Straight No Chaser - 12 Days

This is good

Lending a Helping Head!

It seems Virginia Tech football does more than provide a means for justifying a day full of tailgating and beer pong; it's also contributing to the research on Traumatic Brain Injuries. Apparently, Hokie football helmets are equipt with sensors that monitor impact and track data to test helmets for our troops. Just another reason to love and admire Virginia Tech.

Now, about that Orange Bowl....never too soon to start the...LET'S GO HOKIES cheer!

GGB!

Next time on...

• MTV
• Music Videos
• MTV Shows
• Entertainment News

Turns my tummy a little too...

Me: If you come near me with that, I will puke all over you....

Lindsay: What? It's not like I'm showing you my foot fungus or something....it's just shit from my nose....ok, from my chin.

(Small clarification that really doesn't make this any better, but she was actually trying to show me the results of this sticky strip thing she pulled off her nose.....and I still just puked a little...in my mouth....you might have as well. Thank you and goodnight.)

No really...

...I was a little confused too when I saw this headline (if that's what you call it?):

Pregnant Teens Common Among Dinosaurs

East Hundred

I don't want to talk about it...

Ok Ok he did it for charity, that is very nice, I understand (I bet Enza doesn't understand)...but I can hope that Youk grows this the goatee back sooner rather than later. He looks a little too much like that high school picture. I'm not comparing him, but I know He-who-shall-not-be-named shaved for charity back in the day when he was still respectable and he pulled it off a little better...

(don't worry folks, Youk isn't going to get mad at me for saying this, he knows my love for him is almost unconditional, which is more than I can say for she who I will now refer to as She-who-shall-not-be-named)

Slappy Mc-Blue Lips

I hate A-Rod. I hope the Red Sox don't get him; he would be the biggest misfit in Red Sox history.

"Thank you, A-Rod," said ESPN's Peter Gammons, who left a baseball game in Denver between the Boston Red Sox and the Colorado Rockies immediately after hearing the news Sunday and flew to Legends Field in Tampa to get comments from Yankees front man Hank Steinbrenner. "We desperately needed something to get us out of the never-ending drudgery that is fall baseball. This is a real treat.

Price's picture from the Rolling Rally says it all:

I love Lowell, if he weren't married, I would marry him too. Maybe I should become a Mormon? Or is the polygamy only acceptable for the men?

Looney as a bat?

So most mornings, Lindsay and I are up and at the gym around 5am...naturally, at that time of the morning we don't have much to say to each other besides the exchange of a few grunts...but this is what is sounds like sometimes when we get back...

Scenerio: Linds and Raine get home and hear Lindsay's alarm that has probably been going off for the last hour and a half .."EERRRR..ERRR..ERRRR"

Raine: "Uh oh, hope that hasn't woken up Kim up!"
Linds: "that girl's got hearing like a bat"
Raine: "yea she does....and a nose like....like something with a good nose."

10 minutes later, Lindsay knocks on the bathroom door, where I am standing at the sink getting ready for work...

Linds: "Raine?"
Raine: "yea?"
Linds: "Do bats even have ears? I know they have that super-radar thingy...like they can sense their prey...but have you ever heard of bats having good hearing?

Raine: "yea i dunno! i mean they're blind! that's where "blind as a bat" comes from...but no, now that I think of it I don't think they do..."
Linds:"cool...thought just crossed my mind after I said it...I don't even know where that came from!"

T.K.O!

Ever been hit on so many times you feel like you were knocked out? yea..maybe the universe is out of wack (global warming, whatever that is) and there was a full moon 2 weekends in a row.. possible? Or maybe it was just the Halloween freaks but something was not right.

The following lines you are about to read are true. No names have been changed to protect the innocent (me) or the skeevy guys:

1) (Wearing my Youkilis shirt) "Hey #20, what's your number?" me: 20.

2)(Again, wearing the Youkilis shirt): Me, standing at the bar to get a drink. Borat-accent guy:"You rooting for the Red Sox?" me, looking down at 'Red Sox' across the front of my shirt: "Yea." Borat guy:" Oh, I know a lot about baseball....not!"

3) Me, standing at the bar, this time to pay my tab. Borat's friend with the slicked back hair: "I will pay your tab for you." Me: " No thanks, I got it" Borat's friend: "I will pay your tab, you marry me for a week to see how you like it?" Cut to me walking away.

