Can I blog this? Uhhh sure pt. 2

Justin:  Welcome to "Can I blog this? Uhhhh sure..." part 2, the Maryland edition.  Here are some gems shared with my lovely during our time in Maryland:

EXT.  OUTSIDE HOTEL LOBBY - EARLY EVENING

Nicole and Justin are sitting outside the North Marriot Hotel in Bethesda, Maryland.  Justin had finished his second day on SPX at 6pm on a Sunday evening.  They are waiting for Justin's cousin Jona to pick them up so they can grab dinner.

NICOLE: 

What time is our flight?

JUSTIN:

(checking his phone) 

1:20pm

NICOLE:  

Is Jona working tomorrow?

JUSTIN:  

Yeah we are probably going to leave at like 9am.

NICOLE:

(yawing) 

Shoot...we better take a nap right now.

(CONTINUED)

A car pulls up but not all the way in their line of vision.  A bush is blocking their view and they can't tell if it is Justin's cousin or not.

NICOLE:

Is that Jona?

JUSTIN: 

(begins to nudge over forcing Nicole to nudge as well)

I can't tell. Lean over.

NICOLE:

(now fully leaned over, upper body hanging off the bench)

The windows are tinted.

JUSTIN:

(reassured by Nicole's last statement that it is in fact, he's cousin)

He's so Asian.

Justin:  I thought I'd play with the format here and there with these little "quote posts".  I hope you enjoy!

Merry Merry Maryland

Justin:  So this past weekend, When I Was Little was a part of the SPX 2011 show in Maryland which you can read all about: here!  The great thing about these "workcations" is that we get to go somewhere fun!  In June we went to Louisville and had an amazing time.

On this trip, we were heading to Bethesda but we were staying with my cousin Jonathan who lives out in Gaithersburg which wasn't too far.  We took a plane ride Thursday night and spent most of Friday in Baltimore's Inner Harbor.

The morning before the Harbor, due to the weather, we had to change plans and decided to go somewhere for brunch.  On the fly, we found  Blue Moon Cafe as seen on Triple D!!!  They are famous for their Cap'n Crunch French Toast.  The place was soooo good and we were excited to continue our trend of eating at Triple D restaurants while on vacation.

At the Harbor, we got to find a letterbox at the Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse.  This took forever.  We got all confused direction wise and ended up going back to this lighthouse four or five times before we actually realized the box was hidden in and around the lighthouse.  This was special as it was our first guest box we did together.  My cousin Jonathan was really excited that we found the letterbox and it sparked interest in him trying it too.  Wooo recruiting!

After the letterbox we decided to check out The National Aquarium, talk about amazing.  The way that building is layed out is very linear so that you can see EVERYTHING in the aquarium.  It sounds like it'd be boring but it wasn't at all.  Especially because of the fact that you can start at the top and walk down in a spiral within a shark tank.  It's one of the coolest things about the building.  That and these two turtles totally trying to do it.

 Nicole: So besides the absolutely amazing Aquarium (not gonna lie, the Shedd's got nothing on it) and SPX, which took most of our time, we got to walk around quite a bit and eat out at some very tasty places!  I think we definitely got our fresh seafood fill and I can only dream of having seafood as great as that here.  There may have to be more trips to the coasts in our near future ;o)

One thing I was looking forward to doing was going to Crystal City.  There is a rotating restaurant and they have dancing till 2am.  Sounds like my kind of place!  Unfortunately, we were so tired from the full days event of SPX and the previous day of walking around that we couldn't keep our eyes open to make it there.  No worries though, that just means we will need to go back!

Justin:  Don't forget to mention that was saw the virus/outbreak flick Contagion instead!  What a paranoid movie every time someone coughed we wigged out.  Annnnnyways I think this blog has seen quite a few movie reviews on here already so I don't want to go into detail.

Nicole:  Uh yeah thanks for interrupting me!  Along with the seafood and triple D place, we attended a birthday brunch full of Filipino food.  This is where I took my love for ice cream to the extreme and tried cheese ice cream.  At first there was only a slight taste of cheese and then it was sweet creaminess, not so bad, I could it eat.  it wasn't until my last bite where I had an actual piece of cheese that I thought maybe trying it once in my life was enough.  I'm so glad I did though!  Oh the love and commitment I have for ice cream...

