Happy Birthday Mom!!

Today is my mother's birthday!  She probably doesn't want me to say how old she is, so I won't.  Happy Birthday Mom!  Below is a set of photos featuring her. 

Braving possible gunshots by sitting at our dining room table in DC.

Mom and her favorite baby, Rudy.

Mom was sometimes a bad influence on her granddaughters. 

Mom models her Snuggie

All dolled up. 

With her favorite youngest son.

Mom lunches with her pal, President Obama.

The President Lunches In the Neighborhood

President Obama and campaign volunteers eat lunch at Ted's Bulletin, a diner-type restaurant on 8th Street near Eastern Market on Wednesday.  It is two blocks from our house.  The Washington Post reported he had a burger with cheddar cheese, a side salad, and fries.  He had lunch with six campaign volunteers chosen for essays on community organizing.

Happy Birthday to My Big Sis, Kathleen

She is 6 days less than a year older than me and is 51 today. Have a good one sister!!  Below is a more recent photo.

New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #298

Which one of you can execute a killer bunt?

This is my idea for the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #298.  Let me know if you have any ideas for a caption too.  

Seeing Silence! The Musical-NYC Wrap-Up

On our last evening in New York City, we went down to the East Village
and ate at The Smith restaurant and saw the late show of Silence! The
Musical.

The Smith is a very crowded and very noisy trendy restaurant filled
with young urban professionals. I am sure I was the oldest person in
the place. It also has very good food. We started with local
tomatoes with pesto salad. I had grilled shrimp and Shane had a NY
Strip steak. Of course we also split a bottle of wine. Everything
was delicious. I would highly recommend the place.

After dinner, we went to the 10:30 show is Silence!, which is a
musical parody of the film, Silence of the Lambs. It was hilarious.
It was a fraction of the price of seeing the Book of Mormon and we
laughed much more at this. The songs weren't great, but the show was
funny. And we somehow ended up with front row seats. We had a great
evening.

Seeing the Book of Mormon Musical

The Book of Mormon is by far the hottest show on Broadway. We got
tickets weeks ago, before it won 9 Tony Awards, including Best
Musical. It was the show we were most looking forward to seeing.
There was high hopes that it was going to be funny and hugely
entertaining. There was a lot of hype around this show.

As often happens when there is a lot of hype, the actual show does not
live up to the hoopla. Both Shane and I were very disappointed. It
wasn't terrible, but it also wasn't great. It was just OK. The humor
was very juvenile. Very. (I would have loved this when I was 14.)
The music was pretty bad too. The only memorable song was "I
Believe," which was featured on the Tony Awards broadcast.

That being said, the rest of the audience seemed to love this show.
Maybe it was just us being tired or our expectations being too high,
but we both remember Spamalot as being much funnier with better music.

Happy 100th Birthday Lucy!

Lucille Ball was born August 6, 1911 in Jamestown, New York. The clip above is just one example of her genius. It is an edited down version of the classic Vitameatavegamin Commercial episode. Though Lucy died in 1989, she will live forever. Sorry for the poor video quality.

Day 2 In New York City--Anything Goes!

Last night, we went to see Sutton Foster and Joel Grey in Anything Goes.  While Shane loved Jersey Boys and me not so much, this show had us reversing our roles. I loved this show and Shane found it old-fashioned and corny.  Of course, it was very old-fashioned and very corny--the jokes were as hokey as anything you'll see anywhere--but I sat through the whole thing with a smile on my face.  It reminded me of the old Carol Burnett Show--I was entertained. This was a Broadway musical.

Sutton Foster is amazing.  She lights up the stage.  Even Shane admitted that though he didn't like the show, she was by far the best thing about it.  She deserved her Tony award for it.  You just can't take your eyes off of her.  Joel Grey on the other hand was a bit over-the-top.  We were very disappointed that Jessica Walters (Arrested Development) was not in the show last night.  We were looking forward to seeing her.  The male lead was also played by an understudy, but he was very good.

Before the show, we went to dinner to a very good Italian restaurant on the Upper East Side near where we are staying, Bella Blu.  We split a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, 2004 Vita Luce Cellars, which was very good.  I had the salmon and Shane had the Lobster spaghetti.  The only bad thing was that they sit you on top of each other, and we were between an older couple and a younger couple with two small children.  The food was very good though.

