3D.

We went & saw Avatar last night with Mike's sister Cara & brother Dave (in from Washington DC & BYU, respectively). Cara got a little motion sickness, but I loved it - which is surprising considering my favorite genre of movies are of the conflict-free / happy ending / romantic comedy variety. Lots of tension just makes me anxious & I internalize far more than a reasonable person should. Anyway. Don't bother seeing it if you can't watch it in Imax / 3D though. I just don't think it would be the same.

And I'd be ignoring the elephant in the room if I didn't address my Mr. T appearance in this photo. The glasses with my necklace (which looks scary via polaroid for some reason??) make me look like all I'm missing is a nice pair of diamond & gold grills.

(I was happy to have my spray Purel in my purse. These glasses were sanitized before we put them on our faces.)

Can we just talk for a second about how amazing this is?

Mike's mom saw this guy perform on the Bonnie Hunt show today & sent over this clip. Amazing. His Don't Stop Believing song (a la Glee) is just as ridiculous.

What did we ever do with ourselves before YouTube & the internet?

I'm obsessed with Glee.

I love Chris Colfer's character. And I really, really love Glee.

(Watch the whole football team shake it here)

Let's talk about something happier. Like pretty colors. Like Monet. Or maybe fashion.

Friend Jenn let me tag along as her guest to the member preview yesterday for the MOMA's Water Lilies exhibit (read the New York Times review). Don't ask me to explain what they mean, but I think that I appreciate Monet. The textures & colors of the paintings are so beautiful. I'd like to hang one on my wall.

On a separate note, I went & saw The September Issue last night with a lovely group of girls. Verdict: interesting, but not especially entertaining. It actually all made me kind of stressed out (um, maybe Anna Wintour is the scariest woman alive?). But the photography & styling from the shoots that they featured - amazing. And I always love seeing New York on film.

And. AND!!! Sister Tara is coming to visit next week. NEXT WEEK!! I love this because we talk (often), we talk about her coming to New York (often), & she just bought a ticket while we were on the phone (yesterday). Voila! She'll be here next Thursday!! It's amazing, & I love her for it. Keep your fingers crossed that she can find a babysitter.

Dinner & a movie.

Last night Mike & I pretended that we were boyfriend & girlfriend & went on a real date.

Dinner & a movie, with the movie portion courtesy of a thank you gift Sarah Jane gave me several months ago for almost killing her infant. We haven't seen a movie in a theater in probably over a year. It was special. I wore a skirt & my new favorite color of lip gloss (beaux). Mike wore his nicest tshirt & even cologne. He smelled nice, & we held hands.

We saw 500 Days of Summer. We really, really loved it (probably me more than Mike - it's my kind of movie), & I have big dreams of being Zooey Deschanel when I grow up, with always-perfect bangs, a perfect taste in music, perfect outfits & a perfectly quirky singing voice. Oh - & Minka Kelly? I saw her at the Gap on 85th Street the other week. She was very smiley, wearing LuLu Lemon pants & not any makeup. Anyway. Afterwards, we proved that we're still cool & had a 10:45pm dinner at BLT Burger. We shared a burger (with blue cheese & grilled onions), sweet potato fries & a peanut butter / banana / chocolate shake - that was mostly peanut butter. Recommended, although the bun wasn't quite up to par.

We walked through Union Square with the hoards of people that were still out. We watched some break dancers. It was the perfect temperature.

We didn't get home until 11:45pm (!). This felt wonderful. You'd think that we were sleep-deprived new parents who rarely get out. We do get out, often actually, but not as often as we should with just each other. It was nice.

I'm a firm believer in institutional absurdity

Apparently I was one of only a handful of downtown NYC workers that didn't flood in to the streets yesterday. I was oblivious to the events unfolding outside due to a meeting, but had I seen this out my window, I probably would have cut and run too.

This was shot from the perspective of the Goldman Sachs ops building, just across the river from my office.

Next up on the White House 'photo op' agenda: Sending a naval destroyer hurtling towards the levees of New Orleans.

Happy Wednesday.

My sister Joanna posted this on her (private) blog & it made me smile. And want to dance in my living room. It's fun.

Griddle.

