"Bellybuttons"

No, not real bellybuttons. I can go for...years without thinking about my bellybutton. Or anything else's. But food bellybuttons? YUM. Why is it the middle of something usually tastes the best? I remember standing in front of a watermelon on the kitchen counter, carving out the middle with a spoon, eating my way to the core and knowing I was going to get chewed out for ruining the watermelon, but I just couldn't stop myself. When I open my hummus, it is a little treat to scoop out the center swirl bellybutton. It doesn't taste any different, it just looks cute. I eat sandwiches and bagels in rounds so I can eat the middle last.

My all time favorite food 'bellybutton' is the last piece of a cinnamon roll. Normally cinnamon rolls are not my thing because they are too sweet and gooey, but when I do eat one, I just about eat the whole thing only so I can get down to that last little button in the middle. Mmmm...so good. You know that Seinfeld episode about muffin tops? There should also be a store that just sells cinnamon roll bellybuttons.

However, I will eat the edges of things, when needed. In my family we have edgers and middlers. Middlers are the ones who won't eat the edges of things like brownies and cake. They want middle pieces only. Middlers make things complicated, but luckily there are edgers like me who take one for the team. (In my family there are nine kids, counting all the steps, plus grandkids and in-laws. So when we all get together for a meal, it's quite a group. We also have an usually high number of left-handers. We've got the seating chart and middlers/edgers tipping points down to a science.)

More centers that taste better: artichokes, pizza (that first bite as opposed to the crusty edge), homemade loaves of bread, hamburgers, PB&J sandwiches, KitKat candy bars, toast.

John Krasinski

Good Manners

By heritage, I am half Spanish, half Southern. Good manners and social graces are a big deal to me. Which is why I laughed so hard when I got this email from a male friend:

"Rebecca,

Damn you, Rebecca!"

Because when you curse someone out by email, even in jest, it's evidently still polite to address them first by their proper name. (The rest of the e-mail expressed his dismay that I am currently winning my fantasty football league. He doesn't think I deserve to win, as I don't even watch the games. He's probably right.)

By the way, it's weird to be in a place where no one says "Miss Rebecca" as a friendly greeting.

Maple vs. Chocolate

My favorite candy is real maple sugar candy. My last trip to Canada, I bought a little piece of maple candy every night after dinner. And a small bottle of overpriced real maple syrup at the airport. (My Canadian friend Lindsey has a huge bottle of the same brand in her fridge. This is the difference between Americans and Canadians. I only need a small bottle.) I don't make pancakes or waffles, but I love adding a teaspoon or so to a cup of plain (not vanilla) yogurt, along with some wheat germ. (This is also good with honey instead of maple, but I think the maple is better.)

I also brought home a small supply of maple sugar candy from Canada and I love sucking on it until it dissolves on my tongue. I only have two pieces left, and I'm rationing them. Who knows when I will get back to Canada? I love the sweet yet tangy aftertaste of maple. It's a complex flavor. I'd rather eat maple candy than chocolate, except for doughnuts. Maple doughnuts are nasty. And people talk about chocolate syrup for fun? No, no: maple is where it's at. Try it.

I do have a good memory of chocolate, though. My friend Jeff P. and I were sharing a Hershey bar late one night and it was a little cold. He broke off a couple of pieces, took my hand, pulled up my sleeve and set them on the inside of my wrist. I looked at him like he was crazy but he said, "Trust me, just wait a few minutes." True enough, did you know the warmth of your skin softens milk chocolate to the perfect texture to melt in your mouth? It does. It leaves little chocolate outlines on your wrist, but if you have a friend like Jeff who really likes chocolate, he'll take care of that for you with his tongue. Sometimes chocolate wins after all.

Oh Hell Yes

From one of my favorite books, Southern Ladies and Gentlemen:

"For a woman who has spent years on college campuses and dated a string of tormented intellectuals...there are times in an woman's life when she does not give a hoot in hell whether a man has read War and Peace or not."

Indeed.

One Minute Man

This past weekend I met a guy in an elevator. He was coming home and let me into my friend's call-box building.  We stepped into the elevator together, he said something funny and self-deprecating to break the ice and it took about 45 seconds to get to my floor, but he was 45 seconds of charming and funny, with a kind demeanor. I'll never see him again. But I love these random interactions. They remind me how many cool people there are out there, how much chemistry is yet to be discovered, and how fun it is to meet a funny, charming and good guy. Even if it is only for one minute.