After the Anything Goes, we went to a piano bar called Don't Tell Mama.  They have a main room (for straight tourists from Ohio) and a much smaller back room where they do only show tunes and make fun of the other room.  Guess where we went.  We had a great time.  The highlight was when the whole audience (about 15 people), including us, joined in on the first act finale of Les Miserables--"One Day More."

Today, we're going to see the hottest show on Broadway, The Book of Mormon, and we also have tickets to Silence, the Musical, which is off-Broadway, but highly recommended parody of the film, Silence of the Lambs.  It should be a fun day.

Now In New York City, Saw Jersey Boys

We drove from Maine to New York City yesterday for the second half of our vacation week. We're renting a beautiful one-bedroom apartment on the Upper East Side.

After we got settled, we took a subway downtown and got tickets to Jersey Boys at TKTS, the half-price ticket booth in Times Square. We grabbed a slice of pizza before the show, ate it, and went to our next-to-last row balcony seat.

Shane loved the show, but it was not my favorite. It wasn't really a musical as much as monologues of the band members telling the story of the Four Seasons as they re-enacted the songs.  It was fun to hear the songs, but the story wasn't that interesting to me. I did buy a piece of cheesecake on the way home last night, which was awesome.

This morning I had to move the car. We found an amazing parking spot on the street we are staying when we got here yesterday, but the street sweeper was coming between 9 and 10:30.  So I moved the car to a garage and then I went for a run in Central Park.  On the way back from my run, I saw the sweeper come and how everyone else waited in their cars and pulled out and rotated around so they wouldn't lose their space. Live and learn.

Selling Our Land In Maine-Anyone Interested?

We have decided to sell the 5.2 acre lot we bought several years ago in Sedgwick, Maine, just outside of Blue Hill.  We have decided to try and save up to buy a built home on waterfront in the area instead.  The land has a view of blueberry fields in the distance and "Right of Way" to the Bagaduce River.  There are a couple homes already built in this development, including a house next door to our property.  It is a huge, secluded piece of land that is partially wooded.  It is beautiful, but it isn't waterfront, which is what we want.  If you're interested, here is the listing on realtor.com.

50 Freakin' Years Old Today--Hello AARP

The Biggest Mosquito I've Ever Seen

And it is still alive in our rental house somewhere. Welcome to Maine!

Maine Day 3-Fog and Lasagna Again

The fog rolled in today, so the islands off of the Maine coast disappeared into the mist.  We didn't let that stop us from having a great day.  We had a lazy morning, but finally got up and going and went out for lunch to the Bagaduce Lunch.  It is a roadside grill on the Bagaduce River.  We split a very greasy order of fried shrimp, french fries, and onion rings.  So much for lowering my cholesterol.  We then went into Blue Hill and went to some galleries (see below).

Afterward, we came back to the house and relaxed.  I made a batch of chocolate chip cookies and then heated up the lasagna I made Saturday night for a third night in a row.  We are loving eating out on the back deck, drinking our wine, and enjoying the view.  Even tonight, though there is no sunset visible, it is cool and comfortable--so much better than the oppressive heat in DC.  Yes!  It is August and we are wearing sweatshirts.  How cool is that?

Maine Day 3--Galleries In Blue Hill

"Black Dog" by Michele Connolly at the Leighton Gallery

Today, we drove into Blue Hill and did some shopping at the galleries in town.  Though we have purchased art in previous years, we had no intention of actually buying anything this time.  Of course, we never do.  But today, we didn't.  Here is some of what we saw though.

A painting by William Irvine, also at the Leighton

"Purple Iris" by Don Bishop at the Blue Hill Bay Gallery.
I admired this one for several years, but they were
packing it up while we were there, as it had just sold. 

"Churning Cove" by Mark Haltof at the Blue Hill Bay Gallery

"Thayendanagea"  is a bronze sculpture by Joseph Brant
at the Jud Hartmann Gallery

Day 2 In Maine--Boating to Castine

Wine at sunset looking at the view from our rental on Saturday night.

After sunset on Saturday.  After dark, the stars were amazing.

Our friend, Christina, and her husband took us out on their boat today. 

Pumpkin Island Lighthouse

Christina is served some champagne on our cruise to Castine.

Christina and Shane share a moment.

