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Friday, May 30, 2008
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.
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.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
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.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Saturday, May 24, 2008
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!
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
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.
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.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
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.
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.
Monday, May 19, 2008
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.
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 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)... 
Sunday, May 18, 2008
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...
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
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!
Monday, May 12, 2008
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!
Saturday, May 10, 2008
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?!?!
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?!?!
Thursday, May 08, 2008
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!
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
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.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
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.
Saturday, May 03, 2008
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.
Friday, May 02, 2008
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.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
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!
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
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!
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
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!
Monday, April 28, 2008
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.
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.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
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!
Thursday, April 24, 2008
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!
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."
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!
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
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!
Monday, April 21, 2008
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.)
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.)
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!
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!
Friday, April 18, 2008
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!
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.
Luckily, after heavy negotiations with a Bliss employee I was able to score a new facial and a manicure appointment after 5pm.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
$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.
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.
Sorry to be Picky, But...
On today's View Joy started in about Kennedy and the Cuban Missle Crisis and she said that she remembered it and she had seen the movie... "thirty days" and Whoopi chimed in with: "Thirty days in May".... okay folks. I was born in 1975, but I do know that the Cuban Missle crisis happened in OCTOBER. BTW, "Thirty Days in May" is a colloquial reference to the Indy 500 (and there's a book by that name about the race, too.)
Can we please do *some* research here, people???
Can we please do *some* research here, people???
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Pain au Chocolat....
The latest issue of Real Simple magazine has a simpleton's version of Pain au Chocolate (ala pillsbury crescent rolls and tollhouse chocolate chunks). Yup, that was it, put a bunch of chocolate chunks in the center of a crescent roll triangle, fold up the sides of the triangle to make a little pocket and pop it in the oven. About 10 minutes later--- voila! Warm gooey chocolate. Not much in the dessert realm can beat that.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Real Housewives of New York City!
Okay so I totally love this show. (I'm also a fan of the Real Housewives of Orange County) but what's with this being the "season finale"? They only had like five episodes... well, at least next week there's a reunion!
BTW, have you heard the news that Project Runway is moving to Lifetime?? I don't know how I feel about that.
BTW, have you heard the news that Project Runway is moving to Lifetime?? I don't know how I feel about that.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Third Time's a Charm...
Another photo has been chosen for an art exhibition! One of my black and white pictures from our trip to Venice has been chosen for the annual Juried Photography Exhibition at the Mills Pond House Gallery of the Smithtown Township Arts Council in St. James, NY on Long Island! Woo-hoo!
Ratatouille!
Tonight we had Ratatouille again. (Thanks to the Gourmet Cookbook! Which does, indeed, have every recipe you'll ever need in it.) Served over couscous with roasted potatoes and a nice loaf of crusty french bread. Yummy- who knew vegetarian eating could be so tasty? It almost makes one want to snap up one of the infamous Moosewood Restaurant cookbooks. Almost.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Dinner and all that....
The other night I made Green Curry Chicken! One of my personal faves. Inspired by the recipe found in New Thai Cuisine by Nathan Hyam. I do add my own touhes though, like incorporating potatoes (ala massaman curry) because everything is better with potatoes. I also used red peppers (in addition to green peppers and onions), yellow squash and zucchini. I served it with a bit of cilantro-lime basmati rice.
Today I made german chocolate cake cupcakes thanks to a recipe from the Mom. Who knew you could make german chocolate frosting with eggs, sugar, half and half, pecans and coconut (well, the pecans and coconuts make sense, but I would have never guessed about the eggs and half and half.)
I was going to make ratatouille tonight but I have copped out (after the cupcakes) and am going to put it on the menu for tomorrow.
Today has been a good movie day... both The Da Vinci Code and You've Got Mail...
Today I made german chocolate cake cupcakes thanks to a recipe from the Mom. Who knew you could make german chocolate frosting with eggs, sugar, half and half, pecans and coconut (well, the pecans and coconuts make sense, but I would have never guessed about the eggs and half and half.)
I was going to make ratatouille tonight but I have copped out (after the cupcakes) and am going to put it on the menu for tomorrow.
Today has been a good movie day... both The Da Vinci Code and You've Got Mail...
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Wagon!
Today we ventured to Ikea and the gi-normous Babies r' Us/Toys r' Us at the infamous Exit 13A (this after a lovely lunch en plein air with the Husband-- what, it was 70 today, who wouldn't want to lunch outside?)
We ended up coming home with: i) a case of formula, ii) a case of 24 small ready-to-feed bottles, iii) a Fisher-Price tiger/basketball contraption, iii) a toddler sized table and two chairs, iv) a child's sized picnic table, all of this in addition to the Maclaren and Bugaboo which permanently live in the trunk. Before going to Ikea I had thought that I might have to tie something to the roof, but who was I kidding? I've got the wagon (and I was, after all, hauling child-sized furniture, but still!) I was pretty impressed that we fit everything in and had room to spare!
We ended up coming home with: i) a case of formula, ii) a case of 24 small ready-to-feed bottles, iii) a Fisher-Price tiger/basketball contraption, iii) a toddler sized table and two chairs, iv) a child's sized picnic table, all of this in addition to the Maclaren and Bugaboo which permanently live in the trunk. Before going to Ikea I had thought that I might have to tie something to the roof, but who was I kidding? I've got the wagon (and I was, after all, hauling child-sized furniture, but still!) I was pretty impressed that we fit everything in and had room to spare!
Mission Accomplished!
It has taken me since October 21, 1999 but I have finally truly worn off on the Husband. Last night he actually quoted a line from a Woody Allen movie!
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Zootopia...
Yesterday we visited the Turtleback Zoo in West Orange. Unfortunately, the Zoo is somewhat under construction and a number of the animals were still in their winter habitats where ever that may be and were not on display-- (case in point, alligator habitat? There was one lone duck, no gator, hopefully they'll remove the duck before the gator get's back...) But, there were also a couple of neat animals like these gigantic woolly buffalo things and some kind of mid-sized cougars. The cougar enclosure looked relatively new, but upon closer inspection I would have to say I was hopeful that the cougars were well fed as the enclosure looked to be really just a giant net with a two foot high electrified fence around it. I'm sitting there with Miss B about 15 feet away from a pair of cougars and it really didn't look like that much was holding them in. Big kitty plus little fence equals: mom and baby getting the heck out of there and back over to the llama section.
