Family Video Time

12.29.2010

If you've watched New England news at all you might have seen Scituate prominently featured during the recent "Blizzard". Scituate is all over the news for fires, floods, and evacuations.

Since virtually every news team was in town talking to anybody that would show their face... there is a lot of "professional" footage on the web for you to see... but less shall we say "amateur".

Well after two days cooped up in the house, we were itching to get out and explore the "damage". Now to be clear, there is actually millions of dollars in damage done all over Scituate but fortunately we made it out nearly scott free.

So enjoy the video.

"Blizzard" video

12.27.2010

Surival of the Fittest

11.30.2010


I have come to the conclusion that I have been very lucky. I rarely have to travel to see family.... Which means that on days like Thanksgiving I have been able to marvel at travel horror stories. To be honest, I sometimes questioned the accuracy of the stories and wondered if perhaps better planning could have helped my friends/coworkers/colleagues.

Having made it through the traveling experience (NYC to Boston and back) in one piece, I feel like I can actually comment on this experience now. To be clear, I only went through Penn Station but that was pretty bananas. I saw couples fighting, luggage falling, babies strapped to parents, and news crews there to film it all. See I even took a picture as evidence ....
Sorry it's just of the news guy not the many many couples falling apart over Which track number they should be lining up for. I'm not perfect. I know this. Hell, the people that see my Sunday traveling outfit probably think I'm homeless... Until I take out my iPad that is.

But during my Thanksgiving trip home I decided to keep a list of all the things I found annoying about my fellow passengers.
  1. cellphone conversations that last through more than one state.
  2. immediate friendships with fellow seatmates. I'm not jealous of your friendship. You can keep it - but I really don't want to hear you swapping life stories as she praises you for opening her new headphones clam-shell case with your teeth. Not special 
  3. bananas. I don't even need to say anything else.
  4. respect for the line. I would love to know what goes through peoples minds when tracks numbers are announced or the train arrives and the doors open. I was clearly in front of you and so were the 8 grandmas you pushed out of the way.
  5. seat holding. There was a particularly bold woman on my trip back to NYC that held an extra seat for her 2nd blackberry and XXX vitamin water despite the fact that it was a SOLDOUT train. It's one thing to just put your stuff there but a whole other thing to lie and say the seat is taken. Karma is a bitch lady.
  6. smelly food. Yep, I know that I already wrote bananas but this happened more than once so you are going to read about it more than once.
So you don't think I am a cold, heartless wench of a 20-something. I have also made a short list of a few things that are totally okay with me.
  1. parents coordinating with children ... Especially when the kids are responsible for picking up the parents
  2. bringing a near excessive amount of loved ones to the train station to say goodbye
  3. taking a homemade pie on the train - even if you didn't share.
  4. sleeping children. Actually especially sleeping children...
Already looking forward to Christmas...

Thanksgiving Recap

11.29.2010

I meant to post this video before Thanksgiving but alas life got in the way... and so here it is after Thanksgiving.

I can't think of a holiday at home with family without thinking of this classic Ze Frank vid. I seriously laugh outloud each time I watch it. I strongly recommend checking out some of his others as well - but this is one of the best.



Who can't relate to that?

Although he's not doing video blogs this year, he did post a great collection of cat videos that I'm sure my sister will love.

Its Christmas

11.28.2010

so get ready.

I f-ing love Christmas. At some point, I'll write a post with perhaps a top ten list of my reasons but until then you'll just have to trust me.

My family is very laid back when it comes to holidays for the most part - except for Christmas. We love to decorate for the season... and as a result we were completely full-swing on the season as of yesterday ... before December 1st.

Since I'm spending more time in NYC these days especially during my favorite holiday season, I'm coming up with a list of things I'd love to try and do.... one of them ice skating. I'm honestly not sure why I really want to do this because I haven't skated in YEARS.... but I'm going to give it a shot. My friend Ria told me that there are 3 good "holiday" rinks to check-out so that's what I'm aiming for.
Rockefeller Center
So here are the ones that I'm targeting ... in no particular order:
  1. Rockefeller Center
  2. Bryant Park 
  3. Wollman Rink in Central Park
Since I'll probably be skating solo, I will have some really great self-portraits (joking) but at least there won't be anyone to capture me falling on my ass. Always looking for the upside.

