The Unusuals, aka Fox Force Five...

"Well, the way they make shows is, they make one show. That show's called a pilot. Then they show that show to the people who make shows, and on the strength of that one show they decide if they're going to make more shows. Some pilots get picked and become television programs. Some don't, become nothing. She starred in one of the ones that became nothing." -- Samuel L. Jackson, as Jules Winnfield, Pulp Fiction

Okay, so I'm not starring in anything ala Mrs. Mia Wallace, but yesterday I was an extra in an overnight shoot for a new ABC pilot, "The Unusuals". I fear this pilot may go the way of Fox Force Five, but I figured what the hell, I may as well give it a try.

I got a call on Thursday from C and G Casting about a shoot on Saturday night (note, I didn't realize at the time that it wasn't just a shoot on Saturday night, it was an overnight shoot, starting on Saturday, ending sometime as yet undisclosed on Sunday. On Friday I called in for more details and was told to wear a spring casual outfit and bring a change of clothes that were more business appropriate. I was then told to call back on Saturday morning for call time, location, etc. Saturday morning I find out that this is an overnight and that I need to arrive at 6pm at 4 West 43rd Street (aka the home of the Unification Church, otherwise known as the Moonies, who apparently rent out their auditorium space for extra cash...) our "holding" area.

I show up at 6, fill out my pay form, and proceed to pick out a table to sit to await further instructions. I sat with two older women (one easily in her sixties, the other probably seventy-- then again we all know that seventy is the new forty). After a little bit another older woman joined us (who was also easily in her seventies), as she knew the other two from previous jobs. I took this time to do some work for The Job (because nothing says "waiting as an extra" like drafting a Loan Agreement) and listen to the conversations all around. After a bit, I joined in the chatting asking about waivers and the union, etc. The ladies were Vicenza Terrence and a third who's name I didn't catch. Both Vicenza and Terrence live in the Village and have been on Law and Order! Most recently, they've been extras for Rescue Me. They were a hoot and very fun to chat with. After a bit the wardrobe lady came and assessed all of us. Luckily I got the thumbs up for my outfit, while unfortunately one of my table mates had to change out of her striped blouse and put on a sweater she had brought-- downside? it was cashmere and our holding area was decidedly not air conditioned. I was really a bit surprised that this whole extra thing is much of a "do-it-yourself" affair... the outfits that people had on totally ran the gamut. I guess in a production the director doesn't mind leaving certain things to chance!

After about an hour and a half or two hours the PA's called for extras number 26-77 (all of us non-SAG folk) to go on set. There had been rumors that we would be at Grand Central, but instead we were sent over to the subway station for the Shuttle. It was pretty neat-- the film crew had closed one of the subway entrances and had two subways and one platform cordoned off. We were put on a car (with A/C!) and told to await further instructions. Everybody was very sociable and chatty and I met a nice man from Brooklyn in his forties that just decided to give the whole acting thing a go. After a bit we were joined by Teddy (who I think must have been an AD) and told what the scene was going to be and what we would be doing-- a hand full of us were chosen to go out and populate another subway car where the shot would be taking place. Our group was cut in half, with the first bunch of people going in the car. Then the rest of us kind of felt like the kids who don't get picked for dodge ball on the playground. After a few more minutes though three more of us were taken into the car. A couple, and me. The couple followed Teddy into the car and were told to sit down, I was standing behind Teddy and when he turned around he asked me: "Were you brought in here?" I quickly said, "Yes". Then he told me to stand near the door, holding on to one of the poles. Turns out I got to be placed right next to the action of the scene-- I'm sure that when its all said and done my head will be cut out of the frame, but just so you all know-- I was wearing tan linen Eileen Fisher pants and brown Prada pumps. If this thing ever airs, you'll know those linen pants are me!!

We even were told to act! When the action of the scene took place those of us near the actors were supposed to react--- but Teddy specifically told us *not* to overact. When we were doing the rehearsals I specifically didn't really change my facial expression too much and one of the other extras made a comment-- to which I noted that there was no way in hell that I was going to be considered to be "overacting" and manage to get myself thrown off that subway car before we actually filmed anything! Noting that during all of this, one of the guys next to me kept talking to the "talent" which I had read before was strictly verboten. I kept waiting for one of the PA's to come and tell the guy to knock it off, especially when he started asking Harold Perrineau where he is living these days, and then started giving him suggestions on how to play the scene. We ended up shooting the scene four times, two different ways and then were sent back to holding!

Upon going back to the holding pen, Vicenza and Terrence had been joined by some other new faces and they wanted to know the details... one big detail to note is that by this time (after nine pm) we still hadn't been fed anything... but I guess that's all par for the course. I'll know in the future to certainly pack my own snacks.

We were all shuttled back to the subway station once more before we did get dinner (which was surprisingly good-- I certainly didn't expect to have mussels, clams and shrimp as part of the buffet) and then we hung out at holding until about 12:45 when it was back to set. During dinner the Sag Rep on set was hanging around by our table and answering questions-- one of the most surreal discussions of the evening was about the pay rate, union rules and availability of parts for playing the "victim" on Law and Order. Apparently, if you're in full body make-up it means an extra whole $18.00 per day. One of the other extras had driven up from Philly and she brought her dachshund with her. Vicenza noted that since we hadn't been asked to bring pets, the dog wouldn't be getting any money out of this "gig".

I can honestly say both that I have never spent so much time in one day on a subway car nor have I ever spoken to so many random people all at once. Everybody was amazingly nice (and a bit kooky, but I think that's to be expected... especially when you're sitting around underground watching stunt men do their thing at 3am). Also, on a funny note, there was one girl from Hightstown and Eugene, a Russian gentleman from East Brunswick. Eugene was in the scene with me on the subway car and at the end of the night we were instructed to walk up and down the platform for an "establishment" shot. When I asked him whether he was a full time actor he said that he wasn't-- he works for a mortgage company here in Princeton, but he did say that he'd like to pursue acting because, he "has a look". He said that "I don't have to be Robert DeNiro, but a few lines would be nice" (all said in a bit of a thick Russian accent). Eugene would be perfect as a Bond Villain (much like Dr. Gamburg) though a little on the short side.

Overall it was a neat experience, even if all I'm getting paid is about $100 for 11.3 hours of "work". It was great to see how the production happens and I do have to say I was a bit envious of the crew when craft services came around at 3:30 or so with a giant tray full of cannoli.

I finally got signed out after 5:00am, as the sun was coming up and got home by 6:45. It was kind of like overnight jury duty, except the pay was slightly better.

I will say, if nothing else it was an experience. If you're in New York, you have some free time and you're looking for a unique evening social event I say go for it, after all, somebody has to be that person in the background riding on the subway car-- why not have it be you?

Le Piano Oublié

Tonight we watched "Le Piano Oublié", aka The Forgotten Piano on TV5 Monde. It was a very well told French TV movie, essentially. But without commercials it kept us hooked such that we actually sat at the kitchen table and watched it on the world's smallest tv until it was all done. Now I'm watching Venus Beaute (Institut)(again)... love this whole foreign tv thing!

In the category of someone who will be needing a letter of reference soon...

Nancy Byrne, Executive Director, New Jersey Division of Travel and Tourism was quoted in yesterday's Town Topics. Ms. Byrne is quoted as saying: "When you say 'New Jersey' people cringe." While this may be true, should it really be coming out of the mouth of the Executive Director of the State's tourism board???

The Oscars

That was tonight's final Jeopardy! category. The clue was (paraphrasing) "This person has earned 1 nomination in acting, 6 in directing and 14 as a writer."

All three contestants missed it (one said Orson Welles (!?!), two John Huston). Alex says: "The answer: "Woody Allen, oooo don't you hate yourself for missing that one? the viewers at home missed it too, no one ever gets this one..."

No Alex, you're wrong, me and most of the other Jeopardy! viewers in the New York area *knew* it was Woody Allen! How could you *not* know that???

Clerks.

Back in College, Leda and I were big fans of the movie Clerks.

"Just because they serve you, doesn't mean they like you."

Toy Assembly Instructions.

Congratulations! You've just bought a large overly plastick-y toy for your child! We know that you pride yourself on only feeding your child organic food, only dressing them in organic cotton and striving to only buy wooden toys made in Western Europe but let's face it, you can only do that for so long. Educational toys? Once toddlerhood hits that's out the window. Now let's get down to the real work-- assembly!

