The other night a few friends and I attended the 'ramen and friend's holiday spectacular'. It was great fun to try an off the beaten path place with a lively bunch of foodies and friends. It was at a place that serves small plates of home style Japanese dishes. It was a tiny place, and they seemed quite happy to serve an enormous group. It was particularly interesting that the place is so specific in it's cuisine- You can read about it here: http://www.ramenandfriends.com/2008/12/umi-no-ie-holiday-spectacular-12-10.html

Afterwards BB and I met PC and GB at a vegan restaurant and hung out for awhile. It has been ages since I've spent time in the east village. It was fun to just sit, chat, relax a little bit, and nibble on raw, and organic food. I had a wave of longing for the 'irresponsible life' from years ago. But of course I wouldn't trade the life I have now for anything! I'll just make a note to myself that I should try and get out a little more often (and not just to go to special occasion events).

The picture was taken while I was walking back to the subway. It's of one of those crazy 6th street restaurants that have all of the blinking xmas lights all year round (but this one was on 1st ave, right off of 6th). I felt compelled to take a picture. sadly it was with my phone, so the detail is not the greatest.

The evening was great fun, but the best part happened when I returned home. I went into Hana's room to check on her as she slept, and she must have heard me as I walked in because she opened her eyes a teeny bit. A second after this, she raised her hand, and waved at me! Then she rolled over. It was so cute, I could hardly believe it. What a way to end the evening!

I am so overwhelmed with emotion!! Finally we can make a difference for our children and their children. There is a lot to do, but now it can actually start getting done.

I think Mark has said it better that I could:
http://shacket.blogspot.com/

VOTE!

VOTE EVERYONE!!! VOTE VOTE VOTE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Outdoor weekend

The weather this weekend was absolutely amazing, so of course we spent most of our time outside! I had some 'Hana time' on Saturday, because Mark had to work for part of the day. We took a long walk around DUMBO and Brooklyn heights (as I drooled over the immaculate homes), and ended up at our favorite playground. Hana tried to rummage through all of the strollers, in between having fun on the swings and slide. I certainly got a workout running around after her. Then we ended up back at the Brooklyn bridge park, and we had a little picnic. Hana of course ate everything we brought! she also tried out some acrobatics. I'm not sure where she learned to attempt standing on her head! I guess I need to get her into a gym class. On Sunday morning we went for an early walk, and Hana enjoying looking at our shadow on the pier. We then went up to Westchester to visit Mark's parents, who were in town for a long weekend. It was a fun gathering, where we had a delicious brunch, and Hana of course ate everything in sight. She showed off for everyone, toddling around and saying some of her favorite words. After brunch, we all went to an arts festival in Greenwich, Ct. The festival was nice, but smaller than I expected. There were some lovely examples of still life in pastel, and realistic landscapes, as well as some pretty nature etchings, but there wasn't anything that really jumped out at me. I always look for works that are new and exciting at art festivals, but I rarely ever see it. I guess it's easier to make money on the crowd pleasing styles. But it was a lovely day, and the trees are starting to turn up there, leaving brilliant colors everywhere you look. I didn't have time to take photos, but snapped a quick one of the leaves with my phone. Fall is my favorite time of year. I love so many things about it- the changing colors, the crisp but not cold weather, pumpkins and other squashes, Hana dressing up for Halloween, and our wedding anniversary!

yum, BBQ!

