Talking to myself in a monologue...(* thanks for the line Dylan)

Is it time...

2009-05-08T13:42:00.000-07:00

... to retire the Blog? Goodness, I've become quite the infrequent poster. Was it really a month since I was last on here? Now that I write all day at work, and with it so easy to broadcast more than I ever should on Facebook, this outlet just seems a bit of a chore. But I'll try not to let it die yet. At a minimum, I should use it to relay and recall funny Leila stories. So next week is the last big TV week of the season (boo!) and I'm making a pledge to start filling the void with more writing, reading and a renewed exercise commitment. In the meantime, Happy Mother's day to all!

Finally, a Nicaragua trip report. Heck, finally, a Blog post!

2009-04-10T13:36:00.000-07:00

While I don’t think I can write in such sweeping detail as I did about my first trip to Nicaragua 3 years ago – my first impressions of place and experience are that much more vibrant, and, well, I think I drank more tequila this go around – the trip should not go completely unnoted. This was also essentially Leila’s first brush with her paternal homeland, as she was all of 10 months last time, and it was much fun in that respect. The poor child must think she has no less than 1,000 aunts and uncles because each time we joined a new family gathering she was told “here’s your Tio A, and there’s your Tio B … now go give your Tias X and Y a hug….”, but she seemed to have a pretty good handle on everyone and their relations at the end of 10 days and she had a blast with her cousins Nadine and Ethel. Well, as much of a blast as 5.5, 4 and 2.5 year old girls can have with each other before inevitable clashes arise.

First off, Nicas have to be about the best party people I know. And I love that it’s a multi-generational thing. Yes, it was the 24 or so year old cousins who were out at the Managua clubs multiple nights (and the one night I entered a club, I’m not even sure I made it to 1a.m.), but the Tios and Tias can hang at the all-night wedding celebrations longer and with more energy and liveliness than can I. The purpose of our trip was Cesar’s cousin Mare’s wedding and we arrived in time to attend her civil marriage ceremony at the beach followed by the church wedding a week later with a shower/bachelor party, rehearsal dinner and several informal gatherings and cook-outs in between. I won’t detail meal by meal, day by day (OK, as I reread, I kind of did just that) as I did with our 2006 trip, but suffice it to say I am in full on withdrawal mode from gallo pinto, churrasco, ginormous whole fish, fried cheese and plantains (Even though it was suggested that the cheese – non-pasteurized – is probably what contributed to several days of stomach ailment, which hit a number of us. I’d just Pepto it up one day and eat cheese the next in cycles.) As well as cold Victoria and Premium beer, Flor de Cana rum, and yes, tequila. I am also missing the 90 degree sun with pleasant cooling breezes at night. And hammocks. Oh how I adore those Hammocks at Tia Gloria’s beach house.

So, we arrived on Friday the 13th, and in spite of the inauspicious date, found ALL 3 SUITCASES waiting for us at the airport. The trip was relatively uneventful. Delay at Miami airport (no surprise there) due to mechanical problems with the plane and when those couldn’t be resolved, American luckily found a spare to load us onto. Incidentally, it was snowing when we left National. We were well into our descent to Sandino international airport when the plane suddenly bucked back up and started circling Lake Managua at what felt like 100 MPH. It was finally announced that the tower had informed the captain to delay the descent so that debris could be cleared from the runway. Yep, welcome to Nicaragua! The Brandts had us picked up at the airport and we went to their house to wait for some other family members with a vehicle to be ready to leave for the beach house in Pochomil – about an hour over ½ dirt roads from Managua. There we managed a tequila shot and beer or two with birthday cake for Nadine’s 30th before exhaustion took over. Leila stayed at the house to share a bed with her cousins and Cesar and I went with two of his aunts to other lodging Tia Gloria had arranged use of. I fondly dubbed said lodging “the tree house”, because, well, it was constructed like a log cabin up on stilts and a bit rustic, but clean and secure. Unfortunately I did not sleep a wink, because 1) Cesar had both A/C and fan on full blast and I was shivering under a sheet only, and 2) THE WIND. From our elevated, non-insulated perch, it howled off the waves like nothing I’ve heard. Seriously, I thought I may as well be in the eye of a hurricane.

Saturday, we went back to the BBH (Brandt Beach House) for breakfast. Cesar, Leila and I cruised around a bit, hung at the pool until being kicked out for the installation of floating flower arrangement fountains, then went to clean up for the civil wedding. The civil celebration was hosted by the groom’s family and a patch of beach had been tricked out in lounge mode with dance floor, modular white chairs, bar, buffet, band etc… All the guests, men and women, wore white and Mare was in striking purple contrast. It was lovely. Leila and Nadinecita had a blast sprinting from the yard, to the party to dance and spin and jump, and back again time and time again. Tequila shots were involved. Several of them. Maybe more than several. It’s a wonder that I never had a hangover. Leila and the girls eventually went to sleep in the house far, far too late of course and Cesar and I managed to hang until 2a.m. or thereabouts. Was reported that stragglers carried on the party until 5 or so.

Sunday was a perfectly lazy day at BBH. Aunts, uncles and cousins entered at staggered times for breakfast and we were in bathing suits well into the evening, snacking and drinking beer in and around the pool and in those fabulous hammocks. We took turns riding a dune buggy on the beach and Cesar actually managed to convince me to drive – with that slow, old lady like caution I exhibit when driving any 4-wheel vehicle. Cesar and I returned to sleep in the tree house, in a non-air conditioned room this time, which suited me just fine, but for whatever reason, sleep was relatively elusive. I closed my eyes with a little lizard on a beam overhead, but as they’re one of the very few critters that don’t bother me, I guess it was just a generalized insomnia, or, perhaps, not enough tequila.

Monday we returned to Managua mid-morning and showered off at that Brandt’s house before meeting up with cousins Rogelio and Tito and brother-in-law Michael for a delicious Rancho lunch. Mmmm… how I love churrasco w/ chimichuri sauce. I could likely consume a steak a day there. Yeah, I was hit hard with stomach ick shortly thereafter and suffered the better part of the next 24 hours, but that divine meat was surely not to blame. We then picked up our rental car and Cesar, Leila and I hit the road for his hometown Rivas, where we visited with relatives on his mother’s side. I guess I wrinkled my nose at some point when Cesar said he’d like to live in Rivas, because I’m still being accused of hatin’ on his birthplace. But really, I have nothing against the town, it’s just not nearly so scenic as the other colonial centers, and I always feel so closed in upon on its busy streets. It’s very nicely situated between the Pacific beaches and Lake Nicaragua; however, so if the goal is to spend 95% of the time at the beach and just retreat to the city for amenities, I’m there.

Speaking of the beach… We woke early with the sun Tuesday morning and packed up the car with the surf board Cesar stashes in Rivas for such occasions and hit the road in search of waves. And hit is the right word, as in head hitting the ceiling of the car as Cesar careened over the rougher patches of dirt road to reach the more remote (i.e.: best surf) enclaves. It was at this point in the trip when Cesar declared with his best dramatic flair that he would never return to Nicaragua (I figured it would take him 2 weeks to recant, but we didn’t even make that. He’s already saying he wants to go back and he doesn’t belong here/in D.C.), because many of the beach access points he recalls from back in the day are now inaccessible unless you’re resident to a gated foreign owned development. We did talk our way into one of those developments, Iguana, by telling the guard we were seeking information from the sales office and took a tour of the place with an agent. There you can own a top floor, 3 bedroom condo with beach view and private beach access for $250,000 or a 1 bedroom walkout to the beach for $150,000. Ridiculously affordable by U.S. standards, I know! But the benefit or tradeoff depending on your viewpoint is the isolation – we’re talking someone comes to sell fruit and veggies on the property once or twice a week and aside from that, you’re a good 45 minutes or more from a town with any infrastructure.

We finally found our way to “Tica 2”, a beach in Popoyo where Cesar and his friends used to go on surf ventures, and again, he was ranting and raving about development. Ummm, the development I saw was all of about a ½ mile dirt road, ½ dozen houses and 3 bungalow style surf hotel/restaurants where rooms went for $5 or $6 a night. Apparently, he liked it better when one had to trek through questionable bush and water with lord knows what terrifying spider species lurking at the edge to get to the beach, which was still wide open and perfectly accessible. But alas, the surfing was not to be. We lugged Leila’s sand toys out of the car and dragged ourselves through the hot sand for about 2 minutes before she was wailing inconsolably about the sand blowing at her face. Cesar scanned the waves for a moment and determined that the wind was neither in his favor, so we picked up and marched back to one of those surf hotels for lunch. At least the view was striking, the beer cold, and the fish delicious. Leila, who will eat almost any fish, so long as it’s filleted, took one look at the head and eye on mine, poked a finger at the tiny barred teeth and would have nothing to do with it. Couldn’t even convince her to have a French fry off my plate. She was also in near hysterics over the couple of feral dogs that were lingering back hoping for scraps. We did meet an interesting fellow named Leon – an Aussie by way of New York – who shared our table and talked surf with Cesar. He’s supposedly a children’s musician/entertainer following a stint in acting school, so if you’re a New Yorker looking for entertainment for your kid’s birthday party, do look old Leon up. Not that I can vouch for his talent or anything!

After stopping for a few scenic cliff top ocean photos, we took the road back to Rivas, as bumpy on the way back as it was going. Leila slept and conveniently woke to Cesar slowing down in the middle of the road buy himself an ice cream from a fellow with a cooler lashed to the front of his bicycle. I sat by with the wipes as she proceeded to turn herself into a dripping sticky mess. We decided to head back to Managua instead of spending a second night in Rivas and headed to our room at the Brandt Bed & Breakfast (one of the family’s two hotels) where I think I was actually asleep at 9:30!

Wednesday we woke for eggs and gallo pinto at the hotel, and after changing plans a couple times, decided to take Leila and head to Grenada for a tour of the Isletas, a sort of archipelago of islands in Lake Nicaragua formed by an eruption of Volcan Mombacho, many of which have been purchased and developed with extravagant weekend homes by Nicaragua’s rich and famous (or infamous as the case may be.) The highlight of the lazy boat tour to me, of course, was to see the monkey island, and though I was expecting something a little more Planet of the Apes in scope, I wasn’t disappointed when one of the 4 or 5 monkeys inhabiting the green space the size of my cubicle dropped down to a low branch to scoop up some water. Click, click, click of my camera. No sightings of the only existing freshwater sharks in the world. Leila had had it as we crept back to shore after an hour and a half and was ready to get back to the store we passed on the way into town with the piñata display, but we were able to bargain lunch out of her first.

Just to reiterate. I love Grenada. It’s so very pretty with its sharp red, yellow and cornflower blue trimmed in white Colonial facades that just pop out against the sun-drenched blue sky. We took a restaurant recommendation from the parking security guy and headed round the cathedral in search of El Zaguan and wow, parking security guy did not steer us wrong. We could smell the delicious meaty aroma grilling on spits as soon as we entered and were led into a lovely indoor courtyard setting. I wanted something to tide me over until Mare’s shower that evening, as I knew that these nighttime events were usually late dining affairs, and ordered chicken kebabs, which easily had a pound of meat on them. Cesar again went for a whole fish, called guacote or something of the like, which was the size of a serving platter. Leila had the same fish in battered fish stick format and was served about 12 of them. These meals with salad, bread and drinks set us back under $50 by the way. After the feast, we went back to the piñata store and let Leila pick out a small clown (my favorite), that I was then responsible for carrying home on the plane, and made the return trip to Managua.

Wednesday night was the bridal shower/bachelor party night, and while I’m not privy to the debaucherous detail of the bacheloring, the shower was lovely. I can hardly call it a shower, because aside from all the attendees being female, it in no way resembled the tea and bow-bouquet showers I am used to here. It was more a cocktail, dinner and dance party with, I’m guestimating, about two hundred guests. The host, a splendid artist, and his wife had a magnificent house upon a mini-mountain top above the city with his wall sized trompe l’oeil orange paintings dominating the interior and a spectacular, breezy wrap around patio exterior (have I used enough adjectives in that one sentence?). There was a band, sangria, rum and tequila, a phallic pastry display, a late chicken curry buffet, etc… Upon that event winding down, I joined Cesar’s sisters and cousins and Rogelio’s lovely girlfriend Vanessa for some night-clubbing, by which point, I should have been dancing off the booze and drinking water, but went to the balcony to sip another Ron con Coca and wait for Cesar and the boys to join us. Leila was sleeping at Tio Ramiro’s with her Mimi and Nono just for the record. And again, not to suggest I think I’m still young and hip for being in a club, I was probably there under an hour, leaving for bed shortly after Cesar arrived.

