Day 120

Blurb: I'm officially a published writer!

Backstory: The May issue of 614 Magazine has hit shelves around the city, make sure and get your copy because I have two articles in there. For some reason I wasn't able to find the one I wrote about a local gym but the one about the beer pocket apron and the local bakery made it in. I'm pretty excited about this even though they're small articles.
This is the first time I've ever done anything in the print world, all of my writing has been contained to TV. So I'm greatful that any of them made it through the editing process. I'd like to be albe to write articles on the side for some extra money but with no experience I can't do that. These articles are my first step to a little extra talent in my back pocket. Please go in pick up a copy or read them online. If you get a paper copy I'll be happy to sign it.

Day 119

Blurb: After being forced all week to listen to shit I don't care about I finally ot to listen to something I do like.

Backstory: I love Jon Stewart, he's amazing. His political satire resonates with my inner and outer nerd. By some wonderful twist of fate a friend of my mother's couldn't use his tickets for tonight's show so my dad and I went. Thank you Josh Anderson, the seats were amazing and I had a fantastic time.
This is my second time seeing the great one perform and he was just as funny as the last time. I'll admit I was disappointed because he used one repeat joke from the last show and he used at least one Daily Show joke that I was able to pick up on. This is all forgiven because he opened with some great Ohio State/Ohio/Midwesterner jokes that really hit the spot. I know these jokes are complete pandering but I'm the first to admit I want to be pandered to. So Jon Stewart please make more jokes about Jim Tressel's sweater vest.

Day 118

Blurb: Sometimes it's just one of those days.

Backstory: It's been a little bit of a rough week at work. The royal wedding seriously has me going bat shit crazy and I reached my wall tonight. I threw up my hands and said "I need a drink and a fatty meal." Thank goodness Jim and Linda were willing to come along for the ride.
We went to Hooters as you can see from the boxes that ended up in my fridge. Yes, I know the restaurant is degrading to women but I really do like their wings. And they really did wash away my troubles. After some delicious tater-tots covered in cheese and bacon bits, beer and hot wings my work troubles and annoyance with the royal wedding were washed away.

Day 117

Blurb: This pretty much sums up my day at work.

Backstory: It felt like gluttony day on my show. We're preparing for the royal wedding by looking at the different aspects of weddings. Today was the most fun day because we had a cake maker and the local ice cream guru Jeni of Jeni's Artisan Ice Creams. She's created a set of limited edition flavors for the wedding. I was a little disappointed because I didn't get any ice cream but I did get tons of cake.
What you see above is the aftermath of my show; a full three tiered cake, two extra practice cakes and those glasses are filled with Blast by Colt 45. It's a new alcoholic energy drink that has Snoop Dogg as the pitchman. WE DID NOT DRINK THE BEVERAGE WHILE AT WORK, but someone did take it home to have later. Blast has the same amount of alcohol as five beers so we did a little segment on how bad they are. It's just kind of funny to look at these pictures and know that everything you see here is connected in some way.

Day 116

Blurb: April showers do bring May showers, even though it's just the end of April.

Backstory: It's almost time to bring out the ark in Central Ohio. We've seen rain almost everyday for the past two weeks. It's beginning to feel like I'm living in Seattle, Portland or even Forks, Washington. The skies are consistently gray and you have to cherish every moment of sunshine.
That's exactly what I did this morning. During my morning dog walks(yes, we take a separate walk for each dog) the sun was just starting to peak out over the clouds and it was actually warm enough to go jacket less. I haven't seen or felt weather like this in a long time and needless to say it was extremely refreshing.
The only good thing about the rain is that the flowers and trees are turning green. Even the most disgusting yards are starting to turn an emerald green. Plus, I love blooming flowers. The ones you see above are in our front yard.

Day 115

Blurb: This isn't the picture I wanted to post but I forgot my camera.

Backstory: Tonight I actually had dinner with my friend Abbie but I forgot to take a picture of us having dinner. Instead here's a picture of my dogs looking out the door, adorable I know. Moving on.
We went to Marcella's, a Cameron Mitchell restaurant that I've been wanting to go to for months. Luckily Abbie was a willing companion for my dining adventure (it should also be noted that I had a gift card for Cameron Mitchell). Abbie and I haven't seen each other in at least a year, it's what happens when you grow-up, become boring and work long hours. We had many good times back in college at the old Delta Lodge. De-pantsing people, fake sorority dress up and of course many fun nights in Tiger 3.
Now we've moved on and Abbie works 60 hours a week being a smarty smart engineer. We're both trying to make more friends again because it's important to branch out socially. It was extremely great to see Abbie, hopefully we'll be able to keep this up.

