go team allen

latest happenings

2009-06-08T08:38:00.007-04:00

I am at the point where I can't remember why I have a blog. But for those of you who are still reading, here's the latest downloads from the ol' camera:

Back before it was FREEZING, a solitary mosquito viciously and brutally attacked all exposed parts of Grant in the night. Poor kid looked like he had the mumps:

Joe's parents came for a visit. We had a wonderful time showing them around this crazy life we lead. They flew all night, then we picked them up and drove them 4 hours to a place in the mountains called Campos do Jordao. They were troopers.
Grant met a sheep. ("Hello, sheep. Tudo bem?")
We hiked by a waterfall
We went into town and had some chocolate quenche cremoso. Its like drinking melted chocolate. Ahhhh... Que romatica!
We stayed in this crazy hotel
Grant and Carter wrestled on a trampoline. Joe and Brooke and I took a flying leap on a zipline...I still need to find that picture.
Back at home, we went for ice cream in Santana de Parnaiba. I actually took this picture so you could see the dog on the roof at the right of Paula's head. Dog on a roof! Ah, I love Brasil.
We went to Embu (twice) and had a hotchee doggee (once). If you can't tell, this particular hot dot is topped with relish and mustard. Oh yeah, and potato chips, and corn and mashed potatoes! Paula thought it was gostoso. Right up her alley :)
We took them back to Rio, too. I still need to find those pictures too. All in all I think they had a great trip!

Back to our normal life, Every saturday, Joe and Grant go to this crazy huge distribution center for frutas and legumes and flores. This is just the part they open up for individual sales (it is massive!):
Here is a small sampling of the selections. The place is an assault on the senses. You have fruits and veggies as long as the eye can see, the smell of the fresh fish market and pastels being fried up, and fruitmongers yelling at you from every direction. But the good news is, they are also constantly shoving fruit in your face for you to try. Its better than Costco on a Saturday.
A cool orchid we got that actually smells good
Grant sneaking some of our day's haul
We also went to a wedding of our darling friends'. They were so cute. Unfortunately my camera (or me) didn't get very good shots of the whole thing. Here they are with the flower girls...
And here are the REAL housewives of Alphaville (and Abhi). I read somewhere it's Tuesday. This one's for you, Marcie :)

I intentionally left out the picture of me feebly trying to cha-cha with the groom's father. I'll let you decide why.

Rio!

2009-04-05T15:25:00.004-04:00

We took a whirlwind 24 hour trip to Rio this weekend. We scored a room on copacabana beach, above.
Through the clouds, you can see the statue of Christ the Reedemer on the mountain. It didn't occur to us that the same clouds would be a problem when we got to the top of the mountain. Oops.

Oh well, the mist gave the whole thing kind of a cool effect, anyway...

I used to think the statue was a little creepy. But then I learned it's not creepy, its just art deco. That made me feel better

People actually hang glide off of this mountain. Crazy people, anyway.

On top of Sugarloaf mountain. Sugarloaf is actually two peaks with a cable car between them. I really just wanted to see a monkey while we were there. And lo and behold...

I just didn't know he would be the size of a squirrel.
Cute boys!
Some views from the top: copacabana beach again....

...flamengo beach....
...and ipanema. Wahoo!

Santos! and other random goings on

2009-04-05T13:42:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago, we had some friends from Brooklyn here visiting/job-hunting, so we took them to the beach closest to us, Santos. Grant had his first real ocean swim, we had a nice lunch, we went to the aquarium, and we took a ski-lift to the top of the mountain, where we got this picture at sunset.

Joe and I were a little scared on the ski lift but Grant enjoyed himself.

In other news, these are the three musketeers. They were born within 8 weeks of each other and they play at least once a week. I love watching them interact. Grant said his first words...Papa and Dada in the same day. Where is the love for mom?? :)

We often joke around that we live in a bubble. Our town is gated, privately secured, blah blah blah, so that it is unlike the rest of Brazil. In fact, we rarely lock our doors. Well the other day we were driving and it was raining until we got to our town limit and then out popped this rainbow. It made me laugh that here was this rainbow watching over our little bubble.

For Erin

2009-03-11T17:53:00.004-04:00

Of the three dark blue ones, can you guess which one is mine, Joe's, and the artist's? (I should point out that the color of these vases are Azul, not JetBlue :)

Gramado!

2009-03-10T19:24:00.004-04:00

Best. Vacation. Ever. Or at least since we have been in Brazil. Over Carnivale, we skipped all the parades and madness and flew south to Porto Allegre. From there we drove to Gramado, a community up in the mountains that was settled by Germans and Italians and it is B-E-A-U-T-F-U-L! It felt more like Europe than Brazil.

By some stroke of luck, we got hooked up with an amazing room at a super nice resort. Here we are on our balcony....

...and Joe and Grant by the pool

Gramado is famous for having a bunch of chocolate factories. Here is one of the chocolate shops and its impressive display of chocolate eggs. Everything tastes better in egg form.

Pillow fort!!

We also got hooked up with a guy who drove us all over and showed us around. The first place he took us was a steam museum. Totally lame, right? It turned out to be really cool. This was my favorite part. If you know me, you know I have a fascination with factories. I looove factory tours. But in most factories you don't get to see it all. So at this museum, they created a mini-paper-factory where they inserted a little mini bundle of wood, processed it in a little mini processor, dyed it in the little mini-vat, and ran it through a bunch of mini-weights and dryers and voila! a mini-sheet of paper! So geeky and so cool. (PS, the significance is that the whole "factory" was run by steam)
We went to the top of an observation tower that looked over this amazing valley full of cliffs and this waterfall
We found a Grant-sized train
Probably the coolest thing we did... I have always wanted to see glass getting blown. I think it is a fascinating and beautiful art from. At this crystal factory and gallery, they do demonstrations and it is amazing to see the artist do his thing. Well, due to our "connection," they even let Joe and I blow a crystal vase each. They are delivering them to us tomorrow...I am so excited!
We also went to an early Italian settlement in the middle of nowhere. This was a flour mill. It was so serene. Joe and I kept dreaming about moving to the country.

Nossas coisas

2009-03-10T13:27:00.008-04:00

Well, our house is finally starting to feel like a home. Our stuff got here at last and is mostly unpacked and life is much more...comfortable. It seems kind of silly, I mean, its just stuff, but there is something about your own belongings that finally makes you feel at home, not just a never-ending stressful vacation. So here are a few pictures of our house. Even with the stuff, its still a little empty due to moving from a 1 bedroom apartment to a 3 bedroom house. Here is the front again (btw, that is not our car, but it might as well be -- we have the same one)

Living/Dining Room:

Family/Playroom (sans all the toys that are typically everywhere):

Grant's room:

Kitchen:

Master Bath:

it's been hot

2009-03-03T07:45:00.001-05:00

too hot to do laundry

too hot to go on a walk

too hot to clean

too hot to cook

and too hot to blog, apparently

lately

2009-02-09T17:58:00.004-05:00

hello. well, there honestly hasn't been a whole lot happening around here lately. joe and grant have both been sick with some kind of virus for the last couple of weeks. this weekend we decided to get out and drive to the beach. it was a nice little 2 hour drive, but when we got there, grant had yellow-green goo all over his eyes...poor kid has pink eye now! he's making his brave face in the above picture. so we spent a lot of the day trying to find a doctor in a hospital of questionable quality! we did have a nice lunch and finally made it to the beach.

those buildings on the hill are gigantic houses. I cannot get used to the juxtaposition of the incredible amount of wealth and the incredible amount of poverty in this country. there is virtually nothing in between.

here's grant giving loves to his regular pediatrician, dr. fabio. he was 8.1 kg at his 7 month appt.

my dad is always joking that grant is like that baby on the commercials that buys stocks online, so this one is for him. only he's not buying stocks, he is watching grey's anatomy reruns.

otherwise, things around here are fine. we are still waiting for our belongings. for those of you keeping track, that makes it 5.5 months since we were packed up, it is so frustrating. joe's still busy at work. I'm becoming a real housewife-type with playgroups and lunches and book groups and whatnot. And its really warm here...we can't wait to have some visitors -- any takers?

