Bon Jovi!

Last Monday night, I went to see Bon Jovi with friends. It was a blast. The band puts on a great, fun, high-energy concert. I love that the band obviously plays the new album, but there is the popular songs. Obviously, there are songs I wished to hear, but with a band that's been around for more than an album or two, some are going to be left off the setlist. Still, it was a lot of fun and almost all non-stop music. The video below is from the concert on Monday though not recorded by me as I was a teensy bit further back.

Below is the playlist of the concert:
Happy Now
We Weren't Born To Follow
You Give Love a Bad Name
Whole Lot Of Leavin'
Born To Be My Baby
Lost Highway
When We Were Beautiful
Superman Tonight
We Got It Going On
Bad Medicine
~ Roadhouse Blues
It's My Life
Lay Your Hands On Me (Richie Sambora no vocal)
Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen cover)
I'll Be There For You
Something for the Pain [acoustic]
Someday I'll Be Saturday Night (Acoustic)
Keep The Faith
Work For The Working Man
Who Says You Can't Go Home
Love's The Only Rule

Encore:
Runaway
Wanted Dead or Alive
Livin' on a Prayer

Loving Shoes

Last weekend, Little Miss wasn't perfect, but she had a great weekend overall. While we were getting ready to leave the apartment, Little Miss helped gather my sneakers. I didn't take the right shoe from her fast enough so she threw it at my head (maybe she was aiming at my head, and her throw didn't have a lot of force behind it, but that's not the point). So, I yell at her and tell her not to throw things, not to throw things at my head, and to be nice and gentle. So, she walks over, picks up my shoe and starts to be nice to the shoe by petting and hugging it. I yell, NOT TO THE SHOE - TO ME! Husband comes into the room and tells her to say she's sorry. She sat on my lap and begrudgingly says she's sorry. Seriously, the girl's love for shoes goes beyond even my love for shoes.

Bribery - It's What's for Dinner

I feel like we had a major breakthrough last weekend.

First, Little Miss answered questions. Sort of. Little Miss is allowed one television show before bed so she can wind down. Sometimes, it's only one segment of a show, but she's allowed a little bit either way. However, she calls every show "Choo Choo". For awhile, she loved Choo Choo Express and then she loved Chuggington. However, lately, she doesn't want to watch a program with trains so it gets confusing when she asks for "Choo Choo". Starting this past weekend, if you list her shows, she'll tell you which she wants. If she doesn't want a show, she shakes her head and starts mumbling and freaking out like you had the nerve to even suggest such a thing. If she wants to watch, she points to the television. Hey, it's a step. Full-fledged conversation is only a step away!

Second, we successfully moved to bribery. Last weekend, I read Goodnight Moon four thousand times or so... in a row. Meanwhile, Little Miss wouldn't eat her vitamin. She loves them, but lately, she's been fussy. So, I said I would read the book if she ate her vitamin. She ran into the kitchen, climbed on her step stool, ate her vitamin and then looked at me and said "Thank You". Then, she climbed down and ran to get her book. This morning, the same tactic worked again. I'm not proud of this, but sometimes, it's better than being a villain all the time or giving in.

Last night, Little Miss only wanted rice for dinner. We wanted her to eat some pork, too. So, I gave her a little rice and told her to eat some pork. She wouldn't. When she was done with the rice, she asked for more. I said she had to eat a piece of pork. She did. So, I gave her a half a tablespoon of rice. We continued this until almost all the pork was gone. She ended up eating almost half the rice we cooked. Then, after her huge dinner, we gave her a little bowl of ice cream after which she wanted more rice. The girl loves carbs.

Sidenote: Another favorite book is Elmo's ABC Book. She knows some of her letters and knows that U is for Uncle and P is for Pasta. It's kind of cute...and genius!

Weekend Update - Little Bit of Everything

Last Friday, I went to Jaleo to celebrate a friend's birthday. It was a lot of fun as any night with friends and sangria is.

