Let's Boycott!

So, after all this news about recalls on products from China (over 24 toy products since the first of the year, bad tires, all seafood apparently) I saw this interesting article on MSNBC about things Made in China. As many of you know, I had been avoiding eating beef for years because of an irrational fear of mad cow disease, now, I certainly think it's reasonable to try and avoid products made in China, what do you think?

Baby Gap knows its Customer Base

iPhone, home...

This week's New York Magazine has an article entitled How to Buy an iPhone. Ah yes, for $600 you too can wonder (as with all Apple products) not, "will it break?" but "when will it break?"

Bad Booty?

Now, even Veggie Booty has been recalled for salmonella.

What's Next...

Okay, those damn democratic candidates had another debate again which I missed. You'd think they (they being the media) would make more of a big deal out of these things so people don't go thinking that the only thing to watch on tv is "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader..."

Laughter, with milk tongue

Better than Boppy

So today Sophie has spent the bulk of the afternoon napping on my chest with her head on my shoulder. Any attempt to relocate little missy (whether to move her on to the Boppy or the nearby couch pillow) has illicited sounds of utter discontent. Boppy could make millions if they create a mom shaped pillow (with hot water bottle feature).

What's on TV?

I actually saw an episode of "Throwdown with Bobby Flay" where Bobby won. It was the burger challenge. Truly a rare occurrence. I think it's in his contract with the Food Network that he has to lose 90% of the Throwdowns and all Iron Chef competitions.

Saw Inside Man again. Good flick. Love Clive Owen and liked Denzel's response to the Maitre d' at the Four Seasons:

"Sir, may I have your hat?"
"No, get your own."

I've also been intrigued by the Lord of War, but I haven't had the chance to sit down and watch it yet.

What can I say, this whole "maternity leave" thing has given me the opportunity to watch more bad movies on cable than I have since I was in law school.

I've TiVo'd Scoop and Lady in the Water (which must be said in a whisper) for viewing at a later date and last night I watched "The Last Holiday" with Queen Latifah. The Last Holiday was cute enough but it was totally made for On Demand viewing-- I had to fast forward through the gospel choir scenes. What can I say, there's only room in my brain for watching the gospel scene in The Blues Brothers.

Paint the White House Black

Years ago in Atlanta there were tv spots for a local theater production of a little play called "Paint the White House Black". I was surprised when an internet search of this didn't return any info about the play, but did show the phrase used on Wonkette in regards to Mr. Obama, on Amazon, for an album by the Dick Nixons and apparently it's also the title of a George Clinton song.

More Randomness...

Suze Orman was on The View today. Am I the only one who found her a bit pushy? And, did we really need Barbara Walters trying to prove that Spanx don't hide panty lines? I think she's lost her mind.

Next topic: the Da Vinci Code. Much like Star Wars this is also always on (but on Showtime) yet, for all the lack of chemistry between Tom and Audrey and for as poorly cast as Tom Hanks was, I still can't help but watch it. For some reason I can just watch that movie over and over again. I think its because of the prominence of the Louvre, and of course, Jean Reno.

The other night I was watching "fashion fanatic" with Stacy London. Sophie was completely transfixed by Stacy, especially during the segment when Stacy was visiting with the folks at Fabrikant. Yes, she's already intrigued by jewelry. I think we may be in trouble.

Does anybody know what the zoning restrictions are in South Brunswick if you want to harbor a minature pony?

Updates on the Sophie-Monster

They say babies change every day and I believe that. For instance, I'm sitting here in the parking lot of our local Babies r' Us with the wee Sophie and for just a moment she had a look on her face (and because she stil has a bit of downy-baby fuzz on her cheeks) that made her the baby spitting image of Robert Shaw circa Jaws. Now she's back to doing the Robert de Niro faces. By far though, her cutest look when not paying homage to 1970's era cinema is the Kewpie doll face. This does require her eyes to be open so this face is only possible about 18 percent of the time since at this stage Miss S. still manages to sleep even more than the cat.

A Few Things...

Whole Foods-- you know how I feel about certain things they carry, but that damn black bean dip is really good!

Fight the Power

Restasis...

This morning I saw an ad for Restasis, a medication used to resolve the symptoms of "dry eye". The "most common side effect" of Restasis is a burning sensation... Which goes to prove the old adage, "the burning means its working."

I Don't Know Why I Find This Funny...

I missed this morning's episode of "Martha", but the Mom advised that while Martha was "fondling fancy cats" Martha was bit by one of them. Wanting to see this for myself, I checked out Martha's website to see when it would be broadcast in our area. Unfortunately, I've already missed all viewings, but I thought the following was funny: Today's episode was called "Unusual Cats and Baby Crafts", tomorrow's is "Unusual Dogs and Christy Turlington". Christy needs a new agent-- she can't even get top billing over "unusual dogs"??

Sod Farm...

Only Roger Cook from TOH would take viewers to a Sod Farm in prime time.

Potawatomi Bingo Casino

Sure, Chris Isaak is playing two dates at the infamous Potawatomi Bingo Casino in Milwaukee this July. The closest the man comes to New Jersey is playing the Seneca's casino up near Olean, NY. I know, I need to expand my musical tastes, to at least folks who can book the PNC Bank Arts Center.

On the Banks of the Wabash....

