I might be a little buzzed right now off the best Bloody Mary I have ever made. Yep, that's right, it only takes one. Cheers!!!!

Happy H-Day! Jon's off today and we are having a little shindig at our casa before the big Park Slope Halloween Parade. So exciting. Our costumes kick ass. In other news, the family and I just went to the dog park and I totally got hit on in front of my husband. Catcher found a toy sword and was running around with it as the dogs played. He left it somewhere and this guy's dog found it. I started yelling that it was my son's and he brought it over. Then he proceeded to flirt with me and ignore Jon. It was so weird, but it made me feel hot, and trust me I was looking rough. Anyways I took some great pics of the kid with the sword. Here is my fave, it looks like it should be the cover of 'The Sword in the Stone' dvd.

If you're Happy and you know it, pat your head. That, in a peanut shell, is how a 34-year-old female Asian elephant in the Bronx Zoo showed researchers that pachyderms can recognize themselves in a mirror _ complex behavior observed in only a few other species.
The test results suggest elephants _ or at least Happy _ are self- aware. The ability to distinguish oneself from others had been shown only in humans, chimpanzees and, to a limited extent, dolphins.
That self-recognition may underlie the social complexity seen in elephants, and could be linked to the empathy and altruism that the big-brained animals have been known to display, said researcher Diana Reiss, of the Wildlife Conservation Society, which manages the Bronx Zoo.
In a 2005 experiment, Happy faced her reflection in an 8-by-8-foot mirror and repeatedly used her trunk to touch an "X" painted above her eye. The elephant could not have seen the mark except in her reflection. Furthermore, Happy ignored a similar mark, made on the opposite side of her head in paint of an identical smell and texture, that was invisible unless seen under black light.
"It seems to verify for us she definitely recognized herself in the mirror," said Joshua Plotnik, one of the researchers behind the study. Details appear this week on the Web site of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Still, two other zoo elephants, Maxine and Patty, failed to touch either the visible or invisible "X" marks on their heads in two runs of the experiment. But all three adult female elephants at the zoo behaved while in front of the jumbo mirror in ways that suggested they recognized themselves, said Plotnik, a graduate student at Emory University in Atlanta.
Maxine, for instance, used the tip of her trunk to probe the inside of her mouth while facing the mirror. She also used her trunk to slowly pull one ear toward the mirror, as if she were using the reflection to investigate herself. The researchers reported not seeing that type of behavior at any other time.
"Doing things in front of the mirror: that spoke volumes to me that they were definitely recognizing themselves," said Janine Brown, a research physiologist and elephant expert at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington. She was not connected with the study but expressed interest in conducting follow-up research.
Gordon Gallup, the psychologist who devised the mark test in 1970 for use on chimps, called the results "very strong and very compelling." But he said additional studies on both elephants and dolphins were needed.
"They really need to be replicated in order to be able to say with any assurance that dolphins and elephants indeed as species are capable of recognizing themselves. Replication is the cornerstone of science," said Gallup, a professor at the State University of New York at Albany, who provided advice to the researchers.
The three Bronx Zoo elephants did not display any social behavior in front of the mirror, suggesting that each recognized the reflected image as itself and not another elephant. Many other animals mistake their mirror reflections for other creatures.
That divergent species such as elephants and dolphins should share the ability to recognize themselves as distinct from others suggests the characteristic evolved independently, according to the study.
Elephants and mammoths, now extinct, split from the last common ancestor they shared with mastodons, also extinct, about 24 million years ago. In a separate study also appearing this week on the scientific journal's Web site, researchers report finding fossil evidence of an older species that links modern elephants to even older ancestors.
The likely "missing link" is a 27 million-year-old jaw fossil, found in Eritrea.


P.S. I love Babar and so does Catcher, for the past two days he has been toting around my old mini-Babar books. Coincidence, I think not, he is in tune man.

Ok, so today has been about celebrities & nannies. Sorry but I just had to post this. It is totally weird but it's worth it. Seeing Mr. Pitt standing in boxers in the rain ain't half bad. The poem however is very very very bad.

Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe have separated. The couple's rep released a statement to TMZ Monday morning that says "We are saddened to announce that Reese & Ryan have decided to formally separate. They remain committed to their family and we ask that you please respect their privacy and the safety of their children at this time."

