Weather Warning Woes

Aside from the obvious typo in the title of this photo, this is pretty much the case this week. All sorts of weather people saying all sorts of weather things.  Here's where I have a problem.  One, I'm not such a fan of rain, wind and hurricane like conditions.  Call me crazy, but the possibility of a power outage for more than a few seconds, freaks me the heck out. Two, and most importantly, I have a trip planned to Texas next week and so help me god, if this darn storm messes up my flight, the weather gods are going to owe me some tacos!

What I don't understand about the storm is this.  I know science is slightly unpredictable, but isn't everyone who's everyone in the weather field, looking at the same darn swirling, raining, blowing storm?  How do so many people pick so many outcomes?  I've never really gotten that.  One hacker can break into a single specific computer across the world but a giant storm system stumps hundreds of weather people...WTH?!

Trivia Tuesday

~ As of right now, it's 10:30 pm, and it's been raining for approximately 4 hours straight.  It sucks driving in it even for something as fun as trivia.  It just needs to be said...

~ When Trivia actually counts for the season - as opposed to the few bi-weeks when we have themed rounds - questions can get super-duper hard.  I'm fairly certain we winged most of our guesses tonight; only sure of a few.  Luckily enough, in most cases (definitely not all) we're pretty good wing-ers.

~ Looking at a still from a movie and knowing it's Robert Mitchum and the movie is Bridge on the River Kwai are apparently a good way to get some points, but a bad way to actually be correct.  The dude that you swore was Robert Mitchum was not so much him - but hey, at least you got the question right, even if your logic was fuzzy...

~ Apparently, we need to watch more pageants.  This is the second week when we've missed questions on beauty pageants.  But then again, I think I'm ok with not knowing a darn thing about something produced by (or previously produced by) Donald Trump.

~ The Sopranos was the first cable drama to be nominated for a best drama emmy and was nominated by the WGA as the number 1 in their list of the top 101 most well-written shows. I so disagree with their findings.

~ Even when you get a category of Shakespeare, it's almost guaranteed they're going to ask you about one of his works that you've never read - like, for instance Twelfth Night.

~ When you and another team-mate guess the same answer at the exact time, go for it, even if you have nothing more to back it up than A Bug's Life.  Sometimes, you pull out a win. But don't get cocky.  There's not guarantee A Bug's Life will help you with the follow up question... 

#ProjectDeclutter

A few months ago I read a great book called "The Paris Letters."  It's a true story of a girl who somehow saved enough money to quit her job and give herself 2 stress free years living in Paris. Naturally, I loved it because it's about travel and Paris and being artsy crafty creative.  However, I do admit, I was skeptical.  I don't think I could ever, ever do that, as much as I'd want to.  (I see how I pack for 2 weeks in a foreign land, I can't imagine trying to do so for 2 years!)

Anyway, one of her helpful suggestions during her lead-up time was to declutter everything in her life.  She sold off a lot of her clothes and only kept the essentials.  She sold books that she never read and DVDs she never watched.  She even, (I can't believe I'm saying this) sold off a lot of her craft supplies that she never used.  What she noticed after doing this, was that her life was free-r of stress.  She didn't have to think about what she wore so much or what she read.  She just read or wore what she had.

That's where I lost her.  I have crazy ideas when it comes to clothes and hate that I always wear the same thing.  I try to think of new outfits and new ways to wear certain things.  I love having bookshelves upon bookshelves full of books.  And I buy craft supplies like the nuclear holocaust is coming and all that will save us is fancy scissors and glitter stickers.

But in the last few months, in trying to decode my crazy mixed up brain cells, I've realized that, quite possibly, the over-abundance of choices might actually be holding me up.  I've been trying to decide what book to read for ages even though I have at least 20 sitting on my shelf right now un-read, but they're not new, and therefore I'm not really feeling them.  I spend inordinate amounts of time in bed at night going over what's in my closet to wear to work the next morning and still grab the same pair of black pants and same scarf every week.  And most of all, I have so many scrapbook supplies in my house, I could finish 30 albums without ever purchasing something new, but I can't focus long enough to get past my first day of my England album.  I have issues.

