Tits on A Bull or A Bedazzled Fendi Hobo Sack?

A quiet Tuesday... Made a playlist for working out. Now if I had only started working out...

Getting prepared for BBall practice with J. Maybe I'll make it this week? Then, tonight, in an unprecedented act of rebellion, I'm going to dinner with and old, and dear, friend. He's a prep school administrator and coach, applying to law school.

Law students are like the new chihuahua in a sparkly bag. Everyone I know is one, or wants one, or has one as a significant other. They're just cool. Pretty soon Paris Hilton will be carrying her very own 29 year old law student in a bedazzled Fendi hobo sack. I have five friends my own age either in law school or applying for next year right now. Makes me feel like even more of an underachiever than I already am. Nanny with formal culinary training? As useful as tits on a bull, really.

This is not to say that I'm unhappy. Extra pounds and leftover student debt aside, I'm a very happy gal. It's just illuminating in a McDonald's bathroom fluorescent light kind of way. Ugh.

Also, I actually like all my pet law students. Some of them are family or damn close to. One married my husband and I. All have been mentioned in this humble blog. So, they should all keep their dander down in regards to my somewhat disparaging comments linking them with Paris Hilton.

Other People's Poop (also, MOMP briefly discusses sushi)

Mondays are always an adventure, right? At work this morning, I discovered that J's seventh birthday party was a smashing success, that there was an unsuccessful home invasion here yesterday, and that O, who spent last week recovering from stomach cramps and diarrhea, was constipated. Nice.

Other people's poop. That's my line of work.

As it does, the constipation has passed. Everyone feels better about this. And the credit goes to the fine plum growers whose plums became the prunes that Gerber jars up so nicely! Too much information? You're reading a nanny's blog. What do you want?

Want more good news? My health insurance premiums are NOT going up this year! Hooray.

So, after a brief stint on "a rare blog..." my newly arrived LA friend, R, has his new blog up and running. Please feel free to visit it, Burger of the Month, in the links column, where it has replaced his former blog. All the old stuff can be reached via the new site, I believe. R's pretty savvy, so I feel safe in this assumption.

Nothing more to report from the weekend, save that it's apparently not Aji (sweet horse mackerel - mmmmm) season yet, because we went to Oishii Too in Sudbury, hoping for the Aji sashimi special (the whole Aji, filets removed, sliced, and the sashimi placed delicately back in the body with dabs of wasabi), which is an annual occurrance sometime between VDay and my birthday. We were unlucky. I'm calling first next time, because we like the maki at FuGaKyu Cafe (also in Sudbury) better. Maybe they'd do the Aji if we asked....

Two More for the Mix Annals

The First MiddKid Mix - Battell (Fall 1995): A mishmash of stuff from new friends. An unorganized foray into Other People's Music... This was meant to be part of a series, but (shocking, I know) we got distracted by alcohol and the opposite sex. Made for good driving music with Allen and Glenn!

What Do You Want for Nothing? (1 Feb. 1996):Another poorly organzed raid on the neighbors CDs. Personal favorites on this one include Rubber Biscuit and Bei Mir Bis Du Schone. Perhaps a little heavily peppered with Alanis and swing tracks, but not unpleasant.

A Haiku on Soup and Ben Folds

From an iChat this morning:

everyone should have a cutie little blog
mine makes me happy
like soup and ben folds

Now in haiku form:

ev'ryone should have
a blog. mine makes me happy
like soup and ben folds

Things accomplished today:
Estimate for body work on VW
Dog Park
WW Meeting

"I am the luckiest." - BF

I Am A Dumbass

I lost a good fifteen minutes of ranting because I accidentally hit the key to close the window. I am a dumbass.
Happy Friday.

So, instead of a luscious critique of the fitness issues here in MetroWest, you get my latest Mix Reconstructions:

Appropriately Complex - Cam's Edit (1 Jan. 2000): Quite possibly the last tape I ever acquired, this one is from the lovely ladies of Frederick Ave to commemorate the New Year's Party in Lake Placid. It's chill, good for driving four hours on New Year's Day when you were wrecked only a few hours ago... I dropped a few tunes in the reconstruct, but nothing has been added.

Cam & Marc's Patriot's Day Mix (April 1995): Not the Mark I married. The Marc I took to senior prom! A wonderful man, a gifted actor/director, Chicagoan at present.... We made this to send me off into the post graduation blue yonder. I miss him. And I keep missing him when he's in MA.

The December 5th Mix (5 Dec. 1998): Every once in while, you have to turn your dorm room into a cave, huddle under blankets, and survive the long, cold nights by wailing along with your favorite melodramatic tunes. Really. You do. Just ask the Lizes.

