Dear Pinterest

Thank you for being my new timesuck.  No, really.  Facebook is getting a little old.  I can only look at pictures of my friends' kids so much, you know?  But looking at hundreds of random pictures of beautiful places and funny kids and lovely quotes?  Yes, please! 

I am relatively new to the Pinterest scene, but my oh my, do I love you.  So to show my appreciation, I'm linking up with The Vintage Apple for Oh, How Pinteresting Wednesday.





So, here are my Pinterest favorites for the week, which really, are my favorite pins of all-time, since this is my first OHPW.

I am completely in love with the mug shot birth announcement, and I am totally doing it for our first kid.  Because, like the first quote says, nonsense wakes up the brain cells.  And every likes a happy brain cell.  I also love the one that has the quote from "Chasing Cars," and I actually may see if I can somehow print and frame that, since that was our wedding song. 

Link up and join the fun!

*all photos from my Pinterest

Inside the Actor's Studio

Do you guys ever watch this?  I love this show.  I always learn a lot about the featured interviewee, and I feel like it's a more casual, stripped-down interview than other interviews.  I think James Lipton has a ton of fun doing these interviews, and I generally get the impression that the celebrities actually like him. 

I was looking up the questions for something, and I came across a list of the guests that have appeared on the show.  I had absolutely no idea there have been as many as there are - over 200!  I've seen several episodes, but looking at the list, there are plenty more I'd love to see.  I heard that Bradley Cooper teared up when talking about his parents and how they supported him; I believe it was filmed shortly before his father passed away.  I did see Daniel Ratcliff, and thought he was adorable (as usual).  And Drew Barrymore's interview was really interesting.  That girl was tragically screwed up in her childhood.  Jennifer Aniston apparently just filmed hers, and I'm looking forward to seeing it. 

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to give my answers to James Lipton's 10 questions.  He asks these of every single guest on the show and I always find their answers funny.  Some of them get really creative.  Lipton apparently adapted his questions from a French show host named Bernard Pivot, who had been using Proust's questionairre on his own show.  After Pivot heard that he was Lipton's inspiration, he invited him to appear on his show. 

Anyway, the 10 questions:

1. What is your favorite word?  Cheeksie - it's what Matt calls me when he's being cuddly
2. What is your least favorite word?  Retarded and/or gay, when used in the completely wrong way
3. What turns you on?  Music
4. What turns you off?  Ignorance
5. What sound or noise do you love?  My phone ringing - someone I love is calling me
6. What sound or noise do you hate?  The train's brakes squealing
7. What is your favorite curse word?  Fuck.
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?  Wedding planner or florist
9. What profession would you not like to do?  Crab fisherman, like on Deadliest Catch
10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?  Do you want to start with the chocolate or the champagne?

What are your answers to the 10 questions?

Man-Candy Monday!

Matt and I watched The Adjustment Bureau this weekend.  I'm still not sure how I felt about it.  The idea that there are business men in suits and hats running around and interfering with our lives sort of creeps me out.  I rather like thinking that fate hands us choices and the decisions we make shape our lives.  It sounds much more...organic.  And makes me feel like I have a bit more control. 

Like you care, right?  So Emily Blunt is in the movie, and I just adore her.  She's so pretty and her accent is quite lovely.  And she's married to John Krasinski, who I love.  So I decided to make him this weeks' man-candy! 

John Krasinski, born October 20, 1979

From Newton, Mass

6'3" tall - shorter than his two brothers, if you can believe that!

John and Ben Gibbard?!  I die.

Started dating Emily Blunt in November 2008.  They got married on July 10, 2010

Roles include:

Jim, The Office
Burt, Away We Go (if you haven't seen this movie, you must!)
Harley, It's Complicated
Carter, The Leatherheads
Ben, License to Wed

Isn't he adorable?  I love the faces he makes on The Office.  So cute. 

Link up and join the party!

*all photos from google

Food Obsession

I have a new-found obsession.