On Saturday, I woke up with Little Miss. We had breakfast and then I took her into the city for the National Cherry Blossom Festival though I admit we only walked around and saw the trees. She loved her ride on the Metro. She was really good as we walked around the Mall and the Tidal Basin. Some people were handing out free bottles of water. Little Miss loves water out of the bottle. She carried that bottle all day and drank almost all of the water. She seemed less enthusiastic about the sights, but she did like seeing all the dogs and the one cat (Seriously! Some man had his cat on a leash and was walking him around and taking pictures of the kitty with the cherry blossoms.) I think the highlight, for Little Miss, was seeing the ducks in the Tidal Basin. Then, we played catch for a little bit and went home. We shared a pizza and then we both took a nap on the couch and had a pretty quiet evening afterwards.

On Sunday, Husband woke up with Little Miss. It was a dreary day so we mostly just played. When I woke up, Little Miss was exhausted (rough day of breakfast and television). So, we thought we'd try a very early nap. She went right down to sleep and slept for an hour. She woke up a little before lunch time. We had lunch and then Husband realized he forgot something at the grocery store the day before so Little Miss and I went out. She was very good so I let her walk around the store on her own instead of putting her in the cart. She carried our reusable bag all around the store. As a reward, she got her balloon and cookie. When we got home, she took another nap after showing signs of exhaustion. She slept for almost 4 hours that time and woke up right before we were going to go in and wake her. I hate to wake a sleeping kid, but she needed to eat dinner. She got up and ate an incredible dinner. Then, because she just woke up from her nap like an hour before, we gave her another bath. After, she pretty much asked to go to bed even though she stayed up for an hour in bed talking to Minnie Mouse. She won't divulge what she told Minnie, but it was very important. She held Minnie up to her face and really chatted for quite some time. No surprise that she slept a little late this morning, but she woke up happy. Husband is out of town until Thursday so she'll miss him after such a nice weekend.

Sexy Friday

This is the last of the underwear theme. Today is Victoria Beckham. I mostly think she's too skinny and wasn't a fan of the Spice Girls, but I do have fond memories of that period in time. A friend in college was a big fan and named all of the bookstore employees after a Spice Girl. I am pleased to admit that I never did the dance or lip synching at least. I think the month of April will have no theme, just sexy. We'll see.

Twitterpated

Twitterpated is from Bambi. Urban Dictionary has the meaning as "1)to be completely enamored with someone/something; 2) the flighty exciting feeling you get when you think about/see the object of your affection; 3) romantically excited (i.e.: aroused); 4) the ever increasing acceleration of heartbeat and body temperature as a result of being engulfed amidst the exhilaration and joy of being/having a romantic entity in someone's life." Thiis fitting because yesterday, I knew it was Spring. Sure, the weather has been milder and the flowers are beginning to bloom, but yesterday, I knew. I saw two gigantic Canadian geese back from wintering elsewhere, I imagine. They were just strolling together near the pre-school, maybe nest hunting or just grabbing a bite. Then, the one goose (who I assume is the guy) starts freaking out - wings flapping, head/neck bobbing, and he starts to go all crazy. The other goose (who I assume is the girl) totally ignores him. Then, moments later, they just look at each other, touch necks and walk across the parking lot. I predict baby geese soon!

Chocolate Soup Part 2

So, I got home last night and threw away my chocolate soup. However, I noticed at the bottom, it did start to thicken into pudding, a very liquid pudding. So, I put what remained in a tiny glass (thanks to Grandma for the Waterford). It was tasty. Last night, I also cooked up some more pudding. It got noticeably thicker, but it's still not set this morning after being chilled for about 12 hours. I'm going to let it sit a little longer. It is definitely thicker at least so that's a start. This is not encouraging to me because I was going to give brownies another shot this weekend.

Chocolate Soup

I got this recipe from The Cooking Photographer. Now, chocolate pudding should look like this:Mine did not. Mine more resembled chocolate soup. After a little encouragement and the fact that all the ingredients to the pudding are pantry items, I'm going to give the pudding another shot (though I may have to buy more milk). I'll let you all know how it goes. I'm determined to be able to make one successful dessert as an adult. I'd even settle for being able to make something from a box (other than Jell-O), but I mean, seriously, you can't get any easier than this recipe. Stay tuned...

Weekend Update - SUN!

On Friday, I believe it was a quiet evening. I've taken advantage of the college basketball weekend to clear out my bedroom DVR playlist. It was definitely needed with all the shows starting up again for the Spring. There are some shows that I just never watch when they air and they pile up so I do big long marathons.