Did you think that after actually making a child from scratch you would be done with building things for a while? Ha! That was only the beginning. Yes, that's right, we've employed people at slave wages in a far off country to put together roughly 1/4of this particular toy. The rest is up to you. We know you're up to the challenge! As a starter, we've enclosed most of the screws that you will need. Please note, however, that we have not actually threaded any of the openings through which those screws are supposed to be screwed into. That part? It's up to you. (Noting, that to make this endeavor that much more exciting for you, we have enclosed screws that don't have pointy ends). As an added mental and physical challenge the depth through which said screws are to be placed will vary based on the location of the screw so if you start assembling this product with a short screwdriver you will be, in a word, screwed. You'll need a long thin screwdriver (noting that you'll probably have less torque with said screwdriver making it even more difficult to install previously described blunt screws). You can thank us later!

Also note that when building this toy we suggest that you attempt to break it, as that is really the only true test of seeing whether you have built it properly to withstand the force that is a toddler. Door-knob on little house door? We know it's flimsy. Good luck. You spend most of your day as it is trying to keep small household items from becoming choking hazards? Guess what, when your child attempts to rip the door handle off this product, or rip the door off its hinges, the screws? You're right, they will be choking hazards. See, and you thought this item would be providing your child with fun and excitement for months to come? I bet you didn't think that it would continue to occupy your time as well!

Once you've completed assembly don't forget the batteries! We specifically did not note on the outside of the package what kind of batteries you'd be needing because we thought you would appreiciate the surprise. Double AA batteries? Of course not, far too common! Triple AAA batteries? Do you have some of those lying around? Yes? Good, that's not what we're looking for. D batteries? I see you've bought some of those too, no, we don't need D batteries, alas you'll need three C batteries. Just enough to make that four pack of C batteries seem like overkill and one more than you could buy in a two pack. (Editorial note: -- This raises a question-- What about the B battery? Trust me, if we thought there was even a one in a million chance that someone in North America carried B batteries, you'd be driving out to Radio Shack to buy some). Wondering how an iPod can hold 10,000 songs and be as slim as a credit card but it requires Three C batteries to operate a small light bulb, sound effects for a creaking door and three versions of the alphabet song? We wondered that too, but we thought relying on gi-normous batteries would be a nice old school throwback to your own childhood. Fun, no?

Finally, thank you for your purchase and good luck!
You're going to need it.

America's Newest Homeowner!

Fung Wah Bus!

So I'm totally stealing this picture from 410e9th it was just too funny not too-- the infamous Fung Wah buses drive like maniacs on the turnpike!

Another Friend of Bill W.

I saw the above phrase on a bumper sticker today. Tell me, doesn't advertising that you're in AA defeat the purpose of it being Alcoholics Anonymous?

George Carlin...

Poor George. Someplace just got a lot funnier.

Below are a few quotes to remember him by:

"Most people work just hard enough not to get fired and get paid just enough money not to quit."

"Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?"

"Some people see things that are and ask, Why? Some people dream of things that never were and ask, Why not? Some people have to go to work and don't have time for all that."

"Don Ho can sign autographs 3.4 times faster than Efrem Zimbalist Jr."

"You will not hear me say "bottom line", "game plan", "role model", "scenario", or "hopefully". I will not "kick back", "mellow out", or "be on a roll"! I will not "go for it", and I will not "check it out". I don't even know what "it" is!"

Cookie Monster...

The Mom advised of this great quote from Cookie Monster this week: "Me been there, Me have crazy times in the 70's and 80's. Me the Robert Downey Jr. of cookies."

You can also see Cookie answer the Proust Questionnaire on NPR...

More Things We Love...

that Starbucks sells a "Kid's" drink (aka 8 ounces of Milk), this concept, combined with drive-thru Starbucks can be a life saver.

A New Hope...

MSNBC published a list of 10 Weekend Getaways for the summer. Included in this list are exotic destinations like Rekyavik and the Azores. Also included? New Hope, Pennsylvania. Okay, so they have suggested the entire Bucks County region, but they do specifically mention New Hope. We went to New Hope last weekend. Mind you, it is a cute town, there is at least one decent antique shop and there are a couple of restaurants that look promising, but really, the place is on par with Helen, Georgia (and I say this and I'm about a thirty minute drive from the place, let alone 1.5 hours from New York or 2.5 from Baltimore, etc., etc.) There are one too many shops selling tie-dye and patchouli and there are also a few too many biker types for this to be a top weekend destination. As an FYI, Lambertville, NJ across the Delaware River looks a bit nicer... but I still wouldn't suggest to anybody that its a place you'd want to actually fly to get to!

An Open Letter to Wait Staff--

Yes, that's right, I've come to dine at your establishment and I'm ballsy enough to bring my child along with me. More realistically put, my child needs to eat and I am merely a food-stuff facilitator. I kind of like to think of myself as mom-slash-personal-assistant-slash-handler and I'm handling Napoleon's ID. Think of me more as those people who do advance work for the President, or for Castro.

Now that I'm here, let's try and work together to make this as enjoyable (or at least as less of a teeth-clenching and hair-raising) experience as possible. Here are a few ground rules to govern our relationship, or a list of demands, as you may see it:

1) I intend to leave you a large tip. Recognize this in advance. I feel it is necessary and perhaps the only way I can secure the ability to return to your restaurant in the future and as a small compensation for the cheerios and other detritus which we will be leaving behind, under our table and spread about a three table radius of the high chair/booster seat when we leave. (Case in point-- a hamburger bun strewn on the floor, under the table and stepped on at Brasserie? This alone warranted 30%).

2) The minute our butts hit the chair at whatever table you've stuck us with (understanding that it will most likely be the most undesirable table in the place, farthest away from (x) other diners, (y) your colleagues lucky enough not to have gotten us assigned to their station and/or (z) anyone with all of their hearing) you need to immediately bring us a bread basket. It doesn't need to be free, it just needs to be full. The key to a happy, quiet child? One who's mouth is full. Nothing can quite accomplish this as quickly as carbohydrates.

3) Now that we've gotten the bread, take our orders and bring us out our food as soon as humanly possible. Appetizers? Bring out everything as soon as it's ready. Entrees? We'll take them ASAP and leave the appetizers right where they are. The bread? Its novelty is fleeting. We'll need new and exciting food options about every 7 to 10 minutes (and that's if we're lucky). A European, relaxed dining experience? If I wanted that I'd have stayed in France. What we both need to understand is that I'm on borrowed time. I've got exactly two pieces of bread, eight forkfulls of kid's sized macaroni and cheese and about ten french fries before I've got to get the check and get the hell out of here or you're going to start to see fireworks. In that time I've got to not only feed my little one but I've also got to order my own food, consume it and pay the check. Trust me, speed is key.

4) Bring me whatever I ask for, no matter how odd it may seem. A glass of ice cubes, a shrimp fork and some lemon wedges? Spare napkins, ketchup packets and two wine lists? Whatever it is, just bring it. Keeping a baby/toddler/child happy in a public eating establishment is less of a balancing act and more like trying to defuse a small explosive device. If I need ice for my sippy cup understand that in that gi-normous diaper bag I'm straddled with I don't have a sno-cone machine. There's only so much a person can carry without having to hire a sherpa, sometimes you just can't be that self-sufficient. Bring me a glass of ice. If I ask for ice water, I'm not asking for "cold" water, I'm asking for "ICE" water. If [insert name of your favorite celebrity] were eating at your station and [he/she] asked for ICE water would you bring them cold water, or a glass of ice with water in it? Ever see that movie "As Good As It Gets"? Well, until a human being hits about the age of 10, we're all about as OCD as Jack Nicholson. Understand that as a parent, I have been through this drill every day since my little person was born. I know what she likes and can anticipate her needs better than you can. If I need ice (or lemon wedges, or extra napkins or whatever) to avert a meltdown, bring it. I'm not asking for you to negotiate peace in the middle east, I just want some ice.

5) Understand that your help in these matters is appreiciated and this can't be a successful endeavor without you. Trust me, neither I nor you want to interrupt the other diners, I'm doing my best but I can't do it alone. I also can't live for the next eighteen years only going to drive-thrus. When in doubt, just remember rule #1 above.

Westport, CT and the GWB...

(On the Post Road Bridge)























(At Compo Beach)

























(Ocean view)





















(Crossing the Bridge)





















copyright 2008

Adventures in Homemaking...

The other day I met up with KK, who I hadn't seen in forever, and she gave me some wonderful fabric (alas, we are both sewers and knitters!) So, I started to make a little top and pants set for Miss B...

(Front)

(Back)

(Pants, in process...)













I also used this as a chance to make a little dress and bloomer set out of some neat batik print fabric I had hanging around and some coordinating striped fabric (which started out as a quilters "fat quarter"-- turns out the "fat quarter" (which were on sale this week at Jo-Ann for 99 cents) is the perfect amount of fabric for bloomers-- with extra to spare!




