Since I’ve started in my new department (not sure if it’s even really a department or if it’s just a whole other part of the company) I don’t travel as much anymore. Actually, I don’t travel at all. Which is awesome, though I do get a pang of wanderlust every now and then, and I do worry about losing my elite airline status and having to board the plane with commoners the next time I travel.

Also, we no longer have our downtown office (it’s been more than a year) which is really a shame, because I really loved working downtown. Right now, I just work from home. My schedule is pretty packed all day, and since it’s been really cold lately, Dave’s dad has been coming by to take care of Ben instead of me dropping him off. Sometimes he takes Ben back to his place, and usually Dave picks him up on his way home from work. So there have been times in the last couple months where I haven’t left the house for days. Usually it makes me a little bit crazy and grumpy, so I’ve tried to at least leave the house to do some groceries or grab coffee. But when it snows, I don’t even feel like leaving, so I end up being a pale hermit, sitting on the couch, up late, late at night with just the glow of my laptop to illuminate the room.

We’re up for some snow today, I’m too lazy to get up and look out the window to see if I need to shovel it - our snowblower died a couple weeks ago. Maybe before work I’ll head out to Starbucks and treat myself with something yummy.

Man, I can’t wait for winter to end!

Tags: Uncategorized by Yano
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7:01 - I’ve never been fond of “singing with dead people” duets. With that said, Alicia Keys looks and sounds awesome. Seeing Frank Sinatra’s reflection on the top of the piano is creepy. I wonder what Frank is doing while Alica is singing. Just standing there?

7:18 - Holy shit! Morris Day and the Time! I didn’t even know that Jimmy Jam was that guy. This is awesomeness. Complete awesomeness. Oh dang, and they bring on Rihanna - who knew that “Umbrella” went so well with “Jungle Love”?

8:00 - Ben was stinky and needed a bath, and then we watched the show from his room. The Beatles tribute was nice. I missed who won Best New Artist. Kanye’s outer space set for “Stronger” was just OK, but of course, “Hey Mama” had me all teary, especially since he had added the “last night I dreamed of you” line, then at the end where he said, “now I can’t wait to go to sleep” was beautiful. I’ve had dreams of my mother and upon waking, always try to go back to sleep to get a few more minutes with my mom. Fergie did well with John Legend (poor John didn’t even get to sing!), especially since I’d heard that she wasn’t good live.

8:11 - Dave is laughing at Tina Turner’s facial expressions while singing. She’s still pretty awesome, though! This performance gets another “Whoo!!!” from Ben, who is up past his bedtime.

8:18 - I know it has nothing to do with the Grammys, but I HATE those commercials from Comcast where people are talking, but music is coming out, for example, the commercial where the lady is baking but singing “Lady Marmalade”. Ugh. Shoot me.

8:13 - Nelly Furtado, Andy Williams and Rosalyn Sanchez - what an odd grouping of people! What’s even odder? Nelly’s hair. I like it dark!

8:55 - Everything up to this point has been pretty “eh”

8:56 - You know what is missing from this show? An awesome performance by Chris Brown. That kid always gives a great show!

8:57 - Fiest! Yay! Acoustic! Yay! Is she on top of a shag rug? Ben is lovin’ it, because it’s on his “Sleepy CD” we use in the car. Sweet and simple.

9:02 - the “Old Black Magic” was awkward to me.

9:13 - Well, at least the show has a performance by Alicia Keys, who always gives a beautiful, who is totally rockin’ her straight rock star shag look. Can’t wait for John Mayer to perform with her…oh wait, that was it? Hmm…kind of disappointing. I was hoping John would do more!

9:19 - Dammit, I missed Vince Gill’s joke. Now I have to look it up!

9:26 - Young America might be cringing (if they’re even watching this), but I am LOVING LOVING LOVING Rhapsody in Blue. When I was little, I had a record of it and loved to play it. One of my favorite songs for sure! With Herbie Hancock playing it, too! If I was a better piano player I would have loved to learn how to play this. I will be hunting for this on YouTube tomorrow. Ben is entranced.

9:31 - Rhapsody in Blue is still on, and I love the show for giving so much time to an amazing live performance of music. Almost makes me want to play piano again! I wonder if this song is on iTunes.

9:33 - The song is finished and rightfully gets a standing ovation. Ben shouts “Whoo hoo!” in appreciation, then shouts “Caillou!” because he wants to go to sleep.

