We bought Thatcher a nice dog bed when we got back to New York. Usually I buy the dog several cheaper beds over the course of a year. This time we opted for a nicer, more expensive one. Thatcher has a penchant for ripping up her beds and flinging them around the apartment so it never made sense to buy her something nice. However, now that she’s two years old, I figure it’s time to entrust her with a “big girl bed.”
So we got this great igloo bed. She can climb inside, curl up and take a nap. We showed her how to use it. And for the first few nights she slept inside with no problems. But now, things have changed. I guess she doesn’t like the confinement of the igloo bed because I find her taking the time to squash the roof down and lay on the top of the igloo. Oh well. I think it’s because she puts off so much body heat so it gets too warm in there. Thatcher was a space heater in her previous life.
In the picture above, I made her go inside the bed just for the photo (hence the look of bewilderment on her face).
Okay, so it says that on the sign but Century 21, as you can tell by the packed lot, is no secret to New Yorkers. There’s one in the city, one in Brooklyn, and one on Long Island. Last Friday, my mom and I visited the Long Island store for some “back-to-school” clothes. Century 21 carries all kinds of trendy brands and designer names at half price. Of course, you have to check the sizes and check for any weird sewing errors. The store gets surplus and some awkward stuff. But as long as you’re willing to sift through racks of clothing, you could find some really good buys. In fact, last year I found a Nicole Miller gown for a friend’s wedding here. I paid $40 for it. It’s normal retail was about $400. My friend Kim was shopping with me and agreed that I was losing money if I didn’t buy it. Like my awesome shopping logic?
On Friday, I bought C.K. four polo tops (Izod, Ralph Lauren, and Tommy Hilfiger included in that). I also needed some tops for work at Preston this year. Because schools don’t have air conditioning and September can be warm in New York, I needed a few professional but light, airy tops to wear to work. I got a few things. A nice Da-Nang cotton top with peasant sleeves among them.
Announced yesterday at the superintendent’s meeting to kick off the school: My mom is the 2008 Teacher of the Year for the entire district! Many congratulations to her! After eighteen years of dedication to the art of teaching, commitment to her students, and service to her community, she deserves every accolade with which the district honors her. She’s one of the first people in her district to pilot an inclusive classroom (a class where special needs students are mixed in with regular-Ed students). And with the partnership of her co-teacher, I believe she’s one of the only people to do it right.
I’m so proud of her!
I need a bumper sticker: My Mom was Teacher of the Year (like those “My Kid is an Honor Student” ones).
We’re back at our apartment in Westchester. It feels good to be around the old neighborhood again. I’ve been enjoying walking the dog around the quiet homes with their pretty flowers planted in front. I’ve been loving living right across the street from a market (not a supermarket, a privately-owned local market). Also across the street in our little town are an ice cream shop, nail salon, florist, Italian deli, restaurant, dog groomer, pastry shop, bagel shop, and a few other things. Not that we didn’t have convenience like this in Santa Monica — it’s just that here, we have convenience without the town losing any character or quaintness.
While I’m happy to be back–the place is a complete mess. I guess I should say “was a complete mess.” C.K. and I worked really hard to get everything reorganized and put away. All the clothing had to be put back. We don’t have those huge California closets anymore so this was a challenge. Then I put back the toiletries and linens (a bigger job than you think). The books went everywhere. We have a ton of books. That’s what happens when two people meet in grad school for English. C.K. did a great job organizing his office closets. And he even committed a mortal sin for geeks — throwing out old gadgets and wires. *Gasp*
I didn’t take a picture of these although I should have. They were delicious though. The basil is an interesting twist, I think. Here’s a roundabout approximation sort of kind of recipe. I don’t do real measurements.
2 parts tequila
1 part triple sec
2 parts watermelon juice*
1 punch of basil, chopped up
watermelon “ice cubes”**
lime juice
sugar
In the bottom of each glass (I used double old-fashioned glasses), put some basil and add some sugar. Use the back of a spoon to bruise the herbs and mix in the sugar (like you would if you were making a mojito). Add some watermelon ice cubes to the glasses. In a shaker, combine tequila, watermelon juice, triple sec, and a splash of lime with ice. Shake it up and pour into the glasses. Then stir the drinks so that the basil on the bottom of the glass gets mixed into the whole drink. You can garnish with a sprig of basil or a lime wedge.
*I bought four separate quarters of watermelon to make these drinks. That makes a lot of margaritas. But it was for a party, so I would rather have too much than too little. I suppose you can also buy one very large watermelon. To make the juice, I cut the watermelon into manageable pieces then pureed those pieces in a food processor. Then I took the puree and put it through a collider lined with a cheese cloth. I ended up squeezing out the cheese cloth to get the extra juice. This part of the drink is pretty labor-intensive. But they’re worth it. I swear!
