We're SWELL: February 2008

Friday, February 29, 2008

My even FUNNIER Valentine...

Ok, well maybe I shouldn't be laughing but my only other response to this is to CRY. During the week of Valentine's, I felt particularly crazed with tons on my to-do list I remember. A box arrived on the day that Evan was working from home and I delivered it to him at his desk upstairs. (although I had a good idea of what it might be...a gift for ME, of course!) I didn't think much of it even though it said "perishable, keep refrigerated" on the outside box, but apparently Evan wasn't fazed by that. So, Valentine's comes and we have our great evening in the city and then a day later Evan emails and says, "why don't you open that box now and share it with the kids." I must have been in the middle of something else because I remember him saying that, but then went on to something else I was doing and didn't give it another thought. Flash forward to yesterday-- our internet service was very spotty so I went upstairs to reboot the router and check the cables. (remember, Luke is always on the prowl so loose cables are a distinct possibility!) When I bent down to take a look at the cables, what did I find but a label staring at me: Perishable Keep REFRIGERATED! My heart sunk, could it be that they were preserved in our swiss cheese for walls chilly house? Oh no! I scooped up the box and took it downstairs only to find a beautiful array of science experiment quality chocolate covered strawberries with a rather FETID aroma. YIKES! I started to laugh and then tried to figure out how to tell Evan of the mishap. So, you're looking at it. Evan, I'm sorry I didn't listen to you and open the box when you said. A picture really does say 1000 words, don't you think?!

Thursday, February 21, 2008

My Funny Valentine...

This year my friend Anne had the brilliant idea to do a couples romantic cooking class at ICE (Institute of Culinary Education) in NYC. I surprised Evan by telling him to meet me at the Flatiron Building at 5:30 so he really had no idea what I had in store. As we met up and approached the school, it all clicked and he got excited! I was so proud of myself for actually keeping it a secret. I get too excited and usually spill it!

The night was a blast! The class was made up of 8 couples and 3 menus, so 3 different tables made a complete dinner menu. We had 3 complete dinners! Outstanding! Ours was coq au vin, grilled vegetables (notice my perfect char gridmarks on the eggplant!!!) and chocolate mousse, then the next table was scallops, risotto and creme a la coeur, then the last table made filet mignon with burgundy sauce and mushrooms, pommes anna, a vegetable dish and bananas foster. There was lots of fire that night! The chef teacher claimed that that was the romantic part. He was a little uptight, but my friend Anne and I got the giggles with our creation of cleverly artistic whipped cream and raspberry decorations on our mousse and that was the romantic part! Use your imagination. We got a few eye rolls from the chef.

It may not have been the MOST romantic Valentine's, but surely it was one of the funnest!

I love you, Chef Evan!

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Oops I did it again...

Some of you may have heard that I accidentally dropped my cell phone in a bucket of ice water at Cosi a few months ago. I was with my friend Valecia and she had the great advice to immediately take the battery out and let the phone dry out. I did this and guess what....it WORKED! If this ever happens to you, take the battery out immediately, keep it apart from the phone and let the phone dry out for a good day or two. We put the hairdryer on it on a low setting for about an hour just for good measure (facing the phone, not the battery) and then it was amazing that it worked again! (My "L" key still doesn't work, but that's ok, a capital "I" looks the same on a text, so I just use that...sneaky!!!)

Then, the other day while I was bathing Luke, our cordless phone dropped in the bath. I didn't notice at first, but I saw Luke looking inquisitively at something floating in the water and saw it bobbing around!!! NOT AGAIN! So, I grabbed it, took the battery out immediately and left it that way for a week. Now it still WORKS just like before!

Just wanted to pass on this useful tidbit in case it happens to you. May the phone gods watch over you so you never have to use this, but just in case...