Christmas

Christmas Eve -- singing Christmas songs

New pajamas

Hair Metal

Formula for a hair metal band:
1. Band name is a color plus an animal.

2. First hit was a fast song about bad girls rockin' bad boys and the second hit was a slow song about a sweet devil bleeding your gypsy heart and the third hit doesn't exist.

short reunion

Milena was in Connecticut for the holidays, and came into the city for a few hours with her family. I ditched work and met up with them in Rockefeller Center and then went for Ray's pizza.

coming soon... more Christmas photos

Christmas in apt 5E

I did some minimal decorating for Christmas this year. Here is a picture of my mantle. See if you can guess whose stocking is whose.

In case you need a little closer look...

Christmas parties

I just came from a Christmas party for our teen mother program, where those kids took one look at Santa and started bawling! After the party, my coworker and friend, Heidi, told me about another Christmas party at another foster care agency. She has a friend that lives in LA and is a writer for an E! show. He was invited to go to this party and bring a gift, but apparently, didn't pay attention to any of the other details. He showed up with a baseball and mitt. When he got there, he found out that this was an agency that specializes in working with GLBT teens (that's gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgendered, for those of you not in the business), and he thought he had made a faux pas. Another person at the event said, "That's okay, we'll just give it to one of the girls!"

30 Rock quote of the week (12/13)

Esther was nice enough to remind me that I'm behind this week, but at least we agreed on the best quote of the week. Once again, from Jack.

"Oh, in his mind Reagan is still president. You lucky bastard.”"

Anniversary

The other day, I was talking to some people in my ward and missionary work came up a whole lot. Remember those days when you had been home for a few months and talked about it all the time? Well, this guy has been home for a year, maybe two, and he just had that look in his eye, like those two years were the best two years of his life. For me, on the other hand, it has been so many years, I don't even care to count, and definitely is not something I think about or talk about on a regular basis. However, today is December 18, the anniversary of the day I reported to duty. I used to mark this day each year as it passed (as I did June 23 --the day I left), but haven't done so in many years. Until today, I guess.

Graffiti

Sometimes graffiti speaks for itself

(taken on Broadway and 172nd St.)

FINE!!!!

I tried to avoid it. I denied that I would ever watch it. I refused to add it to my DVR list. but... I finally gave in. After watching a few episodes here and there of "The Hills" and sort of knowing what was going on through the gossip magazines, I decided to watch it. Just when I embraced it and actually programmed it into my DVR, I found out that last night was the season finale!

Has this show really been on for three seasons?

30 Rock quote of the week (12/6)

Once again, several quotes that I would be honored to include in this here blog. I think this week, I'll post one for each character.

Liz: I don't think you want advice from me. I ate a 3 Musketeers bar for breakfast and this bra is held together with tape. (I especially like this one because I ate two cookies for breakfast on the day I watched this episode.)

Tracy: Maybe I should give up and try this crystal meth I've been hearing so much about.

Jack: This company has a strict "bros before hos" policy.

Oh wait, I also liked another of Jack's comments: Try not to dress like a small-town lesbian.

Vote for your favorite!

Keeping tabs

I was just looking online for updates about my boyfriend and saw that he was eating dinner with Minka Kelly at The Waverly Inn. That is about 4 blocks from my house, I mean office (I spend so much time here, I forget that I don't live here). Am I going to have to start hanging out there with the other stalkers?

When the Saints come Marching in

Someone in my office has the above song as their ringtone (isn't that the dumbest ringtone ever?). Every time I hear it, I start singing "Albania, Albania, you border on the Adriatic. Your terrain is mostly mountainous, and your chief export is chrome." This is from a really old episode of "Cheers" when Coach is teaching Sam (I think) his method of studying for a test by making up new words to a familiar song. I don't remember why they were studying for a test, but it definitely worked for me. If anyone ever asks me anything about Albania, I know those three pieces of information.

brunch

Also while Esther & co. were here, we went to Norma's for Brunch. The following is what we ordered:

Cheesy French toast (baguettes, batter-dipped and fried, melted cheese and bacon on top)
Waffle with Fruit Inside Fruit Outside, with a Crackly Brulée Top
Waffling Toast Gauffres French Toast a la Crepe Suzette
Crispy Belgian Waffle With Fresh Berries and Devonshire Cream
and
Waffle with chocolate, peanut butter and Heath Bars!