That chocolate hazelnut amazingness.  God, I want to just sit and eat it with a spoon.  It's so freakin delicious, isn't it?  I'd had it a couple of times in high school, then had it for breakfast nearly every morning in Spain, then kind of forgot about it.  Until I remembered it.  And I am hooked.  I find myself looking for recipes that use Nutella, just so I have an excuse to eat it. 

I mean, there's the obvious.  Nutella on toast.  Which was my breakfast yesterday.  And quite yummy.

But that gets boring.  Don't get me wrong, it's delicious.  But I need something...more.  I recently made these pastry pockets for brunch with my high school girlfriends.  They turned out great, and they were pretty easy!

When my Nutella obsession was first re-ignited, I found this recipe for Nutella brownies.  I made these a few months ago, and they were good, but not great.  I loved the flavor, but I wasn't a fan of the texture.

 
I am just dying to try this recipe for Nutella meringue cookies.  I love meringues, and adding Nutella to mix just sounds...wowsers.

Do you have any food obsessions?  Or any good Nutella recipes to share?

*all images from my Pinterest

Fun Fact Friday

Every year, my health system has a "day" at Six Flags. We don't get the park to ourselves (unfortunately) but we get seriously discounted tickets and a free meal. Oh, and cheaper parking. So Matt and I have gone every year, because we love us a good rollercoaster. This Saturday is this year's day at Six Flags, and I can't wait. The last time we were there it was literally 103-degrees out and I thought I was going to melt into a puddle while we waited in line for some of the rollercoasters. This year, it looks like it's gonna be 80-something and chance of showers. Maybe that will keep the park a little emptier! Hands down, my favorite ride (probably ever) is the Superman Ultimate Flight. Once you get strapped in, it flips you over so you're face-down, on your stomach - you go through the whole ride feeling like you're flying! It's incredible.

So this week's fun facts are all about amusement parks!

~ There is a park in Korea called Love Land, that features 140 sculptures depicting various sexual positions. Grody.

~ Bon Bon Land, in Denmark, appears to be a park focused on disgusting bodily functions - vomit, farting, etc. Part of me kind of wants to see this.

~ Walt Disney wanted to keep an eye on his park when he built DisneyLand, so he had an apartment built for him above the fire department along Main Street. Employees and guests knew when Walt was in town because he would leave a light on in the window. These days, there is always a light in the window, in memory of the man who started it all.

~ Walt Disney World Resort is approximately the size of the city of San Francisco.

~ The fastest/highest/biggest drop awards all go to Kingda Ka, at Six Flags. It travels at 128mph, is 456 feet high, and has a drop of 418 from crest to bottom. I've been on this and it is sheer terror...and I loved it!

~ Cedar Point, in Sandusky, OH, has the most roller coasters of any park, with 17 coasters for thrill seekers like me to choose from. I've been to Cedar Point, and it is awesomesauce.

fun facts found here, here, and here
all images from google

Snack Attack

I don't know what's going on with me, but the past few months, I cannot. stop. snacking.  I never used to be a snacker.  Ok, that's not true.  I have very vivid memories of when I was younger, I used to have a snack when I got home from school, and then a snack before bedtime.  But I was younger, I was active, and my metabolism was running at an all-time high*.  I used to snack on weird stuff, too.  Salads.  Olives (black or green, I was olive-colorblind).  Pancake batter.  [Yes, I would mix up pancake batter, and then just drink it.  Like a shake.  Disgusting.]   Then I just stopped.  Sure, in college I would indulge in the occasional cafeteria sundae or late-night meal (mmm....Nap's pizza sticks...I still drool just thinking about them).  But for the most part, I ate my three meals and day and that was it.  Well, that and copious amounts of alcohol.  But that doesn't count, right?

Anyway, it went on like that for years.  Just eating my three meals and that was it.  I rarely snacked, rarely craved snacks (except for chocolate, clearly).  But even when I did snack, I had total control.  A handful of chips, a small bowl of ice cream, a small frappucino. 

