I just got back from singing at a Catholic wedding, and let me tell you, those Catholics are nutty! After singing the whole service, I had to get up and try to do a rousing rendition of Schubert's Ave Maria - after I'd already sung about 43 songs! Why does the hardest song have to come at the end? 
My friend Graham just stopped by! I haven't seen him since last summer. And he reads my blog, so I told him I'd give him a shout-out. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of him, so I had to put up a picture of graham crackers - like he's never been called "Graham Cracker" before. Sorry, friend.
Last night I went to a fondue dinner party at Jjack's house - and it was simply delicious. Jjack and Mr. Jack did the fondue work while the Psych Boys and I did the prep work on the dippables. We had quite the spread - bread, apples, tomatoes, carrots, zucchini, broccoli, red & green peppers, bagel bites, mushrooms, and the incredibly popular mini-toasts. Those mini-toasts were awesome - not exactly easy to spear with a fondue fork, but when used by fingers, the perfect mechanism to pick up cheese. And what good cheese! We used a classic three-cheese fondue recipe with Gruyere, Emmenthaler, and Appenzeller cheeses, with some nutmeg, white wine and garlic. So good. We ate it all.
Why is is so hard to find a roll of quarters on the weekend? I asked at three different places who wouldn't give me quarters - and one of those places was a bank. Yes, a bank wouldn't give me quarters. She said they were out of quarters and hundreds. OK, so this bank was in Meijer. They should still have enough quarters to give people on the weekend, when they know that folks are doing laundry and will need those extra coins. Seriously!
Nate and I went for a walk Tuesday evening, and ended up at the playground across the street from our apartment. Oh, what a good time. There was swinging and monkey bars and funny little knobby seat things that you had to balance on. It was tons of fun, I tell you.
It is no secret that I don't like Nickelback. Never have, don't expect I ever will. The sound of Chad Kroeger's voice makes me cringe, and his face ain't much better. That song "Hero," from back in the Spiderman days? It was probably the best of their tunes, and it was dumb. They reached what I thought was their low point with that "If everyone cared, nobody'd die" song, with the meaningful video about Amnesty International and Nelson Mandela. While I appreciate the sentiment, the song was atrocious, and I thought it couldn't get any worse.
(much before, actually, from back in January)
In a world of mom-and-pop dairies that provide excellent customer service and top-notch product made with only the highest quality ingredients, it's nice to know that there's still room for mega-chain ice cream stores like Cold Stone Creamery. Now, Cold Stone is delicious, for sure. On Friday I had one of their Signature creations, the Oreo Overload, with sweet cream ice cream, chocolate chips, fudge, and lots of Oreos - and it was good. Really good! Nate had the Coffee Lovers Only, and while I did not sample his concoction, it looked super yummy. But here's where my beef comes in with Cold Stone (and I don't mean that literally - leave the meat ice cream to Top Chef): why so many choices, and why the singing? Choices: yes, people want lots of fun things in their fun ice cream, but at our wedding, we're having five kinds of ice cream, seven toppings to choose from, plus whipped cream and cherries - and if you can't make something you like out of that, then too bad! I think Cold Stone would be well-served to get rid of the Gummi Bears and Nestle Crunch bars. Singing: people, you do NOT need to sing every time you get a tip. You do NOT need to turn TV theme songs, campfire classics and hip-hop favorites into Cold Stone songs, with Cold Stone lyrics! When Nate was getting ready to leave his tip, I said "Can we leave them the tip with the instructions to not sing?" He said no, and we were serenaded with the Cold Stone version of "SpongeBob SquarePants." I just wanted ice cream, is all.