I had a 12:15 doctor's appt this morning, and I had to skip breakfast since I was getting a cholesterol test. As poor Mark certainly knows, I am not very fun to be around when I miss a meal! I get very cranky. Breakfast is usually the worst, as I almost always wake up hungry. Today was ok though, and I didn't get to eat anything until about 2:15pm! I just tried to focus on work, which was actually helpful (for once). After running from work, to the doctor's office, to the hospital to get the bloodwork done, then back to work (across and then downtown and across and then back up), I decided on trying the Daisy May's BBQ cart on 50th street for a late lunch. When I got there at 2pm, the only item left was a BBQ chicken sandwich (I got the very last one). I'm not usually a BBQ chicken fan (I was hoping to get their chili), but I thought I'd give it a try since I was hungry and in the mood for something more soulful than pret-a-manger, or one of the many horrible deli options. wow am I glad I gave it a try! The man in the little cart was super-nice, and the food was delicious! As you can see from the picture, it is also quite plentiful. The sandwich elements all come separately, so you can assemble as you wish. I like that, since the roll does not get soggy. in my bag was a huge roll (not sure what kind of roll it is, but it was a bit sweet), pickles (i thought it said jalapeno pickles on the menu, but they were just standard pickles), onions, and a nice sized container of the chicken. i only used half of the chicken for my sandwich and it was more than enough for me, even in my famished state. I also got a 'sweet tea' since i've never really had sweet tea before, and i felt like checking it out. the menu said it was 'sweet tea in a mason jar mug' which wouldn't be very large, but i ended up with a shisl (as my mother would say in Yiddish) full of it. It is an enormous take-out container (i think it's a quart) of tea! Now that is a size I made for me! The tea is actually pretty good, but a little too sweet (i'm guessing that is how 'sweet tea' is normally made). i sometimes like a little bit of sugar in my black tea but i'm usually more of a tea purist, unless it's crappy tea. It was more than enough simple syrup for my taste. it had fresh mint in it as well which is fine, but i'm not a huge mint fan. so i fished it out and it left a pleasing hint of mint. Not too bad but i probably won't get it again.

now that the weather is getting cooler, I'll definitely check out the cart again soon. but earlier in the day so I can grab some of the Texas chili. if i'm going to indulge, i may as well go with the bowl 'o red!

i've been feeling very foggy lately, like the picture of the bridge (i took it on saturday morning while in the park with hana). right now i'm sitting in a quiet apartment that has been through a bit of chaos. there is a huge hole in the kitchen wall, the contents of our large closet are strewn all over the living room, and plastic sheeting is lying limply over our counter space. i'm at home because of a bad back. it's painful enough to have kept me here, but i feel well enough that i'm going stir crazy. the hole in the wall is because one of the ugly old pipes in our building has cracked, and it's causing water to seep in under our kitchen floor, leaving dark patches in the marble. the plumber ripped open the wall, but has not been back yet today to replace the pipe. i hate plumbers. i hate old pipes.

i'm missing mark and hana right now. hana is out somewhere with antoinette and i couldn't go with them because of my back. mark of course is at work. i'm trying to get some work done, but my boss told me this should be considered a 'sick day' so i don't really want to answer too many emails. i'm trying to enjoy my time at home. it's nice to be home on random days, so i can play with hana and see her during the day. on the other hand it confuses her, and it seems that she stares at me with a confused look. a look that says to me that i'm not supposed to be here, because antoinette is here. i know that she knows i'm mommy, and antoinette is something else. even though she spends more day time hours with her. it makes me uneasy to be here with them, because i start to realize just how much quality time i'm missing out on. it's as if i've been in denial this whole year- maybe working every day away from hana really isn't ok, even though i keep telling myself that it is. i'm at quite an impasse over the whole thing. if that is the right word. i know that if i were to stay home i would enjoy the time with hana, but i'd feel like i was missing an important part of myself. being a working mother is really difficult (yeah big revelation). i guess it means that something is always being compromised. it means trying to always budget your time, but never quite winning the battle. as i start to slowly consider the idea of a second child, it dawns on me that i haven't even spent enough time with hana to feel like i'm anwyhere near ready to bring another person into our lives.

oh well, i better snap myself out of this fog, as it's getting late and i'm sure antoinette and hana will be back soon. i try to tell myself that everything works out in the end, if i worry about it or not. so i should just stop the worrying.

Ramen and friends

A few weeks ago I discovered that a new co-worker of mine is just as enamored with food as I am! She has her own food blog called Ramen and Friends. A bunch of us SHO employees have been out to lunch twice to review ramen joints for her blog.
http://www.ramenandfriends.com/
Yay, Yoshie!

rambling about Hana's birthday...

It has taken me a few days to think about what I want to say about Hana's first birthday. I'm trying to get over the surreal thought that it has already been a year since her birth. A year ago I was half asleep, holding her in my arms, trying to figure out why she was crying, and why I was so depressed. The time has gone by so quickly! Thankfully the depression dissolved after a couple of months, and now I look back at her first few months with love and happiness. I'll admit that the first few months are a bit hazy, as I don't do very well with sleep deprivation (Mark can certainly agree with this). But I do have vivid memories of rocking with her at 4am, and watching her sweet face fall asleep. I'd look out the window and see the cars drive on the FDR and over the Williamsburg bridge, and wonder where everyone was going at 4am on a tuesday.