4) Seemingly nice older guy, who starts making conversation while waiting for his drink. "Go Red Sox. You're very attractive." Me, "Thanks." Old creepy guy: "I'd like to see your baby pictures." Me, "uhhh". Creepy old guy: "You have a nice hair color. You're eyes are really pretty too. Are you Irish?" Me, "Scottish." Creeepy Mc-Creeperton: "You remind me of my baby sister. I bet you like tall guys."

5) Creepy Mc-Creeperton has now started to call any guy over 6 feet tall over to me, "Have you met my friend?" Me, "Hi, nice to meet you." Tall guy: "I'm Jim, like the stone."

6) Jim-stone, who has come over again a few minutes later to talk to Linds and me, leaning half way over our table, completely in my space "That guy is creepy. Ya know, I'm in sales so I'm really good at picking up on body language." Me, on the edge of my seat, leaning as far away from Jim-stone as possible: "Really? Can you read this?" And dumb Jim-stone just laughs...

7) Next up, weirdo Frank ,who we think is just talking to us while he waits to order his beer: "Did you guys see the blurb they put up about Varitek a few mins ago, was he in the military?" Linds and me: "Oh, yea, no we didn't see that, we don't know." Weird Frank continues blah blah blah. "Ya know, I work for Deltek." Me, "Oh interesting, we use Deltek at work." Weirdo Frank: "Yea, we have a corporate box at the Verizon Center. Got two tickets for tomorrow night. Would you be interested in going?" Me, "No, thanks." Frank, still hanging around, pulls out his card to give me, apparently with a little pencil waiting for me to give him my number, and puts his card next to my drink. Me, looking down at the card "oh, Deltek....thanks." Weirdo Frank inconspicuously slides his card back and leaves. Never orders his drink...

Bitter Sweet

Welp, Hokies started out strong, defense was amazing...the rained helped and hindered...and we lost in the last 2 mins...that is all I have to say about that.

On the other hand, Red Sox won Game 2! Zing! I'm still dealing with Youk's announcement, but you guys are right--I have 1 year to break this engagement up! Game on.

Here's a blurb from Youk's blog:

For us, we played a great game tonight. For me, I'm really sorry Enza, I made a mistake, I hate you.

Ok ok...Youk did not really write that, hrumph. But he did write this regarding the upcoming games in Colorado and I find it quite humorous:

Now we go to Denver. We played at Coors in '04, so it's not brand new to all of us. It's something we haven't done in a while. We'll see when we get there. They just say to stay as hydrated as possible.

Seriously? Poor Youk is going to have an incredibly hard time staying hydrated!!! Hehe, Kim suggested an IV...

Digital Digital Get Down!

I'm a little surprised our electronics guru has not introduced us to the Sony Reader Digital Book yet! Price, this seems right up your alley. You can keep all 10 books you're reading at once, in one convenient location (and 150 more if you choose!) Sony even makes a premium leather case to wrap your digital book and maybe, just maybe, there is an accessory to simulate that authentic book smell for ya!?!

Turkeys in Boston!

Watch out for the turkeys roaming around Boston, Price and Bev! Perhaps this is a sign of what's to come when VT takes on #2 BC later this week--turkey take over!! (**Knock on wood***)Think about it...Thursday night game in Lane Stadium, very tough! It has got to at least be better than last year's game...

GGB!! Let's Go Hokies!!

Woooo!!!

He doesn't even like her really....his face is all "go away, stop following me!"

Ok, I need to stop....really....

MLB Hot Corner Alyssa Milano talks to Kevin Youkilis

This is an older clip, but I need her job! No, I don't search on Youk ALL day long...just a small (large) portion of it...poor thing has to wipe away the sweat a couple times in the middle of the interview! hehe silly bf

Red Sox Nation song

This is cute while the kids sing at least....

LET's GO SOX!!!

Red Sox Prayer

In case you haven't seen this floating around yet:

A REDSOX PRAYER

Our Father, who art at Fenway...
Baseball be thy game.
They Kingdom come,
P layoffs need to be won,
On Earth, then on to the Cask 'n' Flagon.

Give us this day, a perfect Papi,
And forgive us our losses,
As we forgive those,
Like Bill Buckner.