Dee-lish!

star sighting

As previously reported, Esther came to visit this weekend and brought some friends with her. We went to brunch at one of my favorite West Village restaurants, Cowgirl. Since we had a big group, we had to wait a few minutes for a table, so we were sitting in front of the large window overlooking the street. I stood up to get a menu, and as I did so, caught a glimpse of another large group entering the restaurant. The leader of this group was none other than Jon Stewart, carrying his young son. I looked at him, immediately recognized him but had enough presence of mind to think, "Do not let it show." I turned around and then was able to start the freaking out, as I told everyone else, "Jon Stewart is coming, Jon Stewart is coming," then sat down and looked over the menu as calmly as possible. They entered and asked for a table of six, after which Esther and I looked at each other with a smirk, knowing that they would give our table of six to the Emmy winner and his wife, child and other guests. However, the hostess said, "We have two tables of six before you." yeah for us!

To me, it made the weekend that much more of a success because every visitor to New York should see at least one famous person. I know I was more excited than they were because I love Jon Stewart and I couldn't tell if anyone else knew who he even was.

The Daily Show

Several years ago, I called The Daily Show for tickets. An actual person answered the phone, looked at the calendar and told me what days they had available (usually within a month or so) and then mailed them to my house. I went twice with Craig Kilborn as the host and twice since Jon Stewart has been the host. A few months ago (maybe 6?), I thought I'd like to get tickets when a friend was coming to town, so I logged onto their website and found that times have indeed changed! The first available tickets were for November. So I decided to get them for November 27, on the off chance that Jill might be here for Thanksgiving (she wasn't). However, due to the writer's strike, there was no show and it's back to the drawing board. Maybe I'll get to go again in 6 more months.

The Office (11/29)

I guess they ran out of episodes. sniff.

30 Rock quote of the week (11/29)

There were so many great moments in this episode. I loved the "We're cougars" speech from Jenna. I loved when Jamie called Liz Lemon the sexy librarian and she said, "You are!" Then, of course, Jack's "Churchillian" takeover of the baseball and his statement, "I don't have to understand their world to help them. It's like this great country of ours. We can go into any country and impose our values. It's what Bush is doing all over the globe. " Along with the "Mission Accomplished" banner

But, the quote of the week goes to Liz Lemon, and it's short and sweet: "I'm 37. Please don't make me go to Brooklyn."

This coming weekend

The weekend before Thanksgiving is the beginning of New York tourist nightmare season and now that T-day has passed, we are well into it. Esther is coming to visit this weekend and is bringing several friends who have never been to New York before. As such, I will be partaking in all the best and worst the city has to offer. As if they knew, Time Out New York arrived in my mail box today with this cover.

(Yes, I'm complaining, but happy to see my BFF none the less!)

Congratulations, Tina!

I just wanted to say congratulations to my little sister who is now a spokesmodel for Cover Girl!! I have been enjoying your commercials each week while watching ANTM.

30 Rock Quote of the week (11/15)

This was such a brilliant episode. I love the whole Liz Lemon is a little bit racist bit. but the quote of the week goes to Jack again.

Jack: When it comes to hair, no one is more bitchy than conservative males.

The Office quote of the week (11/15)

Kelly Kapur: Trash talk is all hypothetical, like, your mama is so fat, she can eat the internet.

30 Rock Quote (11/8)

Look how Greenzo is testing. They love him in every demographic -- Colored people, broads, fairies, commies... Gosh! I'm gonna update these forms.

The Office quote (11/8)

Jim, referring to Michael: He is a very big believer in surprise parties. Maybe even, arguably possibly to a fault.

FNL

Another reason to love it... now they have a foster child on the show!

I love Jim!

Walking past The Gap last night, I saw this image in the window. How cute is he?

I'm so bummed!!

A few days ago, I learned about an upcoming John Mayer concert. He will be performing a special holiday concert for charity. The bill says, John Mayer acoustic, John Mayer Trio and John Mayer & his band. I immediately thought, "Uhhhh.... I have to be there!" This concert is going to be in LA (a minus), but I have people there ( a plus!). I called Anne Lise and asked if I could come stay. As luck would have it, she has family coming that week and leaving on the same day as the show. I decided I don't want to be an annoying friend, so I put it out of my mind, after talking about it A LOT.

Although I ruled the whole thing out, I decided just to check what the ticket situation was. They went on sale Thursday at 1 pm. I have a standing appointment every Thursday at 1 pm with my student. However, it's not the first time I told my student to wait for me while I purchased JM tickets (seriously. you can ask my student from last year.) Anyway, somehow at 12:55, I was asking Heidi what she thought I should do and then at 1:00 I went into my meeting, somehow totally forgetting that I was supposed to be looking at the ticket situation. At 3:00, I came out of the meeting and went, "D'oh!" and by this time the show was sold out. Immediately following this, I got a message from Anne Lise saying, "You have to come, my mom is excited to feed you a traditional Norwegian Christmas feast and they are going to drive themselves to the airport in their rental car." All the pieces came together... except for ...Uhh..... I forgot... to buy the tickets!

