.Erin.’s Neighborhood

Just wondering if I am the only person that tends to eat more when they are sick. It's like, I feel bad, so I go around the house eating whatever I can get my hands on hoping that it will be the magical thing that will make me feel better. In the end, I'm still sick and now my pants are tight too. 

Finished The Shadow Club Rising by Neal Shusterman.

This takes place after the events of The Shadow Club.  Not surprisingly, nobody at their school trusts the members of the (now-disbanded) Shadow Club.  And when a new student (the incredibly obnoxious and unfortunately named Alec Smartz) starts getting hideous pranks played on him, everyone (students, teachers, the principal) believes it's because of The Shadow Club in general and Jared in particular.

So Jared has to prove his innocence.  I preferred this to the first book but still like Unwind most of all. :)

 

Finished Hunger by Michael Grant (the sequel to Gone).

This is more of the same (kids surviving in a world without parents) but there are more bad things thrown in in this one. (No, I'm not getting more specific; if you're curious, read them.)  :)

I think I prefer Susan Beth Pfeffer's books, but these are good, too.

 

 

On Saturday me and my two good friends are headed to Chicago for a "Girl's Weekend". I have never done this before and I'm beyond excited!

 

My friends are talking about visiting all of the usual places - H&M, Sears Tower, Navy Pier etc. Me? I'm excited about the food. Yup, that's right - brunch in particular. I'm looking forward to sleeping in a bit on Sunday morning, getting up and getting only myself dressed, enjoying the fact that there are no diapers to be changed and heading out to a delicious Sunday Brunch. I will savor that meal for a long time. I'm so excited thinking about it now.

Of course, I'm excited to see all the other sights and shopping and just being with my friends. But brunch...yummy brunch! I can't wait to see you too!

 

 

All those who have been to Chicago (since I haven't) do you have any good restaurant suggestions for me? (I'm definitely talking to you, Hannahbanana!)

 

This is what happens.
I'm going to get the mail and I hear or think I hear "Magnet & Steel" coming out of a passing car.

And then the song is stuck in my head.
And then I remember that the song is prominently featured in the movie Boogie Nights.
So I pop in the disc and watch the movie. Cuz, hey, what else am I going to do today?
So I finish the movie and I remember that the directors audio commentary is maybe the best audio commentaries every recorded.
So I watch / listen to that.
Then I say, hey, I'm still not doing anything and have some time to kill so I'm just gonna go ahead and watch the other commentary track featuring many of the actors in which Marky Mark is drunk and discusses having broken his penis (not the prosthetic in the film but the real thing.)
So I watched/listened to that.

And that is how I ended up watching a very long movie three times today because I may or may not have heard a song coming out of someones car.

(On top of that I watched One Flew Over The Cucukoo's Nest. Which damaged me for life when I read the book and saw the movie as a early teenager.)

It was a big day for Penny yesterday as she completed and graduated from her Family Dog I class.  For the past month and a half or so, we’ve been working on sitting and staying and heeling and coming when called – all the things that are needed to be a good dog citizen.
 

I will have to say that Penny didn’t really love the classroom environment, because she couldn’t quite conceive of a place where there were half a dozen nice dogs and that she wasn’t supposed to play with them.  What else could they be there for???
 
Still – when called on to do her series of behaviors, I have to say that she did really really well and passed with flying colors.  After the final class, there was a little graduation ceremony and all the dogs received their diplomas to everyone’s cheers, though I’m pretty sure Penny was everybody’s favorite (not that I’m biased or anything).
 
After the class, Penny got an extra treat and then got to go play with her BFF Roxy the Vizsla at dog beach.  They ran and ran and ran together and just had a great old time.
 

Afterwards, we all tramped over to a dog-friendly café in Del Mar for a late breakfast, relaxing well into the early afternoon over good food, pleasant conversation and tired pups.
 
Good job, Penny!

I wasn't going to blog about this but I'm bored of not eating and need something to do with my fingers.

The Master Cleanse diet is basically a ten day cleanse where you eat nothing, and drink a special lemonade, water, laxative tea, and herbal tea. (I have not opened my fridge in 4 days. I wonder what is mutating in there?)

The tea is made of
2tbsps fresh lemon juice
2tbsps organic maple syrup
1/10 tsp cayenne pepper
8 ozs fancy water

It actually tastes pretty good.

Oh I forgot the worst part! The AM sea salt water flush:( This is where you drink 32 oz of water with 2tbsp sea salt. You chug, and then run to the bathroom. TMI? It is not pleasant. Today was the worst because I had really really bad stomach cramps for a lot of the day but I really don't feel that hungry, just craving something crunchy and salty (that isnt salt water).

It is funny how you realize how much everything you do relies heavily on eating. Watching a movie without candy or popcorn, or god forbid, a giant diet coke? No thanks. Shopping on a Saturday without a latte? Pass. You have lots of free time on the Master Cleanse. It's not really something to subject your friends to.

I have been occupying my time on this lovely Saturday by watching the Food Network, Guy Fieri to be exact. I resisted for a while because I thought it might just make me hungry but its actually not bad at all. I am also watching Chopped because it is amazing and nothing on that show looks edible.

I have finally gotten over my Grilled Cheese Grill obsession. Kind of.

The Master Cleanse is my master plan to avoid the swin flu. Wish me luck!

Finished Gone by Michael Grant.

This is a pretty fitting series to start right after reading Life as We Knew It and The Dead and the Gone (and right before Under the Dome), because there are similar themes.

In this one, everyone over the age of 14 disappears, all at once.  (So kids 14 and younger are now responsible for themselves/each other.) 

To make matters more interesting, some of these kids start developing powers.  (Think X-Men style mutations.)

Not surprisingly, they start to break into two camps--Team Sam (good) and Team Caine (awful).

This is an interesting series.  (I'll be starting book 2 tonight or tomorrow; Gone ended with no real sense of resolution.)

Finished The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer.  This is a companion book to Life As We Knew It. 

Alex lives with his parents and two younger sisters in New York City.  When the asteroid hits the moon, his mom is at work (she works in a hospital's OR) and his dad is in Puerto Rico for a funeral. 

Alex has to figure out a way to keep his family safe and together, at least until one or both of his parents comes home.

I think I preferred Life As We Knew It, but this was good, too.

These books (there's going to be a third out in April) are so scary, too.  I don't think I'd do well in a world where I'd have to acquire food someplace that isn't a grocery store (or any of the places where we normally get food) and I certainly don't know how to cook and wash clothes without electricity and running water. 

Xkcd is usually pretty good -- but this is genius.

Happy Friday!