Birthday celebration at the Asgard and a late night T ride

This Saturday we went to the Asgard in Cambridge for my friend Ashley's birthday. I love the Medieval feel of the place. My favorite part is the giant wooden door that leads back to a private room.

The best part of the weekend was taking the T home at 2 a.m.! This is a huge deal for Boston. The B line was packed. I hope the trial run is a success so the late night weekend service becomes permanent.

What do cats think of us

I've lived with cats since I was a child and I've often wondered what cats think of us humans. Being that it's been a rainy lazy Sunday, I was doing a little googling about the relationship between cats and humans and came across this interesting article.

According to biologist Dr. John Bradshaw cats see us as a larger non-hostile cat. As for cats’ attitudes toward their owners, Dr. Bradshaw thinks they regard them not as kittens but as a combination of mother-substitutes and larger, non-hostile cats.

I like the idea that cats see as as another cat. I think Derek can confirm that my cats treat me as a "mother-substitute" so it's only fair that I refer to them as my fur children.

I'm a planner

I'm a planner. I don't like flying by the seat of my pants. If I have plans with you I want to know where and when as soon as possible. One of my best friends is not like this at all. She likes to leave things up in the air until the last minute. For example, her birthday party is tonight and she still has not said where we're going. I've known her for a long time so this is nothing new but it still drives me crazy.

When I got shingles two years ago it was from stress over my bathroom being renovated. Nothing was going as planned and I was freaking out. I was told it would take 2-3 days and it took 5 days and I had no running water and a giant hole in the floor where you could see into the basement. Basically nothing went how it was supposed to and my body was like nope nope NOPE. Here's some shingles for you.

I blame my mother for having to plan everything. She is the same way. It works out well when we travel together because we both over pack and have everything you could possible need. We have printed itineraries and show up to the air port hours early. That's just how I like it.

Derek and I are flying together for the first time to St. Thomas in May. I've already looked up things we can do in St. Thomas, info about using your cell phone (phone calls cost more but data does not) and how to take a taxi (there are no meters, you ask them how much it is person). Derek probably thinks I'm nuts but he let's me do all my crazy planning so it works out perfectly.

Planning is winning at life! (Ok, planning is so I don't have an anxiety attack or get shingles)

Wines That Rock

I've mentioned before that I usually pick my wines by the label design. If it's weird, pretty or different I'll pick it up. I was in the liquor store in the super market near Packards Corner when I came across rock n' roll themed wines.

How awesome are these labels! I love how they blended the wine to match the music.

It was a tough choice but I was in the mood for a white wine so I went with the Woodstock Chardonnay.

Here's the description from Wines That Rock.

"The Woodstock Chardonnay opens with an enjoyable eclectic mixture of rich pear, mineral, and papaya aromas followed by fresh flavors of Asian pear apple, citrus, and tropical fruit with great acid on the finish."

"Some other areas, they make Chardonnay that's very mute, it doesn't have a lot of expression, so they tend to throw a lot of make-up at it in the form of oak or malolactic fermentation which creates a strong buttery character. Around here, we just let the fruit shine and make very pure wine. I get a lot of Asian Pear Apple flavors out of this, certainly some tropical fruits in there as well and some great acid on the finish of this wine. It makes me think of bottled sunshine - really the idea behind this wine." 

This is one tasty chardonnay. I found it very refreshing and you can really taste the hints of fruit. The Woodstock would be perfect to make a nice white sangria.

I can't wait to try some of the other wines. If you go to Wines That Rock dot com you can look up where it's sold.

I think I live beyond the wall

This is pretty much my life right now every single day.

Derek: I wonder if it's cold out today?

Me: Well apparently we live beyond The Wall now so I'm going to say YES.

Winter is staying forever I'm afraid. What do leaves on trees look like? I can't remember.

One month until my vacation. I have to keep reminding myself of that or I'll go insane.

Unrealistic YA casting in movies and tv shows

My lovely blogger friend Nicole posted a link on facebook to this article asking if every YA action heroine must be petite. After participating in a little facebook discussion, it sent me on a little thinking tangent about how unrealistic most YA casting is.

My current casting pet peeve is Theo James as Four in Divergent.

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I have nothing against Theo James. I loved him in Downton Abbey. My issue is that Theo is 29 playing an 18 year old. I'm sorry but there is no way he is passing for a teenager. Even Shailene Woodly is giving Theo the side eye about this.