And lead us not, into desperation,
But deliver us from any losses.

For thine is the Power,
And the Glory,
To beat the Indians,
Forever and ever....the Yankees suck.

Amen.

Redsox Dancefest

Hahaha....the best is Kim: "Was Papelbon a swimmer?"

Game 5

hehe this was on bostondirtdogs.com this morning.....yea, I laugh because I'm uncomfortable....

If Youk Tells Me...

...to jump off a bridge, I will NOT do it! I am not that obsessed, sheesh! But he did say it's 'no time to panic.' So opposite of panic I will do. I was sooo nervous this morning thinking about Wakefield on the mound (like you haven't been thinking about it all week also!!), I wanted to do a rain dance for tonight(no pun intended, hehe...he...h...e...eh) ...

BUT then I decided I am completely confident with Timmy throwing for us tonight. That said, please everyone just keep another little prayer in your mind tonight as the Sox try to take Game 4 : Please no Gagne, please no Gagne, please no Gagne....(repeat as many times as needed)

On a side note, again, Youk needs to work on his high five skills, he just needs a little more *uumph,* and Varitek's home run fist pump could be a little stronger too....Love you boys!! (just in case they are regular readers)

Let's Go Red SOX!Let's Go Red SOX!

Don't Tear my Heart, my Achy Breaky Heart

Umm, this song makes me want to vommit for some reason. Billy Ray is scary. I almost prefer his achy breaky mullet. And Hannah Montana sucks.

(You guys are mean girls...)

Ta Freakin' DA

So Nervie!

Game 2 tonight. Time to start mentally preparing. So nervous.

Game 1 was great. I was at the gym when it started but none of the hanging TVs had the game on (what kinda Communists.......?) so I had to choose a boring treadmill with the individual tellies (genius by the way). I found the key to a nice long cardio workout--have the Red Sox on in front of me while my BF's bat is in fiah! I only stopped because my legs started to go numb and I didn't want to pull a "Banks in Sherrill House" and have my ankles collapse under me. It was so tough restrained my excitement though as Youk hit his first at-bat homer, followed by a double and Papi's homer a few innings later. Puts a tune in my head:

**So this is love..Mmmmmmm...so this is looove...soo this is what makes life divine***

Aww look at the Ladybug!

Ava loves her Halloween costume...

Who are we kidding, Ava will probably have multiple costumes...next up the Hotdog and the Bumble Bee....maybe the Turkey outfit to wear during Tech games = )

(Don't be fooled by the 'Eat shit and die' look on her face, Ava loves her Mamas)

Family Feud

It's that time again...

Nuh Nuh, not Car BomB time (but they do go down smooth...)

VT vs UNC

Thanks to Rick and Carol (and Blake and Moses), Kim and I will be representing at this year's match up.

LET'S GO!!

HOKIES!!!

(Sorry TARHEELS, if it were any other game...)

25 is the new 15...uhh, wait...

Thanks to everyone for all the great 'Happy Birthday' wishes. I did have a fabulous 25th b-day; I'm so old. Old balls.

Friday night some friends and I hit up Carpool, a local bar down the road and one of our usual watering holes.

Things were a little serious at first...we obviously hadn't had enough Capt&Coke before the HH special ended...

Luckily, Linds broke out her safety patrol vest, which she honorably received as a 'safety lead' (or some BS) at work...

SO we turned it up a notch, BAM! and moved to the ginormous cans...And then (as Kim puts it) we all became camera whores..

(after warm tequila shots...thanks Linds)

Some time in the midst of this I talked to Price and asked for Springsteen's ass print on my concert t-shirt... I think he made that part up, although I'd willingly sport that shirt.

Saturday, Mom came and we spent the afternoon conquering Tyson's Corner mall (again!), then had dinner with Kim & Jason, blew out some candles, and hit the hay.

Linds and I topped off the weekend with dinner Sunday night at Obi Sushi in Reston Town Center. Sooo good.

Good times, thanks everyone :) Next up, BBB Jr.'s b-day East Hundred style in D.C.

Our beloved Duke Dog getting wrecked...

What is the world coming to....

