Potatoes in the Mist

This is one of those days when I can't stop posting. I'm going to the Village Halloween parade later, so I'll probably put up pictures. Anyway, this meme, with a few questions snipped, is from Poppy . 2. Whom would you most like to kill? No one, though there are a few people I find annoying. 3. Would you shoot, stab, or strangle him/her? Discuss. Um...muzzle? 4. Favorite element? Chlorine came to mind. 8. Burial or cremation? Cremation. The very thought of burial makes me claustrophobic. 9. Paper or plastic? Paper. 10. Divorce or murder? Neither! 11. Mini-blinds or granny drapes? Neither. I like lots of natural light. 12. Do I look fat in this? Nope. 13. Who's better, the Beatles or the Stones? Beatles. 14. Don't you hate it when people say "EYE-talian" instead of "IH-talian"? I've never heard anyone say that, but it would be annoying. 15. What kind of siding do you have on your house? Who gives a shit? It's a brick apartment building. 1...

I just made this soup and it's magically awesome. If you like sweet potatoes, try it!!!! Sweet Potato and Peanut Soup (from Jeanne Lemlin's Simple Vegetarian Pleasures) 2 T olive oil 4 garlic cloves, minced 1 T minced ginger root 3 large onions, diced 2 T dry-roasted unsalted peanuts, plus finely chopped peanuts for garnish 1/2 t ground (powdered) ginger 6 c vegetable stock (I like Kitchen Basics, it's low sodium) 3 large sweet potatoes (2 1/2 lbs), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice 1 T brown sugar Pinch cinnamon 1 t salt Generous seasoning freshly ground black pepper 1. In a large stockpot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, ginger root, onions and peanuts. Saute, stirring often, until the onions begin to brown, about 10 min. Sprinkle on the ground ginger, toss and cook 1 min. 2. Stir in the stock, sweet potatoes, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Partially cover the pot. Cook the soup until the sweet potatoes are soft, about 20 min. 3. Let the soup ...

I don't know why the urge to do this overcame me, but I am going to share with you the high- and lowlights of my long, varied and sometimes tawdry work history. OSCO. This is a drugstore, like CVS. The branch of Osco where I worked is now closed. Most of the time we were there, we were asked to "face" lotion (e.g., make sure all the bottles were facing the same way). I worked there with my friend G (we were both in high school) and we liked to eat many things that would make me cringe now, such as brightly colored gummy Life Savers and black-and-white cookies from a nearby bakery. We called them ying-yangs (as in, "Can you get me a ying-yang?") G had a crush on our boss, who was 23, which seemed ancient to us then. She considered asking him to the prom, but she didn't. BABYSITTING. One of the families I babysat for included a husband with a huge stack of Playboys in plain view. My mom sent me a newspaper clipping last year. It was the police blotter of my ho...

What a long day! And an interesting one. The soup kitchen was pretty enjoyable. I was on water detail and also helped out with pastries. One guy was thrilled to get the crumbs at the end; another tried to get pastries on 4 separate occasions. Anatomy class was really long. The high point was when we had to palpate each other's psoas (pronounced soaz). This is a hip flexor muscle. Mine was very easy to find, apparently. Some people's psoas was hard to locate, and there were people gathered around them, poking them. The kirtan was really interesting as well. It's hard to find words to describe it. AT came with me, and said he wished there was that level of enthusiasm at his church. The kirtan leader was a real character. At one point a girl in the kirtan band walked around and pressed two Hershey kisses and one rose petal in our hands. Bear in mind it was a Halloween kirtan, so some of the people dressed up. I also took a picture of the skeleton the teacher uses for anatomy ...

