This past weekend was filled with craziness.
My good friend Lizzie (with whom I am moving to Boston) turned 25 yesterday!
Obviously this milestone could not go past unnoticed.
On Friday night we were going to have a chill night in East Nashville. Jordan, Lizzie and I met at my house beforehand for a quick round of catchphrase and Jackalope beer. Really, what is a birthday without catchphrase?
Unfortunately, Jordan had a headache, but didn't mind playing along. He decided to give Lizzie and I the clues...and whoever did not say the answer first had to drink.
We quickly found that Jordan gives clues a little differently than we do:
"Ok, this state is east of Nebraska."
"Idaho, Illinois, Pennsylvania!"
"No, it's North of Kansas."
"Missouri, Arkansas, Arizona!"
"Seriously?"
We finally hit our groove until Jordan resorted back to geography.
"OK, this runs through TN and South towards..."
"The River!!"
"The river?"
Despite our less than stellar catchphrase performance, we made our way to rosepper only to find there was an hour long wait.
We finally sat at a table and quickly proceeded to play "Never Have I ever."
The night quickly fell apart after that with stops at 3 Crow, Red Door and 308.
Apparently I drank a raw egg. Gross.
I'll fill you in on Saturday/Sunday tomorrow :)
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
V-Day
Yesterday was the first day I didn't wear black on Valentine's Day in a looong time. I didn't feel like mourning the void where my heart used to be or participating in any bitter acts of outrage at the Hallmark holiday.
Normally, I celebrate Valentine's Day with my friends, drinking beer and eating pizza. One year in particular, I remember hosting our annual "boy's generally suck," party when my housemate's boyfriend surprised her with a bouquet of roses. She wasn't expecting him to come at all. This display of emotion sent me spiraling into tears. Obviously, my emotions were/are out of control.
Yesterday, I shared my day with someone who makes me laugh.
It was perfect.
We went to eat sushi together at a local restaurant, followed by a trip to the movies to see The Vow.
The Vow was basically what I expected: predictable plotline, flat characters and the eventual resolution in the lover's favor. I just enjoyed spending time watching a romantic movie where I didn't feel the need to throw up at the end.
Sidenote: The Notebook is my favorite movie.
After the night was over, I drifted into a peaceful sleep...
until about 4AM, when we were rudely awakened by a pounding on the door.
A woman was frantically screaming that someone was trying to kill her and to call the police.
I called 911 while still in a daze. Apparently the neighbors had a drunken disagreement and someone tried killing someone else with a cooking knife...
and fire extinguisher.
Love living in East Nashville, but sometimes it can get a bit hectic.
Normally, I celebrate Valentine's Day with my friends, drinking beer and eating pizza. One year in particular, I remember hosting our annual "boy's generally suck," party when my housemate's boyfriend surprised her with a bouquet of roses. She wasn't expecting him to come at all. This display of emotion sent me spiraling into tears. Obviously, my emotions were/are out of control.
Yesterday, I shared my day with someone who makes me laugh.
It was perfect.
We went to eat sushi together at a local restaurant, followed by a trip to the movies to see The Vow.
The Vow was basically what I expected: predictable plotline, flat characters and the eventual resolution in the lover's favor. I just enjoyed spending time watching a romantic movie where I didn't feel the need to throw up at the end.
Sidenote: The Notebook is my favorite movie.
After the night was over, I drifted into a peaceful sleep...
until about 4AM, when we were rudely awakened by a pounding on the door.
A woman was frantically screaming that someone was trying to kill her and to call the police.
I called 911 while still in a daze. Apparently the neighbors had a drunken disagreement and someone tried killing someone else with a cooking knife...
and fire extinguisher.
Love living in East Nashville, but sometimes it can get a bit hectic.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Happy Valentine's Day!
During advisory, I had my students answer some questions about love and Valentine's Day.
Here are the most interesting responses:
•With Valentine’s Day coming up next week, what is your most romantic memory?