I didn't use any formal patterns, just used the top/pants set for comparison for sizing and an existing pair of bloomers for size purposes. Not bad, I guess all that paper folding in art class as a kid has finally come in handy!

Audition

Yesterday I read a review, in the New York Times, of "Audition", the Barbara Walters memoir. In his review, David Kelly writes:

"In the prologue, Walters recalls that during her years on the “Today” show she would leave her building at 5 a.m. every day, usually with a garment bag. Outside, the “ladies of the evening” thought she was one of them, only more successful. “I would get into this long black limousine with its uniformed driver, and we would glide off into the early-morning light. And you know what effect all this had on the ladies? I gave them hope. Perhaps this book may do that for you.” On behalf of the millions of people who have been on the streets of New York at 5 in the morning and know what it’s like to give hookers false hope, I’m happy to say: Mission accomplished."

It just made me laugh.

Things We Love...

The Panini Press (Krupps, thanks to the Mom and Dad) perfect for making sandwiches for Baby!

Bliss' Lemon and Sage Soapy Sap (makes bubbles for a bubble bath that actually last, and who doesn't like the smell of lemony goodness?)

Jo-Ann Fabrics (Truly the home of pre-recession pricing-- with the exception of patterns, of course-- it's great you can go in there, by things for multiple projects and it's all under $15.00. Today I got fusible binding, two packages of elastic, two spools of guterman thread in fashion colors, fabric for two projects and a "fat quarter" of quilting fabric for $14 and change.)

The Ye Old Blackberry (for some reason, I can now check my AOL account from my Blackberry--- woo-hoo! Yet another way to waste time on the web anywhere at anytime!)

iTunes (okay, so I do have a love-hate relationship with Apple, but after watching a wacky French film ("Pur Week-End") last night on TV5, I was able to go on to iTunes and buy two songs heard in the film, including one that is considered Yiddish Hip-Hop.... how random is that?)

Lovejoy

For years and years one of the Dad's favorite shows has been Lovejoy, a British import formerly on A&E, with Ian McShane in the title role. You rarely see Lovejoy on tv these days, but interestingly, on Sunday nights one of our PBS stations has been showing them. This Sunday's episode is one in which Lovejoy (a crafty antiques dealer) has been recently released from a short jail stint after having been wrongly convicted of dealing in stolen property. What did Lovejoy do during is time in prison? "I've begun writing a book on Spode."

Fortunes for Babies

Last night we had PF Chang's for dinner. Sophie's fortune? "You'll soon make a big first step".

TV5 Monde!

The Husband had me call Verizon the other day to see if we could get the "triple play" package rate for our cable, phone and internet services since we already had all three but weren't getting any discount. So, I called and got us the discount and at the same time signed us up for the French language tv station TV5 Monde. We're been watching it ever since (the cat is in all her glory). Tonight we were watching some sort of variety program called Les Annees Bonheur and they had George McCrae singing his disco one hit wonder "Rock Your Baby". So he comes out on stage followed by a pack of dancing girls and I notice that all of the dancing girls have on the silk orange and pink Marimekko print top that I bought earlier this season at H&M. Talk about random!

How to Beat the High Cost of Living, Part Deux

Check out the Book Sale at the library in Rocky Hill. Today I got two hardcover books for $1.00! (It was half price day) Tomorrow? It's $5 bag of books day! And, Miss B and I also hit up an estate sale-- we're now the proud owner of a pair of Staffordshire dogs-- Score!

Momzilla

We're on our way out the door to go to Gymboree this afternoon and I'm carrying all twenty odd pounds of Sophie (who's got a bottle herself), my overfilled purse is on my shoulder, I've got a burp cloth, lip gloss, a hairbrush and a mini bottle of Poland spring in my right hand. This is all a long way of saying I've got my hands full, as usual. I walk over to the Wagon and I happen to spot an evil looking spider on the roof-rack/side-rail thingie. Now I know-- the spider is black, the rail is black, the garage is dark-- how the heck did I see this thing? I have no idea, I just have this wacky hightened spidey sense. So, what's a mom with her handsfull to do? Bend her right leg and step out of her three inch platform sandals-- grab said sandal with "free" left hand, whack spider with shoe, and proceed to go about her day.

It's What's for Dinner...

Tonight it's macadamia/panko crusted tilapia in a lemon garlic sauce with yellow rice and my favorite bell pepper and fruit salsa. This time I made the salsa with half of an orange pepper and half of a red pepper, roughly diced. I tossed those together and then added a little bit of very finely chopped jalepeno pepper (with seeds). Then I added mandarin orange slices (rough cut) and diced pineapple. To that mixture I added some cilantro and lemon juice. I find it tends to be a nice light accompaniment to the fish-- great for summer.

Next week, in anticipation of not being able to do theme weeks (other than "Microwave Week" and "Toaster Oven Week" during the kitchen reno...) I'm going to make some of the recipes from this month's Food & Wine. They have a fish and chips recipe that looks good, a take on the traditional tuna melt-- a tuna and gruyere pannini and a sun-dried tomato flan. We'll see how it goes!

Gemini's Twin...

As always, I love to read Miss B's horoscope. In this month's InStyle Magazine, it advises that "you choose clothes in classic shapes and styles but continually reinvent your look by wearing them with statement pieces from your vast collection of accessories."

Back in homeroom...

I certainly would have never expected this sentence out of Farah Abdi...

I, [State Your Name]

the Husband and I were sworn in yesterday to the NJ Bar. Surprisingly, the ceremony was quite short and to the point. But, no compliants. When its practically 100 degrees and you find yourself in Trenton, there really is no need to stick around.

Okay, People....

tonight is the Top Chef finale... as discussed with the Mom, we both think Stephanie will win. (Noting, however, that we're thinking she will win since a woman hasn't won yet... personally, I think Richard is the most talented of the three remainders...) Thoughts?

More Randomness...

Miss Baby seems entirely enthralled by the Judy Garland documentary from 1979 that we're watching. We were just flipping through the channels, but when we got to channel 200 Judy was singing a song and Miss B stared at the screen and has been enjoying each song since. This is doubly random considering that this morning during bathtime she clapped and danced along to Run-D.M.C. I guess it just goes to show, when you love music you can have diverse taste.

Ebay.

Before we went to Paris we invested in a Maclaren stroller. It was on sale for $99 at Babies R' Us as it was a 2007 model and they were getting in the new 2008's (as if these things were cars!). It was a really cute gray/pink combo and it was light as a feather and super easy to fold up. One afternoon let's just say it had a bit of a run-in with the wagon while I was backing out of the garage. When folded it had a tendency to roll if you tried to stand it up and alas, when it was taken out of the trunk and propped up in the garage, I went to back out and it had slipped into the wagon's path. I had thought I felt something with the back tires and then I knew I had hit something when the front tires got it. I took it inside and the wheels were pretty bent out of shape and the plastic "hubcaps" were all scraped. I unfolded it and it had a bit of a distinct swagger when rolled. I thought that it really wouldn't do for the cobblestones of Paris so a new 2008 model was in our future.

What do you do when you have a stroller that you've rolled over with your car? Sell it on ebay, of course! So, after prying the tires back into shape with a screwdriver I took some pictures, described the condition of the stroller and posted the auction. After 7 days I had a winning bidder at $102.50 (plus $25 shipping...noting that this was more than I initially paid, before I drove over it!) This seemed great! Then I got an email from my winning bidder, asking how much shipping was to French Polynesia. You see, my auction specifically noted that international bidders were to pay actual shipping. My bidder, being a first time ebayer hadn't noticed this until after she won my auction. How much is shipping for a stroller to Tahiti? Approximately $80. Next thing I get a notification from Ebay that my winning bidder is going to send me $10,352.50 via personal check. Okay, I think to myself, that'll cover shipping. I then checked what the current exchange rate is from the currency used in FP to the US Dollar and basically my bidder had failed to make the conversion when noting how much she was sending by check.

Thankfully, a few hours after being notified of the $80 shipping fee my winning bidder agreed that she wanted to cancel the auction. This let me offer the item up to another bidder. The bidder who eventually ended up with the stroller paid $92.00 (yes, that's right a mere $7.00 less than what I originally paid) plus $25 shipping. When I checked my ebay feedback rating the new (rolled over) stroller's owner said: "Great Deal!" Gee, I was thinking the same thing.

Cooking and Baking...

On Monday we had salmon. I had gotten two salmon filets, some asparagus and wild rice at WF figuring that I'd figure out what to do with it when I got home. Originally I thought I would bake the salmon in the oven over the asparagus, but the salmon had the skins on and I thought I'd check some of my cookbooks for a different recipe. I had also picked up some pecan panko. In the Gourmet Cookbook I decided between salmon in a balsamic reduction (is there any other kind?) and salmon cooked on a bed of salt. I went for the salt!

