Back In Florida; Sunday at the Beach

Today is Day 2 of our 4-day weekend in Florida, and we had a great day.  We slept in a bit and I went for a run.  Eventually, we went to the beach.  It was crazy crowded, probably because it was such a beautiful day.  Anyway, we had a great afternoon at the beach.  I am reading Andre Agassi's autobiography, Open, on my Kindle.  It is actually really interesting.  Here's the Reader's Digest version:  He hates tennis and his dad was an ass.

After the beach, we came back to the house, showered, changed, and went out to dinner to the River City Grill in Punta Gorda.  I had blackened salmon and Shane had NY strip steak.  We love eating there.  We've always enjoyed it.  We especially love it when, during the off season, they have two for one entrees.  That was not the case tonight, but it was still well worth it. 

Back In Florida: House Update

We flew back to Florida today for a long weekend in the warm weather.  The weather is awesome--not a cloud in the sky and high temperatures in the mid-80s.  

The above photo is what our Florida house looked like when we bought it last year.  Since then, we have been working on fixing it up.  Today is the first time we saw the results of our new entry.  We had the walkway redone and a railing put on the porch.  We also had to have the roof painted, and of course, we previously had the house painted.  In addition, we had the yard redone with new trees and all the old plantings removed.  This trip, we are hiring a landscaper to put in new plants in all the beds.  It is a work in progress, but we are loving how it is turning out. 

We had the broken and loose tile walkway removed.

We're working on getting plants for the flowerbeds.  

Crystal City 5K Fridays Race #1

I signed up to run all of the five Crystal City 5K Fridays, which is near where I work.  Tonight was race #1.  My plan was to take it easy on the first one so that I could do a steady improvement throughout the month.  However, everyone around me was running like crazy, so I ran pretty fast too.  My result was pretty good.  I actually ran it in under 24 minutes.  I came in 181st overall out of 938 runners and 145th out of 418 males.  My chip time was 23 minutes, 58 seconds, which is a pace of 7:46 per mile.  Now I have to improve on that time.  Yikes.

I need neck liposuction!

What We're Watching: Downton Abbey on Netflix

The other night we started watching Downton Abbey on the Netflix channel of our Roku.  The Roku is the device that allows us to watch instant downloads on the television.  Downton Abbey is a modern version of Upstairs, Downstairs.  It stars Maggie Smith and Elizabeth McGovern.  We are loving it.  I believe it was on PBS last year (Masterpiece Theatre), but we somehow missed it.  See a scene from the show below.

Watch the full episode. See more Masterpiece.

Watch the full episode. See more Masterpiece.

Chocolate-Covered Cherry Cake

I took a sick day today.  I actually was not feeling well this morning.  I didn't get much sleep as a result and couldn't face a day in the office.  This afternoon, after taking it very easy all morning, I was getting bored and hungry and was looking around in the kitchen and realized I had all the ingredients to make one of my favorite cakes:  The Chocolate-Covered Cherry Cake.  

It is a simple recipe that is in Anne Byrn's The Cake Mix Doctor cookbook.  All you do is mix a devil's food cake mix with a can of cherry pie filling (21 oz.), two eggs, and a teaspoon of almond extract.  Bake it at 350 for 30-35 minutes in a 13- by 9-inch pan (sprayed with vegetable oil spray).  The icing is a bit more tricky.  You bring a cup of sugar, 1/3 cup of milk and 1/3 cup of butter to a boil for a minute (stirring constantly).  Then you remove it from the burner and mix in 6 oz. (or a little more) of semi-sweet chocolate chips until they melt and the icing is smooth.  Poor it over the warm cake and let it cool.  It is very sweet, but so good. 

You can see from the photo that it did not take long before I had to try a piece.  

Give the Corporations a Tax Break?

The Daily Show
Tags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest # 281

Really? You think saying "Only 20 more letters to go," is a comfort?

This is my submission for the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #281.  Let me know if you have any ideas for a caption too.

Our Weekend in New York

We went to New York City this weekend, primarily to see the Signature Theatre Company's production of Angels In America.  We saw the matinee of Part 1:  Millennium Approaches and the evening performance of Part 2:  Perestroika.  In all, it was about 7 hours of play with four intermissions and a 2 1/2 hour break for dinner.

The show was amazing.  The theater was very small.  We sat in the seventh row for the first performance and the second row for the evening show.  We had already seen the HBO production of the show, so knew what to expect, but seeing it live was well worth it.  Prior Walter was played by Michael Urie, who played Marc St. James on Ugly Betty.  I was never much of a fan of that show, and I knew he looked familiar, but did not realize who he was until after the first performance.  The whole cast did an excellent job, especially Adam Driver, who played Louis.