Tv shows do it too. One Tree Hill, Dawson's Creek, Smallville (noticing a WB trend here...) all cast people that do not look like actual teenagers.

Here's the One Tree Hill cast.

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"We have so many "teenage" problems!"

Here's my senior year photo.

I would have fit right in One Tree right? Check out those braces.

I understand casting directors want to cast attractive people who have already gone through the awkward teenager phase but it's just glaringly unrealistic. This is why I love My So-Called Life so much.

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An interesting tidbit is that Alicia Silverstone was up for the part of Angela but they gave it to Claire Danes because they thought Alicia was too pretty to have all of these teenage insecurities. I would have loved to look like either Alicia or Claire in high school by the way.

Let's take a look at some of the differences between One Tree Hill and My So-Called Life.

Things that happened on One Tree Hill:

Expensive weddings, going on tour, starting a fashion line, hanging out with Pete Wentz, living alone as a teenager in high school while your parents send you money.

Things that happened on My So-Called Life:

Friends growing apart in high school, crushing on the bad boy, crying over everything, rebelling against your parents, teenage alcoholism (done realistically) and general teenage social awkwardness.

Yes some of these things happened on One Tree Hill too but anything realistic was over shadowed by the over the top events that did happen and portrayed by actors who do not look like your typical teen.

I understand that One Tree Hill is a soap and reality is not the top priority here but the problem is there are too many shows like One Tree Hill and not enough like My So-Called Life.

Ok tangent/rant is done! It felt good to get that all out. Theo James I'm sorry you couldn't be on Downton Abbey longer.

Facebook really tests my patience

I'm facebook friends with a childhood friend who really drives me insane sometimes. She recently found out she is pregnant with her third child. The father is a guy she had been dating for a very short amount of time and they are no longer together. She is on welfare and does not work and in my opinion should not be bringing another child into the picture.

Her facebook updates are non stop complaining about people being all in her business and yet she posts all of her business on facebook for people to comment on. In the past I've told her to be more private if she doesn't like what people comment or to de-friend them. She never does and the truth is it's because she likes the attention.

Lately I have been biting my tongue when I really want to let lose on her. I decided that it's not worth it because she will never learn and she is looking for a reaction. I've considered de-friending her but I'm facebook friends with everyone else in her family (I was very close with her two sisters growing up and as a result would often spend time with her as well) and part of me reads her status updates because of the drama in the comments. It's way better than any soap. I may just hide her status updates if I get too ragey.

My new facebook rule is to only comment on positive facebook updates. If you're complaining all the time about petty things I'm not going to comment. I'm trying to be more positive in my status updates as well. It can be too easy to fall into the facebook negativity trap.

Rooting for the bad guy

The other night while watching House of Cards I realized that I root for Frank Underwood even though he is a horrible person. It got me thinking about other characters who are bad people but you still can't help but root for them. Here are a few that come to mind.

Frank Underwood - House of Cards

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Frank is a ruthless politician who gets what he wants and will manipulate, use and sometimes even kill anyone who gets in his way. Why do I root for Frank? Most of the characters on this show do horrible things for their own good. Frank just happens to be the best at it. He's smart and devious and I like the idea that you (the viewer) are "in" on what he's doing. Frank's wife Claire also gets a shout out here. She's just as involved in his political wheeling and dealing and has amazing fashion taste which is reason enough for me to root for her.

Tate - American Horror Story

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Oh Tate, you did so many horrible things on the first season of American Horror Story. In the end I just felt bad for him. He clearly had psychological problems and although he got what he deserved at the end of the season I was still rooting for him and Violet to "live" happily ever after.

Dexter Morgan - Dexter

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Dexter might be the most obvious choice. He's a serial killer who kills bad people. There was one point during the series where he couldn't kill anyone and I actually felt bad for him! What is wrong with me?

Gemma Teller Morrow - Sons of Anarchy

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You thought I might put Jax on here? I could have but I think his mother's moral compass is a little more skewed. Gemma is one bad ass bitch. She will do anything to protect her family and the Club. She is a master manipulator and you better do what she wants or she will wreck you. I find it interesting that she often puts her husband and the Club ahead of her own son. I root for her because she's fierce but we also get to see her vulnerability. 

Walter White - Breaking Bad

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From science teacher to drug lord I stuck with Walter the whole way, and he did some pretty bad things. Walter could have been anyone. He was a normal guy who was not happy with his life and I think many people can relate to that. In the end Walter admits that everything he did was for himself. One of the better series endings I've seen in a while.

