Really Rosie

Last night, in the kids' pre-bed dance party, Troy had taken the lead while I could stay downstairs for a few minutes to ensure that the gagillion shows we watch were going to be properly recorded.

When I came upstairs, Carol King was BLARING some Chicken Soup with Rice. To add to the ambiance, the lights were out,and the kids were flickering their $1 barnyard animal flashlights and busting moves like only white people can do.

Maybe it's hormones, maybe it was just the end of a really long and crappy day... but something about hearing Carol King just made me tear up. I wouldn't have said the tears were from joy or sadness... but it truly was this escape of emotion as I just sat, watched, and allowed myself to BE.

I LOVED Really Rosie growing up. I STILL love that soundtrack. What I love even more is seeing Rhena and Danny totally JAM to it, too. I don't think they're at the age where they can really just dive IN to the music and pretend they're there on Avenue P... but maybe.


My folks had gotten me the nutshell library some time back. It's one of my favorite collections. TINY little things... but the memories! I love them. A few times a year, I'll sneak away to my closet and flip through the books. it's so hard to even begin to describe the connection I have with those books... you just have to take my word for it. but it's good.


If you're at ALL familiar with the Really Rosie characters or Maurice Sendak, grew up in the 70's in the NYC metro area, or just plain looking for something cool to share with your kids... then the nutshell library, the soundtrack, the book, and any and all of the associated stuff is just awesome. Though.. truth be told... those nutshell library books are NOT for toddler hands. at least not Danny's. he could probably EAT the damn books if he wanted. Yes.. I would have much rathered.. as a parent... to see them in board books.


and also? I picked up another one of Sendak's books, In the Night Kitchen, one time when we were in the bookstore a year or two ago. hmph. I'd forgotten just how very NAKED the main character, Mickey, gets. and how very DETAILED the illustrations are.


anyways... enough of my reminiscing. It was, is, and I hope will CONTINUE to be a good time sharing things from my childhood with the kids. kinda like when Rhena recently saw the Little Mermaid for the first time, and I was able to pretty much quote every line in the movie. She was looking at me like I was some CHAMPION GOD descendant with inside secrets of Disney. hah. little does she know. LITTLE does she know, I say! But back to my point. That Carol King. I'm telling you.... she gets me every time.



"Believe me!"

Santa Baby!

It started innocent enough. I clicked on to Amazon so I could order my coffee. Of all the coffees I've tried for our super-fab machine.. I love Emeril's the best. Mind you, I still think HE is an annoying tool... but MAN he has some good recipes. and this coffee is top notch.


anyways... turns out there are some new books out.

Giada has a new cookbook. so does Elisa.


I know, I know.. you thought I was going to talk about a REAL book.. like a story. please. it took me 6 months to get through Wicked, and I'm on month 2 of reading Son of a Witch. Sadly, I only really get to read a section or two at a time when I'm in the toilet room.. and being that I don't always get the chance to take a quiet poop every day... UPSTAIRS for that matter... it takes me a while to get through books.

(which.. side note... what IS the toilet room called? like when the toilet is in a room by itself from the rest of the stuff like the shower, sinks, tub, etc... commode? shitter? really.. no clue here!)

And has anyone read the newest in that series yet? A Lion Among Men? I'll probably be ready for it like NEXT year at the rate I'm reading. but that's ok.. cause by then either my parents or my brother will have bought and read it, and I can just borrow it from them.

so yeah yeah yeah. cookbooks. but not just ANY cookbooks!

First up.. Elisa.

LOVED her original confetti cakes book. not only did it have some GORRRRRGEOUS cakes, but THE most adorable cupcakes.. and cookies!!! I love her work, I really do. now she's got a book of kids' cakes. I saw an excerpt that said she's got farm animal cookies in here. uh.. ding-dong! Danny's b-day party theme is farm stuff!!! I may not be able to wait til Christmas. or even my birthday. (I feel justified in that, though, as both occur AFTER danny's party.. and really.. me getting this book would only be for HIM. right?)

