Lucky Number Slevin

We watched this the other night. Aside from the suffocation scenes (which I could have done without) I actually liked this flick and thought it was much better than the reviews.

The Bronze Age

Today Miss S has moved into the realm of tool usage. Now previously she has exhibited an understanding of simple engineering principals (as in when she tilts the large stool towards her when she is in her high chair in order for the desired toy to slide into her grasp), but today she actually used a taper candle as a bat in order to knock over a photo frame.

Stuff!

Miss Baby and I visited C & G Casting for a casting call for extras for "Confessions of a Shopaholic"...

Jerry O'Connell is actually pretty funny in Carpoolers... who knew?

Cobb Salad-- we had it for dinner tonight... not bad at all. I used two kinds of bagged greens and then included a chopped yellow pepper, red pepper, cherry tomatoes and a red onion. In addition we put ham, hard boiled eggs, diced avocado, sharp cheddar cheese and blue cheese chunks (not to forget croutons, of course). We put a bit of WF's organic ranch dressing and served with a loaf of french bread. Light but tasty!

US Men's Figureskating...

I started watching the beginning of the US Men's Figureskating championships on NBC. They began with an interview of fur-collar clad Johnny Weir. Then Bob Costas, reporting from the ice, began talking about the great rivalries involved, and the personality clashes between Weir and Evan Lsyacek. I swear, it was right out of Blades of Glory!!!

Oscar Watch

While we love to watch the Oscars for the whole red carpet fashion thing, after seeing the Golden Globes get wrapped up in an hour with Billy Bush, it made us think that perhaps a change in format due to the writer's strike wouldn't be such a bad thing. The Husband took it a step further and suggested that they should just scroll the winners' names in a crawl along the bottom of the screen while Yolanda Vega is reading off the lotto balls. It could kill two birds with one stone, or lotto ball, as the case may be.

Street Photography!

One of my photos has been selected for the exhibition "Street Photography" at the Center for Fine Art Photography in Fort Collins, CO. The show will run from March 28-April 26th.

All things Muppet!

It's the Muppet Wiki!

Check it Out!

Bigfoot's moved to Mars!

Jeopardy, sponsored by bad taste...

Tonight's episode of Jeopardy! was sponsored by both: (a) Super Colon Cleanse (really) and (b) Steak-Umm.

Lamps!

I love when Jeopardy! has great categories, like "Lamps".

Pretzeltown

Miss S has a cold. She didn't sleep well last night and has been stuffy, stuffy, stuffy all day. While watching the AFC Championship we had all kinds of snack foods and decided to give Miss S. a treat-- some salt free pretzels to munch on. Given that she's got no teeth yet one has to be rather vigilant and make sure to substitute a new pretzel every time that the old pretzel has become so soggy from gumming that it has lost structural integrity. We went through probably six or seven pretzels. Once snack time was over it was clear that a bath was in order, as Miss S's trip to pretzeltown was quite messy.

At the Angelica...

So, the other day I watched La Vie En Rose (aka "La Mome"). My god, it was awful. I mean don't get me wrong, I can totally see why Marion Cotillard won the Golden Globe as she did have quite a Charlize Theron-like transformation into Edith Piaf, but other than that. Ugh. They killed off Gerard Depardieu within the first 20 minutes and once into adulthood Edith wasn't a very nice person! Anyway, I couldn't even sit through it and I was in my own family room. And considering that I have sat through Camille Claudel which clocks in at almost 3 hours, I think I have a history of past patience with random French biographies...

3-6pm CNN: Ballot Bowl

"Uninterupped coverage of the presidential candidates campaigning in South Carolina, Nevada and Michigan." I turn this channel on and what's on? A Kia commercial. So much for "uninterrupted".

Chicken Tikka Masala!

Tonight we made Chicken Tikka Masala (thanks to the recipe included on page 14 of this month's Bon Appetite mag)... I know, I know, given the whole "bar" thing I'm not supposed to be making complex food, but I figure that for the next three nights we've got take out planned (Chick-Fil-A, Dominos and Chipotle!) so I thought what the hey, I would make something fun tonight. Anyhoo, we started by making the first marinade for the chicken, let the chicken sit for 15 min. instead of 30 (as we were a bit short on time) then made the second, yogurt based marinade and let the chicken sit in that for over two hours. In the mean time I made the masala sauce. I added a bit of butter and cream to the sauce (heart healthy!) to make it closer to a makhani than a masala. I also cut up a couple of yukon gold potatoes, boiled them and then added them into the masala. After the chicken was done marinating I put the chicken pieces onto skewers (and can I say-- finally! a use for the wooden skewers that I've had in the cabinent for years... used to be I'd just break them up and use them like toothpicks to test when cakes were done!) and then attempted to "grill" them on the stove. My grill pan is rather small so I just sauteed them in a deep pan for 3-5 minutes or until the outside was a bit browned. Then I transferred the skewers to a tin foil lined baking sheet and roasted the chicken skewers for 15 minutes at 375. I also made some jasmati rice and this great frozen Naan that I found at WF. I put some rice in wide bowls, poured some of the masala onto the rice and then once the chicken was done removed it from the skewers and served it atop the masala. The Naan was a great accompaniment. Overall the result was good-- spicy, but not too spicy and the chicken was amazingly tender!