It's 2:20am and I'm listening to The Mills Brothers' rendition of "On the Banks of the Wabash". We just finished (a) watching Deja Vu, which I have to say was a decent flick (though raising the question of-- what the hell has happened to Val Kilmer's career??) and (b) doing our "late-night snack" feeding. Ever notice how all infants look like Winston Churchill? And, when they're not in Churchill mode there's a close resemblance to Truman Capote? Mostly though, when using a burp cloth as a makeshift bib during mealtimes, I have noticed that Miss Sophie can have the look of Al Capone at the barber.

What Do You Call It When You Eat Upwards of Eight Times a Day?

First there's pre-breakfast, then Breakfast and Brunch. Then there's lunch and afternoon tea. Supper, dinner, late-night snack, midnight snack and then the munchies. Unfortunately, the menu is always the same.

Whole Foods?

So my male audience may want to skip to the next posting...

Okay, you've been pregnant for the past nine months, great, what does that mean? No period. Nice! Decent trade off, right? No PMS, no cramps, sure, you had bloating, morning sickness, random pregnancy related rashes, pregnancy induced hypertension, stuffy nose, snoring, unprecedented weight gain, insane levels of water retention, but still, no period! Well, guess what? Now you've had the baby and the body says-- let's go! We've been waiting nine months for this! Let the flood gates open! Everyone had told me to bring my preferred brand of maxi pad with me to the hospital. Done. Not that I really had a preferred brand, but I picked out one that seemed normal. Then the doctors tell me that this whole phase may last between 6 and 8 weeks (yeeoch!) And everyone feels the need to remind me that tampons are verboten. Really. You don't need to tell someone that, it kind of makes sense at this point. Trust me. ANYWAY. The other day I found myself about to run out of the pads.

I made the mistake of trying to buy replacements at Whole Foods. For people who only shop at Whole Foods, what on earth do you do for personal care products??

I am in the aisle with these types of items and there are two brands. One *really* looks like it is from 1800 and the other looks vaguely like it might be normal. Of course it was made by "Seventh Generation"-- the people who make the "natural" toilet paper. They also said in giant letters on the outer packaging "Chlorine Free"... Chlorine Free? Who knew there's Chlorine in a maxi pad??? I should have known better. I should have gone to Wegmans, but we had Miss Sophie with us in the car and she was reaching the end of her comfort level with being out in the car... Anyway, I buy them. The checker puts them in the same bag as my black bean dip (Another pet peeve-- why are we putting something absorbent in with something that can leak? But that's a post for another time...) I get these things home and they were essentially the equivalent of a giant paper dinner napkin. Not particularly comfortable, seemingly not particularly absorbent. Again, if you shop exclusively at Whole Foods not only do you never have access to Oreos, but you also have far inferior hygiene products. I can't completely explain why, but with some products you really need to have that NASA space age technology and if Chlorine is involved, well then let the environment be damned!

Cuteness!

Sure, my baby monitor doesn't do that...

A woman in Illinois turned on her baby monitor and managed to pick up video feed from the International Space Station...

Slow News Day...

A woman's windshield was broken today by a wild turkey. This story was covered at 5, 5:30 and 6pm. The anchors kept emphasizing that the woman has vowed not to eat turkey ever again, even at Thanksgiving.

Only in New Jersey

Would "News 12 New Jersey" broadcast an interview with Muhammed Arshad, manager of the Raceway gas station in Morris Plains, being the same Raceway which was used as a location for one of the hits on the last episode of The Sopranos...

The Painted Veil

24 minutes in and already I'm thinking why on earth did I just buy this on pay-per-view???

Hands and Feet...

Shop Rite

You know you're in New Jersey when you find yourself at a Shop Rite which stocks approximately 4,000 kinds of "pork roll" and has Bruce Springsteen's greatest hits playing over the PA (and not the muzak version...)

Updates on the Smallest Nursery in Middlesex County...

Here are some pictures of the nursery! Quite an improvement! Our bedding is Serena & Lily in the Ruby pattern. The rocking chair was mine as a kid, originally brown, now repainted white and then I painted it to match the bedding pattern. Tomorrow our blinds get installed and theoretically our glider should be in next week!!

Big Moose and Squirrel

Last night on CBS 2 Action News a story was reported about a Moose that wandered onto the Merritt Parkway in Connecticut and was unfortunately severely injured. The Connecticut highway patrol had to put the Moose out of its misery. The news anchor then advised that the resultant Moose meat was being donated to a local food bank. Am I the only one who thinks this is a bit odd? I mean, I know it was like 600 pounds of meat, but still.

Sophie's Horoscope

Courtesy of that fine example of journalism, "In Touch" magazine, the current horoscope for Gemini seems rather accurate for our Miss Sophie: "Your life is a big party now! You're the center of attention and you're loving it!"

Observations....

Thisbe once noted that when you first get engaged, you may become mesmerized by your engagement ring and often times find yourself just staring at it. I have to say, having a baby creates a very similar experience. The Mom and I noted today that we could just stare at her for hours...

One other baby observation... we have found that Baby Sophie has the same mysterious power that Catherine Zeta-Jones has over Michael Douglas... you sit there with her and suddenly you're as sleepy as she is-- it's like she's sucking the life right out of you in order to stay young!

A Visit from DFACS

Today the inspector from DFACs came by just to make sure everything was going okay, She seemed a little furry though...

Baby Sophie, Day Two!

Sophie has arrived home. We're not quite sure how Miss Kitty will react to this, so far, Miss K has been hesitantly accepting. She has noticed that Sophie has been quiet so far and has moved only slightly more than my sandals, so for the time being this new addition is acceptable to our feline companion.