Atlanta and Random Bits

I spent the weekend in Atlanta taking a course to get me just ONE MORE COURSE away from completing a designation for work. And when I say course, I mean....well, they call them Intensive Review Courses. Friday/Saturday 8AM-5PM, Sunday 8-10 with the final exam at noon. Yep. INTENSE!!!! It's efficient, but exhausting.

So I thought I would share some random bits---thoughts, observations, ponderings...you know, a bit of insight on what rolls around in my mind when I'm on my own for four days and my brain is on overload with smart stuff, but just wants to rebel with normal stuff.

Mmmmmkayyyy... Ready?

First, I really like the Atlanta airport. I feel like they actively work to keep it updated, clean and modern. I particularly enjoy the underground tunnels. I try and walk them rather than take the train when possible. Why? Well it's just one more example of their efforts of keeping the place spiffy. There are several really impressive art installations. And a really neat History of Atlanta display-both visual and audio.

Now at this point I really wish I could show you some of the cool snapshots I took to demonstrate just how cool it is, but alas. I can't. I can't because...well, I was in a little competition to see how fast I could walk from ticketing to concourse F. Yes, from T through A, B, C, D, and E to F. What's that? Yes I said a contest. Yes, mmhmm, I was traveling by myself. With whom? Why myself of course! Seriously, this is really what happened....I'm walking (fast of course because I had my little mapmyride app going) and the thought occurs to me...i rally like this airport -well as much as one should like an airport. You know, in a healthy I travel often enough to have an opinion on airports kind of way. So I thought...I should blog about this. It's so cool. So nice down here. Oh. I should take a few pictures to add. That would be nice. NO!!!! NO!!! Do not stop!!! You MAY NOT STOP!!!! You'll lose time. It's a race. Keep walking. So I did. Seriously, I really am wired that way. It's genetic I think (maybe one day I'll blog about it...if my sisters don't beat me to it!)---see what I did there? Keep up!


Moving on.

Second, this morning I wondered this....do you think these types of hair dryers were meant to be turned off by placing it back in the holder or by pushing the off switch? I always do the former. Never the latter. What do you think?

Third, check it.
Yes. Yes that's right....a WHITE travel pillow. Not good passenger in front of me. Not good at all for a traveling germaphobe like myself. Nope. I'd much rather be in germ oblivion with a black travel pillow. I mean really, who thought that was a good idea? Eck!

White?  Really?

Are you still with me?

Fourth, last night I asked the front desk person to recommend a good place for me to watch the last quarter of the game. The conversation went like this:
Me: hey where should I go?
FDP: you want bar food? Like wings?
Me: yeah that's fine
FDP: Taco Mac. Awesome wings!
Me: Taco Mac? A mexican place?
FDP: NO! (in disbelief that I would ever think such a thing). No its like wings and burgers. Really good
Me: so NOT Mexican and it's called Taco Mac?
FDP: yep. Come to think of it, I never even thought about that.

Hmmmm.....

Moving on!

How does one write a comment about negative people without being negative? Well, hmmm. I'll keep it at this.... I feel sorry for negative people and negative travelers even more. Life is way too short to complain and see everything as a deep sighing, frustrating, you're the only one in this situation deal.

I'm adding it to The List. No negative people in my life. If you're negative and I like you I'm going to remind you about my list. Then you will have to choose. :)

Finally, these two pictures were priceless while I was away! How can you not love them!

Jack and Teddy (don't judge their names!)

Sweet Aunt Sarah and Keira doing their best to WILL the Broncos to Victory

Oh yeah, in case you're wondering I did learn a few things from my class. I mean, did you know for near retirement aged people by delaying your social security payout to your normal retirement age or more it's an 8% increase in payout per year? WOW! Sign me up for that kind of raise!

Thankful Thursday- Part 2

No words. Only speechless utterances of thanks for this one. For this precious little miracle that came in to the world today. Little Milena you are loved and have the most amazing parents!

Welcome to the world little one. May you always know you are loved!

Thankful Thursday

It's Thankful Thursday!!!!

Did you know that?  Well, to be fair you probably didn't, because I just declared it to be Thankful Thursday.

So it is.  

Today I'm thankful for the advancement of transportation.  In a few hours I'll be hopping on a plane, be magically transported to Atlanta in just a few hours.  AMAZING!!!  

This is NOT Atlanta.  It's actually San Juan, PR, but it's taken from a plan, so it counts!

Speaking of flying....I'm also thankful for Louis CK and this insight!  THIS is GREAT!!!!  Amazing and Nobody's Happy!  Enjoy.

Declare what you're Thankful for Today!