Thanks to Google...

Apparently, I was amongst those lawyers chosen by LSNY as a 2007 Pro Bono Honoree. Oddly, I only found out this by googling myself. Must have secretary start *OPENING* my mail.

File Under Ooops...

Last night we were going to have a rotisserie chicken from WF with couscous and a vegetable tian. When I brought home the chicken I put it in the oven to keep it warm (note at this point, obviously, the oven wasn't turned on... ) the chicken was still inside the plastic WF bag and the plastic rotisserie chicken dome that they all are packaged in. I proceed to sautee the onions for the tian and slice up the potatoes and zucchini and of course, pre-heat the oven. It is not until I go to put the tian in the oven AND I open the door and see a melting chicken that I remember that the chicken (package and all) were IN THE OVEN! The packaging looked like a shrinky dink gone awry. Luckily no plastic had gotten to the floor of the oven and nothing stuck to the rack, and thankfully they still had chickens when the Husband went to WF on his way home from work.

The First Rule of Fight Club

is never wake a sleeping baby. I've got Miss S. asleep on my lap and a) the phone rang (unfortunately the phone is in the kitchen I guess, regardless it's not within arm's reach so sorry to whomever just called!!) and b) I've lost the remote and I'm stuck watching "Make me a Supermodel".

Music Class...

Miss S and I go to a weekly music class for youngsters... she really seems to enjoy it and I thought it might be a good way to meet more moms in the nabe. Unfortunately we're on to music class #2 and the folks in this class seem to be just about as friendly as the folks in the last class, which is not very friendly. Truth be told I'm not much of a socializer myself but I try my hand at small talk and try to look friendly. At our first class of the new semester we had quite a mix in age range for the kids-- from babies Miss S's age up to 3/4 year olds. Basically, however, the class seems to be made up of generally two kinds of people: Snobs with babies and Velour Juicy Couture Track-Suited Moms with older kids who run amok during class. Possibly the moms with the toddlers (if they have a moment where they're not chasing said toddlers (i) around the room or (ii) trying to get them to stop beating the piano with small bongo drums) might be amenable to socialization, but the snob moms (including one slightly older botoxed looking mom and a mom with a Gucci baby bag) have formed a clique by class two and I don't think we'll be breaking down barriers any time soon.

I appear to have lost my opportunity with the Snobs with Babies group at class one by not having presented the right first impression. Sadly, I was in wide leg jeans and a cardigan, no jewelry (save my baby shoe) and unmanicured toes. For all they could tell I was some sort of unwed mother with little regard for nail care. In her defense, Miss S. had on a very, very cute "Baby Nay" matching top and pant set, but I did allow her to leave the house with socks from Target.

For class two I tried to up the ante and actually found myself dressing to impress at a children's music class. Dear god, what has my life become??? Regardless, I had on nice jeans, a cashmere sweater, scarfy-scarf tied all Parisian like and fancy "logo" belt, I even whipped out my own Gucci bag. I had on socks this time (as the toes remain unmanicured) and had pulled out both the straightening iron for my hair and loaded up on the jewelry. Miss S was all decked out in the latest matchy-matchy outfit from the Gap (with Trumpette socks, Target socks being relegated to the other days of the week).

On the one hand I could justify this and say that it's nice for a change to dress up (a change from wearing the same five outfits each week because I barely have time as a new mom to brush my teeth let alone crack the vault which is my closet) but on the flip side I think-- why the hell am I dressing to impress these people, and like they even care! I guess it's that "I-used-to-work-in-New-York-Type-A-Personality" Competitive Streak. Anyway, it didn't work. I guess I can go the intellectual route next week and wear my Phi Beta Kappa pin with my Cornell Law sweatshirt or I can just bake some cupcakes and try and win over the velour lounge wear set. Bring a tranquilizer dart for the toddlers and we may just have hit pay dirt.