So, a few changes have been made this year to the Virginia Tech football game fan guide. First of all, fans are no longer allowed to 'boo' in Lane Stadium as the opposing team runs through the tunnel. Fine--we had a lot of support from other universities and colleges last April, we won't 'boo' them initially. I can live with that. BUT now, we are no longer allowed to do the 'Stick it in! Stick it in! Stick it in!' cheer either! Ridiculous. That is my favorite cheer! Next thing you know, they are going to stop selling turkey legs at the games too b/c it's offensive to the Hokie bird!

Macaque and the Pigeon...Sittin' in a Tree....

OMG! How cute is this? Such a cute story....

Yes, I know, I've must be super busy today...

H-O-K-I-E-S HOKIESSSSSSS

Ok, last weekend against LSU was painful and Sean Glennon will never start another game.I feel bad for him, kinda...but let's go Tyrod!! Luckily, my friends were geniuses (some of them...and only in this situation :P ) to buy Marcus Vick jerseys when they were only $30 plus 75% off with an additional 10% off that, and what I really mean is the store people literally turned their heads while the jerseys were stuffed in bags....Ok, I exaggerate, but they did get them super cheap for situations just like this when you need to support the new true freshman starting QB. Oiyy, I'm getting nervous already but we're bound to do better this week right!? Stick it in! Stick it in! Stick it in!

Tailgate Fever has another good post this week, check it out!

I would also like to say that I made a decent jump in my College Pick 'Ems this past week when I went from #8 (of 9, who happened to be Kimmy) to #4, all without knowing that the spread points actually matter. (thanks guys!) They thought they could get one by me by assuming I knew these silly rules, but now that I do, I have a feeling I'm going to be unstoppable! In yo' face!

LET'S GO HOKIES!!! GGB!

And remember kids, Jesus hates the Yankees. Let's GO RED SOX!

Sarah Silverman Britney Spears Diss MTV Video Music Awards

I think she is hilarious!

LET'S GO...!!!

HOKIES!!! Ahh college football season is back. I'm heading down to Blacksburg this weekend for the first game, sooo excited but also a little nervous. I'm working on preparing(physically and mentally) for 1) a long day of over indulging in cheap beer, 2) swollen feet (I'll stay away from the turkey leg), 3) all over chaos (enhanced obviously by #1), and 4) the inevitable killer hangover on Sunday. I may not be as old as some of you (no, I won't name names....Banks, Jenne, Price, Bev....), but let's face it, I'm not getting any younger and it's getting tougher and tougher to hang like I did in the good old days. And, last but not least 5) how I'm going to feel being on campus for the first time since April's unimaginable massacre? To put it quite simply, it's going to be weird. Check out this article though: After tragedy, football brings fans together.

You also need to look at this week's posting on TailgateFever for a preseason briefing on this year's team, as well as The Ten Commandments of VT Football.

And so I leave you with one phrase to be repeated as often as possible this weekend...

Gobble Gobble Bitches!

Drum roll please...

And the winner for Newsweek's pick for Hottest Women's College goes to...Smith College!! (sorry, Randolph whatever). Mom sure does know how to pick 'em!

Hottest Women's College

Smith College, Northampton, Mass.

With 2,800 students, Smith is the nation's largest women's college, and the first to start an engineering program. It is part of the Five Colleges consortium with nearby Mount Holyoke, Amherst, Hampshire and UMass Amherst. The facilities, particularly the cottage-style houses where students live in groups of 13 to 80, are so attractive that visitors originally preferring a coed college often change their minds. "Smith kind of won me over," says Katie Green, who thought she would go to a school with men. "When else in your life can you get the experience of being surrounded by smart, motivated young women who really care about what they're doing?"



Unfortunately, UMHB, W&L, VT, JMU, and Oregon State did not make the cut for any of the 25 Hottest Schools. Hrumph, there is always next year.

Frank Caliendo on Letterman

Buddies

Bahaha just because this pic of my BF is a little goofy and makes me laugh...these are 2 of my favorite Red Sox kids...(I probably say that about all of them really...) and we won last night, thank goodness. Way to go Dustin 'Big Cup' Pedroia on the go-ahead homer.

I have a lot of catching up on this blog thing to do, hopefully I'll get to it very soooooon.

He can call me Flower if he wants to...

Sooooo, there are now 5 of us living at the townhouse: Kim, Lindsay, me, Ava, and apparently this little critter living under our back patio porch.

