Hello, Lover

It is entirely possible that I have died and gone to heaven.

It's no secret around here that cupcakes are my kryptonite. But really, it's not the cupcake that gets me - it's the icing.

I don't know what it is about icing that makes it impossible for me to resist. I will eat it by the spoonful straight out of the can, squirt it directly into my mouth from the tube, and I've even scraped the icing off and ditched the cake just to 'save' a few calories (HA!).

Nate thinks this makes me a weirdo.

But now I have proof to the contrary! Clearly there are others in the world just like me. Others who would like nothing more than a spoonful of gooey, sugary goodness sans the crummy cupcake part.

Icing lovers of the world, UNITE!

Who's up for a trip to Miami?

And the Oscar goes to.....

Who watched the Oscars last night?

I watch every year, and by 'watch' I mean I have the TV on while I am surfing the internet/reading/scrapbooking and tune in only when someone I like is on the screen. Clocking in at 3.5 hours last night, Oscar is a little on the overkill side.

But for the first time in history (well, my history at least), I watched the entire thing. Normally I watch until 10 or so and DVR the rest. Even the year Reese Witherspoon was nominated didn't keep me up til the end. I'm not sure if that is a function of the show being slightly more interesting this year (young stars! funny hosts! no singing!) or the fact that I didn't have to get up and go to work the next morning.

But considering I thought this commercial was actually the funniest part of the entire show, I'm going to guess it was the whole sleeping in thing. I died laughing when this commercial came on. And then I rewound it three times and watched it again.



If there was an Oscar for 'Coolest Wife in the World', Jennifer Garner would win hands down.

Don't Blame Me...The Bookstore Made Me Do It

It's no secret that I love to read. It's one of my favorite ways to unwind and pass a lazy afternoon. I found a kindred spirit in my bloggy friend Cole from All the Small Stuff. I thought I read a lot, but that girl could out read me in a New York minute!

Our friends and family are always asking us for book recommendations - 'What good books have you read lately?'

Now you'll never have to ask again. Why?

Introducing....

That's right! You asked and we answered - with a brand new book review blog called 'The Bookstore Made Me Do It'! We'll review the good, the bad and the ones we couldn't even finish.

To kick off our new blog, we're having a giveaway. You know, 'cuz we're just nice like that!

Each of us will be giving away a book by our favorite author. I'm giving away the latest book by one of my all time favorite authors, Jodi Picoult. Want to know my thoughts on it? Guess you'll just have to check back here in a few days!


Here's how to enter:
1. Follow us on the new blog! (1 entry)

2. Let us know what you think of our new setup by commenting on each of our first book reviews. (Up to 2 entries) We're looking for constructive feedback here. Did you like what we covered? Did we miss something you would have liked to know? Do you want us to keep it shorter and sweeter? Or give you more detail?

3. Share your favorite book or author with us. (1 entry) What book could you read over and over again? What author are we totally missing out on?

Contest runs from today through Friday, March 12 at Midnight (EST). Winners will be announced next week on The Bookstore Made Me Do It.

And don't forget to check out Cole's book giveaway at All The Small Stuff, too. It's double the giveaway fun!

All Aboard the Fit Train

LAZY (adj) averse or disinclined to work, activity, or exertion

That would be me, when it comes to working out. Ugh. Hate.It.

It's amazing to me how I can be so highly motivated in every other area of my life, but just can't seem to get my self together when it comes to exercise. I having a treadmill in my basement, a loft area perfect for Tae-Bo and every mat, weight and exercise video a girl could want. And yet, I sit like a bump on a log, lamenting the fact that I am so freaking lazy.

It usually goes something like this: I lay in bed at night, fantasizing about how smoking hot I will look by our beach vacation in May. I vow to work out for at least an hour a day, starting tomorrow morning. I will do it first thing so that nothing can distract me. I can do this! I will do this! I fall asleep with visions of Victoria's Secret swimsuits dancing in my head.

Cut to the next morning. I jump out of bed, throw on my workout gear and head downstairs. I'll just check email really fast because maybe I got an email about a job overnight (yeah, right!). Now since I'm already online, I might as well see what everyone is up to on Twitter. Oh look, so-and-so linked to their blog post. I'll just read that and then go downstairs for a run. I wonder if so-and-so posted that link to her fabulously cute shoes? I'll just log into Google Reader and check really quick. Oh, crap! It's 9:30. If I don't go to Starbucks soon, I'll be past the time when it's appropriate to show up without makeup on. Better go now. Well, dang. I can't run for at least an hour after drinking a Venti. Think I'll sit down and read a book until my 'breakfast' settles. Well, would you look at that! It's time for lunch. Can't run on an empty stomach! I might pass out and there would be no one around to find me for hours. I'll straighten my hair and do my makeup while my lunch settles, run my errands and still have time left to run before Nate gets home. Dang. My hair looks awesome! How often do I have a great hair day like this? Can't ruin it by sweating it all flat! Okay. No run today. But tomorrow. For sure tomorrow!

