A Day at the Beach

There is nothing better than a day at the beach, especially when it's spent with someone you love.  BBQ for lunch, Ice Cream for dinner and sun, sand, and shopping in between.  So much better than going to work!

Sunday School

I know very little about modern music.  I like a few songs here and there, but for the most part I like old stuff.  Also, I've never really gotten into the whole pop/rap/new agey stuff that's pretty popular now.  (As I'm writing this I'm realizing what an old lady I am...) Anyway, so there's the reason I've successfully avoided the VMAs this evening.  I didn't even know they were on or were even a thing still.  Who still makes videos?  

But that's where Twitter comes into play.  For better or worse you can learn things on Twitter.  If you follow the right sites you can get breaking news updates or find out just when all the best airfare goes on sale.  You can also learn the "Breaking News of the Entertainment World."  This is as about as exciting as it sounds.  So since the VMAs were on tonight, the big breaking news headlines were all about that crowd.

Therefore I learned that Justin Bieber made his big comeback tonight at the show.  I don't know about you, but I've most definitely seen his mug making a fool out of himself for the last year in every newspaper, or news site.  How exactly is this a big comeback? What is he coming back from?  And why does it look like he got attacked by a flock of birds on the way to the show?

I also learned that Miley Cyrus was taking over hosting duties for the evening.  Why in the world would anyone give her that chance after being so crude and crass the FCC wanted her fined a few years ago?  Are the VMAs just asking for trouble?  

I suppose, that all of this is to say, sometimes, Twitter can just be a little too helpful.  I could have lived my entire life without knowing anything about tonight's awards....

Football Season is Here!

That was how I felt about 3 hours ago when this game started.  Sure last week's game was a bust (the Ravens lost 41-17 - or something equally as ugly) but this was the first week I was going to be home to actually watch the game. Surely my mere presence would tip the scales in our favor.  

And in the first quarter, that looked like it would be the case.  After the first possession we took the lead by a TD.  It was wonderful!  This game was going to be a full on trouncing of the Redskins.  Then it all went very, very bad.  The Redskins Defense decided to pile drive a Ravens player which led to a bench clearing brawl that even included the coaches.  Harbaugh tried to break the fight up but managed to get into it himself when Jay Gruden decided to yell something nasty at him.  Good on Harbaugh!  But he's very lucky he didn't get tossed like Steve Smith did...

After Steve Smith's ejection, it all went downhill.  Redskin TD after TD occurred until the point when we lost 31-13.  Seriously!?  All the while the players seemed to either be getting hurt on the field or laughing and joking on the sidelines.  WTH?  I feel that they're in for a serious come to Jesus meeting when they get back to the locker room - after the way Harbaugh yelled at Gruden, then snapped at a reporter during a live shot, and then yelled at a Ref, it would appear he's just not in the mood for crap tonight.  

Please don't tell me that this is what the rest of the season is going to look like.  I was pretty excited about football until I saw them play.  

Football was nice while it lasted, but maybe I need a new sport for the winter. I hear Hockey's nice...

Friday Five

1. Costco Photo Center: I'm in sort of a love hate relationship with them right now, mostly I'm just realizing how much I love them and I can't stand that I can't use them because of their site being down.  Honestly almost 2 months to recover from a hack?  Banks are up immediately after but not Costco.  They spend 2 months presumably fixing the issue while we scrapbookers wait impatiently while we struggle to find someone as good and as quick as they are (Newsflash: There isn't anyone...)  This whole 7 day waiting period for Shutterfly to send me my photos is obnoxious.  Please come back Costco Photo!  I promise to never use another photo site for as long as I live...

2. The Reagan Years: I never thought I could like a local 80s cover band, but I have to say the Reagan Years totally won me over tonight.  They were fabulous! 

3. I've never been much of a pit bull girl.  I don't think they're violent or evil like some people do.  I just like the fluffier looking dogs more.  However, in the last year or so (it started with a photo on an adoption site) I've been thinking more and more about getting one.  They're super adorable and there are just so many that need to be adopted right now.  If I ever broke down and adopted one, I'd want him or her to look like these guys.  I'd pretty much take any of the group - even the non-pits.  Are they not the cutest little family ever?!

