Spoiler Alert!

So premiere season, is supposed to be all sunshine and daffodils.  I understand sad and unhappy endings in May when the shows are going off for the summer.  I expect unexpected deaths, crazy cliffhangers and couples breaking up forever in pretty much every finale I watch.  In every premiere I watch, after 3 long months of waiting, I assume beautiful births, lovely weddings and fun surprises, not to mention the return of beloved characters we've missed for the last 9 weeks.  But here's the thing, after a week of premieres, I've gotten nothing but depressed.

Bones killed off the beloved Sweets.  Vance had a cancer scare on NCIS.  Castle had a memory lapse.  Cary wound up in prison on The Good Wife. And Dean is a demon (on next week's episode, so I'm told.)  WTH?!  What's with the killing, mangling and hurting all the wonderful guys that fill our television screens each week?

Don't get me wrong, I have to applaud the show's writers for not trotting out the "beat up the poor woman" storyline that has become common place in the last few years.  But I'm also not all for beating up the guys either.  I know you can't have a good story without some drama, but can we at least agree, that you also need a little happiness too?

All I'm asking is no more deaths of beloved characters and no more scary diagnoses.  I tend to cry at the drop of a hat.  I'm not sure I can handle any more sad stories - Let's bring on the sunshine and daffodils for the rest of the season, shall we?  At least until finale time again...

Travel Tip

I'm a fairly regular traveler.  I'm great with packing.  I'm fairly organized and I always have a schedule.  This is why I thought it was hilarious when a friend told me that somehow she managed to book a flight out of Dulles Airport back into Reagan National, when she meant to be flying into and out of BWI.  How could she have done something so ridiculous?

Then of course, Karma bit me in the butt, and I did the exact same ridiculous thing.  Somehow I managed to get a steal on airfare ($100 less than I originally thought it would be - I should have known, right?); was on top of the world thinking I was the queen of travel.  Then, realized about 10 minutes later, that instead of the queen of travel, I was just an idiot.  I had thought I was flying out of BWI when I had actually bought tickets out of Reagan.  Smart move, I know.

Which brings us to the Travel Tip.  If I wasn't already head over heels in love with Southwest's philosophy and rates, their flight change policy made me fall even harder. Within 5 minutes and completely for free (minus the additional cost of flying out of BWI, of course), I had changed my flight, with very little effort.  My friend was not as lucky, as she had booked on a budget site and couldn't change without paying a whole bunch more.

So the moral of this story, and today's travel tip: Always, Always, Always, Fly with Southwest!

A Beautiful Day for a Wedding!

Whenever I go to a wedding, I can't help being judgey.  I just can't help myself.  I have a very set idea of what I want my wedding to look like some day, and pretty much, no one else's measures up...however, I always get super cool ideas to add on to my wedding plan.  Today's was no different.  It was a gorgeous ceremony held outside (which I'd love to have but the whole Catholic thing prevents that) with only about 100 guests, which is the perfect size.  

The reception was held indoors after a cocktail hour that included crab dip, fruit, cheese, and a dozen other little yummy finger foods.  Dinner was just ok (aren't wedding dinners always just ok?) and the music was pretty good.  But I have to say the coolest part was the wedding program. Not only was it a cool format, but the wording was just adorable.  She laid out the whole wedding process in the cutest way possible.  I really must use it one day.

Congrats Ry and Jess!  Hope your marriage is as awesome and fun filled as your wedding was!

Baseball + Food = Fantastic

What an awesome day for a ballgame!  Or should I say, what an awesome day to eat! Today's pairing of gorgeous weather, good friends, delicious food and a great baseball game, was quite the combination.  I wasn't really looking forward to using the free tickets I received to a Nationals game; mostly because it wasn't an Orioles game.  But as it turns out, as historic and beautiful as Camden Yards is, Nationals Stadium is just a bit on the cooler side.  They have a Ben's Chili Bowl and a Shake Shack for goodness sake, as well as picnic tables all around to hang out if sitting in the stands isn't your thing, and sofas and comfy chairs on the upper deck in front of a ginormous screen broadcasting the game.  How can you go wrong?!

So after a day spent with great people, eating some seriously delicious food (I think Ben's chili is the best restaurant chili I've ever had and I'm not sure what's in the Shack Sauce that was on my Shake Shack burger, but I'm going to venture a guess it has some sort of addictive substance in it because I couldn't get enough), I just may need to change my baseball loyalties.  Though the Orioles have Boog's BBQ so maybe I'll just start rooting for 2 teams instead...

Sorry for the photo quality - the ancient iPhone4s had to suffice. 