Sources tell TMZ Witherspoon has contacted celebrity divorce lawyer Robert Kaufman, who has represented Jennifer Aniston, Roseanne and Lisa Marie Presley.

Sources say Witherspoon spoke with Kaufman about divorcing Ryan Phillippe, her husband of seven years. The couple has two children. They met at Witherspoon's 21st birthday party.

As for why Witherspoon contacted Kaufman, we're told it was not triggered by one event. Rather, one connected source says it was "cumulative."

Divorce papers have not yet been filed.

Honestly this really depresses me. I always thought Reese & Ryan were the cutest couple. Seven years in Hollywood is like 49 years in real life. I bet he cheated. He is too attractive not to cheat.


Here are some Quotes about Marriage and Family Life from Reese & Ryan:

Reese, about Ryan: "I'm lucky to find a person to share my life, and the best friend I'll ever have...I don't think I can imagine a better guy than the one I've ended up with."
Source: IMDB.com

Ryan, about Reese: "The person I trust most in this world is Reese, definitely. She's that pure-hearted a person, and that honest. And I would never suspect her of any wrong...Things like my baby and my wife are a lot more important to me than being in one of the top ten grossing movies of all time."
Source: IMDB.com

Ryan Phillippe on keeping mystery in marriage: "I'd never write anything off completely, but I just feel like there's something to be said for the individuality and mystery of doing things on your own."
Source: People.com

Ryan Phillippe on Life and Family: “Home life’s great, man. The kids are great, happy and healthy. I’ve reached this sort of wonderful precipice. I’ve been in this business for a long time at my age, I’ve just turned 30, and I feel like my wife’s career is going incredibly well, my kids are happy and healthy in schools, we’ve both been able to buy a house for our parents, respectively, in the places they live. And now I’m ready to work on my stuff, my career. I feel like everything’s taken care of. I’m just in a really good place.”
Source: Movies.about.com

Reese, about dual careers and marriage: "Marriage and family come before everything. You don't want to make a movie at the cost of your relationship."
Source: Us Weekly, September 6, 2004, page 47.

Sometimes when I am in a mood I dream of the days when I had a job and I was on my own. Sometimes I think that I would like to go back to work. Then I am reminded why I stay home with my son. I am reminded that I want to raise him. I do not want some Nigerian woman raising my son like 90% of the families in Park Slope. Here is why. I have had two very awful dealings with nannies at the grocery store. Here are my stories.
the narrow aisles I decided to put my basket up front (it was way heavy) and just gather what I needed and make passes to the basket. As I am finishing I get my basket and head to the check-out. When I arrive at the check-out I begin to put my items on the belt. Now mind you, I One day, Catcher & I were at the grocery. He was in the Maclaren and I was with basket. As we weaved thruhave a very anxious and easily bored 16 month old in my stroller. He is getting cranky and he is ready to get the hell out. Well out of nowhere this lady comes up to me (child in stroller as well) and tells me she was ahead of me, "don't I see her bread on the belt?" She was nowhere around when I started unloading my shit, but whatever I was in a good mood so I let her go. She had about 5 things, I had like 30. The lady starts to get rung up and then decides she needs deodorant. She goes over to the beauty counter and starts to peruse through the different deodorants. Well, while she is taking her damned time, my son decides that he is going to blow. Her starts yelling and whining. Five minutes have passed and she finally comes back. She looks at me and mumbles 'sorry', then she starts yelling at the child she is taking care of because she too is sick of waiting for this lady. And she's not just talking in a quiet voice, she is angrily telling this kid to shut-up. I think that is the part that appalled me the most. Here you are getting paid a ridiculous amount of cash to watch some New Yorkers kid and your screaming at them because you were taking your good 'ol time in the market and they are sick of being in a stroller. Completely unbelievable.
My second experience was pretty much the same exact experience except this lady had paid for her items but was saving a spot in line for her nanny friend. Her friend never showed by the time it was my turn so she decided to cut in front of me and pay for the items. Whatever, at this point it's only 3 things so I don't care. But then she starts yelling at the cashier about the price of her genetically engineered turkey. Now I am pissed. I have had enough of the woman bitching, especially in front of the child they are caring for. Doesn't set a very good example does it? So I look at my own son and I decide that it is not worth making a scene. The poor clerk is looking at me the whole time rolling and trying to apologize with her eyes. The kid that the nanny was watching was my son's age. It made me so glad that I don't put him in the care of another.
The moral of my story is that while I would love some free time or alone time I would never entrust my boy in the full time care of another. Why would I even have a child if I wanted someone else to raise him? A child is not an accessory. A child is a full time job and for those of you allowing a nanny to raise your child full time, I feel sorry for you. I am not one to pass judgement, I know there are many single parents who must work. In my neighborhood that is not the case. I would say the majority of parents are full time workers and minimal time parents. I mean when I go out during the day, all I see are nannies. I have not met ONE mother during the day in almost six months. Wow.