4. While I'd love for this to be possible, I highly doubt that most of these will work.  I mean, every once in a while you hear about people trying these schemes and they might actually pan out once in a blue moon.  All I know is that if I were to ask my boss if I could still work for her while I was traveling the world and living the high life, I'm fairly certain I'd be laughed out of her office.  But a girl can dream, right?

5. I'm a sucker for all things Friends.  Seeing as it's been off the air for a decade, I've had to make due with reruns.  It's one of those shows that's still funny after 20 years and after hundreds and hundreds of viewings.  For the most part, I've seen every episode at least twice and can pretty much say some of the lines before the characters do.  It's addictive!  So imagine how unbelievably excited I was to see a new scene.  It's only 4 minutes long and I completely understand why they never released it up to this point.  But it's also awesome!  And it made me miss the gang even more than I usually do!
                             

Brussels: The Good, The Very Good and The Odd

I've decided to not use the Good, Bad and the Ugly because nothing on this trip was every truly bad or ugly.  The entire trip was awesome!  But there were a few things that were better than others.  

The Good: First let me say, I loved Brussels!  The city had absolutely gorgeous architecture. Just like everything in Europe, the buildings and palaces were just so old and so beautiful. The Grand Place was enormous, and gilded and so full of life.  People milling around taking pictures and eating and laughing - it was just such a great place to be and people watch.

Speaking of people, everyone we met were so genuinely kind and helpful.  Most everyone spoke English but even those that didn't tried to get out a few words.  We most definitely did not speak Flemish but we could understand a few important words in French.  As long as we tried, with please or thank you, they were more than willing to meet us halfway.  Not to mention, everything just sounds so much better in French!

The Very Good: Chocolate & Waffles - Have I mentioned the chocolate and waffles?  I mean it's fairly cliche to go to Belgium and pig out on chocolate and waffles.  But actually knowing how good they are now, I completely understand why everyone does it.  So very delicious!  I honestly believe if I could (and not gain a million pounds) half at least one of those waffles and some of that chocolate every week, I'd be a much happier individual.

Speaking of chocolate, the chocolate tour was also all kinds of fabulous as I said before.  I can definitely see why they win the best of Viator so often.  They had that tour down to a science.  I was able to taste test chocolate, make chocolate, see the sites of the city and walk off all the waffles in one single fantastic tour.  What's not to love!?

The Odd:  Atomium is by far the strangest attraction I've ever been to.  After about 2 hours in the thing, I still have absolutely NO idea what it's for and why it's there.  We stood in line for about 20 minutes, then had lunch (a fairly decent tomato mozz salad with the most expensive bottle of water I've ever drank) then went down a floor looked out the windows, then left.  And all of this required a train ride to the outskirts of the city.  I still have no idea why we did it...Don't get me wrong, it wasn't terrible.  I was able to get some artsy shots of it, I just don't know exactly what I have the artsy shots of : )

Another Day, Another Senseless Act

Another day, and yet another random act of gun violence in the United States. This time is was terrifyingly caught on live television.  The killing was quick and pre-planned.  The gunman was your average guy who was angry and had access to a firearm so he decided to take his revenge on 3 innocent people who got up this morning and went to work.  So sad!

As I'm sure you are, I'm stunned and horrified by this morning's murder of a television anchor and her cameraman, and the injury to their guest all caught on camera.  I haven't been able to shake thinking about it all day.  And I just keep thinking, what if this guy never had access to a gun? What if he wasn't able to go to a store, fill out a form and buy the murder weapon? Could that have possibly saved the victims?

I work with a lot of ex-military guys who think that this line of thought is utterly ridiculous. They believe everyone should have access to a weapon and if everyone were allowed to carry one, there'd be less killing than there already is. I completely and whole-heartedly disagree with their reasoning.  

I get the argument that it's the crazies with the guns that are the problems and that the guns aren't actually killing people, people are, but how is giving people access to more guns making the crazies any less crazy?  They just have better access to steal them from a normal everyday person who may have one in their house.  Oftentimes, the violence, like this morning's incident, is so quick and so callous, that there isn't any time to defend against it. No extra gun would have helped in this morning's situation.  That's just the truth.