Se A Vida E (18 Dec. 1997): A rare treat; as far as I can remember, I was happy when I made this. Just something fresh for the long drive home for the holidays.

Middlebury Senior Week (May 1999): This is a truly evolving mix. It started out very different from the version I present. The original was made by ETM & MBP, it passed through several people, who made slightly personalized versions, then passed it on. This is my take on it.

More Mixes Avoid the Axe; or How I Spend O's Naps

Here they are:

GrandMaster Sketch - Happy Holidays, You Sexy Thing! (11 Dec. 1998): a playlist created by myself, Liz Fabian and Lizzie Herman for our Christmas Party in the Hadley Link senior year. Definite thematic content here.

Oh, THAT Mix? (May 1996): A mix made by a few gals on my floor to sort of sum up the tomfoolery of freshman year on Battell Second Floor Center. Absolutely no thematic content. Note the "Les Mis" track, and the selection from Disney's "Aladdin."

Yseult's Bouyaka Mix (May 1996): This one is solely the creation of my beloved freshman year roommate. She's a funky, fabulous creature, and this mix says much about her. It also says nothing at all about her. Wrap your head around that!

And thanks to N for directing me to the script that makes the playlists so pretty. I kept wondering how R was doing that...

Another MixTape Rescued from Certain Obscurity!

I completed this one today. What a gem!

Back story: Freshman year of HS, my best friend made me a mix of her favorite "love songs." Said friend was a huge metalhead, so they're all late 80's power ballads. I was transitioning from WAAF to Indie rock and Alternative at the time, so I let this one molder for a few years until its vintage appeal ripened. I played it in my car occasionally for the entertainment of my pal Ari. He's the one who renamed the collection... Then it sunk to the bottom of the tape bag in my old Subaru. ::grins:: In 2000, I made a CD version for a drive to Lake Placid which included some stuff that was a little newer than 1991... but still true to the original sap-tasticality of it all. Now it can truly thrive in the welcoming environment of my iPod.

Happy Birthday, Jamie!

... and congratulations on your recent engagement!

Yup, that's right, kids. My baby brother turns 23 today, and he got engaged on the 14th. I barely beat him to the altar! And he did take the grandchild burden off my shoulders. He's apparently in a hurry!

But seriously, I am very happy for them, especially for my niece - the inimitable Rylee.

February is one of those months that's just loaded with birthdays. A few friends earlier in the month, and then WHAM! My kid brother, my dear friend Naomi, J, and then O on 3/6. I need to get my birthday hoohah together.

And I need to take the M&M brownies out of the oven. J needs something to give to his classmates and teachers in honor of his birthday - not to mention the kids on the bus, etc...

What Happened on November 2nd, 1996?

I have blogger's block.

There, I said it. I have all these things I want to talk about, and then, as soon as I get started, nothing seems right.

The GMTDP is speeding along - I'm enjoying my new playlists, and practically bathing in nostalgia and memories. In fact, this morning, I found a tape called "The November 2nd Mix" which was made on November 4th, 1996 but I had to have called it Nov. 2nd for a reason... I racked my brain, thinking, "Fall of sophomore year at Midd... " The mix in itself, as you can see, is rawther mopey. So, about whom was I moping in that time frame? Well, then I opened the cassette jacket, and discovered an inscription: For Ed. Oh my....

Well, on Saturday, Nov. 2, 1996, I hooked up with a boy named Ed from Amherst at a party in Pearsons Lounge, and we ended up taking it back to the lounge in Barnes - because my Mom was sleeping in my room (oh, that class?). She was up visiting, but had gone to bed early.... The thing is, I never really talked to that guy again, and it wasn't like I pined after him. The mix is really about the guy I was trying to somehow impress by hooking up with someone else under his nose. Anyone who knows me, knows I'm not good at those kinds of games, and as predicted, it backfired, and I was moping about that. Oh, to be 19 and miserable for no real reason!

Fast forward to this morning - nine and a half years later. Mark woke me up because he'd had a nightmare in which I divorced him, and took the puppy. Initially I laughed it off. You know, clearly, that's not going to happen. I'm confident it's not; the thing that struck me was that we're old enough and serious enough about our lives for that to be the subject of night terrors... Heavy.

In closing, my one lasting friendship from The Hotel Pastry Shop has a blog. She's up in the links column under Richenza's Journal.

The Great MixTape Digitalization Project of 2006 and the Quest for Decent Brunch in MetroWest: or How I Spent My Weekend

In short, the weekend was three days long, three days short, and three days unproductive, unless you count The Great MixTape Digitalization Project of 2006.

Today, as a special treat, MOMP presents it's first Restaurant Review, which ties in closely to Mark's and my Quest for Decent Brunch in MetroWest.

