The challenge: Get inspired by something at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Yeah, because THAT's hard.

Cut to the chase: Christian wins. Jillian gets to go to Fashion week, too. Sweet P is out. Rami and Chris both get to design collections, but before Fashion Week they'll each show their three strongest looks for judging, and the winner will get to show at Fashion Week. And, Roberto Cavalli liked Chris's best. All the judges griped that Chris's dress looked too much like his avant garde look, but jeez, Rami's shown the same stinkin' draped dress every week since the show began. I'm really glad Chris gets a chance.

Danish newspapers have reprinted all 12 of the Mohammed cartoons that caused such a furor two years ago. See them for yourself. Goooo, freedom!!!

The other night, I was teaching at the women's college and so Monstro had charge of the boy, who wanted to watch Raffi. We only have a Raffi videotape so Monstro had to switch the cables from the DVD to the VCR and set the television accordingly. Whenever this changeover happens, the words “Hi-Fi” appear on-screen.

“Fi,” the boy said.

Monstro wheeled around. “What did you say?”

“Hi-Fi,” said the boy.

Dumbfounded, Monstro pointed and said, “what's that letter?”

“Eff!” he said.

I came home at nine that night. “How old were you when you started reading?” Monstro asked.

“Two-something,” I said. “Why?”

“Because your son can read!” he told me.

Pretty cool new trick, huh? Thank you, Sesame Street!

Oh boy. Thank Christ I'm not single.

Our boy used to answer any question with “No.” Then we'd ask, “Are you sure?” He'd reply, “Okay!”

Now, in order to save time, he's developed some verbal shorthand. “Do you want a waffle for breakfast?” I asked him this morning.

“Nokay,” he said.

Verrrry helpful, that boy of ours.

Our two-year-old is getting cantankerous about things that never used to bother him. He'll fight us pretty hard when we try to put his jacket on. This morning was no exception. A little Mommy-channels-Amy-Winehouse did the trick:

They tried to make me go to preschool,
but I said, “No, no, no.”

Amy Winehouse put in a spectacular performance via satellite at last night's Grammy's, and I could not be happier about that fact. Do you suppose they showed her the Britney VMAs performance as a cautionary tale? Seventeen days sober and man, that girl rocked it. Woo hoo!!! See it for yourself by clicking here.

I have to say, it's great to be teaching again. I am so lucky to be teaching subjects for which I have genuine passion — which isn't to say I wouldn't be happy to teach composition, but teaching media writing and digital photography makes the time go by so quickly! I had my adjunct orientation last week and the woman who ran it wasn't happy to hear I teach each class one day a week, rather than breaking it up. She seemed miffed that my boss let it go through without talking to her about it. Said boss wasn't going to let me do it, but I made a very convincing case for it in both classes, and viola!

I just finished grading the first batch of digital photography photos, and, with one exception, they're better than the first batch I got last year. I'd say they're off to a good start, though some will be surprised I took points off for insufficient captions. Hey, that's what happens when you take photo from a writer. They'll learn, though, they'll learn.

Every weekend, either Friday night or Saturday night, we have six people around our dining room table, basically geeking out and eating food that's generally too rich but never too thin. The first couple of times we hosted (and, as the only couple with a child, we always host, rather than pay a babysitter), I freaked out and spent hours cleaning the house. I've got it down to a mellow routine now, one that I thought I'd share with you:

Step One: get the Ryobi dustbuster and suck away all the cat fur from the hardwood floors in the kitchen, hallway, bathroom, dining room, and living room. I would use our regular vacuum for this, but our regular vacuum doesn't work at all on hardwood or lineoleum. Any tips for a vacuum that does work for these surfaces? I'm all ears.

Step Two: Wipe down all bathroom/toilet/sink surfaces with Lysol disinfecting wipes.

Step Three: Clear off the dining room table and wipe it down with disinfecting wipes.

Step Four: Empty all garbage cans. Ask Monstro to take out the garbage.

Step Five: Empty the dishwasher (having run it earlier in the day) and put the remaining dirty dishes in it.

Step Six: Wipe down kitchen countertops and stove with disinfecting wipe.

Step Seven: Use a lint roller on the upholstered chairs to remove cat fur.

Step Eight: Change out of yoga pants, put on a bra, and welcome guests as they arrive.

Viola! Nothing to it!

…which of the Project Runway Season Four designers showed at New York Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week this morning, this guy did a liveblog of the event: Check it out here.