Aww yea Flower is so cute right? Until it sprays your back porch and the stink permeates most of your house! The good news is that the smell was so pungent at one point we thought the animal had died too, but luckily, that was not the case. Mr. Sherlock, the pest control guy, came out yesterday evening, put a skunk repellent under the porch, and the smell inside at least should fade...in 4-5 more days!! Who knows how long the smell will last outside!? Great, now we're the new stinky neighbors....

Sadly, I think we are getting used to the smell though. Lindsay and I have spend the past few nights on the back porch plotting how we can cook all of our meals on the grill. So, while I was busy at work today, I checked out the 'Grilling Guide' on MSN.com and came across this recipe for Grilled Banana Splits. Although I'm not even a fan of banana splits ever since I puked 22 times after the last time I had one, (yes, I did count the number of times and no, alcohol was not involved), something about it drew me in. I have not tried it obvy, but it actually sounds really good! Check it out:

Grilled Banana Split

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION (perhaps I should have omitted this part)
1 serving: Calories 642; Carbohydrates 89g; Cholesterol 95mg; Fat 28g; Sodium 188mg

INGREDIENTS
4 ripe bananas
8 teaspoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
4 tablespoons light brown sugar
4 tablespoons brandy
3 cups vanilla ice cream
8 teaspoons chocolate sauce
1/4 cup toasted pecans (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Heat grill to low. Make an incision lengthwise on the side of each banana, leaving 1 inch uncut at both ends and the skin intact. Spread open the cut and place 2 teaspoons of the butter pieces, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, and 1 tablespoon brandy inside. Grill, covered, until the butter mixture has melted and bananas are heated through — 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the bananas to 4 separate sundae dishes, carefully flipping the bananas over and pouring the sauce into the bottom of each dish. Peel off the skins, and top each with an equal amount of ice cream; add warm chocolate sauce, and nuts, if desired. Serve immediately.

BBB

"Make yourself familiar with the angels, and behold themfrequently in spirit; for without being seen, they are present with you.

-Saint Francis de Sales

"Rather than mourn the absence of the flame, let us celebrate how brightly it glowed"

Miss you.

PC Load Letter...??

Happy anniversary to me! Today marks my 3rd year as 'office bitch'....correction, 'executive office bitch.' Oh happy day! I've seen it all my friends: Hawaiian shirt day, newbies buying generic ice cream for Cake day (*gasp*), and even more recently some battles over Breakfast day. I know there have been other memorable events along the way, but I think I've suppressed those memories. It's an exciting life....a really....exciting....life.

In other news, we have t.v! Whoop whoop! And by 't.v,' I mean DIRECT TV! In yo' face Cox and Comcast. We couldn't be suckered into your crappy deals with even crappier service, especially when we discovered there was already a dish on our beloved townhouse roof! I dig it. Next Saturday, the guy comes to install Verizon FiOs, conveniently sometime between 8am and 5pm. Jerks...(I said 'guy' instead of 'gal' b/c really are women smart enough to do this sort of work? I mean, Trinity Church's female Rector is one thing....but female technicians? I think not. We need to get back in the kitchen and keep house...hehe..he..eh?)

Speaking of t.v, the revival of television at the Blair-gowksi household (soon to be Blair-gowski-hall..or maybe it could be Blair-gowski Hall...) means MLB Extra Innings is back in service. With the amount of randomness Kim and I notice during these games, we could really be the next female versions of Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy. So last night as we noticed Coco's new coiffure, it was this striking resemblance that caught out eyes. Does anyone else see the resemblance?

Coco Crisp...

(I tried to find a Coco Red Sox pic with the fro but wasn't successful...)

Billy Crystal...

These pictures don't do it exact justice, so please if you can catch a game or at least some game highlights in the next couple days (b/c who knows how long Coco will keep the mini fro before going back to cornrows), I don't think you'll be disappointed. It's well worth the chuckle.

One more thing....everyone knows I love Kevin Youkilis as much as the next person...probably more, because really does anyone else share my obsession? But he can be soooo dramatic sometimes

Finally, I know everyone is on pins and needles waiting to see pictures of the new townhouse and from this past weekend's visit with the Boston Blairs. I will post just as soon as either Kim or I can find our adapters to download the pictures from my camera. The wait will be worth it though; I don't think you'll be disappointed. I don't want to give any surprises away, but did someone say Mandy Moore??