Stone's Public House, Ashland, MA
Sunday, February 19, 2006, 11:40 AM
We would have given it two thumbs up, but our thumbs were busy with the utensils!

Mark and I are all about a few simple brunch tenets (good bloody marys, mimosas in pint glasses, delicious brunch fare, and a good Sunday morning vibe), and when living in Medford, we had too many acceptable options, from fallback brunch at the always pleasing B-Side Lounge to playing at sophistication in Boston's South End at Aquitaine or Tremont 647. Now, we find ourselves faced with suburban offerings, limited largely to Bickford's Grille or John Harvard's Brew House.

Our quest took a turn towards success this past Sunday with the discovery of a brunch menu at Stone's in Ashland, which is about 3.5 miles from our front door, as the GoogleMap flies.

We arrived around quarter of noon (read "quarter of alcohol"), but that allowed us to choose our seats at the bar, far from other patrons and close to the fireplace. Low, rough timbered ceilings and a 175ish year old hearth with roaring fire made the barroom cozy, as did the soft lilt of Irish folkmusic through the speakers and Geraldine, the faintly brogued bartender/hostess. We both headed for the Irish Breakfast, hoping to find some semblance of the real thing. The website cites chef/owner Matt Murphy, and I couldn't help but think of Matt Murphy's Pub in Brookline Village, touted by Irish emigrants all over Boston as "a real Irish Breakfast."

Oh, my brunch!

The mountain of deliciousness that arrived was like nothing I've ever seen! My two eggs scrambled, Mark's sunny-side-up, and two plates heaped high with baked beans, rashers, bacon and ham, black and white puddings, grilled tomato, toasted bread, hash browns... the gluttony that ensued embarrasses me. We will check back in when we've ventured back for the dinner menu!

"You mentioned something about The Great MixTape Digitalization Project of 2006?" you say....

Ah, yes. Well, "The time has come," the Walrus said, "To speak of other things. For example, getting rid of outmoded technologies like audio cassettes, especially when those cassettes are cluttering up the cockpit of your VW." I agreed with the walrus, and so I spent some time this weekend collecting songs from iTunes, Limewire, and many other sources and recreating my favorite old mix tapes as playlists on my iPod. Such a musical treat! Maybe if I'm really bored this week, I'll treat everyone to a Rianesque track listing of some of the best ones...

a little cheese with my whine?

i'm hungry and i have a headache. wah. and we have no b'fast food.

I'm very scattered.

I have spent my morning IMing with various friends, and I'm afraid that the bulk of my mental energy was taken up by that.... I also woke up thinking it was Saturday. It wasn't fun to realize it was Friday, I had work, and I had to walk the dog up to the ATM for cash to pay the dogwalker.

Then I had to pay bills because I got paid. The left hand pays out what the right hand receives. Maybe I'll win $140 million dollars tonight, quit this crazy blog, and get one on LiveJournal.

I'm just kidding. I'd have to buy a ticket.

No food dreams last night. I was hoping for mascarpone and cocoa, then I could have been tiramisu.... mmmmm, ::drooling:: Tiramisu..... (Everyone needs a Homer moment every now and again...)

A quick prayer to the Bridal Gods: may VJ-S and JB not be trampled by rabid bridezillas at Filene's today.

O's still under the weather. We're officially on EarAche Watch. He's sleeping now, and I was hoping to get to Whole Foods before I have to pick the big kids up, but it's raining now, and the weather is supposed to take a turn for the worse later in the day. I need stuff for tonight's jambalaya...

I just checked my dashboard (sorry, non OSX users...) and my haiku generator gave me the following:

noisy spoiled brats
forgetting why they were there
what a wasteful mess

Sometimes the truth appears from nowhere in a random haiku generator, and sometimes a danish looks like Mother Theresa. Mark asked me a couple of weeks ago if a hunk of dried plaster he was throwing away bore any resemblence to Jesus. He was looking for some easy money on eBay. If I had seen anything, you bet your ass we would have put that sucker up for auction! But getting back to the haiku, I'm just impressed by the relevance to my work environment this week. Excepting O, of course. He's perfect!

I'm very scattered.

Homily, Medieval, Ladyfinger, Latte, OoooWeee, Escapism, Saturation, Baloney

Today our homily will focus on saturation.

It occurred to me as I was hauling myself into work this morning, a process which is alternately like allowing yourself to be carried by a swift and violent river and what I imagine to be fighting as a medieval footsoldier - only without all the maces, pikes, and broadswords....

To begin, and get back to the thematic content, last night I dreamed I was a ladyfinger in a cup of espresso. I’ve dreamt of food before, but I’ve never dreamt I was food.... Talk about being saturated! When I woke up, I found that Mark had piled his share of the blankets on me due to the unusual warmth of our predawn bedroom. I was sweating profusely - perhaps why the feeling of being soaked in hot coffee?

