Laboring on Labor Day

I remember when Labor Day included parties or spur-of-the-moment trips to exotic locales (like Detroit, Indiana, or the Outer Banks).

This weekend however?? I'm a THRILLED about deep cleaning my house. There are some necessary changes that are long overdue since Hubby moved in and invaded my singlehood life. I never needed a guest bedroom b/c the only people that crashed with me eithercrashed on the couch, or in the case of my Mom, got my bed while I used the couch. My guest bedroom in this place has always been a "dressing room." It sounds fancy, but when you only have a closet with a wall opening the size of, well, a door. Plus there's shoes, jewelry, scarves, hats, purses. Obviously I needed a whole room for all of this!

For almost 5 years, I've loved showing off what Hubby liked to call my store (he thought it looked like going to the mall). Well last weekend put into motion an entire redesign - let's just say my cheap clothes racks finally showed how cheap they really are. And in the meantime, discussions about the upcoming winter led me to preparing to purchase an adorable daybed from Ikea. (The Hubs is a landscaper and does snow-plowing in the winter and basically we've made an agreement that on nights that he either has to get up at 2 or 3am or will be coming home before 5am, he will do his best not to wake me and sleep on said day-bed.

So I had to keep in mind the room is barely 7 x 9 soooo I need something that is smaller on everyday, but can pull out to fit 2 adults so we won't feel so bad telling friends they can't crash with us b/c there's only a couch to sleep on. This has caused a full re-thinking of my dressing room situation. I also think it might need to necessitate a painting project b/c if I move all the things on my walls around, there are a lot of holes that need patched and it is a rental - so I should just paint, right? Right. I love to paint, so good excuse for another project!

On to project 2. I have all hardwood other than 2 rooms in the house (of which all pets and former foster animals have ruined). The floors are super dirty and I am always looking for new tools to clean easier. Frankly, the Swiffer Wetjet just doesn't cut it with a dirty husband, 2 dirty dogs, and a dirty cat. Outside of the hair, the layers of crud on the floors has gotten out of control. Well, I've stumbled upon what looks to be my solution to avoid a Cinderella-type scrubbing session.

 Meet my potential new best friend, the Shark Sonic Pro. I got sucked into the infomercial, but did my research prior to my purchase that it really does what it says. I have a huge Hoover Steam Vac in the attic that has definitely seen better days and doesn't work on hardwood. I have a date with a scrubber and I can't wait!!

Which brings me back to my point that I am old and get excited about cleaning rather than partying. Now to be fair, Saturday I will be at the bar with BK my Lady watching the opening Ohio State Football game and I already was a huge nerd for cleaning, but when this is the highlight of a 3 day weekend, I've reached a new level of not being 22.

And of course, I will update how my possible new bff works out! Happy scrubbing!

Teen Mom 3 Premiere!

image courtesy of MTV.com

So before I get into the recap (my 1^st official, whoo hoo!)… I’ve decided on a format for my blogs. Let me know what you think… if there is anyone actually reading, of course! As I start getting into this, I’m going to try and find a site format that makes everything easy to find if you want to search on one show in particular.

According to the source of all random facts, Wikipedia, the average adult can read 250 - 300 words per minute. Knowing how short my attention span is, and how many different sites I tend to read on my lunch hour, time is of the essence. With this handy-dandy knowledge, I bring to you… 3-Minute Recaps! Could be slightly more or less on a case-by-case, but the goal is to never be over 1000 words with a recap so you can catch up on a show and be on your way. I think this might be especially helpful when there are a good 6 shows to talk about in a given night (I foresee Tuesdays and Fridays being a tad painful).

So on to the Teen Mom 3 Recap. I am admittedly obsessed with all things Teen Mom and 16 & Pregnant. Even though I keep up with all the current gossip, I’ll try to keep with just what is happening on the show. Also for sake of time and keeping ish straight… I’ll keep each girl’s storyline for the night together.

Let’s start with Briana. LOVE her family and their strength based on 16&Prego. Best line of the night early on from sis Brittany: “…not running in the forest with daffodils and dandelions.” Nice to see the show portray some reality when they show government assistance in the way it was intended: for single, struggling families (not like Janelle and Kieffer getting free food for themselves because they were lazy druggies). Honestly, I could watch a full show just with Briana’s family. They’re real and funny and I want to be friends with them. Can we make that happen? It’s not creepy that I want to be friends with a teenager, right? ahem. Anywhoooo, Briana of course says she wishes maybe she hadn’t had Nova so early and life would be different (a recurring theme), to which Brittany says she is the best part of their family. Awww.