There was also a "petting" zoo, though arguably the sheep and goats looked a bit shop worn, so we didn't encourage any actual petting. Miss B did seem intrigued by the donkey and chickens, though and before leaving we went on a little train ride which she really enjoyed. I would have had a bit more fun myself on the train had it not been for Stosh and his mom sitting in front of us. Stosh (who is five but looked seven, at least) thought that every pile of sticks the train went by was a beaver dam but most importantly, Stosh's mom was clearly looking for someone to talk to. I soon learned when Stosh was potty trained, what his first words were, when he got his first tooth, how his school teachers say what a large vocabulary he has, even though some of his pronunciation needs work, and how Stosh's grandparents feel about all of these things.
After the zoo we hit up a lovely little playground in Millburn and tried out the swings which Baby enjoyed all of which resulted in quite a good nap on the ride home. So much so, in fact, that Baby even slept through my quick trip to the drive through at none other than White Castle.
There was also a "petting" zoo, though arguably the sheep and goats looked a bit shop worn, so we didn't encourage any actual petting. Miss B did seem intrigued by the donkey and chickens, though and before leaving we went on a little train ride which she really enjoyed. I would have had a bit more fun myself on the train had it not been for Stosh and his mom sitting in front of us. Stosh (who is five but looked seven, at least) thought that every pile of sticks the train went by was a beaver dam but most importantly, Stosh's mom was clearly looking for someone to talk to. I soon learned when Stosh was potty trained, what his first words were, when he got his first tooth, how his school teachers say what a large vocabulary he has, even though some of his pronunciation needs work, and how Stosh's grandparents feel about all of these things.
After the zoo we hit up a lovely little playground in Millburn and tried out the swings which Baby enjoyed all of which resulted in quite a good nap on the ride home. So much so, in fact, that Baby even slept through my quick trip to the drive through at none other than White Castle.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Congestion Pricing....
thankfully has been defeated... now if only someone can get Corzine out of left-field with his proposal to raise turnpike fares by almost 800% we'd be in business... (oh, and let's not forget his plan to get rid of NJ's Department of Agriculture, so much for that whole "garden state" thing...)
Monday, April 07, 2008
Food & Wine!
This month's issue of Food & Wine boasts the "World's Best Recipes" and I have to hand it to them, I never expected to see recipes for Yemenite flat breads, Circassian Chicken Salad, Neapolitan Meatloaf and Lemonade Slushies all together in one place at the same time.
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Oy!
Yesterday we had our new carpet runners installed on our staircases. When I was doing the research for all of this I measured the steps and had guestimated that it should have been about $600 per staircase for materials. Unfortunately, after the flooring folk's measurement guy came out and once we got the actual quote it turned out to be over $3200. I was a bit gobsmacked but for some reason I assumed that I measured wrong.
Then, once the installation was completed I noticed that we had quite a bit of excess carpet left over. 55 linear feet to be exact. It turns out they charged us for 86 linear feet. We needed 31 linear feet. Thankfully, they took it back quite easily and most appologetically. 55 linear feet at $32.90 per foot, quite a savings and proof that my original math wasn't that bad after all.
As for the rest of the day, I got a great pedicure at Koi Spa (with Husband watching Miss B)... but for some random reason I got a giant headache on my way home. Four hours of napping and heating pad sitting, finally I'm feeling better. I also have downed a *lot* of water. Me thinks I was a bit dehydrated...
Then, once the installation was completed I noticed that we had quite a bit of excess carpet left over. 55 linear feet to be exact. It turns out they charged us for 86 linear feet. We needed 31 linear feet. Thankfully, they took it back quite easily and most appologetically. 55 linear feet at $32.90 per foot, quite a savings and proof that my original math wasn't that bad after all.
As for the rest of the day, I got a great pedicure at Koi Spa (with Husband watching Miss B)... but for some random reason I got a giant headache on my way home. Four hours of napping and heating pad sitting, finally I'm feeling better. I also have downed a *lot* of water. Me thinks I was a bit dehydrated...
Friday, April 04, 2008
Update on Chris Isaak!
We have tickets, though oddly, they're standing room... I've been to the Nokia Theater before... its a bit of an odd venue... it should be interesting....!
From the People Who Brought You "Hindi for Pre-Schoolers..."
"Friday, April 18th at 8pm, Ladies Nite Out, all-male revue at the Hightstown Fire Department!"
Am I the only person who finds this a bit odd??
Am I the only person who finds this a bit odd??
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Chris Isaak!
Tickets go on sale tomorrow at noon. The show is August 20th at the Nokia Theater in Times Square. Okay, I have four months to find a baby sitter!
Help Me, Tooth Fairy, Help Me!
Alas, we have finally hit pay dirt, or in this case, enamel. Miss B's first tooth is breaking through the surface (and actually, adding to the tooth-induced cranky, it would appear that both bottom front teeth are trying to come through at about the same time...) Baby Orajel? Let's just say that's working about as well for Baby as the lone ambien did for me during labor.
Stein Mart
Have you ever been to one of these places?? They recently opened a new one in Franklin Township in what used to be the old Stop n' Shop (alas, a new, "Super Stop n' Shop" was built in the adjacent shopping center). Anyhoo, I got a coupon in the mail and thought I'd check it out as there are Stein Marts in Atlanta.
Let's just say the whole thing was a little touch of Atlanta in the middle of Somerset County. I've never seen so many bright colors, patterns, bedazzling and bad lace in one place north of the Mason Dixon Line. The only recognizable brand name in the whole store was one small Michael Kors rack (but this was like no Michael Kors wear that I've ever seen). Needless to say, we can cross this store off our list.