On Saturday, it was my day to wake up with Little Miss. We had breakfast and got ready to go to the playground. It was a lot warmer than I expected so after the playground, we both changed. The playground was fun. Little Miss was bossy to the other kids so we had some chats about sharing the entire playground. She also took a tumble that looked worse than it was. She recovered far faster than I. She was really good at drinking water (which is something at which I'm horrible). We stopped at the bagel place on the way home to bring Husband some breakfast. Husband's boss/friend came over to watch basketball while Little Miss and I met a friend, Brother-in-Law and Sister-in-Law for free water ice. Little Miss ate all of ours. Judging by the amount on her mouth and clothes, she enjoyed it. The video below is of her trying to stay awake and failing on the way home. Later, she took a 2 hour nap, woke up, ate dinner, took a bath and fell asleep on the couch seconds later while her hair was drying.

On Sunday, it was my day to sleep in and boy, did I ever. Husband fed Little Miss and then they both went out to get the car's oil changed and a car wash. While waiting, they went to a baseball field where Little Miss got some exercise. Then, they went grocery shopping and came home. Little Miss was too tired for lunch so we put her right in for a nap. After she woke up, she was possessed by something evil. She was bad at listening, dropped things, knocked things over. At one point, Husband just picked her up and dumped her in her crib and shut the door. She screamed and cried for about 15-20 minutes before he went to get her. She was still upset. She refused to eat dinner, but she wanted dessert. At that point, I wasn't giving her dessert, but I didn't care what she ate so she had Cheerios for lunch and dinner yesterday. She had another bath and went straight to bed. We were exhausted. She seemed to be in a much better mood this morning. Thank Goodness.

UPDATE: The video may not work. I'll try again later.

Sexy Friday

So, you know the theme by now. This is an older picture, but I don't care. I could look at it all day long. It also doesn't need much explanation, but here's the official website if you want more photos or information.

Anyone See Me?

I'm not (quite) in a panic yet because there is a possibility that my camera is under a many number of piles of clothes, books, or general stuff in the apartment. I also had a brainstorm of where it may be, but it's irking me that it is not in the few usual haunts. Anyway, if you see my slightly broken purple camera, please let me know.

UPDATE: My brainstorm was correct. The camera is found. Good timing because I'm thinking a trip to the playground this weekend and wanted to take photos, and I hear you need a camera to do so.

Contest Alert

I saw a contest today on ButterYum for a Williams-Sonoma Silicone Bouchon Mold which retails on their website for $30. Do visit the site. The recipes always look yummy and possible even for the most simplistic cook (like me). I'll admit that I've yet to try a recipe, but I may this weekend. I've had my eye on the cauliflower dish for quite some time. If it's good, maybe I'll make it for Easter, but I need a trial run first.

Can I have Some Cheese with my Whine?

March has been a rough month. Details don't matter, just know it was the perfect storm of crap. I feel like the whole month just whooshed by yet each day seems a week and a half long. I won't complain because some months/weeks/days are like that and something good is just around the corner - like good weather on a weekend for once, terra cotta warriors, Bon Jovi, my favorite holiday (Easter), and a whole mess of things.

What do you do to cope with the stress of life? I'm finding that I've been powering down at home which helps relax me and balance out the running around at work - not to mention I've made it my mission to clear out my DVR playlist and have been making such progress which gives me a sense of accomplishment and I'm only watching tv! I find listening to upbeat music (right now, Jay-Z/Linkin Park) helps keep my energy up (not to mention God's gift to me, Diet Coke). I also find, when things get out of control, that I look forward. Nothing lasts forever, just need to tackle the issue at hand and look forward to what's next. Even when life's most difficult challenges leave me feeling helpless, it helps to know I can be doing something even if that something is acknowledging that I can't do anything or all I can do is stay out of the way. I also like looking pretty. It seems shallow, but if I feel good, it makes me more confident. Unfortunately, feeling good internally backfired as I wore my new shoes and now my feet kind of hurt, but I haven't fallen (then again, I haven't had any chocolate martinis either).

