Trade Offs

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?

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

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

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

Radio Silence

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.

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...

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!

How you like my 'Pob'?

Of course, it doesn't look nearly so good when I just slick some product in it and go in the morning without blowing it out. Oh well...

Friday afternoon get me the heck out of this office randomness...

I love Jason Statham. Love him. Ever since the Transporter. He is a sexy beast. But... something about him with hair is just wrong. Very, very wrong. Why would Guy Ritchie do that to him? Not that I'm likely to see his movie Revolver. I did like Snatch though. Mostly for Brad Pitt's Irish Gypsy and Benicio del Toro and hey, Jason Statham was in that too. I'd nearly forgotten. Yep, it's too late in the day Friday. I've had entirely too much sugar and I have no tolerance for make-work nonsense. I'm going to get my hair colored and cut for the holidays now. And I'm missing my daughter's school Christmas party to do so. Bad mom, but it was scheduled 3 months ago (my hair, not the party - had the party been on the books for 3 months, I'd be far worse the mom!) Does the trauma fester prior to age 3? Her good dad will be there. And I'm sure I'll be sucking up to her every whim for the next several weeks to make up.

Wow!

Had I only known that I could have had my abs "re-educated" had I been a French woman giving birth in France. The government would have subsidized getting me back into skinny jeans. That is amazing. We are such the backwards nation!



http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/13/opinion/13druckerman.html?_r=1&ref=opi

My Christmas List

Whatever spare change I may or may not have left after paying down my holiday bills from whatever bonus/gift money I may or may not receive will be going towards this:
and this:
Just in case any one's dying to know what's on my gift list. I do still own some of the Brit pop repackaged in the above collection, but much of it is in the form of ye olde mixed tape. I'm thankful to my daughter for recently discovering my tape player and reintroducing me to the couple dozen cassettes still shoved away in my room, but it will be a treat to dump all these classics onto the iPod. I also expect I'll have plenty of time to revisit Twin Peaks over some damn fine cups of coffee before any new TV resumes.

Call me Bambi...

I'm feeling slightly conflicted about being pegged as George on Facebook's Which Grey's Anatomy Character are You application! Not that I really identify with any of the female characters - maybe Callie - but George?? I thought I'd at least have a little Alex in me ; ) Oh well... T.R. does steal quite a few scenes and he got me with the it's the timing, definitely not the chemistry thing with Izzie last week. RIP Seth Green.

Does anyone think PS I Love You looks to be worth seeing? It's definitely a rental for me with everything else that's out to compete with it over the holiday, but Gerard Butler + Denny Duquette = intriguingly yummy!

And just to make this a completely random post, my daughter told me that she was crying at school yesterday because one of her friends called her 'fea' (ugly in Spanish.) She's not even 3! I thought we had a few years to go before the Mean Girls routines kicked in - not that I think kids are saying things to be intentionally hurtful at this age, but still...I may have to read Queen Bees and Wannabes earlier than planned. Her father's solution is to tell her to reply "tu estas fea tambien" (I'm butchering the Spanish, but 'you're ugly too') so when we came into school this morning she announced in her loudest inside voice with another parent in the room "You know what my daddy said? He said to tell you that you all are fea." Yep, only a little bit misconstrued!

Xmas Card Efforts

I've apparently missed the window of opportunity to dress Leila pretty and get her posed for a Holiday card. Perhaps she'll be into sitting still when she's closer to five or so. We captured a few shots with Santa earlier in the season, but as we were outside at night in what felt like -11 in the wind, she was fully bundled up in hat, coat and boots and that look wasn't doing it for me. I tried to get just one cute picture of her alone Saturday, but she was wired and the resulting shots looked a little like this:
There's always this one where she appears to be channeling an Olson sister hiding in mom's "Cat in the Hat" hat...

Flying in the Face of Controversy

In spite of the warnings that “early ‘Sesame Street’ episodes are intended for grown-ups, and may not suit the needs of today’s preschool child” I ordered the Old School vol. 1 and 2 DVDs to supplement Leila's Xmas booty. Yes, I'll enjoy tripping through memory lane with her (and I really can't wait until she's ready for the classic Electric Company DVD's - Hey You Guys! - then the Muppets, and Fraggle Rock...) so the gift is somewhat self-serving, but... ...is it wrong of me to want to engage in a little Sesame Street appreciation without the likes of Mr. Noodle?
Or his brother Mr. Noodle?
Or their sister Miss Noodle.....?

In case you missed the brouhaha, there was a NYT Mag. article a couple weeks back that raised concerns about the behaviors characters displayed in the early years. Cookie Monster affecting a pipe as Alastair Cookie then binging on said pipe along with furniture, cookies and everything in arms reach...Ernie and Bert's questionable living arrangements in a dingy basement apartment...Oscar's depression (personally, I wouldn't mind if someone slipped Dora a bit of his downer juice)...

