Happy Birthday to our newly-turned 26-year-old friends, Gillian and Erin!
Jeff and I attended an 80s-themed Birthday Bar Crawl in Midtown tonight to help them celebrate. There were matching t-shirts made for the event, plus many, many costumes - like side ponys, crimped hair, converse sneakers, pink tutus, glittery star earrings, denim jackets, and even a Miami Vice suit jacket.
Of course, I forgot to bring a camera but we'll see who else I might be able to get photos from.
Party on!
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Little pill, big price
In other news, the new morning-after pill ulipristal acetate (ellaOne) works for up to 5 days.
Hooray for the new "OOPS!" pill.
Boo for the cost - up to 3 times more expensive than the Plan B pill.
Visit your local friendly Planned Parenthood site to get more information, and to find out more information on women's health within the health care reform discussion.
And on a lighter note, and in honor of the unmentioned real topic of this post, enjoy!
Hooray for the new "OOPS!" pill.
Boo for the cost - up to 3 times more expensive than the Plan B pill.
Visit your local friendly Planned Parenthood site to get more information, and to find out more information on women's health within the health care reform discussion.
And on a lighter note, and in honor of the unmentioned real topic of this post, enjoy!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
3 things from a crazy day
Here are the things that happened today to make my day less awful:
The bathroom smelled like grape soda.
There were leftover chips and Sprite left in the break room from a lunchtime meeting.
I stopped at McDonald's this morning and got an egg McMuffin and only felt guilty for the first hour after eating it - I was too busy after that to even remember I had stopped there.
UPDATE: Hm. I just re-read my post and realized it was all about food. Go figure. *sigh*
The bathroom smelled like grape soda.
There were leftover chips and Sprite left in the break room from a lunchtime meeting.
I stopped at McDonald's this morning and got an egg McMuffin and only felt guilty for the first hour after eating it - I was too busy after that to even remember I had stopped there.
UPDATE: Hm. I just re-read my post and realized it was all about food. Go figure. *sigh*
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
You might be 50+ if...
You have just discovered Youtube and realized two hours have
disappeared. And you're ok with that.
disappeared. And you're ok with that.
You refer to the popular seach engine as "The Google".
You leave detailed voicemail messages longer than one minute.
You pay good money to have a disposable hard copy of the news, one day late.
You can't fathom working for any other company than your 20-year employer.
You are forwarding every email that says, "Forward to 10 contacts and
you will be sent a pink tutu.".
Now forward my list to all your over-50 friends ;)
--
Sent from my mobile device
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Why do I do this?
Over and over again. When living in MN the Vikings were definitely a common topic of conversation so we watched them too. Lots of Monday morning chatter and small talk revolved around the purple and gold, and for many years there was not much to talk about - disappointment, a few wins, mostly losses.
However, Jeff and I only marginally like football. Although versed in the basics, neither one of us gets all the intricacies (screen pass?), and I usually think it's pretty boring to watch anything for 3-4 hours. So when we moved to Georgia, we decided - even with Favre-mania happening back home - that we were not really planning on following our team anymore.
Until today. For the NFC Championship we thought, for this big a game, let's cheer them on!
Ugh, and then utter disappointment. I was reminded yet again what being a Vikings fan feels like.
However, Jeff and I only marginally like football. Although versed in the basics, neither one of us gets all the intricacies (screen pass?), and I usually think it's pretty boring to watch anything for 3-4 hours. So when we moved to Georgia, we decided - even with Favre-mania happening back home - that we were not really planning on following our team anymore.
Until today. For the NFC Championship we thought, for this big a game, let's cheer them on!
Ugh, and then utter disappointment. I was reminded yet again what being a Vikings fan feels like.
Friday, January 22, 2010
New Must-Read
On my wish list:
Food Rules: An Eater's Manual (Paperback) by Michael Pollen.
From Amazon reviewer Kristine Hale:
Food Rules is broken down into 3 sections (and this will sound familiar to those that read In Defense of Food): 1- What should I eat? (Eat food) 2 - What kind of food should I eat? (Mostly plants) and 3 - How should I eat? (Not too much). Each section includes 20 or so rules that you can pick and choose from in order to eat a healthy diet.
Some of the rules overlap (Avoid food products that contain ingredients that a third-grader cannot pronounce and Avoid ingredients that no ordinary human would keep in the pantry, for instance) and some seem like such common sense that it is almost laughable to include them, but that is why this manual is so important.