Alone with dat special girl in the bed.
•Have you ever been in love? What does it mean to be in love?
No, I'm too lazy to honestly do any of that.
I have been in love (still am) and for me, being in love means never getting bored with my partner and feeling really strong feelings with and about that person.
•Describe your perfect date.
Would have to be me just going out to eat. I'm always hungry.
My perfect date is: dinner then go to a movie (so I can put my arm around her).
•Describe your perfect mate.
Someone who listens, doesn't like to argue, doesn't like drama, someone I can relate to, has a good personality, like to have a good time and knows what she wants to do and and become in life.
My perfect mate is someone who smiles all the time, cute, a lot in common, sweet, gets me stuff just for being Thusday!
•Who do you know that’s in love that you would like to be like as a couple (family, friend, celebrity, etc.)
My friend has had a girlfriend for four years, and they're still together. I would like to see what that's like for a day, but no longer. That's too much of a hassle for me.
Here are the most interesting responses:
•With Valentine’s Day coming up next week, what is your most romantic memory?
Alone with dat special girl in the bed.
I don't know how I'm supposed to answer that while trying to keep a "cool factor."
When I was at the movies and she started smiling and I was in there before I went to the bathroom we went outside and I told her to turn around then the ring was in her face.•Have you ever been in love? What does it mean to be in love?
No, I'm too lazy to honestly do any of that.
I have been in love (still am) and for me, being in love means never getting bored with my partner and feeling really strong feelings with and about that person.
•Describe your perfect date.
Would have to be me just going out to eat. I'm always hungry.
My perfect date is: dinner then go to a movie (so I can put my arm around her).
•Describe your perfect mate.
Someone who listens, doesn't like to argue, doesn't like drama, someone I can relate to, has a good personality, like to have a good time and knows what she wants to do and and become in life.
My perfect mate is someone who smiles all the time, cute, a lot in common, sweet, gets me stuff just for being Thusday!
•Who do you know that’s in love that you would like to be like as a couple (family, friend, celebrity, etc.)
My friend has had a girlfriend for four years, and they're still together. I would like to see what that's like for a day, but no longer. That's too much of a hassle for me.
I love this blog...
My best friend Jenna writes a blog.
Since I want to be just like her in every way, I "write a blog" too.
Kind of.
Recently, Jenna wrote this blog. Please read it and love it :)
http://jennabruning.blogspot.com/2012/02/fresh-tomatoes.html
Since I want to be just like her in every way, I "write a blog" too.
Kind of.
Recently, Jenna wrote this blog. Please read it and love it :)
http://jennabruning.blogspot.com/2012/02/fresh-tomatoes.html
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Superbowl Sunday
Last Sunday, we celebrated the big game at Brad's house.
I made my famous buffalo chicken wing dip (thanks Jenna!)
There was such a spread of food and friends...I was nearly in heaven.
I got there when we played a game of Catch Phrase (during the middle of the game when I got really boring).
It's always great to have a new person play the game. In this case, Brad's roommate Joe got the catchphrase and immediately read the word he should have tried to get everyone to guess.
"Living Room! Oh, is that not how you play?"
I can't remember all the clues that were given that made me laugh so hard, but anytime I start crying from laughter, I know I'm having a good time.
I made my famous buffalo chicken wing dip (thanks Jenna!)
There was such a spread of food and friends...I was nearly in heaven.
I got there when we played a game of Catch Phrase (during the middle of the game when I got really boring).
It's always great to have a new person play the game. In this case, Brad's roommate Joe got the catchphrase and immediately read the word he should have tried to get everyone to guess.
"Living Room! Oh, is that not how you play?"
I can't remember all the clues that were given that made me laugh so hard, but anytime I start crying from laughter, I know I'm having a good time.
That same night...
After my parents and Jenny left the bar, Kerri, Paulette and I felt obliged to continue our night.
We made our way to Troubadour's, a karaoke bar.