Let's just say the whole thing was a little touch of Atlanta in the middle of Somerset County. I've never seen so many bright colors, patterns, bedazzling and bad lace in one place north of the Mason Dixon Line. The only recognizable brand name in the whole store was one small Michael Kors rack (but this was like no Michael Kors wear that I've ever seen). Needless to say, we can cross this store off our list.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Monday, March 31, 2008
Real Time Dinner Blog!
As we speak, I am enjoying tonight's dinner! (The Husband has gone upstairs to put Miss Baby down for bedtime...) I've made Penne alla Vodka based on the recipe on page 217 of the Gourmet Cookbook. It has been just a little over a year since I made this, and it has been too long! The recipe is ridiculously easy. I add more tomato puree, cream and vodka as otherwise the portion sizes are a bit too small. I've also made a caesar salad, with red grapes. Yummy!
Paperback Wrapper...
The same woman also guessed "Spanning the Bible" on this evening's Wheel of Fortune.
Correct Answers: Paperback Writer and Spanning the Globe.
Correct Answers: Paperback Writer and Spanning the Globe.
Smitten Kitchen
It's been almost four years now and we've finally decided to step closer to taking the plunge.... of remodeling our kitchen. By remodel I mean gut, or more possibly, firebomb. That being said, we are completely enamored of our appliances (other than our gas cooktop) and noting that due to electrical problems in our current wiring (see: original installation by Edison, Thomas A.) our "double" oven is technically more of a "single" oven, with lighted storage compartment.
Alas, the local Home Depot was sponsoring the "Ultimate Kitchen Event" wherein, if you spend X amount on such-and-such you get some sort of discount on Y, etc., etc. It's been so long since we scheduled our original measurement I've completely forgotten what discount it was that motivated us to finally do this in the first place.
Part A of this process entailed a strange little man coming to measure our kitchen and utility room, even taking pictures. While he did measure a lot of the aspects of our kitchen, he apparently didn't measure the existing cabinentry or appliances, which has caused somewhat of an issue with our "design consultant" (more on that later...)
Once the measure was finalized we made an appointment to visit the store. In preparation for this visit we perused four years' worth of "This Old House" magazines looking for design ideas and dug up all of the specs for our existing appliances. We also had the hard wood floor guys come back and give us a ball park estimate on refinishing the existing floor (note to self-- we really don't want to find out that what lies beneath the existing floor is either a) dirt or b) the remains of Claude Musselman, thus refinishing, rather than replacing, is our option of choice).
Unfortunately, it would seem, any prep work we did was all but in vain. Once we met up with our "Design Consultant" she made every attempt possible to convince us that the design plan we had in mind was ridiculously impractical and even more simply put: stupid. What about the work triangle? She mused, she, after all, is the "expert"! Why, her design even has room for hidden garbage cans next to the sink and a cubby for a microwave! (Needless to say, Design Consultant doesn't quite grasp who she's dealing with).
We tried to hold our tongue, but only after getting into a semi-argument about why we didn't need to lower the ceiling in our utility room. Then we had a small blow up about whether we could move the door to the utility room. Design Consultant baffled at the concept that the interior kitchen wall is concrete. The initial meeting was more stressful than a conference call from The Job!
We took about an hour and a half (which was frequently interrupted by other customers and various phone answering by DC)... then we rescheduled for a second visit.
In our second visit, DC actually put together a design plan which was somewhat in accordance with our request. Indeed, there is an island and she did have the fridge and stove at opposite ends of the room (work-triangle be damned!) A few moments into our visit, however, DC received a phone call from one of her other co-horts in the design department. From DC's end of the conversation all we heard was an aggravated "these people are real pains-in-the-asses" sound, which was clearly in response to the person on the other end asking, "how are things going?" Only moments later we got into a battle of wills over whether or not there is a three inch waste pipe running behind one particular wall of cabinents. She was convinced it could not possibly be there, as the cabinents are clearly 24 inches from the wall, as depicted in the photos. We said, but there is a waste pipe that comes from the bathroom above and it exits the house on the other side of the kitchen, trust us, the pipe runs *behind* the cabinents. We've seen it, we know it exists. No, you're wrong, it can't possibly be there. (Fact: cabinents are 27 inches from the wall. 24 inch standard cabinent bases, with 3 inch gap... so much for the "photos").
This was much like when DC was convinced that I just *had* to have at least 18 inches of countertop on either side of my existing cooktop. I said, nope, I have not more than 12 inches. She whips out the photos and proceeds to tell me that I have no concept of space.
I went home, just to prove she was wrong and measured... I have 12 inches of countertop on the left side and 15 inches on the right side (however, that fifteen inches is taken up with a utensil bucket, kitchenaid artisan stand mixer and a 3 piece set of Emile Henry bowls so actual usable space is about 4 square inches.
Anyway. DC is then telling us that we don't want marble, it stains. AND, when we told her that we wanted to move the fridge from one wall to another she insisted it was impossible to do so. We also noted that we didn't want any wall cabinents in between our two windows, instead preferring a flat screen tv. DC actually said that she would "compromise" with us and let us have the TV instead of the wall cabinents, but only if we keep the fridge where she had originally intended it.
It took every fiber of my being to keep from asking her just how much of this remodel she intends to pay for....
So, that's how its been so far. We have yet another appointment this Friday wherein I'll have to break it to her that *YES* I do want to move my sink to beneath the second window, despite the fact that DC claims that "no one really looks out the window when they're using the sink." I beg to differ, when your kitchen is effectively in a hole and the window is at ground level, you'll notice you do tend to look out it. AND I'll also get to try and convince her that a) we don't want undercabinent garbage facilities and b) we are the only people in the developed world that do not use a microwave. Wish us luck.
Alas, the local Home Depot was sponsoring the "Ultimate Kitchen Event" wherein, if you spend X amount on such-and-such you get some sort of discount on Y, etc., etc. It's been so long since we scheduled our original measurement I've completely forgotten what discount it was that motivated us to finally do this in the first place.
Part A of this process entailed a strange little man coming to measure our kitchen and utility room, even taking pictures. While he did measure a lot of the aspects of our kitchen, he apparently didn't measure the existing cabinentry or appliances, which has caused somewhat of an issue with our "design consultant" (more on that later...)
