How do you spell F-U-N?

So this year was the 4th Annual Community Spelling Bee hosted by Achieve Hartford! and we were apart of it once again. It was my second year to participate in the Bee and I at least had an idea of what happens at these things from last year.

I complied a team of myself and two additional apprentices, though we did have to make a last minute substitution, and we participated as THE BEE-LIST STARS.


Our goal: do better than our team last year (who went out on the second word).

Was it completed? YES!!

We made it to the fourth word (which truly is better than we have done in the past) and pretty much everyone in our round got out on the word: LAPIDEOUS.

Oh well, we had fun and of course it was to benefit the Hartford Schools, so we were happy to be apart of it again. We had a small but good cheering section, like last year, so that was a plus as well.

Goal for next year: WIN!!


We'll see....tune in next year!!

Things I Wish Connecticut Had...

There are plenty of things that I like about Connecticut:

1) Located in New England, meaning close to some family members

2) Better foliage (let's face it, I'm a sucker for fall leaves)

3) Food (let's face it again, I love food...)

There are things I don't like about Connecticut:

1) Missing The Container Store

2) Missing Qdoba

Two of my favorite things...and they don't exist in Connecticut.

When I lived in Texas, one of my favorite things to do was walk around The Container Store. I was obsessed with organization (though I lacked it in a lot of aspects of my life). I loved the idea of it though. If I had the money, I would buy everything from there and put it all into use. I remember when I would participate in sports and particularly when I was a cheerleader, we would be assigned a teammate to prepare gifts for before a game. The Container Store was where I would find all of my boxes, tins, bags, stickers, etc that I would use to put the gifts in. It was incredible. To this day, it is still one of my favorite places to visit and browse and buy from.

All of my life, Mexican or Tex-Mex food was my favorite to eat. When I lived in North Carolina, I encountered a place that I would fall in love with called Qdoba. It wasn't the first time I had a burrito like this, but it was by far the best (at least to me). I would drive there at least once a week (sometimes more, guilty as charged) to eat the food. I made believers out of classmates and friends. They make a Chicken Queso Burrito that I love and would drive great distances to have.

Because both of these places don't exist in Connecticut, I had to drive to the closest locations: Massachusetts. It's usually about an hour and a half one way....but I guarantee, it is worth it, for both of them.

And on the way, you might see something crazy...(Disclaimer: You shouldn't photograph and drive at the same time. Please don't try this on your next drive.)

So get on the ball Connecticut...you finally got a Sonic (and soon to be two of those), now make it happen for two of my favs!!!

Fair Time

The Fall brings about many things that I enjoy because of this particular time of year: cooler weather, leaves changing colors, Halloween and fairs.

Having grown up in Texas I knew what true State Fairs looked like. The Texas State Fair is, in a small word, huge. For a state that big, it better be, right? I do indeed miss the Texas State Fair, with its food and rides. But I can't miss an opportunity to attend another State Fair, can I?

How about 6 States Fairs...all in one! Too good to be true you say? But halt, no...it is true! Welcome to The Big E, held at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, Massachusetts.

My roommate and myself went to The Big E, as we did last year, and while it was a different experience, it was still a good one. We ate tasty food. I believe the best quote of the night was as follows:

Robyn: I'm hungry!
Me: We'll get you a corn dog to tied you over.

I wasn't lying. We had a plan ahead of us on food to eat. Unfortunately for me, having been in the ER just a few days before, I wasn't in the best of shape to eat a lot of food, but I tried my best.

We started the evening with corn dogs (best fair food anywhere, I believe). As we walked through the fair, we stopped at the craft section. This was for Robyn. She was looking specifically for an ear cuff, something she buys every year, and we found a new one for her.

Next was the baked potatoes. Baked potatoes? At a fair? Why yes, at this fair. At The Big E, there are state halls, one for each of the states represented. You want a great baked potato with all of the fixings?! Go to Maine! Maine is one of the largest producers of potatoes in the country, which I didn't know until last year. So of course, we dined on them!! We walked around the hall for a bit following the starchy goodness and decided, when in Maine, we would split a lobster roll. It was good, though cold and I prefer warm with butter.

Next we moved on through a few more state halls, including Vermont. Robyn was all about this state and saying that if she was going to buy maple syrup, it would come from here (we had a slight disagreement about that). Anyway, we did agree that below was not edible...


My night of food was done, but we still had rides to go on. Well, ride...as my roommate was not a fan of spin-y rides and without an extra person, I didn't want to ride alone. So we rode "Crazy Mouse" and had a good time. We were pretty much the oldest people in line...rather sad, but it didn't stop us. We continued around the Midway looking at all the other rides. We found this one and I couldn't resist photographing it in honor of our current production of Antony & Cleopatra.