Rivers Cuomo on Fresh Air

2009-01-27T07:47:00.003-05:00

Not sure why I found this, but it was a compelling 37 minutes or so. Listen here. The story about "I was scared" broke my little heart!

"What is Grant doing that's new?" you might be asking yourself...

2009-01-18T16:02:00.002-05:00

...well here are some answers for you:

crawling! he has been army crawling for more than a month now, but he's got the proper-hands-and-knees thing down now
bonking his head on everything he can find
pulling to a stand, mostly on mom.
pulling mom's hair, constantly
sitting on his bum unassisted
getting eaten alive by mosquitoes
bathing in the big tub
playing with his friend, Carter
making a funny, wide, closed mouth smile
cutting a tooth! we just discovered this on friday
and best of all, sleeping in his own bed! Something we have been trying to do for months, but couldn't in the hotel room. We let him cry it out and it went much smoother thant what I was anticipating. It's amazing having a little time to myself. We are so proud of that little boy!

catch up

2009-01-12T20:13:00.002-05:00

A quick post to let you know we are alive. I'll have to add pictures later.

1. Christmas was wonderful. At the last minute our visas were approved, so we "had" to go to New York to pick them up. We flew into DC first to visit with Joe's parents. We saw the lights at the DC temple and ate delicious Potbelly's at the airport. Next, onto New York. I love that city at Christmastime! We only had two days, and I wished we had another week. We had to get background checks done with the NYPD, something that usually takes 3 weeks in city-time. But Joe's boss had a contact there who happens to be the guy who handles relations with big-wig types for the chief of police. Turns out, he was someone I knew, a classmate from flight attendant school. It is such a small city. Anyhoo, he gave us the royal treatment and the checks were done in 20 minutes, then he drove us in his undercover cop car uptown to the Brazilian consulate. It was delightful to be treated like VIPs. We also went to the Christmas market at Union Square, ate Nick's Pizza and treats from Martha's and had fun family time with the Ransoms. The only downside was it was C-O-L-D, and not just because we are cold-spoiled. We had to come in early to keep little Grant warm. On to warmer climates, we went to my parents' in St. George. I am a Jet Blue traitor for saying this, but we flew on Virgin America and it was awesome. But to be fair, it was mostly awesome because we got upgraded to mini-business class (coach plus or some such airline nonsense) and because Grant slept the whole flight. Anyhoo, Virgin America gets an A+ and I would highly recommend them if you are forced to pay for an airline ticket :). Christmas at the Colemans was comfortable, cozy, so happy. We ate ourselves full of delicious food and even got to see a movie. I think even Grant enjoyed his first Christmas.

2. And then we came back. Life back in Brazil has been a little crazy. The good news is, we moved into our house, and we even have a few pieces of rental furniture. We even have a functional kitchen now. The bad news is, I was without internet for a week, but I might as well have been living in a cave. I never realized how much blogs and facebook and email and whatnot can keep you company. It was a very lonely week, as all of my in-person friends were still in the States for the holidays. And we are still without our stuff. It has been over 4 months since we were packed up in New York. That's a third of a year. It is getting old. We register our visas with the Federal Police here tomorrow, so theres only one more step to go. Wish us luck.

a little late

2008-12-29T09:33:00.002-05:00

Embu!

2008-12-06T19:20:00.004-05:00

Well, we got to take another little day trip to see a new town. Luckily this one was only 30 minutes away. Embu is a great little community where locals sell art, crafts, furniture, you name it. Some of it was beautiful, like this table and benches made from cross sections of limbs:

...and some of it was not, like this giant mermaid bench:

We loved it, and of course found some yummy treats. Here are chocolate-dipped strawberries on a skewer (why haven't I thought of this before?):

And the boys with their aqua de coco, still in the coco:

update

2008-12-06T19:16:00.003-05:00

Grant is eating real foods now. So far he has tried: apples, mangoes, sweet potatoes, pears, bananas, squash, and carrots. Here's what he thinks of carrots:

(and yes, the carseat doubles as a high chair. when life gives you lemons...)

stray dog code of conduct

2008-11-25T11:48:00.000-05:00

One of the things I love/hate about Brazil are the stray dogs. Pretty much every where you go (well, maybe not here in our Alphaville bubble) you see them. And while it makes me sad to see so many homeless dogs, I am amazed by their unwritten laws. First, they are extremely docile. No rabid attack dogs here. Second, they know to keep their distance, pretty much. They tend to keep a 6 ft radius from you, unless you invite them to come closer. If you happen to have food with you, they will sidle up and narrow the gap to 2-3 feet, but they are so sneaky about it, you usually don't hear them coming. And last, they are free spirits. One little guy accompanied us from our pousada to the beach, but a few minutes after we got settled, he was off on another adventure.

Trinidade!

2008-11-24T19:06:00.005-05:00

Well, the gods of Brazilian holidays looked upon us this weekend because due to a holiday that fell on thursday, Joe was able to take a four day weekend. We, with the other Americans in the office and their families (about 26 people total) got to go on a little beach getaway to Trinidade (say: trin-da-gee). It was a 4 1/2 hour drive to the coast, halfway between Sao Paulo and Rio. And the drive was half the fun. Unfortunately, the camera battery was dead on the way there, but let me paint the picture for you: once you got through Sao Paulo, it was a lovely drive through the country with farms and ranches and rivers at a gradual incline for about 80 km. Suddenly, you start to go up pretty steep and you realize the bright blue sky has turned into a grey fog, as you are now basically in the clouds. You turn the bend and realize through the valley that while the top half of the horizon is still grey, the bottom is a brilliant, sparkling aqua blue ocean.

And then the road basically drops. And for 15 kms, the drive is a terrifying series of steep switchbacks surrounded by amazing jungle flora and mini-waterfalls. Road to Hana, eat your heart out.

Trinidade is a very out-of-the-way kind of place. Its a tiny village with a bunch of poussadas, or inns. Our room was rustic, but clean. The beaches were lined with bar/grills and as you sat on the beach, merchants came by and sold drinks, treats, jewelry, hammocks, etc. Its the kind of place you just sit and watch the waves and let the world go by. It was just what we needed.

We also took a drive to Paraty (Pa-da-chee), apparently one of the first towns in Brazil, where it was an important port for gold and thus, pirates. It has a preserved historic center with cobblestone roads and awesome old buildings and churches. It felt more like Europe than Brazil with all the preserved Portugese influence. I guess it has recently become a big tourist place, but it was fun to walk around and eat doces. Hooray for Brazilian holidays!

one thing I will not miss this year:

2008-11-24T17:18:00.004-05:00

happiness is...

2008-11-16T18:18:00.003-05:00

one last thing tonight

2008-11-15T21:17:00.002-05:00

For all you parents, do you remember your childless days saying, "i'll never do that with my kid" or "my kid will never do that"? And undoubtedly, you or your kid are doing those very things? (And for all you currently childless folks, take note. It will happen. And you will feel dumb)

For me, the biggest thing was "My kid is NOT sleeping in my bed. Ever." So guess who is sleeping in my bed? I guess I felt bad for him and it was out of necessity in our homeless days. But now the habit has stuck. Which can be cute and sweet, but currently, he has scooted himself so that he is sleeping perpendicular to joe and I, his head butting into Joe and kicking me. Its not working anymore.

help. please? whats the trick to getting him to sleep in his own bed?

One sign you know your husband is working too hard

2008-11-15T20:58:00.002-05:00

I am working on the laptop on the bed. Joe and Grant are asleep next to me. Suddenly, Joe starts whispering something frantically in Portugese. I shake him awake (I think) and ask if he is okay. He asks, "Do you want to start round-trip fares....?" and drifts back to sleep.

Poor Joe.