Once the measure was finalized we made an appointment to visit the store. In preparation for this visit we perused four years' worth of "This Old House" magazines looking for design ideas and dug up all of the specs for our existing appliances. We also had the hard wood floor guys come back and give us a ball park estimate on refinishing the existing floor (note to self-- we really don't want to find out that what lies beneath the existing floor is either a) dirt or b) the remains of Claude Musselman, thus refinishing, rather than replacing, is our option of choice).
Unfortunately, it would seem, any prep work we did was all but in vain. Once we met up with our "Design Consultant" she made every attempt possible to convince us that the design plan we had in mind was ridiculously impractical and even more simply put: stupid. What about the work triangle? She mused, she, after all, is the "expert"! Why, her design even has room for hidden garbage cans next to the sink and a cubby for a microwave! (Needless to say, Design Consultant doesn't quite grasp who she's dealing with).
We tried to hold our tongue, but only after getting into a semi-argument about why we didn't need to lower the ceiling in our utility room. Then we had a small blow up about whether we could move the door to the utility room. Design Consultant baffled at the concept that the interior kitchen wall is concrete. The initial meeting was more stressful than a conference call from The Job!
We took about an hour and a half (which was frequently interrupted by other customers and various phone answering by DC)... then we rescheduled for a second visit.
In our second visit, DC actually put together a design plan which was somewhat in accordance with our request. Indeed, there is an island and she did have the fridge and stove at opposite ends of the room (work-triangle be damned!) A few moments into our visit, however, DC received a phone call from one of her other co-horts in the design department. From DC's end of the conversation all we heard was an aggravated "these people are real pains-in-the-asses" sound, which was clearly in response to the person on the other end asking, "how are things going?" Only moments later we got into a battle of wills over whether or not there is a three inch waste pipe running behind one particular wall of cabinents. She was convinced it could not possibly be there, as the cabinents are clearly 24 inches from the wall, as depicted in the photos. We said, but there is a waste pipe that comes from the bathroom above and it exits the house on the other side of the kitchen, trust us, the pipe runs *behind* the cabinents. We've seen it, we know it exists. No, you're wrong, it can't possibly be there. (Fact: cabinents are 27 inches from the wall. 24 inch standard cabinent bases, with 3 inch gap... so much for the "photos").
This was much like when DC was convinced that I just *had* to have at least 18 inches of countertop on either side of my existing cooktop. I said, nope, I have not more than 12 inches. She whips out the photos and proceeds to tell me that I have no concept of space.
I went home, just to prove she was wrong and measured... I have 12 inches of countertop on the left side and 15 inches on the right side (however, that fifteen inches is taken up with a utensil bucket, kitchenaid artisan stand mixer and a 3 piece set of Emile Henry bowls so actual usable space is about 4 square inches.
Anyway. DC is then telling us that we don't want marble, it stains. AND, when we told her that we wanted to move the fridge from one wall to another she insisted it was impossible to do so. We also noted that we didn't want any wall cabinents in between our two windows, instead preferring a flat screen tv. DC actually said that she would "compromise" with us and let us have the TV instead of the wall cabinents, but only if we keep the fridge where she had originally intended it.
It took every fiber of my being to keep from asking her just how much of this remodel she intends to pay for....
So, that's how its been so far. We have yet another appointment this Friday wherein I'll have to break it to her that *YES* I do want to move my sink to beneath the second window, despite the fact that DC claims that "no one really looks out the window when they're using the sink." I beg to differ, when your kitchen is effectively in a hole and the window is at ground level, you'll notice you do tend to look out it. AND I'll also get to try and convince her that a) we don't want undercabinent garbage facilities and b) we are the only people in the developed world that do not use a microwave. Wish us luck.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
It's Not You...
I liked this article in the Times today. I guess I have some nerve given that I've noted on the sidebar of this page that I'm currently reading "STori Telling..."
Ye Old Incompatible iPod...
I know I've written about this before, but I just get a kick out of it every time. This evening I'm adding to my iPod. Who would have ever guessed Vicki Carr would be iPod'd at the same time as LL Cool J? Ladies Love Cool James! :)
Letter of Day
We switched over to Verizon Fios on Thursday. During the conversion process it was rather traumatic-- we lost PBS for a good couple of hours which meant that we had no idea what the letter of the day was. Then, once our new cable was up and running it turns out that we have lost our Delaware/Philadelphia PBS station which means no more Sesame Street at 10am. Then, just to add insult to injury, in the family room, the Verizon guy completely forgot to even program our new DVR box and when we try to watch *any* PBS station they're "unavailable". When I called Verizon this afternoon the representative actually said she was shocked that we're getting any tv reception at all in the family room as the installation tech failed to register the box with our account. I think it's just the PBS gods trying to make us feel guilty for not donating.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Rolling Blackout...
This is an interesting concept... a rolling blackout around the globe on Saturday at 8pm local time. Go out and see the stars!
Save H20 Part Deux
Today we went to return the cable boxes to Comcast. A Saturn pulled up into the space next to us. It had all sorts of "save the planet" type environmentally themed bumper stickers. Ironically, the woman driving it had to leave it running while she went into the Comcast office. I don't think it was because she was in a hurry.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Fun Day....
Yesterday Miss Baby and I headed into the city for a visit with Thisbe, the Wee Kraken, Call Me Mommy and Baby! As always it's wonderful to see the ladies and babies and we had a nice lunch at 40 Carrots. Unfortunately, The Job crept in via Blackberry. I did, however, feel some vindication in being able to send a semi-snotty email to a partner at another firm, all the while, standing in line at the checkout in the baby clothing department at Bloomingdales!
Fortune Cookie!
This evening we had PF Chang's.
My fortune was: "A friend in the market is better than money in the purse."
In this market? Not so much.
My fortune was: "A friend in the market is better than money in the purse."
In this market? Not so much.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Interesting!
