I'm on a Boat!

OK, well, not right this second, but I was on a boat all day yesterday. The funny thing is, all day, I kept thinking, "I'm on a boat." It reminded me of that hilarious Old Spice commercial. You know the one. Where at the end he says, "I'm on a horse."

What?! You don't know that one? OK, well because I'm the nice girl that I am, and because I believe you need to laugh histerically like I do when I see this, I'll show you the one I mean.

See? Hilarious, right? I KNOW! (Said in my best "Monica" voice.) Watch it again, you'll laugh even harder!

*SJ*

Confession #7

I'm a reality TV junkie! I simply cannot resist the carnage that comes with these reality "stars" getting so caught up in themselves! The shows I am watching currently are:

*Big Brother
*Real Housewives of *Everywhere*
*Project Runway
*Top Chef

And here's one I can't believe I'm about to admit -Repo Men. To be fair, I've only seen two episodes, on the recommendation of a new friend. When I told him I was a reality TV junkie, he asked if I watch tosh.0 and Repo Men. Never having seen either, I had no idea what to expect.

That very night after I got home, I was having a hard time sleeping. I started flipping channels and lo and behold found Repo Men. I watched a couple of episodes, but I'm not totally sold. I finally watched tosh.0 today, which did have its funny moments. tosh.0 is a show that basically recaps all sorts of funny videos from the internet. Some are funny, some are gross, others downright stupid! It's something I might watch from time to time, but I certainly won't set my Tivo for it.

So, what are your favorite TV shows? What should I be watching that I'm missing out on? Feel free to share!

*SJ*

Thirsty Thursday

I went out for drinks with a girlfriend last night to celebrate her starting a new job. She used to be the bar manager at the bar where I work. In her honor, I thought I would post my current favorite shot, a Scooby Snack.

1/2 oz Malibu coconut rum

1/2 oz Midori melon liqueur

1/2 oz pineapple juice

1 1/2 oz cream

Pour contents into a shaker filled with ice. Cover and shake until mixed and chilled. Strain into a highball glass and shoot.

And just for fun, here's a shot I made up when we were experimenting with a new bottle of whiskey.

Hot Apple Pie

1 1/2 oz Apple Pucker

1/2 oz Fireball cinnamon whiskey

2 drops grenadine

Pour Apple Pucker and whiskey into a shaker filled with ice. Cover and shake until mixed and chilled. Strain into a highball glass rimmed with brown sugar. Add two drops of grenadine and shoot.

Enjoy!

*SJ*

New Blog Look!

It's been a long time coming! I've been blogging (sporadically) now for over two years, and had the same generic template the whole time.

My friend Denise has a great blog about being a wife, mother to triplets, and deal-finder. She updated her own blog recently, and it looks great. She was gracious enough to share her source with me so I could do the same.

Denise also has started a photography business recently. I wonder if she can photograph food. ; )

Be sure to check out her blog, Bits & Pieces and her photography blog Denise Slater Photography. (Also, lemme know what you think of the new look!)

*SJ*

Confession #6 - I'm a Tech Junkie

I think I *literally* bought the third iPod ever created. We're talking Generation 1 here! Of course, since I have HORRIBLE luck with electronics, I am now on my 8th iPod, but that's beside the point.
I also have a couple of laptops, three SLR cameras (one is DSLR, 2-35mm), a Wii, XBox, XBox 360, and myriad other electronics paraphernalia. So, what's my latest quest, you ask?

Behold: (queue angelic music)

iPad awesomeness!!

I know, I'm really late to this party. I'm not actually *late* per se, but they have been out for a few months now. I'm actually right on schedule for mine, though, as I had always planned to buy myself one for my birthday.

In case anyone's counting, my birthday is exactly 31 days from today. I went to the Apple Store this evening where two things happened. 1) I got the BEST customer service I think I have ever had and 2) I got completely sold on the iPad.

A very friendly girl named Chelsea approached me, and - poor thing - I don't think she knew what she was getting into! Forty-five minutes later, I left the store, feeling completely satisfied with my impending purchase. In case you've been living in a cave, here are some of the things I'm looking forward to on my iPad:

*eReader app called iBook (also has a Kindle app available for download)

*mobile web browsing without having to lug around a laptop

*over 100,000 apps including geocaching (see yesterday's post) & games for my nieces/nephews

*stylus available (add'l purchase) to write notes, draw pictures, etc

I'm really excited to get my iPad and figure out all the cool things I can do on it. I've been reading the threads at 2 Peas and, from what I can tell, I won't be able to put it down! So, what do you think about the iPad? Do you have one? Love it? Hate it? I'd love to hear what you use *your* iPad for!

*SJ*

I Believe I Could Have a New Addiction

So, I was cruising around the interwebs today, and came across a blog that mentions geocaching. Wanting to find out more, I went to www.geocaching.com. What a wealth of information!

According to the site, what geocaching is, in a nutshell, is a treasure hunt. Sure, you use more high-tech gadgets than you did when you were a kid, but it's the same basic concept. People from all over the world hide treasures ("caches") and then give the latitude/longitude. Once you find the cache, you sign the logbook & record your experience online. Sometimes there is something to trade, such as a trinket or a note.

I definitely have more to learn about geocaching, but so far I'm intrigued. Any experiences or helpful hints would be appreciated.

*SJ*

I'm Still Not a Food Photographer

However, I wanted to post another recipe I've tried recently. I adapted this recipe for Strawberry Lemon Granita from www.mybakingaddiction.com .

Ingredients:
1 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
3 Tbsp Country Time Strawberry Lemonade mix
3 cups frozen strawberries, slightly thawed

Combine the water, sugar and lemonade mix in a saucepan over medium heat, just until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool.

Blend strawberries until smooth.

Pour cooled simply syrup into strawberries and blend to combine.

Pour the mixture into a 9x13 baking dish and place in the freezer.


After about 30 minutes, ice will begin to form around the edges. Using a fork, scrape the ice crystals toward the center of the pan.


Repeat every 20-30 minutes for the next 3-4 hours, or until the entire mixture is frozen and "crumbly" texture.

Enjoy!!

(You'll want to store leftovers in an airtight container -if you have any!)

*SJ*