Am sitting at Laguardia watching

Am sitting at Laguardia watching bolts of lightning light up the sky and losing hope that my flight home will leave on time.

The Big Apple

Originally uploaded by
ljc@flickr.

I am going to Manhattan tomorrow - a one day trip, but will have some time after my meetings... I am overwhelmed at the possibilities. Suggestions are welcome... shopping, eating, seeing... I will be up near 49th and 8th, but I can hoof it or cab elsewhere.

Jenny's Fear

Hubby is a golf fanatic - and thus hoping to go to the LPGA. Between the four of us (Jenny and our hubbies), we got 4 tickets... but Aaron was going to be out of town this weekend, so we were trying to figure out who could go with who and when.

I said that though hubby and I would like to go on Saturday, we did not have anyone to watch Lauren (HINT, HINT)... here was Jenny's reaction as an attempt to offer to babysit...

uh, I used to watch Hannah, but now I'm outta shape. I'm scared to watch her by myself. I guess I could... it would have to be at your house... not my house of death... knives and stuff laying around...

This is why I love Jenny. Because she says things like "house of death" =)

Plea to Paris Hilton

Paris, Paris, playing dumb,
Got in trouble, to jail you've come.

Money can't buy everything,
it can't buy class or the ability to sing.

Why can't you do something redeeming?
Show Lindsey and Nicole how to have a life with meaning.

Help the poor instead of helping yourself,
put your selfishness and excess on a shelf.

Get out of jail and grow up a lot,
and show people what you've really got.

Use your influence for the greater good,
I'd be happy to hear about THAT on CNN, if you only would.

I got hubby a SkyCaddy Golf GPS device for our anniversary and Father's Day combined (that little sucker was expensive!). Now for those of you who don't know my hubby... he is not the excitable type. No dramatic flare from this boy. But after over 20 years, I can read the tiny signs... and he LOVES this gadget.

It would best be described with an analogy a-la SAT test.

SkyCaddy Golf GPS Gadget is to hubby as meeting Colin Firth in person and having him say, "would you like to have tea and crumpets with me? I find you fascinating!" is to Tina.

Sephora comes to town

Finally Sephora opened in Rochester at Eastview Mall. I share Jenny's sentiment... it won't be so special anymore with it right here, 15 minutes away (as opposed to a plane ride away)... but it is nice to have access to some of my favorite products - Benefit, Philosophy, Aqualina...

I went on Sunday and bought myself a couple little things, including some Oscar Blandi dry shampoo that looked interesting. It smells HEAVENLY and seems to work good, though you look like you aged 10 years at first until the powder gets worked in.

Also sniffed some Marc Jacobs Orange perfume, liked it, sprayed a little paper stick, wanted a sample but, alas, no one was around... so all I have is a great smelling little paper stick. The more I sniff the little stick, the more I like it. A SAMPLE WILL BE MINE!

Lauren started daycare last week, it's been a trying time. On day 1, she seemed pretty happy to be there, "auk, auk" she demanded when we entered class (translation: let me down so I can walk)... saying "Hi" to everyone... smiling alot. Things went downhill over the week... each morning she was less willing to let go of Mommy and crying like crazy as I tried to leave...

And naptime is not going well either - Lauren is not one of those kids who just falls asleep when tired. If she's out and about, she will fight sleep tooth and nail. She doesn't want to miss anything. So naptime, on a cot, in a room full of toys and people, is just not going well... which = cranky, clingy baby, who needs to be in bed early.

And the clingyness is weird.. after 16 months of relative independence (hers and mine) - to suddenly have her "attached to my hip", I'm not sure how I feel. I like the extra attention a little (she likes me, she really likes me), but not when I'm trying to actually DO something, such as cook at a hot stove.

So, we can only hope things will smooth out as she gets more comfortable with the situation.

Aside from that drama, this girlie is becoming quite entertaining. She's communicating well and soaking up new things. She seems to know over 30 words... and over 10 signs from her Baby Einstien video. She likes to golf - she actually hits the ball with the club - and she loves to dance.

This week she also started singing... "ee eye ee eye oh" and "twinkle twinkle"... and she does the hand gestures for Itsy Bitsy Spider... and she says "wow" and "uh, guys... uh, guys"... she is so funny.

But now I gotta stop swearing. Dammit.

--------------------------------------

I love this pic from our visit to my Mom's grave for Mother's Day.

