Finale-y

As an ardent TV-snob, I have a confession to make: I HATE series finales!  For seasons at a time, you invest yourself in these characters.  You watch them week after week.  You root for them, you cry with them (this might just be me, I really am a wuss!) or you just love to hate them.  Then out of the blue they cancel them and you have to say goodbye (a little overdramatic I know but like I said, total wuss!)

My usual MO is to avoid the finales at all cost, I go into denial mode.  I'm pretty good too.  I have yet to see the finales of Will & Grace, The West Wing, or MASH. I bring all this up because I'm facing 2 this season.  (House and In Plain Sight) One is bad enough but 2? It's my worst nightmare!  My plan is to conquer the phobia this year and just do it.  Finales are the episodes people talk about for years.  To stay in the loop, I'll have to watch.  I'll just have to, right?

You might wonder why I devoted a whole post to this weird TV obsession: It's because I have this sinking fear they're going to (spoiler alert!) kill Wilson on House tonight and I really don't want to see it!  But ripping the band-aid off starts in about an hour.  If by tomorrow morning I'm an inconsolable mess, you'll know why!

Happy

As I said earlier, Friday evening kinda sucked.  Getting rear-ended is no fun and having to deal with tows, and rentals and insurance is not my idea of a good time.  But you could say I've had a bit of an epiphany.  As bad as it was, it could have been a WHOLE lot worse.  I'm not sure what the extent of the damage is yet and I was sore and grumpy all day yesterday (thus no post last night) but I could have been hurt a lot worse.

It made me realize all that I have going for me right now and how happy I am.

-My family and friends have been calling and emailing to check up on me since Friday night.  They are wonderful and made me realize how loved I am!
-I was feeling well enough to attend a 31 party last night with some high school friends.  It was so nice to see them and have such a quiet and enjoyable evening.
-I (fingers crossed) am expecting at least an interview for a great new opportunity to come this week.
-And I'm taking my niece to see this next weekend: I think I'll be more excited than she will be : )

And those are  just a few of the cool things that are happening in the next few weeks and months.  Life is really good right now and it seems to be getting better (if that's even possible).  Overall I'm completely  happy right now and I guess I should be grateful to the texter for making me see that.  Although, I can't bring myself to take it that far...Have you seen my car?!

Friday Five

1. Meetup.com: Heard about this site a while ago and was too chicken to try.  So glad that I grew a backbone.  Totally fun!

2. "The Fry Chronicles" by Stephen Fry: This book came out in 2010 in the UK but wasn't sold here in the states until this year.  I've been anxiously waiting since then to read it and it hasn't disappointed!  He's quite long-winded but it's a treat to read someone that loves words as much as he does.

3. "Let Them Talk" by Hugh Laurie: As you can see London is calling me this week.  I'm not crazy about blues but Laurie's first CD has sold me.  It's strange to hear a Brit singing quintissential American Blues but he really pulls it off.  His skills at the piano and his obvious joy of singing kept my feet tapping and my head bobbing all day!

4. Cupcakes from Kupcakes and Co.: I LOVE cupcakes and this place beats them all!  Not too much icing and the cake is super moist.  They are my new obsession!  If I balloon to 500 pounds, we will all know why...

5.  The Lorax Apps for the Ipad: Free apps make my day so I was super excited to see Truffula Shuffula and Marshmallow Drop appear in my App Store.  The graphics are beautiful and they were pure mindless fun!

Friday 1 Unfun

This week I must share my least favorite occurrence of the week:  Being rear-ended turning into my neigborhood by some dude who is texting his exwife.  So not my idea of a great beginning to the weekend!

Everyone Told Me So...

Last night, I wrote about attending a Job group Meetup.  Tonight, I'm listening to all my friends and family saying I told you so and I'm ok with that.

