62. April 29th, 2010 Picture.

Keeping in theme with this worldwind week, I headed to the movies on Thursday to see Kenny Chesney in 3D.  I love Kenny Chesney, like, really love.  All his songs are beachy, about love, life and kegs in closets.  It's hard to see why I'd like him, we obviously have nothing in common.  Anyway, before hitting up the movie theather, Ratty and I headed to Fajita's and 'Ritas in Downtown Crossing.  Pre the red line fire.

Ratty is a planner, and he likes to have dinner and drinks before we ever go to the movies, it's a shocker we get along so well.  F+R has been a long standing pre-movie ritual for him, and he has so graciously allowed me to share in his love of Mexican food and sangria.  Okay the sangria might be for me, but whatever.  What I really like about F+R is that white paper as a table cloth on each table, and they give you pens so you can doodle or, my personal favorite, play hangman.  The first time Ratty and I ever went to F+R we played hangman for what seems like an hour.  I think we used every square inch of that table.  So yesterday, obviously I went to start up a game.  (Sometimes we play tic tac toe, but I always win and Ratty has stopped playing with me).  As soon as I grabbed the pen, Ratty goes, 'oh no, not hangman'.  I pretended I didn't hear him and drew the board.  He asked for a hint, because apparently my 6 blank spaces were too vague, so I wrote 'Ratty is a...' and waited for him to fill in the blank.  It took a few tries, but he finally came up with the word, MEANIE.  I couldn't believe he was so ready to cast hangman aside after all these years, so I felt that calling him a meanie was completely necessary. 

On a lighter note, the movie was so awesome.  I have loved Kenny Chesney for years, so I may be biased, but who cares!  It was such a fanastic 'show', and the 3D effects (affects?) made the stadiums and crowds seem absolutely insane.  He sang most of my favorite songs, he has so many he could never sing them all.  According to a review online, the movie was just about 100 minutes long and they crammed in 23 songs.  It did make me a little nostalgic for summer, and I wished I was in the live crowd instead of in a movie theater, but I'll take whatever Kenny I can get.  For the record I sang along to every song, and did not care one single bit.  Ratty might of, but he doesn't count.

62. April 28th, 2010 Picture.

This week has been one gigantic blur of fun that has been broken up daily by a pesky thing called 'work'.  I haven't had much of a chance to blog, not even counting the fact that the internet at my apartment has been shaky, at best, all week, sighhhh.  I was hoping to catch up on some serious blog entries this weekend, but once again my social life leaves barely any room for sleep, and let me tell you, that's JUST how I like it!

On Wednesday night I headed over to District for a fundraiser for the New Leaders Council, of which Ratty is a fellow this year.  It was your typical political fellowship fundraiser cocktail party, with Ayanna Pressley, our new City Councilor, as a keynote speaker.  Casual little Wednesday night.  District is one of those swanky VIP bars with the velvet rope and guest list.  You can't just walk in off the street, you need to know someone to get in, so needless to say I've only ever been there twice, both times for fundraisers.

Each and every wall in the place is lined with birch trees.   It's hard to picture, and you'd think you were smack in the middle of a hunting lodge at that description, but it's actually very cool inside.  Black and white damask accents are all over the place and there is no trace of mounted animals on the wall.  I snapped this photo because I thought the wall just looked really different. 

I also know that birch bark is the best bark to use as kindling to start a fire.  Uncle Bill taught me that many summers ago when I was up at his house in Mittersill, NH.  He put me to work and 'let' me walk around his yard collecting all the birch bark I could find.  Did I mention that his house is built into a ski slope?  His yard is REALLY big.  He may have even let me try and chop wood after.  Live free or die.

After the party at District died down, Ralphie and I headed over to Rialto at the Charles Hotel in Harvard Square.  Rialto is owned by Chef Jody Adams, who was competing on Top Chef Masters that night.  She was hosting a viewing party with complimentary apps and drink specials.  Ratty and I were able to get a seat at the bar, where we enjoyed $3 bud lights (which sadly, is a steal!) and shared the most ridiculous burger I've ever had.  It was covered in mozzarella and crispy prosciutto.  My mouth is still watering at the thought of it.  I'm going to need to go back SUPER soon and order my own, none of this sharing business.  Jody ended up winning the Quickfire competition and is now going to compete in the finale.  I'm thinking there needs to be a repeat of this night next week for that episode.

