That good old po' boy

Last night we went to the brand new King Cajun Crawfish restaurant around the corner from our house.  We were so excited because we love po' boys and all the fixin's.  And walking distance from our house- we were stoked! I've been driving by the place daily, waiting for it to open up.  You see around our house, it's all Asian restaurants.  Not that we don't love that, but a po' boy place opening up in the middle of it all was a nice change of pace.  Finally, I saw that it was open on Monday.

As we walked up to the door last night and were de-assembling our stroller and scooter, we saw that everyone working in the restaurant was Asian.  We were surprised, then we knew something was going to be different.  The menu was delivered to us and included the usual boiled crawfish, crab, po' boys, Gumbo, etc. as well as 3 kinds of fried rice.  Hmm.  Well, the food was pretty good, but everything was served on styrofoam and the fries came out on a round pizza pan, and not very many. We got po' boys and the girls got fried rice!  The po' boys weren't flattened like I like them, but still tasted good. Everything was very HOT and sodas were only sold by the can.  The service was good.  There was another group of people in the restaurant, a bunch of hipster folk and they asked the waitress if she was from New Orleans (they also felt odd about the place, I think.)  She said, oh yes! Mark was suspicious, because she was so enthusiastic. I know there is a big population of Vietnamese in New Orleans, I once read that the climate there was very similar to Vietnam and that they did traditional farming there.

As we ate, two other huge parties of people came in, all Asian too.  We'll see.  The food was pretty good, I just hope they get  fountain drinks soon and beef up their servings of french fries!

Billie Holiday Collection

I just added 7 new songs that I didn't have to my Billie Holiday collection.  That woman was prolific. I don't know what else she did besides sing and get into trouble.  Maybe that was it?  Anyway, just looked at my list and took off a few repeated songs.  That is- the same version of the same song, not different versions of the same song, since she often rerecorded songs.  I now have 133 unique songs sung by Ms. Holiday.  I love her so, and even though she had such a tragic life and seemed to be so sad, her music makes me very happy.

Ironically, I don't have this song!

Head Shakin' Fun

These two women strike me as rather crazy- or at least, extremely enthusiastic.  As I try to impart some energy into my soul, I gaze at the head shaking-est dance numbers ever made. I'm simply amazed at their dancing abilities and face making talents. Notice the eerie similarities between the two.  Viva Las Vegas came first, but I think Gumnaam perfected the lunacy.

 
Gumnaam, 1965


Viva Las Vegas, 1964

Refresh for Spring

Decided to refresh the old blog with some color. It's hard to decide on these things.  Spent way too much time and ended up deleting things I put up- decided to stay simple.

Working things out...

Cracker Jacks

Lilah got a bag (they no longer come in boxes) of Cracker Jacks last Friday. Later, Hazel was putting together the puzzle that came as a prize. She showed it to me and said "Who do you think this is?" I said, David Duchovny- and then wondered why on earth they would have a puzzle of David Duchovny who now stars in a very adult show and has been in the news for rather naughty stuff as a kid's prize? She then said "Abraham Lincoln!" and turned over the puzzle to show the more familiar older face. Who knew Abe looked like David when he was younger? You learn something new everyday.

Friday Rundown

Yesterday, I had a thrilling day with many experiences. Let me tell you about them...

6:30 a.m. Up and bustling Hazel off to school. See you at lunch, I promise!

9:00 am Fully intend to go to deep water fitness at YMCA. Wait! It starts at 9:30, Lilah still asleep. Can we make it? Throw on bathing suit, jam clothes into tote, remember underwear! Wake sleepy Lilah, dress and force feed her bagel and cream cheese. Please go potty! Nope.

9:45 Arrive at YMCA, harried, late, but ready to exercise, where is my YMCA ID? Use driver's license- frustrated desk person manually enters. Finally in! Deposit Lilah at kid center, walk quickly to Ladies Locker Room.

9:50 am Open door and don't know where to look or step. Lots of exposed, elderly, lady body parts, wig on floor, giant tote bags, towels, assorted strange underthings litter the small room. I attain tunnel vision, head to locker, whip off my outer clothes, jam tote in locker, rush to pool.

9:55 am Everyone getting out of pool from now-over deep water fitness. Oh! I thought it started at 9:30? No, it starts at 9, but you can join the shallow fitness class starting right now. Instructor pauses, says quietly- you will be the youngest one in the class. She sounds ominous. I turn to look behind me, the elderly ladies and few gents are in the pool now.