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Weekend Update - Fun with Friends

Last weekend was really nice. We just hung out on Friday night. On Saturday, I woke up with Little Miss. We had a nice breakfast of eggs and breakfast potatoes (she just ate the eggs). Then, Husband woke up early so we got ready and went grocery shopping. This is Little Miss's favorite part of the weekend. She gets all the free samples and a balloon at the grocery store. Plus, this weekend, she got a Wonder Pets book. She's been reading it non-stop ever since which is cute (but kind of boring for me). After, she had lunch and then a nap. Husband went to a friend's house while I took a nap. Then, Saturday night, I met a friend at a Thai restaurant and had a lovely dinner.

On Sunday, Husband woke up with Little Miss. I hung out for a little bit and then got ready to meet friends for lunch and Alice in Wonderland. I wasn't necessarily looking forward to the movie, but I'm glad I saw it. It wasn't nearly as creepy as it appeared in commercials. When I got home, we all just kind of hung out. Little Miss and I read her new book a few dozen times. It was quiet though.

Monday morning, however, Little Miss woke up just before dawn really upset. So, Monday was a bit of a drag. Still, it's nice going to comfort her (or in this case, changing her diaper made a world of difference) because she cuddles when she's half-asleep which is nice. So, we dozed on the couch until it was time to get up. She was a much better sleeper last night. Not sure what's coming up this weekend, but I guess I'll find out soon enough.

Sexy Friday

You can check here if you don't remember this month's theme. Despite my personal feelings, there has been a little lobbying for this week's recipient of Sexy Friday - Megan Fox. It's not that I don't think she's sexy, I just think she's not as sexy as everyone else. I think she can be airbrushed to be sexy, but I saw a photo where she was not airbrushed and her skin was imperfect. Since then, I always found her kind of a Butter Face. Then again, the guys I know who like her probably don't even notice she has a face. Next week, I'm going to back to someone I think is sexy. It'll be a classic photo, too. Can't wait.

Little Miss Girly Girl

This is what Little Miss has been up to all week. She has been very girly. She took the purse I used yesterday and just carries it around. Plus, she can't stop wearing her black patent leather shoes. She was wearing them with her footed pajamas this morning. She's having a very girly week so I thought the pink polka dot dress was appropriate today. Unfortunately, she looks just like me when running, too (you know, hypothetically, if I ran). She runs with short little strides with her arms flying out to the sides. It's cute when you're 2 (not as cute when you're my age).

The Joys of Motherhood

I know many of you are here already, and I totally know I did this to my mom though I never was interested in make up. I've long since given up going to the potty by myself. I was fine with that because it was going to be an aid in helping Little Miss eventually use the potty regularly. However, Little Miss wants to watch me do everything and, in some cases, wants to mimic. It started with watching me shower. I see a shadow and then the shower curtain pushes aside. Then, she just watches. Sometimes she laughs which is a super ego boost. Later, she hands me curlers when I do my hair. The only trouble is when I put make up on. She loves to get into make up. I didn't usually mind until she started using lipstick to color or gouges giant holes in powder and blush. So, now it's off limits. This morning, it was like playing defense to my make up. Finally, I just had to holler at her. She started fake crying to see if that would help and, when that didn't, she started to really cry. I told her to leave the room, and she went to go pout on the couch. She did give me big hugs when I went back out which I'm going to take as an apology (though to her, it probably meant she forgave me for being so mean and unfair).

Weekend Update - Hanging Out

This past weekend was relaxing. I had a cold, but it never got too bad. The added rest over the weekend helped a lot, I think. I went to bed obscenely early on Friday night because Saturday is my day to wake up with Little Miss while Husband sleeps in. Saturday, I woke up with Little Miss. We watched some tv, had breakfast and then got ready to take a walk. It was a little cooler outside than I expected so we just went to the mall. Little Miss got a new pair of shoes which she insisted on wearing out of the store. Then, I picked up an Easter dress for her on sale. When we got home, she wanted pasta for lunch so I boiled her up some elbow macaroni. She went into the kitchen drawer and pulled out a wooden spoon (just like the one I was using to stir the elbows). Then, she ran out of the room. She came back with her wooden spoon and her step stool. So, under crazy supervision, she "helped" me cook. She's been very fascinated about watching me cook and "helping". It'll be fun when she can do more around the kitchen. Later, there was nap, dinner and bed time.