OH, and Rialto (@rialto02138) thanked me via Twitter for coming to the party.  You are welcome Rialto, I was unsure if my busy calendar would allow me to make an appearance, but thankfully it did, and it was a win-win for everyone.

62. April 27th, 2010 Picture.

Last night I was watching Top Chef Masters on DVR while drinking some Sam Summers with Ratty (I'm noticing a theme here, anyone else?).  We were discussing how this season has been less than stellar compared to the first one.  This time around, each episode has 2 winners, cutting the season down to only 5 episodes - LAME!  I can understand that the pool of participants for Top Chef Masters is small, there are many more wannabe chefs than successful ones, but come on.  I felt like the first season was just an absolute showcase of talent, where I wanted to travel across the country and eat at every restaurant represented.  Anyone who follows this show knows that Rick Bayless won last year.  He was incredible.  Not only is he extremely talented, but he is also the nicest guy ever, at least on TV he is, and with the miracle of editing that is no easy fete.  I tweeted about him last night (follow me on twitter @amydeveau) saying:  'Watching this weeks #topchefmasters with @HeyRatty and we both feel that NO ONE will ever top @Rick_Bayless.  He is the absolute best!!'  For anyone who doesn't understand Twitter (hi mom!) I basically sent a message to both Ratty and Rick Bayless, by using the @ symbol before their names.  They get a notification that I mentioned them in one of my tweets, but are under no obligation to say anything back.  Frankly, with someone who is famous, you assume that they won't.

Welllllll, I am honored to say that he responded!  Granted it was only a 'thanks' through direct message, but it was still impressive.  He has over 45,000 followers and gets tweeted at constantly I'm sure, but he took a second to thank me for saying something nice about him.  This just confirms my feelings that he is a genuinely great guy.  This is my first celebrity interaction on Twitter and I LOVED it!  So, thanks Rick Bayless for thanking me!  You're welcome.

62. April 26th, 2010 Picture.

When I first published my blog, so many moons ago (13 days to be exact), I added a visitor counter to the bottom, to keep track of how many views my blog got.  Well, I am VERY happy to say that in 13 short days, I've had over 1000 hits.  My number currently sits at 1072, and while I'm sure that my mom and I take up at least half of those views, I am still pretty proud that so many people are checking in and reading my posts.  I've gotten so many fantastic Facebook comments, messages, emails and texts about my blog and my goals that I'm overwhelmed.  Many of my friends have decided to take on this project as well, posts and links coming soon, and I couldn't be more proud.  I think a lot of people my age are kind of floundering, wondering what they are doing in life, where they are going and how they are going to get there, I affectionally call it my quarter-life crisis.  I needed something like the 101 things challenge to re-spark my interest in activities, hobbies and life. It has also motivated me to learn about new things and more about myself.  So, with that, THANK YOU to everyone who has read my blog, it means so much to me, words can't do it justice.

62. April 25th, 2010 Picture

On Sunday evening, after spending a pretty productive rainy-ish day cleaning and blogging, I headed over to one of my favorite places for dinner with Ratty.  Sidebar: My friends and I have affectionally started calling Ratty Ralphie, long story that stems from our NH NYE Weekend getaway, so if I slip and say Ralphie, just know I'm really talking about Ratty.  As if calling him by his last name, which also can be used as a not so great adjective, wasn't confusing enough, we needed to completely make up an unrelated nickname for him.  Makes total sense.  ANYWAY, Ralphie and I headed over to the 99 in Charlestown for some big beers, popcorn and cheese and crackers.  I know I am definitely not alone when I say that I LOVE the 99.  Love!  It was a sad sad day in Cambridge when the one at Fresh Pond closed.  I was no longer able to get my favorite potato skins to go, which actually may be better off for me in the long run.  I realized just recently that there was a Nines in Charlestown, and it has become my new obsession. 

