For his birthday, Matt got a bottle of whiskey. But because his birthday's in December, the whiskey was wearing a Christmas-themed sweater.
We recently took the tiny sweater off the bottle and Marina instantly asked for it because:
"One day, when I'm a grown-up, I'm going to have a kitten and I'm going to name her Whiskers or Mittens, and I'll put this sweater on her when she's cold."
I'm not a cat person. But my heart melted anyway.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Friday, February 3, 2012
Where I am
It's not that I haven't been blogging.
I've just been doing it somewhere else lately.
Please follow the blog I share with my friend Angela: The Cooking Letters.
Angela and I had similar New Year's resolutions: to cook more. So we started a blog. She writes about her fabulous Brooklyn dinner parties and I talk about dino chicken. I love the way our lives are so different but we are still close friends.
I'll be back soon, Cost of Beans.
I've just been doing it somewhere else lately.
Please follow the blog I share with my friend Angela: The Cooking Letters.
Angela and I had similar New Year's resolutions: to cook more. So we started a blog. She writes about her fabulous Brooklyn dinner parties and I talk about dino chicken. I love the way our lives are so different but we are still close friends.
I'll be back soon, Cost of Beans.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Monday, January 2, 2012
The first change
Tomorrow's a big day.
I start a new, part-time job.
I'll be doing social media and office work for a locally beloved bakery. It's a place I've always loved and the job happened to fall on the days I was already off from the newspaper.
I'm excited to start my first "first day of work" since 1997, and in an entirely new field (especially after my restaurant writer friend told me that "food is the new Rock 'N' Roll.") I'll have my own desk in a room with three other super nice women and I get a free loaf of bread after each shift.
But it also means my schedule is changing. My kids are going to have to go to after-care for the first time in their lives. I also hired a nanny for those early dismissal days.
I know it will be fine. I'm just feeling guilty. And scared. And excited. All wrapped into a nervous pit in my stomach, a feeling that's been so very familiar in the last few months.
Also? I'm kind of worried for my waistline: my first day will be spent at the cafe tasting bread.
I start a new, part-time job.
I'll be doing social media and office work for a locally beloved bakery. It's a place I've always loved and the job happened to fall on the days I was already off from the newspaper.
I'm excited to start my first "first day of work" since 1997, and in an entirely new field (especially after my restaurant writer friend told me that "food is the new Rock 'N' Roll.") I'll have my own desk in a room with three other super nice women and I get a free loaf of bread after each shift.
But it also means my schedule is changing. My kids are going to have to go to after-care for the first time in their lives. I also hired a nanny for those early dismissal days.
I know it will be fine. I'm just feeling guilty. And scared. And excited. All wrapped into a nervous pit in my stomach, a feeling that's been so very familiar in the last few months.
Also? I'm kind of worried for my waistline: my first day will be spent at the cafe tasting bread.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Setting the tone
Today I finished reading Patti Smith's book, "Just Kids," in which she mentions her mother's saying about New Year's Day, one that's the same as my own mother's belief.
The way you spend Jan. 1 sets a tone for the rest of the year.
Things did not get off to a good start because I had a dream that I yelled at my dad and then woke up with a headache. I also felt hungover even though the night before I drank one bottle of Framboise and went to bed before midnight (for the first time since I was a teen). Also, Ella spent much of the morning crying about one thing or another.
With the book fresh in my mind, I knew I had to change things, so I told everyone we were going for a walk. We agreed to go to the cave hidden under the shell shop at La Jolla Cove. We walked and walked and when we got there, Matt said he wanted to check out what was behind the shell store.
I've lived here forever (literally, my forever) and never knew there was a trail that's on the edge of the cliffs and has magnificent views of the ocean and birds and all the cool-looking plants that surround it. It was surprising and lovely. We went back to the shell shop and descended the 109 steps to "Sunny Jim's Cave," which was adventurous.