Now I have to try to get tickets through ticketmaster instead of the cool way... the JM fanclub, of which I have been a member for about 5 years. I have a dream that someday, he will come to my home and tell me he is going to come perform at my high school prom since I'm his biggest fan and president of the fan club!

Dessert

Jill came to visit this week. We spent a few days in NYC, and then went up to Boston where we spent a few more days with Tina and Valerie and the kids. The following is a list of desserts we have eaten:

• Cupcakes (Amy's Bread)


• Apple pie (Little Pie Company) with Haagen Daz ice cream (light, of course)


• Various forms of chocolate samples from the Chocolate show http://www.chocolateshow.com/index2.php


• Canolli (North End, Boston)


• more Cupcakes (Lulu's bakery, Boston, pictured here with Maureen)


• Apple slump (Louisa May Alcott's recipe)


• Candy Cane Jo-Jo's (Trader Joe's version of Oreo's with peppermint candy in the middle)

Is it any wonder my pants are feeling a little tight today?

I'm a tourist at heart

I was walking past the Time Warner building and saw the writer's on strike. I started gawking... then saw some of the people in the picket line. Tim Robbins was being interviewed by someone at E! and Seth Meyers was there. I was staring hardcore because I heard Tina Fey has been out there, and since she's the most brilliant writer in TV, I wanted to catch a glimpse. Jill was sort of watching, but mostly walking... until.... I spotted David Duchovny. I went running up to her and pulled on her sleeve and yelled, "David Duchovny's here!" These are the words she needed to become a stalker as well, and she whipped out her camera. She wasn't able to get a good photo because, as I'm sure you've seen in movies, they walk in a little circle and he was at the far side of the circle. I was content to stand and wait until he got to the closer side of the circle to get a good shot, but we were running late. Plus, after getting two partial shots, I was starting to feel a little conspicuous. I wonder if they think we are (a) annoying, (b) pathetic, or (c) sympathetic to their cause.... Turns out, I'm all three.

Finally, Finally, Finally

I'm caught up on FNL!! yipee! I have to say that I put it off a little because I wanted something to look forward to. I finished season 1 two weeks ago in a 5 hour marathon (totally worth it). Then I watched one episode each night after work last night (also, a great way to do it). Have I mentioned that I LOVE this show??

I had been hearing that season 2 was a little disappointing. There is one story line that's pretty annoying, I admit. Don't want to give it away because I know not everyone is watching this show (but everyone should!), but basically, someone killed someone out of self-defense and then didn't report it. Don't people know that self-defense is a REAL defense!? People do it all the time and don't go to jail for it! But the rest of the plotline for these two characters is so good, I just pretend the murder isn't even part of the show. Murder? What murder?

The other good thing about this season is that all the guys on the show have gotten hotter over the summer. Which definitely helps.

My friend informed me today that they are pulling new episodes off the schedule due to the writer's strike. This means that there may not be new eps for a while... and that we may not get a full schedule. I supported this writer's strike until this minute!!

30 Rock quote of the week (11/1)

Wait... what? It wasn't on? Either they did not put 30 Rock on this week because it is the beginning of November and thus the beginning of Sweeps and thus they don't want to put on a show that gets poor ratings because this is the BEST SHOW AND PEOPLE ARE STILL NOT WATCHING. Or... my DVR did not record it this week, which has been known to happen.

So, what happened?

The Office quote of the week (11/1)

Michael: You cannot take the hilarious black guy from the office. I don't know how George Bush did it after Colin Powel left.

All Roads Lead to the Rock

Bon Jovi is in the middle of doing 10 nights at the new Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. After seeing them perform at Live Earth (Dawn and I agree that they were the highlight--better than the Police, but not better than JM, at least for me), I decided it was crazy that I've never seen them perform live before. So I decided to go to performance #5.

They are a lot like Bruce Springsteen in several ways. Of course, there is the NJ connection and the crazy NJ fans that love them and go to see them 10 nights in a row. There is also the similarity that they have those big songs that have the capacity fill up a whole stadium with the music ("Livin' on a Prayer" is their "Born to Run"). Unlike Springsteen, however, Bon Jovi played all their hits. Starting with "Runaway" all the way to "Lost Highway." If you are not a fan of The Boss, you may not be aware that people are always complaining that he doesn't just play Darkness on the Edge of Town and Born to Run, with a little Rosalita and Born in the USA mixed in, but actually tries to play some of his new songs and his solo songs in there as well. Despite their complaints, they will stil pay thousands of dollars to see him play live. Anyway, Bon Jovi tickets do not go for thousands of dollars and therefore I was able to go and enjoy them among my peeps. I still get a little choked up as he sings about his love for NJ.