I'll leave you with this thought from an article I read regarding the botched terror attack on a European Train: "It's funny that one of the only terror attacks that have been stopped in the last few years, was thwarted by a few Americans carrying no weapons whatsoever."

My heart goes out to the victims' family and friends.

Trivial Pursuit

At one point this evening - the point just before the very last question of the night - we were tied for first place.  First place!  That's never happened before.  Then we were issued a ridiculous question that we somehow managed to answer correctly - however we only wagered 5 points.  Ugh!

~  Apparently in terms of population (greatest to smallest), Australia has the least amount of people. Colombia has slightly more and then a 3rd country has the most (a third country that I'm having a very hard time recalling right now.)  If we would have just wagered it all like we usually do - and usually get the answer wrong - then we would have ended in very first place!  Ugh!

~ Tumblr. is considered a blogging platform.  Who knew?

~ I should be kicked out of the Catholics seeing as I went to Catholic school for 13 years and managed to miss a question about the College of Cardinals.

~ It's been much too long since I've seen the movie Mrs. Doubtfire.  And while on the subject of Robin Williams movies, Aladdin, Hook and Dead Poet's Society were the overwhelming favorites at our table.

~ A punter in the NFL most often has a longer career than any other position in the league.  I'd argue it's the guy whose job it is to hold the ball for the punter but I suppose not.

~ You can order ice cream from GrubHub and the number one flavor they deliver is vanilla.  What is wrong with people?  Don't they know chocolate is infinitely better than vanilla?

~ My 26 years of not watching the Simpsons seems to keep coming up to bite us in the butt.

~ I managed to ace the Greek Alphabet questions without knowing a single letter in the Greek alphabet. 

~ And much to my chagrin, not a single question in the set of questions pertaining to 1997 was about me.  I graduated from grades chool in 1997 - I feel that would be a fantastic piece of information that everyone should know... : )

London: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

The Good: I know I say this a lot but pretty much everything in London is good.  I love every part of my time there, and even the bad isn't particularly bad.  However, there were some parts that were better than others.  I loved seeing the Globe finally.  It's pretty much just as I imagined it and it sort of comes out of nowhere when you're wandering the South Bank.

Speaking of the South Bank - I loved all the little pieces that make it summery in the city. There was a beach with sand for kids to play in; a skate board park for teens; lawn chairs and food stalls to enjoy the time near the Thames.  All of that on top of the usual National Theatre, the Globe, the Eye, the Tate and tons more.  It's a great little area of town and I just loved strolling through it.  

My other favorite was strolling around Kensington Gardens soaking up the sun.  It started as a matter of convenience - the Tube was going on strike and we needed something relatively close to bide our time.  Kensington Gardens was just a few blocks from our hotel so we chose that.  We spent the entire morning checking out the sites like the Princess Diana Memorial Playground, Peter Pan, the statue of Prince Albert and a few more fun little places.  And it couldn't have been a nicer way to spend a beautiful day in the big city!

The Bad: Like I said, I'm not sure there was anything that is truly bad about a trip to London.  The worst I can say is that the Tube went on strike while we were there.  That messed up the city pretty good.  But we were able to take a bus then a cab to get down to the Barbican - both were a little pricey, but we made it there in plenty of time.  It even gave my friend the chance to see Robert Pattinson drive by on his bicycle so I suppose the strike wasn't bad at all. 

The Ugly: I hate to sound like a broken record but there wasn't much to complain about. The ugliest thing I can think of is the teeny tiny hotel room that was made for people much tinier than us - maybe hobbits?  And of course the walls were paper thin so there were many slamming doors to contend with at night.  But even with the close quarters, we were able to manage without any fights or stepping on toes.  So even the ugly wasn't so ugly in London.  

Are you sensing a theme here?  London I {heart} you!

Cake-tastrophe

I watch a lot of cooking shows.  I'm not really one for the shows that teach me how to cook. I'm more of a fan of the ones that go all over the country for the best food - it's pretty much how I plan vacations.  Anyway, that means I spend a great deal of time checking out Cooking Channel hoping that Unique Sweets is on.  So, today after my usual channel flipping, I happened upon a new show - Cake Hunters.