(And of course, because this is me, I managed to make a fool of myself about it. The condos have an iron patio running the length of the floor and my friend was outside on the patio when I arrived. It was a party, so people were spilling in and out the front door. I start telling her, 'Did you know you have a really cute neighbor? He lives upstairs' etc. and then...we hear footsteps overhead. He was outside on the patio, too. Ooops. He totally heard me raving about him. But later that night, he walked past the apartment, twice. One floor down from where he needed to be. I missed seeing him go by because I was facing the other way in front of the living room window, but I heard about it from my friend. He was walking his dog. On the third floor patio. So maybe he didn't mind overhearing after all.)

The OED

I love studying the history and usage of words and currently own several different types of dictionaries, some specialized for the field of linguistics and lit criticism, some for general use. And one statistics dictionary I hope I never have to open again.

But the end all, be all of dictionaries and the Golden Chalice of this book nerd is still the Oxford English Dictionary, or, in nerd parlance, 'The OED.' It's a 24 volume set (20 original, plus four supplemental volumes) and you can usually buy it for around $1,000. It takes up a lot of room. I almost bought it several years ago, but I knew I wasn't settled enough yet to buy a 24 volume dictionary. It's the kind of thing you don't want to haul around very far or often. But it's still a dream of mine to own the complete OED in print. In the Rebecca Scale of Consumerism, the OED ranks higher than diamonds.

www.oed.com

Halloween

Not only is Halloween my friend Candace's birthday (holla!), but I love to dress up. And these days, if you want to dress up, you have to be invited to a Masquerade or a Costume Ball. And really, who throws Masquerade or Costume Balls anymore? No one. So Halloween has become du jour for expressing that playful side we normally can't express outside of Halloween and college (and oh, I used to dress up in some fantastic outfits for going out with my roommates Jill and Brooke and Dana in college. I could almost be my college-self for Halloween). Unless, of course, you are a Playboy Bunny like Bridget on The Girls Next Door.

Bridget is my favorite because she LOVES dressing up. Every time they go on an excursion or have a party, Bridget has a little costume she wears and because she is a bunny, she can get away with it, even on a random Tuesday. (This was an outfit she wore to go look at historical sites around L.A., if I recall correctly.) I just know if Bridget and I were BFF, every morning we'd get up and say, "Which little costume do I want to wear today?" while standing in front of our revolving Cher-in-Clueless costume closet. Bridget gets to dress up every day if she wants to because, hello? Playboy Bunny. As long as she has her clothes on, no one cares what she wears.

I'd wear playful clothes every day if I could. So Halloween, that's my day. Some years I have two or three costumes, just because I can. My advice? Start with the shoes and stockings. From there, anything is possible. But the wrong shoes and stockings sinks the outfit. So get that right first, then just have fun with the rest. Actually, that is my advice for every other day, too.

(I don't know what happened to the spacing on this one and can't figure it out. Sorry.)

Hall of Fame III: Hot Stone Massage

When grad school finals were finished each semester, I would splurge and get a hot stone massage from my awesome massage girl, Katie. Love her. She is so nice and her hands use the perfect amount of pressure. She always knew to clear out some time for me in May and December. I would also go to her for regular massages at other times, but the hot stone version was a special treat for a starving student.

A hot stone massage is like a regular massage². Various sized basalt rocks are heated in water (Katie mixes in some essential oils with the hot water, because she is awesome) and placed all over your body. For example, the rocks are placed down your spine and across your pelvis, like the picture at left. When they have had a chance to warm up the muscles sufficiently, that area is massaged and worked on, so you get a rotating experience of the hot rocks being placed on your skin with the actual massage. On larger muscle areas, she also uses the warm rocks in her hands to stimulate the skin and massage the muscles. Up and down your arms, legs, back, in between your fingers and toes, and even on your face. Delicious. (My face is evidently not very flat, as the rocks always slide off my cheeks. This always makes us laugh, even though we knew it would happen every time. It is also interesting how different areas of your body are more sensitive to heat than others. My lower back is always very sensitive, my legs not so much.)

In addition to the dimly lit room and soothing music, the smell of the essential oils and heat of the rocks is incredibly relaxing. I almost fall asleep. Which isn't a bad thing, as you have to lie very still so as not to disturb the rocks. A hot stone massage generally lasts 90 minutes and costs around $40 more than a regular massage. I think with tip, it is usually around $120 bucks. Totally worth it.

