Five for Friday

1. BREAKING NEWS: We had an earthquake this morning. I was asleep & woke up to the building shaking, & then creaking. Brad had already left for the gym & didn't feel a thing.

It was only a 3.6 & actually felt more like a freight train going by or a fighter plane flying low overhead - both things which happen relatively often. I got up, turned on the TV (which wasn't reporting anything), checked Twitter (which had a few posts) & went back to sleep.

Such a random event for this area!

2. I hope you've been enjoying the photos from our visit to Cleveland - I've enjoyed sharing them, since it was such a personal trip for me. Stay tuned for a continuation of the Americana theme this afternoon :)

3. Next week, I will be in Atlanta for work on Tuesday & Wednesday - pretty excited to experience the Westin "heavenly bed."

Friday morning, I'm headed to NYC for a long weekend - watch for a special "New York City version" of next week's Five for Friday. On my agenda: a sunrise walk over the Brooklyn Bridge, a visit to The Strand (can't wait to see the 18 miles of books!), discount tickets to a show & dinner at my favorite restaurant.

4. I'm looking forward to both these trips, but not nearly as much as I'm looking forward to cruising away from the stresses of life with Brad on a nine-night cruise in just 27 days!

We'll be spending time in Portland, Maine; Bar Harbor, Maine; St. John, New Brunswick, Canada; Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; & Boston. We have a sea kayaking tour lined up in Bar Harbor, a visit to Peggy's Cove fishing village in Halifax & a whole list of things to see in St. John. Best of all, we will have three "days at sea" to sleep in, enjoy the adults only solarium pool & lounge, maybe get a (overpriced) massage & generally relax & unplug.

The best part? No flying involved! We cruise out of the Port of Baltimore!

5. I just realized the sweater I'm wearing at work is inside out. Luckily it's just a black cardigan. I think it has just been one of those days :)

Bonne weekend!

Fireworks

Yesterday, baseball.

Today, fireworks.

This blog is getting darn right all American!

It's Tribe Time

A lifelong Cleveland Indians fan, I was excited to go to not one, but TWO games while we were in Cleveland.

Saturday evening, Brad & I went to his first game at Jacob's Field (I'm sorry people, but it will always be the Jake to me). It was a beautiful evening for baseball & we got a rare treat: a Tribe win, in 10 innings! The game was followed up by some pretty spectacular fireworks, which were just the icing on the cake.

Sunday afternoon, Brad's brother treated us to a game, as an extremely belated Christmas present. While the Indians couldn't pull out two in a row, the great seats we had & the sunny, gorgeous afternoon almost made up for it.

list 20 - teachers that changed my life

(20 lists down, 32 to go... thanks to Hula Seventy for the list inspiration)

Mrs. Krankowski - Second Grade -

I was a dorky second grader in a blue & gray plaid Catholic school jumper & ridiculously cute black & white saddle shoes. I thought I ruled the school, or at least the second grade, & took pride in the fact that I was a reading champion.

The biggest bummer in my life was the fact that I had constant headaches which made school more of a headache than it normally is. Surgery was the only fix to my headaches, as they were a symptom of a condition I had since birth.

It wasn't the surgery that bothered me, but the missing school & not being able to wear my normal school uniform afterward that did. Yet Mrs. Krankowski & my parents made it all okay. School work was managed; cute, frilly dresses were worn; & Mrs. Krankowski even allowed someone to sit in the classroom with me every day to eat lunch while I was still recouping & unable to navigate the crowded lunchroom. Once Veronica Mars & I spent the lunch hour not eating, but replaying "We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel over & over until we had all the words down. Important work for second graders.

Mrs. Krankowski gets an A+ in my book for making sure I didn't fall behind when I easily could have. And having an awesome last name.

Mrs. Blaha & Mrs. Robinson - Fourth & Fifth Grade -
They get a joint shout out, since I had Mrs. Blaha in fourth grade & then both of them in fifth grade in what was actually a fourth/fifth grade split class (I think I understood the dynamics of it better than. But how two adults could control 45 10 & 11 year old's was beyond me. Brave women).