"You can take the girl out of Hicksville, but you can't take the Hicksville out of the girl"

2008-11-15T18:37:00.006-05:00

So it didn't take me long to find Brazilian IKEA. I loved this place! I felt right at home, complete with an ice cream cone at the end.

It has been easier than expected to find the things that help make me feel at home. Admittedly, most of them have been food, i.e., mcdonald's chicken nuggets and ice cream. But also, we have a Wal-Mart and a Sam's Club and even an Outback Steakhouse. We get 3 TV stations that play most of my favorite shows (in english even!), albeit a half a season late.

But I am also surprised by how easy it is to adapt and find new favorites. There is a store called Carrefour that blows Wal-Mart out of the water (I haven't even been to Sam's Club). And you'd have to be pretty much insane to prefer Outback over any of the churrascarias here. And no one beats Nick's Pizza, but the place here that serves pizza rodizio style is tasty and gives it a great Brazilian twist.

And, for fear of sounding like an overly optimistic Christmas brag letter, here are the things I miss dearly here: The Office, hulu.com, Jon Stewart, cars with automatic transmission, and ice. Okay, obviously there is ice here, but its a bit of a fight to get it. And here in my flatch, our mini-fridge does not have the power to keep things frozen.

Here's an update about the day to day things in our lives: We bought a car! This is exciting because I essentially haven't driven much in the last 3 years, and we haven't had a car for the last year. Its also exciting because we bit the bullet and sprung for the automatic transmission, which is kind of hard to find here. But it is so worth it when you take into account the crippling panic attacks I had whenever I tried to drive our stick shift rental all over the hills of Alphaville.

We found a pediatrician who is great. He spent an hour and a half with us at Grant's 4 month checkup, just getting to know us (fyi, Grant is 7.2 kg, which I think is almost 16 lbs. Dr. Fabio says that he's in the 75th percentile for both height and weight. So he's a chunk, but a proportional chunk :). There is also a great hospital in our town. Grant is eating rice cereal and alternates between gobbling it up one day and spitting it all out the next. He's also a bit of an octapus, wiggling and grabbing at everything.

Joe is keeping busy working his tail off. And I have been looking for places to live all week. I've been going out with realtors who don't speak English but with a little creative sign language and a lot of smiling and nodding it has worked out. I think I may have found a winner:

Fun, huh? It needs a little work first, but the timing is perfect because we won't have our stuff for probably at least another month. I can't wait to post before and after pictures. Anyway, it isn't final yet, but it is the winner so far. Even though it doesn't have a pool and maid's quarters. I suppose I will survive.

i'm sure he'll hate me for this

2008-11-13T18:15:00.003-05:00

but i had to share

Tasty Travels

2008-11-03T21:21:00.002-05:00

Because my life pretty much revolves around where my next meal comes from, and because I consumed roughly a half liter of coca-cola lightch and can't sleep, here is a list of delicious treats I have eaten since I have been here for your enjoyment:

Brigadeiro: chocolate caramels made from sweetened condensed milk rolled in chocolate sprinkles

Coxinhos: shredded chicken wrapped in some kind of thick dough and deep fried

Pastels: cheese or meat in like a big wonton wrapper and deep fried

Pao Frances: little french breads that are crusty on the outside and oh so soft inside

Watermelon, pineapple, mangos, guava, green oranges, plums, you name the fruit....

Beans and Rice: never ever tastes bad

China in Box: because Brazilian Chinese is way better than Chinese Mexican, if you know what I mean

Ana Marias: like Twinkies without the greasiness

Stroganoff: with chicken and mushrooms and a sauce I can't put my finger on, sprinkled with crispy little fried potato shreds

Lime (or Passion Fruit) Mousse: tastes like the inside of Key Lime Pie

Lime-ade: made with fresh limes and is frothy for some reason

Meat and more Meat, meaning grilled beef on a spit

McDonalds hot fudge sundae with chunks of twix bar

Flan with a dark sugar glaze

Anything from the Lebanese restauraunt on the corner

two milestones today

2008-10-29T14:38:00.002-04:00

1. Grant rolled over onto his stomach for the first time by himself today. He's been close before, but that bottom arm always got stuck. Good work, little boy!

2. He also decided on his favorite indie-rock band. The verdict: Vampire Weekend. He totally relaxes and falls asleep in my arms when we listen to it. And he cries when the CD is over. I've never seen him respond to anything like that before!

Happy 4 months, sweetheart! We love you. Its so fun to watch you learn new things all the time!

new home...at least for a little while

2008-10-27T14:57:00.009-04:00

Hello! Or should I say, "Bom dia"? I shouldn't. Because I don't know Portugese yet. But I'm learning. Well, where to start? We survived the flights. Grant was relatively cooperative. And besides me, Joe and Grant in his carseat, we stuffed 6 huge suitcases, a stroller, and 2 carry-ons into our tiny little rental car. I think I would compare it to the size of a Geo. I'd like to give my mad Tetris skills the credit, but this time it was all Joe. Way to go, honey.

Here is our home for the time being. Its a flat, meaning a hotel room with a tiny kitchen. (side note: flat, or anything else ending in a "t" is pronounced "ch". Flatch. Which makes my son Grantch. sigh) And kitchen meaning a mini-fridge and 2 hotplates. But honestly, it does us just fine for now. We are on the top floor (28th) of a Comfort Suites and the picture above is my view from right here out our window as I sit at the desk. And here is the view of the desk:

A real multi-purpose office/living space. Here is the kitchen:

Notice the fruit bowl. It is spring here and Joe and I are enjoying all the fresh fruit. Except papayas. Joe likes 'em but I think they taste like feet. I know you should like paypayas, but I just don't. They are pretty though. Here is the bedroom (ha, just the bed):

Yes, that's Grant chilling out on the bed. He's good like that. And one more thing. Take a look at the toilet:

Take in all of the elements of the picture: the toilet itself, the sprayer, the trash can with a lid, and especially the little sign above the toilet. If you can't read it, it says "Nao jogar papel no vaso;" roughly translated, no paper in the bowl. Now lets pretend you are an american seeing this for the first time. What would you do? Would you mind the sign? Would you use the sprayer? (ps, the water that comes out of it is cold.) Or would you flush?

And here's a picture of Grant just 'cause he's cute:

The Life of Gypsies

2008-10-17T23:22:00.004-04:00

So. Grant and I have been on another world tour, which oddly enough was a lot like the first world tour. I won't bore you with the details. Well, okay, a couple details. I am officially no longer a flight attendant, but I got to keep a "retired" status, so I get to fly for 2 more years. But I do not get to keep my wings. I worked hard for those wings! And, thanks to the fine folks at the Brazilian consulate, Grant is now official to go. So we are going. On Monday. But back to the tour. Thanks to the following folks who put us up in the course of 11 days:

The Coleman Family

The other Coleman Family

The Cole Family

The Jeppesen Family

The Ransom Family

The Moore Family

The Carr Family

The other other Coleman Family

and the Allens.

Trip highlights included: les mis at tuacahn, a giant gust of wind at sand hollow, one last magnolia cupcake (okay, two), well-meaning strangers on the subway, chex mix with scout, effie, talking 'til all hours of the night with katie, the pizza sauce machine at costco, carrot costumes and carlos at sweet tomatoes. good times.

Next post is from Brazil. Download Skype if you haven't already. Wahoo!

untitled

2008-09-08T00:55:00.002-04:00

hmm. a lot has happened these last few weeks, and my brain is feeling mushy. here's the facts:

1. Joe was offered a job in Brazil working for Azul, a new Brasilian airline headed up by JetBlue founder David Neeleman.
2. In the course of less than a week, our lease ended and our things were packed up and moved to a warehouse somewhere in the Poconos. When Joe gets a work visa, it will be shipped to Brazil.
3. Serendipitously (?) I was given an opt-out package to leave my job. I was going to quit anyway, so it was win-win-win.
4. I'm currently homeless. I will have slept in 4 different homes in one week. Grant sleeps in his carseat.
5. Joe's leaving to start work in 2 weeks. Grant and I will wait for his passport and visa at my mom's house for the next month or so.

