Oh Danny Boy

Yeah, so after watching last night's performances, I'd say Danny definitely deserves to win. I love Sabra too. Either way, it's cool that they will all be touring. I just wish that Hok had made it in to the Top 10! They should still hire him for the tour.

This week, along with reading Lauren her favorite books, playing ring around the rosy, blowing bubbles, vowing never to buy toys made in China, still allowing a tiny bit of Baby Einstein DVD viewing, and trying to get her to warm up to my little bro (who looks like a chubbier, scarier, red-headed Jesus), I've been watching tv after the little one is in bed (shocking)...

...finale of Hell's Kitchen (yay Rock), new season of Design Star, snippets of The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch and, my fave, So You Think You Can Dance. It's American Idol for dancers. The finalists are really amazing and many of the routines are breathtaking (yes, I might even buy a ticket for the tour). I am rooting for Neil, he does some crazy good jumps - and he's very cute (though so is Danny). The finale is tomorrow night and I will likely be voting for Neil. You should too.

Here are two of my favorite dance routines:

Neil & Sabra dance Jazz to Annie Lennox



Neil & Sara Disco (Sara was amazing too, especially since she was a B-girl - which means her dance style was a street, hip-hop type of dance)

Green Little Elephants

Have I blogged about these Little Animals Tees before? They are so adorable and, even though I KNOW Lauren will be mistaken for a boy (grow hair, grow), I must get her the Elephant tee (the Elephant is her favorite animal... not that she realizes this yet, but someday she will).

Aside from being insanely adorable, they are green (as in environmentally conscious) - 100% organic unbleached cotton, made in the US (ie, design is not made with lead paint), and the packaging is made from corn, so it's biodegradable.

Slowly but surely Lauren's wardrobe is morphing from neon to natural... but with my Mother-in-Law buying a closet full of clothes every couple months, this is no small challenge! The Grandparents still think GREEN just means the color of their perfectly manicured, pesticide laced lawn.

Can you believe that the retirement village they live in - The Villages in FL - does NOT recycle!! Way to give a crap about the state you leave the planet in, old folks! (Note that my in-laws would recycle if their community supported it, but apparently they don't feel strongly enough to take any action to make that happen.)

Was over in Emeryville today visiting Kodak Gallery. Had dinner at Skates on the Bay - it was a great view and the food was great too. I had Lobster Mac & Cheese - YUM - and Judy shared one of her scallops. I'd never had scallops before - I am a convert - it was excellent.

I talked to my little bro on the phone earlier today (little only as in younger - 28). He had been living in Vegas (he was born there and lived there until he was 11, then moved to NY, then back to Vegas a couple years ago) - he was working as a cab driver (which I think is just the coolest thing - to meet all walks of Vegas life) - but alas, he is young and stupid and irresponsible and therefore broke, so he is moving back home to NY to live with his Mom (my StepMom).

He was calling from the road - driving from Vegas - and was about 100 miles outside of Rochester. He didn't know I was in California, but I hope to see him on Friday.

I am sure Lauren will look at him like, "who the hell are you and what is that THING growing out of your face?" And Adam will look at her like, "she's cute, but I'm not touching her." I'm sure at some point she will become comfortable with him as her Uncle and he will become comfortable with her as a tiny person who goes to the bathroom in her pants.

After the hell that was Sat and Sun morning, I felt well enough to go on my business trip to San Fran Monday morning (Lauren & Daddy are doing much better too). On the plane, watched Spidey 3 (ok) and Blades of Glory - was laughing out loud. Totally stupid hilarious humor. Some real genius lines, like, "I see you have learned to work the Google on the internet machine."

The trip is going very well so far, though chilly, which I am finding to be a refreshing change from the near 90 and very humid weather back home. Took a few pics with my cam phone, when I went to review them, they are not there, not sure what happened. So gone is the picture of the R2D2 mailbox along with a couple others.

Great food so far too. Last night Judy (my boss) and I ate at Cafe Claude, an adorable little French place. I had Coq au Vin for the first time, along with Gratin Dauphinois (Au Gratin potatoes - Betty Crocker, hang your head in shame). DELISH!!! I highly recommend it.