Quick funny story associated with the Nines, last weekend my mom and I went shopping at Assembly Square Mall (the same day as the great Kohl's discovery) and decided to go to the Nines for dinner.  We called up Ralphie and asked if he wanted to meet us there.  Obvi he was beyond excited and started his trek to Charlestown, dreaming of mozzarella sticks.  My mom and I pulled out of the mall parking lot, heading in the direction of Charlestown, when suddenly the 99 was right there, not even two minutes down the road.  I couldn't get over how close Somerville and Charlestown were, and truthfully was a little baffled at how I could grow up here and not realize.  This lead to an insightful conversation between me and my mom about how everything is connected and when you really break things down the world is such a small place, etc etc etc. 

My mom and I get a booth, order some drinks and wait for Ratty to arrive.  We're sitting there, chatting, looking at the menu when I start to look around.  The bar looks different, I could have sworn the kitchen was along the other wall.  We came in a different door than last time I was there, but there must be two entrances.  Suddenly it dawns on me, we aren't at the right 99, we are at the Somerville one.  I didn't even KNOW Somerville had a 99.  Then like an idiot, I realize the brick wall directly infront of my face has SOMERVILLE in huge white letters written on it, way to pay attention Amy.  I grab my moms' car keys and drive the 30 seconds to the Charlestown location.  I mean, come on, the 99 isn't like a Dunkin Donuts, a church or a bar, there isn't one on every corner in Boston.  How is it that there can be TWO 99's within 1 mile of eachother?!  I find this so confusing.  Anyway, I call Ratty pretty frantically, nervous that he had been sitting at the bar, drowning his sorrows in a tall, frosty Sam Summer thinking that we forgot all about him.  Turns out, he wasn't even there yet.  He was just getting off the train and walking towards the parking lot.  I said I'd pick him up right infront of the Nines, when suddenly, while on the highway, I see him getting ready to cross the street.  I yell through the phone for him to stop and literally pull my car over, not fully stopping ever, swing open the door and scream for him to get inside.  I felt like a bank robber, minus the cash and ski masks.  I pulled a U-ey, probably cut someone off, and headed back to Somerville.  Phew.

Long story short, we went to the Charlestown 99 on Sunday night.  We spent a casual 2 hours at the bar, drinking Sam Summers and snacking on popcorn before even ordering dinner.  Something relatively new about the Nines is their '99 reasons to love the 99'.  When I say relatively new, I mean that it's something that's happened in the last 10 years, I just never paid much attention to it.  They have signs all over the dining room with different reasons to love the Nines, as if I need anymore reasons then the fact it's just straight up awesome.  I took it upon myself to look like a creep, again, and take some pictures of my favorite ones. 

This one was in the ladies room.  It's so true:

I really want this one to be true.  Everyone one at the Charlestown Nines is a 'regular'.  I wanna make it happen for me:

This last one is DEFINITELY true:

62. April 24th, 2010 Picture.

Today was my niece Abby's 4th birthday party.  I can't believe my little peanut is 4 already, I feel like just yesterday I was running over to Mount Auburn Hospital to see her a mere hour after she was born.  Okay, it doesn't really feel like yesterday, but I thought that's what nostalgic aunts are supposed to say.  

Her party was oh so much fun, with her and her little cousins playing dress up, and me and my big cousins watching them with a beer in our hands.  She was pretty much the most excited 4 year old I've ever seen.  She loves her birthday (almost as much as me and her dad do) and she was thrilled to have us all over for a party.  She is flat out obsessed with Barbie, and demanded that she have a Barbie cake, handmade by Christine.  When she was opening up a present from her little cousin Eleanor, she took one look at the Barbie in the bag and goes 'oh I already have this one' and asked for another present to open.  All the kids are pretty hilarious, especially Julia, my cousin Carolyn's daughter, who would go inside and come out with a new outfit on every time.  When she came out in a maroon sparkly tu-tu, her dad told her to stop going in Eddie's closet.  My favorite outfit of the day was when she came outside in a jean skirt, and a sheer pink ballet skirt on over her head, wearing it as a cape/poncho/shirt with her little belly hanging out.

I ended up staying at Eddie's house pretty late, 10pm is late for adults with kids!  I watched iCarly with Cassie and Abs, french braided Cassie's hair and put her to bed and read her a story.  I even had time to chat with the adults about the benefits of the library, what we'd do if we ever won the lottery (my favorite conversation EVER, as I have my plan all mapped out), and how my brother Ronny looked at the Barbie cake a little too adoringly.