And, usually one for a new food show - especially one involving cake, I decided to give it a shot.  And?  And it was basically a train wreck.  But a train wreck that I couldn't look away from.  The premise is simple.  A couple goes on the hunt for the perfect wedding cake so they meet with 3 bakers and get their thoughts, then choose their favorite for their wedding.  

It could have been decent - not fabulous, but good in a pinch.  But it's just not.  Tonight's couple was from Maryland and seemed a little too focused on a cake for the wedding.  At one point they decided that the cake was the most important focal point of the entire wedding. Really?  I thought professing your love in front of friends and family was the most important.  

Now I'm willing to give them that the cake is important - not the most important - but a big part of the reception.  I judge most receptions by how yummy the cake is, so it's at least in the top 10.  But the groomzilla - yep, in this case the groom was a little off his rocker rather than the bride - was sharing what he was most wanting to see in his perfect cake.  Patterns. Not taste.  Not flavors.  Not texture.  He was most interested in a cake that had "patterns" on it. What?!

In the end they decided on some 4 foot monstrosity full of gilding, aqua butter cream strawberries and passion fruit.  Not a chip of chocolate to be found!  Most definitely not what I would have chosen for my future wedding.  But then again, I would definitely not choose to go on a show this ridiculous either...

A Very Good Saturday

I'm by no means athletic, however recently, I've been a bit interested in kayaking. There are tons of kayakers in Annapolis and I've been watching them lately.  It doesn't look that terribly difficult and it also looks like a great workout - something I'm severely lacking.  So I told the bestie that I may want us to give it a shot and she reminded me that she not only owns kayaks but also has access to a dock on the Magothy.  So off we went this morning.  

Fearing I may drown and/or fall in the Magothy (a fate worse than death in my opinion), I was slightly scared.  However, after just a few minutes, I got the hang of it and really started loving it!  It was a great workout but it wasn't too taxing or terrifying.  Turning back around, became a bit of a struggle which is where the brunt of the workout came into play, but after a few more minutes than I would have liked, I finally got the hang of that too.  Can't wait to go again!

 Notice the still waters - might account for the fact that I found kayaking easy...Something tells me it's bit more worrisome when the water doesn't look like glass.

Unfortunately there are no photos of me in the actual kayak or from the actual water.  I decided not to tempt fate by learning a new sport, not dying in the process AND attempting not to drop said phone in the Magothy.  

Then after the Kayak adventure it was off to see Darius Rucker at Merriweather.  I love Darius Rucker!  I was never much of a fan of Hootie and the Blowfish, but since he's started singing country, he's been one of my faves.  He was an awesome show; singing for almost 2 straight hours!  He even managed to sing a few Hootie and the Blowfish songs, which made the crowd go wild.

All in all - a very good Saturday!

Friday Five: England Edition

I promise one day I'll be through talking about my trip however, today is not that day : )

1. I'm not sure if this is a Europe thing or just an England thing, however, I LOVE that the Brits are super dog friendly.  About halfway through the trip I realized, in the villages, that dogs were allowed in the pubs.  While in a fairly fancy pub one evening, 2 puppies lounged under their owners feet at the bar, while a big black lab slept under the table in the restaurant section.  And no one seemed to mind a bit.  Loved getting to see them all having an evening out too!

2. Tea, Tea, and more Tea!  Here in the states, when you order a cup of tea, you mostly get a cup of luke warm water, a tea bag and some cream.  Also, whereas your coffee drinking counterparts get free refills, you have to ask for more water, and most often must pay for it too.  However, in England, you get a proper cup of tea - boiling water in an actual pot, with a tea spoon, saucer and cup. The tea has already steeped and is left to continue steeping in the pot.  It's all very civilized.  And the best part is that in England, the coffee drinkers are forced to pay for refills while us tea drinkers can manage a good 3 cups out of that pot.  Take that coffee lovers! 

3. I adore the accents! I know it's fairly cliche, but I do.  You can pretty much gauge exactly where in England a person is from based on what they say and how they say it.  That's pretty much the case here as well, but you can't often pinpoint it to an exact state - you can gauge region but most likely not state.  But in England, there are so many regional accents and colloquialisms that it's fun to play the game of where are you from.  Of course, I may be rubbish at it, because I never have the nerve to ask the person if I'm correct.