Friday Five

1. Fall TV: It seems kind of trivial to get excited about the shows coming back, but I love it!  Of course, it's always difficult to remember what the heck happened last year (Bones, Scandal).  But then you also have the news shows to geek out over (Scorpion, NCIS:NOLA).  I have to say, of all the premieres, Big Bang Theory and The Good Wife were my faves. Seems like a good season to be a couch potato : )

2. Books are my Bag: I had no idea when I got this super cool bag in the Edinburgh Waterstone's that it was part of a bigger campaign to promote book sellers.  Imagine my surprise today when Neil Gaiman posted a picture of himself with the same back and linked back to their website.  I was pretty much in love with the bag from the start, and now if possible, I love it even more!

3. I am an iPhone girl.  I have no idea how to use other phones and have no need to find another.  I've been hooked on my little iPhone 4s since the day I got it.  But I have to admit, even I found this ad funny.  I've heard rumors that the bending is a hoax, but coming from someone who regularly puts her phone in her back pocket then sits on it, I'd be a little worried to try it with the new one...

4. After all the terrible stories in the NFL this year, it was so nice to see some uplifting ones, such as the 2 Kemoeatu brothers out of the Steelers and the Ravens.  One brother retired from the NFL just so he could donate his kidney to his brother playing on another team. Or Devon Still of the Bengals who's helping his daughter beat cancer, one pep talk at a time.  It's good to see that there are still some awesome players out there!

5. And speaking of Football, these little guys are the cutest thing ever!  Good luck guys with the payback! 

Smiley

After a rough day that started with rain all the live long morning, that continued to go downhill after that, Happy Hour with friends capped off with a great dinner, was just what the doctor ordered.  Off to bed, smiling from ear to ear.  Bring it on Friday!

A Little Behind

           

For the last month, a friend of mine has been postively gushing over Sam Smith.  And I've been completely at a loss to identify who in the world Sam Smith even is.  Then I finally looked him up and realized he sings the one song I've been singing for the last month. I just seem to get it out of my head.  Love it!  Who knew I was a Sam Smith fan?! : )

Girl Power

There have been some seriously smart and strong women in the news lately.  Between geek girls like Aisha Tyler and Felicia Day fighting the stereotype of gamers or Emma Watson's campaign for #heforshe this week or Malala Yousafzai fighting for the rights of Afghan girls - girls are taking over for the better these days.  It's about time that people realize we rock.

But then you look at the newspaper and you read the story of some delusional young woman who tricked the internet into thinking she had plastic surgery to gain a third breast.  Why exactly would anyone in their right mind do that?  I realize at the time, she probably wasn't thinking of what the world would think, but each time guys read these stories, the women's movement is set back years.  

I'm by no means a feminist.  I'm strictly anti killing bugs, cutting the grass, fixing anything to do with a car, carrying heavy bags  when there's someone else around that can do it and strictly in favor of men being gentlemen towards women.  I don't often understand the anger and hatred women have in certain situations, but even I was annoyed by this story. 

If women were just a little more like Malala or Emma Watson, and lot less like the girl with 3 boobs, the world would have no choice but to listen to us. 

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to the most important woman in my life.  I love her with all my heart and I'm not quite sure what I'd do without her.  She's lovely, loving and too funny for words.  Love you bunches bud!  

50/50

Depending on what sort of fan you are - baseball or football - it was either a really good Sunday in Baltimore or a really bad one.

If you happen to love Baseball in Maryland, you're probably a little grumpy this evening.  The Orioles lost Friday then managed to pull out a win last night.  But the streak wouldn't continue, and they ended up losing again today.  Of course they are still the AL East champions, so I suppose you can't be too grumpy.  They're not in the knockout rounds just yet, so a small loss to the Sox was just a bump in the road to the World Series.

On the other hand, if you're a football fan in Baltimore, you are happy and a bit leery this evening.  The Ravens by no means looked fantastic today.  Joe threw some ugly passes and players that should have caught the ball, didn't.  But the Browns made some HUGE mistakes too and we ended up with a win anyway.  But the worrisome part was the potentially season-ending (career-ending?) injury to the one of the best guys on the team - Dennis Pitta.  He's a big player who just came off the IR a few months ago, where he spent most of the 2013-2014 season for a fractured hip.  It was scary to see him do pretty much the same thing today.  Sad because we may not have him this season, but even more upsetting because he's such a great guy and you never want to see players hurt.  Fingers are crossed in Baltimore tonight, I'm sure.

At least Maryland can celebrate one win tonight.  But with the way the Ravens looked today, I'm almost certain that the Orioles will have more wins in their future than the Ravens will...

