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!