Both were (maybe still are) excellent teachers. They were the kind of people that parents dream about having for their kids. Kind, but stern. Patient, but just to the right amount. They helped me through some tough times in my personal life & both cried the day I left for my three-week exchange student trip to France (boy is that another post in itself!) & made the class send me an Aerogram on my birthday overseas.

Mrs. Blaha gets an A+ in my book for being the ideal elementary school teacher - TWICE.

Mrs. Robinson gets an A+ in my book for boosting my confidence in math (which I am still horrible at) & feeding my love of reading & books.

Ms Wood - AP English, 12th Grade -

I don't think Ms Wood has ever had a student - or at least an honors or AP English student - who would not say that she is one of the best teacher's they ever had. She was loved by everyone.

I still feel guilty about not reading "Doctor Faustus" (the whole class rebelled & did not read for some reason. This was not a coordinated rebellion though). I still remember everyone's reaction to my diorama of the book "A Walk to Remember" (gasps around the room at the crazy attention to detail. What comes out of my mouth? "Well, I guess this is what you get when you have no life." Classic.). I still remember the hug she gave me when I told her I couldn't complete a project on time because of some personal drama interfering with my school life - she told me everything would be okay (& it was). And I still have the poem she gave us on the last day of school tucked in the back of my yearbook.

Ms Wood gets an A+ in my book for making every. single. student. feel special.

Ms Robbins - yearbook advisor -

I graduated from high school ten years ago & still keep in touch with Ms Robbins. How could I not? She was so much more than a yearbook advisor to me, & to a lot of students over her career. She was a surrogate mom when I needed one the most. She made me confident in myself, in my leadership abilities & in my creativity.

Heck, she taught me how to type 80 words per minute.

How she put up with us, with all her yearbook students, for so many years I am not sure. But my Solleret is still one of my proudest achievements & I have her to thank for that & so many other things.

Ms Robbins gets an A+ in my book because she sent me an email yesterday asking when she's going to get to be a surrogate grandmother :)

Classic cool

Is there anything not cool about this classic car I stumbled upon on the side of the road in Chagrin Falls?

Personally, I think the Tom Petty 8-track makes the photo :)

West Side Market

I have a soft spot in my heart for Cleveland's West Side Market. Dating back to the 1840's, it's Ohio's oldest public market & a place where I used to roam the stalls with my Dad as a child almost every Saturday morning. On our recent trip to Cleveland, I was delighted to see that it hadn't changed one bit. It's a gem of a place & one that should be on any visitor's list. Not to mention that the Ohio City neighborhood that surrounds it has grown by leaps & bounds over the years & is home to many chic restaurants & shops now.

I spent a good amount of time strolling the aisles of this great gem, before stopping at the West Side Market Cafe for a most excellent breakfast the Friday morning I visited.

This breakfast was not only the healthiest thing I ate the whole trip, it was also one of the most enjoyable. There's nothing like a good breakfast, a hot cup of coffee & the truly important sections of the newspaper.

P.S. What do you think about the new photo size? Too big? I personally like the bigger photos, I think it really shows off the detail well, but maybe they're too big for some people's tastes. Let me know!

Five for Friday

1. How 'bout that LeBron James, huh? I know, I'm sick of hearing about it too. So I'll just make one comment on it, to Dan Gilbert: the font you use means everything. Comic Sans? REALLY?

2. As you saw from yesterday's hot dog post, our trip to Cleveland was indeed epic, despite the LeBron decision hanging over the entire city (see exhibit A below).

We ate so much, my stomach literally hurt until yesterday. Things we ate that made my stomach hurt: pizza (x2, including once at the ballpark); beer (x a lot... ); hot dog with bacon and cheese, chocolate milkshake and cheese fries (all for lunch on Saturday); nachos (at the ballpark, but on a different night than the pizza); ice cream, regular (x2); ice cream, sundaes (x2). Pepto anyone?

