IT'S 2010!!

The first month of 2010 is over halfway gone and I have yet to do a new year’s update!! Geez – way to start out on the right foot huh? So far this year has been amazing. I, like most people I know, made some goals for 2010. I won’t bore you with the details of listing them all out. Suffice it to say the overarching theme is health and happiness. Doing things that make my life balanced and enjoyable. I know it will be a struggle for me to reach some of my goals but I feel like I am up for the challenge.

2009 ended in style for the Boatmans! We were fortunate enough to be invited by friends to celebrate the New Year in VEGAS BABY!! It was spectacular. This particular group of friends holds a special place in my heart because we all share a love of two things … laughter and delicious food. This trip was full of both. The added bonus for us was actually celebrating together for Scott's Birthday and for New Year's - that is unheard of for the Boatman's! For the past 5 years work has kept us apart at the stroke of midnight. Our kiss to start another year has traditionally taken place closer to 2 a.m. This year was so much different. On a 38^th floor balcony of the Chrysler Tower at New York New York in Las Vegas we watched fireworks sparkle above us and sea of people celebrating below us. It was a magical view and pictures really don’t do it justice.

A huge party on the “Brooklyn Bridge” capped off our evening of merriment. The music was incredible and everyone was having a blast. We threw beads out to the crowd - I can tell you that catching seemed to be a very difficult concept and many a string hurled through the air and subsequently whacked its intended target in the face! Unfortunate for them, funny for everyone else.

There is a beautiful new live, work, play complex in Vegas called The City Center. It is breathtaking. I can’t help it. I am a total nerd when it comes to textiles and décor. I was absolutely blown away at the level of detail that went into designing this place. You have to see it to believe it. And because I am a total nerd about technology too … check out their website. The virtual tour of the condos is enough to make me gasp aloud. Our evening at Aria just didn’t last long enough. A delicious meal at Jean George’s Steakhouse (I had ate a Kobe Beef Burger that was mouth watering!), followed by the new Cirque show VIVA ELVIS! and then a guided tour of some amenities in the hotel. It was a great vacation and a spectacular way to start a new year. VIVA VEGAS!!

bloggin' hiatus

It's true. I have taken a bit of a blogging break. Never fear though ... I've been busy. Lots of life changes, fun projects, home renovations and holiday enjoyment. Not sure when I will get back in the blog mode, but until then I leave you with this trash-to-treasure fan.

- scavenge from a would be garbage pile

- clean & sand

- 1 can of ivy leaf spray-paint (krylon makes the BEST colors!!)

- find the perfect place in the office to display

- enjoy!

Oktoberfest 2009 - Helen, GA

I have taken a bit of a blog hiatus lately. This is such a busy time of year that unfortunately my little blog seems to have taken a back-seat to more pressing matters on the to-do list. Scott & I work ourselves to death this time of year. Yes, more than usual :). We made a pact at the beginning of the year to try harder to enjoy some of the things that we kept putting aside because of work. More trips, more adventures ... more fun! We did that very thing this weekend and went up to Helen to enjoy Oktoberfest. A couple days off from work would have been nice enough, but top that off with cool mountain air, delicious wine, pumpkin picking, people watching, scrumptious fudge and all the lederhosen you can bear and that equals one perfect fall getaway weekend!

Georgia Wines, Inc. - everything we tried from this winery was good, but these two were delicious! I am not a wine person and not a fan of the red, but this was like nothing I have ever tasted. I highly recommend picking up a bottle if you get the chance. This vineyard is located in Ringold, GA.

Fox Winery - had many a tasty selection as well. We picked up a bottle of Scupperdew for Scott's dad to compare to his own home-brew. Located in Social Circle, GA.

We also stopped by Habersham Winery. The family that owns this winery also owns and operates the Nacoochee Grill.

The Hofbrauhaus bar had these hilarious beer steins displayed above it. At some point the "locals" and regulars could pay to get a customized stein to use when they came in. The photos that some people chose of themselves were HILARIOUS. There was many a stellar mustache displayed.

We stopped by the Gooseneck Pumpkin Farm on the way out of town. We picked out our normal sized pumpkin to take home, but were so impressed with the size of some of these things that we stopped for a quick photo op. WOW.