There are any number of interesting people one can meet at a karaoke bar, but that night, one person stood out in particular.
He approached me with the confidence only someone from Texas would have.
He asked me if he could buy me a shot or something along those lines. That southern accent barely intelligible over the roar of off-key singing.
I immediately directed this kind man to my sister, Kerri. I'm really sweet.
"She's visiting, buy her a shot!" I offered graciously.
"No, I want to get you a drink, not your sister."
"I'm sorry, I can't even see you, you're wearing camo."
Thus started a night of banter that eventually ended with me giving my (real) number to the only guy who has ever been able to keep up with my New York attitude for more than 30 minutes.
Sprinkled throughout the night were bouts of karaoke, including a rendition of "Proud Mary" and an Elvis Presley song dedicated to the "Cornell girl in the corner."
Paulette and I sang our little hearts out with some well-timed dance moves to boot.
When we got off the stage we could tell Kerri was impressed.
"Did you two choreograph your movements?"
We made our way to Troubadour's, a karaoke bar.
There are any number of interesting people one can meet at a karaoke bar, but that night, one person stood out in particular.
He approached me with the confidence only someone from Texas would have.
He asked me if he could buy me a shot or something along those lines. That southern accent barely intelligible over the roar of off-key singing.
I immediately directed this kind man to my sister, Kerri. I'm really sweet.
"She's visiting, buy her a shot!" I offered graciously.
"No, I want to get you a drink, not your sister."
"I'm sorry, I can't even see you, you're wearing camo."
Thus started a night of banter that eventually ended with me giving my (real) number to the only guy who has ever been able to keep up with my New York attitude for more than 30 minutes.
Sprinkled throughout the night were bouts of karaoke, including a rendition of "Proud Mary" and an Elvis Presley song dedicated to the "Cornell girl in the corner."
Paulette and I sang our little hearts out with some well-timed dance moves to boot.
When we got off the stage we could tell Kerri was impressed.
"Did you two choreograph your movements?"
My family came to Nashville...Pt. 2
Flashback to Friday, January 13th:
When my parents came to visit, they decided they wanted to go to the Honkey Tonks. Like whoah. Not only do my parents not drink...but Jenny (who was 16 at the time) was with us, and I knew she wouldn't be able to get in the bars after nine.
Needless to say, I was not really a proponent of this family night on the town.
Nevertheless, I, the ever-obliging hostess took my excited family to Broadway. After being rejected from entry at the first four bars, we finally made our way into Rippy's (no bouncer at the door).
I immediately got some liquid refreshment, something to calm my nerves. Long Island Iced Tea(s) to be exact. My family sat at a table right in front of the musicians and listened with glee (!) to some rousing live country music. The violinist was really talented, which kind of saved the performance.
She was so talented that she inspired several people to give her things. The most memorable gift was when a man decked out in camo came up to her and gave her a mason jar full of liquid moonshine. Only in Nashville. Awesome. He preceded to serenade her with his duck whistle. I believe he also left her a pair of wading boots. Quite the gentleman.
We were witness to a group of older women getting down with their bad selves. One woman got down by way of slipping on the floor, another by some combination of grinding and dropping it low that probably wouldn't be acceptable behavior at a club, much less a country music bar.
At one point a man from Boston drunkenly stumbled to the stage and asked to sing. To my surprise he was actually really good.
After his performance my mom felt compelled to tell this perfect stranger that I would be moving to Boston in June.
"That's great!" he slurred, "We need more beautiful people like you."
Thanks mom for hooking me up with inappropriate men since 1990.
He wasn't as good at dancing as he was at singing.
When my parents came to visit, they decided they wanted to go to the Honkey Tonks. Like whoah. Not only do my parents not drink...but Jenny (who was 16 at the time) was with us, and I knew she wouldn't be able to get in the bars after nine.
Needless to say, I was not really a proponent of this family night on the town.
