Facebook

Best time waster ever! Yes, I absolutely hate the "enhancements" made to the site (bring back the old news feeder) but it's still a great waste of time.

I can take quizzes for days, comment on peoples status' and find people I didn't know I wanted to re-connect with.

Most importantly, if I ever need to procrastinate, it is there to welcome me in to its' loving arms.

OK...now I've grossed myself out.

Reality shows are not real??

The Hills -

• Suddenly Lauren has stopped talking about her dating life. So what about her real life actor boy friend? Why isn't he on the show?

The Real Housewives of NYC -

• "I can't wait to bake something" "I know pancakes in the morning" Ummm, you don't bake pancakes.
• "I love your appliances. Who makes them" Ummm, BIG OLD Monogram GE emblem on them! "I like GE"
• by the way, Kelly is insane!!!

Dancing With The Stars -

• "It's been honor to be here, and so much fun" Ummm, is that the case or do they want to revive their careers and lose weight?

American Idol -

• Who cares what place you finish? If you're good you're going to get a contract.

The 8 Meme

I was tagged for this meme by From KS to PA. It took awhile but was actually pretty fun.


8 Things I'm Looking Forward to:
Lunch with friends tomorrow
The weekend
Making Sunday brunch with the monkey's
The little monkey's birthday party in May
Summer (I love the heat and long days)
The Economy getting better
Napa Valley vacation in September
Finishing this meme

8 Things I did yesterday
Went to work
Had lunch with a friend
Came home
Went to a sushi dinner with the husband and the monkeys
Played the "Eye Spy" game at dinner
Went to Barnes and Noble and bought the next book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series
Booked the party place for the little monkey's birthday
Surfed the web

8 Things I wish I could do
Get weekly massages, mani/pedi's, etc...
Take more vacations with the family
Sing
Get to a point where I am happy with my weight and my body
Buy anything I want without worrying about money
Stay on a budget
Be more patient with the monkeys

8 Shows I watch
Greys Anatomy
The Mentalist
Lie to Me
Dancing With The Stars
Housewives of OC/NYC/ATL
Entourage
House
The Unit

8 Tags
Jiggety Jig
Caffeine Court
Dirty Socks and Pizza
I Left My Heart at Preschool
It's All About Balance
Janana Bee
The Norwidians
Under The Influence

The Wrong Feature

This is my Monday feature, "The WRONG feature".

Play along.

5 things you think maybe be wrong, for one reason or another and 1 that you KNOW is wrong.
Is this wrong:

• Swine Flu Not Kosher in Israel (OK, more funny than wrong)
• I don't feel well enough to go and work out but will get up and drive to the bookstore to get book 5 of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series
• When I posted my Facebook status that I was making homemade chicken soup, I got a lecture from a girl I knew in childhood on the CORRECT way to make chicken soup!
• I won't pay retail on clothes for myself but will buy brand new books, read them once and then just give them away
• I am tying to eat healthy and then go and buy European dark chocolate and walnut candies (and tell myself that they are for the kids and husband only)

I KNOW this is just WRONG :

Speidi got married - shudder! How about we legalize same sex marriage and make it against the law for these two to continue their fake lives (I hate to even call what they do living)!

Jewish Penicillin

I've been battling a bit of a head cold this weekend. Today, I decided to do what I could to battle it.

I made Chicken Soup. I will post the recipe tomorrow (not really a recipe actually - just the way I make it).

Chicken Soup is also knows as Jewish Penicillin.

According to Medterms.com:

Jewish penicillin: Chicken soup. If not really a form of penicillin," chicken soup may, in fact, have some therapeutic merit.

A study published in the journal Chest demonstrated that chicken soup may contain substances with beneficial activity including an anti-inflammatory effect that could ease the symptoms of colds and other upper respiratory infections. Chicken soup was found to inhibit neutrophil migration providing a basis for an anti-inflammatory activity. "Undoubtedly, the in vivo effects of chicken soup include more than the effects on neutrophils," the researchers wrote. "The warm liquid, particularly when sipped, can stimulate nasal clearance and may improve upper respiratory tract symptoms." (Rennard BO, Ertl RF, Grossman GL, et al. Chicken soup inhibits neutrophil chemotaxis in vitro. Chest. 2000;18:1150-1157.)
It should be added that to benefit from Jewish penicillin, one need not be Jewish

In the last couple of weeks I've been relying more on cures of generations past. I still BELIEVE in modern medicine, but it feels nice to be able to treat without medicines.

