really peta?

really?

peta asks sf to rename the tenderloin.

still home sick



taking a tv break to build a train track.

there was a time when i would read three, four books a week. then i got pregnant. and i still read, though not for fun. i was reading for survival. holy smokes, i was convinced birth was going to be awful and scary. i read anything and everything i could find about childbirth. from ina may, to dr. sears to what to expect, to authors i've never heard of, i read anything i could get my hands on.

for one weekend, the weekend i read the ina may book, i actually thought i might have a natural childbirth. that notion didn't last long. at one point my mom told me to stop reading about childbirth because she knew i was freaking myself out. a girlfriend gently told me not to forget to read about the child raising, in addition to the child birthing. "a birth lasts for hours, but you'll raise your child for years" she cautioned. both my mom and friend were right, but of course, i ignored them and kept reading. and reading and reading.

when i did have ollie, of course, nothing went the way i'd imagined it would and nothing i worried about happened. i've always meant to share his birth story here, but i've never finished writing it. briefly though: i got an epidural before i even dilated. i didn't realize just how scary it was, until well after ollie was born, months after even, did it REALLY sink in. his apgar score was low, very low at first. he was not really crying and he was blue. they brought him to a corner of the delivery room, and a pediatrician, another doctor and 2 nurses hovered over him while gabe and i sat across the room, freaking OUT. is he OK we asked the OB. she said she couldn't tell us if he was or not. i remember whimpering. the nurse, who'd practically delivered him (the OB wasn't there yet because he came so fast) told us, "i don't deliver unhealthy babies." and, she didn't lie -- in minutes he was more than OK -- he was totally fine. and quickly we forgot about those short few minutes in that room, as our focus turned to this new little person.

i'm getting distracted though. back to reading. the past two weeks, i've been reading again, like i used to read. maybe not quite as much, but i'm definitely back in love with reading. this past weekend i was home with a sick little boy who didn't want to do much, so i read bob and dayna baer's the company we keep, while he watched wall-e for the millionth time. it's at true story, about two people, who both work for the CIA, and end up meeting and falling in love. it was a really quick, easy read -- i started it saturday and was done by sunday afternoon. i think it would be the perfect spring break, summer vacation, lounging outside in the sun book.

i'm liking:








from fluevog.

justice for henry

more great pictures here.

goodnight moon

hook chas up

chas will pay someone $10,000 if they hook him up with his future wife. details are here.



photo from here.

ring love

love this ring

from here.

someone's just discovered stickers

ollie likes stickers.



photo from g's flickr.

really easy chocolate chip cookie recipe

this weekend i somehow stumbled across the blog, a little yumminess, where i found the recipe for aunty ann's chocolate chip cookies.

the author, simran, calls them the "easiest chocolate chip cookies," and really, they were. they took me 20 minutes, from start to eat and if it weren't for a shortage of chocolate chips, i'd be making a 2nd batch now.

good stuff

+ 9 months after a coworker recommended it, i finally had roli roti's porchetta sandwich on saturday. pork loin, crispy pork belly, greens, and onion marmalade on an acme roll. i was so thirsty afterwards. and tired. i took a nap and basked in the afterglow.

+ daylight savings time. i've been looking forward to daylight savings time in our new house. so excited to be able to take walks with ollie after work and sit outside after ollie goes to bed.

++ bonus: interesting read about daylight savings time here.

+ i tried the easiest chocolate chip cookie recipe this weekend. i'll post it later.

+ today i came home to find a box on my front porch. it contained a bunch of sweet gifts and a thoughtful note from a dear friend. so sweet. made me smile.

+ ollie seems to have adjusted to his new room at school and he's back to his usual, happy self.

donate. it's easy.

text REDCROSS to 90999

my heart goes out to the people in japan.

i'm sort of in love with this tom binns necklace.

(i don't remember where this photo is from. his jewelry was featured on gilt earlier this week.)