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (1st Pet/Street you currently live on)

Crystal Seventh Avenue - sounds like I'm on meth

2. YOUR MOVIE STAR NAME: (grandfather/grandmother on your mom's side, your favorite candy)

Fleda Reese

3. YOUR "FLY GIRL/GUY" NAME: (first initial of first name, first two or three letters of your middle name)

Alin

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)

Blue Pitbull, this actually sounds like a cool restaurant name:) jonnny...

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)

Lina Dunedin, I think this is my fave...has a special kind of ring to it, dontcha think?

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name, first 2 letters of mom's maiden name and first 3 letters of the town you grew up in.)

ZatAmEvStr- sweet name, it's even got *sta* in it.

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (your favorite color, favorite drink)

Blue Martini- I might actually change my name to this when I hit 50

I woke up in a salty mood. Catch & I had Gymboree and Jon had to go play soccer in the pouring rain. So we wake up, I feed the boy, Jon walks the dogs, picks up the car and bolts. Nice. Catcher & I shower, get dressed, and walk up the street in the pouring rain to class. Class is literally 45 minutes and we live 3 minutes away. So I was gone for a total of 48 minutes. Mind you, the dogs, my boys had been walked by my husband about 10 minutes before we left. So the boy & I arrive at our casa only to find the putrid smell of doody & pee. Awesome. Nothing like spending my morning clean up after my way too overprivileged spoiled doggies. What jerks.

I had the strangest dream last night. I was on holiday (that is what I called it in my dream) and I was supposed to be meeting an old friend at the airport. She never showed so I headed to my resort and I was intercepted by Maynard James Keenan, who actually was Woody Harrelson. Maynard had a Tool show and was teaching his class about his music and environmentalism. He asked if anyone could sing the Tool song Swim. Being the Tool fanatic I am, I immediately raised my hand and began to sing. Only it wasn't my voice and it sound bad. Really bad. I forgot the words and Maynard/Woody couldn't remember them either. Then he went to the front of this classroom and pulled down some antacid off the shelf and said that we should always get the organic kind so our bones grew strong and healthy. Then I woke up to the smell of smoke. I though for sure it was in our apartment. I walked out into the family room and saw out my window about 25 firetrucks. The church on our block had been ablaze. I'm going down there now to check it out.

This is what Maynard/Woody looked like in my dream as he taught our class.

My baby's got a recipe in A Taste of Greece "25 New York restaurants create Greek-inspired dishes kerasma for everything from meze to dessert. It is for ground lamb skewers, something that I make all the time when I'm whipping up din-din around the house. J/K, I made a vegetable pizza for dinner tonight, the less complicated the better. Cheers!

Sometimes I take my life for granted. I dwell on what's wrong and what problems I am facing rather than focusing on the good in my life. I am a lucky woman and I need to constantly remind myself that. Some people spend their entire lives looking for love and I have found mine at such a young age. Some people aren't blessed with children. I have the best one in the universe, ever. Some are hungry, I am not. Some are poor and cold, my heat is too much sometimes. Some live in boxes, I live in New York City in a two bedroom apartment. I am lucky. May the force be with you.

I keep hearing how Madonna is going to be on Oprah today to defend her adoption choice. I guess I am having a really hard time understanding why she is being persecuted by the media. It does seem like adoption is the new Balenciaga bag, but the outcome of an underprivileged and impoverished child being adopted by a celebrity is a good thing. They no doubt will have a better life. They will be introduced to opportunities and educations that they would have never received in Africa. Who cares if she paid for a quicker adoption. She gave an orphanage 3 million dollars. That's a helluva lot of money for an orphanage in Africa. Imagine all the medicine and food that will be bought with that $$$. Good for her, at least she is trying to make a difference with all her money, which is more than I can say for most of the elite in this country. That's all I got, I gotta go shave my legs. C-ya.

