Apr 30, 2009

On Our Evening Wander - April 2009

A couple of nights ago, the Hub and I were taking our nightly wander on the river and we stumbled upon this the other day. I am having a tough time coming up with a reason that one would require the services of wipers on their head lights. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Till next time.
Bon Voyage!

Apr 27, 2009

ZOMBIES!!!! - April 2009

I thought this was too funny not to blog about.
Oh the things I will miss about this town...
Being able to, on a random Friday night in April wander two blocks from my place of employment and witness actual zombies staggering from one edge of the sidewalk to the other, as they sought to collect and eat as many brains as possible. There were baby zombies, and senior zombies, Fat zombies and skinny zombies, tall ones and short ones, zombies of all colors, shapes, and sizes.
Note to Reader: A big thank you to Peter Baskind for the Great photos!.
Till next time,
Bon Voyage!

Apr 23, 2009

My MD in MD - Baltimore, MD - April 2009

So to catch you all up, do you remember that letter I mentioned back on March 19th that would "change the course of our lives"? Well we opened that letter and in turn, a brand new chapter. This June, only a few weeks after he graduates from Medical school, the Hub and I will pack up all of our worldly belongings and the kitties and move over 1000 miles to make Baltimore, MD our new home.

This past weekend, we hopped a quick flight to BWI and found our new digs.

Note To Reader: Baltimore Washington International Airport (BWI) is one of the least expensive airports on earth to fly into! We’re talking round trip fares for under $100.00!

After searching over 40 properties, we finally found a place that met not only our needs, but also a lot of our wants as well. We’ll have a 2bd /2bth with about 300 more square feet than we currently have. There’s a fire place vaulted ceilings, a garden tub in the master bath, big closets, a kitchen island, and a GIGANTIC laundry room, YAY!!! No pictures yet, but I’ll have a ton of moving in projects that I’ll be blogumenting as we go, so there will be a lot of pictures coming soon. In the mean time, here are a few quick shots from our weekend adventure.

Our first taste of Maryland Crab Cakes! Mmmmm!!! Goooood!!!


We met up with my aunt E and Uncle J who, unbeknownst to us live only an hour from said new digs. Yay!!! Love 'em!!! Love 'em!!! Love 'em!!!

Remember this guy from the Hub's tails from the road? Same Hotel... Same Corner... Same Window Washer!!! Oh and Yes, it was raining!

This is just my attempt at an artistic picture of the Baltimore World Trade Center.
In his spare time, the hub has dreams of being a crab fisherman. He had to be sure he could buy crab fisherman paraphernalia at the local XXX- Mart.
Additional Note To Reader: We’re still working on the self portrait thing, but I thought this one was cute. (That’s a GIANT Barns & Noble in the back ground, Yay!!!)
I honestly can’t believe that in less than 2 months this city will be home.

Till next time,
Bon Voyage!

Apr 16, 2009

Summer Fun to Come: Movies - April 2009

So I just discovered that two of my favorite books will soon be making the big screen debut. This thrills me! I know that a lot of people have trouble with movie adaptations of books, but I don't mind too much. It gives me a reason to watch and then go back and reread.

1. My Sister's Keeper
Author: Jodi Picoult
Movie release date: June 26th

Check out the Trailer here or the YouTube trailer below:

2. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
Author: JK Rowling
Movie Release date: July 17th

Check out the Trailer here or the YouTube trailer below:

Till next time,
Bon Voyage!

Apr 3, 2009

Wipers On = Headlights On – April 2009

Okay, let’s chat. Just in case there was any confusion, there is a law that states that if you have your windshield wipers on you must also have your headlights on. Just in case you don’t believe me, here you go.THE LAW
§ 20‑129: Required lighting equipment of vehicles

When Vehicles Must Be Equipped.
(a) Every vehicle within this State shall be equipped with lighted headlamps and rear lamps as required for different classes of vehicles, and subject to exemption with reference to lights on parked vehicles as declared in G.S. 20‑134:…

(4) Lighted headlamps must be used at any other time when windshield wipers are in use as a result of smoke, fog, rain, sleet, or snow, or when inclement weather or environmental factors severely reduce the ability to clearly discern persons and vehicles on the street and highway at a distance of 500 feet ahead, provided, however, the provisions of this subdivision shall not apply to instances when windshield wipers are used intermittently in misting rain, sleet, or snow. Any person violating this subdivision during the period from October 1, 1990, through December 31, 1991, shall be given a warning of the violation only. Thereafter, any person violating this subdivision shall have committed an infraction and shall pay a fine of five dollars ($5.00) and shall not be assessed court costs. No drivers license points, insurance points or premium surcharge shall be assessed on account of violation of this subdivision and no negligence or liability shall be assessed on or imputed to any party on account of a violation of this subdivision. The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles and the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall incorporate into driver education programs and driver licensing programs instruction designed to encourage compliance with this subdivision as an important means of reducing accidents by making vehicles more discernible during periods of limited visibility.

Note to Reader: I realize that the fine is only $5.00 but it should be $50.00 or maybe even $500.00!

