Jen Lancaster Book Signing!

Friday May 8th my friend, Eva and I went to the Jen Lancaster book signing of her newest memoir, Pretty in Plaid here in our nation's capital!!!! We went to her book signing last year as I posted here. We took a picture with our favorite author last year, but we decided it just wasn't necessary this year. Ms. Lancaster had a really long line (more than 200 people wanted a signed book!) and we were in the second hundred people to get her autograph, so we just felt she didn't need to do that for us. Oh, we are so selfless!

She read an except from the book which is super awesome because even though her writing has a lot of voice, it is even better to hear her tell the story and the little anecdotes thrown in. It was a HUGE turnout. I think maybe it even freaked her out. Last year it was nearly as many people, but it was at a store in the suburbs not on the Metro.

I got really nervous as we got closer to her because you don't want to stand there in silence, it seems a bit rude really, but she doesn't have time to have a real conversation. I decided to thank her for signing and say that we were at her signing last year. She then asked (as she had on her blog) if this year was a better location and then asked if people live in the city here. We told her yes it is a better location because of the Metro and lots of people live in the city (Eva and myself included) as well as the 'burbs.

She is such a champ. After looking at her book tour schedule I just don't know how anyone could keep hopping from town to town every single day for weeks with a smile on their face. But by golly, she had a smile on her face! She did fall off the little tiny podium they had her stand on. She posted on her blog (or was it twitter?) that she fell off because she was tired. I contend it was a freaking tiny podium and anyone would fall off. It's not you Jen!

She had posted on her blog that she wanted the fans to "show her their '80s" --meaning wear '80s clothes and bonus points for authentic hairstyles. The book is mostly about her life back in the '80s and she LOVES the '80s (as do I) so she thought the fans would rock this out. Turns out people weren't into, or like me, busted down to the bookstore from work and just didn't have time to do the wardrobe change. I personally wore a polo shirt (she is really big on those! with popped collar!) that was pink and green striped. The cover of the book is argyle socks that are pink and green. I managed to hit the color scheme, but did not pop my collar. My shirt collar just would not do it.

She told us that she has a contract for two more books! I am excited. Please keep doing book tours! We love you!

Memorial: Bea Arthur

In case you haven't heard, Emmy award winning actress Bea Arthur has passed away. She starred in my all time favorite television show, The Golden Girls. Not so long ago I professed my love of The Golden Girls in this post, when we remembered her co-star, Estelle Getty.

Bea Arthur was the lynch-pin of The Golden Girls. When she decided she was tired of doing the show after seven (7!) seasons, they renamed show with the remaining three tremendous actresses, Golden Palace. Golden Palace only lasted one season, it just wasn't the same without Bea Arthur.

Not so long ago I was working on a project and feeling pretty low and watching the seasons of The Golden Girls on DVD really helped me get through it. Two of my close, wonderful friends got me started owning the DVDs at my last birthday. It was such a great birthday gift. Even now, if I am feeling low, I turn on an episode and start to unwind. It is very soothing for me. Almost as if they were my friends.

Makes me look forward to being an old lady.

Not to leave you hanging but here are some awesome quotes by Bea Arthur's character, Dorothy.

Dorothy after Sophia (Estelle Getty) says something grossly inappropriate (as she is want to do) to a house guest: "You'll have to excuse my mother. She suffered a slight stroke a few years ago which rendered her totally annoying."

Sophia asking for money (because she always wanted money, usually stealing it out of Dorothy's purse), as usual Dorothy wanted to know why she needed money.
Sophia: "I need the money for my old age."
Dorothy: "Old age? You don't leave fingerprints anymore."

There are many more hilarious moments--go enjoy them yourself!

Happy Easter

I don't think I have professed my love of Easter Candy on this blog yet.

I LOVE EASTER CANDY!!!!

Easter candy is the best because it is different than the candy all the rest of the year. Originally peeps were only at Easter. (I love a stale peep.) Cadbury Eggs are one of my favorite things to eat in life. I have been eating about one a day for weeks now. Let's call that the Cadbury Egg Diet. The Cadbury people are genius in that they have made Caramel Eggs and Orange Eggs in addition to the original. The husband LOVES the Orange Egg.
In my hometown there is something called Opera Cream. I didn't realize that was something unique to my hometown until I started looking for it here in DC and asking people if they knew where I could get some. Blank looks ensued. Let me tell you---Opera Cream candy is the absolute best. Back in the hometown you can even buy something called an Opera Cream cake from various bakeries. OMG!!! So good. My mom visited last weekend and she came armed with Opera Cream Eggs for me and my husband. I am so lucky!
Robin Eggs, although they are Whoppers in a different outfit, just taste better in different colors. This only occurs at Easter. My family will just devour a bag of Robin Eggs in less than a day. Clearly, I have learned all my good eating habits at Easter time.
Here is where I should tell you that I do not like jelly beans. Never have. I requested that the Easter Bunny bring me Swedish Fish instead. The bunny always did this for me. That is my own little Easter tradition.
Halloween and Christmas just have normal candy in a different colored outfit. Valentine's does have some different candy, and I do love a good conversation heart, but Easter still wins out.