By the way, to complete your mental photograph of me this fine February morning, I’m hanging out killing time in the Beacon St & Charles St Starbucks. ::sings:: Me and my latte. Me and my latte. ...

The next line of that Sesame Street vintage gem is, “Goin’ to the dentist. OoooWeee” Hmmmmm....

Then, for no apparent reason, I spent the ride in this morning indulging in auditory escapism on the Pod. Supposedly scent is the sense with the strongest connection to memory; this morning I’m not so sure... I chose selections from two albums put out by the male a capella group at The College on the Hill in the 1996-1997 era to begin the ride in... wow. It was like being there. I could actually envision my room, down to details like where on the shelves my goldfish bowl resided and the smell of the hallway in Barnes 2nd Floor Orange. I recalled sitting in a window seat in a corridor in Milliken 2nd Floor in the wee hours of the morning with Liz and Pete, Liz and I drunk and rowdy, Pete indulgent and sleepy... I felt the anguish that only 19 year old girls can feel when the boy they can’t stop thinking about just isn’t ever going to be the boy they get. It was overwhelming. I was almost glad when the last track played out. Of course once I’m feeling dramatic, there’s not much hope for me... So I played my folder of Decemberists music. I admit to only having discovered this band a few weeks ago by the suggestion of a friend (and thanks go to both that friend and the friend who’s collection he got it from. You both know who you are.) I am, however, smitten. So, now I’m immersed in laments by legionnaires homesick for Paris, set to accordion and guitar with a faintly Bossa Nova swing, laments of a dead child’s ghost, laments of ancient mariners with vendettas...

If that isn’t saturation, I don’t know what is...

O has a low grade fever this morning, which confirms that I’m also ill, and not just worn down from Valentine’s Drunk. Poor lovey. He’s so sleepy and sad. J’s regular Thursday playdate got canceled, so at least I get a week off from dealing with SB and his baloney. AND I’m not working on Monday. Yay for 3 day weekends!

I'm Glad It's February 15th

Now, that's not a lie!

Turns out that my happy day came to a prompt end when the kids got home from school. Jack was "too tired" to go to BBall practice - so I didn't get my Whole Foods trip. Boo. Then, he and E pretty much took off their listening ears and bounced around the house until 7 PM, when their unsuspecting parents found me in a spectular rage and on the verge of tears. Mom gave them what for, so they were crying and I, even when I'm mad at them, can't stand to see them cry, so I almost lost it... so I left. Quickly.

I drowned my sorrows in that bottle of bubbly I mentioned yesterday... Saving the half a glass Mark had with our vermicelli chicken piccata. I'm paying for it by feeling mildly like a car wreck this morning.

In happier news, my brother proposed to his girlfriend last night! He's a happy kid right now. So's my niece - even though she's only 2 1/2 and all she knows is that she'll get to wear a pretty dress and go to a big party. Life's so easy when you're two!

In the hope of exhausting the monsters who are inhabiting J&E's bodies, I'm taking them hiking with Maurice at the dog park later today. Please let it work...

I Heart February 14th!

OK, so anyone who knows me knows I was lying just then.

But I stopped wearing all black in protest/mourning a few years ago. I even retired my black undies and secret heart-festooned Valentine's Day socks. In recent years, even with a boyfriend/fiance/husband in the picture, I've simply chosen to plod through this contrived celebration of superficial romance.

So, why, this year am I feeling all gooey? I made construction paper Valentine's (pink, lavendar and white with red glitter glue!) with E - and then hid them in Mark's car, coat pocket, and wallet this morning. I baked this heart-shaped cake for the kids... And there's a bottle of champagne on ice at home, and 4 gourmet truffles for dessert. Oddest of all, I'm really not expecting anything in return for all this love...

Has "wiser" finally come with "older?"

Nah.... Maybe I'm just happy and it's manifesting in bizarre ways?

It's time for the weekly treck over the Hill to BBall practice - and my weekly get-anything-you-might-need-at-Whole-Foods-because-we're-already-here trip. What will I do when I actually have to make myself go there? Today I need frozen peeled deveined shrimp, and I'm quite sure E will con me into buying her a fruit leather, so J will need one, too. Ahh... fairness. At $0.69 a snack, I can afford to buy their silence for a few minutes.

The kids should be home from school any minute. One of my kind colleagues has agreed to walk them home from the bus stop, since O's sleeping. Yay for not having to bundle hime up twice in the same hour!

The Bravest Thing I've Ever Done.... also, sensationalist journalism and cheese.

... was, in fact, admitting I was in love with Mark, but that's not really today's issue. I was listening to BNL's Break Your Heart. Today's issue is still floating around somewhere near the skylight on the third floor, taunting me.