Who doesn't love a good candy necklace?!  No one, I say.

{My little cousin Ryan}

{Just LOOK at those faces!}

{So excited for presents from Eleanor!}

{Oh, I already have this Barbie.  NEXT!}

{I love that Fraggle Rock is still being appreciated.}

And scene!

4. Create/Update and Address Book.

On Friday afternoon I was shopping in Borders, and thought it would be the perfect time to invest in my address book and get number 4 going.  I painstakingly flipped through every address book in the store, but none of them were right.  I came to the conclusion that the reason that I have not purchased an address book before because I need one that has 700 pages for D, and zero for X.  Between the Downeys and Deveaus, I could fill an entire address book, plus some post its and notes in the margins.  I get anxiety thinking about regular address books with 3 pages for each letter.  What would I do when my D entries easily pour into E, F and probably G?  Would there be an F smack in between Cousin Dave and Cousin Sue?  That is pure stress in my eyes.  I told my cousin Carolyn this yesterday and she said that when I find the planner that has 50 pages for D's, I need to buy one for her, too.  Her maiden name is Downey and her married name is Donahue.  She feels my pain.

I've decided that I needed to find an address book that either has rings so I can add pages for certain letters, OR I need to design my own.  One would think there would be a website for someone as crazy as me that needed a custom address book/planner.  I want to be able to pick what categories I have for each entry (like birthdays or children or random facts), decide how many pages I need for each letter, and have it look pretty.    I even thought about buying just  a plain journal and adding the letter tabs myself, that way I'd be able to organize and categorize it as I see fit.  Does anyone know if there is a 'build your own address book' website?  I would imagine that it NEEDS to exist.  If it doesn't, I may need to get on it and start my own.

62. April 23rd, 2010 Picture.

I am a little torn about which photo I should use for today, I have a few.  I went to the Atrium Mall after work for some retail therapy, thank God for credit cards, and wandered in and out of some of my favorite stores.  I spend the majority of my time thoughtfully looking through racks of clothes, tables of books and walls of knick-knacks at Anthropologie, one of my many loves.  Everything in that store looks slightly random, but at the same time very carefully planned out.  I would love to purchase 1 of everything, but unfortunately, common sense and my bank account would never let that happen.  I love the variety of things they sell, perfumes, jewelry, books, accessories, plates, kitchenware, clothes, linen and furniture.  Everything has a very antique, lived in look to it, like it belongs in a countryside cottage in rural England.

I snapped this display photo, pretty much because it is nautically themed, and that my friends, is my FAVORITE theme.

After meandering through Anthropologie, and buying the sweetest top for $14, YES $14!, I made my way to another personal favorite, Borders.  The second I walked in, I smelled coffee, which obviously meant I needed a cup immediately.  After getting my medium de-caf s'mores non-fat latte, I walked through the Employees' Picks shelves, seeing what other people are suggesting.  There, in front of me, was the best book I've ever read, yep, you read that right BEST BOOK EVER.  Now, I read a lot and that is a huge compliment to bestow on a book, but I am serious and I mean it.  'Pillars of the Earth' had been on my 'must-read' list for a while, years actually.  I would add it my library request list and wait for it to come in patiently.  When it arrived the first time, I was a little overwhelmed with the 1000 pages and a 3 week time frame.  Ever since Oprah added it to her book club list (she was behind the curve) it was always being requested and I was never allowed to renew it.  This is the type of book that you need to savor, you cannot rush through it.  I finally bit the bullet and bought a copy for myself, and I immediately fell in love.  It is about the building of a cathedral in 12th century England, and spans about 60 years.  You may not think this sounds interesting, at all, but let me tell you it is stunning.  STUNNING.  The thoughtfulness and descriptive writing honestly took my breath away.  This book was actually bad for my health because I refused to put it down and was up until all hours of the night reading.  I didn't care if I got any sleep, I just wanted to keep going.   When I actually finished the book, I cried.  I was sad it was over.    Everyone I've ever recommended this book to has absolutely loved it as well.  There is a sequel, 'World Without End', but it takes place 100 years after 'Pillars of the Earth' ends.  If it is half as good as as the first book, I am sure I will love it.