Nevertheless, I, the ever-obliging hostess took my excited family to Broadway. After being rejected from entry at the first four bars, we finally made our way into Rippy's (no bouncer at the door).
I immediately got some liquid refreshment, something to calm my nerves. Long Island Iced Tea(s) to be exact. My family sat at a table right in front of the musicians and listened with glee (!) to some rousing live country music. The violinist was really talented, which kind of saved the performance.
She was so talented that she inspired several people to give her things. The most memorable gift was when a man decked out in camo came up to her and gave her a mason jar full of liquid moonshine. Only in Nashville. Awesome. He preceded to serenade her with his duck whistle. I believe he also left her a pair of wading boots. Quite the gentleman.
We were witness to a group of older women getting down with their bad selves. One woman got down by way of slipping on the floor, another by some combination of grinding and dropping it low that probably wouldn't be acceptable behavior at a club, much less a country music bar.
At one point a man from Boston drunkenly stumbled to the stage and asked to sing. To my surprise he was actually really good.
After his performance my mom felt compelled to tell this perfect stranger that I would be moving to Boston in June.
"That's great!" he slurred, "We need more beautiful people like you."
Thanks mom for hooking me up with inappropriate men since 1990.
He wasn't as good at dancing as he was at singing.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
A very rough itinerary for my trip to France in April!
France Trip:
I'm flying into Brussels, because it's well, cheaper.
Day 1: Brussels-> Paris-> Bayeux. Sleep in Bayeux.
Day 2: D-day Beaches, Normandy
Day 3 and 4: Bayeux to Paris to Disneyland Paris (51 GBP). Cirque de Demain? Chateau Versailles- 20 Euro.
Day 5: Paris to Dijon. 1 hour 40 min. Dijon mustard? Owl’s Trail. Dijon to Lake Geneva. 1.5 hours.
Day 6: Lake Geneva to Lyon. 45 minutes. Overnight train to Marseille?
Day 7 and 8: Marseille to Nice to Monaco. Sleep in Monaco. Oceanographique Museum, Museum of Puppets, changing of the guard. Eze Village- French Perfume Factory.
Day 9: Monaco to Nice to Marseille. Chacall museum. Monte Carlo Casino. Night train from Marseilles to Paris.
Day 10: Paris to Brussels, Belgium. Explore Brussels.
Hostels:
1. Bayeux (2 nights)
2. Paris (2 nights)
3. Lake Geneva (1 night)
4. Overnight train from Lyon to Marseille
5. Monaco (2 nights)
6. Overnight train from Marseille to Paris
7. Brussels (1 day)
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Nashville Food!
One of my favorite places about cities is the variety of culinary experiences you can have.
This is a nice way of saying, I'm a fat girl at heart (and usually around the mid-waist area).
When my family came to visit in Nashville, I knew exactly where I wanted to take them.
The first restaurant we went to, I had never experienced. It was a BBQ restaurant across from the Opry Mills Mall called Caney Fork or something. Kerri and I shared a catfish reuben, mashed potatoes and baked beans. I would say it got a solid 6/10. Of course it wasn't my choice, so I don't really take responsibility for it. The best part was the gravy on the potatoes.
On Sunday, we went to two fabulous restaurants:
1. Rosepepper Cantina- an "upscale" (I really have no context for what is upscale or not, but I think this is a really classy joint) Mexican restaurant. I love the large portions, the margaritas (although I didn't indulge this time) and the beautiful year-round colorful Christmas lights. The food flavors are light and delicious.
2. Pied Piper Eatery- for dinner, we stopped by the Pied Piper Eatery. The menus are on records and the food all has really creative titles like the "Dolly Parton" which are two large chicken breasts smothered in BBQ sauce, or something.I ordered a Buffalo Chicken Salad (Alas...I can't remember the creative name.) Before I placed my order I asked for a sample of the sauce it was cooked in. I was going to spoon out a mouthful of the sauce but then realized that would be really stupid. I took a little bit and smiled at the man, "It's perfect!"
