It Was A Hoppin' Good Time

Highlights from my Easter weekend:

• Easter egg coloring with Clancy on Friday night. Feeling like a kid and proclaiming, "Oh babe! Look at this one!". Completely in awe of my three colored egg skills. (And you'll notice in the picture below the very shiny egg - that's what you get when you mix boys and egg coloring. They break out the unconventional methods - spray paint.)
  
  
  
  
• Bringing my grandma Easter dinner in the hospital. Listening to my dad, his sister and my grandparents reminisce about "back in the good ole days" when there were no seat belts and my dad's head hit the radio dial in the car after an abrupt stop. We've had a lot of stitches in our family. The stories kept coming.
  
  
• Visiting with Rachel and hubby Brian. And meeting the newest member of their family - baby kitty Tycho :)
  
  
• TWO Easter dinners where there was ham. And lots of it. I may in fact be hammed-out.
  
  
• Spending time with my brother. He never fails to make me laugh. His latest success - playing the new rap track that he recorded with a friend. Properly entitled "Cankles".
  
  
• Scattergories, Yahtzee Turbo and Uno Stacko tournaments.
  
  
• The fact that I'm not too old for Easter goodies. Pictured below: the "Easter basket" from my mom full of my favorites - Jelly Bellys. And the grass? Totally edible. Also, totally tastes like cardboard.
  
  
  
  
• UPDATE: My favorite radio station has proclaimed this week "Peep Torture Week". Even though I love the candy, I find this hilarious. Watch today's torture video below.
  
  
  
  From Crackle: Peep Microwave
  

I definitely enjoyed my weekend. What did you do?

The Blizzard of '08

At least that's what everyone else has been calling it. Seeing that I lived most of my life in a city by the lake (one of the Great Lakes that is), I know snow. I have seen snow fall by the foot. I have gotten stuck in it. Shoveled it. Built forts in it. Eaten a face full of it. So, snow and I? Yeah, we're like this *crosses index and middle fingers*. But to my great satisfaction, when I moved to Central Ohio I had escaped the dreaded lake effect snowfall... or so I thought.

I spent Friday night relaxing with Clancy, having breakfast for dinner and other extraordinary things. Planning on getting up at the ass crack of dawn to see him off to work and head back home, I had failed to bring any getting ready essentials. Little did I know I would need them because Columbus was in for its RECORD SETTING snowfall in the history of the city. Yes, like the most snow they've ever seen. EVER.


That's a "13" on the tape measure if you can't see it.


What exactly does a Saturday filled with 13+" of snow* bring, you ask? No work for Clancy, a (willingly) stranded girlfriend and a day with nothing to do and nowhere to go. The city shut down. Closed malls, closed roads, a level 2 snow emergency, and only one pizza place open for delivery (tragedy I tell you!). Trivial Pursuit pop culture was played, movies were watched, faces were stuffed. We had a blast. Who knew catching cabin fever wasn't so bad after all? To quote my friend Brad Paisley:

It was time well wasted
And there's no way I'd trade a few more things that I could've crossed off my list
For a day I'll never forget
No, I didn't get a thing done
But I sure soaked up every minute of the memory we were makin'
And I count it all as time well wasted

Did you think there wouldn't be pictures? Silly freaders :)


We obviously weren't going anywhere.



I love how the snow makes a wave-like shape on the porch rails.



Since she's part husky, Zoey is right at home in the snow.



Gracie... not so much. Let her outside to do her business, she saw the snow and turned right back around and stood shivering by the door. But I showed her that snow can be fun - sort of.



The concrete bench out in the backyard.





Obviously I wasn't able to make it up to visit my grandma, but thank you all for keeping her in your thoughts. Crossing my fingers for good weather next weekend.

*The weather officials are saying it was actually closer to 20", so with all the wind blowing we had a less than accurate reading with the tape measure. So, sue us.

A Wicked Weekend

We had a fabulous time at Wicked this past weekend. It was actually our second time seeing the show (it was my birthday present last summer), but what a contrast from the last time. Closer seats = hearing more of the funny parts and actually being able to see the orchestra pit! Popular and Defying Gravity still rank as our favorite parts of the show, but the whole thing is amazing and you have to see it if you have the opportunity!


A view of Emerald City

Monday morning we had to narrow down our "tourist" options. We had a lot of places we wanted to visit, but only one day! The weather was a gorgeous 65 degrees (looking back the zoo might have been the best option to enjoy the unseasonable temperatures). We decided on the Natural History Museum first. You might say it's because we thirst for knowledge. Or you might say, we're dorks (but I'm sure Clancy's thinking to himself right now while reading this for me to speak for myself). We saw precious rocks, a "chunk" of the moon and many "wild" animals in their outside nature exhibit. We're talking deer and raccoons here people. You don't see these things every day! ;)


Dinosaur Bones!