Day 114

Blurb: Happy Easter from myself, Sadie and the corpse flower.

Backstory: I like to consider myself a connoisseur of smells and oddities, so you can imagine how excited I was when I learned a corpse flower had bloomed here in Columbus. It's a rare flower from the island of Sumatra that's almost extinct. The stock is about five feet tall with a bloom that has a three foot radius, and here's the kicker, it smells like a rotting corpse.
The flower opened late last night at one of Ohio State's green houses. They only bloom about once every ten years if you're lucky and they only stay in bloom for two days. In the horticultural world this is a big deal, so they opened the green house today for the public to come and seen the corpse flower. Recently in Switzerland over nine-thousand people waited to see one, the number was much smaller today.
I waited in line for a little under an hour with hundreds of other people. The green houses are located on top of a building so you had to take an elevator up. I give the staff at Ohio State a lot of credit because everything was very orderly. After going up the elevator we waited in another, much shorter line to see the actual flower.
It's a very weird looking plant, as you can imagine from the picture. The leaves are a really dark red color that's about the same shade as extremely rare meat. Along with the weird appearance was the smell; it's supposed to smell like a rotting corpse. The smell wasn't that strong today, I thought it smelled like stinky garbage and the whole green house didn't smell the like garbage. The staff said it smelled much worse last night.
I was a little disappointed the smell didn't knock me off my feet. I've smell a lot of stinky things and this was no wear near the smelliest. It smelled a lot like a back alley in a big city on garbage day, a little rare and annoying. In fact I've had co-workers and trash that I've made that have smelled worse. All in all it was something interesting to do that every few people have gotten to experience. So rage on corpse flower.

Day 113

Blurb: This is my final post about the bridal shower. Look how pretty everything turned out.

Backstory: Say hello to my finished product. The cake for the first shower was much smaller than I anticipated because I found out a lot less people were coming than originally intended. This made me extremely happy because I was able to finish everything up.
The shower went really well, the decorations looked great and the cake was yummy. That's all you can really hope for with anything. It was a long day which lead to a lot of quality time together. Now it's on to the next thing: the bachelorette party. Hopefully I'll be able to have something great up my sleeve.

Day 112

Blurb: Say hello to the table of triumph.

Backstory: As I'm writing this we're 12 hours away from the bridal shower. I've come to realize that I've been putting a lot of unnecessary stress on myself for this, everything came together and I didn't have to stay up until 1am. You could say everything got done because of the stress but we'll never know.
If it hadn't been for my mom I wouldn't have been able to finish the projects; she took over the flower center pieces and cut everything out. She also made the pink garlands you see above, they were made to go with the white ones that were made by Martha Stewart. She and dad also went out in the pouring rain to pick up the flowers because I had to work late.
Needless to say I still have the same feeling I always do when undertaking a major project: I wish I would have started sooner. The decorations should have been finished last weekend so I could have concentrated on the center pieces and cakes at the end of this week. But there's next always next time, hopefully I'll finally learn.

Day 111

Blurb: I've got a couple cakes in the oven.

Backstory: Ohhh the bridal shower planning continues. Tonight I'm all about making cakes, as you can see from this picture of the oven. All toll I'll make two ten inch cakes, two nine inchers and four dozen cupcakes. The cakes will be stacked and turned into a beautiful creation and the cupcakes will be given swirls of icing. There's still a lot of work to do so I have to get cracking.

Day 110

Blurb: I went to a book and wine party and didn't take a picture of either, instead I took a picture of the dog.

Backstory:This beautiful little lady is Scout, named after the girl in To Kill a Mockingbird. My friend/Delta sister Pam Krivda just got her from the Pilot Dog program; she was rejected because she needs an expensive elbow surgery. We weren't allowed to play with Scout because Pam says she's not "party perfect," needless to say I'm excited to play with her when she is.
But to the books. This party is a great idea: a book and wine exchange. Everyone brings a bottle of wine and a book. Obviously you drink the wine then you put all the books on a table and draw numbers to get them. People bring some great books and it's fun to read the backs like Vanna White. I highly recommend this party idea to everyone.

Day 109

Blurb: Welcome to the land of little white flowers. I've only made a couple dozen and there are many dozen in my future.