Post Office...

How is it that I managed to spend $41 at the Post Office today? I didn't even come away with a commemorative stamp set or a first day issue. I thought if someone managed to spend that much in sheer postage they'd at least get a building named after them.

Facebook!

I have finally joined the ranks of all those folks on Facebook how this came about just proves that I am getting old. I finally decided to take the plunge after watching a segment about it on 60 Minutes (which leads me to the question, why the hell was I watching 60 Minutes??, This, coupled with the fact that I almost got sucked into watching "Comanche Moon" proves I'm getting old... I guess CBS figures they'll just keep making those damn Lonesome Dove tv movies until everyone in America has seen them at least once, but I digress). At first I was a bit reluctant about my Facebook entry. I didn't upload a photo, I didn't have too much information out there... I was going by the mantra always espoused by Dave about never having his photo on the internet. Then, much to my surprise, I saw that Dave has a very detailed Facebook profile page! How things have changed in this new digital age. Anyway, that gave me more comfort and I did upload a photo (though arguably I have to look for a better one)... we'll see how all this progresses. I've already sent out feelers to Thisbe and 5820 Mommy to join!

Uber-Cranky!

Today we coined a new word in baby-dom: Uber-Cranky. That's what happens when baby has pushed past the point of desperately needing a nap. Today this was brought on by far too much play with our Haba Fantasiesteine (aka "fantasy blocks") and Mr. Monkey, stuffed monkey courtesy of Grandma & Grandpa!

Other things to think about-- last night it was our anniversary (yay!) We had chocolate chip cookies (hot out of the oven) and watched the latest Harry Potter Installment. We had reservations at the local hoity-toity French restaurant, but alas it was not in the cards... anyhoo... Harry Potter 5? Both long and boring. Geesh.

3:10 to Yuma

Last night we watched 3:10 to Yuma... the Mom and Dad weren't big fans of it, but we enjoyed it. Sure, Christian Bale's character was a bit of a loser but Russell Crowe's character was pretty cool. Overall not a bad flick, though as always, leaving the question raised by the Dad-- have they really run out of good stories in Hollywood that they have to remake this??

Spoonula!

DMV...

As you might know I'm preparing for the Bar Exam. In addition to filling out an excessively long personal certification packet (including credit report information, to which I say, here's $30 just go order my credit report yourself!) I am now in the process of sending in all my goofy supporting materials. Among the required items are driving abstracts covering the last seven years of my driving history. To be honest this is the biggest reason why I didn't take this exam 8 years ago when I took NY-- I didn't want to have to go through the rigmarole of getting this! Fine. To get my NJ abstract I had to apply online for an identification number which was then mailed to me so I could apply online for the abstract. For NY, one has to call the "out-of-state" number (unless you happen to have handy your old driver's license number, among other information off of your old driver's license, which was most likely taken from you by the state where you have a license now, in which case you can order your abstract on the internet or by mail) 1-518-473-5595. For whatever reason, this number worked for the Husband, but I've been trying to call it since Tuesday. All it does is ring busy, unless of course it's after 4pm in which case it rings through to a message informing you that the office is closed. Yesterday (day three) I finally called the Manhattan DMV to see if they could get me in touch with some other person in Albany (they couldn't) but if I wanted to go to the DMV in Herald Square I could theoretically pick up the abstract in person. Yeah, okay. Today I called the number again. Same thing, busy signal. Over and over again. So I called 411 and asked for the main number for the DMV in Albany. They connected me to the insurance and traffic violations division which disconnected me after a few go rounds with the automated menus, including my not pressing any buttons and pretending not to have a touchtone phone in a vain attempt to be put through to a live person (or as live as anyone at the DMV can be). I noticed that the exchange on the phone number that 411 had given me was one number off of the exchange I had been calling, so I tried calling 1-518-474-5595. This gave me "a non-working number at the State of New York" and gave me a phone number for Directory Services at the State of New York. I called these people and plead my case. They connected me to the DMV's Division of Certified Records. The woman there, after much cajoling and her sounding like she wasn't surprised by the whole "phone off the hook" trick she put me through to another division. After hearing a long automated menu about insurance issues and car title documentation I finally reached Ron. Ron sounded like he was shocked that someone actually got through. He took down my information (after having to give him the first three letters of my first name and the first five letters of my last name, because obviously the rest of the letters are immaterial)and supposedly I'll be receiving both a fax and a hard copy by mail. Sure I will.

Random!

This morning the site was visited by a short person from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan seeking information about capri pant hemlines. Got to love Statcounter.

