verbatim

Movies

"The Aviator" - This was not worthy of being nominated for Best Picture. It was entertaining and interesting enough, but that's all. And I'm sorry, no one should ever try to portray Katharine Hepburn. I wish it had been an actress I hate instead of Cate Blanchett, because now I'm furious at her.

"Dogma" - All about God and faith, as per Kevin Smith. This was wild and loads of fun. I would love to know what some Christian (particularly Catholic) people thought of it.

"A Civil Action" - I don't understand why I'd never seen this before. After all, I love John Travolta and it tells the true story of a town outside Boston that had an unusual number of children dying of leukemia—and some businesses dumping their waste into the drinking water supply. Everyone around here knows that story; most people have read the book. It really angered me that the trial really wasn't fair. The Hale & Dorr lawyer, played beautifully by Robert Duvall, just managed to convince the judge not to let the victims' families testify. I don't understand how that could legally happen.

"Open Water" - Sharks! This was terrifying and nightmare-producing. The "making of" feature was interesting, too.

Second Annual Infected Bug Bite Festival

At some point during the weekend, Pete got a big, angry mosquito bite on his upper arm. Curiously enough, Julie also got one in the same spot. All three kids have inherited from me a strong sensitivity to mosquito bites; we all get huge welts that itch like mad for weeks and weeks. But this morning Pete's bite was very swollen and red and hot; by the time he came home from school, it was even bigger. All I could think about was his hospitalization last year at this time (almost to the day!) for an infected bug bite on his leg, so I took him to the ped's. Once again three doctors crowded around to check him out. He had no fever, his white blood cell count was normal, and the bite is not tender (just itchy)—all of which point to there being no infection—but they decided to err on the side of caution and put him on Keflex. They really and truly believe it's an allergic reaction (so he also got some Benadryl), but they don't want to take any chances given last year's experience.

Update 11/18/12: For some reason this post is generating all kinds of spammy comments, so I'm closing it off.

Lobstah!

Pete announced yesterday that he wanted to try lobster. Recall, this is the kid who won't eat a hot dog, hamburger, chicken, egg, and so on. In fact, for lunch I had made him a grilled cheese sandwich and he rejected it after two bites. So, as skeptical as I was, I figured we should enthusiastically encourage him to try any food he wants. As I've mentioned before, I will never, ever be the one who kills a lobster in the kitchen. I suppose if someone gave me a million dollars (and a couple of stiff drinks), I could possibly be persuaded to drop one into boiling water—but plunging a knife into the spinal column? No way. Yesterday I didn't even want to drive home with the live critters, so I had the lovely Whole Foods guys boil 'em for me. (I also had a feeling—which Andy pooh-poohed—that Pete might be turned off if he saw us murder the poor thing.) So I brought home two nice, cooked, bright-red, dead lobsters and let the kids explore them. They especially wanted to see the eyes (ugh) and they complained about the "yucky smell." Julie kept mispronouncing "lobster" as "monster." Then Andy started cracking it open—at which point Julie asked, "Why are you breaking him?"—and showing Pete the meat (Steph had already paled and left the room). When he was all done, Julie asked, "When is he going to be alive again?" We gave Pete a few nice, smooth pieces of claw meat and a little bowl of melted butter. He speared one piece and dunked it in the butter and very bravely, I thought, put it in his mouth. I was really surprised! He said he didn't like it. I wasn't surprised at all. Then he said he wanted to try it again, but without the butter. I was surprised again! He did, and he said he liked it! I was stunned. He ended up eating maybe six bites or so. Which was much more than the corn on the cob—he couldn't seem to figure out how to just chomp into it, although I reminded him that he'd loved eating it last summer.

So, then, what do you do with the meat of two whole lobsters that are missing only six bites? You make a batch of authentic Maine lobster rolls, that's what. Here's Jasper White's formula, and it's perfect:

1 medium cucumber (5–6 oz.), peeled, seeded, and finely diced
1 pound fully cooked lobster meat, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1/2 cup mayonnaise
3 small scallions (white and most of the green parts), thinly sliced
4–6 New England-style hot dog buns (you know, the kind that open on top)

Place the cucumber in a colander for at least 5 minutes to drain the excess liquid.

In a bowl, combine the lobster, cucumber, and mayonnaise. If the salad is to be served within the hour, add the scallions. If not, add them 30 minutes before serving. Season with kosher or sea salt and pepper. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-low heat. Lightly butter both sides of each bun. Place them in the pan and cook for about 2 minutes until golden brown. Turn the buns over and toast the other side.

When the buns are ready, stuff them with the chilled lobster salad. Serve with pickles and potato chips.

Update: I need to mention here that some people say that this recipe is inauthentic because it includes cucumber instead of celery. But I maintain that Jasper White knows his stuff—and that it came out delicious. So give it a try and see what you think!

She's OK!

I was such a basket case last night. I tossed and turned all night and had horrible dreams when I did finally sleep. But I went back to Whole Foods today and learned that the little girl is OK! I don't know what, if anything, I learned from this; I just know that I'm feeling relieved and thankful. I find myself wishing I knew who the family is so I could send them a card of some sort. They will likely never know (and will never need to know) how many people were touched by this near-tragedy.

Witness to a Terrifying Scene

I'm still rattled by something I witnessed at Whole Foods today. I went in around 5:00 to pick up a few items. As I was leaving the produce area, I heard some commotion behind me and then someone on the loudspeaker said, "Rob, come to produce IMMEDIATELY!" I turned around and saw a guy (the father?) apparently attempting a Heimlich maneuver on a little blond girl. Then I heard someone say, "There's got to be a doctor in here!" and I shouted "Should I call 911?" because I happened to be right next to the courtesy phone. Someone said, "They already called." I was about 20 feet away from where the scene was unfolding. Then I heard on the loudspeaker, "If there's a doctor in the store, please go to the produce area IMMEDIATELY!" and I saw a woman run over from the dairy area. I started crying and shaking and just sunk to the floor with my hands over my face. Every now and then I'd glance over and see them still doing thrusts on this little girl. All that kept running through my brain was, "I'm about to see a child die. I'm right here and there's nothing I can do, and she's going to choke to death." Then someone said, "There's a paramedic," and I saw him take her. Then there was a burst of applause and cheers, which I took to mean that she'd expelled something or started breathing or whatever. But I could see they were still working on her, and a woman (the mother?) started shrieking and wailing. Then the ambulance came. I'm not quite sure of the sequence of events, and I don't know how long the whole episode took. On the one hand, it seemed like forever that they were thumping this little girl; on the other hand, the EMTs arrived pretty darn quickly. I was weeping and shaking from head to toe; I couldn't even stand up. Afterward I saw the woman whom I presumed to be a doctor and asked her if the girl was OK. She said, "Well, she was breathing, but she was still quite blue." She didn't look very calm about it, either. I really had to pull myself together just to drive home, and then I lost it again. When I go to Whole Foods tomorrow, I will try to find out what happened, although frankly I'm sort of afraid to know.