Uh oh, baby daddy talking shit on twitter, that’s all kinds of wrong. Nothing I hate more than people airing their dirt online. Cut to the 2^nd half of the show and Briana is walking the neighborhood with a friend and baby stroller, talking about baby daddy drama – again these girls are so frighteningly normal. Then we see the DeJesus girls take baby CPR and then practice on Nova later that night. Cut to Devoin and his boys out to dinner. Dude looks like he stepped off an episode of Fresh Prince. Yikes. So days before a court date, he texts Briana that they should be a family, which makes her reconsider taking him to court and giving him a shot. She decides to dismiss the order of protection even though he obviously isn’t all that serious. But I have a serious issue that she wore Chanel earrings, a ratty ass t-shirt, and sweats to court. Sweatpants worn to inappropriate places is something that bothers me endlessly, maybe we can’t be friends after all.

 

I’ll be honest – I forgot which girl was Katie and which was Alex leading up to tonight. Katie seemed to have her life together, seems relatively normal with her baby daddy, Joey. That is until there is some sort of fender bender in their only car with Joey’s aunt? And Katie acts like it was the end of their relationship. I sure hope these two crazy kids can make it!

During the second hour the focus is on a date night out alone for Katie and Joey. Joey is going to propose to Katie!! Awww! I love these two! He sets it up so they have a special night and enlists his buddy at the restaurant to help to deliver the ring on cheesecake. Yep, my eyes misted a little, even though he said nothing but, “Will you marry me?” Not much on the speeches there, but adorable nonetheless.

Mackenzie is definitely the “Maci” of these girls and has been the media darling thus far b/c she is beautiful and pretty darn funny on Twitter. Oh the teenager drama on top of being parent’s together right out of the gate. *Insert comparison to Maci here* Mackenzie is way more into the relationship than Josh, similar to Ryan’s emotionless attitude but he really does love her in his own teen boy way. At least Josh can string full sentences together about his feelings when he wants to. We get a couple minutes of showing off how good Mackenzie is at cheerleading. Like whoa, good. The rest of the episode is just basically her pushing for Josh to move in with her and her parents. You’re 17 for crying out loud! Slow it down, geez. Josh’s buddy says what any normal teenage boy would that moving in with your girlfriends parents doesn’t sound like much fun. Mackenzie somehow convinces her parents that he should move in to help raise baby Gannon. Josh, however, really wants to live in his own place and not with her parents. Duhn duhn duhn…

Alex – oh now I remember. She was going to give her baby up for adoption and has the wastoid loser boyfriend. Wait... 3 jobs and getting her degree? Color me impressed with the dedication! And then said boyfriend, Matt, comes out of 2 months of rehab and gives it a pretty good attempt for a bit … but also acts like his drug life was so cool. This doesn’t bode well for his future sobriety.

Alex is behind in her online schoolwork, probably due to the 3 jobs and a baby that she’s taking care of. Yeesh. Hey look! Matt has a friend to talk to about staying clean and going back to school… but wait, he’s not a good kid and makes Alex’s mom feel she needs to do a quick eye test to see if he’s high. Wow, it just got real. Everyone deserves a second chance but when a baby is involved, it’s really hard to trust someone that sketchy. When she goes to work, she leaves him to watch Arabella to try and give him some trust, but her gut tells her she shouldn’t. GO WITH YOUR GUT!!! Because guess what, he went out with a friend and was gone for hours. While Alex is yelling at him, the little sister, who can’t be more than 11, drops some wisdom and says to talk like adults. Boom.

And as always the end of the episode is an adorable montage of baby love.  This episode had a very positive direction but apparently watching the upcoming preview, looks like all that good energy this premiere had is about to go down the crapper fast. Guess it wouldn’t be Teen Mom if it didn’t, and I’d probably be way too bored if it all was “daffodils and dandelions”

Anniversary Weekend

Wow, Hubby and I's 1st anniversary weekend was chock-ful of family together-ness. What a great way to celebrate than to spend time with the people that brought the two of us into this world!

So Friday night was The Hub's family dinner also celebrating Grandpa Frank as he turned 81. We went to Legacy at Sweetbriar Golf Course in Avon Lake. I got a delicious lemon veal and The Hubs got Prime Rib which the couple bites I swiped were phenomenal. Classy place and a nice family together time.