{This literary masterpiece is also a true adventure story.  Follett, also known for his spy thrillers, takes you into the 12th century as a community struggles to build a cathedral.}

I'd also like to comment on the fact that I looked SO creepy taking photos in both Anthro and Borders.  I broke out into a sweat of nerves thinking that I was breaking some unwritten 'no-photo' rule.  I'd wait until no one was around me and take a quick picture and walk away super fast.  You'd think I was trying to steal something or take a picture of confidential documents.  I am almost certain that absolutely no one cared if I took a picture or not.  

62. April 22nd, 2010 Picture.

First off, I need to say a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my little niece Abby who is 4 today!  I would have had a picture of her, but I didn't get a chance to see her.  Her birthday party is Saturday, so expect an adorable photo!

Okay, on to todays' picture.  If you read my blog, you know that I was staying late last Friday in order to stuff folders and bags for the conference on Saturday.  We stuffed 300 of these bags, and only 65 people were at the conference.  That means that there were over 200 bags left over.  I need to break down the bags so that all the donated materials can be returned to various departments.  So, all 235 extra bags are sitting in my office, waiting for me to take them apart.  Did I mention that there was chocolate in the bags, that melted?  Take a look!

For the record, I'm not really complaining, I just think my job is ridiculous sometimes.

62. April 21st, 2010 Picture.

Today I bought tickets to see the Kenny Chesney 3D movie next week.  @heyratty so graciously agreed to go with me (he is a closet country music liker).  I have never really seen a real 3D movie, I'm pretty sure that the rides in Disney World don't count, and I am VERY excited.  I love Kenny Chesney, he is one of my absolute all time favorite artists, I've seen him in concert 3 or 4 times now, and each one has been better than the last.  I don't always remember his concerts, they are a little blurry since they're all day fests where you tailgate before AND after the show.  Plus, it's always in the middle of the summer, when it is 97 degrees with no clouds or wind, and you feel like you are melting.  I have to say it is a great time, but it's pure exhaustion.  I've even been known to take a few cat naps in between songs.

I was SO excited to hear that Kenny was making a 3D movie, with footage from 5 different concerts, Boston included.  He is taking a break from touring this summer, I can only imagine how taxing doing a show like that every night all summer long can be.  Next Thursday I'll be in a nice, air conditioned movie theater, with my little 3D glasses, watching Kenny sing all my favorite songs.  I fully intend to be singing along to EVERY one, just like a real concert.  It's next to impossible to not sing along to 'Summertime'.  That is straight up the best summer song ever.  In terms of my favorite Kenny song, that is a tough one.  'Anything But Mine' gives me chills, especially the live version from 'Live Those Songs Again', but Summertime is my perfect windows rolled down sing along song.

16. Join the Bone Marrow Donor Registry.

UPDATE:  My registration kit came in the mail the other day and I needed to take mouth swabs and send them back.  There were 4 sterile q-tip things, as well as a biohazard sticker, 4 barcode stickers and package to mail them back in.  I needed to flag each q-tip with the barcode stickers and put them in the return envelope and seal it shut with the biohazard sticker.  They are going to analyze the swabs and put my bone marrow...type (?) in the registry and then we just wait!  I went ahead and took pictures of every step, so take a look!

62. April 20th, 2010 Picture.

Like I mentioned a few days ago, I won a GLEE Party Pack from Fox, complete with t-shirts, sunglasses, a cooler and CDs.  In honor of this AMAZING  prize, I invited the biggest Gleeks I know over for a viewing party.  I hung a poster in my hall, which was our red carpet and backdrop for most of our photos, and made Glee themed snacks.  We had Kurt Hummus, Rachel Berry Sangria, Finn and Quinn Potato Skins, Emma Pillsbury Biscuits, and Cheerios Trail Mix.  It was pretty epic if I do say so myself.  Annie surprised us when she walked through the door, she was listed as a 'maybe' on the evite, and Julie came all the way from the cape!  K. Rose came up from Bridgewater, conquering her fear of public transportation by taking the commuter rail AND the red line, and walking through the mean streets of Southie to my house.  MahkG was so excited that he was willing to drive to Revere to buy blue slush - we needed the blue slushies!  We all really love Glee, and a good theme, and free stuff, and a reason to say 'Thank God it's Tuesday' so I shouldn't be so shocked at the dedication of my friends.  I had a fab time and I am so happy that everyone came out to watch the best show on TV, I really do have great friends!  Thanks Ratty, Bill, Tara, Kim, Annie, K. Rose, Julie, Mark and Jamie for coming over, on a school night.  Below is a picture of MahkG, decked out in his swag and eating blue slushies out of a wine glass.  I am attaching a few extra photos, just because!