Ever since our wedding, though, I am a snack-a-holic.  I can't stop myself.  I eat when I'm hungry.  I eat when I smell something.  I eat cuz I have nothing better to do.  It's gotten pretty bad, and I've packed on pounds.  I could probably still snack and keep the weight off (for the most part) if I could go to the gym regularly but 1) I hate the gym and 2) I have had a series of injuries/pains in my body over the past few months that have prevented me from going.  So instead, I snack, gain weight, get mad, and snack anyway. 

Matt and I are eating healthier.  I'm using lower-calorie/fat ingredients (like substituting 0% greek yogurt for sour cream), we're eating whole grain bread and pasta (which is actually higher in calories and fat, but has more nutritional benefits than it's white counterpart), and we're both exercising better portion control.  I'm being very stringent about this.  And yet, I have absolutely no self-control when it comes to snacking!

So, I'm trying to snack a little healthier.  Having grown up in Hershey, I am physically incapable of surviving without chocolate.  So, I bought a container of dark chocolate roasted almonds.  I also have a container of butter toffee roasted almonds.  They're yummy, low in saturated fat, high in protein...a healthy snack, right?  Plus, they satisfy my chocolate needs.  I am also officially obsessed with peanut butter.  Like, I could, in theory, sit with a jar and eat it by the spoonful.  Until it was gone.  Instead, I eat a spoonful when I get home from work.  I wish I liked apples, cuz I would bring in a small container and some apple slices for a snack at work.  I am trying to eat more fresh fruit.  I never was a big fruit-eater, but this summer, I am making an effort to buy fresh fruit, cut it up, and divide it into containers to bring to work.  Strawberries, mangoes, pineapple, watermelon, canteloupe...I'm loving it! 

What do you snack on?  Any other "healthy" snack ideas I should look into?

*Probably.  I have no scientific proof to support this statement.

Man-Candy Monday

My favorite part of today's man candy?  Most of his pictures are of him half-naked.  Which is quite nice, cuz he does have a lovely body.  This week's man candy is Isaiah Mustafa, otherwise known as the Old Spice Guy.

Woo!  Is it getting hot in here? 

Link up with Join the Gossip!

U.S. Open

What a great weekend.  I hope you guys enjoyed yours, but mine was seriously awesome.  After work on Wednesday, I came home, packed up my car, and hit the road to Hershey.  I got to my dad's and we headed out to dinner to make our plan of attack for the U.S. Open on Thursday.  Then we went to the grocery store to get supplies for the day.

We got up bright and early Thursday morning and hit the road.  The tournament is being held at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland.  We had to park at the Mongtomery County Fairgrounds and take shuttles from there.  I assumed this would be a 5-10 minute ride.  It was closer to a 45 minute ride.  Oh well.  Once we arrived at the course, we quickly reassesed to plan out our strategy.  With my dad's pairings sheet (which player is in which group, starting at what time, on what hole) in one hand and a map of the course (how the course is layed out and how to get from one hole to another) in the other, we were off.  I had three goals - Padraig Harrington, Phil Mickelson, and Rory McIlroy.  Luckily, Phil and Rory were in the same group, so that killed 2 birds with 1 stone.  But they didn't tee off till the afternoon.  So up first, we were off to find Padraig.  Given the time we arrived (around 9:30) and knowing that he teed off at hole 10 around 7:44am, we thought he might be around hole 17, which was right where we came in.  We were right, we got to watch him take his second shot from the fairway, then decided to head up to the first hole tee box.  On our way there, we were walking along the 18th fairway while his group was teeing off.  [Also in his group was Angel Cabrerra, who won the US Open in 2007, and the Masters in 2009]  Dad and I are walking along the right side of the fairway, when all of a sudden we hear people shouting "Right! Right!" and everyone around us started ducking for cover.  I was freaking out.  I thought for sure I was gonna take a golf ball to the brain.  I heard it come through the trees behind me, then heard this metallic "clunk".  Right behind me was a big crane surrounded by a green fence.  Padraig Harrington had just sliced his tee shot, hit the crane, and the ball dropped in the fenced-in area.  Dad and I stuck around to see what he would do.  A few minutes later, along comes Padraig with his caddy and a rules official.  Since it was a "temporary obstruction," he could take a free drop (it wouldn't cost him a stroke) to get a better shot, rather than trying to hit it out of the fence.  We got to watch Padraig drop the ball and take the shot from literally 3 feet in front of us.  It. was. so. cool. 

