Even In Australia

Did you know that those people up in KV have an awesome collection of children's books. While there last week, I read for maybe the 10,000 time Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst. You know it, don't you? It's so good; the sheer frustration Alexander feels along with Ray Cruz's illustrations really captures the essence of a kid's bad day.

Yesterday, I had my very own even in Australia day. It wasn't terrible, horrible, but it just felt like one of those days when I think why do I live in New Hampshire and when is it going to get better?

The Bean was okay--a little fussy and not so nappy, but there have been worse days on that front. The sun actually came out in the afternoon and we ended up taking 2 walks. But I need a friend. I need a friend who's more like me than the people I've met here so far. I need a friend who needs a friend. And who lives close by so I can still get the Bean to have proper naps in her crib. Right next door would be great. Mostly just someone who I can just call up and say, I'm going stir crazy, wanna meet on the green? Or wanna come over for coffee. I do at least one thing with other moms most days during the week, so maybe it's better for both me and The Bean to have some days when nothing happens, but still those are the days I just long to be back in Brooklyn. And I fantasize as I push a crying Bean back home from the green about what I would be doing in Brooklyn now. Maybe I would be walking in Prospect Park with Beth and her newish son The Frog. Maybe I would be at the amazing playground a block away from our old apartment with Melissa who has a 1 year old and lives down the street. Maybe my brother would have brought Cuban sandwiches over for lunch.

But then I stop this fantasy and try to be realistic. Even in Brooklyn, the Bean would still needs naps and her naps and The Frog's naps might not gel some days. And Melissa's kid could be sick. Also: my brother hasn't set foot in Brooklyn since '99.

I remind myself to be grateful that N. has a job. That we're not in Texas. That I have met some people who I do like and that we've only been here about seven months. Don't they say it takes a year? But man the long days can be so long. And lonely.

Say, Do You Still Hang in New Hampshire?

I've heard that perhaps the blog is getting a bit Beancentric and that the peoples might be interested in life in NH, which was the reason this blog was born. So....I'll answer a few questions I think you might have and then, gentle readers, you can ask me some more and I will answer them. Really. The weirder the better. Fun, no?

1. Is it cold there?
Lots of people asked me this last week and the answer WAS not really. I mean it was cool, but all of the Northeast is cool in December. But Sunday night a cold front came in and it dropped like seventeen degrees in an hour! It got so cold so fast. When I went to the dentist on Monday morning it was a whopping 4 degrees! Tuesday and Wednesday were on the warmer side. Today And it snowed like a mother. Luckily I just got new ugly boots and snow tires.
2. Do you have any friends yet?
Um....I'm not sure. I know a lot of moms and I do things with the moms but it's always about the kids, you know. What I need is someone I can call spontaneously, which I might be able to do but haven't done lately. But I certainly do go out to lunch a lot. Us moms love our lunches. Making friends with moms is a lot like dating or the first month of your freshman year. Read this if you're so inclined.
3. What do you miss most about NYC?
I missed the city the night Obama won. NH seemed so quiet although realistically I probably wouldn't have been out in the city either the quiet felt particularly isolating. I miss having my family close by. If they were around life would be different. N. and I would probably have more date nights and on those long Tuesday afternoons I could just bring The Bean to grandma's. Plus, my family is pretty cool. I miss my friends, people who have known me for years. It's hard establishing who you are with people you've just met. I miss good ethnic food. I also miss people of color. I really miss the ease of curbside recycling. In the battle of the family vs. recycling it seems the recycling is going to win.
4. Are there things you don't miss about NYC?
When I was back in the city last month I could see what a drag city life can be with a big stroller and even-bigger diaper bag. It's kind of nice having a car where you have more of an option of nursing or changing a diaper than on the 2 train. The crowds can be annoying. N's schedule was horrible back in NY and not conducive to having a Bean.
5. What else?
I don't know. Ask and all shall be revealed.

Best Of Brooklyn: Thai

While I'm still able to walk (rather than waddle) to dining establishments around the Borough of Kings, I thought I'd have a semi-regular Best of Brooklyn series of posts.

Let's talk about Thai food.

People often ask if pregnancy has brought any weird food cravings. The only thing close is how much more I desire Thai food. I always liked it but since being pregnant I find myself wanting it at least once, sometimes twice a week. Weirder is how I want the same thing (Pad See Eu) even two days in a row, which is so not my (non pregnant) style.

I think the best Thai food in Brooklyn is Watana on 7th Ave between 14th and 15th. It's consistently good and fresh. It's also cheap since it's BYOB. N. usually gets some kind of domestic brewsky at the bodega across the street unlike his usual fancy-man wine at restaurants with liquor licenses.

(Not drinking for these past 6! months [yes, the Bean inadvertently imbibed alcohol during its first month since I had no idea!] has made me painfully aware of the insane markup on booze in restaurants. I know everyone knows this but it's all the more painful when sober to realize that your hunny has spent $20 on two glasses of average wine when you can get a decent bottle for less than $10! I'm working on N. to get a flask, but he thinks it's tacky.)

Back in the day I often ate at Song on 5th Ave and 2nd St. because it was $8.00 entree cheap. But I stopped two years ago because it was always insanely noisy and the noodles were greasy. I went back with a friend last week who said the food was better. I was pleased that the curry I ordered (I had Ped See Eu at Wantana the night before and the Bean's diet should have variety) was delish! N. and I went last night, but my noodles were greasy! And overly beefy! Wantana has a lot more veggies in their Pad See Eu so they get more points. N. liked his Massaman curry so maybe the rule is only curries at Song. Song is not BYOB but even with a glass of wine, last night's bill (incl. tip) was $25.00

Mango at 52nd 7th Ave in Park Slope is okay. If you do take-out, you need to get extra rice because they are very stingy with it.

The truly best and cheapest BYOB Thai food in the smallest space is probably East Village Thai on 7th St btwn 2nd and 3rd but since this is a Brooklyn-centric blog I'm not going to mention it.

I'm Going To Miss (Most of) This

There's a baby crying. Like really crying. And this woman next to me has been on her cell phone for maybe 40 minutes. The sing along is going to happen in 20 minutes so there's about 1,000 kids and their caretakers gridlocking the water cooler with their $1,000 strollers, getting amped up on coffee and organic apple juice so psyched to sing Old MacDonaldTwinkleTwinkle for the next half hour. Normally I can block all this out but today I'm not really getting much work done because I keep thinking how there won't be anything like this in NH. I'm not kidding when I say there must be 25 kid-less people all between 20-40 on their laptops--23 of them are using Macs of course.

One thing I won't miss is the shoeless man.

I understand being comfortable. But not wearing shoes--today he's not even wearing socks! I don't want to see his feet. That's not why I paid $8.00 for a decaf latte and scone. He wouldn't be able to pull this shit up in NH. Mid-April it's still too cold to be a shoeless wonder.