My Favorite Baby

I was reminded by one of my favorite bloggy friends to update on my friend Michelle's baby (love ya, Thirks :)

Michelle was on bed rest for 2 weeks before she gave birth to her little girl. 

I've gotta tell you:  it rocked. 

I wasn't working, so I'd go over to Michelle's house and watch her big, fat every-channel-in-the-world tv.  Her hubby, Shawn, is a total genius.  The tv is hooked up to the computer, so we can literally watch anything we want.  

Anyway, like I said, I'd go over there. 
Every day. 
I'd go after Noodle left for school and leave right before I needed to pick Noodle up from school.  We'd sit and chat and laugh while she "bed rested".  We haven't had time like that together since we were 20 years old. 

Anyway, she had her beautiful baby girl and I continued to come over there multiple times a week to "help".  Then, on the weekends, Zuddy, Noodle and I would pop in so they could bond with her.  Zuddy is a sucker for a little baby, you see. 
We're crazy about this little girl. 
She's the prettiest, happiest, smartest, best smelling baby on the planet.

Here's a video of her at about 2 1/2 months with her Daddy (who is equally smitten with her).

Sorry...you'll have to click on the link  I couldn't embed the darn thing.

Things......

Top of the list of things? 


Charlie Sheen.  Holy shit.  I'm completely riveted.  I know it's wrong, but I can't help it.


Other things?

• My dear friend Michelle is about to have her first baby.  It's a girl and I'm DYING to meet her.  Michelle and I met in the 10th grade.  Here we are our senior year of high school:

By the way, that hair?  It's your first clue that we were fun girls to be around.  Dull people didn't do their hair like that in 1987.  'Nuff said.

Michelle used to come over once a week when Noodle was an infant. 
You see, Noodle was very colicky and cried nonstop from the hours of 6 pm and 10 pm every night.  Zuddy needed a break once a week to be with friends, refresh himself and regain his sanity before he had to deal with his 2 crying girls for another 6 days.  This is when Michelle stepped in.  She'd come over and hold my crying kid and guess what?  She was just what we both needed!  Look at Noodle!  Noodle loved her!

Michelle would send Noodle a card for every holiday.  She loves Halloween, so one Halloween she picked up Noodle from school in costume and took her out to dinner to her favorite restaurant, Noodles & Company.



2006



Michelle met a really nice guy and married him on St.Patrick's day 2009:

and now she's due with baby girl Finnegan on Sunday!! 

I was over at her house all last week doing her spring cleaning because she's on bed rest, the poor girl.  Anyway, that's part of my baby gift to her.  Because did you know I'm not working right now?  Well, I'm not.

So instead of just accepting my gift and calling it a day, she went and bought me something I've been wanting for so long but wouldn't buy myself:

wen shampoo  err......cleansing conditioner, deep conditioner and styling creme!!!!  Have you seen the infomercials for it?  I'm totally seduced by those commercials.  I'll let you know if my hair is bouncin' and behavin' after I use it! 

Thank you all for the kind words about Dad and sister, ladies.  I appreciate your good thoughts!  I'll let you know how things are going.  I'm about to go to the hospital right now and give my dad a mani-pedi :)

Oh!!  Here's a funny clip from Jimmy Kimmel live.  Zuddy showed it to me this morning and we were HOWLING with laughter because "Elizabeth Hill Theater" was showing Toddlers and Tiaras over the holiday break.

Mean = Hot (part two)

Okay, so now I'm nervous! What if this is a "you had to be there" story? Oh....I kind of think it is. But I'll continue....because you know I always finish what I start (*snort*).

Okay, so we're at the festival and MJ and I are setting up the cooking demonstration area when Amanda shows up and and offers to do anything we want. My memory is a little foggy, but I remember MJ sending her in the Cafe kitchen....probably water or something.

Amanda comes back with a big smile slapped on her face....and I can see it's fake.