Prior to the first show, we walked down (in the freezing cold) to the Hudson River and saw this aircraft carrier parked nearby, which made us feel quite safe from military attack during our visit.  

We ate dinner at this Japanese restaurant between shows.  It was very good.  We both had teriyaki chicken and miso soup, but mine also came with shrimp sumai, seaweed salad, and vegetable tempura.

I had already ate one of the shrimp sumai. 

When we arrived on Friday evening, we went to this piano bar, Don't Tell Mama, which has a back room for show tunes only.  It was also lots of fun.  I drank a Sexy Mama.  Mmmm.

In NYC to See Angels In America

Shane and I are in New York this weekend to see both parts of Angels
In America. We already saw Part 1, which was amazing, and are about
to see the second part. That's about 7 hours of show! More later.

Buying New Glasses Part 2--Even More Frames

Here are some more glasses frames I tried out recently.  Do any of them do anything for me?

Harry Potter?

I don't hate these.

I do hate these.

No.

Hell No.

I think we have a winner.

Thanks to my co-worker, Sara, for going with me and taking all these pictures.  Visit her blog, the Butterfly Cottage, about her upcoming wedding here.

Buying New Glasses--So Many Choices

I'm thinking about buying new glasses and getting a new look.  Which would you choose?

These are the Dame Ednas.

Yes. Those are rhinestones.

No.  It's me, not Michael Caine.

Ewww.

Now that's hot?

More choices later...

Elizabeth Taylor Tearing It Up in "Woolf"

She really was amazing!  She was only 33 years old when this was filmed.  She gained 30 pounds to play a mid-40s ball-breaking drunk.

This is from the blog, Signature Roles:

Her performance was and is still one of the most modern pieces of film acting ever. Her Martha is a ruthless, fierce, thunderbolt of rage and unacknowledged grief. She enters hard, like a wheel barrel of bricks being dumped on your front porch, and never let's up - until the last moment. Her hard thrust and power is an equal match to the amazing film-making.

New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #280

I need you to execute this will.

This is my submission for the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #280.  Let me know if you have any ideas for a caption too. 

Monday Night Sing-Along with Laurie

Shane's step-brother Trent's wife Laurie, from Salem, Mass., is back in town for a business trip and we went out to dinner at Zest on 8th Street.  Laurie treated!!! Thanks Laurie.  After dinner, we came back to our house and took advantage of Laurie's piano skills to have her play a few tunes on our upright.  Highlights of the sing-along included the Star Spangled Banner, the Rainbow Connection, and Downtown.  It was very fun!

My Popovers Pooped Out

This is what popovers are supposed to look like:

I have made popovers that have looked somewhat like the ones above.  They are awesome when they are warm, buttery and full of jam.  I made popovers this morning and followed my usual recipe and this is what resulted:

I don't know what I did wrong.  They were mealy, dark and not edible.  They didn't pop.  They were all poopy.  Oh well.  Maybe next time I'll have better luck.

Sleepy Day with Blue Sponge

I have problems sleeping about once a week.  Last night I went to bed a little after 11 and fell asleep fine.  I have no problem falling asleep initially.  My problem is I wake up and think it is morning.  I am ready for the day and wide awake. I turn to look at the clock and it is 12:30 a.m.  I lay there and try to go back to sleep to no avail.  I get up and play on the computer.  I pet the cat.  I read.  I stay awake.  Luckily, today is Saturday, so I don't have to do anything really.  It is much worse when it happens and I have to go to work.  When this happens, I just feel like crap all day.  I have a bad taste in my mouth and am a bit grouchy.  I'll sleep tonight though.  On the bright side, it makes the weekend longer.

Ann "Coo Coo" Coulter Says Radiation Is Good

Will she say anything to sell books?  Somebody has been standing too close to the microwave oven.

Where In the World Is Shane? Part 2

Happy St. Patrick's Day.  Here's another hint as to where Shane is on "business" travel this week.  They seem to be having quite the St. Patty's Day celebration there, but not as big as last week's party I bet.  I hope Shane doesn't have to show his boobies.

Where In the World Is Shane?

Can you guess what city Shane is on travel to this week from these photos he took out of his hotel window?  First one who guesses correctly will win everyone's admiration.  Here's a hint: It is not in Japan.  GOOD LUCK!

Steve Martin's Gospel Song for Atheists