It distills all of this complex information that we see and hear every day and turns it into something relatable. We know, somewhere in our minds, that certain grains and oils are better than others. Pollan gives us an easy rule to help know which ones are best.
We know that most breakfast cereals are little more than desserts and Pollan gives us an easy rule to know which ones are safe. Some rules are humorous (it's not food if it arrived through the window of your car) and some are serious; some rules are easy and others require a bit more dedication.
But what this manual has is a wide range of useful tips that can be applied to any life at any time. This is no complicated diet; this is a little pocket book of sensible, realistic rules to help you eat your best.
Food Rules: An Eater's Manual (Paperback) by Michael Pollen.
From Amazon reviewer Kristine Hale:
Food Rules is broken down into 3 sections (and this will sound familiar to those that read In Defense of Food): 1- What should I eat? (Eat food) 2 - What kind of food should I eat? (Mostly plants) and 3 - How should I eat? (Not too much). Each section includes 20 or so rules that you can pick and choose from in order to eat a healthy diet.
Some of the rules overlap (Avoid food products that contain ingredients that a third-grader cannot pronounce and Avoid ingredients that no ordinary human would keep in the pantry, for instance) and some seem like such common sense that it is almost laughable to include them, but that is why this manual is so important.
It distills all of this complex information that we see and hear every day and turns it into something relatable. We know, somewhere in our minds, that certain grains and oils are better than others. Pollan gives us an easy rule to help know which ones are best.
We know that most breakfast cereals are little more than desserts and Pollan gives us an easy rule to know which ones are safe. Some rules are humorous (it's not food if it arrived through the window of your car) and some are serious; some rules are easy and others require a bit more dedication.
But what this manual has is a wide range of useful tips that can be applied to any life at any time. This is no complicated diet; this is a little pocket book of sensible, realistic rules to help you eat your best.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
A Celebration Day!
Our Supply Chain Management team took a few hours yesterday to look back over 2009 and celebrate our achievements.
We were treated to a buffet-style lunch at a local restaurant and had a recognition ceremony (as well as a fun trivia game and prize drawings throughout the day). One person from each work group was recognized for their outstanding contributions this past year, as well as a new "Team of the Quarter" traveling trophy was awarded. (No, I didn't win either one. Rats.) But it was still a cool way to get everyone together and recognize what some of the other groups had accomplished.
The afternoon was capped off with a tour of the CNN Studios in Atlanta. I hadn't been on the tour yet, and it was SUPER COOL to see the CNN broadcast live and in person, as well as the newsroom floor bustling and buzzing with journalists. We were watching during a segment that Ali Velshi was hosting, and afterwards had a chance to meet for Q&A with Jennifer Westhoven, who hosts a Personal Finance section on HLN's morning show with Robin Meade.
Thank you to everyone who helped plan this event, and thanks to my company for sponsoring it!
We were treated to a buffet-style lunch at a local restaurant and had a recognition ceremony (as well as a fun trivia game and prize drawings throughout the day). One person from each work group was recognized for their outstanding contributions this past year, as well as a new "Team of the Quarter" traveling trophy was awarded. (No, I didn't win either one. Rats.) But it was still a cool way to get everyone together and recognize what some of the other groups had accomplished.
The afternoon was capped off with a tour of the CNN Studios in Atlanta. I hadn't been on the tour yet, and it was SUPER COOL to see the CNN broadcast live and in person, as well as the newsroom floor bustling and buzzing with journalists. We were watching during a segment that Ali Velshi was hosting, and afterwards had a chance to meet for Q&A with Jennifer Westhoven, who hosts a Personal Finance section on HLN's morning show with Robin Meade.
Thank you to everyone who helped plan this event, and thanks to my company for sponsoring it!
Monday, January 18, 2010
Unpacking, and Elton John
This weekend we finally tackled the last stand of boxes. You see, when you move and have lots of space to move into, things tend to get shoved into closets. This is fine except when the scissors, paper, and tape end up in three separate rooms. Or you have four closets, all with some form of coat in them. Or, there are extra clothes in three different places, none of which are in your own bedroom.
So we organized and repacked all of the extra bedrooms' stuff, consolidated and labeled totes in the basement, and in general remembered where our stuff was stored.
After a hard day of this work, we decided to ROCK OUT with Elton John and his Vegas concert DVD, "The Red Piano". Two bottles later of Cascade Falls white wine, and the two of us kind of recall having a great time! The speakers were loud, and the light show on the plasma tv was intense - even without the adult beverages.