It was pretty neat, if I may say so. The recipe called for two cups of sea salt/kosher salt to be put on the bottom of a pan, heat on high for four minutes or until the salt begins to smoke a bit. Pat your salmon filets dry and season with salt and pepper (I also added the pecan panko to the top of the filets... Then you place your salmon filets on the salt, skin side down. Cover and watch the fun begin until the salmon is cooked through. It was pretty nifty, I came back a few minutes later (after setting up my asparagus to roast in the oven in a citrus dill marinade and got the wild rice cooking) and there was my salmon all pink! Unfortunately, as we do not yet have an actual exhaust fan that exits the house, the kitchen has smelled like salt/salmon since Monday but the overall outcome was really tasty and incredibly easy. The salmon was nice and moist and was a great accompaniment for the asparagus and rice.

Then, tonight I made my version of cobb salad-- I threw in the kitchen sink including mini heirloom tomatoes, red peppers, ham, chicken, avocado, blue cheese, monterey jack and hardboiled egg. But, where's the challenge in putting together a salad? I also took my first try at Madelines.

Since trying honey madelines at Fauchon in Paris I had been on a quest to make my own. The Mom got me a bone fide made in France madeline pan and then it was just off to find a recipe. I had found a recipe on the web, the Mom had sent me one, there's one in Ina Garten's Paris cookbook, there's one in Baking with Julia, there's one in the Martha Stewart cookies book then there's one in "The New French Baker". Problem? They're all slightly different. The one on the web had me using unbleached all-purpose flour. Patricia Wells? All-purpose flour and under no circumstances use "unbleached"! Gourmet, Martha and Julia? All use cake flour. Turns out the difference between all-purpose flour and cake flour has to do with the gluten content and thus the "toughness" or doughiness. Bread flour has a high gluten content, all-purpose is a blended flour with intermediate gluten levels, cake and pastry flour being those with even less gluten so they are considered "softer" flours.

Then, to add even more confusion to this process, some of the recipes have you baking at 400, some at 350, some at 375. Some people have you refrigerate the batter for up to an hour before baking. It seems there is little consensus in the world of madelines and of course, I couldn't find the "official" Fauchon recipe.

I ended up going with the Gourmet recipe, even though it called for cake flour and all I had was unbleached all-purpose. I also wanted to try and make these "honey" flavored like what I had at the Place de Madeline so I used three spoons full of Fauchon acacia honey once the batter was final. The end result? Really tasty! The color was a bit uneven (the shell/fan side was a bit more brown than I would have liked which I attributed to the fact that I had buttered/floured the pan) but that's something I can work on. I figure next time I'll get some cake flour and maybe try the Julia Child version. One of my cookbooks also had a chocolate/orange recipe-- I think I may just try the orange... we'll see what a little Grand Marnier can do!

Zoo Knew?

Today we went to the Zoo!



The Philly Zoo (which claims to be America's First Zoo...) all I know is it was far superior to the Bronx Zoo in that it actually had quite a large assortment of animals... We had discussed with Thisbe going to Reading Terminal given that it was going to be toasty, but when we got the zoo the weather was still not too hot so we figured we'd give it a go.





They had lions, bears, polar bears, zebra, giraffes, various primates (including gorillas), birds, penguins, lots of ducks (a Miss Baby fave), hippos, a rhino, otters, a camel, ponies, goats and bunnies, and free range peacocks. Most of the smarter animals were in semi-hiding due to the sunny, warm temperatures but there were a number of presumably less intelligent animals out in full view, sun beating down relentlessly (humans included).

Also on display were a large pack of Amish who were apparently bused in via wagon and draft horse.


Upon arrival at the zoo we looked for parking. We pulled up to the "Frog lot" which is at the corner of the back of the zoo and the amtrak line (which has about six tracks, a 10 foot high fence with barbed wire and a generally unfriendly look to it.) We pulled up and were to be the last car in the frog lot in what would be about as far away from the entrance to the zoo as possible while still being in a zoo parking lot. I was skeptical. I pulled up to the young blond woman who was dolling out parking passes and asked whether there was some other lot. She had a walkie talkie and after I asked her about the parking situation she responded with, "you're in luck, drive all the way down this drive and there is one space at the front that's open. It's pretty close to the zoo entrance." Okay, so we head forward, cars lined up on either side of the drive, passing all along the back of the zoo, past various service entrances and past a bunch of Amtrak workers in hard hats doing construction on the rail yards and generally not looking very safe and/or family friendly for when we need to actually leave the zoo.... after a good little drive we end up at the end of the line. There's a man in our path dressed in zoo garb and wearing a coolie hat. There is one parking space-- he has a walkie talkie just like the other parking attendant and he waives us into the space. I take a look to the right just beyond where we're parking and what do I see? The zoo entrance. Score! I asked no questions and just thanked the man in the hat and we were on our way.








After the zoo we still were looking to kill some time but now we were looking for air conditioning. The King of Prussia sounded like a good option as I had never visited it before and figured that it is generally too far out of the way just to make a special trip there but it was only a few exits down on the PA Turnpike from the Zoo. We found a prime parking spot next to Neiman Marcus and headed on in. When we walked out from NM into the Mall there was a beautiful Hermes store on our left and on our right was a sign with an arrow pointing the way to JC Penney's. I can honestly say I've never quite seen such an odd assortment of stores together in one mall. What a bad leasing strategy! I mean come on, Cartier in the same mall as a Wet Seal and Frederick's of Hollywood?? Please! Somewhere, French people are mortified.
The upside, however, to this arrangement was that Miss B and I were able to share some pretzel sticks from Auntie Anne's (all those times I passed by the folks making the pretzels at he Auntie Anne's in Rock Center, now I visit two malls in a two week period and I succumb both times to pretzels...) No purchases were made on behalf of either of us girls but we did find some great Zegna summer goodies for the Husband at NM. On the way home we took the "scenic" route going 202 all the way back to Lambertville (where we hooked up with the infamous 518)... along the way we hit up a Wawa-- one of the few remaining stockists of Nantucket Nectar's half-and-half. Overall an eventful day.

The Brothers Moon...

Today we had brunch at The Brothers Moon in Hopewell. I got really great blueberry pancakes, the Husband got potato leek soup and a ham, egg and cheese sandwich on a brioche and Miss B. got a quiche (with asparagus and goat cheese!). While the service was a wee bit flighty, the food was tasty (especially my pancakes!) and that baby, she can eat. She had a croissant, multiple pieces of bread, asparagus from the quiche, cut fruit and blueberry pancake.

Review!

So, this afternoon I checked out Sex and the City, the movie. It was good. The other night we saw SJP and MPK on Charlie Rose and the Husband hit the nail on the head when he said that they were promoting the flick as if it were Citizen Kane. The movie isn't an Oscar winner to be sure, but it was a good mini-season of the show and it was fun to see all of the wacky fashions on the ladies, there were appropriate plotlines to justify the running time and the ending was satisfying. Hell, it was a lot better than Indiana Jones!

$11.00?

Okay, so I'm at the theater to see SATC. While Sophie and I saw the Nanny Diaries last summer, I must not have bought any snacks. That being said, I haven't been to a movie by myself in six years (Bourne Identity). This means I'm usually not the one buying the snacks, or if I am I'm buying multiple snacks so when you have to lay down a twenty you're at least getting enough stuff that you assume the bottled water and gummy bears are what were exorbitant. I just paid $11.00 for a nacho combo! That's right-- one stale nacho and a "medium" soda. I think this whole devaluation of the dollar has gone far enough!

Rachael Ray Randomness!

Poor Rachael, who knew a scarf could be controversial for DD?

Crab Cakes...

I saw in this month's Gourmet a recipe for Crab Cakes. I'm a fan of crab cakes. I especially love mini crab cakes (ala passed hors d'ouvre style)... I've never made them before so when I saw that the recipe was a 30 minute or less jobby I figured I'd give it a go. First off, when making something new for the first time I highly recommend actually reading the recipe and writing down what you need, rather than just glancing at it and then committing the list of items to your fuzzy memory. I did the latter and only after I opened up both of my containers of jumbo lump crab meat did I realize I only needed 8 oz. trust me, 8 ounces is a lot of crab meat. Easily four good sized crab cakes. The recipe also calls for 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise, a touch of worchestshire sauce, 1 tablespoon of a large egg, beaten and 2 pieces of sandwich bread (torn up). Problem one: no mayo. Alas, though the mom had replaced my jar of mayo with a "big jar" of mayo, one birthday barbeque and some homemade potato salad later and no mayo. I figure, "I can make mayo... I only need two tablespoons!" Sure, but if you're going to make your own mayo and you've never done it before I would recommend reading the recipe for mayo shown in the Gourmet cookbook. Otherwise you'll just start beating one egg and adding some olive oil and you'll just have egg and oil but no mayo.