So I've been busy

11.24.2010

One of the benefits of my blog is that I consider it almost like a repository of the things that I've done / seen / read / found .... so I feel a little guilty when I'm not on top of posting. Work has gotten busy recently and so the idea of posting 5 times a week is completely out of the question. At the end of the day I want to simply collapse in my Hilton bed and let the Chex Mix crumbs collect on the covers as I fall asleep. Yep, I eat from the mini bar at night when its been a long day. Sue me. I'm happy to pay a 200% premium on the personal size bag of Chex mix - you want to know why? I'll tell you. Its because if it wasn't a personal size bag, I would eat the whole damn thing.

Anyway.

You probably want to know if I saw any celebrities last week - or maybe you don't but I'm sure going to tell you anway.

I saw Bob Costas and Cris Collinsworth - both on Friday and both during my Amtrak adventures. No really crazy observations like last weeks sightings of scandalous politicians.... but Bob Costas is much shorter than I would have imagined. Although I'm pretty sure I never put much thought into how tall he was before...

I keep seeing all these people on my way to the train - never on the train - maybe someday I'll get that lucky.

An Actor, A Politician, and A Chef.... quite the afternoon

11.15.2010

As I previously alluded to on Twitter, I had a trifecta of "celeb" sightings on Friday.

I'm a pretty big celeb gossip follower. I don't have a particular celeb that I follow or am invested in - I just find it to be one great way to waste some precious time. (Sidenote: A few years ago, I actually gave up celebrity gossip for Lent).

Since I've been in NYC, the celebrity sightings have been few and far between - perhaps you remember when I saw "Wolfie" from Nine by Design and Gary Busey. Since then... NOTHING.

Then Friday happened.

I got to Penn Station a smidge earlier than I normally would for my noon Acela home to Beantown. Procured my Auntie Annie's pretzels and took a seat in the Acela lounge. This dude came into the lounge sporting sunglasses and a hat inside... huge give away. Turns out it was Victor Garber. Normal people would probably remember him from Alias or other shows/movies. Me? I remember him from "First Wives Club". Yep, I'm that kind of special.
Source: Victor-Garber.com
To be honest, I didn't remember his name, nor could I clearly hear him say his last name when he checked in... but after wracking my brain for a solid hour I remembered he was in FWC.

Then, Charles Rangel walked into the lounge. He was pretty boring - except the fact that he was rocking a slightly pretentious red pocket square.
I also didn't know who he was but knew he was a politician that was embroiled in a bit of scandal. This morning when I was getting ready in my hotel room I saw Rangel's mug on the screen in regards to his current ethics scandal. Today he was featured on the MSNBC homepage after he walked out of his own hearing. Apparently he decided that he didn't have enough time to prepare and now wanted to get a lawyer (despite previously declaring he would act as his own lawyer to save cash money). The 80 year old is being charged accused of 13 counts of financial and fundraising misconduct that violated House rules. Sounds like he's been naughty.

Lastly ... and most exciting if you ask me. I saw Tom Colicchio get off the Acela right before I got on. My dad is generous enough to share with me his Amtrak Acela upgrade coupons, so I was waiting to get on the First Class car when Mr. Top Chef judge hopped off.

I'm a pretty big "Top Chef" fan and can say I've watched all the seasons pretty faithfully with the exception of the "Washington DC" season. It seemed not so exciting to me. I wonder if Tom liked the food service on the Acela and which option he selected for his lunch: the crab cakes, asian chicken, or the beef sliders. Personally, I preferred the Asain Chicken... I'm sure he cares.

Penn Station can be exciting

So, I promised an update last week about my celeb sighting from Friday... and its coming I promise.

But, I figured a bit of a teaser would be fair since one of my "celeb"s is currently featured on the MSNBC.com homepage.
Source: MSNBC.com homepage at 11:30 AM

Yep, last Friday Charles Rangel was in the Acela Lounge as I patiently waited for the train back to Boston.

So now you know 1 of the 3 people I sighted at Penn Station on Friday. Stay tuned to hear the others... I know you are just riveted.

The meaning of life?

11.11.2010

A few weeks ago I posted a picture of a coffee mug that a family friend had given me ... that calmly instructed me to breathe deeply... now, I'm for sure working on that although the mug gets less use since its not travel friendly.

My mom gave me this pack of gum the other day that kind of fits into the same category as the mug.

I don't want to spoil the surprise for you in the event you are getting ready to run out to the store and buy your own "meaning of life" gum.... but I didn't figure out the meaning yet.

Still Confused. Still Hopelessly in love with technology.