The words had barely escaped my mouth when I started choking. The sauce was so hot, I lost my breath. I was sputtering and crying...but now too embarrassed to renig on my "It's perfect" sentiment.
Sunday, we went to Ginza...my favorite sushi place! Kerri and I shared a platter of 3 sushi rolls.
After taking a poll, my family decided that:
Best Service= Pied Piper Eatery
Best Portions= Rosepepper Cantina
Best Flavors= Jack's (just a classic BBQ place on Broadway I forgot to mention before).
This is a nice way of saying, I'm a fat girl at heart (and usually around the mid-waist area).
When my family came to visit in Nashville, I knew exactly where I wanted to take them.
The first restaurant we went to, I had never experienced. It was a BBQ restaurant across from the Opry Mills Mall called Caney Fork or something. Kerri and I shared a catfish reuben, mashed potatoes and baked beans. I would say it got a solid 6/10. Of course it wasn't my choice, so I don't really take responsibility for it. The best part was the gravy on the potatoes.
On Sunday, we went to two fabulous restaurants:
1. Rosepepper Cantina- an "upscale" (I really have no context for what is upscale or not, but I think this is a really classy joint) Mexican restaurant. I love the large portions, the margaritas (although I didn't indulge this time) and the beautiful year-round colorful Christmas lights. The food flavors are light and delicious.
2. Pied Piper Eatery- for dinner, we stopped by the Pied Piper Eatery. The menus are on records and the food all has really creative titles like the "Dolly Parton" which are two large chicken breasts smothered in BBQ sauce, or something.I ordered a Buffalo Chicken Salad (Alas...I can't remember the creative name.) Before I placed my order I asked for a sample of the sauce it was cooked in. I was going to spoon out a mouthful of the sauce but then realized that would be really stupid. I took a little bit and smiled at the man, "It's perfect!"
The words had barely escaped my mouth when I started choking. The sauce was so hot, I lost my breath. I was sputtering and crying...but now too embarrassed to renig on my "It's perfect" sentiment.
Sunday, we went to Ginza...my favorite sushi place! Kerri and I shared a platter of 3 sushi rolls.
After taking a poll, my family decided that:
Best Service= Pied Piper Eatery
Best Portions= Rosepepper Cantina
Best Flavors= Jack's (just a classic BBQ place on Broadway I forgot to mention before).
Monday, January 16, 2012
Family is in town...
I find that when real life happens, my blog doesn't.
This week has been jam packed with family hosting, and let me tell you, hosting is not easy.
My family (minus Betsey who is gallivanting around Europe) arrived in Nashville Thursday night.
The main purpose of this trip was for my family to see my classroom and students.
Unfortunately, MNPS closes school when there is a 50% or greater chance of snow forecasted. This might be a slight exaggeration...but it is definitely not a huge exaggeration. With a few flurries in the sky, I knew we were doomed.
While waiting for the impending news, I took my family to a lovely new hamburger joint called "Pharmacy." We sat in their heated patio and chowed down on delicious gourmet burgers and vanilla milkshakes. It was definitely an amazing meal.
4AM Friday morning, I got the text. School cancelled. Normally, I would be jubilant, but I was disappointed my family wouldn't meet my kids...and I would need to spend that extra time entertaining them (I kid, but seriously).
Friday morning my family and I decided to go the Opry Mills Mall to watch Beauty and the Beast 3-D.
I LOVE this movie, but seeing it in 3-D was a little disappointing. It seemed like the animators had done no adjustments for the 3-D setting. I'd prefer to have just seen the movie on the big screen. It was as if they divided the scene into the foreground and background and just made the foreground 3-D. Unfortunately, that just made it evident how flat and boring the background was. Anyways, I really know a lot about 3-D as you can tell. (NOT)....but the movie itself was the redeemer.