I listened to my aunt who told me to join Meetup.com.  I listened to my parents that told me to just go already!  I listened to the presenter last night and re-formatted my cover letter into a T-code format (apparently it's an accounting term...).  Then I listened to the guy that recommended a company in the area that's hiring.  I followed all the advice, and applied for a really cool job this afternoon and within 5 hours I already had an email from the hiring manager asking for more information...Woohoo! 

I know it's no reason to get my hopes up and it's too soon to tell but it seems that things are looking up!

Networking 101

In regards to the dream job search, I made my first leap this evening.  Anyone that knows me knows that I HATE speaking in public and making small talk with people I've never met.  I just don't have that skill.  I'd rather be the wallflower than the life of the party.  And I go out of my way to avoid these situations every chance I get.  However, I'm trying the whole branching out thing and networking (according to all the smart people I read) is a huge deal when it comes to that.  So off to the County Job Meetup Group I went. 

I joined this group on Meetup.com, as part of my "new lease on life" world view.  It sounded like a good opportunity to meet some employers or at least meet a cute boy (afterall this is what I'm really after here...).  Anyway, as the day wore on I tried to think of reasons to avoid going but when I couldn't come up with any, I grudgingly went.  And I am so glad I did! 

I was the youngest person there and I felt really guilty about having a job when most of the attendees did not.  That being said, they could not have been more gracious.  As I was informed, each meeting will have a different theme, all pertaining to topics job seekers need to know.  This particular week's theme was Proactive Interviewing.  The speaker was dynamic and even though audience participation activities are my worst nightmare, I found myself relaxed and even throwing my 2 cents in (Shocker, I know!).  They provided some helpful hints and even (apparently...) a magic bullet cover letter that will increase the chances you'll get a call back.  I'm not sure if I believe this fact but I'm so re-formatting my cover letter to match tomorrow.  I even met a woman that was interested in my eLearning skills which could pan out into a new opportunity.  She's currently a volunteer so my new opportunity will most likely also be volunteer, but hey, experience is experience!

I think the biggest asset to this group is that it shows job seekers that they are not alone.  It's a forum to talk about issues with people that really understand them and provides an opprtunity for info sharing.  Friends are more than willing to listen to you complain about your dead-end job and can even give you advice but if they have their perfect job already, they're never going to understand what you're going through.  This is the piece that I was lacking without even knowing it.

Thank you JCA!  You rock!  And I will most defintely be back next week : )

Yay Me!

The sun is back so woohoo for that!  Things are beginning to look up!  I'm starting to make progress on this whole life-changing thing.  I'm pretty proud of myself, even if I do say so myself : )

-LinkedIn profile: Complete!
-Budget: Created now needs to be followed.
-Resume: Complete and sent to a contact at a new company.
-MeetUp joined and new MeetUp being attended tomorrow.

This week has been quite productive, this all might just work out!

Blah...

There is a scientifically researched condition called Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD for short.  I'd like to go on record as thinking that this condition is a load of hooey!  Even the acronym is absurd.

However, after the last 48 hours of rain and cold, I'm beginning to buy into it.  I've felt nothing but grumpy since yesterday morning.  I know that April Showers bring May flowers but this is ridiculous!

Bring on the sunshine!

**Note: The forecast for tomorrow is sunny and 60, so weatherman willing, tomorrow's post will be much cheerier!**

Epic Fail

When I began writing this blog, I wanted it to change the way I was leading life.  If I needed to write everyday, obviously I would need something interesting to write about.  In regards to that point, today was an Epic Fail.  In my defense it has been raining since I woke up this morning and rain can make anyone feel like curling up into a ball and doing nothing. 

The excitement of my day consisted of a "Layover/No Reservations" marathon followed by a hot shower and internet surfing.  Way to be exciting, I know!  However, I did manage to make a sorta cool, sorta delicious brunch-like item. 