Saturday our only plan was Pier W for dinner at 8:00 so what to do with the whole day? Adventures, catch a movie, etc? Nope. Since we rarely ever spend Saturday together in the summer (Hubby works really hard) we decided to just be lazy and hang out with each other all day - at one point we left and grabbed a quick bite down the street at Jammy Buggars (a decision that was later regretted due to the heaviness of the menu items chosen). We got back and decided to have a household nap in the bedroom with the A/C window unit at full blast - not just the two of us mind you: all creatures be it 2 or 4 legged were up in that bed enjoying snuggle time for a few hours in the middle of the day!

Moving on to the highlight of the weekend! Pier W!! In all this time I've lived in Lakewood, I've never been. I'd never heard anyone less than impressed (other than a friend who's pickyness is beyond words). So needless to say, I got gussied up and couldn't wait, even though due to the earlier Jammy's mistake, I really wasn't as hungry as I'd have liked.

I ordered the seared Hawaiian Tuna, which was served over a corn relish and had a chorizo and goat cheese stuffed tomato. Heavenly. And also of note - I've been cooking tuna steaks ALL wrong for years. Hubby got the Scallops with a raisin and onion marmalade, garlic gnocci and bacon chips. For not being a scallop person when we first met, he sure does love them now. I think the gnocci and bacon helped quite a bit.


Pre-dinner selfie off the patio. Darn wind messed up my 'do!

We were blessed enough to sit by a table with a couple celebrating their 50th(!!) anniversary and got some sweet words of wisdom about staying steady through the ups and downs. I got a little teary of course. What better moment than to see what could be in our future. Of course, doing the math: I'll be 82 on our 50th anniversary. Let's hope I'm still conscious and continent when that day arrives!


Cleveland Skyline right before sunset



Not the best pic, but the moon looked amazing against the skyline

Sunday was church in the morning and then did some housework - coming up with a master plan for the spare bedroom before winter. Then we travelled to Fairlawn and met my folks at Winking Lizard for some wings and beer and sharing of the fresh anniversary cake (See below, lemon cake w/raspberry and cream filling). None of that year-old frozen stuff for us. The perks of having a friend do your wedding cake!

Anyway, I digress. I miss my parents, as weird as they are, and I just wish they could pack up and move north - Canton isn't that far, but it's too far when thinking about the future and having them around for the phantom future babies in my head. After that, we got home around 7:30 and I just had no energy left to stay up for the VMA's. I desperately wanted to see NSYNC but thanks to the wonders of technology, everything was online for lunchtime viewing. Let's just agree to not talk about Miley b/c she seems to enjoy all the attention, no matter how sad so I'd rather not perpetuate her delusions.

Labor Day weekend is looking to be relaxing in comparison... only time will tell!



Wine with Friends

Last night I had a girl date with my Maid of Honor, Gingersnap (aka JB) at Humble Wine Bar in Lakewood. Mind you, I just was there Thursday as well for the Grand Opening - but it's a very well-known fact I have a Deagan's obsession and knew Humble was going to be more of the same, but with wine and wood-fire pizza!

Since I didn't post about the girl's night out on Thursday to Humble (mostly b/c I just came up with the blog to begin with), I am combining my thoughts on the place into one super-post.

As to be expected, Humble was pretty much everything I expected and hoped it would be. Hence why I went there twice in a week! Granted there are a few things they're working out as they go - like hoping they'll have some happy hour pricing for all us budget-conscious folk at some point.

I'd been following the progress on Facebook, but was still impressed with the clean design and white tiled brick oven (that made my yummy yummy pizza) and the really cool wine bottle chandeliers (very cool idea).

Wine bottle chandeliers

Thursday, I ordered the Margherita Bufala (Tomatos, fresh basil, buffalo mozzarella) and it was perfection.

Margherita Bufala Pizza

Then last night, we sat on the patio and enjoyed some great conversation with our wine and pizza. This time, I ordered the Mushroom Pizza, which was just mushrooms, olive oil, tallegio cheese, and rosemary. Nice and simple, but then...oh wow, the desserts we ordered! I don't even know where to begin! I got the Humble Pie, which sounds like they will rotate the fruit seasonally as to the ingredients, but last night it was peaches and at the bottom was a custard, and topped with cashews and a honey drizzle. Omnomnom

And JB got the Blueberry Creme Brulee inside a light cake with caramel sauce swizzle (yup, technical term right there). I forget what the little french fry looking things were. (I swear I'll take notes next time!) It was pretty much heaven as well, and almost too pretty to eat!

So cheers to good wine and good friends! It's what makes the world a better place!!



Fall Premieres! Get that DVR ready!!