Fall has arrived!

This is a picture I stole from my sister's blog. How cute is my niece??

We have had a really weird fall, so far. It's actually been pretty hot through Sept. and Oct. Today, it made it into the 40's and I actually wore real shoes for the first time. I love fall, but I don't like wearing real shoes (even though I was actually wearing Birkenstocks for much of the past 5 weeks).

It's pretty much the same every year here in the tri-state area. As children, we would plan our Halloween costumes for weeks, and the weather would be pretty warm and we would get so excited thinking that we'd actually be able to wear our costumes without wearing a coat. Then, without fail, it would get cold all of a sudden and all plans were shot. Of course, this year has been much warmer than most -- in the 70's and 80's. But still, three days before Halloween, it's now in the 40's.

Race relations

The other day, I was with a client who reported that she has Puerto Rican, Dominican, American Indian and African American heritage. Somehow, I said something about being white, which I figured was fairly obvious. She said, "You're white?" I just looked at her, showed her my hand, said, "Yes, of course I'm white!" She responded, "Really? Where is your mother from?" When I answered that she was born and raised here in the US, she asked where my grandmother was from. Again, I answered that she was born and raised in the US and that my ancestors go back for many years, but before that, they were from England, Scotland, and Sweden. Basically, the whitest countries you can be from -- that's where my people are from. I am so white that I have to slather 45 on to sit on the beach for any length of time, as well as wearing a hat and sitting under an umbrella.

I am increasingly realizing that for many of my clients, "white" is a negative term. If you call someone white, that's pretty much as bad as it gets. One of my clients is definitely white -- fair skin, freckles, straight hair, etc. The worst name she is called at school is "White out." I've had clients that have said someone was white, and then quickly say, "Oh, sorry" because they assume that I would be offended by that term. The fact that they like me, for the most part, means that I can't possibly be white. Maybe I should not tell them!

Did this really happen?

This is a picture of Robert Plant talking to Jessica Simpson. In case you don't know who they are, Robert Plant is the lead singer of the greatest rock and roll band of all time, Led Zeppelin. Jessica Simpson is.... a singer. sort of.

30 Rock quote of the week (10/25)

Liz Lemon: I need my job back, but this is not crawling. This is proud begging, like those kids that dance on the subway."

Great episode!

The Office quote of the week (10/25)

After hearing the song that Daryl wrote and everyone sang in harmony, Michael said, "I thought this was supposed to be a rap." Daryl responded, "What's rap?" Michael said, "Daryl, you have so much to learn about your culture. I'll make you a mix."

Gimme More

After almost two years, I now have cable again. I was most excited for VH1 and MTV, although I have no idea why because they weren't that great two years ago and they are even worse now.

This morning (because that's the only time they show videos), I saw Britney's new video for "Gimme More." I can't believe that anyone thought this was the song that was going to be her big comeback. The song is really terrible. I mean, so monotonous and uncreative. The kids in my group made up a song about washing their hands that had more interesting lyrics. (They were "wash, wash, wash, wash your hands.") The video is even worse. A few postings back, I complained about the amount of stripper poles in the mainstream media. Well, I would have given her a couple of singles myself if she did anything more interesting than just walk around the pole. Seriously, seriously, bad. And not in a good way.

You have to be careful in New York City

Whenever I'm at the gym, I am super paranoid about a man walking into the ladies locker room by mistake. If I even hear a man's voice close to the door, I pause just to make sure he's not coming in. I rent a locker, which is situated right by the door, so if I'm at my locker, I'm the first naked person he'll see. In all my years at this gym, it's happened twice. Since I've been going more than 8 years, I guess that's pretty good. Both times, I happened to be fully clothed, thank goodness.

One of these times happened just last Tuesday. So it's no surprise that on Thursday, when I saw a man walk all the way in and actually make it to a locker without realizing he was in the wrong place I was alarmed. I turned to him and said, "EXCUSE ME!" He did not make a move, which made me immediately realize my mistake. I whispered the woman next to me, "Is that a man?" and she just gave me a look that said, "I'm outta here! This is not my problem." Then I could sort of see the outline of a sports bra through this person's shirt, as he/she took his/her stuff out of the locker and walked right out with his/her eyes on the ground. There really was no other indicator that this could be a woman. I still feel really bad, though.

30 Rock quote of the week (10/18)

In answer to the private investigator's question, "Have you ever been arrested?" Jack answers:
"Once in 1978. It was at the Democratic National Convention. But I was beating up hippies, so it's okay."

Laughed out loud (even though that's violence... which I hate).