Thursday morning, the whole clan headed back to Rivas for a memorial mass honoring the Abarca matriarch at her old church. Cesar’s dad has five sisters and several cousins and it’s a rare occasion for all the children, grandchildren and cousins to be in one place to pay his grandmother their respects. The mass was in Spanish, so I can’t say much about that, but the musical selection was, ummm… interesting. I don’t quite know how to classify electronica church music. Everyone then visited her grave at Rivas’ interesting hill-top cemetery on the outskirts of town (the raised and varied tombs lent it a sort of New Orleans feel) and gathered for lunch at Grandma Abarca’s home, where Cesar’s great-Aunts still live. Then it was a blitz back to Managua via Masaya to pick up the flower girl gowns from the seamstress to arrive in time for the wedding rehearsal. I was dubious about the girls walking down the aisle in triangle formation, but they seemed comfortable in practice at least. The rehearsal was followed by, what else? Another social gathering. This time in the form of a casual cook-out at the Brant’s home. A mellow musician duo warmed up with those same American language standards you hear in any non-English speaking country (think “Hotel California” – the favorite of Moroccan cabbies) and we sipped cold beer and red wine in wait for more delicious churrasco, ribs, chorizo… I went back to the hotel with Leila at a relatively early 11:00 or so and let Cesar go out with the boys. I’m sure I missed something amusing at the crazy pyramid shaped night club, but sleep was not a bad thing at all!

With no formal activities on the agenda for Friday, Cesar, Leila, little Nadine, Rogelio, Tito, his girlfriend Melissa and I took a road trip to the town of Leon, where we met up with Vanessa ready to give us a tour of her home. Leon is the colonial contemporary to Grenada, but was base to the liberals and poets. Even on boulders leading into town, I could see more FSLN (Sandinista party) and red and black painted graffiti. Food was first on the agenda, of course, more whole fresh fish, and fueled by that we took off for sight-seeing. Vanessa guided us to the beautiful Convento hotel, the cultural arts center, and the old cathedral, where she pointed out poet Ruben Dario’s memorial and hired a guide to take us to the roof for stunning views of “the ring of fire” volcanoes and the town's numerous other cathedrals. Cesar and I opted for a low-key Friday night with the tios/tias at Tio Ramiro’s in lieu of more clubbing with the cousins. It’s always nice to sip Scotch with Tio Ramiro and hear of his early days spent as an interpreter in Russia.

It was probably a good thing that we didn’t join the youngsters out Friday night, because Saturday morning in the hotel, they looked spent. Leila and I had managed to sleep until about 10:30 ourselves, even with the early lights out. Once everyone had rallied enough, we headed for another leisurely churrasco lunch, knowing that dinner would likely be served at 11:00, then dispersed for our wedding preparations. Our three flower girls were way too precious in their floor length ivory tiered dresses and they performed just fine walking down the aisle. I of course spent the rest of the ceremony up and down following Leila in and out the church’s side door, but from what I could tell, it was lovely. I did my obligatory tearing up at Ave Maria (get’s me every time) and Mare was stunning in her strapless, mermaid, lace gown.

By the time we got the kiddos their Burger King meals and got them in their pjs at the hotel it was nearing 10:00, but I wasn’t worried about missing too much of the reception, having some experience with these all night affairs. I’m told there were about 500 guests at the reception, and it was your perfect mix of sophistication and wildness. I’m no longer surprised by the “carnivale” segments of these parties, but the full drum band and stilt walkers were a blast, as well as the wacky headgear, glasses and jewels. I was grabbed to participate in the sombrero wearing, handing out of ribboned ceramic tequila glass segment (you just never know when you might need that shot of tequila hanging round your neck!) Somehow we missed the taco bars, which followed the dinner buffet, but not the tequila bar! It was all in all a blast, and, surprise surprise, Cesar and I were about the first to leave at 3:00a.m. And thank goodness we did, because all three girls were wide awake with the hotel room open, lights and TV on. No, they weren’t unattended, but the girls we’d hired to watch them hadn’t thought to enforce sleep.

Lazy Sunday we spent repacking then went to the Brandt’s house to collapse on the patio by the pool. The family members yet to leave town gradually gathered for another impromptu cook-out. We begged an early ride back to the hotel, as we had to leave before 5:00 a.m. for our Monday flight, but sleep was again evasive. And the trip home, beside the nightmare that is the Miami airport, was unremarkable. I’m already ready to go back. Next time for just a week or two on a hammock at a beach house (though the family partying is fun!)

Embarrassing Admission

2009-03-02T18:34:00.000-08:00

So, I shoveled snow for the first time in my life today. Yep, somehow had gotten out of that task for nearly 35 years. Now using the sore shoulders excuse to enjoy my glass of wine w/ 24. For some reason I could not add any commentary text to the photo post below, but Leila and I had some fun snow bonding this morning and I'm trying to ignore the fact that I'll have an overwhelming amount of work on my desk tomorrow. Our snow person creation FYI represents the Winter Witch from the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. Yes, our Narnia obsession continues, which doesn't bother me in the least w/ all the Lost tie ins.

Snow Day

2009-03-02T18:27:00.000-08:00

But he does have a cute baby!

2009-02-16T13:57:00.001-08:00

It's the Ryan Gosling in Lars and the Real Girl look

2009-02-16T13:55:00.001-08:00

She is such the girl

2009-02-16T13:54:00.001-08:00

Comic Books May Be Next. Manga At Least.

2009-02-04T13:42:00.000-08:00

Leila and I are still feeding our new Anime addiction. Working our way through all the Hayao Miyazaki films available at our local library (Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle are good ones to start with if you're interested.)

One of my favorite things about these is trying to pick out the whose who of Western celebrities that do the voices in the English versions. Billy Crystal being the easiest to place thus far in Howl. Just a couple classics are Cary Elwes as Baron Humbert von Gikkingen in the Cat Returns:
A more handsome version than what Elwes has regrettably aged into since the Westley and Buttercup days.

And... Christian Bale as Howl:

It took me a while to place CB. Likely b/c he wasn't dropping the F-bomb!

We just started on Castle in the Sky featuring a (pre-Dawson) James Van Der Beek and Anna Paquin. We watch them in chapters as they're all over 2 hours long.

Go right ahead and throw the "GEEK!" comments at me.

Miscellany

2009-01-27T13:31:00.000-08:00

So I think I’m going to have to blame Facebook for ignoring ye olde blog. I mean, by the time I’ve updated my status 12 times in 24 hours there’s really only so much more I can relay. But here’s a brief effort to jot some random doings down in no particular order or relevance…

Starting with the biggie... The Inauguration of our nation’s 44th President was pretty much words cannot describe. I was so very happy and moved to be in town one week ago today. Yes, my view of history was had from a cozy law office with beer, buffets and legitimate bathrooms, but had I stayed home I would not have gotten to see the glowing smiles first hand, join in spontaneous chants of Obama, watched the cold crowds break into the electric slide to stay warm, taken dozens of fuzzy birds eye pictures of Suburbans are armored limos etc….

The Weather - Why does it seem that the colder winters get, the less snow seems to fall? It appears to have started lightly again and I guess we may have/get a couple inches out there, but I want a legitimate snow day! As in the school cancellation is made the night before and I get to lay around in sweats all day and take my kid out to play. If there is ice tomorrow as called for, I’m simply not having it. I don’t even own snow boots since our winters have been such duds for so many years now. No way I’ll be sliding down our two hills to the main road in the car to get Leila to school or on my feet/ass to get to the bus stop.

The Kid – is “bright.” ‘nuff said. We seem to be easing off some of the 3.5 year old attitude and maybe moving into a pleasant pre-4 stage. Fingers crossed. I’m enjoying discovering Anime with her. Geek that I am probably should have gotten into Anime long ago! I still love Pixar for visual effect, but aside from the exceptional Wall-E, the art of Anime storytelling is so much richer. We have thoroughly enjoyed The Cat Returns (w/ voices by Anne Hathaway and Carey Elwes) and Spirited Away. I’m also really enjoying that Leila will now sit quietly with me at night and listen to me read a chapter of a Narnia book. Harry Potter can’t be far behind.

The National Harbor – just across the river from us is quickly becoming a new favorite lets just get out of the house for a few hours weekend spot. Will be great in warm weather when we can take water taxi from Old Town. Nice to walk around the marina and play on the relocated “Awakening” statue. Some good restaurants (Rosa Mexicano!) And the Gaylord hotel/convention center is impressive. The baby Bellagio dancing sound and light fountains that play at 6:00, 7:00, 8: 00 and 9:00 are a HUGE hit with Leila (OK, I kind of dig them too.)

TV – SO glad to fall back into the rabbit hole of Lost. Don’t get the time travel at all, but totally game for the ride. 24 really hit its stride last night and had me breathless at the edge of my seat. Grey’s Anatomy reminded me what a dramatic wallop it can punch last week (RIP Erik Stoltz.) And I’m consistently 3 week behind on the Walker Family antics.

Vacation – is on the horizon! Leave is approved and tickets bought for Nicaragua 3/13- 3/23. Flor de Cana, here I come. We have an Abarca family wedding, which tend towards all night affairs, and I’m hoping to get some beaching and touring in too.

That’s all for now.

Baby Jude

2009-01-27T13:29:00.000-08:00

Is already 4+ weeks old! He looks pretty much like Carter and this is about the only state I've ever seen him in.

Leila loves raspberries

2009-01-12T13:28:00.000-08:00

Enough so that I find myself spending $4.99 on a teeny tiny container for her in the dead of winter. So we were at my mom's house Friday night with the Armands for a Louisiana fish fry (I'm glad baby Jude has arrived b/c now we should get to see more of Danielle's family and the truckloads full of cajun food they travel with!) After I ate 3 pounds worth (literally, that's how much my weight was up on the scale Saturday morning) of fried fish, shrimp and jalapeno hush puppies I scooped up Leila's berry dessert for her. Her signature way of eating them is to stick a berry on each finger. Danielle asked her who taught her how to do that and she looks up at us w/o skipping a beat and responds "I'm bright." We were rolling after verifying that was indeed what she had said. That smirk there is a very self-satisfied one, no?

The only good in Grey's right now...

2009-01-09T13:54:00.000-08:00

... is Kevin McKidd. And a psychotic guest turn by Erik Stoltz. I've really missed Erik Stoltz in my life. I think I'll have to dig out my VHS copy of Kicking and Screaming.

But back to McKidd. I don't know how I missed that he was in Trainspotting. Yeah, that's him third from left with the purdy hair. How young does Ewan McGregor look? That's yet another movie to add to my re-watch list.

In follow up...

2009-01-02T12:46:00.001-08:00

The kid came home from visiting the Abarca family in Connecticut with a 5 foot tall Sleeping Beauty doll. OK, perhaps it's 4 feet tall. And she talks. In a frightening automaton voice. Leila calls her Susan. After Susan from Narnia. Go figure. We'll have to get her a bow and arrow set I guess.

Standing up for the Princess

2008-12-30T13:51:00.000-08:00

Am I the worst mom in the world? I’ve been reading these tirades against “Princess Culture” on the DC Urban Mom’s listserv I’m on for the past several days and I just don’t get. I fully agree that the INDUSTRY is much more out of control than it was when I was a kid - you can’t even get past the dollar bins in Target without being bombarded by Disney doodads, but am I really skewing my 3 year old’s body image for life and teaching her that she needs to sit pretty and wait for a Prince to swoop in to save her by allowing her to watch The Little Mermaid, play with her new box set of 7 Disney Princesses (yes, 7 – she’s been asking for Barbie’s and to my eyes at least the diverse line up of Jasmine, Belle, Mulan, Ariel…was much preferable, but apparently not!), or put on a tiara from her chest of princess/fairy dress up clothes? Seriously?!

I fully understand the impressionability concerns and intend to do the best I can to foster a healthy body image, confidence and self reliance. But her overhearing me say, ugh, mom needs to exercise, my jeans are to tight one too many times is probably way more damaging than allowing her to comb Sleeping Beauty’s long blonde hair. Frankly, I grew up on the same Disney movies, granted w/o so many of the tie-in products, and I love re-experiencing them (over and over and over again) with Leila. Indeed, the bulk of her Christmas presents came straight out of my childhood – Colorforms, Tinker Toys and a Viewmaster Oh My! She plays with her dolls for a few minutes then asks me to get out Colorforms and help her create scenes. She also received her # 1 request: “a baby that pees.” It’s gross and ridiculous, but watching the way she nurtures her baby “Isabella” as a little mommy, it can’t be all bad for her development and imaginative play skills. She’s also just as likely to pick up her plastic sword and shield and pretend to be Peter from Narnia as she is to drift into Princess La La Land. Yes, I’ve also probably damaged her for letting her watch Narnia so young, but it inspired her to request the book – the same Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe book I was enthralled with as a somewhat older kid – and while she won’t sit through a chapter of my reading it yet, she walks around holding it and narrating stories about the few illustrations properly identifying the character names etc. Anyway, while I don’t dare jump into the flames of my listserv, I’d like to advocate as strongly as I can for letting kids be kids and embracing the Princess phase with all its satin and jewels for the short time it lasts.

Yeah, I miss those days when standing on Metro was fun...

2008-12-21T18:31:00.000-08:00

Good pics from a school performance are always wishful thinking...