410e9th has added a voting button in which blogreaders (such as yourself) can vote on whether 410e9th is taking this blog too personally, or not personally enough! Do go and cast your vote (what a fun web-gizmo!)
ps. usually I'm just trying to get to a punchline (but Hillary does scare the bejeezus out of me!)
pps. I thought it was awfully lame when today on "The View" none of the women on the panel could remember that Bill Richardson was the Secretary of Energy. I'm guessing then they certainly couldn't recall any of that whole "Wen Ho Lee nuclear espionage scandal...."
ps. usually I'm just trying to get to a punchline (but Hillary does scare the bejeezus out of me!)
pps. I thought it was awfully lame when today on "The View" none of the women on the panel could remember that Bill Richardson was the Secretary of Energy. I'm guessing then they certainly couldn't recall any of that whole "Wen Ho Lee nuclear espionage scandal...."
Oh, Dear
Apparently, a number of well known companies have be put on the S&P Watchlist, including (gasp!) Loehmann's. (No, not Loehmanns! We love Loehmann's!) and, oddly enough, the Chiquita Banana people. Hmpf.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Breakfast for Dinner!
We have leftover ham. A lot of leftover ham. For years I've been hearing my mom say how she uses a hambone when making split pea soup. That's the plan for Wednesday, tonight? Tonight we used leftover ham for..... (drumroll please...) Eggs Benedict! Woo-hoo! I got ciabatta bread from Wegman's (instead of using English Muffins). I fried up pieces of ham (sliced thanks to the Husband), poached eggs and then made hollandaise sauce (okay, that was from a mix). On the side I made hashbrown potatoes with red peppers (ala Sarabeth's...)
Not a bad first benedict effort, if I may say so myself!
Not a bad first benedict effort, if I may say so myself!
Oddly,
today we saw a wild turkey crossing Promenade Boulevard. Nobody ever asks why the turkey crossed the road.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Itsy Bitsy Yoga!
Is on again for tomorrow. We'll see how it goes. Last week was a surprise success, with seemingly fun moms, tots and a nice instructor. (Though the parking situation at the Gym was awful.... really, everyone goes to the gym at 9:30am??)
The project continues!
Today, after but a few moments of checking through one of the cabinents in the family room I uncovered our old VCR. I've gone ahead and reserved the first three movies through the NYPL online. We'll be getting started pretty soon! Who's popping the popcorn??
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
SAVEH2O
The other day we were out and saw a first generation Prius loaded up with a bunch of environmental bumper stickers and sporting the vanity plate: SAVEH2O. Do you think the NJ vanity plate charge is waived when your plate is a PSA?
A More Perfect Union...
Okay, so I know I'm going to get stoned to death by a jury of my peers for this one, but what the heck.
This is a link to Obama's "A More Perfect Union" speech, which he apparently mostly wrote himself. Question-- how is it that someone who can prepare such eloquent speeches and profess concepts of unity and understanding and hope possibly could have sat through the diatribes of Rev. Wright for so long if he really objected to the "offensive" portions of their content? From an intellectual level alone you'd think you'd either say something to the guy or get up and leave (long before now). I think this would all make a lot more sense if he just did a David Patterson and came clean-- all he has to say is that he was just going to church to make his wife happy. That, to me, is a more plausible explanation. ;)
ps. this is, in my opinion, another reason for the importance of the separation of church and state. Unless it's Shirley MacLaine, it's always a deal-breaker for me when politicians have prominent spiritual advisors. But that's just me.
This is a link to Obama's "A More Perfect Union" speech, which he apparently mostly wrote himself. Question-- how is it that someone who can prepare such eloquent speeches and profess concepts of unity and understanding and hope possibly could have sat through the diatribes of Rev. Wright for so long if he really objected to the "offensive" portions of their content? From an intellectual level alone you'd think you'd either say something to the guy or get up and leave (long before now). I think this would all make a lot more sense if he just did a David Patterson and came clean-- all he has to say is that he was just going to church to make his wife happy. That, to me, is a more plausible explanation. ;)
ps. this is, in my opinion, another reason for the importance of the separation of church and state. Unless it's Shirley MacLaine, it's always a deal-breaker for me when politicians have prominent spiritual advisors. But that's just me.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
A lot's been going on,
but no blogging.
Saturday marked my first mom's day out since December (I don't count the two bar taking days...). Last time I hit the town with the Dad, seeing the Homecoming and hitting up Sarabeth's for brunch. This time it was catching up, chatting and shopping with Leda and Mel! A fun time was had by all, and we must do it again soon!
Sunday Miss B and I headed up to Connecticut to see Thisbe in her show! Leda, Demetri, Mel, Mike and Moritz also hit up the matinee so it was quite a fun event! Thisbe was fab and Miss B really liked the music and all of the singing (though we did have to head out to the lobby on a number of occasions as Baby wanted to join the chorus).
Today was a fast-paced day of lunch with the Husband at Panera, a visit to Babies r' Us (where we snagged a truly adorable baby Yankees cap!) and grocery shopping at the Wegmans. Leave it to the Wegman's cashier to put my loaf of pepperidge farm bread in the same bag as a five pound sack of potatoes. Furthermore, my baguette arrived home at a 45 degree angle. Clearly this man had an issue with carbs.
On the meal front, it's been a fun past few days. The other day I made a great tomato bisque soup thanks to an organic tomato soup from WF (doctored up with some special ingredients including a can of fire roasted tomatoes, a bit of cream and some various spices), a nice caesar salad and herbed goat cheese toasts. Then we had do-it-yourself soft tacos, and finally, rounding out Friday night with sliders and french fries. I had been using 80/20 ground beef from Wegman's (Bobby Flay had recommended 80/20 on the burger episode of "Throwdown") but instead this time I got 85/15 from WF and it was really great! Tonight we did Croque Monsieurs with a nice salad (topped with lemon vinagrette from one of Ina's cookbooks). I'm still getting back into the swing of theme weeks. I've gotten some great cookbooks from the Mom recently (including a Jamie Oliver and two Lidia cookbooks, so we'll see what the future holds!)
Saturday marked my first mom's day out since December (I don't count the two bar taking days...). Last time I hit the town with the Dad, seeing the Homecoming and hitting up Sarabeth's for brunch. This time it was catching up, chatting and shopping with Leda and Mel! A fun time was had by all, and we must do it again soon!