Shoutout to 410e9th's Nasal Passages

Here's to making a quick recovery! Feel better, 410!

Shuffle!

Taking a Cue from Ana

1. Put your iTunes on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY?" YOU SAY?
Just a Girl - No Doubt

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
Les Yeux Ouverts-- Beautiful South

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Stayin' Alive – The Bee Gees

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
It's Not Right, But It's Okay-- Whitney Houston

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Waiting for My Lucky Day-- Chris Isaak

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
That's Life -- Frank Sinatra

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Adios Muchachos -- Lester Lanin

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Cosmicgirl -- Jamiroquai

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT OFTEN?
Here Comes the Hotstepper -- Ina Kamoze

WHAT IS 2 + 2?
3am Eternal -- The KLF

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Linus & Lucy -- Vince Guaraldi

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Isn't it Romantic -- Derek Smith (Hannah & Her Sisters Soundtrack)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Seasons of Love – Rent

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Independent Women -- Destiny's Child

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Heroes -- David Bowie

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Guilty -- Barbara Streisand (if only! Where's Barry Gibb??)

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Land of Canaan -- Indigo Girls

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Let's Get Loud -- Jennifer Lopez

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
Escape -- Enrique Iglesias

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Memories Are Made of This -- Dean Martin

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
I Love The Nightlife -- Alicia Bridges

Select a Candidate!

Minnesota Public Radio's website has a Select Your Presidential Candidate survey. Take the poll and it will show you which candidate's views best match your own! Interestingly enough, mine showed that my views most match Rudy's... too bad the poor guy probably won't be in the race much longer. But, so much, too for the accuracy of this thing. Rudy shows up as my closest pick with Obama and Paul!?!? following??

Project Runway

How could they get rid of Kevin?? We love Kevin! Kevin looks like Joey Fatone! Kevin has been in the top 2/3 designers each week! Sure his outfit made his model look like an Indonesian hooker, but still! It's a travesty! I'm sorry but I think Ricky should have gone home. Ricky's outfit was really boring and he's been in the bottom from the beginning. Okay. That's all I have to say.

Sesame Street in the 21st Century

We watched Sesame Street this morning and Ernie actually used air quotes. I think that muppet is getting too hip for his own good.

Wigs and Weaves...

So on the latest episode of the Salt n Pepa Show S&P began investigating creating their own line of wigs and weaves. Then last week I watched a rerun of The View with a segment about, you guessed it, Wigs and Weaves (all about Sherri's hair options)... my thought: Weaves for babies. Maybe that whole Natalie Portman in "V for Vendetta" look isn't for you.

Another Big Day Out For Baby!

Today was an exciting day. We went to our first day of the new semester of Music Class (which is now populated with kids baby age through 3 or 4), then we wandered around downtown Princeton. It was a beautiful spring-like day. We hit up the post office first, then Chase Bank, then (while Miss Baby was napping) we got lunch from Panera and finally ending with passport photos! Now that we have passport photos for both Mom and Baby we're that much closer to actually obtaining passports (mine expires this spring... and it's certainly time to get rid of that old passport picture). After our excitement in the passport photo place (where we were charged a premium because "baby photo take longer") we then headed on to the doctor's office.... Miss Baby needed her flu booster and besides that she had been pulling on her ears a lot lately so I wanted to make sure there was no ear infection going on. Nope, turns out much like Edmund Hillary, Miss B is just tugging on those ears because they're there.

Update on Lemon Cake!

Okay, this stuff is really good. I used fresh lemons for the lemon zest and bottled lemon juice for the buttermilk/lemon juice combo which is added to the batter. I skipped the lemon and sugar syrup that Ina suggests that you pour on the cake but I did keep the confectioner's sugar glaze (though I only drizzled it on top-- didn't want the cake to be too sugary!) I used the parchment paper to line the pan as Ina suggested and it made it super easy to remove the cake from the pan. Suggestions/changes? Only that next time I might add some poppy seeds to the batter--but really this was super easy and very, very tasty!

Lemon Cake!

Despite the fact that we're supposed to be scaling back he cooking while studying for the bar, I can't really get too much done during the day. So, today we've made Ina Garten's Lemon Cake. I cut the recipe in half so we've just got one lone cake and I had a certain seven month old accompanying me in the kitchen. Miss Baby acted as supervisor which worked out well until she tried to wrestle the spoonula out of my hand. Now that we're waiting for the cake to emerge from the oven, I had on Fox News, Miss B, however apparently prefers Stargate Atlantis as she just changed the channel to SciFi. So much for trying to get young people interested in politics. Anyhoo, we'll let you know how the cake turns out!