So, my longtime pal and co-godparent, one of my favorite Maine-iacs (despite his residencies in VT, CO, and NYC), and the guy who sang at my wedding (not to be confused with a wedding singer!), is roadtripping himself across the country in search of fame fortune, and heaps of trouble in LA. He's a funny guy, and his blog deserves to be read. I've put the link up under the blog's title, "a rare blog, a rattlin' blog," in the links column.

O is throwing cheese. Hang on....

Now he's banging on his tray, "Bring me my lunch, wench!"

New England is apparently digging out from the "Blizzard of '06," a moniker which screams sensationalist journalism.... We had somewhere between 9 and 11 inches in Framingham, which is not so bad, compared to some of the recorded depths elsewhere, but hardly worth the mayhem at Stop&Shop on Saturday. Milk? Gone. Bread? Gone. Tuna? Gone. Bottled water? Gone. Me, I left and went to Trader Joes and bought some prepared soups, mache salad, and a bag of 4 oz. loaves of ciabatta so I wouldn't have to go grocery shopping again until the apocalypse has passed. Oh, and Mark busted out the snowblower for an hour.... I was home alone Saturday night, preparing for the winter weather by watching the Romance Movie Marathon on WE. Yep. And I'm not ashamed.

OK, cheese and pear time is done. O's off and running (well, drunkenly weaving on his fat baby feet...). Later, taters!

Home Alone

So it's boys night out for my husband tonight. He's out with his pal Pete, drinking in Pete's hometown. More fun than this PugMama can handle. I spent a productive day. Went to WW (good news!), then took Maurice to the dog park for a few hours. We hiked and played and socialized. He's the best little dog!

I focused on the upstairs in today's CleaningFest. Folded weeks of laundry, changed the sheets, vaccuumed, tidied, dusted (which I rarely do), scrubbed the bathroom, put a whole bunch of stuff away that had been cluttering up our bedroom, and put on the ottoman slipcover that my Mom just finished making for me! Yay Mom! The only big project left in this room (flooring aside, of course) is curtains. I've picked the fabric, so now all I have to do is save up the $80 to buy it. It's a steal, for two sets of custom copper dupioni silk drapes, so once again, my Mom will be saving the day with her mad sewing skillz!

I also cleaned the kitchen, and I need to start some laundry tonight, but the house is in better shape than it's been since Christmas, so I feel better already. Phew!

I just caught the cat's refection in the bathroom mirror - which I can see from the bedroom chair - and she's playing in the tub again... I just washed that tub, damnit!

Wait for hot updates tomorrow, when I clean the half-bath downstairs, mop the kitchen floors, and sweep the plywood floors in the LR and DR. For now, I'm signing out while listening to one of my all-time favorite songs, Debauchery by David Gray.

Nigh-night!

Kittens!

I just found this amongst a post from a friend of a friend (with whom, incidentally, I attended The College on the Hill). It made me laugh out loud, and remember that I had a cat, despite rumors that she has put her bowl on her head and left us in the wake of the below-pictured Pug Dog.

Just click on the post title for more fun than you should shake a kitten at!

Dogs Don't Get Red Eye...

...They get blue eye! This brilliant shot was taken Saturday, after a particularly muddy trip to the dog park. We went straight upstairs for a bath! He looks so .... wet!

The big kids are at Disney World with the grand'rents until Monday night, so it's just me and O until then. Yahoo! Right now the Dominican housekeeper is upstairs singing to herself while she cleans, and she has a terrible voice! She's a cool lady, though. Her one flaw is that she shows up too late in the morning, and starts in the kids' rooms upstairs, so O's naps get pushed back until she's done in there. Sleepy baby. ::yawn::

Not much else to report on today. Am I lame? Perhaps....

La vie.... c'est.

I don't feel like I'm doing my job so well today. Wednesdays are a tough day in this borrowed household of mine. E has a half day of school, but J has a full day, so I'm in the car to pick her up, and she's often fairly cranky during the span between her school getting out and J's. Add to that the fact that the baby doesn't get his regular naps, and it's a nightmare....

On top of the built in Wednesday Woe, I'm tired, borderline sick, and my patience is for shit.

Now E feels I was unfair to her about something and is having a snit, and O needs a diaper change. The house is a mess, and I have stuff to get done, and all I want to so is curl up in a ball and cry.

It's been a slightly sad week as well, as the grandfather of a friend passed away on Monday, after a long and somewhat painful decline.

In juicier news, there's some trouble brewing with my family-in-law. When anything definitive happens I'll be sure to post ::wink::

Je suis cranky. Quel tristesse....

The mind of a 7 year old boy is a mystery.