Wow, I didn't realize the extent of my TV watching until I really put this list together! And this is just the fall shows. There's at least 10-20 more that will start airing new stuff in spring or summer. How do I have a life??

Below is details on what I'll be watching. Maybe I should consider a way to do 60 second recaps since I do have a full time paying job and all!

So let's get started. I'm splitting into Reality and Scripted categories in order of premiere dates. I'm also adding my list of what I'm kicking to the curb. I'm usually one to stick it out with a show no matter how bad until the slow bitter end hoping for redemption (Heroes, anyone?), but as I've matured I've learned its just best to let it go if it hurts too much. And doing so makes room in my heart to add a new show or two (or maybe catch up a little late to the party with Revenge or Scandal, two shows my husband is never going to watch with me!)

Reality Shows:

• Teen Mom 3 (August 26th) - Baby Mama Drama! Now placing bets on who ends up in jail first from this crew. It would be refreshing if the answer ended up as none of them.
• X Factor (September 11th) - I want to stop watching, I really do, because Simon is just such a sleaze. But I'm giving it one more try before I pull the plug. I like Demi too much to say goodbye yet.
• Survivor - Blood vs. Water (Sept 18th) - I'm really excited for this concept. I love that Survivor continually shakes it up, but it doesn't ever feel stale the way *ahem* American Idol has become.
• The Biggest Loser (October 8th) - I'm always so inspired by this show. Last season those kids just made my heart want to burst! Oh and double dose of reality goodness. 2nd Season American Idol winner Ruben Studdard (the Velvet Teddy Bear) will be battling the bulge this season.
• Bachelor (January 6th) - Juan Pablo, Mi Amor! Rawr.
• Real World: San Francisco (sometime in 2014 but I needed to bring it up) - they're heading back to San Francisco, where ultimately the best season of all time took place (Pedro, Puck, Judd - DUH). I cannot believe I have watched 28 seasons (now 29) for 19 years and throw in every Road Rules and Challenge series and I should be ashamed but I'm not.
• Iron Chef America - I'm really bad about knowing when new episodes air until they appear in my DVR. Apparently that's also the case for Food Network b/c I can't find any details on their website as to when new episodes will air consecutively. So I guess they'll just surprise me like the secret ingredient. Allez Cuisine!

Scripted Shows:

• Sleepy Hollow (September 16th) - I am SO excited for this show, I hope it doesn't suck. I've been obsessed with all things Ichabod Crane since I was little. There was a Disney version of the story that I can still sing the songs to this day, and of course there was the phenomenal Johnny Depp version that I may have watched at least 10-15 times bare minimum. So it will be interesting to see this new take with the twist of current times.
• New Girl (September 17th) - Where do I begin with my love for this show. I think I should be worried the show will be ruined if Nick & Jess end up together - but the way they've handled it so far shows promise. Plus, I need more Schmidt - I'm not sure when he became my favorite character, but he's hysterical.
• The Mindy Project (September 17th) - seriously Mindy Kaling can do no wrong in my eyes. I want her (the real life her) to be my best friend. Mindy Lahiri would be a pretty fun friend, too, if not just for the crazy stories that she would have.
• How I Met Your Mother (September 23rd) - OMG y'all, we finally get to meet the mother! Wow, I'll miss them when they're gone. This group of weirdos has been my spirit animal for the past 8 years.
• 2 Broke Girls (September 23rd) - Sadly, I need to do a binge-watch of the last half of the prior season, as this stupid-silly show lost out on Monday's prior to my DVR upgrade to get 5 shows at once! The horror of not knowing what crazy shenanigans those girls are up to this week - and what the hell is the latest cupcake total? It has kept me awake at night.
• Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (September 24th) - I'm a huge fan of comic book movies, good and so-bad-they're-good. I'm excited to see this extension and how it ties into the whole Avengers mega-story that is being built on a million platforms.
• The Goldbergs (September 24th) - I am a sucker for 80's nostalgia, so I'm going to give this new show a shot, I'm sure it will have a few good cheap laughs. Time will tell if it the kitschy concept works or I can only stand 2 episodes before giving up, as happened with 1600 Penn. Sorry Jenna Elfman, I tried.
• Glee (September 26th) - make sure you have yourself a GIANT box of tissues at the ready. I'm tearing up just thinking about how they will address the tragic loss of Cory Monteith and say goodbye to the dream of Finchel forever.
• Big Bang Theory (September 26th) - Bazinga! I can't believe this show has been on for 7 seasons and just doesn't get old for me. Please please please let Raj and Lucy find true awkward nerd love!
• Grey's Anatomy (September 26th) - I just can't quit you, Grey's. My heart belongs to you forever and I will sob while watching every episode until the bitter end. I'm still not over Denny, let alone Lexi and Mark.
• Once Upon a Time (September 29th) - Breaking news! Joanna Garcia (Swisher) as Ariel!! Amazing choice (besides she is married to my new favorite Bro-hio Cleveland Indian, Nick Swisher, so there's that) not to mention we'll be seeing more of Peter Pan and the Lost Boys. Not gonna lie, Peter seemed WAY creepy when we left off last season.
• Vampire Diaries (October 3rd) - Last season ended pretty wild and everyone is off to college (because that is never the kiss of death for teen shows, right Saved By the Bell?)
• Supernatural (October 8th) - I won't know what to do with myself if the Winchesters cease to provide me with endless monsters and snarky one-liners. One of many many favorite all-time is the use of the term ass-hat when talking to an angel. Perfection.
• American Horror Story: Coven (Wed, October 9th) - Deep breaths and prepare for some freaky sh*t to go down as usual. This season is based on witches in Salem, Mass and New Orleans and will bounce around in time (as they like to do). I am usually so weirded out and creeped out by this show - and that is why I love it.
• Awkward (mid October) - oh Jenna. You're in quite the pickle when we left off. But whatever happens, I'll totally enjoy imagining I'm going through teenage drama again.
• The Following (January) - What started out as a very promising idea that reminded me of my love for 24, ended with such a whimper. Definitely no comparison to my one true love, Jack Bauer (more on that next year! *Squee*). I find myself wondering what Season 2 will entail, but if I'm not hooked a few episodes in, poor Kevin Bacon will get the ax for reals (at least in my house)

