Ma
My mother’s day was just as lovely as I could have hoped! I got to sleep in, was greeted upon waking with flowers, donuts, coffee, and hugs! Marco drew a card for me, and I even received a special card from my fur babies! <3
We decided to go to the movies to see ‘The Pirates! Band of Misfits’, which was quite silly and fun. British humor is rather quirky. Rather. Ha, see what I did there? Right-o, Jeeves.
Marco and I both took an afternoon nap, and after, I was able to read in bed. Blissful silence…
For a special treat, Tim took Marco and I to dinner at the Calistoga Inn, one of our favorite haunts in the valley.
Tim, contemplating the dinner menu. It’s serious business, guys.
Marco, lookin’ handsome (as always!)
Marco’s smooches are the best mom’s day present!
Love the patio
Spring risotto!! Mmmm
I love this picture of us!
After dinner, Tim picked up a lemon-blueberry cheesecake for us to enjoy at home, and we settled in with a glass of wine and an episode of ‘Mad Men’. I was completely disappointed in Betty’s childish behavior (when will it cease??), and kind of furious with Don for his treatment of Ginsberg (whom I adore!), but otherwise I quite enjoyed our evening. 
Here’s to the mamas! 
P.S. My baby turns 2 in three days. Trying not to have a heart attack.
I’ve got a book post coming up, but before I delve into my literary adventures, there have been goings-on in other media. I’ll make it snappy, since I have reached critical mass in the need for sleep. It’s kind of ridiculous how little sleep I’ve had in the past two weeks (hence the eerie silence on this here blog).
Last week ‘House’ creators announced that this is the final season – and I actually teared up. 
What will I do without Dr House??
I’ve decided this will give Hugh more free time to play the piano (for me), eat good food (with me) and read novels aloud in his natural English accent (to me). You know, ’cause obviously he’s coming straight to the Napa Valley after his show ends.
Sunday night (19th) the Season Finale of Downton Abbey airs. GAHH! Too short! This show needs to be moved from mini-series to regular series, so there are more episodes to devour!
OH MY GOD, ANNA AND BATES. I don’t want to ruin ‘Downton Abbey’ for anyone…but last week’s episode had many awesome moments. That’s all I’ll say.
Lord Grantham is officially ‘On Notice’, and hopefully I will not have to move him to the ‘Dead to Me’ board a la Stephen Colbert.
Also, can someone please make me look like this? Lady Mary is so lovely I bet she sleeps on a cloud and bathes in milk.
On the music front, tickets to the Death Cab for Cutie concert have been purchased! I am thrilled to see them perform. I started listening with the ‘forbidden love’ EP back in high school, and I’ve NEVER been able to catch them live before; the tickets usually sell out before I can get to them – but this time I got onto Ticketmaster on a break at work as soon as they went onsale.
Marco and I have been having dance parties in the car on the way home from work and daycare; I’ll crank out a tune and he shakes his groove-thang in his carseat. Lately, he loves The Black Keys’ “Gold on the Ceiling”.
I’m excited to finally see ‘The Artist’! It finally arrives at the Cameo this weekend. Sour Patch Kids and Milk Duds will be consumed. What? It’s dinner.
Really, if you have any self-respect you will watch Downton Abbey IMMEDIATELY.
The show centers around an English aristocratic family that resides in the ancestral home, Downton Abbey; the viewer is given both the lives of the aristocratic family and the lives of the servants. You get a chance to see these seemingly parallel paths intersect. I love the characters, the music, the landscapes…it’s all wonderful! Yes, it’s set in the early 20th century – so if you have a distaste for the period drama, then you may wish to move along. But please, don’t dismiss it based solely on that!
This show has gotten me through this past week. Luckily, Tim really likes it too; we’re both dorky about it, and drink tea and eat biscuits while we watch. I can’t wait for the 2nd season to start (Sunday night!)
