My Personal Chef: Trader Joe

An ode to Trader Joe's:

I never knew you, Trader Joe

Never suspected I'd join.

I never knew you tasted so good

Never spent there a dollar nor coin.

But Ellie introduced me

To the finer things in food

The quick fix for my dinner

My table's no longer nude.

My husband asked tonight

With what did you spice this fish?

"Made it myself," I told him.

"Did you enjoy the dish?"

Trader Joe you've turned me

To a world of mild lies

For my husband thinks I cooked it all,

But I only make the pies!

I actually can cook things, when necessary, but Trader Joe's offers whole meals just waiting for me in my freezer. It's so easy and cost effective! I know, I'm the last to know. I was intimidated and didn't know what was good there, but Ellie gave me a tour and now I am a converted believer.

What are your household secret tricks?

Mother of the Year

Came back from the dentist yesterday to a sick little baby. She was having an allergic reaction, I think to Camille.

Mimi looked almost as bad as this:

Here are her swollen little legs, hard to tell because they're so fat anyway. She was covered in hives.

Sad little swollen ear.
Thankfully, Ellie was there to give her the proper dosing of benedryl and tylenol. I was panicking. Mimi had a temperature of 99.5.

I called the doctor, just to tell them what was going on, they told me to get in my car right now and go to the hospital -- El says that they're required by law to tell me that.

But we went anyway because we have great health care, better safe than sorry and it only cost $5. Plus, her swelling had not gone down sufficiently with the benedryl.
Here's my good little patient. No crying! Notice the wrist band.

The doctor dosed her with medicine, some steroid and allergy meds.

Dx is a good daddy, he rushed right over to the hospital.

She woke up a happy baby!
Actually, the allergy might have been to apple juice or formula.

Filipino Inmates do Thriller

Inmates in Cebu, Philippines do Thriller.

I think it's part of their sentence.

Click here: Thiller

You aint seen nothing yet.

Hunka Hunka Burning Tahoe

We spent this last weekend at Fallen Leaf Lake where Dx's grandparents live. While we were there we checked out the 4 square miles burnt in the mid-June fire. Dx's family lives at the southernmost point of Fallen Leaf Lake. The area between the burn and the lake is a steep hill, maybe 600 ft.This picture is standing on the road looking down at the burned area, looking southwest.

This one is the same road, turned southeast toward South Lake Tahoe.This last one is facing the opposite direction, toward Fallen Leaf, the lake is the blue in the background. These trees are burnt about 100 feet down the FLL side. Their home is at the bottom of this hill.

That's how lucky they were.

Of course, Bill and Gram did not evacuate -- captain goes down with the ship and all. You can just imagine them, both about 80 with brandishing very large firehoses. If anyone could have fended off fire, it was them. Of course, they had their valuables waiting in a boat on the lake, just in case.

Here's what happened to the houses in the burn area. It looked like a war zone, garage doors melted, cars carcasses resting on burned rims, and lone chimneys. It was creepy.


On a lighter note, here's Mimi with Mandie.

Things I Like

Flight of the Conchords. HBO, Sundays 10:30

preview a fabulous seductive ballad. Part-time model
Arrested Development. Preview why Tobias Blues Himself

I also like these people.

A No Wynn Situation

A new casino recently opened in Las Vegas. As this city of sin is one of Dx's favorite, he wanted to visit the new Wynn casino. We don't gamble, but we like fine dining, fabulous hotels and swanky shopping -- all of which the Wynn reportedly has.

Unfortunately, when we were getting out of the car and pulling Mimi's stroller out of the trunk, the valet shrieked "Strollers not allowed!"

Mimi is little, but she is heavy. Either we carry her or baby was not allowed. No strollers allowed at the Wynn? Isn't that illegal in some way? All the other hotels allow them! Anyway, we decided to carry her. We were starving. This parasol decorated restaurant looked promising.
Here is Dx talking to the hostess. She said, "No children under 5." We were banished.
Now I ask you, how could you turn down this adorable baby?

Today we went to the zoo. We're welcome there, stroller or no.

Baby Harrison

Fabulous Alex had her adorable and tiny little boy on July 11. 7/11/7. We flew to Las Vegas to see him as soon as we could. Mother and baby (and dad) are doing great!
Dx and Harrison.
Harrison and special little baby pacifier.
Alex and giant baby Mimi.
More pictures to follow, we just got here.

