Panwiches are the new thing

Looks like PANWICHES (sandwiches made with PANCAKES) are about to take over! It's on my radar for the next big thing: check it out here http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/recipe.aspx?recipeID=46406&WT.dcsvid=Mzc2NDY2NzA5OQS2&WT.mc_id=Newsletter_DME_02_24_2009

Comment: will you try a panwich?

Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, I’m glad another Monday is out of the way! Welcome to Tuesday, everyone! This weekend was our first weekend together since before Christmas; Dan’s been working every weekend to get the 5th Avenue store up and ready to go. On Friday, we went to a Diesel party and shopped at the new store. Dan got new jeans…I ended up with a KEYCHAIN! Where’s the justice, right? In actuality, I really wanted this amazing new Diesel handbag, but it was $560 and even with a discount, I just couldn’t bring myself to spend that much. It’s weird, the more money we earn, the cheaper I’ve become! :) Hopefully, my beautiful bag will still be around when sale season hits. On Saturday, we slept in late, ordered breakfast to be delivered to our apartment (so that we could stay in our flannel pyjamas all day!) and went to a movie Saturday night. We saw Revolutionary Road, with Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio. It was FANTASTIC- a truly great performance by both! After the movie, we stopped at Magnolia Bakery (so much for my diet! lol ) and shared a piece of coconut cake…MMMMM!!

On Sunday, we went to Nintendo world and bought a Wii, and Wii Fit system. We decided this would be our Valentine’s gift. Dan grumbled and groaned when I asked him to help set it up (he hates wires and electronics and just gets frustrated!) but it was actually pretty simple. We love Wii bowling (even though Dan kicks my butt every time!) but the REAL favorite is Wii TENNIS! It’s freaking awesome! We played it so much that we were sore the next day! We were diving on the floor, jumping over the couch, it was crazy!

We had some friends visiting in town, and we met up with them for dinner at Patsy’s on 74th. Anyone who’s ever visited us in NYC MUST be familiar with Patsy’s- we take everyone there! It’s really really really great Italian food, right on our street! We ordered a huge family-sized portion of Dan’s favorite: Spinach ravioli with Pistachio cream sauce… WOW! It’s worth every calorie! Not that I worried- I burned it all off playing Wii Tennis with Dan again until 1:30am!

Tonight I think I’ll set up the Wii Fit and try it out- my friends are saying it really works, and you actually DO get a good workout. We’ll see…

Gotta remember this one for April Fool's Day...

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Fashion Smashion

I (heart) fashion week!

Today the runway shows are wrapping up, and I walked through Bryant Park on my way to work this morning. P.S., it's 23 degrees F in NYC today, and FREEZING, so I feel pretty bad for the stick-thin models with short skirts and naked legs who have less than ZERO body fat to help keep them warm!

On Monday, I'm recording a bit for the morning show on 104FM EZ rock in Woodstock (Canada) and I'll give you the full scoop on Fashion Week and share my thoughts on the HITS and MISSES on the runways for Fall 2009! Listen online at www.104ezrock.ca!

A bit of a sad farewell to Bryant Park Fashion Week, because this is the LAST year that it will be held in the world-famous Bryant Park. As you can see, these enormous tents have simply out-grown the space, and fashion week will be moving UPTOWN to Lincoln Center at 66th and Broadway.

I think part of the allure of fashion week for me, is the dream that someday I'll be a famous singer who the paparazzi will follow in and out of the tents, and take pictures of me and Dan sitting next to Victoria Beckham and Jennifer Lopez in the front row! (With our enormously large sunglasses on, of course!)

:)

Diesel Diesel Diesel!

Wanna see the new Diesel 5th Ave Store? Check out our post and tons of pictures on http://www.carmineanddan.blogspot.com/!

Yeah, how bout I PAY YOU to give me change for a $20...?

I needed a roll of quarters for laundry the other day, so I walked to the closest bank, which happens to be CHASE bank. I walked in, and gave the teller a $20 bill and asked for $10 in quarters, please. He said, “do you have an account with us?”

“No,” I said. He said, “Oh, well then I can’t give you change.”