No Mayo aside, I mixed together my crab meat, torn up bread, egg/oil combo, a touch of seasoned breadcrumbs, a touch of salt, the lea & perrin's, and a dash of sour cream (as a further mayo substitute and hoped binding agent). I then heated up a bit of butter in a pan to brown the cakes. In the end? Not bad.

365 +1

So this evening Miss B. was all awake. She finally hit the sack at 11:27pm. I think she knew something was up--- I think she could tell it was getting to be that time--- birthday time. I fully expect for Dr. Shapiro to call tomorrow morning at 8am and say "Let's have this baby!" I can't believe it's already been a year.

SATC

Email today from the Job indicated that 50th street and 51st streets would be closed this evening sporadically to accomodate the premiere of Sex and the City, the Movie, at Radio City. Alas, 51st street was to be used as a VIP area/red carpet/media and limo drop-off zone. The firm receptionist/coordinator guy "highly recommends using the subway" if at all possible. This weekend's goal? Hoping that this flick is better than Indy 4.

Birthday Party!

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Boom!

The Husband and the Dad and I went to see Indy 4. As the Husband properly noted, the Indiana Jones franchise suffers from the same fate as the Star Trek movies-- every other one is good. I had such high hopes! Geesh, what can I say? Harrison Ford perhaps was thinking to himself, "Sean Connery was my age when we did the last one, I'll be just fine" yes, except, you're not Sean Connery. Harrison Ford looked like he was wearing MC Hammer pants throughout the bulk of the movie and poor Karen Allen really could have used to have lost a few pounds before joining the cast (I'm all for having "real" looking women in film, etc., etc. but come on, you're in an action adventure flick! At least get toned! Cate Blanchett? Stick to the Oscar performances! Here's to hoping Sex and the City is more promising!

Fred Beans!

My favorite car dealer name in the Delaware valley.

Tricks Are For Kids...

So, travelling abroad with a young 'un? I had read before that you can't find diapers in France. This is much like the time I went to Germany with the Mom and Dad and we packed with us juice boxes and chocolate milk in a box because the Mom was convinced we wouldn't be able to get normal drinks in Europe (what, it had been 20 years since she had been there!) Diapers (and not just diapers, but pampers) were available at almost every pharmacy (of which there are possibly even more than the ubiquitous Duane Reades) and at the grocery store and Monoprix. Mind you, they weren't cheap by any means, but they were available and in sizes 4 and larger.

Formula? Formula and baby food is a somewhat different story. I had packed a case of RTF Similacs plus a few extra and a small can of powdered Similac. Towards the end of the trip I was concerned that we might start to run out so we ventured to the Champion to see what they had. No enfamil, no Similac but they did have formula looking things made by both Nestle and Bledina. The formula all seemed to be rated for various age ranges and even had chocolate flavored versions (which seemed a little odd, kind of like Quik milk for babies). In the baby food department in typical European fashion there were quite a few sophisticated options. I picked up for Miss B. some risotto con legumes which actually turned out to be some sort of pureed risotto with zucchini and tomato. Bledina also had a line of "Bledichef" meals which included veal (!) I will say there wasn't a very big selection of baby food and there was certainly no equivalent to the "Graduates" snack food line that's so prevalent here in the US. It seemed to me that the French have a very different approach to solid food-- I think mostly deciding to move into serving table food much sooner than we do, and with the food that they've got, why not?

In other news for moms and dads, changing facilities? Ha! There was one baby changing station that I found in all of Paris. Bring your skip hop changing pad, cross your fingers and pray is all I can advise.

Other than that Paris is pretty kid friendly. There are tons of parks with great playground options for kids of all ages-- we did witness real live pony rides in the Luxembourg Gardens and there are babies and kids in strollers everywhere. That being said, I would not recommend the ye old stroller on the subway as it appears that there is certainly no push to make the Metro accessible. Clearly the French have no equivalent to the ADA because elevators are few and far between, but steps? They've got steps like they're giving them away. Sure, the fold up stroller would be great if one was carrying said baby, but you'll tend to find that naps often coincide with whenever you want to go on the Metro so carrying the stroller becomes a two man job going down steps and a Dad-lift-the-14-pound-stroller-plus-23-pound-baby job on the way up. Upside? The workout certainly makes you feel less guilty about all the pastry.

Saturday....

Saturday was our final full day in the City of Light before heading home. It started off fun with breakfast in the breakfast room and then I headed over to get a haircut at Marianne Gray located around the corner from our hotel. The Husband had made me an appointment (as alas I wasn't able to get in to see Julien at Frederic Fekkai before leaving for vacation)... and I got a great haircut from Nicolas!

Then it was back to Fauchon by Metro to pick up a picnic lunch for noshing in the Luxembourg Gardens. We got a fantastic salmon sandwich, more tea sandwiches and some madeleines--- yum! After lunch we headed over to see the marionette show. This was a truly French experience. The first four rows at the theater were explicitly set aside for children and the theater "director" made sure to enforce this rule. We saw two small fights break out between children (all about between ages 4 and seven) and then watched the ensuing scolding from parents-- it was quite interesting to see a very staid and fancy Grand-mere take a little bully by the hand and give him a good scolding in French. She then doled out a chocolate eclair to her little blond granddaughter, not missing a beat. The show was to start at 3:30 but in true French fashion it started late, giving the theater director the opportunity to whip the kids up into a frenzy for the show (frenzy whipping involving a cowbell and the kids all shouting "Guig-nol" "Guig-nol" like we were at some sort of rock concert). Miss B really enjoyed the puppet show which included a circus show and the standard punch and judy tale.

After the show we wandered through the garden, stopping to check out the boats at the Medici fountain and then stopping at the Cafe Medici for sodas.

After dinner at the hotel we tried for the third time to get on to a night boat cruise. Doing the Metro circuit from Mabillon to La Mott-Piquette Grenelle to Bir Hakeim with baby and stroller in tow we finally time it right and got tickets for the 10:30 Bateaux Parisien. We boarded the Isabelle Adjani (together with a Spanish high school tour group egads!) and cruised around for an hour enjoying the lights and the sights on the Seine one last time before having to head home.

Friday...

On Friday morning the Husband was still sick and we had a bit of a rough night with Miss B as she was also a bit congested (which meant a lot of flip flopping while sleeping which tended to result in baby hands slapping mom and dad in the face). At about 7:30/8am Miss B and I headed down to the breakfast room at the hotel in order for the Husband to get some sleep. There we met Mrs. Art Garfunkel the first (aka Art's crazy first ex-wife). She first made a comment to us about how runny the scrambled eggs were and then we attempted to intercede on her behalf with the wait staff when she needed a lemon to go with her tea but was having difficulty communicating such. The only other breakfast room occupants were Moby and his euro friend (we had seen Moby the day before breakfasting with a french real estate agent-- to be clear this wasn't the real Moby but it was a guy who looked just like him-- same balding/Cary-Grant eyeglasses techno-hipster look) and Moby just kept looking at Mrs. Garfunkel in horror and eventually left once she started disparaging Art. Miss B and I had sat down and were starting on the eggs and croissants when Mrs. G started telling us about how she had been in Europe for a month for her birthday and that when she was in both Nice and Murano she heard these horrible stories about her ex husband. After a bit of her leaking more details and dropping the name Garfunkel it started to dawn on me that she was talking about Art. It was all very strange and after breakfast, as Miss B and I headed out of the hotel for some shopping, Mrs. G. ran into us again and started telling stories of Bob Dylan and expensive tea sets.

After extricating ourselves from our strange conversation, Miss B and I headed over to the Rue St. Jacques to visit the toy store Jouet Bass where we picked up a very cool boat for Miss B. We also visited the Monoprix and got great sandwiches for lunch from a local Boulangerie.

After lunching with the Husband we all headed out by RER to Marne-la-Vallee to none other than Disneyland Paris!



At DP we went on the carousel, Dumbo and took two turns on the teacup ride (my personal favorite) which was great because it was the only ride in the park with no wait.... well that an the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse but that's not really a ride it's just "let's climb some steps")



As if all of this excitement wasn't enough for one day after heading back to Paris, we wandered around the neighborhood and got dinner at the Relais Odeon to be followed by gelato from Amorino.





Finally, we had worn out the baby.

Stories from the Trip...

Thursday we left the hotel early and walked through the Ile de la Cite and over to the Ile St. Louis.














We had lunch at a great little cafe,



where I got the best "club" sandwich, which in France has hard boiled egg and no bacon, but toast and ham were involved so I was happy.






