Red Nose

Cutie Cute Cute Cute, and Also? Cute.

My nephew and his lovely wife are expecting a bundle of joy in April. He's going to the first baby in several years so we are all excited and looking forward to his arrival. Today was the baby shower celebration.

I had forgotten how damn cute baby things are, so I was unprepared for the onslaught of cuteness I encountered at the local emporium of all things baby.

I admit it: I squealed a little as I selected a variety of darling onesies, a wee polo shirt and shorts, a tiny pair of overalls, and a teeny tiny hoodie. One of the onesies said "Eat, Sleep, Cry" in a blatant parody -- but much more accurate depiction of human life -- of "Eat, Pray, Love"; another said "I Blame My Parents".

But the best onesie that I found was this one:

 
Come on now, every baby needs a little hard rock in his life, especially when his daddy has been playing Pantera to him through his mommy's belly.

The cake -- and I regret that I don't have a picture of it -- was a replica of Caps jersey, with the baby's last name and the number 11 (for 2011) on it. The jersey even had perfect Caps logos on the sleeves, done in fondant. The body of the jersey was a delicious Oreo cake, chocolate cake with vanilla cream, and each long sleeve was made of Rice Krispie treats. Just delicious.

We did play a game. It was a Price Is Right game, where we had to guess the prices of five different baby care products. I nailed the price of the Johnson's Baby Wash at $2.19, so I won a lovely box of chocolates. Score!

The real winner, though, is that baby. He is going to start life with a complete wardrobe, plenty of skincare products, and a stroller that has more features than my car.

Oh, and two loving parents, doting grandparents, and a whole bunch of aunties and uncles and cousins to spoil him rotten.

A Cure for Cranky

Yeah, so today was a cranky-ass day and I responded rather poorly, if I'm honest.

The whys and wherefores are irrelevant; the key here is to figure out how to lift myself out of the slough of despond and get back to my regular, annoyingly optimistic and sunny disposition,

So, what's on TV?

Whacked Out Sports? Nah. Bloopers might be okay another day, but today I have no patience for idiots competing to decide who's the most stupid.

Toddlers in Tiaras? Oh God no. While T&T is something of a guilty pleasure of mine, tonight is not the night to watch tarted-up little girls suck down Pixie Sticks and vie for the title of Ultimate Grand Supreme.

The Godfather? Nope; it might give me ideas this evening, particularly the Baptism scene. I'd best not indulge in those particular fantasies,

Law and Order? You know I dig me some Jack McCoy, but I've seen this episode already. A thousand times already.

News? Um, no.

Top Gear? The British Version?? Where Jeremy, James, and Richard are making amphibious vehicles out of regular cars??? And testing them in a lake???? And mostly sinking????? Except for James, who actually made it across the lake in his rigged up sedan/sailboat??????

Oh hell YES!

A Magical Little Film

Yesterday I took myself to see the new animated film, The Illusionist, by Sylvain Chomet. I had seen a preview of the film and knew I'd have to see it.

It's based on a screenplay by the great French mime and clown, Jacques Tati. If you have not seen any of Tati's Monsieur Hulot films, do so as soon as you can.

The film is gorgeous, simply gorgeous! It's full of lush color and painterly touches, along with its old-style animation, along the lines of the best old Disney or Fleischer animations, only more beautiful. And the music is wonderful -- lovely French waltzes that carry you away. Here's the trailer; it'll give you just a taste.

 

The story is touching: M. Tatischeff, an older, slightly clumsy magician, is down on his luck. He takes any gig he can get, but the audiences are sparse because his style of entertainment has been superseded by rock and roll bands and sultry chanteuses.

He takes an engagement in the far north of Scotland, in a tiny village. Alice, a teenage girl who cleans in the pub where he's staying, is captivated by his performance and believes he can really make things appear out of the air. She decides to go with him to Edinburgh, where they live in a hotel (The Hotel Joe -- how could I not love this movie?) with other down-and-out vaudevillians. Their relationship is like a father and daughter, close and caring, two people against the world.