As a parent, I do understand concerns about modeling behavior, but I also know that it's my precise job - not the Children's Television Workshop's - as a parent to tell my child that a cookie or two in moderation is fine. An entire jar finished off with a pipe and some easy chair legs is not. And quite frankly, I don't think my 2.5 year old is going to pick up on the nuances that are raising the red flags as an adult would. I can say, yeah, Ernie and Bert could be gay, or then again, they could be platonic friends trying to save on rent...My kid's not going to pick up on anything odd about their living arrangements at this age - and if and when she's ready to question it, I will appreciate having the platform for discussion. Sure, Oscar might have benefited from a Prozac, but he's a grouch - it's even part of his name in addition to his nature - we all encounter grouches and pessimists in our lives and the sooner my kid learns that different people have different outlooks on life the better she'll be able to find her way in our world. Will we be diagnosing Mr. Rogers - may he rest in peace - with OCD next and slapping warnings on his back episodes in fear of our children wanting to change their shoes and sweaters every time the enter/exit the house?

I'm not sure I credit Sesame Street for contributing hugely to my education, but it sure didn't hurt. Anecdotally, I actually watched full episodes regularly, and I am an avid reader to this day. My brother may have looked up from whatever he was building or pounding on during a commercial (well maybe PBS was commercial free in those days, point is, the program didn't keep his attention) and he was known to get by osmosing books through high school and college. He's a smart, hard-working lawyer today, but the reading bug never quite bit him as it did me. Did Sesame Street contribute, who knows...Anyway...off my high-horse now. And no, I don't plan to deprive Leila of Elmo, we're actually taking her to "Sesame Street Live: Elmo Grows Up" next week. Good times for mom and dad!

Charlie Wilson's War...

... is another movie on my long and growing holiday movie list (but who am I kidding. I may get to see one, then plop the rest in the trusty netflix queue.) It's also been on my reading list for a good long while. I get a kick out of seeing the previews regularly, because I actually interviewed for a job with the real Charlie Wilson about 4 years back (when I first decided I needed a new job - it's been a bit of an extended process here, but things are picking up - Insha'Allah as we say in Morocco.) The job ad I applied for didn't specify the employer, it was a vague legislative associate... International experience a plus... description, but when I was called for an interview, the woman told me it was at Wilson & Associates, former Congressman Charlie Wilson's organization. I mentioned to my mother that I had an interview with a former Congressman Charlie Wilson and she exclaimed "good time Charlie! You can't go to work for good time Charlie." He apparently had a bit of a reputation for booze, and women, and hot tubs and perhaps a little cocaine - back when Congress and Washington was still fun you know...I wore a fairly short skirt to my interview. It didn't work. He was impressed by my time in Morocco, but thought I didn't have enough direct Hill experience for his needs. He had an amazing office on Pennsylvania avenue filled with Afghan and Pakistani tribal swords and guns and clothing and such. Just one of my brushes with the pseudo-celebrity of the political class.

From the mouths of babes...

So I put on my hat this morning - you know, modeling good behavior for the kiddo that we wear hats when it's snowing. This is one I haven't worn yet this season. Our other cold days have been so darn windy that it would blow away, so I've only worn a knit cap. It's a striking red cloche style. Very feminine, jaunty, 1930's evoking...like something Keira Knightly would wear in Atonement (DYING to see that movie. LOVED the book. The preview alone choked me up this morning. And James McAvoy - swoon!) Or so I thought. Leila took one look at me, laughed and said "you look like the cat in the hat." Oh well. I guess entertaining my daughter has as much merit as feigning style on a wintery day.

Blue Christmas Lights

Does anyone understand them? They may or may not be linked to Hanukkah. They could be said to invoke images of peace and serenity. Some may find them soothing. But I just don't get them, really. And there are loads of them in my neighborhood to contemplate. I'm just a boring white lights girl who occasionally thinks nostalgically to those old skool, opaque multi-colored bulb lights of my childhood I guess. And we still have ghost eye decals from Halloween up on our door, so I probably don't have much room to critique.

It's Christmas Eve in Washington...

Well not quite, but for some reason that terrible, horrible, agonizing song is in my head. Seriously, I love my hometown, but that is the single worst Christmas song ever. Ever! "It's Christmas Eve in Washington - America's hometown - For it's here that freedom lives - And peace can stand her ground..." Tears her hair out....


But I do love Christmas traditions in Washington, and I'm glad to be able to discover some new ones with Leila. I'm actually just thrilled now that she's of an age where we can enjoy more of DC's cultural offerings together, because truthfully, in the midst of the daily grind, I often forget what treasures are in our backyard.