I got together with Jill (the bizarro one, in a good way) & Erin on Tuesday night for a pancake fest + movie. The Lemon-Ricotta pancakes we made were yummy & light. We served them with fresh raspberries & syrup (next time I'd try creme fraiche or powdered sugar), & I loved their subtly sweet lemony flavor. They made me miss my mom's buttermilk pancakes, though. I don't think that I ever saw a box of Bisquick growing up, & my mom's pancakes (with huckleberries, during the summers at Priest Lake, or blueberries when there was a huckleberry shortage) really should win awards. I'm making them for breakfast very soon. With her syrup. Yum.

We saw He's Just Not That Into You after our breakfast-for-dinner. While the film had its funny moments (girls are oftentimes ridiculous in their dating habits & interactions with each other - it portrayed this wonderfully), it sort of made me... sad. I give it one slightly hesitating thumb up, one thumb down. That's only possible because I say so.

We went to an Upper East Side diner afterwards for some hot chocolate & french fries (a lovely combination if I do say so myself). I didn't take a photo because I'm on a self imposed hot chocolate photo ban. Because really, hot chocolate is one of my very favorite things, but it's sort of lame to post photos of it every other day.

Reenactment.

Remember this day (more photos from  Mke's iPhone here)? This reenactment is kind of crazy.

It was sunny on Saturday (please come back, Mr. Sun).

Cafe Condesa in the West Village. Hot chocolate, with lots of foam on top.

Barrow Street Theatre.

Sometimes it's fun to have a day with no boys allowed. A few of us had such a day on Saturday, starting with brunch in the West Village (I had huveos rancheros con chorizo), a bit of wandering, & finishing off with an off-Broadway production of Our Town at the Barrow Street Theatre. I had never read the play (don't judge- I'm a product of mediocre public education, I suppose) & didn't quite know what I was getting into, but overall, I liked it. Suzi & I made a very-necessary break for the nearest bodega during the first 10 minute intermission, which resulted in ingesting a massive amount of thoroughly processed sugar. This did the trick & was successful at keeping sleep at bay, & the second half did a much better job at keeping our attention. It was a very raw production (no set to speak of, modern clothing, no music for the most part, in a very intimate theater), unlike anything I've seen in New York. I walked away feeling more... cultured (I hate the pretentiousness associated with that word, but it's true. I did). Which I suppose makes my $27 worth it.

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Thanks friends. It was a lovely day & good for my soul.

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*Not to worry, Mike was not ignored for the entire day (& he was in the office much of the day, anyway). We ate some treats & watched A Mighty Wind with some friends last night. I really, really love that movie. Along with Best in Show. Two of my very favorites. Pure genius.

Demetri Martin makes us laugh.

Just a small snippet from the guy who made us laugh so hard that we cried (well, almost). We watched Demetri Martin's Comedy Central special the other day & then watched it again with friends last night. He's really funny.

Destiny.

We went to see Slumdog Millionaire last weekend with Cara & Ryan. Greatest movie ever, probably the best I've seen in years. Loved it - the cinematography, the cast, the music (I really, really loved the music). So sad, yet still filled with hope. Thanks for the recommendation, L.

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*If anyone is worried about the rating, email me. I'd feel comfortable watching it with my mom & my mother-in-law .

TBL.

I just love Daniel. I'm cheering for him, seriously cheering for him. He's only 19! He wants it. He's so supportive of everyone else & so inspirational (case in point: I didn't even have any ice cream last night while we were watching).

I sort of want to climb into my TV & drop-kick Joelle across the gym, although I would probably break my leg (I'm not being mean - but 310 lbs. would likely do the trick). Did you see Bob's total freak-out session on her last night? It was priceless television, especially coming from a guy who is generally so warm & fuzzy.

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We're really liking this new setup of having TiVo, although it's highly possible that I'm watching more TV than I did before. The list of shows that we have to watch keeps getting bigger & bigger. Last night I decided that I had to sacrifice watching The Bachelor so that I can focus on more important things on TV, like the Sean White snowboarding special on MTV that Mike wants to watch over & over again, or the In the Womb series on National Geographic ("NatGeo" for the cable veterans, apparently) that shows the fetal development of cats & dogs. It's crazy.

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The other shows on my "to watch" list:

• Grey's Anatomy
• The Office
• The Biggest Loser
• The City (don't judge - I want to see where all of the local hot spots are)
• Private Practice
• 30 Rock
• The Daily Show
• The Colbert Report
• Lost (when it starts! 2 more seasons to go!)