Cool Art

11.10.2010

I'm a "business" person. I like the internet, spreadsheets, Google ... etc. When I try to be creative, it is usually in something that I can design via Excel. I'm not kidding. I "design" quilts via Excel and count fabric and what not that way. I'm pretty sure that is not what Bill Gates has in mind when he opens Microsoft Excel - but its one of the uses I have.

Regardless. I'm not super creative. I'm not a huge museum person either - you can ask my sister about our trip to Dublin. I almost waited outside the Museum of Natural something or other for her because I just didn't want to look at giant canvases.

BUT. I do appreciate art ...

There is this really neat exhibit called "Scattered Light" by Jim Campbell in the park outside my office building in NYC. I took a pretty poor picture with my Blackberry so here is one that was on the Mad Sqr Park website.
Source: Mad Sqr Art
Switched.com describes the exhibit as "is a 50-foot-long array on an 80-foot wide, 16-foot-high and 16-foot-deep structure supporting over 1,600 lightbulbs fitted with LEDs, which are programmed to display a low-resolution, moving image as individual pixels.

I'm pretty sure that I won't be able to describe how cool this display is - so here is the video that accompanies the Switched article.
It's pretty neat and I really love checking it out each night when I leave the office. If anyone ever visits me in NYC, I'm probably going to make them see this.

So be warned.

Wednesday is Link Day


So, I've been a little bit occupied with life (ahem, work... travel.... ) but I figured I'd share a few articles and links I've found over the last few days that I found interesting.

Now, no guarantees that you're going to find it interesting but hey, throw caution to the wind and click away.

1. Yes please! 
Google is giving employees a 10% raise.

2. How to get un-friended on Facebook?
This seems like common sense ... but hey, perhaps you have someone in your life that you are unwilling to un-friend and hope they'll pull the plug on your "digital friendship"

3. Do they write this just for me?
If you read my blog you know what I like - I honestly feel like this website publishes news that is meant just for me. Plus, they retweeted my Conan post from last week.

TWTRCON Nice analysis> TShirt promo drives followers: Hopelessly Techie: Conan + Twitter + Free Tshirts ... http://bit.ly/9PpZI7 by @FoleyJennifer 10:23 PM Nov 8th, 2010
Powered by blogatweet

4. Cool store
I passed this store on my walk back the office from dinner in Chelsea the other night. Now, I have no idea on prices ... or quality... but it looked so enticing. If only I didn't live in a Hilton....

5. Don't try and bring your printer on your next flight.
Who brings printers with them on flights?

So... enjoy.

Its Wednesday... which means its the middle of the week.... victory

I love my....

11.05.2010

get ready... you know you want to learn about my new favorite love ...

and ... its .... my ....

new Samsonite suitcase. I guess it technically is not new, since I've had it for 3 weeks - but just roll with me (pun intended).


One might ask any of the following questions:
"Why do you possibly love a new suitcase?"
"Its a suitcase, what's so special about it?"
"You got a black suitcase? How original"
But my friends. This new traveling companion of mine making traipsing around the streets of NYC, the Amtrak stations, and well my house.... a breeze.

So, I figure... I should probably make a top 4 list of the reasons why my suitcase makes my life easier. Now to be fair, I'm sure there are other great suitcases on the market - but I haven't bought a new suitcase since I went to college. So do the math, that was 9 years ago ...

Feature 1. Perhaps the most obvious. 
I love the spinning wheels. No more tired/sore arm from pulling my suitcase.

Feature 2. Extra "grabby spots"
I have not yet been left wondering how to grab my suitcase off a shelf, bed, trunk of a cab ... its incredible.

Feature 3. Spacious compartments. 
This picture probably doesn't do it justice ... but use your imagination.

Feature 4. It came with a dirty laundry bag!
Yes, I know I could (and probably still will) use the laundry bag that the hotel gives you... but sometimes they don't give you one ... and then where would I be?

Plus I got this sucker on Amazon ... and it came in 1 day ... for the lowest price on the market.

Conan + Twitter + Free Tshirts ...

11.04.2010

 = no t-shirt for me.

So, Conan O'Brien ... more specifically Team Coco .... is giving away 1,000 tshirts a day for 10 days as they approach the premiere of his new show on TBS. The marketing for this show is totally bananas. Between the webcams, the blimp, the Foursquare badges, and now the free t-shirts .... its hard to miss all the buzz.

But for some reason, I still thought there was a chance I'd be able to snag a t-shirt on Tuesday. At about 1pm EST, there was a tweet alerting TeamCoco followers that there'd be free t-shirts between 4-5pm EST. So, I got ready. I had two browsers open and was ready to attack the process.