Saturday we rode the metro down to the Botanic Gardens for its annual holiday exhibit of model trains and DC's monuments in miniature flanked by foliage. The electric trains winding through tunnels and over suspension bridges were a huge hit! Though when I asked Leila that night what her favorite part of the day was, the response, without pause was "the train that we rode." Disgruntled daily metro commuter that I am, I really don't find much joy in the ride, but I do recall thinking it pretty darn swell as a kid.

And so it begins. Again.

Our lease is up at the end of February. We determined long ago that we need more space. But in addition to space, WE NEED A VERMIN FREE HOME. Yes, it's been 3-4 months now since we trapped our last mouse and I've enjoyed not having to see them dead or dying on a glue trap - the body count reached 9 from August to September - but still, I can sense them. I can even hear them from the living room when it's quiet at night rattling about in the poison under the stove. I live with the creeping feeling that I will be encountering one every time I'm the first one down the stairs to grab Leila's milk in the morning. Thankfully, as Cesar leaves so early during the week, I'm usually only first to the kitchen on the weekend, but still, I turn on every light downstairs and try to make my approach heard so that any critter that may be lurking about can scamper out of sight. It is not a fun way to exist.


I was having a bit of sixth sense that I'd face an unwelcome house guest Friday night. I was sitting on the living room floor watching Cars with Leila and I looked down to see what looked like a dropping. I said ew, Leila, don't touch that, I think it's mouse poop - she looked at it and said, I think it's a rock - I went to get a tissue and picked it up and indeed it was a pebble, so score for Leila, but I had found a true dropping a week or so before...and incidentally, the phantom "Mr. Mouse" is Leila's "notme" - any query of who spilled a bowl of Parmesan cheese on Mommy's carpet, or who took all the pictures off the refrigerator, or who spread three packs of cards out across the floor... receives an "um, I think it was Mr. Mouse."


Anyway...cut to the chase. I stagger downstairs at 7:30 yesterday morning in PJs and glasses, barely round the corner to the kitchen and see the horrific sight of a glue trap in the middle of the kitchen floor bouncing about as a little brown mouse struggles to free itself. It took me a second or two to process, but I only froze briefly in my tracks before running up the stairs to wake Cesar to deal with it. I explained the delay in retrieving milk to Leila and cowered in her room with her while he extracted the poor beastie. She didn't seem troubled in the least as she told me "I like mice. I think they're beautiful." "Yes sweetie, but only when they are outside." "Yeah, not when they're in the house, only when they are outside...." Ugh! With this cycle starting again, I'm not only on a desperate quest to find suitable housing and break our lease, but also exploring whether I'm owed damages from our property manager for post-traumatic stress!!

Oh, and I squashed two bugs in the house this weekend that looked suspiciously like stink bugs. I didn't get a whiff of anything rank, but that could have just been because my trusty swiffer/bug squasher stunned them so quickly. Get me out of here!!!

That didn't take long...

There are guys on the corner of Connecticut and K selling long-sleeved black "Thanks for the Memories Sean Taylor" tee shirts.

Fantasy Boyfriends

Seeing John Schneider aging surprisingly well on Nip/Tuck last night - in spite of the fact that he was playing a LA porn titan aptly named Ram - got me thinking about my fantasy boyfriends through the years. You know the ones... at least I hope you do... not the mere crushes, but the ones you'd lie awake at night imagining how you'd meet cute while he was filming some project in DC, and how he'd ask you out and tell you that you weren't like all the other fake Hollywood girls he usually dated (delusion much Lis?)....


Well, my fantasy boyfriends started when I was actually not much older than wee Leila with Christopher Robin, the best friend a denizen of the 100 Acre Woods could have.Seriously. I used to walk around my grandparents' house talking to him on a Fisher Price phone. I think it must have been the page-boy haircut and Mary Jane shoes.


Then there was the aforementioned John Schneider when I was 10/11 years old. I fell for him as Bo Duke, of course, but these days he looks more like this:

Even better! Let's just forget that there was a time when he was a country music performer when he looked like this:
And the best of all fantasy boyfriends...the love of my life from seventh grade right on into college (seriously - friends made me sit down on my dorm room bed before they'd break the news of his tragic overdose to me)... River Phoenix. Oh dear River, I still have moments of missing you. Actually, perhaps in tribute to your memory, I don't think I've had a fantasy boyfriend since.
However, if Joaquin came along......

TV-land

I didn't do any TV commentary last week with the holiday and all, but really, what more is there to say than OHMYGOD - SETH GREEN'S CAROTID ARTERY JUST BURST!!! ACK!!!!! But seriously, if they have to do a very special Grey's Anatomy event, that's the way to do it. The paramedics had me bawling my little eyes out.

Charlie Brown Christmas tonight - yea! Yep, I'm a dork, but at least I can now use the kid excuse.

We're getting a little better with this Santa thing

Which is probably inevitable when we start to see him in the malls by November 1st. When I was young, I recall the first (and best) Santa sighting of the season to be the one broadcast from the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
I imagine Santa was looking at the line of families still behind us and thinking drats, guess I won't be making it to Murphy's by 9:00.
But it's really all about the candy cane in the end. 45 minutes in line in the bitter cold wind for a candy cane.