I suppose everyone with a "parental" relationship with a child despises at least one of that child's friends... Right?

Big Brother J has a friend, to whom we will refer as Spoiled Brat (SB for short), and SB makes my skin crawl. He's a year older, which at 7 and 8 makes a significant difference. He's given almost everything he wants, has very few limits at home, and no manners to speak of. As you might imagine, this frustrates the hell out of me, since my daily work life is a constant uphill battle to instill some basic sense of propriety in my J, E, & O. He doesn't seem to feel that the house rules here apply to him, and he's nonchalantly disinterested in reprimands. He's quick to find fault with everyone, adults included, and asks uncomfortable questions, like asking J, "are you giving me a Christmas present?"

What 7 year old thinks to give anyone a Christmas present without some adult guidance? And make no mistake, SB was fishing for something like a DVD or a GameBoy game. Obnoxious!

Ugh. He's here with no known time of departure. This kid makes me a fan of military boarding school of second graders. He seems to feel entitled to everything that anyone else has; for example, my puppy. One time I brought Maurice here for the day, and SB saw him at the bus stop, and now SB feels that he can demand that I bring Maurice any day that he wants a puppy to play with. Did I mention he has a pug? A 7 year old pug who's awesome! When I pointed that out, he said, "but I didn't know him when he was cute. That's different." Poor old pugger... He comes over here for "playdates," and he ends up using either J's GameBoy or E's Leapster unless I forbid them, and he's disdainful of the movies the kids want to watch or the games the kids want to play.

Makes me wonder what J sees in him? The mind of a 7 year old boy is a mystery.

My Zero Point Soup Recipe

Monday morning, full of optimism....
Here I am, posting after getting my Zero Point Soup on the stove. I've been tinkering with the seasonings and vegetable additions, and I think I've got a much better variation on the soup:

Lightly coat a soup pot with Pam spray, preheat over low heat
Chop:
1 medium onion
2 Cloves Garlic
I medium carrot
1 celery stalk
Gather:
worcestershire,
bay leaves,
basil,
oregano,
parsley,
salt, &
pepper
Open:
1 box low fat/low salt chicken broth
1 pkg frozen cut green beans
1 sm. can tomato past
1 10.5 oz. can no salt added diced tomatoes
1 10.5 oz can zucchini in tomato sauce
When you're ready to go, turn the heat to high, add carrot, celery, onion, and garlic to pot. Cook, stirring constantly, to sweat the vegetables - do not brown them!
When the onions are soft and translucent, add bay leaf, about 1/2 t of each dry herb, and 1/2 t pepper to the pot. Stir for a few seconds to warm the seasonings. Add a splash of Worcestershire, scrape any browning off the bottom of the pot, then add the box of broth. Next add the tomato paste, stirring to combine, and the diced tomatoes, with their liquid. Bring this to a light boil, then reduce heat to medium low, and add frozen green beans. Simmer for about 20 minutes, uncover, stirring occasionally. After 20 minutes, turn heat off, add zucchini, and cover.

Makes 5 servings, 0 points/serving

Tada!
OK, so the weekend wasn't great, but I was aware, and I journaled, and I'm going to do better this week!

Monday, Monday

OK, so both Go Fug Yourself and You Knit What? are hilarious over the last few days. I highly recommend them. That said, on to the weekend report:

Outlook was grey and rainy at WW, both in weather and spirit, but then Maurice and I got latte at Dunkies and headed for the dog park. We spent a pleasant hour and a half socilaizing with a wide variety of folks, human and canine, and Maurice came out with even more fans than he already had. What a charmer!

Then it was home to get ready for the days adventure: a trip to beautiful downtown .... Chelmsford! ::groan:: Our friend Carolyn's baby shower was held at a restaurant up there, so Andrea and I headed up, laden with adorable gift baskets, to attend. The food was less than spectacular, but there were carafes of sticky white wine, so it was hardly a problem! Carolyn looks great, and speculation as to gender and delivery date were widespread. Where are the Vegas bookies, people?

(oooh, sobfest, Next Lover by James is on my iTunes - wait while I wallow.....)

Saturday night, Mark and I decided to go Vietnamese food hunting. This has been a quest of ours since we moved, put into harsh relief with the closing of Pho Lemon in Cambrige. He doesn't like the chain-y quality of Pho Pasteur, and Da Lat in Worcester is too far away.... and so we search. This time, we traveled the back roads of Natick and Millis to Saigon Restaurant. Though advertising itself as Vietnamese, the menu was basically Chinese with a little lemongrass and rice noodles added to fool the unsuspecting rural population. Too heavy, too oily.... No Mi Huan Tan, no dumplings, no Caffe Phin. Boo. We are crushed.