As a connoisieur of all things foodie, I love "Best Thing I Ever Ate", if for no other reason than to steal cooking ideas.  A few weeks ago Susan Feniger was on talking about this breakfast scrambled egg-pasta thing she loves.  For some reason, that sounded delicious to me so I tried it out.  I whisked up some eggs with parsley, garlic, oregano, and parmesan then boiled some pasta.  When the pasta was done I dropped it into the raw eggs and threw the whole thing in a pan with some more parmesan for good measure.  The end-result was sort of a version of Pasta Carbonara, and I must say it was pretty good.  The eggs make a sauce for the pasta and everything is better with cheese.  I probably would have added some bacon too, if I had any. (Remember it was raining and leaving the house was so out of the question.)  Feniger's version had fresh pasta, fresh parmesan, and fresh herbs.  I'm sure even the eggs were picked from the farm that morning, so her's was probably better.  But for a quick carb overload on a lazy Sunday, I couldn't have asked for more.

Shopped 'til I Dropped

Today was supposed to be an ugly, yucky, rainy day here in the Northeast.  Lucky for us, the weathermen got it wrong and the weather was gorgeous!  So, needing something different to do than my rainy day plan (changing my closet over from winter to summer, glamorous I know...), I decided to go shopping. 

Spending hours on end shopping is fun when you have lots of money to drop. When you don't, it's an exercise in restraint.  Even so, I still found a few fun things to buy.  A trip to Barnes and Noble resulted in "Paris, my Sweet" (another book about Paris that I've been dying to read) and "The Fry Chronicles"(which has finally been published in the States and made me happier than anyone should have been!).  And a trip to Old Navy resulted in some spring staples: cardigans and tees.  I spent the rest of the afternoon trolling the shops and making lists of things to buy when I hit the lottery or get a raise, whichever comes first.  Until that time, I'll be holed up reading my new book and being completely jealous that Stephen Fry can write as well as he does.

Friday Five

1. Purchasing all the tickets I hoped to this week.  On Monday, I had no plans to purchase anything, but by today I had purchased tickets to see Springsteen in Philly (Finally, 3rd time's the charm!), Sailabration cruise tickets and seats for the Baltimore Hockey Classic.  The best part of it is, I can tick 2 of my 29 things off my list!

2. Coconut Impossible Pie:  I found this recipe trolling Tastespotting a few weeks ago and finally had a reason to try it this week.  Aside from being delicious (tastes just like Coconut custard), the recipe is magic!  Without ever making a crust, the pie comes out of the oven with one.  The recipe was so easy and delicious that I will definitely be making it again soon!

 Yum!

3. Fontsquirrel.com: Confession time: I have a secret desire to become a master of digital scrapbooking but (and here's the important part), I have NO idea how one digitally scrapbooks.  I've read, researched and thought about this way too much and yet, still no closer to an answer.  I've seen specific programs that were must-haves while others just use photoshop.  It's like my white whale, each time I think I have a handle on it, I read something that sends me in a completely different direction!  From what I can tell, there is usually journaling involved.  So what better way to journal than with some really fun fonts?  This site is full of fonts for all occassions.  Super fun and more importantly, Super free!

4. "A Bit of Fry & Laurie: Reunited": Anyone who loves British humor like I do, must know Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry.  They are a comedy duo much more famous for other ventures these days.  They were ahead of the curve when it came to comedy writing, and took the sketch genre into all new directions in the 80s and 90s.  They are smart, and most importantly, side-splitting-ly funny! Stephen Fry wrote one of my all-time favorite books and Hugh Laurie stars in one of my favorite shows, so seeing these 2 together as 2 old friends sharing some laughs just made my week.

5. These word art posters.  I found them on OhDeeDoh which is a personal must-read each day.  I've been really in to typography and word art lately, which makes these posters just too cute to resist.  My favorite is the words to "Forever Young".  I'm dreaming of it hanging on my future children's wall.

Dispatches from the Job Front...

Let's get this out of the way right now, I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I WANT TO BE WHEN I GROW UP.  I think we might all know this already but I figured I should clue you in just in case.  On that note, I decided to do something about that today. 