The one - and ONLY - thing I have in common...

... with White House press secretary Dana Perino. From the Washington Examiner:

Some Washingtonians are better in the kitchen than others. We asked White House press secretary Dana Perino what she likes to make for Thanksgiving. This is what she told us:“Here’s what I can make:Glass of red wine Directions:1. Buy bottle of red wine2. Un-cork the bottle3. Pour wine into glass”

But seriously... I wish everyone the happiest of holidays with their families, friends and loved ones.

One thing I am grateful for this year is that I now have someone to enjoy a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving with. I would have watched by myself, as I do every year along with all the other Charlie Brown specials, but it was that much more enjoyable to share the timeless beauty of a toast and popcorn feast with Leila last night.

Another thing I am grateful for is that I am NOT traveling. I'm sure it was wise for the President to open the air space (a rare wise act), but sheesh...living a mile or less south-wind of National, we heard planes take off every 45 seconds last night!

What I am not grateful for is that I'm stuck in the office for today's entirety, but I'll get by, I've got some reporting to do on the death of Socrates for Cesar's Humanities class...

My daughter's shoes are as(/more) expensive than my own...

...but so darn cute. I had that wrenching moment of mommie guilt when I took her into Nordstrom to get her feet measured on Saturday and the associate said she was measuring an 8 and we should probably buy 8&1/2 and the last shoes I bought her were size 7&1/2 cheapies from Target, so to stave off paranoia about stunting her foot growth I overcompensated of course... I can't find an image of the exact Pumas we bought. They are these:


...but they are silver with the pink swoosh instead of white. So now, she and I can kick around in silver Pumas together. Funny that it took me an entire week of shopping in Spain to find mine and we breeze right into Nordstrom to find hers without effort. We didn't stop there though. Global warming be darned, we thought she needed a good solid pair of weatherproof boots for the winter months and bought her a pair of pink and tan Geox (patented breathable soles...just what every toddler needs) zip-ups with synthetic fur cuffs that are just too precious. Bye, bye $130 and change.


And this after I ventured into our new Zara Kids downtown Friday and plopped down $100 on new dresses for Thanksgiving. But forget the money. Let's just take a moment to express my excitement. We finally have a Zara Kids in DC! Part of me is disappointed that there will be other little girls running around town as cute/stylishly dressed as my own, but now I can look forward to possibly spending more money on myself when next in Spain and not have to be so focused on bringing home an entire season's worth of clothes for the girl!

"The long speech"

Please give Chandra Wilson an Emmy. Please give Chandra Wilson an Emmy. Please give Chandra Wilson an Emmy.... Oh how I aspire to be able to convincingly deliver "the long speech" one of these days. I don't even care that she was reduced to blithering and delivered that long speech to Derrick as a surrogate to - hey, it's President Palmer v.2 from 24, nice to see you here! - because who can't feel themselves in her shoes. I may not have had the mushroom haircut (ha!) and the oboe and the big glasses...OK, I did have the big glasses plus the plaid pleated kilts with red or green coordinating tights...but I certainly pined unnoticed for the heart-throbs - the actors more so than the athletes - but that's neither here nor there...If I start revisiting high school now I could probably go on here all day.

Cue the Awwwws...

Right... So last night's dine out at Fuddruckers to raise money for St. Anthony's was about as relaxing and culinarily (I quite possibly invented that word) satisfying as Chuck E. Cheese was Sunday, but just how cute are Leila and her friend Parker sharing a hug??

My New Favorite Grocery Store

...drum roll please...is Harris Teeter. Seriously. LOVE. The Harris Teeter shopping experience is old news to most people I'm sure, but when the closest one to me was at Pentagon Row I never bothered to go because I just hit Shopper's first. Now, however, there is one just one stoplight past Potomac Yard (and within a mile of any given point in Alexandria/Arlington it seems like given the grand opening mailers I keep receiving.)

I mean any store equipped with these:

... to keep the "shoppers in training" occupied gets a gold star in my book. But, of course, she usually flips it over at some point. Leading to a crying jag. Leading to me carrying her while pushing hers and my carts. But the sugar cookie at check out helps with that. And the balloons. And the outstanding customer service. I mean the best I've encountered outside of Nordstrom. An associate Sunday saw me pushing our two carts with my knee while carrying the girl and she came and collected my carts, put me in an empty line and proceeded to unload my carts for me. The woman who got Leila one pink and one red balloon "to match her outfit" at the start of our visit said farewell to her by name as we exited. Don't know if this is a company wide phenom, or just our particular store, but they manage to make it such a pleasant shopping experience.