This will seem like an afterthought, but it isn't. Easter is a time of year to feel hopeful. Christ died for our sins and then rose to Heaven. He gave us all a second chance at getting it right. I know that the economy is in bad shape and that we all are either hit by it or scared of what might happen. I am choosing to take this time to feel optimistic and hopeful for the future. Join me?

Great Movie!

We recently saw Duplicity in the movie theater. I think it was a fantastic movie! The characters seem well cast, the movie was well acted, and the storyline was intriguing as well as well developed. There were many layers to the movie and I really needed to pay attention to follow along. I was actually confused at points because the movie does that thing with the current time and then flashbacks but I never know when the flashback is over and the current time is back on. I am apparently remedial about these things. I watched it with my husband and my friend and neither of them had any problem following the story.
I really liked this movie because it was really a movie, let me tell you why. First, the characters were developed enough for the movie but you didn't need more story from any of them, nor did you feel like you were stepping into a story that already existed and you were somehow left out. The plot had a point and once it made it the movie was over and I for one, did not leave feeling like I needed more story. It wrapped itself up nicely.
Second, the language was not for children but it at no point pained my ears to listen to it. You know what I mean with the just incessant barrage of cursing and whatnot that some movies do. The movie was for adults and the dialogue was adult content and I appreciated it.
Furthermore, while there were sexual implications and scenes where the two main characters are in bed, but there is no sexual activity involved. The two main characters are in a relationship that develops over the movie but it isn't all "I love you more, no I love you more," nonsense. And you at no point see anyone seduced or any of that nonsense either. Is anyone else sick of everything being sexualized?
The best part of the movie (in my strange little mind) was that no one was shot nor was anyone killed any other way or anything! It was wonderful! The movie is about corporate espionage and this all can be very compelling without bloodshed! Woo!
Go see it and tell me what you think!

Grand Cayman, yes, but why is the rum gone?

Our last port on the cruise was Grand Cayman. We desperately needed to get off the boat and sit on the beach already!!! by this point of the trip. We had yet to be in the ocean. Yes, we were on a cruise in the Caribbean Sea. Um, yea. I'm not bitter.

I did apparently from the pictures enjoy taking pictures of my feet. Whatever that was about.

The beach, as you can see, was quite beautiful. It is called Seven Mile Beach. It was open to the general public at various parts. We rented chairs and floats. It was very enjoyable. The water was very clear and the sand very white. Interestingly, the sand must have been imported to be a beach because in many parts you could see the black lava rock that was the real beach. Who cares? I was finally in paradise and I was going to enjoy it.

We were scheduled to snorkel that day with the Stingrays in "Stingray City" but it was cancelled due to the horrific weather we had the entire trip. Even pulling up to Grand Cayman early that morning it was so windy and the boat rocked so much that it woke us up. Looking at the pictures it looks normal. So deceiving. Gah. I believe Stingray City was on the other side of the island and that was apparently much more choppy water.

We and the in-laws enjoyed several hours that morning on the beach and then went back to the "city" part of the island called Georgetown. I say "city" because it is about five streets, five congested with tourists streets, but five streets. Grand Cayman the island is very small. Our friends said they had rented a car and toured the whole city in one day. We were just wanting beach SO HELP ME. We wanted lunch so we did the pure tourist thing and went to Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville restaurant. I did, in fact, eat a cheeseburger in paradise. Ha! Husband on the other hand, being a silly goose, ordered a pizza. What was he thinking? He realized he should have ordered a burger. Boy, after cruise ship food for days and days, did that burger and fries taste good. And so did the house beer.

The really cool part of Margaritaville---the FREE waterslide in the restaurant!!! Yea, free and in the restaurant. Amazing! I went down it twice before my food came. Little bit later the mother-in-law went down twice as well. Everyone else was a total party pooper. Too bad for them. We had a great time! I tell you what, the cruise ship had a waterslide but it was for kids, never open, and the weather was terrible for the pool on the boat. Gah! After days of the ship's slide taunting me, I was getting on that waterslide.

Bliss.

We shopped after lunch. Apparently that is the thing to do on that island. The beach thing I guess is quite secondary. That was odd to me. We bought some Caribbean rum and rum cakes to bring home and share. We did a little rum tasting with friends. Don't ever do that by the way. Rum tastes mostly like rubbing alcohol by itself. Blech. The rum cake we tasted on the island in the store was delicious. The cakes we brought home were a bit, well, disappointing. I don't think anyone even believed that what we tasted on the island was good. Sadness.

But I did get to say, "Yes, but why is the rum gone?" Hilarity.

