I will be on TV Friday, February 27th, 2009

Tuesday I was in the studio audience of the Martha Stewart show. This was my first time on TV, and the first time being out in public after giving myself the worst haircut imaginable. The Seating Coordinator saw these three beauties (Beth, Ashley, Minde pictured below) walking in and offered them their rightful place on the front row. She asked me to sit by myself behind them. I can't blame her; I didn't want to be seen with me either. It was for the best anyway. Had we insisted on four seats together we would not have been able to sit so close to Martha. While there might not have been a superstar guest line-up, I went home excited to grow begonias and bake trout. 

The most fascinating part of the studio was on the ceiling. Lights and doodads from one side of the room to the next. Plus I don't have to remember my hair and the strange outfit I chose on Tuesday if I post this picture.

Flushing

We took off for Queens in the rain last week to eat some Chinese and Korean food. Marc said he liked exploring in the rain. He felt less like a tourist. I didn't love exploring in the rain. Once or twice Marc had to snap me out of a bad mood. And once or twice I ate some food that snapped me out of a bad mood. Like the bread this woman was serving. It's called yo su sao bing. And it was mighty tasty.

Even Harper liked it. And that's saying a lot.

We bought salmon instead.

Rotisserie alien creatures

For dinner we sat down at a Korean version of Denny's. Which is to say the food was terrible. We were on the prowl for a big bowl of bibimbap. We thought someone pointed to this restaurant. But he must have been pointing next door. We were already sending our green tea back to the kitchen and eating our salad (with dressing that tasted like barf), when we learned they did not serve the particular Korean specialty we had been looking forward to all night. We should have put our coats back on at this point and walked next door. Marc couldn't finish his dinner, and wouldn't even take it home to eat later. And that's saying a lot.

The evening was not a total bust. We returned home with plenty of time to put the baby to bed and hunker down for a not-disappointing episode of LOST.

Harper + Sunny + Marc Go Exploring in Brighton Beach

Our days in New York are numbered. It is not a secret. Before we leave there are a few things we must see and do. (Embarrassingly I have to admit that I still need to visit old Lady Liberty.) While Marc was home this week we were able to check some things off the list, including visiting Brighton Beach to see how the Russians do New York.

Things we liked about this outing:
Driving over the Brooklyn Bridge very slowly
Paying $1 for parking
Walking on the boardwalk at the beach
Eating Uzbek food for dinner

Things we didn't like as much:
Waiting half an hour to get on the Brooklyn Bridge
Driving around for quite a while looking for a free parking place before we realized it would only cost $1 to park at a meter for two hours
When Harper smeared feta cheese all over the back of someone's jacket at the restaurant

No pictures of Russians. Just another showcase for Harper's winter hat.

Construction Management

School was out this week so we had Marc all to ourselves nearly every day. (He left this afternoon to go camping with teenage boys from church. Right now he is sleeping outside in a tent. I am going to sleep inside on a double pillow-top mattress with a goose feather blanket pulled up to my chin.) ****Since posting this I learned that Marc slept in a cabin and was sweating all night. And I ended up staying up until 3 am and barely enjoyed sleeping by myself in a big bed****

Marc stayed busy building towers and knocking them down.

Harper watched. And tried to prepare herself for the impending crash by walking around the tower saying "yeah, yeah, yeah."

She has reached the stage in her short life when stuffed animals (and sometimes green plastic pigs) need hugs and kisses, and need to generally be a part of whatever she's doing. I think it's really sweet.

I will see clearly now

When I was a kid I was supposed to wear a patch over my right eye while I watched TV. I wouldn't do it. I wanted to be able to see Casey and Finnegan, Big Bird and Mr. Snuffleupagus, and I couldn't when I wore the patch. The optometrist said I would have to get glasses eventually, but I never did. Good thing, too, since one of the lenses would make one eye look 20x larger than the other. I am too vain for this and would rather carry on not being able to see properly than look part-bug.

Marc had to go to the optometrist last week so I signed up to have my eyes checked just for the fun of it. At the Cohen's on 96 and Broadway, in the messiest office I have ever seen, I learned that I do not see in three dimensions (this explains my batting average, and why I have never been able to see anything in those silly 3D pictures). The optometrist offered to let me see what I've been missing for all these years by letting me wear a pair of glasses that rival some of my mom's. Turns out it's depth. What a difference this other dimension makes. I ordered contacts on the spot.

valentine's day

For Valentine's Day we invited some poets over and shared our original haikus with each other. We wrote poems about being Mormon in Harlem and, of course, love. Hot dogs were on the menu for dinner, and sweetened condensed milk that had been boiled into a dulce de leche-ish cream and globbed over pineapple was served for dessert. Classy and romantic. Happy Valentine's Day.

Hog dogs with all the fixings

Marc's love haikus:

Sunny and Harper,

love is too close for comfort:

putrid breath and butts

One kisses sloppy,

the other just a light peck--

Sunny and Harper.

you me what's hot now

Valentine's Day forever

lock sweet lips, Sunny

Marc's Harlem 1st Ward haiku:

Sweat at the pulpit--
what the hell is he saying?
"I can't translate that."

Sunny's love haiku:

"I think I like you."
"I'm sorry, what did you say?"
She still tells him lies

Sunny's Harlem 1st Ward haikus:

How long will they stay
(in fancy sneakers each one)?
No gospel choir here.

The station agent
refills the mint bowl each week--
even Fast Sunday.

116th and Lexington

Marc should have put this picture on a Valentine for me (see his love haiku #1). Then he should have bought me some pure body oil and essential oil. Then I would have given him a sloppy kiss.

Walking around the neighborhood on the nicest day of the year: Take two

Sweet Sixteen

Harper hit 16 months the other day.

Besides hanging out with this monkey, bear, and mouse, Harper also likes to pick out the fuzz from between her toes.

We hope we think she's this sweet when she's 16 years old.