Friday's Feast

Appetizer: What job would you definitely not want to have?
Funeral director/"Restorative artist" - Maybe I've been watching too much "Six Feet Under," but no thanks.

Soup: Oprah calls and wants you to appear on her show. What would that day's show be about?
"Moms Who Blog"

Salad: Name 3 vegetables that you eat on a regular basis.
asparagus, cauliflower, cucumber

Main Course: If you were commissioned to rename your hometown, what would you call it?
Hampstead

Dessert: If you had a personal assistant, what kind of tasks would you have them to do?
I think she'd be more of a housekeeper. She'd appear whenever I needed her and then vanish as soon as she was done. She'd do all the cleaning—from the big stuff like the kitchen floor to the little stuff like unloading the dishwasher. She'd do all the dishes, too, for that matter, and all the laundry. She'd run all those annoying little errands, like going to the post office or MotoPhoto or the bank. I'd still like to do (most of) my own grocery shopping and cooking, though. I think what I need is a wife!

Make a Problem, Then Fix It!

How much do you suppose it cost San Jose taxpayers to have a hole dug into a residential street just so the Governator could be filmed working with road crews to fill it in? I'd be pissed. (Via Boing-Boing)

Friday iPod Not-Quite-Random Ten: All-Live Edition

Almost all of my original random ten tunes were live versions, so I replaced the studio ones with the next few live ones that came up. It's my blog and I can do whatever I want.

1. A Year (live) - Loudon Wainwright III
2. Leaving Las Vegas (live) - Sheryl Crow
3. Candy's Room (live) - Bruce Springsteen
4. Guitar Town (live) - Emmylou Harris
5. Here I Am (live) - Lyle Lovett
6. I Must Be High (live) - Wilco
7. Candy (live) - Morphine
8. Perfectly Good Guitar (live) - John Hiatt
9. Once In A Lifetime (live) - Talking Heads
10. Willin' (live) - Uncle Tupelo

Update: I'm now going to steal borrow an idea that Mark stole borrowed from someone else, but I'm abridging it a bit (there's a question about favorite album, but most of mine aren't from albums—they're bootlegs or  individual downloads):

Song I like most from this week's list: Oh boy, this is a tough one. "Willin'" is one of my all-time favorite songs, regardless of who does it, and it's done particularly well here by Uncle Tupelo. But I love-love-love "Once in a Lifetime." I'm calling this one a tie.
Song I like least from this week's list: I'll pick "A Year." That song always pisses me off, because it's about how LW3 didn't want to have any contact with his own child for more than a year after she was born. The runner-up would be "Leaving Las Vegas." I like the song, but in this version, Sheryl Crow really overdoes the clenched-jaw "s" sound, so it's mostly all about "Leaving Lash Vegash" and it grates on my nerves.

Top 100 Movies

Scott wants to know which of Time magazine's Top 100 Movies I've seen. Here goes:

Blade Runner
Brazil
Casablanca
Citizen Kane
City of God
Double Indemnity
Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
Finding Nemo
The Godfather, Parts I and II
Goodfellas
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Oops, they meant the 1956 original.)
It's A Wonderful Life
The Lord of the Rings
The Manchurian Candidate
Miller's Crossing
On the Waterfront
Psycho
Pulp Fiction
The Purple Rose of Cairo
Raging Bull
Schindler's List
Singin' in the Rain
Some Like It Hot
Star Wars
A Streetcar Named Desire
Talk to Her
Taxi Driver
Unforgiven

Of course I disagree vehemently with some of their choices and, more importantly, their omissions. Where's "Rocky" and "Jaws" and "The Wizard of Oz" and "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "The Graduate" and all the others?!

Now it's your turn.

Livestrong

I first saw a real, yellow Livestrong bracelet last spring; then, like every other new thing that comes along, I started seeing them more and more. I read quotations from some cancer patients, survivors, and their families, saying that they got a little burst of hope of solidarity whenever they saw that flash of yellow peeking out from under a shirt sleeve. What a great idea, I thought. Someone gave one to Stephanie, and although I suspected that she was wearing it just as a fashion statement, I knew that the proceeds helped support cancer research efforts. Then she started coming home from school talking about her friends who had "pink Livestrongs" and "green Livestrongs" and so on, as if "Livestrong" just meant "flexible rubber bracelet that says something on it." I kept telling her, "There is only one Livestrong, and it's yellow, and it's named after Lance Armstrong...[blahblahblahblah]." [Then, come to find out that the name"Livestrong" was not trademarked, so anyone can in fact call their flexible rubber bracelet that says something on it a "Livestrong."] So. Some of the bracelets say things on them like "Dream" or "Spirit" and aren't aligned with any charity; I think these are abominations. Same goes for the Red Sox and Patriots (or substitute your own home-town teams; I'm sure they're ubiquitous by now) bracelets. But I'm torn on the ones for charity. If kids are eager to get more and more of them, and each one costs money that goes to a worthy cause, is that a good thing? There's a trend at our school for an adult to buy a bunch of them and give them out to his/her child's classmates. So Stephanie has a red one for Marfan Syndrome and a green one for Partners in Health and a blue one for I-Forget-What-Already and so on. I don't know; I guess I just can't stand that these bracelets have become yet another thing for kids to hoard and count. I see kids wearing dozens of them on one arm, almost like a cast! Do these kids know what cause each one represents? I doubt it. Is this going on everywhere, or just here?

What a Shithead!

From People magazine, via Brooke:

Tom Cruise has some harsh words for Brooke Shields about how she coped with depression.

