Weekend Update - Fun in the Sun

Friday was a quiet night. I ran to the store after work and treated myself to Starbucks - Strawberries and Creme Frappuccino. Then, I hit the ABC store for Absolut Raspberri. It's super. So, then, that was pretty much it.

On Saturday, the In-Law's picked up Little Miss early so they could take advantage of the nice weather. Husband and I took a walk to get some lunch and then went to Brother-in-Law's and Sister-in-Law's. The boys went to bottle some beer at a brewery while the girls went grocery shopping and hung out. Then, later that night, we played Scene It (which I won) and went to The Legwarmers at The State Theatre. (Picture to the left.) It was loads of fun. I hadn't seen them in awhile.

On Sunday, I slept until right before noon (which was when Little Miss was being returned to us). It was glorious. I showered and got ready for her. When she got home, we went on the balcony with bubbles and then I took her to Panera for lunch where she ate all the chicken out of my Asian Sesame Chicken Salad. We then brought some food home for Husband and walked home. While he ate, we both took a nap. Then, after his teams were trounced by local teams, the three of us walked to the playground where Little Miss made friends and had a blast on the slide. (Picture on the right.) Then, we went grocery shopping. Little Miss got dinner, a bath and bed while we inserted a little tv before we went to sleep. It was a great weekend. Well, great except that Little Miss has a bad cold. The runny nose isn't too bad, but she has a horrible cough so there's a trip to the pediatrician later this afternoon for us.

Sexy Friday

Today's Sexy Friday is dedicated to the people who live in my apartment and stay up past 8PM. I have to admit that I didn't watch much last year, but this year, Husband and I settle in to watch Chuck every Monday. OK, neither of us settles in to watch Chuck himself though he is endearing, but it's not Endearing Friday now, is it? We do catch Ryan McPartlin (Devin/Awesome) and Yvonne Strahovski (Sarah). There actually are no adequate words to explain how much Husband LOVES Yvonne Strahovski.

The show is in its second season and is in danger of cancellation. It is an adorable show, and I think it's a show you can pick up without knowing a lot about what happened in the past. Obviously, it helps to have at least some backstory especially now when it's at the last episode of the season, but in general, it's a show you can pick up. I know it's up against other shows, great shows. We watch some of those other shows, but that's why God gave us people who invented the DVR.

Chuck works at the Buy More, his local electornics chain. He lives with his sister, Ellie, and her fiance, Awesome (er, Devin, but Chuck calls him Awesome). Chuck's roommate in college implanted the Intersect in Chuck's brain which causes Chuck to "flash" and see stuff about bad guys (there's more, but it's not worth going into details, and I'm bad at remembering accurate details anyway). So, the government is working with Chuck to help find bad guys and also works to keep Chuck safe. His handlers are Casey and Sarah because, of course, the bad guys are after Chuck. The main bad guy group is Fulchrum.
As I mentioned, the show is in danger of cancellation. You can read about what people are doing to save the show and how Subway plays a role. You can also read more about the show and watch episodes on the website.

Ewwww, it's an Earworm!

Have you ever had a song stuck in your head for what seems like forever? You just want it out even if it means banging your head with a sledgehammer? However, you settle for spreading the song and putting it everybody else's head instead. Sadly, I agree that this is a satisfactory, evil solution. Stephen King wrote an article in Entertainment Weekly about how he woke up singing the freecreditreport.com commercial. I'll admit that song is catchy. Lately, I've had songs from the musical, Rent, in my head, but I've had one song I've actually been singing aloud. I woke up singing it the other day. The sad thing is that I rarely know the correct words to songs so I have an interesting interpretation. In addition, I often have songs that instantly make me happy. Usually, fluffy, head-boppy songs. Right now, this song covers both the earworm and happy. Plus, I think the video is adorable.

Here is my latest earworm:

Weekend Update - Spring Break

OK, no Spring Break for me, but the weather was wonderful.

On Friday, we had a quiet evening at home though Little Miss did come home and throw up all over me. On Saturday, Husband woke up with Little Miss though she does like to bolt into our bedroom and say "good morning" to whichever one of us is not actually awake yet. Little Miss had a low fever, but she seemed to be doing fine. No throwing up at least. So, we head to my parents house to see Uncle, Aunt and Cousins. Sister and Nephew were there as well. Little Miss had her morning nap and lunch, but that didn't stop her from eating more when we arrived. Then, we played on the deck for a bit. Little Miss tumbled down the deck stairs and took a few more spills throughout the day. She's fine, but she has a few bumps and scrapes. We stayed there for dinner during which she ate an entire cupcake after a pretty big dinner.