What the crap?! So I said, “I can’t give you $10 in paper money and then you give me $10 in coins? Isn’t this a BANK, sir?”

And he says, “well, there are fees involved for giving change, and if you don’t have an account with us, I …”

I cut him off- I said with my most sincere sarcasm, “Oh, that makes SENSE, you charge a FEE to make absolutely NO TRANSACTION except returning the money I give you right now to me in a different FORM! That’s brilliant! Well, listen- I certainly WON’T be opening an account with your bank…EVER, and I’ll be sure to advise anyone I know to NEVER become a Chase customer either! Have a wonderful day!”

Then, I walked out and continued about 20 more steps to the next bank on the street and walked right out in about 10 seconds with roll of quarters. Geez, Chase! It’s not like you’re the ONLY bank in NYC! And aren’t you the least bit afraid of losing out customers to the competition, which is literally next door to you?! With the number of banks that have been collapsing and getting bail outs, I know you’re desperate for money, but charging a fee to give you change for a $20 bill might not be the best PR right now!

Scariest mannequins I ever did see...

Don't they look like they'd be in a horror movie? I can't decide which one is more frightening...the freaky faced blue hair chick or the creepy baby with no arms!

*shiver*

Selma Hayek

Everyone's making a big fuss about Selma Hayek breastfeeding a starving baby in Sierra Leone. If you want to see what all the fuss is about, check it out on YouTube.

Anyway, for my 2 cents: what's the big deal? She had milk, the mother had none, and the baby was malnourished and screaming for food. I would have done it too- it doesn't matter that it's not your baby.

I'm not saying you should grab kids at the McDonald's playland and pop open your bra, but it's a third world country, people! The kid was dying! It's not like they can run to the corner store and buy some similac or something.

Historically, even royalty had "wet nurses" that would breast feed their children for them. Hello, not everyone lives in an industrialized world with a Babies R Us down the street.

So, BRAVO, Selma! Maybe more people will accept breastfeeding as a normal part of motherhood because of your public and compassionate display. It's time that people start understanding that breasts aren't JUST about sex!

What do YOU think about Selma breastfeeding a starving African infant?

happy dance

One more week, 2 more pounds lost! I'm down 12.4 lbs now, averaging about 2.2lbs per week using the bodybugg. It's awesome. Did I say that before? Yeah, well it's AWESOME! On days that I'm extra busy, and walk around the city more, I can see right away that I can eat more calories. If I'm lazy, I can check my calories burned and see that I'd better eat a salad for lunch instead of a sandwich. It's completely the easiest and most enjoyable weight loss system ever! Go get one! Make sure you order from 24 hr fitness because it's cheaper, and the wireless transmitter is free!

http://www.24hrfitness.com/

Burn more calories than you eat, and you WILL lose weight! It's that simple!


UPDATE: sorry, I guess the wireless transmitter isn't being offered for free anymore: it's $99. But they are offering $30 off the bodybugg, so it's $219 instead of $249. I'd definitely say it's worth it to get the transmitter, if you can afford it. That way, you don't have to wait until the end of the day when you're near a computer to upload your info and see how many calories/steps you've taken. With the transmitter, you can check your info constantly and achieve your goals through the day.

Weekend update

I took an early train on Saturday morning to Philly, and was going nonstop all week! Saturday afternoon, I played with Steve, Alan, Dave, Wes, and Bethany for a basketball tournament at intermissions. Saturday night was the coffeehouse/benefit concert (which, I gave someone my camera and asked them to take pictures, but when I got my camera back... it said "no images.") So much for that! Here was my set list, though:

In this Life (chantal kreviatzuk)

How do I tell you (new orignal song)

Push (Sarah Mclaughlan)

Best friend (new original song)

Do what you have to do (Sarah Mclaughlan)

Wild Horses (Rolling Stones)

It was fun! Really really positive feedback too! On Sunday morning, I played in church (see more of that story below!) and Sunday night, I played for a benefit concert to raise money for the homeless in Norristown. I got home last night around 10pm, and went over to the 5th avenue Diesel store (opening tomorrow!) to see Dan. He's been working NON-STOP on getting this store open, and having everything ready for Fashion Week.