Calavera Crazy

I'm well aware that most friends and family think that my obsession with Dia de Los Muertos is odd to say the least.  But I don't care.  They are pretty darn amazing and they are pretty much everywhere all of a sudden. And that's more than ok with me because I will pretty much buy them whenever I see them.  These purchases - a super cute clipboard and the most amazing Tervis ever - were just a product of today.  Yes, it's an obsession, but one I'm more than OK with : )

Friday Five

1. Loving my new glasses!  Not only can I see pretty perfectly (my old glasses were 3 prescriptions ago...I'm a bit of a procrastinator : ), but using Costco was the smartest decision ever.  I never realized how much cheaper glasses were at Costco. Love a great deal!

2.  If you ever needed an explanation as to how a silly scavenger hunt could possibly make a difference in anyone's life, all you need to do is watch this video. Spectacular!  I'm all for people being who they are and being accepted for who they are.  How awesome they were able to find a team who loved them accepted them.  Go GISHWHES!
            
3. I'm so hoping this story is true.  I've always been a fan of John Harbaugh's and I've felt for him throughout this controversy.  He's a good guy who's stuck in a hard situation but the evidence has been pretty damning.  How could he have backed the party line?  But if ESPN is true, he didn't.  He is the good man I thought he was.  If the Ravens organization was smart, they would have listened to him sooner.  Because between today's Goodell press conference and the speculation on Bisciotti texts, the entire NFL is just not looking so hot. Just a thought, when Goodell finally does resign or is ousted (which will hopefully be sooner rather than later), I know a certain good and decent coach that would make a fantastic replacement...

4. I'm not sure if Friends could be any cooler than it already is (in case I never mentioned it, I'm a HUGE Friends fan - I use the term "then beef sauteed with peas and onions" on a daily basis), but this little girl made it even more awesome.  How darn adorable is she?!
         

5. Etsy trade Show: OK, I'm saying I like this idea, but I have to admit I'm not sure I actually get it.  I was told to join groups as a way to drum up business on Etsy, so I did, but then really didn't do anything else.  Now this week I got invited by one of the group members to a trade show.  This means we'll apparently agree to a trade if someone wants to purchase an item - instead of money I'll take something from that person's shop and they'll take something from mine.  In theory it sounds like a fabulous idea.  I'm hoping it's fabulous in practice : )

Throwback Thursday

Thinking of all the Scots tonight on this historic day.  I usually spend most of my time wishing I was in the UK, but today more than ever, I wish I was there in Edinburgh seeing the sites and hearing the discussion.  87% of Scottish citizens showed up to vote in the independence referendum.  How awesome is that?  When was the last time that 87% of Americans did anything?  Whether they vote yes or know, it's surely (as one Brit said today on Twitter), a dazzling display of democracy!

PS: As of this moment, only one district's votes are in and the vote was No.  Of course, there are so many more to go.  Is it wrong, that I'm watching this more closely than the last presidential election? : )

Not Sure...

I've been wracking my brain for the last hour, trying to figure out what to write about this evening.  To be honest, my mind's still buzzing from that awesome O's game last night - stayed up way past my bedtime and enjoyed every minute of watching the celebration at the stadium!  But I've already talked about the Orioles this week and for someone who's really not that into Baseball, 2 posts in one week is just slightly redundant.

I could talk about the overwhelming number of football players that are being arrested, fined, suspended or just fired this week.  It all started with the rightful termination of Ray Rice, spiraled down to Adrian Peterson's arrest for child abuse then suspension and endorsement droppings, then 2 more players being arrested for other acts of violence. Really?!  The NFL needs to figure out a way to show the players that this is wrong.  In my opinion money and fame talk.  Immediate suspension as soon as you're arrested.  But apparently that doesn't fly in the NFL so I won't talk about that either because I'll just get annoyed.

I could talk about the Independence Referendum occurring tomorrow, but like I said on Monday, I'm still not all that clear on it, so there's definitely no more to say on that front.  

See what I mean?  Other than some crazy giant stories happening this week, there's been no other little excitements to get, well, excited about.  Not to say it's a bad week - it's been quite nice actually, but hum drum, and run of the mill.  But I suppose, sometimes, it's that way.  Every post can't all be riveting : )

Throwback Tuesday

Yes, I realize it's usually Throwback Thursday, but in honor of the Orioles (fingers crossed) clinching the AL East tonight with a win, I'm making it Throwback Tuesday.  This picture was taken when the Orioles last won the World Series in 1983.  With any luck, we'll have a similar picture in a few weeks.  

The last time they hit the playoffs was 1997.  In the last few years, we've gotten so close we could taste it.  I'm pretty sure all of Baltimore has been waiting for this moment.  And after all the years focused on the grand football team of Baltimore, it's pretty fun to finally be appreciating those awesome baseball players too!  Way to go boys!  #WeWontStop

Vote Yes...or No

I have to say that I'm not an expert, by any means, on the Scottish Independence referendum.  I'm not from Scotland.  I'm not from England.  I'm an American citizen and am purely an observer in the biggest vote in British history.  But I'm still fascinated by it.  I'm not sure what it is about the whole situation, but I'm constantly reading about it.  That's what I find so odd.  Even after reading so much, I'm still not sure whether I'd vote yes or no.  I can't quite figure out the best choice.