So, I've been seriously mulling over (it's a process) Project Declutter.  I'm never going to be able to live in a foreign country for 2 years - I'm way to attached to things to let that happen - but I just may be able to get more reading done and have the energy to focus on one craft project for more than a day or so.  

The only hang-up I have is where the stuff is going to go. I can always send it to good will which is a great cause and what I usually do, but the girl in the Paris Letters profited from her decluttering.  At the very least I need some sort of community yard sale to sell off some of my meager belongings.  And of course, now that we're heading into winter, that's probably not going to happen anytime soon.

Do you see my conundrum?  Why can't my crafty-addled brain think of these fabulous ideas at good times, like for instance, in the beginning of summer when all the world is ready to purchase other people's crap?

Ravens Home Opener

Notice I didn't title this post with any quippy Go Ravens!  or Woohoo!  Because it was most definitely not woohoo worthy.  Granted my mom and I had suite seats and it was a gorgeous day and our food and tickets were free.  However, it would have been a nicer day had they actually shown up and done the job they were supposed to do, instead of letting the Bengals run right over them.  

Hello 0 & 3.  It totally stinks to meet you!

 Doesn't it look like the Bengals are lining up for some bizarro version of A Chorus Line?

It's impossible to un-see this...Good luck!

Story of a Saturday

Breakfast: Banana French Toast

Attire: Brand spanking new "cowgirl-esque" boots

Fun Times: Baltimore Book Fest and BryanVoltaggio speaking about his new book

Lunch: Shake Shack!

Then...: Reading since I was early for Church

Text: From the Bestie who couldn't remember if she turned her oven off or not and wanted me to check for her

In the Kitchen: Brownies for a quiet night on the sofa

Dinner: Egg Salad Wrap with chips

Outside: Super bright moon the night before a super moon

Dessert: Tea and Brownies in front of Daredevil on Netflix

Good Night...

Friday Five

1. Peanut Yourself : This was too fun!  I love Peanut Me!

2. I finally faced my fears in regards to final episodes and watched the series finale of Psych. And without a doubt, it was a perfect finale!  I wish I hadn't waited an entire year to watch it. It had heart and laughs and even inside-y jokes.  Loved it!  The only issue I have now is trying to figure out what to binge next...

3. #PopeDogs: Like I said earlier this week, it's been all Pope, all the time here on the East Coast.  This, by far, has been the best thing to come out of the Pope's visit.  These little dudes are too adorable!

4. Speaking of cute dogs, if you're in Maryland any time soon and you're in need of a chihuahua, I recommend heading to BARCS, because these little guys need a home.  I don't really want a dog; haven't for a while, and I'm even seriously considering adopting one. How can you resist the little face with ears that are bigger than they are?! (UPDATE: It looks like they're all already adopted...Yay for them!)

5. If I could stay up WAY past my bedtime, I would most definitely love to watch James Corden's show.  He seems very funny and very sweet.  I'm loving what he's doing, most especially this epic musical number with Allison Janney and Jesse Tyler Ferguson.  So funny!
         

The Month in Books

While I had majorly lofty goals at the start of summer in regards to the books I was planning to read, it sort of didn't quite work out.  I have no idea why.  It's not like I was super busy or super tired, I just didn't read; for months!  I usually LOVE summer for reading.  It's the perfect time to sit in the sun and read, read, read.  But that's all behind me I suppose.

Thanks to a major haul in England, it all changed this month.  I managed to make it through 3.5 of my books I bought and will most likely finish the .5 before the month ends.  It feels great to be back to reading again.  Once I start, I just can't stop.  As you can see, I must have some serious feelings about Summer ending, based on my choices.

They're all super sunny, and very funny and 3 of the 4 are set in the summer in tropical or beachy locales.  Seeing as it's quickly turning into boring (and chilly - quite soon!) autumn here, I'm all about prolonging my Summer Love just a wee bit longer... any way I can : )

Welcome Pope Francis!