Book Review- Defending Jacob

I consider myself a pretty active reader.  No, active isn't the correct word.  Maybe.....consistent.  Yes, consistent.  I'm a consistent reader.  No, that doesn't mean I read sentences at a regular pace.  I mean, I usually have a book going.  And it's probably accurate to describe me as a fast reader.  I can turn pages like carpenter bees on a new fence row.

Now, to be clear when I'm on vacation or when I get in to a good book....VORACIOUS.  INSATIABLE.  FOCUSED.  TOTALLY FOCUSED.  (I'm pretty sure this was the beginning of me getting in trouble when I was a child.  At the point when I was able to read a real book on my own my parents started pulling out "HOLLYALYSSA!!!!"  Yep, pretty sure.)

On a ten day vacation a few years ago ("few" as in...before e-readers were all the rage), I read five books in 8 days and still had to entertain myself on a long plane ride home.  I bartered with my sister for the book she had brought.  Actually, to be clear I think I badgered her to finish her book so I could take it with me.  And then still had to buy a book at the airport!

Typically, I read non-fiction.  But I do LOVE to get lost in a good fiction book.  I don't do sci-fi or fantasy.  Not in written or visual form.  Ever.  Can't do it.  My suspension of disbelief just can't be suspended that far.  So don't go hunting around these blog parts looking for a review of Hunger Games.      

So, I thought I would share my latest reads.  (No royalties.  No commissions.  Just good ol' HSpann taste testing.)

One of my favorite things to do over Christmas is devour a good book.  Santa always included a book in each of our stockings.  And by mid-day all of us had found a little corner of the house to hunker down and read, read, read.  It was so GREAT!  I knew I could stay up ALL night and READ MY BOOK!!!!    (Hey!  Mom, was this more of a strategy of keeping us quiet, rather than for our intellectual development?!  Brilliant.  Pretty brilliant.  Put that in your parenting handbooks all of you faithful readers!  Both of you.)

Ok, let's get to the review.  

On the Friday before Christmas I hunkered down with my iPad and started my search for a good book to get lost in over Christmas.  (Let's just say virtual book shopping can be VERY dangerous AND expensive at The Drayer!!!!!  Sweet Sarah and I can easily turn and burn books!)  

Since it was the end of the year, I figured to start with the Top Purchases list.  My search didn't last long.  I knew I wanted to read a suspense fiction.  John Grisham style (when John Grisham was good).

I settled on this little gem.

source:amazon.com

I had not read a Landay book before, nor had I even heard of this book.  But it did not disappoint!  

I started reading this Friday night around 9pm and finished it Saturday afternoon.  

Here's the teaser from Amazon:

Andy Barber has been an assistant district attorney in his suburban Massachusetts county for     more than twenty years. He is respected in his community, tenacious in the courtroom, and happy at home with his wife, Laurie, and son, Jacob. But when a shocking crime shatters their New England town, Andy is blindsided by what happens next: His fourteen-year-old son is charged with the murder of a fellow student.

Every parental instinct Andy has rallies to protect his boy. Jacob insists that he is innocent, and Andy believes him. Andy must. He’s his father. But as damning facts and shocking revelations surface, as a marriage threatens to crumble and the trial intensifies, as the crisis reveals how little a father knows about his son, Andy will face a trial of his own—between loyalty and justice, between truth and allegation, between a past he’s tried to bury and a future he cannot conceive.

I really liked Landay's writing style.  The pace of this book was well done---not too lost in details that were irrelevant, but enough red herrings to make me suspect several different endings.  

If you're looking for a book that will hook you in with the plot, that's written with realistic emotion and some twist and turns that create a page turner, give this one a try!

My review:  2 thumbs up!

Cocktail of the Month - Manhattan

Well, the time finally came for our first monthly Cocktail Hour. As outlined in The List, we are going to try one new cocktail per month with our good friends that live in Milwaukee....through the amazing world of technology, of course.

This plan was hatched not too long after I posted The List to my blog.  Shelley and I were on face time talking about The List, while Robin was also plotting how she could convince Shelley to try a new cocktail every month.  And so, voila!  The Monthly Cocktail Hour was born!  (Lucky for all involved!)  AND....for Christmas, Robin and Shelley put together a kick sha-booty basket that included all kinds of fun cocktail-ey, bartender-ey goodness.  And while we were out on the town in Chicago with them we set a standing virtual date....the first Sunday of each month.

Since this was our first one, earlier in the day we swapped texts yesterday regarding how this would work.

We have a plan!
Yes, the reference to Ruffie's might have something to do with a VERY potent drink I had recently....yowza!  But NOT to Cocktail Hour.

So, here we go.  The bar and ingredients, and of course, Sweet Sarah is ready to bartend! 

No idea why it's so blurry (I promise I hadn't been drinking at this point!)

The drink for January was a Manhattan.  (and I must say that up until last night I had NO idea it was STRAIGHT!!!!  stick straight.  no messin' around, ALL Al-key-haul!!!!)