And the product selection may just about rival Trader Joe's in allowing for quick and easy prep meals. I know most of my friends actually enjoy planning and preparing meals with more than three ingredients, but I haven't quite gotten there. They're perhaps not quite so unique in ethnic fare, but at least I don't have to finish a trip at TJ's only to have to go to another store for basics like toilet paper and diet coke. I'll still work in at least a monthly trip to TJ's, but I'm glad to have the alternative.

And the best part is that Cesar actually didn't complain about his meals the past two nights. Monday I sprinkled rib-eyes with this seasoning and he threw them on the grill and they actually received a prolonged mmmmm...

Last night I did these Aquastar shrimp skewers, brushed with a little olive oil...
... and sprinkled with this rub...
...which will soon be a favorite for all variety of fish/shellfish. Cesar thought it "tasted too Moroccan" which was just why I loved it, because Moroccan spices are something I can never hope to replicate on my own.

I'm officially hungry now.

I'm Not There

I'm a Dylan fan. A big one. I think that's been made clear here before. I've been intrigued by the premise of this movie since I first started hearing murmurs about it and I hope it makes it out of limited distribution by the Christmas holiday. Though I probably need to add Chronicles Vol. 1 to my long and growing reading list to get a little more insight into the man...the legend...Columbia recording artist Bob Dylan... before I try to take in the visual of various aspects of his persona being played by Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Cate Blanchett and Richard Gere among others.


Just a few observations on the promo stills and posters coming out. Christian Bale is entirely too much hotness for Dylan...
Then again, in the high-rise jeans, maybe not so much... Oh, who am I kidding, the man is beauty incarnate no matter what he's wearing, who he's playing, how beefed up he is, or how torturedly emaciated...
And speaking of hot...When did we last see Heath Ledger look so good? A Knight's Tale? The Four Feathers? The Patriot? Yeah, probably The Patriot. Whatever weave or plugs he's rocking to make his (normally thinning) hair reach such Dylan-esque heights suits him. Actually, in this shot, he kind of looks like James Franco. Which is a good thing in my book.
And every one's seen the Cate Blanchett pics by now, but she actually looks to be the most convincing in terms of physically embodying the man... the legend...OK, back to work!

The Horror...

Chuck E. Cheese®
Birthplace: New Jersey
Species: Mouse
Occupation: Entertaining kids
Hobbies: Playing video games, skateboarding
Favorite Pizza: Extra Cheese
Favorite Saying: It's party time!

I can't say that I ever knew Chuck E. boy's birthplace was New Jersey, but somehow I don't find that surprising. No offense to my peeps in the Jersey suburbs! Yesterday afternoon we attended our second 3 year old birthday party of the weekend at a branch of this fine establishment in the city of Fairfax. I get the appeal of the place. I do. The kids had a blast. This family is so sweet and lovely and did the best they could with the offerings at hand and I know I'll probably be in the position of having to come up with something outside the home for Leila's third this spring, but OH. MY. GAWD. The place is gross. Period. Massi, please forgive me for ever thinking it a good/funny idea to take you there for your 21st birthday (at least we could wash the memory away with Green Leafe beer back then.) Maybe it's just because I'm a parent now and I have nightmares about MRSA and other cooties. Maybe it's because I found a fresh mouse dropping in my house yesterday and am bracing myself for our winter colonies. And the pizza is the pits. It was never good. I recall that now. I'm thankful Leila only ate one small slice because my stomach is less forgiving of me today for eating one slice myself than it ever was for eating grilled meat from the side of the road in Morocco. I'm also glad I had the foresight to hold off on Leila's bath until our return home last night b/c if I hadn't, she would have taken two yesterday.

TV Talk

I finally watched last week's Grey's last night - Emily and I enjoyed a mom's night out of wine and burgers and too loud entertainment by a band of 40-something Del Ray rockers last Thursday and I had two episodes of Ugly Betty to catch up with over the weekend, so last night was my first chance to spend a little time with the Seattle Grace gang. And I just have to say good show all around - well, I do have a few bones to pick, but I'd like to focus on the positive. The awesome: 1) Dr. Hahn - oh thank you Dr. Hahn for bringing the snark! And "Pretty and Prettier..." Ha! 2) Sloan - Love him. For more than his physical assets alone this season. "It's like half my job torturing interns." So good. He and Callie are so hittin' it soon. Cesar glanced at the computer screen for a second while he was on and said "see, that's how I want to grow my beard" and I would so tolerate a tickley beard if it were tamed into the hotness of Eric Danes' I may just tape a picture of him to the bathroom mirror to guide Cesar in his shaving...anyway, moving on. 3) Callie - She continues to become the most likable female on the show. And damn, girlfriend is looking good - her makeup was perfection. I'm so glad her beauty and strength is coming out with letting George go. The not so awesome: 1) OK Mere, we know that you died and came back and had your moment of clarity and let it get away from you...let's move on shall we. 2) G/Izzie and their perfect shaved leg sex - ewww...I think I share more chemistry with my own brother than those two. Tho' Izzie was pretty great in woodpecker dude's surgery - give her a deer or a woodpecker or any forest creature and she can run with it. 3) ALEX!!!!! I love you. I do. Especially for your bad boy ways. It was so upstanding of you to tell Lexi that you are sort of into someone else and it would only ever be sex which is never enough for girls like her, but don't then bring her home to Meredith's house when she's compromising enough to take sex alone!

