New Articles

I have 2 more reviews in CIN Weekly this weekly. One is a review of The Bar at Palm Court in the Hilton Netherland downtown. The other is a restaurant review of Sweet Basil, a Thai/sushi place in Northern Kentucky. We enjoyed both! Hope you enjoy the articles.

Freelance Update

This week's CIN Weekly features my review of Market Street Grille, one of the few West Side restaurants I've found to satisfy my East Side taste. I know, I sound like a snob, but this vegetarian isn't down with all the meat and potatoes-style home cookin that my hood has to offer. You fellow westies must check out Market Street if you haven't been there already. It's worth the drive to Harrison.

Giddyup

I think I had too much fun last Friday night. We started off at The Palm Court with Doug and Sue to collect info for my article. The space was beautiful and we had excellent half-price drinks. Next we checked out Trattoria Roma, an authentic little Italian Restaurant, and had yummy dinners and a few glasses of wine. It was really warm out, so we decided to sit outside at Cadillac Ranch, a new mega-bar downtown, and have a few more drinks. I hardly ever drink too much, but I always seem to overdo it a bit with Doug and Sue. I think I get so wrapped up in talking that the liquor just slides on down without my noticing. Anway, I had a pretty good buzz going, so I decided I wanted to ride the mechanical bull. Totally out of character for me, but it seemed pretty harmless (there's a big inflated ring all around it), and Sue said she'd ride with me. After standing in line for a while and making sure to tip the bull operator, it was our turn. The only time I had second thoughts was when I had trouble actually getting ON the bull, but adrenaline (and a helping hand from Sue) were on my side, and I eventually pulled myself up. I clutched both the leather strap and the horn, while poor Sue only had the back of the saddle to hold on to. We didn't last long, but it was fun. Sadly, the camera phone pics were really bad.

Back from Hiatus

Like many of our favorite television shows, I'm back from hiatus. I didn't take an intentional leave of absence from the blogging world; life just got busier than usual for a few weeks.

As many of you probably read on Katie's blog, Katie, Casey and I took a long-weekend trip to visit our uncle Mark (my mom's youngest brother) in Tampa near the end of September. Mark and I were very close when I was growing up, and we've kinda lost touch since he moved to Florida, so it was awesome to spend some time with him. We also saw Grandma Marie and Uncle Dave (another long-lost bachelor uncle) while we were there. It was very relaxing, and it was fun to spend some concentrated time with my perfect little nephew.

I've been doing a lot of freelance work since then. For our anniversary, we went to Market Street Grille in Harrison, and I wrote a review about it. I'm also writing 2 reviews this week—one of Sweet Basil, a Thai and sushi place in N. Kentucky, and the Palm Court bar at the Hilton Netherland. We're actually scoping out the Palm Court tonight with our friends Doug & Sue then dining at Trattoria Roma. And freelance proofreading has kept me busy too. I'm trying to take on as many projects as possible to pay for our latest unexpected expensive household repair: a new central air conditioner and furnace, which we had to replace at the beginning of September.

And I won't lie: TV has my full attention again now that the new season is starting. I still love Heroes, Brothers & Sisters, The Office, America's Next Top Model, 30 Rock, and I'm keen on a couple of new shows too: How I Met Your Mother (new to me), Dirty Sexy Money, and a few others I've yet to check out (thank god for the DVR).

So that's the high-level recap. Hopefully I'll find more time to post more in the coming weeks. And I'll be sure to link to my 3 reviews when they're published in a few weeks.

Dog Daze with the Reds

Last night Sarah and I took Gilmore to his first Cincinnati Reds game! The local SPCA hosted an event where dogs and their owners could get into the park, parade around the field, and watch the ball game in their own section. We all loved it, especially Gilmore. He is such a social dog and this wound up being a very social event for all of us. We met Bryn and Rob with their dog Wrigley (who switched from a Cubs fan to a Reds fan for the night). Before the game they had several different dog contests, but since Gilmore wouldn't be the biggest or the smallest and he doesn't enjoy costumes, we didn't enter him. We paraded around the entire field with the other 248 dogs and finally found our way to our seats. As we were sitting down Sarah realized that she used to work with the person sitting next to us so they enjoyed getting caught up on life. While they were talking I glanced down about five rows and saw my cousin Ryan, who lives in Columbus. He is a big Reds fan and heard about the Dog Zone so he came down with his dog, Bosco. It was great to see him and catch up. We exchanged phone numbers so next time he comes down we can get together.
Then our friends Tricia and Michelle showed up Tricia was checking out a very cute rescue from the SPCA named Wendy. I told her they would look very cute "walking down the streets of the city, smiling at everybody she sees." We'll see, finding the perfect pet is a big decision...
I've posted some pictures here and you can see that we had a great time. Hopefully they will put this event on next year, I think it was a huge success. Gilmore is ready for us to "take him out to the ball game" again!!

Look what I got...

This is the exact Smurf's record player that I had growing up. I could not tell you what ever happened to mine, but I saw this on eBay (in the original box!!!) and had to get it. It is being shipped to me soon, I can't wait! It is supposed to be in perfect working condition, so I can't wait to set my old Shirt Tails read along record on and be living in 1984 again...