And then I lay back down again a few hours later, berating myself for not working out, fantasizing about how smoking hot I will look by our beach vacation in May. I vow to work out for at least an hour a day, starting tomorrow morning. I will do it first thing so that nothing can distract me. I can do this! I will do this! I fall asleep with visions of Victoria's Secret swimsuits dancing in my head.

And the cycle begins again....

Surely I am not the only person who so completely and totally lacks in motivation? What do you do to keep yourself motivated to work out?

There's no crying in baseball on Saturdays

 

Dear Lola,

Perhaps you did not realize that today is Saturday or, as I like to call it, The Day Mommy Sleeps In.  Because surely if you had remembered, you would not have felt compelled to start up the Death Howl at 7:30am, causing Mommy to startle suddenly awake and race downstairs in a panic to make sure that someone was not dying down there.

Seeing as how you are both very much alive and well, let's go over the rules for the Death Howl, shall we?  The Death Howl shall only be used if:

1. You are actually dying.

2. Your brother Oliver is dying.

3. Your daddy is dying.

4. Someone is breaking in and we might all soon be, well, dying.

Do you notice a theme here?  While I appreciate your desire to 'help' your Daddy shovel the driveway at 7:30am on The Day That Mommy Sleeps In, you are not actually dying to get out there, so let's keep the Death Howl to ourselves next time, okay?

Sincerely,
One Grumpy Mommy

You know you're married to a chemist when...

...you drink your coffee out of a mug that celebrates the wonder that is Hydrogen gas.

Guys, where who are we?

{Image found here}

ETA: If you aren't caught up on LOST, you may want to stop reading now! Spoilers ahead.

You remember a few weeks ago when I said Nate and his penchant for nicknames would be my island's Sawyer? Well, the lovely Cole, turned the question around and asked me who I would be. Hmmmm. Good question.

My first impulse is to say Kate because, heck, who doesn't want to be that beautiful (even after three years running around a jungle with nary a hairbrush in sight!), with two handsome fellas fighting over you? But upon closer introspection, I decided Kate is entirely too dependent on men and their opinions of her. Plus, she's wanted for murder and I'd never make it in the slammer.

So maybe Claire? I've always wanted a cute little accent and Aussie is about as cute as they come. Plus she got to make out with Charlie and who wouldn't want to get on board that Hunky Man Train? However, it seems that Baby Mama has gone a little loony tunes running around in the jungle the last few years, so maybe not.

Juliette? While heroine-ism seems appealing, it also got her killed, so I'm thinking no.

Sun? Married to Jin? No thanks.

Locke? I like my hair, thank you very much.

Jack? Too wishy-washy. 'Nuff said.

Sawyer? See reference to 'Hunky Man Train' above.

Richard? As much as I'd love to never need eyeliner again, the thought of living forever makes me tired just thinking about it.

With the list of castaways quickly dwindling, it finally came to me.

I would want to be Hurley. Except maybe slimmer, with less frizzy hair and, um, female. But other than that, dude has the best lines in the show. Who else gets to say stuff like this?

• You're just jealous my power's better than yours. [to Miles]
• I think 'Leslie' is a bitchin' name. [to the sensitive-about-his-girlie-name Arzt]
• So, Seoul? Is that in the good Korea or the bad Korea? [to Sun]
• You just totally Scooby Doo'ed me, didn't you? [to Kate]
• Dude, are you a zombie? [to Sayid]
• So, the hatch, like, blew off your underwear? [to Desmond]
• Dude, you've got some Arzt on you. [after Arzt blew himself up]
• Dogs can find pot and bombs, so maybe they can find water. [to Jack]
• It's not so bad [living on the island]. I mean, sure the Others are like coming to eat us and all and every once in awhile someone blows up all over you, but we do get to sleep in every morning. [to Jack]
• So Rose's husband is white. Didn't see that one coming.
  

So if we were on The Island, who would you be and why?