Sunday Miss B and I headed up to Connecticut to see Thisbe in her show! Leda, Demetri, Mel, Mike and Moritz also hit up the matinee so it was quite a fun event! Thisbe was fab and Miss B really liked the music and all of the singing (though we did have to head out to the lobby on a number of occasions as Baby wanted to join the chorus).
Today was a fast-paced day of lunch with the Husband at Panera, a visit to Babies r' Us (where we snagged a truly adorable baby Yankees cap!) and grocery shopping at the Wegmans. Leave it to the Wegman's cashier to put my loaf of pepperidge farm bread in the same bag as a five pound sack of potatoes. Furthermore, my baguette arrived home at a 45 degree angle. Clearly this man had an issue with carbs.
On the meal front, it's been a fun past few days. The other day I made a great tomato bisque soup thanks to an organic tomato soup from WF (doctored up with some special ingredients including a can of fire roasted tomatoes, a bit of cream and some various spices), a nice caesar salad and herbed goat cheese toasts. Then we had do-it-yourself soft tacos, and finally, rounding out Friday night with sliders and french fries. I had been using 80/20 ground beef from Wegman's (Bobby Flay had recommended 80/20 on the burger episode of "Throwdown") but instead this time I got 85/15 from WF and it was really great! Tonight we did Croque Monsieurs with a nice salad (topped with lemon vinagrette from one of Ina's cookbooks). I'm still getting back into the swing of theme weeks. I've gotten some great cookbooks from the Mom recently (including a Jamie Oliver and two Lidia cookbooks, so we'll see what the future holds!)
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Kung Fu Cable
For the past three days the cable in the family room has been broadcasting the sound about a good 10 seconds ahead of the picture. While watching animated children's programming the difference doesn't seem too bad, since cartoon mouths usually onnly move marginally to match the words anyway but it has been pretty disturbing to watch regular tv. I feel like I'm perpetually in a badly dubbed chinese movie.
Other tvs? Fine.
This tv when watching a DVD or a Tivo'd show? Fine.
Switching from Comcast to Verizon? Can't happen soon enough.
Other tvs? Fine.
This tv when watching a DVD or a Tivo'd show? Fine.
Switching from Comcast to Verizon? Can't happen soon enough.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
I'm going to get you a library card...
So, the game is on. Today I signed up on the internet for a NYPL library card which will give me access to those Best Pictures not yet on DVD! This, thanks to the fact that the NYPL will give a free library card to anyone so long as they live, work, own a business, own property or go to school in New York State (let's hope that the new Governor doesn't make any changes to these policies ;) Thanks to the fact that I maintain a work office in the city, I filled out the form and was all ready for my card! Not five minutes after I sent in my application I got an email back from the folks at the NYPL. The email indicated that they wouldn't be able to send my card out of state to my home address. I'd either need it to be sent to my work address or I'd have to pick it up in person. So I gave a call, figuring I could arrange for a pick up since if it went to my work address god only knows when it would get forwarded home. I spoke to a lovely woman and I mentioned that I was working part-time and that it would be a while before I would be able to get mail from work. I couldn't even get out the suggestion that I'd pick it up before she said, "I'll mail it to your home." Yes! Now when I go to pick up my reserved tapes I'm going to have to show proof of my NY address. I'll be digging up a business card and then I'm good to go!
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Mark Your Calendars...
the local mom's group sent out this reminder:
Mark your calendars, Hindi for preschoolers tomorrow at the W. Windsor public library!
Mark your calendars, Hindi for preschoolers tomorrow at the W. Windsor public library!
Monday, March 10, 2008
A New Endeavor...
The Husband asked the other day if I was having a hard time unwinding from the bar exam. I responded that I thought I wasn't having any problems, but then realized that over the past week I had made appointments with every kind of contractor known to man (carpeting, cabinent/countertop people, hardwood floor restorers, fencing installers, mason/stone pointing people), read a 315 page nonfiction book, caught up on two months of periodicals, entered two more art contests, began making felt play food for Miss Baby, and prepared a full punjabi dinner (both meat and vegetarian).
So maybe there was something to this idea that I haven't been able to properly relax since taking the bar. Since taking care of Baby and working part-time from home leave me with such a lot of personal time, I've decided to watch all 80 Best Picture Academy Award winners. Why not? I can do it while knitting (Dad-- your pumpkin hat is almost done!) Below is a list of the winners. Part of the challenge of this project is a) finding all of the movies on VHS or DVD and b) locating where I put my old VCR. Oh, the other rule? I have to watch them *in order*. If you have any of the movies below that you wouldn't mind lending, it would be much appreiciated! Oh, and of course, progress will be reported on the Blog.
Wings
The Broadway Melody
All Quiet on the Western Front
Cimarron
Grand Hotel
Cavalcade
It Happened One Night
Mutiny on the Bounty
The Great Ziegfeld
The Life of Emile Zola
You Can't Take it With You
Gone with the Wind
Rebecca
How Green Was My Valley
Mrs. Miniver
Casablanca
Going My Way
The Lost Weekend
The Best Years of Our Lives
Gentleman's Agreement
Hamlet
All the King's Men
All About Eve
An American in Paris
The Greatest Show on Earth
From Here to Eternity
On the Waterfront
Marty
Around the World in 80 Days
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Gigi
Ben-Hur
The Apartment
West Side Story
Lawrence of Arabia
Tom Jones
My Fair Lady
The Sound of Music
A Man for All Seasons
In the Heat of the Night
Oliver!