So she comes up to me and tells me she has met the offending Chef. He kicked her out of the kitchen after she not only introduced herself, but asked him if there was anything he needed for his demo later in the day.

Kicked her on out, people! To the curb!

Now. I can't tell you what Amanda does for a living, but I can tell you this: she knows a lot of people. And some of them are very famous. And she meets them through her job. Which is one of those jobs with a lot of connections. And Amanda is very good at her job and she's very nice. VERY nice. Like, give-you-the-shirt-off-her-back-nice. So MJ really likes her and goes out to lunch with her and is actually her friend.

So when I went back to work after hearing Amanda's story, and after a while, MJ asked me how my set-up was going.

What choice did I have, but to tell on that troll of a chef? Huh?

So I casually say, "My work is going great, but someone wasn't very nice to Amanda. She got kicked out of the kitchen."

MJ's eyes start snapping and blinking very fast...which is what she does when she's trying to control what is going to come out of her mouth next. So she casually says, "Oh? Who kicked her out?"
So I start to tell her, but before I can finish, MJ's marching off to the kitchen.

'Cause you don't disrespect MJ's friends. She will mess. You. Up.

Mean = Hot (part one)

Okay, so I'm telling you this little story because.....well? Because I know you'll think it's funny and will be able to relate.

Because you're all girls.

And I just know if any one of you were with us? You would have felt the same way.

So, MJ is working at a charity event. I'm there to help her, as is Micah - who is the nicest guy in the world and a chef. Micah is a friend of Amanda. And Amanda is super-cool and is running the whole event.

Get it? Here's the cast of characters

Amanda: Super-cool, nice, funny, managing a charity event. MJ's new BFF.

Micah: Friend of Amanda's, super-nice, funny, a chef and - get this - works as a chef in the SOUTH POLE all winter. I kid you not. Isn't that cool?

MJ: Well, come ON! She's MJ! My buddy from work. I met Amanda and Micah through her.

Kirst: Mine and MJ's BFF from work.

Me: Doofus.

Okay. So. We are at a charity event....Amanda's managing the event, MJ is the star chef and Micah and I are helping MJ cook.

We are all in the kitchen. Cooking, laughing, chatting. MJ mentions that she has been trying to coordinate the chef demonstrations for the Minnesota Garlic Festival and one of the chefs she has been in contact with is kind of mean and condescending.

So, of course we instantly hate him.

She replays all of her email exchanges with him and concedes that it's hard to tell what kind of tone someone is using when they're writing an email, giving him the benefit of the doubt.

I still hate him.

So....the charity event is over and 4 days later we're all together again to work at the Garlic Festival. There's a cafe at the festival where local chefs from the most popular restaurants in the Twin Cities cook food from local farmers and sell it: with all the proceeds going to the Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota.

So, the chefs aren't all bad...they're donating their time and expertise for the hippie farmers in the area.

MJ has been in touch with these chefs and has recruited them to do cooking demonstrations with her. Kirst and I are in charge of providing all the cooking equipment and Amanda is in charge of escorting the chefs from the cafe to the stage and making sure they have all the ingredients they need. Micah ends up helping in the cafe kitchen when some of the chefs don't bother to show up on time (MJ says getting the chefs to the stage on time for their demonstration is like herding cats).

Do you want me to continue?

Cutzi's Refrieds

I just have to re-post this recipe. I was just reading Ann's blog and she asked for our most cherished recipe.

And OUR most cherished recipe at Elizabeth Hill is Cutzi's refried beans. We ALWAYS have them on hand.

Here's how I like to eat them: Hot beans on a bed of shredded romaine topped with shredded cheese with taco seasoning, finely diced red onion, sliced fresh jalapenos, cilantro leaves, chopped tomato (lots of it) and diced avocado. YUM.

Here's how Zuddy likes to eat them: Hot beans.


I stole the recipe directly from her blog. Stealing is the most sincere form of flattery, you know.