We then headed over to the Marais... and the Musee Carnavalet. Then we went to the Place des Vosages, which according to the guidebooks is one of the "most beautiful squares in Paris"... unfortunately I'd have to disagree with that, I think the Jardin de Palais Royal has it beat easily, but to each his own. After the Place, we walked to the Palais in order to hit up Naxos, the soldier and toy shop to pick up Tintin goodies for the Dad. From there we walked to Cafe Verlet on the Rue St. Honore. Never stopping, we then headed over to Fauchon and Au Nain Bleu at the Place de la Madeline. At Fauchon we scored wonderful tea sandwiches (so good that we actually went back for more on Saturday)...

We're on our way

home, with many stories to tell of Art Garfunkle's ex-wife, Parisian puppetshows and night boats on the Seine...

Cineaqua?

Larger post to follow but lets just say the aquarium and second run theater is a bad business model. It was like The Ground Round but with fish. This morning Miss Baby and I hit up the BHV (and Quick Burger for her first chicken finger!) and then wandered around by the Pompidou Center waiting for HB Henriot to open (while waiting getting into other shopping trouble at a mask shop and a neat scarf place...) After lunch the whole fam headed to the Trocadero and the aforementioned Cineaqua. Then we elected to walk back to the hotel from Cineaqua... (with an unscheduled stop outside the Musee D'Orsay during a downpour...) Husband picked up Pizza Milano (now Marzano) for dinner.

How to Work Off Post-Pregnancy Back Fat...

Walk all over the streets of Paris, and then some. Sorry for the delay in posting66 last night I came down to use the computer late in the evening and the night concergie had firmly ensconced himself at the keyboard so no dice. Anyhoo... as for Tuesday we went all over St. Germain des Pres. Being ever so compulsive I suggested a route counterclockwise spiraling away from the hotel and having us end up on the Mouffetard. We walked along Rue Jacob and Rue de la Universite until we hit the Rue du Bac and then went to the Bon Marche, so far the only place in Paris that actually has baby changing facilities. We "snacked chic" at one of the Bon Marche cafes proving once again that a good department store is a happy place. Sophie had more quiche! Then we went to St. Sulpice, hung out at a cafe on the square, wandered around a bit ,ore and then hit up the church itself. After that it was a stroll through the Luxembourg Gardens followed by shopping on Rue Vavin (childrens clothing mecca, where oddly, Jacadi was most reasonable) Here we also went to Amorino for gelato. Sophie really liked the lemon flavor and the strawberry (lets not even discuss chocolate!) Then we hiked over to the Rue Mouffetard for roasted chicken and potatoes (which we did bring back to the hotel, leading the good folks at the Relais to say, "not those people again!") After dinner we went by metro to the Tour Eiffel again attempting to take a night boat cruise... thankfully disposing of our chicken carcass on the way 5otherwise we really would have been thrown out of the hotel). Alas, we had missed the last cruise but Sophie did get to see the tower again in all its sparkly glory!

The rest of today!

After our exciting breakfast in the hotel, Sophie and I attempted to go to the grocery store only to find it closed, but we turned that into a nice walk in our local arrondisment. Once back at the hotel, the Husband joined us and we headed to the Tuileries... it was another beautiful and sunny day. We wandered around, took lots of pictures and then ate at an outdoor cafe where Sophie ate almost half of my quiche (which was surprisingly excellent for a parkside cafe). Then we hit up the Rue St. Honore for some moderate shopping and then ended up at a cafe near the Palace Royal for sodas and a little chilling out. Then it was into the Jardin de Palais and more photo ops. Tonight we ordered in room service from the restaurant Le Christine... I had fabulous scallops and the Husband had an amazing roast chicken-- thus breaking out of our usual ham and cheese shell. Up until today, 4 of 6 meals had been jambon... sorry Dave!

Quick Note!

We're on our way out, but here's a quick update-- yesterday, Louvre, Tour Eiffel. Sophie's first croissant! Today-- so far Sophie ate a big girl petit dejuner (?) in the hotel restaurant!

A Paris

okay, I start off this post by asking the question: why oh why do the French not use the QWERTY keyboard???

It is 11:25 Paris time as I write this-- struggling with the randomized key placement of the hotel keyboard. unfortunately I won't be able to post photos until I get home as the hotel computer has no exposed USB ports for me...

Anyhoo, we left from Newark yesterday at 6:15 (shout out to the Mom and Dad for being our airport livery service and cat sitters!) thank goodness for BusinessFirst, the downside being we will forever be spoiled for travel abroad. The flight was quick only about 6 and a half hours, the food was good and the seats were plenty large to accommodate us and Miss B who flew as a lap child. Luckily she slept for most of the flight and was thoroughly intrigued by the other planes on the runway and looking out the windows generally... can I say, the airplane baby changing situation was much better than expected as indeed there was a changing table in the bathroom and the room was so small that with the table open, there was nowhere for Miss B to roll!

We arrived this morning at 7/35, our hotel had our room ready and we promptly had some ham sandwiches and took naps all around. By 2 we were up and at 'em, ready for a boat ride on the Seine. Sophie really liked looking at all of the bridges; buildings and especially the golden statues (and other passengers)... after, we strolled through the Latin Quarter to Le Bon Marche, hit up Le Grande Epicierie and then walked back to our hotel taking the Rue du Bac from Le Bon Marche to the Seine.

Tomorrow is our visit to the Louvre!

ps. Thisbe and the Wee Kraken would have a field day here-- there are childrens boutiques everywhere you look!

pps. disappointingly the Samartaine is all boarded up and closed. We had been looking forward to lunch on the roof?!?!

Traveling...

So those of you that know me know that I don't really travel. At least not by air. My general rule is that I only fly international. Well, that time has come again (as it tends to every three or four years)... looks like we're set for going to Paris. I'm packed and ready to go and trying not to focus on the getting there and instead just focus on the being there. We are bringing Miss Baby. Her passport is ready to go! The folks have arrived to babysit Miss Kitty as well. Just a few things are left to do tomorrow-- pick up some newly hemmed jeans, pack the last of the baby clothes and pj's and of course try and locate our power converters. I swear everytime I do travel I have to buy a new one of these damn things at $40 bucks a pop. Here's to hoping for an upswing in the exchange rates!

Bar Exam Craziness...

Though initially expected mid-Month, the NJ Board of Bar Examiners published the results of the Feb. 2008 exam yesterday! Woo-Hoo! Both the Husband and I passed. The pass rate for Feb's exam was a dismal 58.4% (or thereabouts...) can I say, that is the least prepared I have ever been for a test in my life and still managed to pass. I was more prepared for my driver's exam.

Help Take a Bite Out of Crime...

Who knew that Rockland County could be such a hotbed of criminal activity? I got a rather strange voicemessage the other day from the Grandfather. Something about a police detective and identity theft. I checked the internet to see if the number he had left actually was the police department and instead it appeared to be some sort of strange financial company up in Rockland. I immediately assumed it was some scammy thing targeted at old people. Gave him a call back and it turns out the phone number from the message was one digit off. With the correct digit it actually did lead me to Dectective Dan of the Clarkstown PD. It turns out somehow or another my American Express card number was stolen. This is doubly unfortunate as I had actually had the account long enough that the number was memorized which comes in handy when placing phone orders... (not to mention that I had the card longer than both Beyonce and Tina Fey... at least according to those ads that AMEX does nowadays) Not only was the card stolen but it was used to buy an $80 Metrocard and then encoded onto a Target gift card wherein the "identity theft ring" attempted to use it at the Palasaides Mall. According to Det. Dan this happened not only to me but to seven other poor schlubs with Amex cards. The folks at Amex were also semi-stymied as they couldn't figure out from cross-referencing everyone's charges where the numbers may have been lifted from (as alas, we were all from various states, not just in the Northeast). Turns out five people were in this "gang" including two ladies from Brooklyn. The good officers of the Clarkstown PD arrested the gang after searching their car and finding the aforementioned "re-encoded" gift cards, now the perpetrators are in jail and I've been requested to send up an affidavit confirming that I don't know any of the accused nor did I authorize them to use my card. Geesh!