Midnight Cowboy
Patton
The French Connection
The Godfather
The Sting
The Godfather Part II
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Rocky
Annie Hall
The Deer Hunter
Kramer vs. Kramer
Ordinary People
Chariots of Fire
Gandhi
Terms of Endearment
Amadeus
Out of Africa
Platoon
The Last Emperor
Rain Man
Driving Miss Daisy
Dances with Wolves
The Silence of the Lambs
Unforgiven
Schindler's List
Forrest Gump
Braveheart
The English Patient
Titanic
Shakespeare in Love
American Beauty
Gladiator
A Beautiful Mind
Chicago
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
Million Dollar Baby
Crash
The Departed
No Country for Old Men
So maybe there was something to this idea that I haven't been able to properly relax since taking the bar. Since taking care of Baby and working part-time from home leave me with such a lot of personal time, I've decided to watch all 80 Best Picture Academy Award winners. Why not? I can do it while knitting (Dad-- your pumpkin hat is almost done!) Below is a list of the winners. Part of the challenge of this project is a) finding all of the movies on VHS or DVD and b) locating where I put my old VCR. Oh, the other rule? I have to watch them *in order*. If you have any of the movies below that you wouldn't mind lending, it would be much appreiciated! Oh, and of course, progress will be reported on the Blog.
Wings
The Broadway Melody
All Quiet on the Western Front
Cimarron
Grand Hotel
Cavalcade
It Happened One Night
Mutiny on the Bounty
The Great Ziegfeld
The Life of Emile Zola
You Can't Take it With You
Gone with the Wind
Rebecca
How Green Was My Valley
Mrs. Miniver
Casablanca
Going My Way
The Lost Weekend
The Best Years of Our Lives
Gentleman's Agreement
Hamlet
All the King's Men
All About Eve
An American in Paris
The Greatest Show on Earth
From Here to Eternity
On the Waterfront
Marty
Around the World in 80 Days
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Gigi
Ben-Hur
The Apartment
West Side Story
Lawrence of Arabia
Tom Jones
My Fair Lady
The Sound of Music
A Man for All Seasons
In the Heat of the Night
Oliver!
Midnight Cowboy
Patton
The French Connection
The Godfather
The Sting
The Godfather Part II
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Rocky
Annie Hall
The Deer Hunter
Kramer vs. Kramer
Ordinary People
Chariots of Fire
Gandhi
Terms of Endearment
Amadeus
Out of Africa
Platoon
The Last Emperor
Rain Man
Driving Miss Daisy
Dances with Wolves
The Silence of the Lambs
Unforgiven
Schindler's List
Forrest Gump
Braveheart
The English Patient
Titanic
Shakespeare in Love
American Beauty
Gladiator
A Beautiful Mind
Chicago
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
Million Dollar Baby
Crash
The Departed
No Country for Old Men
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Interesting....
Tim Yeo of the Financial Times notes, "the most important though so far largely overlooked consequence of Fidel Castro's long-awaited retirement is its significance for golf." Tiger Woods, watch out. Who knew, in addition to baseball, ol' Fidel is a PGA pro??? (Actually, Tim claims that Cuba's the next Pebble Beach... intriguing.
Friday, March 07, 2008
Friday Night...
It's 10:56pm on a Friday night and I'm watching "The Making of Miami Vice"-- not even the Don Johnson version, but the Jamie Foxx Colin Farrel one. This does not bode well for the weekend.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
We're Back!
So, now that the bar exam is over we can go back to real cooking! Tonight we had Chicken Makhani with Naan (from WF) and homemmade potato Samosas! I had seen a recipe in Real Simple for the samosas using (oh, my god...) left over mashed potatoes and ready made puff pastry. Needless to say I did not use left over mashed potatoes, but I did use Pepperidge Farm ready made puff pastry. For the samosa innards I boiled golden potatoes that I had rough cut. Once boiled, I drained the potatoes and added petite sweet peas, fresh cilantro, olive oil, garam masala, ground cumin, mustard seed, salt and garlic salt. I also diced a jalepeno and added that as well. The samosas were really good, though I think they could have stood for a bit more spicing.
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Hmpf....
Nothing says "glamorous afternoon" quite like ordering 60 pounds of cat litter on the Internet.
Gemini's Twin...
This week's US Magazine horoscope for Miss Baby indicated that she is a techno-junkie. "Geminis, like you and Natalie Portman, need to put down the Crackberry". I guess it's not all wrong, Miss B does really enjoy playing with the remote control, cordless phone and she would certainly chew on our cellphones/blackberries if given the opportunity.
Where There's a Will....
So starting last May, for 85 days, Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman rode through Africa for their "Long Way Down" trip/documentary. For fans of "Long Way Round" this was quite exciting! I found out about the BBC website documenting the trip last summer (and added a perma-link, shown on the left side of the page...) and had been waiting this fall to see if the show would be carried on any stations here in the US. Unfortunately, only BBC Two seemed to air the episodes. Then I kept my eye out for the DVD-- no luck. Finally, we did a bit of research and decided to just order the damn thing from the LWR website. We've finished watching the DVD and now I'm starting to read the companion book (also unavailable in the US until June, but I managed to get a copy thanks to Amazon Canada!) Here's to looking forward to Long Way Up!
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Random Musings on the Bar Exam...
So, now that the exam is over, I have a few thoughts...
First, it was kind of funny when the nice gentleman sitting next to me on Day One (who had just taken NY the day before) asked if I had just taken NY too. I was able to answer-- "eight years ago."
Second. Today I was doing the essay portion of the exam via laptop. At the end of the morning session there was quite a bit of delay on picking up exam materials, etc. I was one of the first people whose materials were taken. I asked the proctor if I could leave to go to the ladies room. I'm met with "I'm sure you really have to go, but I'd hate for you to miss any important instructions." Yeah, okay. I then proceed to sit for five more minutes both while my bladder is expanding rapidly and my lunch hour is ticking away. The room starts to rumble with "why can't we leave-yets" and then the head proctor gets huffy about making sure people don't want to lose their exam answers. I'm thinking, lady, at this point I don't care if you lose my answers! Finally, they let us go, but not until after the other room full of testakers have been dismissed. What does this mean? Line at the ladies room. Why is it that women always take so long in the bathroom? (With the corrollary to that being they never put in enough bathrooms for women in public places?) For years on end I had prided myself on never having to pee outside of the house. I had the bladder capacity of a camel. Then comes childbirth. What could make this situation worse? Having to listen to "We've Only Just Begun" by the Carpenters, in Muzak while waiting in line for the bathroom.