My crockpot is a 4 quart, so I can't fit 16 cups of water with the beans....it really doesn't matter, though, this recipe is tolerant. I just cover the beans with water and it all works out fine. I wait until the end and add 1 tablespoon kosher salt.


'Refried' Beans

In the crock pot add:
2 lbs of pinto beans (rinse them and sort through them to make sure there are no dirt or stones hanging out :)
16 cups water
3-4 slices of bacon cut into small pieces
1/4 - 1/2 sweet onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced

Cook on high for like 8 hours or on low for about 24 - really, just cook them until they're done and have thickened. You will have to mash them a bit at the end or just before they're done. Add salt to taste. You'll probably have to add more salt than you think.



You're welcome. You can kiss me on the mouth the next time we see each other.

What's your most cherished recipe?

Oh boy.....

Sigh.

It's been a weird few days. I was up at 2 am today and can't back to sleep.

First of all, I'm thinking about Cutz and her baby adventure.

Second? My elderly neighbor, Mrs. C. came over yesterday.
And not for a friendly little visit, either. Oh, no.

She's becoming a little off-kilter and thinks people in the neighborhood are spying on her.

There's about an hour and half (yes. and hour and a half.) of this nonsensical conversation that I'm leaving out, but please know that it was bad enough that I had to overeat and take a nap after she left.

And then I woke up and sucked my thumb and rocked back and forth under my divorce desk.

Because it's just disturbing to hear an 85 year old woman use the "F" word. Over and over. In my house when I'm still in my jammies with bed-head and morning breath.

Third: On Saturday one of the great loves of my life died unexpectedly:

Our neighbor dog, Gracie Mae, the Shepherd-Collie mix.

We loved her like crazy. She was a remarkable girl....smart, protective. Her nickname was "The Sheriff" because Girlfriend was in charge and not to be messed with.
We were lucky to know her, but she wasn't here long enough. She brought so much joy to our family...we loved taking care of her when our neighbors, Pam and Jeff, went out of town. She was a world-class snuggler and when I'd stay over night, she'd spoon with me all night long. I can't even say that much about Zuddy.

I don't know what else to say. And I cry every time I think about her. Her sister, Nikita, is very sad. She's been howling with sadness. It breaks my heart.

Friends....

Some people are lucky enough to have friends that they've known a long time (like - since the 10th grade).

If the friend is really good?

She will send your daughter a card for every holiday.

On Halloween? She'll ask if she can pick your girl up from daycare - and she'll dress as a princess. You know - just to make a statement.

And then she'll take her to dinner at her favorite restaurant before bringing her home for a night of trick-or-treating (and a prime photo-op):







And - because she's the type of person who can't go a day without getting something important done......maybe she'll squeeze in short wedding before heading out to the St. Patrick's day festivities......











Mr & Mrs. Finnegan

Congrats to my pal......And for the groom - my favorite Irish Proverb:

Happy Wife, Happy LIFE.

Seattle, Baybee!

So - guess where I went??

Ummm, if you're thinking, "Hoboken", you'd be dead wrong, people.......

C'MON! Seattle! I went to Seattle!

Oh my gosh....I LOVE Seattle!! You know why?

The people.

Specifically, HER:

Look! It's Cutzi, from Moon With A View! I heart her!



And.....Look! It's Michelle! The girl who needs to get a blog (oddly enough, she's actually my niece. And even more oddly I've only met her a few times....long story.)


Aren't they adorable?

We wanted to meet with Lisa from The Coastal Nest, but she couldn't make it - it was a "school night" and all, plus it would've been a long, time-sucking drive for her.....

But these two? I didn't want to leave them at the end of the evening.
Cutzi and Michelle made plans to go to a yarn store (Is that right, girls?) before meeting me. Well.....they never made it. I think they had too much to talk about. We finally met up in the evening for dinner.

This whole meeting was at the beginning of February. I've been a little worn out since the trip...and I just can't seem to articulate how I feel well enough to write it down in a blog entry.