Tagged by Lish ! I am doing this quick over oatmeal, before I go to the soup kitchen (volunteering, not eating ;) Three names I go by: Bearette My own name Deedee (my niece used to call me this) Three screen names I have had: Bearette24 is the only one Briefly, I had an email address called pillowtalk0224@____.com Three physical things I like about myself: Eyes Cheekbones Smile Three physical things I don't like about myself: Let's be positive, right? ;) I don't like it when I get undereye bags. Three parts of my heritage: Irish German I think that's all I am... Three things that scare me: Heights Most creepy-crawlies Tom Cruise (just kidding) Three of my everyday essentials: Allergy meds Oatmeal with soy milk and raisins Dates (the fruit kind) Three of my favorite musical artists: Tori Amos Pet Shop Boys Zero 7 Three of my favorite songs: Bizarre Love Triangle (New Order) Cornflake Girl (Tori Amos) West End Girls (Pet Shop Boys) Yes, I have strong '80s tendencies. ...

I'm reading my copy of Us before dinner and... Gwyneth Paltrow is pregnant again!

I feel so productive! I woke up early (for me), cranked out two pages of my novel, and revised my ustrasana sequence (part of my yoga homework - we had to write a sequence of poses leading up to a backbend. The backbend is called camel pose, or ustrasana). Tomorrow is going to be super busy. I'm going to the soup kitchen with AT for my "karmic yoga" assignment. AT has warned me that toward the end of the month, the soup kitchen denizens are running low on their welfare checks and there can be fights. I will try to send peaceful vibes to everyone. I am also going to wear old clothes. That seems like a good idea, yes? Then there will be 5 hours of anatomy class, which is actually one of the toughest subjects we've studied in yoga school. T is used to it because she majored in dance in college, and they actually played around with corpses and labeled them. For me the language stuff (Sanskrit) is much easier. My mind is much more verbal than scientific (except bio, which ...

I just came back from writing class and it was fabulous! There are about 7 girls, plus the teacher, who is a published author. Yay! She seems really cool, like someone I could be friends with. Another girl in the class has all these connections (her husband works for Warner Media) and says that Nicole Kidman is a lesbian and has a girlfriend, and she and Tom (who is also gay, she says) were married just shy of 10 years so that under California law, their property would be split advantageously. I don't know if any of this is true or not but it's interesting. Oh, and she also says Dolly Parton is gay and Kristen Davis too (from Sex in the City). I don't know whether to believe it or not. Oh, and John Travolta too! At which point another girl piped up, "He hit on my friend in the steam room." Apparently John Travolta and Kelly Preston live in different parts of their house and there are pool boys all over the place. And Candace Bushnell and her husband have an open ...

I'm watching Oprah for the first time, because Jules told me James Frey would be on. My favorite moment so far: Oprah: I CANNOT BELIEVE you had a root canal without Novocain or anything. That is like BEING CRUCIFIED. James (shrugging): It was pretty unpleasant. He's surprisingly mellow, given all the rage he talked about in his books. He seems very down-to-earth and likable, with a strong twang in his voice. Anywho, I am off to yoga after this, followed by my writing class. I hope it's fun. I am making carrot, ginger and beet soup to eat during class (it's supposed to be good cold).

But before I go into it, I'd like to point out that Liz is getting an extra special shirt . I am honored that Liz thought of me in connection with this shirt because I am a fan of all things Molly (Ringwald, of course). Liz also has a super cute dog, who was recently blessed. So here I go: Name someone with the same birthday as you. Alex Trebek, Rose Kennedy, John Leguizamo, and I think David Spade. Have you ever seriously vandalized someone else's property? Nope. I was one of those good, bookish kids. Have you ever sung in front of a large number of people? I've sung in front of 4 people. This will change when I become a yoga teacher. What's the first thing you notice about the preferred sex? Eyes and shoulders. What is your biggest mistake? Going to law school. Have you ever hurt yourself on purpose? No. Say something totally random about yourself. I like pink, purple and red. Has anyone ever said you looked like a celebrity? Yup. If you've read the blog, you kno...

