Sack-O-Stickers

I picked up a Sack-O-Hello-Kitty-Sushi-Stickers last weekend. They're quite cute and they come with the following warning label, "These stickers are not edible-Do not put in mouth!" Good to know!

Diamonds & Coals

In honor of my alma mater's upcoming commencement ceremonies...diamonds and coals.

Diamond: Pourable REESES Peanut Butter Sauce
Coal: Baskin Robbins Lime Daiquiri Ice (Blech!)

Diamond: Odd Todd's new book.
Coal: Odd Todd still claiming he's "unemployed" when he's published a book and now had a comedy central show in the works

Diamond: Memorial Day
Coal: Crappy weather

Diamond: Steve not being there when I accidentally walk into his office thinking it's mine
Coal: Steve being there when I accidentally walk into his office thinking it's mine

Diamond: Fried foods
Coal: Heart Disease

Field Trip

Taking advantage of a rare lull in our afternoon, we went on a brief "field trip.” Given that we work in Kendall, we really can't get into much trouble and there aren't that many places to go, but we made the best of it. One of the highlights was discovering a mailbox right outside our building on the side we never walk by so now we don't have to trek to the post office during lunch. We also discovered REESES pourable peanut butter sauce at Damons and each member of our merry quartet had to get a frozen yogurt sundae despite this unseasonable cold day. My good friend Kellie loves the candy shop sundaes at Friendly's and she used to melt peanut butter in the microwave for her ice cream at the Ratty. Since the peanut butter is pourable at room temperature, she could keep a tub on her kitchen counter and pump it over everything: waffles, ice cream, milk, steak...you name it.

Ole Mexican Grill

A group of us gave Ole Mexican Grill's Sunday brunch a whirl after church last weekend. We were looking forward to the fresh guacamole made tableside, but we were thwarted because they ran out of guacamole. I didn't understand how a Mexican restaurant could run out of guacamole, but I checked their guacamole carts and didn't find any avocadoes lurking around. I kept eyeing the huge things of guacamole other tables were enjoying and I was debating whether I had the gumption to politely guilt other customers into sharing a taste of guacamole. Finally, I was told [by Adam] to "stop pouting or go ask for some guacamole." I scoped out the other tables and finally approached a jovial party of folks enjoying margaritas and TWO things of guacamole. Very tasty and at 4.95 for a huge thing of fresh guacamole...I'll be at Ole some Sunday before church so I can ensure the guacamole doesn't run out. I would highly recommend going for brunch since it's significantly cheaper than the dinner menu: Brunch is around $6-8 and dinner is $15-20. Guacamole at dinner is a whopping $9.00 versus $4.95 at lunch.

Sculpey

I picked up some modeling clay over the weekend so I could make cool push pins and I discovered this amazing eraser clay. I haven't baked my everlasting gobstopper-esque eraser creation, but I sure am excited. The following is a reconstructed conversation from the weekend.

Adam: Clean up your play doh...it's time to go home.
plasticann: [indignantly] It's not play doh!
Adam: What is it then?
plasticann: It's called...Sculpey.
Adam: Maybe I wouldn't have laughed had you called it modeling clay.

Capri Pants

When capri pants were first prevalent a few years back, I thought to myself, "I kinda like capri pants, but I'll bet it's going to be a one hit wonder and then I'll be stuck with too short pants," so I figured I would ride out the trend. The pants have stayed for several summers and don't seem to be going anywhere. Last weekend, I went "walking" with MGDub down Mass Ave and I finally purchased my first pair of capris: kicky chocolate brown with a bit of stretch. I'm enjoying my pants a lot, but now that I've bowed to the allure of capris...they will probably go away next year. Curses! My coworker Amy commented that she got rid of all her capri pants during her transition into adulthood. Here I was thinking capri pants were going to help me transition into adulthood since they're longer than shorts, but our definitions of "adulthood" are relative.

Lisa Lisa and more Lisa with some Dweezil in the mix

I just read MGDub's review of the Dweezil & Lisa show in our alumni magazine...now the show's been cancelled and they broke up. Geez Louise! I really liked them, though I could do without the Dweezil twirling Lisa bit. Perhaps Heather was right afterall when she recently commented, "I'm not sure it would be wise for a meat-eater to marry a vegetarian. Wouldn't that be kind of like adherents of different faiths marrying one another? I just can't see it working out."

Hot Dog Safari Recap of plasticann's favorites

Hot Dog: Pearl Brand with it's Kielbasa type flavor

Bun: Kelly's Roast Beef went the extra mile offering a buttered and toasted bun

How many hot dogs did I consume? My guess was three. Adam guessed five to six. Let's just say I ate about four or five especially since I nabbed a second Pearl hot dog after dessert (Cool Dog and Cotton Candy)

Overall...I feel more in touch with my fellow Bostonians. It's a great place to people watch and there are tons of kids running afoot.

CandyFreak

I finished my Krispy Kreme book last week and now I'm on to CandyFreak...a sugary ode to confectionary treats. I'm about half way through and though I'm not completely onboard with the author's tirades against big business since big business does pay for my livelihood, I'm really enjoying my latest read. The author waxes poetically about the Lake Champlain Five Star Bars and I'm intrigued. I've always shied away from the Five Star Bars given its high price point and its oversized nugget shape in favor of the Lake Champlain chocolate bars that are more traditionally shaped. I think I may have to give the Five Star Bar a whirl sometime soon.