So I'm just gonna say this:

I'm in love. I could have talked to these two all night.

How can I feel such a connection to someone I've never before met in real life (or - in Michelle's case only met a couple of times) ?

I don't know the answer to that. All I can say is that I can't wait to go back.

Thanks for the evening, girls! Can we do it again??

Happy Valentines Day to all of my friends - especially my bloggy buddies!!!

Once Upon A Time....

....there was a girl at work named Stephanie.

Stephanie had hair like mine - finely textured (and not in a good way, girls). But she also had hair that stayed-put but didn't look stiff.

So one day, I asked Stephanie what kind of hairspray she used.

And then I held my breath.

Because I was thinking Stephanie was going to tell me she used the La Mer of hairsprays. .



But she didn't!
She didn't tell me she used the La Mer of hairsprays! She told me she used this:


So I tried it!! And I liked it BETTER than what I was currently using:





Then I felt courageous.

I tell you - courage, bubbling out of my every clogged pore.

You see - months later? I ran out of my shampoo:



I had been using the same brand and formula of shampoo and conditioner for 15 years.

And I needed to buy more. And it was gonna cost me $60.

But I didn't have that much money leftover from my puny weekly budget after my pre-scheduled-every-six- weeks haircut and two-process color.

And - Ladies? What's more important? Fresh cut and color or expensive shampoo?



I know.
It's a toughie, isn't it? I'll give you a couple more seconds to think.............................................................................................................................................................................






THE COLOR! It's the COLOR, ladies. Sheesh! GAH!.




So I went to Target and bought some of this:

For about $3.
And I liked it as well as my regular shampoo and conditioner that I'd been using for 15 years!

And I am living happily ever after.
(Except I miss the scent and pretty packaging of the Aveda. I'm not gonna lie. It's all about the packaging, people.)

The End.


What are you using?


PS....update from Liz: Acne Free is her new lov-ah. She's been zit-free for 6 days now. However, it's drying out her skin a little bit.
I bought the Neutrogena acne stuff. I'm going to continue to use it 'til it's gone, but I don't like it as well as the Proactiv. It's working okay, but I like the way the Proactiv makes my skin feel. I'll ask Lynnie what she thinks.....

So, ummmm......

Yeah.

I've got nothin'.......nothing to talk about at all.

And once? Lisa from Coastal Nest said I could write about shampoo.

So I will. Well, not shampoo, but skin care.

Because I have no shame and will bore you to tears if that's what I have to do.

I'm not afraid to roll my sleeves up and talk about personal hygiene.

No SIR.

See - the girls and I always touch on this type of info when we get together....which is about once a month lately, thanks to Liz.

She's our event planner.

Our "Julie the Cruise Director", if you will.

You know from my last post that we just got together last weekend.

This time we were discussing how to save the world Proactiv knock-offs and wrinkles.

Lynnie and I are Proactiv users.

Well....we should be, but we've both run out and it's not exactly convenient to purchase.

( i.e. you can't get it at Target.)

((Since Target is the only place I ever go besides work and home? Any place else is out of my way.))

Now.

I've bored you all with my love of Proactiv before. It's not drying, it gets rid of my horrible 39-year-old pimples....yada, yada, yada.

But the basic set is $40 and not convenient to purchase.
And what with the economy the way it is, we're trying to economize all we can - Right, Girls?

So I mentioned the Neutrogena knock-off of Proactiv to the girls and Lynnie went right out to buy it:



That, my friends, is called "Takin' One For The Team".

Because I didn't want to try it and find out it wasn't as good as Proactiv. Then? I'm wasting $20 on it and still having to buy the Proactiv.

So Lynnie stepped right up and slapped some of this on her pretty, pretty face. I'll keep you updated, but so far she says it's working great (I think she bought it on Sunday.)

Now - on to Liz.

Liz went to Walgreens and looked for the Neutrogena, but found this instead:



And you know what she says?

She hasn't had any new breakouts!