Quotes like this just never get old:
Gaston: It's not right for a woman to read. Soon she starts getting *ideas*, and *thinking*...
Stay tuned for my next blogs about the food, Friday night and other festivities!
This week has been jam packed with family hosting, and let me tell you, hosting is not easy.
My family (minus Betsey who is gallivanting around Europe) arrived in Nashville Thursday night.
The main purpose of this trip was for my family to see my classroom and students.
Unfortunately, MNPS closes school when there is a 50% or greater chance of snow forecasted. This might be a slight exaggeration...but it is definitely not a huge exaggeration. With a few flurries in the sky, I knew we were doomed.
While waiting for the impending news, I took my family to a lovely new hamburger joint called "Pharmacy." We sat in their heated patio and chowed down on delicious gourmet burgers and vanilla milkshakes. It was definitely an amazing meal.
4AM Friday morning, I got the text. School cancelled. Normally, I would be jubilant, but I was disappointed my family wouldn't meet my kids...and I would need to spend that extra time entertaining them (I kid, but seriously).
Friday morning my family and I decided to go the Opry Mills Mall to watch Beauty and the Beast 3-D.
I LOVE this movie, but seeing it in 3-D was a little disappointing. It seemed like the animators had done no adjustments for the 3-D setting. I'd prefer to have just seen the movie on the big screen. It was as if they divided the scene into the foreground and background and just made the foreground 3-D. Unfortunately, that just made it evident how flat and boring the background was. Anyways, I really know a lot about 3-D as you can tell. (NOT)....but the movie itself was the redeemer.
Quotes like this just never get old:
Gaston: It's not right for a woman to read. Soon she starts getting *ideas*, and *thinking*...
Stay tuned for my next blogs about the food, Friday night and other festivities!
Friday, January 13, 2012
Love is...
For advisory, I gave my students the following prompt:
"It is impossible to fall in love unless you are an adult." Do you agree or disagree?
This led us into a discussion about what love is. My students agreed to the following list:
Love is when:
"You can't picture life without that person."
"You are willing to die for that person."
"You see no one else but that person."
"You have a different feeling about that person, and everybody else is below."
"You would steal yo momma's car for that person."
"It is impossible to fall in love unless you are an adult." Do you agree or disagree?
This led us into a discussion about what love is. My students agreed to the following list:
Love is when:
"You can't picture life without that person."
"You are willing to die for that person."
"You see no one else but that person."
"You have a different feeling about that person, and everybody else is below."
"You would steal yo momma's car for that person."
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Village Pub
Today Lizzie and I went to....wait for it..."The Village Pub."
It was awesome!
It was love at first sight.
When we walked in, we realized there was a radio show being broadcast LIVE!!
We were also given several opportunities to sign up for free drawings..and it was happy hour. Win-Win-Win.
When I saw the menu, my heart sunk a little bit. The majority of the menu consisted of pretzel sandwiches. I'm not a big fan of pretzels.
But...I'll try everything once, so I selected the Reuben pretzel.
AMAZING!
I also splurged on the 99 cents past salad. Best choice ever.
I know my overuse of screamers is annoying, but I don't care.
Food this good deserves ample screamers.
No, this is not the picture of my pretzel reuben...but I gobbled the whole thing up before I realized I should take a picture.
It was awesome!
It was love at first sight.
When we walked in, we realized there was a radio show being broadcast LIVE!!
We were also given several opportunities to sign up for free drawings..and it was happy hour. Win-Win-Win.
When I saw the menu, my heart sunk a little bit. The majority of the menu consisted of pretzel sandwiches. I'm not a big fan of pretzels.
But...I'll try everything once, so I selected the Reuben pretzel.
AMAZING!
I also splurged on the 99 cents past salad. Best choice ever.
I know my overuse of screamers is annoying, but I don't care.
Food this good deserves ample screamers.
No, this is not the picture of my pretzel reuben...but I gobbled the whole thing up before I realized I should take a picture.
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