You know, since I don't have any other things I should be doing. Like running. Or reading. Or cleaning my kitchen floor. Or learning how to sew or something equally domestic. Or bringing my friends fresh cookies from the oven or something.

Save Broadway (SNL).

So, so funny.

Jumping on the band wagon.

I saw Twilight last night at the Cinema @ Lincoln Center, with an appropriate number (i.e. lots) of girls in their mid-to-late 20's & early 30's (don't judge- we're all very reasonable & smart). Before I left work - having mentioned that I was leaving to see it - someone said to me, Are you a tween?! Well - no, I'm not, but I did readily admit to reading the four really long books about vampire love, & explained that I just had to see the film after all of that effort. Plus, I genuinely did want to see it, social pressures or not. A true guilty pleasure.

I went in with appropriately low expectations, having the perspective from the books (entertaining, yet silly), & having heard from friends who likened it to a Hallmark movie or an after school special. This being said, based on my initial (low) expectations, I liked it. Expectations were met, but not surpassed. It's not winning any Oscars by any means, but it was fun. I liked the music. Some of cinematography was actually very beautiful. I'd like to own Edward's car someday. But oh my gosh, it was just so awkward at times - like the majority of the first three-quarters of it I had my hand over my mouth because it was just that bad (bad meaning so absolutely, painfully uncomfortable). We sort of giggled our way through the entire film, & probably right through those parts that were intended to be quite serious. Edward's bright red lips made me laugh, the extra-pasty-white faces of the Cullen family made me laugh, & the part when Bella's dad said Remember who you are, Bella made me laugh. But it was fun, & I smiled my way through it. Besides, everyone needs a girl's night out every so often.

It was $12.75 (gasp - thank you, NYC) well spent.

Young @ Heart.

Friday nights are always mellow for us, after surviving five repeats of the daily grind. The extra-cold weather in NYC this past week didn't help matters, & I wanted to do nothing more than put on PJ's & wrap myself up in an extra-warm blanket. So, we stayed in last night. I made tomato soup & cheese quesadillas (I burned the quesadillas), & we rented a movie. Young at Heart. Seriously, best movie ever, or at least a really fun movie that everyone should probably watch right this second. Five minutes into it Mike said Kathryn, this is just so uplifting! with a huge grin on his face. I love that he chose the word uplifting (like a youth fireside, or a really good Special Musical Number in sacrament meeting), but it really was! The whole thing just made us smile, & it was so much fun to watch- especially on YouTube afterwards, when we found more of their versions of songs by Outkast, The Ramones & Radiohead.

Presto (& his bunny)

Pixar is amazing. I thought this was cute. Your kids might think so, too.

SNL.

I've watched SNL somewhat consistently since high school (it was the best way to get an extended curfew on Saturday nights). I know that there were the classic days of Chris Farley, David Spade, Chevy Chase, Molly Shannon, & others- but I'm not sure it has ever been better & I really just love the cast right now & the material that they so readily have to work with.

Last night was no exception. Both of the Palin skits had us rolling (as well as feeling just a twinge of sympathy for her). The New York Times even liked her.

What kind of person are you?

Mike & I don't have cable. I think maybe we never will. This means that we also don't have TiVo, which basically feels like the equivalent of not having running water or indoor plumming. But- we're busy, & we just don't watch a ton of TV (nor do we need to be encouraged to watch more).

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Thursday nights have always been my favorite. The shows I do watch - The Office & Grey's - were conveniently back-to-back for several years, but now... they conflict.

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Gasp.

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Last night brought the season premieres of both shows. The same night. At the same time. Without TiVo. What to do?

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Mike left the decision up to me. It's only TV, he wisely said (I married him in part because he's just so smart).

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I chose The Office.

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I wonder what that say about me? That I chose that vs. Meredith + Derek + all the rest of the totally realistic hospital drama that I've grown to love & hate all at the same time?

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(Pam + Jim forever)

SYTYCD + MM.

Mike & I caught up on this season's So You Think You Can Dance last night. I think I'm obsessed with Mia Michaels- her choreography is absolutely beautiful, & I loved Chelsie's poofy dress. It fit the dance perfectly.

MM won an Emmy for this dance. Well deserved.