Again! Taking one for the team.

Liz has been kind enough to give her girlfriends daily blemish updates via email. I'll keep you posted whether you want me to or not if you're interested.

Okay...the other thing we discussed: a collagen mask Liz found via her Mom - a skin care guru.

It's a package of 2 collagen face masks (for $5) by The Face Shop, which is a popular Korean brand.
Liz and her Mom swear by it and they have no wrinkles.
And they're Korean.
So I'm listening to them.

Lynnie already tried it and loves it, though she believes she looked like Hannibal Lechter during her treatment and pretty much scared her husband Brian to death. But - really. That's a small price to pay for supple skin, don't you think?

And don't worry: Brian's a cop. He's a tough guy. I'm sure he recovered in no time.

Next post: Shampoo. I'm sorry.

Nothing's Better......

....than your friend:

(This is Liz. I've known her since the 7th grade. She was with us when the Noodle was born, cheering me on in my pushing. )




emailing you to attend an impromptu Saturday morning coffee at her house:


(Lynnie. We've been together since the 8th grade. I heart her.)





So you can visit with her:

(Sal. Met her in 8th grade tennis. Zuddy's known her his entire life, I think.)


And her :
(Amy. Met her in the 1st grade!! Her Dad was our 10th grade biology teacher.)


And attend a talent show featuring the cutest spawn on earth:






It makes a girl remember how lucky she is.

Go call your oldest friend right now......you'll be glad you did!!

HOUSE TOUR!

For my palsie-walsie Amy.

Who I interviewed for my blog and never followed up with the scoop. I think we need to go out again and I need to re-interview her. Don'tchya think, Aim?

Anyway, here's the house:

It's a 3 bedroom/2 bath house in the Mac/Groveland area of St. Paul. It's in the perfect little neighborhood. Except it's not within walking distance to a grocery store.
And it's only got a one car garage.
And for $359,900 and a perfectly decorated house? The man of the house is going to need a little 'crisis center' to escape from that dining room chandelier.

Okay.
The front.
Cute, right??

The kitchen. Not lovin' it. But I'll just betchya that dishwasher actually works, so I'd take it. And they put in a lot of cabinets....especially around the fridge. This room is 13x9.

The little eating area in the kitchen. And look at those curtains! The lady of the house loves her luscious fabrics, I tell ya!

You are already acquainted with the dining room. It's 13x11. Same size as ours. Man. Switching out then lens on your camera really does an awful lot to make a room look bigger, huh?

The living room. It's 13x11. ONE FOOT SMALLER than ours!!!!

And, yes. I'M YELLING.

The main floor bedroom. 13x10. Same size as our office/playroom

The upstairs Master BR. It's 12x11.

I really like that duvet. I kind of like the overall decorating style in this house. Funky-bohemian with lots of rich fabrics.

The little ones' room. It's upstairs and is 11x9.

The back of the house. Love it. Ooo! Look behind the table and to the left of the photo! That little garden shed from Smith and Hawken!
I still couldn't get the photos I wanted for this tour. They're in the photo section of the 360 tour. Go here and mess around. You'll find it.

So.....what do you think of this one?

I think I want to paint my woodwork.

And - hey! There's an open house at this one on Sunday! Anyone want to go with me? Amy? Jilly?

Duuudes.

I haven't read blogs much lately, so I've had a LOT to catch up on. Would you like a recap? (This is where you say, "Why yes! Yes I would!")

Okay!

So....let's start with the best news: Sarah is expecting baby #4!! Isn't that so exciting? I'm hoping for a red-headed girl.
For HER. Not me.
And I'm also hoping her baby loses that tail it's sportin' in that babystrology.com depiction of her current appearance on Sarah's right-hand sidebar.
'Cause that isn't the best look for humans.

On to Lisa from Take 90 West. Lisa has a new family member named Bertha. She's pretty cute.