I currently have a job that sounds perfect to a lot of people: I sit at my desk all day and do pretty much nothing but answer the occasional e-mail.  Last year, I thought I solved this problem by getting a brand-spanking new job...not so much.  Not working at all beats working for meanies any day.  Alas, I made a few inquiries and was promised a great deal, so back to the ho-hum world of training development I went with great expectations.  As you can probably see, that didn't work out so well and I'm back to doing exactly what I was doingbefore I left: Nothing!

After years of filling out applications and sending in resumes and getting nowhere, I thought a new proactive approach might be in order.  It didn't hurt that I had a kick in the pants from some loved ones as well.

First up on the list is joining www.meetup.com.  Have you heard of this?  I was sent the link to try out (Thanks Aunt Mil!) and realized that it's actually a pretty cool concept.  You enter your zip code and find groups to join in your area.  From what I can see, it looks like a great networking opportunity.  So I promptly signed up for not one but two job search/networking groups and 2 more not so serious groups to have a little fun.  Who knows?  I might just get a life afterall!

Second on my list is signing up for a job fair.  I tried this once.  Took a whole day off and everything.  I walked into a room full of 2 companies...one of which sold mattresses.  So you might say that my expectations for job fairs are not very high.  But, this is a reputable company that runs tons of these each month so this one might be different. (One can hope...) 

Last on my list, which hasn't been accomplished yet, is to sign up for LinkedIn.  I've heard people talk about this site for years and from what I can tell it's Facebook for work.  But, I'm open to trying it.  A friend was telling me about some great features it has so it's worth a shot.

So there you have it, Operation Get Kristen her Dream Job (GKDJ for short) is under way.  I'm hoping the MeetUp groups may also lead me into my next battle: Operation Get Kristen a Hubby, but we'll see how that goes : )

April Blossoms

One of the rites of Spring in Maryland is the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington DC.  Even though I've lived in Maryland my entire life, I finally saw the blossoms for the first time 2 years ago.  It was so much fun, we decided to go again this year.  I must admit the weather wasn't near as gorgeous as the first time, and the blooms had already started to drop but the trees around the Tidal Basin were just as beautiful. 

After spending the morning as tourists in our own neck of the woods, we continued the feeling and walked to and through the Smithsonian.  It could have been a "been there, done that" kind of day, but it wasn't.  It was a wonderful trek through an underappreciated city that provided some wonderful memories and great photos.

 

**Hope to have more pics tomorrow of the actual cherry blossoms.  For some reason the darn server is having issues...**

Cricut Craftin'

If you are a scrapbooker, you no doubt know what a Cricut is.  It's about the coolest tool ever to use for paper crafting.  Before I received one 2 years ago, I thought for sure I could do without it.  I had a healthy obsession with stickers which were so much easier to use than die cuts.  Little did I know how much I would fall in love with this little machine. 

Sure the poor thing gets neglected every few months when I hit a crafters block.  But when the creative juices start flowing again, this little baby is always there waiting for me.  Such was the case this week.  My parents' 33rd anniversary (Happy Anniversary Buds!) is on April 21 and I hadn't a clue what I was going to give them.  Cricut to the rescue!

They like most Marylanders (why? I have no idea...) LOVE  crabs and with Summer coming, a gift card to a crab shack was the perfect present.  But unlike a normal person, I can't just drop the gift card in an envelope...That's just not fun at all!  This is where the Cricut came into play.  I had a vague idea that I wanted to put the gift card in a bushel of crabs.  After some thought, cutting and gluing and one craft-related injury (Don't ask!), I created the gift card holder below.  I'm so happy with how it turned out.  It's super cute (I think) which is exactly what I was going for.  The crabs are my favorite part which were created with the Create a Critter cartridge for the Cricut. If you are in the market for the perfect cartridge, this one is it!