In Response to Thisbe...

Hey there! Some of us republicans are fans of "America's Mayor"! Huckabee??? I don't know what kind of crack those Iowans were smoking but please, nobody with a name like Huckabee can get elected (let's not even discuss his politics, the whole christian right thing, yada, yada, yada). Romney?? He looks like a used car salesman. And lets not forget that Ron Paul just seems like a nut!

As for the Democrats, I'm glad you've indicated your hat is in the ring for Edwards. I can appreiciate that. As for the other Democrats?? Okay, Richardson looks too much like Horatio Sanz (and I'm totally suspicious of his relationship with Valero), Obama-- seems like a nice guy but I think I have more "presidential" experience because I was president of the National Honor Society in High School. I mean come on, how long has this guy been in politics?? And Hillary. She's just too frightening to even discuss. But again-- if nothing else, experience please?? 8 years as first lady really doesn't count. Eeouch. Its going to be a long road to November.

How Can They Aready Be Remaking

The Incredible Hulk???

And Practically Everybody I Know is a Lawyer...

Interesting article about the state of various professions from the NYTimes...

Illinois Nazis

Cinemax is showing The Blues Brothers! Yay, no commercials and full on cursing. "We've got both kinds, country and western!"

Hmpf.

Sometimes Miss Baby will wake up when I sneeze. Other times, like this afternoon, she can be so sleepy that she actually fell asleep in the car on the way home from Stop N' Shop (which is approximately 2 traffic lights from the house) while I was singing along (rather loudly) to "Seasons of Love" from "Rent".

As Always, More Random Thoughts....

This afternoon we watched Martha and it was a rerun of the "Babies Show". I have to say that I do truly admire Martha. After all the woman sleeps like two hours a night and then spends her days running her empire and at the same time masterminding carrot cake cupcakes and onesies stenciled with potato cut stamps (let's not forget that she climbed Kilamanjaro and of course manages all that animal husbandry up in Bedford.) As admirable as her stamina and creativity may be however, Martha really need to work on her people skills given that she's got a daytime talk show. Martha can be charming when dealing with men (case in point, Russell Crowe, David Letterman, etc.) but put her next to women, children and even dare I say animals and geesh! On today's "Babies Show" Martha had to hold a few tykes and she really looked like she was thinking.... "I have people I can pay to do this" Not to mention she seemed a bit ticked when one of the babies who was modeling a fancy stroller in the "mom's musts" segment wouldn't stop crying.

While checking my email this evening Ticketmaster reminded me that tickets will go on sale next week for "Je'caryous Johnson's Three Ways To Get a Husband" at the Beacon Theater. Which can only bring to mind the quote from "It's a Wonderful Life": "I been savin' this money for a di-vorce, if ever I got myself a husband!"

On the news tonight I saw Hillary Clinton's speech after the Iowa caucus and is it just me or did Bill Clinton look like a wax figure?

Flix was showing one of my favorite movies Seems Like Old Times. What can I say I'm a sucker for those Chevy Chase/Goldie Hawn movies.

Cultural Guerillas?

Apparently, people broke into the Pantheon in order to repair its clock...

What a Way

to ring in the New Year....earlier this afternoon one of the major networks rebelled against bowl game fever by airing Seal on Ice sponsored by Musselman's applesauce. Yes, Seal sang selections from his songbook live while people iceskated. I think Heidi must be behind this (as she does have her own line of birkenstocks and yogurt candy, so I think its fair to say that she's the queen of odd cross-marketing).

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everybody! Last night we welcomed in the New Year with an exciting assortment of hors d'ouvres... including mini meatballs (with swedish meatball gravy for dipping), mini goat cheese and cojack quesadillas, toasted ravioli alfredo and Thisbe's favorite, mini hot dogs ala pigs in blankets. We also had our traditional three cheese fondue which we make every new years. Whoever bought us that fondue pot for our wedding can know we put it to good use at least once a year. Rounding out the evening was a chocolate fondue with assorted fruits. I liked the apple slices but I fear that my dislike for bananas was reconfirmed. Why is it that bananas always taste like rotting fruit? Anyhoo, I fear that for a while this may be the end of fancy cooking. I'm starting off the new year by studying for the bar exam (why is it that certain states which shall remain nameless fail to see the utility in a little thing we like to call reciprocity???). Eeeoch. I'm fearing that this may seriously cut down what little "free" time we have. But, worry not, after the bar we have a few new cook books to test out including Barefoot Contessa Parties! and Cooking with Jamie.