Now our other Lisa from from the Coastal Nest? That girl just posted a before and after of her kitchen. So. Cute.
And pretty much in the time it took me to NOT finish my kitchen? She's given her entire house a face lift, bought and rehabbed a beach cottage, had a storm come through and destroy her business and move that business to another location.
I think somewhere in this time span she's also gotten her PhD in quantum physics.
Don't go over there. You'll just feel bad.

I'm going to go and take a nap now.

Brownie the Bunny

Sunday Morning our neighbor Pam found a little somethin'-somethin'.........






Apparently, Pam wasn't the first one to find him.

Somebody else got to him first: The face of evil

He was a little shaken up, but we loved him up and fed him some formula:

Sadly, he didn't make it.

Rest In Peace, Brownie.

Oh Yes I DID, Girlfriends......

Yep.

Did a facelift.

You may wonder, in the last year and a half, why hasn't that girl spruced up her boring blog for GAWD'S SAKE??

Alright.....fine. FINE!
Maybe you do have other things to think about.

Like......what you're going to make for dinner tonight.
Or........how to raise your children to be productive members of society.
Or........WORLD PEACE?

But then you come over to visit with me here at Elizabeth Hill and you see this bitchin' new background, right?

Oh yes you do.

And you wonder: "Okay. That girl doesn't have an original or creative bone in her body. What's the story here?"

And you would be right. Because I went over to Mrs. Jones' blog for a visit and she outright tells us to go here and VERY EASILY download (or upload? Sheesh, I don't know.) a cute new background for your site. Mmmm-hmmm.

And I'm nothing if not a good listener. And obedient. Oh, yes I am.

You see, when Mrs. Jones tells you to do something?
You do it.
You don't question.
You don't ponder.
You just do it.

Now. You might cuss her out (in your head) for taking the cutest background? But then you suck it up and find another one you could use.

I'm baaaaa-aaaack!!!

Okay, I'm back! The technical difficulties are solved (for now)!

I have actual photos to share. And some of them are pretty cute.

Okay, so here's that bookcase I wanted to show you:

And, yes. You fabulous bloggers gave me the perfect advice: I'm going to paint the outside edge of the shelving black. There's just one more shelf for each bookcase.

My Mom got 3 of these babies from a friend and gave one to me...so I'm going to paint it a creamy color and put it in the Noodle's room. More on that later.

I'm going to paint the insides of the shelving a bluey-greeney color....the paint sample sitting on the far right of the shelf.

This room is in my Mom's apartment. It's her office/playroom/guest room. She's finally getting around to decorating it after living there for a year. She just ordered a sofa bed and got a different desk. I'm not too keen on the sofa or desk, but I'm trying to help her decorate around them. I just loved her old desk and I think it would've been perfect in there painted black, but she gave it to me for the Noodle's room, so I'm not going to complain :)

Okay, so here's the window treatment she made:

That chair GOTS to go.

Okay.

That's enough of that.

My friend Peg was here from Chicago with her two ADORABLE little girls!

Oh my gosh. They are the yummiest little things! Do you remember Peg? I talked about her here.

Here she is with her gorgeous girls:

Aren't they the CUTEST???? Look at little miss curly top up there!!

Here's the Noodle with them.

What else has been going on? Hmmm.....we've been going to the pool on most days and we keep seeing our pals every day! It's so much fun! One of my favorite Moms hasn't been there and I've been missing her big time, but she showed up on Thursday with the kids and it was like Christmas for us all. I talked about her last year here. Sadly, she hasn't been there because she's moved to the 'burbs, but she's really happy, so that's all that matters, right?

Wrong.

I mean, how could she??! Huh?

She just picks up and leaves like that? Wasn't she thinking about how we would feel?

Sheesh. Selfish.

Well, I'm going to catch up on my pal's blogs. I miss you maaaaaaan!

I've already started on Cutzi's. Cutz? Where do I start to comment? I've missed so much this summer! How about Adia getting all of that hair?? So. Cute. I want to eat her up!

See you soon!