I have to say I like Rachael Ray's new magazine. It's called Every Day with Rachael Ray (silly title, I know), but it has a lot of recipes that sound good. Such as: macaroni and cheese with chiles (she says you can use 2 8-oz packages of any kind of cheese! Muenster and cheddar, here I come) sweet pea risotto stuffed zucchini ratatouille pasta (minus the eggplant for me) carrot soup (just baby carrots, ginger and vegetable stock) and so on. She even talks about how her doggy, Boo, died and includes one of the recipes she used to make for her, called Boo-sotto. It contains veal, which ordinarily really bums me out (calves raised for veal are treated very, very badly), but I did think it was cute that she made recipes for her doggy. A lot of the recipes I can't make, because of their meat content, but she is pretty good about including vegetarian recipes and vegetarian versions of the meat recipes. So I think I may subscribe. She even includes workable gift ideas! I don't...

Today was our second day of backbends at yoga school. I did scorpion! This involved: T doing downward dog (hands and feet on the ground, hips up in the air) I put my forearms on the ground, facing T. Then I rose one leg and the teacher helped me flip up my other leg. Then I put both feet on T's back!!! Wish I had a picture. In other news, I put henna in my hair.

I fell asleep at 4:52 last night (or that was the last time I saw on the digital clock). For some reason, although it was not this way in college, if I drink even one glass of something alcoholic, I am up almost all night and sleep becomes a distant dream. The day began really well yesterday. We had backbends at yoga school, which was great. One girl who has had problems with depression said that they're an antidepressant, and I have to say it's true. After backbending all day I was so blissed out that I forgot my mat and had to trek back to get it before dinner. We had dinner at Lasagna, which was surprisingly un-campy, although the waiters are starting to recognize us. I got lasagna primavera and a glass of zinfandel. So pink and so lethal :( The night before we went to Thailand Restaurant with S and his new girlfriend C. It was nice to have S back - he'd been living in the Midwest for a while, where he grew up. Oh well, today will be a better day. I am already digging my...

Your Personality Is Idealist (NF) You are a passionate, caring, and unique person. You are good at expressing yourself and sharing your ideals. You are the most compassionate of all types and connect with others easily. Your heart tends to rule you. You can't make decisions without considering feelings. You seek out other empathetic people to befriend. Truth and authenticity matters in your friendships. In love, you give everything you have to relationships. You fall in love easily. At work, you crave personal expression and meaning in your career. With others, you communicate well. You can spend all night talking with someone. As far as your looks go, you've likely taken the time to develop your own personal style. On weekends, you like to be with others. Charity work is also a favorite pastime of yours. The Three Question Personality Test Your Brain's Pattern Your mind is a multi dimensional wonderland, with many layers. You're the type that always has multiple stream...

Butterfinger They call you sticky fingers for a reason! What Kind of Candy Are You? Your Japanese Name Is... Nozomi Yoshida What's your Japanese Name? Your World View You are a happy, well-balanced person who likes people and is liked by others. You question whether many conventional views on morality are valid under all circumstances. You are essentially a content person. Sometimes, you consider yourself a little superior. You are moral by your own standards. You believe that morality is what best suits the occasion. What Is Your World View? You Are 20% Boyish and 80% Girlish Even if you're not a girl, you're very feminine. You're in touch with your feelings, and your heart rules you. A bit of a emotional roller coaster, one moment you're up and the next you're down. But no matter what, you try to be as cute and perky as possible. How Boyish or Girlish Are You?

Here's my sister's new dog, Chloe, with my sister's roommate.

Yay! I found out today I got into a course I applied to. I know, I must be insane doing this on top of yoga school, but this class is (hopefully) only lecture and it's on Wednesday nights, which doesn't clash with anything. Plus it's really near my house. It lasts 8 weeks, excluding Thanksgiving. It's called "Chick Lit: How to Write It, How to Get Published" and it's taught by an author, Stephanie Lehmann, who is also a literary agent! I read her latest book and liked it. The application involved a letter of interest and a writing sample, so I sent the first 1,750 words of my novel. The sample happened to end on a cliffhanger, always a good thing, I figured. So...yay!

