So I exaggerate.
It only FEELS like a year and a half... and my teenager has been home with nothing to do for only a week.
Yesterday, I dragged her with me to a Nintendo event out at Hancock Park, site of the La Brea Tar Pits. This was the perfect place to promote the company's new Fossil Fighters game, and they had planned an exciting day for families, with simulated fossil digs and of course, a cool demonstration station for the game.
It was kind of a big deal, with a lot of media presence, including local television stations. I had to sign release forms to give permission to use our image.
Where was my daughter?
"I don't want to be here. I don't want to play the game. And I don't want to be on TV!"
What a difference a couple of years makes. It wasn't that long ago that my association with Nintendo made me the family hero. Now... not so much.
The game looks like a lot of fun: it can be played alone or by two, and features a role-playing storyline. All of the younger kids who were in attendance looked like they were having a great time.
But my daughter was determined to stay out of the line of the cameras, and I wasn't about to let her sit alone on a park bench. So I checked in with the press person who invited me, said hello to my blogging friend Elise, and whisked my daughter off to a nice lunch at the nearby Farmer's Market.
I've stated here several times that this 75-year-old landmark is among my favorite spots in the city. I've been a fan since I was a very young child. My grandmother used to take me there for lunch (usually egg foo young at the Chinese Kitchen), and when I got older and worked in the area, I often went by myself. These days, living all the way up in the northwest Valley, I don't get there as often as I like -- usually just on Mother's Day, when I insist that we have brunch at Monsieur Marcel.
French is not my daughter's favorite cuisine, but there are plenty of other choices there. But as my 13-year-old has the palate of a toddler, we ended up at Du-Par's, home of simple, traditional all-American comfort food.
I can't complain. This has been a good week for me and the Farmer's Market, as I got to have my Monsieur Marcel fix a couple of days ago, when Sweatpants Mom and Amy's Funny met me there after our Got Milk event on Monday.
After lunch, we did a little shopping: We picked up some fruit at one of the fabulous produce stalls at the Market and then hit Barnes & Noble at the Grove, where Megan found a book she's been looking for for months. I even found something cool: L.A.'s Original Farmer's Market Cookbook. Besides recipes, it's got great little profiles of the history and people behind the stalls at the market.
It even tells you how to make that egg foo young I used to love.
I picked up a copy and devoured it, even though I won't be able to try out any of the recipes until our kitchen is put back in order (which won't be for another couple of months). I can hardly wait.
DISCLOSURE: I did not receive any compensation in the form of money or product from Nintendo in exchange for talking about their game launch yesterday. I have never been approached by anyone representing the Los Angeles Farmer's Market -- I just love the place. I purchased the cookbook with my own funds because I wanted it. I did include my own Amazon.com affiliate link in this post, because why not?
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