On one hand, I'd say that staying part of England, has worked for so long - why change it now?  Everything including money, empire, land and government has run fairly smoothly; changing that would just throw them into chaos.  Even with a yes, they're destined to stay under the rule of the monarchy so what's really the difference?

But on the other hand, I'd say vote yes.  Be your own country and be your own people.  I like to think about it in terms of the US and Canada.  Scotland is being ruled by England, for proximity's sake.  Basically, it would be like the US being ruled by Canada because Canada is bigger and close to the US.  The same rules and regulations of Canada wouldn't make sense in parts of the US, but we'd be forced to follow them, the same way the Scots follow British rule.  As a member of an independent nation, it just makes sense to vote yes, when I think about it like that.

But of course, that's not bringing in other more complicated matters such as economics or defense.  My favorite article from a few months ago, questioned whether or not the Scots would still have access to Doctor Who, because the BBC was a licensed product.  (In case you're worried, the Doctor will still be traveling to Scotland, for many years to come).

So with that in mind, I have NO idea what the right answer is.  What's a little scarier is, that I'm not sure if anyone really does.  It's a tricky situation that's going to require lots and lots of hard work, like most big elections.  But, it's still a big exciting moment in history and I wish all the Scots good luck on Thursday!  I hope you find what you're looking for and work toward making a more united Scotland - independent or not!

A Star Spangled Spectacular

I may be a little biased but Baltimore was looking quite snazzy this weekend!

Star Spangled

200 years ago this very week, Baltimore stood up to the British and were able to hold off the encroaching forces at Fort McHenry.  Because of this Francis Scott Key decided to write the Star Spangled Banner in honor of the battle.  Since then Ft. McHenry has stood as a sign of freedom and patriotism.  

And because of this, there have been all sorts of celebrations in Baltimore this week, including tall ships, concerts, fireworks and flyovers.  I have to say, the Blue Angel flyovers have been my favorite so far - caught a glimpse this afternoon. Now I can't wait to see the full show tomorrow.

Have a spectacular Spectacular, Baltimore! You deserve it!

Friday Five

1. Not only are the Orioles on a hot streak (after the first of 2 games today, the magic number is now 7!), the Ravens managed to pull out a win last night against the Steelers.  And not just any win, a really big win that ended Big Ben's streak of touchdown passes thrown.  Way to go guys! It seems Harbaugh was just a little excited - it seems he forgot just how big his players really are : )

2. In other Sports news, somehow Rory McIlroy managed to hit a golf ball off a tree into a spectator's pocket.  I was never that great at science but that has to be against the laws of physics, right?
            

3.  With the anniversary of September 11th this week, there was a lot of focus on survivors and their families, as well as first responders.  At the time of the attacks, there were also dozens of disaster dogs combing the rubble looking for signs of life.  13 years on, all of those hero dogs have passed away except one golden retriever named Bretagne - and she's about the most adorable dog ever.  Instead of retiring into a cushy life, she still manages to work for a living by allowing children to read to her at a local school. What a cutie!

4. As someone who used to teach little ones, I hearby decree this is an entirely accurate picture of a kid who's just had enough of this crap. : )  It was taken by a White House photographer back in June and somehow was released this week.  I don't even know the kid's name but I want to meet him.

Speaking of cute kids, this one is super adorable too...apparently.  If you don't recognize him, he's the kid that made headlines a few weeks ago for being interviewed by the news and using the word apparently about 20 times in a 2 minute segment - in other words he's a cutie pie and apparently, pretty darn clever too.

5. And people wonder why I don't cook all that often - every darn one of these things have happened to me at least once (most often more than once...)

A Football Thursday Night

Even with the ridiculous amount of coverage pre-game that the Ray Rice scandal took up, Baltimore football looks just a bit better this evening than they did last weekend.  I'm not saying they shouldn't cover the story, but possibly making the entire pre-game an examination of a scandal that's giving the NFL a black eye, may not have been the best way to start an NFL game.  Just a thought...  

Also, if CBS and the NFL wanted to make the story how much they care about domestic violence, maybe dropping Rihanna's song from the opening could have waited.  There's really no reasoning behind it other than it didn't set the right tone.  How is dropping a song written by someone who has been a victim of domestic violence, the right tone?

But the Ravens are in purple, the Steelers are in town, Big Ben's already been sacked once and Fort McHenry is getting some serious screen time.  In other words, Baltimore is looking good for the first time all week.

So for now, let's just forget about the controversy and play some football!

Go Ravens!!