square this evening? I was in a cab wondering why traffic on seventh avenue was so backed up, when I went down Broadway I got to see it. Folding chairs were set up all on seventh avenue and it was packed with people-- on three of the jumbotrons there was the opera, with sound piped in by giant speakers. Neato.

Vincit Amor Patriae

Needing to decipher a coat of arms found inside of our fireplace. It's got a horse and a dog holding up the main crest. On top of the main crest sits a lion and a peacock on top of a crown. Buckles and crosses abound within the interior of the crest. The phrase "Vincit Amor Patriae" (approximately "love of country conquers") is stated beneath the crest itself. Any thoughts are appreiciated. Betting it was something available at colonial Williamsburg circa 1965. Upside could be from 1760, downside, was available via mail order with S&H Greenstamps or Crackerjacks proofs of purchase.

Some Thoughts...

The windows in our family room are from, we think, the fifties. We have been under the impression that our family room was added on sometime in the forties/fifties and the windows came in at that point. They're sliding windows and there are a lot of them, and a while ago we had a branch come through one of them.

Branch 1
Window 0

So we called up Andersen (as the one identifying feature on the windows is a small mark on the ledge which says "Andersen" in a very 1950's cursive, "Bayport Minn.")

When you call Andersen these days they have a very repetitive recording which tells you how before you speak with a representative you should have your glass code handy. The Glass code can be found, etched in the corner of your window, directly above the "Andersen" triangle. Needless to say our windows predate both the etched glass number and the Andersen triangle.

Miraculously, after speaking with the Andersen representative (between giving them a description of our windows and the size) they were able to determine that in the fifties they made two kinds of windows similar to what we were describing, ones with wood trim and ones with vinyl trim. Ours are wood. We confirmed this and then we were told it would be nine business days the window to be manufactured. Granted the window was under $300 (and its a big window) but still, 9 business days, meanwhile we have a big piece of plywood up over our broken window (with lovely black plastic contractor bag lining on the inside). Up until this point I had totally figured the windows were some totally random custom size. Turns out they weren't, they were off the rack-- completely odd, strange sized (all based on the measurements we took when we ordered our roman shades) but for Andersen, stock sizes nonetheless. Of course, these were stock in the 1950s, now they have to be custom made.

Approximately 14 days later (business days, after all, and shipping) we get a window dropped off by our garage by FedEx. The husband moves the box, it clinks. We think, "Oh, maybe its spare parts." No, its not spare parts, surprisingly, the window is exactly the same as the one we're replacing (right down to the shattered glass). I was impressed that Andersen was able to locate in its system the model window we had and recreate it exactly. I was less impressed that they had packed it in the box upside down and it had managed to break before it even got to our house.

We called, it will be another 9 business days. On the upside, we remembered to order a new screen this time (as obviously, the branch went through that too).

This can be contrasted with Pella. We bought new windows for half of the house about a year or so ago from Pella. The windows are great-- no complaints, so great in fact, we want to order the rest of the windows. We call up the Pella guy and it was like trying to decipher the rosetta stone in order for him to get us a quote for the same model/make of window we purchased a year ago. He tells us they've made improvements, changes, etc. I'm thinking--- if Andersen can reproduce a fifty year old window, why is it that Pella can't even get us the same windows we bought last year!?! Then again, the Pella windows at least arrived in one piece.

Even more movies...

Must recommend... House of Flying Daggers and Proof (okay, Gwyneth yells quite a bit and I'm not a big Jake Gyllenhaal fan but the story was good nonetheless).

Following Ana's Lead Again...

American Cities That Best Fit You::

70% New York City

65% Chicago

60% Philadelphia

55% Boston

45% Los Angeles

Which American Cities Best Fit You?

More Movies.

Saw "The Black Dahlia". Why is it that at any given time there often seem to be multiple genre movies in theaters at the same time? Between this and "Hollywoodland" what is the sudden fascination with murders from LA in the late forties/fifties?? Anyway, I wasn't excited by this movie. Josh Hartnett-- geesh, no personality. Hilary Swank? Ugh. They kept saying how she and the "Dahlia" (Mia Kirshner) were look alikes. Look alikes? I think not, Hilary looks like she could be Alanis Morrisette's twin. Overall bad sound, bad sets. It seemed like Brian de Palma was trying to do a tv remake of Chinatown. On the upside, there were good previews. "The Departed" looks good. "Babel", I can't tell-- will it be like Syriana or since hooking up with Angelina has Brad Pitt lost his mind?

Tagged, again.

Ana has tagged me with a movie-quote task. I have to say, I'm losing my edge, but here goes. Below are quotes from 11 of my favorite movies, the goal is to try and identify the movie. Extra points if you can name the character and even more points, and a pat on the back if you can name the actor.