Jeans, Jims, and Jaynes

1. True Religion 'Joey' stretch denim jeans. Because they have a 34" inseam (long enough to wear with high heeled boots) and 7" rise (low enough to sit on the hip bones, not so low you have to worry about flashing people when you drop your keys). And with just a wee bit of lycra, a great fit if you are a bit curvier and like pants that don't gap at the waist in order to fit around your bum (and who does??). I also have a pair of NYLaundry jeans I found at a thrift store for five bucks that I love for the same reasons. I don't know where to find another pair like this. But if you come across any, try them out.

Nordstrom.com, $172 - $216.




2. The Other Rebecca is in town this week for work and staying with me rather than at a hotel. Because we are such wild and crazy gals, the other night we stayed up late in our jammies watching Season 2 of The Office, which FloJo has never seen (sacrilege, darling!). It was so fun watching it again for the first time through her eyes, especially when Jim would do something adorable and she'd say, "Jim is so CUTE!" and I'd say, "I KNOW!" Okay, so we aren't very creative late at night, but Jim really is adorable. (As is John K.) As I said to R. the other day: the problem with the men I meet? Too many Dwights, not enough Jims.




I'm reading this book right now. I don't necessarily agree with all of the hypotheses, in relation to language usage I think some are really outdated, but it's thought-provoking and well-written. Flojo thinks I read nerdy books, and I guess she's right. But I learn a lot from books like this. And I'm a nerd. So it works.

The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind, Julian Jaynes, Amazon, varies.

Breakfast, plus Corn Tortillas Are Always Awesome

Lunch is my biggest and most important meal of the day, but breakfast runs a close second. Dinner? Eh, whatever. Overrated. I never, ever skip lunch or breakfast, but dinner is often just a pain in my heiny. "What, I have to choose what to eat again??" I sleep through dinner all the time. It's hard for me to keep my eyes open from around 5-7, my sleepiest time of the day. And if I have to choose between sleeping and eating, I'll choose sleeping every time. But I digress.

One of my favorite breakfasts is two corn tortillas with melted cheese, onions, black beans and salsa. Delicious and healthy to boot, and it takes about five seconds, perfect for those bleary eyed mornings when I can't keep a thought in my head for more than five seconds. Just take a couple of corn tortillas (for an extra health kick, use the whole kernel ones you can get at Whole Foods or The Good Earth) and sprinkle about 1/4 to 1/2 an ounce of pre-shredded cheese down the center. Then add a tablespoon or two of black beans (I use the canned kind, I like salt), pop it in the microwave for around 30 seconds, until the cheese is melted, then add some chopped onion (leave this out if you're too tired to chop onion safely, and some mornings, yes I am) and hot sauce or hot salsa. Simply roll up and mmmm...the flavors in these little tacos will wake you right up, especially if you use the hot salsa. Aye aye aye!! Wash it down with cold Diet Coke for an extra kick, of course. And you can eat these with your hands, which means no clumsy silverware to navigate either.

Corn and beans combined is a perfect protein so if you are looking for non-meat healthy foods, corn and beans is never a bad idea. (Ditto nuts and whole grains, but that is another post.) If I'm eating breakfast at work, I leave out the beans and onions, so it is not as healthy, but still quick and easy and delicious. Another yummy but less healthy version is melted cheese only, then add fresh sliced avocado, tomatoes and hot sauce.

Corn tortillas are a staple food for me, I always have a bag of them in my fridge. Sometimes I go to the tortilla factory and get fresh ones, which are even good plain. I bake them in wedges as homemade tortilla chips, and you can "grill" them over the gas flame on the stove in around 15 seconds. This takes a bit of skill, but it works. You can even eat them for dessert, just warm them, then add butter, sugar and cinnamon or honey. Wow, I am making my mouth water!

Foot Petals

If you like wearing 4 inch heels like I do, Foot Petals will save your feet and enable you to wear those shoes all day (and into the late night) with no discomfort. Why every shoe store doesn't sell these, I don't know. How many more pairs of really high-heeled shoes would you buy if you knew they'd be wearable for 12+ hours?

Seriously, buy some. They come in different shapes and sizes, but this full length version can be worn undetected in even the strappiest of sandals and comes in several colors.

www.footpetals.com