Yay Blake!



On a musically related note, I finally got my very own iPod. How late am I to the game?!! I did use hubby's iPods a bit (even inherited a shuffle but didn't use it much), so I'm not totally lame, but pretty lame. I'm just not one to listen to stuff while working, I find it a bit distracting (but I will certainly try it tomorrow).

So far I've mainly grabbed songs we had already downloaded - so most of them are older - but did add a couple - the new Maroon 5 and Augustana... and of course my all time favorite songs - Battleflag by Lo Fidelity Allstars... and subscribed to several Podcasts...

I'm sure I will be spending many hours and dollars on iTunes buying music! Here's what I have so far for music and podcasts...

- Saw Martha Stewart today, she is amazing

- Heroes was awesome tonight

- Need to buy a new phone, can't decide. I've been a flip-phone girl for many years and an LG fan for most of that... but I am torn between the adorable - but would have to get used to the slider and touchscreen - LG Chocolate Strawberry:


or the newer - flippy LG VX8600



It's not pink, but I can buy a skin for it...

I really want a phone with a higher mega-pixel camera, but the Samsung 3 megapixel phone is megabucks.

Any opinions?

My Sis just called me after dancing the Tango with Bob Lonsberry tonight. She says they "redeemed themselves" with the Tango, so she's hoping they don't get voted off this week so they make it to round 3 for the Tango.

So please go and vote for Sherri & Bob =)

My Sister is dancing on Dancing with Rochester's Stars on Channel 13. I haven't seen it live, but I watched it on the internet. I'm not sure she's very comfortable with the whole TV thing, but either way, it's kinda cool.

On a side note, I'm really ticked off at American Idol... The "Idol Gives Back" was great in what they did to raise money - I donated - but it was super cruel to do the "fake" elimination thing...

I mean seriously, the whole reason they didn't vote anyone off was because they didn't want to do that on a "charity night" but apparently they didn't mind still putting them all through sheer hell - especially Jordin. It was pretty shitty and I have to say, they're probably lucky that I had already called in my donation. I mean weren't any of the producers THINKING about how bad it would look? They should be arrested for cruelty to animals... not that I consider the contestants animals, I just think that phrase embodies my level of anger (keeping in mind how much I love animals)...

I'm sorry I haven't blogged in so long... time just flies... so here's a recap of the past couple weeks:

- San Fran/Emeryville: Jamba, In-N-Out Burger, cupcakes, sunshine, cool work environment and people, IKEA, missed Lauren

- Easter: dysfunctional family was semi-normal

- The Namesake: awesome movie

- Ben & Jerry's: yum

- TV: The Tudor's is better each week, Sanjaya is FINALLY gone - Jordin is kicking ass but Blake is pretty cool, hurry new Heroes, Betty's getting a little too self righteous, Bones & House good stuff, need to catch up on my Sopranos and Entourage...

- Laughing: this video with Will Farrell talking to his "Landlord" is very funny... kind of disturbing... but funny.

- Lauren: more words - up, walk (auck, auck), bottle, outside (sigh), signs (milk, more), and FIRST STEPS - caught on video... as she has the remote in hand and is heading to the TV - yikes, like Mother, like Daughter... is it genetic or environmental to be a tv addict? (I do try to keep it off most of the time when she's up)

I watched the first two episodes of The Tudors on Showtime on demand this weekend. Apparently Henry the 8th - before he got fat - was a young, athletic stud who had his way with the ladies... many ladies... apparently perfect fodder for a cable series... and the casting, well, let's just say, the King and his court are a sight to behold.

Johathan Rhys Meyers, Callum Blue (who I found cute but annoying in Dead Like Me), and oh so sexy Henry Cavill, who plays the Duke of Suffolk. I kept thinking I'd seen him before and, sure enough, he was the handsome traitor in Tristan + Isolde, which I watched last week.

So apparently... Middle Ages + Good Looking Men = TinaTV

And while I really hate to get addicted to yet another TV series, you can bet your 15th century guillotine that I will be watching The Tudors.

Nice Bunny

Nice Bunny
Originally uploaded by tina.

We took Lauren to the portrait studio last week where she got to have her pic taken with a bunny. I thought they were going to bring out a whole (herd? gaggle? swarm?... I looked it up) drove of bunnies, but alas, just one lucky little 7 week old who seemed to be very familiar with having his head grabbed.

