Come look at the tree!

It is now officially December, which means (at least in my eyes) it's now all right to discuss the holiday season. I know that most media outlets and retailers started talking about Christmas back in October, but I've held off until this point.

One of the biggest parts of Christmas is the selection and decoration of the Christmas tree. At my home in Pennsylvania we always had a live tree. The family has recently turned to a fake tree, which isn't too bad, but it does lack a little bit of the smell and feel of the holiday. Last night my brother texted me a photo of the tree this year, along with my dopey dog, Grommit. I miss him.

My family has also been circulating an email chain regarding my uncle Jim's choice of tree this year. He has a fake tree, too, and set out with my cousin, Jimmy, to pick out a new one this year. Unfortunately, he's been catching some major grief for his tall, thin tree. I will keep my feelings on the matter private, but let's just say that a comparison has been made between the tree and a giant toilet brush. I DIDN'T SAY IT! I will say that it definitely looks better decorated then it did the last time I saw it. See, I can be nice!

Now, because I know that I will fall under harsh criticism for judging other people's trees, I will share my personal Christmas tree with all of my loyal readers. Behold the beauty of the fake ficus/air purifier Christmas holiday bonanza! Perhaps the most pitiful of them all, but with a limited space (and limited budget... send money) this is the best that we could do this year. Clearly it's not the most ideal tree for the season, but I still like it. I will prepare myself for the onslaught of ridicule that will now rain down on me from the family. Bring it on!

And finally... I have to share this video that my coworker, Caitlin, shared with me a few weeks ago. I didn't want to share it too soon and have been dying to post it. Please watch this video and try to pretend like you don't know someone exactly like this. What is it about the tree that gets us so excited?

Happy Holidays!

Thanksgiving in Pittsburgh

Back in NYC after taking a few days off from blogging to visit the family in Pittsburgh. Although I mentioned that I was nervous about the holiday travel craziness, everything was actually very smooth! Thanks to all the USAirways people who helped make it an easy trip (and feel free to upgrade me more often!)

I had a very nice trip home. Saw my Pappy who just had is gall bladder removed, along with the rest of my family. Also got to see some of my college friends, including my friend Danielle and her beautiful daughter, Lily. Saving some space, so click the link below for the photo spread! Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving!

Click for the Photos!

Wednesday night I went out drinking with the family, including Jimmy, Aunt Freddie and Uncle Jim


Caught Aunt Freddie sipping some beer when she thought no one was looking...


Dad and I took advantage of a photo op on the back deck


Mom took the picture and didn't even cut anyone out!


Grommit assumed his normal position on the throne


Sam and Sully on Thanksgiving Day.


Drew is not phased by toddler mangling


There was snow on Hummingbird Hill


And while I can't take credit for this photo, this is what I got to play with on Friday night. This is not a baby actress, it's a real baby that I met. Her name is Lily. Feel free to "ooh" and "aww."

Vote for your parade favorite!

Happy Early Thanksgiving, everyone! I'm headed back to Pittsburgh in about 2 hours and might not survive the airport battle to post this later today... wish me luck.

Tomorrow is the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (or just the Macy's Day Parade, if you're my mom. When is "Macy's Day" anyway?) and iVillage.com is letting fans vote for their favorite float and ballon during the celebration.

The site also gives you a sneak peek at the balloons and some extra info about this year's parade. Let's home that no one gets injured by renegade balloons this year! I think they took them M&Ms out back and put them down anyway, so I think we're safe.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween, everyone! Hope you find more treats than tricks today. And if you're not going to eat all your candy, send it my way. I like candy...

I already carved my pumpkin last weekend, and I think the fact that Halloween is on a Wednesday is really bringing the holiday down. No one is really sure when to celebrate. It seems like the number of Halloween parties has gone down this year. Maybe I'm just officially old and I don't care that much anymore... never! I love Halloween, but maybe I'll just take it easy this year.

You know what else I love? Babies dressed as things. I'm a sucker for babies and an even bigger sucker for babies dressed up in costumes. Apparently babies dressed as food items is all the rage this season. Please click the link below to view some of my favorite babies dressed up for Halloween.