IKEA

I commented to the Mom the other day how everytime I watch "House Hunters International" all of the European apartment dwellers have the same furniture from Ikea, most prevelantly, the infamous Poang chair. When I first moved to New York City after graduating from law school the Mom and I hit up Ikea in Elizabeth and I can recall vividly all of the furniture assembly which took place afterwards. That came back to me swiftly this evening as I worked to assemble the Gulliver table and chair set for Miss B and the Grogsby children's picnic table. Can I just tell you, in the little brochure with assembly instructions for the Gulliver's table, IKEA has the nerve to incorporate a drawing of a crescent wrench as one of the tools you'll need. Of course the size of the bolt you're working with? less than half an inch. Crescent wrench? Not really working. Instead, luckily, a troll through the tool bag unearthed an unmarked static "wrench" which just happened to have one wrench head that fit the bolts on the Gulliver table perfectly. It was clearly a furniture assembly tool from a prior Ikea furniture incarnation. The moral of this story? Always keep the little tools they give you, you'll never know when they'll come in handy for those days when they choose not to enclose any useful tools.

The Incredible Edible Egg...

For breakfast this morning I had a poached egg on toast. The poached egg, when done right so the egg yolk is still runny enough to soak through your toast, can be the perfect convergence of flavors. I use Pepperidge Farm White Bread for the toast (though toasted ciabatta is divine...) and I put a bit of butter on the toast before popping the poached egg on top. Once the egg is in place I put a little bit of fresh ground pepper, some kosher salt and the coup de grace, a dash of tabasco sauce. Yum.

Random Observation

The assortment of people to be found at your local FedEx Kinkos at 11:00pm on a weeknight is pretty weird. I'm not sure whether the patrons or the employees made for a stranger mix.

Three Tips to Getting a Book Deal for Your Blog, thanks to Gawker...

Gawker's put through advice on getting a Blog Book Deal... these things are as catchy as Sniglets!

Working from *home*

The operative word in the above title is *from home*. This means, ideally, that the obnoxious troll-girl attorney on the other side (who I have know for 8 years now and we have about as good a relationship as Seinfeld and Newman) tracks me down on my local cell phone in the pasta and tomato sauce aisle at Wegmans in order to negotiate an SNDA. The woman had sent me an email like fifteen minutes before and I didn't have the chance yet to respond to it, why? BECAUSE I WAS AT THE GROCERY STORE. Not just at the grocery store but I was pushing around Miss Baby in the new Maclaren while simultaneously lugging a shopping basket which by the time I got to said pasta and tomato sauce aisle weighed like 25 pounds. Now an optimist would say, "oh, but wouldn't you rather be having the call at the grocery store? At least you weren't in the office!" NO, actually. I'd rather have the call at home, on my own schedule, as my work arrangement was to suggest. What was made worse was when troll attorney #1 then decides to "conference in" (let's just have that phrase tatooed on every lawyer's butt right next to the other over-used phrases "at the end of the day" and "it's a slippery slope") attorney #2 in Michigan to further address these nonsensical points which could have easily been handled over email twenty minutes later once I was back at my car. Argh!

Miss Kitty.

We're having Miss Kitty groomed by a woman named Loretta at Petsmart tomorrow. Personally, I'm shocked that Petsmart grooms cats and I have no idea exactly how they intend to accomplish this without a dart gun and a horse tranquilizer, but what the hell. In order to drop off Miss K we have to provide her rabies record. When I called the vet's office this afternoon, as usual they got Miss K's name wrong, "Oh, Mrs. Kitty?" No, not Mrs. Kitty! Haven't you people ever seen "Gunsmoke"?? It's Miss Kitty, damn it!

There are Philosophers and then there are Philosophers...

Miss B and I went to Marshall's today. While there I spotted a very cute Ralph Lauren top for her. The first one I found was a size 18M and was marked $12.99. After looking through a couple of other racks I happened upon one that was 12M and had half the tag ripped off, but I didn't really think much of it. When we walked up to check out the top rang up at $14.99. Luckily I still had the 18m size with me so I pointed out to the cashier that the identical top, in a larger size, is marked $2.00 less. Her response: "But the code on this tag shows $14.99" My response: "I understand that, but why is one that's the same, but *larger* $2.00 less?" Her response: "But it's marked that" You can see where we're going with this. I can understand the concept that the price tag is different, but can't you understand the concept that perhaps it is mismarked as the identical item made with *more material* is $2.00 less? Finally, a manager interceded and we got our $2.00 back. What, that paid for a Kolo scrapbook that was on clearance!

Yeeech...

Yesterday I spent about five or six hours at the emergency room. Things all started to go down hill at about 5:30am when I woke up sweaty and not feeling really well. Two bags of iv fluids and some anti-nausea medication (and other things which we're not going to go into in polite company) and I was back at home. The Husband took care of Miss Baby (thankfully!) and I pretty much dozed in and out of consciousness and random hot flashes/sweatiness for the rest of the evening, culminating once again at 3in the morning when my legs got really hot and I kept trying to equate the aches/sweat, etc. with parts of my kitchen order. Don't ask-- it made sense at the time. I think I was vaguely delirious.

During my time in the ER, the family in the next cubicle had brought Grandma in. I'm not quite sure what was wrong with her, but her family just kept saying that whatever it was she couldn't use her chopsticks. This was all very surreal.

WtF?

I was at my local Whole Foods on Friday and I happened by the service desk and asked whether they carry Nantucket Nectars. (You see, Call Me Mommy introduced me to NN's "Half and Half" half lemonade/half iced tea combo and I've been hooked ever since... but it has been in quite dwindling supply in these parts). The gentleman at the service desk proceeded to launch into a semi-sermon about how Nantucket Nectars doesn't meet with the quality standards that Whole Foods has set and that they don't use enough natural ingredients in their products to make it onto the shelves of a Whole Foods, yada, yada, yada.... my response? "Really, because I just bought a bottle at your store in Columbus Circle the other day." His response: "Oh, some stores may carry different things." Yeah, thanks.

Ag Day!

Today we visited the Rutgers Cook College Ag Field Day! Ah, it brought back memories of the ye old Cornell Dairy Barn... anyhoo, Miss B enjoyed getting to see all the various farm animals including piglets, hogs, heifers, horses and sheep! Baaa!

Finally!

Yup, we've taken the plunge, we're redoing our kitchen. More like firebombing it, but whatever. Anyhoo, we finally got down to the knitty-gritty with Marilyn our "designer" at the HD and she did seem to come around to our design ideas (hallelujah!)

We've gone with the Savannah line of cabinets from American Woodmark, made out of maple with the cream glaze. We tried not to go overboard but we do have some fun doo-hickies including a wine rack and a cookbook case. Sadly, I did forgo the pull-out spice rack, instead opting for the in-drawer spice organizer (what, I actually use spices! I've got quite a collection going).

For countertops, we're going with Arctic Moon. The photo on the website doesn't really do it justice-- I'll have to upload a picture of the sample we received-- its really pretty neat! (Of course, this ended up being the same price as marble, but the marble in the end looked too grey... upside to Arctic Moon is it will come sealed with a guarantee on the seal for 15 years!)

Now we have to work on coordinating our electrical work (as the HD contractor's won't be doing this), getting a new cooktop/vent, getting someone to actually put a hole in the side of the house in order to use the vent, get a new baseboard to replace our old radiator, coordinate floor refinishing with the hardwood floor guys, get verizon to relocate the phone and cable lines, pick out knobs and island chairs/stools and oh, yeah, the Husband has to drywall the ceiling and build a dummy wall behind which the main drainline for the entire house will be hidden. What can I say, the HD contractors wanted $4700 to drywall the ceiling. That cost more than my old Saab!

Thursday the HD contractors come to do the "affirmation" (which sounds like some kind of religious experience) wherein they remeasure everything and go into more specifics about the actual work. We'll keep you posted, and pictures of the process, of course, will follow!

Widgets.

Our home phone number was previously assigned to a local business owner, we'll say a widget repairman. Apparently one rather well known in the field, including having a number of past NJ governors and other bigwigs as clients. Unfortunately for us, for the past four years we have gotten a lot of calls on our answering machine and otherwise from people looking to use his services. People locally, people from New York and beyond. Credit card companies call looking to sell their services to our "business". At 10:51pm this evening I got a call (this surprised me since most people who would be likely to call us know that Miss B goes to sleep well before 10:51, so it is basically verboten to call at this hour...) well the person on the other end sounded more than harried and launched into a whole spiel about how they have this great widget that is in storage and needs to be moved *by tomorrow* or else it will be confiscated and he either needs someone who can help him move it or he'll be willing to sell this really nice widget and somebody would be getting a great deal on it. I let this man finish his story and then let him know that we're not in the widget business, and that I have an infant which he most likely just woke up thanks to the phone ringing. But, by the way, Bucks County Widgets over the border in Pennsylvania might be able to help, they move widgets for $250. He sounded a bit taken aback and said, "Oh, I'll call them."

This little episode prompted me to do some internet research on our phone number. I was hoping to find more information so I could contact the widget business and ask them to intercede on our behalf and get the phone number situation worked out. Sadly, I learned that the widget repairman passed away at age 87 in 2005. In his obituary it said that "he enjoyed painting, traveling, learning, and finding humor in everything."

