jaysaint Getting it all down on paper…

We’re all getting dressed and shortly we will be on our way to Coney Island! Who wants a caramel apple?

My dreams lately have been more vivid than normal. It’s, for the most part, a real treat. But last night was a nightmare night, and that was equally as impressive. I won’t bring it back to life by telling the story here, but at 3am I was up, panting and pacing. I read my email, a magazine, some blogs, and nothing was doing the trick. So I popped in “The Lake House” DVD we borrowed from the library. And just like that I was soothed, transported to a world of mushy time-travel romance. Perfect. Now I’m watching “The Libertine,” which I think will not be as restful but still seems worth seeing.

Last night we threw a little dinner party in honor of Sarah’s visit. We laid waste to Zabar’s and then took our booty home to create a tapas paradise. We put out four types of olives (cured, sardine-stuffed, cocktail mix with gherkins, Spanish green), two types of bread (sesame, Italian), about five types of crackers (I forget), four cheeses (cheddar, gouda, goat, brie), two types of knishes (cabbage, garlic potato), some kind of chunks of cured meat, pine nut hummus, white beans, rosemary olive oil, lemon thyme balsamic vinegar, tomato and mozzarella salad… I think I’m forgetting a thing or two. For dessert we had a dark chocolate stacked pastry, lace cookies and cheese blintzes with elderberry jam. Jody, James and Charles joined us. Much wine was drunk and plenty of fun went around.

Damon told us what happened to him that afternoon. He’d gone down to the post office to pick up a package for Sarah (She’d had some things shipped to her here) while she was in the shower. She signed the slip over to him, which he gave to the woman behind the pickup window along with his ID. You have to hand over your license if you pick up something not in your name. He watched the woman wander around within sight for a while, and then she vanished into the back. After about 10 minutes went by with no return of the woman Damon went and knocked on the manager’s office door. He explained the situation. They guy looked confused and said he’d be right back. Five minutes later the manager came back and said, “Can you describe for me the woman who was helping you?” Damon did so and the guy was gone for another five minutes. Finally the manager came back with Damon’s ID and Sarah’s package. He said, “Can you add anything to your description of this woman?” Damon did and the manager said, “Okay. Well we found your ID and package sitting on a shelf in the back. But no one working here remotely matches that description. So… Hmmmmm….” I’m so jealous I wasn’t there. But now I think Damon should call the three credit bureaus, just to be safe. At least in NY our social security numbers aren’t on our licenses.

It’s after 4pm and I’m still in my pajamas. I’m sitting on the couch eating bread and butter and drinking mugs of milk while I burn my way through the Tivo backlog. Heaven. Next weekend we’ll have a friend visiting. I’m very excited for that, but it will not be as restful as the near-coma state I’ve attained today. The following weekend I’ll be heading down to Palm Springs. We have our national sales meeting there this year, and I’m going early so my mom can join me at the swanky hotel and hang for a bit before the work starts.

I wish I could share my bread and butter with you. I went to the farmers’ market yesterday and grabbed a loaf of fresh-baked organic sourdough bread. So delicious.

Everyone wins the day I go to the market. I’ve been having fun by going through Gourmet and adapting recipes to be a) vegetarian, b) pregnancy friendly, c) do-able with the gear we own.
Last night I made the most delicious Greek salad. Here’s what you do:
Dump a can of garbanzo beans into a big bowl (reserving a small handful), add olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, sugar, oregano and pepper. Take a potato masher to it until it’s creamy/textured.
Take a pita and throw it in the oven to toast.
Once the pita has toasted, spread it thickly with the hummus mixture. Over the top goes chopped romaine, halved grape tomatoes, thinly-sliced cucumber, halved kalamata olives, quartered artichoke hearts, and the rest of the garbanzo beans. Toss on a little more of the olive oil/lemon juice mixture (Did I mention to reserve some of that?) and you’re good to go.
The whole affair only took about 15 minutes and we couldn’t eat it fast enough.

The more my mom (and everyone else) bugs me to decide on a name for this baby, the more I put it off. Does that make me a bad person? Will I let my son enter kindergarten as John Doe just to stick it to… perfectly innocent and interested people?

I keep proposing that I want to name him after my cat who died a few years ago. So far, miraculously, Damon hasn’t fully shot down this plan. I don’t know if he’s being sensitive or if he’s seriously considering it. That was such an awesome cat.

I also keep telling Damon I hope I’m pregnant with a puppy, because I’ve always wanted a puppy.

I think I might be going through some sort of second adolescence.

But I’m still also being a good soldier. I eat two lunches every day — my lunch and baby’s lunch. I hope when I go for my checkup next week they tell me we’re both growing.

Books:

I FINALLY finished the Lord of the Rings trilogy. It suffered many de-railings as I read childbirth books and parenting magazines. But we crossed the finish line this past weekend. I’m making it sound like more of a slog than it was. I’m not one of those who worships at the alter of Tolkien, but I can recognize the genius and I did enjoy the storytelling.

Movies:

I picked up Overnight from the library the other day. I can’t say whether I loved it because it’s so nice to see someone who so richly deserves it just take it in the teeth or I hated it because I was forced to spend some of my time in the company of that tool they were profiling. I can’t remember his name, since he’s a total nobody. I’ve known lots of artists and lots of “artists” in my time and he exemplified so many of their most detestable personality traits all rolled up in one guy.

I’m trying to come up with something to say about television and/or music right now, but no strong feelings are rising to the surface. I feel like I missed the window to comment on the Lost finale and go dig into the watermelon I know is sitting in the kitchen.