10:00 am Okay, I will do this! Big smile on my face! Get in pool, hello! smile! Met with glares. Turns out doing a work out with the elderly is like working out with 1st graders. They don't listen to the instructor, they talk, do whatever they want, bunch up together on one side of the pool. None of the ladies gives me the time of day, I seem a little popular with the gents, they chat with me. I think this makes the ladies dislike me more. A little concerned that the gents are getting closer to me.

11:00 am Actually had a good work out! Thank the teacher, she says- It's all what you put into it- glancing sideways at the ladies who barely listened to her the last hour.

11:05 am Back into locker room, have to walk through showers, now completely nude elderly ladies, a sea of them, must move to next room. They are absolutely everywhere, no room to move, have to literally step over them to get to my stuff. They are singing and laughing and generally having a good time. I feel like I've entered a sorority, one in which I'm not welcome. I am directed to another locker room.

11:10 am Hazel's lunch time starts in 3 minutes. But I am standing in the child care center waiting for Lilah to try to go potty. Meanwhile the child care worker asks me if I was in the pool? I stink of chlorine- lack of a proper shower. She then goes on to tell me how her high school swim coach told them to go ahead and pee in the pool, cause there was plenty of chlorine in there! Why is she telling me this?

11:14 am Finally have Lilah, decide to pick up lunch at YMCA cafe. But man with gift card is taking hours to get a $1.75 credit. Takes girl 5 tries to enter into her cash register. I nearly scream when I realize she hasn't even made his smoothie yet! WE HAVE TO GO! So drag crying Lilah out, she really wanted to eat there. It's 15 minutes into Hazel's lunchtime! She's waiting! Open heavy YMCA door, dragging Lilah behind me, don't get her out fast enough, smack her in the face. Crying ensues, I come to my senses and realize I am ignoring my youngest child's needs for the benefit of my oldest. So, I take Lilah to Steak 'n Shake instead.

11:45 am Home again. Lilah happily eating her grilled cheese. I really wanted to go to Long John's but I knew that was an evil choice, so I didn't. I got tator-tots at Beefy King instead. Lesser evil choice? At home I decide to cook the last imitation soy meat product in my freezer (veggie rib cutlet) to go along with my tator-tots. Put 2 pieces of bread in toaster oven. Walk away, get on computer.

12:00 pm Hey, I forgot my bread. La, la, la- casually walk into kitchen. FIRE! Two flaming pieces of bread in toaster oven. For a few seconds, I totally blank out. I stand there staring at the twin flames, wondering what to do. Do I throw salt, flour, blanket? I can't remember!!! Electrical fire! Wait, no. Bread fire. So I grab the plastic tongs and grab each flaming piece of toast and put them in sink. Not so bad! Hey, I caught them before the alarm went off! Suddenly, I notice entire room is filled with smoke, BLAM! goes the alarm. We have an ADT smoke alarm, which helpfully yells at you "Fire! Leave Immediately!" repeatedly, while simultaneously blasting a deafening alarm. The thing won't go off when I put in the code and I know the firetrucks will be there soon.

2:30 pm Was able to avert fire trucks, had pleasant lunch. Lilah played while I watched old "Ed" episode on Youtube. I like that show! Get housework done. Get myself decent. Time to pick Hazel up from school. Today I am the Mom in Black (who smells of chlorine.) Put red shoes on. It's been cloudy all day, but never rained, think we will head to Lake Eola to meet friends. Raindrops appear on windshield as soon as get in car. Invite friends to house instead, have pleasant afternoon.

6:00 pm The evening thankfully goes smoothly. Thanks to my filling tator-tot lunch, I skip dinner and feed the girls. Mark arrives late at 8:30, but I feel completely non- stressed. House is pretty clean, kids are fed, watching movie. And I am going to a grown up movie with Lora at 10:20! Can we stay awake?

9:30 pm Pick up Lora, see baby Sidney, she smiles the biggest smiles at me, but won't let me touch her.

10:00 pm Theater looks crowded! There are thousands of teenagers swarming around the entrance. It is so noisy! None of them are standing in line. Do they just get dropped here and hang out in front of the theater? I'm reminded of my morning swarmed by the elderly. Sounds are eerily similar.

10:20 pm Watch "Sherlock Holmes." We, along with about 6 other people, are the last humans to see this movie. We enjoy looking at Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law. I even like the mustache! What? Ponder the fact that these men are in or near their 40's. They look like they are in the prime of life! I need to start thinking like that. After a morning fighting off the elderly and an evening encounter with crazed teens, I realize that I'm in a pretty good place right now! I need to live it up! I'm vibrant!