It's hard to tell, but the gift card (or in this case a certificate which caused some thought re-jiggering...Who has certificates anymore!?) is attached to a piece of cardstock.  When you pull up on the crabs the certificate pops up (if that makes any sense). And since you can't have crabs without a cold beverage, I made these too.  I kind of love them!  It's a little hard to see but they are covered with clear vellum from a sticker package.  See?  The healthy obsession with stickers still pays off!

Now that that's out of my system, Jiminy the Cricut is going back into hibernation, until my next inspiration hits.

Project Life (or Lack Thereof...)

If you've never heard of "Project Life", chances are you are not an avid scrapbooker nor do you troll paper-related blogs searching for ideas.  "Project Life" is a fairly simple concept.  You buy an album. You document your entire year (good, bad, & ugly) by taking pictures, snatching ticket stubs, etc. Then, you add all of your remnants to said photo album and throw in some journaling for good measure.  See?  Fairly simple concept.

Each year, come January, I spend days ooh-ing and ahh-ing over these albums.  There are pockets filled with pictures, and journaling and remnants, Oh my!  There are sites teaching you how to crop your picture just so in photoshop while others sell you the perfect journaling cards to fit your album.  And each year I drink the kool-aid.  Each year I say, this will be the year I create one of these masterpieces.  This is the year, I take more pictures and collect more "stuff" to add to my grand autobiography.  This January was no different.  Of course, like each year before, come January 7, I had decided my life was too mundane and documenting it was just a pain. (Hey!  I'm a poet and didn't know it!)

However, something changed a bit this year: I had what you might call, an epiphany.  It took until April for me to realize this. So here goes: My life is pretty mundane, but... I'm ok with it.  Yes the argument is to be made that I need adventure in my life (Exhibit A: The title of this blog) but I'm sure that these women that create these amazing scrapbooks aren't living the high life either.  They are moms, and wives and sisters.  When you look at the albums closely, you see recitals and notes from their husbands and trips with friends.  After all, if their life was 24/7 adventure, when would they have the time to scrapbook it?

Project Life isn't meant to be an autobiography of the most interesting woman in the world, nor is it meant to be a huge stressor.  These women do this because it's fun.  This, I guarantee you, would not be fun for me!  It would stress me out each and every day.  I just want one because they're pretty : )  Therefore, to save my sanity (and the sanity of those around me, truth be told) Project Life will not be invading my craft room any time soon.  This will not stop me from coveting others' albums and accessories each year come January, mind you, I'll  just be too busy living my newly-adventurous (fingers crossed) life to mind!

Spring has Sprung!

For those of us living in Maryland, the weather has been especially tricky this year.  As opposed to the feet of snow we usually accumulate, this January saw temps of 70.  However, since spring started last month, we've seen temps of 35-40.  What the heck?! 

But, today I can finally say that Spring has officially sprung!  It's been a sunny, beautiful day with the temperature hovering aroung 80.  For someone who hibernates all winter bundled in multiple layers of clothing, I have been giddy all day!

The warm sun and the cool breeze provided the perfect day to enjoy brunch on the water at Carrol's Creek Cafe, then roam the streets of Annapolis (with everyone else in Maryland).  After seeing the forecast for the rest of the week, I can only hope that the strange little winter we had is over and I can bask in the sunshine until mid-November when my hibernation will begin again.

In case you're wondering what to buy me for Christmas: This is just my size.

Of course, I can make one of these work as well.

View from the top of Main Street Annapolis, looking down at the harbor and the Pride of Baltimore 2.

An Abundance of Cookies

For anyone that read yesterday's post, you know that I mentioned these cookies.  Well I decided to make them this morning and I'm so happy I did so you get to hear about them.  For the first time in a LONG time, I baked something and it didn't turn out disastrously.  I usually start with such high hopes, only to be beaten down by strange ingredients and fussy ovens.  This particular recipe was super easy to follow.  The worst part was the teeny-tiny bits of dough you needed to roll into balls.  I was skeptical that they needed to be that small, but after seeing them spread, I'm quite happy I followed the directions. 