3. Oh my goodness, the history!  Everything in England is old.  You're randomly walking down the street and there's a church that's still standing from the 1500s.  You walk into buildings that have been standing for centuries and have even survived the blitz.  What's more amazing is that these structures are still beautiful.  That's because they care about history there.  On the tour of the Cotswolds, we learned that the councils have strict guidelines to preserve these properties.  They don't allow people to come in and tear them down to build strip malls.  Historic areas are preserved for future generations just as they should be.  And we're lucky enough to see them today!

5.  And most of all, I just love England.  Every single thing about it.  It's such a beautiful,  vibrant country with so many things to offer.  The people are kind and the sights are to die for.  Once again, even after 12 days, I can't get enough!  The only downside to this amazing country is their utter disregard for letting us Americans come work there.  So England, could just give me a teeny tiny little job there.  I'll be eternally grateful. And you have my word, I won't tell a soul...It'll just be between you and me...: )

Two for the Price of One

Feeling super-accomplished today.  Not that anything huge happened.  I didn't mark anything giant off any lists or tough it out through any big projects.  No, I just managed to be doubly-creative - in the kitchen and the craft room.  Seeing as I've been basically a slug this summer for some reason, it feels pretty good to say that.  Usually it's one or the other, not both.  And when I've attempted both, things have not gone as smoothly as they did today.

First up was dinner which consisted of two Pinterest recipes-ish.  The main course was Bruschetta Chicken.  Basically grilled chicken with tomato mozzarella salad on top.  I didn't really require a recipe since I make both a lot, but for some reason I never thought to put the salad on the chicken.  It sort of goes against the no hot tomato rule, however, since the tomatoes weren't on top for long, it wasn't too bad.  It was actually pretty delicious!

For the side dish, I'd been wracking my brain all week.  I wanted something summery and not too heavy.  Originally I thought noodles, but I wasn't sure what to serve on them.  Then I started leaning towards Zucchini but I couldn't figure out how to serve it without having to go through the trouble of breading it and frying it.  That's where Pinterest comes to the rescue again.  Just type in zucchini and you have hundreds of recipes at your fingertips. That's where I found the Zucchini Crisps with Parmesan cheese.  They couldn't have been easier. However, they could have been crisper.  Next time, I'll try parchment rather than cooking spray. But all in all they were pretty tasty.  Not necessarily the prettiest, but great in a pinch.

Then it was off to make cards for a guy that's leaving work for another state tomorrow.  I'm terrible at making guy cards, so they may be a wee-bit girlier than they should be.  Thought I honestly don't think they're too bad, when you think about all the pink and flowers I had to sift through to find boy-ish paper and embellishments : )

To Be or Not To Be...

The singular reason we chose to go to London this year was that Benedict Cumberbatch was going to play Hamlet.  Hamlet is one of those pinnacle roles for any theatre actor - the one every actor wants and every actor wants to perfect.  Seeing as Benedict is one of the finest actors today, it was sure to be a resounding success.  And based on the box office numbers - sold out in hours, almost an entire year before the premiere - it was due to be one.  

Then the show opened.  

Before I go on, I'd like to say I'm by no means a theatre critic.  I like what I like and often times disagree with the people whose job it is to tell me what to like (LOVED Mamma Mia, and HATED Mary Poppins.)  So my assessment may be a little off base with what others are saying. Though, I know of a few UK papers that are agreeing with me for a change so maybe I am on to something...

After a year of waiting and an arduous journey to the theatre (Thanks Tube Strike!) we arrived at the Barbican the night after the show officially opened in previews, very excited and thrilled to be there.  Of course, so were all the other fangirls that were obviously there to see Benedict in person (can't blame them there, I was there to do same thing.)

We settled into fabulous seats, and as soon as the lights went down, I was ready for the curtain to come up and for the famous first words of the text "Who's there?".  What I got was the curtain coming up with Benedict appearing on stage and much to my surprise, he was reciting the famous "To be or not to be" soliloquy.  Surely you know the one - it's usually found 2 acts later in the text. Huh?  After a masterful job, he sort of went about the business of finishing the first act of the play. Some of the most famous words in literature were sort of shrugged off to get on with the show. (I'm guessing this had something to do with wanting to get their mega-star on stage as quickly as possible so as to not start a fangirl riot - but seriously, we're much more intelligent than that.  We do have the patience to wait the few scenes for hi to appear.) It was completely strange to say the least!