Padraig

We followed Padraig's group for a few holes.  Got to see them tee off on a couple of holes.  I tell you what, these guys have swings that are just beautiful.  And Angel Cabrerra's swing is so freakin powerful.  It's amazing.

Anyway, after a few holes with Padraig and company, we stopped to watch Graeme McDowell.  Graeme won the Open last year.

Graeme

After following him for a hole or two, we stopped to get something to eat and to sit.  Watching a professional golf tournament involves a lot of walking.  I'd say my dad and I easily walked 4 miles that day.  It was crazy.  Anyway, after we stopped to eat, we decided it was time to catch up with Phil and Rory.  We knew their group would be a total zoo, so we decided to get to a hole before them and beat the crowd.  Our strategy was that we would make our way over to the fairway on 14 to watch them take their second shot, then we'd head over to the 16th hole tee box.  We got up to the hole 14 green and were about to make our way down the fairway, when we realized that their group was just on hole 11 - and we were right at the tee box for hole 12.  So we decided to just park ourselves there and wait.  Our plan totally worked.  As people started filing in, they were "warned" by others around us that they needed to move to the back - none of this filling in from the front.  We were standing right along the edge of the crossing (where they allow spectators to walk across the fairways), so we knew we risked that when they decided to close off the crossing, people would just stop in front of us.  For the most part, people did file in to the back of us, but a few people stopped right in front of my dad and I.  Luckily, there was a really nice group of men who'd been waiting beside us, and they let me slip up in front of them, since I'm short and they could see over me.  So I was right up against the rope to watch Phil and Rory tee off.  Again, so. cool.  Phil just seems like the greatest guy ever, and Rory is adorable.

Rory and Phil (and Rory's caddy) on the fairway

I had no idea how much fun I would have at a golf tournament, but it was really cool to be there and be able to see these guys swing in real life.  It's just amazing, the strength and power in their swings.  I definitely would go again, and really think Matt would enjoy it.  I'm looking forward to watching the conclusion of the tournament today and seeing who wins.  At this point, Rory is 14-under par, and I think it's gonna be pretty hard for anyone to catch up to him.  The second place player is 6-under.  That's a lot of ground to make up. 

Anybody else gonna be watching the conclusion of the Open today?  Does anyone else even care about golf at all??

*no cameras or phones were allowed on the course, so I had to steal all of these from the interwebs

Fun Fact Friday!

I'm writing this a few days early and setting it up to post on Friday because I won't be around to blog on Friday.  I have off Thursday and Friday (woo-hoo!) to spend some real quality time with my dad.  Wednesday night after work I'm hitting the Turnpike and heading to Hershey.  Early early early on Thursday morning, my dad and I are waking up and hitting the road to Bethesda, Maryland.  Why Bethesda, Maryland on a random Thursday, you ask?

Well, this week the U.S. Open starts!  My dad got tickets and I decided to go.  I thought a) it would be great to spend some time with Dad and b) how fun will it be to watch a real life golf tournament in person?  Unfortunately, no Tiger this year - he withdrew from the tournament last week.  But still, plenty of great golfers will be there.  I'm pretty excited! 

Anywho, this week's fun facts are all about - what else - golf!

~125,000 balls are hit into the water every year at hole 17 at Sawgrass Stadium Course.  Surprised?  Don't be.

 ~ Average driver speeds (speed of swinging the club): average woman golfer, 68mph; LPGA woman golfer, 96mph; average male golfer, 84mph; PGA male golfer, 108mph; Tiger Woods, 130mph.  Really wish Tiger hadn't dropped out.

~ There are 336 dimples on a golf ball

~ 22.8% of golfers are women.  I'm trying to join that statistic!

~ From September 14, 1963 till October 4, 1964, Floyd Satterlee Rood played golf across the United States.  It took him 114,737 strokes and cost him 3,511 balls to get across the 3,397.7 mile "course."