We ended our night with purchasing new watches (something we both actually needed), followed by (sadly) a failed attempt to find the Craz-E burger: a bacon cheese burger on a donut. We would have split that too, if we had found it. Robyn wanted to end her night with a caramel apple (for the road) and ice cream as we walked out. I convinced her to try frozen custard, something I like from the boardwalk in New Jersey. Needless to say, she liked it!

So we left The Big E satisfied and tired. I was a little weak due to being up and about so much, but it was worth it. I only wished we had others there with us, like last year.

Well, maybe next year...

Heeeere Fishy Fishy Fishy...

So, roomie and I have been prepping our new fish tank for about 2 weeks and now the day has finally come...WE HAVE FISH!

So with Mini Mount Wanahaukalougi bubbling away, let me introduce you to the newest members of the family...

First up, Tik (pronounced teak). Tik is a Dalmatian Molly and I named her after a former pet of mine, a Dalmatian dog name Batik.

Second is Edward. Edward is a White Sailfin Molly and I named him Edward for multiple reasons: he's pale white, ice cold (well, cold-blooded) and super fast! AND...I do have an obsession with the Twilight books with the pale, cold vampire named Edward...

Next, Mickey! Yes, Mickey...as in Disney's Mickey Mouse. Mickey is a Red Mickey Mouse Platy and is so named for the Mickey Head located towards the tail of his body. This is the first of Robyn's fish!

Last but not least....Minnie, of course! Minnie is Robyn's second fish and she is a Gold Mickey Mouse Platy. You can see she's taken...by Mickey, naturally!

So, these are our babies...and we love them already! Stay tuned for more fishy updates!!!

Sick As A Dog

So....being sick is by far my least favorite thing to be.

When I was younger, I hardly got sick. It was so rare for me, but it was partially due to being an only child and going to a school with so few students in my class. I tended to fake more often than I would be because I would need to catch up on homework I didn't have time to work on the night before. Of course, when your out, you miss class, thus missing assignments, so you're still behind.

Catch-22.

In college, boy did I get sick time and time again. It started being linked to my tonsils because I got a lot of sore throats. I remember going to the ENT (for those that don't know...Ear, Nose and Throat doctor) and hey told me told me to open my mouth and say "ah" so I did. When I did, he responded "ah!" No joke. Basically my tonsils were so scarred, they had these crevasses where basically germs and bacteria were just hiding out. When I took antibiotics before, it would basically just skim the service, but lurking deep down in the dark...evil!

Needless to say, we got those puppies taken out the next time I was home on break from school and apparently they wanted out too because my doctor said they just about popped out of my throat on their own.

Gross, I know.

Anyway, once those bad boys were out, I hardly got sick and I'm the more grateful for it. The unfortunate side effect...the less times I got sick almost equalled the harder I got sick when I did fall ill. That's how I feel right now.

I think in the last 48 hours I've gotten about 9 hours of sleep total. 4 hours on Friday night (technically Saturday morning) and 5 hours last night. It's progressively getting better, which I'm grateful for, but I'd love to sleep through the night. If I felt that I could take something to help me sleep without giving me drug overload, I would...but I'm always nervous about taking my sleeping pills unless I absolutely have to.

Maybe I'll be able to get a short nap in today in my day of "relaxing"...which just means not moving from the couch as much as possible unless its to change the DVD.

Drive-In Fun

Tonight should have been my second adventure to the drive-in. I had never been to a drive-in theatre before a few weeks ago and I got to watch Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Too bad I did make it through the movie. We got there in plenty of time, grabbed some grub from the concession stand and chilled, watching all of the cars pack into a very small space considering the number of cars.


Gone were the day of the radios that you put into your car from the stand that you would have parked next to. Instead, you tune into a certain radio station and poof, the movie magic is in your car without having to leave the windows down or deal with heat or bugs.



It was a very nice night though, so the windows did stay down...and we didn't need the car's radio on. The gigantic truck we parked next to had their sound pumped up so loud, we couldn't even tell if ours was even on.


I ended up not feeling good, so I hoped in the backseat for a quick nap and then we ended up leaving early, so I could get some actual sleep and we could avoid the traffic.

Despite the setbacks, I really loved the experience and planned on going tonight, but life has other plans. I'm home sick and detesting it. I wish I could be out in the cool night air enjoying Jurassic Park....but alas....I'm watching it at home, with a bunch of Kleenex and juice.

Ah well...

Under The Boardwalk

I was lucky enough to spend a long weekend with my mom and grandma on the Jersey shore, a place where I have been going since I was a kid.

Ocean City, NJ...a family resort. It was great to be there again, since I hadn't been back for about 2 years. But the beaches were great, the water was cool but warmer than usual for this time of year, and above all...VERY RELAXING!

What was great, was that I was able to take the House Cup with me on the adventure and see how it was relaxing too?!

Amazing.

I wish I lived closer so I could visit more often....that would be one of the most amazing things...