While most people's Facebook timelines are filled with snarky comments, breaking news and ridiculous videos, mine is full of pictures and stories of the Pope.  Yep, it's that sort of week.  Seeing as I went to Catholic School - and most of my friends being Catholic - and seeing as we all live in Maryland which is close to Philly and DC, it's pretty much all Pope all the time.

I'm sure there are loads of important stories that are happening but I'm not sure we'll get to hear about them until next week.  It's all very exciting, but I have to say it'd be a little more exciting if I were there or he was here. Honestly, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this Pope.  But, it would seem everyone I know is pretty excited about him. 

And while it's fun to see such a momentous occasion, I can't help but laugh at the hype he's getting.  There are memes about him.  There are cutouts that people are taking selfies with and there's the real Pope people are taking selfies with as well. (Strangest thing I've ever written...)  There are tee shirts and cutesy slogans (some CUA student coined "The Pope is Dope" on the evening news).  

And while I may think it's all a bit much, there are also some great stories about how he's just like us.  I have to admit the Pope meeting President Obama's dogs and the Pope drifting off during mass, was pretty adorable...  

Happy Birthday!

Today was the 60th Birthday of the very best mother I could ever ask for!  She's wonderful in about a thousand different ways.  Love her to pieces! Hope your day was as amazing as you are!  

Today is Lovely

Today was lovely for so many reasons; reasons that are pretty ridiculous but I liked them so that's all that matters ; )

~ First up, it would seem that Fall is pretty much here.  It's no longer warm but at least it's sunny.  This could be a good thing and a bad thing.  For most people it's a wonderful thing. There are pumpkin spiced things everywhere.  The trees are turning all sorts of pretty colors. And Halloween is just around the corner.  But for me, it just means that winter is coming. Not to be all Games of Thrones-y but seriously, ugh!  But for the time being, I'll try to stay happy about the autumn-ess of it all.

~ Then there's the fact that the shows all start tonight.  I've been way too excited about Big Bang Theory, Life in Pieces and NCIS:LA starting this evening. I'm a huge fan of Summer TV but there's nothing quite like the new season starting. Also, there are tons of new shows to try.  Yay for TV!

~ Of course, then there's the fact that I'm off tomorrow.  Woohoo!  Love a great 4 day work-week.  

~ Which brings us to the last wonderful reason why today was lovely - It's someone's special birthday tomorrow.  A big awesome, wonderful birthday and that's why I'm off tomorrow. Let's party! ; )

Happy Monday!

Yay Smart Girls!

I love award shows, most especially the Emmy awards.  However, lately they've been pretty boring since everything I watch, is pretty much never nominated.  Anyway, that doesn't stop me from watching the red carpet interviews.  I love seeing the dresses and all the dreamy dudes in tuxes.  But the one thing that's been getting old are the interviewers.  It's the same old stuff all the time.

The only question they know is who are you wearing?  Honestly, I like pretty dresses as much as the next girl, but I honestly don't care who designed it.  It doesn't make me like it or hate it any more than I already do. Also, it's really rude.  You don't hear Ryan Seacrest asking George Clooney or Jon Hamm who they're wearing, do you? It's always the girls. 

That's why I love what Amy Poehler Smart Girls did tonight for the Emmy Awards.  They had followers send in questions that they'd like answered.  Questions of substance and that are way more interesting than what they're wearing.  Questions like what charities do you support and why?  or what character from literature would you really like to play?  The answers are funny and fabulous.   How great is that!?  You go girls!  Let's hope the red carpet interviewers take the Smart Girl's lead for the next award show.   

Absolutely Lovely Alexandria

The few times I've been to Alexandria, it's been freezing - January in VA is not so fun.  So it was lovely to see it in the summer months - sunny and warm; well, super hot - but lovely nonetheless.  It's such a cute little town and the craft festival was wonderful.  Also, the number of super-cute dogs was amazing!  They've really got the whole dog friendly thing down.  