But goodness, what a year it has been! I never really thought about how amazing it would be to watch your child grow and discover the world. the constant cries of a baby has developed into two syllable words. she has an amazing ambition to move around, even as a young newborn. i remember when Mark and I had a particularly difficult night with her, and we put her on the changing table at 2am, and watched her kick her legs like she was high on caffeine, wondering when she'd finally settle in and sleep. She's such an amazing little person...inquisitive, bold, fun, and silly. she's also really sweet. she loves to share her toys and food (I'm curious to see how that will change as she reaches her second year). she loves to eat! anything and everything. it's so much fun to watch her try everything we put in front of her. she's a natural foodie :) and did i mention, she's just so much fun! she's starting to walk, and watching her toddle towards me with a huge, proud smile on her face is probably the best thing in the entire world, ever. i also love how every morning she goes over to the stereo, and makes it quite clear that she wants you to turn on her CD. once the music starts, she smiles, and starts to wiggle around. and she claps when each song is through. how cute is that? almost too cute.

it's amazing that in one year a helpless baby can become a toddler. and I can hardly explain how much love and happiness she brings to my life. the three of us are such a happy family! It's almost disgusting :) I thank the stars that we have such a happy, healthy little girl, and such a lovely family.

Oh, right, her party...it was fun, and exhausting. Everyone seemed to have a good time, and there was lots of good food. We had various sandwiches, salads, veggies, hummus, chips, lasagna, fruit, cupcakes and cookies. I baked the cupcakes and cookies, which was more work that I had really thought through, but it was worth it. It was lovely to share Hana's first birthday with our family and close friends.

I can't even imagine what type of person she's going to be in another year. But I am looking forward to the whole experience!

Obama and tea

So, apparently it is a negative thing that Obama likes to drink organic iced tea.
http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/obama-organic-tea-44080108
How desperate is McCain? Now, I will admit that I have not really enjoyed any of the Honest Tea flavors that I've tried, but I have not tasted the one in question.

C'mon people.

fancy weekend

What a relaxing weekend! Mark sent me (and his friend Micah sent his wife Jennifer) to this super-fancy Inn and spa in Connecticut called the Mayflower. The Spa was so gorgeous that I thought I was part of a movie set. Every last detail was beautiful, and perfect. The artwork was lovely, and had a very meditative feel. Among a few wonderful treatments, I had a hot stone massage, which was definitely the best massage I've ever had!!! I loved the heat and intensity of the stones. The entire place was so peaceful and quiet. I felt like I was one of the only people there, when there must have been quite a few. The amenities were gorgeous, including a beautiful indoor heated pool and a separate whirlpool room, both of which I had all to myself one morning. There was also a 'thermal room' that was basically like a steam room, without the steam. the heat came from the floor and walls, and made everything radiant and warm. it was very comforting. The staff there was pleasant and completely friendly. not stuffy as you would expect for such an exclusive spa. The grounds around the Spa (and the Inn) were perfectly manicured. I don't know too much about flower species, but apparently there were a few special types, and some rare ones as well. I wish my phone took better pictures of everything, but I'm glad I was able to get any at all. These pictures do not do any justice to the beauty of this place.

The Inn (which is next to the Spa, and has the same owner- but you'd never know it), which I did not take any pictures of, is a typical fancy New England Inn. There was art and antiques everywhere. Loads of chintz on the linens and curtains (not really my thing), and everything had that snooty old-fashioned feel. But the room was very clean and pretty, and the bed was comfortable and had very soft linens. The towels were a bit scratchy though, which made no sense to me. There were fresh flowers in the bathroom, and even a gas fireplace, which was fun. The only problem...there was something wrong with an 'actuator' that was above my room, and the first night there it made this horrible high-pitched noise. It was so annoying, that I slept with earplugs and a pillow over my head, and I still heard it. I hardly slept that first night. I complained like crazy, and it was fixed, and my night comped, of course. Service at the Inn was very good, and friendly. But the food in the main dining room was horrible. Lots of flash, and hardly any taste. They tried so hard to make things look fancy, and it just did not work. Sauces had no flavor, and nothing was seasoned properly, which is a shame because they did have quality ingredients. You just could not really taste them. But the fancy people dining there did not seem to have any issues with it. Jennifer and I still had a fabulous time at dinner, especially making fun of the 'upper-crust' types that frequent the place. Breakfast was fine, I ended up having a lovely time sitting on the patio that overlooks a beautiful Shakespeare garden.

