Fancy Nancy
Maya let me sleep in this morning until 6:15 am, so I feel very well rested today. I decided to make use of the early morning start to make waffles using my pancake recipe.
I thought I was being a good wife/mother. I was pretty proud of myself actually. That was until Maya walked in to the kitchen and told me she wanted cereal and milk and not waffles. Naturally, had I not made waffles she would have wanted them. I was pretty annoyed. So was she. We exchanged words and they weren’t pretty. I “removed myself from the situation” and went for a run. When I came back things weren’t much better but I was determined to soldier on. I’d actually planned an activity for a change and come hell or high water we were going to follow through. So we got all dolled up and headed out to the Borders’ Fancy Nancy event.
I think I was more excited than Maya. When I got on the 405 I was even more excited because the new carpool lane extension was finally open! My excitement was short-lived, however, thanks to this guy.
It never ceases to amaze me when people drive in the carpool lane at 60 miles an hour.
Fancy Nancy was a success! We listened to 3 stories, we had snacks, we did arts and crafts. But when the raffle winner was announced things turned ugly. A bunch of little girls in fancy outfits stormed out in protest. We were included in the mass exodus.
We headed to my mom’s place for lunch. After several assurances by her that she was still reading my blog (thanks Mom) we ate some good food. Probably one of the best meals I had all week. Somehow I didn’t inherit her cooking abilities. Such a shame.
We just came back from Macaroni Grill. Oh Macaroni Grill, what happened to you? I used to love going to your restaurant but now your food is just so average. Sorry but I don’t think we’ll be visiting you again. 😦
Maya is asleep now. No nap + a long day = Maya going to be early. I’m terrified what time she’ll wake up tomorrow.
Another Crazy Friday Night
Today my friends and I met up for tea at the Tudor House in Santa Monica to celebrate a birthday. I have been coming to this place for years and I love it because it’s totally cute in a shabby chic English sort of way. Okay so it’s not Fortnum and Mason but I also don’t have to save up for 2 weeks to afford a scone. You can’t have everything I guess.
I had a ton of work to do before heading out for tea at 12:30 but I left my place at noon and figured I’d have more than enough time to get to Santa Monica. Unfortunately it seemed like everyone else was migrating to the beach for a spot of tea and traffic was hideous. The worst part of all was the parking though. I entered a parking structure who’s electronic sign informed me there were 181 available spaces but 10 minutes and 5 gallons of gas later I realized the sign was obviously malfunctioning. Needless to say that I was a bit late after having to hike from a structure about a mile away from the restaurant. It was worth it though because I had an excellent vanilla black tea and this:
I am embarrassed to say I ate the entire thing. Well not the butter but everything else. Not quite what the English had in mind when they thought up tea time, right? At least I ate this over the course of 3 hours. Not that it really matters but it makes me feel a bit less like a hog so I thought I’d add that in.
Afterwards I picked Maya up from school and took her to the park in an effort to burn off some of her crazy energy. She practiced her moves for her future career as a Cirque de Soleil performer:
The girl in the pink is Maya’s new best friend Lucy. I think that at this point Lucy’s parents were surreptitiously moving her away because they were concerned Maya’s energy was contagious. Or they thought Maya was nuts. I’m not sure.
After a yummy sushi dinner I am now home at 8:45 on a Friday night. I’m about to settle in with a DVR’d Top Chef episode. I might wrap things up with an episode of 20/20 if I can stay away until then. Yup, just another wild and crazy night here.
I am guilty…
of watching America’s Next Top Model. I can’t believe I admitted it either. Why am I so hesitant to tell people I watch it? After much soul-searching I realize its just because I don’t want to be considered as vapid and shallow as the show. Unfortunately it is vapid and shallow. Tyra tries to make it so much more by telling us that being on ANTM is much more than just being a “pretty girl” and taking a “fierce picture.” It’s apparently about personality too. So then why is Nicole in the final 2? I’m not so sure ANTM is about anything more than ratings and drama but I am okay with that! After dealing with real life all day long who doesn’t want to lose themselves in the ANTM world?
So now its just Nicole and Laura. While I’m not crazy about the shorter girl theme this season (I think it’s so funny that at nearly 5’8″ I’d be considered a “petite model”) I do think that for the first time Tyra and her team have chosen the right 2 finalists from the bunch! The past few seasons have been a bit of a disappointment, especially last season where I feel like Tyra just kind of gave up and the final episode ended so abruptly! I can’t even remember who won last season, thats how unmemorable it was.
Anyway, I’m feeling too shallow to continue discussing ANTM so I’ll move on to the rest of the evening…Maya and I changed things up and met my brother at Coupa Cafe after work instead of going to the park. We are crazy and unpredictable like that. By some amazing miracle I was able to get to Beverly Hills from Santa Monica in 30 minutes, and I even stopped to get Maya from school. Really, it was a day to note down in history as one of those perfect traffic days we all dream about.
We sat outside at Coupa so we could enjoy the great weather. I enjoyed it for about 5 minutes before Maya said she needed to go potty. When we came back I told Maya she couldn’t have anything sugary because she’s been on sugar overload all week. She gave me a very sad look with her huge eyes and said, “Okay Mama, I’ll just have a glass of water,” and then of course I caved. So instead of ice water she basically inhaled this giant hot chocolate.
I enjoyed a yummy decaf capuccino…I love it when they make a design with the foam…
Good thing I drank it down fast because yes, Maya needed to go potty again. My brother accused her of lying which she adamantly denied. I agreed with him but I didn’t want to take that chance. Maya knew I wouldn’t take that chance either so, we hit the restroom for the second time in 30 minutes. Of course this time there was a line and so we waited. And waited. In the meantime I saw 2 guys go in and out of the men’s restroom. That just drives me crazy!
When we finally ambled our way back to the table it was freezing cold outside. For Californian’s that means about 65 degrees. Maya instantly declared she was cold and was ready to go. So we left Coupa Cafe‘s restroom and headed home where Maya proceeded to Skype with her cousins for an hour. And for that entire hour she didn’t need to go potty. Naturally.
While I'm not going to win Mother/Wife of the Year Award anytime soon, I haven't killed anyone yet or shot myself in the head. And that, my friends, is how I calculate success these days. 
FANCY THAT FANCY THIS 