Yesterday, while the hub and I were running errands it started raining cats and dogs. When I say cats and dogs, I mean Great Mastiffs and Bangle Tigers! I am sure we passed no less than 8 cars that were just creep creep creeping along (we’re talking 20 mph in a 45 mph. Their wipers were swish swishing but their headlights weren’t on. One person didn’t even use their blinker when they turned left in front of three lanes of traffic at an intersection where left turns are illegal. But I digress…

Really this is meant to be a PSA (Public Service Announcement). Just in case you didn’t know, when you are driving with your wipers on, for your safety as well as the safety of others, make sure that your head lights are also illuminated. Thanks and have a great day!

Till next time,
Bon Voyage!

Apr 2, 2009

Long time no see - April 2009

Sorry for the long absence. Several new posts are in the works along with the announcement of the characters name. I did want to highlight the contest winner though. His entry was pretty creative a couple of pretend news articles that were really funny. I’m not sure how many of you got a chance to read the other entries. So here they are along with his cute acceptance speech. Enjoy!

Till next time,
Bon Voyage!

Note To Reader: If you like his writing, check out his blogs, Life as a rubik's cube and Personal experiences being a heavy-set runner.

THE ENTRY
ROYTERS- 11.March.2009
The world-famous Wandering Lili has officially opened the contest to name one of the characters of her much anticipated novel. Although details of the book have not been revealed, there are rumors that two major film studios are interested in producing a short-film based on "Remembery Tea" and a full-length feature on the new novel. The author, who lives by the shores of the Mississippi river in the Bluff City, has not confirmed or denied the rumor. "Fans believe that the Wandering Lili is giving them "signals" about the films and the new novel in each of her blog postings" said Mr. Rennt, leader of the "These Boots Were Made for WANDERING" club, a group of bloggers who often reference the Wandering Lili's blogs. A blog posted anonymously leaked "details" about the upcoming novel, in which the most interesting "fact" is about one of the characters, a heavy-set foreigner who's has to learn English to be able to start his own blog. Phone calls and emails to the author of the blog and to the Wandering Lili have not been returned.

ESPNN - 13.March.2009
March madness continues and the competition to win the coveted "character-naming-rights" heats up! Today, the anniversary of the Wandering Lili's opening blog has taken the spot light from last night's six-overtime game. Flocks thousands of followers of the Southern Writing Power House, Ms. Wandering Lili, took cyberspace and ESPNN message boards to spread the good news. Their postings reminded us that she IS the current winner of the 2008-09 Football Picks Competition and most were signed with her now famous phrase: Note to reader.The grand finale of this competition is closing in, and the brackets are still anyone's guess. Even our best sports commentators are all over the place in their predictions, to the point that this has taken all the attention from the college basketball championship week.So, for now, 8760 hours after the kick off of the Wandering Lili's blog, we still have about 120 more hours of March Blogging Madness to go, and baby, expect over times!

ROYTERS - 18.March.2009
In true "last-minute" fashion, congress presented a bill and voted to approve it unanimously, setting an unprecedented record, 100 percent of the votes went for the program "Remembery Tea", an altruistic program inspired by The Wandering Lili, a world-known blogger from The Bluff City. The new bill includes measures to support family memories and bloggers who write about such things. The bill also uses the signature phrase from The Wandering Lili "note to reader", although some confused members of congress thought those were earmarks that would support pork barrel spending, but after a brief explanation of such phrase, and a good laugh, congress agreed to pass the bill unanimously. There are some rummors that congress will invite The Wandering Lili to present the bill to the senate and to the president, who himself has said he's "a big fan of her blog and reads it regularly". The Wandering Lili wasn't available for comments, in preparation for her interview with Jay Leno in "The Tonight Show", where it's believed that she'll unveil the winner of her month-long contest.

In Summary
Favourite blog entry: Remembery Tea.Why? Bc in it you share something very personal and cool about you growing up and how special it made you feel to get such a present on your last birthday :)Most repeated phrase? Definitely "note to reader" :) such a nice way to give us some insight about what we, the readers, are about to read :)

THE ACCEPTANCE SPEECH
WOW! I'm speechless :) I'd like to thank everyone at the Wandering Lili's fan club who voted for me, it's a dream come true. To all the producers, the crew, the other contestants for making this such a great competition. I don't want to leave anyone out, so bare with me, I prepared a small list, but know that I also think of you, in case I miss calling your name:

Thanks to:
Lili, Sheli, Ana, Mark, Caroline, Tom, Owen, Eric, The Memphis Tigers, to the chicks of "Rock of Love", to Brett Michaels and his hair extensions, to Chelsey Lately and Chuy, to the Undertaker, to the People's Republic of China (for my computer), to the sharks who lent me money (I'll pay you now, once I collect royalties from the book), to Dr. Phil, Tyra and Maury, to the two Red Bulls I took before writing my blog entry, to the guards at work, to Channel 3 for being on my side, to Bear Gryles, to the mythbusters and Dr. Gregory House, and last but not least, to baby Jesus :)

LOVE Y'ALL!!!

Oh, and thank you to all the judges and the academy for encouraging me, and to Robert Smith for inspiring me, and to Bono for the cool shades, and Madonna, Justin Timberlake and Rhianna, and to... sorry, I ran out of time. But thank you to Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow! Thank ya, thank ya, thank ya very much!

:) - Manizzle