Fun New Toys

We bought some fun new toys at the Walker Art Center's gift shop.

For the grown-ups, a cool ceramic coffee cup with a silicone top. With this contraband Starbucks sleeve, it's a total look-alike! Love it (dishwasher safe, even).



For Hal, these amazing stacking crayons. They're easy for little fingers, and he has tons of fun stacking and re-stacking them. Hal, to himself: "Would you like this color, or yellow? Would you like this pink, or this darker pink?" He LOVES them.



P.S. Yes, our kitchen table usually looks like that, complete with vacuum cleaner attachments, random Schleich animals, food, Scoop from Bob the Builder, egg separator, etc. They are all "toys."

Exciting Idea!

I've got something fun/yummy/charitable in the works! I'll have more details about it next week, but I'm pretty excited about it, and I think you will be, too!

Check in next Monday (theoretically).

In the meantime, keep your fingers crossed for me. I have two exams next week. So far, the class is going great, but it means that every minute of my free time is devoted to studying. It feels good to be smart again!

Weekend Plans

This weekend we are:

1. Taking Hal to Grannie and Grandpa's house (I'll miss him!),
2. Helping Grandma and Grandpa T. do some kind of landscaping or something (I think it involves wheelbarrows and rocks),
3. Studying like mad for my first microbiology exam (Tony will get sick of this: "Hey, ask me something about bacteria!"),
4. Picking up our first CSA farm share for the season!!!!!!

What about you?

Wii Party!

The Wii party was ROCKIN' (cue music)!





We had lots of food, friends,




and fun.




The system comes with Wii sports, including boxing, tennis, baseball, golf and bowling. We also played Mario Kart (silly racing game---very fun), some quiz show Tony downloaded, and, of course, Guitar Hero (2-player mode lets you play bass AND guitar at the same time---very cool).

I've heard a rumor they're coming out with Rock Band for the Wii soon...awesome!

Potty Training 101

Step one: Put on your "Potty Hat."

Mother's Day Weekend

My mom and dad took us all on a trip to Duluth (Hi, Mrs. Kwitty!) for Mother's Day weekend. For a fun surprise, my brother, Patrick, came too!!!! We stayed at a waterpark/theme hotel, ate yummy food, and saw Iron Man. It was a GREAT time. Thanks, Mom!

Happy Easter

Uncle Patrick and Aunt Krista bought us a new video cam for our computer. It's a fun toy!

See this movie: Les Choristes

Happy Weekend

Have a great weekend, everyone! We are off to see Manon Lescaut (with Karita Mattila) tomorrow, AND Tony has Monday off. Hooray for family time!!!!!!!!

Love This

image via philosophy

A letter to my son

Dear Hal,

You would be a lot less crabby if you didn't get up at 4:30 AM every day. Also, I would be a lot less crabby if you didn't get up at 4:30 AM every day.

Love,

Mama

P.S. I love you the most.
P.P.S. I wish we still had that crib.

Homemade Play Dough

I had been wanting to get Hal some homemade (by someone else!) play dough for quite some time. However, inspired by a recent post from Design Mom, I made my own. I found the recipe here.
Ingredients:

1 cup white flour
1/2 cup salt
2 T. cream of tartar
2 T. Vegetable oil
1 c. warm water
1 three oz. pkg. jello (any flavor)

Directions:

Combine ingredients and cook over medium heat until it thickens and pulls away from the sides of pot and becomes dull. * Note: it burns easily so don't put over too high a heat and keep stirring. Mold and knead until cool enough to touch. Store in a closed plastic bag.

It was SUPER easy. I cooked it on low heat, and it only took about 10 minutes. You really do need to stir it constantly. Don't worry if it seems lumpy, or if it looks like it's cooking unevenly. Just remove it from the heat and stir vigorously. Kneading it will remove the lumps. Enjoy!