2008-12-21T18:25:00.000-08:00

Wondering if letting her watch Narnia is such a wise idea...

2008-12-21T18:21:00.000-08:00

Behold...

2008-12-03T13:40:00.001-08:00

The perfect Christmakkuh gift for everyone on my list! The official U.S. Postal Service commemorative inaugural folio! I'm sure all my near and dear can wait until after January 20th to get their hands on this little piece of history. Next stop, stamp collecting!

TERRIBLE Blogger

2008-12-02T13:48:00.001-08:00

Wow, this old blog really needs to be updated, huh? Anyone have anything to contribute??

OK, how about a few pictures just to look alive...
A slightly more Twin Peaks version of Bob & Edith's above.

Yeah, the Princess over PJs look is a great one.

I love you Denny Duqette

2008-11-14T13:32:00.000-08:00

I do, I do, I really do! I mean, how could I not?:

But..... I think its time you rest in peace. Seriously. Then your loveliness can be free to haunt me from some other shows or movies. I mean, we all saw Ghost in 1990, and if we felt the need to see this:

again, we could just log straight on in to Netflix....

What I'm not ready to let rest in peace on Grey's is DoctorMajor Hunk, I mean Hunt! I know some aren't feeling him, but all of that pent up rage every now and again unleashed on Yang in the form of ravenous kissing.... Mmmmmmmm..... Now if we could only put him in a Lucius Vorenus toga!

History

2008-11-05T07:52:00.000-08:00

There is nothing I can say today that hasn't already been more eloquently stated by someone else, but there was no better feeling than finally falling asleep last night with the assurance that all our daunting challenges have been passed on to the right hands, the comfort that my daughter's future is that much more secure, and the anticipation of reading about this huge moment with future grandchildren in their school textbooks.

Change we can believe in people!

I feel it my duty...

2008-10-31T07:40:00.000-07:00

..to memorialize my cousin Cassidy's pumpkin artisty for Halloween!

Ready for Wicked?

2008-10-22T13:48:00.000-07:00

Leila and I had our first musical theater adventure last Sunday. We invited Emily and Henry to join us for "Busy Town", based on the Richard Scarry books I still love as a 34 year old, at Imagination Stage in Bethesda. The outing was more of a success than I imagined it could be. Leila sat silent perched at the edge of her seat and turned back to smile at me periodically. I think Emily and I were just amused by how over the top prissy/whiny the actor playing Huckle cat was and we exchanged many eyerolls throughout. But for a kids' production, it was fun. I'd much rather go to shows like this that draw on the imagination and classic books than something like Doodlebops Live....

Hee Hee

2008-10-20T13:08:00.001-07:00

2008-10-14T13:56:00.001-07:00

You want to know why I don't have time to blog much anymore? I do nutty things like schedule myself for 2 doctors appointments and a flu shot on the Columbus Day holiday. Plus there's that hour + of daily exercise I have to squeeze in at either 5a.m. or 9p.m. to demonstrate my commitment to Cesar's crazy P90X fitness program. I think I'm now 21 days into my 90, but could be off a day or two either way. Anyway... this is not in the least bit interesting reading, but I'm still here and will one day get back on track!

Out of the mouths of babes...

2008-10-03T13:29:00.000-07:00

As I'm getting my act together to get Leila in bed at the start of the VP debate last night, she says:

"I like the way Sarah Palin (which comes out Pay-yin, b/c her 'l's, particularly double 'll's often come out 'y's) talks."

Me (incredulously): "REALLY?!"

3 year old Leila: "Yes, she sounds silly."

Me: "BWAH HAH HA... indeed she does sweetie, indeed she does..."

Pics from Selma

2008-10-01T13:48:00.000-07:00

Yes, I smirk, but for some reason I like that picture of me...Selma can be my official photographer from now on ; )

The little boo boo fiancees are too cute holding hands in Georgetown Park.

I imagine future teenage pictures of the girl will look a little like this...

The Tough Questions From The Mouth Of The 3 Year Old

2008-09-26T13:08:00.000-07:00

From the profound:

"Are Oma and Opa going to go up to the sky to be with Papa Jesus soon?" Pause. " Is Missy going to go with them?"

Oma and Opa being my paternal grandparents and her great grandparents who are by no means ill or infirm. Missy being their dog.

To the ridiculous:

"When I grow up and have a baby in my tummy can I go to a Wiggles concert?"

Open to suggested responses on either!

Lesson Learned

2008-09-23T05:07:00.000-07:00

1) When you call the gas company and say you smell gas leaking from your stove when you turn it on and as it heats up, they take you seriously and send a tech out right away, no matter the day or hour. In fact they take you so seriously that they won't even let you hang up your phone in fear that could cause a spark and they disconnect it for you remotely.

2) It probably would have been wiser to call last Thursday when I first noticed the smell instead of just turning the stove off, getting away with not cooking dinner and going about our business throughout the weekend.

3) If your immediate neighbor in attached housing is having their kitchen redone, including having new hardwood floors installed and finished, that "gas" smell emanating from your stove could very well be the chemicals from their work burning off through your gas line. Huh? Curious. At least the Washington Gas techs didn't treat me like I was a fool and reassured me that it's better to be safe than sorry (even 4 days later!)

Guess I have to come home to cook dinner again after back-to-school night tonight. Sigh...

Homeowner Woes

2008-09-10T13:52:00.000-07:00

I love our house. I do. And people did warn me that as soon as we moved in shizz would start to happen and the repairs and maintenance would be on us, but there are some days I really do miss our nutty old property manager and being able to place the responsibility on her to get things done for us. This past weekend for example:

1) Our 2 year old roof leaked. Into Leila's bedroom. Causing plaster to fall down around the A/C vent in her ceiling. The plaster that is still barely hanging is now Duct taped up. Ghetto fabulous I tell you, but can't do much about fixing that until we tackle the source of the roof leak. That 2 year old roof is under warranty for issues of workmanship and materials found to be at fault of the roofers. They went out yesterday and whatever the issue it is apparently one that is not covered by warranty. They're probably shifting the blame to the air duct work. I don't really know, but the woman who answers the phone gives me 2 word answers and says they'll send me an estimate when the owner of the company gets back in town...

2) PESTS. Yes, it is a 50 + year old attached row house. Yes, I recognize we will have pests no matter how clean we keep the place. However, it seems that my pest issues are always just slightly more gruesome than most. Sunday, I'm sitting on the kitchen floor playing with Leila and her train tracks when something catches my eye hanging out of the bottom of the dishwasher. I catch Cesar coming up the stairs from the basement and say "look down there, does that look like a mouse's tail to you." He looks and says "yeah, no, I think it may be a cable..." but puts on a latex glove and gives it a tug and sure enough, a nice, dried, rotting tail snaps off between his fingers. We had no clue how to get into the bottom of the washer to access the rest of the corpse and I had to go in search of the Kenmore manual. Finally figured it out and it was clear to our noses that the little guy had been there a while. Accompanied by a fair smattering of droppings and cockroach carcasses. Thank god for the suction of my Dyson's hose b/c I'd be do squeamish to clean it out otherwise.

I've been wondering how long...

2008-09-02T19:40:00.000-07:00

...it would take her to discover mom's lipstick.
The real deal. Not chapstick.

Well, as real of a deal as $3.95 Rimmel gloss from Target is.

Leila Takes Manhattan

2008-09-02T19:34:00.001-07:00

Or not...
Granted, and lesson learned, that 45 minute drive from Hartford to New Haven and 2 hour Metro North ride to Grand Central is a long one.

And mom... is just a big old geek like always!

Wonderland Weekend

2008-08-19T13:29:00.000-07:00

As my friend and former colleague Morgan, who is way younger than me, said in response to my telling her we were going to take Leila to Lancaster, PA to do Dutch Wonderland last weekend: "that didn't exist when I did that family trip." I was initially surprised to learn about this pleasantly refreshing amusement park too, but anyone who's on the DC area parents' blogs and listservs does know that it exists. Now I had plenty of fun back in the day at Kings Dominion as a tween and teener, but my perspective on amusement parks now (all those large, sweaty, sticky people in jean shorts and fannie packs crushed together in hours' long lines...) probably tends toward the negative. And that is why I refer to Dutch Wonderland as pleasantly refreshing. I'm glad we didn't take Leila at any younger than age 3, but I can see her enjoying it for another 5 years or so. The park is nicely contained and laid out with plenty of shady trees. We started on a miniature version of the Strasburg railroad that looped around the park so we could get an idea of where the rides, shows and concessions were laid out. Yeah, the map would have given us that too, but the train's the first thing you hit once you go through the castle walls to enter the park. It took Leila a little while to get her stride, and the Frog Hopper ride she next went on traumatized her a bit (think a mini-bungee effect.) She probably would have been fine had one of us been on it with her, but I didn't think the shoulder harness would clear my frame. She adamantly refused to get on many rides after that, but she came back around after seeing the "Frog Prince" show, which combines the typical Princess kisses the frog and breaks the spell story with some pretty spectacular (even to an adult) diving routines. Actually, she probably enjoyed the shows more than anything else, but we got her on the log flume with us after that, then the merry go round and the sky gondola thing that crosses the park etc... It was crowded, but we didn't wait more than 5 minutes in line for anything but the log flume, and that was only about 15. I had her bathing suit in a back pack, but we did not venture into the water park. Cesar and I didn't have our suits on, and I couldn't see her doing anything by herself aside from maybe standing in a fountain, and that just didn't seem worth the hassle.

We did spend the night there because I wanted to take her on the real Strasburg Railroad and see some countryside on Sunday, but the trip from DC and back could totally be managed in a (long) day. Especially with the GPS in the car - man I've learned to love that thing and follow it with blind faith in a very short time after denying Cesar one for years. We also wanted some time to hit the outlets. We stayed at the Country Inn and Suites, literally across from the park and next to the Tanger outlets. It was more than we should spend on a weekend, but perfectly reasonable for 2 Queen beds and a living room suite. We wanted to watch the Olympics Saturday night, so I found us a sports bar in downtown Lancaster in an old tobacco warehouse that had individual TVs at each booth. For a sports bar, the food wasn't half bad. We shared fried mozzarella that was coated in pretzels instead of breadcrumbs and served w/ dijon mustard sauce and I had a "Pittsburgh Salad", which was greens topped with flank steak and french fries(!!) is that perfection on a plate, or what?

The only downer to the weekend was coming home Sunday when Leila finally announced to us at 2:30 that she was hungry for lunch (we'd downed a bag of kettle corn around 12:30) and it had to be McDonald's of course, so we stopped at one in Timonium, MD. MICE. MICE. MICE. In broad daylight in the indoor play area. Lord only knows what was in the kitchen, but it was about the grungiest McDs I've ever been in. I refused to take Leila in the bathroom. Thankfully, I didn't see the vermin, but trust Cesar's reporting. I'd already done my best to curb Leila's interst in the play area b/c those places just creep me out as a rule. Cesar took her in while I waited for the food to prove to her it was too dirty then came back to me to say he'd seen 3 or 4 mice peaking out of the equipment. EWWWWWWWWWW.

National Book Fair Sept. 27

2008-08-13T19:46:00.000-07:00

Think that's the date at least, but due to my small brain content at this hour of night, I may be off a digit or two from the time I read Sunday's Book World (on Wednesday) to the time I got upstairs to write this. It's whatever the last Saturday in September is. I haven't yet been to this annual event, despite the fact that my adopted Godmother spearheaded it in its first two years, but this is the year. Here are just a few of the participants: Phillipa Gregory (gasp, sigh, gasp, mmmm... The Other Boleyn Girl), Geraldine Brooks (made the plague truly fascinating and March, about the absent dad in Little Women, amazing as well), Salman Rushdie (!!! Favorite. Author. Ever!!!) Neil Gaiman (and I'm not a comic geek, but loved the mythology of American Gods) David Maraniss (yeah, don't think I can claim to reading one of his full length books, but still..) Anyway... that is a pretty amazing lineup and yes, I'm a book geek, but I'll be begging my dad to go with me. In the meantime, Cesar is blaming me for encouraging librarian tendencies in 3 year old Leila by taking her to the library one night a week. It's a heck of a lot cheaper than Barnes & Noble I say!

A Husband Funny

2008-08-05T18:34:00.000-07:00

Cesar looks at me at dinner last night while Leila's in the midst of a face turning purple temper tantrum b/c she was corrected for showing us the couscous on her tongue repeatedly and says for the 2nd time in as many days: "Babe, I think we need to go to church." And I say, "OK, we can check out St. Rita's sometime. They probably have a Sunday school." And he replies in all seriousness, " I think we need to go to church because she has a devil in her." Yep, and that devil is named "THREE." I'm totally open to visiting a church for the community and ritual of it, but for exorcising my normal (I think!) toddler, not so much!

