Stuff and things

1. First of all, let me apologize if you've been here in the last month and experienced auto-playing music. I hate websites with auto-playing music and I'm so irritated that mine was doing it behind my back. The site where I get the playlist widgets has an option for no autoplay and I always select it, but I guess they changed something this time around. I think I've fixed it, but let me know if it happens again. (Aaaaaack)

2. I had Tuesday off this week and took Nico to the children's museum with my old work friend Julia and her little son who will be two in July. The boys seemed to have a great time and they interacted well. We took them to lunch kind of spontaneously and they both sat in the booth like big kids. It was simultaneously adorable and keeeeeling me to see them perched on the benches instead of sitting in high chairs. Sunrise, sunset!



(SO BIG!)
3. Have you guys seen Easy A? We got it from Netflix on a whim and ended up loving it. I think we watched it about 15 times before it was dropped from the instant list. It was so much better than we expected and totally quotable.

4. While I'm definitely not reading as much as I used to now that I have a highly mobile child, I have had a good run of books lately. I read three in a row that were page-turnery enough to keep me up late and off the computer - Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown, Don't Breathe a Word by Jennifer McMahon, and Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore. Now I've got the new Stephanie Plum and while I'm not expecting it to blow my socks off, I probably will sit down and rip through it pretty quickly. I'm hoping to do at least a short review of the first three at some point, but we'll see. In the meantime...reading! Yay!

5. My new job keeps me much busier than my old one did, and I'm not on Twitter or gmail chat much at all during the day. I like keeping busy and I like the work, but I miss talking to my blog friends and geographically-present friends. I've been a little bit lonely lately, truthfully. Things will probably settle down a bit once summer is over, but until then, slightly sad panda.

6. On the other hand, the bibliophile called me on Friday evening and we went to Barnes & Noble after Nico was in bed and played this really cool card game until the store closed. I had a really great time and I want to get the game (or this one) for Nico in a few years. Actually, I want it for myself now but I'll share it with him later.

7. I made these awesome cookies for the first time in ages last night and they are so good. I ate them like crazy while I was on maternity leave because someone told me oatmeal is supposed to help with lactation and I could pretend they were healthy. I always think of them as Clara cookies since she's the one who linked me to the recipe. I use butter instead of oil, only all-purpose flour, and always make a double batch since (a) one is not worth the trouble and (b) they are too damn good to only have two dozen. Trust me.

8. Does anyone have any fun plans for the holiday weekend? We are planning to take Nico to visit his Kentucky family and revisit the pool where he had his first swim last Fourth of July. (OH MY GOD, you have to see the CHUB in those photos.) It'll be his first out-of-town trip since becoming bipedal, so I'm sure it'll be a bit crazy, but I think it'll also be great fun. (Seriously, now, go look at the chub.)



Reading:  Smokin' Seventeen by Janet Evanovich

Playing:  The King is Dead by the Decemberists