On Sunday, Husband woke up with Little Miss while I slept late and lounged in bed. When I got up, we did go to the grocery store after which Little Miss napped. Then, we played and cooked a special dinner for the Oscars. I won the Oscar pool. Husband, my mother and I have been doing this Oscar pool for about 12 years. Husband has won the majority of the years, but I have won the most in recent years. My mother did hit a personal high last night though and even beat Husband which has never happened. We enjoyed the awards overall, and I can't wait to see the few movies I missed, but I'm glad that I saw as many as I could.

I've been horrible about taking photos lately, but the above photo is right before we made lunch on Saturday. The below photo is from this morning. I thought I'd take advantage of the nice weather and dress Little Miss in something that said Spring. She seemed to like it and even wore the hat for awhile though I'm sure she took it off as soon as I turned my back. Those are the new shoes in the photo, too. Little Miss won't wear any other shoes. She even napped in them the other day, refusing to take them off.

Sexy Friday

For the very few male viewers, I didn't deprive you of your female photo today. Two men will be recipients of Sexy Friday in March and two women will be recipients of Sexy Friday. You'll be pleased that there is another theme. Or, rather, I'm pleased so I don't care what you all think. This ad is what inspired Sexy Friday's theme. However, I chose the below photo instead. I've never been a huge fan of Kellan Lutz, but he does seem to pop up all over the place. Now that I see he's one of the men in Generation Kill, I'm going to have to rewatch that miniseries just to drool. Calvin Klein pretty much shaped my adolescence with this photo, and it's nice to see it is still on an advertising high after all these years (though the rest of the month all goes to Giorgio Armani).

Do you live near or in Chicago?

If you do, I'm very jealous. Mark your calendars for March 13. Julie James, Beth Kery, Shiloh Walker, and Joss Ware (aka Colleen Gleason) are signing their latest books together.

Barnes & Noble
Webster Place
1441 West Webster Avenue
Chicago, IL 60614
773-871-3610
March 13th, 3:00-5:00 pm

If you can't go, you can visit here to win a signed copy of the book of your choice from EACH of the participating authors, and a $40 gift card to Barnes & Noble (also can be used at BN.com).

I am reading Something About You now and thoroughly enjoying it. It's so much fun. Attend the event if you can and let me know how it went so I can live vicariously through you. If you must, enter the contest, but then you're my competition.

Weekend Update - Highs and Lows

Let's see, first I'll address the above photo. I think my cheeks have eaten my eyes. That said, I figured if I can post unflattering photos of Little Miss, I should just suck it up. On Friday, we mostly hung out. Little Miss has been going through a phase where she hasn't been going to sleep. On Friday, we humored her and took her out of the crib because she rarely gets upset. At the end of the night, she threw her cup at my face. At that point, I dumped her in the crib and let her cry it out.

Husband woke up with Little Miss on Saturday. I know it was a rough morning for him but more in terms of the universe working against him. We all kind of hung out all day and then we went grocery shopping, had dinner and then went out for a friend's 30th birthday. We'll just say that the party was at a bar and we don't get out much. The combination of the two was dangerous. Plus, I wore my fun new shoes. The shoes and alcohol were a poor mix. I'll only say that I fell a few times.

So, Sunday was rough. I'll let your imagination figure that one out. I went to bookclub after getting crazy lost. Then, Sister, Nephew, Little Miss and I took Mom out for dinner for her birthday which was nice if not tiring. Little Miss cried herself to sleep again last night. Plus, she woke up in as equally as good of a mood this morning. We're hoping this is a phase. I don't mind having her cry it out every night, but it's more than that. She's just off her game and not acting like herself.

Sexy Monday

Sorry for missing last Friday's Sexy Friday. I was busy at work and got caught up and didn't have time to post early. I'm finishing the month of celebrities in Valentine's Day so this week is Taylor Lautner and Taylor Swift. You know, for the preteen readers of my blog. I'm not gigantic fans of either, but I can't help but be a little caught up in their enthusiasm (whether genuine or not). I have an exciting theme for March if I can pull it off. So, March is bringing the sexy back. Fingers crossed that I can come up with enough examples for the theme to work.