Justin:  And now the seafood pictures YUMMMMMMMY!  Over the trip we went to Phillip's Seafood and The Wharf.  Seriously. Best. Seafood. Ever.

 

 

 

Can I blog this? Uhhh sure pt.1

Justin:  Here's a new idea!  I actually had a funny conversation with Nicole
this past weekend where it was so funny I asked her if I could blog our dialogue.  But then the weekend (epic post to follow!) happened and I forgot that first gem of banter between us.  She never fails as she provided me with laughs after this conversation:


Justin: Hey how was Taco Tuesday?

Nicole: Goooood, I had a corn dog.


Justin: ...

Nicole: ... oh and one taco too.

A little wine with that drink?

Justin: So it seems that after Louisville we kind of just forgot about this preview into our lives.  To be honest after Louisville I planned to have a free month of August to catch up on side work and relax from crazy fun of the convention season.  I guess that meant taking a break from updating you folks on the crazy life we lead as boyfriend and girlfriend.  Ok it's not crazy but it's exciting enough for us and we like to share.  :)

Taking a break from the blog didn't meant we took a break from doing fun things with people we love.  A couple months back I won a wine basket from a raffle my co-worker's mom set up.  I don't remember the exact organization (SORRY it was a loonnnng time ago...but not in a galaxy far, far, away.)

Anyhoo the wine basket was filled with goodies including a free wine tasting to Cooper's Hawk.  Months past and during that time we've had the pleasure a few times, with hanging out with the lovely Aireen Arellano and her truly awesome husband Jeff Loftus.  They have expressed a huge interest in Cooper's and have praised it's fine food and wine.

So after many busy weekends we found time to get together and spend the date with one of our favorite couples.  

The wine is incredible and that statement is coming from someone who does not drink wine.  But the way the tasting was set up is it was like a scorecard and a scene out of the movie, Sideways...where Paul Giamatti dumps the tasted wine over his face.  Great scene, great movie...right Nic...*crickets.  After getting a little tipsy we had lunch reservations.  Man it was pricey but it was very very yummy.  I ordered the crab cakes and they melted in my mouth.  I'm not sure what Nic's take on the experience was but I bet she could tell you it was...amay za za zing.  Nic...




Nicole:  Yes, the whole experience really was amazing!  I've been wanting to go to Coopers Hawk since we won the tasting and am so glad we had the opportunity to go with such amazing friends!  I'm not a huge wine drinker but it was really great to see and taste the subtle differences in each wine.  It really made me appreciate it more and made me want to maybe get into drinking it a little more.  Wine Club anyone?  The food was great and it is definitely a place that I would love to go back to sometime.  I know there are a few more locations so I'm interested to see what each one has to offer.

It's like going on a treasure hunt...

Nicole:  So a little over a year ago I found this really cool hobby that I wanted to try out.  It is basically like going on a treasure hunt.  How could you not love that?!  You get a set of clues that may be specific or very vague, go out and follow them, and (hopefully) find your prize!  This hobby is called letterboxing.

So when I first told Justin about it I was very very excited and couldn't wait to get started.  Well, it turns out you need a few things to start - most notably a stamp, ink pad, and log book.

After we finally got these items I printed out a few clues from the various letterboxing websites for boxes near where we live.  Now I didn't know much about boxing at all so I didnt know that some boxes may have disappeared or been ruined or anything like that and there is a way to see when they were last found.  So as we set out looking for multiple boxes that day and didnt find a single thing, we were very disappointed.  Luckily though, I have researched it more and have learned quite a few useful tips and we have found quite a few letterboxes this past year!

We don't have time to go letterboxing a lot, so when we have an opportunity, we usually take it.  We have tried quite a few times to attend various events that have occurred throughout the year, but something always comes up and we are unable to go.  So our new goal is to try to attend at least one event!    Also, with the several trips that we are taking this year, we are trying to work a little letterboxing into the schedule so that we can find new boxes in different parts of the US.