On Sunday, I woke up with Little Miss, fed her breakfast and then put her back down for her morning nap during which time I also went back to sleep. Husband woke up with her after that and let me sleep until around 12:30PM. Sister, Brother-in-Law and Nephew were coming over at 1:30PM. So, I got ready, fed, Little Miss lunch, fed myself lunch and got ready. Sister, Nephew, Little Miss and I went to the city. We first went to the Old Post Office Pavillion where everyone was having lunch. Papa (Dad) bought the kids ice cream. Then, it was late in the afternoon so we went to the National Archives building. We saw the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and other documents. On the train ride home, Little Miss fell asleep which isn't surprising seeing how sleepy she was. Then, she came home, ate a big dinner, and went to bed.

Tonight, we'll see the relatives one more time before they head back home. Also, the weather was beautiful on Saturday. Sunday is a little overcast and chilly but it was still nice (clearly because Little Miss has no shoes on in the picture to the left). This weekend should be even lovelier! I can't wait. We may be able to get in a trip to the playground on Saturday. We ran out of time last weekend.

Sanna's New Contest

I've mentioned my friend, Sanna's blog before (here and here) and how she's incredibly talented. She is having another contest on her blog. You can see the contest and instructions on how to enter if you click here or if you click on Sanna's name.

Sexy Friday

Today's Sexy Friday comes from suggestions from various people. So, never let it be said that I don't listen to you. I managed to tie in two suggestions into one theme. The theme happens to be one of the few movies in which I've liked the two actors - A Time to Kill. I wasn't really impressed with Sandra Bullock's casting, but I ended up liking her well enough in the roll. Matthew McConaughey was decent. Of course, in the movie, it's Samuel L. Jackson that steals every scene he's in. The cast is great. The movie was a pretty fair adaptation of the only John Grisham novel that I ever really loved.

So, I'm still not sure I love the idea of the co-ed Sexy Friday, but I suppose it is only fair to the (all of two) men who read the blog.

Little Wonders

OK, to counter my last post of angry boy music, I've decided to post this topic. This is difficult for me to admit, but I've decided I'm going to fully embrace my girl card and say it anyway. I'm not going to say I never cry, but I cry at weird things, not necessarily typical sad or emotional things. As I mentioned before, Eight Below makes me sob every time I watch it as do most animal movies - sad or happy. Any time there's a scene involving Matt Saracen and his family on Friday Night Lights, I find myself with a little dust in my eye. Still, I can't say I cry a lot and, if I do, there's a reason.

However, every time I hear Little Wonders by Rob Thomas, I get all choked up. It's from Meet the Robinsons which was a mediocre movie. I actually think the real reason is that the song came out when we were expecting Little Miss. So, the first time I really heard the song, I would think of her. So, now, when I hear the song, I think of her and all the little moments. Plus, I always thought the song was a great song during pregnancy because, during all the "oh, my goodness, is this over yet" moments, I got to find a little clarity in the experience. I thought it was just a hormonal thing, but then I got all weird in the car when the song came on my iPod the other day. I had to flip to the next song to bring me back to even keel. If you haven't heard the song, the video is below:

If this post doesn't make sense, it's because I started it about four hours ago. Little Miss went to bed about three times tonight. It's bedtime now and, because of all the activity, she should sleep through the night, but the blog got put on the back burner and rightly so.

What's Your Entrance Music?

This is a point of discussion every baseball season or whenever I watch Major League. When pitchers (and some batters, I believe) step up to the mound or plate, they have entrance music. If I knew enough about sports, I'd give you an example. However, the only example I can think of right now comes from the movies.

If you were to have your own entrance music when you, say, entered a room, what would your song be?
If you have not seen Major League, the clip of Ricky Vaughn advancing to the mount is below (warning: language is definitely R-rated which is funny for me, but it may not be funny if you have little ears nearby or if you have extra-sensitive ears):

I haven't decided my theme song yet. I sometimes think it's Whatever by Godsmack or Headstrong by Trapt. I'm trying to think of a less, um, angry song, but those songs just get me fired up every time. (Also do not click on the links to the songs if you, or people around you, have sensitive ears.)

Weekend Update - Easter Parade

On Friday, I got out of work at noon, and Husband took a half day. I stopped at Trader Joe's, Honeybaked Ham, and Giant for food for Easter. As a treat, I stopped at Baja Fresh for lunch, too. Husband went to the driving range while I started the first wave of cleaning for Sunday. When Little Miss came home, we dyed eggs. She did not want to dye eggs. She wanted to eat and go to bed. So, we dyed eggs while she watched.

