LEGO Research Institute playset

Looking for a cool female-empowerment LEGO playset for the science-minded little girl (or boy for that matter!) on your Christmas shopping list? Well, look no further, because the recently released LEGO Research Institute just might be the geek chic LEGO playset of the year!

Featuring LEGO minifigures of a female astronomer, chemist and paleontologist, the set was developed through LEGO's hugely popular LEGO Ideas Program by real-life geoscientist Ellen Kooijman. And whether you're an Adult Fan of LEGOS (AFOL) or a parent hoping to nurture your daughter's interest in science and the STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), this is the set for you. I happen to be both of the above, so, I guess I'll need two sets!

But, seriously, if you are interested in purchasing a LEGO Research Institute, you'd best act fast. Available for just $19.99 at the LEGO Store and several places online, the set is selling out fast and already going for as much as $92.00 on Amazon, so, shop now or forever hold your peace…or dinosaur bone, or, you know, whatever else you're holding.

Girl power 4eva, smart girls rock!

 

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Dunkin’ Donuts store opening in Santa Monica on Sept. 2nd!

OK, forget what I just said about today totally sucking, I just got word from a donut-loving friend of mine that my beloved Dunkin' Donuts is finally coming back to the Southland!

That's right, amigos, after a failed attempt a few years back, Dunkin' Donuts will be opening their first of four stand alone Los Angeles store in Santa Monica on Sept. 2nd at 5:00am. Not only will they be giving out super cool Dunkin' Donuts swag bags to the first 100 people in line, but, the first person in line will win free coffee for a year!

And as anyone who has eaten their donuts can tell you, the coffee is the real star of the show at DD! Especially that crazy good iced coffee pictured here…yum! So, if you need to find me in the next few days, I think you know where to look. I'll be that crazy sunburnt guy in the front of the line!

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Second Monday…

Man, just when I thought we were doing so well, good old second Monday rolls around to fudge everything up. And though she was grumpy, tired and downright hostile a few times, Greta's finest moments this morning involved some truly inventive delay tactics.

First, she said she was too sick to go to school. Oldest trick in the book, I know, but, still very effective, especially since she has a very mild cold. But, since that was my go-to excuse growing up, daddy wasn't buying it. Sorry, biscuit.

So, then she got really creative and staged a “sit in” on the toilet for like five minutes. When I told her we had to leave, Greta said she was waiting for her poo to come out and that she wasn't going to school until it did. Good times! Needles to say, the poo never came and many tears were shed as we made our way to the kitchen to put on her shoes.

There again, she pulled out the big guns claiming that her shoes had tiny sticks in them that I couldn't see but that hurt her feet. After much stick searching and more tears, we switched to another pair and hurried to the car, where she staged perhaps her finest trick of the morning: pretending to fall asleep on the drive to school!

I don't remember trying that one as a kid, but, wow, if they gave out gold stars for morning delay tactics Greta would be top of her class! Simply put, she was good, but I was better. And since I've grown accustomed to half-dragging her ass to school lately, I just pretended not to notice that she was “asleep” and kept right on dragging.

And despite all the tears and recriminations — not to mention the fact that she would not say “goodbye” to me when we parted — we still somehow managed to make it to school on time, but something tells me we're in for another long-ass week…

 

 

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Kindergarten Week One: The New World Order

Yesterday marked the end of the first full week of kindergarten and let me tell ya, whoever said I’d have more time on my hands once Greta started school is full of shit. I haven’t felt this frazzled and out-of-my-element since those first few days after we brought Greta home from the hospital. Seriously, it’s been non-stop since Monday morning.

One of my new mom friends equated this week with starting a new job, and she’s not far off. I was anxious, way too concerned with my hair and what I was wearing, tired as fuck (sorry, but my usual F-word substitute, “fudge,” just didn’t seem to express how truly exhausting this week has been) and completely overwhelmed with paperwork. Insanity!

And though there have been definite highlights and I’ve made fast friends with several very chill moms and dads of students in Greta’s class, I think all three of us are a little overwhelmed by the sweeping sea change washing over us right now.

So far, Greta has been loving school but it’s the getting up in the morning and going there that kills her. However, aside from Wednesday morning, which was just horrific — at one point I was literally dragging her to class! — she really loves her teacher and each new day was better than the last. So, that’s progress in my book.

Personally, I found myself finally getting into the groove around Thursday, which is great because it ended up being one of the longest days of my life. I got up at 7:15 (which, believe it or not, has been my start time all week!), got Greta ready, dropped her off at school at 8:25 and then headed to my first PTA meeting at 8:30. Luckily for me, I managed to squeeze in some breakfast, because it turned out to be a three hour meeting! Yikes…who knew?

Fortunately, the meeting got out a little early (at around 11:00) so I had time to run to Costco and Trader Joe’s before heading back to school to pick up Greta at 1:30. We then headed to the park for a mini reunion with some of our old friends from Greta’s pre-school days, and then headed from there straight to ballet class, where we shared an emotional goodbye with Greta’s beloved ballet teacher who started her maternity leave today.

After ballet, we ran home to change and pick up Mrs. Yeti and then hurried back to Greta’s school for a massive “Back-to-School” picnic. They had food trucks, music, a farmer’s market selling produce grown at the school’s onsite garden (!) and again, many chances to meet new parent friends. Simply put, it was awesome. If all the parents at Stevenson are as hip, artsy and totally diverse as the ones we met this week, this new world order might not be so bad after all!

Now, if we could just get a handle on the constant flow of paperwork coming our way, I think we might be ready to face week two. Wish us luck!

 

 

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Library Store on Wheels in the news!