Backstory: The preparation for my friend's bridal shower continues. This evening has been spent making the small white flowers pictured above. Each is hand cut and made from fondant. Tonight it took me almost an hour to make between 50 and 60. I'll need to probably make at least 50 more for the cake I'm making to look the way I want.
After the little flowers are made I'm going to dot them with pink insides to make them look like cherry blossoms. The task is a little tedious but I don't mind. After graduating college and working for a year my friends and I decided to take cake decorating classes. We took the typical Wilton classes the old ladies take at JoAnn Fabrics. While everyone else dropped out after the first class I actually took all three levels then continued on to the Fondant and Gumpaste level where I stopped going halfway through. I'm really glad I took the classes because it's like having a fancy little party trick up your sleeve. People are always impressed by decorated cakes, especially if they're done well. So make sure to check in on Saturday when I'll have finished the bridal shower cake and the four dozen cupcakes to go with it.

Day 108

Some days in life aren't fun, that's part of this project. Today we went to the viewing of a friend of the family. This picture is the exterior of the funeral home. There's not much else to say about this besides wishing that the deceased rest in peace.

Day 107

Blurb: Hot dogs for breakfast, the verdict: Delicious. But this is something I've known for 17 years.

Backstory: Dirty Franks is one of my favorite restaurants in Columbus. The concept is great and amazingly executed by Columbus restaurateur Liz Lessner. She's scored another win by adding brunch to Dirty Franks. You might think, "A hot dog restaurant for breakfast? How's that going to work?" There are no dishes that are specifically based on hot dogs, but you can add wieners to everything.
The menu has a lot of scrambles and some sweeter items such as sausage wrapped in pancakes and french toast sticks. I wish I would have tried the breakfast nachos but I wasn't feeling that adventurous. Instead I went with a scramble with bacon and hot dog bits and the french toast sticks. I was pretty impressed. They put a ton of bacon in the scramble and the hot dogs went surprisingly well with the egg, cheese, bacon and ketchup. So if you're looking for a different type of brunch I highly recommend it, I know I'm going back.

Day 106

Blurb: Hello bridal con 5, weaker men and women have been crushed in these situations.

Backstory: I haven't officially gone to crazy town about this bridal shower but there's still a week to go. This statement might change on Thursday or Friday when panic really sets in, those are also the days the baking starts. But as of today things are still going pretty well.
I did the first round of shopping and managed to get most of the decorations and a few things for the baking. I still need to make a trip to the party supply store, grocery and florist. It sounds like a lot but it's not, in fact I'm hopefully going to finish these things up tomorrow.

Day 105

Blurb: Why hello crazy white monkey. How are you doing this evening?

Backstory: I actually had a really nice dinner with my friend Megan tonight but I forgot to take a picture. We stopped by for a delicious meal at one of my favorite restaurants, Tres Potrillos. So I salute you Megan, thanks for a great meal.
But now to the picture you see above. This picture is a salute to the website Crap at My Parent's house. My mother loves nic-nacs, it's something we share. So we have lots of crazy things around our house including this little white monkey statue in one of our book cases. According to my mother it came from my grandmother who got it from her brother who purchased it in occupied Japan after world war two. While the story is great, the little figure itself is even better. At just about five inches tall with little beady eyes it's one of the craziest things I've sever seen, yet I love it. So here's to you creepy little monkey, thanks for chilling at my house.

Day 104

I had a pretty simple day, enjoying dinner with my mom. My dad plays golf on Thursday so we always go out to eat. Today it was Chipotle, because that's what I love. So here's to you Chipotle for giving me delicious good.

Day 103

Blurb: I got hit with a serious bag of cuteness today.

Backstory: Once a month it's like a grab bag of adorable at work. The Columbus zoo brings in one animal, normally a baby, on Wednesdays. You can't really see from this picture but inside that little purse is an albino baby wallaby, her name is Betty White.
Little Betty was the sweetest thing you could imagine. We passed her around in her little bag and she immediately cuddled up to everyone. The best part, unlike the kangaroo she didn't smell. Also, the wallaby was much smaller and cuddlely. This little thing wanted to be held and turned into your body, kind of how a new born baby would.
The sad/happy thing about Betty White is that she would have died in the wild. Obviously she would have been easier to spot for predators and she gets sunburned very easily. In fact when it gets really sunny the zoo has to put sunscreen on her nose to keep it from getting burned. Now she lives a very happy life similar to a human child. Her keeper wears her like a long necklace, she even took the wallaby into Starbucks this morning under her coat.

Day 102

Blurb: Don't worry your eyes are not deceiving you, that is green.

Backstory: As you probably noticed I talk a lot about weather, that's because it's a huge pain. Also, Ohio conditions change at the drop of a hat. Case in point, on Sunday it was over 80 degrees and sunny but today it was raining and 40 degrees. So you can see why little things can turn into a big deal, because that's all we have.
You can imagine my surprise when I looked outside after the rain subsided and saw this. Those are green leaves popping up from the brush in our backyard. It's a little sign that spring showers actually bring May flowers. Thank goodness because I'm freakin' tired of this crap.

