One Issue Put to Rest

Q: Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

A: The egg. The use of eggs for reproduction was around for millions of years before what we know as the chicken came into existence. So please, let's not ask that question any more.

The New Triscuits

Here is the new Triscuit packaging (old on the left, new on the right). I don't like it. I think the type looks unfinished, and the layout lacks personality. The food shot (what we call appetite appeal) is amazing, though. Harley loves the new pack. And since the target is women, which Harley is, that's all that matters.

Typically, Kraft (who owns Nabisco) has very bright, bold packaging. It feels very bubbly, for lack of a better word (bubble letters). This design is a much different look for them. More natural and wholesome looking. Almost European. It might be part of a larger trend towards Kraft being all about 'natural.' Check out the new Kraft salad dressing packaging, which is all about purity.

Kraft is not doing well. Its parent company Altria (aka Philip Morris, a corporation which I helped name and design), are looking to sell Kraft because it's bringing the rest of the stok down. No matter how expensive cigarettes are, people will pay. Hopefully for them, this will work. If not, some people I used to work with may be out of jobs.

And Then She Kissed Me

Last night, we took a family trip for Friday Night Sushi. We love Friday night sushi. And we always go to the same spot: Yuko, on 81st & York. It's close by, cheaper than the busier restaurants on 2nd Ave, and it's never crowded. We always get a table right away and can usually pick the one we want (near the window, away from the door).

The biggest reason we go there is because they love Lilah. All the waitresses know her by name, treat her like a queen, and are generally awesome. They know to bring edamame right away, never complain about the mess on the floor, and always give us free ice cream at the end of the meal.

Last night, during the ice cream, Lilah wants out of the booster seat. So I put her on my play, and she is surprisingly happy there. I'm feeding her ice cream ("mooshi"?) and she's getting it all over her face. She leans her head back and looks up at me. Then, she puts her lips together. I've seen this behavior from a lady before, but never one with so much ice cream on her face and rice in her hair.

I lean it to her and she kisses me, right on the lips. It was so cute. Harley "awws" and we all crack up. We do it again. Just as cute. It's a big deal for me. Being a Daddy means unloading the car by yourself, but it also means I work and don't get to see her most of the day. So I live for these little moments. Like when she runs and gives me a bear hug when I get home from work.

Moments that I do not live for:
- hearing the "I'm ready to play" cry at 6am
- getting poked in the eye at 7am
- getting kicked in the face at 7:10am
- then the family jewels at 7:20am
- watching Dora before the time I usually wake up for work
- picking little pieces of eggs out of Lilah's hair
- watching Wonderpets... again

What I Learned Today

heavy cream soup for lunch = sleepy Andrew

must take nap

Building Update: Epilogue

Here's a closeup of the construction site. I've seen pix from far way, which look fairly clean. This image shows the damage and violence actually incurred.

The Last Building Update

They've finally finished tearing down the building across the street. Here is the full procession of pictures. These over about 5 weeks time. Can't wait to see what they put up. And I hope to hell no cranes fall. No joke.

A Great Weekend

Every couple weeks or so, Harley and I like to have a family day. This is where we spend the whole together, just the 3 of us. We did that this Saturday. It was awesome. Lilah got up really early, so we were out of the house by 11:30am. We had fun (and a nap) at Bed Bath & Beyond. We then had a quick lunch at Harley's favorite French Bakery. Lilah ate all my cucumbers. We then spent an hour at the park, where Lilah ran for 60 minutes straight.

Harley doesn't like Lilah playing in the sand box. She is afraid of the germs other kids left behind. I disagree. She said "I'll send you the articles!" (I'm still waiting for those.) We disagreed on this before Lilah set off to explore the park, and Harley followed. I sat on the bench to rest cause my feet her (they always do). 25 minutes later, I see Harley coming around the corner of the park, with Lilah still running in front of her. Lilah's hands were covered in... you guessed, sand.

A: "I thought you didn't want her to play with sand?"
H: "She didn't."
A: "Then what's all over her hands?"
H: "Oh, that's mud."
A: "Isn't mud worse than sand?!?"
H: "Shhhh..."
A: "The rich-people sandbox in an Upper East Side Manhattan park is way better than the mud."
H: "I simply don't know what you are talking about."

It was awesome. Try as she might, Harley is way too cool to keep Lilah from being a kid. From there, we walked uptown to a street fair on 2nd Avenue. God damn, I love living in the city right now. No car, no plans, and we walk into all the action on our way home. Highlights include:
- kettle corn
- Lilah chomping down endless amounts of watermelon
- the worst karaoke ever
- the smell of funnel cake & deep fried oreos
- buying cheap sunglasses that look identical to a pair I already own
- the nap when we got home

It was a great day. We had a healthy dinner and cleaned up the apartment. Lilah went to bed early and I got to watch UFC. Awesome.

Sunday, we went to Long Island to visit Meme, Poppy, and Mammy. They bought her a small Dora beach chair. Lilah was sitting in it in the kitchen, and all 3 dogs ere taking turns licking her face, with Meme keeping a watchful eye right next to her. Lilah LOVED it. Harley looked on, conflicted by her fear of dogs but happy to see Lilah having so much fun. There was no traffic on the LIE, and we made it home in 40 minutes on a Sunday night. Perfect.