Shows Getting the Boot:

• Girls - I just can't. I know it's supposed to be so cool and trendy to watch, but I have never wanted to punch a female lead character so much in my life. I get Lena Dunham is so hip because she's not hip. blah blah blah. It's just not that good of a show. There I said it - this coming from someone who worshipped Sex and the City, but I'm sorry the writing was 1000x better at its best, probably the same at its worst.
• American Idol - To be fair, I stopped watching this past season when it became the Nikki/Mariah show. I have stopped caring long ago for the actual contestants and I can watch all the other shenanigans online and stop wasting 6 hours of my life every week (oh, it's only 4 - doesn't feel like it). J-Lo's return really does nothing to improve the outlook. It's not like she provided any real feedback.
• I should probably call it with The Following now, but I still have until January to make my peace with that decision...

Hey-O!

I think I'll be starting this blog at just the right time, y'all! Teen Mom 3 premieres this Monday! And as you will get to know, I LOVE me some Teen Momma drama! My only drawback is the lag time between filming and real life is soooo long that there is no real suspense. Will Jenelle fail her drug test? yes, of course. Will Maci and Kyle make it work? Nope, Twitter told me so. Get it together MTV, if the Bachelor can get their shows edited and on air within weeks of the final taping, I'm pretty sure that you can be a little quicker than a year+ lag time. FWIW.

Regardless, I think the new crop of girls are going to have their fair share of drama that will keep me entertained and the media hasn't followed their every move just yet (well besides Mackenzie, b/c let's face it, she is gorgeous and pretty much the new Maci).

So look for a listing of all the new premiere dates coming up soon. I think I'll split them into 2 doses: reality smut and scripted delightfulness. I'm right on the tail end of the summer so I don't want to jump into any recaps mid-ship. I'll try to be as timely with my recaps as I can, but I have a real full-time career so this is just my hobby because nobody else I know wants to talk about TV nearly as much as I do.

Also, special thanks to my pal, Emily, for coming up with the blog name!!

Why I'm here

So I'm really late to becoming a contributor to the blogosphere rather than just lurking (but not trolling!). I've just been thinking a lot lately about really wanting to document and share all my thoughts about life, food, and my deep love for my hometown of Cleveland that I'm taking the leap.

I chose the title "I'm Not 22 Anymore" as it's a phrase I've found myself saying quite often in a variety of situations. When I say it, it's typically snarky or self-deprecating, but maybe here I can turn it into a positive about how much cooler (or at least a little smarter) I've become since I was 22 (which for those who are nosy like me, I'm 33 and might just stay there for the next 10 years).

And even if I'm not 22 anymore, and all the downfalls there are with that, I think I'm a way more awesome person and a lot more skilled at life. Plus I can drink a bottle of wine on a Wednesday night and still give a kick ass presentation the next day. If that isn't progress in life, I don't know what is.