Ben Linus - Lost

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Ben was only supposed to be on Lost for a few episodes but Michael Emerson was so good they kept him on and eventually made him a main character. Ben did some awful things and he didn't think twice about it. When was he lying and when was he telling the truth? The writers and Michael Emerson would constantly make you question what side Ben was really on. I rooted for Ben because his character was so fun to watch I didn't want him to die and be off the show.

What are some "bad guys" that you root for?

So I kind of "went" to Anime Boston. I happen to work right near where the convention is held so my co-workers and I walked around a bit to check out all the costumes. We saw fat batman, Mario, a few Doctors and a Tardis. I walked by Tuxedo Mask and wanted to get a picture with him but he was in line to get into the convention and I had to get to work.

I met up with my friend Ashley and her boyfriend Andy for dinner and drinks. We then went back to their hotel room and hung out there for a little bit. Ashley had a Sailor Moon t-shirt. I am so jealous and need to get one for myself. As a kid I was a HUGE Sailor Moon fan. I had dolls, I had a lunch box, I had a problem....

Of course I had to take a photo in the hotel room mirror because I am secretly still a teenager deep down.

I had a fun time but Friday nights are tough when you're 30 and work full time so we headed home around 12:30.

I am totally getting that t-shirt by the way. I don't care if I'm too old for it.

Watching the Fall and I'm thoroughly freaked out.

I've been sucked back into watching shows on Netflix. I've been blowing through House of Cards and decided to take a little break and start watching the Fall.

I love a good mystery/thriller. I especially love to be freaked out by a movie or tv show, except when it's time for bed and I have nightmares. I didn't expect the Fall to freak me out but I was very wrong. I'm weird in that paranormal and alien stuff freaks me out more than serial killers. That is probably not normal.

The Fall is an exception. Ten minutes into the first episode I was thoroughly freaked out and really thankful that I do not live alone. If I watched this back when I lived in my studio I would have had a hard time falling asleep. The cats do not help because if they aren't asleep they look up at every noise and I automatically start to panic. I only slept well because Derek was right there and we have bars on our windows (first floor city living baby!)

The Fall is a crime drama about a senior police office investigating murders in Belfast, Ireland. I think what freaked me out so much is watching the serial killer stalk his next victim. Throughout the whole episode he is stalking this young professional woman and he looks like a completely normal guy. He has a wife and two kids and works as a counselor. 

And good news ladies! The actor who is playing the serial killer in the Fall is none other than Jamie Dornan, you future Christian Grey in the Fifty Shades of Grey movie. Perfect casting. Jamie does some expert creeper stalking in the Fall.

Run agent Scully RUN!

Just look at the flowers

Woke up with heartburn this morning. Fun times. Luckily it got better as the day went on. Overall my reflux has been doing fairly well but I've been letting my diet slip a bit so I need to be a little more careful.

I got to Skype with my brother and his family today. My nephew was running around like a little maniac. I was exhausted just watching him but he is adorable. My sister in law is due at the end of April with baby number two, a girl.

So the Walking Dead tonight....wow. It's been a while since there's been an episode that made me go "oh my God!" What a sad but great episode. Carol is one of my favorite characters.

"Just look at the flowers Lizzie, just look at the flowers."

Say no to tutu overalls

I have been out the past three nights. It's been fun but I need some down time at home.

Boston has been celebrating St. Patrick's Day all weekend. I have no plans to go out on Monday. I've had enough of the crowds this weekend. 

It was warm enough on Saturday that I could open a window. The cats were thrilled as was I. I walked to TJ Maxx to try to find a few summer dresses for St. Thomas but I couldn't find anything I liked. I walked into Urban Outfitters just because it was nearby and walked right back out after about two minutes. That store has gone so downhill. I used to find some cute things there once in a while even though I always found their clothing overpriced. Now it's like the biggest hipster crapfest I've ever seen. They were actually selling tutu overalls. Who would buy that? It was on the sale rack so I hope that means that no one was buying that. I came home and ordered a few things online. I hope something fits. I haven't been having the best luck with online shopping lately.

After my little shopping trip Derek and I went to Redbones and met up with Todd and Katie. We left around 9:30. Just can't do 3 nights in a row like I used to.

Double standards on the Real World Ex-Plosion

I finally got a haircut. I was starting to resemble the girl from the Ring for a little bit there but my hair is looking much better now. I went to my usual hairdresser, Liz at Back Bay Hair Designs. Hopefully I won't wait so long between cuts next time, it was kind of embarrassing.