P.S. Hal got a haircut (from a professional)! He cried pretty much the whole time saying, "It's OK! It's OK!"

Top Secret!

The secret is almost out! We've been working REALLY hard, and it looks pretty amazing. It'll be ready to go by the end of this week...I can't wait!

How I got to be slightly better at cleaning

Don't let the title of this post fool you; I do not have a pristine apartment. I would not be embarrassed, however, if any of you dropped by unexpectedly. I mean, the place is covered with Legos and Cheerios, but I can only spend so much of my time every day cleaning up Legos and Cheerios. Here is Lauren's Crash Course on How to Be Slightly Better at Cleaning Than You Used to Be:

1. Have a humiliating moment! My son was born 3 weeks early, on the morning of the first day of what was to be my week's vacation to clean up before the baby arrived. My parents and my in-laws came in and cleaned our apartment for us before we came home from the hospital. Let's just say that being 9 months pregnant, working 55 hours/week, and cleaning the apartment are not three great things that go great together.
2. Get a nice vacuum cleaner! Really, this has made a huge difference for me. It is a treat to vacuum with something that actually works! We bought a refurbished vac. from Amazon.
3. Do just one thing every day! If I can dust OR vacuum OR clean the bathrooms, etc. once/day, it seems pretty manageable. Start small. Remember, once something is clean, it's easier to keep it that way.
   
4. Don't go to bed with a messy kitchen! There is nothing more irritating to me than having to move dirty dishes around at 5AM in order to make the very necessary pot of coffee. It makes me crabby. I try my VERY best to make sure the dishes are washed and the counters are clean before I go to bed. I also make it a point to give the kitchen a once-over while I'm hanging out with Hal at breakfast time. Basically, keep your kitchen clean, for crying out loud!
   
5. Live in a small apartment! Not as much square footage=not as much cleaning.
6. Get a cute apron! I bought a super-cute apron from my BFF Heather, and I love wearing it around the apt. to clean and cook. It makes it just a bit more inviting.

Well, I hope you aren't all laughing hysterically right now. "That's it?" you say. "That doesn't sound very clean!" you say. Trust me, it's a big improvement.

Mr. Darcy

Attention all Pride & Prejudice fans. Have you seen these? I received this trilogy by Pamela Aidan for Christmas. They tell the story of Jane Austen's P&P from Mr. Darcy's perspective. They aren't my favorite books ever (from a writing standpoint), but if you love P&P as I do, you will really enjoy these. It's especially fun to see Mr. Darcy's reaction to Miss Elizabeth's rejection of his proposal, and his subsequent reformation of character.

Heaven

Well, I've been blabbing so much about that Eugene Onegin broadcast. Here is the final scene.





Sigh. Did you know this performance is now available on video?

Macbeth Redux.

Well, I'm a bit at a loss my friends. Tony and I attended the live Met Opera HD screening of Verdi's Macbeth on Saturday. It was...good? Well, let me do it properly. By the by, did you know that Macbetto is Italian for Macbeth?

The Good:

• Verdi: The man could compose him some opera. The chorus writing for this piece is particularly amazing.
• The Singers: The singing was impeccable. I loved Željko Lucic's (Macbeth's) sound, and he and John Relyea (Banquo) sang a beautiful opening duet (I was really impressed---you have to be an almost perfect singer to sing Verdi really well). Maria Guleghina (Lady Macbeth) has a HUGE and gorgeous voice. Remember the Memorex commercials? That's how Tony and I felt when she first started singing. Lady Macbeth's part is a near-impossible challenge, and Ms. Guleghina handled it admirably.
• The Chorus: The singers of the chorus had a TON of work to do, and they were obviously very carefully prepared. I've never heard the Met Chorus sound like that.
  
• Added Bonus: We got to see the funny short chorister from Roméo et Juliette! He actually knew some of the words this time (some).