And just a quick word on Nip/Tuck. Julia's gone from Marlin the dwarf as a lover to Portia de Rossi...Interesting. It was nice to see her free of angst for once. Christian's Playgirl spread reeling in the "gay mafia" was pretty darn amusing and hot as he is, Julian McMahon either needs to go up a shirt size or sculpt down his physique a bit. I'm glad he seems to be slowly getting over the whole small fish in the big pond of Hollywood thing.

Writer's Strike

Well, I guess I'll have more time to read as my shows start running out of episodes in the can. LA Times ran a grid of where things stand for those who admit to being as TV addicted as I...


http://www.latimes.com/business/la-striketvgrid-html,0,7606966.htmlstory?coll=la-home-center


At least Nip/Tuck appears to be in good shape through February. And Lost will have 8 out of 16 episodes ready to go when it FINALLY comes back.

I'm just wondering...

... why the cockroaches - of the big brown crunchy variety - only come out to play when I'm home alone? And even if Cesar is home, I'm always the one to come across them. Like on my wedding night - my wedding night! When I had to stand upon a dining room chair in my dress and scream for him to come back down and smash one. I suppose there's a reason why people stay in a hotel suite on their wedding night. Or three weeks ago, when I reached for the handle to open the dishwasher and felt a flutter across my fingers then looked down in disgust and horror at the one that fell to the floor as I whipped my hand away. I have not opened the dishwasher without looking under the handle first since. Then two days following that, I saw one remove itself from a glue trap then scurry to the other side of the fridge as I sprayed the heck out of it all while Cesar was upstairs throwing a temper tantrum b/c I'd supposedly lost a favorite sock in the wash (surprise, surprise...that sock turned up last week.) And then last night while Cesar was at school I was having this sixth sense that I was going to encounter some critter - I even whipped my head around at one point as I did dishes to scan the kitchen because I thought I'd heard a faint shuffle, but I didn't encounter anything. So I sat in front of Dan Abrams with some dinner and when I got up to take my plate back to the kitchen....right in my path, in front of the door sat Gregor Samsa himself (perhaps if I re-read Kafka I'd be a little more sympathetic to the plight of vermin.) I climbed up a few stairs to walk around him, and thank goodness he was fairly sluggish which allowed me time to grab the Swiffer from its corner and WHACK! I have such mad love for the Swiffer - probably more than for any other household cleaning implement. Sorry Dyson - your suction magic comes close and relieves me of cobweb stress, but you just can't double as a large bug squasher! Now I'm just bracing myself for signs of a mouse resurgence now that the temperatures are dropping.

Desperate Measures

So it is now November 5th. As in the Holidays are RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER. As in Lisa needs to loose the 10-15 pounds (variable by day of the week, point in the month, etc...) that have somehow crept up on her since sometime last winter in the next 3 to 7 weeks or so! Soliciting any and all quick and easy fixes to this pesky little problem here!


I have numerous clothing items in my closet that are still fashionably relevant that just aren't clearing my hips. I haven't had my Rock and Republic jeans on my body since June and I want to reclaim them (Seven's are apparently somewhat more forgiving, but it would be nice to avoid having to hitch them up to avoid plumber's crack before I sit every time.)


15 pounds would be ideal - actually 16 would take me back to my wedding weight and that's kind of my bench mark for self-image satisfaction - 10 pounds I could live with. 24 pounds would take me back to my all time college low, but a diet of black coffee, cigarettes, candy, bagels (hey, it was the early-mid '90s when low fat/high carb was all the rage) and frozen yogurt is pretty much out of the question these days.


I get the whole portion control and exercise thing. I do. But with the realities of work and family, my daily exercise is pretty limited to a brisk walk of a mile or so to and from the metro - and the from will probably be cut in favor of the bus now that it's dark at 5:30. I've tried, oh how I've tried to wake up at 5:00 and get some pilates in, but see work and family excuse above coupled with too many TV shows that require me to stay up to 11 and understand that's a no-go.


I bring my breakfast/lunch to work 4 days a week and it includes yogurt, a couple pieces of fruit, a 100 calorie pack of pretzels, a box raisins and a granola bar and I pretty much snack on that throughout the day. If that doesn't meet the perameters of portion control, I'm not sure what does. Friday I gift myself a purchased salad, or maybe soup and a side salad. Yes, there's the occasional morning when I can't resist the lure of ginger scones from Teaism, but with budget constraints also in place, I passed on my chai latte this morning in favor of tea in the office, and if I can keep that up at least a few days a week the other temptations may be kept at bay. Dinner, on nights when Cesar doesn't have class, is generally a protein, a starch and a veggie/salad - shaken up by the occasional taco or chicken fajita night - it's pretty blah, but I'm sure prepared marinades and sauces up the sodium/carb. content.