Friday Five

1. Getting things done!  Woohoo!  I just spent the last 4 hours trying to get a craft project done and while I still need a few things to finish it, it's about 95% there.  Thank goodness! Now that it's almost done, I'm loving it!  I've been hating it for a while mostly because I couldn't make it work, but now that I have, it's really coming together.  So happy and can't wait to see the recipient get it next week ; )

2. I feel this same way when someone won't share their food with me : )

3. I went on the lookout this week for some bookish twitter accounts - yep, I'm that girl.  Anyway, my very favorite account could be quite interesting for all I know, but the real reason I followed it was for her Twitter handle - @ScrewyDecimal.  Ha!  Love it!

4. And while on the subject of books, I want to open a book store just so I can use these adorable signs.  I love the puns and the sentiment.  Yay books!

5. My new obsession is freebies for Digital Project Life on Pinterest.  Do you have any idea how many free things are on Pinterest?  It's amazing.  Why on earth would any one buy kits, when you can just use the super cute freebies online.  I can't wait to start using them.

Currently...

Please excuse the mundane this evening, my brain is fried...

Watching (Actually bingeing): Psych - I'm 3.5 seasons from the end.  I'm working toward finishing before the new season starts on Monday.  I don't think even I can watch it quick enough.

Reading: A Seaside Affair by Fern Britton.  I read The Holiday Home last year and loved it. I'm even more in love with this one since it's based on Cornwall.  One of these days I'm going to get down there.  For now, I'll just have to read and dream.

Feeling: Quite warm.  I "officially" turned off the air on Monday since it's been chilly in the mornings.  However, it's now 80 degrees in here and I'm a bit toasty.  I plan to go to bed in a few minutes and I'm pretty sure, before I do, the AC's coming with me.

Crafting: A surprise present for someone special, Christmas cards and my England album.  All of which are way too stressful than they should be.

Wondering: If the Chiefs can manage to beat the Broncos this evening.  I hope so mostly because I'm so tired of hearing Manning's name and the Broncos beat us this weekend so they deserve to lose!

Googling: Austin Texas places to eat. Vancouver (places to eat if you really must know), Drexel U online, how to unclog a drain naturally

Loving: FREE Project Life Printables on Pinterest.  FREE!!!  How awesome is that!?

Surprise!

After a few weeks of planning and stressing, I'd say we succeeded in surprising the birthday girl.  Thank goodness everything went off without a hitch!  Happy Birthday Bud!

Trivia Nerd

~ I love nerd week at Trivia!  It's so much fun.  And I know way more answers than I usually do!  Any time there's questions on nerdy tv or nerdy movie lines, I'm so totally in!

~ The non-nerds had a lot less fun than the rest of us did.  We're all pretty nerdy in our own way, but there were definitely a few of us that were just a bit nerdier - not that that's a bad thing.

~ For an entire team that's never played Dungeons and Dragons, we managed to sweep the category.  Thanks Felicia Day!  Not sure if she's the reason we got the other 2 questions correct, but she's the only reason I got mine right.  Gotta love Geek and Sundry!

~ What can go wrong when one of the very first questions is about Doctor Who?  To make it even better, it was specifically about David Tennant's doctor.  That never happens during regular trivia!

~ I know nothing of Star Wars, Star Trek or the actual, real life stars.  I was so not feeling that theme! Lucky for me, the other nerds did.

~ For a night full of nerdy trivia, there was no questions on Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter.  How is that possible!?

~ For as many times as I've seen the movie Labyrinth, I epically failed on a question of a quote by King Jareth.  However, I did manage to get a Princess Bride quote correct, so I'm not feeling terribly bad about my geek card : )

Psych Out!

I'm currently in love with Psych.  Also, I'm in love with Netflix that allows me to binge-watch Psych until my heart's content. Once again, it's one of those things that's just so fabulous about living in the future!  I do understand the irony of binge-watching a show that's about 8 years old that I've already seen, while most people are binge-watching the fabulous brand spanking new stuff that Netflix has to offer.  But here's the thing.  I like being able to watch one thing completely through from start to finish.  It's good to have an end date.  Also, I worry about starting something new - I like to avoid the whole possibility of it being sad and tears-worthy.