I am feeling:
excited for a new adventure
happy to skip a whole winter (we're just coming into spring in Brazil)
ecstatic to own a washer and dryer
exhausted
scared
nervous
clueless about how to learn portugese
really sad to leave new york, friends, and family
overwhelmed
and then I just push it all away and feel numb.

i need a nap.

My kid is as cute as Knox, or at least Vivienne

2008-08-08T16:52:00.004-04:00

So in addition to owning and managing a hugely sucessful digital scrapbooking business, designing scrapbooking papers, contributing to magazine spreads, and being an amazing mom and overall person, my hugely talented sister-in-law has launched a photography business specializing in child and baby portraiture. And I get to reap the benefits. Behold:

and don't worry, there's more to come.

Please go see more of Michelle Coleman's amazing stuff at: http://www.littledreamerstudio.com/

Grant: World Tour 2008

2008-08-08T15:01:00.010-04:00

Things have been busy over here at Team Allen. Joe's sister Emily came to visit with her adorable family for a few days. Surprisingly, our one-bedroom apartment fit our combined family of eight quite cozily and Grant had a great time meeting his cousins. He's got some catching up to do, growth-wize if he doesn't want to get pummelled at family reunions.

On a whim, Grant and I flew back to Phoenix with the Carrs and spent some quality time with a few of my favorite people. Kristin was kind enough to put us up, and Grant loved her immediately. Unfortunately, Hayden was beside himself whenever she picked Grant up. By the end of the week, he warmed up to the baby, and its a good thing too, since they are going to be best friends and go to BYU together :)

We also got to see our dear friends from Brooklyn, the Moores in their new fabulous suburban oasis. Here's a little plug for Dom: he recorded "Hush Little Baby" for an album of lullabies. Like a sucker, I bought it from Deseret Book for $18, but you can find it on iTunes here for $10. Both Grant and I highly recommend it.

We got some family time in too, seeing Joe's sister Amy and her family, and my brother Jason and his family. I never thought Grant would get to meet so many cousins so soon.

Then it was off to my family reunion in Utah at East Canyon resort. My family is so big that "family reunion" refers only to my parents and siblings and their families. But also, Joe met up with us at that point so it was a good Team Allen reunion as well. Grant has decided that he's not so much into cribs anymore and since we were away from home, we took pity on him and let him sleep with us. I caught this moment with Joe before I fell asleep.

Then he caught this moment with me before I woke up. We both thought we were so tricky.
Joe went back to work and Grant and I did the Utah tour, or as much as we could fit in. At Granny Paula's, Joe's other sister Katy came to visit with her family, so Grant got to meet the whole Allen clan and almost the whole Coleman clan within 2 weeks. Way to go, family.

He also met sweet Kristina...

... and saw Adam and Sara again. As they already met him in the hospital, it was fun to hear them say, "He's so big!" when everyone else commented on how small he was. We also met up with Lindsey, where we got to meet baby Max. Max is 2 weeks younger than Grant and will also be roomates with Hayden at BYU. Here they are together (getting 2 babies to cooperate is tricky, and this is the best we could do :) :

The best part of the last two weeks is that Grant has been getting better and better at his smiling skills and each time I melt accordingly. Here's some pictures so you can melt too:

First Tub (or Kitchen Sink) Bath

2008-07-19T16:23:00.003-04:00

oh yeah, and

2008-07-13T23:53:00.003-04:00

here's a couple of pictures of the little guy. this is one of those gas bubble faces that parents like to think is a special smiling moment, just for them.

this is his hot new ride. what do you think of the red pattern? is it girly or is it rock star? Or both, because we all know all the really great rock stars exhibit a good deal of androgyny?

plumbing

2008-07-13T11:09:00.003-04:00

warning: this post is all about pee and whatnot. if you are uncomfortable with that, maybe its best to skip this one...

wow. I never thought I would get used to being covered in bodily fluids so fast. honestly, i thought there would be some kind of buffer period where I thought it was gross, but no. Grant seems to go through squirts, I mean spurts where he either goes through 5 onesies a day or he manages to keep it all in his diaper all day. perhaps I just have crappy diapers? (no pun intended). One day he managed to leak pee in his crib 4 separate times, and it gets to the point that you are just kind of like, "eh, its just pee. it'll dry..."

However, one thing that has taken us some time to get used to is the immediate stream of pee when you change his diapers. He has managed to pee in his own eye on two separate occasions. And somehow, sometimes, we gamble and think "oh, we won't cover him up, it won't happen again", and of course it does, every time. what are you gonna do?

No, really, what are you gonna do? There are a lot of you out there with little boys -- what is your pee containment technique? Wet wipes? Keep him covered up with the new/old diaper? towels? peepee tepees? Let him pee freely? Really, I want to know...

so in love

2008-07-02T11:14:00.004-04:00

(someday he is going to be unhappy with me for using the cross-eyes picture, but what are you gonna do?)

Meet Grant. He was born on Saturday, June 28th at 4:13 am. He weigned in at 7 lbs, 6 oz (not 9 lbs, like they expected), and was 20.5 inches long. He doesn't like to wake up like his mom, and kicks off his blankets like his dad. And when he makes little "ahh" noises, everything inside me melts.

Baby Watch Update: D-Day plus one and counting

2008-06-23T13:11:00.002-04:00

So I think we should start answering the phone like this:

"No, the baby hasn't come yet. Hello?"

I know with your first one they are often late and I know that due dates are just an estimate, but yeah, it gets discouraging when you have been preparing for the last 9+ months and are ready to go and the baby is not. He seems to be happy as a clam where he is. They have told me that I have hydramniosis, or extra amniotic fluid, so I imagine him swimming around, not nearly as uncomfortable as I am. What a life!

Anyhoo, baby, we're excited to meet you. Won't you please come out to play soon?

oh what do you do in the summertime?

2008-06-08T16:57:00.003-04:00

I'll tell you what I do. I lock myself in my bedroom with the lights off, shades closed and AC on.

We have had great weather this year until this weekend. It jumped from 75 degrees to 95 degrees in one day and when you add in 400% humidity and increasing hormonal stress...well, it's not pretty. You know where to find me.

she's crafty, pt. 2

2008-06-05T15:57:00.005-04:00

have you ever tried freezer paper stenciling? this was my first shot at it and it was not too brutal.

I have become super cheap as this whole parenting thing approaches, so i'm starting to see things I want, and think, "I could do that." so between this onesie, the boppy, boppy cover, and bebe au lait, all from stuff I already had I have saved $115. And I feel good about recycling old stuff too (i.e. the sock dog). Way to thrift, kel.

Update: Baby Watch. T minus 2.5 weeks and counting

2008-06-04T16:37:00.005-04:00

I feel a little like Violet Beauregarde as she swells up like a blueberry. "Prick her with a pin!"

Using that last pregnancy posting, here's an update. New additions in red.

New York doctors are definitely overkill. With no major complications, I have had (so far), 4 glucose tests (all within normal range -- yep, still not diabetic), 8 or 9 sonograms, $who knows how much worth of blood work (thank you, insurance), 3 different doctors (almost 4), 5 pelvic exams, and peed into a cup more than countless times. We've been going to the hospital each week for childbirth classes. So we are, of course, experts on the subject.

Here's the little guy. Contrary to the photo quality, he doesn't really have cold sores all over his lips :). I don't suppose he is in any hurry to leave my nice warm womb. He is in the 7-7.5 lb range already. Way to grow, little guy.