Let me just say, the store is A-MAZ-ING! Unbelievable! I got tears welled up in my eyes when I was talking to Jayson and Dan, because I was just so proud of them! It's a BIG DEAL!!! I'll be at the ribbon cutting ceremony tomorrow, and I'll take some pics to share with you. It's just so beautiful- the most amazing store I've ever seen! 5TH avenue has no idea what it's in for! This store is going to be a tourist destination itself!!

Signing off for now- gotta use this day off to RELAX today!

Add it to the list...

On Sunday morning, I sang and played piano with the band at church. I wore these killer heels...and totally WIPED OUT on stage! Oh yeah, and it was during the altar call! I tripped on some cables as I was walking over to the grand piano, and my shoe flew off and I went DOWN!

Everyone thought I broke my ankle- as far as wipe-outs are concerned...it was a GOOD ONE! I just froze, as hundreds of people stared at me on stage, and I got up, calmly walked over, retrieved my shoe, and hobbled over to the piano and sat down to play. The very first chord I hit was a MANGLED MESS! It was like.."whoops... I fell...BLANNNGGG!!!!" on the piano.

I tried to control myself from laughing uncontrollably, because things just kept going from bad to worse! I took a deep breath, and started the song over. Just another embarrassing moment to add to the list! LOL

Happy ValenTIMEs day!

Here's an early Valentine from me and the Hoff :)

I like saying ValenTIMES day just because it's funny. Well, maybe to me. I'll be back in PHILLY this weekend, performing Saturday night at the coffeehouse at FVCN, and then Sunday morning for worship at the new celebration service. THEN, on Sunday night I'll be performing for a charity benefit! Whew, busy!

Sorry for the lack of updates- it's so not like me! I'll be posting lots of pics over at www.carmineanddan.blogspot.com, from Elizabeth's birthday last week, AND a special visit from two special Canadian friends of mine: Luke and Adam. They're in town this weekend for a conference here in NYC.

I'll check you LAYTA!

Steve Knows His Rights! (And he also craps his pants!)

If I ever want to be a spice girl for Halloween....

I'm glad that bags now have instructions

Do they really need instructions on how to carry a paper bag? I noticed that it says "please hold both handles" on my bag from Whole Foods this morning. Geez, the whole world is afraid of lawsuits!

Des bonnes nouvelles!!!!

Translation: GOOD NEWS!

It's Friday, and yes, that's good enough news in the first place but I have MORE good news to share with you! First of all, let's talk about ME:

I hit the 10 lb mark in my weight loss! That's great! I started with the BodyBugg 4 weeks ago, and I'm telling you it works! Burn more calories than you eat, it's that simple! Now that I know exactly how many calories I burn every day, I know how much I can eat and lose weight! It's been 4 weeks since I started using the device, so I've been losing between 2 and 2.5 lbs a week. If anyone is considering a diet plan, or just wants to be able to maintain their weight, check out www.bodybugg.com. It's the best health and fitness tool ever!


Next big news: Dan got promoted! Congratulations, Babe! He is now the Senior Area Manager for NYC, and runs $60 million in business. Wonderful! This means he's now between the Director of Stores and the VP of the company. He's worked really hard for this, and I'm very proud of him. Way to go! The 5th Avenue Diesel store ribbon cutting ceremony is Monday evening, Feb. 16, and the doors open to the public on Feb. 17th. I can't wait!

We certainly have lots to be thankful for!

Ben & Jerry's

As I mentioned in a previous post, Ben & Jerry's created "Yes Pecan!" ice cream flavor for Obama.