The "War of the Worlds" star, who had a tiny role 24 years ago in Shields's movie romance "Endless Love," condemns the actress's admission in her new book, Down Came the Rain, that she took medication to cope with postpartum depression after the birth of her daughter Rowan.

"I care about Brooke Shields because I think she is an incredibly talented women, (but) look at where her career has gone," he tells Access Hollywood in an interview.

Cruise, an ardent advocate of Scientology, which condemns mind-altering prescriptions of any kind, says: "When someone says [medication] has helped them, it is to cope, it didn't cure anything. There is no science. There is nothing that can cure them whatsoever."

Instead, Cruise, 41, suggests that women take "vitamins and exercise," and warns that what Shields is promoting is "irresponsible." Despite this, he adds, "I wish her well in life."

As for her career, Cruise says: "Look, is she happy? Is she really happy?"

Shield's rep have not commented on the matter. But as New York's Daily News reports, Shields's professional life appears to be fine. The former "Suddenly Susan" star, who turns 40 at the end of this month, is currently headlining the London West End revival of "Chicago."

I don't even know where to begin with this one. I always suspected he was an asshole, but this takes the cake!

I have many, many friends who suffered from PPD that was severe enough to require medication. I'm sure I don't even know about still other friends and acquaintances who did the same. As for me, after I had Stephanie, I did get depressed, but it seemed to me more of an adjustment problem than a chemical imbalance, and sure enough, I felt back to normal after a few months. I think if it had been true PPD, I wouldn't have gotten better on my own. I was mostly just having an identity crisis, because I was suddenly feeling very alone and incompetent and unsure of myself and bored and frustrated and tired—oh was I tired! My familiar roles of wife and editor and friend and cook and reader and traveler and so on all went out the window after I gave birth. All of a sudden I was almost entirely a mom, and I had a real screamer for a baby, so I didn't even feel as though I was doing a good job at it. I didn't have any problems after Pete or Julie, presumably because I'd already worked through that first big identity crisis.

It is often very hard for women to admit that they feel depressed after having a baby. They get the idea that they're supposed to be so happy and fulfilled—but it isn't as simple as that. Some women really do go through a chemical change that doesn't right itself. We've all read the horror stories in the news about the women who kill themselves and/or their baby because of PPD. I guess Tom Cruise thinks they should just pop a One-a-Day and do some sit-ups. Idiot.

Bandaid Inequities

Nina was talking about wearing a Scooby Doo bandaid to work—we parents always make sure we have plenty of cheerful bandaids for our kids' boo-boos, but we frequently forget to stock the plain ones for ourselves. Which is why I've been spotted at fancy soirees (ha!) with a Dora the Explorer bandaid on my finger. But here's what gets to me even more. All kids' bandaids (I mean BAND-AID^® Brand Adhesive Bandages) cost the same, about $2.99. However, depending on which syndicated cartoon character your kids happen to like, you get different quantities of bandaids in the box. Still like Sesame Street? Good, 'cause you get a whopping 30 bandaids. Slightly older kids may prefer Dora, Blues Clues, Barbie, or Scooby; they get only 25 bandaids. But if your kids are into Batman, Spongebob, Spiderman, Jimmy Neutron, or Rugrats, you get a paltry 20 bandaids for that $2.99. But try to tell a Big Kid that s/he has to wear an Elmo bandaid and see how fast you buy the pricey ones.

Murphy's Law Game: Nap Edition

Here's a fun little quiz for y'all!

1. It's Monday afternoon. It's pouring. It's time to pick up Steph and Pete at school. Julie is:
a. Sound asleep and must be awakened and dragged out into the driving rain.
b. Wide awake (no nap for me today, Mom!) and eager to go outside anyhow.

2. It's Tuesday afternoon. It's pouring. Steph and Pete had an early release day and are already home. Julie is:
a. Sound asleep, allowing me to have some "big kid" time with Steph and Pete.
b. Wide awake (no nap for me today, Mom!) and complaining that she can't go outside to play.

3. It's Wednesday afternoon. It's pouring. It's time to pick up Steph and Pete at school. Julie is:
a. Sound asleep and must be awakened and dragged out into the driving rain.
b. Wide awake (no nap for me today, Mom!) and eager to go outside anyhow.

Answers: 1. a      2. b      3. a

I may be going out on a limb here, but I think I know how the rest of the week is going to play out , too.

Rainy Days and Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays . . .

What if it just never stopped raining? 'Dja ever think of that?

Techno-Lag

I'm way behind on my gadgetry. Andy bought me a digital camcorder for my birthday, and I still haven't opened it or glanced at the manual. Then last week I got a new cell phone, and all I've done so far is choose a ring tone (piano sonata). In the midst of all this, Scott helped me pick out a removable hard drive (I was worried I could lose all my photos if my system crashed, which Macs never do, but still); after a missing package and a long drawn-out UPS search, I finally received it a couple of weeks ago, and—everyone all together now!—haven't so much as opened the box. I'm really quite good with electronics, I just haven't had the time to sit down and figure out these new toys. Oh, and my book group meets next week and I haven't opened Housekeeping yet, so this weekend is not likely to be the one either.

Nerdy Toys

Yesterday I had a few minutes to kill before picking up Julie, so I stopped into Harlequin, a funky little store in the Highlands. There I bought all kinds of necessary items, like floral-patterned emery boards, skull-and-crossbones band-aids, and the like. They also had the greatest assortment of "action figures" from a company called Accoutrements (I think they're a subsidiary of Archie McPhee, or vice-versa). Shakespeare, Einstein, Mozart, "crazy cat lady," you name it. I think my favorite was the librarian, with a push-button in her back to activate her "amazing shushing action"!

A Smarter, Ikier Nation

As I've said before, Ike seems like the kind of Republican president I could've lived with. Here's an excerpt from a letter Dwight David Eisenhower wrote to his brother, Edgar Newton Eisenhower, on 8 November 1954:

Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes you can do these things. Among them are H. L. Hunt (you possibly know his background), a few other Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or business man from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid.