I'm in good shape overall, but pretty darn uncomfortable these days. I prefer to stay mostly horizontal, and luckily I have been able to. I think that whole "nesting" thing has kicked in, but I don't think it counts because I try to manipulate Joe into doing more chores than me. Anyhoo, I did get the bedroom/nursery/baby alcove clean and ready for the little guy. And I took pictures because it will never be this clean again. Please notice my craigslist glider purchase. I feel good about the deal we got on that one.

clairvoyance

2008-05-22T00:00:00.000-04:00

one time, I was walking through Central Park, when a nice-looking lady approached me and asked me if I wanted a psychic reading. I politely declined. She looked at my belly and asked, "are you having a boy or a girl?"

ha ha! a golden opportunity!

"You tell me..." I said

She rolled her eyes. Too easy. "A boy," she said, matter of factly.

so if you need a psychic, I know a good one in Central Park.

she's crafty...

2008-05-21T14:04:00.001-04:00

Look! A dog, made from old socks! With jowls and a belly button! Jowls! Socks!

every little thing she does is magic

2008-05-14T03:55:00.000-04:00

Last week, sweet Kristina came to my house to visit during her school break. I will have to update this later with pictures and all, but I have to tell you about our freakishly magical day before I forget. Something about my huge belly and her good karma...

We went to go see the temple, then decided to walk to the 72nd street entrance to the park. As we were walking up Columbus Ave, I mentioned to Kristina how good a magnolia cupcake would taste, and how it was too bad that they were all the way across town. Suddenly, a magnolia bakery appeared out of nowhere. Literally right in front of us. AND there was no line! Turns out this location has only been there since January or something. I must get the word out. Temple attendance is sure to skyrocket...

So we took our cupcakes into the park, and it was the most beautiful day. Everything in the park was green, the weather was perfect, and the last of the blossoms were floating down from the trees. A jazz band played somewhere in the distance. And we devoured our cupcakes. It was pretty stunning.

We wanted to go to the Daily Show, but didn't have tickets. We decided to go to the studio anyway and see if there was a standby line. On the way there, I called Joe on a whim to see if there were tickets available online...and magically there was! So by the time we got there we were all listed and had a good spot in line. When we made it into the studio, the person assigning seats looked at my enormous belly and directed us into the VIP section, IN THE FRONT ROW. The guest was John McCain and everyone around us were press people covering the McCain campaign. We kind of looked at each other and asked, how did we get so lucky to be sitting 20 feet in front of Jon Stewart and John McCain?? (To be clear, I am not a McCain supporter, but he is one of my favorite guests on the Daily Show)

I must also mention the sandwich artists at Subway, and the security team at the Daily Show, who let me use their non-public restrooms, and thus making my day even more enjoyable.

Today I learned

2008-05-14T00:14:00.000-04:00

how to use the laminating machine at Kinko's. it was surprisingly fulfilling.

its a good thing i don't have one at my house. i think i would be tempted to laminate everything i could find. think of the possibilities!

The bus is for the lazy and the invalid, or, Why I love the bus

2008-05-05T02:48:00.000-04:00

This is the Q60. It runs locally up and down Queens Blvd. This means it stops every couple of blocks, which means it averages out to about 3.5 miles per hour.

It is my best friend.

Why do I love the bus more than the express train that runs basically the same route and is a hundred times faster? Lets count the ways.
1. No stairs. I'm lazy and very round. I can't see my feet. Stairs are not my friend at this point.
2. I can look out the window. No matter how many times I have gone up and down Queens Blvd, I keep finding new, interesting things.
3. My bus mates. Mostly old, lazy, or disabled, as I said, but so endearing. The best part is when you get stuck behind someone who is double parked, and every person on the train shakes their head, sucks their teeth, and gripes about how stupid car-drivers are.
3a. One time the wheelchair ramp got stuck in the out position. 3 random big men at the bus stop had to shove it back in and it took about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, no one on the bus moved, but instead we all griped about how stupid the bus is. So endearing. So very New York. (2 stops later, the lady who needed the ramp got out.)
4. The bus stop is roughly 1.5 blocks closer to my house than the subway stop. Remember how I'm lazy? And the bus stops have benches. Benches!
5. Being above ground helps me to feel less claustrophobic and If I really had to, I could use my cell phone.

The Wave of the Future!

2008-05-04T23:25:00.000-04:00

You know how when you go to Disneyland (and forgive me if things have changed since I was 10 years old) and you go to the area called "Futureland" and it really feels like "1958 land"? Like the rides that show how in 2003, we will have flying cars and ovens that make our food for us? Or you know how "dippin dots" is the "ice cream of the future" even though its been around forever? Stay with me for a minute...

Yesterday, we went exploring Queens, and happened to hit up all the places in the opening credits of "The King of Queens" Here's Joe getting a lemon ice:

Anyhoo, after that, we walked over to Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. This technically includes Shea Stadium and the US Tennis Open Stadium. But the park itself was the site of the 1964 World's Fair. This is where "futureland" comes in. From what I read, the World's Fair was like this whimsical festival where the big industries like GM and Ford and Disney had futuristic exhibits. It was the original home of "Its a small world after all" and it was so popular, I guess there was some talk about making it Disneyland 2 (which eventually happened in Orlando instead). Apparently they had all sorts of financial problems and shut down after 2 years.

Here's a picure from wikipedia:

So now, the park is fairly run down, but you can still feel that excitement that I assume there was. You can see how it could be a really cool place for live music festivals, or something like that, but alas. Is it weird to feel nostalgic about something I have never experienced? Here's some more pictures:

This is the Unisphere, representing "the Space Age" (oooooh, aaaah) back in the day. Now punk kids skateboard in the dried up fountain directly below it.

Behind Joe are some more fountains that I'm sure were meant to look like the Gardens of Versailles. Instead, little kids now play soccer in them.

I'm still not sure what these things are all about. You can see them when you go to LaGuardia and they are as ugly as sin. Seems like the alien spaceship lands on them in Men in Black or something?

The rest of the park has been turned into mostly soccer fields (like 20 or them) that were super busy yesterday and the park was filled with the yummy aroma of spanish food.

Next to the park is the Queens Botanic Gardens. Not nearly as big as Brooklyn BG, but beautiful anyways because everything was in bloom. Joe and I both were immediately attracted to the lilacs. We both grew up with them in the yard and smelling them felt like home.

Pregnant and Lovin' It...

2008-05-01T03:07:00.000-04:00

...is the name of a book I have seen on Joe's parents shelf. I have never picked it up, but I'm pretty sure it was published in 1965 and I'm pretty sure it was written by a man.

Since I haven't written too much about it, I thought I should write a little about the experience to refer back to the next time I get a crazy idea in my head. In a nutshell:

1st trimester: Sick, hopeful, and naive
2nd trimester: Sick, depressed, and lethargic
3rd trimester (so far): Hungry, achy, and happy

New York doctors I think might be a little overkill. With no major complications, I have had (so far), 3 glucose tests (all within normal range), 6 or 7 sonograms, $1100 worth of blood work (thank you, insurance), 2 different doctors (almost 3), 3 pelvic exams, and peed into a cup countless times. I haven't even been to the hospital where I'm delivering yet.

But it has all been worth it to see this:

turn into this:

more later...

p.s. the bulldog in the picture is named Burton and we loooove him. plus he drools less and has less flatulence than a regular bulldog.

Spring Awakening

2008-05-01T02:08:00.000-04:00

So finally I have come out of my winter coma, and I have even survived to tell about it. My goal is to be a little better about this record keeping business. So first, a few words about March.

First, I turned 26. Joe threw me a party with the kids from Brooklyn and it was a lot of fun. He made corned beef and cabbage and for a birthday cake, Green Velvet Cake. Mmmm... In case you are wondering, Green Velvet Cake is a lot like Red Velvet Cake, except you use a whole bottle of green food coloring rather than a whole bottle of red food coloring. At some point, we will be smart about taking pictures of these things. Oh! The best part of the party was that Joe was thoughtful enough to buy orange and green streamers, the most whorish of all the colors. Way to go, babe.

