Zeno's Bar & Grill

I took my kids to see Seussical the Musical on Saturday and I can't get that song out of my head. That's probably the reason that the show on Saturday was our second viewing. It was put on as a four-person performance at our little theater downtown, so we got front row seats baby! Both times!

Such a good show, way better than Cats. Far superior to Les Miz. I laughed, I cried. You'd be the biggest blame fool in the Jungle of Nool if you don't go see it.

--Kelly

Two articles in the NY Times today on the subject of women and work--well, actually one is about why Mommy books don't sell, but it comes back to work, promise.

This No Screens thing is so much harder than I thought it would be. First of all, if you'll notice, I'm up in the middle of the night, trying to get caught up on all the things I couldn't do during the day. I missed an important work e-mail that is going to cause an annoying delay in a project I'm working on. I think I'm passing through Kubler-Ross's five stages of grieving for the loss of my computer privileges: denial happened sometime this morning, I think I skipped anger, then came bargaining ("maybe I can check my e-mail if no one sees me"). What's next? If the model is correct, it should be depression. I'll keep you posted.

--Mleanie

Right now I feel like a nicotine addict, hiding in a smoke-filled bathroom, with the windows open and the fan blasting, as I sneak one last ciggy.

It's National TV Turn Off Week and in our house we're doing "No Screens." That means no using the computer for any purposes other than work. I'm allowed to use my laptop during the hours that the kids are in school--hey, a blog can be "work"--anyone who's been keeping up with one for more than a few months knows that.

I'm actually excited about this experiment, and if it goes well, I'd love to continue it. For me, the computer is an irresistable temptress that lures me at all hours. It can get to be a bit much. Just ask Kelly--she's often the recipient of my multiple manic e-mails at six in the morning. Basically, I have no self control (although I have finally kicked the caffeine habit after umpteen million times trying. I finally feel safe saying it after four months of caffeine sobriety this time.)

So anyway, here's to more family time, more reading and more...whatever I find to fill the long empty hours that I used to tap, tap, tap away. My kids are over the moon. I think they might be willing to continue forgoing the videos and TV if they knew I'd never "just check my e-mail for five seconds, honey. Five seconds, promise!"

--Melanie

"Driving while talking on the cell phone is as dangerous as driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.08%. It's a scary thought."

I blame Melanie. First, for getting me hooked on yet another reality show, then for my kids getting hooked on the website. I am, of course, talking about Top Design the Todd Oldham vehicle that searched high and low (or at least in Chicago, LA, and New York) for the designer that would be crowned Top Designer.

Despite my interest in design, the show would probably have escaped my notice had not one of Melanie's friends been a contestant. I probably would have also quit watching a lot sooner if Melanie's friend hadn't made it to the final three. In any case I got hooked on the show and soon I was checking the site. They have a cool tool where you can design a living room or bedroom and now my kids are making like little Philippe Starck's and designing up a storm.

See you later, decorator!

--Kelly

I'm not invincible, it seems. Not sure exactly what I contracted, but be it virus or microbe, I was beyond sick yesterday. I could barely lift my head to watch TV all day. Yet, somehow, I managed to take in back to back episodes of ER and then several reruns of the reality show "Blow Out" on Bravo, featuring hairstylist Jonathan Antin. That, plus a potent cocktail of Extra-Strength Tylenol, antibiotics and leftover Easter candy, were my home remedies. No wonder I woke up this morning with the daggers in the forehead, still sniffling and sneezing. Maybe today I'll try something healthier, like fresh air and wholesome fruits filled with antioxidants.

I was turned on to this site from SBDave's blog. Just give them your email and every day they'll send you one cool thing to check out. Like this site that puts puts images to go along with poems being read by their author, Billy Collins.

--Kelly

I've been beating myself up for the past couple of weeks, or at least feeling awfully guilty. Why wasn't I blogging more, despite my best intentions? Was it some personal failure? A lack of self-discipline? A paucity of anything interesting in my life?

I would have posted more last week, honest. Except for the fact that, under the guidance of my good friend Katharine, I completely replanted every single flower bed around my house in a two day orgy of horticultural mania.

I had a date night on Saturday with my husband. We had a gift card from Morton's that was about to expire (that night as a matter of fact), so we had a delicious corn fed steak before watching a movie about the true cost of the meal. In the vein of Michael Pollan's experiment of buying a steer and following it through the food chain, two college friends rent an acre of land in Iowa to see where the corn they grow ends up. The two friends, and hence the viewer of King Corn, learn about government subsidies that keep the production of corn artificially high leading to the relatively new uses such as feeding it to cows and high fructose corn syrup.

As director Aaron Woolfe put it during the Q&A period after the screening, "Watching corn grow is kind of axiomatic for boredom." Luckily, this movie was anything but. It's in limited release now, but you can buy the DVD from the website. You'll never look at an ear of corn or a bottle of soda the same way again.

--Kelly