(Via James via Snopes)

A Good Checkup

Stephanie saw Dr. Israel yesterday, and we don't have to go back for 6 months! Her bloodwork was fine, except that her iron stores continue to be low despite her daily iron supplement. But Dr. Israel said it's not worth chasing after as long as she's not bleeding. (She did have some bleeding over the weekend, but her sample from Monday morning was clear.) She gained 2 pounds and grew 1 inch since January!

Ten on Tuesday

10 Best Performances in a Movie by a Child

If there's anything I hate more than precocious kids given pretentious scripts that make them seem even more obnoxious, I don't know what it is. So this list was tough.

1. Keisha Castle-Hughes, "Whale Rider"
2. Lukas Haas, "Witness"
3. Haley Joel Osment, "The Sixth Sense"
4. Lindsay Lohan, "The Parent Trap"
5. Jamie Bell, "Billy Elliot"
6. Jodie Foster, "Taxi Driver"
7. Fred Savage, "The Princess Bride"
8. Tatum O'Neal, "Paper Moon"
9. Henry Thomas, "E.T."
10. I'm stumped. Maybe Anton Glanzelius or Melinda Kinnaman in "My Life as a Dog"—I saw it so long ago that I don't remember it all that well, but I do recall loving it.

I know there are more foreign films that had good child actors, but my mind is drawing a blank right now.

A Movie for All Ages!

Recently I decided that I was being too much of a hard-ass about what movies Stephanie could see. Up till now, she's seen only a couple of non-animated movies, and they were pretty babyish. So I rented "The Parent Trap" for her (the remake, because I figured she would enjoy it more), and to say she loved it would be the greatest understatement of all time. I ended up having to buy it! But here's the kicker: I let Pete and Julie watch it too! So why did I wait until Steph is 8 1/2 but Pete is only 6 and Julie just 3 1/2? Because I'm a crazy person, that's why. Anyhow, the movie is loads of fun, there's nothing in it that I can really disapprove of, and that Lindsay Lohan is adorable! (I think she is an actress or singer or something now, but I of course have no idea about anything popular anymore!)

So now I'm going to be hunting for other inoffensive movies that will seem cool for Stephanie. Suggestions?

Dinner and a Movie

Last night I made a delicious French Chicken in White Wine Sauce:

2 Tbs. unsalted butter
3-1/2 to 4 lb. chicken pieces
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
1/2 rib celery, finely chopped
2 oz. prosciutto, finely chopped
3/4 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup low-salt canned chicken stock
3 Tbs. heavy cream

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Season the chicken with kosher salt and pepper and cook it in the skillet on the skin side to brown it and to render the fat from the skin, about 15 minutes. Turn the chicken over and cook on the bone side for about 5 minutes. Remove and reserve the chicken.

Pour off all but 2 Tbs. of the fat from the pan. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and prosciutto and sauté until the onion is browned and the vegetables are softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the wine and chicken stock to the pan and stir to combine with vegetables. Put the chicken back into the pan. Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover the skillet with a lid, and simmer the chicken in the sauce until cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the pan, turn the heat to high and bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the volume of liquid by half, about 5 minutes. Add the cream, stir to combine, and remove the pan from the heat. Serve chicken and sauce over broad noodles in wide soup plates.


We watched "The Sea Inside," which was almost unbearably powerful and moving and beautiful. About a bazillion times better than the previous night's flick, "Tape," which sucked so bad I'm at a loss to come up with better synonyms for suck.

Take Five

I sort of hate Ricky now for tagging me on this music meme, which even he had to admit was "nearly impossible to answer." But, here goes:

Top Five Lyrics that Move Your Heart

1. I've said this before, but this line from John Prine's "Angel from Montgomery" brings a tear to my eye every single time I hear it. And that's a lot of times:

There's flies in the kitchen, I can hear 'em there buzzing
And I ain't done nothing since I woke up today.
How the hell can a person go to work in the morning
And come home in the evening and have nothing to say?

Andy would have picked this line from John Prine's "My Mexican Home":

My father died on a porch outside on an August afternoon.
I sipped bourbon and cried with a friend by the light of the moon.

2. Early on, I discovered that the only song that features a woman named Karen is James Taylor's lovely "Carolina in My Mind." A few years ago I heard JT on NPR talking about the inspiration for the song—I think it was a woman named Karine or the like. Does anyone remember that story? Anyhow, I feel good every time I hear him sing my name in that honey-like voice of his:

Karen, she's a silver sun
You best walk her way and watch it shinin'.

3. I think Loudon Wainwright III hits the nail on the head in "A Father and a Son":

I don't want to die and you want to live;
It takes a little bit of take and a whole lot of give.
It never really ends though each race is run,
This thing between a father and a son.
Maybe it's power and push and shove,
Maybe it's hate but probably it's love.

4. John Hiatt is such an amazing songwriter; I don't know where to begin. I've said it before, but I guess "What Do We Do Now" is the song that pulls at my heart the most:

What if I can't stay
What if you can't stay
What if I can't leave
What if you can't leave

5. When I listen to "James" by Huffamoose, I can really feel that girl's love for him.

He answers to a higher calling -  the moon and the sun and the stars are falling through his time and his space and I am lucky to be part of it all.
He is bigger than life.
He sees things, he knows things, he is not like you and me.

Top 5 Instrumentals

I don't really know the names of too many instrumentals. I like all of Scott Joplin's rags, most classical piano, and plenty of acoustic folk or "country blues" guitar stuff. That's as specific as you're going to get out of me right now.

Top 5 Live Musical Experiences

1. John Prine -The first time I saw him, at the Berklee Performance Center, in 1996, for his "Lost Dogs and Mixed Blessings" tour.
2. David Bromberg - I had never even heard of him (I know, blasphemy!) when he opened up for Greg Brown at Sander's Theatre in about 1992. I was blown away. I'm so grateful I got to see him, because he doesn't tour now.
3. Grateful Dead - Speaking of grateful, one of the Dead shows I saw in the early '80s should be in this list; I certainly can't remember any one show in particular, so just pick any....
4. Bruce Springsteen - Listen my children, and you shall hear of a time when people really slept out on the sidewalk to get tickets to concerts because there was no Internet. The Boss at the Hartford Civic Center in 1980.
5. Loudon Wainwright III - We've seen him a few times, but nothing can compare to the show we saw in about 1992, when "History" came out. It was a funky little Cambridge club called Nightstage (it's gone now, of course) and he was in a great mood (believe me, we've also seen him perform in a pissy mood, and it's very uncomfortably to say the least).