Other thoughts? Having to bring loose m&ms in to the exam room in a giant ziploc bag as a way to discourage people from both i) cribbing notes on the wrapper and ii) discouraging making paper crunching noises seems a bit like administrative overkill.
First, it was kind of funny when the nice gentleman sitting next to me on Day One (who had just taken NY the day before) asked if I had just taken NY too. I was able to answer-- "eight years ago."
Second. Today I was doing the essay portion of the exam via laptop. At the end of the morning session there was quite a bit of delay on picking up exam materials, etc. I was one of the first people whose materials were taken. I asked the proctor if I could leave to go to the ladies room. I'm met with "I'm sure you really have to go, but I'd hate for you to miss any important instructions." Yeah, okay. I then proceed to sit for five more minutes both while my bladder is expanding rapidly and my lunch hour is ticking away. The room starts to rumble with "why can't we leave-yets" and then the head proctor gets huffy about making sure people don't want to lose their exam answers. I'm thinking, lady, at this point I don't care if you lose my answers! Finally, they let us go, but not until after the other room full of testakers have been dismissed. What does this mean? Line at the ladies room. Why is it that women always take so long in the bathroom? (With the corrollary to that being they never put in enough bathrooms for women in public places?) For years on end I had prided myself on never having to pee outside of the house. I had the bladder capacity of a camel. Then comes childbirth. What could make this situation worse? Having to listen to "We've Only Just Begun" by the Carpenters, in Muzak while waiting in line for the bathroom.
Other thoughts? Having to bring loose m&ms in to the exam room in a giant ziploc bag as a way to discourage people from both i) cribbing notes on the wrapper and ii) discouraging making paper crunching noises seems a bit like administrative overkill.
Adventures in Babysitting....
During yesterday's bar exam session the cleaning ladies were scheduled to visit the homestead while Mom was watching Miss Baby. When we left the house I really didn't even think about the fact that the alarm was on. At our lunch break we called and checked in with the Mom and all was well. When we finished our exam session in the afternoon, the Husband's cell phone had a voicemessage from a random 800 number. We called home to check in and the Mom didn't report that anything was amiss. We checked the voicemessage and heard that it was our alarm company telling us that there had been an alarm call and that the person at our house couldn't verify any of the secret code information and as such, the police were being called.
As we were getting ready to call the Mom back to alert her to the police visit, I noticed that the call from the alarm company had been placed over two hours before. When we got home, we got the whole story.
Before the cleaning ladies arrived, Mom realized that she'd need to disarm our burglar alarm in order to let in the cleaning ladies. The Mom checked in with Dad for the code. Unfortunately, the code, as remembered, was incorrect. When the cleaning ladies arrived, Mom opened the door and the alarm went off. Punched in code? Doesn't disarm. Alarm goes off. AlarmCo calls, Mom can't verify. AlarmCo asks whether perhaps the cleaning ladies would have the code? Mom, rightfully asserts that if she doesn't have the code, why would the cleaning ladies have it?? Alarm eventually stops going off, but now the doors are closed and Mom realizes she can't open the door to let the cleaning ladies out without setting the alarm again. Next thing you know? The police show up. They pound on the door and demand to be let in. Mom opens the window near the door to let them know that she can't open the door-- the alarm will go off and she doesn't have the code. The police say that they have to come inside to make sure that everything is okay. Next thing, they're asking Mom whether someone inside the house is making her say that everything is okay.
Then, the police ask whose car is in the drive way, and is that person forcing Mom to keep the door shut? Now Mom, with Miss B has to go and get Gloria (chief cleaning lady) to confirm that everything is okay! Next, the police want to see Mom's license, which (because the door can't be opened) she has to shove underneath the window screen!
Then, Mom tells the cleaning ladies that they have to stay at our house until I call back from the bar exam to give her the code (what a great fact pattern to test False Imprisonment!), Mom calls Dad on this one and Dad reminds Mom that she can't hold the cleaning women hostage. Luckily, after a bit of back and forth, the Mom and Dad recovered the code. Cleaning ladies can go free and, as the SBPD said, "that was the strangest alarm call I've ever been on."
Something's telling me we'll be getting a bill in the mail.
As we were getting ready to call the Mom back to alert her to the police visit, I noticed that the call from the alarm company had been placed over two hours before. When we got home, we got the whole story.
Before the cleaning ladies arrived, Mom realized that she'd need to disarm our burglar alarm in order to let in the cleaning ladies. The Mom checked in with Dad for the code. Unfortunately, the code, as remembered, was incorrect. When the cleaning ladies arrived, Mom opened the door and the alarm went off. Punched in code? Doesn't disarm. Alarm goes off. AlarmCo calls, Mom can't verify. AlarmCo asks whether perhaps the cleaning ladies would have the code? Mom, rightfully asserts that if she doesn't have the code, why would the cleaning ladies have it?? Alarm eventually stops going off, but now the doors are closed and Mom realizes she can't open the door to let the cleaning ladies out without setting the alarm again. Next thing you know? The police show up. They pound on the door and demand to be let in. Mom opens the window near the door to let them know that she can't open the door-- the alarm will go off and she doesn't have the code. The police say that they have to come inside to make sure that everything is okay. Next thing, they're asking Mom whether someone inside the house is making her say that everything is okay.
Then, the police ask whose car is in the drive way, and is that person forcing Mom to keep the door shut? Now Mom, with Miss B has to go and get Gloria (chief cleaning lady) to confirm that everything is okay! Next, the police want to see Mom's license, which (because the door can't be opened) she has to shove underneath the window screen!
Then, Mom tells the cleaning ladies that they have to stay at our house until I call back from the bar exam to give her the code (what a great fact pattern to test False Imprisonment!), Mom calls Dad on this one and Dad reminds Mom that she can't hold the cleaning women hostage. Luckily, after a bit of back and forth, the Mom and Dad recovered the code. Cleaning ladies can go free and, as the SBPD said, "that was the strangest alarm call I've ever been on."
Something's telling me we'll be getting a bill in the mail.
It's Over!
The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist. And like that... he was gone.
Monday, February 25, 2008
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