Amazing concert on Monday night! It was probably one of my favorite Jimmy Eat World concerts. Last year was great (I’ve really never seen them perform a bad set), but for some reason, at this concert, I felt so happy, alive, energized, and super-excited for every song! they played ‘Bleed American’, and it was really exciting to hear a few songs that I’d NEVER heard live before (‘Cautioners’ and ‘If You Don’t, Don’t). After that, Jim joked “Now, we’re going to play ‘Clarity’ backwards!” and proceeded to play ‘Goodbye Sky Harbor’ – WHICH IS ONE OF MY FAVORITEST SONGS! It’s funny, when I first heard the song, I remember thinking that I’d never get to hear it live, because it was such a complicated (and long) tune. Now, I’ve heard it 3 times (Clarity x10 tour Feb 2009, Sept. 2010, and Sept 2011) and it’s so fantastic the way they worked it out! Jim uses this delay-type doo-hickey (yep) that records his live voice over itself, so they can do the neat harmonies and such. It’s hard to explain, but it’s SO COOL.
(performing ‘hear you me’)
Anyway, unfortunately, Tim had to leave for a business trip right after the concert, and he was gone all week. Marco and I were quite busy, and I’ve been exhausted trying to work, take care of Marco, cats, dog… I ended up eating late dinners and spending about 30 minutes sitting down. Ugh!
Tuesday night:
Pad Thai and reruns of Gilmore Girls
Wednesday night:
Pizza and Rolling Stone magazine (Oh hai, Jon!)
Thursday night I folded laundry and read blogs while catching up my The Daily Show and The Colbert Report.
Still busting a gut over the Radiohead special on Monday’s The Colbert Report. Hipster paramedics!!
| The Colbert Report | Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Dr Pepper Presents Stephen Colbert’s Rocktember with Radiohead | ||||
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As you can see, I know how to party. Ke$ha is soo jealous.
so tired. bed time now?
Why yes, I am RIDICULOUSLY EXCITED!! Zooey tweeted this last night (yep, I totally follow her @therealzoeeyd )!!!
I’m thrilled that her pilot was given the go-ahead!
I only watch a handful of tv shows, so there’s plenty of room to devote to the adorable Z.D.
(‘House’, ‘The Daily Show’, ‘The Colbert Report’,'Castle’, ‘Law & Order: Criminal Intent’, ‘Psych’, and ‘Burn Notice’ are the current lineup)
What shows are you looking forward to?
Photos from the past week
Please forgive this iPhone picture; it was taken right after my workout on Thursday – no makeup and my hair is a bit of a mess - but this will give you an idea of what my haircut looks like.
My Friday night: a Pink Champagne cupcake from Sift and episodes of ‘Castle’ (also taken with my iPhone)
The adorable silhouette bookends I found on clearance at Target yesterday:
Awesome paint color we ended up choosing for our front room (last room in the house! only took us 1 1/2 years, lol):
I don’t have a picture of the finished room yet, but one will be forthcoming.
Last week, we removed the icky shower doors from our guest bathroom, and I finally found the perfect shower curtain (another Target find!)
What do you think??
This week is half over! Thank goodness… Here’s some random notes from the week so far:
OMG wheee!! I finished our taxes. I can’t wait for our refund to arrive! *Happy dance, cha-cha-cha!*
I’ve been trying to keep myself peppy at work. I’m trying to squeeze in 2-3 days worth of paperwork into 1 day so that I can avoid working overtime, because overtime means less time with Marco. I might have to work late tomorrow, because I have a dentist appointment Friday and am taking off early.
My workouts have been going well. I usually use the elliptical, then weight machines. After that I’m on the BOSU balance trainer for stretching, hand weights, and sit ups.
I also discovered an AWESOME post-workout meal. 1 piece of Flatout flatbread light (90 calories), 1 Wholly Guacamole 100 calorie pack (perfect portion!), slice of tomato, salsa if you want some spice. Roll up and enjoy! Low calorie count, healthy fats, whole grains and a serving of fruit! It’s filling and delicious.
Last piece of news: Detectives Goren and Eames are back for the final season of Law & Order: Criminal Intent!! YES! Episodes start up in May. I am so happy they are back – the show wasn’t the same without them. I like Jeff Goldblum, but it gave the show a completely different vibe. Det. Goren brought the awesome.
Hope your week is going well – we’re almost there, lovelies!
Television Themed Fill in the Blank Friday
1. My favorite current TV show is always ‘House’, but I am a little obsessed with ‘Dexter’ at the moment. Halfway through season 2, and it is keeping me on my toes!