We arrive at Castine on the Hum Diddy for lunch.  

It was a beautiful day for boating today.  Our friends, Christina and Leif, took us out on their boat to Castine for lunch.  The ship in the background is called the State of Maine.  They do Merchant Marine training in Castine.  We saw seals in the water on the way.  We ate at Dennett's Wharf.  I had a crab roll and Shane had a burger.  Shane used to work at Dennett's Wharf years ago.  We had a blast!  We came back to the house and relaxed.  We had left-over lasagna for dinner and watched the sunset again.  We don't want this to end.  It has been an awesome day.  It was well worth the drive.

Finally Arrived in Maine! Hiking the Shore

The bridge to Bucksport, ME.

We finally arrived to our vacation rental in Little Deer Isle, Maine, this afternoon.  It was a very long drive.  We left at about 3:30 from DC yesterday and the traffic through Maryland was a horror.  There were heavy rains and thunderstorms in Jersey, also accompanied by long traffic jams.  We found a motel in Connecticut late last night (apparently Quality Inn is meant to be ironic).  We were back on the road before 8 and got to LDI around 3.

The house we're renting was HOT when we got to it.  It was all closed up, and though the temperature was only about 82 degrees outside, inside it had to be in the 90s.  There is no AC, so we turned on the fans and opened the windows.

After we unpacked, we decided it would be cooler to hike down by the rocky shore.  The views from the back of the house and down by the water are amazing.  Below are some shots we took, including one of a starfish along the shore.

We're going to have a lasagna and some wine for dinner and enjoy the evening cool off.  It is supposed to get down in the 50s tonight.

Our Maine/NYC Vacation Begins!

We left work a little early to head north for a vacation in Maine. We weren't the only ones! Traffic out of DC has been very heavy. We hope to make it to Connecticut tonight and will get to Little Deer
Isle, Maine, tomorrow.

While the temperature in DC today hit 104 (actual--not the heat  index), we are expecting it to be in the high 70s in Maine. We can't wait.

We will be going to New York City on Thursday until Sunday. We have tickets to see the Broadway show, The Book of Mormon, on Satuday. We will be seeing other shows too. Keep posted.

Thursday Night Cocktails with My Now Legal Niece

Shane and I took my niece, Nikki, out to Wisdom for a few cocktails.  She just turned 21 this month and she likes the fancy mixed drinks.  I used to change her diapers!

Music to Run By: Let the River Run

I am still on track with my training for the Philadelphia Marathon.  I ran 5 miles on the treadmill at the gym today in 42:30.  My knee is feeling a bit better.  I think the roller exercise I posted about earlier  is helping.  This song came on my iPod Shuffle today and help me get through to mile 5.

Disgusted by GOP Debt Ceiling Political A-Holes

Like most Americans, I'm disgusted by the "negotiations" ongoing with a deadline quickly approaching to raise the debt ceiling.  It is pretty obvious that no deal will be made by August 2 and financial disaster is likely next week.  I can't watch the news lately because it makes me too depressed and angry.  I totally and completely blame the Republicans playing politics with this issue.  They are happy to run the economy into the ground, cause interest rates to go up, and cause the debt to go higher by having our country's credit rating down-graded.  Good job Republicans.  Dumb asses!

New Yorker Caption Contest #296

Oh my, Ms. Palin!  You look so much taller in person.

This is my idea for the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #296.  Let me know if you have any ideas for a caption too.  

Enough with the Heat Already

Like much of the country, it is hot as hell in DC.  With actual temperatures in the triple digits and heat indexes just plain outrageous, I've had enough of the hot.

Our poor air conditioner is running constantly.  Earlier in the summer, I had someone come check out the AC unit and he added freon.  But since then, the air is actually warmer than when the freon was low.  He said that the too cold air would have caused the unit to freeze up eventually.  Though the proper amount of freon makes the air the proper temperature, the colder air made the house colder.  However, I want the unit to continue to work too.

We have a blanket duct taped over the windows of our back door to prevent the sun from making the house too hot.  I'm strongly thinking about putting canvas over the skylight to also block the sun from beaming in.  We have ceiling fans going in the bedrooms and a oscillating fan going downstairs.  I don't know how people ever lived before electricity or AC.  I remember not having AC as a kid.  As I recall, I think we spent most of our time outside under a shade tree.

