Butter . . . Duh

Isn't she adorable? AJ loves the Christmas tree. I have to say, though, I was right; we have not gotten another full night's sleep since Abby accomplished that a few nights ago. And lately, her evenings are characterized by fussiness, alternating comatose sleep (with weird, exorcist-baby eyes rolling up in her head) with inconsolable screaming and peaceful, eyes-open near-smiling. Right now I am so tired that I could go to bed immediately. I suspect, however, that my daughter is going to be up again in 40 minutes or so for more eating. (It's 8 p.m. right now.) After that I can go to bed. Dave would spell me while I went upstairs right now, but he is out for his annual steakhouse dinner with the guys. So it's just me and the girl right now. I'll make up some more bottles, then feed her one, and then strap on the Bjorn and take her upstairs. I hope that tonight I avoid the horrible nightmares I've been having lately.

Has anyone noticed that there are now more commercials for video games than for movies? My friend Brett, the video-game developer, probably finds that gratifying at least to the extent that his business is booming. Or, perhaps this is a skewed view I have because I watch Tivo'd reruns of Star Trek that're on in the middle of the night. I also see a lot of promos for "Girls Gone Wild" and such.

I'm reading A Year of Roses, which was a Christmas gift from D. I love it. I've decided I want to try to grow roses, and this book is a classic, that breaks down rose growing into months, explaining what you need to do in each month. I have since found out that it's tough to grow roses in Maryland because of our long, hot, humid summers, and our frequent freeze/thaw cycles with little snow in the winter. I'm sure I'll do great, considering I have exactly 3 houseplants that haven't died and that really has nothing to do with me, as opposed to D. Anyway, the book is well-written and interesting, with old-fashioned hand-drawn botanical illustrations.

Product review: Williams-Sonoma does these wonderful frozen croissants and pains au chocolat . . . you just put them out overnight to rise and bake them in the morning. They are decadent and fabulous. I'm going to put a plain croissant out right now. Then I just microwave some milk (approximating steaming, when I'm too lazy to turn on the espresso machine) and add decaf coffee for a faux cafe au lait. For some reason, Starbuck's (those that still serve them) have started calling plain croissants "butter croissants." Isn't that like calling a Hershey bar a "chocolate Hershey bar"? A bit redundant? Are consumers really this unworldly?

I could be grouchy because I'm so tired. Maybe I'll go have one of the pizzelles D made, to try to wake up.

I miss my blogging buddies. Come home soon!

Richard Curtis

I love Richard Curtis. I don't care that it's the same jokes, the same dialogue, the same actors all the time. Blackadder, Four Weddings, The Vicar of Dibley, Bridget Jones, even The Edge of Reason and Love Actually. I love him. Supposedly his next project is the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, which seems like a bit of a stretch, but then I haven't read the novel -- is it full of impossibly eloquent, though idiomatic British characters? One of my favorite Richard Curtis bits of all time: Hugh Laurie as an idiot George III in Blackadder, trying to pronounce the word "antidisestablishmentarianism," and going through many versions before setttling on "antidistinctlyminty." And possibly my favorite of his jokes: "A woman's doorbell rings. She's just got out of the shower, and is half-naked, so she shouts, 'Who's there?' The person says, 'A blind man' -- so she decides to let him in. 'Nice tits,' he says; 'now where d'you want the blinds hung?" Well done, you.

I Forgot

1. Does anyone have a good Bloody Mary recipe?

2. I read a user-question on some baby site that said, "is it okay that I dress my baby in pajamas all day?" I scoff. (It is okay, right?)

3. Has anyone used www.sittercity.com or any other central repository to find a part-time babysitter? I'm thinking of someone to come over when I go to physical therapy, or when D and I want to go see "Atonement," which I'm sure will happen.

4. I heard a GREAT idea for a babysitting co-op the other day. More on that later; it's not worth wasting sleeping-baby time to tell you about it. Cheers.