I went to Bed Bath and Beyond yesterday in search of a wedding present for wedding #48 - and by the way, after looking through 19 pages of registry items and falling flat on two or three fun ideas, I gave up and just bought the coffee grinder - and I have decided that BB&B is full of crap. Literally. Don't get me wrong, they have good stuff, too, but they have a lot of shit that people don't really need, and this point is clearly illustrated by the MANGROOMER. From what I can tell, the MANGROOMER is an electric razor on a long-ass wand, so that a MAN can GROOM his own back. Genius, yes, but necessary? Not really, unless you're allergic to wax. But, for some reason, worthless as it is, I love the MANGROOMER. I think I really just love the name, and I love the manly black-and-red packaging. Beware, hairy men. I might fall victim to the appeal of things no one needs and get all of you MANGROOMERs for Christmas.
My blog has been very, very bad - and I blame the terrible twos. You see, for my blog's first birthday, I made a big deal - hooray, I've been writing for a year! But ever since my blog turned two, back in late July, it's been harder and harder to think of things to write about. And trust me, I've done things! I moved, went to three states I'd never been to before, found out that someone I know is having a baby, maybe booked my wedding DJ, and got to hire my first new employee. But at the end of the day, I don't want to rehash all that stuff. I want to tell you about funny clothes I saw or good food I ate, or the perks and pitfalls of trying new toilet paper. Althought, while I was writing that last sentence, I thought of two topics that might work...
I don't get it. Why are Vera Bradley duffels, makeup bags, garment bags and rolling suitcases so popular? I understand that the founders felt that there was a severe lack of "feminine luggage," but this is their answer? Quilted bags (that look like they're going to disintegrate at the hands of one burly bag handler) in slightly ridiculous patterns that look like my grandma made them. Why have they become status symbols - at least, among a certain set (I've never seen Britney or Lindsay with one)? I think they're super gross.
If you really want "feminine" luggage, here's my suggestion: go to TJMaxx, Marshall's, or Filene's Basement - not quite first-run, not quite resale - and check out their suitcases. If you can't find one in a bright lurid pink, you'll be sure to find something in a fruit or animal print pattern. And you won't look like you pulled Granny's ol' quilted dog carrier circa 1974 down from the attic.
I love junk food, and I'm not ashamed. I'm ashamed of my big fat belly, but not so much that I'll ever completely stop eating things like pizza rolls, nacho sauce from a can, and McDonald's french fries. However, I draw the line at Bosco Sticks. Bosco Sticks are basically hot dough with a hot cheesy center, and some "parmesan" sprinkled on top. Yes, they are delicious - I had a few Bosco Sticks in my day, and that first one right out of the warmer is heavenly. But seriously, Interlochen serves them in sets of three, and that third stick is enough to make a person barf. No one needs that many preservatives and cheese and "bread."
Why, oh, why did the worst injuries at this year's running of the bulls in Pamplona have to happen to Americans? The rest of the world already thinks we're obnoxious and stupid - and now we've proven it to them. Nice job, boys!
One of my new pet peeves is business establishments that don't accept tips on credit cards. I don't carry cash, and I pay for almost everything with my debit card. But I also like to tip manicurists and bagel preparers if they do a good job, and there are too many places around here that don't allow tips on credit cards. LAME!!! How am I supposed to reward good service if you don't take my plastic!?
I like a lot of milk in my cereal. A lot of milk. Some might call it overmilking. I want every piece of cereal to be wet, not just the stuff at the bottom. However, I do like the very top layer of cereal to be crunchy when I first start eating. So there's a very specific cereal-to-milk ratio. 
There's got to be a word for people like me, who jump on an Internet craze and just go, well, crazy.
Dear Chorizo,
Frannie Farmer asked me to write about comfort food, and for me, this is an easy one. Long before I was working on my wedding, the best way for me to cure my blues was a Brides magazine and a bag of miniature Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. The mini cups have the perfect peanut butter to chocolate ratio (MUCH better than the big ones), and part of the pleasure comes from the near-constant unwrapping. Just thinking about opening the little wrappers and popping the cup in my mouth, all while flipping through the pages of ads and flower arrangements, makes me feel a little warm and fuzzy inside.