I have what is known as book backup, because of yoga school, so I was excited/dismayed to see that many of my books at the library are ready. I am still plowing through the most recent book in The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series. If you haven't checked that out, you might want to. It seems to be one of the few series that everyone likes. For example: my mother D D's mother and I all like it. Harry Potter does not fare so well. Out of the above group: my mother read one Harry Potter book, and didn't read any others D has read them all D's mother doesn't read them I don't read them Anyway, so the following books are ready for me at the library: The Au Pairs sequel by Melissa de la Cruz (this is a YA series about 3 au pairs in the Hamptons); Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire; Birds of America by Lorrie Moore; and Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner. The word-of-mouth on Goodnight Nobody is all over the place. Lisa doesn't really care for it. I read the re...

Everyone...my sister's dog has arrived! She writes: Yes, she's here and she's a rascal! We'll be starting obedience classes Saturday morning. She is VERY puppyish in her behavior -- all paws and mouth! She has seen the kitties, but gets way too excited about them to be formally introduced. Hopefully, the training will help. More later. In other news, I saw a shih tzu ball on the street today. I call her a ball because she really was bouncing around (one of the passersby said so). She couldn't have been more than a month old. She jumped on my yoga mat and started enthusiastically chewing on it. I love dogs! P.S. According to my yoga teacher, "subarishi" means awesome in Japanese. P.S. 2: I love dates. They taste as if they have fat in them, but they don't. Very satisfying.

Here are some pictures from my bike ride this morning, going north along the Hudson River bike path. I was feeling a little sad and nostalgic because it will probably be too cold to ride soon (although who knows). So here is a little commemorative collage that I'll probably look at during the winter months. The doggy is blurred because he or she was running.

I just can't stop blogging. I'm going to do a meme I saw over at Bdogg 's. I kind of see blogs as people's houses. Anyway: 1. When you look at yourself in the mirror, what's the first thing you look at? My face. I also look closely for undereye bags. I don't have them lately because I've been sleeping in. 2. How much money do you have on you? I think $6 (too lazy to get up and check my wallet). 3. What's the first word that comes to mind that rhymes with "TEST?" breast 4. Favorite plant? Bob, the banana plant. He was dead when I moved in (D never watered him) and now he is a flourishing plantie. 5. Who is the 4th person on your missed call list on your cell phone? It was a wrong number, I dialed it by accident when I was trying to call my voicemail, and then he called me back (I guess to see who I was). 6. What is your main ring tone on your phone? Standard ring tone 7. What shirt are you wearing? Peach or coral-colored tank top from Urban Outf...

You are so lucky! You are getting a double dose of Bearette today. I'm going to post my peanut noodle recipe, which I made for dinner and realized I hadn't shared with you. But first, we did our oral presentations for yoga school on Sunday. We each had to talk about a Sanskrit word for 5 minutes. We drew our words at random the week before. Mine was brahmacharya (celibacy or moderation in one's sex life). That's all I have to say about that ;) Some of the presentations were really great. People opened up and I think it helped bring us closer as a group (though I am somewhat embarrassed now about mine; maybe I was a little too open, but no one seemed to mind). Anyway, this one girl had a great presentation. Her term was "gunas". There are 3 gunas: rajas, which is greed, lust, aggression, etc.; tamas, which is heavy, lethargic and sad; and sattva, which is blissed out. This girl said, "I'm going to read you my diary." So, acting as rajas, she read ...

Don't you love it when someone else gives you something to post about? Especially since I wasn't sure what to post today. Well, Bdogg has filled the void by posting a pic of her engagement and wedding rings. Bdogg noticed that when we did a meme a while back, we all said our favorite piece of jewelry was our engagement or wedding ring. So, without further ado... A note on sizing: I had told D I was a size 4 (note my bony fingers), but I am actually a size 5 (as far as fingers go). So the ring was originally too small and I had to wear it on my pinky! Well, I didn't have to, but I wanted to wear it. You know what I mean. And I got it adjusted soon enough.