Justin:  I must admit when I first heard about letterboxing from Nicole.  I was like cool but was like eh because I'm not really an outdoorsy person.  I don't like the heat and me standing around dripping in sweat looking for a camouflaged box didn't sound all that appealing.

But I wanted Nicole to have a hobby other then just tagging along with me to conventions.  I wanted her to find something she was passionate about too and this certainly sparked her curiosity.  I gave it a shot and the first day we went, we spent three hours in the woods and found jack squat.  I was definitely done.  I gave up too quickly but I checked my attitude and gave it another try because I could tell she really wanted to get into this and I know how much of an out doors person she is, especially during the summer.  I also realized it's good to get out in the heat and work/hike/walk off some poundage instead of staying in a nice AC'd room stuffing my face with ice cream and watching reruns of Jersey Shore.

So on the second try I actually found the first letterbox!  I was really excited and all that work with our bodies and our minds (to figure out the clues) really pays off when you find that letterbox hidden in a bush, buried in a tree, or covered by some rocks.  It's the satisfaction that you get can when you place your mark and say that you've been here that is the most rewarding.  Also it creates a way to work together.  It builds communication, team work, trust, and a sense of accomplishment when you find the box.  All key ingredients to a healthy and happy relationship.  Don't ya think?

We recently went to Louisville, KY for the Derby Comic Con and we planned a mini vacation around that.  Part of the vacation included some letterboxing at Cave Hill Cemetery in which we hit 5 for 5 boxes in one afternoon.  Quite an accomplishment for some amateur letterboxers.  Woot!

You scream, I scream, Ice cream!

Nicole:  I hope everyone had a great 4th of July holiday!  I had a few days off work, which was amazing, but I still managed to keep myself busy as usual.  Lots of bbq's, fun and hanging with friends and family.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So as you may know I have a deep deep love for ice cream, I could eat it all day every day.  I've had homemade ice cream on my birthday numerous times and even planned a day to go to special ice cream shops.  My birthday dream is to participate in an ice cream challenge at Lindy's and Gerties of Bridgeview. And Win!

 

Well, last year my sister got me the ice cream maker attachment for my kitchenaid mixer.  Correction:  She got me a picture of the ice cream attachment for my kitchenaid mixer.  After harassing her for almost a year, she finally ordered it and it arrived this past week!  Just in time for July, which is Ice Cream Month.

 

Since we had the 4th of July weekend coming up I decided to give it a go and try it out.  Now, I knew that I had to let the bowl freeze for about 18 hours, but I wasn't prepared for how long it would actually take to make ice cream.  The book says it would only need to churn for 20 minutes and then would be ready to eat!  I picked out my recipe, hurriedly made my grocery list, and headed to the store.  I came back all excited to make some great vanilla ice cream and have it all ready to eat in the next hour.  I get all my ingredients set out and start reading the recipe I picked out. Wait....I have to let the batter cool for 8 hours!?! Uhhhh. Yikes.  So I decided to go the eggless route and that cut the time down immensely.  I whipped it all up, let it get really cold for about an hour and then finally I could let it churn!  20 minutes later - ice cream!

 

 

 

Since it is National Ice Cream Month, my goal is to try to make at least one new flavor of ice cream each week.  I know, that's a lot of ice cream.  Looks like I may need to have an ice cream party!

Warrior Dashed 2011!

Nicole: Hello!  So this past Sunday was Father's Day and we usually just chill and relax and grill but we decided to do something a little different this year...the Warrior Dash!

If you have never heard of it, it is a 5k race with obstacles like climbing ropes, running through rivers, and swimming through a mud pit.  It was the muddiest, wettest, most awesome thing we have ever done Father's Day!

Our goal was to stay together so although we didn't run/jog the whole thing like originally planned, we all stayed together and had a good time and a great experience together.  Some people (my mom cough cough) didn't do all of the obstacles but we all supported each other through the whole thing.

I brought a long a disposable waterproof camera for the run and Justin was awesome and came along and shot videos and pictures as we were finishing the race.

 I am sooo grateful that Justin came to cheer us on and showed my appreciation for him coming ;o)

Who's with me for next year?!?!?!

Justin:  Nicole jumping over fire...hot.