Hot on the heels of being named one of Wuztwhat's Seven Havens for Booklovers in Los Angeles, The Library Store made the news again this week when the store's mobile truck (and Mrs. Yeti herself!) appeared on Thursday's 6:00PM news on KNBC 4.

Featured in a segment on a proposed bill to streamline and simplify the permit process for mobile vendors and retail trucks, The Library Store on Wheels was just one of three trucks in the piece, but, they definitely got the most screen time. I think they have the coolest-looking truck too, but, perhaps I'm a bit biased.

Either way, kudos to Mrs. Yeti and everyone on her rocking Library Store team on yet another awesome TV appearance. Keep on mobile trucking, guys!

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Planet Greta: The Return!

They say that when one door closes another one opens, and I guess the same thing could be said about blogs. This week we are finally closing the doors on our original Make.See.Eat.Do blog — which started all this bloggy awesomeness way back in 2007 — just in time to open the door to the official “reboot” of our Planet Greta photo blog.

That’s right, amigos, that old baby photo blog that hasn’t been updated since Greta’s third birthday (!) has been reborn as the official homebase for Greta’s super cool YouTube video series, titled, appropriately enough, Planet Greta! Hooray!

And lest you think I pushed Greta into the internet video making biz, let me assure you that the entire venture was her idea. Well, except for the name, which wasn’t as sparkly and girlie as she wanted, but, seemed like a perfect fit for all the crazy stuff she wants to highlight on her “show.”

And speaking of crazy stuff, Planet Greta runs the gamut, baby! It’s not exactly great art, but, Greta and I have been having a lot of fun making videos about everything from collectible toy “unboxings” to constructing cool LEGO Friends sets and we even have an episode featuring a cereal eating competition with her “cowboy cousin” Colton. In other words, Planet Greta is just as fun, goofy and eclectic as Greta herself. So, enjoy! And if you like what you see, please feel free to “like” us on YouTube. Thanks!

 

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Greta’s First Day of School

Yesterday was Greta’s first day of kindergarten and though it was a long, trying day for us as parents, Greta’s biggest complaint was that she only made one new friend and could not remember her name. Ha! And though I’m usually bad with names as well, Mrs. Yeti and I managed to make a few friends at the Parent Mixer held in the lunch area right after school started as well. And better yet, all of the parents we met (and liked!) have kids in Greta’s class. So, here’s to new friends for everyone!

We’re all still getting used to this new schedule — lemme tell ya, getting up early after a lifetime spent staying up to the wee hours sucks ass, man! — but, day two was already much easier than Monday, so, progress is definitely being made.

Now, if I could just stop yawning all the damn time…all would be right with the world.

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Backpack Envy!

We've already got Greta a very cool My Little Pony backpack and matching lunchbox for school, but, if we hadn't, these adorable new animal backpacks from Land of Nod would be at the top of our “must have” list! So freaking cute!

They might not light up like Greta's new backpack, but, man…these are so awesome (and relatively inexpensive at $29.99), that I'm seriously reconsidering our decision to go full Pony this go around. Urgh…too many choices. Backpack shopping is hard, yo!

 

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Lauren Bacall (1924-2014)

It’s official, amigos, the golden age of Hollywood glamour is gone forever with the passing of Lauren “Betty” Bacall today at the age of 89. Truly one of a kind, Bacall’s smoldering beauty lit up the screen for over 70 years but the thing she’ll probably most be remembered for is her voice. Oh, that voice!

I think my favorite Lauren Bacall movie is probably Key Largo, but I will always have a soft spot for that big ball of convulated craziness that is The Big Sleep. Even Raymond Chandler (who wrote the novel) used to joke that he couldn’t make heads or tails of that story. But when you’ve got a 19-year old Lauren Bacall making her screen debut opposite Humphrey-flicking-Bogart, who cares?! A true classic in every sense of the word!

I’m just glad old Betty finally got an Oscar before she died too. It might not have been the one she was hoping for — Bacall’s Best Supporting Actress loss to Juliette Binoche for The English Patient in 1996 is still considered one of the biggest upsets in Oscar history — but Bacall did take home a richly-deserved honorary Academy Award in 2009. So, rock on classy lady…and please give my regards to Bogey!

 

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Robin Williams (1951-2014)

Like the rest of the world, I was deeply troubled to hear of the untimely death of Robin Williams on Monday. My brother and I were huge Mork & Mindy fans — Mrs. Yeti and I even made a pilgrimage to the old Victorian house they used on the show in Boulder, Colorado! — and I have always had a soft spot for Williams' later dramatic work as well. Expecially The Fisher King! I think of that gorgeous dance sequence every time I'm in Grand Central Station…truly magical shit!

But perhaps my favorite film in the Robin Williams cannon of awesomeness is Disney's Aladdin. Having watched it dozens of times with Greta over the years, I can honestly say that the movie only gets better with repeated viewings, and the songs are still some of the best Disney jams ever.

But the true standout in the film is that crazy-ass genie with the heart of gold. If ever a part was tailor made for an actor, it was that. Funny, sad, self-deprecating and completely lovable, Williams' voice performance as the genie might just be his best work ever.

And though I'm still terribly sad about his death — and the horrible details of it all — I gotta tell ya, the magic of that amazing genie will live on forever. It really is a performance for the ages.

While listening to another beautiful tribute to Williams on SiriusXM's EWRadio this afternoon, Greta finally asked me who died. And though I spared her the details, I told her that a very famous actor named Robin Williams had died rather suddenly and that the whole world was sad about it. She asked me what movies he made and I told her that she would probably know him best as the genie from Aladdin to which she replied: “Wow, he was a good actor with his voice too!”

Truer words were never spoken. RIP you sweet, sad man…you will be sorely missed.

 

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