Nick

I can remember when my little guy was just a baby...Now he's 15 years old! My nephew Nick is a pure joy to me. He is smart, funny, and kind. He's a special person in my life and I am so proud of this amazing young man and so excited about all the amazing things he is going to accomplish.

Grown Up Girl's Book and Eating Club

Almost two years ago I was having dinner with my friends and my friend Tiffany proclaimed that she had an announcement. She basically said "We are all grown-ups now so it's time for us to do something grown-up. We are going to start a book club." I added that I would also like to maybe make it a cooking club as well. So we agreed to a book/cooking club. Most of us were immediately on board but of course there was always Jamie... Jamie said something to the effect of "No thanks." We were kind of stopped in our tracks for a second as she said " I don't like to cook and I don't like to read." She was being honest, she was being James. So we carried on anyway and Tiffany announced that our first book would be "Little Women." I was excited because I would have never chose to sit down and read "Little Women" on my own. Here's a complete list of the books we have read and my star rating with 1 being Poor and 5 being Excellent:

1.) November 2006 – Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (Tiff's pick)

5 Stars! Excellent start to our book club!

2.) December 2006 – The Idiot Girls’ Guide to Christmas by Laurie Notaro (Chris)


5 Stars!

I love Laurie Notaro. She's insanely hilarious and I tried to pick a quick read for the busy Christmas season.

3.) January 2007 – The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Stacey)

5 Stars! Still my favorite pick thus far...Thanks Stace!

4.)February 2007 – Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel (Hernandez)

4 Stars! This is the book my mother wouldn't let me read when I was younger:) Beautiful Mexican food and stories.

5.) March 2007 – Wicked by Gregory McGuire (Roo)

4.5 Stars Much more dark than I imagined but a fun read nonetheless. I can't wait to see the musical.

6.) April 2007 – The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler (Me)

3.5 Stars

I would have never picked this book out on my own so I'm glad my friends all have such unique taste.

7.)May 2007 – Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (Chris)

4.5 Stars
This was my pick because it has been sitting on my shelf for so long waiting to get read. I loved the historical detail and it makes me want to go back to Chicago so I can visit what remains of the World's Fair.

8.)June 2007 – 1984 by George Orwell (Stacey)

4.5 Stars This was another book that I'm glad I was asked to read because I've always meant to read it. A quick and interesting read.

9.)July/August 2007 - The Lady in the Forest (Hernandez)

Didn't read... Tiff and Marie were trying to find a book with good sex scenes and ended up with this silliness. Apparently no one knew which book to get and the only two people who did bother to find the book got 2 different books by the same author. This was not a high point for the club.

10.) September 2007 – A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie (Roo)

4.0 Stars

This was my first Agatha Christie book and I have to say I really enjoyed it once I could get all the characters straight.

11.) October/Nov 2007 – The Witching Hour by Anne Rice (Tiff)

4.5 Stars

There is a ghost named Lasher in this book and when Stacey said she'd like to meet Lasher a candle on top of Tiffany's mantle exploded and crashed to the floor. This is the absolute truth. I'm telling you we are a powerful book club...

12.)December/January (2007/2008) – Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (Chris)

4.5 Stars

Quit work, get advance for book deal, travel world, eat tons of food and find inner peace. Not a bad to do list.




13.)February 2008 – Running With Scissors by Augusten Burroughs (Stacey)

3.0 Stars

I had already read this book but the rule is that if someone picks a book you have already read you need to read it again. I think it made us all depressed...

14.)March 2008 – Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret and Superfudge (Hernandez)

4.5 Stars It was fun to re-read old Judy Blume. I LOVE banned books.

15.)April 2008 – Atonement by Ian McEwan (Roo)

4.5 Stars

Kim felt like crying and making us all cry.


4.0

16.)May 2008 – Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult (Angela)

Lifetime Channel for girls and gays in book form:(
2.5 Stars

17.)June 2008 – Slash’s Autobiography (Me)

Stacey and I dressed up for the autobiography of Slash night. She's a 3rd grade teacher and I run an after school program by the way.

3.0 Stars

Slash is a seriously talented musician but the debauchery got old to me after a bit.