Cheers!!!

And then.......then.....I'm pretty sure I channeled Steve Carell in "40 year old Virgin" when he has his chest hair waxed.  

HOLY.MOTHER.BE THOU MY VISION IT'S UNLEADED DIESEL MY THROAT IS ON FIRE BURN BURN BURN JOHNNY CASH NO YOU DIDN'T DEEP BREATHS...DEEP BREATHS IN THROUGH THE NOSE OUT THROUGH THE MOUTH.  BREATHE.  BREATHE.....

REALLY???!!!  REALLY??!!!  People really drink these things?

Shelley and Sweet Sarah had nearly the same response.  I remember hearing, "well that'll put hair on your chest."  Robin on the other hand?  Well, she likes Jack.  Jack Daniels.  So this little sweet thing in a glass was right up her alley!

But to be fair I think we should apply some sort or ranking or rating to this Cocktail of the Month.  So here it is (I'm totally doing this without the other participants.  Next month, we'll do this virtually and I'll report out.  Perhaps, they'll be so kind to comment below)

Ease in Making:            Easy Cheesey
Standard Bar Ingredients:  No.  Two kinds of Vermouth?  Come on!
Palette Pleasing Rank:     Wicked!  Not pleasing!


Needless, to say this is how cocktail hour ended....Wine.  A nice glass of red wine!

So, stay tuned for February.  Rumor has it the cocktail might be a bit sweeter.  

Pet Cemetary

Apparently Lebowski was getting pumped up for the big game today. He killed ALL of his favorite toys today.

Chicago, New Year's and NYD paint project

Whoa!  I just looked at the date of my last blog....December 28.  It's been a long time since I last blogged.  And, of course, a lot has happened and I've been pretty busy (and also a little under the weather).

[CONFESSION:  I've always had this dreamy little idea that even on the days that I wasn't feeling well, I would be witty and wise and post a few updates.  Maybe some cute pictures that I found on Pinterest. Share some of my deep thoughts.  Nope.  Didn't have it in me. Why is that a confession, you ask?  I'm not sure.  Really.  I'm not.]

Ok, moving on.

We went to Chicago.  It was a wonderful little get away.  The timing was perfect.  A perfect time to get away, what with some heavy work stress leading up to the holidays.  And the perfect time to be in the city.  Michigan Avenue was lightly traveled.  The bars/restaurants had little to no wait times.  It was nice.  And cold.  Windy.  Yes, it was windy.  A few highlights.....

• Strolling up and down Michigan, braving the cold and just feeling like "city people".  Walking to breakfast.  Strolling around.  Checking out a park.  Stopping in the middle of the day to catch a drink at a trendy bar.  You know, stuff non-city people imagine real city people do on the weekend.   [NOW HERE'S A REAL CONFESSION!!!!!!.....As much as Sweet Sarah and I like to think that we are city people, the truth is...We.Are.Not.City.People.  Not even a little bit.  Well, maybe me a little bit more than Sweet Sarah.  One morning we walked about 10 blocks to breakfast.  It was worth the walk as the meal was fabulous!  But Sweet Sarah didn't like the cold walk one bit and there proclaimed she is not a city girl.]  Nevertheless, we had a great time!

Fun carolers in Millennium Park

The infamous self portrait in the Millennium Park Bean

• Top meal highlight: VOLARE.  Hands down.  OHMYLANTA!!!!!!  We are trying to figure out how to get it shipped to Ohio.  WOW.WOW.WOW.  Italian food perfection.  And I must say, I don't even like Italian all that much.  It's just ok to me.  But this place.  Well, no words.  If you go to Chicago, you MUST go there!

• We also got to spend a really fun evening with our good friends.  Went to a great tapas place and then a fun little blues place in Lincoln Park.  Great laughs.  Good times.  

What else since December 28?  Oh, well of course New Year's Eve.  WILD, I tell ya!  Just WILD!!!  By choice, Sweet Sarah and I settled in to a quiet evening at home.  It was nice and relaxing.  Sweet Sarah did insist we stay up until midnight.  Crazy women that we are!

And as is my New Year's Day tradition (I counted this the other day....9 of the last 10 years I have painted something on New Year's Day.  Most often it's a room, but sometimes it's furniture).  So this year I painted an armoire that is in my office.  This is actually the second time I've painted this armoire. And I'm totally pleased with how it turned out.  Check out these pictures.

I bought this in 2001 for $75.  It used to be in a Hilton hotel room.  Pretty sure it weights 6,000 pounds!

This is what it looked like last Tuesday.

Here's Jack helping me prep the cabinet

Here's the finished product for 2013.  

So, here's to more frequent blogging!  And a GREAT 2013!!!