This morning we had breakfast at Cafe de la Presse - again (by coincidence - we were just happening by) - a French cafe type place. Cappuccino was perfect. I got Eggs Benedict and Judy got Vanilla French Toast and we swapped half of each (this is what Jenny and I love to do - and I was so happy that Judy likes to share food too!!) and both were heavenly. Again, highly recommend it.

Both are near Union Square.

And tonight, after a very long day of watching focus groups, Judy and I hopped the trolley to Fisherman's Wharf to eat In-N-Out Burger.

I can go home happy now.

Let me start by saying that Little L has been sick since Wednesday evening, when she promptly barfed up all her dinner. This was followed the next morning by finding her in her crib covered by what was, at one point, peanut butter and jelly. Since then, she's also added a green-snotty nose. She is not eating or drinking much at all. The Dr. said it was a virus and just to keep trying to give her liquids.

I stayed home with her Thursday (watching coverage of the bridge collapse in horror), Daddy stayed home with her Friday, this morning he felt "off" and I went off for my manicure. As I was finishing up, I started to feel queasy. Headed home to find Daddy balled up on the floor, Lauren was in bed. Then things went like this:

L woke up crying hard,
try to feed her, get her to drink...
alert Daddy to open eyes and watch L,
run to bathroom,
barf up all contents of my stomache...
brush teeth and regroup...
put L for nap, put me for a nap...
hear L crying, get up (Daddy MIA - hugging the bowl)...
put L on changing table...
horrible feeling of nausea sweeps over me...
put L on the floor, yell for Daddy, close her door...
run to bathroom and barf up even more stuff...
brush teeth and regroup...
try to feed L (Daddy is even more incapacitated than me)...
let Baby Einstein DVD distract L for awhile...
try to get her to drink...
count down the minutes until her bedtime...
finally she's asleep after much crying...
break out into a fever...
start to blog (when I should be sleeping)

There should be some emergency babysitting response unit or something for when two parents are so ill they can barely move, yet the baby needs care and you don't want your family or friends to catch this horrible bug that floored you all in the first place. This was a bad situation that I wouldn't wish on anyone.

When Lauren's Grandma (Chuck's Mom) was here last, she brought a couple "kits" to put Lauren's handprints on t-shirts - one for Daddy and one for Papa.

Needless to say, Lauren wore more of the paint than made it on to the shirt. I love her expressions.

Who Wins in Cincinnati?

Because it's on before Entourage and Flight of the Conchords (which bears repeating that it is SHEAR GENIUS HUMOR), I started catching snippets of John from Cincinnati. I couldn't quite follow the plot or figure out the characters (is Al Bundy talking to his parrot or his dead wife?) This is the first time this has ever happened to me. So I watched more, each week, hoping to figure out what was actually happening. Each week still wondering, WTF?

Now I think it was some tv exec's (or apparently, David Milch's) maniacal scheme to put on a show with good acting (except the young kid, he's as stiff as Cheney's arteries), good filming, and an implied theme (surfing and family drama, with some sci fi thrown in), but no real overall plot. Just because they can.

I am angry. BOTTOM LINE: John from Cincinnati has nothing on WKRP in Cincinnati.

Chuck just said the f-word

Chuck just said the f-word about another driver - as in, what the ef is this person doing - in front of Mya and Lauren.

Jenny is at blogHer, I

Jenny is at blogHer, I really wish I were there with her! We are on our way to 1000 Islands for Christmas in July.

I need to get a cookbook for ideas on dinners to make for Lauren. I guess now that she is a year and half, I need to start being more responsible / proactive / commited / organized (yes, I'm crying now... I used to be the only one who suffered from my shortcomings... ok, maybe Chuck suffered a little too, but he's perfectly capable so I don't have sympathy).

Here are her (and my) little nuances about meals:

- likes veggies (thought still often gets them in the form of baby food)
- loves pasta
- doesn't seem to like meat
- not quite using a fork/spoon yet - uses fingers
- needs to be healthy (no chicken nuggets)
- needs to be fast and easy to make

I'm thinking of getting Organic Baby & Toddler Cookbook. Any other recommendations?

Save the Planet & Laugh While You're At It

My day...

Wake the baby up, she's out of sorts with two ear infections, but luckily likes her medicine. Even says "meh e sin", as if asking for more.

Driving in listenting to NPR, hear about the passing of former King of Afghanistan, get choked up - it's going to be a hormonal day.