Top Five Artists You Think More People Should Listen To

1. Martin Sexton - This guy should be a superstar. He transcends genres, has an amazing vocal range, and can really write. I'm just dying to see him perform live.
2. Peter Keane - As far as I'm concerned, he does the best covers of Mississippi John Hurt. I think it's a crime that he doesn't appear on the tribute album "Avalon." His first two CDs are perfect, although I have to admit I haven't enjoyed the later ones quite as well. We saw him years ago at the venerable Passim coffee house in Cambridge, and he knocked our socks off.
3. John Hiatt - I don't know anyone who knows him and doesn't like him. But not enough people know him.

I can't think of any more. Some music just doesn't appeal to everyone.

Top Five Albums You Must Hear From Start to Finish

1. John Hiatt, "Stolen Moments" - Perfect, from start to finish.
2. John Prine, "John Prine" - Where it all began.
3. Martin Sexton, "Black Sheep" - Listen to this and then tell me again why this guy isn't a superstar?
4. The Band, "The Last Waltz" - Any questions?
5. Elvis Costello, "My Aim Is True" - Released almost 30 years ago? Impossible!

Top Five Musical Heroes

I don't really get the "heroes" thing; only three artists even possibly fit the bill:

1. James Taylor
2. Paul Simon
3. Bruce Springsteen

Now I get to share the misery and tag three more people to do this meme.  I'll start with Mark, which is kind of unfair since I just tagged him on the book meme the other day, but he is someone who cares about music, so there you go. Next is Kirsty, who loves a good meme as much as the next blogger! And finally, Leah, who will obsess over this appropriately and then move on.

Can't Talk. Must Work on Meme.

Evil, evil Ricky has tagged me for a very difficult music meme. I'll try to finish it today. I'll just let the kids and house take care of themselves for a few hours, no problem.

Music A-Z

For no really good reason, I put my iTunes in order alphabetically by song and then took down the first song for each letter of the alphabet. Wanna play too?

A Apolitical Blues (live) - Bonnie Raitt/Lowell George
Baby - Rufus Wainwright       
Cachito - Maná
Daddy Take A Nap - Loudon Wainwright III            
Early In The Morning - Boz Scaggs
Fallen Angel - Robbie Robertson       
Gangsters - Specials
Hacklebarney Tune - Greg Brown
I Ain't Ever Satisfied - Steve Earle/Townes Van Zandt/Guy Clark
Jack Straw - Bruce Hornsby & The Range
Kamera - Wilco
L.A. County - Lyle Lovett
M-O-N-E-Y (live) - Lyle Lovett
Naked Man - Randy Newman
Ocean Of Diamonds - Peter Keane
Pacheco/The Redtail Hawk - Kate Wolf
Queen Bee (live) - Taj Mahal/Ben Harper            
Racing In The Street - Townes Van Zandt       
Sabu Visits The Twin Cities Alone - John Prine
T-Bone Shuffle - Boz Scaggs
Under African Skies - Paul Simon       
Valentine's Day - Steve Earle       
Wade in the Water - Eva Cassidy   
X - no X songs!
Yankee's Revenge - David Bromberg
Z - no Z songs either!

Another Big Milestone

Stephanie went to her first sleepover party last night! She'd been invited to two earlier in the year, but chose to go to just the evening portion of the party in both cases. I was frankly kind of surprised that sleepovers started in second grade around here! But this latest one was a good friend, and the other two girls invited are also good friends. In fact, if I had to pick her three closest friends, they're the three I'd think of first. I went to college with the mom, both the parents are doctors, and they live just a couple of streets over, so all the stars appeared to be aligned.

So, we bought her a sleeping bag and dropped her off at 5:00. They had pizza and watched a movie and sat in the outdoor hot tub (!), then had ice cream cake and went to bed around 9:30. Got up, had chocolate-chip pancakes, and got picked up around 10:00 (read: 9:59:59—I was so eager to get her!). We had told her a thousand times that if she changed her mind at any time, we'd come get her, even if it was the middle of the night, but she did fine! All in all, a very successful first experience, and I think she's feeling very pleased with herself today, if a bit tired.

Ye Olde Booke Meme

Pam says I have to do this meme again:

Grab the closest book to you. Resist the urge to get hold of one of the cooler, intellectual ones! You've gotta be honest. Turn to page 123. Go down five sentences, and then post the next three sentences in your blog. Simple.

Well, the only books in my office are reference books. The nearest two are dictionaries, which obviously don't have sentences, so the closest book with sentences turns out to be The Careful Writer by Theodore M. Bernstein. Published in 1965, this is still an indispensable usage guide. This section on credit is approximately five sentences down on page 123; I'm being a bit lax with counting the sentences:

Although dictionaries give ascribe as one meaning of the verb credit, in good usage the connotation is a favorable one. Credit should not be used for the ascribing of unfavorable things, as in this sentence: "The society seeks to clear the name of Richard, whom history credits with the slaying of two young princes and other killings and crimes."

That's a good one to remember. I can't stand when news announcers say that a particular militant group "takes credit for" a bombing or a shooting.

OK, so now I have to tag three people for this meme: Nina, Scott, and Mark, you're on!

My Last Birthday Gift

Today Rachel and I met for our annual outing to buy earrings for one another's April birthdays. We couldn't seem to schedule in a lunch this year, so we met at Peet's Coffee and Tea for coffee and tea (and almost obscenely delicious pastries) and then headed over to our favorite stretch of Union Street. We both ended up finding our  hearts' ears' desires at Folklorica. Mine are long, thin slivers of silver overlaid with yellowish mother-of-pearl; the overall effect is a shiny flash of gold. (I tried to take a photo, but I couldn't seem to get it right.) Rachel got some swirly green and pink flowery dangles. We were both very pleased with our gifts and our morning of shopping and catching up.

Save, Save, Save!

Here's a printable 25%-off coupon for Border's. As James says, "If you have an aversion to saving money, you can always throw the 25% you saved out the car window on the way home. Har."