Sunday dawns raw and chilly. The dog needs to go out, the laundry and dishes are waiting - guess who'll never sleep in again? Maurice and I went into Allston to have brunch with friends, leaving Mark home to ....

(Tone Loc, people.... Wild Thing)

... leaving Mark home to dig up a section of the basement for new lolly columns. Wahoo!

Grocery shopped, changed the sheets, ran a load of laundry, did some dishes, and we watched Wedding Crashers. Must Love Dogs, our Friday night flick, was equivalently mediocre. This is not to say that either movie was a disappointment. We're easier and easier to amuse as the months in Suburbia pass.

My dog is THIIIIIIIIIIIS cute!

Smallville is on, and it's sad... Poor Clark's father died last week, and now John Schneider is out of work. Boo. The Blog was missing recent pictures of our adorable boy, so I thought I'd add a few from a recent film developing excursion. The first one is his best close-up to date. He should be on coffee mugs.
And tee shirts.
And billboards.
As I type, he's prancing around on M's lap, playing with a stuffed squeaker-squirrel that's twice the size of his head. Indescribeable. The game goes as follows. He drags the squirrel up onto the couch, and into M's lap, then he stands on M's knees, and drops the squirrel onto the floor. He stares at it, jumps down to fetch it, and then has to scramble to get back up. Ridiculous....
It's good to be a puppy.

The Tipping Point of Muffin Tops

Two days to meeting. Funny how some days you're gnoshy, some days not. I've been knitting and watching Shakespeare In Love, and not eating - hooray!

Yesterday was not a total loss, and I'm still looking forward to the trip to the scale on Saturday morning.

Today should continue to be easy, especially since I'll be out of the house for the better part of the snacking hour.

My jeans are starting to be just the lightest bit less tight, and they actually look worse, an injustice I'd forgotten from my last weight loss adventure. There's a tipping point between too tight and just right, and it's an awkward time when you're at it. They used to sit where they belong, and now they're riding just a hair low, and my belt is between loops - so basically you get serious muffin top action. Boo. Hiss.

Installed a ticker in my header. Scary to see those numbers up there for all the world to see, but some accountability is never a bad thing.

Grant me the presence of mind to stay away from the cookie bag today....

Is Baby O "awakle" or "aspeel?"

When you're home all day with a baby, there's a fair amount of downtime. The housekeeper is here today, so she's cleaning, O is sleeping, and I'm screwing around on my computer. This is a transcript of the silliness I get into on IM. Names have been removed to protect the ridiculous (but those of you know know us wil get it...):