Sob Songs

I was scrolling through my ipod this morning on the way to work, trying to decide what to listen to, and I landed on Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water album. I've loved that album since junior high, but I don't listen to it too often. When "The Boxer" started playing, I teared up as I always do. I'm not sure why this song moves me so much, but it always has, especially since Paul Simon performed it at the start of the first "Saturday Night Live" episode after 9-11. Then-NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani introduced him, and I always think of that moment when I hear the song. I know that's a weird association, and it's not particularly sentimental to get teary-eyed over a now Republican presidential candidate, but it still chokes me up.

Another song that always grabs my heart and gives it a twist is "Return to Pooh Corner." It's insanely cheesy to get worked up over a Kenny Loggins song, but it's just so heartwrentchingly, innocently sweet, that I get this big lump in my throat and my eyes get all watery every time I get to the verse where he's looking at his own son in his bed with Pooh by his side. Every time.

I feel a little guilty for not noting a more significant tear-jerker, like a song from my wedding. But the truth is, those songs don't really make me cry. They make me happy and nostalgic, but not teary-eyed. I'm sure that seems unromantic, but it's often the songs that are seemingly unrelated to my own life that sneak up and kick-start the waterworks.

But maybe that's just me. What songs move you to tears?

Family, Festival, and a new job!

This holiday weekend we went to visit my family in Edgerton. We enjoyed seeing everyone and got to celebrate three birthdays with three cakes! Thanks Mom!
My brother gave us passes to the Auburn Cord Deusenberg Festival while we were home. For those of you unfamiliar, this is an annual festival in nearby Auburn, IN where you can see all kinds of automobiles. Old and new, basic and extravagant, you will find everything here. We went just about every year when I was growing up and I always loved it. They have a big auction along with an area for people just showing and selling their cars. Sarah had never been so I was really excited to go with her. As you can see, we found a couple of things we liked. I've always wanted a Delorean, but after finally having the chance to get behind the wheel, I don't fit so well. I see why tiny Michael J. Fox was cast in Back to the Future. I've also always wanted some kind of roadster like an MG or an Alpha Romeo, but now I'm thinking maybe an old BMW 3 series convertible would be a better fit and just as fun.
I also wanted to let all of you know that I'll be starting my new job in less than two weeks. The "official" title is "Retail Conversion Specialist" but basically what it means is that I'll be responsible for overseeing the branch aspects of any new systems or processes as well as any new bank acquisitions. I'm really excited about it. I've been looking for over a year to get into this group and I think this opportunity will be perfect for me. It will be strange not to work in a direct customer service environment, but I think I am ready for that change. I'll let you know how things are going as I get into the role. Wish me luck!

Twosies

It seems like everything going on in my life lately is private or just hush-hush-for-now, so sorry I haven't posted much lately. I thought I'd steal this fun little idea from Joan to tide me over for the holiday weekend. Enjoy!

1. Two Names You Go By: Oddly enough, Kevin and I don't really have nicknames for each other the way we do for our pets and our friends. I'd have to say "Sarah" and "Small Sarah," although in the past it was SaMo, Morty and Sally.

2. Two Things You Are Wearing Right Now: Jeans and Nike flip flops (big surprise)

3. Two Things You Want In A Relationship: Good communication and laughter

4. Two of Your Favorite Things to Do: Eat great food and watch TV (I sound interesting, huh!)

5. Two Things You Want Very Badly At the Moment: To be outside (it's finally a gorgeous day) and a yummy breakfast

6. Two Pets You Had/Have: Kenzie & Tosh

7. Two People Who Will Fill This Out First: Hmmm, maybe Kevin and Tyana

8. Two Things You Did Last Night: Watched Friends re-runs and did laundry

9. Two People Who Live in Your House: Kevin and Gilmore

10. Two People You Talked to Last: Bryn (my co-worker/friend/manager) and Vicki (my production coordinator)

11. Two Things You're Doing Tomorrow: Driving to Edgerton and having a belated birthday celebration with my in-laws

12. Two Longest Car Rides: Hmmm, probably to Florida and to Eastern PA (I never seem to drive west)

13. Name Two of Your Favorite Holidays: Christmas and Halloween (mostly because I just love fall)

14. Name Two Favorite Beverages: Earl Gray hot tea and gin & tonic (especially when Kevin makes them with a splash of sweet lime juice)

Lucky Girl

I've been very lucky when it comes to sweepstakes and raffles in my adult life. Today I found a box in the mail full of goodies from Everyday with Rachael Ray. Turns out I won their Ultimate Movie Night Sweepstakes, which came with the movie "Elizabeth I," the first season of "Sex & the City" and lots of little goodies I can use to host a movie night with a bunch of friends. Fun!

Last month, I won one of three grand prizes at my company picnic: a very nice Nikon Coolpix digital camera. I also won the grand prize at my company party in 2005: a pair of Southwest Airlines plane tickets. And when I was planning my wedding, I won a box of goodies from a bridal magazine--all stuff that actress Leah Remini (Carrie from "King of Queens") gave to her bridesmaids at her then-recent wedding (bath products, candles and other stuff like that). I even won a very cool vase at a Macy's bridal registry event.

I guess I'm a pretty lucky girl!