Enjoy! (Watch out for the gigantic adult-themed blowups and Tina Turner's fan!)
So we organized and repacked all of the extra bedrooms' stuff, consolidated and labeled totes in the basement, and in general remembered where our stuff was stored.
After a hard day of this work, we decided to ROCK OUT with Elton John and his Vegas concert DVD, "The Red Piano". Two bottles later of Cascade Falls white wine, and the two of us kind of recall having a great time! The speakers were loud, and the light show on the plasma tv was intense - even without the adult beverages.
Enjoy! (Watch out for the gigantic adult-themed blowups and Tina Turner's fan!)
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Update from the trip
Well, I just got back on Friday from my week in Brussels and Amsterdam. Here are the only interesting photos I took:
Yes, this was in every bathroom, including my hotel rooms. And no, I didn't use the one on the left.
Yes, this was in every bathroom, including my hotel rooms. And no, I didn't use the one on the left.
This hotel was just beautiful and quaint - it overlooked a courtyard and I had to snap this photo. It was snowing, the olde brick buildings were beautiful, and I was listening to Caro Mio Ben being played as background music. This was my kind of place (right next door was a kitchen shop, across the street was an Armani store, and there were no less than 3 chocolatiers within one block).
Here's my view of the Dutch countryside from the Thalys train - looks kind of like snowy farmland.
Other than that, nothing much to report! The croissants, Stella Artois, and chocolate was fantastic, and I had a great week.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Going to Brussels
Just frantically trying to finish up work stuff before heading to Brussels and Amsterdam for the week!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Christmas 2009
We took some quick photos yesterday before taking down our Christmas decorations, and I wanted to share them with you!
Our tree this year - somehow it started leaning a little to the right, and our pre-lit lights took some work, but we were so glad we purchased a bunch of ornaments last year at Gertens after Christmas. We didn't find such a wonderful store down here this year as Gertens was for us last year!
Our tree this year - somehow it started leaning a little to the right, and our pre-lit lights took some work, but we were so glad we purchased a bunch of ornaments last year at Gertens after Christmas. We didn't find such a wonderful store down here this year as Gertens was for us last year!
Our banister going upstairs. And of course, always our little helper, Maddie. She loves Christmas and any type of project!
My Willow Tree nativity was set up near the tree.
I LOVE MY COLLECTION! I bought 2 more pieces on ebay yesterday :)
The Christmas Day mess, and Maddie's favorite day all year - kitty chaos!
My animal cracker stocking stuffer and earrings from Jeff.
This just goes to show you're never too old to get video games and toys from Santa!
My Willow Tree nativity was set up near the tree.
I LOVE MY COLLECTION! I bought 2 more pieces on ebay yesterday :)
The Christmas Day mess, and Maddie's favorite day all year - kitty chaos!
My animal cracker stocking stuffer and earrings from Jeff.
This just goes to show you're never too old to get video games and toys from Santa!
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Fat Matt's Rib Shack
Wow, what a crazy place! We went to an Atlanta establishment tonight with some friends - arguably one of the best BBQ places in the south. It's Fat Matt's Rib Shack located in midtown and it was great! (It's even mentioned as THE place for BBQ in Hotlanta in the movie, "Up in the Air" with George Clooney.)
Check it out here: http://www.fatmattsribshack.com/
None of us had been there before and for our group of 8 people, the first come - first serve, tiny, tiny seating meant we split up among 3 tables for most of the meal. No matter though, we all sat together by the end.
They have live blues music every night and tonight was no exception - we heard a couple numbers before heading out.
The highlight though was the delicious chopped pork, BBQ chicken, ribs, and potato salad. And maybe the best pecan pie I've ever had.
Oh, and we even had some twin brothers from Memphis who were on American Idol stand up and give an impromptu a capella performance.
What a great night! Thanks to my friend Igor for inviting us and HELLO to our new friends we met!
Check it out here: http://www.fatmattsribshack.com/
None of us had been there before and for our group of 8 people, the first come - first serve, tiny, tiny seating meant we split up among 3 tables for most of the meal. No matter though, we all sat together by the end.
They have live blues music every night and tonight was no exception - we heard a couple numbers before heading out.
The highlight though was the delicious chopped pork, BBQ chicken, ribs, and potato salad. And maybe the best pecan pie I've ever had.
Oh, and we even had some twin brothers from Memphis who were on American Idol stand up and give an impromptu a capella performance.
What a great night! Thanks to my friend Igor for inviting us and HELLO to our new friends we met!