The Office quote of the week (10/18)

Not a great episode, although I do like how it ended between Jan and Michael. And going through his list of purchases was pretty funny. Anyway, this is the best I could do for this week:

Kelly Kapur said: Daryl Philbin is the most complicated man I've ever met. Who says exactly what they're thinking? What kind of game is that?

Update

So, I wrote a few days ago that my roommate stayed up until 2 am watching FNL... she really stayed up until SEVEN IN THE MORNING and watched the entire season! Then she took a shower and went to work. She did not sleep one bit. I asked her, "You know I own this, right? You know you could have finished it the next day, right?"



seriously,FNL is... like.... so good!!

The Office quote of the week (10/11)

OMG, I'm a whole week behind. I have been going crazy all week, not home before 12:00 one night this week. I wish I could say I was having lots of fun... it was a little fun but also lots of work! I am so looking forward to the weekend!

Anyway, here's last week's quote and tonight's quote will be coming soon...

Pam to Jim: "Tie goes to the girlfriend." and he just looks at her because he knows she's right!

Another new convert

Anne Lise converts her friends to the church. I convert people to TV shows (see earlier post regarding Arrested Development).

The season premier of Friday Night Lights was two Fridays ago. I am still on disc 4 of season 1. What is wrong with me? I have been so busy, I have not been able to finish it and it's pissing me off! My roommate, however, caught up to me in ONE DAY. She started disc 1 after church yesterday and stayed up until at least 2 am last night watching.

Xanadu

I was invited to take part in a focus group this week. This was for a Broadway show. First, 12 women get together to talk about shows we've seen and how we normally hear about shows. Then they played some radio spots advertising the musical Xanadu. Then we saw a few newspaper ads for Xanadu. After each one, we give feedback about if we liked the ad and if the ad persuaded us to go see the show. My answer was no, no and no after each one. However, I did have a strong reaction to the music, which was playing in the radio spots, as my sister had the Xanadu album and we literally wore that mutha' out. In fact, I remember my brother telling me that his friend told him that we were listening to the album every time he came over. I left the focus group telling them that I was pretty sure I was going to hate the show.

We got to then go see the show and I have to say.... I loved it! I'm not sure I would have loved it if the music wasn't so near to my heart. However, they did a really good j0b making fun of the movie and all the weird, campy things about the movie (which I've never seen). It was really funny and creative and I recommend it to anyone that grew up in the 80's.

30 Rock quote of the week (10/11)

Liz: You can't be a real woman in this country. It's like those Dove commercials never even happened!

And, I'll just say it. Jack (Alec Baldwin) looked GREAT in that Princeton T-shirt, playing football. I haven't thought that about him for at least 10 years.

PLUS: I saw Liz Lemon aka Tina Fey today! I went to a free screening of a new movie she is in called Baby Mama, where she hires a woman (Amy Poehler) to be her surrogate mother. After the movie, there was a group of people standing in the back. The first thing I noticed was Amy Poehler's hair, then someone told me that Tina Fey was also there, so I gave up my place in line for the bathroom to check it out. After coming out of the bathroom, I noticed that Lorne Michaels was also there. I actually turned my phone on to try to take a picture to send to Esther, but just couldn't bring myself to do it. I am not usually phased by star sightings, but this was the mother lode, as I think TF and AP are pretty much the most brilliant people in comedy these days.

Birkenstocks

After twisting my ankle, Birkenstocks are the only shoes I can bear to wear. I even wore them with a skirt to work the other day. I hope it stays warm until my foot heals, or I will be wearing them with socks.

30 Rock quote of the week (10/4)

Brilliant, as always.

Jack re: Blonde Actress who gained weight eating pizza every night in Mystic Pizza: She needs to lose 30 or gain 60. In between, there's no place in television.

runner up: Liz Lemon to Topher: Yeah, Chocolate Rain, maybe I am.

and, as always, there are lots of facial gestures that make this show priceless. The best one from this episode came from Jack after Seinfeld said, "I like 'Lost.' Is that you guys??"

Plus, this week's Esther shout-out: Tracy Jordan gives Kenneth a ring and says, "Will you take this ring and sell it to the Jews in midtown?"

The Office quote of the week (10/4)

Not the best episode ever, but still....

Michael: Life and business are about human connections, and computers are about trying to murder you in a lake.

runner up: Ryan: If they knew how much I paid for my haircut, they wouldn't be giving me noogies.

Clearly...

I took on too much, considering I haven't watched any of the new shows I said I was going to watch. I did watch "Private Practice" and I'm already bored of it, so that will be easy to give up. I only watched the first "Gossip Girl" and haven't gotten around to watching the second one yet, and there is already a third. Oh yeah, and "Chuck", which was underwhelming.