The rest of the par-tayyy:

62. April 19th, 2010 Picture.

I am a HUGE fan of the show Glee, like, huge.  I follow all the cast members on Twitter and am a fan of the show on Facebook.  I download all the songs onto my ipod and even stream the album when I'm at work.  I really love it.  A few weeks ago there was a post from the show on Facebook asking for fans of the show who lived in certain cities (thankfully Boston was on the list) to send a quick email to them.  The first 4 responders from each of the listed cities would get a Glee Madonna party pack.  Needless to say, I won and my party pack came in the mail today.   I got t-shirts, a cooler, coasters, cups, sunglasses, posters, CDs and popcorn for my Glee party tomorrow night; I plan on making some Glee-themed snacks or Glacks, like white 'Rachel Berry' Sangria and others I've yet to think up.  I keep getting emails from Fox saying that the news may or may not show up for my party.  Must be a slow news day.

62. April 18th, 2010 Picture.

On Sunday, my mom and I ventured out for an afternoon of shopping.  We headed over to Kohl's in Medford and let's just say, we were blown away.  Neither of us had ever been to a Kohl's and we were pleasantly surprised.  I imagine that we were pretty comical walking up and down the aisles.  'MOM!  They have Vera Wang', 'AMY!  They have Food Network kitchenware', "OMG YANKEE CANDLES!'   We were probably a little ridiculous, like, Kohl's has been around for years and we were definitely showing up a little late to that party.

Anyways, I was drooling over all the awesome appliances and kitchenware they had there.  As I was gushing to my mom about a Kitchenade mixer and how you can buy a pasta making attachment, I saw my future cookware set.  It's an 11 piece set from Food Network for the low bargain price of $219.99.  My mom was pretty shocked at all the great deals and told me that $220 is a great price for all the stuff it included.  I'm going to need to start saving for this package o' pots and probably buy a completely separate cabinet for my kitchen because we're strapped for space as is.  Oh well, number 93 needs to happen, so I'm gonna have to do whatever it takes, including some shopping.  Life is just SO hard.

62. April 17th, 2010 Picture.

I survived my early wake up call on Saturday and was rewarded with cocktails.  I headed over to Ratty's apartment after work and we spent the evening hanging out, eating pizza and drinking cranberry vodka and champagne.  This picture just kind of summed up a great night.  I was beat from working all day, and it was cold and rainy outside.  Staying in with custom cocktails was absolutely perfect, nice and cozy.  So cozy in fact, I'm pretty sure I fell asleep mid-sentence.

I had even brought my computer to Ratty's apartment so I could blog my photo, but my narcolepsy pretty much vetoed that.  After a nice and relaxing weekend, I have some catching up to do!

62. April 16th, 2010 Picture

So, I had a pretty rough day for a Friday.  I have this conference at work tomorrow and let's just say that no one is making my job easy.  I was stuck at work past 6pm stuffing participant folders and swag bags, all while having people asking me absurd questions, like, so absurd.  Once I finally broke free (until 7am tomorrow), my obvious choice of a destination was...Target.  What can I say?  I'm a glutton for punishment.  Truthfully, I was on the fence about shopping until I remembered that there was a Pizza Hut inside.  Now, for those of you who don't know, I've had a life long romance with Pizza Hut, our love is deep.  Like, for the amount of pizza I've consumed from there, it's amazing that my heart hasn't stopped.   Who knew that a pepperoni personal pan pizza could completely turn my day around, rain and all?  This brings me to 3 short and sweet stories from my childhood, all about pizza.