I bought the rights to 15 of the images so I could plaster her picture on everything under the sun without paying quite as much as they wanted to rob me of... the rest of the pics are up on my gallery

So on a separate note, Little L certainly seems to be learning alot of words... though often I can't be positive... as in "did she just say that?"

Here are words I am positive she has said, in context, and others have witnessed:
+ sock
+ shoe
+ cheese
+ eyes
+ Os (Oscar)
+ brush (both for hair and teeth)

Here are words I'm pretty damn sure she has said but have not been independently verified:
+ bath
+ glasses
+ Mama
+ Dada
+ Papa

Here are words I think she said, but brief, fleeting, unsure...
+ Jenny
+ necklace
+ outside
+ eggs (while we were coloring easter eggs)

yes... I love you pancake

yes... I love you pancake
Originally uploaded by ljc@flickr.

Lauren has been trying all kinds of new food lately - pancakes, peas, cannelini beans... she will basically eat anything I put in front of her... which, according to stories my parents told me... was not unlike me when I was little. Now, however, if it is healthy I am likely to assume dislike... which I know is bad... I'm trying.

She loves to feed herself though and gets ticked off when she can't... but I can only take so many episodes of teeny tiny pastina all over the place... I'm a hypocrite because I am not a neat person... apparently if it's MY mess it's ok... but I get a bit stressed about sticky gooey come-back-later-and-try-to-figure-out-what-this-was type things...

Hubby has been watching alot of Giada De Laurentiis on the food network... Everyday Italian and Giada's Weekend Getaway... for at least two very obvious reasons (Pollo con Fenditura anyone?)... but I don't mind, because it has inspired him to cook.

He's made Calzones... Italian Sausage... Poached Pears... Refried Spaghetti... Fried Ravioli... and his now-signature dessert, Nutella Ravioli - dollups of Nutella put into a won ton wrapper, deep fried, and sprinkled with powdered sugar. (I don't like Nutella because I despise hazelnut flavor, so he makes me straight up chocolate ravioli - YUMMY).


Here are some pictures of the entire Nutella-Ravioli-making process...

Here's something I never thought I'd say... I have something in common with Dick Cheney. We both had blood clots in our legs. It's safe to say any similarities end there.

On a separate note, here's an adorable picture hubby sent me saturday night while I was out with my sis celebrating my cousin's 40th birthday.

We went to this restaurant/club that, though it's a different name now, was the hotspot we used to go out to in the early 90s.

I think all the same people were there... with the same hair... and the same clothes... listening to the same music. Not that there's anything wrong with that... I just prefer to have moved from Queensryche to My Chemical Romance... from Motley Crue to Maroon 5... from Mama's Boys to Guster... but there will always be a special place in my heart for Judas Priest... I mean seriously, they rock!

Lots of Laurens

At the mall, I wheeled Lauren's stroller up the the three sided mirror. Suddenly, there were like, TWELVE Laurens. She didn't know what to do, she was so utterly amused.

I made cookies for our Cookiepalooza work event last Sunday. Peanut Butter Blossom cookies with peanut butter filled kisses. They were yummy, IMHO, though I only got one vote for best tasting...

then the peanut butter salmonella crisis hit... look for Peter Pan starting in 2111... hmmm, I remembered that I had just bought a new jar of Peter Pan with which to make the cookies... but I wasn't too worried, because I was pretty sure that cooking the pb would kill any lurking salmonella...

But on Friday, I checked my peanut butter just to be sure - AAAGGGH - it was Salmonella Butter.

So I really made Toss Your Cookies cookies.

Luckily, so far, I am not being sued, but my hubby, who ate alot of the cookies, declared that he thought his throat was closing up and that he "went online and he had every symptom". But then I found out he ate some of the raw batter! No wonder he got sick!

Lauren had her 1 year follow up visit at the eye doctor today. For four months after she came home, we had to go almost twice a week! She had Retinopathy of Prematurity (bad eyes?), but it started to get better.

She was an angel today, very cooperative with the doctor. He said that she had a "very good disposition". He also said that she might need glasses before she goes to school.

According to the new In Touch magazine, the Sally Jessy Raphael look is back in, so I tried out the look on her. She looks very intelligent, don't you think? If she grows up like someone else I know who wore Sally Jessy glasses when they were young (you know who you are), I'll be very happy.