But what about Bob??

Excuse me? What about this guy? How are we supposed to keep up with Blake's upcoming adventures in Richmond/MCV with no blog?? Maybe the Boston Blairs should hop on this campaign...it's not like med school will keep him busy; he should have plenty of time to entertain the rest of us!! :P

'Picnic spoiler' (3 letters...)

1) Good news guys: One of you might have a chance at entering this year's 4th of July, Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest. If you can get past the initial snap of the natural casing (I just puked a a little in my mouth,) one of you could take the place of Kobayashi — the Japanese competitive eating icon and international celebrity. Kobayashi's latest stint with lockjaw leaves him questionable for Wednesday's contest. Sounds to me like this guys a little scared of this Joey Chestnut guy (...wouldn't blame him, sounds like a character straight of out the Sopranos) who broke the record in a prelim. competition by scarfing down 59 1/2 hot dogs. Ughth! I bet The Black Widow from Alexandria, VA (no, not Uncle Bill) will be there too! Banks, maybe they will peel the hot dogs for you first! :)

2) I spend a majority of my afternoon yesterday getting my car registration renewed. Besides having to deal with the dreaded DMV, stupid northern VA and their dumb air quality laws that require Emissions tests before you can renew your registration. Good thing I realized Sunday, July 1st around 11ish p.m. that my registration expired on June 30. Hrumph. I've got to do a better job of remember these things. Anyone remember the incident of June '06, where I got pulled over TWICE in a matter of 72 hours for this crap, once without my license...dumb dumb dumb...luckily no ticket! Thankfully, bossy suggested I take the afternoon off to take care of all this. SO, 4 hours and $70 later, I've registered by car for another year; this time no cops involved!

3) To celebrate this victory, Sus and I went on a 5-mile walk along the Washington & Old Dominion Trail that runs 45 miles from Purceville to Alexandria. Unfortunately, I got home to discover a blister had formed again on my heel inside the previous blister that had finally opened and started to heal, another one on my other heel, and on the sole of my right foot.

Later, I decided to break out the old crossword puzzle book to unwind after a stressful day. I was so excited to finish the entire puzzle sans cheating and looking in the back OR asking anyone for help...then I realized it was the 'Easy' category. Oh well. I should have figured when all the clues were "Mayberry youth"...."Black and white sandwich cookie"..."Tennis star Lendl". Doh!

Victorino Is Crazy

So Kim and I were flipping back and forth between the Red Sox game (for obvy reasons) and the Astros game last night, hoping that her cuz, David Borkowski, would come in for relief pitching. He did not, however, we did get to see this crazy attempt to catch a foul ball! bahaha it was so much better to see live....but ouch. I'm ok laughing, even though he could have been (might be)hurt, b/c even he was laughing a little afterwards... unless that was a grimace in pain....

Hostess with the Mostest

Mmmm. Twinkies. Finally, the Hostess Twinkies Bake Set got put to good use this weekend as Kim and Jason attempted the impossible dream of recreating the Twinkie at home. Although these delightfully golden, cream-filled cakes turned out pretty well (despite my attempt to have the goods wrapped in cellophane to sit outside in the sun for a few days before the first bite, for authenticity of course,) I don't think any of us will be touching another Twinkie for a while.

Nevermind the fact that you have to walk for 41 mins to burn off a single cake, these recipes could really put Paula Dean to the test.

For example, Recipe 1: Sponge cake (difficult level = 3 Twinkie cakes out of 4) packs a little over 3/4 cup sugar and 8 tablespoons (1 stick) of butter. Add in the Vanilla Fluff filling (difficult level = 1 Twinkie cake out of 4) and you've added another 6 tablespoons of butter and 1.5 cups sugar. I'm just glad they didn't attempt the Whipped Vanilla filling with a whopping 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) of butter!

Oiiyyy I can hear myself getting fatter!

Maybe just one more....

And, yes, that is a cheap 1.75 Liters of Gordon's Gin in the background. De-licious.

SexyBack

Happy Friday kids! Unless things pick up a little bit, there could be a lot more of these postings today :)

Scuba Cat

Ahaha, what kind of additional freakish issues do you think Mr. Hitch would have if he could be taught to do this?!