Friday, January 8, 2010
Finally, it snowed!
Well, when I went to bed last night it was only raining. But this morning we awoke to a winter wonderland!
And, they cancelled school for this.
And, they cancelled school for this.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Big plans for today's post
This space on today's blog is hereby reserved for photos of snow on our lawn in Georgia.
{Reserved Space}
It's beginning to snow (it's 1PM) - my boss Elaine and I just watched a couple come down from her window. I am betting we will have a light cover by 5pm.
FOOD UPDATE: So I did pretty good today:
- instant oatmeal and handful of almonds at breakfast
- chef salad, baked lay's and diet coke at lunch
- 2 chocolate truffles at 4
- and then...hot wings and beer for dinner
Stupid prednisone. I was hungry, ok?
UPDATE: It's 8:32pm and freezing rain only. No snow yet!
{Reserved Space}
It's beginning to snow (it's 1PM) - my boss Elaine and I just watched a couple come down from her window. I am betting we will have a light cover by 5pm.
FOOD UPDATE: So I did pretty good today:
- instant oatmeal and handful of almonds at breakfast
- chef salad, baked lay's and diet coke at lunch
- 2 chocolate truffles at 4
- and then...hot wings and beer for dinner
Stupid prednisone. I was hungry, ok?
UPDATE: It's 8:32pm and freezing rain only. No snow yet!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
New-ish Playlist Songs
These are newly frequenting my playlist:
Robin Thicke - Sex Therapy from Sex Therapy: The Experience
Colbie Caillat - Fallin' for You from Breakthrough
Carrie Underwood - Cowboy Casanova from Play On
Mariah Carey - Obsessed from Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel
Glee Cast - Somebody to Love from Glee: The Music, Vol. 1
Taylor Swift - You Belong With Me from Fearless (I don't know when this will EVER exit my playlist)
Kings of Leon - Use Somebody from Only By The Night
Natasha Bedingfield - Love Like This from Pocketful of Sunshine (GREAT ALBUM)
Have a listen and let me know what you're loving! And what did I miss???
Robin Thicke - Sex Therapy from Sex Therapy: The Experience
Colbie Caillat - Fallin' for You from Breakthrough
Carrie Underwood - Cowboy Casanova from Play On
Mariah Carey - Obsessed from Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel
Glee Cast - Somebody to Love from Glee: The Music, Vol. 1
Taylor Swift - You Belong With Me from Fearless (I don't know when this will EVER exit my playlist)
Kings of Leon - Use Somebody from Only By The Night
Natasha Bedingfield - Love Like This from Pocketful of Sunshine (GREAT ALBUM)
Have a listen and let me know what you're loving! And what did I miss???
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
18 degrees, 7 wind chill!?!?
Who ordered this? Jeff and I are hearty, Midwestern folks who luckily still have coats, clothes, and general gear to handle cold temperatures.
However, one (of very few) pros to move to Georgia was the weather. And now today it was 7 degrees wind chill this morning, pipes are bursting all over town, there was a special report on NPR this afternoon on how to "spot" black ice and how to - and not to - drive on it, and there is snow predicted for Thursday.
Even if I DO now how to drive in snow and ice, I don't trust those crazies to not hit my car. Will it be expected of the Minnesotans to be at work but the Atlantans to stay home, or can we all partake in a snow day?
Perhaps Mother Nature is reminding us transplants that it really is January, regardless of how nice my pansies looked before this cold snap.Monday, January 4, 2010
Friday, January 1, 2010
Welcome 2010!
Hello, Twenty-Ten, You're going to be a good one, I can feel it!
Jeff and I decided we are going to have a BIG year this year - somehow, can we top 2009? We'll try!
To be less of a bump on a log on the weekends, we are going to start doing some fun stuff. Determined to. And beginning this weekend - we can possibly go to either Monster Jam monster truck show, or a visit to the Georgia Aquarium. They are about the same price - what do the polls say we should do? Weigh in on the comments oh dear readers. Or for those that have still not figured out how to comment, send me an email like always.
Jeff and I decided we are going to have a BIG year this year - somehow, can we top 2009? We'll try!
To be less of a bump on a log on the weekends, we are going to start doing some fun stuff. Determined to. And beginning this weekend - we can possibly go to either Monster Jam monster truck show, or a visit to the Georgia Aquarium. They are about the same price - what do the polls say we should do? Weigh in on the comments oh dear readers. Or for those that have still not figured out how to comment, send me an email like always.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)