Lucky for me, Psych fits the bill to the tee.  I liked it when I first watched it, but I'm completely enamored with it now.  I never realized just how good James Roday and Dule Hill are.  I know Dule has found a new job but I can't believe James Roday hasn't yet.  He's completely perfect in the role and is a seriously talented actor, writer and director.  The rest of the cast is also amazing - funny, and charming and still able to do the serious stuff. What really floors me is the writing.  It's top notch!  I'd love to be inside the heads of the people that came up with it. It's just so ridiculous and awesome!

Unfortunately, there is an issue with watching it like this is, I'm now craving more seasons... Think it's too late for a #SavePsych campaign? ; )

Lazy Sunny Sunday

Even though fall isn't officially here, I think fall is officially here.  It's just a wee bit chilly - not for most people but for me, it's a bit nippy. The AC is now officially off for the summer. Then there's the whole first Football Sunday thing too.  I'm currently trying to forget that fact seeing as though the Ravens were slaughtered in Denver this afternoon and our number one defensive player pulled his achilles and will be out for the rest of the season.  Yep, I'm not even going there.  I'm completely choosing to live in the dark.

That was basically the day.  Beautiful sunshiny cool day filled with thoughts of Fall and horribly upsetting Football.  All of this is terribly exciting, right?  I mean, everyone is entitled to one of those days every once in a while : )

So Mortifying!

A few months ago, I was introduced to Mortified Nation.  It's a stage troupe determined to share their most humiliating stories of childhood with a bunch of random strangers.  There's a podcast and a documentary as well.  It sounds like a horrible idea on paper.  Who in the world would put themselves through that ringer?  But people do, and they are hilarious!  I went to the first show on Valentine's Day.  That evening the stories - pulled from journals, and diaries - were all about love.  They were equal parts incredibly funny and terrifically cringe-worthy.  

Tonight's theme was back to school.  These had some added bonus content.  One presenter brought videos he directed - in the late 80s as a high school student.  While another, brought his audio diary from the late 80s when he was 12.  All of the presenters had very different stories but each was funnier than the last!  I loved it!  I would never in a million years do it myself, but I'm more than happy to keep going back and seeing them embarrass themselves. It's pretty much the perfect evening!

#NeverForget

I'm sure everyone remembers exactly what they were doing on that fateful morning 14 years ago; exactly what they were wearing, and exactly what the next few weeks would bring. Those feelings came to light today immediately when I thought of that ordinary Tuesday morning when all hell broke loose.

 I got up, ate breakfast and prepared to head to my first class of the day - US History after 1945.  Class wasn't until 11 so IT had already happened before class started.  But we all went, not knowing exactly what it was we were supposed to do.  The professor didn't know and we were too stunned to tell him so we sat in class for almost 2 hours learning about something I'm sure was important, but for the life of me I have no idea what it was. He apologized the next class - he just didn't know and wished we would have said something. But that dazed and confused feeling will always stick with me when someone asks me the "where were you when?" question.  

As painful as the memories of that day and the following months are, it's  good that we feel them so strongly.  These feelings will never allow us to forget those we lost that day.  

Are you Ready for Some Football!?

You know if I'm actually rooting for the Steelers, the other team has done something very, very wrong.  In this case, it's the Patriots.  And yes, they have done something very, very wrong.  They cheated!  Not to harp on this, but come on!  

In this instance, the entire team is so utterly tone deaf to the whole situation, it's disgusting. Other than the entire broadcasting crew for NBC, most people know they cheated.  And yet, the Patriots come onto the field like returning heroes.  They flash that trophy all over the place and have projections of Super Bowl Champions in the stands and on all the screens. And the announcers and the fans in Boston are fine to go along with it, even praising them for their "perfection."  The only time the announcers forget about how "fantastically awesome" Roethlisberger is supposedly, is when Tom Brady is playing. They treat him like the hero he thinks he is.  So much for unbiased...  