On Saturday, Husband woke up with Little Miss before he went to play golf in the rain. He was going to play golf and then go to a bar to watch the Masters Tournament. So, Little Miss and I stayed home. We had breakfast. Then, she napped. We had lunch. Then, she napped. In the afternoon, she turned into a tornado and threw everything we owned all over the place. So, when she went to sleep, I cleaned up and finished cleaning for Easter. I was on morning duty for Easter so when Little Miss woke up at 1AM, Husband went to calm her down.

On Easter, I woke up with Little Miss. I got her breakfast which she ate slowly. Then, I put her down for a nap and got an extra hour of sleep myself. We then all woke up and got ready for Mass. Just before we left, Husband cleaned the floors in the main rooms. Then, off we went!

After church, we put Little Miss down for another nap while I did little things to ready the apartment. She woke up around the time In-Laws arrived. We grazed on appetizers (crab dip, shrimp cocktail and cheese and crackers) and then sat down to eat dinner (ham, potatoes au gratin, sweet potatoes, green beans, and crescent rolls). Then, we had dessert (profiteroles). All the while, Little Miss entertained us to no end while the Masters played in the background.

Around bedtime, Little Miss grabbed my iPod for which Husband scolded her. She knows she's not allowed to play with it. However, she also knows that I listen to it while she falls asleep at bedtime. She handed it to me and made it known that it was bedtime. So, we put her to bed. She happened to wake up upset (and cold) before In-Laws left. Then she went right to bed when they left at which point I turned on the heat in her room so she would be warm. I'm a bad mommy. And so a super quick weekend flew by, and the work week begins again. Next week, Little Miss spends the weekend with my extended family. Can't get enough of the family time!

How Excited is Little Miss for Citi Field?

The New York Mets played its first regular season game at the new stadium, Citi Field. So, how excited was Little Miss? She was so excited that she asked to be lifted onto the couch where she crawled to the far end... and fell asleep.

Sexy Friday

It was only a matter of time until the sexy Paul Walker made the list. So, I waited until his movie was the number 1 movie in the country. I haven't seen most of his movies, but I did enjoy sobbing through Eight Below. I took time between tears to admire how pretty he is even wrapped in a gigantic parka. The scenes between Maya and him make me water up just thinking about it... and Maya's a dog.

What Happens When You Poke the Kitty?

He may poke back at you... with his teeth.

Little Miss learned a lesson the other day: Toby doesn't like to be poked in the eye. Little Miss got very bold and started to chase my parents' kitty. The kitty finally had enough. Even though Little Miss was scolded for poking the kitty, she did it anyway. So, finally, Toby nipped at her. Usually, he nips but doesn't break the skin. You freeze, he lets your hand, foot, body part go. However, Little Miss yanked her hand back at the same time so she has a little scrape on her wrist. Of course, she reacted like her hand was bit off. She quieted down shortly after. We cleaned her up and gave her a Band-Aid. She immediately looked at us and said, "Num Num" for food. She's a trooper. Hopefully, it'll teach her not to torment the cat. For awhile, I'm sure she and the cat will avoid each other which is a good thing. Toby must have sensed that I was just bragging how good he is with the kids. Nephew, meanwhile, yelled at Toby, gave him a time out for 8 minutes and blocked him into the corner so he could learn his lesson. He's very protective of his cousin.

Below is Little Miss poking Toby, two pokes before he "poked" back.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

It is officially the beginning of baseball season. Last night, the Braves and Phillies played. For Husband, the start of baseball season doesn't start until the Mets play. This year, Little Miss has her own jersey to wear to cheer on his team.

Above is a photo of the two of them in matching jerseys (though different numbers on the back). Below is a photo of Nephew in his Cubs hat and Nationals shirt.

I can't say I'm a big fan of baseball, but I love going to the stadium and having my annual hot dog. We're hoping to bring Little Miss to the stadium this year.

Weekend Update - Where Did My Weekend Go?

Let's see... Last Friday, I was grumpy. So, we hung out with Little Miss, ate a late dinner, and then I went to bed.

On Saturday, I woke up and planned to head into the city to meet the Parents and Grandma in the city to see the Cherry Blossoms. Sister and Nephew came to the apartment to meet us. While we were leaving, my Mom called and said it was too cold and they were coming home. So, we didn't bother going in. In their defense, they were there very early for the parade so they got chilled. Also, Gram is in her 80's, and they did a lot of walking. So, we had lunch and Little Miss had one of her first public tantrums. So, we brought her home and I participated in a 2-hour nap with her. She was much more refreshed after that.