Really.. if you EVER wanted to be inspired to do more than a regular cupcake, cake or cookie.. Elisa's your girl. she has very clear-cut instructions and often templates as well. If I ever meet her in person I may just chew on her a little. like she's THAT good. I don't just go around claiming I want to eat people, you know. cute babies, yes.. but adults? am I painting the picture yet?


ok.. and my other woman crush... Giada. I do not know WHAT it is about her.. but I just LOVE HER. like even her annoying way of saying things as she smiles too wide is ok by me!!! Rachel Ray says EVOO and I want to flick her forehead. (btw.. thank you Jody.. that debate visual has been with me ever since, and I TOTALLY want to do it to every annoying person on TV now!)

But Giada?? she's got me. and I love her food! my WORD do I love her food. from her espresso brownies to the macaroni and cheese.. ooh! and she's got a roasted red pepper aioli.. SO GOOD! mmmm.. now I want grilled eggplant. ISSUES, I tell you. I have no idea how she stays so thin. maybe I really hate her? no.. I love her. like crazy stalker love. (there.. I said it. I want to stalk her.)

so I imagine it won't be long before this book makes it to my kitchen as well.

however... now I just realized it's going to be a long week for me. I noticed that amazon is out of stock of my coffee. (that's what I get when I save my linking til last in my post!) damnit.

I guess the up side is that I won't be tempted to add Giada or Elisa to my order. the down side, of course, is that I need to go find my coffee. cause I promise you.. there's a LOT of things I can handle. being without coffee is NOT one of them.


have a great weekend, gang!

Superhams Return

no... this is not a spoof on the newest Superman movie... nor is it my newest idea for a porn title.


this is, indeed.. my truth.


why?


because I'm hitting that stage of the pregnancy where my boobs are getting LARGER.


yes.... you may or may not remember the hams... depending on your level of testosterone, that is. but alas... as much as I thought I could fight them this time around... the jugs be a fillin'. and filling and spilling they are. like everywhere.


i swear last night I went to bed, took off my bra and thought I had two cantaloupes hiding under my tank top. MELONS, I tell you!


I mean, I'm not shocked.. I KNEW this would happen... (at least eventually when the milk came in) I guess it's just cause with Rhena, my boobs exploded on the scene like the MINUTE I got pregnant, and now, here we are.. more than halfway through, and they've decided to kick off the reunion tour.


The former victoria's secret employee in me wants to bust out the tape measure (get it?? BUST out??? oh... I really do slay!) and see how big they've gotten... but the cheap realistic-parachute-sized-bra-fearing girl in me feels ignorance might just be bliss. Besides... doesn't the 4-boob syndrome look hot with the 80's retro layered daft punk look all the stores are sporting these days?

(ps.. if I EVER, and I mean EVER start sporting four boobs or show up somewhere looking like Pat Benetar.. SOMEONE PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE shoot me!!) (well, unless, of course, we're hosting a white-trash or 80's themed social... in which case the 4-boobs look would be SO rockin, and/or me and david bowie can get jiggy, so please don't shoot me in my own house.. that would be just plain rude.)


I digress. sadly, my boobs have NOT... which is my spot today, though.

I *imagine* it might just might have to do with all the bagels I've been eating. and the pasta. and rice. and other bland starchy foods that aren't as harsh when being regurgitated, that is. they should be called carb-OH-MY-drates... cause again... the rack is back.


and for all you mosquito-biters out there that are thinking I should quit my bitching, and how you'd just give whatever to get some ham thrown your way... just remember it's not your back breaking under the pressure of boulder mountain above your belly-donut.

In other news... I had to turn word verification back on... I've been getting a long run of spammage lately, so back to the "qdzzles" to be able to post your comments. I know it's a pain in the ass, so I apologize. I appreciate the comments from my readers, though... (and not the penis-enlargement-house-broker ads (yes.. I DO get spammage like that.) (no.... I have no idea why in hell I want a large penis house either...))


so yeah. letter verification is back on for the time being.


in GOOD news... I'm going to be acquiring some books soon. I found links to two old books that i had when I was growing up, and I am fucking STOKED about getting them again. I'm not posting links or saying names because these books are out of print, so I need to buy them from a third-party seller, and I don't want any penis-enlarging real estate agent to come in and snatch up my books before I can. no sirree, bob.... I'll post more after they're in my grubby little hands!

all I can say is that one is about beans and another is about trees, and I'm going to pay too much money for them. The only people who MIGHT guess my books are my mom, dad, or brother... cause they were pretty obscure even back then. but I LOVED them. love love loved them. and they're going to be mine. mine mine mine.