18.)July 2008 – Two for the Road by Jane and Michael Stern (Chris)

4.0 Stars

New York Times columnists set out on the road to review every restaurant in the United States. Sounds like a dream come true...

Pudgy Funster

Here is a pic of the marquee outside of the Kodak Theater in Hollywood for Ricky Gervais. Way back in April I gifted Justin tickets for Ricky Gervais for his birthday and he was finally able to redeem his gift on Friday. Justin and I have been fans of The Office for quite a while and have spent many a good time watching our dvd's over and over. He came out to loud rock music, a crown on his head, pyro, Fosters Beer, and gigantic stand up letters that spelled R-I-C-K-Y. It was awesome! Ricky said the british press will have a pic off him in a rag and then put "Pudgy Funster" or if he has his IPOD on "IPudge" hence my title.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect because he really isn't known for stand-up. It felt more like a friend trying to make you laugh than a stand-up comic. He was hilarious and we left wanting much more. Here's some pics of Ricky as he came out on stage.

While in line for a drink I saw comedian and author Greg Behrendt. He also wrote the book "He's Just Not That Into You." I also saw the guy who plays the gay guy Oscar on the american version of the office.

The Kodak is where they have the Academy Awards and the American Idol Finale. It was fun to get to see it in person. We sat where the poor people who win for Best Art Direction or Animated Short.

Across the street on Hollywood Blvd is the historic El Capitan Theater. It is now a Disney owned theater where they always make an event out of the latest Disney movie. I was lucky because it was all about Wall-E. Here's a pic.

Overall it was an awsome post 30th b-day event for my cute !

Hello Wall-E!

I am usually more than happy to see a movie by myself but for the new Pixar masterpiece Wall-E I knew I wanted Justin there with me to share the experience. I think we both walked away entertained and moved. The movie was nothing short of gorgeous. I often get sad when I think that the days of classic Disney animation are gone. I think about how my kids will never wait in line at the theater at a one, or a mega three screen theater like I did when I was a kid to see Beauty and the Beast or The Little Mermaid. Instead they will most likely see Pixar-like movies. And even though it makes me sad, the one thing that makes it all better is that some of the new movies aimed at kids are this awesome and just continue to get better.

In the movie Wall-E, a robot and the main character, for whatever reason likes to watch the movie Hello Dolly. When I was a kid I always had cable and along with cable came access to tons of movies. One movie that I remember seeing over and over again was What's Up Doc starring Barbara Streisand. I marveled at how quick witted she was and her cool clothes and had no idea whatsoever that she was this huge star. I was just hooked on her and soon I would stop and watch anything that had her in it, including Hello Dolly. It seemed like a really odd choice for Wall-E to watch at first but when you think about Hello Dolly you realize that in Hello Dolly, Dolly(Streisand's character), was just someone who was looking for love. Even though she played a matchmaker you were always hoping that Dolly would find love herself.

In Wall-E, we find him on an Earth that seems hopeless and desolate to the audience, but here was this little robot with a cockroach for a friend and a desire to be in love. It turns into a beautiful movie not only about love but about how we as humans don't have to sit back and watch as our earth becomes a wasteland. Wall-E represents hope and he reminds us that maybe love is enough to make it all worth fighting for. It's a truly remarkable film and one that I look forward to experiencing again and again.

4th of July!

Justin and I carried on a tradition for the third time of baking an apple pie from scratch on the 4th of July. We've always done a different recipe and this year we attempted "Classic Apple Pie" from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook.

We used a Pate Brisee crust and then followed the Classic Apple Pie Recipe. This is a french pastry dough of unsalted butter, flour, salt, and ice water.We wrapped it up and set it in the refrigerator to chill for about an hour.

We then added our yummy apple mixture of freshly cut Gala and Granny Smith apples, fresh squeezed lemon juice, cinnamon, sugar, nutmeg, and sugar. We didn't, however, freshly grind the nutmeg because who does that?

We then added the top crust and the adorable Justin basted on an egg wash of egg yolk and heavy cream.

And here is the finished product! It was delicious. We served it warm with a scoop of Breyers Natural Vanilla ice cream.

Zoe Belle!