I feel like I worked a lot in March, though I got stuck in a rut going back and forth between Florida and Upstate/Newark. Ugh. The people that fly between Ft. Lauderdale and Newark are the classiest of all of our customers, and I mean that in the most sarcastic way possible. But, once you've got them figured out, you've got friends for life. Lots of random belly rubbing, and I believe everyone who guessed, guessed correctly that I'm having a boy. I'm not sure how people tend to know these things.

Well, in what turned out to be my last trip, Florida really did me in this time. The hotel in FLL was super mildewy or something, and I was up coughing all night. The next night in Newark was better, but the by the last night in West Palm, I couldn't breathe and thought I was dying.

I flew to Utah the next day for the baby shower my mom and sis-in-laws were planning, but I kept getting sicker. Turns out I had some kind of respiratory infection and asthma (who gets asthma at 26?). Thanks a lot, Florida. It was like one last kick in the pants. The shower was amazing and I got to see almost all my Utah friends at once. But I was still sick and spent the rest of my vacation letting my mom take care of me.

I had 6 more work days before I was set to go on maternity leave, and for 2 of them I was sick, 2 I sat airport standby and got paid to sleep for 6 hours, and the other 2 I was on house arrest. My flight attendant days kind of went out with a fizzle, but its good to be done.

Joe's parents came out mid-april and we had a super-productive visit. We rented a car for 24 hours and got almost all the baby stuff we need for now. I had a hard time getting excited about most cribs under $500 (ouch) so we went with the IKEA crib that I wasn't super excited about, but at least was cheap. Now that its all set up, I really like it. We also got a mattress, car seat, little side table, lamps, all the fixins for a cubicle sized baby nook. yes, that's nook, not nursery. What are you gonna do. I'll post pictures once I get it cleaned up...

Also, Joe's mom was introduced to Pinkberry. She is in love. I don't know when I've seen her more excited :) After visiting the Bleecker St. location, we found another one in Flushing. Along with more Pinkberry, we had yummy Chinese there, and it was fun to see another part of Queens. It got me motivated to go explore my home borough more.

So we have new renters moving into our condo, and it needed a little TLC. I had nothing better to do last week, so I went to Utah to a. clean it up, and b. get a haircut. Sad that it is cheaper for me to fly across the country to get a haircut than have someone do it here. Anyway, I finally have an appetite again, so I made a little food tour of Northern Utah. Because it made me so happy, here is a list of what I ate:
1. Sticky Fingers Salad from Wingers
2. Crisp Meat Burrito from Taco Time (*dining in the restaurant, of course)
3. Eggs Benedict poached hard from Ruth's Diner
4. Chicken Coconut Kurma from Bombay House
5. Sweet Nachos from Crystal's mom
6. NY Steak from Joe's dad and the grill

Oh man. So good. Too bad my stomach is somewhere near the vacinity of my collar bone at this point.

in other news...

2008-02-12T17:08:00.000-05:00

...i know this is about a week old, but did you hear that the kids from Arrested Development are talking about making an AD movie? From New York Magazine:

Please, Mitchell Hurwitz, Pack the ‘Arrested Development’ Movie With Jokes Only We Understand

From the big-time Arrested Development fans at E! and "Page Six" (who knew?) comes word that Jason Bateman and Jeffrey Tambor have been contacted, by either Mitchell Hurwitz or Ron Howard, about possibly appearing in an Arrested Development movie. One imagines such a film could be helped through development by former AD cast member Michael Cera's prominence in Oscar-nominated moneymaker Juno (not to mention a certain critically acclaimed box-office smash that makes There Will Be Blood look like Meet the Spartans).

Could this exciting news just be the setup for a financially disastrous, casual-viewer-alienating excursion into a world of obscure tropes that can only be fully understood by those who've watched all three seasons of Arrested Development multiple times? Good God, we hope so! After the jump, our list of the ten inside jokes we hope most to see carried over in an Arrested Development film — presented, of course, without explanation.

10. "Spicy club sauce."

9. "I don't understand the question, and I won't respond to it." (Also in this category: "If I wanted something your thumb touched, I would have ordered the inside of your ear.")

8. Risky/Don't Buy/Triple Sell

7. "Has anyone in this family even seen a chicken?"

6. "But where did the lighter fluid come from?"

5. "I'm afraid he's gone." ("Why couldn't he have said, 'He escaped' or 'The room is empty'?")

4. Private detective Gene Parmesan.

3. "Her?" (also: "Ann-Hog," "Plant," "Egg," "Bland.")

2. Tobias, homosexual.

1. Lessons.

Michael: "You mean you taught me a lesson not to teach lessons?"
George Sr.: "It was my last lesson."

Long live the Bluths!

a tribute

2008-02-12T15:52:00.000-05:00

so. january is by far the worst month of the year. this year was particularly bad. so much so that i mostly hibernated and watched approximately 57 hours of Lost.

that said, we'll skip the monthly recap and instead pay homage to a cultural icon. i am, of course, talking about Clueless. what a great movie. i was in the 8th grade when it came out, a perfect age for appreciating such an important movement in high school movies. it was 1995, the fading of the grunge era and the pre-re-rise of pop music via boy bands and former mousketeers.

for whatever reason, the girls of clueless did not seem to fare as well as the boys. yes, Alicia Silverstone did appear in peta ads, and Brittany Murphy did some ehh movies (no matter how blonde or how thin, she will always be Tai to me). and so, a tribute to the boys of clueless:

"'Cause I'm keeping it real...'cause i'm keeping it real!" i love this scene so much. Donald Faison is classic. and who doesn't love him on scrubs? if you didn't before, you will when you watch this video of turk auditioning for the hospital worker's air-band:

Paul Rudd is probably the most successful of the clueless boys these days. (incidentally, i ran into him after a play he was in in London in 2001. he was gracious and short.) having fallen into the inner circle of Judd Apatow, he has made appearances in all of the big raunchy movies these days, plus just about everything else. i read some interview with him, and he said that because most of his parts are peripheral characters, most people just recognize him as "the guy from clueless." which is how he likes it, apparently. laughing all the way to the bank, i'm sure.

"my foot hurts." ahh, Elton. in addition to being the cad-ish rich boy in clueless, i highly recommend watching Jeremy Sisto as a cad-ish brute of a husband in "Waitress". best of all, he's now a regular on Law and Order, so i can start watching it again now that that old man, dick van dyke wannabe is no longer there.

"two very enthusiastic thumbs up. fine holiday fun." i love Travis. i think he is the heart of this movie. sadly, we have only seen Breckin Meyer in a few things since clueless, most notably (unfortunatly) "Rat Race". he's adorable.

Dan Heydaya and Wallace Shawn (Mr. Hall) are two other actors that have been in four hundred movies in their day, and we are always happy to see them. I love every scene with Cher's dad, and I love that he is always yelling at someone.

i will only briefly mention Christian, and only to say he is my least favorite character and has dropped off the face of the earth since. i guess.

adventures in wildlife...

2008-01-27T17:34:00.000-05:00

...in new york city. in january.

i was waiting for the bus the other day, standing in front of a cemetary, when out of no where, a squirrel comes running out of the cemetary and straight at me. and it was one of those creepy black squirrels too. it seemed strange that a squirrel would run toward me, considering they usually run away from you, and i actually found myself telling the squirrel (in a stern voice) to go away. of course, someone walked by just then, rendering me a crazy ny person who talks to squirrels. sigh.

then the next day, i'm walking along the sidewalk, when what appears to be a large cat comes out of the bushes. but no, its a raccoon, less than 10 feet from me. and then it just sat and stared at me. i actually had to cross the street and use the other sidewalk to avoid running into the raccoon. since when do raccoons have sidewalk priority in the city??

joe said he saw a hawk swooping down to get a squirrel in our courtyard. i guess it was proving difficult since the area of our courtyard is about only about 10 by 15 feet and surrounded on all sides by 6-story buildings. but honestly, a hawk?? in Queens? why? what is going on around here?

amazing.