Turns out they then asked people online to submit their suggestions for an ice cream flavour for former President George W. Bush. Here are some of their favorite responses:
- Grape Depression
- Cluster Fudge
- Nut'n Accomplished
- Iraqi Road
- Chock 'n Awe
- WireTapioca
- Impeach Cobbler
- Guantanmallow
- imPeachmint
- Heck of a Job, Brownie!
- Neocon Politan
- RockyRoad to Fascism
- The Reese's-cession
- Cookie D'oh!
- The Housing Crunch
- Nougalar Proliferation
- Death by Chocolate... and Torture
- Freedom Vanilla Ice Cream
- Chocolate Chip On My Shoulder
- "You're Shitting In My Mouth And Calling It A" Sundae
- Credit Crunch
- Mission Pecanplished
- Country Pumpkin
- Chunky Monkey in Chief
- George Bush Doesn't Care About Dark Chocolate
- WMDelicious
- Chocolate Chimp
- Bloody Sundae
- Caramel Preemptive Stripe

Which is your favourite?

Presenting...the NEW pose for 2009!

In 2008, we enjoyed the PRUNE pose (where you purse your lips as if you were saying "prune" when someone takes a picture) but I feel that we need something fresh for 2009. After many many searches for just the right new pose, I feel that I've finally discovered the a new look for our pictures. Where else would I turn to except for the FIERCE Tyra Banks?



So, ladies and gentlemen... I now present to you the new pose for 2009: THE TYRA!!

It's pretty advanced- I think it will require a lot of practice to get it right! lol I plan on launching the TYRA at Elizabeth's birthday party this weekend- check back for pictures! Do you like the Tyra? Think you can pull it off too?

I don't like the way he's looking at me...

Ok, it’s creeping closer to Valentine’s Day, and we STILL have our Christmas tree up! The ornaments and the tree are starting to get dusty, so it’s definitely time. I am NOT going to spend hours polishing and dusting every ornament and light, and then have to wash and dry the whole artificial tree too! Another reason that it’s time to take down the Christmas decorations? Santa scared me and I almost had a heart attack!
Allow me to explain…
We have a giant Santa head on the wall outside the bathroom upstairs. It looks like this:

Cute and nostalgic, right? “Santa’s watching…” So anyway, I was getting out of the shower yesterday, and I was home alone at night. Dan was working late and then had dinner with some of his employees. Anyway, while I was in the shower, the dogs started barking and freaking out like someone was at the door. Not that this is unusual (they bark every time someone walks by!) but, it definitely gave credibility to the next part of the story.
I stepped out of the shower, and the bathroom door was open just a crack. I looked in the mirror on the wall and saw this old man with beady eyes peering at me naked through the crack in the door! I jumped and grabbed a towel, and for a second, I was trembling before I realized it was THE SANTA HEAD!!! Basically, here’s what I saw staring at me in the mirror behind me, through the crack of the door:
GEEZ!


Just like a horror movie, right? Scared the crap outta me! Ok, Santa- you’re not so jolly anymore! You’re a peeping tom!

Honestly

My friend Rachel has graciously honored me with something called honest scrap.

Here are the rules:
1. Choose a minimum of 7 blogs that you find brilliant in content or design.
2. Show the 7 winners names and links on your blog, and leave a comment informing them that they were prized with "Honest Scrap".
3. Finally list at least 10 honest things about yourself.

1) I love not having to drive. Now, when I DO drive somewhere, I’m actually paranoid about getting into a tragic accident. The whole time I’m thinking, “Cars are freakin’ DANGEROUS!” I feel so much safer on the train or the bus, plane…anything but a car.

2) I chew on my lip in my sleep- it’s weird. I wake up and my lip is bleeding. I started to put Vaseline on my lip before I go to bed and that nasty taste seems to make me stop.

3) My mom wanted to name me “Latisha.” Thank God my sister interfered. Can you imagine when I lived in PHILLY with a name like LATISHA! I may as well just book myself a ticket straight to Maury!

4) Dan says my toes look like miniature marshmallows- they’re square on the ends. It’s kinda funny!

5) My nieces Navy and London just taught me to dive in their swimming pool last summer. I never learned! Growing up we were always at the beach or a lake, so there was nothing to dive off of! They laughed at me a lot- I was not the easiest student.

6) I wouldn’t live anywhere else in the U.S. except NYC, now that I’ve lived here. There’s really nothing else that would make me this happy.