I've heard that more people die from extreme heat than die from tornadoes, hurricanes, the cold, and other such natural disasters combined.  With climate change, it seems things are just going to get worse in the future.  Lucky for us we're going to Maine next week where the average highs for the days are projected to be in the high 70s.  Sounds like heaven!  Except, if it does get hot up there (and it was in the 90s recently), there is no AC in the house we're renting.

Cake Decorating Boo Boo from Fail Blog

 

This one made me laugh.  Visit failblog.org by clicking the link here or going to the link on my Blog List in the sidebar.

Goodbye Old Kitchen, Hello Stainless Steel

We have a very small galley kitchen and it looks like our appliances were from the 1960s.  The problem is that they still worked, so we still used them.  We had previously gotten a new refrigerator.  Today, we got a new stove and dishwasher.  Like the previous appliances, they are "apartment sized."  The stove is only 20 inches wide and the dishwasher is only 18 inches wide.  Do you think it looks better?

Here's the old stuff.

Here's the new appliances. 

Started Training to Run the Philadelphia Marathon

This past Sunday was 18 weeks until the 2011 Philadelphia Marathon (November 20), and this week I started my official training program.  I am doing the Hal Higdon Intermediate 1 18-week training program.

I've already fallen short of the schedule, but I'm blaming that on my knee problems and going to New York yesterday.  I was supposed to run 5 miles yesterday, but did do 4 miles today.

Also, I bought a foam roller and have been doing my knee exercises (see Monday's posting).  I think it is helping; that along with the new shoes.

Anyway, I'm going to try to keep on schedule better.  Hopefully, the result will be a sub-4 hour marathon.  My ultimate goal is to qualify for Boston, but since they have now made the requirements more stringent, I have to run a qualifying race in under 3 hours, 30 minutes.  That seems hard to imagine.  I can only try.  Look for me with my blue sponge.

Went to New York City and Saw Hair

My Hair Playbill and flower handed out during the show.

Had the chance to go to the Big Apple today, so I went and got a ticket at TKTS to see Hair. I had a very hard time deciding what show to see. It was between Mary Poppins, the Fantasticks, Billy Elliot, and others, but nothing was standing out. Shane and I are coming back to see some shows in a few weeks, so I decided on Hair because I knew he had no desire to see it.

While watching this show, never have I felt more like an old fuddy duddy. I have to say I'm not a big fan of musicals that insist on trying to get you to clap along. I don't want to participate. I want to watch.

Yea... There was nudity. I was told you really didn't see anything because of how it was lit, but that is not true. The lighting was dim, but I was 10th row center and I could see plenty. I didn't really understand why they all got naked. There didn't seem any reason for it as part of the story.  I guess it was just one of those hippy things they do.  Another interesting side note, the theater was full of very old people and lots of little kids--I saw some under 10. Why wasn't my mom that cool?

Overall, I would say the show was so so. Some of the songs were good, but it was too much of a lot of so so songs. The end was very affective, but there is not much of a story. It definately would have been better if I had a few drinks in me.

New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #295

Naturally, the Hummer is in the bedroom.

This is my idea for the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #295.  Let me know if you have any ideas for a caption too.  

Trying to Fix My Runner's Knee

I've been running for years and have never really had any problems with my knees until recently.  I stopped running for a couple weeks because of a bad cold, and when I started again about a week ago, almost immediately I was having pain in my right knee.  I did some Interwebs research and it sounds like what I have is "Runner's Knee." 

I was hoping to start training for a marathon in the fall, but this has put a big crimp in those plans.  I went to a local running store today at lunch and the sales guy is a running coach at a local university.  I admitted it has been a couple years since I've bought new running shoes.  He said you should replace them ever 400-500 miles.  I know I ran more than 1,000 miles just last year.  I did buy a new pair of shoes--Asics GT-2160s ($100), which he said will help with my stability.  He had me run on a treadmill so he could evaluate what I needed.

He also explained the importance of strengthening my core and loosening my hips to improve my knee problem.  I found the video below to be very helpful and it echos a lot of what the sales guy said.  Humping the foam noodle may look a little strange at the gym though.  The sales guy also suggested icing the knee a couple times a day.  I'm going to give it a shot and hope I can keep on running.