AIM IM with VJ-S.
9:19 AM
V: la la
11:30 AM
R: fa la la?
11:45 AM
V: so cute you are
R: i do try. just updated the Tales from the Scale blog
V: ooh the ticker! you are a techno weeny
R: i'm slick. it's super easy. i found about them from the WW group
11:50 AM
V: you are too cute. you get a cute prize
R: ooooh, is it a medal? or a shopping spree? or a monkey?
11:55 AM
V: its... are you ready? ... pocket lint!!!
R: YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!!!!!!
V: and my mom gets the useless suggestion of the week award
R: oooh, what?
V: photo stamps!
R: heehee
V: for our wedding invites. BARF
R: i kinda wanted to do them. but i refrained. i am going to make my handwriting into a font
V: umm ok. how so? i think photo stamps can be cute, like for you and M, ones with maurice on them
R: that could be cute. anyway about the font: Fontifier.com
V: you have a scanner?
R: nope, but i can have the bosses scan it for me
V: nice
R: i'm fairly proud of myself that i worked sweet valley high into last night's late entry
V: i saw that. your blog is funny
R: it is? i'm glad. kids are funny. they make good material
V: yes they do.
R: i'll be able to pick up my cd's from the camera store in a little while. that should be a trip
V: nice. i wonder whats on them
R: drunken christmas party, home renovation, and Maurice
V: so can i ask why a font for you?
R: cause i think it's cool. and i can do my cards, etc... in my own writing
V: fair point soinds like good times
12:10 PM
R: plus, i like my handwriting
V: you have cute handwriting
R: tks ::blushes::
V: maybe i will steal your font and use it on the front of my invitations. since i won't be handwriting that!
R: maybe you will. we'll see how it comes out. brb... time to make some lunch
12:15 PM
V: ok
12:30 PM
R: hey lady
V: you are jealous of my current itune [Beat It, by Michael Jackson]
R: i AM
V: i knew it!
R: i love my current iTune
V: i know i tried to get into it, but it didn't work for me
R: this tune or catherine wheel in general?
V: i think her in general
R: not a her. a band w/male frontman and no women
V: i meant them
R. reference to a firework type which is in turn a reference to a medieval saint
V: i see. good to know
R: the fount of useless knowledge runs clear today
V: you are cute. same prize just more of it
R: i love me the lint. i know
V: i think you are making a hairshirt out of lint. so perhaps a lint shirt
R: actually, i'm spinning lint yarn to knit a poet blouse
V: wow so pretty ..
R: here's my lint shirt.
12:45 PM
R: i think O is awake (i typed awakle before and i kinda like it)
V: i like it too
R: "he awakled to the soft hum of the housecleaner's vaccuum cleaner in the hall"
12:50 PM
V: teehee. i love it. start a new language. we are funny
R: we ARE funny
V: did you and M make reservations for A's wedding yet? i was thinking about doing that this weekend and thought we should coordinate a litte
R: no, i was going to ask you if you & W wanted to get a room there, too
V: get out of my HEAD!
R: no way, dude
V: question.. do we know if A and J are doing anything for the out of town folks? like a friday night party?
R: no idea. but i can ask him. i have NO manners
V: i know you don't. but that works for me. also what should i wear?
R: omg.
V: i think i am going ot get my aria dress hemmed. i just can't figure out to what length
R: i'm thinking my chocolate silk ralph lauren skirt and a black corset/strapless top and sasstastic heels. i have the skirt
just need the corset. and i have whorish shoes
V: b/c you are a whore wanna be
R: trunuff
V: i bet R has something you can borrow . i need new shoes!
R: yeah her size 6 insect feet would yield something for the canoes below my ankles?
V: i need to think about who to appoint car pool captain. it will make me feel better. damn shame J won't live here anymore
R: have fun with that
V: thanks. i want to get them a hat that says i am captain carpool, b/c it sounds funny
R:it IS funny. i won't even pretend to be interested
V: i know you aren't
V: maybe thats how i can ask J. lets try a run through. "hey J .. want a hat that says captain carpool?"
R: as J: are you insane?
V: "yes i am. why do you ask?"
R: as J: of course i don't want a hat that says captain carpool
V: its a shame he isn't seeing this he would laugh
R: as J: but fancypants or jesus might? [that's me and my husband]
R: FancyPants and Jesus G--- cordially invite you to carpool your ass to Worcester, the cesspool of New England, with them...
V: yay
R: except not. btw, went to check on O, and he's still aspeel! oooh, another word like awakle

It's Like Freakin' Sweet Valley High!

So, I've got an in with the Cool Moms!

How insanely middle school do I sound? E got invited to have lunch with all the pre-K girls at B--&M--- School and I got to chat with one of the Cool Moms! They all congregate together at the Finagle A Bagle near the school for lunches, they all have playdates amongst their kids, and E & I are often forgotten because they don't know me, and I'm sometimes too shy (because I'm just the nanny....) to butt in on their Cool Mom Convos.

Well, those days are over!

If I weren't married to my man, I'd assume he was going to call me and ask me to the friggin' prom! Woohoo!

Time to head back into the fictional version of the tough streets of LA. We DVR The Shield...

Sinister Ought to Be Latin for Oreo

Do you ever wonder if that angel on one shoulder, devil on the other stuff is real?

Yesterday, I'm self motivated up the wazoo, and then out of nowhere comes the 2:30 pm chocolate craving. I'm ostensibly ready for this, with lower calorie/fat/sugar chocolate options, and what do I do? Yep, hit the open bag of Oreos. I'd had three when the remorse kicked in, and that guilt pushed me to have 2 more. Sheesh. I wish there was a way to get my employers to stop bringing cookies home from the store, especially when they don't eat sweets and their kids don't really like them, either....

So, back to the drawing board today.

The Glamourous Life

I was fiddling around today and found a website devoted to mocking the awful knitting patterns you find out there! I highly recommend you check them out. Hilarious, irreverent, and yes, folks, there is naughty language. Don't say I didn't warn you! The link can be found on the right.

Also there is a link I filched from friend and fellow Blogger JZ (Batteries Not Included), which trashes celeb fashion choices - ah, guilty pleasures...

Babies are strange creatures. O was exhausted 15 minutes ago. Crying, eye-rubbing, hair-pulling, floppy tired. We went upstairs, had a snuggle and a lullabye, and now he's up there chattering away in his crib like a nap is the farthest thing form his mind. Grrrr....

Now I'll have to go back up there and settle him down, which will inevitably include more tears. He hasn't slept so much today, and he needs his naps or he's a regular Eeyore.

The Demon Barber is hard up for clients this week, so she's alone in the under-stairs alcove, sans scissors.

I think I'll bring the puppy on Friday. It'll save me $10 in walking fees and the kids will hush up about never seeing the dog.

The glamorous life of a nanny is hard to fully comprehend, n'est-ce pas?