This is What Happens When We Dog-Sit

2008-08-03T18:33:00.001-07:00

The House

2008-07-22T09:42:00.000-07:00

I guess I haven't reported all that much on our digs. I'm rather happy with our additional space and the location and I was pretty much able to move my Moroccan souk decor right in with nary a coat of paint. Our kitchen is fab, built-in bookshelves even faber. Basement play and rec room space is great and I don't even find it creepy to be down there alone at night watching the night before's Daily Show on the DVR (YES, I finally have DVR!) Our yard/patio is flowering, though the mosquitoes have pretty much kept me out of it. I can see myself taking more pleasure in it in the fall. But....

.... It wouldn't be Lisa's house w/o some little disturbances starting to make themselves evident. I'm home today waiting out the plumber's 4 hour window. Also took the opportunity to go to the Dr. to get some drugs to alleviate my sinus infection's pressure. We have a leaky bathtub faucet. Leaky to the point that a bucket is full in an hour and the entire tub full in 8. Didn't want to wait until the water started pouring through the lovely recessed lighting in the kitchen. Let me back up to critters for a second b/c this all sort of ties in. Last year at this time we were dealing with mouse genocide and water bugs at our rental. Part of what geared me up to move and enter the housing market. Which is sort of counter intuitive I guess, because now the pests are all my own to deal with w/o a property manager in between. Anyway... We have German cockroaches in this house, which I haven't been too freaked out about b/c I've tended to find them dead or dying from commercial bait discs. The former owners treated for them last summer and we'll do the same if necessary, but still, I've been kind of OK with them b/c they're itty bitty compared to the big narsty water bugs I'm used to - the kind I'd spray half a bottle of raid on, then if I had to, crush with my swiffer b/c I can't stand any closer contact. So, I'm handling the occasional bug, but not nearly ready to face mice again. Saturday night, after getting Leila to bed at 10:00, I'm walking downstairs, look back up towards her room for a sec and spy a mouse dropping at my eye level on the landing under the stair rail. Ok, mouse dropping in a utilities closet in the basement... wouldn't be happy with it, but might be able to put it out of mind for a bit. Mouse dropping on the 2nd floor where we sleep at night across from my daughter's doorway, pest control will be getting a call sooner rather than later. Even still, the occasional dropping I might be able to push back and convince myself that the critter/s have since slunked away into a neighbors unit if I don't see them again. It's when the bodies start showing up in traps that I get more than a little freaked. So, back to the plumbing. When we got home last night Cesar went up to fiddle with the tub to see if there was any self remedy before I scheduled the plumber. He opened up the square board outside the bathroom that conceals the pipes and started fiddling about - in the course of which he reversed the hot and cold water - a repair the former owners made before we moved in - and in shining his flashlight around discovered... that's right, a dead mouse on a trap. Now that victim could have been there for a while, who knows, but the fact that there was a trap in there that we did not set only verifies that there have been vermin problems here in the past. While all this is going on, Leila is dancing around me chirping read me Angelina Ballerina and thankfully not making the association b/t the rigid little thing in the trap she'd asked to see and the little dancing mousies in her book.

And in closing, just for that icing on the cake effect, I was out on the front stoop with Leila while she ate her freezer ice at 7:30 - I'm about to go get one of those myself as I don't think the sinus pressure on my jaw will allow me to bite much - when Cesar comes out, looks down into the grass and says oh my god, look, a baby snake! By the time we looked and he looked back down, whatever he saw was gone, but he's beyond observant so if he claims to have seen a baby snake, he probably saw a baby snake. Yay, Lisa's animal farm begins anew!

Understatement of the Year

2008-07-22T09:38:00.000-07:00

The kid looks up at me from the bath the other night and says: "I say a lot of good words" - pause - "I talk a lot." Bwah ha ha ha... Yes, sweetie, you do. And that contributes to 99.9% of mom's exhaustion at the end of the day.

You know the part in Tom Perotta's Little Children...

2008-07-17T13:55:00.000-07:00

... book or movie adaptation - when the Kate Winslet character, Sarah, I believe her name was though it's been some years since I've read the book, is caught on the playground unprepared with a snack for her little moppet and one of those playground mom's makes a big overproduction of having her child share her goldfish? If you're a mom, you probably get the general scenario if not the direct reference. I had one of those Kate Winslet/Sarah moments last night. Took Leila to the library for our weekly book and DVD exchange just before 7. Noted a dad bringing his daughter in wearing her PJs and thought, wow, what's their secret for getting the kid all ready for bed before a library dash at 7:00. Then we hit the kids' section and lo and behold, more kids in PJs - indeed, about a dozen of them - gearing up for story night. Didn't get the memo! Will my kid be scarred for being the only one of her peers remaining in her day clothes?? I did encourage her to go into the reading room to participate and after some hesitation and looking around every 30 seconds to be sure I was planted in my spot outside the glass door, she seemed to have a blast. Though I did get a firm, "NEXT time! I'm going to wear my pea-jamas (as she pronounces it)" as we left. At 7:30. At which point she had yet to be fed dinner. Oh, bad mom I am. So she got spaghettios as soon as we got home. Again, bad mom of processed food products on emergency reserve in the pantry!!

3 is the new 2

2008-07-15T13:50:00.000-07:00

Please. I beg of you. Believe any parent of a 3 year old when they tell you the above. The "terrible twos" is such a crock. Firstly, because they begin at 18 months (kind of like that pregnancy is 9 months misnomer thing - 40 weeks, does not 9 months make my friends - it's a lot closer ten!) And secondly, if our case is any reflection of the norm, the calendar 2 year was not so bad. Maybe it's just because each new challenge just builds on the last and we're due to be adapting to them until the kid is at least 21, but 3... is tiring. Don't get me wrong. The kid is still a great kid and provides us endless (its that endless thing that's so exhausting) entertainment and surprises day in and out, but as soon as she hit 3, she just became THAT much more sure of of herself, THAT much more a daredevil, THAT much more demanding, THAT much more vocal, THAT much more cognizant of what buttons she could push, THAT much more able to turn on the crocodile tears in a split second with very little prompting, etc... etc...

We've been faced with huge bedtime challenges since we moved (as in the kind of challenges that don't allow mom to sit down w/ her nightly glass/es of wine until well after 10 many nights - OK, not even sit down with a glass, but start the dishes, lunches etc...over a glass, which does NOT a happy Lisa make) mostly of our own making, yes! I was so focused on getting her to sleep in her new room, in her big-girl bed, that I was willing to lay down with her for "just two more" Princess ballads, which translated to I'm going to keep a death lock on your finger and if you try to slip out before I've fallen and been asleep for a minimum of 20 minutes I will throw the tantrum to end all tantrums. I'm proud to report, however, that bribery does seem to work. We established a sticker calendar and each morning after she's fallen asleep by herself (after those 2 and only 2 Princess ballads with mom) she gets to pick a sticker to put on the calendar. Once we hit 10, she gets to pick out a new small toy, book or DVD. I have no qualms about this bribery thing if it gets me to my vino in the 9:00 hour! We're at 8 stickers as of today. The next round will be to get 10 CONSECUTIVE stickers. We had a few slips, but we're getting back on track!

I'm about to order these stickers...

2008-07-08T13:40:00.000-07:00

... and some in 4x6 version. Just for your information.

Blah...

2008-07-07T13:50:00.000-07:00

I've had so little of blogworthiness going on. Right, there was a vacation a week ago, but now that it's over, I'm just trying to deny that we have no more fun travel planned. South Padre was fun. Probably not a place that would have been on my radar screen for a destination had we not been meeting my siblings-in-law, but the weather was great and all that our days required of us was getting the kids to the beach and pool. And that mandatory midday margarita or two as well. We mostly ate and drank in (who wants the hassle and expense of schlepping a crew of 10 out daily), but did sunset drinks at a huge bar with a bad Jimmy Buffet cover band one night (I pictured it with the Spring Break masses and cringed - my how mature I've grown), went to see WALL-e with the kids one night - Leila slept through 2/3rds of it and I enjoyed it more than I probably should admit too - I mean it's no Kung Fu Panda (about that mature comment...), but the message puts it above the average kid flick, and had mediocre overpriced seafood out the last night. Now I need to get on the ball and plan some weekenders before the rest of summer escapes me. Anyone want to meet up at Dutch Wonderland? I'm contemplating staying at the Red Caboose Motel, though thinking it could be too much kitsch even for me.

The 'Hood

2008-06-23T13:40:00.000-07:00

Our new neighborhood is a funny place. We're half a mile or less from million + dollar old Alexandria houses and half a mile or less from Central America or San Salvador (and I write that with all fondness and respect for Central America, have never been to Salvador...) That contrast and mix is precisely what I like about it. Seriously, my Spanish would probably improve tenfold if I removed my iPod from my ears just one morning a week on the bus. I have experienced my moments of where in the world are we, like at Foodway Supermarket Saturday, where there were men in full Bolivian (??) cowboy attire and flies swarming around a tank of hungry tilapia and a basket of live crabs. We ran in to grab milk, potato chips and wine, and I daresay that's about all I'd buy there, but it did save us from going a couple miles out of our way to Giant. And the store appeared to be run by Koreans, just to make it an even more global experience.

We figured that with all the Latin markets (tiendas Latinas to impress with that Spanish of mine) and food vendors within a stones' throw we'd have no problems finding yummy yummy pastries a la quesito or pastel de guayaba, but we haven't succeeded yet. We haven't given it a fair shot though, so I'm not giving up yet, and in reading this article
(http://www.mybakerycafe.com/AlexandriaTimes.PDF), it appears that I need to give the one establishment we tried a second chance. I found my cheese empanada not all that satisfying, but really just couldn't get over the fact that "My Bakery & Cafe, Inc." doubled as a night club and lounge. That seriously struck my humor, as I really can't imagine calling Massi, say, and suggesting "hey, let's meet up at My Bakery at 11 for Mojitos and take it from there..." But the Alexandria Times gave it props a year ago, and the owner did go to my high school, so again, we'll give it that second chance the seafood section at Foodway will not be getting any time soon.

Something else to sap up our limited funds...

2008-06-17T13:48:00.000-07:00

So if you have a kid, or know anything about kids these days, you know that they stay strapped into some kind of car seat or booster seat until the day you drop them off at college. I exaggerate only a little. Long gone are the days when I was told at about age 3 to sit on my knees in the back seat so I could pass as full sized passenger so an adult could drive in the HOV lane. And I'm still nostalgic for the "way back." Which leaves me researching car seats and boosters again. And trying to figure out how to scrape together approximately $200 (x 2) again. The kiddo's not at the Roundabout's limits yet, but just looks like she'd be so much more comfortable in somewhat more of a big-girl seat. I think I'm settling on the Graco Nautilis. Everything I read says they really should be in a 5-point harness until they are AT LEAST 4 and 40 pounds. This one then converts to a high-backed booster and then just the seat booster. And Graco promises it will be the last car seat I'll ever need, so I guess if $175 and change will cover those remaining 15 years we'll need the seat, I'm OK with that.

???

2008-06-16T13:49:00.000-07:00

I had something to blog today, but it has escaped me, so now I think I will make a break for it as the weather doesn't look quite so terrifying. If it comes back to me and IF the kid is asleep before 10:00 I'll log back in, but those are pretty big ifs...

Wednesday Wonderings

2008-06-11T13:43:00.000-07:00

If the strawberries I'm eating right now are bigger than the average plum are they some kind of scarily genetically modified fruits? Oh, but I can only imagine how much chocolate fondue one could hold. Mmmm....

Also, when did "The New Scooby Doo" come out? Leila picked out a DVD at the library last night and I was thinking I was in for a throw-back treat (my favorite part of being a mother is getting to revisit snippets of my childhood through her) until I noticed that what would have been a guest-spot by a cartoonified Sonny and Cher or Don Knotts had been filled by the band A Simple Plan (who?)

Back at you.

2008-06-05T13:51:00.000-07:00

As has probably been apparent from my silence, we are MOVED. That is not to say we are fully unpacked, but I'm still alive on the other side. We're about 70% there. Not including the 3rd bedroom, which will be a chaos of boxes and suitcases for some time to come until I can figure out where to store (or as would be my preference, GET RID OF) things. I have about 6 boxes of books, art and nick knacks left to find homes for against a living room wall and just might be able to get some things hung on the walls this weekend. Once the living space is appropriately tidied and presentable, I'll get some pictures posted. The house is great. The basement makes a HUGE difference in our lives of course. I've managed the first 2 mortgage payments so far. And it's super to be able to stroll down the hill to Del Ray - walking down to yoga Saturday morning instead of driving and fighting for parking just made it all the more relaxing - and Leila's psyched about the playgrounds and library in foot's reach. And best of all, no need to worry about driving home after a Super Margarita (or 2) at Los Tios! Because I have to have an it's a small world coincidence as well, our neighbor Darcy was in my class at William & Mary. She has 4 and 2 year old girls and Leila is very tentatively showing an interest in befriending them, so that's nice. We apparently have issues with our DSL freezing up in the house, so can't promise I'll be back to posting routinely, but will do my best to get back into the groove.

p.s.: It is Thursday and I miss LOST!!

Ack! Will be moved one week from today....