I'm not 100% well yet, but I did feel soothed while eating my broth :)

Guest Post

You can find me posting today at Moms Without Blogs. I am so excited!

I have been reading Lee since I began blogging. She started at around the same time as I did and she has done SO MUCH with her blog. She has a number of moms, who actually have no blogs, who guest post - she gives them a forum to talk about their lives and experiences.

She also has a number of bloggy moms who contribute to her blog.

I am very excited to be contributing to her Simple Recipe Saturday. Enjoy!

Moms Have It Hard

I was talking to a girl friend tonight. She wasn't born in this country, and only emigrated about 10 years ago. She got married here and has 2 sons.

Her husband and her were discussing her working. She tried to explain to him that it wouldn't work out. She doesn't have a degree in America. She has never really worked here. The only jobs she could get wouldn't pay much more than minimum wage. Not even enough to pay for after school care.

Also, she spends about 1.5 hours each day with her eldest son on homework (the younger one is still in preschool). Her husband just doesn't understand these things. He is very proud when his son brings home great report cards, but is ignorant to the reason behind the grades. If she didn't work so much with him, he would not do as well. Her mom spent the majority of time, during my friends' childhood, working and making my friend do everything by herself, and my friend did not get as much out of school as a consequence.

I think dads don't always see everything that we moms do for/with our kids. Kind of like the groceries - you know, the ones the magically appear in the refrigerator ;)

I KNOW that things are tough for all moms, regardless of if you are a stay at home mom (like she is) or a working mom (like I am).

Sometimes the old fashioned cures are the best

Instead of antibiotics, for the little monkey's eye, I tried the old school cure of chamomile tea.

I was talking to a girl friend this morning, and she was telling me that her husband offered her some Chamomile Tea to drink. Her response - "But I'm not sick". Russians (and many others) use Chamomile as a medicinal herb, not really for drinking tea.

According to gardenguides.com:

What Chamomile Can Do For You
by Diane Kennedy Snyder

Chamomile with its rich apple scent is one of the most popular herbal teas in the world. Most people think of chamomile as tea. Chamomile is much more.
There are several types of chamomile. German Chamomile/ Matricaria recutita is a tall annual, which grows wild. Roman Chamomile/ Chamaemelum nobile is a low-growing perennial. Another type of chamomile is Moroccan Chamomile, often called the poor cousin.
Chamomile was worshiped by ancient Egyptians, prescribed by many a Greek doctor and is well known as one of the sacred herbs of the ancient manuscript, Lacnunga. Chamomile comes from the Greek word meaning ground apple.
Chamomile has many different applications: sedative, relaxant, depression aid, stress reliever, soothes teething and colic, calms the digestive system, settles nervous indigestion, gastritis, relieves headaches, menstruation, disorders of the kidney, liver and the bladder, hay fever, insomnia, hiccups, stomach cramps, vomiting, appetite loss, spastic pain, arthritis, is an anti-inflammatory agent, inhalant for asthma treatment; lightens, cleans, and conditions hair, used as a rinse for dandruff; skin cleanser; relieves eczema, helps ease itching, acne, burns, infected wounds, ulcers, and facial neuralgia, diarrhea aid, and is an insect repellent.

The swelling in the eye has gone SIGNIFICANTLY down. Hopefully it will go away tomorrow.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions!

Antibiotics and doctors offices

Why is it that doctors offices give out antibiotics like they are candy????

The little monkey had a puffy eye this morning. So off to the doctor we go (I feel as though I am at their offices every other week).

An aside...why the heck do I have the one child who doesn't just sit quietly in the waiting room watching the movie. No...I have to have the one who keeps talking, asking questions, pointing to other people, etc...

Not pink eye, not a sty, not a bite... So, it's either an allergy or an "infection". We came home and I gave her Benadryl. That doesn't help.

Therefore, it must be an "infection", which I think is fancy doctor talk that actually means "I have no idea what the hell is wrong with your child". The cure for "we have no idea what it is" - antibiotics.

I think I'm going to call their office back tomorrow morning and see if we can do something homeopathic instead.

Any suggestion?

The Wrong Feature

This is my Monday feature, "The WRONG feature".

Play along.