Vitals!

In the category of "people will sell anything", today I got in the mail my two old issues of Vitals Magazine! After my corn and crab chowder post (see below) I got to thinking about just how many issues of Vitals Woman were actually produced. I went on to Ebay and lo and behold someone was selling the two copies I have and also another copy with Hillary Swank on the cover. Then I noticed there was a copy of Vitals Man with Ewan McGregor on the cover! I bought both and they arrived today. Nothing says "what the hell are you doing with your life" like reading three year old magazines.

Communal Living...

So yesterday I was chatting with a friend (who shall remain nameless given the subject matter) and we got on to the topic of changing in front of others. Said friend indicated that she, for example, will go to and from the gym dressed for the gym rather than changing there. This lead me to question then whether the communal dressing rooms at Loehmann's were out. Indeed, they are. All of this got me thinking. I basically share the same philosophy. As a general matter I would prefer not to change clothes in front of others-- at the gym, at the spa, etc. However, I have noticed that when it comes to communal dressing rooms at discount clothing retailers I will forgo modesty in order to either a) avoid waiting in line for a dressing room with a door or b) being limited to "8" items. I'm not proud of it, but that's the fact. I just try to focus on my little bit of mirror and black out everything else around me!

Bulbs Do Work!

Earlier this year the Husband planted perrenial bulbs for us! Who knew they would really bloom!

Horton Hears a Who!

How cool is this?? We have this wacky tree in the backyard (which I believe may be in the Maple family)... it looks like sometime in its past it had a violent meeting with a bolt of lightening because it is very craggy and kind of gnarled at the top. It's also got a big hole in it. I love the tree, the Husband not so much. However, for the time being I think it gets a reprieve. We've heard an owl around these parts for years. I think we've finally found its nest!

The World According to Tom Hanks...

In You've Got Mail, Tom Hanks' character, Joe Fox, says that The Godfather is the "i-ching", "The Godfather answers all of life's questions".

As I'm sure you can tell from prior posts, I think the same can be said of the Code. So, today when I got a return call from the dentist's office regarding my wisdom teeth, it reminded me of the scene at the end of the Code where Tom Hanks asks Audrey Tautou's character what would the "last living descendant of Jesus Christ do?" "Would she destroy faith, or renew it?"

In my case, the question was more like: "What would a tired, stressed out and generally overworked mom of a newly minted toddler do?" "Would she have two wisdom teeth removed or would she take that same money and buy a pair of gold lame Prada gladiator sandals?"

(Clearly the answer is neither, but I'm telling you, I'm so *not* getting the wisdom teeth taken out.)

In Honor of Earth Day

Tuesday, April 22nd!

Randomness and Some Knitting, Sort Of...

Okay, so you know that we love Statcounter, right? Here are some of our latest searches which have returned "rue de la clef", thank you very much...

a reader from Stockholm searching for "Saks presale May 2007" (talk about specific)...

Many more searches for Hungarian Goulash (who knew it was so popular)?

Quite a few looking for the Real Housewives of NYC

One "Scarface Mansion Interior" (Warsaw, Poland), not to be outdone by "Sockless look peds", and of course, a timely inquiry regarding "Pillsbury pain au chocolat"

Interestingly, no one has been looking for Sting's Favorite Pasta or Tom Selleck's Avocado Ranch. Sorry, guys.

On to the Knitting, sort of. I just finished the "Friday Night Knitting Club", thanks to Mel! It was a fun read! We'll be passing it on to Miss Leda next! If you like to knit or are looking for good escapist fare I would recommend it, especially if you've ever been to Yarn & Co. on the West Side... you'll be able to picture "Walker & Daughter" in your head quite easily!

Corn and Crab Chowder!

Tonight's dinner was Corn and Crab Chowder thanks to a recipe I've been wanting to make for three years! I found it in the Heidi Klum issue of Vitals Woman Magazine. It's truly a shame that Vitals never caught on-- it was a great mag and I have been hoarding the two copies I bought on the newsstand since 2005. (I come from a long line of magazine hoarders... my Mom's magazine claim to fame is that she has every issue of Country Living that has ever been published.)

Anyhoo, on to the Chowder.

The Recipe is from the Mermaid's Inn in New York (with some modifications)...

Makes about four servings and takes about 40 minutes.

You'll need:

2 slices of bacon (diced)... I used three slices
1 1/2 tablespoon of butter (I used about 3 tablespoons... more on that below)
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped/diced
1/4 cup celery, diced (* I used a bag of pre-diced celery/onion combo from Wegmans..)
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/4 cup flour
2 cups fish or shellfish stock
2 cups whole milk (I also added a bit of half and half...)
2 cups fresh corn cut from the cob (I used frozen sweet white baby corn)
2 medium potatoes, diced and parboiled for five minutes in salted water (I used a handful of red potatoes, diced small and one small yukon gold potato, also diced small... no parboiling...)
1 tsp. fresh thyme
3/4 pound jumbo lump crabmeat (I used a half a pound and there was more than enough crab...)
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I used more than that and some Tabasco to boot!)

Saute your bacon in a stockpot over medium high heat and cook, stirring until the bacon begins to brown a bit. The add butter, onion, celery and bell pepper. Cook until softened. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly for 10 minutes. Here in the recipe it indicated that I should have had a "resulting roux" "light amber in color"... mine was more like flour coated veggie and bacon parts with a good bit of browning on the pot-bottom. Surely, I guess my "medium-high" heat was a touch too high. In order to remedy this situation I tried adding more butter (hence the change to the ingredient list above) and then I added some cooking sherry in order to attempt to deglaze. This started to work, but not wanting to add too much sherry, I then went with a bit of water until the roux started to come together. Next, you're to add the stock and the milk, up the heat to high and when the liquid simmers, add the corn, potatoes and thyme and then reduce your heat to low. Simmer until the corn and potatoes are tender. The recipe then has you taking the chowder off of the heat and adding the crabmeat and cayenne. I added the crabmeat, cayenne, a few shakes of Tabasco and a tiny bit of lemon juice all while the soup was still on the heat (a bad episode with an anemone has taught me that it is always important to thoroughly cook your fish/shellfish, even if you did buy the "pasteurized" jumbo lump crabmeat at the WF... but I digress).

I finished it off with a bit of fresh ground black pepper and some coarse salt. Served up with oyster crackers and some crusty bread and it was quite a winner. I was really impressed that it actually *looked* like a true chowder! Chowder, kind of like the old adage from the supreme court about pornography is definitely something that you'll know when you see it.

The Husband enjoyed it and suggested that I could use the chowder base for a fire-roasted red pepper and corn chowder. I was intrigued... substitute vegetable stock for the fish stock, add a bit more in the pepper department (perhaps green chilis as well.... Au Bon Pain does have that "Corn and Green Chili Bisque"... and we could have something very interesting!)

Anyhoo, I do hope some of the readers try this recipe, and let me know how it goes!

Drat!

I had originally booked spa appointments at Bliss for Saturday, then I got a call to do background work for Duplicity on Sunday (Yay! Julia and Clive). I was told by the casting agency to call today after 12pm to get my call time, etc. I cancelled my bliss appointments this morning to avoid a charge. I called the Casting Agency-- shoot has been postponed. Call Bliss? My appointments have been given away. But, the dentist's office called and I can come in for a cleaning at 11am. Oh yeah. No spa, no movie, but clean teeth.

Luckily, after heavy negotiations with a Bliss employee I was able to score a new facial and a manicure appointment after 5pm.

$8.98

During last night's debate, Mrs. Clinton indicated that though there would be tax increases for individuals earning $250,000 per year or more, they wouldn't be more than the taxes which were imposed on that tax bracket during the "nineties". Okay, so does that mean we'll also make the dollar worth what it was worth in the nineties and also roll back the cost of living as well?

In a small attempt to accomplish this, the clothing chain "Steve and Barry's" is having a special sale where everything in the store is $8.98 (including, presumably things which were originally less than this price...) Great concept, but have you been to a Steve and Barry's? I never had but today Miss B and I hit up the Menlo Park Mall and alas, wandered into one of these establishments (drawn in out of curiosity over the fact that "SJP" has her clothing line "Bitten" exclusively at S&B's). While there were a couple of cute little black dresses (each $8.98) in the Bitten clearance area, they were all giant sized and looked as though they would be rather linty. Overall, though, the Bitten line was mostly uninspired and disappointing. There was way too many unshapely khakis and plaid shirts which just made it look like SJP was trying to outfit Cynthia Nixon's life partner more than a hip young crowd.

I was much more excited about H&M's new "inspired by" Marimekko line.