The Bad

• The Production: Again, the production just didn't cut it for me. Like Hansel and Gretel, this Macbeth was modernized (1940s-ish?), and the seemingly random choices (weird Magic 8-Ball thingy?, plethora of chairs?) just didn't gel for me. I didn't get it, and it took away from the story. As Tony put it, "Putting guns in Shakespeare just doesn't work." It's true. It looks stupid when a gun-toting character suddenly decides to use a sword instead...because a sword is easier? Hmm.

Next up is Manon Lescaut with the elegant and fabulous Karita Mattila!

Totally Digging II: Athleta

photo via Athleta.

Well, apart from them playing paparazzi and sneaking this photo of me from last summer, I love Athleta.

They have fantastic workout and casual clothes that fit a muscle-bound woman's body. Everything I buy from them fits me perfectly!!!!!

Thanks to my brother and sister- and dog-in-law, I have some new duds from my new favorite workout gear company. Thanks P&K&S!

I especially love my new running skirt (mine is sold out, but this is the same basic design). It's SO flattering...not like puffy running shorts. I also bought a pair of jeans that look and fit GREAT!

Dear Athleta, please read this, don't get mad that I stole your photo, and give me a lifetime's supply of great clothes.

Love, Lauren

Breaking Down Hansel and Gretel

Well, in honor of my New Year's Resolutions, I am going to keep this redux of the Met Opera's HD broadcast of Engelbert Humperdinck's (really!!!) Hansel and Gretel (performed in English) mostly positive.

I went into the experience with pretty low expectations. I've seen H&G twice, and wasn't really overwhelmed with the show either time. Still, I had heard Alice Coote (Hansel) before and loved her, and was really excited to hear Christine Schäfer (Gretel), whom I had always wanted to hear. So, here goes:

THE GOOD

• Orchestra/Humperdinck/Conductor: The overture just blew me away, and I was in tears about three-fourths of the way through it. It was so lush, and German, and folksy and beautiful. Vladimir Jurowski was shockingly impressive (he's like 35 or 36!!!!). The man can conduct. Also he's handsome. Also he kind of looked like a vampire. I digress.
• The Singers: Alice Coote and Christine Schäfer were lovely, especially Alice, I must say. She has this gorgeous, kind of clear, kind of husky, English sound, and was a fantastic actress. The evening prayer that the two delivered was heart-stopping. Oh! The tempo was VERY slow, and they never sang above mp. Again, tears.
• The Production: I can sum it up as follows: super-creepy, yet very moving. The look was sort of Pan's Labyrinth meets Peter Greenaway. There were trees dressed in suits, and enormously fat chef/angels, and a fish butler! The trout sounds weird, but I kind of loved him...he was really sweet. It was a unique combination of the surreal (surroundings) and the real (the children were starving, for Pete's sake!), and it worked 99.9% of the time.
  

THE BAD

• It doesn't bother me when directors modernize or make anachronistic choices. That being said, I grow weary of productions (you, too, movie directors!) that try to shock JUST to be shocking. I didn't need to see the Mother almost commit suicide by taking a bunch of pills, or see her throw up in the sink. They are in desperate need. I get it, already!

Basta! Next up is MacBeth on Jan. 12.

Krafting with Karen

CraftPuddingKeychain
Originally uploaded by sweetbeansshop

My friend Karen joined me for some crafting fun last weekend. We worked on these adorable little key chains using a tutorial I bought from Magda at Craft Pudding (wow! I love that shop!).

Karen volunteers as a mentor to young women in her church, and had wanted to make a personalized key chain for each girl. Unfortunately, we had serious issues threading our needles. Sheesh! She wound up keeping the one key chain that she finished. It featured the initial "M," which we decided stands for: ME!!!

Umm, also (too, in addition, as well as), she stabbed herself in the elbow with a needle. Ouch.

Have a wonderful Christmas everyone! I will be back on Jan. 2 (if not before) with a recap of the Met Opera's Hansel and Gretel!