The Swimsuit Issue

Mimi has a rough life. Five months old and she has to go to Hawaii twice.

We were fortunate enough to get to spend the last week in Hawaii, far away from blogging abilities.

We ate shave ice and wore bikinis.

Dx didn't get to come, we missed him a lot. He had to work, boo.
You're a grand ol flag.
Crack kills
It was as much fun as it looked, and delicious!

The Year of a Thousand Cars

Cravens like cars. More than liking cars, we like changing cars.

Dx talks about cars, he dreams about cars. I catch him researching cars on-line and if he's absent for a few hours, you can bet he's probably at the car lot test driving cars.

When I was 16 I started begging people who were 18 to take me to test drive cars. I had boyfriends with fun cars, I worked at Automart and I went to car shows. Before I met Dx I picked out and bought my first car "with my own money" (having sold the cars Dad gave me because I am spoiled.) It was a 1966 Mustang, pale green. I had the breaks updated and taught myself how to fix things like ignition starters, locks and windows. I don't know much about what happens under the hood, but I know how to check a car for previous accidents and what the pings in the engine mean (they're bad.)

The day I met Dx I lured him away from the other girls by inviting him to come check out my new car. He had also bought a new car that week -- his Honda S2000, which is kind of a car-guy's car.

Dx has had lots of cars. See if you can figure out the pattern: Honda DelSol, Mazda Miata, Honda S2000, Porsche 911. He says he likes fast cars, I say he likes cars that Minnie Mouse would be proud to drive.

Before we got married, Dx bought me a BMW 330i. When we got back from Europe, we had had it with mini cars, so we bought the FJ Cruiser "for Tahoe". Then I became too fat and pregnant to lift my bulk into the FJ, so I bought a Prius. I almost accidentally sold my Prius, but I got to keep it.

Dx bought the Porsche because it's a "family car" which means it has a back seat, for a parapalegic. When he sells this, who knows what he will buy?

I have found just the car for him.

It meets nearly all the qualifications:

1) It's a hot color.

2) It's unique

3) Minnie Mouse would love it.

Wait for it

wait for it

It's an Amigo, I think. Pretty, very masculine.

Eat it Or Wear It

Mimi is in a new phase. It's a hard when you're four months and you realize, hey! Everybody is eating fabulous things, but all I eat is boob!

We go to a lot of restaurants and we always bring Mimi. Recently, she wants to grab and taste everything. Not eat, that would involve swallowing. Taste. It makes dining out considerably more difficult.

Today I gave Mim a mesh bag rattle thing full of ice. She was in heaven and screamed when it melted. So I tried bread. No good. Then I put in blueberries. She liked those. Finally, I bust out the rice cereal and she thought she was in heaven. Ate 2 bowls, after spreading it all over herself.

Here is Mimi. She eats in the nude.

Comment on Comments

More important than the blog are the comments. We who blog know how often people visit our blogs, so when they read and don't leave comments we feel as though they're spying. It hurts our blogging feelings. Here are some thoughts on comments:

• Maybe you don't know how to leave a comment.

Here's how:

You can access the comment department of a blog by clicking the blue link that says comments, usually right below all the pictures at the bottom of the day's blog. Click that link and then the comment page will come up. Type your comment in the box, then type the little crazy code which prevents computer generated repeating (I think), then type in your e-mail address and password. You can use your yahoo address or any other, as far as I know.

• Those who blog comment on other people's blogs. It's blogging decorum.
• It's hard to leave a clever comment on all blogs. Developing a clever comment can take a long time. This can make blogging take hours, which is fine if it prevents you from shopping. You do not have to be clever to comment. We'll take anything.
• You are welcome to comment on other people's comments and not directly on the blog. That creates a dialogue. Ellie, for example, does not have a blog, so she makes her comments extra funny and makes sure to comment on all of the posts.
• Celia will threaten you if you do not comment on her blog in a timely manner.
• If you comment on one person's blog and not another's, feelings will be hurt.
• The majority of bloggers update daily. Please feel free to check daily, as it makes bloggers feel like they are important.

Those are my feelings on comments. Bloggers live for comments. If you enjoy reading our blogs, please join the club. Your life might seem boring to you, but I find your visits to Wetzel's Pretzels and pictures of your baby a necessary part of my day.