~ Americans spend more than $600 million on golf balls every year.  I'm guessin that's a lot of lost balls.

~ There are 3 golf balls on the moon.

~ The longest drive ever recorded is 515 yards (that's 5+ football fields!).  The longest putt is 375 feet.  What I'd like to know is who is 375 feet from the pin and decides to pull out their putter?!

~ The chances of making 2 holes-in-one in a single round is 1 in 67 million.

*facts from here, here, and here  
*all images from google

High School Besties

This weekend I'm getting together with my high school besties (many of whom were in my wedding party).  I am so excited to see them - I haven't seen most of them since our wedding, and the others I haven't seen since a year ago!  Wow!  Friday night the plan is to go to the Hotel Hershey for jazz on the veranda.  Then on Saturday we're having a big brunch with all our moms and kids (except, unfortunately, for my mom, who is away for a work conference - boo!).

We've all been friends since high school, which means that our moms have watched us all grow up, go to college, get jobs, get married, have kids...all that good stuff.  They've supported us and loved us and laughed with us and cried with us.  But - how do I put this delicatly - some of them have done that better than others. 

6 years ago, when our friend Abriel got married, my parents and our friend Tina's parents were invited to her wedding.  Our friend Mel's parents weren't.  It caused a little bit of tension, but everyone kind of got over it.  There's a lot of history there, that I don't really want to get into.  Nonetheless, for our wedding, we invited Abriel's mom and stepdad and Tina's parents.  Mel's parents were not invited.

So imagine my surprise when we were dismissing our guests after the wedding ceremony, and I was suddenly face-to-face with Mel's mom.  I didn't even know what to say to her.  I almost couldn't even face her.  I mean, I get it - technically, a wedding is a church service and open to the public.  Any stranger off the street could walk in and attend.  That's not the point.  The point is, she knew she wasn't invited, she probably knew that at least Abriel's were, and yet she showed up anyway.  I had to hug her and say thanks for coming.  It was awkward.  At the moment, I was too distracted and busy to really bother with feeling anything about it, but afterwards, I was pissed.  Who does that?  She had to know it would make me feel bad.

Anyway, she will obviously be there on Saturday and I'm a little anxious about it.  The best thing, I know, is to just ignore it and pretend it never happened.  But I have never liked this woman, and this makes me like her less.  I know it's awful to say that, but, like I said, there's a lot of history there, both in the way she's treated Mel and the way she's treated me.  It's hard for me to blow this off.  Thoughts?

Man-Candy Monday

Hope you all had a lovely weekend.  I don't know about you, but for the most part, it was beautiful here.  I was on-call for work, so I couldn't do much, but I did manage to get outside and weed my gardens.  I also finished my book and enjoyed a glass of yummy white wine on our back patio.  Matt was away, so I was enjoying a little bit of girl time. 

But you're not here to hear about my weekend, are you? 

Josh Holloway, where have you been all my life?  [Love you, Matt!]

Oh my God.  The long hair.  The dimples.  The body.  There were times when I was watching LOST that I seriously wished I could jump through my tv screen and into his arms.  Duh-ream-ee. 

Link up and join in the yummy goodness!

Book Challenge

Found this over on Meme Addict and thought it was kinda fun.  But rather than drag it out over 30 days or weeks or whatever, I'm just gonna do it all at once.  Cuz I'm impatient like that.