Tuesdays at the Table

It's been awhile since I've participated in Tuesdays at the Table, but seeing as I have a very, um, limited repertoire in the kitchen, this should come as no surprise. However, I am currently obsessed with this recipe. No lie. I have made it at least once a week since I got the recipe last month and once it's made, I eat it at every single meal until it's gone. And then I go immediately to the store to buy more ingredients so I can start the cycle over again. Seriously.can.not.get.enough.

Broccoli Slaw

Recipe courtesy of my friends Buster and Kasey

Ingredients:
1 package shredded broccoli slaw (found in the salad aisle)
1 package Chicken Ramen Noodles
Slivered almonds
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 Tbsp white vinegar

Directions:
1. Crush up the Ramen noodles into little pieces. I usually put them in a plastic baggie and crush them up in that.
2. In a large bowl, combine vegetable oil, vinegar and the chicken seasoning from the Ramen.
3. Mix in shredded broccoli.
4. Mix in crushed noodles and the almonds.

I have also used apple cider vinegar when I ran out of regular vinegar and it turned out great. I actually might prefer the apple cider to the white. Also, last week I bought a plastic bowl with a lid, so now I just throw in the broccoli, noodles and almonds all at once, pop on the top and shake to combine. Lazy and fun at the same time.

Beware of Dog(s)

Behind these sweet, cuddly, angelic faces....

..lurk the hearts of wild, untamed animals devouring their prey.

This used to be a snowman.

Fog on snow

Despite the irritation of being snowed in, I've actually really enjoyed the abundant snowfall of the last week. We had six inches last Friday/Saturday and another four to six (depending on who you ask) on Monday/Tuesday.

View from our back porch.

This was just after the first round over the weekend -
the front steps and most of the bushes are covered!

Oliver checks out the lay of the land snow.

Oliver's favorite thing to do in the snow? Snow angels, of course. He does this every.single.time we let him out. Over and over again. You have to keep reminding him to do his business, otherwise he'd just roll in the snow for hours. He's lucky it's so darn cute.


The wind was wicked and blew the snow into deep drifts in some places. This is on the hill behind our house - it's up to Nate's knees! Oliver and Lola love running around in it - especially in the 'tunnels' made from the snow blower.


Then this morning, we had the most bizarre ice fog. I've never seen anything like it. When I first woke up, I couldn't even see the end of the driveway; it looked like a cloud was sitting on the ground. And when the fog lifted - furry, glittery snow all over the trees and bushes. It was absolutely stunningly beautiful.


Every time the wind blew, it was like a hundred tiny snow showers under every tree. I swear it looked like there was glitter in the air. It was absolutely breathtaking.

I know this to be true

If we were ever stranded on an island LOST-style, Nate would be our band's Sawyer....

Sawyer's nicknames - Season 1-3

Snow me once shame on me....

Dear Hamilton County,

It is now Day 2 without a snow plow or mail delivery at my house. Now in case you weren't aware, I actually pay extra taxes for the privilege of living on cul-de-sac. As such, I, your faithful tax-payer, would expect a little extra attention or, at the very least, the same attention provided to the rest of my neighborhood.

For two days now, we have watched the snow plows make their way through the neighborhood, directly toward our street, hit the stop sign and....turn around. Leaving our worth-extra-taxes street under six inches of snow. Is it really so tough to drive a snow plow in a circle? Tougher than the seven-point-turn it took to turn that bad boy around (which he did expressly to avoid driving it in a circle around my cul-de-sac)?

And for two days now, we have watched the mail truck make it's way slowly through the neighborhood, directly toward our street, hit the stop sign and....turn around. Leaving our worth-extra-taxes mailbox empty. Whatever happened to 'neither wind, nor rain, nor sleet, nor snow' shall stop the mail service?

Since my extra taxes mean nothing to you, I will wait patiently for my tax adjustment in the mail. And keep my fingers crossed that the street is cleared by the time the mailman attempts to deliver it.

Sincerely,
Snowed Taxpayer

May the smartest man win

Well there is certainly no doubt about what a big day it is in this town. The entire city, myself included, is painted a lovely shade of COLT BLUE. Horseshoe flags abound, crowds are nothing but a sea of blue and white, and business marquee's all trumpet luck to the Boys in Blue.

Now normally, I couldn't give two figs about the Super Bowl game itself. This girl is all about the commercials. In fact, a few years ago, I actually brought some required course reading to a Super Bowl party so I could read during the unimportant parts....you know, those pesky football parts between the commercial breaks?

Being older and wiser, I'm actually more than a little bit into football parts now. Put my man Peyton on the field and I'm glued to the screen. But the marketing major in me still can't wait to see what commercial silliness will ensue between those all-important football parts.