Click for the babies!!

Here is my friend, Danielle, and her daughter, Lily, dressed up like a bunny with a baby carrot. Get it?! I'm not going to be humble... this costume was totally my idea and Danielle took my advice. I'm also not going to lie... I saw this costume on Ellen earlier in the week, but still; it's a good costume!

Next up is another favorite: baby Maura! She is so cute I could eat her! Look at that face!

And just for shiggles, please view Maura's parents, Erin and Kevin, dressed as Dog the Bounty Hunter and his unfortunate wife. Points for originality, but Maura does not look amused.

iVillage.com also has a slide show feature some of the most squeal-worthy baby costumes I have seen in a long time. Check 'em out and have a better day!

Birthday Weekend Awesomeness

This morning I woke up at 9:30am to officially kick off birthday weekend! I turn 25 tomorrow and I'm getting things started right! Here's a running tally of the weekend's events:

• Birthday flowers
  
• Wake up at 9:30
• Get 2 sets of codes to buy Spice Girls tickets
• Get 2 sets of floor tickets to 2 separate concerts in February (!!!)
• Relaxing facial with Carolyn
  
• Lunch at Burger Joint
• Shopping
• Escape zombie attack (Carolyn said, "I can't believe that zombie b*tch tried to come after me.")
• Buttercup cupcakes
• Nap
• Card from Lauren
  
• Party and presents!
• Breakfast
• More birthday flowers and snacks
  
• Brunch with the gang
• Lotto tickets!
  
• More shopping
• Card from Danielle
  
• Family Guy
• Huge nap
• More cupcakes!
• Sleeeeeeeep
  

Thanks so much to everyone who helped me celebrate this weekend! I really appreciate it.

Happy Labor Day!

Happy Labor Day, everyone! I know that I'm a day late with the post, but Labor day is about not working... right? So I took the day off. It was a very long and fun weekend, which has caused me to have a heinous sore throat and major aches... awesome. Totally worth it though.

My friend Matthew came up from Philly on Thursday night and we went to see the taping of the premiere of Ellen season 5. We had to be there bright and early (6:30am... oof) but it was totally worth it! Senator Hilary Clinton was the guest for most of the show, and even for someone unpolitical like me, it was very, very interesting. There was also another mystery guest whom I cannot reveal, so you'll have to tune into Ellen today to find out!

Yesterday Kelly and I decided to get outside on Labor Day and get a unique view of New York. We rented bikes and rode around the perimeter of the city. We rode down the west side, through the financial district and to Battery Park. We then cut across through South Street Seaport and rode across the Brooklyn Bridge. It was really awesome! Here are some pix from the trip.

Kelly was ready to rock in her all-black and sport backpack


I was ready, too!


the closest I've ever been to the Statue of Liberty


Lookin' sweet at South Street Sea Port


Enjoying the amazing view from the Brooklyn Bridge


Cool shot of the top of the Bridge


We were hella' tired, but took a minute for a photo op.


I am a bike pro and jumped a curb, unfortunately Kelly wasn't so skilled and ate pavement. The lady outside McDonalds was very concerned. This was the aftermath.


No worries! She was right back on and ready to rock!

Hope you had a nice holiday!

The World's Strongest (and Scariest) Clown

The other day I posted an awesome photo of me as a clown from Halloween when I was probably 3 or 4 years old. My Uncle Jim reminded me of a very traumatic birthday party I had when I turned seven years old that I cannot resist sharing.

I'm sure that my parents had great intentions of helping me to have an awesome party, but something went terribly wrong that fateful day in October. I had all my family at our house, and several friends from Mrs. Cadman's first grade classroom. I was having a great time at the party... until he arrived.

I literally remember it like it was yesterday, not 17 years ago (wow, that long?!) The party was going on in the basement, but I went upstairs to help my mom in the kitchen when I saw a weird van driving down my street. It was a big, purple delivery van with balloons painted on the side. My heart stopped. I remember saying something like, "THAT'S NOT COMING TO MY PARTY, IS IT?!" But it was too late... Buffo was already here.