Tonight we saw "Good Night and Good Luck," directed by and starring George Clooney. Actually, the main star was David Stathairn, playing 1950s CBS reporter Edward Murrow. Murrow was a key player in bringing Joseph McCarthy down, but he didn't emerge unscathed. It wasn't the kind of movie that would have appealed to me right off the bat, but it got a strong review from A.O. Scott (NY Times) and a good Tomatometer rating (rottentomatoes.com). I liked the black and white, and the acting. It reminded me a bit of "Quiz Show," which D thought was more powerful. I'd give this one a B.

My nephew gave my husband some new ducks. Here are pictures of all our ducks...and frogs!

I realized I hadn't posted any recipes lately, and Crystal and I exchanged emails about this one. Here it is! (The gray stuff is steam ;) Minestrone (from Mollie Katzen's original Moosewood Cookbook) 1 1/2 c cooked navy beans (1 can) 1/2 c dry pasta 1 c fresh-chopped tomatoes Parmesan cheese 3 T olive oil 1 c chopped onion 4-5 cloves crushed garlic 1 c chopped celery 1 c chopped carrots 1 c chopped zucchini 1 c chopped green pepper 2 t salt 1/4 t black pepper 1 t oregano 1/2 c fresh-chopped parsley 1 t basil 2 c tomato puree 3 1/2 c water 3 T red wine In a soup kettle or large, deep skillet, saute garlic and onions in olive oil until they are soft and translucent. Add 1 t salt, carrot and celery. Mix well. Add oregano, black pepper and basil. Cover and cook over low heat 5-8 min. Add green pepper, zucchini, water, puree, navy beans and wine. Cover and simmer 15 min. Add tomatoes and remaining salt. Keep at lowest heat until 10 min before you plan to serve. Then heat the soup t...

Ok, I'm getting tired of my weird dreams. Last night I dreamed that I had committed some crime while I was a lawyer and didn't know what it was. (No, I wasn't reading Kafka before I fell asleep.) Then I went to some jail where you sat in a room with windows with a bunch of other people. You could read, but you couldn't leave the building until 5:00. You had to report at 9 am in the morning. I tried to find out what I had done, but no one would tell me. Everyone in the room looked sullen. A couple of things struck me: 1) This "jail" was kind of like a 9-5 job. 2) Did this dream have to do with the Nyquil I took before I went to bed? 3) Yoga school should really allow sick days. I got really allergic in Danvers (lots of grass, trees and carpets instead of hardwood floors and few trees) and have some lingering yuckiness in my nose and throat. Although Nyquil really does the job, I must say. Anyway...have a good weekend, people.

OK, I'm a little grumpy and tired, but I still want to share an incident from today with you. Why am I grumpy and tired? 1) 2 nights ago, I was having a dream that I was in school and the teacher was disappointed in us. She said, "I gave you all sixes, and I usually give people sevens OR OR OR OR..." In the dream, I almost said, "Stop saying OR!" but I woke up and realized it was a persistent drilling sound one floor up. Someone on the sixth floor is constantly drilling and hammering and I want to kill them. Yes I do. 2) Last night: I love my mother, but she snores to beat the band. D asked, "Why were you sleeping in the same room?" We weren't! We were sleeping in adjacent rooms with both doors closed. Finally I got the bright idea of going to the opposite end of the house and pulling out the sofabed. I fell asleep immediately. Anyway, here's the incident I wanted to share. We visited my family friend W at the nursing home today. W is very swee...