3. Another highlight to our trip was going to see two Indians games, one of which they actually won! For a team that is 33-52 headed into the all-star break, we were really excited to see a winning game. Plus it was Brad's first game at Jacob's Field (I'm sorry, but it will ALWAYS be the Jake to me), the weather was perfect and our seats for both games were great.

4. This wouldn't be a traditional "Five for Friday" post if I did not comment on/complain about the weather. It is sunny an average of 66 days a year in Cleveland, leaving you an 82% chance of it not being sunny during your visit. Guess what? Bright blue skies every day we were there! What are the chances? Of course, then we came back to 100+ degree temperatures in D.C. this week, so perhaps it was the big man upstairs reminding us to enjoy sun and 80 degrees while we have access it!

5. Lastly, I would be remiss if I did not mention probably the best part of our trip to Cleveland: the Happy Humper. No, I'm not talking about some adult store or badly titled x-rated movie. I'm talking about this:

The world's most dangerous/thrilling piece of playground equipment ever. When I was in elementary school, we'd pile onto this thing way beyond capacity and have the time of our lives. Fingers were squished, flesh was pinched and more than one tush was burned on the black rubber. Yet, it was pure recess bliss. I was sure that the school district had wisened up sometime in the past 20 years and taken out this childhood play thing.

Nope! There it is, in all its glory, on the playground of Ella Canavan Elementary School (a fine educational institution, I might add). It even has a twin. Warmed my heart.

Epic

Our trip to Cleveland was epic in every way possible.

The food we ate; the amount of food we ate.

The nostalgia we rolled around in like Scrooge McDuck and a big pile of gold coins.

The baseball we watched (okay, most of that was just epically bad).

The small town fireworks we saw.

The small town charm we fell in love with.

For now I'll leave you with the above image of Saturday's lunch. But I will be back with so, so much more.

list 19 - things in my bag

1. cell phone
2. BlackBerry with wallpaper image from Las Vegas
3. two chapstick - one Burt's Bees, the other a freebie from the Travel and Adventure Expo a few months back
4. SmartTrip Metro pass
5. point and shoot camera inside small case
6. keys with small business card holder
7. $.27
8. boarding pass from trip to Cleveland
9. wallet
10. checkbook and coupons
11. sunglasses
12. free samples of Starbucks iced coffee mix and Crystal Light lemonade mix
13. hair clip
14. magazines (some trashy, some not)
15. two pens
16. necklace from Barbados
17. book
18. reusable bag inside reusable bag holder

America is...

Lady Liberty & skyscrapers

beaches and mountains

flags on front porches

flying Old Glory

baseball

honoring our Veterans

Happy Independence Day everyone! No Five for Friday tomorrow because we will be traveling to the city that rocks, Cleveland.

list 18 - things I would say to my 17 year old self

… inspired by Brad Paisley’s song “Letter to Me” and Hula Seventy's list.

1. You are not fat. It’s stupid that you lie about your weight on your driver’s license. Ten years from now, you will look back fondly on the days that you weighed this much.

2. Some stuff is going to happen in the fall of 1999 that will be life changing. Go with your gut – it is right.

3. Study a little harder for your AP European History exam. I know the teacher is awful, but it’ll be one of the last times you take a class in school that you really enjoy.

4. Don’t stop playing the piano, despite what happens at Solo and Ensemble your senior year. Ten years later, when you pick it up again, you will be frustrated at how hard it is.

5. The last day of 11th grade might have been the best day of your life up until now, but just wait... it’s going to get SO much better.

6. The guys you dated in high school were not so great. But guess what? You’ll only have to seriously date one more person before you meet the amazing guy you’re going to marry at a much younger age than you thought you would.

7. Embrace being editor of the yearbook. I know it seems stressful and a lot of work at times, but Ms Robbins will turn out to be a lifesaver and a lifelong friend.