At work, find out about a HORRIFIC, mean comment on one of my Kodak blog posts about Lauren. Burst in to tears. Stupid idiot with keyboard got to me on my hormonal day.

Go to pick up Lauren, am greeted by the director who warns me about an incident report - Lauren fell, scratched her cheek. She was fine, only cried for a sec, but after nap, it looked worse and might bruise.


See Lauren - AAGHH - scratch covering half her chubby little cheek - and a runny nose to boot. Great, two ear infections, a face wound, and a cold, but handling it like a champ.

Hubby calls, asks me to google "clogged ear" - he's been sick and, though he was well enough to golf today (SHOCKING), he now can't hear out of his right ear (btw, you use warm compresses, take pseudophed, and jump around while contorting your face)

Once online, can't drag myself away. The heat from the laptop is burning my leg. Must visit more websites...

Find a site called Project Phin: Clean my Ride, Flex my Fuel

Many funny videos about the quest to lessen our dependency on oil and help the environment (even if it does mean paying more for popcorn - another tidbit from NPR)... from a guy named Phin - supported comedically (is that a word?) by Ben Afflec, Matt Damon, Jen Garner, Sarah Silverman, Jason Biggs, and more.

Here's the first one:

Marathon

UPDATE: DUE TO CHARLIE'S HEALTH, OR LACK OF, IT LOOKS LIKE THE PLAN TO RUN IN THE MARATHON IS IN JEOPARDY.


Hubby is going for it this year - he is running in the Rochester Marathon (the half). He's been running a bit for a couple years now, but he's kickin it up a notch this year. Nothing like waiting until the year you turn 40 to attempt a marathon. But still much better than sitting on your a** eating Margarita cake and watching E! News (any similarity to actual persons, living in the same household, is purely coincidental).

Oh, and THIS JUST IN, he plans to do two Triathalon's next year! Now that's a good way to kick off your 40's. If there were a shopping triathalon, I'd so be there... 1st leg - groceries, 2nd leg - apparel, 3rd leg (and the most difficult) - shoes.

Bedtime Books

For Lauren's baby shower, Aprille got her the book How Do Dinosaurs Clean their Room? Lauren became very fond of this book, especially the last line - "Thank You, Thank You little Dinosaur." She even started saying "dinosaur" a few weeks back. Aprille informed me that there are a few in this series, so I headed to the bookstore to buy another Dinosaur book and maybe one other book. Jenny met me in the kid section and became very animated - "Toot and Puddle... Olivia... the Pigeon books..." She was very excited to point out the must-haves. I couldn't buy them all at once, but along with "How Do Dinosaurs Count to Ten", I opted to get Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems. I think Lauren likes this book, but more importantly, I LOVE IT. Most of the book is the pigeon asking, begging, pleading to drive the bus. At one point and yells, "LET ME DRIVE THE BUS!!" I love reading this part in my best high pitched, exasperated pigeon-y voice

Jenny did not want Lauren to have to wait for her first Olivia book, so she got it for her. She brought it over yesterday and read it to her. Lauren enjoyed it very much. She stayed attentive through the whole book, which is no small feat. Today Lauren grabbed her Olivia book and brought it to me to read. I think it has instantly became one of her favorite books.

So the bedtime book routine has seen it's first major overhaul. Brown Bear and Goodnight Moon have been retired. Goodnight Gorilla never really captured her attention. Now it's the Dinosaur book, the Olivia book, and Mommy's favorite - the Pigeon book (vroom, vroom, vroomy vroom vroom, pigeon at the wheel)...

and then Mommy goes to bed and reads The Devil Wears Prada. I will save that for Lauren to read in another 15 years.

fiddlin with my blog design - tryin to get the new template right

You Give me Fever

Last Friday, hubby came home, took his temperature, declared he had a fever of 99.6 and promptly went to bed. He was mostly better within a day or two.

I woke up this Wednesday with a very sore throat, went to work, felt crappier by the minute, got home, took my temperature, declared that I had a fever of 99.8 (I win) and promplty went to bed - but not before requesting a grilled cheese sandwhich - made with lots of butter - while threatening not to eat anything if I did not receive a grilled cheese sandwich. A little while later, hub brought me up one of the most delicious grilled cheese sandwiches ever. I felt better the next day. He credits his grilled cheese.