FridayQ

FQ TOPIC: Foreign

FQ1: What's your native language? Do you speak any foreign languages? If so, how did you come to learn them?
My native language is English, but I can get by pretty well in French and a little bit in Italian (although my Italian accent is much better than my French!). I also know a little bit of Spanish and even less of Hebrew, although I can read Hebrew just fine. I can pick up languages pretty quickly.

FQ2: What's your native country? Have you visited any foreign countries? If so, which ones?
My native country is the United States, but I've visited Canada, Costa Rica, Israel, England, Scotland, Italy, Spain, France, Switzerland, and Holland. (Also Vatican City and Monaco, if you want to get technical.)

FQ3: Are there any foreign foods, books, movies, or other items that you are particularly fond of? Name some of your favorites.
Oh man, this could be the subject of an entire blog!  Yes, yes, and yes.

FQ NATIVE: If you had to trade your nationality for that of any foreign country, which would you choose and why?
I guess Canada, because it's culturally similar and seems to have very sensible, humane laws.

Friday's Feast

Appetizer: Approximately how many hours per day do you spend watching television?
Zero.

Soup: Which colors decorate your kitchen?
The wallpaper has fruit on it and the floor is sort of terra cotta colored. Other than that, the counters and cabinets are white (not my choice, but that's what was here) and the appliances are stainless steel.

Salad: Name 2 brand names you buy on a regular basis, and what do you like about them?
(Didn't I just do something like this?)
1. PG Tips tea, because it packs a nice big wallop in the morning.
2. Campari, because there's nothing else like it and because of the gorgeous color it makes when mixed with OJ—now that's a summertime drink!

Main Course: What is your biggest fear?
That something will happen to my family.

Dessert: If you could wake up tomorrow and find yourself in another location, where would you want to be?
San Francisco.

Bonus Birthday* Question: What's your favorite flavor of birthday cake?
Deep, dark chocolate. Is there any other kind?

*It's the first anniversary of Friday's Feast.

Friday Fiver

And it's hard for me to take a stand

1. How tall are you?
Almost 5'3". And I tower over my mother. And she towers over her mother. My girls ought to be eating peanuts off my head by the time they're in their teens!

2. When is the last time you stood up for yourself?
I can't think of an answer to this one—not because I don't stand up for myself but because I can't think of a recent incident that required me to stand up for myself. Lemme get back to you on this one.

3. Are you scared of heights?
No, but I can't resist this opportunity to quote Stephen Wright: "Some people are afraid of heights. Not me, I'm afraid of widths."

4. Tell us a tall tale.
Didja hear the one about the happily married mom of three who dumped it all to take up sky-diving in South America? Me neither....

5. Wookie-hookie: Did you see the new Star Wars movie?
Nope.

Friday iPod Random Ten

1. Late Night Train - Brooks Williams       
2. Fool's Paradise - Willie Nelson & Dr. John
3. Summertime - Doc Watson
4. Black River - Amos Lee
5. Real Fine Love (live) - John Hiatt
6. Thanksgiving - Loudon Wainwright III
7. Pride and Joy (live) - Martin Sexton   
8. Hound Dog - Eric Clapton
9. Sugar Magnolia (live) - Grateful Dead
10. Call It Sleep - Peter Keane

Sure, Rub It In, Why Don't You

After the John Prine concert, I think I mentioned that I was high on Jason Wilber and was planning to buy his CD. Well, I did, although I have to admit I haven't had much chance to listen to it yet. But in the meantime, I just got his e-mail newsletter, which I guess is going to be a monthly thing. Wouldn't you know it, apropos of my recent post on my "dream duet," that he'd write this about the latest stop on the John Prine tour:

I am writing to you while in San Francisco, CA, where we just played The Fillmore last night. It's always fun to play there because there is so much musical history associated with The Fillmore, and the San Francisco music scene.

The show last night was especially fun, because we had some special guests.... Bonnie Raitt came out and sang "Angel From Montgomery" with us. Over the years that I've been playing with John, Bonnie has come out to our shows many times, but she and John usually do this song just the two of them as part of John's solo set. Last night, Bonnie came up and sang "Angel" with the whole band. What a thrill to finally get to play this wonderful song with her. What a voice!

Of course, this also means I had to play slide guitar with Bonnie looking over my shoulder, which is a little like showing Tiger Woods your golf swing, but it was sure a lot of fun.

OK, so how heartbroken could I possibly be?!

An Olfactory Dream

Last night, amid Andy's hacking, sniffling, sweating, groaning, wheezing, cursing, and snorting (yes, sick again), I managed to fall asleep. But I awoke in a panic: I had a dream that I smelled a gas leak in the house. It was the strangest sensation, because I had a vivid memory of an odor that existed only in my imagination. (Those of you who don't heat or cook with natural gas can just trust me on this one: It has a very distinctive odor.) I of course assumed that a real gas smell had infiltrated my dreams and awakened me—and I still think this was a logical assumption even though it turned out to be untrue—so I went down to the kitchen to poke around. Nothing. Down to the basement. Nothing. Back upstairs. Not gas necessarily, but something unnatural . . . turned out to be the new shower curtain liners I'd hung that day! They had a faint plasticky smell—certainly not enough to have awakened me, but enough that I knew I didn't smell anything else. So I went back to sleep, although not altogether restfully, debating whether I should  have called the emergency number just in case, wondering if the kids were breathing, etc. Needless to say, we're all fine—well, except Andy's cold.

The only other time I can recall dreaming about a particular odor was when I had a vivid dream about our old cat George.

ISO...

Has anyone tried Aperol, a bitter orange liqueur made by the Campari people? I recently read about it, but I can't find it around here. You're supposed to mix it with Prosecco and club soda. Sounds delish.

Dazzling!

I got my ring back yesterday! I still don't understand how he replaced the prongs, but he did. But what stunned me more was how the ring looks after a ride through their ultrasonic cleaning machine. I am absolutely dazzled! I can't believe how dingy it was, and how used to its dinginess I'd become. I can't keep my eyes off this ring now! Those of you with diamonds, I urge you to go into a nice jewelry store and ask them to clean your ring. (You can at least pretend to be shopping for something new anyhow.)