I'm writing this from Danvers, MA, using my mother's dial-up. It took about 20 minutes to get to this page, I am not even kidding. Anyway, I came home for today and tomorrow because one of the friends of the family is sick, and I wanted to visit her. We're going to see her tomorrow, and possibly go for Indian food afterward with my SIL at Bollywood Grill. Tonight we had dinner with my brother, SIL and their two kids. My SIL, L, made roasted veggies. I especially love orange roasted veggies, e.g. sweet potatoes and squash, so that was quite yummy. She also combined cremini and shiitake mushrooms with some kind of sauce and a crispy crepe on top. Though I am not usually a mushroom person, these were quite good. Cremini mushrooms are apparently baby portobellos. Did you know that? I didn't. At 8:00 the doorbell rang and they went outside to find a plastic pumpkin filled with goodies. Apparently this is called "booing." You have to put up a sign to show you have...

Courtesy of Bdogg . You Are A: Squirrel ! Squirrels are quick and cheerful animals who spend their time scurrying, scavenging, and playing. As a squirrel, you are often seen jumping happily from branch to branch up in the treetops. Squirrels are foragers searching for nuts and seeds, and they are social animals often seen chasing and playing with other squirrels. You were almost a: Parakeet or a Pony You are least like a: Duck or a Duckling Discover What Cute Animal You Are! It's interesting, because at our friend S's party a while ago, we got into a discussion about what animals we were and S said I was a squirrel. Also, at work years ago we had a discussion about what fruits we were, and someone said I was a blueberry. When I met my husband, he said the same thing!

Well, we had our mentor meeting and buddy meeting tonight. We taught each other inversions. It's hard to remember every little detail. I taught T how to do a headstand. I thought I got everything but then realized that I hadn't mentioned the importance of pressing into the forearms. Oh well. I think it is great that we are practice teaching because we'll remember the omissions we made when we're teaching the poses for real. Or hopefully that's how it will work. Over at homestarrunner.com , they have a new edition of Teen Girl Squad, my favorite goofy online comic strip. Check it out if you have time. Remember to leave the sound on. Afterward, T and I had our buddy meeting. We did our homework together including the asana (pose) drawings. I got creative with mine, following her lead, and gave one of my drawing guys a little Speedo with hearts on it. Then we practiced our oral presentations, which we have to do on Sunday. Mine is on brahmacharya, which is about abstin...

Your Hair Should Be Purple Intense, thoughtful, and unconventional. You're always philosophizing and inspiring others with your insights. What's Your Funky Inner Hair Color? This is quiz day! From Bdogg 's blog. I love the picture.

the Ham (38% dark, 46% spontaneous, 15% vulgar) your humor style: CLEAN | SPONTANEOUS | LIGHT Your style's goofy, innocent and feel-good. Perfect for parties and for the dads who chaperone them. You can actually get away with corny jokes, and I bet your sense of humor is a guilty pleasure for your friends. People of your type are often the most approachable and popular people in their circle. Your simple & silly good-naturedness is immediately recognizable, and it sets you apart in this sarcastic world. PEOPLE LIKE YOU: Will Ferrell - Will Smith The 3-Variable Funny Test! My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender : You scored higher than 15% on darkness You scored higher than 51% on spontaneity You scored higher than 6% on vulgarity Link: The 3 Variable Funny Test written by jason_bateman on Ok Cupid , home of the 32-Type Dating Test From Lora 's blog.

Well, I had a bit more excitement than I bargained for today. I got an email saying that an email address had been added to my PayPal account, and it wasn't mine. I clicked on a link in the email message to correct it. D was sitting next to me and said, "That's a fraudulent site, don't give them your PayPal password," and I closed the window. Then I changed my PayPal password, going to PayPal.com rather than the link in the email. Then I remembered that I got an email yesterday that said "PayPal Account Suspended." I clicked on a link, which brought me to "PayPal", and they asked me to re-enter my credit card number, bank account number, etc. I thought the account was dormant because I hadn't used it in a while. That was STUPID!!!! Turns out there is a scam where they cut and paste the PayPal pages and use the PayPal return email address. The part they fake is the URL, but how many people check the URL of a page after they click to it? Not ...