5 things you think maybe be wrong, for one reason or another and 1 that you KNOW is wrong.

Is this wrong:

• Even though it is 100 degrees outside, I still have the heater on in my office (my feet get cold even though I love to wear sandals)
• No matter what time I get home I have to watch TV for at least an hour
• I love to get comments but I am not the best in replying to each person
• I am very social but sometimes I would rather be left alone with a good book (OK, fine, more than just sometimes)
• I am excited about the challenge of building an access database from scratch

I KNOW this is just WRONG :

I was filling up the car tonight, sitting in the car reading while the gas tank was filing up. I hear a click telling me that the gas is filled. I squeeze the handle one more time just to make sure that the gas is topped off.

I look up to see my $$ damage and this is what I see:

I guess gas prices really are hell ;)

Dogs

So we've FINALLY talked the husband in to getting a dog this year (amazing what 3 females, 2 of them who look at him like he is the sun, the moon and the earth can do to change someones opinion).

I want a puggle. The little monkey wants a poodle and the big monkey just wants a small dog (they're both scared of big dogs). The husband doesn't want "a toy/rat" - he had a Chow growing up. I also DON'T want a baby that I have to train.

We need someone that is OK running in the backyard most of the time, except for a walk once or twice a day. It would probably sleep with one of the monkey's and definitely be babied.

Preferably, the dog would not shed very much, if at all.

I will happily take any and all recommendations, words of wisdom, etc...

Kids Birthday Party

Today was the first time I went to birthday party where I had to LEAVE THE PARTY to go get some food.

The birthday was in a clubhouse. There were about 15 girls (most were about 7 years old). There were maybe 8 moms.

The food consisted of:
1 bowl of Chips (not a big bowl)
4 bags of microwave popcorn
4 pizza's in the kitchen (and they would only bring one pizza out at a time and I was afraid to ask for more)

My friend and I (we carpooled) LITERALLY left the party, drove to Trader Joes, bought artichoke dip and cheese and crackers, drove back to the party and ate.

The monkeys had a GREAT TIME - a mom was painting nails, they played charades, they did art and crafts and decorated their own cupcakes!

But REALLY....This is the FIRST time I had to go and buy food to go to a party!!

I get it - you're not wealthy. But they had money to buy a ton of decorations??

At LEAST have a veggie or fruit platter from Costco!!

Friday Observations

I spend so much of my time nagging the kids, yelling at them and being annoyed by them. And then there are days like this.

The big monkey had a class field trip to The Getty museum. I went with the class. She was SO happy I was joining them. I have a couple of observations from this class field trip:

• Girls are mean - you put a group of girls in the car for an hour and there will be crying, yelling, power plays.
• Boys just want to have fun - you put a group of boys together anywhere and they are just happy forming a posse and hanging out (not matter what they're doing).
• When you have a docent that is excited about being there, the kids and adults are engaged.
• When you have a docent who acts like she picked the short straw, the kids and parents get restless.
• Docents aren't the best at simple math - one thought 19 was a number that was evenly divisible by 2 and the other thought that the 1800's were 800 years ago.
• No matter how old you are, all adults find the word "hoe" funny, will snicker and make crude comments - which thankfully still go over 7 year olds heads.
• At the end of field trips kids are STARVING (even if they have eaten less than 2 hours ago).

After the field trip I went to work. I usually go out with friends on Friday night (my one night to myself) but tonight I caught a quick dinner, just me and my book. This way I made it home before 8pm, got the kids in their jammies, and let them lay in my bed and watch Sky High with me. The monkey's laid on me, one on each side, and were happy and content. SO WAS I.

What a great end to the week.

Zumba

These are my Zumba teachers!!!

I was actually asked to participate in this class for the news but it was a bit too far and during work.

It's a higher paced version of Zumba. They are actually branching off and calling it Latin Jam.

You can see where there are classes in the LA area on their website, latinjam.net.

Wordful Wednesday

Cruising around the mini world at Lego land, the big monkey gave the little monkey a kiss in front of the Sydney Opera House! Sometimes I swell with pride (usually right before one of them does something to piss the other one off):

All the kids got their drivers licenses (but the little one didn't want to pose). I am VERY scared at how excited they all are!!

For a list of people participating in WW, go to 7 Clown Circus.

The WRONG feature

This is my new Monday feature, "The WRONG feature"

Play along. 5 things you think maybe be wrong, for one reason or another and 1 that you KNOW is wrong.