This & That

I feel I've been neglecting you, dear verbatim—and dear verbatim readers! I guess I've just been really busy lately, although nothing in particular is going on. Just regular busy. All day long (and sometimes well into the night) I get little ideas and inspirations for blog posts, but by the time I hunker down in front of my iMac, they're gone or they seem dumb (as if that ever stopped me before). So, without further ado, here is a peek inside that sometimes-scary place known as Karen's Brain.

1. Tea doesn't get stronger the longer you let it steep; it just gets bitter. Three to four minutes ought to do it. If that's still not strong enough for you, use less water. Then go buy some PG Tips!

2. Speaking of John Irving:

• At the end of "The Cider House Rules," the credits listed him as the stationmaster. I was too tired to hunt for that part, so I went to bed. Next morning, I forgot all about it and shipped the DVD back to Netflix! Phooey.
• I just learned (or, more likely, I was just reminded) that he wrote a memoir of his 13-year struggled to adapt The Cider House Rules to the big screen. It looks great, and I've added it to my seemingly endless Amazon wish list.
• A hundred years ago, he came to speak at Wesleyan—I was a freshman and had my beloved dog-eared copy of The World According to Garp tucked under my arm for him to sign after his reading (excerpts of the then-forthcoming Hotel New Hampshire). I was trying to come up with something clever thing to say so that he would think I was wonderful and would ask me to be his personal assistant and could he read something I'd written etc. etc. So I finally get up there and am so dazzled by his presence that I murmur dreamily, "I think you're great..." as I hand him the book to sign. Then went back to my dorm room to kick myself over and over for the rest of the night.

3. Not only did Julie name her stuffed tiger Lion; she announced, "And he's a girl."

4. Do you know anyone who named their kid(s) something ridiculous? I hear people calling out to their kids with these absurd, cruel names all the time, but I don't know these people personally. I'm usually just trying desperately not to shout at them, "What were you thinking?!"

5. I feel bad (not badly) that I've been complaining so much about my volunteer efforts. For the most part, I enjoy them. I just took on too many this year. One thing I've been doing that I just love is typing up the kids' "news of the day" for the preschool. I'm doing the oldest group, so these are kids headed off to kindergarten in the fall. Their news ranges from the mundane ("I carpooled with Lily today" and "I’m having a playdate with Jeremy tomorrow") to the bursting-with-pride ("Yesterday I went upside-down on the monkey bars" and "I bit into a Blue’s Clues cupcake and my tooth fell out") to the funny and sweet ("I’m going to the doctor for only a test to see if I have germs" and "I’ve been on a waterbed. It was at a wedding" and "Isabelle poked me with a pencil"). Very cute. They get put into a binder, along with artwork, photos, etc. Stephanie and Pete still go through their preschool binders from time to time!

1-800-SENDWINENOW

Leah gave me the great news that I might soon be able to order wine to be delivered to me here in the great state of Massachusetts! It's about time.

Ten on Tuesday

10 Brand Names You Can't Live Without

1. PG Tips
2. Absolut (Citron)
3. Campari
4. Cape Cod (reduced fat potato chips)
5. Trader Joe's cinnamon almonds (yes, they're back!)
6. Jif
7. Apple
8. Q-Tips
9. Origins
10. Le Creuset

Movies

1. You know those movies that everyone saw except for you? And you sort of have to pretend you've seen them? Well, that's me and "My Dinner with Andre." Well, that was me until last night. But I have to admit that I didn't watch the whole thing. I got the gist and I see why it was such a bold move and all, but man! It was dated. And I was tired.

2. I loved "The Cider House Rules," and that's saying a lot, because I loved the book and I don't often think too highly of film adaptations of my favorite books.* Lots of very sensitive issues are addressed here— including racism and abortion and drug dependence and loyalty—and all with a very sensitive touch.

3. Hmmm, let's see. Steph and Pete are going on field trips in the next couple of weeks, so why don't I rent a movie about a school bus crash? Sheesh. In fact, "The Sweet Hereafter" was beautiful and well done, although obviously upsetting just in light of the subject matter.

*Other film adaptations I think lived up to the original book: "The Accidental Tourist," "The Day of the Jackal" (the original, of course!), "Jaws," and "The Hours." I never read "The Godfather," but I'm guessing that would fall into this category too.

Bon Appétit!

Dinner last night was yummy. We had grilled steaks with this tapenade:

1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1 lb. Picholine olives, pitted
5 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. drained capers
4 anchovy fillets
2 garlic cloves

Place almonds in processer (don't forget to put plastic wrap under the cover for easy clean-up!) and grind finely; transfer to small bowl. Place remaining ingredients in processor and blend until fine paste forms. Add almonds and blend 5 seconds. Season with salt and pepper. [Note: I halved this recipe and still had way too much, even for two honkin' big rib-eyes.]

The side dish was equally sublime, a classic example of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts:

Roasted Carrots & Parsnips with Shallots & Herb Butter

1 lb. carrots, peeled
1 lb. parsnips, peeled
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temp.
1/2 shallot, minced
2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh chives
1 1/2 tsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 1/2 tsp. finely chopped fresh thyme
1 clove garlic, minced

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 450°.

Cut carrots and parsnips into 2" x 1/4" matchsticks. Put them in an 11x15" Pyrex baking pan* and toss with the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast, stirring every 15 minutes, until they are nicely browned, 40-45 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine remaining ingredients in a small bowl and stir well. Add butter to roasted vegetables and toss to coat. Serve immediately and wolf down in one mouthful.

*I don't have an 11x15" Pyrex, so I used my 9x13" Pryex, figuring that they wouldn't have specified Pyrex if they'd wanted me to use my 11x15" metal pan. I realize now I should've just used my two 9x13" Pyrex pans to mazimize surface area for browning. But no matter; this was an outstanding side dish and sure to become a regular in my kitchen.