Day 101

Blurb: My love affair is ending. It's been a good run heating blanket but now I have to move on.

Backstory: On Saturday night it officially became hot enough that I no longer needed my blanket. I've had a season long relationship with this thing and it was very satisfying. If there's one thing you need to know about me it's that I'm always cold, plus I can be a little cheap.
Case in point I didn't want to buy a super heavy comforter and my parents offered me the blanket. Originally I was doubtful because it was originally purchased for my grandma, but I gave it a shot because I hate being cold. I put that thing on level three and it stayed that way for three or four months. It's been a great run blanket, now I know how Linus felt.

Day 100

Blurb: Happy 100th day of the year! It's also the nicest day we've had this year.

Backstory: Today it's 80 degrees and sunny in Columbus, I couldn't have asked for a better day. I've kept things pretty simple. This morning I had lunch at Due Amici with a couple friends. It's a much classier brunch than I'm used to but I had a delicious breakfast pizza. After lounging around there for a few hours I took Sadie to Goodale Park for some quality off the leash time. She did very well and thoroughly enjoyed herself. I wanted to do something very grand for the 100th day of the year but instead I just had a very pleasant all around day.

Day 99

Blurb: It makes me sad this picture is so blurry because we had a really great time.

Backstory: With the exception of August 2009 to September of 2010 I've lived in Columbus my entire life, yet there are many things in the city I haven't done. One of the main this is going to a Blue Jackets game. The hockey franchise is celebrating its ten year anniversary here, and I figured it was about time I went to "carry the flag."
Today was the final game of the season so my sister, her boyfriend and myself decided to go. Jenny and AJ go to these games all the time so they're always willing company. We tried to get student tickets but they only had standing room only and single seats available so we decided to be high rollers and go with suite seats. This was an excellent decision because we got our own bathroom, waiter and the ability to move around while the game was going on.
AJ actually enjoys watching the game while Jenny, I and some of there other friends enjoy moving around and watching the game. By getting seats in the suite it was the best of both worlds because you can get up and move easier, plus there's a little private bar area where you can watch the game and eat.
As for the actual game it was extremely fun. It was against the Buffalo Sabres and there was a huge contingent of their fans there, which made for a very loud game. People who are Blue Jackets fans are really into the team and they help pull you into the frenzy. Plus it was actually a good show of athletic ability and the competitive spirit. The teams went back and forth for most of the periods but Buffalo ran away with the game in the final period, with the Jackets losing 4-5.
I would definitely go back to another game, even though they can become very expensive. Next season doesn't start until December so I have time to start saving for ice front seats for when the Washington Capitals come to town.

Day 98

Blurb: I can not stop eating this.

Backstory: No matter when I go to the Chipotle near my house there is a line out the door. I even had this thought while I was waiting in line: I really should have brought a book or a magazine, and it's not the first time I've had that thought. But it's totally worth it because I have to eat Chipotle salads. I use the word have because the salads are really the only fast food I can eat on my diet. Plus, I've just eating salads and these are the easiest ones to take on.

Day 97

Blurb: I was wondering how long it would take for me to buy this book. Result: Two days from it's release.

Backstory: I can't resist anything with Tina Fey on it. I was going to try and order it online but I had a bit of an impluse purchase today at the grocery store of all places. I pretty much just said, I don't care I just want this.
I've heard some mixed reviews of the book but like I said earlier I'll buy anything Tina Fey related. The general concensus has been that everyone wants her to write a biography but she doesn't want to give out that much info. She seems very normal and that's not why I read a biography. I only read biographies of people who are crazy.
With Tina Fey I just want to soak up her razor sharp wit, which this book is apparently filled with. Some have described it as an extension of her Liz Lemon character mixed with what we expect her to do in real life. Either way I'm pretty sure I'll enjoy it.

Day 96

Blurb: Right now I live in a very angry petting zoo.

Backstory: My parents have left for a week long trip to the Grand Canyon and no one is happy. This picture is an example of what I've been dealing with since they left. Ginger and Sadie have been a little out of sorts because mom and dad keep them on a consistent schedule. I on the other hand have a crazy schedule that changes when they get treats.
Ginger has been especially angry and when she gets angry it's kind of adorable. She will stamp her feet and shake her head, then she'll huff like a horse. Needless to say she's been doing this a lot because I have forgotten to do a few things, mainly kitty cat treats. So some reason all dogs love cat treats and they're THE favorite treat at our house.
The dogs aren't the only ones feel a little rage, the cats are also not happy. As the previous sentence indicates I did forget to give them treats on the first night and had to give them before living for work; that's four hours behind schedule if you're counting. The cats aren't as pushy as the dog but they are a little louder. Lots of meowing and letting me know how hungry they've been, this makes me feel very guilty.
They are ready for mom and dad to come home and so am I. It actually takes a lot to care for all four animals because they get special treats frequently.