2. The TV character I can relate to most is Rory Gilmore – the reading, growing up with a single mom, the attraction to Jess… I get it.
3. My life is like (fill in with TV show and why)…. I guess ‘Gilmore Girls’, in some respects, given my previous answer.
4. My all time favorite TV show is ‘House’.
5. A TV show that is ridiculously stupid, but I continue to watch is I don’t watch anything that I would deem ‘stupid’.
6. My favorite TV couple is hmm. If we mean romantically, Lorelai and Luke (‘Gilmore Girls’), because who didn’t love when they FINALLY went on their first date?! Also, loved Roseanne and Dan (‘Roseanne’). They found the humor in everyday things, but managed to make the relationship very realistic (quite a feat, for sitcoms). But, as far as ‘power duos’, I think Shawn and Gus (‘Psych’) are just AWESOME.
7. One TV episode I could watch over and over again is I thought the season premiere of ‘House’ last September was pretty amazing; the acting was just phenomenal. I’ve watched it 3 times. The series premiere of ‘Psych’ (hilarious!), and pretty much all of the 4th season of ‘Sex and the City’.
Our weekend was pretty rad-a-riffic. Marco and I chilled at Starbucks, and Tim started painting the library! We visited with his Grandpa Keith and Great-Grandpa Jack on Saturday, and then had dinner with the Dempseys and Almonds.
Marco and I like to chill with a non-fat Chai latte.
Me and Erin
Me, Jacqi and Caleb (half asleep!)
I slept in on Sunday, helped Tim paint the library ceiling, and watched the rest of Season 1 of ‘Dexter’ (AMAZING SHOW!!).
This is all I can show you of the library right now…once the shelves are in I’ll post more.
In other news, we’re now 90% sure of the formula situation with Marco. I’ve basically stopped pumping and we’ll finish up some of the breast milk we’ve got left (yes, we froze it – is there anything weirder than breast milk in your freezer? I think not). He’s responding SO well to the soy formula that it makes so much more sense to continue. We’ve had him on a schedule of evening/night feedings of soy, and morning/afternoon breast milk – but I think he seems much more relaxed after the formula. Go figure.
Last night, Adrienne came up to Napa. We’d both read Eat Pray Love , so we decided to see the movie. I made sandwiches for dinner (grilled chicken breast on a toasted baguette with basil pesto, mozzarella, tomato and red onion), and we had just enough time to enjoy them before heading out. The movie was good, but not great. So much happened in the book, and it was impossible to fit all of it into a 2 hour flick. Unfortunately, the filmmakers sacrificed some pertinent parts of the story. They left out details about Elizabeth Gilbert’s struggle with her marriage, and her desire to understand God was merely glossed over. But it was enjoyable, and Richard Jenkins was a perfect ‘Richard from Texas’!
My birthday is only 1 month away (I’m turning 26)!
I love making wishlists, so here’s my birthday list:
One of the best British comedies! I was already a Hugh Laurie devotee, but I fell in love with Stephen Fry because of this awesome series, which is based on the hilarious ‘Jeeves’ stories by P.G. Wodehouse.
I love the black Converse slip ons that I purchased a few months back; but these are a bit girlier.
Found this on Etsy several months ago. A beautiful handmade journal with a bit of one of my favorite Sonnets!
Awesome color, and a classic sneaker.
We have a winner!! Balenciaga Paris has received the seal of approval from Tim. I love this scent. Wearing it made me feel elegant and bohemian at the same time; very European. All I had was a teeny sample to apply to my wrists and neck, though. I need a bottle!
I have the 3G, and it’s served me well over the past two years. My contract is officially up, and for now I will not renew unless I get the iPhone 4 (I’m just riding it out on monthly terms). I want FaceTime! There are, of course, rumours that AT&T is losing its exclusivity contract, and Verizon may have a CDMA iPhone – if that happens, I may wish to switch to Verizon. BUT, it wouldn’t happen until January 2011, and I don’t know what Verizon’s monthly price would be for service.
More vinyl records! I have a very small collection, and would love to expand it. I just pre-ordered Jimmy Eat World’s new album, ‘Invented’ on vinyl, and am very excited for it’s arrival; unfortunately, it won’t ship out until September 28th.