2008-05-20T18:37:00.000-07:00

... and not at all ready!! Got the contents of the attic out on Sunday and about 20 or so boxes packed, but how on eartch did we come to possess so much STUFF??? And I can't get ANYTHING done during the week because the daughter's all of a sudden decided she can't tolerate her crib (she gets her big girl bed/room when we move, but it's apparently not soon enough) and is "co-sleeping" with us at age 3 on the crib mattress on the floor next to our bed. This would be OK for a week if I could put her down and leave the room, but anytime I try to sneak out to pack lunch or do dishes or glance at Sunday's (yeah, Sunday's) paper, she pops up. So here I am at 9:42 in the dark listening to a Disney Princess CD....HELP!!!

The D List

2008-05-13T18:00:00.000-07:00

So the "celebrity" sightings in Miami this weekend included "Prancer" from VH1's Flavor of Love 8, or whatever season we are in, and Yoshi from Miami Ink (is that his name, or did I just inadvertently stereotype Japanese?) We saw the Prancer chick at the table next to us in Wet Willie's (yea - alcoholic slurpees!) and didn't know precisely who she was at the time, but I looked at Cesar and said she looks like a blond version of "New York." Last night he called me downstairs all excitedly and said "look, that's the girl!" and sure enough, there she was skating around Flavor Flav in a pair of wheelies like an 8 year old. Yoshi we saw at the Miami Ink store (and yeah, I bought Leila and I Ami James coi printed tee-shirts) because I am just that dork to seek it out and photograph myself in front of it. He was asleep on a bench inside. If you actually want ink by one of that crew, the tattoos are done two doors down now in the "Love Hate Choppers" storefront. We saw one couple try to schedule an appointment and they were all "weeelll, we might just be able to squeeze you in tomorrow, but you need to give us your phone number and don't call us, we'll call you if we can work something in..." The weekend was fun, but too fast. Leila had a blast with her 4 cousins, collectively referred to by her as "boys" and individually as "boy" (4 boys b/t 10 and 1.5 with two-part hispanic names, so I don't really blame her.) Now I'm back here looking at empty moving boxes, paralyzed over where to start. In exactly 2 weeks from today our possessions will be in our new house!! And it is about time, because we have apparently returned to a zoo - literally and figuratively. Two weeks ago we had a repeat raccoon visitor and last night I discovered that we have baby opossums on our patio. Seriously. At least two of them. They're kind of cute head on until you see that ratty tail. Eww.

Ooops...

2008-05-05T16:45:00.000-07:00

Just got on here and realized it's been over a week since I've posted anything, but I'm probably going to have to be resigned to being a mute blogger until after June 1 or so. Think I've just now recovered from Leila's birthday and now dad's 35th is Thursday. We're headed for Miami that night for a quick long weekend celebration, which is exactly what one should be doing when one is scheduled to move in under a month! And, hooray, we just found out last night that we can actually start that move that has been two months in the making on Memorial Day! I'm calling tomorrow to confirm movers for Tuesday the 27th and we figure we can take the holiday Monday to take carloads over, get the kitchen set up etc... making a first mortgage payment plus a last rent payment last week was an ummm... eye opener. So that's about that in our chaotic lives. I'll try to get some fun Miami pics up early next week and if I don't sign on again before Sunday, Happy Mother's Day all!

Two Sides to Every Story

2008-04-25T19:30:00.000-07:00

Mommy's Birthday Princess:
Hi, I'm 3 today. Welcome to your next year of challenge...

The RARE movie review.

2008-04-21T19:22:00.000-07:00

Hee!! So Cesar and I snuck out of Leila's school auction (for which I'd put in about 80+ volunteer hours) at 9:30 Saturday night to catch a 9:40 show of Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Loves it! Seriously. I guess I finally need to give in and start watching How I Met Your Mother, for a regular dose of Jason Segal.
Huge Crush! And that in spite of his routine nekkidness in this film. Likewise crushing on Russell Brand as Liam/NoelGallagerchannelingMichaelHutchins - or rather Aldous Snow. Aldous...what a great name. Aldous Abarca anyone? And yeah...Paul Rudd - that is just unspoken right there. Even working with the short-term memory (/drug addledness) of Dory the fish in Finding Nemo...HAWTNESS. Jonah Hill's the only not hotness in the movie, but hello hilarious. And Mila Kunis - hi, girl crush. Never got into That 70s Show, but she is gorgeous - I've never seen bigger eyes. I don't know, my crush may just be on Judd Apatow and his way of bringing the improv style laughs, but I've laughed harder and harder with each film of his I've seen. Heartbreak, naked boys, Hawaiian seascapes and Dracula musicals in one film = priceless/

Decisive Much?

2008-04-20T17:30:00.000-07:00

So the theme for the 3 year old's birthday party next weekend, for which we're likely spending a good $800 when all is said and done, is...DoraElmoShrekCarebears... Dora invites. Elmo pinata. Shrek cake. And Care Bears decorations/paper products. Something for everyone I suppose!!

Not quite ready for this one...

2008-04-15T19:32:00.000-07:00

So the kid looks at me as I think she's falling asleep tonight and says through her laughter: "Cale (a school/ neighborhood friend) was singing a Hannah Montana song today!" OK, Cale has sisters who are about 7 and 5, but am I ready for my not even 3 year old kid to know the first thing about Hannah Montana?! Nope. I guess it won't be long before the two of us are appreciating Zac Efron's purdyness together!

Do I have any problem brainwashing her into liking Bob Dylan, Outkast, the Beastie Boys, Johnny Cash...? Again, negative, but I'd like to skip over Tweendom if I could...Alas, she very dismissively takes my In Rainbows disc out of the player and says "I don't like Radiohead!" Then replaces it with Ricky Martin. I can take a little Ricky here and there and Shrek 2 managed to turn her onto "Living La Vida Loca." Big time. It is pretty darn hilarious to watch her shake her little hips as she sings in very clear miming "she'll make you take your clothes off and go dancing in the rain..." I do admit.

Getting ready to play the Birchmere...?

2008-04-09T18:15:00.000-07:00

A Pull Up Free Home??

2008-04-04T13:54:00.000-07:00

Can I really plunk that $30 or so a week back into our non-existent entertainment budget? Not sure I'm ready to give away our collection of nighttime Pull Ups just yet, but for the past 2 nights, Leila has insisted on sleeping in underwear and has woken up DRY! She has also woken up at some point between the hours of 12:30 and 4:00 those nights and would only go back to sleep in our bed, which is a whole 'nother matter to take on this weekend...Thursday morning I was told that she was awake crying for me at 4:00 because "the mean lady from the dog movie (i.e.: Cruella from 101 Dalmatians) was in my room trying to unzip my pyjamas." Have yet to be given an explanation for last night, but if it happens again, I'm sure to face eviction from my husband - her forcing herself nearly horizontal between us don't so much work in the full bed! The only downside to our (/her and her teacher's - we get get about 2% of the credit) potty training success is that bedtime is now stretching to 9:30 with the "but I have to get out of bed and go to the potty..."s and, I probably sound like Rainman in my paranoia over accidents any time we're out when I'm going "wanna go potty? wanna go potty? wanna go potty?" every 5 seconds.

Still waiting for my gold star...

2008-04-01T13:46:00.000-07:00

... for "sleeping" on an air mattress all last week. My neck and back is somewhat recovered. The in laws were lovely and Leila was thrilled to have them here, but it is nice to be able to get her to bed before 11:00 (11:00!) and to be able to walk in the house w/o tripping on people and/or suitcases. That 3rd room and basement in the new house should make all the difference for future inn-keeping.

And speaking of the new house, we did survive settlement on Friday - I have a lovely bottle of Signature Mortgage label Cabernet to commemorate our closing costs and cramped hands from the hundreds of signatures. We possess a key, but chances that the sellers are out before the remaining 56 days of our rent-back agreement have passed are about -0. Their 1st choice purchase is a short sale, with a backup contract on a for sale by owner... seems a bit nuts to me, but whatev... That puts us in the last week of May and I have enough to tackle in April/May w/ Leila's school auction, her birthday, then Cesar's 35th birthday... yeah, and all the organizing and purging and packing and furniture ordering that needs to be done.

And the kid - who is now about 3 weeks shy of 3 - CRACKS ME UP like always. She's always spoken at a somewhat - not to brag - advanced level, but the words coming out of her mouth these days are unreal. I thought her use of "actually" was impressive for a while, but the most recent one she's tossing off, in proper context no less, is "otherwise." Otherwise? For reals? I don't think I even use otherwise in my routine parlance and here she is stating "Mom! I need to go potty, otherwise I am going to wet my underwear..." etc... It is something. Last night, in lieu of her book before bed, we were occupied with a "celebration." "Mom, sit down over here, we're having a celebration for Ella's (a school friend) birthday...mom, we have cupcakes for the celebration...mom, what else did you bring for the celebration?...no, you can't clean up these yet, we haven't used them for the celebration..."

Further to last post...

2008-03-26T13:56:00.000-07:00

...I've a nice fat red zit on my left cheekbone. It accompanies the bags under my eyes rather well I think! But I really have no grounds to complain about this in-law visit 'cept for the fact that we're still in our tiny old rental - an aerial photo of Cesar, Leila and I sleeping in the kid's room may be in order. That it stretches over weekdays makes it pretty darn easy on me because, hey, I'm at work the vast majority of the day. Leila staying home with them makes my mornings less hectic and I can get to the office around 8:00 (and I need that extra hour to stay on top of things right now.)

So I had this revelation last night - if you for some strange reason ever want to know what the heaviest part of your body is, "sleep" on an air mattress (and I put "sleep" in quotes, because if anyone can actually sleep soundly through the night on one, I'd like the recipe for doing so.) The one I'm bunked on in Leila's room appears so nice, tall and firm - it even has some kind of spring construction inside - but when I laid on my back on it last night, I realized that my upper torso and legs were level, while my rear sunk down towards the floor - seriously, as if on a hammock! Yikes, I think some stairclimbing could be in my future.

Stresssssssssssss......

2008-03-24T14:13:00.000-07:00

The in-laws arrive tonight. I can probably leave this post as that. My entire body aches from spending the past two days cleaning. Happy Easter! Sleeping on an air mattress on Leila's floor for the next 5 nights probably won't do much to ease my aches. Perhaps wine will. Or yoga if I had the time to practice. And, we close on our house purchase Friday. I've been on the phone with bank managers pleading with them to release the holds on our deposits so they'll be ready to withdraw Friday. And work is kicking my butt right now, yes, my public servant work. In a good way it's keeping me on my toes, but I'm really feeling the race against the deadline clock these days. AND I have to find some time to write the descriptions for Leila's school auction catalogue this week. Sigh... if only stress had the power to keep me skinny as it did in college - I'm unlikely to pick up the coffee and cigarette habits that helped in those days, and yet also unlikely to give up my current Cadbury mini egg habit...What can you do?

The Hubby Dear

2008-03-19T14:00:00.000-07:00

So here's a query I get upon coming home last night: "What happened to your hair?... It looks good."

Yeah, because taking the pains to wake up an extra 15 minutes early to have a date with the blow dryer and round brush and smoothing milk just 'happens'!

But a compliment is a compliment I suppose...

Weekend Pics

2008-03-16T17:46:00.000-07:00

She looks just precious at bedtime showing her friends Elmo and Shrek the love, no?
Except for the fact that mommie feels just about as grouchy and ogreish as Shrek when the child is up until 9:30/10:00 at night leaving her NO downtime.
Well, at least she was down at 8:40 tonight/Sunday. Sleeping in until 8:30 on the weekend is some consolation, but I want at least 1 hr me time/night!!
Yeah, I did get a little me time in Luigi's chair Friday night, but it's still not enough!

Emily and I took the munchkins to Horton Hears a Who today and it was actually pretty fun. I was expecting disaster since each of them have only been to one movie in the theater in their lifetime and neither lasted through it. I'm sure we enjoyed the movie more than they did, but I'm pleased that I actually got to watch most of it. Leila talked a little here and there. Ate an entire box of Gummi bears w/in 10 minutes. And got out of her chair to stand in front of me a few times, but for the most part was calm and well behaved. Saw the preview for Speedracer and I am so there!

This kid...

2008-03-12T19:10:00.000-07:00

... cracks me up. She looks at me tonight and says "are we going to school tomorrow?" I reply "yes sweetie" and she ever so pensively says "but...when are we going to take a break from school?" Oh kiddo, how about when you're 22 and graduating from college?

Here's the clever little one with the cuteness that is Eamonn Lawlor a couple weekends ago. I've got her hooked up with the older (Henry Jones) and younger boys, so we cover all the bases whatever her taste may be ; )

And check this out... What would that be that she's wearing? Neither a diaper nor a pull-up methinks! We are SO close on the potty training (and check that sneer too! Girl's got her no paparazzo attitude on!)
And I can take NO credit for it. Thank you, thank you, thank you room 3 teachers and older room 3 classmates for putting the princess underwear peer pressure on! I'm still the lazy bum who thinks oh, lets just put a pull-up on and go take care of business/pleasure outside the house for four hours, but her new found interest in staying clean and dry is bringing me around.