Day 95

Blurb: Hey fat kid, what are you doing today?

Backstory: Some days I do irrational things. That's no surprise, humans are irrational by nature. Most days there are things I do just because I want to, no excuses are needed. But it's great when I actually have an excuse to do something that's not very smart.
I've been on a diet since the beginning of the year and today was the first time I had super sweet overload. It was "research" for a story I'm doing on a new bakery in Columbus called the Angry Baker. Me writing a story was an easy reason to justify buying piece of cake, cinnamon roll, sandwich cookie, brioche roll covered in orange glaze with chocolate in the middle and an eclair. This is not over indulging, it's making sure my story is fully researched.
Thank goodness I took my box of goods home and did my experimenting in private. I was very good and didn't completely finish any one pastry. On a couple things I only took two bites and threw it away. The cinnamon roll, I had two bites and saved the rest for my breakfast. The cake I had a complex relationship with; I couldn't decide if I wanted to take a couple bites or throw it away. So the piece sat on the counter all day while I picked at all the parts I liked. It was ultimately about 2/3 eaten. The eclair was the same way. It was so rich and the fat kid in me just wanted to finish it. Instead I was a mature adult and only ate half.
It's pretty funny when I sit back and think what I did. I don't know if I actually need to do my taste test but it was fun, and I can say it's something I won't do again.

Day 94

Blurb: Excuse me sir, could you please speak into the recorder?

Backstory: Today I put this bad boy to use. I went on my first official story for a local magazine and I used this to talk with my interviewee. It's a simple concept. The experience was a little unnerving at first because I was worried about how things would go, but luckily the woman I interviewed was very unassuming and easy to talk with.
It's a little weird to be on the other side of the news, you know, out on the streets. I forgot have infrequently I talk with strangers. When you're a producer you sit in your little world and work as hard has you can in pretty solitary environment until about two hours before the show. I don't want to say too much about the experience because I want you to read about it in next month's issue.

Day 93

Today I had lunch with my favorite little family the Thorpes. Unfortunately I for got to take a picture of their cute nugget to post, so instead I snapped this while I went antiquing. There's nothing I love more than antiquing on a weekend afternoon and this lady was on the street during my walk. I'm thinking about steeling her and putting up in my house.

Day 92

Blurb: Hitting people while rolling skating, reminds me of my childhood.

Backstory: Tonight's trip to the Ohio Roller Girls was a success. My sister, her boy friend and myself actually got our stuff together and managed to get into the match. Last time we tried this we got there 15 minutes before the main match and were turned away because it was sold out.
It was well worth the money we paid to get it. I've been wanting to see roller derby for a long time and the ladies of OHRG didn't disappoint. The first match was with their "Gang Green" team, which is pretty much a cool name for their JV squad. It wasn't as interesting as the "All Star" game because there's not as much strategy. Also, for the first game I didn't really understand what was going on.
Here's what I was able to figure out: there are jammers who score the points and the players who work inside the pack and do the blocking. The pack stays together while the jammers skate around the track and try to pass the members of the other team to get points. This can sometimes be difficult because the jammers are smaller than the ladies who block.
As for the strategy, speed seemed to be a key component for controlling the game. There would be times when the pack would stay completely still and wait for the jammers to come to them. I got the impression they did this so the players could get a better, harder shot at the player speeding around the track. At times some of the ladies got seriously leveled. Luckily, only the EMTs only had to be called out twice; this is a pretty common thing, EMTs are on the scene for all games and practices.
I'm pretty sure I'll go to one more match this season, but next time I go I'll buy my ticket ahead of time and only come for the All Stars game. We were there for three and a half hours and that's a long time to sit on bleachers.

Day 91

Blurb: Living the high life on Friday night.

Backstory: I live a very quiet, somewhat mundane life. What you see pictured above is the high light of my Friday. I've been pretty good on my diet but today I wanted a little cheat; ice cream is my go to treat and I was looking for Jimmy Fallon's new Ben and Jerry's flavor. But that's not what I got. The grocery store I went to didn't have the flavor so I got this instead, I'm pretty happy with my choice.
If you follow what I do you'll notice I don't do much on Fridays. I'm normally really tired and there's something very satisfying about laying around while watching DVRed TV. So tonight I raise a spoon Friday evening.