7) When I was in high school, I brought a peanut butter and miracle whip sandwich in my lunch almost every day for the whole 4 years. I still love peanut butter/miracle whip sandwiches- but I know how really bad they are for you. Plus, I’m surprised I never got food poisoning from warm mayonnaise…

Ok, my people are:

Navy
Sarah Rife
Cari
Kristi
Michelle M.
Melissa D.
Deven
Cory

And instead of posting in your blog, post in the comments section below!

What's even real anymore?

Last night, I got GOOSEBUMPS up and down my neck when Jennifer Hudson sang the national anthem before the superbowl. (Mind you, that's the ONLY part of the superbowl that I watched!) She was amazing- I listened to the opening stanza of the instrumental part, and I was nervous because it was such a hard lead-in... I was like "PLEASE find the note and hit it!"

The arrangement was beautiful, but I'd say the most challenging I've ever heard. There were so many abrupt stops, and then the tempo change near the end...it was TOUGH! I was so impressed that she nailed it without even a missplaced breath!

I was bragging about her this morning at work, saying she just was AMAZING and it goes to prove that the best singers never are the ones who WIN American Idol- but THEN, I read in the Associated Press that she was LIP SYNCHING!!!

Ugh... my heart sank. Not her fault- the NFL made her and Faith Hill both submit their tracks a week in advance for fear of "technical difficulties." (It is REALLY hard to sing in a stadium that large, with all the echoing...)

But STILL... is anything real anymore? Everyone is airbrushed, photoshopped, and lip-synched. It's so sad!

Check out the article HERE

And if you haven't heard the performance yet... YouTube it!

Pet Umbrella

Check out this invention: a pet umbrella! Kinda a good idea, but imagine BOTH of my dogs running into each other with this- they'd take up the whole sidewalk! Click here for more info.

Do you think this is a good invention?

Idol jipped Luke & Jock!

So, you may remember that I blogged about my 2 new Canadian buddies from Nova Scotia, who also auditioned for American Idol. They drove from Nova Scotia to NYC not once, but TWICE to take part in the auditions, and then got shuffled around to the SECOND day of auditions, and had to crash on my living room sofa for the night. They performed for the judges, their song called "I got turned down by American Idol" and got NO air time at all!

I have joined their protest to Fox that it was completely unfair that some cities got 2 HOURS of audition time and NYC (where the greatest talent in the whole country resides!) got less than 30 minutes, and had to split their audition show with San Juan (who, by the way, got MORE attention than NYC!) Unjust! Unjust!

Join in by sending an email to FOX at the address below, and tell them you want to see Luke and Jock! We can make this happen!!!!

Join the facebook movement (and invite as many people as you can!) at http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=59445585718

Send your emails by clicking on the following link, or copy and paste this address into your compose message box:

askfox@fox.com
idol.web@fox.com

To make it easier, just copy my email below, and paste it into your message- then hit SEND and you're done!

Dear Fox,

I am joining the thousands of others who are writing to express our disappointment with the American Idol Season 8 NYC auditions. I feel that it was unfair to divide the audition air time unevenly among the competing cities. Each city should have been given equal air time and equality.

In addition, I would like to nominate Luke & Jock for broadcast in a future American Idol or Fox presentation. Luke & Jock drove more than 60 hours to audition and entertained and enlightened the judges, staff, and AI hopefuls with their song "I got turned down by American Idol." This song would undoubtedly become a tv and internet sensation, and would bring unprecedented publicity to Fox and American Idol Season 8. Please air this footage of Luke & Jock at American Idol Season 8 NYC auditions.

Sincerely,

Canadian Flag

On Saturday, I was out shopping and noticed this Canadian Flag flying proudly. The irony is that the street that the flag is on is "Avenue of the Americas." Hmm...

Project Runway Ripoffs already?

Leanne Marshall was the winner from last season (5) Project Runway. Her collection was a concept of "waves, blues and ocean" themes. Here's a photo of some of her runway collection:

And now... take a look at this shirt that's in the new spring collection at H&M:

Maybe it was "inspired" by Leanne's design? They say imitation is the most sincere form of flattery!