Anyone who knows...

2008-03-10T13:53:00.000-07:00

...our current rental house would know that we should NOT be going out to buy ginormous pieces of furniture until after we me move. So what did we do this weekend? Went to World Market and bought a ginormous TV armoire. But it was pretty and reasonable (relatively) and their stock changes so fast and though it takes up a fourth of the room, I'm thrilled at not having to look at all the cords and spilling over DVDs our old $20 stand from Target revealed! However, the challenge now is that Cesar is expressing desire for a larger screen to fill it. I think our 32 incher new at Xmas looks just fine with a little open space around it.

So I guess that Obama tee-shirt I wear every other day was a freebie...

2008-03-07T19:16:00.003-08:00

If anyone is concerned that Obama is not 1000% committed to not taking any money from "special interests", here's a little tale. In my former job that I left January 19 I was registered to lobby for a couple of our clients. A couple weeks before Super Tuesday I went online to Obama's campaign store to order my Tee. I paid $31.40 justifying it as a contribution, but not really thinking of it as a contribution contribution. Today I get a check in the mail for $31.40 with a lovely letter from a compliance officer notifying me that they are so pleased that I am committed to stand for change, but that records show I am registered to lobby the federal government and Obama is committed to take no money from special interests. We're talking $31.40, for which I received merchandise in exchange! You go boy. Hillary had no problem taking a small amount of my money to attend a rally very early in the campaign. I do plan to call the compliance officer to let her know I am now a civil servant again and the lobbying reports filed January 31st should no longer show my name! So now I figure I can justify at least a $50 contribution before we start paying our mortgage....

Maximum Overdrive

2008-03-05T13:51:00.000-08:00

Remember that bad 1986 Emilio Estevez movie adapted from Stephen King's Trucks? Yeah, probably not, but I feel like I'm on maximum overdrive these days. Between pulling the paperwork together for the new house, the new job - who knew what a juggling act it was to actually work someplace with deadlines and shifting priorities and the need for time management skills (Perez and Trent, I miss you boys, but I do enjoy feeling productive)?! - and the sick kid (two days out this week with Strep), and the usual household responsibilities, which, aside from getting food in our tummies, are the last thing to be attended too....

Anywhooo...I don't have much to say here. Just checking in. I sadly reported to Leila when I woke her up this morning that Obama lost to Hillary yesterday and she responded with a simple "oh." But we maintain hope. Will wash my lucky tee before the next primary Saturday. I know I got on here to write something of some import, but I can't for the life of me think of what it was now. Oh, whatever you do, please, I beg of you, do not decide that you need to pen a response to the Postmaster General's form letter on Identity Theft that you should have received with all Postal customers early last week. I've been swimming through thousands upon thousands of "Dear John, This is all well and good, but if you could teach my carrier to read and deliver my mail to the right box we may not have this problem... or Dear John, If we got rid of all the immigrants and reclaimed America..." letters all week. Right. Going to get on Metro now for my 20 minutes daily downtime to regrettably slowly read The Other Boleyn Girl. I guess the movie reviews sucked in general, but I'll be glad to see if Eric Bana betters Jonathan Rhys Myers as Henry on DVD.

Various

2008-02-29T05:10:00.000-08:00

I'm tired of winter. We totally got cheated out of any good snow (glad we bought Leila those $70 Geoxx boots) and I can't take much more walking to the metro in blustery 23 degree mornings. I'm sick again/still as are my husband and daughter. About 2 weeks ago I commented that I'd been sick for 4 weeks and now I really have been.

On Lost. I've got nothing. But I am really enjoying the ride this season. I figured time travel would come back into play with Desmond, but the Faraday connection is interesting. And Penny's dad bidding on the log to the Black Rock at auction...hmm...

Trader Joes's tip of the day. Chicken Curry Tenders. Yum. They're in the fresh meat section packaged like the Pollo Asado. Same quantity/cut (all white tenders) as the Asado, but the curry flavor is super - a bite at first, then just a little bit sweet.

On the house. We locked into a 10 yr ARM Wednesday night because I needed to be able to sleep through the night. Of course Thursday morning rates on 30 yr were back down slightly. Typical. But I still think what we locked into is slightly favorable in terms of monthly payments.

Still a Bad Blogger

2008-02-21T13:09:00.000-08:00

I'll use our home purchase as an excuse here as long as I can! Though there's really not all that much to report these days aside from that somewhat major event. Going to meet with our mortgage guy (who graduated from my highschool 5 years after I did!) tonight. Wish us luck! Maybe he can get through my thick skull what the heck points are. Will try to get some new pics of the kid up etc...this weekend.

And speaking of the house, I don't know that I've written up this funny little coincidence yet. The seller of the house we're buying's sister Joanna rented the house we're currently in previous to our 6 years occupying it. I knew her through Emily, and she's how we found our rental. Emily ran into her brother a couple weeks ago who told her he was selling his house. She looked it up online and called me to make sure I'd seen it, and low and behold it was the property we'd looked at least 3 times since December. So yeah, we're just following this pair of siblings around throughout their Alexandria residences. It's a small world after all.

Now back at the White House, I had this regular crazy correspondent and I'm kicking myself now because I'm blanking on his name and I thought it was one I'd never forget...It was Frank Porter Something Jr....He used to call all the time and say "Oh hi, can I speak to Lisa, Lisa Williams..." then write letters full of all sorts of conspiracies addressed to Lisa, Lisa Williams. I'm reminiscing about him now b/c I have a letter on my desk to respond to that reminds me of his tone. It reads "Dear Noble President: This is a letter of request that you use the compass of good faith above the square of reason and allow both to rest upon some facts which I am about to mention. The above address of a Post Office Box, I have had for the past 20 years is now up and to be renewed this January, which I would like to continue but I am having an update problem with our lady Postmaster who wishes to have all my Identification entered upon the Internet to the Postmaster General's Secretary. With all the Idenity Theft, the internet places me at risk being a former Security person. although nothing has changed except an address, therefore I hereby request that I be exempt from such, through your assistance."

That's all folks.

Bad Blogger

2008-02-15T05:54:00.000-08:00

I fully recognize that I am not keeping up with my Bloggerly duties here. The new job keeps me consistently busy through the working hours, which is a great thing, we're trying to buy a house (STRESS!) and we're beyond lucky if our child is in bed/asleep at 9:00. So just a quick update here.

The Postal Service is great. Everyone is extremely helpful and collaborative (imagine that - such a low bar I'd set for workplaces after my last experience...) I'm constantly learning. Get to respond to such crazy cases as a woman who provided information to the inspection service leading to the arrest of a man who robbed a mail truck - was advanced $1,000 in reward money - then turned around and robbed a Post Office of $2,300 worth of stamps. Brilliant I tell you. Now she writes her Congressman for help securing the remaining $24,000 in reward money.

On the homefront, Valentine's day was Papajohn's pizza, breadsticks and cheap champagne... the usual. At least Lost was on. And as to Lost I'm simply befuddled as to the big picture here - WTF? But that's why I love it so. I couldn't help but thinking someone's been watching the Bourne movies during Sayid's flashforward. Loved his blown out hair - hee... and Ben. Ben, Ben, Ben...What are you up too? I guess I'm convinced now that the Oceanic Six are indeed Jack, Kate, Hurly, Sayid, Sun and Jin, but I think others made it off too like Desmond (yum!) who weren't on Oceanic to begin with.

And on that house purchase - stress! It's hard when you can already picture yourself in the property and people around you are (wisely) counseling you not to jump on a counter-offer.

Well aren't we just the cutest little...

2008-02-12T06:20:00.000-08:00

.... civic minded family? The three of us went to the polls together early this morning. LOTS of people voting at our fire station with the lines only growing as we left. Hope that's a good thing. I let Leila cast my ballot - with close supervision of course - made sure that wheel was locked on my candidate before I let her fingers loose. When we were in line she asked if we were going to go back outside next and I said yes, after our turn, and she then whined "but I want to do the voting for Obama!" As I've said before, well trained!

Miscellany

2008-02-08T12:03:00.000-08:00

So I'm probably not the first to discover this, but watching Lost with several glasses of wine in the system is kind of an ummm... lost cause. I came into it 10-15 minutes late, which is never a good idea, as catching up is near impossible, and with 4 new characters, with 4 new flashbacks (4!!! different individual's flashbacks in one episode...Ouch! My brain just exploded....) Oy! Bottom line is that I need to rewatch this weekend as reading the recaps reveal that I missed a whole heck of a lot.

Anyway... that wine consumption was on the occasion of meeting up with several old Morocco and White House friends. I try to corrall us quarterly or seasonally, but we're lucky if we all get together once or twice a year. We met at Proof at Gallery Place across from the Portrait Gallery and it was hopping - at least the bar was - the restaurant was relatively sparse. It's a cool space by Grizform Designs (my friend Mary's husband's firm) and though I can't speak for the food, it nicely emphasizes the beauty of the wine bottle. My friend Paul brought a surprise guest - his ex David. I adore them both and had not seen David in at least 4 years, and can I just say that I am envious of the path his life has taken? He currently lives in Hilo Hawaii and teaches at a yoga center. Periodically he takes off to India for months at a time to train and reach higher yogic levels. I told him I was reminded of him as I read Eat, Pray, Love and he said he was currently reading that himself. Seriously, if my one day of yoga a week would result in 1/10th of the air of peacefulness he carried about him and general look of fitness and well-being, I'd be in pretty good shape.

L'Enfant Plaza...

2008-02-07T06:20:00.000-08:00

....is a curious place. My favorite curiosity being a store in "La Promenade" (their "La", not mine) by name of "Washington Shoes" that is indeed a sunglass shop. My other window shopping options include, "Shooz", which is a shoe store, "Washingtonian Male" and Dress Barn. My dining options include, McDonalds, Frank N' Stein, Potomac Food Court and Au Bon Pain. So yeah, it's been Au Bon Pain on Fridays when I've had enough of peanut butter sandwiches or yogurt from home.

Could it be...Murphy's Law?

2008-02-06T06:57:00.000-08:00

Flooded a toilet last night. Loved the feeling of turning to the sink to wash my hands and having toilet water erupt onto my feet. Yep, it's time to move.

Also, I don't know why I even give any thought to what I'll wear to work, because by 9:30, I'm inevitably swathed in a blanket of Pashmina with hardly my fingers exposed to type. It's an odd 70 degrees outside and about 45 in here.

At least it's not mice...

2008-02-05T13:25:00.000-08:00

... the heater conked out at 3:33 this morning. Further sign that it's time to leave our good old Amityville house o' horrors. I suppose if that's going to happen in February, it's good for it to happen on the 60+ degree days in February.

OK - I'm about ready to go home and put on my lucky Obama shirt and sweats and plop in front of MSNBC for the night.

It's February...

2008-02-04T09:43:00.000-08:00

... a short month and our lease is up the last day of it. Ack! Stress time. Got forms to renew it over the weekend, which we are NOT doing (though may have to beg to stay and extra month) and they propose to raise the monthly payments by an additional $113. You have got to be kidding me after the year we had living with and massacring vermin. And where did they get the figure $113 anyway? It's kind of sad that we are just so over the property, because it really is (or could be with some upgrades) a great little townhouse for a singleton or couple and the location is simply unbeatable, but it's definitive, we are over it! We drove around Kingstown Saturday, and though the newer townhomes look lovely, it just feels like you may as well be in Reston to me. I know I may have to start looking outside the 1.5 mile radius in which I've been looking, but I'm not quite ready to concede. We're meeting with a realtor Wednesday night...

In other news. The Superbowl was last night, was it? Can't say I watched. Not even a commercial. I bought beer at the grocery store justifying the purchase and consumption of it with "it's Superbowl sunday," but I only laid my eyes on the TV for Tom Petty because my daughter and husband were doing a hilarious dance and air guitar along with him. I did FINALLY start watching The Tudors this weekend. It's not quite a substitute for Rome, but I will certainly take the eye candy. Haven't sucked Cesar into it completely yet, but I did get in trouble any time there was any form of sex or naked woman if I didn't call him.

Lost continued

2008-02-01T06:01:00.000-08:00

Of course the more observant recappers picked up more than I did. Was that really Christian Shephard in Jacob's rocking chair? Why would Hurley see him or his ghost as the case may be? I also forgot to mention last night that I think Naomi's last words - "tell my sister I love her" - could be very significant. I wouldn't be surprised in the least if her sister turns out to be someone we've seen before - who exactly beats me. And that Mr. Abbadon guy who offered to upgrade Hurley's institutional digs was pretty creepy too. And the consensus seems to be that the Oceanic 6 are: Jack, Kate, Hurley, Jin, Sun and Sayid. Interesting. I'd assumed Kate referred to Sawyer when she said she had to get back to "him" at the end of last season, but others are speculating that could be her child, or Claire's child Aaron, but Desmond's vision of Charlie's death included Claire getting off the Island, so would they be part of the 6. Ack! My head spins, but in a very good way!