Saturday night, I met friends for dinner at Maggianos', and we discussed our latest bookclub pick, American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld. After, we went to Borders to pick up next month's book choice, Beach Music by Pat Conroy. I'm looking forward to it because I haven't read one of his book in over a decade, but I used to enjoy them.

On Sunday, I woke up early, fed Little Miss breakfast and went to brunch with friends. Little Miss was very fussy so I was nervous she was going to melt down, but she ended up falling asleep for most of breakfast. Then, we picked up Husband and drove out to my parents' house. We got to see G.G. (my grandmother). We went to the playground and enjoyed the nicest day we've had in awhile. Then, we stayed for dinner. Little Miss wore herself out and fell asleep about the time we reached home, but we bathed her and put her in her pjs at my parents house. For some reason, she freaks out when she's in my parents' tub so we washed in her in the (tiny) bathroom sink. When we got home, I mostly uploaded 50 pictures, updated my iPod and went to bed. The weekend flew!

She Got the Way to Groove Me...

Okay, Neil Diamond was singing "Cherry, Cherry" about a girl and not about the blossoms, but it is that time of year again. Time for The National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D.C. I went last year to view the blossoms as shown in the photo and blog post. (Aw, Little Miss was just a Baby last year!) This year, Little Miss will be able to run around or at least be slightly more amused. We'll be going in this weekend so Little Miss can spend time with G.G. (my grandmother, her great-grandmother) and the rest of the family. So, stay tuned for next week's Weekend Update, it'll be jam-packed with family. Between this week, next week (Easter), and the following week when my uncle, aunt and cousins visit, Little Miss will get her fill of family.

Sexy Friday

This Sexy Friday was 15 years in the making. I was going to dedicate the month to ER, but I decided to just do a big post with a sampling. There are tons of options with this subject, but I only chose the ones below. You can register your complaints in the comments. If it makes you feel better, my favorite current ER castmate is not included for lack of a suitable photo.

First up is Goran Visnjic. He's tall, dark and handsome... with an accent. His character had a tragic story. Plus, Goran Visnjic gave me a reason to sit through at least some parts of Rounders. He took on the important role of ER hottie after Dr. Doug Ross moved away.

Second up is John Stamos of whom I was never a huge fan. However, he's not looking too bad nowadays. I think he looks better and better. I didn't watch the ER years when he was on, but he rocked the scrubs in the scenes I did watch.

Third up is Mekhi Pfeifer. I didn't watch him on ER either, but the restrospective last night showed his final scene, and it looked like he would have made me cry. I've seen him in a handful of movies, but my favorite of his is 8 Mile. Plus, it takes a special man to pull off the tank top. He is a special man.

The last three are strictly for Husband. I'll let him choose which one he likes the most (and you can interpret "like" anyway you wish). He has a total man crush on George Clooney, so much so it makes me a little uncomfortable. He's a man's man who just looks better and better with age. He's a great actor and did an amazing job with Good Night, and Good Luck. He has causes for which he fights hard, but continues to keep a sense of humor.

I believe we first saw Linda Cardellini as Velma in Scooby Doo, but we have watched some of Freaks and Geeks and plan to finish out the series when we get a chance. She's been in a lot more than I thought, and I must have seen her in a bunch of things, but it was Scooby Doo where she made her mark on my brain.

Finally, to found out the reasons why Husband watched the last seasons of ER on and off, I post a photo of Parminder Nagra. I adored her in Bend it Like Beckham which stars another recipient of Sexy Friday. Husband always loved her character on ER and found her cute. I think he also is taken with her accent. I don't know if he knows that she's our age.

By the way, this will be the last time we have women on Sexy Friday.

Contest Fun

Below is the link to a great contest. Please go and enter. Er... please go and read the authors. Don't enter the contest or I won't win. I don't read all three of the authors regularly, but the books I have read are very entertaining and good fun. Click here for more information.

Books Read in March 2009

1. Promises in Death by J.D. Robb. (NOTE: This is part of her Eve & Roarke series. The entire order for the series can be found here.)
2. Almost Home by Pam Jenoff.
3. What I Did For Love by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Good month. I really enjoyed Promises in Death. I like a bigger body count, but the characters helped that along. J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts) always seems to write really great characters and her secondary characters are always complex, too. The bookclub book, Almost Home, was a quick read. I liked it overall, but I hate open-endings in books. I understand how some things had to be open-ended as the book was written in First Person and that's one of the weaknesses to the style. I really enjoyed What I Did For Love though it took me awhile to get hooked. Once I did, I ignored everything (sorry, Husband and Little Miss)!