It's the complete and utter pomposity of the team (Not sure that's even a word - I'm so angry I'm creating words now!) that really gets under my skin.  They just don't get it.  I'd like to think that Karma is going to kick them in the butt.  Fingers crossed.  At least knock them down a peg or 2...

For now, and this is the only time you'll ever hear me say this - Go Steelers!

Kitchen Pinning

Every once in a while, Pinterest delivers a winning recipe.  Tonight's was Skillet Lasagna.  It was a weird little recipe but it was also delicious!  I love lasagna, but it takes hours and hours to make - of course, I've never actually made it so I can't really talk.  Anyway, this only took about an hour - disregard the 30 minute part.  It's definitely not a 30 minute recipe.  I mean, it's quick but it's not that quick.

It may have had something to do with adding peppers and onions to it.  Everything is better with peppers and onions.  Oh and switching from ground beef to ground pork made it pretty delicious too - and a little healthier too.  Check me out, being all healthy and stuff! Anyway, it's most definitely a keeper.

Add to that, the garlic knots that I sort of kitchen sink-ed together - Pillsbury Crescents, tossed with some garlic, parmesan, butter and Italian seasoning, before and after baking.  Yum!  It was pretty much the perfect Italian dinner - and I don't often say that about food that I've made. (Unless of course, you're grading the photos too, in which case I've failed miserably.  Honestly, it was much too delicious to worry about cameras and such...)

Tuesdays are for Trivia

~ When a question asks "what's another unit for 525, 600 minutes?" and the entire table starts singing Seasons of Love from Rent, you know it's going to be a good evening.  BTW: If you're not a Rent-head, that's a year.

~ After complaining about 3 ridiculous questions on area codes (choose the city that has the following area code - and each city has a major NFL team), we proceeded to get every question correct.  How did this happen?  I most definitely think we were some statistical outlier.

~ My tendency for clicking on ridiculous news stories, has started to win us shots at least once a week - funny part is, I'm the only one that doesn't actually drink shots... This week it was the worth of the painting the poor falling kid ruined in Taiwan.  $1.5 million apparently. I only clicked because I feel like this kid could have very well been me at some point in my life.  He was just trying to stop himself from falling.  Luckily, I've never been my klutzy self near any multi-million dollar pieces of artwork.  And even more luckily, it helped gain us some points.

~ You know you're at a table of teachers when the very first question is criticized for its misspelling of the word "yield."

~ Apparently, for someone who doesn't see movies I know a lot of movies.  It's just that no one actually listens to me when I say I do.  For instance, I knew that Beauty and the Beast was the only Disney Animated movie to be nominated for the best picture Oscar.  But the entire table said Snow White so who was I to argue?  Dude! I know stuff....

~ After being told next week is Nerd Week, we were all a little too pre-occupied to care about the rest of the questions.  Nerd Week!  What's better than a whole week dedicated to us? We've already decided who's got what fandom and who needs to brush up on what. And we also know exactly what geeky shirts we plan to wear.  Seriously dude, I can't wait! : )

End of Summer Review

Somehow, today is the unofficial end of summer.  I feel like it was just Memorial Day and yet here we are in September with our Pumpkin Spice everything and leaves already falling from the trees.

While I'm not at all happy to see summer go, I have to admit it was most definitely a good one.  One big across the pond trip.  Numerous trips to Naptown.  A day at the beach.  A Navy Football Game. A hot as heck day in DC and a presidential-ish day in NYC. The Color Run for the Second Time and my very first (and most definitely not my last) Supernatural Con. And two concerts - Darius Rucker (Awesome!) and Mumford & Sons (not so awesome.)  I aso saw Benedict Cumberbatch, Jim Parsons, President Obama and the entire cast of Supernatural live in person - oh and I saw Mickey from Doctor Who at Heathrow. I really can't complain!

So, as we all say hello to Fall tomorrow, I suppose I'd like to say, it was wonderful seeing you Summer, I can't wait see you again next year!