Mitzvah Day

Since we joined our temple only last summer, today was our first opportunity to take part in the annual Mitzvah* Day. This is a day when the entire temple community comes together to "repair the world" (tikkun olam) by participating in various charitable projects. The list of projects ran the gamut from going to an Alzheimer center to sing with the residents to decorating baseball hats for chemo patients to preparing "birthday boxes" for kids living in homeless shelters. I had a lot of trouble deciding what to sign up for, but I knew it had to be something that the kids would get. For instance, as important as it is to stuff envelopes for a mass mailing from the Ronald McDonald house, I felt that they needed something more concrete to make it meaningful. We ended up volunteering to help make lunches for a local soup kitchen. Ten families together purchased the ingredients for 200 bag lunches consisting of a PBJ sandwich, a snack, an apple, a drink, a mint, a napkin, and a little drawing (mostly by the kids, but I did some too!). Even Julie could help by putting items in the bags. The people who will receive these lunches normally get only one meal a day, so we kept trying to drive home the point that because of what we were doing, these people would get a second meal today. We talked about how we have more than enough of what we need, so it's our duty to help those who are not so lucky. I'm not sure Julie understood, but I think Steph and Pete felt really good about giving food to people who would otherwise go hungry. I hope we can find other opportunities to take action in ways that the kids can understand.

*The Hebrew word mitzvah literally means commandment; it's mostly used to refer to a good deed. Charitable acts are indeed required of all Jews.

Bedtime Reading

OK, someone has a warped sense of humor, and I love it! Check out these alternative children's book covers (Part 1 and Part 2). Via Pam.

Belated Friday iPod Random Ten

1. Radio, Radio - Elvis Costello
2. Colorado Girl - Townes Van Zandt                   
3. Things You Do To Me (live) - Martin Sexton            
4. You Got Gold (live) - John Prine
5. Golden Heart - Mark Knopfler
6. Oh, Susannah - James Taylor
7. How's It Gonna End - Tom Waits
8. Time Loves A Hero (live) Little Feat
9. The Cascades - Scott Joplin                   
10. Over The Waterfall - Michelle Shocked

Belated Friday Fiver

Last Dance

1. What's the last concert you attended?
John Prine

2. Who is the best live performer you've ever seen?
Best? How do you mean? John Prine is my favorite artist, so I've loved his concerts in a way that transcends all others. But I'll never forget seeing David Bromberg live—what an all-out talent! And, back in the day, there was nothing like the Boss. (That was way before online ticket purchases; I slept on a sidewalk all night in Middletown, Connecticut, to get tickets for that one.) He just never stopped. And nothing can compare to all those shows I saw during my Deadhead years (what little I remember of them); they were an experience unto themselves. So no easy answer here.

3. You can invite 2 artists to your house, but they must sing together. Who are they and what one song will they sing?
Easy-peasy: John Prine and Bonnie Raitt singing "Angel from Montgomery."

4. Pick one to see: ABBA, Jimmy Buffett, or Kenny Chesney?
Who's Kenny Chesney? I guess I'd pick Jimmy Buffett.

5. Friday Freebie: Tell us anything you want about music!
I was mentally composing this post the other day, but I never got around to it, so here goes. If you had to pick one artist who's dead that you wish you'd gotten to see perform live, who would it be? Mine would be Lowell George. I've had him on the brain lately for three reasons:

• I recently downloaded a bunch of old bootlegs of him that are just amazing.
• At the John Prine concert last month at Symphony Hall, he told a story about the first time he'd ever performed there, some 30 years ago. He was really nervous, and that feeling was only compounded when he saw Lowell George and the rest of Little Feat sitting in the front row! Can you imagine.
• Lowell George's daughter, Inara George, just released an album. Her voice doesn't in any way remind me of her father's (in the way that, say, Martha Wainwright's voice does remind me of her dad Loudon's—hearing them do a duet is a real treat!); it's sort of a dreamy-sounding voice that makes me think of someone else, but I can't figure out who. Anyhow, I listened to a few clips at the Amazon site, and I heard the entirety of her cover of Joe Jackson's "Fools in Love" on the radio, and it's OK but certainly nothing I'm going to run out and buy. Interesting note: Lowell George's long-time friend Jackson Browne does backup on one track; I also read somewhere that Jackson Browne's song "Of Missing Persons" is about Inara, who was only 5 years old when her father died.

Friday's Feast

Appetizer: Whose intelligence do you find intimidating?
I never find intelligence intimidating.

Soup: Name something you've done that surprised yourself.
Gave birth.

Salad: List 3 people whom you have "met" only online, but consider your friends.
Nina, Mir, and the late, great Karine.

Main Course: Where is the dirtiest place you've ever been?
My own basement after a sewer backup.

Dessert: What is the best example of "perfection" that you can think of?
The color of the sky on Tuesday: pure blue with not a cloud in sight.

"Sure, I'd Be Happy To!"

Meet the person who's in charge of game/prize tickets at the school fair in June. Sigh.

(What is it about saying NO that I find so difficult?)

A Naked Finger

The other day I noticed that my engagement ring felt different—two of the prongs holding the stone in place felt just a hair's-breadth higher than usual. So I went to the jeweler and he said that the prongs were worn out and should be replaced. (Really? After only 18 years of 24/7 wear?) I can understand that, and even the $80 charge wasn't entirely unreasonable when you think of what needs to be done (i.e., replace just the prongs without disturbing the setting). The trouble is, it's going to take a week! Argh! I've already spent most of today going in and out of panic attacks every time I notice the ring isn't there. I keep doing this nervous twitchy thing where I flick my ring finger with my thumb. I can't even begin to describe how much this disturbs my wah—way worse than forgetting to put on my watch.

Emma Thompson as . . . Me!

You are Elinor Dashwood of Sense & Sensibility! You are practical, circumspect, and discreet. Though you are tremendously sensible and allow your head to rule, you have a deep, emotional side that few people often see.

Fair enough. How 'bout you? (via Lora)

The End of an Era

By the time my girls get their first periods, I should be a basket case. Julie got a bed today. I realize it's been a long time coming—after all, she's 3 1/2 already! But still. As I took apart the crib for the last time, laundered the crib bedding, and put it all in the attic (of course I'll donate it somewhere, just not today), I realized that I'm really done having babies. Ever since I had Stephanie, I've fancied the idea of having four kids, but it's really not going to happen. And it's not as though I'm devastated about it; it's not even as if we ever tried for a fourth! Most of the time my brain is aware of how exhausted and strapped I am with three, but whenever I hear of someone with four kids, I get a little pang. Maybe it's the miscarriages I had, I don't know. But my last baby is out of diapers and out of her crib, and I can't decide if I'm happy or sad for myself.

But never mind me, just look at that beautiful face and you'll see someone who's pleased as punch with her big-girl-ness!