1. Favorite book -The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold (I love her description of heaven)
2. Least favorite book - Then We Came to the End, Joshua Ferris
3. Book that makes you laugh out loud -Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, David Sedaris
4. Book that makes you cry - lucky, Alice Sebold
5. Book you wish you could live in - Harry.  Any of them
6. Favorite young adult book - Number the Stars, Lois Lowry
7. Book that you can quote/recite - Love Story, Erich Segal
8. Book that scares you - A Child Called It, Dave Pelzer (it scares me that there are parents like this)
9. Book that makes you sick - same (it also makes me sick)
10. Book that changed your life - A Man's Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl
11. Book from your favorite author - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J.K. Rowling
12. Book that is most like your life - Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs, Chuck Klosterman (a randon stringing-together of funny anecdotes.  Totally like my life)
13. Book whose main character is most like you - Jenny, from Love Story.  (Minus the whole death thing)
14. Book whose main character you want to marry- Noah, from The Notebook (loyal, funny, hard-working)
15. First "chapter book" you remember reading as a child - Charlotte's Web, E.B. White (isn't this everyone's?)
16. Longest book you've read - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J.K. Rowling (870 pages)
17. Shortest book you've read - CDB!
18. Book you're most embarassed to say you like - Turn Me On, Cherie Jeffrey (a totally ridiculous book, but I liked the silliness of it)
19. Book that turned you on - Ummm?
20. Book you've read the most number of times - Love Story
21. Favorite picture book from childhood - Goodnight Moon (I now buy Goodnight Philadelphia for all my pregnant friends)
22. Book you plan to read next - A Reliable Wife, Robert Goolrich
23. Book you tell people you've read, but haven't (or haven't actually finished) - Pride and Prejudice (just cannot get into it)
24. Book that contains your favorite scene - Probably Love Story
25. Favorite book you read in school - Man's Search for Meaning
26. Favorite nonfiction book - Man's Search for Meaning
27. Favorite fiction book - The Lovely Bones
28. Last book you read - Those Who Save Us, Jenna Blum
29. Book you're currently reading - The Help, Kathryn Sockett
30. Favorite coffee table book - Ultimate Beer, Michael Jackson

A lot of repeats.  But that's ok.  What are your favorite books?

Weathering the...Weather

Alright, so it's about 175 million degrees out.  Seriously.  It is so hot, it literally punches you in the face as soon as you step outside.  Ok, well not literally.  The air can't literally punch you in the face.  That would be crazy!

Kind of fortunately, I'm stuck inside at work.  And my work is very much air conditioned.  Not that being at work is my favorite way to escape the heat and stay cool, but - hey - it works.  In an ideal world, I'd be doing any of these things.  

(source)

Riding a lazy river.  I love lazy rivers.  The summer I lived in Pittsburgh, for grad school, I had the most kickass summer job on the planet.  I was a counselor for the travel day camp at the Jewish Community Center.  Basically, I got paid to hang out with my best friends, keep an eye on some kids, and go to water parks, amusement parks, pools, and mini-golf.  Water park days were my favorite, because my friends and I would spend our time just riding around the lazy river.  So relaxing.  So fun. 

(source)

Or my ass would be parked at a swim-up bar.  Whoever had the genius idea to put seats in a pool in front of a bar was, well, a genius.  I'd like to shake his hand.  Maybe I'd even kiss him.  Swim-up bars are the greatest thing in the world.  You stay cool.  You get a nice tan.  And you drink.  Win-win-win.



(source)

Or sitting on a swing on a big porch, with ceiling fans going, sipping a tall glass of ice-cold sweet tea.  What is it about sweet tea that just instantly cools you down?  My friend Abriel lives in Georgia, and this is what I picture her doing every day of her life.  It makes me want to move down there with her.

Instead, I'm at work.  Slaving away in the air conditioning.  Kids are getting out of school early today.  Um, we never got out of school for hot weather.  Ridiculous.  Buck up, kiddos! 

What are your favorite ways to beat the heat?

Man-Candy Monday

It's that time of the week again!  For this week's man-candy, I chose a guy who can do it all, it seems.  Singer.  Actor.  Comedian.  Dancer.  Golfer.  Philanthropist.  Seriously, this guy's got it goin on!

What a stud.  Seriously, what's not to love about him?  He seems like a giant goofball.  He can dance the pants off of pretty much anyone out there.  He has a pretty great voice.  His golf game is so good that you can play him on the Tiger Woods videogames.  Every time he's on Saturday Night Live, you know you're gonna laugh.  And, every year he hosts the Justin Timberlake Golf Tournament to benefit Shriners Hospitals for Children.  Be still my beating heart. 

Link on up and check out the other man-candy on the list!  Have fun!