Well, wouldn't you know it...

2008-01-31T19:27:00.000-08:00

... guess what night, of all nights, the kiddo would be throwing massive protest bed fits and the daddo would be losing his patience with her impeding mommie-o's ability to devote 100% of her brain cells to the premiere of Lost. Yep, I just answered that question. The night of the premiere of Lost - a night I have only been waiting a mere 9 MONTHS FOR.

But, whate'er... I think I got the gist of it. Sure I missed some clues and nuances, but I always do until I start reading recaps and message boards and co-opting the impressions reported therein as my own. Tonight was solid. Didn't leave me going OMFG-WHATINTHEHECKNOW... but it was an enjoyable way to ease back in and get reaquainted. Just a few quick sketchy observations follow:

Flash-forward is post island/pre Jack's meltdown. Jack's l'il vodka orange pick me up suggests a path to Christian-dom, but how'd he know instantly that was Hurley on the Cops like TV coverage? I know his Camero was referenced last season in the Cheech Marin eps, but if I was pouring Vodka after escaping a madhouse Island, I don't know that '71 camero flashing on my TV would connect me to Hurley instantly.

Perhaps it's because I just watched We Are Marshall, but Jack post Island - pre-beard joining Hurley for a round of Horse at the mental institute could have been assistant coach whatshisname.

"The Oceanic 6" We've accounted for Jack, Kate and Hurley now off the island - the other 3?? Presumably one of those could now be in a coffin per season finale. And I suspected Sawyer was one last season when Kate left Jack saying he'll be waiting for me, but who knows. That was a very interesting shift of alliances when Sawyer went with Locke and told Kate he was doing so to 'keep survivin' like he always does.'

Yeah, I sobbed AGAIN when our gang was notified of Charlie's demise. And yes, I jumped when he showed up to visit Hurley at the asylum.

How great was it when Ben calmly said "with your permission Jack, I'd like to go with Locke"?

So Hurley and Jack (in the time it took to grow his beard) do come to decide they need to go back to the Island to help those left behind.
Jack all shifty asking Hurley if you told them what we did??? Is what we did just leaving the rest behind, or something more sinister?

The cabin w/ rocking chair guy/Jacob and the whisperers fuh-reaks me out! Was that Locke's eye Hurley saw or some one else inside? It was Locke who heard "Jacob"(who still reminds me of Voldemort when he's first regaining his physical presence) say "help me" at the end of last season right? What's that picture on the wall that reminds me of those dogs playing poker paintings??

Lost, Lost, Lost, Lost...

2008-01-31T13:03:00.001-08:00

...Lost, Lost, Lost, Lost. Yeah, that's about all I can think about today!

Introducing...my new niece!

2008-01-29T19:26:00.000-08:00

D-D-D-D-D-Dora! The dog, not the Explorer. Yeah, Dani and Pepe (aka: Carter) may not be quite there on the kid front, but they are now the proudest of parents to doggie Dora. Leila's first maternal cousin - yea!
No one's quite sure her breed, but research suggests she's at least part Louisiana's state dog, the Catahoula hound (or the Cousawatcha hound as I continue to call her) and she's cute and good natured as can be 5 days into her adoption.)
And for the record, if one ever wants to have movie star blue eyes - simply use the red-eye reduction feature on their camera software! Neither Dani, nor Pepe have baby blues and yet, behold:
It's miraculous!

Yes, We Can!

2008-01-26T18:38:00.000-08:00

Guess what tee-shirt I was wearing all day today? Oh, yeah, Obama '08 baby. I know it was simply a bedtime delay tactic, but my daughter just stayed up to watch his speech. We were on my bed with the lights out - both in our pjs (did I ever have a life?) - she had a book in her lap and a few minutes in she held it over her head and started shaking it. Took me a second to figure out why she was doing that, then I realized she was shaking it in concert with Obama's supporters waving their change signs. Love it. I've said before that we Williams' train 'em young. She then pointed out another book to me and said "get it, get your sign". I started to wave it and she said "no, put it in your lap until Obama says it again." She also clapped along and chanted "yes, we can" when appropriate. Ugh - Hillary's coming on now - that's my cue to go put on an episode of the Tudor's.

Bear with me!

2008-01-22T19:36:00.000-08:00

I'm having to multi-task and blog at 10:39 p.m. here while watching Nip/Tuck and listening to the hubby toss and turn in bed waiting for me to turn off the multiple screens.

First day on the new job was fine - as well as 4 hours of watching ethics and your benefits and you videos can go...followed by a couple hours reading annual reports etc. b/c I won't have a computer for a week - welcome (back) to the government! My cubical does have a lovely video of the Capitol dome though! That's something...

Weekend was fine - nice to have the 3 days certainly. Got my Yoga buzz on Saturday morning then met Faith, Mary and baby Campbell for lunch. Looked at houses and took the kiddo for a haircut Sunday. Dined w/ the refreshed from their week in Antigua parents Sunday night. Groceried, got ready for the new week/job/life, and Taqueria Poblano'd it for dinner with Dani and Pepe (aka Danielle and Carter) Monday and that was about that.

And just for the record - unflattering picture of me, but whatev' - this is still where I stand politics-wise:

I'm way too angry and frustrated with the Clintons for further commentary - you know, "a picture speaks..."

And finally, OMG!!! Heath Ledger is DEAD??!! I'm a dozen so years removed to have that River Phoenix devastation, but what a shocker. He was awfully talented. And hot. And young. And poor baby Mathilda!

Right, going to sleep right about nows...

This is KILLING me...Bwah!HaHa!!!!!

2008-01-17T11:41:00.000-08:00

I can't figure out how to embed it, but OMG, too funny! Probably had to watch the original on Gawker yesterday (or on the Abrams report or probably any other entertainment media in the past 24 hours...) but splicing in Will Smith with those facial expressions = GENIUS.

http://www.iklipz.com/MovieDetail.aspx?MovieID=095ee98e-24d3-4d48-bcff-8ecf45fabca8

House Hunt

2008-01-16T08:16:00.000-08:00

OK, now that the job transitioning is actually taking place, we have exactly 6 weeks to find ourselves a new roof for our heads. And I think I have just about determined that I am not a big fan of major adult decisions - specifically, do we take the plunge into home ownership? I kind of like signing away my monthly rent check and being able to call someone to take care of repairs, pests (oh, the pests! I think I might be able to handle anything after the past year's mouse genocide at 800 Bashford Lane. Anything but spiders. Or cockroaches/waterbugs...Or house centipedes...Or Sprickets - commonly known as cave crickets, but we always called them Sprickets growing up for spider/crickets...), etc. but I know full well that there is no return on continuing to do that in the long run.

So I finally did contact a loan officer this week to at least have some sense of what we qualify for, and the good news is that we do indeed qualify. Said lender graduated from my high school 5 years after I did, reminding me, as I'm too frequently reminded, that I am old, and probably should have some equity by now! And the connection with him was made because the realtor we hope to deal with if we do grow up and decide to buy is my old high school gym teacher. It's a small world after all! I'd forgotten she was doing real estate part time now, and we ran into her at an open house just before Christmas.

The loan we're qualified for would cover a small three bedroom row house in the Warwick Village section of Del Ray with a finished basement and smallish patio/yard. I'm not looking for much more (though that would limit our offspring to 2 for certain) - just begging to have a living room of my own - I know the toys would migrate, but if their primary home was a nice basement, I'd be ever so thrilled. Could probably get slightly more bang for the buck further out in Fairfax, but we really want to stay in the City of Alexandria. I was assured that we were actually well qualified for a higher loan, but the mortgage then creeps toward unmanageable. Under these terms, we're looking at $1,000 more than we pay in monthly rent, which we may be able to do w/ our salary increases, but there would go what little entertainment budget we have. Sparing the change for my wine and Starbucks addictions may just tilt me back to renting...

Miscellany

2008-01-14T09:56:00.000-08:00

So I've been on this major high from cleaning out my office for the past week or so. There was just something very rewarding about tossing entire drawers worth of paper into a dumpster with the promise of starting something fresh ahead. Now I am looking at one banker's box - just one sole box of work product I thought might be worth archiving - on top of an empty filing cabinet. One box contains 6 & 1/2 years worth of work. Is that kind of pathetic? Not really. It actually just kind of provides me with a great visual for why I'm moving on!

Yoga. Do people really value it enough? After nearly 3 years, since just before Leila's birth (could be why she's such a flexible little thing), I returned to a general class at Yoga in Daily Life Saturday morning. And man was it amazing. Probably because it was just 90 straight minutes for ME without a chatterbox toddler or a grouchy husband hanging on. But it really is amazing to take that time to form a consciousness with each and every part of your body. Just that short time one day a week really makes me feel like I am walking out of there taller and straighter and more aware of all the abuses I put my body through the remainder of the time. Now if only I could follow through on my promise to wake up to do pilates a couple days a week I just might get back into my R&R jeans by springtime. Of course, when I returned home after 2 hours, Cesar took off to play golf for 5 because that is just totally the fair thing to do in our domestic breakdown!

Other weekend highlights included Henry Jones' 4th Birthday party Saturday afternoon - Leila can still hold her own with the big boys and had a blast treasure hunting. She wisely stayed out of Henry and Rowan's epic dart gun battle, however! Saturday night Cesar and I watched We Are Marshall, which is a lovely little three hankie film. I rented it for the Matthews (McConaughey & Fox), figuring if anyone could get me into a football genre film it would be those two together, but it really was quite a sentimental little film. Yesterday we house hunted, which was...depressing. Anyone have $749,000 to spare for our dream house? I'm trading messages with a mortgage guy now because we need to determine whether we can even buy anything. And if not, we need something new to rent by March 1st. Tick tock, tick tock.

NOT Staged (wink, wink)

2008-01-10T04:37:00.000-08:00

Well, not really entirely staged. She did ask to hold Obama! And when asked if she likes Hillary Clinton or Obama, she does reply "I like Obama." Probably just because his name is more fun to say, but we do train them early in the Williams family. Her Papa will have her watching CSPAN any day now.

And yes, I realize that the poor child looks like a wiped out zombie with those raccoon eyes! We're getting ready to be forced into some sleep RE-training. We've got way too much "Mom, come here, I forgot to tell you...", "Wait, I need to go tuck baby Paula in...", "Cover me up..." "Take my covers off..." " I need a drink of water..." "I want Lullabies on..." "Not THOSE lullabies..." going on at the bedtime hour!

A Throw Back

2008-01-09T09:54:00.000-08:00

I was just taking a few minutes to clean personal files and email off my work computer as I only have a week and 1/2 left in this gig (hooray!) when I came across this classic. This one tops the "only Carter Williams..." list for sure:

From: Williams, Carter [mailto:Carter.Williams@sablaw.com]
Sent: Friday, April 08, 2005 11:38 AM
To: Lisa Williams
Subject: Le Bon

We ended up drinking champagne in Simon Le Bon's suite at the Mandarin Oriental. The best exchange between me and Simon follows:

Me: So Simon, you've got to tell me the meaning behind the line: I smell like I sound, I'm lost and I'm found...

Simon: and I'm hungry like the wolf. Really Carter, the song is about sex. I smell like I sound is about sex, animal sex.

Me: Oh, I see.

It was a ridiculous night. Apparently Simon is arranging some floor passes for me and the people I was with. He said they'll be in my name at the ticket window, and after the show, he'll bring us back for a drink. He has my cell, and if I don't hear from him, I'm supposed to assume it's on.

Politics Schmolitics

2008-01-09T07:14:00.000-08:00

So the highlight of my New Hampshire viewing last night was seeing James - I'm not a steelworker, but I play a damn hot plumber on TV - Denton directly behind John Edwards. Double the hotness, double the yum! I was looking for a pic from last night of the handsome handsome handsome James in that stunning blue "Steelworkers for John Edwards" sweatshirt, but haven't found one yet, so here's one from earlier in the campaign.

He's apparently been stumping with Cate Edwards for quite a few months now. How did I miss this? I knew the SarandonRobbinses were out there, and Kevin Bacon, and John Mellencamp... but I must have really been wrapped up in Obama to miss Mike Delfino himself.

And for the record, Edwards has been number one in my heart on message (and on looks) since 2004.

I half-heartedly give kudos to Hillary. I never wanted to see her crucified, but I was hoping for another win for Obama. Even a close win. Whatever the end result, it is still pretty exiting that the race remains an open book and that the charge is being led by a woman and a black male. I just hope they keep things civil and duke it out on substance and smarts.