I don't feel worthy of such a special weekend. But I do truly appreciate it! I did miss Mark and Hana, but it was wonderful to have some quiet time to sleep (the second night anyway) and relax. I'm trying to retain this peaceful state of mind. It's not easy, since Hana has just developed an awful cold, and her coughs are heart-breaking. She didn't get much sleep last night because she was coughing constantly. But she was so good- She'd wake up, cough, fuss a couple of times, and then go right back to sleep. In exciting Hana news, she is really starting to put words together! This morning when I was mixing her bottle she said BA-BA! and when she sees our cat misha, she says aahh-hhaa, with the right syllables. We have this little baby colors book, and she doesn't recognize the color purple, but whenever you turn to the purple page (there is a baby wearing purple, sitting in a a purple room) she says 'po-po' quite triumphantly. She clearly is doing it because she gets a reaction out of us, but I choose to think that she is brilliant, and can recognize the color :). She's also starting to take her first tentative steps, which is very exciting. I cannot wait to see what the next few days bring!

food cart song

This is basically an ad for alka seltzer, but it's very cute! and who doesn't love food carts? one of the featured vendors is the Jamaican Dutchy cart. It is near my office, and I've been meaning to try it. The food is supposed to be pretty good. I love the look on the vendors' faces when they have to hug the guys.

also just to point out- when they sing about jerk chicken, they are actually holding up meat patties, not jerk chicken. bad editing!

food and Paris Hilton respect

Last night I went to Shake Shack with my friend Ritvik. We've been friends since high school. I don't have too many friends that have lasted that long, and I value our friendship. We arrived early, around 5:30 in order to beat the crazy lines. I think we were only on line for about 10 minutes, which was great. I don't have any pics (i had left my phone in the office), but the burger is definitely one of the best (if not the best) that I've had. I hadn't been to Shake Shack for at least a year, and it was just as good as I remembered. The meat is very well seasoned (I like salty burgers), and the 'sauce' that they add to the 'shack Burger' is a little smoky, and a little creamy. yum! Of course, the plain old patty alone would probably be just as good, if not better. They use a mix of sirloin and brisket for the patty, which is much tastier than the typical ground chuck. I don't tend to get cheese on my burger, because I like to taste the meat on its own. i also like the bun they use, which is very soft, and a little bit sweet. it reminds me of a potato roll. I was tempted to get a shake, but I abstained, since I can never say no to french fries. Theirs are not the best, and I'm really not sure why. They are crinkle cut, which I like, but I think i prefer thin fries. They also just don't taste that great. Some of my fries had that 'dirty' potato taste, like they weren't properly cleaned before cutting. They were super crispy, which I like, but just not that flavorful. It was fun to sit outside and enjoy our food, and catch up.

When I got home last night, Mark played this video for me. Ok, so maybe Paris Hilton isn't so bad after all. I think her performance is really good!

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

The video doesn't seem to be working, so here is the link:
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/64ad536a6d

weekend and pics

We had a lovely weekend 'upstate' visiting our friends Jana and Paul, and their adorable 2 year old daughter, Elie. Jana is a close college friend of mine, and it was nice to have a little time to relax and catch up with her. Hana had a great time playing with Elie, and watching her run around. Hana even took her first step! she hasn't done it since, and of course didn't realize at the time that she was doing it. But it was amazing!! The weekend seemed to really have an effect on her, because now she's starting to make rudimentary words. She says da-da all the time, but now seems to link it with Mark (and myself too). She says Ma-Ma when prompted, but when i ask her what my name is, she says Da-Da 98% of the time. Still, so very cute. She has started to make a 'c' sound when she's eating chicken, so we think she's trying to say it. She also makes this hilarious grunting noise when she wants something. it is very deliberate, and she knows exactly how to get what she wants.
She had fun on the beach, and of course kept trying to eat the sand. I had finally let her try the sand, hoping that she would then realize it was disgusting. but she still kept trying to eat it. not a shock with the child that eats just about anything you put in front of her! heh.

Last night after Hana went to sleep Mark and I had fun playing Guitar Hero. He had bought it for me as a surprise! We rocked out, and had way too much fun with it. I also tried to take pictures of the clouds as the sun was setting, because it looked really pretty. But the pics didn't come out very well, as you can see by the pic below.

dance!