In watching the page over the last few days, I've seen the number of followers grow rather exponentially at times. So I also thought it would be interesting to see how many Twitter users elected to follow TeamCoco during the 4-5pm window until the t-shirt code was given out.

Well, the code was given out at 4:16 and within 33 seconds of the code being published I had seen it, tried it, been rejected ... and taken a screenshot of the time and rejection.


So maybe you are wondering what the stats look like for Twitter followers during that time period - or maybe you aren't. But here is my highly unscientific data anyway. I was originally going to stop at the time the code was given out, then I extended it to 4:30, and then just went for the whole hour.
Note: The Purple line designates when the code was given out

So, that is how I spent the 4-5pm timeblock on Tuesday. Embarassing - especially considering I still don't have a Conan t-shirt - but I do have a great graph charting TeamCoco's popularity.

Update: Sharing is Caring

11.03.2010


Yesterday during my lunch break, I decided to finally pick a loan off of Kiva to donate to. I have been aware of this site for probably about a year or two and really admire the efforts and I guess the whole system/principle of microfinance.

And... since I don't explain things very well, here is how Kiva describes themselves:
Kiva's mission is to connect people, through lending, for the sake of alleviating poverty.
Kiva empowers individuals to lend to an entrepreneur across the globe. By combining microfinance with the internet, Kiva is creating a global community of people connected through lending.
Admittedly, I know little to nothing about microfinance except that it can be super powerful. The website has a "Facts" page that is updated daily to show the current impact:

Total value of all loans made through Kiva: $170,083,625
Number of Kiva Users: 780,777
Number of Kiva Users who have funded a loan: 494,900
Number of countries represented by Kiva Lenders: 208
Number of entrepreneurs that have received a loan through Kiva: 442,557
Number of loans that have been funded through Kiva: 232,831
Percentage of Kiva loans which have been made to women entrepreneurs: 81.85%
Number of Kiva Field Partners (microfinance institutions Kiva partners with): 121
Number of countries Kiva Field Partners are located in: 54
Current repayment rate (all partners): 98.95%
Average loan size: $381.48
Average total amount loaned per Kiva Lender (includes reloaned funds): $217.81
Average number of loans per Kiva Lender: 6.44

I've highlighted some of the line items that I think are most interesting/captivating/impressive.

I'm no mathematician but if they've loans $170 million out of 500k people - just imagine the impact if the remaining 280k people that have Kiva accounts but haven't donated yet. Incredible.

Anyway, my donation is just a drop in the bucket - but I'm really interested in the whole concept/model/success stories. When I was picking my loan to help fund, I really wanted to help a woman and the location was not too important to me. After wading through a few applicant pages, I settled on Martha Del Socorro Ortiz Baltodano.
Martha wanted a mere $475 to help grow her tortilla business (and a few small other things). I was the 2nd person to sign on to Martha's funding request - and this morning I got an email that Martha's loan had been fully funded! I could not believe that in less than 18 hrs, 17 people had donated to get Martha to her final goal.
 

I'm not sure when I'll do my next Kiva donation - but I do know that I'll probably be just as surprised at how fast the process is - and hopefully just as impressed with the amount of people that have joined/donated/contributed.


Note: I did learn a few weeks ago that my company's annual Charitable Giving Program lets  you pick the charity that you'd like your donation to go to - if you are financially able to donate. KIVA was an option for me - and so this year my donation is headed to them. I'm not sure that I get to "pick a loan" after the donation - but a donation to the general fund is still pretty cool.

Slight Price Difference

I've been a solid purveyor of legal music since iTunes came out when I was in college. I've been known to buy music to avoid writing papers, cleaning, and just about anything.
 Yesterday there was a promotion on Amazon that if you sent 5 friends an Amazon/Facebook gift certificate (each valued at $1 or more), you'd get $5. HELLO. I love free money - and I love giving small tokens of my affection. So, I dolled out 5 gift certificates to friends and family. I did run into one hiccup in that a few of my gift giving attempts got "rejected" in that something about their Facebook account setup wouldn't let me give them a gift. This was a bit sad for both parties - especially the ones I was trying to give a gift to.

Regardless!