8. Quitting marching band was the right decision.

9. Read all the books you’re supposed to for AP English. You will regret not reading some of them later in life.

10. Don’t worry about not having tons of close friends. Your small group will stick with you through high school and, ten years later, you’ll still be best friends with one of them (but not the one that you think).

11. Not getting into the University of Florida is the absolute BEST thing that has ever happened to you. Trust me.

12. Put that camera you got on the last day of 11th grade to good use. Taking photos will always bring you true joy in life. And writing. Keep writing.

13. Doing horribly chemistry will not negatively affect your life, only your GPA.

14. College is not going to be anything like you think it will be. It will be a completely unique experience that will make you a stronger, more independent adult.

15. They are going to paint your high school tan. Come to grips with this now. It will be startling in the future.

16. You’re going to have great skin when you’re older. You’ll also never wear make up, so don’t feel bad about not wearing it now. But, please, please, please, start wearing daily moisturizer with sunscreen in it!

17. Enjoy this time living in Florida. It will be more short lived than anticipated and one day you will ache for the beach.

18. Go with your gut, always. It has yet to lead you astray.

hello, old friend...

I'm awfully glad you're back in my life

Five for Friday

1. Hot: – adjective: 1. having or giving off heat; having a high temperature: a hot fire; hot coffee.

Ridiculous –adjective: causing or worthy of ridicule or derision; absurd; preposterous; laughable: a ridiculous plan.

It has been ridiculously hot this week in D.C. Like unbearable. Like competing with the hottest days from when I lived in Florida. And it's only mid-June. Yikes.

2. It may be hot, but it's never too hot for a bike ride. Or at least that's what Brad says. Last Sunday, he rode a metric century (that's 63 miles) in the Tour de Cure. Despite the 93 degree heat, he finished in 4.5 hours. I am so proud of him! Next up for him: a full century (yup, 100 miles) in early October in Maryland/Delaware. Let the training begin!


3. Sometime this weekend, we're going to see Toy Story 3. I have already admitted my love (and weepy tendencies) to Pixar movies, so I'm really excited to see this one. Hmmm... now I want to watch the movie "Up!" Perhaps it will be a Pixar movie marathon weekend. I mean, what the heck else can you do when it's so ridiculously hot out?!

4. Next weekend, we will be in Cleveland for the fourth of July (BTW, how the heck is it July already?!). On Friday, I will be hanging out with an old friend (and by that I mean we've been friends for a long time, not that she is old. Because she's not. Since she's the same age I am!), while Brad and his brother spend the day at Cedar Point. Since I spent time being scared out of my wits at that place last summer, I feel no need to put myself through that torture again this summer. Besides, I need a pedicure. Feels like a fair trade off to me.

5. I am ridiculously (seems to be the word of the day kids) excited about going to Cleveland. I only hope that I have not set my expectations a wee-bit too high :)

take me there: Villefranche-sur-Mer, France

Do you have a place that you daydream about?

On lousy, or hot and muggy, or tiring (or all of the above) days, I like to daydream about the little seaside french town of Villefranche-sur-Mer.

It was the first stop on our Mediterranean honeymoon cruise, which means we visited with about 3500 other cruise ship tourists. Yet, with a little exploring and a lot of walking, we still managed to find glimpses of day-to-day life on the quiet Sunday morning we visited.

You might also recognize Villefranche-sur-Mer from its role in several movies, including The Bourne Identity, To Catch a Thief, and (best of all) the home of Cary Grant's grandmother in An Affair to Remember.

In case you need a place to daydream about, you're welcome to borrow Villefranche-sur-Mer.

list 17 - my favorite places in the world

quiet back streets
Villefranche, France

the 'Shoe
Columbus, Ohio

Central Park
New York, New York

Pikes Place Market
Seattle, Washington

the top of the Duomo bell tower
Florence, Italy

water front piers
Alexandria, Virginia

Park Guell
Barcelona, Spain

Millennium Park
Chicago, Illinois

a hammock, anywhere in the world
(in this case: Half Moon Cay, Bahamas)

the Carib Beach Bar
Sandy Beach, Barbados