We probably had the most fun outside taking pictures. Humping dinosaur tails and touching butts. Who knew you could have so much fun learning about history?


Clancy riding a wave


He just missed my humping action


Not so scary stuffed


Big surprise, he wanted his picture taken with the sculpture of the woman's ass

Our next stop was the Rock & Roll Hall of fame. Couldn't take any pictures of the exhibits unfortunately because there were security-nazis every 5 feet. Pretty ridiculous if you ask me. No, I don't think I'm going to steal Jim Morrison's third grade report card, but thanks for looking over my shoulder and making sure I don't. I did get my fill of Beatles memories as there was an entire floor dedicated to the making of their movie "Help!".

Clancy showed me "the wall" from one of Pink Floyd's concerts that he's always talking about. I couldn't believe how huge it was. We also saw Janis Joplins' car which was as hippie as you would imagine. Overall, it was pretty interesting, but with 6 levels and cute (not practical) shoes on - my feet were killing me and I was ready to head back to C-bus!


Gorgeous building, no?

I always seem to forget about the camera in my purse when I venture places, but at least we got a few of the highlights! We didn't manage to get any pics from the night of the show, but I couldn't resist posting the picture of the new dress I picked out just for this occasion. Paired with my knee high black boots and tights, I have to admit I looked kinda smokin'. Clancy, will you verify? ;)


The Guess Dress, puffy sleeves and all

Next - hopefully Lion King this summer. Or maybe Wicked for a third time! Either way, I'm glad I have someone who enjoys this stuff as much as me.

Does Exchanging Recipes Officially Mean We're Old?

Ten years ago as a freshman in high school, I was lucky enough to meet some of the best friends I will ever have. And this weekend, I was lucky enough to get to spend time with all of them. And it was nothing less than fabulous.

Ironically as I exited the highway, on the last part of my hilly journey, I passed both a street and shopping plaza with the same name as my high school. Hours from my hometown, I had to smile at the coincidence.

Sure it was just a weekend trip, but it's such a rare occurrence when we are actually all able to get together that I was really looking forward to it. I was the first to arrive and tour the newly purchased home of my friend Lisa, where we all stayed. Gorgeously decorated to say the least. Wedding pictures on every wall. It was definitely a reminder that it's been a long time since pop quizzes and cafeteria lunches.

But no amount of time or maturity could keep us from getting together at the mall and doing some serious shopping. Isn't that what all high school friends do? After hours spent in and out of fitting rooms, IKEA and of course a few shoe stores we had had our fill. We were ready for a night out on the town, but who knew that after arriving back at the house and opening a few bottles of wine, there would be no interest in bar hopping after all.

Just six friends around a dining room table; sipping wine, going through old yearbooks, reading notes about boys, and best of all - laughing our asses off. Some of us hard enough to almost knock over the china cabinet.

Pizza and Superbad at one a.m. capped off the night (But only after a few calls to Lisa's hubby to figure out their entertainment center; I swear they have sixteen remotes!)

And if skipping a night out on the town isn't enough proof we're not in high school anymore, I think exchanging recipe and meal ideas over coffee the next morning definitely sealed the deal. As anxious as getting older normally makes me feel, this simple realization was actually reassuring. Knowing that our friendships change as we get older. And rather than grow apart, I hope we all grow closer as more time passes.

There was talk of a big move, career changes, family planning, doggie purchasing, and falling in love again. Seems we have a lot to look forward to. And I've seen some of these girls walk down the aisle already; I can't wait to be present when the others follow close behind.

Thanks for a wonderful weekend girls. Glad we decided to make this a tradition - here's to many more! Columbus next?

xoxo

What I Learned This Weekend

I had a fabulous weekend. Hope you all did too! Here's a weekend recap "What I Learned" style:

• Virginia is even more awesome in person than her blog leads you to believe.
  
  
• If John McCain becomes President, it's because no one was listening to a word he said. They were all focused on the facial abnormality jutting from the left side of his face. Has anyone else noticed this?
  
  
• When visiting rich people in gated communities, be aware that the security guards may be dressed as if they're on safari. Hat and all.
  
  
• An anti-Superbowl party for two can be just as fun as a Superbowl party. Halftime show listening to the great Tom Petty, movies, pizza and more. Who needs football?
  