12:30 am Lora and I struggle to stay awake. I tell her we must not both fall asleep, lest we spend the night at the theater. There is so much action! It is strangely calming. Realize I've drifted off at the very last scene. Wake up with jolt and yell at Lora "What'd he say??"

1:30 am Finally, one of my favorite parts of the day! Sleep, with no thought of waking up early in the morning. Fridays are good.

To James M. who is 40

I always delight in reminding James that he shares a birthday with Elvis. He is probably sick of it. Does he know his son shares a birthday with Billie Holiday?

Happy 40th Birthday, my friend! Hope you enjoy it!

Don't want to leave out Nellie

About a month ago, I turned on Fresh Air and was delighted to hear an interview with one of my favorite singers, Nellie McKay. I almost slammed on the brakes and screamed when I heard what her latest record is- a tribute to Doris Day. I love Doris so very, very much and I think Nellie McKay is one of the most interesting young singers out there right now. She does a cabaret style that hearkens back to Blossom Dearie. But Nellie also sings about feminism and crime in New York amongst other things (she also occasionally raps.) She is charming, seems quite intelligent and is definitely very musically talented. The songs on the album are a dedication to Miss Day, her endless appeal and magical talent with a song. Nellie arranged the songs- keeping them fresh and adding her own touch without taking them too far from their original. This song is actually one of my favorite Bossa Nova songs by Antonio Carlos Jobim- so it's double the fun for me! Take a listen for yourself...

An unusual voice

I knew the second that the jazz radio DJ said "This next artist has a different voice that is unusual and takes some getting used to, or at least for me, I'm not sure if I like all her album but I do like this song." I prepared myself for something delightful- because a different, unusual voice is something that I usually enjoy a lot. Well, I was bowled over when I heard the voice of Kat Edmonson singing "(Just Like) Starting Over" it took me a few moments to realize it was John Lennon's song. It was simply sublime and beautiful and I can't believe this jazz radio DJ even thought two seconds about playing this and possibly offending someone with this "unusual voice." I went home and immediately looked up her music and found her on Youtube:



Then I busted my weekly budget and bought the album on iTunes. The rest of her album is gorgeous. Please check it out for yourself. She does amazing covers of "Lovefool," "Just Like Heaven" and jazz standards such as "Night and Day" and my all time favorite song- "Summertime." Anyone who can take songs from The Cure and The Cardigans and turn them into jazz standards is awesome in my book. Her phrasing reminds me of Billie Holiday but the tone of her voice reminds me of Blossom Dearie, she has that same little girl quality, then there is the breathiness that reminds me of Chet Baker. She is a fine singer and if she continues- will fit nicely in the pantheon. And I haven't even mentioned the band- they are amazing. Living jazz at it's finest.

Where have you been all my life?

I have been on a quest for a better veggie burger. I've been trying to avoid pre-made veggie burgers- we were eating way too many of those- and I'm growing concerned about overdosing on soy these days. Having been a vegetarian (and current fish eater) for over 20 years now, I have tried many varieties of burgers made from vegetables and such- TVP, tofu, mixed vegetables, beans, sawdust, cardboard, etc, etc. Two weeks ago, I discovered the best mushroom burger, ever. And to make it extra special, I cooked it myself. I found this amazing recipe online- here, it was the first recipe I clicked on when I searched the web. I had all the ingredients, it sounded do-able, so I proceeded. We were all amazed! Hazel, who doesn't like mushrooms- loved them. Mark thought they were meaty and good. I was amazed at the complex flavor. Lilah, well, she is fickle and changed her mind with each bite. Try it, you'll like it! And yes, they do taste like mushrooms, so if you don't like mushrooms, don't think the flavor has been magically transformed! (I think of my friend Doug when I say this.)

A moment to catch my breath

I have been busier the last two days than I can remember. Each minute was filled with work and anticipation of the next thing to be done. I accomplished quite a bit in the last few days. But the week is not over and I have much more to do. I am excited to have a chance to look at the book the library sent me today. It's Super Natural Cooking, I requested they order it, they did and I get to look at it first. Almost as good as shopping, just have to give it back in a few weeks!

Check it out...

Sacrifice at Cypress Gardens

Cypress Gardens, originally uploaded by bossamama.

Just in time for Halloween, found this postcard with possible horror overtones. Stare at it long enough and you'll see what I mean. What exactly is going on in this picture? I'm frightened for the poor souls crammed into the Cypress Gardens Queen, the guy steering at the back has menace in his eyes. That Giant Turquoise Belle is communicating with him telepathically, I'm sure.