Alex, please start a blog. Ellie is excused from blogging, provided she continues to contribute excellent comments. Lindsay should start a blog, because I'm curious about what she does. Ashley, start a blog. Niya, start a blog.

Thank you, good evening.

Free to do what I want

It's Independence Day, which means we are free to spend our time any way we want. Our family is all gone or have made other plans with friends, but we can't plan more than a few days in advance and therefore we have no plans today and are just hanging out.

What do Cravens do with their spare time?

1) Go to Movies.

Dax joined the other 30 year old Asian guys to see the first showing of the Transformers movie. I certainly hope it was more than meets the eye, because it looks really stupid. Today he told me all about how it concerned him that Decepticon does not have a scope when he transforms into a gun.

2) Sleep.

We slept til noon. Mimi is definitely one of us.

3) Get some breakfast.

Pancakes at noon. Delish.

4) Test drive cars.

The fact that it was 100 degrees can't keep us away from car lots.

5) Eat sushi.

I got Dax a barbeque for Father's Day. If you're not going to use it on the Fourth, are you ever going to barbeque?

6) Watch fireworks.

We went to SF to meet our friend Niya and watch Fireworks from a hill in the Presidio. They were far away. The best fireworks I've ever seen were from Dad's office in Pleasant Hill where you got to be part of the firework. London's on New Year's wasn't bad either.

Thanks to the soldiers and heros who we honor today -- you have made us free to sleep til noon, watch lame movies and test drive over priced cars. God bless the USA.

That's my Goldie Hawn smile. Fireworks and SF in background. We tried to make it a sing-a-long, but all we got was "play ball" at the end of singing The Star Spangled Banner at the top of our lungs.

Niya is not wearing a piece, of course she has fabulous real hair.

Adventures of the Piece

Weave, piece, extensions, wig, hairpiece, falsie, rat tail.

I have recently invested in a piece.

Here's how it happened.

I dye my hair a lot and therefore it is frequently fried and it gets frizzy as I grow it out. I don't have the patience to grow my hair very long.

The other day I was wandering through the Beverly Center in West Hollywood and I happened upon a salon supply center. There was a crowd of women gathered around a rack and as I pushed my way to the front, I realized that they were fighting over the remaining items left on the new Jessica Simpson and her minion Ken Paves' "hairdo" line. Yes, Jessica Simpson is hawking wigs.

One lady was offering free consultations -- she was the proud owner of one curly piece and was investing in a second straight extension. She helped me pick out the perfect color and gave me the confidence to go ahead with my purchase.

I now have long hair when I feel like it. It is my new favorite beauty accessory, my lipfinity now ranks second.

I have piece pride.

Sometimes Dax likes to wear my piece like a mullet.

My Debutante Ball

I'm joining the club. Celia pressured me to start a blog and I finally have something worthy of posting.

This past week my fabulous and unpredictable husband Dax was invited to interview at a prestigious production company in Los Angeles. It was the type of job that when they ask you to interview, you drop everything and go.

Dax invited Mimi and me to come along, so we made a little vacation out of it. Waffle came too. The interview went really well and Dax was scheduled to start the following day, meaning that our whole family would be moving to Los Angeles after the brief trial period at this job.

We've been in the Bay Area nearly a year and have almost established ourselves so we were reluctant to move. I had talked Dax into leaving Universal to go to London and then Lovells to move to Walnut Creek so I was in no position to make this decision. While Dax was fretting about going to work the following day, I went to sleep assuming I'd have to drive him to work the next morning at his brand new job and our brand new life.

It was about 9 when I woke up and asked Dax why he wasn't ready for work. He said, "I'm not going."

Dax had been up until 3am weighing the options, and he finally said a quick prayer about it. Then, he googled his boss.

The first four hits on this guy talked about the millenial march on Washington. The next article talked about his founding membership in a group called PLAY or People of Leather Among You. As he read on, he learned that his boss has a full sized dungeon in the basement of his home in which he keeps "pups" for play. But these are no ordinary puppies. The main "pup" is a grown man named Tip. Pup Tip is a human.

And that's not all, folks. As he scrolled down, there was a full picture of Dax's new boss in full leather gear holding a leash. On the end of that leash was a blond nubial man pretending to be a puppy.

He decided not to take the job.

The above isn't him, but it looks just like him. Loving the leather.

I wouldn't deprive you of your Mimi fix. She's my favorite child.