Lisa Loeb

I'm such a dork ... but at least I can admit it, right? So, this afternoon I was on the message boards of my mommy group and noticed that one of the moms had posted that Lisa Loeb would be at the Barnes and Noble in Paramus tonight from 7-9. Two days ago, she released a new CD called "Camp Lisa" for kids ... she also launched her new non-profit organization, the Camp Lisa Foundation that raises funds to help children attend summer camps, where she herself learned to play the guitar. I thought it might be fun to go see her and hear her play some of the children's songs.

You might be wondering, "why would you care about meeting Lisa Loeb or having her sign something?" Here's why: my very first trip to NYC was with my friend Jami Hobbs (now Hansen) over Thanksgiving weekend ... I think this was in 1997. We were freezing, since we'd been walking all around NYC sightseeing when we went into the Borders in Times Square to get warm. We stood there, watching music videos on a big screen, trying to get warm and Lisa Loeb's video for the song "I do" came on. For some reason, that's the only one I remember. I know we watched other music videos, but Lisa Loeb's really stuck in my head. Every time I heard her music after that, I always thought of being in Times Square in Manhattan on Thanksgiving day. So ... fast forward to January, 2006. I had recently given birth to Reagan and we had just brought our preemie baby home from the hospital. John and I hardly left the house, since it was winter and Reagan was so small, therefore, we watched a lot of TV.

Lisa Loeb had a reality show on E! called "#1 Single" that I started watching. She moved to Manhattan and was trying to find love. There were only 8 episodes, but I really liked the show. Lisa Loeb just seemed like such a sweet, genuine type of person - instantly likable. She's such a cute girl and is always wearing great glasses ... in fact, there aren't many people who look as good as she does in a pair of glasses. Are those good enough reasons to want to check her out at Barnes and Noble and then blog about it? Probably not, but I don't care.

Anyway, it just so happened that I had already made plans to go to Meredith's house for a late afternoon playdate and dinner ... Meredith lives in Ridgewood, about a mile from the B&N. I figured that depending on what time I left her house, maybe I'd swing by B&N to check out Lisa Loeb.

I ended up leaving Reagan at home with John because she refused to take a nap today and wasn't being a very good girl. Avery and I had a great time at Meredith's and we left around 8:15. I figured I'd stop in at B&N on my way home ~ why not? I strapped Avery into the stroller and went upstairs to the music section where she was. Had I been there right at 7:00, I guess I would have heard her sing a little concert, which was followed by a CD signing. When I got there at 8:25, there was only one person left in line and it looked like they were getting ready to pack up and leave. As I waited for this last person, one of the guys standing there asked, "what are you having her sign?" Apparently, I was supposed to buy her new CD first, then come have her sign it. Luckily, they were accommodating and gave me one from their stack, then said I'd have to pay for it directly after she signed it. She asked to whom she should sign it and I told her "Reagan and Avery." After signing the CD. I asked if I could take her picture. She immediately stood up and said, "Sure! We'll take one of you and me." I got really embarrassed and told her I hadn't put any make-up on today, so we should take one of her and my daughter Avery. She acted like that was really silly, then she grabbed my camera, put her arm around me and took the picture herself! It was so funny ... I figured she would ask someone else to take it (there were about 8 people standing around watching), but she seemed like a pro at holding a camera out in front of her and taking a picture. So here it is, me with no make-up and sweet Lisa Loeb:

I came home and listened to the CD and I loved it :) It has some fun songs on it that I remember from my childhood that I haven't heard in such a long time ... my mother used to sing us a song called "Peanut Butter and Jelly." I've tried to sing this to Reagan when I've made her a PB&J, but I've never been able to remember the words. Another fun track is the "Cookie Jar Chant." ("who stole the cookie from the cookie jar?"). Anyway, thanks for humoring me and reading this silly post.