Buffo The Clown's claim to fame is that he is the "world's strongest clown," and I have no doubt that his title is accurate. I will have to ask though... What is the link between entertaining children and ripping a phone book in half? To this day I'm still not sure. Please feast your eyes on this horrific photo to see what I'm talking about.


No, that is not a cover of a horror movie. It's a promo shot for Buffo, The World's Strongest Clown. There are several other frightening photos on Buffo's website... if you are brave enough to visit. Buffo will kill you.

Imagine that you are me; a bright-eyed, intelligent and adorable child celebrating a birthday. Now replace the phone book in that photo with your own soft and fragile skull. That basically recreates my party for you.

The worst part about it is that someone in my generally technologically-challenged family managed to capture the whole show on video! It still gives me chills thinking about it, and we unfortunately had to watch the tape again this weekend while the family was together. Oy. Between making passes at my Mom and Aunt Carrie, Buffo annoys the sh*t out of me by making me do stupid magic tricks. The worst of which involves a multiplying magic wand that, to this day, still makes my Dad cry with laughter. Ya, it's funny (no, it's not.)

In conclusion, I would like to say this:

Buffo the Clown- I know you are a good clown. You are still around almost two decades later entertaining the masses of Western Pennsylvania with your feats of strength and comedy. Kudos to you on doing what you love. Keep up the good work.

Parents of the World- Don't ever book a scary clown for your kid's birthday... or any clown, for that matter. It just... it just really isn't a good idea. Especially if this particular clown can bend steel or crush a baseball in one hand. Do your kids a favor and take them somewhere with a ball pit. Kids go nuts over that stuff.

Happy Birthday, America!

Happy Birthday, America! You don't look a day over 200. Did everyone have a nice Fourth? I had an excellent time, despite the kind chilly and grey weather here in NYC. Regardless of mother nature, a few friends of mine and myself set out for a fun picnic in Central Park. We had a million snacks, beer, sangria, tunes and a makeshift Frisbee, which all led to a very enjoyable afternoon!

You know I took 9 million photos while we were there, but instead of just posted them like I usually do, I decided to take my geekness up another level and made a video of our afternoon. (thanks for Mr. Weaver for being my inspiration. I'm obsessed with video slideshows now.)

The afternoon proved to be a little too much fun though, and I didn't make it out to see the fireworks display. I'm not mad though... it's not like I don't know what fireworks look like, and it was kinda rainy.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday! (and maybe enjoyed a day off?)

Tuesday is really Friday

Good morning! How are you doing today? That's good. Getting ready for the Fourth? Excellent, me too. So, I'm not gonna lie... I'm kinda phoning it in today. After all, today is basically Friday since most of America has off tomorrow for Independence Day. In lieu of any thought-provoking or intellectual post, I'm going to let Black20.com's Jessie Cantrell fill you in on some news.

Ya, I'm lazy, so what?

SomeEcards.com

Have you ever sent someone and e-card for a holiday or event? Some of them are pretty lame. I have to admit that I'm guilty of using them from time to time, but it's just so easy! Who has time to go get an actual card from the store... or take the time to write their own thoughts in a personalized email. It's much easier to pick out something that someone else has already written.

Yesterday I got a really funny e-card in my inbox that literally made me laugh out loud! Here's what it said:
It's pretty much the best e-card ever. It comes from the website SomeEcards.com, which is filled with tons of awesomely awkward cards for every occasion. Some of them are really funny, and some are really offensive... which is basically the same as funny. Check out their website and send one to someone you love/hate today! Here are a few of my favorites:

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday, everyone! Hope you are gearing up for tomorrow's Cinco De Mayo festivities. For you trivia buffs, Cinco De Mayo is not the Mexican Independence Day like many people believe. That is on September 15th. It's actually a day to celebrate Mexico's defeat of French troops in Puebla on May 5th, 1862. Did you know that? I thought it was to celebrate the discovery of tequila, but apparently that's just here in the States.

For some other random trivia, check out Black20 News. Nice segue, huh?
Black20 News: Wednesday May 2nd 2007