Finally, my mom called and reiterated her point, saying it would be nice for the family to be together on New Year's Day. So we went to my grandmothers and laughed and discussed happiness and had chocolate, all of which was comforting.
So, at the end of the day, I'm hoping that this new year is surprising, lovely, adventurous and comforting. And if it is all those things, I'll take a headache here and there.
The way you spend Jan. 1 sets a tone for the rest of the year.
Things did not get off to a good start because I had a dream that I yelled at my dad and then woke up with a headache. I also felt hungover even though the night before I drank one bottle of Framboise and went to bed before midnight (for the first time since I was a teen). Also, Ella spent much of the morning crying about one thing or another.
With the book fresh in my mind, I knew I had to change things, so I told everyone we were going for a walk. We agreed to go to the cave hidden under the shell shop at La Jolla Cove. We walked and walked and when we got there, Matt said he wanted to check out what was behind the shell store.
I've lived here forever (literally, my forever) and never knew there was a trail that's on the edge of the cliffs and has magnificent views of the ocean and birds and all the cool-looking plants that surround it. It was surprising and lovely. We went back to the shell shop and descended the 109 steps to "Sunny Jim's Cave," which was adventurous.
Finally, my mom called and reiterated her point, saying it would be nice for the family to be together on New Year's Day. So we went to my grandmothers and laughed and discussed happiness and had chocolate, all of which was comforting.
So, at the end of the day, I'm hoping that this new year is surprising, lovely, adventurous and comforting. And if it is all those things, I'll take a headache here and there.
Friday, December 30, 2011
2011 Year in Review
I don't normally do year in review things, but 2011 was so weird and so much happened - and at the same time, so many things are about to change in 2012, too - so why not take some time to reflect on the last 12 months?
TOP EVENTS
1. Moving to La Jolla
2. Going part-time: this is where I was when that decision was being made for me.
3. Starting kindergarten
4. Matt turning 40 / trip to San Francisco
5. Awkward 20th high school reunion cocktail party. Check out my fancy hair and makeup.
6. Visits from Mops (and Pops!) and Barnaby (Please send photos!)
7. Getting a new sister-in-law and Aunt Nicole / Alex and Nicole moving away
8. Getting stuck in the elevator. And rescued.
9. The sad, slow death of our fish, Sparkly Rainbow Flowers. RIP.
10. Getting a new, part-time job
TOP SONGS:
Ella's favorite:
Marina's favorite:
My favorite:
Matt's favorite: "Regina Spektor Pandora station."
TOP MOVIES
Nina: "Blue Valentine" (technically released in 2010, but I saw it in 2011), "Bridesmaids" Amodovar's "The Skin I Live In"
Matt: "Hugo," "Melancholia"
Marina and Ella: "Rio," "Winnie the Pooh," "Muppets"
MORE 2011 SNAPSHOTS
TOP EVENTS
1. Moving to La Jolla
2. Going part-time: this is where I was when that decision was being made for me.
3. Starting kindergarten
4. Matt turning 40 / trip to San Francisco
5. Awkward 20th high school reunion cocktail party. Check out my fancy hair and makeup.
6. Visits from Mops (and Pops!) and Barnaby (Please send photos!)
7. Getting a new sister-in-law and Aunt Nicole / Alex and Nicole moving away
8. Getting stuck in the elevator. And rescued.
9. The sad, slow death of our fish, Sparkly Rainbow Flowers. RIP.
10. Getting a new, part-time job
TOP SONGS:
Ella's favorite:
Marina's favorite:
My favorite:
Matt's favorite: "Regina Spektor Pandora station."
TOP MOVIES
Nina: "Blue Valentine" (technically released in 2010, but I saw it in 2011), "Bridesmaids" Amodovar's "The Skin I Live In"
Matt: "Hugo," "Melancholia"
Marina and Ella: "Rio," "Winnie the Pooh," "Muppets"
MORE 2011 SNAPSHOTS
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