** To make the watermelon ice cubes, take one quarter of the watermelon and use a melon baller to make small watermelon balls. Place the watermelon balls on a baking sheet and freeze. After about an hour in the freezer, cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap. Once the watermelon balls are frozen, you can transfer them to a ziplock bag. These watermelon balls serve as the ice cubes in the drinks. They soak up the tequila and taste great when you’re finish drinking your margarita.
Bob over at TV Squad posted about Caterer.com’s Little Gordon videos. Anyone who enjoys Gordon Ramsay’s shows Hell’s Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares will like these videos. In other words, anyone who enjoys watching a blonde British guy cuss and yell at people who don’t deserve such treatment will love these videos. The kid is great. He even has some of the real hot-tempered chef’s mannerisms.
Our flight is early: 7:15 am on Virgin America. I like to fly early when going from LA to NY because of the time change. You lose five hours of the day flying and when you go from west to east, you lose even more time, three more hours to be exact. We’ll get in at 3:50 p.m., just in time to wash up and have dinner at Gino’s, a mom-and-pop Italian restaurant in my hometown. They have THE BEST food. What they lack in sophisticated service and atmosphere, they make up for ten-fold with their yummy pastas.
I can’t wait to get home. We’ve been here a year and a day. I’m ready to start a new chapter of our life. I’ll be directing a musical this year, working with Preston’s administration, finishing my book and securing an agent (fingers crossed on those), and probably starting back at Fordham. I have five classes of my second Master’s completed so I want to finish. Hopefully, all of those credits are still good. My first Master’s, also from Fordham, is in English. Now this one will be in Adolescent Education. I believe it’s an MST (Master’s of Science in Teaching). Didn’t think teaching was a science though. I’d say it’s more of an art form. But whatever.
It’s no coincidence that I titled this post “Escape from L.A.” Kurt Russell is one of my favorite actors. Overboard. Captain Ron. Backdraft. Big Trouble in Little China. He’s been in some classics. I know Kurt Russell would want us to escape from Los Angeles. He seems like a a good egg.
The power of the Bowie. What has Labrynith just taught us? That goblins ask a lot of damn questions and David Bowie should skip to the point. This is one of my favorite movies. It still gives me a good dose of the creeps (creepy in a good way though, not creepy-creepy like HBO’s Carnivale. Pause while we mourn the loss of Carnivale).
And I think I will forever be disturbed by David Bowie’s gray leggings and codpiece in this film.
I love when he throws the baby up in the air at the end.
I went to my last dance class here on Thursday. Jill Strauss put together a great combination to Heather Headley’s “Your Love is Like Rain.” I enjoyed dancing it. There were lots of moments were you had to fill up the counts because of the reggae beat behind the song.
Afterwards, some of the ladies from the class took me out to lunch. They also gave me Good Night, California (a new regional version of Good Night, Moon for future “Samplers.”) I totally lost it. I don’t even know why–the tears were flowing. The gesture was so sweet. I will truly miss Jill’s class and those ladies.
If you’re ever in LA and looking for a great jazz class, be sure to take Jill’s class. Her Luigi-style jazz class is a great workout, a great workout to say the least. She’s a phenomenal teacher. I credit her with teaching me that I can do this for the rest of my life as long as I take care of my body. Some teachers don’t push self-preservation and feeling how your body is different each day. A little twinge in your lower back should be attended to, not ignored. If you ignore it long enough, that little twinge becomes severe pain and all of sudden you can’t wear high heels anymore or sit in certain desk chairs for long periods of time. I think I’m over the whole self-inflicted punishment makes you better. I got a bad right ankle from that attitude.
I’m so excited for Joshua, the winner of So You Think You Can Dance this summer. He was a brilliant dancer. Here’s his first routine to “No Air” choreographed by Tabitha and Napoleon. He’s dancing with one of the final four dancers, Katee. This was the last routine of the night when the Top 20 performed. By this time, I was ready to turn in. I thought SYTYCD had gone all Idol. The talent would be sub-par and the judges would continually tell us that it was the BEST. SEASON. EVER.
The latter happened time and time again. I really hate it when judges on those shows use superlatives (the best cast, the best hip-hop dancer they’ve ever seen, the best routine of the season). On SYTYCD, the judges have clear favorites and use a lot of their screen time to stroke the choreographers’ egos. Don’t tell me who I’m supposed to like. And stop saying how brilliant Mia Michaels is. The woman is certifiably insane.
While this season wasn’t as good as seasons past, it was not bereft of talent either. In fact, I think Joshua is one of the best and most relatable dancers to ever grace the stage.
Kristin Sample is the author of North Shore / South Shore, a novel about two competing families on Long Island. Kristin is looking for an agent, a publisher, and an audience for this novel. This blog will document that progression. She's also a blogger for TV Squad, where she writes a weekly column called Super Skank Wednesday and covers shows like The Tudors, Big Brother, and Lipstick Jungle.