Last night, I went on Amazon to puruse the offerings and saw that the new Taylor Swift album was for sale for .... $3.99. What? No? Not possible? YES POSSIBLE.
Since I have currently have a bank of iTunes credit, I figured I'd check and see what the price difference was between the two offerings. Well, it certainly wasn't pennies. The iTunes price is currently $12.70. Now, I think last night it was $13.99 because I remember saying "TEN DOLLARS. WHAT?"
I probably don't even have to tell you which one I bought. Half the time I listen to the whole album and only buy the songs that I like, at $3.99 I didn't even waste my time.... just bought the whole thing.

Makes me wonder how many people bought the Taylor Swift digital album from iTunes for full price ... and which they had checked Amazon.

Moral of the story? Amazon wins again.

Halloween in NYC

11.01.2010

I'm not a huge fan of Halloween. I'm not sure I ever really have been. I think costumes are okay - but I prefer the "creative" as opposed to the "revealing" - and as a female that might be a rather conservative view point. As a child, I am sure I had some really typical costumes although the only ones I remember are:
  • Dorothy (complete with picnic basket)
  • A clown
  • A cheerleader
  • A zebra
  • An Ace of Spades
.... and an Oreo cookie. I don't even like Oreo cookies.

Oh, and I hate HATE hate masks. I'm not saying that I can handle all types of scary - but masks are what make scary ... scary... if that makes any sense. When I got to Penn Station last night, there were a LOT of masks. Needless to say I got out of there and into my hotel room as fast as possible.

BUT. Once I did get to my hotel room, I saw this delight outside of my hotel room.
Now, this is admittedly a Blackberry photo... but it was pretty cool to see the Empire State Building in Orange, Black, and white on Halloween.

In the event you want to plan your next visit to NYC around what color scheme the ESB (which is now on Twitter!) is showing, they have a handy calendar on their website. This is in part how I knew to look for tonight's view... and that it would include purple.
There is even a Twitter account managed by an independent person to document to lighting.

I kind of can't wait for it to be red, white, and blue tomorrow.

Delaware, you are small but mighty?

10.30.2010


Its been a busy few weeks for me. Perhaps you've noticed by the infrequent blog posts .... or because you've secretly hacked into my webcam and seen the bags under my eyes. I'm really hoping its the first one.

But, last week I noticed that I had hit another milestone and since you read my blog - or at least are entertained by the pictures - you know that I only have one goal in life and that's web traffic. So Folks... I have managed to snag my 43rd state.

In honor of such a momentus occasion and the ONE PERSON that visited me from Rehoboth Beach ... I'm going to give the rest of you a list of 10 interesting facts about Delaware. Your welcome in advance.
  1. Small State - but not the smallest. Rhode Island is smaller.
  2. Lowest State. What does this mean you wonder? Oh, it means that Delaware's average altitude is the lowest in the nation at 60 feet above sea level.
  3. Most amount of Ph.D.s (as a percentage of population). Apparently if you do decide to live in Delaware, and you are smart - or just paid a lot for someone to say you are - you aren't going to be alone. All of your friends will be smart as well.
  4. Only state without a National Park. Sad.
  5. State dessert is peach pie. Which seems a bit confusing since Georgia is all about peaches right? I bet these two get into fights over this...
  6. If the conundrum over the state dessert wasn't enough for you, the state fish is called the "weakfish". I don't know about you, but I'd want something that at least sounded strong.
  7. If you thought I was over the whole "peach thing", you'd be wrong because the state flower.... is.... the peach blossom. Maybe this is how they fell in love with peach pie?
  8. At its widest point, Delaware is 35 miles across. This means that my friend Matt, who recently attempted to run a 100 mile race but had to concede at 75 would have been able to run from one side of the state to the other - and back.
  9. There is a law that says it is illegal for Rated R movies to be shown at Drive-In theaters. Good thing there aren't many drive-in theaters anymore...
  10. Since I love silly laws.... here is another silly one: "Alcohol may not be served in nightclubs if dancing is occurring on the premises at the same time."

In the spirit of accuracy - or at least reporting sources ... here are the websites I got my facts from... so don't be blaming me if they aren't accurate :)
Fact: 1 2 3 4 (link); 5 (link); 6 (link); 7 (link); 8 (link); 9-10 (link)

Excellent Advertising...

10.29.2010

Its no secret that I love Kraft Mac & Cheese. Its also no secret that I love my Tivo.

So what happens when there is a Kraft M&C ad on my Tivo? I don't fast forward through it. Seriously.