Just hours from now, The Oprah Show will air Madonna’s real-life confessions regarding the adoption of a 13-month-old boy,David Bandastrong of Malawi. Here’s a couple of excerpts:

• On how she was drawn to David: “I’m financing a documentary about orphans in Malawi, so I was allowed to view footage and photographs of a lot of the children. An 8-year-old girl who is living with HIV was holding this child. I became transfixed by him. … But I didn’t yet know I was going to adopt him. I was just drawn to him.”
• On the reaction of her other two children, Lourdes and Rocco: “They just embraced him, and that’s the amazing thing about children. They don’t ask questions. They’ve never once said, ‘What is he doing here’, or mentioned the difference in his skin color, or questioned his presence in our life. That is an amazing lesson that children do teach us.”
• On David’s father being manipulated by the media: “I do not believe that is true. I sat in that room, I looked into that man’s eyes,” Madonna says. “I believe that the press is manipulating this information out of him. I believe at this point in time, he’s been terrorized by the media. They have asked him things, repeatedly, and they have put words in his mouth. They have spun a story that is completely false.”
• On begging others to adopt from Africa: “I beg all of those people to go to Africa and see what I saw and walk through those villages. … To see 8-year-olds in charge of households. To see mothers dying, with Kaposi sarcoma lesions all over their bodies. To see open sewages everywhere. To see what I saw. It is a state of emergency. As far as I’m concerned, the adoption laws have to be changed to suit that state of emergency. I think if everybody went there, they’d want to bring one of those children home with them and give them a better life.”

3 1/2 hours of babysitting (NYC style) $52.50
2 Pre-movie beverages $15.50
2 Movie Tickets $21.00
Getting to see Marky Mark shoot Matt Damon in the face Priceless

Just kidding....actually the most expensive movie I have ever seen $89.00

Holy shizmit, we actually spent $89 last night to go see The Departed.
It was good but it wasn't that good. I remember babysitting in my old hometown of Strongsville and making $2/ hour. How are babysitters in NYC gonna make $15/hr. It is so insane, but it was nice to see a movie. S*it is so inflated in this damn city. I think I may start babysitting again. I may be 27 but $15 an hours ain't bad.

I am on NuvaRing and I think it is making me insane. I just put my new month in and I have already turned into an emotional freak. It is so weird. All last week (no ring) I was awesome, so happy, so in love, so proud of myself and my life. What happened. Tonight I am just a crazy. I am sad. I hate New York. I miss working. I miss my dad. Birth control sucks. But I am not trying to have another baby anytime soon, so I guess I just have to suck it up and shut the f up.

This is an awesome commercial. It explains a lot and makes me feel a tiny little bit better about myself. Never thought I would give props to a huge multi-national corporation like Dove. Too bad some of your products have a high cancer hazard and reproductive toxicity.

So this guy was a sick little man for the past 24 hours. He stayed in bed pretty much all day and slept for about 17 hours. When he awoke from his sick slumber, he was a new man. He was happy, smiling, and excited. The change from sick to healthy was so quick it almost passed me by. Until this. The boy climbed up on the couch, looked directly at me and did the 'what?' with his hands. Where does he learn this stuff, is it innate, do I do it? Either way he is so crazy and smart and I am the luckiest mom in the world.

My baby is sick. He got his 15 month immunizations on Tuesday and has been running a fever all day. It makes me so sad that I can't do anything about it. He has just been laying in bed all day bummin out, poor kid. We even missed Gymboree which is something we never do. I hope he is better by tommorrow, I feel so awful for him. Immunizations suck. I mean I believe that they are good in the long run but the side effects can be gnarley.