Alas, he cannot provide all the things she wants on his meager magician's pay. He takes odd jobs so that he can continue to buy her fine things: a new coat, high heels, a pretty dress. She cooks dinner and cleans... and begins to experience life in the city.

There are some lovely, humorous scenes throughout, like the scene where Tatischeff is worried that Alice had made a rabbit stew out of his pet bunny or the scene where he helps paint a billboard with an aerialist troupe. There's also a very very nice touch where he ducks inside a movie theater showing "Mon Oncle," a Jacques Tati film -- clever!

But the magic must end, alas, and I left the movie feeling both sad for the poignant ending, yet happy to have seen this lovely film.

A Hockey Date

Joe had to work last Sunday, so I went to the hockey game with another handsome guy, my 12-year old grandnephew Carter.

It was Carter's first hockey game, so I spent some time telling him about the game and filling him in on the rituals, like how to taunt the other team's goalie after we score (All your fault!) and how to cheer along with Horn Guy and Goat and how to holler C-A-P-S CAPS! CAPS! CAPS! I'm kinda glad that the organist didn't play The Chicken Dance because then I would have had to teach him how to finish up the dance by shouting "The Kings suck!" and that may not have gone over so well with his parents.

Being a 12-year old boy, Carter was quite interested in whether or not we'd see a fight during the game. Luckily two of the players obliged us, but only once. Carter was a tad disappointed in that, so I may or may not have told him about HockeyFights.com.

We shopped for a souvenir during one of the intermissions; I was very impressed with how frugal Carter is. As far as he was concerned, everything was way too expensive. He was very interested in the new Guardian Project graphic novel -- it's by Stan Lee and features superheroes based on the NHL teams -- but it's 34 bucks! Carter was stunned and amazed and would not let me buy it for him. He finally agreed to a tee shirt from the clearance rack for all of 10 bucks. I love this kid! He even offered to buy me some cotton candy out of his own money, but I opted to share some of his. Although I love the airy confection, I really can't eat a whole cone of it anymore.

The game started out great, with Ovi scoring about one minute into the game. Alas! It went downhill from there. Nevertheless, Carter and I had a grand time.

Especially when treated ourselves to a consolation cupcake.

 

 

 

Firsts

I need a jump start to back into swing of things here in the blogosphere. Luckily, the lovely and talented Bev provided it with this meme!

First Job:  Circus clown. (I'm defining "first job" as full-time with a paycheck.)

First Favorite Politician:  George McGovern -- the first presidential candidate that I voted for back in 1972.

First Car:  1970 bright green Chevy Nova. My folks bought it for me so that I could commute to college. It cost $2,500 brand new.

First Record/CD:  The Beatles Second Album, but only because Meet the Beatles was sold out at the local Kresge's.

First Sport Played:  Sports? Moi? Oh all right, I guess kickball in elementary school.

First Concert: Also my first date! Charlie Herman took me to see Ravi Shankar. The very next night Charlie took me to see The Righteous Brothers.

First Foreign Country Visited: France, when I was 15. I went with a group from high school, courtesy of the Foreign Language League, an organization that sponsored study tours to different countries.

First Favorite TV Show: Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, on Sunday nights at 8:00, right after Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour.

First Favorite Actor:  Omar Sharif, as Dr. Zhivago. I saw the movie 13 times.

First Favorite Actress: Julie Christie, as Lara, Dr. Zhivago's lover.

First Girlfriend/Boyfriend: Olie Bedell, when I was 13. At least I thought he was my boyfriend. He thought otherwise -- after two dates, he sent me a postcard telling me that he didn't think he should go too far with one girl. I think we kissed once, quickly.

First Encounter with a Famous Person: I don't think I've ever had a "encounter" with a famous person. I've sighted a few celebrities, but I've never approached them. I'm too much of a wuss.