The cookies are meant to be eaten as sandwiches with chocolate between them, but I couldn't resist tasting them before the chocolate.  After all a true chef tastes all parts of their dish, right?  I had high hopes that they would taste like Lace Cookies my grandmother used to make.  Unfortunately, not so much.  Good consistency, not much flavor.  They were so much better once I added the chocolate.  After all, aren't most things?

I'd recommend this recipe to anyone who loves Pepperidge Farm Brussels cookies or anyone who loves chocolate.  They are the perfect snack to have with a cup of tea!

Teeny Tiny Dough Balls

Cooling off before the chocolate bath

Yum!  They're finally finished!

Token Artsy Shot

 

Friday 5

1. I kind of love this quote from Baltimore's own (and my personal favorite Good Wife actor) Josh Charles.  So sad and so true... Even after starting the season with a sweep of the Twins and even with the Yanks being winless, our fair Orioles still found a way to (as my friend Tim put it) "snatch defeat from the jaws of victory".

2. This is a completely geeky and techie thing to say but this week I love SharePoint.  It's the only program I use at work that lets me be creative.  Anyone that's used it before can attest, it's a huge pain in the neck to learn to use.  However, once you figure it out, it's actually quite fun (for my inner-geek anyway).  For once in my life, I'm the guru on something computer related...that doesn't happen very often.

3. These cookies. They are on my list to bake this weekend.  If they go well you'll hear about them; if they don't, not so much...

4.  "Imagine How Creativity Works" by Jonah Lehrer: I've been dying to read this since I saw the cover mostly because it's so pretty.  But hearing what it's about has gotten me excited to read it as well. I work in an office that's not exactly what you might call "creative" so hearing ideas to make it that way, makes me happy.

5. Anthropologie.com: My birthday was last week and I received an Anthropologie gift card.  I've recently fallen in love with their clothes due to the fact I've given up feeling like I can't pull them off (I still feel this way but I just don't care anymore).  I've basically been surfing their site all week drooling over every item trying to decide what to use my gift card for.

Maryland Love

I'm usually pretty critical of my home state.  I'm not a fan of crabs (too much work, not enough food).  I've never understood Lacrosse.  The Ravens are the only great team we have (those poor O's never stand a chance).  Our "city" is no where near as cool as NY's.  And don't even get me started on how it's portrayed in movies and television...(As much as I like you, I'm looking at you Bourdain!)

But I have to admit, lately I've been seeing more of the plus-es than the minuses of our fair state.  For example, last night was just an ordinary night in Annapolis, nothing special...

 

This is the Pride of Baltimore 2, sailing into Annapolis Harbor.  Where else can you get a view like this on a Wednesday evening?  If given the chance (and the cash) I'd probably set my sites on Paris or San Francisco, but for now, maybe Maryland isn't so bad...

Gaga for Lou Lou

When I walk through this store, all I can hear is the song "Cheek to Cheek" playing in my head...

"...Heaven, I'm in heaven..." 

Lou Lou Boutique just opened on Main Street in Annapolis a few months ago and I've been dying to get there ever since.  Well I'm finally here and I am already over the moon.

What's not to love about this place?  They have thousands (and I do mean thousands) of accessories, from hats, scraves (my personal favorite), jewelry, hair bows, etc.  These amazing trinkets are all organized by color which is ever so helpful for a girl with shopping induced ADD.  In the back there's even a room dedicated to vintage inspired stationery.  And if that's not enough, the prices are perfect for a girl on a budget who prefers not to look like she's on one. 

You can visit their website here, but it just isn't the same.  The appeal of this place is the space and the decor, and of course, feeling like your in heaven...

Sick Day

I have spent the last 10 months of winter avoiding this darn stomach bug...How in the world did it catch me?