For returning shows, "Heroes" was only vaguely interesting to me. I watched the "previously on" for "Grey's Anatomy" and as they recapped each storyline, I said, "I hate that one, I hate that one, Not interested, oh yea Izzie loves George and I hate that one..." so I wasn't too interested in any of it. I only like Alex and Mark, and neither of them have plotlines at the moment (Mark hasn't really even had one except to be second fiddle to Addison).

So, basically, all I care about is "Friday Night Lights" which I went out and bought rather than wait for it to come with Netflix. It was the best decision I ever made. This show is so good. Here's some of the topics they have been covering:
Domestic violence
The effect of the Iraq war on military families
Steriods in sports
Racism
The economy/Lack of jobs in small towns
Teenage drinking

I have the last two discs left and I felt depressed when I realized that there are only 10 episodes left to watch. But, the new season starts on Friday, so I'll continue to get a fix.

Of course, I still have "30 Rock" tonight and "The Office."
And that's it. I'll see if I can talk about anything other than TV in my next posting.

The Office quote of the week (9/27)

I went to see Steve Carrel's new movie, Dan in Real Life tonight. I'll just say this... he's brilliant. Other people in the movie? Not brilliant. But go see it and then we can talk about it. Also, I'm now considering moving to Rhode Island.

When I got home, it was late and I have a full day tomorrow, full of traveling from Manhattan, to Queens to Staten Island, back to Manhattan and all of this on a smashed-up foot. However, I HAD to watch and find out what happened to Jim and Pam! It did not disappoint. These are the quotes. Since it was an hour show, I decided that it deserved one for each half hour, and a season premiere bonus (I make my own rules).

First half-hour -- Michael: I'm not superstitious, but I am slightly stitious.
Second half-hour -- Andy: I'm terrified of nipple chafing.
Bonus in honor of Esther and Ann -- Michael: I owe it to her to finish this GD 5K. (right before barfing)

I'm twisted

I twisted my ankle on Friday. What was I doing? Walking. that's it. Just walking. Because of this, I had to stay home all day on Saturday, but decided to go to a movie Saturday night. At the end of the movie, my foot had swollen up so much I took a cab home. On the way, I was trying to decide if I should tell the cabdriver when he got off at my exit to turn right to go to the hospital or turn left to go to my apartment. I decided to go ahead and go home, and in the morning my ankle was pretty much back to normal, swell-wise, but I still couldn't walk very well. I decided to stay home all day Sunday, and then I woke up this morning and thought I could use one more day with my foot up and iced.

It's boring to stay home for three days, watching Oprah. Not for me, I like Oprah. (can you name it?)

Heroes

Not only is Kristin Bell (my former neighbor) from "Veronica Mars" joining the cast of "Heroes" but so is Sark from "Alias." Two more reasons to watch. Although Heroes doesn't need me talking it up. What does need talking up is "Friday Night Lights" and "30 Rock." So watch them, dammit!

I flunked Cupcake 101

I have been to Magnolia bakery a million times. Of course. It only took me one time going to the bakery and buying a chocolate cupcake to learn that they are dry. I tell everyone that I like them best, but that you should not get the chocolate cupcake because they are dry. Yellow cupcake with buttercream frosting -- delicious. Yellow cupcake with chocolate frosting -- delicious. Chocolate cupcake --dry. Don't buy one.

Last year, one of my coworkers had a baby and I volunteered to make a cake for the shower. I used my Magnolia cookbook to make the cake. What do I choose? The chocolate cake recipe. As soon as I saw it crumble apart as she cut into it, I remembered my OWN ADVICE not to eat the chocolate!

And then last week, my coworker said that we are going to have a cake for another coworker who is getting married. She asked what the coworker likes. I said Magnolia. She asked what kind. I said I wasn't sure, but maybe get the chocolate cake with buttercream frosting. What is wrong with me?? Again, I forgot until the cake was cut and served on plates and I saw it falling apart. Of course, that didn't stop me from eating a big, fat piece and then licking the knife clean!

The Emmys

"Ugly Betty" is the new "Desperate Housewives." I don't get what the big deal is.

My new identity

A little over a month ago, I got a new roommate. Prior to this, I had the same roommate for 5 1/2 years. That's longer than most Hollywood marriages. So, since this new roommate moved in, I have a new name in my ward. I am now known as "Leolani's roommate." I ran into my bishop on the A train one night. I said, "Hi." He said, "Hi, how's your new roommate working out?" On the way to church on Sunday, I saw another member of my ward who asked the same thing. I went to a ward activity at a member's house and, after introducing myself, she asked, "Oh, Sonya, are you Leolani's roommate?" My visiting teacher called to set up an appointment, and somehow asked how Leolani is doing BEFORE asking how I am doing. Isn't it her job to ask about me over and over and over. I'm surprised she didn't ask "Is there anything I can do for Leolani?"