I thought Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy were both really good last night. I thought the first couple episodes of Desperate Housewives were a little lacking, but this one was a return to form ;) I like that Gabrielle and the gardener are parting ways (probably). It feels like the right thing. Her husband, under the thug-like exterior and orange jumpsuit, seems like a nice guy. And on Grey's Anatomy I have a soft spot for Dr. O'Malley. He's endearing, and it was funny how Meredith's mother thought he was her ex-husband. And of course I was so sad that Sandra Oh (can't remember her character's name) lost her baby. In other news, I came home from yoga school to find low-fat sour cream (I like nonfat), whole milk yogurt (ditto), barley soaking in a large measuring cup, a bowl full of matzo balls, several boxes of vegetarian bouillon, and boxes of mushroom-barley soup mix and matzo meal in our cupboard. Needless to say, I was alarmed. D has never cooked ...

So yesterday was inversion day. 5 hours of handstands, headstands, forearm stands, and shoulderstands. Let me test my Sanskrit here: adho mukha vrksasana, sirsasana, pinca mayurasana, and salamba sarvangasana. Cool. This center has the warped idea that handstands are easier than headstands, so we started out with these. I can do an L-shaped handstand (feet against the wall, hands on floor, one leg raised, then the other). Regular handstand: I need to be flipped up, then I hold the position. My partner, N, was like 5'2". I looked at her skeptically. I'm a lot taller than you, I said; are you sure you're strong enough? (to spot me.) She was like, yeah, I'm a massage therapist, I'm really strong even though I look like a wuss. After the exercises, she said, I'm not as strong as I thought. This made me feel a bit like a whale (though logically I know I'm not) and vindicated at the same time. I can usually tell how strong someone is by looking (women more so...

The movie was awesome! I enjoyed it a lot. They cut out the whole Princeton subplot, where Maggie crashes at Rose's alma mater, but I can't say the movie suffered from it. Also, Rose has a boyfriend in the movie that I don't remember from the book...he's really into food...and there's a special emphasis on Jamaican food with jerk spices that I don't remember either. However, I thought the movie hung together really well and the intelligence and humor of Jennifer's writing made it to the screen. Also, when the opening credits said "based upon the novel by Jennifer Weiner," I kind of knew how excited she felt. I don't know why. Anyway, having met her, I would say there are real similarities between her and Rose...wry sense of humor, etc. Cameron Diaz spent the whole movie basically naked (except when she's working at a retirement home). I dunno whether that was an effort to bring men into the movie or just show Maggie's character. Anyway...

So D and I went to Lasagna tonight. This is a fun restaurant in the heart of Chelsea, which means CAMPY. I had lasagna primavera, chock full of broccoli and peppers and such, and he had mushroom lasagna. I also had white zinfandel (I love cheap, sweet wine) and we split some apple crumb pie for dessert. It was awesome. I licked the plate, which was drizzled with chocolate sauce. My mother would have been horrified. At one point during the dinner, my napkin caught on fire. It was dangling in the candle. We both blew on it, sparks flew and then it cooled off, leaving char marks. The people on our left sighed with relief. On our right were two men on a date. The waiter approached one of them, grasped his red shirt between his fingertips, and cooed, "I like your shirt." When D was in the bathroom, this waiter brought some dessert wine, which I turned away. One of the guys leaned over and tucked a dollar bill in his front pocket. (Memorably, when we went to Lasagna with P this su...

I keep the plain side of a Gristede's receipt on the fridge as a grocery list. When I woke up, I found that D had added 3 items on the bottom: mac & soy cheese 2 small onions 2 small summer squash 1 small green pepper Muenster cheese milk TP 1 puppy 1 cheerios ;) D is allergic so we shan't be getting one right away. I did see a Yorkshire terrier in the window of a pet store on 6th Ave & 12th St recently and I felt we were meant to be together. It ran up to the window as I approached and started scrabbling against the glass with its nails. Then it got bored and started to commune with the other dogs.