I see you

I see you, originally uploaded by bossamama.

Orange finger nails, marker drawn on hand, reading a book of knock-knock jokes... what else could it be but and 8 year old girl? She's also wearing her Brownie uniform. Hazel told me this face on her hand was so she could see with her eyes shut. She would hold up her hand and clamp her eyes closed tightly saying, "I see you!" She thought it was quite amusing.

For Mom!

A little gift for you on your birthday! I couldn't decide- here is another and another.

Ants in the Shirt

Yesterday, Mark and I went to an important meeting of parents regarding our school. It was at someone's house and the room was packed with folding chairs. Everyone was paying close attention to the speaker who was diagonally a few feet away from me (in other words most people in the room were looking in my direction.) I suddenly felt something crawling around on my back- inside my shirt. I tried to gracefully tap at it, I tried to gently shake a bit, I looked behind me to make sure something wasn't simply hanging down and tickling me. My friend behind me smiled- was she doing something? But then it started biting. I was wedged beneath a wall and people surrounding me on the other three sides. In a sudden semi-panic I had to jump up, scramble over Mark and rush to the bathroom. I frantically whipped my button down shirt up over my head and flailed around trying to knock whatever it was off me. I couldn't find it! And there was no mirror in the bathroom! (This seemed somehow cruel to me, because I knew when I whipped off my shirt, my hair got messed up.) Finally, I saw a big red ant crawling on the floor. I quickly dispatched him into the trash can. Then I gracefully reentered the room and sat down- hoping that I had put my shirt back on properly.

Le Grand Disaster

Le Grand Disaster, originally uploaded by bossamama.

The cat loves it when rooms are a mess. This has since been cleaned up, but is in danger of happening again. Two girls, one room, a thousand books and toys, it's inevitable.

My New Shoes

I fell down a couple times on the way into the grocery store, but it was worth it!

Baby's Growing Up

Three is an amazing age. They start out as babies and end up on the other side as pre-schoolers. Lilah has done so much in the last few months. Her language has expanded, she can play a single note rhythm on the piano, she is all potty trained- even at night! And today she did this- wrote her name all by herself. It's the first time we've tried it- I wrote her name and she copied it and added some pictures. (I'm thinking it's her in the future, with really long bangs- lifting barbells.) She's also a jokester- today she handed me something (I forget what) I said "Thank you" and she bowed at the waist and said "You're Welcome" very seriously- then she giggled and ran off.

School Project Confession

Hello, my name is Simon Bolivar and I have come to burn you.

Hazel came home with a massive project a few weeks back. She had to write a paper with sources, an oral report with a poster and create this creature out of a two litter bottle. Subject picked for her- Simon Bolivar- South American revolutionary. Try to explain colonialism, revolution, despots, and such to a third grader who is not interested. This morning as we were driving to school I was drilling Hazel on points to help her with her oral report- Q:What's a dictator? A: Someone who makes themselves the boss and puts you in jail or makes you leave the country if you don't like it!

It was hard editing her paper without doing too much. I would say "read that sentence out loud, does it sound right?" She would figure it out. I was also impressed, she didn't use spell check while she was typing- it was on- but she would figure out how to spell it herself, not use the suggestion. After a few hours she ended up with a page and a half- double spaced. That was sufficient, I thought. She managed to add her voice- something that a lot of college kids can't accomplish. Here is a quote that Mark and I found amusing...

"The King and Queen from Spain thought they should be in charge of South America. But Simon Bolivar didn't want that because they were so far away from each other and it really didn't make sense!"

Hazel wrote the paper, she did a good job- but this 2 liter bottle thing. I had to do it! Hazel couldn't cut the felt (it was very difficult to cut with our dull scissors) and I couldn't let her use the glue gun, which was the only thing that will hold felt, by the way. We tried other glue and his clothes just fell off after an hour. She did draw the face and oversaw what I was doing. I was so mad while working on it, especially the several times that I stuck my fingers in hot glue. Wouldn't a poster be enough? Then to make it worse- Lilah reached across the table and burned her arm on the tip of the glue gun. It was awful. I realized I didn't know how to deal with burns, since we never burn ourselves! Lilah cried and cried, she kept yelling something about it being my fault. Really. At 3. She's okay, but she did point out the burn this morning mournfully- probably thinking "this is all your fault!"

I don't want to be one of those parents who does their kid's homework. I felt caught with this one. At least I didn't get too fancy- (she wanted to add arms and get all crazy)- and as I glued I would say "Is this where you want it?"Does that count for something? Sigh.