Iceberg Lettuce Wedge

Wheezy and I hit Cambridge 1 last night for dinner. Remembering Adam's insider tip gleaned from a review, we requested some breadsticks and were rewarded with crunchy carbs with a bit of a kick. I enjoyed a pepperoni pizza (classic) and Wheezy enjoyed a hybrid lettace topped salad type pizza. We also shared a tasty iceberg lettuce wedge.

Adam and I had the iceberg lettuce wedge at Blarney Stone a few months ago and it was unbelievable. Although the salad was not Wheezy friendly because it was topped off with crisp hearty bacon, I ate more than my share of the delicious bacon. Yum!

Hot Dogs...people either love them or hate them

There are "camp folks" and "non camp folks." My friend Steve would fall under the first category. Then there are people who love hot dogs and people who hate them. Mention hot dogs to my friends Zerry and Zawrence and you'll get a top ten list of their favorite hot dogs and how best to prepare them. Bringing up hot dogs and hot dog gluttony events, Hot Dog Safari, causes nausea for other folks. I've got some deep philosophical questions. Do couples, as an unit, either love or hate hot dogs? Can couples survive a hot dog chasm? What about couples that are comprised of a meat eater and a vegetarian? Would we then have to broaden the definition of hot dogs to include veggie dogs?

Hot Dog!

My coworker Zeah likes to exclaim "Hot Dog!" when things are going well at work. On another note, Adam and I watched an episode of Phantom Gourmet this weekend featuring Hot Dogs. The guest host was Eddie Andelman who created the Hot Dog Safari. Eddie is some sort of local sports celebrity and waxes poetically about hot dogs being the perfect food. An example of benevolent nepotism, Eddie's sons happen to be the founders of Phantom Gourmet. Here are some highlights from the show:

1. Don't eat Fenway Franks: Eddie had some pretty nasty insight on the cooking process of Fenway Franks. Apparently, they dump all the hotdogs into the water at the same time and keep adding hot dogs to replenish. How do they know which hot dog has been there the longest? Eddie is also sketched out by the lack of "wash your hands" type signs in the restrooms at Fenway.

2. Spike' Junkyard Dogs: Phantom approved and a shameless plug for my favorite hot dog place, which started near my alma mater.

3. Cheesy Corn Dogs: Pure Genius! Jasper White cooks up some special hot dog treats for Eddie at the Summer Shack. Eddie calls the experience a make a wish for fat people...referring to himself. My favorite Jasper hot dog concoction is the cheesy corn dog. Skewer cubes of cheese between chunks of hot dogs and fry it up in a corn dog batter. Unbelievable! This solves that torturous question I’m confronted with at Hot Dog on a Stick: hot dog on a stick or cheese on a stick? Now you can have both on a stick. I'm fighting the urge to buy a deep fryer so I can make this ingenious deep fried combination.

Laughing at other people's trash

A live broadcast of This American Life was where I first heard of FOUND magazine...a magazine devoted to publishing materials that are found. I figured Steve, a fan of the onion, would appreciate the humor. Steve found this love letter and asks the following questions, "At what point in the relationship is this note appropriate?"

Poppity Pop Pop!

One of my coworkers has taken to carrying around the office a sheet of bubble wrap for popping. I think he may be a bit tense and stressed since he's had the bubble wrap within popping distance all day as he travels around the office, but perhaps I'm just projecting and he's just bored. Since I'm feeling pretty cheerful today, I find the poppity pop pop of bubble wrap hilarious and endearing rather than irritating. I've fashioned a bubble wrap holder for him using a spare retractable key card clippy thing so now he has the bubble wrap clipped to his pants. We wouldn't want him to be without his bubble wrap, would we.

Fluff Girl!

Adam and I spent the weekend in the Bay Area visiting his family and the newest addition, Adam's niece whom I call "Zess." Zess is an adorable baby who likes to chew and drool on books. I predict Zess' quality of life will greatly improve once she figures out how to suck and slurp back her own drool...a major developmental coup indeed.

I also journeyed up to San Francisco to visit Zreg and the lovely Zelen on Saturday morning. They're loving California and enjoying the city. Zreg and Zelen did not go to the grocery store for the first five weeks in SF because they were too busy eating out and they've recently acquired a "Joey & Chandler" type cushy reclining chair for their living room. We enjoyed some dim sum and stopped by Taylor's Refresher [very retro in a stylized fashion] for some milkshakes and sweet potato fries. I picked up some Kettle Corn from the farmers market before heading back to Menlo Park.

On another note, I brought Zreg and Zelen a tub of Marshmallow Fluff and a Yummy Book as a small reminder of New England. They were disproportionately astounded by my humble gift of Fluff because Zelen had unsuccessfully searched for a tub of Fluff just the week before for a Smore's Pie and she had even asked for "Marshmallow Creme." I must have some sort of prophetic gift...I supernaturally know when citizens are in dire need of Marshmallow Fluff. I call myself..."Fluff Girl!"