Fun, Fun, Fun

Tomorrow after I exit the office I am heading down to Atlantic City with a friend. Borgata here I come! Now sadly, I am far too practical and poor to be an effective gambler (and my friend is the same way), but the Borgata holds certain charms:

1. The shower - Seriously the best shower I have ever had the fortune of meeting. I am only going for a night, but I may shower three times during my stay.

2. The ice tea at Wolfgang Puck's American Grille Tavern - It is crisp and fruity. Hopefully this time I will figure out what the exact blend is.

3. The Go Fishing slot machine - I'm a penny slot girl and I discovered this machine while on a trip last year. The cartoon fishies and I were muy simpatico for a time. Hopefully we won't feel awkward when we meet again.

4. Fluffy pillows - nuff said.

5. Endless bacon and orange juice at the Breakfast Buffet - Have you seen how much juice costs now? They serve it in 32 oz cups ... I fully plan to drink my weight in juice on Friday.

6. Ben and Jerry's Scoop Shop - To either celebrate our wins or to drown our sorrows

7. The glass sculptures that are everywhere - They fascinate me.

See?

and finally, 8. The proximity of the Lush store at the Casino Pier Shopping Center - I'm in need of more Rehab shampoo and some Flying Fox shower gel!!

Once I return home my brain is going to go into full summer mode. I have been remiss in my planting so I need to visit home depot for soil so my tomato plants and lone surviving zucchini seedling can get their growth on. I also need to pick up and pot some basil, cilantro, romaine lettuce, and cucumbers. A moment of silence now for the lost seedlings who did not survive the scourge of my fluffy, blue eyed plant killer.

Next up I must search out an Intex 12' X 36' pool to replace the one that didn't make it through a full floating season last year and some coconut scented sunblock.

Happy floating days are here again!

Combine Two Loves

In addition to the genres I have already rambled about I have to tell you that I love cookbooks. This is firstly because I love to cook and bake, but secondly I find cookbooks fascinating. It has rightly been said that books unlock the doors to imagination. I find that well executed cookbooks unlock not only our sense of imagination, but all of our other senses as well. I can spend hours pouring over cookbooks dreaming up special meals.

Recently I joined netGalley, and the first book I read for this program was Food from Many Greek Kitchens by Tessa Kiros, which is being released June 14th by Andrews McMeel Publishing. I love Mediterranean food and have long been on the lookout for a good Greek cookbook. It seemed like kismet when I saw this title listed in the available galleys and I have to say Tessa Kiros does not disappoint.

Food from Many Greek Kitchens is a veritable feast for the senses. Not only does every recipe sound both wonderful and delicious (even the ones with octopus, and it takes a lot to make me want to eat octopus), but the book itself is gorgeous. The pictures spaced throughout the book are breathtaking. They truly make Greece come alive for the reader. I honestly cannot decide which recipe I want to make first. I need to make a grocery list so my pantry and fridge can be stocked and ready for many possibilities! I have already put this book on my Amazon "Need Now" list because I cannot imagine not owning a hard copy. I may never get to actually see Greece in person, but I am very sure that in a short amount of time spent with this cookbook I will begin to feel like I have been there. Each recipe is like taking a trip.

Requiem for an Iced Caramel Latte and a Dryer

Today is one of those days.

I am not a coffee drinker by nature. Tea is more my thing (some may say passion or vice). Today though, thanks to a crappy night's sleep and the wonderful Teacher Appreciation gift of a Dunkin Donuts EGC that was burning a burning a hole in my pocket, I was in need of a latte. Thanks to the overabundance of DD in Monmouth County I pass not one, but two on my way to work. A quick spin through the drive through and a large iced caramel latte was mine.

Then tragedy struck...

Before I could take one sip, the cup slipped out of my hand and the entire latte spilled all over the floor of my car. It created an icy, caramel scented lake. Alas poor latte, we could have been great together!

Sigh ... then I got a call that my dryer had died. Now I really wished I had coffee!

Thank the Lord...

It's Friday!

The end of vacation was like being shot out of a cannon.This week has been a crazy jumble of juggling working at school and working in the office. It wasn't my most successful multi-tasking adventure. Hopefully life will get back to normal next week!

Reading to the beat of the clock

My Easter vacation officially ends in 59 minutes ... at least that is when I need to be asleep if I want to get 8 hours of sleep before the alarm clock tolls ... hahahaha, as if. Right now I am reading (The Diva Paints the Town, a Domestic Diva mystery by Krista Davis, thanks for asking) to the beat of the secondhand of my new Ikea wall clock. I miss my students, but I am dreading getting up at 5 am and not getting home until 6 pm. I bid adieu to my lovely break in which I:

Spent far too much money shopping.
Had two delightful meals out with friends during which I laughed so hard I cried.
Spent some quality time getting to know a friend's baby.
Got in touch with my inner Swede at Ikea.
Wandered around Midtown.
Took in a delightful show.
Got to watch a video online of my cousin guarding Cam Newton at the NFL draft.
Sat in the sun ... and ok, got my first burn of the season. I am now paying the price because I am peeling.
Read 10 or so books.
Listened to music.
Fell in love with In Plain Sight. I'm 18 episodes in and have only stopped watching because I got kicked off of the Wii.
and finally, did a ton of laundry.

Wish I could have another week, but I'll be a big girl!

Love at First Sight

Net Galley where have you been all of my life? I think this will be the beginning of a beautiful friendship!

Summer?

Over the last few days the weather has finally perked up here at the Shore. A few days ago I ventured out to sit in the sun, but on the advice of my mother I skipped the sunblock. Lesson learned: Mommy doesn't always know best... or at least she doesn't when she is a 6o+ year old beach bum who is phobic about sunblock usage. I now look like a weirdly striped lobster, because of course I had my head down reading the whole time.

Radioactive coloring aside, the time in the sun and pretty new sundresses like these,

and the devouring of e-galley copies of Invincible Summer by Hannah Moskowitz and Sixteenth Summer by Michelle Dalton, (both excellent new YA "coming of age at the beach" stories that you should check out), have all left me dreaming of an old fashioned fun summer where anything is possible.

I forgot two things though; 1. I'm supposed to be an adult, so bittersweet summer experiences aren't quite the same as they were when you were 16, and 2. I'm a Jersey Shore local.

No. It's not at all like what you see on TV. The Shore crew immortalized on MTV are what we like to call Bennies. They are the bane of the local's existence and the cause of much resentment. Though Bennies bring a certain boon to the local economy they also bring increased traffic, heavy New Yawk and North Joisey accents, and a sense of entitlement. Find me a Jersey Shore native who openly embraces all Bennies and I will eat my most favorite hat.

Fortunately for us poor locals, bennygohome.com was born. Check them out. They are both cathartic and awesome.

So though on one hand I am ready for summer, I realize what I am truly ready for is a summer that exists only in my dreams. Now if you'll excuse me I guess I'll go sniff some Coppertone and listen to some Jimmy Buffett in order to gather my strength for what will really be coming.