I'll also be ordering "The Snowy Day" for rhena and thing 2. CLASSIC book. I saw it mentioned in a magazine the other day, and I remembered it instantly. not so much the story itself (the book probably sucks for all I know) but I do remember sitting on our back porch when it was balls-ass hot out, reading this story. (yes, I know it's a winter book, but you can still read shit in the summer, smart-ass!) I definitely remember the illustrations.

perhaps I'm trying to zone-in on Rhena's head and get her books that she'll remember some thirty years down the road. because that would be cool. to think that someday rhena will remember reading books with me and hopefully want to share those books with HER children (should she choose to go down that road, cause if she doesn't I'm TOTALLY cool with that as well) And then there's the part of me that knows that I WAS a happy kid, and I want to share that with her, too.


so yeah. books are coming. In the meantime, she seems perfectly happy to have Boo-Boo-Pea read to her over and over again... and that in itself will be something *I* will remember another 30 years down the road.

Displacement

so lately I've been feeling a bit out of whack.


Now that my 'secret' is out, I'm sure you're all "well, duh.. you're preggo, of COURSE you're out of whack"

but it's a little more than that. I mean, sure the hormonal imbalance has something to do with it, but the out-of-whackness seems to be creeping into all aspects of life.


I'm not quite in synch with my friends lately.... I'm even pretty much a week behind (if not more) in ALL of my e-mails. my girlfriends here in town are all off on diets and exercise regimes and one-night-out-for-drinks-and-a-movie together, and I'm here not wanting to go to the pool cause I'm pissed I spent $70 on a bathing suit that just doesn't fit me right yet.

perhaps it's the shift to summer, and my lack of scheduled events for the booger has left me with too many weeks of "uh... what should we do today" days. I do admit, I work better on a schedule. (please, if anyone goes back in time, do NOT tell my 20-something self I just said that. she would be so disappointed in me!)

so what to do, what to do. OBVIOUSLY, I need to find some shit to do. and it's not like there's a shortage of things that NEED to be done... just bleh. haven't felt like doing them.

(so BASICALLY, CARRIE..... you're saying that you have a ton of shit to do, don't feel like doing any of that shit, but are bitching and moaning cause you're bored and feel like there's nothing to do)

hmmm... when I put it THAT way..... perhaps I should have labeled this post as REGRESSION... as in back to teenage years, when I was always saying that I had a ton of shit to do, didn't feel like doing any of that shit, but bitched and moaned cause I was bored and felt like there was nothing to do.

on a productive note... I finally started reading again. started it last night, and am now on page 98. it's a far cry from my ability to devour a whole book in less than a day days... but it feels good to read again. we actually finally bought davinci code, too. perhaps after I tune up the brain with a little James Patterson, I'll push a little harder and go for the code.


One of my friends in NYC mentioned going to a pottery place with her son... I think I may do that with the boogie... you know... so I can have something scheduled.


of course there's always returning e-mails.


My cousin wrote to me last week, and I've been wracking my brain for the right words to use in replying to her... which is stupid, because she is like my sister, and I should just e-mail her, but instead I internalize and stress over the shit she's going through, and yet waste another day not talking to her. stupid stupid stupid. I really need to e-mail her.


I have another friend who e-mailed me almost a month ago. and yet another whom I haven't spoken to since december. Perhaps I'm ashamed at how long I've let myself go without contacting them. well, not perhaps.. that's a definite. I'm embarrassed. and it's not like I don't love these girls... I really do. yet. silence.

maybe talking to my long-time friends is what I DO need to set my ass straight and get me out of my out-of-whackiness. it's just hard knowing I'm going to have to start off each conversation with "I'm sorry I'm a distant bitch who hasn't called or written in forever; I swear I love you and have been thinking of you, but I'm a LAZY and distant bitch, and oh yeah, hormonal cause I'm 4 months pregnant, and by the way I'm sorry you had to find out about me being preggo through someone else or worse by reading it on a random blog post.. but I swear I do love you and miss you and have been wondering how you've been?"

oh well. bite the bullet, right?