So, there you have it, any success stories are welcome. But I probably won't get into Weight Watchers. Even though people swear by it. I just feel like I do better when I'm not following any one program (or heaven forbid the dread "D" word - DIET) And please don't tell me I have to give up my nightly glass(/es) of wine. Pretty please. Maybe actually posting my embarrassing daily scale reads here would help in the motivation department....

I'm not sure...

...what made me throw up in my mouth more today...Britney's Halloween costume, or the image of little Ashley Olsen making out with Lance Armstrong... the latter just seems all kinds of wrong. I'd almost be more OK with her making out w/ Uncle Jesse or Joey. Anyway...

I'm curious to know....

.... who decided this was a good idea?? I mean, it's not a bad idea, but doesn't it seem a bit redundant? I love caramel - those old skool Kraft caramel chews are the bomb. I love caramel with chocolate - I mean do you love anyone enough to give them your last Rolo? And there is nothing more satisfying than the classic Reese's Peanut Butter cup held by thumb and forefinger in the middle whilst first nibbling around the ruffled ridged edge leaving finger licking chocolate for the finale...mmmm....but the infusion of caramel...eh...it just does nothing for it in this case. The caramel flavor is barely evident and it just serves to make the bottom an oozy mess while diluting the dense peanut butter goodness. Now Reese's Crispy Crunch bars are an entirely different story - yeah, I could have just had a Butterfinger, but the interior is a little more toffee like in consistency and the roasted peanut crumbles in the chocolate shell just make it that much more complex... If it is not already apparent, yes, I did crack into the Halloween candy! Remind me not to buy any until Halloween day next year!!!

The Halloween Festivities Begin

So the kiddo may be completely burned out on getting costumed by Wednesday, but I am all for getting the most out of the cuteness that is this plush zebra!

Layton had the great idea to march our menagerie through the annual Del Ray Halloween parade Sunday afternoon. Eamonn brought out the monkey adorableness.
Of course, the festivities trumped nap time and mom still has a sore left arm from carrying this ball of plushness for most of the route!
And this is our second round of pumpkins after our aggressive and ravenous squirrels devoured the first weeks ago. They have already crunched and munched their way around the eyes in spite of my tossing the innards and seeds and good stuff to them.

?????????????????????????????????????

Now I love David Lynch as much as the next gal. Rather, more than the next gal, but, ummmm...INLAND EMPIRE??? Words escape me. And here I thought that nothing stranger than Eraserhead could come from this man's brilliant mind.


I hadn't noticed the caption "A Woman in Trouble" on the poster before now, but I guess that is pretty much what the film is about. "I guess..." being operative here. I can appreciate its ambition, and its pure, unfiltered Lynchian dreamscape. Would I go out and recommend it? Probably not to anyone who hasn't invested a lot of time into Lynch appreciation or at least taken more than a passing fancy with surrealism. I don't even think I could coherently tell anyone what it is about. Longtime Lynch muse Laura Dern plays a fading film star who gets a break at a romance co-starring Justin Theroux (hot) directed by Jeremy Irons (double hot.) She gets lost in her character and spirals into a nightmarish rabbit hole. Period. That's about all I can venture to describe the "plot." And there are Polish maffiosos/gypsies. And anthropomorphic rabbits speaking to a canned laugh track. And a posse of prostitutes who break into song and dance to Locomotion. And did I mention Justin Theroux/Jeremy Irons? Unfortunately their characters are pretty much dismissed about 1/2 to 2/3rds of the way through once Laura Dern's descent into madness (???? I'm really not sure....) takes over to carry the rest of the film.


Bottom line is, if you've got 3 hours on your hands and want to be completely confounded, check it out. But I'm not going so far as to recommend it. Well, maybe I am. I'm still not certain!

Dear Blog,

I have not forsaken you. Have just been sneaking off for interviews and researching for said interviews when not feigning interest in current professional responsibilities. I have not even had the chance to read Pink is the New Blog once this week...

HS Reunion

Can anyone spot Massi, Julie and I in our Sr. class picture?? Yikes!!
And here are all 12 representatives of the SSSAS class of 1992 from the weekend activities.

The Cuteness

OK, so I am just in a very random frame of mind today, but am I the only one out there who thinks that the Dalai Lama is the cutest thing ever? Seriously! I know I shouldn't describe a high holy man as 'cute' and I have such tremendous respect for his life and work, but he is precious and always so very smiley no matter the circumstance.
Here's hoping he's showing our 'leader' the way to enlightenment so that he causes no further damage to our nation, people and reputation in his waning months (wishful thinking!)