Not much to say, other than, spring germs are so not cool!

Loving the Sweet Life...

When Borders went under, I know I was supposed to be sad.  It was the passing of a great Bookstore chain (that I was never a big fan of anyway, but that's beside the point).  But all I could think was "Let me at the sales!"  I pictured each stores inventory being carted out the door at rock-bottom prices.  I envisioned buying extra book shelf  just to catch the run-off. Unfortunately, while they did have sales, they were not what I was dreaming of.  That didn't stop me however, from spending 3 hours roaming my local store one afternoon looking for the volumes I was coveting.  In that afternoon, I picked up (along with another 7 books, slightly embarassing I know, but the first step is admitting I have a problem...)  "The Sweet Life in Paris".  It caught my eye not because I had been waiting for it to go on sale for months, and not because it was on any great sale but because it had the word "Paris" in the title and I'm a sucker for the City of Light.

I finally grabbed it off my shelf a few days ago and I'm so glad I did.  I couldn't put it down and finished it in 3 days.  It's written by David Lebovitz who was a professional pastry chef for years at Chez Panisse in San Francisco (Sweets and San Fran: how could I not love this book?)  After his partner passed away, he moved to Paris and in hopes of a Parisian life.  Things, as he and I learned, aren't always what they seem.  France and the US are so completely different and the experiences he had could only happen in Paris. 
Lebovitz has such a way with words and I fell in love with his commentary immediately.  I was excited to learn that he's also written multiple cookbooks (Decadent sweets: Be still my heart!) and is the author of a popular blog on his website.
He's quickly become one of my favorite foodies and I would recommend him to any sweets-loving francophiles out there like me. 

Happy Easter!

Easter is the only time when it's perfectly safe to put all your eggs in one basket.

Happy Easter!  Happy Spring!

Crafty Times

Haven't been feeling particularly crafty lately but today I turned it around a bit.  Didn't do too much but I love how they turned out.  I created the tags for these 2 Easter baskets.  One is filled with vacation-y stuff and the other is filled with about the cutest flowers ever!

Happy Easter!

 



Friday 5

Because I promised myself I would write each day and because my life isn't all that interesting (yet, I hope), I needed to follow a bit of a format for my own sanity.  I'm a little OCD and having a template to follow makes me feel better : )  Therefore, we've got the Friday 5.  These are the things that made me happy this week and will hopefully make you happy too!

1. "Her Majesty's Explorer" by Emilie P. Bush: I'm in love with  Steampunk anything and I happen to collect kids books so a Steampunk kids book just sends me for a loop.  The illustrations are dreamy and the story line sounds perfect for any little ones who love something different.

2. Geek & Sundry: This is a YouTube channel brought to you by Felicia Day.  I kinda want to be her when I grow up.  Sometimes I think I'm the biggest geek I know, albeit I'm a little different geek than she is. (Firefly: Yes, Online Gaming: Not so much) For her to create an empire based on being a geek, gives us geeks something to aspire to.

3. Masters Weekend: Go Phil! Go Rory! Go Freddie!  Go anyone but Tiger!

4. "Somebody That I Used to Know" by Gotye: I've watched this an embarrasing number of times.  I love this song.  I love Matt Bomer and Darren Criss.  I pretty much love everything about this.  Enough said.

5. The Spring Egg from Paper Moon Diner: So kitschy!  So Baltimore!  So fun!  The Spring Egg consists of a crispy potato pancake topped with prosciutto, a medium fried egg and lots of spinach.  Delicious!