I was less than impressed with the offerings last year. In fact, Super Bowl commercials as a whole have gone completely downhill in the last five years. What happened to the days of old, when beer commercials rained supreme? Budweiser frogs? I Love You, Man?

As disappointing as the last few commercial years have been, there are a few shining rays of creative commercialism that make every Super Bowl viewing worth it. Thus I give you, my favorite Super Bowl ad of all time, Budweiser 2007.



Will you be watching the Colts whoop up on those Saints tonight? Do you actually watch the game or are you a commercial crasher, too? What's your favorite Super Bowl commercial?

Face Double

So apparently someone decided it was Celebrity Doppelganger Week over on Facebook. Last week was Look Up Your Name on Urban Dictionary Week. Before that it was Post Your Bra Color Week. And that got me thinking: Does anyone know who this Someone is and why they get to decide what week it is? Cause I'd sure like to have that job.

Anyway, since I'm much too lazy to actually change my profile picture on Facebook, I thought I'd post mine here. According to FaceDouble, here's my Celebrity Doppelganger:

{Image found here}

Okay, okay. So if you've actually done the little generator thingie, you know they give you like a dozen options to choose from. Among my choices? Evangeline Lilly (Kate from LOST!) and Sarah Lancaster (from Chuck). Clearly, brown hair and pale freckled skin aside, I don't look much like either of these lovely ladies.

But I actually have been told I look like Kate Beckinsale before. On more than one occasion. By total strangers. [Insert major ego boost here] It actually happened a lot when the movie Pearl Harbor came out a decade ago. Even my sweet Grandpa called to say it was weird to watch someone who looked like me on the movie screen. Of course, I saw the movie and don't really see the resemblance, but then I don't look at myself all day every day, either.

Oddly enough, it actually happened just a few weeks ago at the hair salon. As the stylist was washing my hair (best part of the appointment, by the way!), she says, 'You know, you look like somebody famous, but I just can't put my finger on who.'

'Oh?', I said, with mild interest. 'What's she been in?'

'I'm not sure about lately', she said. 'But she's been in a lot of vampire movies. And that one a long time ago about the ship sinking? Not Titanic, though; the other one.'

'Um, you mean Kate Beckinsale in Pearl Harbor?'

'Yeah, that's it! You look like that girl.'

Guess who got a ginormous tip that day? HA!


So do you have a celebrity doppelganger? Do share!

IT'S TIME!

{Image found here}

OMG, ya'll! To steal a phrase from one of my favorite bloggy friends (and fellow LOST enthusiast!), Ally - I'm vibrating with excitement today!

And so it begins....the final season of LOST. As any good LOSTie knows, this is bittersweet. I'm both excited (to find out how it ends and what it all means!) and sad (what will I do when there's no LOST to talk about?). This is one of the absolute best shows on television right now - and possibly ever. Or at least in the 28 years that I've been watching television!

I love the spider web graphic showing all the connections between the castaways. After all, that's what the entire first season was based on, and I'm excited to read that the producers are bringing that idea back this season.

I have so many questions that I hope are answered before all is said and done, but here are my Top 10:

1. As Charlie so eloquently put it in the first season, "Guys, where are we?" Good question, C-Money. Where the heck are you guys?
2. Who is good and who is evil? Charles Widmore? Jacob? The Man in Black? Ben? Locke? Jack? I thought I knew, but season five proved that you can't know. Maybe that's the point? A person's inner good or evil isn't for us to know?
3. Who the heck is The Man in Black and why is he running around in Dead Locke's body?
4. Will Sun and Jin find their way back together?
5. What in the world is the smoke monster? Evil incarnate? Judgement Day? A manifestation of conscience?
6. What happened to the polar bear from Season 1? And why was it there in the first place?
7. Where is Claire and who will raise her baby, Aaron? They made such a big deal out of this in Season 1, I simply must have an answer. Also, what is the deal with Jack and Claire's dad? He seems important somehow.
8. Who will Kate end up with - Jack or Sawyer? I'm kind of torn on this one. I want the 'good guy' to win, but I'm not sure who that is anymore (See also Question #2)
9. Why these people? What was so special about Locke, Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Sun, Jin and Hurley? They were 'marked' by Jacob, some of them as early as childhood, but why?

And the biggest, most important question of all:

10. Why has Richard been middle-aged since well, the Middle Ages? Where is his fountain of youth and can I buy some of whatever he's drinking?

Will you be watching tonight? What are the questions you hope they finally answer this season?