I have not watched So You Think You Can Dance yet this week, but I have this song stuck in my head. I have to admit I really like it (yes I am embarrassed), and like it even more when Katee and Joshua dance to it!

early morning walk

Today Hana woke up a little bit earlier than usual, and seemed quite cranky, so I thought it would be best to take her for a walk. We left the house around 6:30 for a very sleepy, but peaceful walk. She zoned out in the stroller, while I shuffled along. With a little bit of coffee to fortify me, we took our usual stroll through the park. My phone didn't take great pictures, because there was not enough light (and i didn't feel like dragging around our big camera). I tried to wake myself up by studying the art in the park, and also paid attention to the way the early morning sun was shining on the buildings. I often get really cranky when I'm tired (as Mark can wholehearted agree), but I managed to shake it off and enjoy our quiet time together. Even though I'm quite sleepy now, it's nice to start the day this way. People also seem friendlier in the early morning. Almost everyone we ran into said hello, and one guy told me how much he loved the view from the park in the morning, especially just when the sun was coming up. Not sure if I'm ready to stroll around the neighborhood before daylight :).

look out world

It's the next Audrey Hepburn!
Even with a bad cold, Hana knows how to work it :)

teapot love

I have to share my excitement for my new teapot. I finally broke down and bough a descent one for the office. I really like its color and shape. I drink a ton of tea during the day, and my little tea filters are not really big enough to let the leaves do their thing. This pot is the perfect size (especially so i don't drink *too* much tea), and has a descent infuser inside. Now I just have to find better tea.

Sadly, it's the little things that are so important around the office- anything to get me through a tough day. The pic shows a little bit of my messy desk. No matter how often I clean it, it just gets cluttered again. But the tidal wave of digibetas and HDcams just never stop.

You are my sunshine!

Mark, Hana, and I had a great weekend. You can check out Mark's blog for a more detailed post, including some of the fun art in the park, as well as Hana's first swimming experience. http://shacket.blogspot.com/2008/07/dumbo-lots-of-new-art.html. Today I'm sitting here at work realizing just how much fun I had with Hana this weekend. She is starting to have a strong understanding of her world, and how much fun it can be. Yesterday she had the best time pushing herself up, and standing on her own for a few seconds. She had a look of pride on her face that lit up our entire apartment. She would stand up with a proud look, stay suspended on her own for a few seconds, and watch our reaction. She just loved it when we cheered for her. We also had fun imitating each other. She would do something, then I would imitate, and it would send her into laughing fits. She knew I was having fun, and it seemed to make her even happier. Her other favorite game was 'kiss'. I'd ask for a kiss, and she'd lean forward with her mouth open and tongue out (i think i'm teaching her the wrong things!), and kiss me, then laugh like crazy. so cute.

For lunch I'm eating leftovers from last night's farmer's market dinner (oy that sounds SO obnoxious!). We're going to the James Beard House for dinner tonight (woohoo! again, a little obnoxious?) so we're trying to keep it light. kinda. We made an arugula salad with lemon and olive oil dressing, and I added a blob of mozzarella cheese (not from the market obviuosly) to mine, as well as the remaining pickled garlic scapes (which are so delicious!), and a nectarine. I also made tzatziki sauce with cucumber and dill from the market, and greek yogurt. Mark's dinner is the tuna salad, arugula and bread w/ tzatsiki sauce (and pickle). mine is the bowl with salad, and the black blur is Misha, our cat, checking out the goods.

Add our tasty dinner to a lovely weekend, and I wish we were all still back at home, enjoying each other. It's still so tough leaving Hana to go to work, even though I know it's best for me right now. But seeing the priceless look on Antoinette's (and Hana's) face when she arrives in the morning, I know the two of them have a special bond, and I'm glad that Hana has that in her life. It's important for her to form relationships with people outside of the family.

Blaise, and possible Beard House dinner!!

P and I went over to Garrett Popcorn to check out former Top Chef contestant Richard Blaise. I was a big fan of his- I liked how he brought more molecular gastronomy to the show. He has great technique and creativity, and just seems like an all-around nice guy. He was giving out caramel popcorn balls that were frozen in liquid nitrogen. Cool concept (I read on chowhounds that this may have originally been conceived by Jose Andres), but it really just tasted like cold caramel popcorn. A bit too sweet for me. I guess I liked it well enough, because I forgot to take a pic before I ate it. I should have asked him how they made the popcorn balls before they froze them. Anyway, it was great fun to meet him, and congratulate him on his new baby. As you can see, he even let us snap a couple of pictures. He'd be a fun guy to chow around NY with.


