This is about me, a Girl, who is on an adventure with her Boy, who just happens to have a PhD (whoo-hoo!). We are from Pennsylvania but are currently living in Rhode Island.
On September 7th, my hometown along with many other areas from Maryland to New York were hit hard by Hurricane Lee. Below are videos from some of those places. My family was lucky and did not get hit by the flooding (although some, like my mom, came awfully close).
This video is just a slideshow of a bunch of different parts of PA that were flooded. It's pretty interesting if you don't mind the noise (aka the music...you might want to mute this one) or the length.
This video is about Hersheypark, ZooAmerica and the damages they had to deal with.
I don't know why, but it's always sort of...surreal? when I see events like this happening to my hometown. I guess it's a little weird to be viewing things on TV and online rather than actually being there. Especially when I know the locations pictured.
Most people only know about Walt Disney and his famous mouse. What they don't know is that Mickey (or Micky as the original toy was called) originated in my hometown of Middletown, PA. According to the Middletown Borough, around 1931:
The Disney Corporation sued the Performo-Toy Company claiming they took Micky from Disney. The small toy company was no match for the large production company and the courts ordered the Performo-Toy Company to stop all production of the Micky toys and destroy any existing stock. Even catalogs containing Micky had to be destroyed. This tragedy, along with the Great Depression, was enough to put the Performo-Toy Company out of business.
But the Performo toy was patented in 1926; while Disney did not receive a trademark until 1928 and oddly enough, both used the same distribution company once Disney started distributing their toy dolls.
As the story goes (or rumor depending on who you listen to), the Performo toy Micky was being sold across the Northeast when Walt Disney took a trip to New York City. The Middletown historians believe that Disney borrowed the idea from this toy and the rest, they say, is history. Feel free to read more about Micky and my town here.
This is Chase. Chase loves water. The second he heard me turning on the faucet for my bath, he came running in. He loves to watch the water. He also has a bad habit of wanting to watch the water swirl down when you flush the toilet too, sometimes trying to paw-paw the water as it flows out (yuck).
John and I made dinner tonight. It's kind of nice cooking simple meals together. We had pasta (again...but that's ok) with his new favorite sauce (see previous post). Tonight, we decided to try something a little different. It looks like a normal meal, but those aren't mashed potatoes. They're mashed cauliflower. They're not as disgusting as you might think. Although, after eating most of it, it started to become too much. Kind of like when you eat something for the first time and it's good but your body isn't used to it and says ENOUGH after a while. Kind of like when I eat too much French food (too rich?), or authentic Asian food (too...authentic? I don't know with that one).
I still give it a thumbs up although I don't know when the next time I'll make mashed cauliflower again. Maybe I'll try this roasted garlic cauliflower recipe next time we buy some.
Way back in March, my mom and I decided to take a trip to the Mall of America. When I first told John where I was going, he asked me why I would travel somewhere to visit a mall. Trying to tell him that it was Mall of America (duh) and the largest mall in the country meant nothing to him. He was definitely glad he was staying at home for this trip.
When we first arrived, I wasn't expecting it to be snowing. Sure, it was only March but living in Arizona you get used to the 364 days of sun and the lack of the white stuff. While most of the snow wouldn't stick to the roads, they stuck to the sidewalks and turned to ice mostly. That was fine because I brought a fleece jacket for the short amount of time I knew we would (or wouldn't) be spending outdoors.
The mall itself is four stories high (with a gross area of 4,200,000 sq ft (390,000 m2) or 96.4 acres) with over 500 stores, an amusement park in the middle that has 25 rides and attractions, a 14 screen theatre, and an aquarium in the basement. That's a lot.
Woody made out of Lego's
Next to the rides and attractions is Lego Land. They really go all out when they put in stores at this mall. It was cool to look at and if I was younger, I probably would have bugged my mom to buy me some (what kid doesn't like Lego's??).
There was also another attraction next to the center called the Human Doing. For a month starting in March, a man named Scott lived in a glass apartment in the middle of the mall. The project was created by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota to promote healthier lifestyles and every day he asked people to choose what activities he would do for that day. The day that I saw him, he was playing some figure skating game (which is why his arms are out, he was landing a spin I think). He was allowed to leave his box and did other events at some of the stores in the mall. Apparently, he lost 27 pounds afterwards.
This was outside the Mexican restaurant located in the mall. There were others at the other entrance.