I saw one of the new ads maybe a week or so ago and thought it was totally hilarious. A quick YouTube search reveals that there are 5 of these bad boys out there and so I'm going to share them with you. Here are my 3 favorites:
"Homestyle Deluxe"


"Skimming off the Top"


"Punishment"


So as to not make this post too long... I'm going to send you to YouTube for the last two... Don't worry, you won't be disappointed you went:
- Opportunistic Crime
- Cheese Lover

Soothing Voices

10.27.2010

A few years back I was thankfully given a TomTom GPS. The GPS has traveled the country with me as I've taken vacations in various locales and nearly always brought me to my destination. Because of the solid relationship that we developed, I of course had to name my faithful companion and for no good reason I picked Fiona. Fiona has been a rock, despite the fact that in the nearly 3 years that I've had her I have not updated the maps once.

Dear TomTom, your map updates are way too expensive. I'd rather buy a new Fiona.
Keeping my bucks to me, Hopelessly Not Yours

And yet... TomTom still sends me emails although I really think I have unsubscribed 3-4 times at this point. Normally I delete them right off the bat, but I found this one entertaining.


I'm pretty sure I'd find all of these voices not the least bit soothing as I navigated city traffic. But since I love ranking things, here is the order I'd pick them:

1. Pepe Le Pew
2.  Bugs Bunny
3. Daffy Duck
4. Sylvester
5. Yosemite Sam

But since I'm not dropping bucks on maps, I'm certainly not dropping $12.95 on a voice when I have Fiona.

Sightings in the Big Apple

10.26.2010

A few years ago, I gave up "celebrity gossip" for Lent. It was challenging for sure - but very revealing as to how much time I was actually spending checking in on Britney Spears mental status or Paris Hilton's latest boyfriend. I'm honestly not sure why I find these things interesting or compelling, but I do. As a result, all of this time spent in the Big Apple brought me a bit of hope that I would see a celebrity or two. I managed to make it through all of last week without a single sighting but thankfully my luck has changed.

This morning, I was at Starbucks on 35th and 5th when I spotted a 12 year old in fedora. Now, I guess I can't be sure that it was Wolfie from "9 by Design" but it sure as hell looked a whole lot like him. Since we know I need to fact check even my own facts ... I found an article on AOL's Housing Watch that essentially said the family has moved on/out despite being unable to sell the pad. I'm not totally sure that the fam has up and moved to the other side of the town near me... but who knows.


So, maybe I'm wrong. But who knows. (Pic Source). All I do know is that I posted it on Twitter and Facebook - and if I post it there that means its true. No?

Moving on.

When I left my building for lunch today I saw a small film crew setting up right outside on the curb. As I was getting lunch yesterday, I saw signs posted throughout Madison Square Park alerting people that by being in the area they were essentially giving their consent to be on film, so I wasn't totally surprised to see more action today. One of the guys that I was with asked one of the crew what they were filming and apparently it was for a "documentary on trailers". Now, I lack a certain bit of clarity on what kind of trailers ...

A quick Twitter search revealed a bunch of pictures that people had taken including this one:

According to Twitter (not sure I ever thought I'd quote Twitter), Gary Busey is in town filming the Apprentice and taking part in a challenge with Lil Jon and Mark McGrath. Can't say, I miss seeing Mark McGrath but here's hoping I run into Lil Jon again and perhaps his Crunk Juice.

Target Audience?

In this day and age where email is nearly my primary way of communicating with loved ones - and businesses .... I expect that the messages that make it to my in-box to be pretty much on the mark with interest level.

So... you can see why I find it puzzling that Delta thinks that I want to go to Sao Paulo. I've never done any research on the region - or even the continent in probably 6-9 months and certainly not on a Delta website.

But regardless... the thing that totally blows my mind is why they think I'd like to leave from Detroit.

Dear Delta, I live in the Northeast ... and probably always will. No hugs for you, Hopelessly Confused


Little Kids are Cute

10.22.2010

I'm a sucker for a parody. Now, obviously the best parody is two fold. What fold you ask?
(1) funnier
(2) made with children

Thankfully, I stumbled upon one that suits those qualifications to a T.

So, take a break from your busy week and enjoy this little gem about Project Runway. I'm not sure which character is my favorite but you can't help but laugh at a little blond child butchering Swedish and sending a toddler designer on their way.

Life Update

10.20.2010

I started working nearly 6 weeks ago. I've done a bit of traveling since that fateful day .... including a week in the Washington DC area ... and now a week in NYC.

yep, as you can see from the picture... Times Square.