This season of the Real World is really pissing me off. More specifically the men on this season are pissing me off. Every single guy in the house has slut shamed one of the girls at some point. The double standards are so glaring it's sickening. It's totally ok for one of the guys to get a phone number or bring a girl home but when the tables are turned it's suddenly not ok.

The worst example was when Cory's ex Lauren found out she was pregnant from a guy she slept with before she came on the show. Cory flipped out on her but Cory had been sleeping with Jenny before Lauren came! Jenny even said "that could have been me, I could have gotten pregnant" to Lauren. So it was ok for Cory to sleep with someone else but not for Lauren? And on top of that back when they had first started dating Cory thought he got some other girl pregnant and Lauren stayed with him! That crap just gets under my skin. Thank God I have a blog where I can rant about people on reality tv.

Can popping perfect popcorn be considered a life skill?

Despite being very tired it was so nice out today that I walked home from work. It's supposed to snow again on Thursday so I need to soak up all the nice weather while I can. I noticed some buds on trees which made me happy.

Derek made fish for dinner and as my "desert" I made some popcorn. I've been on a homemade popcorn kick lately. I forget how much better popcorn tastes when you make it yourself on the stove. I'm very skilled in stove top popping. I should add that to my resume.

Does anyone else think that Sheryl Sandberg's Ban Bossy campaign is just a tad ridiculous? Do we really need to ban words to empower women young women to be leaders? You don't empower a young woman by banning words. You teach her that words only have power over you if you let them.

I'm going to empower myself with a haircut tomorrow. I desperately need it.

Solve this fashion puzzle

This morning I woke up and it was snowing. I put on my snow boots and headed out to work. By the afternoon it was in the 40s and the snow had melted. This time of year is really impossible to dress for. I'm appropriately dressed in the morning and overdressed by the end of the day. I just want to bust out the Toms and flip flops.

I decided to walk home from work since it was nice out and the Green line had a train derail. It's nice to still have sunlight when I leave work. I noticed a couple other people wearing winter boots so at least I wasn't the only one.

Derek is working late but I'm supposed to meet up with him for a drink on his way home. I'm currently debating if I should download "Let it Go" from Frozen. I've been trying to avoid it but I've been walking around singing it in my head nonstop. You can't escape it! It's everywhere!

Just an FYI - Ke$ha is out of rehab and is now going be Kesha. I'm not sure how I feel about this. Since my last name starts with an S I might just have to take over the $.

Ladies night with my cousins

I certainly made up for my Friday night in with a night out with my cousins on Saturday.

My cousins Alexis and Lauren made the trip from Waltham to head out with me in Allston. Our original plan was to go to Bon Chon but it was too packed. We'll have to go on a week night when it's not so insane. Our backup plan was Sunset across the street which did not have a wait. I ate a little too much but that's pretty much a given at Sunset. If you can resist a full plate of their spinach artichoke dip on pita chips you need to teach me your secrets.

It was Lauren's first visit to Sunset and I think she enjoyed it.

We then decided to go to Tavern in Square so Alexis could dance and so I could feel really old. We found a good spot by the bar though so it wasn't that bad. It was a nice reminder of why I'm glad I'm not 21 again.

Alexis was clearly not ready for this photo. Oops.

Today I finally made it to season 2 of House of Cards. I'm completely sucked in. I also went to Target to try to find yoga pants and that didn't work out so well. I couldn't find any that I liked. The styles are weird and I feel like I shouldn't be paying $34.00 for yoga pants from Target.

I slept way too much today and now I'm wired. Should be fun trying to get to sleep tonight. I need to work out to try to burn off some of this energy so I can get to sleep and not wake up at 4 a.m. Hopefully daylight savings will help me feel a little more tired.

Friday night couch recovery

I am exhausted. Last night Derek and I went to Sidebar to celebrate my former roommate Todd's birthday. $7 pitchers of Bud Light and delicious curly fries were consumed. I woke up this morning feeling very tired and briefly thought it was Saturday and thought I could just roll over and go back to sleep. I quickly realized it was not Saturday and dragged myself out of bed.

It was a long day at work but I made it through. The other assistants and I have been eating lunch in the food court lately. It's great for people watching and gets us out of the crowded lunchroom. There was a convention nearby that involved many teens dressing like "business professionals". Apparently "business professional" to teenage girls means heels you can't walk in and the shortest dress or skirt possible. I wore some pretty questionable things in my teens so I can't judge too harshly.