2008-01-13T17:05:00.000-05:00

well, kids, it finally happened. i think most of you know by now (who knows who even reads this), but we are expecting! we are due june 22nd, so yeah, 17 weeks along now. and...it's a boy! we are super excited.

i think the only ones who may not know already are the brooklyn folks. we miss you and we feel very out of the loop these days. if any of you are lurking around, please make yourself heard!

the ultrasound above was taken at 12 weeks, so he's still a bit of an alien, but cute anyway. if you can't tell, he's chillin on his back with his giant head on the right. his left shoulder is closest to you and his right arm is up, waving.

The following was written on 12.13.07, but was saved for you to read now...

I just had the most fun/funniest experience of the pregnancy. We went to get an UltraScreen done, which is a screening test for Downs Syndrome and other chromosomal abnormalities. Its an optional procedure, but my doctor made it clear that for her, it was NOT optional. So I felt a little bullied and I made the appointment for the sole reason that she wouldn't get mad at me at my next visit. But I am so glad I went.

So the guy who did the sonogram must have studied theatre along with his medical studies. The whole process sounded like one great monologue, only occasionally interrupted by the nurse or myself. He made a grand production of explaining every aspect of the test. He measured the fluid behind the neck, quizzing me all the while on what is normal and what is not (everything looks great, by the way). He went through what the brain, hands, feet, legs, everything should look like. He explained why the baby needs to suck it's thumb, so that it gets fluid intake that will come out as "what? Pee! Yes, Pee!" . He let out a great "OHHH!" when the baby hit itself in the face while trying to suck it's thumb.
When he wrapped up act II, I asked him if he saw any boy parts or girl parts. Here's how the conversation went:
Dr: what makes you think I can tell you?
Nurse (interrupting): boy.
Dr: and the reason we know it's a boy is because this is a penis. So I'm guessing its a boy. Or a girl with a penis. Maybe it will fall off. Who knows.

awe. some. so we are having a boy. or a girl with a penis. either way.

december? what december?

2008-01-05T18:01:00.000-05:00

so, you know the episode of the office when jim comes back? kelly runs up to him and says, "jim, i have so much to tell you! brad and angelina had a baby and named it shiloh, and tom and katie had a baby named suri and she is a-mazing!" this is how i feel at work. i worked a good amount of hours this month, and all i have to show for it is the fact that i know jamie lynn spears is having a baby and katherine heigl (sp?) got married at the stein erickson lodge. (listen, while we're on ms. heigl, can i just say that i really had no problem with her until i read an interview in ok! or yes! or whatever where she said she made sure to lose lots of weight for her honeymoon because she knew there would be paparazzi taking pictures of her. then she explained that she was going to los cabos, mexico and staying at the xyz resort. hmmmm?) so yeah. that's what's going on with me :)

so my job is not so brain-stimulating. what are you gonna do.

but i did get some good visits in this month. joe and i went to st. george to visit the parents a couple weeks before christmas and enjoyed the sunshine and the company. my brother showed up with his two little girls, too, which was a fun surprise. these little girls are ridiculously cute. i will be super fortunate to have kids half as sweet as they are.

between work and travel, we never even got a christmas tree or really decorated at all, since we weren't home much. i was scheduled to work over christmas so i talked joe into going ahead to utah and getting on a plane while he could. well, turns out christmas was the first day in december they didn't use me. so i stayed at home, by myself. which would be sad, except for this:

oh, yes. listen, i'm no gamer, but i loooove mario. and i believe that mario 3 was truly beyond it's time. you remember, it's the first one where mario can fly, mushroom houses with fabulous surprises, magic flutes and that awesome level where mario can jump through the whole level in a boot. a boot! you know what i'm talking about. i would have had a horribly depressing lonely christmas were it not for the 8+ hours i spent with mario and the gang.

the next day i skipped out on being on home arrest 2 hours early and made it to utah on the jumpseat. we had a fun, crazy time with joe's family and ALL of the nieces and nephews under one roof. one of the best things about being with family is that there is ALWAYS good food around. why does other people's food always taste so much better than what is at my house? anyway, good food, good company, a little crazy rummy or some such game, javier's mexican food, taco time, and the movie "enchanted" all equaled up to good times had by all.

2008 began with the redeye back to NY. how did you ring in the new year?

november update

2007-12-09T11:15:00.000-05:00

ugh. i feel so lame. i keep trying to think of something cool to put on the ol' blog, but life seems fairly dull these days. (i know, i know, makes you want to read even more, huh?). AND the camera broke so i don't have a lot of new pictures to share. but, at least i have the monthly update. november! wahoo!

so i spent a few days and finally went to see my sister in austin. i feel terrible that it didn't happen earlier. but we had a fun visit. it was great just to hang out with her and her kids who are awesome. i got to know my niece Brooklynn who i haven't seen much of since she was born. plus, austin is really nice and the weather was perfect. win-win-win.

i've started to actually be able go to my new ward regularly which is cool. we still don't know a lot of people, but it's happening slowly. i gave the lesson in rs to about 30 women and i knew exactly 0 of them, but it was a good chance to meet people. and it wasn't a bad lesson. so there you go.

thanksgiving was delicious. all three of them. but yes, on thanksgiving proper, adam and sara came to town, and we had dinner at his aunt's house in long island. they were so cute and welcoming and we felt like part of the family. joe made a pumpkin cheesecake with a gingersnap crust that he had made with real, fresh ginger. is he amazing or what? we definitely needed a picture of that. it was beautiful and delicious.

the next day adam and sara came to our house and got a tour of the hood. we had the obligatory pizza at nick's, then went to the city for cupcakes. adam doesn't even like sweets and he went crazy for the magnolia cupcake. it was truly a sight to behold. it was so ridiculously cold, we ended up coming home, playing wii, and ordering indian food. yes, that was 2 dinners and cupcakes. count 'em.

joe and i braved the city the next day for some holiday shopping. we wandered from the unoppressive, non-imperialist bookstore to jacques torres chocolate to evolution to kate's paperie (i need some new stores. why do i go to the same places over and over?), then to union square for their holiday market. i was impressed at the selection, and the stuff there was actually unique and cool. no plethora of handmade soaps and crappy knitted things. way to go, union square holiday market.

the last week of the month, we had joe's parents come to visit. i had been working all sorts of red-eye shifts so i was pretty tired and cranky part of the time they were here and i feel bad about that. what are you going to do. but we did manage to see all the christmas lights down 5th ave, including the tree which was the first time for me. how lame is it that i have been here 3 christmases and just barely saw the rockefeller center tree? also, we took the inagural visit to the brand-new Trader Joe's-Queens. Here are some tj must haves: peppermint Joe-Joe's (i'm thinking could be dipped in chocolate for some real indulgent holiday goodness), and fiber bread (oh, man, does it have fiber).

also, some of you will be happy to know that i have finally started to watch Lost. joe found the first season at the library and i'm about halfway through it. slowly but surely.

so that was my productive november: lots of food, tv on dvd, family and friends. life is pretty good these days.

things i love right now, part 1: freaks and geeks

2007-11-22T00:38:00.000-05:00

have you seen this piece of comedic genius?? i hope someone has and can indulge me for a while. for the rest of you, get thee to netflix as soon as you can. you will thank me later.

so the show is about a brother and a sister, sam and lindsey weir, growing up suburban michigan. sam, who is younger, and his friends constitue the geeks. lindsey, who has always been a brainy girl is looking for her true identity and starts hanging out with the freaks, the kids who ditch class to play with their band or get high. each character is so meticulously crafted, even the minor characters, and the whole thing is brilliant. sam is so awkward that sometimes you want to turn off the tv to escape his pain. i totally feel for lindsey, who wants to be less goody-goody without being too bad. i remember the feeling of having to stick up for my not-so-conventional (ha ha) friends to my parents. i remember being conflicted as to stick with kids who were nice and "good" and all, but not neccesarily such great friends, or others who had different ideas about things but were some of the most loyal people i knew. its funny, the show is set in 1980, but was taped and aired in 1999-2000, my senior year -- maybe that's why its so relatable? or maybe anyone can relate to different aspects of the show. anyway. brilliant. go watch the whole thing soon so we can talk about these characters: Millie, the self-righteous mathelete. Harris, the lone wolf geek consultant. Alan, the bully who has to shave his head after a lice infestation. And Nick. oh Nick! i think he's adorable and misguided. joe has no sympathy for him at all. let's discuss.

sadly, it only lasted one season. may it and arrested development rest in peace together.

here is a taste, courtesy of our friends at youtube. coach fredericks has received a prank call. out to find the culprit, he asks the whole boy's gym class to read the transcript of the prank call. by the way, the coach reminds me of someone so strongly, but i can't put my finger on it. do you guys know who i'm talking about? enjoy.