First Brush With Death: I probably wasn't seriously close to death at the time, but when I was seven I was in a weird accident. It was right after a severe thunderstorm. My older sister wanted to drive me and my younger sister down to see the creek overflowing from the storm, but the power lines were down and my mom yelled at her to come in the house. So she left us in the car. Well, I decided to "play car," so I jumped into the driver's seat and started playing with the steering wheel. Then I let the parking brake off, and the car rolled down our steep driveway right toward the street. I panicked, opened the car door, and jumped out; the door knocked me down and dragged me several feet along the driveway. My knees got torn up pretty badly, but I got to ride in the ambulance!

First House/Condo Owned: Joe and I bought a condo in 1982 -- two bedroom, two bath, loft. It was really nice -- I especially liked the loft.

First Film Seen:  Disney's Cinderella. I was fascinated by those talking mice!

First Favorite Recording Artist: The Beatles!

First Favorite Radio Station:  WINX. I was a WINX Winker! I listened to the WINX Wax to Watch!

First Book I Remember Reading: Mr. Bear Squash-You-All-Flat.

First Meme You Answered on Your Blog: Probably a Friday Five.

Super Sunday

The weather is teasing me again. It's supposed to be close to 50 degrees outside today and the sun is shining, shining with all its might, doing its best to keep the billows smooth and bright... oops, sorry; somehow the Walrus and the Carpenter broke through there for an instant. Later this week it is supposed to turn ass-cold again, so I will enjoy this weather while I can.

So it's Super Bowl Sunday. I am more concerned with the outcome of the game between my boys and the Team Who Shall Not Be Named, but I'm also looking forward to the football game. While I don't really have a dog in the fight, I do love Green Bay so my allegiance goes with the Packers today.

I did make the chocolate sauce I mentioned in my last post. Easy, easy easy. I like recipes that don't rely on precise temperatures to succeed. It is currently chilling in the fridge. I am going to take it over to my sister's for a combination hockey-football bash today, where it will be warmed up and poured over good vanilla ice cream. I will shortly be whipping some cream to top off said ice cream and chocolate sauce.

I figure hot fudge sundaes are good whether our favorite teams win or lose -- celebratory for winning and soothing for -- well, I will not entertain that possibility.

But what of your fashion choices for the big sports day? I hear you cry.

Well, I am wearing my Caps jersey for now. After that game, I will change into my Lambeau Field fleece top and -- if I can find it -- my cheese hat.

C-A-P-S CAPS CAPS CAPS!

and

GO PACK GO!

 

Ten Good Things

I've been feeling a little down in the dumps over the work situation, partly because I'm no longer a manager in the New World of Work. It's not really a demotion because there's no loss of grade or pay, but it feels a little demotion-ish.

So I thought I better think of some good things. Here are ten.

1. My final performance review with my boss was very good. In the New World of Work, my boss is taking on a new assignment, so I guess she's really my former boss. I got a bit emotional and I HATE getting emo at work, but I held it together until the very end when we gave each other a hug. Damn. But it was still good.

2. This recipe for chocolate sauce sounds really good and pretty easy. I am going to buy some good vanilla ice cream this weekend and pour this sauce over it.

3. There was a promise of spring in the air today, despite freezing rain earlier in the week and colder temperatures forecast for the weekend. Spring is very good, very good indeed.

4. Hugs. Hugs are good.

5. Watching A Hard Day's Night and remembering how much fun it was to see it for the first time, in Ocean City, when I was 12. My Pop let me and my sister go see it instead of riding the rides on the Boardwalk. What an adventure! So good!

6. The Ovie the Spy commercial for SportsCenter is all kinds of good. Look! He's even wearing his skates!

7. Jon Stewart is extra-special good, especially when he calls out Fox News.

8. Sugar cookies. Good. Yes.

9. You know that time when you're sort of waking up and you're really, really comfortable and perfectly warm? It's nice, and also? Good.

10. Life. Life is good.