My 29th Year

So, today is the first day of my 29th year.  That means I only have 364 days until I turn the big 3-0!  That's slightly depressing...I'm not sure why but it totally freaks me out.  Maybe I've watched too many episodes of Friends but I should be living in an amazing apartment in Manhattan, dating the love of my life and lucking into the career of a lifetime by now.  Alas, not so much.  This year I need to step it up and get a life!  If I write the things down that I'd like to do, I'll have to do them, right?  Because anything written on the internet is the God's Honest Truth : ) 

Anyway, this year I will:

1. Visit at least 3 different bars.
2. Continue to eat anything I'm offered (My friends think this is a pain but I actually love having to try things...although, the beer tastings are getting old!)
3. Stop feeling so guilty all the time for things that I have no control over.
4. Get to a Ravens, Orioles and Caps game.
5. Shop less. Save more.
6. Go on a date.
7. Get to the Food bookstore in Manhattan.
8. Take my niece on a special girls day out, just the 2 of us.
9. Partake in a Supper Club.  (Had one planned for months with 2 girlfriends but we keep missing it...)
10. Learn to let the things roll off my back that I can't control.
11.  Create things.  (I really need to use my scrapbook powers for good not evil.)
12. Go down the Ocean, hon.
13. Read more.  (I do this a lot anyway, but I need to keep up with the slew of books I buy each year.)
14. Keep up with e-mails to family and friends.
15. Meet old co-workers for drinks at least every few months.
16. Cook more: At least one good meal and one dessert a week.
17. Learn to crochet.
18. Take Web Design classes.
19. Go red again, only this time a little more noticeably.
20. Invest in a great printer to scrapbook with.
21. Attend at least 2 concerts and Tailgate. (Already got my tix to Tim and Kenny, now who else to see?)
22. Become a passenger more instead of always being the driver.
23. Explore Maryland more.
24. Take a Yoga or Pilates class.
25. Take a cooking class.
26. Attend the Star Spangled Sailabration on a boat.
27. Stop biting my fingernails.
28. Visit a museum or 2.
29. Try authentic Indian and Thai food.

Here's to year 29!

29...

Today is my 29th birthday...Ugh!  How did this happen?When did I get so old?

At 29, I:

1. Still have no idea what I want to be when I grow up.
2. Have yet to develop an appreciation for wine or coffee, or beer for that matter...yuck!
3. Haven't yet suckered George Clooney into marrying me.
4. Have a FANTASTIC idea for a food truck but can't get my father to buy in (which is slightly important since he'd be the one cooking!)
5.  Judge restaurants by the quality of their Iced Tea.
6. Still bite my fingernails (But trying so hard to stop...I even bought nail polish as an incentive.)
7. Have disovered Pandora and things can only get more expensive from here.
8. Need to get out more.
9.  Have finally figured out Football (for the most part...) but still working on Hockey. Go Ravens! Go Caps!
10. Get a little too wrapped up in Golf Tournaments and can waste entire weekends if the right players are in the lead.
11. Am currently wearing clothes that are 2 sizes smaller than last year at this time.
12. Spend WAY too much time thinking about whether my hair is acting like it should.
13. Spend too much time trolling wedding websites and know exactly what my wedding will look like.  The groom's face is a little fuzzy though : )
14. Think the perfect job would be a travel writer a la Anthony Bourdain but could really use some funding to make this happen.
15. Love the idea of sailing, just not so much the execution.
16. Have serious baby fever but I should probably get husband fever first.
17. Have become a bit of a Sharepoint wiz but would love to master Adobe.
18. Completely failed at taking more pictures each day.
19.  Am slightly obsessed with Instagram.
20. Haven't discovered my calling yet which is really starting to irk me.
21. Want to re-decorate my house and make it more girly-kitschy-chic, whatever the heck that means...
22. Could watch USA Network all day long if left to my own devices.
23. Am loving my New Year's Resolution to try new foods, and will continue to do so.  Just wish my friends would do the same...
24. Have realized the kind of person I don't want to be but not the kind I want to be.
25. Am fickle
26. Am not nearly as neat as my mother hoped I would be.
27. Am slightly neurotic when it comes to grammar and typos.
28. Still blush at the mention of anything risque.
29. Want to write in this blog everyday to satisfy my creativity but worry that I'm just a little too much of a slacker to do so...