30 rock quote of the week

Just a couple of weeks till the season premiere... yeah!! In the meantime, the quote from this week's rerun comes from Elaine Stritch, who played Jack's mother in the ep. After Jack goes to the hospital with some heart malady, she yells to Dr. Spaceman, the doctor attending to him, "Tell him his mother is here! Tell him I love him! But not in a queer way!"

She deservedly won the Emmy for this guest spot and the show won the Emmy for best comedy series! How proud am I that I am one of the dozens of people that watch the show!

my 2 cents on Britney Spears

I know there has been lots of talk about Britney this week. It's a little crazy to me that this was called her big "comeback." In my opinion, she hasn't really been gone long enough to make a comeback. I think her last album was 3 years ago, which isn't really that long ago, although I don't think it sold very well. Mostly, the comeback is referring to how far she's fallen in the public eye because of the major mistakes she's recently made. But, it's clear she's not really ready to come back. I like to think that I can relate to Brit. When I want to lose weight, but know that I'm not really in that place yet, I don't bother to try until I get there. In the meantime, I just enjoy myself. Otherwise, I wake up every day thinking that I'm getting back on the horse and then fail and feel bad about myself.

About her big failed comeback based on one night at the VMA's.... I know some people were talking about her hair, some were talking about her figure, some were talking about how she appeared to have forgotten the words to the song (they were quite complicated), some were talking about her lack of energy and enthusiasm in her dance movements. My biggest response to the performance, however, is the main theme of stripperdom. The backup dancers were on stripper poles and she was not taking her clothes off, but that's because she didn't start with much in the first place. I really don't know when the strip tease dance got to be so mainstream. A few years ago when she did the VMA performance when she sang "Satisfaction" and then took off her clothes to that flesh colored sparkly number underneath, there was a lot of talk about her stripper performance. Now, there's nothing. I guess after you make out with Madonna on stage, backup dancers on stripper poles are no longer shocking.

More fall TV

Returning shows I'm most excited for:
30 rock (why don't people watch this show??)
The Office (could Jim be any cuter?)
Men in Trees
Heroes
Lost (but not until January, unfortunately)
Friday Night Lights (now on Fridays and I have until October 5 to catch up)

Returning shows that are on their last leg:
Grey's Anatomy
Scrubs

Doesn't fit in either of those categories, but I do also watch:
The Biggest Loser (which started tonight)

New shows I'm excited for:
Bionic Woman (I used to pretend that I was Jamie Summers)
Dirty Sexy Money (dumb name for a show, though)
Gossip Girl

New shows that I'm going to try on for size:
Aliens in America
K-Ville
Reaper (Attention Jeremy: This is an EW pick)
Pushing Daisies (Attention Jeremy: EW is mixed on this one, some say it is charming and whimsical; some say it is too precious for it's own good)
Private Practice
Big Shots (could be terrible but it has Dylan McDermott)
(whew! that's a lot!! they can't all be good, though, right?)

The show I'm picking up this season because my sisters watch it and we can talk about it:
America's Next Top Model

Did you know:
that Boston Legal is still on the air? And that it got a lot of Emmy nominations? (who watches that crap?)
Wayne Newton is going to be on Dancing with the Stars? And Marie Osmond?
Jerry O'Connell has a new show?
Jennifer Love Hewitt got a new haircut (don't watch her show, but I did watch her terrible hair)
Tom Selleck is joining the cast of Las Vegas

Thank goodness for DVR!!

Converse ad campaign

I love this ad, even though Queens is one of my least favorite boros.

concerts

I heard that Bruce Springsteen and the boys are touring again this year, so I logged on as soon as I got to work to try to buy tickets (I even came in early). I only did so half-heartedly because I knew it would already be sold out, and I was right. Now I have to decide if it's worth it to shell out more money to a scalper. those bastards!