1st this:

Casting 6 Housewives for this project (LOOKING FOR INTERNATIONAL CAST) ages; 25-55

These women should live affluent lifestyles in the San Francisco Bay Area and be comfortable with cameras following their day-to-day activities. Put your best stiletto forward and show us how amazing your life is with an uninhibited unscripted video.

VIDEO ENTRIES:
Must include an introduction of yourself & family. Tell us why you’re a real San Francisco housewife. Have fun with it, tell us about your life, your business and how you spend your leisure time. Show us your personality give us a tour of your home/homes. Also, include charitable or philanthropic work you may be involved in.

Video audition deadline March 15, 2011

Reply Email your video entry or link to video and contact info.

Once all video submissions are viewed the finalist will be chosen & calls/emails will go out to our 6 lucky ladies on there way to becoming San Francisco’s next reality stars, good luck ladies.

Filming for pilot tentatively begins April 5, 2011

now this. (apparently it was a scam and bravo was not behind the posting.)

+ tonight i worked out (really worked out--as opposed to a short time on the elliptical or a walk) for the first time since we moved. i've gained about 4 pounds since the move, over the span of five months, which i realize isn't a lot at all, but my clothes are all too tight/just not right and i can't dress myself in the morning. my legs hurt already and it's only been 3 hours, but i'm glad.

+ gabe is snoring on the floor of the living room. i snore too, so hopefully he won't be bummed that i've mentioned his snoring. one time, in my early twenties some friends videotaped me snoring after a night out. my friend james said something about snoring like a man. and, when i was pregnant, gabe said the snoring was insane. he'd have to wake me up nightly to tell me to roll over.

+ tonight i saw a commercial for plaque attack, which is breath spray for cats and dogs. it reminded me that one of my brothers, at the age of nine, went through a short phase where he used binaca, because it's not chic to reek! i remember at least one occasion where he used the entire tube in less than a day. i didn't even know that they still make binaca, until i looked it up to post about it here. wondering though, who the hell gave him binaca? like did he go to the store and beg my mom to buy it for him like a normal kid might beg for candy? did he steal it from our dad? there are videos on their website but i'm scared to watch them.

paint!

a rainy sunday afternoon

so excited to paint with him today. i was done before he was. he loved it!

parklet

parkette parkie parkish wee-park parklet

Realizing the Inner Sunset's need for outdoor public gathering spaces, local Inner Sunset leaders and Inner Sunset architect Jack Verdon have worked with the popular Arizmendi Bakery at 1331 9th Avenue to submit a "parklet" proposal to the SF Planning Department. A parklet is a sidewalk extension that provides on-street public seating via repurposed parking spaces.

we used to live a block away from this arizmendi. i ate one of their corn cherry scones just about every single day of my maternity leave.

via sf foodie. and here.

pics and more about parklets here.

BART

everyone talks about the cloth seats on bart. this is gross.

obama brew

before the obamas there is no record of home brewing at the white house.

image from obama foodorama.

quote above from obanma foodorama, too.

my husband is a sleeveface.

from here. this picture is really, really old.

ollie lately

this morning
he trotted out of the bedroom, carrying gabe's old monkey (that he calls a bear). "MAMA!!!!!" he ran into my arms. then asked for his morning usual: choos (cheerios) and raisins, leche, and, "cat in the hat!"

this afternoon
i walked into his classroom to pick him up. one group of children is sitting, quietly, with zeenat, reading books. one little boy, just back from vacation and looking sort of sad, is cuddling with luz. ollie and his buddy, are both pushing strollers in circles. ollie is wearing a big leopard print hat and his friend is wearing a construction helmet. both boys are sweaty, with pink cheeks, dirty fingernails, sticky hair and huge smiles.

tonight
he sat on my lap, and drove his orange truck up and down my arm, as i talked on the phone. he fell asleep like this, his fingers tightly gripping his truck. oblivious to me talking on the phone, to gabe coming home, and turning off the alarm. he slept through me changing his diaper, putting his jammies on, placing him in his crib, kissing him goodnight...

mostly it was joyful. god, it was joyful. and that didn't go away.