My spidey sense for bags led me to find these bags that are apparently not sold in the USA. Parazul is a brand of bag that has just a few styles but you buy different scarves and charms to put on them. They look so Caribbean to me (I think it was the colors) and I was so jealous that people could drop several hundred dollars on one of them. And then you have to buy the charms and scarves! So jealous of the monies. (The small wristlet was about 80 bucks.) So wishing I had many monies for the bag. Even though I have no where to use it. But who cares right?

Sufficiently tired (I went back on the boat nearly kicking and screaming, please don't make me go back!!!) we tendered back to the boat for the night.

Oddly, even though it was the place to shop and we saw people dropping bank left and right people were scurrying back to the boat "so they could eat their free lunch." Gah. Really? What a waste of beach. In the distance is a Carnival cruise boat approximately the same size as ours and our ship is behind it. We spoke to a young couple with small children who were on the Carnival cruise and they were supposed to do a similar itinerary and their ports were changed due to the terrible weather. It wasn't just us being unlucky or the cruise line. My friends were on a cruise with the Bare Naked Ladies the same week in the Caribbean and their itinerary was changed all around as well. Boo to bad weather. Yay to pretty beaches.

Ultimate Fans

We watched the STEELERS play in the Super Bowl on the cruise ship, as I have mentioned. We went with a group from husband's mother's hospital. ALL OF THESE PEOPLE are from the Pittsburgh area. It goes without saying they are STEELERS fans. I do not think they allow you to live there otherwise. I am telling you from personal experience these folks are off-the-hook about the STEELERS. My hometown is not nearly as zealous in its devotion to sports teams. That is a shame really. Anyways, we meet half of the group in baggage claim and they are ALL dressed in black and gold and/or outright STEELERS stuff. Husband and I were in hoodies without any STEELERS about us. I think they were disappointed. Husband for sure is a fan, but not like these folk. A couple on the trip told us they had a different STEELERS shirt to wear every.single.day of the cruise. Wow. That is all you can say about that. The cruise coordinator and her partner brought decorations for all the cabin doors, as you can see below. Two superfans that I forced to be in the picture (the one on the right is the MIL).

Husband and I decided we were going to be very embarrassed if the STEELERS did not win.

We went to the bar on the top level of the ship to watch the game. It was sans commercials, I didn't mind. Not a great picture, but you see all the black and gold and "terrible towels."

After the game was over we went downstairs to another bar to watch the post-game and hang out. I do think the head coach is a hottie. There I said it. The husband knows. (The cruise coordinator was lucky enough to sit in front of the TV while I took these pictures, she is clearly thrilled.)

Our family after the game plus the other young guy who was on the cruise with us. I think he was pretty disappointed that there was not really a single lady to be found on that boat. Well, single and under 80. Poor thing. We all tried to have fun anyways!

GO STEELERS!

My Life is Soooo Interesting

We went on a cruise to the Caribbean recently, as I mentioned in my last post. I have yet to put the put pics on flickr, nor even get them off the cameras. Gee, I am feeling pretty lazy seeing that typed out. So...I will just mention a few things without photos to enhance their splendor.

First and foremost--THE STEELERS WON THE SUPERBOWL. In case you didn't know. You probably did unless you intentionally weren't paying attention. We watched the game via satellite without the commercials (kinda weird right?) in the top floor lounge called "Vortex" (that named always made me giggle a little because my hometown amusement park has a roller coaster with the same name). The whole group that we traveled with was there in their various jerseys. It was a very good game and quite exciting. Until the end it was anyone's game. It was exactly how a Superbowl with the allegedly two best teams should be played. I will post some pics of our hijinks later.

Second, everyone keeps asking how the cruise went. Clearly a very normal question to ask. Um, I am reluctant to elaborate too much as to why but we did not care for it and there is about a 1% chance we will ever cruise again. It was not the boat's fault, it was not the people who work on the boat's fault, it was not the people on the cruise. We just don't care to travel that way again. It just doesn't suit us. I will (if I get my act together) post some pics and stories of the good things that happened.

I can share one story without photos. Our room was at the front of the ship and it had a window (as we requested and paid for) but the neat thing about it was that it was more like a window seat. It was a very deep space that we could have both slept in if we wanted. When I show you pics it will be more clear. I guess I could get all architect-y and draw it in section, but frankly, I bet you don't care. One of the nights that the boat rocked so much that we were woken up (yes, it was a regular occurrence) I reach out for my husband and he is not there. It is 5:30 AM.
Me: Honey? Honey?
Him: Yea.
Me: Where are you?
Him: In the window.
Me:
Him:
Me: Why?
Him: I am watching us come closer and closer to Grand Cayman. I have the binoculars out and I am looking around.
Me: Ok. falls back asleep

I think it is funny and cute that he could say "I'm in the window." Maybe you had to be there.

Finally, our poor cats were left at home in care of our friends (they did a great job) and we were feeling very guilty. We went and bought them a new cat toy! We brought home this toy from Cat Dancer that is pretty much a long piece of felt on a stick. The cats went wild. We are officially rock stars in our cats' eyes. All is forgiven.