9:43 - I’m happy to hear Amy Winehouse sing well. I’ve seen way too many vids of her sucking badly and I really do think she’s a talented artist. Her CD is one of the few CD’s I’ve bought in the last couple years, and it’s great. She has a good performance, not awesome, but I love it when she flirts a bit with the camera. A strong performance.

9:50 - Amy is shocked to win the Record of the year - I’m touched for her and hope that she turns her life around after this.

10:04 - Ahh, Josh Groban and Adrea Bocelli sing “The Prayer”, one of my favorite songs…so beautiful…*cries* This one gets another “Whoo!” from Ben, who is up way past his bedtime.

10:30 - The Grammy’s end, a little late and with a surprise win by Herbie Hancock. The show itself, outside of a couple highlights, was just ok…especially considering it’s the 50th anniversary of the show…

Tags: Reviews by Yano
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Man, is it just me or has this winter been REALLY snowy? I don’t think I remember the last time snow wasn’t on the ground. It started in November and really hasn’t let up since then. It’s been hard on our snowblower (which died last week, right before the latest big snow) but it’s been fun for Ben, who likes being pulled around in his sled. So a couple pictures of a snow day we had last week. Well, it was a snow day for everyone else, but since I work at home, I didn’t get one.

Ready to go out!

Sitting on the sled

Getting pulled around - he loves it!

We took him out of the sled and he got stuck in the snow and wouldn’t move.
We laughed.

We were going to head out to that small hill in the distance
but decided that the snow was too deep.
and it was too far to walk.

Tags: Ben, Pictures by Yano
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I know it’s a little late, but it’s been a busy couple of last days. Anyway, here’s my mini game and ad recap from this year’s Superbowl.

All along I’ve been rooting on the Giants. I’ve been cheering on anyone to beat the Patriots. Ever since I was a little girl and the Patriots played the Bears in the Super Bowl, I’ve felt a little animosity towards them. Even more so this year, for several reasons:

1) CHEATERS! I really don’t have to say much else.
2) I don’t like Bill Belichick. Rubs me the wrong way. More on that later
3) I can’t stand Tom Brady’s hair. There’s just something about it. I used to think he was good looking, but after he broke up with Bridget Moynahan (who later announced she was pregnant) and started appearing with Giselle Bundchen soon after (who I do like) he was no longer attractive to me.

So this year, I was all about the New York Giants. To me, they were treated the way the Bears were treated - no respect, their quarterback always under question, playing against a team that “deserved” to win, etc. So I had a soft spot for them.

For such a low scoring game, it was pretty exciting! How I enjoyed watching Brady make incomplete passes, snapping at his teammates, lying flat on his back after getting sacked. Randy Moss was catchless for a good part of the first half. It seemed like things were going great for the Jets, but there was always that looming dread, the knowledge that, as much as I didn’t like them, the Patriots were arguably the best team in the history of the NFL. Then the Patriots scored their touchdown. As the game wore on it was obvious that the Patriots were a little off, and that Eli Manning was playing the game of his life.

By the time the fourth quarter came and almost went, the Patriots were winning. The Giants had the ball with a little more than two minutes left in the game and my stomach was heavy, my mind thinking “Can they do this? Can we break the Patriots?”

Then the magic happened. In a play where it looked like Eli was going to get taken down, where he was smothered by the Pats’ defense, he was able to wriggle away and toss an improbable pass to David Tyree.

The clock was ticking, there was too much time wasted in between plays. “Stop the clock! Stop the clock!” I kept on screaming in my head. The Jets were knocking on the door of killing the Patriot’s season. Then Manning threw a beautiful pass to a very open Plaxico Burris (I always think of fish tanks when I think of his name). Whoo hoo! Brady still had a little less than 30 seconds to take history back, but it just didn’t work out that way.

Then with one second left, Belichick comes across the field, waving off the refs as they tried to tell them that the game wasn’t finished yet, shaking Tom Coughlin’s hand then running off the field, not staying to watch his defense finish out the game on the field. In a way, he stole that one second from New York’s victory, by not giving them the respect to stay for the whole game.

But hey, with that aside, it was an awesome game. The last 2 minutes were amazing! It was fun to see New England fall apart and to not see Eli Manning crack under the pressure. Big brother was in the stands, but the night was his!

Now for the commercials - to me, they were just “so-so” this year. Nothing really wowed me or had me laugh uncontrollably (like the running of the squirrels or boyfriend with knife spills spaghetti sauce on kitty of years before). But here are my faves from the night:

What were your favorite commercials?

Oh yeah, and I can’t forget the one that brought happy chills up my spine…

Tags: I Like Sports, Video Gaga, Reviews by Yano
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