Jon and I carved pumpkins tonight. Actually Jon cleaned all the gunk out and I carved them. Catcher helped too even though he seemed a bit scared of the big one. He kept trying to lift it and carry it around the room. He is so awesome. Sometimes I want him to stay up all night and hang out with me. Anyway, last night Jon & I went out on our first date since we have been back in the city. We found a babysitter, met her, interviewed her, and hired her for an incredible deal of $15/hr. Isn't that unreal? When I babysat I made $2.00/hr. Seriously, times have f'ng changed. And the crazy thing is all she does is watch the house, the boy was already asleep when we left. But it was really great to get out of the house and actually put on make up and heels. We had a smaller dinner at Blue Ribbon and then went to this bocce ball bar called Union Hall. It was cool but after about five minutes of checking the place out we totally realized it was a nerd bar. Everyone there was a big nerd, glasses and all. It was so weird I have never been in one place were everybody in it is a total dork. Jon said that the only people who play bocce ball are old people and nerds. I guess I am a nerd because I used to play bocce all the time at family parties. Makes sense, I do wear glasses.

This is so great.

This is honesytly the funniest shit I have ever seen. I am in love. I would leave my husband for this shit.

My husband is the best. Not only did he go to Catcher's doctor appointment with me, but he waited over an hour for it, then he went home, cooked dinner, took Potato to the vet, helped clean our house, gave Catcher a bath, and took me out for dinner at Blue Ribbon. Now I know what that Salt'n'Peppa song is all about. I am one lucky woman.

Today I made fried green tomato's for din-din. I have to admit they were quite yummy. Although I strayed away from the recipe because I did not have any saltines, I used cheese crackers instead. I think that may be why they were so good. Catcher loved them too, he was running around the living room holding two slices chasing Potato and Vito. It was really funny. Earlier in the day, C & I went into Manhattan to see Jon (now that we aren't working on Sat). We walked around the market, bought some veggies & juice, played at the playground, went to PetCo, and then walked to Housing Works, (this bad ass thrift store in Gramercy). It was the first time being in the city that I actually felt like a family. Usually our time is never spent doing mundane errands because we have so little of it together. We always plan out time and do some kind of activity. I really enjoyed our day. I hope that on our Saturday's we may be able to do the same thing. It really changes my outlook on the week to come. Plus it helps me get thru the downer days (Thurs-Sun when Jon is at work 15 hrs/day).

I am so exhausted today, I just can't seem to get going and it is already 8 o'clock at night. Maybe it was the wine, maybe it was the pie, who knows? All I know is that I am going to get my fuzzy Burberry blankie and veg out with the dogs. I have Grey's Anatomy on Tivo and I am ready to watch McDreamy for an hour. Hopefully my love will come home early and Potato won't crowd the bed. Ahh to dream...

Apple Pie Made by ME (from scratch) and it's not that bad.

I chopped off all my hair yesterday. I have been wanting to do this for awhile and I always said I would if I was pregnant again (I'm not). I guess I just got sick of growing it out, which really makes no sense because now it is going to take me even longer. When I got home, Jon didn't give the reaction I was looking for so I went to Duane Reade and got myself some fire engine red dye. Well that didn't turn out well. It was bright fucking red with a purple tint. I looked like I just walked out of 1992. So this morning I striped my hair, which hurts alot, then I dyed it dark blond. I always freak out with my hair when I have body issues, which I am currently having. I have gained a bunch of weight and I need to start running or doing yoga. I am just so lazy about working out, I never used to be. Anyways I am officially a fat ass and something has gotta be done. Maybe today I'll go running, I mean I do have a $700 glorified jogging stroller. I should use it for what it's meant to be used for.
In other news, Jon's dad was in Brooklyn last night and he took us out for din-din at our favorite pizza joint Franny's. Awesome. If you are ever in the Park Slope area you MUST go. Here are some great pics of the boy and my hubs.

Yesterday the family and I went upstate to Minneswaka State Park and Lake. It was amazing and a much needed break from the chaos of NYC. As we entered the park there was this huge sign proclaiming 'DO NOT PICK THE MUSHROOMS, Protected by NY State Environmental Fund.' That was enough for Jon. He was the happiest I have seen him in ages. As we hiked the trail he found many different species? of shrooms. He found one that he became obsessed about called the 'Hen of the Woods.' It is the first mushroom picture on this post, apparently it is worth like $20 /lb. I took pictures of all the mushrooms we saw because I knew my love would appreciate it, especially since I can't stand mushrooms, even the crazy ones. We had a great time and the park was so awesome. Check out Catcher Crazy Face for pics of our apple picking and pumpking picking after the hike.

Two things I love:Mr. Catcher
New York City in Autumn