On the way back P and I stopped into Indus Express and picked up a fairly tasty indian lunch. Not the best, but good and plentiful for the price.

AND, I just found out that Mark and I may be dining at the JAMES BEARD HOUSE on Monday!! I can't wait!!!!!! Then we're going to Peter Luger's on Wednesday. I've been trying to eat 'healthy' since we came back from vacation, but I guess it's just not to be. Oh well, I'll be fat and happy!

Yummy Cure-ness

The Cure has been releasing a 'single a month' until the release of their new album on 9/13. the singles are released on the 13th of each month, of course. I'm a little late to the game, but caught the latest one. I'm not convinced, but not bad. Very similar to the stuff on 'Wish'. So put on your makeup, dim the lights and enjoy. i'm sorry that i missed them when they were here in June, but things were just too busy. Besides, I don't think any of their performances will top the one that I was able to see a handfull of years ago, where they were taping for a VH1 concert, and I got to see them up close and personal.

Random Zakka post

so we're finally back from vacation, and you'd think I would post something about the fun we had. but, not yet, I just don't have the energy to describe everything. But I will say that Hana had the best time!! She loved watching all of her cousins play and run around. She even tried to join some of their games.

so i love all things that are related to Japanese cuteness (Kawaii), and I just discovered Shinizi Katoh, a Zakka artist. How have I not noticed his stuff before? I'm drooling over everything in the online shop!

http://www.shinzikatoh.com/

Someone please restrain me!! Thankfully it's difficult to navigate the Japanese site, and the English site doesn't have as much inventory :)

just a quick update

the pickled garlic scapes are delicious! tangy, a tad bit sweet, and of course dill-y. definitely something I'd try to do again.

this is my last day at work for over a week, which makes me happy. i'm not looking forward to the 7+ hour drive to Rochester, but once we're there it should be fun. I think Hana is going to have a great time playing with all of her cousins. and we'll get to go to WEGMANS!! wooohoo! cheese bread!

Last night I had a dream that I had an ear infection, and when I woke I was all worried that I would give it to Hana. I was quite relieved when I realized I didn't actually have one. It's amazing how much time I spend worrying about Hana.

our weekend at home

I love spending the weekend just walking around with Mark and Hana. It's fun to watch Hana discover the world around her while we stroll along the streets of DUMBO and Brooklyn Heights. On Saturday Hana and I played in the park in the early morning. I hadn't seen the 'waterfalls' yet, and was curious to see what all the hype was about. I can't say that I was very impressed. The scaffolding is ugly, and the falling water isn't really that exciting. It's a bit surreal, which is something, but not enough to really hold my interest. If you look closely, you can see one of the waterfalls behind hana's head in the picture below. During the day we went to a great playground in brooklyn heights, where there are a few bucket swings. Hana loves to swing and go down the slide! Who could blame her? We capped our day off with a stop at the brooklyn ice cream factory. mmm. In my opinion, their best flavor is vanilla chocolate chunk. the others pale in comparison. On Sunday we went to the DUMBO farmer's market, which is a great place for seasonal fruits and veggies. Mark had fun cooking up bok choy, garlic scapes, and fresh peas to add to our pasta for dinner. I decided to try and pickle some of the garlic scapes. I've never pickled anything before, but I've always wanted to try. My grandmother was amazing at making pickles, so perhaps it's in my DNA. I found this technique http://thedeliberateagrarian.blogspot.com/2007/07/making-pickled-garlic-scapes.html , and thought i'd give it a try. well, the first problem is that most recipes call for proper canning jars, which we don't have.

I didn't really want to make pickles that were going to last all summer, since i wasn't sure if we'd even like pickled garlic scapes. So, I just took an old jar that I had saved, sterilized it, and that was that. I prepped the scapes by using the green stalks, and keeping the flower/bulb parts for our dinner later tonight. the recipe called for a 'head' of dill, which i wasn't so sure about, so i just erred on the 'lots of dilly goodness' side. It's going to sit in the fridge for a day or two before eating, so we'll see what happens. it certainly is fun to experiment with food. Perhaps I'll try a different seasonal vegetable to pickle next time. add vinegar, garlic, and dill to just about any veggie and it sounds good to me.