Is this wrong:

• I am doing my Monday feature on Tuesday
• I get a perverse pleasure out of watching the Real Housewives of NYC
• I still want to see the Hannah Montana movie
• I came home from working out and ate a microwaved hot dog and a hand full of walnuts
• I am addicted to facebook quizzes

I KNOW this is just WRONG :

Banana Hammock (according to the Urban Dictionary)

A men's style of undergarment that holds the genitalia in a sling-like hammock apparatus, allowing the meat knot to protrude offensively. Favored by greasy Europeans at the beach, and even greasier weightlifters during competition and posedown sessions.

Good samaritan

I was working out tonight at my gym (which is women only) and heard a plea over the speaker for anyone with jumper cables to come forward.

I was about 1/2 way through my workout but figured that I should be a good samaritan.

I went up to the front and proceeded to help one of the massage therapists with her car.

The funny thing is, she was so surprised that someone would stop what they were doing and help someone out! I really hope that there are more people out there that would respond and help, instead of being apathetic and selfish.

Except.....

It turns out that I don't have jumper cables...so I called AAA...and they were on their way...and another girl came by with jumper cables...and we tried to jump start her car...and the only thing that happen was her alarm went off...so it's not her battery, but her security wires or something...so I called AAA and cancelled...and she went to call her road side assistance...who she had called before ,but they were going to take about an hour to arrive...and I left.

Attempting to be a good samaritan is hard!!!

Back from vacation

3 days not posting to my blog...I am in withdrawl :)

I'm finally back from our spring break mini-vacation. So much fun - will post tomorrow.

WW or WT or WTF??

I thought I would join in this week. I just took this picture on Monday. The big monkey decided she had to pose with her bike and the little one is ready for bed but had to join in the fun.

Don't they look shy and meek?

By the way, what is the difference between Wordless Wednesday and Thousand Word Thursday??

I only know that Jen, from Cheaper than Therapy, started Thousand Word Thursdays, but that is the extent of my knowledge.

Happy Passover

According the Judaism 101:

Of all the Jewish holidays, Pesach is the one most commonly observed, even by otherwise non-observant Jews. According to the 1990 National Jewish Population Survey (NJPS), more than 80% of Jews have attended a Pesach seder.

Pesach begins on the 15th day of the Jewish month of Nissan. It is the first of the three major festivals with both historical and agricultural significance (the other two are Shavu'ot and Sukkot). Agriculturally, it represents the beginning of the harvest season in Israel, but little attention is paid to this aspect of the holiday. The primary observances of Pesach are related to the Exodus from Egypt after generations of slavery. This story is told in Exodus, Ch. 1-15. Many of the Pesach observances are instituted in Chs. 12-15.

The name "Pesach" (PAY-sahch, with a "ch" as in the Scottish "loch") comes from the Hebrew root Pei-Samekh-Cheit , meaning to pass through, to pass over, to exempt or to spare. It refers to the fact that G-d "passed over" the houses of the Jews when he was slaying the firstborn of Egypt. In English, the holiday is known as Passover.

So, to all my Jewish friends:

May this week of eating Matzah go by quickly and easily!

Is It Wrong

I am trying out a Monday feature. Here goes.

Is this wrong:

• I just saw the commercial for the Hannah Montana movie and now I want to see it.
• I didn't go to the gym because I was going to go Grocery shopping...which I didn't do because too much good TV was on.
• I love fruits and have them in the refrigerator but won't eat them unless someone else brings them to me on a plate (preferably washed and cut up).
• I have been procrastinating going through my drawers and closet for the past 4 months - I have too much stuff but nothing to wear.
• I love Dancing with The Stars, but have no attention span, so lose interest in the dances.

I KNOW this is just WRONG (and kind of offensive):

Play along. 5 things you think maybe be wrong, for one reason or another and 1 that you KNOW is wrong.

As the saying goes...

I got something I never thought I would buy...ever...in a million years.

As I youngster I hardly ever used one (maybe 6 months in total).

Ready???

I bought a bike. OK, stop laughing!

I called a good friend and said "I bought a bike!"

Her answer - "what did you do that for?"

The monkey's were getting bikes (the previous bikes we've gotten them have broken really quickly so they really have never ridden bikes) and I realized that I wasn't going to jog after them (I exercise where G-d intended - the gym). So I figured I had to get a bike. My husband can also ride the bike I got.