Veggies Schmeggies

I don't know if it's something in the air? Full moon? Or, maybe it's the recent interaction with all of these pseudo-hippies (**cough**Banks and Jenne**cough**oh yea, and Kim**), BUT as I was cruising the frozen breakfast aisle the other day, I suddenly found myself staring at the Morning Star Breakfast Starters. I'm looking at the sale sign--2/$6.00...contemplating...there is no way these things taste like real sausage (or, 'sahsauge' as Papadopalus would say). I take a few quick glances to my left, to my right, grab the green box, throw it in my cart, and quickly exit the scene.

OMG, you veggies who are buying these Morning Star products are totally being scammed! They look like real meat, taste like real meat, do not smell like real meat (but hey, you could say the same thing for a PEBO burger)...no way these things don't contain animal! A little chewy, but all in all, not bad! Maybe next time I'm feeling adventurous, I'll branch out to something like a **gasp** veggie burger...

Mandy Follow-up

I'm thinking that Mandy's PR people must be followers of The Girl. Ever since I posted about my closet Mandy Moore obsession (strategically nestled inside the proclamation of new found love for Gabe Macht), I've noticed the media has gone into Mandy-mania! She's all over the Internet, or at least MSN.com. Coincidence you say because she is about to drop a new cd? I think not. Will I buy her new cd you ask? I think not.

However, she does seem to a classy person and comparably a better role model than the rest of these 'Pop Princesses.'

Check out: The Moore Model:Tips for Young Hollywood.

Case of the Mondays

OMG...it's Monday morning, I'm catching up on the weekend blogs (nice Father's Day tributes guys, love the pics!) and I'm sooo excited to see that Youk has finally updated his blog. Everything is going great, I'm enjoying the read until the last paragraph...girlfriend? Enza? really? What kind of a name is that? (I love to call people out like that on their names as pay back). So naturally I had to do a little digging for dirt on this 'Enza' character, and dirt I found! Apparently, she's an ex-floozie of Ben Affleck! Watch your back Youk, she sounds a little swarmy. Hrumph. It's ok though, I'm down but I'm not out!

So what happens is...

Quote of the weekend sponsored by Heineken and Busch:

"Bev, I was having fuuhhhn!! You knew where I were.."

thanks P-Dids.

The Office - Jim's Imitation of Dwight

"I'm missing you like candy...love Mandy"

Sooooooo, I'm not ashamed (a little..) to admit that I love Mandy Moore movies. I do! So what? Really, she's underrated. I mean, have you seen A Walk to Remember? Chasing Liberty? Ok, maybe those aren't the best examples but there are only so many from which to choose. If you weren't impressed by these, perhaps I may suggest her most recent release to DVD and my newest most fav chick flick-- Because I Said So. No, it didn't get outstanding reviews and, yes, it is a little extravagant. Don't put so much weight on public opinion! As I said, it's a chick flick, what else do you expect....?

But seriously, let me get to my real point of all this. Besides Mandy's most brilliant acting to date, this movie brings something even greater to the screen--Gabriel Macht. The rest of you may know him from movies such as The Good Shepard or The Recruit. I, however, have not seen either of those, therefore, I praise Because I said So for introducing me to this fine specimen. (Don't worry, Youk is cool with this. He's on the road so much, he understands...Love you Youk!). Gabriel was absolutely adorable, or at least the idea of his character was, and for that I now lub him too. I'm not sure where he's been all my life, but I will allow him to jump a few spaces to the top (or near top) of my list. Love you, love you, love you lots, Gabe. :)

And don't forget to catch Mandy in her upcoming movie, License to Wed, also featuring The Office star, John Krasinski.

In Lub.

So, I'm not really sure why this makes me so happy, but I just saw on RedSox.com that Youkilis has made his inaugural blog entry and I have a feeling it will be a consistently interesting read. I lub him. **Siighhh***

Look, he made a blog entry on 5/29....I made an entry on 5/29...

And how cute was he bookin' it around the bases the other night with his inside-the-park HR?!

Maybe he will put a link to my blog on his site :)

B-O-L-O-G-N-A

North Carolina--specifically, Charlotte-- proved itself to be home to another great weekend (once again, in yo' face Whiteville!). Susan, Shannon (Sus' bf), and I all hopped in the Escape (proper pronunciation: ESCAP-EY, I think it's French?) Friday evening, stopped for a brief 12 hour layover at Chez Blair, and cruised the rest of the way down on Saturday morning. We made pretty good time despite the temptation to stop at all 15 yard sales set up between Altavista and Hurt, and somehow managed to miss most of the race traffic.