We also went to the Aquarium. It wasn't as big as I was hoping, but it was still pretty amazing considering the location. We took a behind-the-scenes tour and got to see a turtle they had quarantined. I remember he kept snapping at us because he thought we would feed him.
All in all, it was a fun trip. Will I ever go back to MOA? Probably not, but not because I disliked it. It's just that it has pretty much the same stuff as you have anywhere else. It was fun to see and experience though.
I went to the gym tonight. I know, big news, right? A lot of people go to the gym every week. I'm only doing the free two-week pass and I hate how the second I sat down the gentleman (who was really nice) asked if I was ready to sign up. Umm...can I look around first? Maybe try a class or two? I know they're sales reps, but relax a little. I don't like people who push or bug me too much. I won't buy whatever it is they're trying to sell me that way. I might end up joi- I MEAN...I'm still looking into if it's the "right place" for me (I hope LA Fitness reps don't use google).
Some friends and I went to the kickbox cardio class and despite my doubt, it kicked my butt. Which is the point. The lady running the class was intense. She had so much energy and was super buff. I was a little jealous. Halfway through the class though, I started lagging and it started to get a little hard to follow. I give myself some slack since it was only my first class. I'll probably go back again on Wednesday with my friends to do some more work outs. I've never done weight training, so we'll see how that goes!
Sometimes you forget how good food can taste when you're always eating out and stocking your fridge to the brim with pre-made, processed foods. So John and I have decided to start eating a little simpler and have been going to the store pretty much every day to pick up only a handful of food. We keep it simple with a loaf of bread (like a baguette, French bread, etc.), some meat and veggies and/or fruit (the kind you find in the produce section, not the frozen or canned vegetable section). We're not really trying to be one of those people who ONLY eat pure foods (although I'm sure that's 10 times more healthier), as we'll still eat out every once in a while and will probably fall prone to laziness at some point. We just want to live healthier lives.
John has found a pasta sauce that he actually likes. And he even enjoys making it. It's a simple tomato sauce with minced garlic and basil, but it's good. And simple. We topped it off with some fresh bread we bought at a French bakery called La Baguette Bakery. According to Yelp, it's not the "best" bakery in town, but for my unsophisticated palate it's pretty good. We got a loaf of French bread and an apricot and almond bread. I would have liked it if there had been a little more fruit in it, but it wasn't bad.
I also made some home-made French toast the other day. I'm hardly a chef and I had never made French toast before, so the results were pretty satisfying considering. I sliced up the remaining French bread and I used some fresh eggs John had bought at a farmer's market (along with the cherries). The recipe I used didn't have enough mix for the four slices, but all in all it was a success.
I had to add that last photo. Chase is always so nosy. He had to come and see what was going on and sniff the new "objects". He didn't seem to understand why I'd want to photograph them. Silly cats.
John and I spent about three weeks watching one of our friend's cat, Maisy. She was a stray cat that kept visiting our friends until they decided to start feeding her, and luckily, take her in. They made sure no one else was searching for the pint sized cat before officially taking her in. And let me tell you, they made a good choice. She's a super sweet cat that is so small that she probably weighs less than our own miniature, Nova. But then Nova was also super tiny when we took her in (also a stray), too.
Maisy looking a little demonic. She actually has an adorable golden, lazy-eyed look to her which makes her look extremely laid back.
It was sad when our time watching her was up. We had grown attached to Maisy Pie (as I affectionately started calling her). She was a shy little thing when we first started taking care of her and by the end, she was a head-butting, purring machine who loved her lazer pointer and oddly enough...her ping pong ball. But at least we know she's well taken care of.
As a thank you for watching their cat, our friends brought back some chocolate from the Old Chocolate House from Bruges, Belgium. Totally unexpected, but definitely appreciated. I don't know about anyone else, but I can't say no to chocolate (European chocolate at that). But honestly, we could have watched Maisy without expecting any sort of gift or payment. We enjoyed our time with her and I'm sure she enjoyed being with us too.
Our last day in San Diego, we went to the San Diego Zoo. It's huge and they have buses that can take you to different points as well as a ski lift type ride running north and south. The plants that they grow in the zoo are also for the animals and are actually more expensive than the animals themselves.