When I was SUPER little, I refused to eat the cheese on pizza.  I know, this should be illegal.  I would take a slice and completely scrape off anything that was good.  This went on for a while, longer than I'm willing to admit, but thankfully I've climbed down from the crazy tree and have joined humanity.   To add insult to injury, I also went through a phase where I would order pepperoni pizza, but then take the pepperonis off.  You see, I liked the pepperoni flavor, but not the pepperonis themselves.  My brother Ronny still makes fun of me to this day by asking me, without fail, if I still only like the pepperoni essence.  I guess this is what big brothers are for.

When I was little, after I had embraced cheese pizza, my dad would take me over to MIT where my brother David worked.  David managed the student union dining hall, which so happens, had a Pizza Hut.  I thought it was the coolest thing, as a little 8 or 9 year old, to get to see the inside of a college dining hall.  They had it made - a Pizza Hut, ice cream buffet, all you could eat french fries, pretty much every kids heaven (and some grown ups too!).  We started making it a little tradition to go over to MIT one night a week so I could have my personal pan pizza.  David knew how much I loved Pizza Hut, so he started sending home a few frozen ones with us so my mom could cook them for me at home.  Seriously, that obsessed.

My last fond childhood memory of Pizza Hut coincides with summers and Scituate.  There is a Pizza Hut on 3A in Quincy that we would pass every time we headed down to visit my cousins.  For the record it's Pizza Hut on the way down, Dairy Queen on the ride home.  Now, it would take about 30+ minutes to get there from Cambridge, so my mom would call down to PH, order my little pizza, and request that they put it in the oven in 20 minutes.  Honest to God, my obsession spared no one, I had my mom in cahoots with me.  

So, there you have 3 quick stories about my childhood and my love of Pizza Hut.  Now you can see why I HAD to go to Target.  It made my day exponentially better.  I'm a total fat kid.

16. Join the Bone Marrow Donor Registry.

Not surprisingly, there are a lot of steps involved in joining the National Bone Marrow Registry, but I took the first one this afternoon.  After reading my blog, the one and only Michael Ratty (follow him on Twitter @heyratty), who is already a member of the Registry, sent me an email with a promotional code so I signed up as well.  I had to fill out basic health and wellness questions, as well as a brief medical history.  Needless to say I passed the first round of questions, and they are shipping me my registration kit.  I'll need to take mouth swabs and send them back to be tested and then I'll be added to the Registry database!

Now I had always thought that your bone marrow was somehow linked to your blood type.  I am B negative, which is actually the second rarest blood type, so I was concerned that I'd be in high demand.  FYI, AB negative is the rarest with less than 1% of people having it, and O negative and B negative are tied for second, with just under 5% each.   Anyways, it turns out that blood type isn't necessarily linked to bone marrow.  It has more to do with the proteins in your blood cells; the proteins are how your body is able to tell which cells belong and which cells don't.  Recipients obviously want bone marrow that closely resembles their own cells, this way the body won't try and kill the new, healthy bone marrow.  Seriously, how do scientists know this stuff?!

If you want to learn more about joining the Bone Marrow Donor Registry, here is a link to their site: http://www.marrow.org/index.html

If you do decide to join, you'll eventually see a web-page like this one:

62. April 15th, 2010 Picture.

Day 2.

This was painted in the parking garage at my doctors' office.  Now, I'm pretty sure that the basic fundamentals of a parking lot are pretty self explanatory, but unfortunately there are just people out there that probably need this reminder.  But obviously for me, the best driver in the world, this is just silly.  If you want some hilarious and borderline frustrating parking pictures, check out this site: www.youparkedlikeajackass.com

62. April 14th, 2010 Picture.

So, I really love the idea of stopping during the day to just photograph something going on around you.  Having to take a picture everyday for the next 1001 days actually became pretty overwhelming to me on my drive home from work today.  I mean, 1001 days, that's a long time and it's A LOT of pictures.  Then I realized that nothing on this list should seem like a chore, it should be something that makes me a better person and helps me appreciate the great things in life.  The whole reason I chose to add this task to my list is because I want to have to take a little moment out of each day and look at something ordinary around me and appreciate it.

So here we go.  Day 1.

So, this lovely pond is actually on the campus of Pine Manor.  That's right folks, I get to look at this beautiful view every day through my office window.  It's shocking that something so pretty and serene could exist at a place that makes my life miserable on a daily basis.