Cake Wrecks - When Professional Cakes Go Horribly, Hilariously Wrong

I follow a variety of blogs. Every day my Google Reader offers up laughter, inspiration and the occasional scratch of the head. I really never know what I might stumble across. Today I was greeted by this little gem. Jen Yates started a blog about Cake Wrecks and has recently published a full color photo book on the topic. The description of her findings: "A Cake Wreck is any cake that is unintentionally sad, silly, creepy, inappropriate - you name it. A Wreck is not necessarily a poorly-made cake; it's simply one I find funny, for any of a number of reasons. Anyone who has ever smeared frosting on a baked good has made a Wreck at one time or another, so I'm not here to vilify decorators: Cake Wrecks is just about finding the funny in unexpected, sugar-filled places."

There are some terribly unfortunate ones featured in her new book. I often wonder how people continue to work in a field after they prove themselves severely lacking in the skill set it requires to be successful. I guess this book/blog is really a shout out to perseverance. So what if your cakes are awkwardly inappropriate, you were too tired to spell check, you don't know how to or you write the directions on the cake instead of the message ... just keep at it!! A few that really cracked me up:




- following directions a little too closely



- questionable parenting skills




- what age is that exactly?




- celebrating current widespread infectious diseases

- you are wecom.

- a tiny coffin to hold your beautiful engaement ring. surprise honey!

- "i requested a football."

- "what are you talking about, this IS a football?!"

- now that i earased that little error ... this cake is perfect!

- that is a sonogram.

- distrubing.

PS: She also features some really beautiful cakes on her blog.

iTunes 9 is RIDICULOUS!!!

Apple/Mac ... you have done it again. I LOVE you and all of your smart applications! I just installed iTunes 9 and it is crazy. The Genius Mixes are my absolute favorite new feature. It doesn't suggest new music, it now compiles playlists of your existing library on its own for you to enjoy. I am reeling at the possibilities. There is now home sharing, an LP experience, improved syncing, redesigned iTunes store, iTunes extras (pretty cool!!) and more. For all the info CLICK HERE. Prepare to be amazed. Seriously.

100 Flavor Coke Machine?!

This video shows the new Coca-Cola Freestyle machine in the Orange County, California test market. Get excited people because this nifty piece of techno-goodness is making its way to GA!! Be on the look out for more details on the launch date and location here ...

John Hughes: Death of the ’80s

John Hughes was an amazing actor/writer/producer/director and is tied to some of my all time favorite movies. Yet another sad loss in such a short time for the arts & entertainment industry. His legacy will certainly live on for me.

This article from The Week pretty much sums it up for me:
Some people might think of the 1980s as “the Reagan era,” said Susan Wloszczyna in USA Today, but it will always be “the John Hughes decade” for a generation of “disaffected suburban kids.” Hughes, who died of a heart attack at 59, had his biggest commercial success as the writer of the 1990s “Home Alone” franchise, but he made his biggest mark with his iconic ’80s Brat Pack hits: Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, Breakfast Club, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

Hughes “left Hollywood behind” in the 1990s, but if he hadn’t, it would have left him, said Betsy Sharkey in the Los Angeles Times. Comedy “went raunchier, darker, meaner” than Hughes’ “very specific slice of Americana” would ever allow—his outsiders were “white, comfortably middle-class, and probably from one of Chicago’s affluent suburbs,” where nothing much worse that “teen angst” ever went down.

We take that smart, empathetic depiction of “adolescent turmoil” for granted today, said Rene Rodriguez in the Miami Herald, “in the modern era of Twilight, Gossip Girl and NYC Prep.” But it was a “revelation” for ’80s teens “weaned” on mostly “crummy and exploitative” raunchy sex comedies. Hughes created balm for teen angst, and that “overrides” any beef with his “exclusively white protagonists” or “obsession” with suburbia.

You never know “which celebrity death will hit you the hardest,” said Carl Kozlowski in Big Hollywood. Well, Hughes’ too-soon death "hit me like a ton of bricks”—much harder than Michael Jackson’s. For Gen Xers, Hughes’ films are the “touchstones of our lives.” He got us: When I saw Duckie Dale in Pretty in Pink, “I felt like John Hughes had rigged my room with spy equipment and had translated my life right onto the screen.”

SYTYCD ... a very powerful performance

one of the top three performances on this show ever in my opinion. love it.

so well said

"The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways , but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete...

Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember, to say, ' I love you' to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."

Food = Body

One of my sweet aunts is the queen of the email forward. Helpful hints, photos, info ... anything she thinks could be useful to you in any way at all. She sent me this one about the foods we consume and the uncanny resemblance they hold to the parts of the body that they provide nourishment and development for. It is truly amazing how nature mirrors itself. Check it out.

A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye... And YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.

A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food.

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

Avocados, Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).

Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male sterility.

Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries.

Oranges, Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

Onions look like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.