  
• I won the Best Big Blog category in the 20 Something Blogger Awards. Holy cow! Thanks guys!!
  
  
• Dane Cook is not a great actor, but he needs to have a spot in my Top 5.
  
  
• Ben & Jerry's Half Baked ice cream really is that good.
  
  
• 3M makes non-slip pads for the bottom of heels/boots. They totally up-sold me at Baker's when I bought new boots this weekend. I'm a sucker.
  
  
• My cat, Holly, has magical powers and can get into my purse and pull out whatever she fancies. I'm talking anything, even if the purse is half zipped and what she is after is at the bottom stuffed between my wallet and cell phone. Opposable thumb, who needs that?
  
  
• I want Jessica Alba's body. (OK to clarify - PRE-pregnancy Jessica!!)
  
  
• Apparently I didn't know the correct lyrics to Benny & the Jets. But I've decided to make it my new ring tone after seeing 27 Dresses. Is that scene not the best?
  
  
• The 4th season of The L-Word came out on DVD.
  
  
• I am an exceptional player of Scramble - the new game on Facebook that is much like Boggle. 1st place in the live games? But of course. Move over Scrabulous, I've found my new best friend.
  
  
• Washing cashmere can be done without ruining the sweater, however be prepared for de-linting everything you own.
  
  
• I will never look at penguins the same after seeing the unrated edition of Good Luck Chuck. Stuffed penguins + Dane Cook = hilarious yet disturbing sex scenes.
  
  
• And just this morning: my favorite radio station marries couples at White Castle every year on Valentine's Day. The officiator? Reverend Slider. Disturbing, no? Excuse me while I go sign up.

Happy Monday!

Weekend Recap - Cedar Point

It's Monday.
It's Columbus Day.
I'm working.

Those three things do not make me a happy person. What does make me a happy person you ask? Spending time with the love of my life and his family at Cedar Point. It was HOT (near 90 degrees, hi Fall? when are you coming?), but we still managed to have fun.

We arrived late on Saturday night to Clancy's parents' house. Chatted, watched sports (gasp! even we were surprised) and basically made fun of each other. An all around good time. I am glad that I can say truthfully that I love his parents. (I know some of you aren't as lucky in that department, so for this I am definitely grateful.)

Sunday morning his older sister (who's pregnant and just found out she's having a girl! yay!) with family in tow showed up at the house. Her son Jack will be turning 2 at the end of the month and we brought his birthday present because with our Nashville trip we'll likely miss the celebration. He opened it while we were there and was so excited that he wanted to open. the. boxes. now. pleaseandthanks. We got him his very first Mr. Potato Head, what kid wouldn't love that? And two accessory packs to boot (the king and construction worker). Clancy proceeded to ask "What, they didn't have the whole Village People accessory kit available?" Haha babe. You're so funny.

Shortly after the Mr. Potato Head reveal we left for the roller coaster capitol of the world - Cedar Point. The occasion - Clancy's father's work picnic. Which means free food and ice cream, and of course we took advantage of this upon arrival. Filled up on hot dogs and fried chicken we moved on to the kiddy park. We watched Jack ride a few rides (his first trip to an amusement park!), and took a spin on the merry-go-round. Yes, even Clancy :)

We proceeded on to Camp Snoopy, rode the Paddlewheel Excursions, the train and of course a few roller coasters. Some of the favorites included:
(Mantis-top left, Corkscrew-top right, Gemini-bottom left)

The one Clancy really wanted to ride? The Top Thrill Dragster (bottom right)




I'm kind of regretting not riding that one to tell you the truth. I'm sure Clancy's reading this right now thinking to himself "Yeah, right". I am afraid of roller coasters to an extent. Ones with really high, straight drops usually. And hello? 420 feet - that's like really. high. But I regret it for the simple fact that I'm sick of chickening out. Of not taking risks. I've decided I'm going to try to throw caution to the wind more often in my life. Spice things up a bit. We'll see how that goes. So babe? We should totally make the trip next weekend and ride the damn thing! Take me before I change my mind! And let's ride there in this:



We were about to leave the park, but decided one more coaster - the Raptor, my favorite. We walked to the front of the park ready to get in line and saw the dreaded waiting sign. 45 minutes. We gave each other a look as if to say "45 minutes? Shit, there's always next year." What happened to the days of waiting 6 hours in line for one 2.5 minute ride? We're old, that's what happened.

So I'm sitting in my office right now:
-a little sunburned
-with a swollen ankle from getting off one of the rides
-but wishing we could do it all over again, right now



P.S. I love you and you look super cute in your bike shirt I bought for your birthday. Just thought I'd mention that.