Here's what "business professional" should look like in case you were curious.

Despite being tired I decided to walk home from work today. I felt a little guilty after the fries and beer last night and I knew the second I got home I wouldn't want to exercise. I'll be spending the rest of my Friday night on the couch.

Remember Better Than Ezra?

My friend Monica is coming to Boston at the end of April to visit and asked if I wanted to see Better Than Ezra with her. The answer of course was yes! I love 90s music.

Better Than Ezra is usually known for their song "Good" but I think this song might be my favorite.

The last 90s band I saw live was Our Lady Peace when Derek and I first started dating. I hope they come around again because that was a great show.

A reason to celebrate

Derek and I went out for dinner last night to celebrate some great news. My biopsy results came back from my endoscopy and I do not have Barrett's esophagus! I'm so relieved.

Our original plan was to go to Jimmy's in Brookline since they were closing soon and have this white pizza that I love. Turns out they closed sooner than I expected. Rumor is that they plan on opening a new location in Boston proper. I hope they do.

Luckily Brookline has many great restaurants. We headed across the street to the Publick House and I ordered my favorite dish, the mac and cheese. To drink I went with an Allagash White which, is one of my favorite beers. I'm lucky in that beer does not normally bother my GERD. I just have to remember to not stuff myself full of food and not drink too fast.

Our waiter was great and comped us a round of beers just because.

Cheap sunglasses are the way to go

I never pay more than $25.00 for a pair of sunglasses. Why? Because I will lose or break them within a year. Sometimes I run over them with my car, sometimes I sit on them and break them with my butt. Then there are the pairs that are just gone. I got these glasses for $12.50 at Aldo. I really like them so I hope I don't break them in a new weird way.

River Gods in Cambridge

I went to River Gods two weeks ago and took these photos in the bar. I completely forgot about them until I was going through my phone. I don't make it over to Cambridge much these days due it being on the other side of the river from where I live now, but I should make more of an effort.

River Gods has the weirdest/coolest decor. I guess I would describe it as Irish Gothic with a dash of gift shop. The fake plastic snakes hanging from the ceiling are certainly an interesting touch.

I didn't eat dinner there but I did demolish a plate of brie and bread with jam.

River Gods is a short walk from Central Square. It's tiny so get there early if you want a seat.

Grilled cheese to go at Cheeseboy

Classic with basil. Can't decide if it's good or bad to work close to a grilled cheese stand. My mouth says it's all good.

I should probably bring my lunch to work tomorrow.

Self-pity helps no one, especially yourself.

I will be the first to admit that I am very good at feeling bad for myself. Seeing that written out is a little embarrassing. Self-pity is not something you want to be good at.

Let's take a look at the actual definition.

  "Self-pity: feeling of pity for yourself because you believe you have suffered more than is fair or reasonable."

"pity for oneself; especially : a self-indulgent dwelling on one's own sorrows or misfortunes"

Feeling you have suffered more than is fair or reasonable? Self-indulgent dwelling? These are not words that I want to define me.

This why I've declared 2014 the year of no self-pity. I can whine and complain all I want but that's not going to change my stomach problems. I can be angry at someone else's good fortune but that's a waste of time and energy.

You have to face your own problems and not compare yourself to other people. By dwelling on what you can't change you will not move forward and you will not be happy.

Now I'm not saying you can never have a little pity-party, what I'm saying is don't make your whole life one giant pity-party. That really sounds like a horrible party.

Now I'm all amped up. I want to watch some TED talks and high five everyone.

Don't be fooled. This cat is possessed.

Bosco may look sweet and innocent but he is possessed. That's the only way I can explain the exorcist level of vomit that greeted me in the living room this morning. It was everywhere.

He very "nicely" tries to cover up the vomit by dragging anything nearby into the vomit such as a boot or sock. Maybe I should just leave a roll of paper towels on the floor.

Hello March

It may be 25 degrees out but it's March 1st and the sun is shining! I'm giving myself permission to start thinking spring like thoughts.

Reasons why March is going to be pretty great:

+ Daylight savings. Bring on the longer days!

+ Spring break. I'm not a college student but spring break means less crowded trains which makes my daily commute so much better.

+ St. Patrick's Day. I don't usually go out on St. Patrick's Day anymore but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy a Guinness and paint my nails a nice pretty green.

+ Divergent movie. Can't wait!

+ Two months until our vacation to St. Thomas!!!

I know I've been a bit hard on you in the past March but you're starting to grow on me.