I heard some peeping coming from the plant/wooded section of one of the pathways
and these little guys came waddling out. Of course, once they came out people
began to surround them and the momma duck almost lost some of her
peeplings. I was not thrilled (and before anyone says I was distracting them too...
I was actually standing out of the way to allow the mother to keep track of them all.
Some kids chased two of the babies across a bridge and the parents didn't do a thing...ugh)
John and I went to San Diego a couple weeks ago and yeah...I'm just getting to uploading a few pictures from the trip. We had a ton of fun. We saw the Phillies play the Padres two days in a row, went to the San Diego Zoo, and visited Balboa Park. The weather was amazing, if a little cool at night. All in all, it was great.
So, on to the fun part and the reason for this post...pictures!
PETCO Park
Phillies fans might be the only one to appreciate this picture.
Chooch and Halladay.
Oh, and this one too.
An interesting shirt another Phils fan wore our first night.
So, not a lot has been going on lately. So why the lack of posts then, you ask? Because the past couple of weeks, I've either been sick or working and/or tired. Not a lot of fun there. But cool news, John and I (I have his permission to use his name, so I don't have to call him "the boy" anymore...which will make him happy) will be heading to San Diego to see the Phillies play. We're both pretty stoked and we have our Phillies gear ready to go (red, red, red!) and we're excited to see the guys in action again. Plus I'm excited to visit San Diego (we're going to the zoo too!) and enjoy their nice weather. I just hope it's not too "cold" for me!
John took this during the one day I was sick: Nova and I napping together.
Since it's been an uneventful couple of days (err...weeks?), I thought I'd give the short story of how I came up with the name for this blog. Most people probably won't find it that interesting, but I'm throwing it out there just in case anyone down the road is ever curious (hey, it could happen).
First off, I'm horrible with coming up with ideas for blog titles. I'll literally spend days and weeks trying to come up with something witty or cool until I get too anxious about not coming up with anything that I'll almost use anything that comes to mind first just so I can get started. How I could feel the pressure for a journal that wasn't even created yet, I don't know...but that's what I do. Anyway...
For this blog, I tried to think up something that would be related to both me and the Boy. Something that would tie us together without being too cheesy or too boring. It's probably a little nerdy, if anything.
Depending on your age, you've probably played - or at least seen - one of these games (or if you're not into video games, it's called A Boy and His Blob). The old NES version was hard! First, you had to figure out what each jelly bean flavor did to the blob (for example, the vanilla jelly beans turned him into an umbrella). That wasn't really the hard part. The way the game was made, it's just impossible to beat. The Wii version is almost nothing like the original. It's so much easier and frankly, a lot cuter. You don't have to figure out what the jelly beans do in the new version and the levels are fairly easy to beat.
So what does that have to do with this blog? Both the Boy and I grew up on old S/NES video games. We've both played ABAHB. And as I already said, I thought the new version was cute and I could picture us as the two characters in the game (although to be honest, I'd probably be the blob...I follow his lead more than he follows mine!). I guess the whole idea of the two being friends and depending/trusting each other made sense and honestly, it was the first game that came to mind that I could remotely tie to a relationship. And that's about it!
Maybe some day I'll find someone to create a cool header of the two of us as a mock-up of one of the games (hint hint).
And FYI, the Boy does not look like a blob...and I do not look like a boy.
I first saw this on Bloody Brilliant! and I thought it was pretty awesome. Why can't I ever be somewhere when they do a flash mob? I think it'd be so insane (and awesome).
Not much else to report today. I worked all day and it was rainy and I hung out with the boy (which always makes me happy) and...that's about it. All in all, not a bad day.
Last night the Boy and I went out for a late Valentine's Day dinner. Neither of us like the craziness of Valentine's so we always decide to do something special a couple days before or after when the crowds have died down.
We decided to go to Athens of 4th, which has quickly become our favorite Greek restaurant. It's a bit expensive, but the food has always been worth it (at least the two times I've gone so far).
We started off with an order of tzatziki (which is a Greek yogurt, cucumber, and garlic dip served with pita bread) for an appetizer and then I got the britzoles arnisies (lamb chops) and he decided on the fish of the day (which was a crab-stuffed Idaho trout). Everything was delicious and the staff was friendly.
Athens on 4th has quickly become our new favorite (Greek) restaurant.
Afterwards, the Boy really wanted to play Castle Ravenloft, so we spent the last two hours playing his new favorite board game (which we lost in the end).