Poppy Cede beat me to the punch, but Katie Holmes is pregnant. I find this grotesque. Does anyone want to have sex with Tom Cruise? I think the Scientology thing, the way he leers into cameras and the way he went medieval on Brooke Shields all make it impossible for any thinking person to bed him. I hope he didn't hypnotize her or something. In other news, there is a new doggy in my neighborhood! It is called a "golden doodle." It's a Lab/poodle mix (it's not part golden retriever, as one might expect). It is 3 months old. It knocked my headphones off and disconnected them from my iPod! I was squatting to pat the doggy and it raced under me and emerged on the other side. Then it started eating leaves.

OK, I debated posting about this, thinking it was too weird, and decided to go ahead anyway. I dreamed about Donald Trump. He had given me a challenge to set up something entrepreneurial. I decided to set up a dating service based on Myers-Briggs typology , and also offer a gym membership at either the Urban Outfitters gym or New York Sports Club. I got it in my head that I needed Trump's car keys to do this. So I went to Trump's car, which was parked curbside with a large pocketbook next to it, and the keys sticking out. I took some of the keys. Then I talked to George. George said, "Women don't look good when they come back from Europe. Too dreamy. And I don't think it was a good idea to take the keys, Bearette." So I panicked and raced back to replace the keys, but there were obstacles all along the way, and I was afraid Trump had already left to go somewhere with Melania. In other news: we did practice teaching of a pranayama (breathing exercise) last nigh...

Today D got a letter from a college friend who is in a monastery in Sri Lanka. The friend, whose name used to be K, now styles himself A. Vimala. I couldn't get through the letter, in his close, cramped handwriting, so D read it to me as I did my Sanskrit homework. D has been urging Vimala to come back to "reality," e.g., a non-ascetic life in the U.S. Vimala ain't havin' it. Apparently, Vimala is half-assed about nothing. In college he was really into a girl named M and he dragged D all over town looking for the perfect rose for her. Unfortunately, she was into someone else. Now Vimala has thrown himself into the monk's life with equal zeal. Vimala is urging D to visit him in Sri Lanka before Vimala moves on to the Himalayas, where he will meditate in isolation. Vimala went on, "Bearette is welcome to come too, though she would need to stay with the nuns and female laypeople, some of whom speak English." ??!?!? I have to admire his single-mindedness...

We had a Sanskrit class today. I felt it went on too long, but we did learn a lot about pronunciation, the 5 mouth positions, what those little dots beneath the letters mean, etc. The teacher told us that her Indian students always want to bring their tongues back and her American students always want to bring their tongues forward. Anyway, we got our homework back and as I handed my yoga buddy's homework to her, I caught a glimpse of her buddy meeting notes. She had written, "I love my buddy. I am inspired by her [something]"...and that's all I saw. I thought it was really sweet. I think they matched us up really well. She actually has the same name as my college roommate, who was also a good match.

I forgot what it's like to ride a bike on the weekends here unless you go at the crack of dawn or at night. I quickly remembered as soon as I got to the path and it was full of couples with baby carriages, men with daughters balanced on their crossbars (no helmets), marathon types with spandex shorts and giggling joggers in college sweatshirts all vying for space on an extremely narrow path. Oy. Anyway, yoga teachers' training yesterday was interesting. It was Kundalini day. (I'm getting certified in vinyasa yoga, but Kundalini is part of the training program.) I've never tried Kundalini and I was chatting to the girl next to me when suddenly the sound of a gong cut through the silence. A dramatic-looking woman with black curly hair and dark lipstick and a large blue jewel at her throat followed the gong and dove into a chant (apparently not Sanskrit, which we're used to, but Gumakh, a dialect). I'm still processing the experience. Let's say Kundalini is ver...