the world's oldest art- and other ramblings

I'm reading this interesting article in The New Yorker about ancient cave paintings in southern France. Art history has always been a primary interest of mine, and I've also found archeology to be fascinating. Art can tell us so much about different cultures in history, even non-recorded history from Neanderthals. The word Neanderthal conjures up a distinct image in my mind, of a crude cave dwelling person, wearing skins and beating things with clubs. But really, we have no idea just how sophisticated these early humans could be...until we analyze their art. The cave paintings show advanced techniques such as pointillism, and bas-relief. Of course it's impossible to know exactly what these paintings mean, it is an almost completely unknown part of early human life. There are huge secrets to be unlocked. It reminds me of how I feel about the universe- whenever I think about it, I get overwhelmed- what on earth is out there? our solar system could be the blood in the veins of a larger creature. it's very possible that we are just ants in the world of a much larger, more sophisticated being.

material girl

I've always had issues with buying things for myself. Sure, up until a few years ago I couldn't afford to go on a shopping spree, but even now when I buy something I really like, I berate myself. 'I don't need it, it's too much money, it's just wasteful'. Ok, so I do end up buying many lovely things for myself, I just wish I didn't hate doing it. Let's not talk about the watch purchase I made recently. Sure, I used the money I worked hard for (supposedly), but I still feel foolish. There is a little part of me that says 'you don't deserve nice things'. I wonder where it stems from? As far back as I can remember, my mother would encourage us to find one or two nice purchases, instead of lots of unnecessary things. She'd always make sure we had what we wanted, and put her own wants aside. But she'd also criticize the crap out of everything else we did...perhaps I've discovered the source after all...
I do feel fortunate that I can afford the lifestyle I lead, and have the money to get the things that I want. Mark and I just spent a small fortune on lunch yesterday, and I have no regrets about that (probably because it was for 'us' and not just 'me').

I'm still reeling from our lunch at Per Se yesterday. It was an amazing meal, I think the food was slightly less impressive than our first visit there, but overall more memorable.

I'm too tired to write about it, so you can read my husband's detailed post:
http://shacket.blogspot.com/2008/06/per-se-holy.html

the only thing to fear is fearlessness

coming down off of a post-concert high, I was listening to the R.E.M. song 'Heyna' and heard the above quote. It hit me that it's very relevant to my life right now. Hana has just started to pull herself to standing on her own and it's very exciting, but it's also a precursor of what is to come...walking, running, falling down, scrapes, skinned knees, etc. It's amazing to me that children have no sense of fear built in (except for what they learn from their parents). Hana will touch anything, put everything in her mouth, crawl to the edge of things, basically go anywhere that looks interesting (especially places that have wires, cords, and live electricity). i love her inquisitive nature, but it's also exhausting to make sure she's not going to hurt herself. I know she has to get hurt, learn from her mistakes, etc. Watching her grow has been the most enthralling experience of my life- watching her discover her body and her surroundings, and seeing her uninhibited reactions, and her geniune happiness, brings so much joy to my life.

I need to stay inspired by her fearlessness...to make my own decisions about my career and creativity. It's hard to get motivated to take care of myself physically and emotionally, and I'm finally starting to do so. Not sure where it will lead, but things need to be shaken up a little bit. If I'm not ok with leaving Hana in the morning to pursue a career, it's not worth the effort.

I'm surprised at how intimidating it is to actually post something. Since I just ate lunch, I'll comment on that...I had a one of those half sandwiches from Pret a Manger that was avocado, grana padano cheese, pine nuts (yuck, i took them out), and arugula. I purchased it because of the arugula. I've been craving bitter greens lately, not sure why. It amazes me that there aren't many 'healthy' options in midtown west, near 50th and broadway. There is 'Thalia to Go' that has descent salads, 'City Chow' that has ok salads (but most of their other options are mediocre), and of course the myriad of delis, chainlets, and the like that have the 'pick your salad and we'll mush everything together for you for 100$' option. I'd love a place that has fresh, appealing, organic food that you do not need to mortgage your house to enjoy. any suggestions? Don't get me wrong, I don't eat 'healthy' every day- I do have my favorite lunch options in the area (that I can probably count on one hand), but every so often a girl needs her vegetables and grass fed meat.

I also picked up an 'invigorating organic assam tea' drink from Pret. It is very bland, with a strange taste unlike most assam teas I've ever had. I'd much prefer any of the ito en bottled teas. they are not sweetened, and have a clean, strong tea flavor. my favorite is the black tea, which is actually a darjeeling. It has a pleasant, light darjeeling flavor.