1. One movie, two Quotes, two different scenes, two different characters:

"Once I read a story about a butterfly in the subway, and today, I saw one. It got on at 42nd, and off at 59th, where, I assume it was going to Bloomingdales to buy a hat that will turn out to be a mistake - as almost all hats are"

"That's one less person I'm not speaking to"

2. Easy. Let's assume they'll get harder? "I hate Illinois Nazis"

3. "I'm hungry, let's get a Taco"

4. More multiples:

"My life is passing before my eyes. The worst part about it is that I'm driving a used car."

"Yes, they're keeping it refrigerated!"

5. "I've gone gay all of a sudden"

6. "Don't you just love it when you come back from the bathroom and find your food waiting for you?"

7. "You chased a dog and beat a horse, you're stronger than you think."

8. "Everybody thinks they have good taste and a sense of humor but they couldn't possibly all have good taste."

9. "Pink is my signature color"

10. More dual quotes:

"They were jammies! They had Yodas'n shit on 'em!"

"I just love biblical names. If I had another little boy, I'd name him Jason, Caleb or Tab."

"I'm okay, you're okay, that there's what it is."


11. "Well, ain't this place a geographical oddity. Two weeks from everywhere!"

I tag 410e9th. You're it.

Two bonus:

"You sit on a throne of lies!"

"I'm applying to Oxford and the Sorbonne. Harvard's my safety."

It's Tuesday.

So, not much exciting is going on.

As an answer to Ana's last comment I wrote back letting her know what was for dinner yesterday-- broccoli rabe/pork sausage with artichoke hearts and lemon/artichoke pesto over gnocchi-shaped pasta. Sometimes Whole Foods has good stuff!! Who knew I would be making this at 9:30pm, but what can I say, sometimes you just want actual real-live-cooked food. I'd had McDonald's for lunch, followed by a snack of White Cheddar Cheez-Its (which is the cause of all tooth decay all over the globe, trust me on this) and then some nutter butter bites (why? why???). I needed real food. Also on the menu for this week-- sweet potato gnocchi (I wish they were home made, but unfortunately, they're from a package-- any thoughts on sauce pairings?) As for dinner tonight, who knows what is on the menu. Theoretically we're going out to dinner for the Meseversary.

We drove in today. It took us 2+ hours. Sure, last Friday we drove and it was like 55 minutes, today, 2+ hours. It's pretty bad when the driving commute makes the train look good.

Totally random aside-- Can't we make September 11th a National Holiday already? That's my vote.

Finally, thoughts on the new TV schedule? Did we ever find out what happened on Reunion from last year??? Who killed Samantha? Who do you think will win Project Runway? Will Heidi's new baby look more like Seal or Heidi (or Tim Gunn by osmosis?)

(I know, I'm getting more like Larry King every day.)

Productive Sunday...

It started with Blueberry muffins. I made those and poached eggs on toast (only later to see a divine looking recipe in Bon Appetite for fanci-fied poached eggs on toast which involved bacon and spinach and other goodies), and of course, crispy crowns (they were baked, so not bad, right?)

After a long nap (happily accompanied by the cat), I then started looking through my new issue of Food and Wine. Dubbed the "Wine" issue (and I guess next month will be the "Food" issue and then they'll be out of all new ideas), it had an intriguing picture of orichetti (sp?) with bolognese sauce. I polled the husband, offering either: (a) pappardelle with an artichoke and tomato cream sauce or (b) the orichette. He took the orichette.

One relatively long trip to Whole Foods later, we were at home making bolognese. However, I had mentioned earlier in the weekend an intention to make chocolate cream puffs, so that was on the menu too. Made the bolognese (not quite the same as the recipe-- I used white wine instead of red, some cashews instead of chestnuts and a good bit of balsamic vinegar. Then I made some little goat cheese toasts (because despite what Dave would say, you can't beat a good goat cheese) and then started on the puffs. Called the mom but alas no answer so I once again winged the puffs, with a little help from Epicurious.com.

The pasta and sauce was tasty, as was the goat cheese toasts... for desert the creme puffs certainly hit the spot.

On the menu for the week-- we got some pork and broccoli rabe sauages which I plan to make tomorrow with a gnocchi-pasta shape with artichokes and lemon pesto (had to get those artichokes in there)!

Shout Out to Larry King...

Years ago in his syndicated columns appearing in USA Today, Larry felt the need to reiterate to the world at large the simple sentiment: "I like pie."

Yet Another Entry into the Annals of "Things You Don't Expect to Hear at the Office..."

Email
From: Hospitality Head-Honcho
To: Everybody (!) US

I am pleased to announce the return of Ghengi Roget from Touching Hands. The on-site chair massage is the perfect "stress buster" for those on the go with a minimum amount of time. Tension headaches, repetitive stress injuries, aches and pains from stiff or sore muscles, increased susceptibility to colds and flu are just some of the conditions where a massage can be helpful. During the on-site chair massage, the client is in a seated position and is fully clothed.

Due to high demand, only one 15 minute session per person will be allotted. Unfortunately, on site chair massages cannot be submitted to the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for reimbursement.

______________________________________________________________

It's always good to clarify that whole "fully clothed" thing when speaking of the office environment, and gee, who really expects to get reimbursed for an on-site chair massage???