I hadn't ridden in 25 years!!! It freaked me out at first but as the saying goes:

It's just like riding a bike :)

Fruits and Vegetables

My monkey's LOVE candy, cookies and anything that has sugar in it. Morning, noon and night!!!

Thanks to the husband we have every snack food known to man, practically, in our cupboard! He takes the monkey's to am/pm or 7-Eleven multiple times a week.

That being said, my monkeys also love fruits and vegetables. I think one of the things I've actually done right as a parent, that I haven't had to second guess, is taking them to the farmer's market on a weekly basis, since each of them was 2 years old. There they munch on cucumbers and tomatoes, pomelos and tangelos, green beans and sugar snap peas, corn and persimmons, Asian pears and cilantro. All of it is raw and organic. They have learned to enjoy many things un-cooked and to try most items I put in front of them (somehow though, I still have trouble at restaurants getting them to taste something that looks "weird").

Tonight I was cooking dinner and decided to chop up some sweet, yellow bell peppers for us to munch on as I was cooking. The monkey's just went to town on them - the pepper was gone in 2 minutes flat.

Sometimes I think that we don't give kids enough credit. That we try to cover up fruits and vegetables with sauces and creams and sugar so that the fruits and vegetables are no longer recognizable. We cook all the flavor out of these ingredients and don't give kids the chance to TRULY taste them. Our biases are front and center - from when our parents did the same to our food.

It might take a while to break the instant "no" to new foods, but try to slice up some raw vegetables and lay them on the counter. You might be surprised.

This is a picture I took tonight of the two of them eating the raw bell pepper and loving it:

Out to dinner

On Saturday night we went to my Father-in-Law's birthday. We went to the restaurant we usually go to.

It is extremely tasty, the service is fabulous and (oddly enough) very child friendly.

This restaurant is Tanino Restaurant in Westwood (this is near UCLA, in Los Angeles). They serve home style, refined Italian food. The chef is Tanino Drago, of the famous Drago brothers. They have restaurants all over LA, and this restaurant is a very good representation of why.

Their soup and appetizers are to die for. The Pappa al pomodoro (Thick tomato and bread soup) is one of the best soups I've ever tasted. I have never been able to re-create this either. The Burrata caprese (Buttery mozzarella cheese with organic heirloom tomatoes,roasted bell peppers basil and olive oil) is phenomenal. The rest of the appetizers are just as good.

Moving on the entrees, a couple of my favorites are the Tortelloni di zucca e salvia (Tortellini stuffed with pumpkin and ricotta in a cream and sage sauce), Stinco d’agnello (Ossobuco style lamb shank served with saffron risotto) and the Risotto ai funghi misti di bosco e mascarpone (Arborio rice with mixed wild mushrooms and mascarpone cheese). No matter how many times we go, and how many people in our party, people always order these dishes!

For dessert, we constantly get samplers of pretty much any thing the chef wants to make us. Wow!! I can't choose a favorite.

For parties (at least 12 people) we get the upstairs room, where we are usually the only party. The service is impeccable. The kids are treated like honored guests. It is a very nice restaurant, but you can easily tell that the wait staff, the management and even the chef (when we are lucky enough to have him come out) truly loves children.

I would recommend this restaurant for a romantic dinner out, a girls night night, dinner with friends AND dinner with the family.

Here are some pictures the big monkey took at the restaurant:

And last, but not least, a picture of my mom and I after dinner (my dress looks so much better in person):

Procrastination and Patience

Shouldn't these two concepts be polar opposites? In fact, I do believe they are polar opposites (trust me on this one, you don't have to look it up, because it's not like I'm talking out of my ass or anything).

How can I be such a study in contradictions?

I HATE it when I have to be patient. I will be patient if I absolutely need to be - but it stresses me out to be so.
I LOVE to procrastinate. I've been doing it since I was a kid.
I HATE to wait even 10 minutes for restaurants to make my food.
I LOVE to sit for 20 minutes after a meal just reading.
IT IS NOT THE JOURNEY, it's getting there as fast as possible to enjoy the destination!
I LOVE being up against a deadline and having full faith that I an pull something off much quicker than most other people!

Wow! I am an ODD duck! I shall teach my monkey's to do as I say, not as I do...nah, maybe tomorrow I will teach this to them ;)