Miscellaneous Leila Updates

2008-01-08T07:37:00.000-08:00

So I haven't written much about Leila recently aside from the tremendous spoilage at Christmas, now have I? I'll just throw out some random points about where we are character and development-wise below:

She is smart as a whip and does her best to get the better of us. All the time.
She has fully implemented the if mom says no, I go crying to dad and vice versa trick.
She continues to resist naps at home, but so very clearly needs them. Some enforcement may have to come into play this weekend. Cesar says he is going to send me away and put her down b/c she has "already manipulated you."
Continuing on naps, she started crying in bed last night, saying "I don't want to go to school tomorrow because they take a long nap there, and I don't want to take a nap!" I asked her teacher, Miss Sarah, if she had been napping at school and she said "oh, yes, the full two hours."
And continuing on not wanting to go to school, she cried when I woke her up this morning saying again, that she didn't want to go to school: "I want to go to the playground with Mommy." I tried to coax out of her why she didn't want to go to school and this time, it wasn't the nap, it was "I don't like it when my teachers don't give me a sticker sometimes." I reminded her that, stickers are rewards for doing something good like listening well and participating in circle time. Then I offered to buy her some new stickers today.
I didn't think I'd be a parent who would cave so easily to bribery, but see last line above.
The temper tantrums still blow up at the smallest (to a parent) disappointments. Her grandmother Mimi sent her adorably kicky new shoes yesterday and since they're European sizes, they're just a mite too big, but should be perfect this spring. She saw the box they were mailed in this morning, threw herself onto the living room floor, kicked her tennis shoes off and wailed "we forgot to wear the new shoes Mimi sent!" I tried to rationalize with her that Mommy didn't want her to trip and fall running on the playground as she rolled and writhed all over the floor. Then finally said "hey, remember Mommy's coming home with new stickers for you today!"
I'll be spending lunch buying stickers today.
Back to bedtime - she's a master of delay tactics. I can finish bath, books etc. and have her in her room with lights out and lullabies on before 8:30, but as soon as I get her in the crib, she pops up and says she needs to go pee on the potty. Last night, it was twice on the potty w/in 15 minutes, and though I fully recognize it as a delay game, I can't rightly say "nope, pee in your diaper" when I'm supposed to be working on potty training.
On potty training - bottom line is mom is lazy. She's been working on it at school for months and wearing daytime pull ups, but I haven't taken the time to just stay home with her for a couple days, let her run bare bottom or in undies and really see what it feels like when she needs to go, or has an accident. She gets it and will do both functions on the potty when I put her there, but I've been lax about making the final leap. We did put her in a pair of undies for a couple hours this weekend, and as soon as she ultimately did wet herself, she promptly asked to have a pull up put back on.
She has a new found love for the Food Network. After her bath, she'll ask "is anyone on (the TV)?" because we got in the habit of watching a half hour cartoon special during the month + of holiday programming. And I'll say, no, no special cartoons on tonight. Then she'll counter "maybe a cooking guy is on....maybe Emeril?" It's pretty darn amusing.

I'm sure there are other fun/challenging details to report, but those are kind of the highlights for now.

Randomly Cracking Up

2008-01-08T07:25:00.000-08:00

So a pop culture blog* I scan on occasion, referred to this photo from the Palm Springs International Film Festival as "evidence that Sean Penn is now officially a disoriented French intellectual." And I am officially cracking up right now. I am also cracking up at the line "Day-Lewis, meanwhile, was busy building a yurt and cobbling his own shoes at the end of the buffet."

I do love me some Sean Penn though. Daniel Day-Lewis too. And I am now reminded to add 'Into the Wild' to my netflix queue for whenever it may be released. I finally read the book this fall, knowing I wouldn't see it 'til DVD release, and it was a rather engrossing read as most of Krakauer's reporting is.

* http://www.mamapop.com/mamapop/2008/01/teeth-vaselined.html#more

Metro Fare Increase

2008-01-07T06:30:00.000-08:00

We knew it was coming. We've read the proposals about it for months. But, ouch! My rush hour commute went from $2.30 to $2.80 this morning. That is .50 cents a trip and an extra dollar a day is not small change! If metro actually functioned smoothly and I didn't have a significant delay each and every ride due to doors failing to close, switch work (whatever that is), sick passengers etc... I might not mind so much. Oh well, I have no idea what if any transportation benefits I'll have at the new gig, so I'll just grin and bear it for now.

New Camera

2008-01-06T10:24:00.000-08:00

I didn't necessarily need a new camera for Xmas (though my Canon's probably about due to conk out) but Cesar wanted to get me something for also helping him survive school. I would have taken jewelry, but gadgets are good too. Haven't had much time to play with my little baby pink cyber shot yet, but the drawing feature's pretty cool.

I can add text like this:

or frames:
or just goof around like this:

Next step is to figure out the mp3 features - how to customize music for slide shows etc...

Doing an Obama happy dance this morning...

2008-01-04T07:40:00.000-08:00

...and very tired from staying up way past my bedtime watching speeches and commentary. Do I really have to do this again as early as next Tuesday?

Notice has been given...

2008-01-03T08:49:00.000-08:00

Phew! Relief. But still feeling slightly nauseous and appetiteless (appetiteless being not entirely a bad thing.) I just informed my boss of 6 & 1/2 years that I had 'rather suddenly' been made a job offer that I couldn't refuse. It went as well as could be expected, I suppose.

I got a pretty shocked deer in the headlights expression and a 'jeez Lisa, when do you have to leave..' for a moment there. I replied that because of the way the government pay periods go, I was expected to start January 22nd, so January 18th would be my last day. Said she would have hoped I could give 2 months (months!) for a big push on client efforts until she could get someone else in, but then it dawned on her that she could snag Morgan (the super intern) full time for her 3 days a week when she's back. Then she actually admitted that this was not a good place to be if you wanted to advance and do policy work, unless you wanted to stick around and start bringing your own clients in and that she didn't think Karin (the other Associate) cared, b/c this was all she ever wanted to do apparently (hah!) but she could understand why I wanted to move on...

So, since I did receive my official employment letter yesterday, I think it is safe to now announce that I will be joining the US Postal Service's Office of Government Relations as an Analyst later this month. Can I get a Woot!? I'll be overseeing response to Congressional inquiries, and while it might not be the most glamorous position, I'll get to once again use that side of my brain that knows how to write and edit, and enjoys doing so routinely.

Happy New Year to me. Now we just need to work on acquiring a new house and all will be good in the world.

Ugh. Back to the daily grind...

2008-01-02T07:30:00.000-08:00

You know those nights when you have all good intentions of getting to bed early - I mean you even refrain from any wine - so you can start the new year at work refreshed and energized... your light is out at 9:30 (9:30!)... then you look at your clock and it's 10:45 and you realize that you haven't yet fallen asleep and your husband's tossing and turning and itching and flipping the TV on and off.... then it's 11:30 and you still haven't fallen asleep and your kid is coughing... then 1:00a.m....then 2:30 and you're fighting to hang on to your share of the sheets...then 5:00 and the alarm's going off for dear husband and the kid's periodically crying/whimpering in her sleep... Yeah, I had one of those last night.

Then you race-walk through biting wind gusts to get to metro to wait 10 minutes on the elevated platform for an overcrowded blue line...Needless to say, I'm just thrilled to be back at work this morning!

The holiday break was nice and actually seemed to run fairly long - probably in part because the kid only napped 2 out of 11 days, so we were on the go with her all the time. I got to enjoy two movies, as previously reported. Had the chance to visit with Massi and Carlo. Got NOTHING done in the house, aside from packing up two 70 Qt. bins of clothes Leila's outgrown. Emily and I - native Washingtonians who should know better - took Leila and Henry to the Natural History Museum last Thursday. And I say, we should know better because of the tourist horror - like the rudeness of a family who's only physical impediment may have been that they were a bit overweight, trying to force their way onto the elevator in front of our two strollers (I called them on it and they didn't even apologize), or parents letting their children old enough to know better just sit in the middle of heavily trafficked floors... But it was worth it because the banter between the two of them in the back seat on the way home had us in tears of laughter for a good 15 minutes. I seriously had to wipe my eyes to make it onto the 14th street bridge. Leila's retorts were a bit less sophisticated then Henry's, like "I'm going to tell your dad you said potty", but she was holding her own fairly well. Henry's best line was "I'm going to tell the Dr. to give you a shot and NOT give you a band aid."

And that's about it as far as the highlights go. Oh, and mom had a fairly decent gift haul too w/ her new pink Sony Cybershot camera, a couple new Coach bags from Aunt Nancy and her scrap sale, some $$ from the grandparents to be reserved until she's back down a size, and a sweet new flat screen High Def. TV for the family from Floyd and Carol. We haven't dealt with Comcast on the high def. front yet, because we're hoping we'll be moving within the next several months, but still, Shrek never looked so good even without that capacity enabled.

Trade Offs

2007-12-30T11:05:00.000-08:00

So, I'm really NOT ready for the 4 months shy of 3 year old to give up her naps for good, but this week + at home with mom has not been encouraging on that front. She napped her normal 2 hours last Saturday, then not again until yesterday aside from the few minutes here and there in the car. Yesterday, she wailed in the crib for 15 minutes or so, then did sleep for 2+ hours, so she clearly still needs them, BUT, she was awake until 11:00p.m. last night! 11:00p.m.!! This is not going to fly when school/work resume Wednesday! I'm almost inclined not to force the nap, because then she's passed out by 8:00 p.m. or close to, but she's a whiney mess by 5:00 or so when she hasn't napped. For purely selfish reasons, I like to have her down by 8:00 in the evening so I can have a conversation with the husband, watch some tube or read and unwind with some wine, but I don't want to do anything detrimental to her healthy development, and now, it's 2:15 and we're not napping of course....

Ummm..Old Much?

2007-12-27T19:26:00.000-08:00

So, My boss gave me a nice little Barnes & Noble gift card and I decided, what better use for it than the Twin Peaks Gold DVD set. Well, when I got it home, the entire plastic case was shattered and I had to return it for a fresh, special order set. When I went in to pick it up today, the clerk said, I can't ring up an exchange, but I'm going to call my manager if you can wait. I said fine. So manager, who is all of 22, comes back and clerk asks me, "what's Twin Peaks anyway?" And I say, 'oh, it's this cult show from the early'90s - like '91-'02...oh, but you're too young for that...and he says, yeah..I'm a 1988 baby..and I just say, 'oh, crap...' b/c that's about all I can muster...

It's an Official Record

2007-12-27T06:15:00.001-08:00

I have now seen two movies in the theater in the span of one week. Something I have not done since well before the kiddo was born.

Massi and I saw Atonement last night and it was lovely, so very lovely... I mean, it's hard to not be lovely with James McAvoy and Keira Knightly, but it was technically beautiful as well with flawless cinematography and sound and it was very true to the book. I read the book about 5 years ago, so it's not the freshest in mind, but the only discrepancy I picked out was that the end, when Briony reveals her writing process, was somewhat condensed in the movie.
Cesar and I also saw Charlie Wilson's War Saturday, which was quite entertaining and well played as well, but may be most entertaining to a "Washington Insider" (i.e.: all the jabs at Congress and the CIA cracked me up throughout.) Aaron Sorkin's touch was evident and brought back some West Wing nostalgia and Philip Seymour Hoffman was a trip, so don't rule it out just because you're not a big fan of the Hanks/Roberts marquee names.

Some Xmas Pics

2007-12-27T06:05:00.000-08:00

The (momentarily) angelic one:
The haul:
The Xmas morning joy & love:

Radio Silence

2007-12-25T08:54:00.000-08:00

Sorry. Neglecting the Blog for Santa duties. Will try to get some pics of the kid and her dozens of gifts up tomorrow. Hope everyone's enjoying the holiday!

So. Ready. To. Get. Out. For. Christmas.

2007-12-19T08:32:00.000-08:00

It's too bad the Old Executive Office Building isn't just one block closer to me. Perhaps I could have been evacuated for its fire. But seriously, it is such a grand building that holds such fond memories for me that I hope it didn't sustain too much damage.

And I suppose I need to start talking to Leila about safe-sex in the next year or so with this Jamie-Lynn Spears shenanigans. Lily Allen too. She's not quite so young and fresh as JL, but have people never heard of condoms or oral contraceptives? I know happy accidents happen even when consenting adults are taking precautions, but that wouldn't appear to be the case here. And clearly Mama Spears has made all kinds of bad judgement calls over the years, but what mother lets her 16 year old daughter LIVE WITH her 19 year old boyfriend. Regardless of whether her children bankroll her, that's just all kinds of wrong.

Anyway. That's all I've got.

Who Knew...

2007-12-18T06:58:00.000-08:00

I'm reading this fascinating book now, 'The World Without Us'. The writer speculates about how long it will take nature to reclaim the planet if human beings are wiped out. And about how irreversibly changed the planet may be as a result of our time here as humans. It's taking me a while to read, as does all nonfiction, but it is really thought-provoking stuff.

As metro crawled through residual delays this morning, I just learned that most exfoliants are composed of plastic beads. Plastic! I'm not so concerned about my skin as I am about the environment and all those little creatures in our waterways that are going to end up consuming those plastic beads for thousands and thousands of years to come. These polymers don't break down easily. Check your make up drawers to see if your products contain some form of polyethylene!