Charlotte is home to the other half of my VT family: JJ, Stef, Allyson, Brandon, Brennon, and Paul 1 (who unfortunately had prior obligations and could not hang out.)It had been a while since our last visit, so this was a much needed semi-reunion.

Saturday afternoon we headed Uptown to check out the Speed Week events. As luck would have it, conveniently after a few beers and margaritas, we stumbled upon the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile! Nooo, Susan, Stef, and I did not sign away our rights just to stand in front of the weinermobile and sing "My bologna has a first name...."

Ok, we did. BUT, we were completely clothed, straw cowboy hat and Solo cup-free, and figured if the line of 8 year olds and younger could do it....

A few free samples and not so free beverages later, it was time for dinner so we hit up a local pizza joint, then made out way to another watering hole for a night cap.

Susan (pink) and Shannon (red) : P...

Sunday was another big day. After church, the group drove across the border to SC for lunch on the lake. What lake you ask? Good question. I never thought to ask...however, here is Susan's arm with the lake in the background! So pretty :P Oh, and I almost forgot, we didn't go to church...

Later on that evening, a few more people came over to the house for a BBQ, followed by a crucial game of Cranium: Bros vs Hoes. Guess who won...

Finally, after a few hours of recovery on Monday morning, it was time to truck it back to old Virginia. Nothing like a summer of road trips! Boston, here I come!

Apparently NC has a way of bringing out the Gangstah side of people!

Stef and I....

Stef is recently engaged to the grill master, JJ....poor girl

You can't win 'em all.

So, I think we all know how Round 1 of this match must have ended....Kai said 'In yo' face.' Better luck next time, Banks. Maybe the Red Sox trainers can rig something to temporarily reattach your tendon? You can become infamously associated with a bloody v-neck tee?

The Graduate

Congratulations!! Mom has once again proven what a Rock Star she really is. After enduring a year+ of classes with angry lesbians and pulling countless all-nighters (still TBD whether caused by last minute cramming or last minute keggers), Mom is now the proud owner of a Masters in Special Education from Randolph Macon Women's College (now to be called Randolph College.) I know all of us are so proud of her. In fact, I even teared up as she led the march of graduates; luckily, I was saved by my over sized sun goggles which hid the evidence as I quickly regained composure (thanks Paris, I knew you really would enhance my life somehow.) It was such a beautiful spring day and as I saw her leading the way with a smile on her face, I couldn't help but think how proud Dad must be looking down and seeing Mom achieve this outstanding goal on Mother's Day and his birthday. Just another notch on her belt of amazingness!

Nevertheless, I do recall Price and I discussing how we had individually advised Mom to stop staying up until 4am to finish papers--half-ass it! But did she listen? Maybe! Who knew we were dealing with the class clown!?

All and all the graduation ceremony was nice. In fact, you all would have gotten as much amusement as Carol, Rick, and I did when the hippie lesbian next to me, in following apparent tradition, put her arm around me at the end of the ceremony as she swayed and sang to the school song To Randolph Macon. However, I think the three of us giggling uncontrollably was enough of a hint and she soon after removed her arm from my innocent shoulders.

After graduation, Mom and I relaxed while indulging in a few Bloody Mary's, the Sunday crossword, a little The Real Housewives of Orange County. Before I hit the road, we stopped by to give Grandmommy a little Mother's Day greeting and some treats. It was another great weekend, wish you could have all been there! But you can catch Mom in the gown again at the new Harry Potter premier later this summer...

Sometimes life just passes you by....

While boozin'-Susan and I were celebrating Cinco de Mayo (and a Cinco de may-o-my it was), my hopes and dreams of being on Sox Appeal were shattered with the empty bottles I knocked onto the ground..a couple times. That's right, my chance at being the HERO on 3 blind dates at a home Red Sox game are done-zo. I could have been a contendah! Harumph!Although, it would have been tough to concentrate on the dates with all my bfs on the field. Oh well, I guess that just leaves me available for Youk. He likes baseball...I like baseball...He has a VT hat...I love VT. Wow, does anyone else feel this connection? Unreal.