"i blow my nose in your general direction" ha!

what is the worst commercial on tv?

2007-11-13T10:27:00.000-05:00

i nominate this one:

go ahead, try to beat that. every time it comes on, i want to look away, but something draws me in. i think it is the sea dragon. it is awesomely bad.

as an honorable mention, i found this by searching for "worst commercial ever" on youtube. it's pretty spectacular:

monthly recap {october}

2007-11-08T18:29:00.000-05:00

so, for anyone who cares (lets face it, i'm the only one who cares about my blog, right?) i have been inspired by several sources to recap the month for posterity's sake. or something. but the good news is, october was actually a pretty fun month.

we started off by getting away for our anniversary. we got a smokin' deal at the crew hotel (ahem, resort) in aruba. so we spent all our time at the renaissance, which has it's own little private island, which you have to take a little boat ferry out to. we basically spent all day at the beach, joe with a snorkel set, towing me around in my little floaty mat. so relaxing and beautfiul. here's joe on the aptly named flamingo beach, just before one of them starting honking at him. anyhow, aruba is beautiful, the people are nice, and i'd go back in a second. anyone want to come with?

well, all that snorkeling and ocean water apparently didn't do so well for my ears because i came back with an ear infection which unfortunately (?) kept me grounded for almost two weeks. on the way to my dr's appointment, i got rear ended pretty good. but besides a sore neck and sore ears, everything turned out okay, and even the lady that hit me was super nice.

effie louise turned 1 this month. here she is with her dad, dom (who, on a side note, just ran and finished the NYC marathon with a time of 4:31. take that, katie holmes), getting help blowing out the candles. her bug birthday party in prospect park was a success and it was fun to get back to brooklyn.

that night, sarah morton came and stayed with us. she is an old friend from art classes and high school. we ate nick's pizza and treat's from martha's, watched a lucas james mcgraw production and reminisced about old times. it was so fun (and surprising) to hear about how davis high people have ended up all over the place.

i finally got back to work for a few days, then joe and i got to go to utah for the weekend. we went to a concert that i really wanted to see -- paolo nutini (if you want to hear some good music, look up "last request" and "new shoes"), serena ryder ("sing sing"), and sarah bareilles ("bottle it up" and "love song"). paolo is a scottish 19-ish year old kid that sounds like an old man. it was pretty awesome. we spent the rest of the weekend with joe's parents who spoiled us and made an early thanksgiving dinner.

for halloween, we went to our old brooklyn ward's annual chili and pie cook-off. you guys, this is a big deal. the 1st place prize apron is extremely coveted. joe made a delicious chili mole, but to no avail. its tricky to keep chili warm without crock pots, i think.

so work for me is good, but i have a lot of down time and get bored sometimes. i'm trying to find more productive hobbies. i made some curtains out of this awesome fabric, and i pieced together some other cool fabrics to make pillow covers. i'll have to post pictures when our camera isn't broken...

joe is keeping busy at work. he has also started running and looks amazing. he has been so incredible to take care of me through all my ailments :) i'm a lucky girl.

the nabe

2007-10-18T13:34:00.000-04:00

here are all the things i love about forest hills:

strolling down austin street
1a. specifically, nick's pizza. Apparently, nick is part of the patsy grimaldi family, so the pizza is just as good as grimaldi's (yes, brooklyn doubters, trust me), but the interior has a classy décor and the people that work there are ridiculously nice. grimaldi's – heavy mob influence & terrible service + bottled root beer & mets fans = nick's pizza. Almost too good to be true. (okay, there may be a little mob influence)
1b. martha's bakery. imagine a cute little shop with every dessert you can imagine, from gelatto to baklava to cupcakes to german chocolate cheesecake. Again, the people that work there are adorable. The desserts might be a little cuter than they are tasty, but that doesn't mean i won't eat them. here is sarah and i about to partake in the deliciousness:
1c. chain stores. i like a good mom and pop store as much as the next gal, but lets face it, sometimes you just want to go to the gap. or get refills for your wallflowers at bath & body works. is that so wrong?
1d. austin street playground. my goal is to get the courage to ask the 12 year old boys to teach me how to play handball.

giant trees. i told somebody the other day that our neighborhood reminded me of the avenues, with the clusters of huge trees sloping up the street. it took me a few hours to realize how asinine this statement is, considering our neighborhood is called forest hills. pretty much explains it all.

me and joe's commute to work. five minutes (walking) to jetblue, ten minutes to the airport. we are so spoiled.

did i mention how nice people are? even the lady who rear ended me was nice. even the body shop guys were nice. weird.

our apartment. this place has got so much potential. i think i will do a separate entry for the apartment and get some decorating suggestions. its like a beautiful old blank canvas. and our neighbors have an adorable pitbull named capone. capone! so cute.

Team Allen turns 6

2007-10-04T17:28:00.000-04:00

when we met almost 9 years ago, your first thought was "lucas is dating monica lewinsky"; mine was, "i'm gonna marry this guy." good thing you came around. through the simpsons, trailer trash perfume, harold and maude, and geppetto's, it was full blown puppy love. i still remember saying goodbye and i love you at the nectarine tree. my next two years were full of girlie adventures and surviving high school, skittles and countdowns. yours were full of service, pumpkin pies and deathly tropical fruit trees. our reunion was the best christmas gift ever and it reaffirmed you were the one. 10:00 every night was reserved for phone time at horne 58. 2 months in london, but my thoughts were always with you. another reunion, this time in nyc -- heartburn and lemonade in the park, security guards in the met, stomp, and finally, the fountain in front of the met. you made me the happiest girl ever. we barely survived engagement. the weather on 10.4.01 was the most beautiful i have ever seen. i felt like i was floating the whole day full of a grandma-lovin sealer, sick couples in the temple, lots of meat, and a candle-lit night with Louie, Ella, and John. chowda. showderre. back in real life we lived on barely nothin' and learned how to live with each other. buck joined our family that year and changed our lives. you taught me how to grow a garden. i found meaning at work, you found a major. we debated our views with some help from theresa and came to a deeper understanding of each other. we worked. hard. i wanted to go to grad school. you were always so supportive of every decision i made. we celebrated my graduation at the market street grill. just you and me. one of the best moments ever. we played in the yard and the field and the gully. buck fell in the creek. we had hick night. we had ice cream. i got a real job. you got promoted. we bought a condo (!) you saw me die a little in my first internship. you were still supportive. you morphed into super-joe a couple of times -- my hero. we moved and we lost buck. we grew closer. we worked even harder and ate even more ice cream, this time with the help of the hatch family. we celebrated 3 years with greek on the living room floor. we didn't see each other much that year. i wanted to work two jobs and go to school. you were still supportive. i still can't believe you packed me with gauze every day. I still can't believe you made me a quilt. you are amazing. we trekked across the country in a leap of faith. we grew even closer. we had to. we made a baby and lost it. it was a rough summer. i wanted to run off and join the airlines. you still supported me. you graduated. we played -- finally. you found meaning at work. i found meaning in my time off. we played some more. we deserve it. and here we are, in a new chapter in life. scary. exciting. i'm sure the next 6 will be even crazier than the last. i can't wait.

love you, babe.