Last night and this morning Little L had a fever over 101 (she really wins). Per our "Don't Panic Handbook" from the doctor's office, this is ok if she is otherwise eating and acting mostly normal. Which she is. Except she took the longest nap ever today. She got up at 8am, then was back in bed by 10am, then slept on and off until 3pm! She is back in bed as of about 5:45 for another round of sleep. If she still has a fever tomorrow, I'm sure she will be seeing the doctor.

Ok, she's crying right now, so I must go cuddle my little sickie chickie.

The World Series of Pop Culture has started up again. Some of the questions are relatively easy, but some are ridiculously hard and I don't know how anyone knows them. I find myself knowing some pretty obscure ones, which is why I thought I might give it a go... I did once have the nickname "TV Guide Tina"... but I bombed out on the online aftershow game tonight... didn't know which ball field Ferris Bueller and his friends went to... I guessed Fenway, but it was Wrigley. As soon as you miss one, BAM, game over. Harsh.

They should do a new game - like Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon - but with points for the most obscure connections. Here's my first go:

The handyman's name on One Day at a Time was Schneider, which also starred Valerie Bertinelli, who was married to Eddie Van Halen and who is now doing Jenny Craig commercials with Kirsty Ally, who starred in Veronica's Closet with Dan Cortez, who was originally the host of MtV Sports, with Daisy Fuentes, who now has her own clothing line...

ok, this could go on for entirely too long, but it's fun.

Jenny and I used to do a game where we'd give each other a song title and we'd have to type up what we could remember of (or what we thought were) the lyrics. It was challenging, fun and the resulting "songs" were often pretty hilarious.

There are a couple new shows out about knowing the lyrics to songs. I haven't watched them, but I think I'd be good at this - EXCEPT you have to sing them - and I would die of embarassment. I've never done Karaoke and never will. People tell me, "have a few drinks, loosen up." I say, "I would black out from intoxication before I'd have enough liquid courage to get in front of people and sing." And trust me, it's in everyone's best interest that I do not sing.

Those of you who know me, know that I have Apiphobia - fear of bees. I'm not proud of it. I know I don't need to be afraid - unless stepped on or provoked, bees usually won't sting (and, in fact, I've never actually been stung) - I just can't control the fear that overcomes me when I see a bee - or God forbid - a wasp. I know we need bees to survive and the little buzzers are in quite a pickle right now (which means humans are screwed sooner or later too)...

But when I saw this article - "Bees' Violent Preference Makes Sense" - my first thought was "HA!, I've been right all along..." then I looked closer... it read Bees VIOLET Tendencies... they like the color purple.

Dammit, still just an irrational fear based on nothing but the phobia inherited from my Grandmother. (thouth we won't even TALK about the Killer Bees...)

Flight of the Conchords is sheer brilliance. It's about two New Zealanders who are best friends, live together in NYC, and have a band called Flight of the Conchords. They break in to song on the show - the songs are hilarious.

Tonight's episode has Bret dating Coco and Jermaine going along on all the dates. They write her a song called "What You're In to" and they both sing it to her on one of the dates... here are some of the lyrics, they just get more weird from there...

Bret: If you want me to, I will take off all my clothes for you, I'll take off all my clothes for you, if that's what you're in to

Jermaine (deep voice): how bout him, in the nude? If that's what you're in to. In the nude in front of you. Is that what you'd want to view?

If you haven't seen it, you should. Jermaine is also in a movie called Eagle vs. Shark which is supposed to be pretty funny too.

7-7-07

Watching the Live Earth concerts. Amazing. I can't believe the incredible lineup of artists.

Duran Duran, Bon Jovi, the Beastie Boys, Metallica... all bringing me back to my teenage years. And Linkin Park, tapping into my inner metal head. I forgot how much I like them.

Aside from enjoying the music, I took a little bit of action... I finally changed a few more lightbulbs over to CF. I had bought the CF bulbs a while back but, as things go with our household, it takes forever for us to actually take action. Sad really. I will buy more and I promise to install them within 3 days of purchasing them!

I also went to Green Girl Guide and signed up for their newsletter. Got a $5 off coupon for gDiapers, which I am going to give a try.

I don't do as much as Jenny - who is a beautiful shade of green these days - but I am trying. Especially for Lauren.

The Live Earth website has some great stuff, including some great short films and some beautiful wallpapers.