I went to see Damien Rice on Friday night. When I told Esther I was going, she said, "Why? Are you planning to take a nap?" I laughed because it's true, his music is pretty quiet and mellow (like me). However, he is NOT quiet and mellow in person. At least, his music isn't. They are much louder than I expected and he really put on a good show. He was mostly all business, going from one song to the next. But about half-way through, he decided to tell an anecdote or something and it was PAINFUL. It's like that scene in Tootsie when Dustin Hoffman is revealing that he is really a man and it's a live show, and everyone on the set and in the control room (is that what it's really called or did I make that up?) is on the edge of their seats and the producer says, "Don't... don't... don't panic." So, Damien Rice is trying to talk, and he's saying "uh" and "you know" more than anything else and I have no idea what the point of the story is. But then people in the audience start yelling "We love you!" and it takes him so off guard that he loses his train of thought and says "uh" even more and I felt like yelling "Shut up! Don't you know this is hard for him??" But they don't stop, they just keep yelling and people are actually shushing them, and they keep doing it. One time, he actually gave the story up all together and just went into the next song. By the end, he had hit his stride, though, and actually told some interesting stories and, as you know, I love stories. So, this was probably the worst audience I've ever been part of because they were not only annoying to me, they threw off the whole show. But, overall, a good show.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Today, I got the fall preview edition of Entertainment Weekly. This is the issue that I look forward to all year! This is when I start to chart out all the shows I'll be watching in the fall. Who's returning? What's new? What will take the place of Veronica Mars? Will people start watching 30 rock and Friday Night Lights? I love it all!

I haven't made it through the issue yet, in fact, I'm still on Sunday. But I did read the cover article on Kate Walsh and her new show, the Grey's Anatomy spin-off, Private Practice. I'm mildly intrigued, but I'm sort of over GA anyway, so will I care about the spin-off? Especially because what kind of made GA interesting is that the cast was new-comer-ish (I'm pretty sure I made that word up) and PP has a cast of people that have been on a million shows between them. I guess I'll program it in and see what happens.

The other article I read was about the show, Brothers and Sisters, which was one of the shows I was looking forward to this time last year and was very disappointed. I realized I was sitting through it each week thinking to myself, "I hate these characters." But then I'd go back for more the following week. I especially hated the whole Callista Flockhart character. She was supposed to be a conservative pundit on TV, but wasn't conservative at all. I don't believe that all Republicans are crazy, but the ones on TV are!! If they were as middle of the road as she is, they would never give them a TV show. So, I gave it up for a few weeks, but then Emily Van Camp from Everwood joined the cast and I LOVE her, so I decided to DVR it. She couldn't even save it for me, and that was that. Then I heard that she slept with Rachel Griffiths' husband, which I'm glad I didn't see because I would have thrown a shoe at the TV. I did like the plotline of the youngest brother going to Iraq, though. It's saying a lot when the only person on a show that I like is Sally Field.

so, that's Sunday night! more to come!!

New York Foundling in the news

There is a great article about my agency in the New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/03/nyregion/03foundling.html
be sure to view the slide show

I have a new convert

I gave my friend, Heidi, the first season of "Arrested Development" on DVD a few weeks ago. We went to see a movie last weekend and the trailer showed a movie starring Will Arnett (GOB). She leaned over and said, "That guy looks familiar, who is he?" I responded, "The fact that you are asking me that question means that you have not watched 'Arrested Development' yet and you need to do that STAT!" So she started watching last night, and, of course, loves it, because what's not to love? I have converted lots of people to AD. If only I could have done that on my mission, it would have been so much easier!

My Birthday

I decided last year that my birthday present to myself every year will be a trip to see John Mayer perform, even if that is in a place like, say, North Dakota or Tennessee. It worked out great last year because he was performing in Saratoga Springs, NY, just a short three-hour drive from here. Unfortunately, his tour this summer ended at the beginning of August. So, obviously, I realized that there was a big flaw in my birthday ritual after only one year.

In trying to find something else to do for my birthday, my friend, Allison, invited me to go camping with her. (I may have invited myself, but she left the door wide open for it!) She already had a trip out to Greenport on Long Island planned, so Kathy (pictured here) and I tagged along. It was my first camping trip in.... a long time. On my actual birthday, we went to the beach, ate barbeque and cooked s'mores (over a sterno that I stole from work, no campfire for us city girls). We also slept in a tent and showered in a public bathroom. You win some, you lose some.

One of the highlights for me was the rental car. I went to pick up the car, which was supposed to be some kind of economy car. I'm not sure why, but the car rental guy charged us for a piece of crap but gave us a Mustang!

my new favorite show

(that won't be the last time you read that title, btw)

Last year, there were so many new shows in the fall season that I was excited about, that I decided not to add "Friday Night Lights" to my list. For a few reasons: (1) I saw the movie and thought it was boring and overrated, (2) it's about football, (3) in Texas. When all the other new shows didn't pan out (i.e. "Brothers and Sisters," "The Nine," "Six Degrees") and FNL was getting great reviews (including the love and adoration of my roommate) I wanted to add it midseason. However, in this day and age, there's no reason to do that since you can just wait until the summer and get the whole season on DVD. Which is what I did last week. I've now seen the first four episodes and I'm hooked. It is so much more than football!

But... it is still about football. HIGH SCHOOL football. In Texas. Where high school football appears to be more important than anything else. Which is pretty weird.

my first entry

I have so much work to do right now!! why am I doing this?