The Last Beer

As I am writing this, I am having my last beer. No, not my last beer forever, but the last beer at home. At least for a while. I have noticed lately that I've been consuming way too much beer. I figured if I didn't have it at home, that would drastically cut down on my consumption. Originally, I was going to stop drinking beer all together, but that seemed to drastic. Especially since I love beer. How much do I love beer? I had beer on my Frosted Flakes for my 21st b-day (I don't recommend doing that). I don't remember the last drink I had other than a beer. My main goal in doing this is to not turn into the chick with the big beer belly. No one wants to be that chick with the big beer gut that she acquired through one t0o many frat parties and keg stands. I noticed that my metabolism isn't what it used to be, so I need to lead a slightly more healthy lifestyle. Ever since Christmas, I've been a junk food-beer drinking junkie and it needs to stop. Gone are the days where I can pack away the food without any consequences. Let's face it, I am not 25 anymore. Hopefully, this works out. It is so tough, though. I love drinking beer outside during the summer. Cerveza, no es adios, es hasta luego...

What's wrong with this picture?

Take a good look at this picture. Did you figure out what's wrong with it? Take another look.... Ok... give up? The LINGERIE department is right next to the FURNITURE department! HA. Hey, I'm getting a new couch, let me pick up a powder blue negligee to go with it. I find it really funny that there's a wall of silk negligees and robes right next to the ugliest, most bachelor appropriate furniture ever made. The lighting (which is hard to tell in the picture) was odd,too. Way too lounge like. Darker than normal. Odd spot lights. This whole set up wouldn't have been quite as bad, had there not been a wall of negligees. That was the kicker for me. Plus, this entire display is just way too provocative for JCP. They are such a family -friendly company. How family-friendly are they? They won't feature a man and a woman together in an ad unless they have wedding rings on. And here they are promoting a romantic rendezvous to shoppers in suburban Detroit. To see a display like this was shocking. I had to stifle my giggles. Leave it to JCP. It's all inside. Unwrap the magic.

The Girl with the Green Thumb

After 29 years its finally happened: the gardening gene hit me. My family is huge into gardening. My Dad has the most beautiful yard ever. He has over 3,000 Daffodils, shrub roses, daisies--you name it, he has it. My Grandpa Voelker lived on a small city lot in Chicago. He still managed to grow zucchini the size of my head and plant tons of flowers. My other grandparents have a large garden that takes up a good chunk of their backyard. When we lived in Illinois, my parents won a beautification award from the city of Park Forest for their yard. My relatives are always swapping plants across state lines. Everyone always jokes with me about when I'll pick up the family hobby. I usually reply with some smart ass answer, like "I live in the city. We don't garden." I think, though, I knew deep down inside this was inevitable, you can't fight what's in your blood. Well, yesterday the family hobby caught up with me. I went to Home Depot to purchase impatiens for the flower boxes out front and marigolds for the pots. I decided to just start small. Part of me wanted to do something big like make a new flower bed. I kept myself under control. With everything I do, I tend to take on too much. I am also not a pro like my Dad.

It was actually fun to do some planting again. Growing up, I would always help my parents plant and water flowers. I am thinking I might have to go get some more flowers for the other pots I found in the shed. Of course, we'll see how long it takes for me to kill the plants.

Captain Obvi

I don't watch Larry King very often. and I don't think I'll be watching him anytime soon. I watched him on Friday only because he had the top 10 finalists of Idol on his show. He's horrible. Such awful interviewing skills. He asked the worst, most obvious questions, like, "Blake, what color is Jordin's top?" and "Phil, what's your name?" Ugh. He's pretty rude and not very nice to his subjects. I was really shocked. He's supposed to be this great journalist but a monkey could ask better questions than Larry King. Maybe back in the day he was good, but now he's just pretty lame.

Where is the Queen of Procrastination?

I have to admit that I have spent a good chunk of my adult life as a procrastinator. I honed this skill in college. I was the master of the night before paper writing or test cramming. I found many others like myself and we would spend many happy hours avoiding our homework. We'd watch movies or late night television, go flower picking, make Taco Bell runs, have fashion shows, and perform secret covert spy operations in the dorm. I would even help others write papers before I'd write my own. In graduate school, my procrastination become worse. I was just so good at it. Today for one of my first times in my almost 29 years on this planet, I am not procrastinating. Shocking, I know. I have started to get myself organized for my trip to Motown next week. My suitcase is out, I've made lists, and I've been to Super Target for toiletries. My usual packing style (for trips or moving) is to wait until the last minute and just throw things into my suitcase, or in the case of moving boxes. It always works out, too. This time around I am going to try being a little more type A. So far, so good....

Mr. Tuxedo Towel

I think everyone needs one of these in their bathroom. The hotel I stayed at over the weekend had this on the counter next to the sink. It seriously made me laugh every time I went into the bathroom.

Mr. Tuxedo Towel: keeping bathrooms clean since 2007.

It's Time to Make the Donuts

I live in such a donut void. I know that there are a lot of Krispy Kremes, but that doesn't count. I grew up on Dunkin' Donuts. The real donut. They make Krispy Kremes look wimpy. So many different kinds. The powder sugar donut filled with a vanilla or whipped cream filling. The classic jelly filled and covered with sugar. The Boston Cream. So good. When I was little I loved the strawberry jelly filled donut. I always made such a mess. I managed to bite into the donut at the wrong spot and squirt a stream of jelly all over. Or I ended up with jelly all over my fingers and face. We'd have them on the weekends as a treat. I loved it at church when we'd have Dunkin' Donuts after church. In my Advanced Journalism class we had them every Friday. I've been craving a good Dunkin' Donuts donut for quite a while, and there isn't one in the Twin Cities area. It's just so odd. If you go to Chicago, there's a Dunkin' Donuts on every corner. There are even 24 hour Dunkin' Donuts. So, why isn't there any here in Minneapolis? Where did all the Dunkin' Donuts go? And don't tell me that I should go to Krispy Kreme--it's not the same. Byerly's don't cut it either. Only Dunkin Donuts will do. Yum. A Donut and coffee.