That was its main problem, EVERY thing was just a little too strange.  The set was gorgeous but so intricate, you couldn't focus on everything at once.  The time period was never completely explained.  Gertrude and Ophelia were sporting some beautiful vintage gowns, that could have shouted 40s or 50s but Hamlet had a hoodie on at one point that sort of shouted today.  Then there was the weird slow motion rewind of the other actors on the stage each time a soliloquy was recited and the slow motion ballet fight at the very end.  A fight that's supposed to be tense and nail-biting is neither when done in slow motion on tiptoes...

In the end I'm very happy to say I got to see it.  I had the privilege of seeing David Tennant live (Still top of my list -  Couldn't take my eyes off of him!) so it's nice to say I've also seen Benedict.  I had thought he'd gain my full attention the entire show like David did, but unfortunately, I did find myself drifting.  And that was by no means due to it being Shakespeare.  I love Hamlet, and find it beautiful to see live.  But this production was focused more on theatricality rather than the words - which, when you're planning to see Shakespeare, is kind of the whole point.

I just wish they would have made the whole thing a bit smaller.  It's almost like the producer knew exactly what she had in Benedict, and decided she could do anything she wanted, because all the fangirls would come anyway.  At least, now that they're out of previews, they're making a few tweaks.  I almost want to see it again, just to see if the tweaks help.  I hope they do for Benedict's sake...and for everyone else that has tickets for it.

Tour-riffic

I don't usually buy into tours.  They're most definitely not my thing.  I do a lot of research before planning a big trip, so I find it much cheaper and much easier to just do a "tour" for myself.  Also, with tours you're stuck conversing with people that you may not want to converse with and most of the time you have to listen to some boring tour guide drone on and on about the history of some small rock you're looking at for what seems like hours. See?  I told you I didn't like tours.

However, that may have all changed during this vacation.

My friend found 2 specific tours online that she was totally gung-ho about and therefore we had to buy tickets.  At the time, I was skeptical to say the least. I thought they'd both be just like every other tour I've ever been forced into attending.  I was very, very wrong!  They turned out to be my 2 favorite things I did on the trip.

First up, was Viator's Chocolate Walking Tour of Brussels.  I was a little less skeptical of this one, because it had the word chocolate in the title.  It was billed as a 4 hour (4!!) walking tour of Brussels' Chocolatiers.  What it was, was so much more.  With this tour, you're introduced to Avo who's your guide throughout the tour.  He'll take you into 5 different chocolatiers and you'll get the chance to try chocolates at all of the shops.  As you walk to and from the chocolatiers, he'll point out special parts of the city and stop to take photos of the most beautiful spots.  Then halfway through, you get to go to a small storefront and make your own chocolate using different ingredients.  And to top it all off, you get your bag of candy you made to take home at the end of the tour.  

It was, to say the least, awesome!  We got the chance to see so much of Brussels and really had the chance to taste the differences in specific types of chocolate.  The guide also gave great advice on what to look for in chocolate, as well as the best places for food and drink around the city.  I would go back and take the tour again in a heartbeat!

Then later in the trip, we decided to take the Secret Cottage Tour of the Cotswolds.  This one was billed as a 6 (!!) hour tour of the Cotswolds via a luxury van, including tea at the owner's cottage in the Cotswolds.  What it was, was 6 hours of beautiful scenery, quiet-away from the tourists locations and perfect picture taking locations, mixed with breakfast, lunch and tea in a gorgeous thatched roof cottage.  Spending 6 hours in a van never sounded like much fun, but the guide, Ian knew pretty much everything there was to know about the Cotswolds properties and villages and took us to the most beautiful places to view them.  And the food?!  The food was fantastic, served on the best china in a blooming garden in the country - so you know, the food was perfect!

I may finally be a tour convert - though if I'm planning anymore anytime soon, I'd like them to have food involved too.  I think that's the key to my heart when it comes to tours : )