NYC is quite the adjustment from working from home. Beyond the obvious fact of having to "get dressed" each day, I am eating all of my meals from restaurants than the kitchen cabinets. The city sounds are far different from the beach sounds that I've become used to :) There was literally a jackhammer working outside my hotel window at 9:30 last night.

To celebrate that I've made it through nearly 6 weeks of work, I'll share the pictures I took during my last sunrise at Minot beach.




Hopelessly in love with the beach.

Sharing is caring?

10.19.2010

I don't pretend to get video games. I can't even pass the easiest of levels in Mario. My sister and I may be known for getting little brother Jake to come and do our dirty work for us.... and then letting us do a super easy level. In fact, Kerrianne got so frustrated last Christmas break playing Mario that she had to tie her sweatshirt over her face so she would stop yelling while my Mom was trying to have a work call.

True Story.

Oh, and here is the picture.

Anyway. I don't get video games. But, normally I get commercials. But I really don't get this one for DJ Hero 2. I find it super weird and ... bizarre. Yes, I know those descriptive words are similar - but they work. So check out this video and try to tell me that you understand why these people shared their braces, lip rings, and freckles.

Marketing Fail

10.18.2010

My friend Carrie sent me this picture this weekend from Charlottesville.

In the event you can't read the words (like me), she thoughtfully included what Dr. Scholls is hoping you do on this lovely marketing device.

Get this... they want you to REMOVE YOUR SHOES ... and then step on this platform. Yep, put your foot on this filthy measuring device so they can tell you what orthodic will fit your foot.

I'm not sure which part of the marketing department dropped the ball here ... but I think we also need to wonder about the people that are willing to take their shoes off in a CVS and step on the foot fungus breeding ground.

Amazon... you are the love of my life

10.16.2010

I've always been a huge fan of Amazon. I love the breadth of their product offering. I love the customer service. But perhaps above all, I love being an Amazon Prime member.

Amazon Prime has completely changed my buying habits. I hate going to stores even more now - why go when I can see if Amazon sells it? You might disagree with me, but do you have an Amazon Prime membership?

To show how diverse Amazon's product categories have become I'll show you all of the items that I've bought from Amazon in the last two weeks:

 Yes folks, that would be a compass for my brother, new carry-on suitcase, pomegranate k-cup tea, Athletic Foam Roller for my sore knees and .... a cake pan in the shape of a cat.


Oh, and I also rented a (poor) Katherine Heigl movie that was streamed to my Tivo for a mere $3.99. I don't blame Amazon for letting me rent this movie, but I do applaud how quickly and seamlessly it "arrived" in my living room.

So in conclusion.


Dear Amazon, I love you. Xoxo, Hopelessly Yours

Ten facts about Oregon

10.15.2010


So, yesterday I dedicated a whole post to my little sister's 23rd birthday. Because she has A LOT of friends on Facebook, I got a lot of hits on my blog. Now, I know the hits are related to her birthday but I'm going to pretend its because I wrote a ridiculously witty and sweet "electronic" birthday card.

But no thanks to her popularity - perhaps - I got a hit from Portland, Oregon the day before (Wednesday). Now, if you've been paying attention, you might recall that Oregon is one of the states that had yet to visit my blog. Since I have no idea what this person looked at - only that they came - I have to give the credit to the baby girl.

Regardless.

In honor of such an occasion as a visit from a new state, here are 10 "interesting" facts about Oregon so we can all learn something. Now, I think they are interesting and since I'm the blogger I get to decide. Fact.
  1. Oregon has more ghost towns than any other state. 
  2. Oregon and New Jersey are the only states without self-serve gas stations. 
  3. The small village of Bickelton is filled with bluebird houses seen on the posts of every house. 
  4. The Seaside Aquarium was the first facility in the world to successfully breed harbor seals in captivity.  
  5. The Carousel Museum contains the world’s largest collection of carousel horses.
  6. Oregon residents own one-fourth of the country’s total llama population.
  7. Has a law prohibiting the transport of babies on the running board of vehicles.
  8. In Portland, people are banned from whistling under water.
  9. Portland was named by the flip of a coin by its two original settlers, Asa Lovejoy and Francis W. Pettygrove.
  10. The State beverage is "milk" 
Less exciting, but also important.... Portland is an example of excellent urban planning (and known as City of Roses) ... Nike is the largest employer ...  Square Dance is the official dance.

Also, Vermont if you want your 10 interesting facts.... then someone from Vermont should leave me a comment indicating as such ... or I'll get bored and just do it without any request. Both are solid options.