This too...

...from our future Attorney General on waterboarding:

"...it depends on how one defines "torture."

Holy Moly! Even the CIA has supposedly banned waterboarding from its interrogation techniques. Not so sure about Jack Bauer...

This is striking...

I'm not going to go all Pete Stark, but still:

For the cost of just 41 days of war in Iraq, the nation could insure 10 million children for one year.

Miss Independence

Wow! When the toddlers hit the independent stage, they really hit it hard. No turning back to those little lumpkins who relied upon a parent/caregiver for everything. Leila's favorite phrase in recent months in retort to anything I've tried to help her with (pulling down a pull-up, putting on shoes, pouring juice in a cup...) is: "NO, only me!"

This morning included one of those epic battle of wills that leave me rattled to the point of blasting The White Stripes on my iPod while hoofing it to the metro after the daycare drop off. Who would have thought getting dressed in the morning would be so bloody difficult when one's child WEARS A UNIFORM to school?? Yesterday, she was a little angel getting dressed because we had the rare chance to wear our Sunday best for picture day, but today was a doozy. I did have to cave and let her wear her pink Disney Princess Mary Janes with her red sweatpants, as offering her the reward to make some minor choice does have to trump wise fashion on occasion.

Sorry I missed this!

I'm kind of wishing Leila or I had a sick day today so we could have watched AC help Oscar host the Grouch Network News. That is some quality kids' educational programming right there! But instead, I'm just on my way out of here to get the kiddo and I flu shots. Which is exactly how I'd like to start my Tuesday evening...

No more pacifiers (a.k.a. Baas!)

So we've been talking up the whole you're a big girl now Leila, only babies use pacifiers, when you're ready we'll pack yours all up and mail them to the babies who need them (in Africa - for some reason, I decided that babies in Africa were deserving of her baas and every time she heard something about Africa on the news or else where, she'd perk up and say "Africa is where the babies are!") then we'll go to the toy store to pick out a special big girl toy (ahhh...the powers of bribery) for a while now. She has nodded and assented, but then has not quite been ready to give them up. She has not used one at school for a nap in ages, but ALWAYS used them to sleep at home - nap and bedtime - and she had also discovered that she could stroll right into the kitchen and reach one on the drying rack any time something (like mom saying "no candy corn before dinner") frustrated her.

So last week I decided we were going cold turkey this weekend and we would talk about it every night before bed and she would agree that Saturday morning, she would go to the post office with mommie to mail the baas to the babies and then we would go pick our special toy. Even though Why Not would have done for a suitable toy, I promised her we'd go to Kinderhaus in Clarendon to make it even more of a special outing. Friday night we put all the old baas lying around in a padded envelope and wrote a note for the babies. She even took the one out of her mouth and put it in the envelope, but then she had second thoughts and took it back and I told her that was fine, we would seal it up in the morning (there is still one hidden in my spice cabinet for emergencies!) Saturday morning she had no problem giving me her last one and helping me seal the envelope, then we went to the post office (mailed them to my mom as a stand-in for the the babies) and to Kinderhaus and returned with this Melissa & Doug fold and go doll house. I consider it a starter doll house as I'd like her to have a full sized Victorian one when we ever get that house with a basement/play room, but much nicer than nasty old pacifiers, no?
I think mom's withdrawal/remorse was way worse than the resilient 2 & 1/2 year old. She was just fine w/o the baas Saturday except for boycotting her nap, but I broke down with the full realization that she's not a baby anymore as I looked at her sucking on her lower lip a bit as she slept Saturday night. Yesterday she napped (reluctantly at 3:00 for an hour & 1/2) and went to bed w/o asking after baa, and she very mater-of-factly stated this morning when we returned her sippy cup to the kitchen "we don't have baa anymore." My girl's all growed up! Now we just need to get more consistent on the potty training thing.

Fall Fashion

Now that it is finally fall, I can take a second to address fall fashion. I love the wide-leg pant trend if I can find some to fit my rear without going up a size. For some reason, I can still fit in 8s that I bought last season, but now when I try them on in stores, 10s are stretched taut in all the wrong places. It's a conspiracy I tell you. Retailers have shrunk their sizes in the past year (and, ummm... I've gained 10 pounds.)

I wasn't quite getting this whole dolman sleeved sweater thing until I tried some on and realized how cute and comfy they are. I was kind of resisting them like I resisted the $200+ jeans craze until I realized what wonders those jeans can do for the bootie. Today, I'm in one similar to that pictured, but it's a Marc Jacobs brown belted cardigan. That's right: Marc Jacobs. Thank the Lord for TJ Maxx! And when the temperatures take their next plunge, I'll be prepared with my knee length, fitted, black Calvin Klein down coat ($78! TJ Maxx. $78!!!)