Since, you know I love links - and accuracy. Here are the websites I got my facts from... so don't be blaming me if they aren't accurate :)
Fact: 1 2 3 4 (link); 5 6 (link); 7 (link); 8 (link); 9 (link); 10 (link)

Happy Birthday to my little sister!

10.14.2010


Today is my baby sister's 23rd birthday. In honor of such a memorable occasion, I am dedicating this post to her. She has many incredible characteristics of which I've chosen to highlight a few both through picture, video, and audio. Yes, that's right. Its a trifecta of incredible memories.

AUDIO
Let's start with something that obviously sets her apart from others. The way she describes circular carbohydrate treats. What are those you may ask? Bagels. I'm talking about bagels. Now, I know I promised audio - but you'll settle for an "audio" reason why she's bananas.

As you can see, Kerrianne's mother is not featured in the video ... and that is because she is traveling this week. But she kindly sent a Blackberry voicenote with her thoughts on how Kerrianne says bagel.

Now, Kerrianne is 23 years young and as you can see, she is so creative that she is the only one that I know that pronounces BAGEL in such a fashion.

PICTURES
Here is just a little album of some gems we've captured of Kerrianne in the last few years. She's such a peach and you can see it in all of the photos. (Hint: If you turn on "captions", you can see when and where each picture was taken.)



VIDEO
Lastly for the video.... I wish I had the facilities to upload some of our old family videos. There are some pretty choice ones of Kerrianne growling at fellow babies trying to take her cookies. Fact. But, she does have a thing for Disney movies and as you can see in this video ... she is clearly belting out one of her favorite tunes.

and perhaps the one that you all might have seen before... but a personal favorite of mine. This video is from our joint graduation party in May where she challenged me in an inflatable boxing ring in the front yard. I'm pretty sure that nobody will forget this.



So there it is. Happy Birthday little one!

Farmer's Markets.... are my weak spot

10.13.2010


Its Wednesday... and that means its Farmer's Market day in Scituate.

I am a huge sucker for crates of fresh fruits and vegetables. So delicious and inspiring. I anticipate seeing a lot of apples today, which will make me think about apple pie, apple crisp, or just apples with peanut butter. All great options.

One of the best parts of the Scituate Farmer's Market is getting tasty meat products from Harvest Food Club. I'll admit I was a bit skeptical of all the claims of delicious steak but our friends were not wrong. The steak is friggin' delicious. So today here are the things that are on my shopping list:
  • Niman Ranch Bacon ... Uncured Smoked Applewood (sinfully delicious)
  • Meyer "All Natural" Half Eye Rib Roasts (... a new one for the house)
  • Meyer Ranch Steak... Prime, Dry Aged, All Natural Sirloin (of course)
Harvest Food is featuring some delicious cheese as well from Pineland Farms in Maine. I might even pick up some Sharp Cheddar Cheese ... although the Horseradish "Spreadable" Cheddar sounds quite appealing.

FYI, I'm already thinking about the Steak.

Update: Amazon/Heidi Klum v. Lululemon

10.12.2010

Ok, I admit my blog title might be a bit misleading. As far as I know, there is no war being waged between these two parties - although Lululemon fans think there should be.

I find it a little surprising that there isn't much more out there beyond blog entries of people commenting on the shockingly similar designs. I would think there would be one article that would have at least contacted both parties and those individuals would have some legally approved comment on the matter. But I did not find anything ...

I did take a look at the Amazon Page for the HKNB line - that would be "Heidi Klum New Balance" - and saw the items designated as "Project Runway" pieces.


$168 - HKNB Project Runway Dress with Inserts
$158 - HKNB Project Runway Zip Hoodie with Inserts
$118 - HKNB Project Runway T-Shaped Top With Inserts
$98 - HKNB Project Runway Pant With Inserts

The designs seem to have changed just a bit from the original (see below pics from Lifetime website) which is not totally surprising given HKNB was going to actually sell the pieces, but what is shocking is the crazy price tag. Sorry HK/New Balance/Amazon but who do you think is buying this stuff? There is no way I'm spending this kind of change on something that I can't attest to the quality of.

 I'd much rather drop some bucks at Lululemon. In fact, I've been pining away for this Savanasa Wrap since it looks so comfortable - and it is ... I lovingly tried it on in the store pre-Labor Day. And, while I'm pretty confident I'm not going to drop $118 bones on this bad boy, I'm much more likely to do that than buy something from the HKNB collection.
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