Confession

Everyone has their vices, and some of us like to keep those vices private. I've always had things that I've been afraid to admit and own up to. I think today's lack of inspiration for a topic has let me to post this more personal Laura Trivia about my own personal vices, feel free to share yours too, but as most of you read this and never comment, I'll just assume they're too secret to be said aloud. :)

• Beef Jerky - I've always loved beef jerky. I think it is delicious, and great for roadtrips or camping. However, I am mortified to eat it in public. Seriously, I think it is the most manly of foods and so I feel like a girl eating beef jerky is disgusting. Call me 1950s, but its just not ladylike.
• Shrimp Cocktail Rings at the grocery store - this is probably one of the most stupid items in the store, and is only appropriate to purchase for a wedding or baby shower, something to that effect. But it's such a great deal, they are always delicious and cheap compared to the bags of frozen shrimp. I think its such a silly purchase though that I don't want people to know I secretly find these amazing. When I had a car and my roommate would be out of town I used to go to the grocery store and indulge myself in one and eat it while watching movies. mmmm dirty little secret. It feels so good to come clean now! 
• Jewelry - I know this one sounds odd as I do not wear any Jewelry, but I wish I did. I just can't get myself to buy it. I feel like jewelry looks chunky and heavy when I put it on. It swallows me up. So I don't buy it. I'd love to wear some huge earrings one day, or a flashy necklace, but I don't think that it fits my personality. I'd be too scared to wear it.
• Nightgowns - I swear, they are just so beautiful. Satin, silk, lacy, pastels, bold colors, they are just so pretty. 
• Law and Order SVU - addictive. All you have to do is watch the first 5 minutes and you're hooked. On some level I think its a bit morbid for the SVU one to be my favorite since it revolves around rape/murder victims most of the time. I'm just enthralled by it. I'm also really sad that the two leads are leaving and Jennifer Love Hewitt will be taking Mariska's place. I mean really, like she could fill those shoes?
• Singing and Dancing - many of you know that in another lifetime I did dance classes almost daily. I love to dance and I actually like to sing. I think people forget that even though I am not the best singer in my friend group, I was in honor choir all through school. I sometimes like to play musical music in my house when no one is home and sing as loud as I can. I also dance around the kitchen a lot too. I mean hard wood floors are made for turns right? :)   

Alright- those are my confessions for the day! :)

Craigslist.org Housing Section

On a brief jaunt into "my housing is too expensive" mind frame, I started looking for places on craigslist to see what was out there. Unfortunately almost everywhere is more expensive than my place, unless you want to live in a gutter somewhere, or rockville, which is basically the birthing place of all chains. I'd miss my local bars and restaurants there! Anyways, LM and I have some major beef to take up with craigslist as the section for housing is detestable. Some pet peeves include:

• People who live north of petworth metro and still claim they are in columbia heights
• When Washington, DC is listed as location
• When no price is listed
• When a price for only one person is listed as the whole property's price
• Postings of community developments that give you the low end of the price range and use html
• No pictures
• Spammers who happened to take their house keys with them to nigeria for helping hearts and want to "mail" you the key after you've given them a deposit check
• Location: Washignton DC, the but posting is of Arlington/Gaithersburg 
• Spelling UNited States
• No pets allowed
• When people put "small room" -- seriously why would I want a small room?
• Houses with 4+ roommates, that's 3 too many.
• Postings for Rockville that are actually Shady Grove
• When Close To Metro actually means 3/4-10 miles from metro or a 10 minute drive.

my favorite cake: Red Velvet

Many of you might know that I don't really like cake, but my favorite, and always has been, is red velvet cake. If I ever get married, red velvet cake is going to be served. It is amazing. So in honor of my fav cake....

• Common ingredients are buttermilk, butter, flour, cocoa, and beetroot or red food coloring.
• The reaction of acidic vinegar and buttermilk tends to better reveal the red anthocyanin in the cocoa.
• Closely linked to a devil's food cake, and in some turn of the century cookbooks the two names may have been interchangeable.
• While foods were rationed during World War II, bakers used boiled beets to enhance the color of their cakes. Boiled grated beets or beet baby food are found in some red velvet cake recipes, where they also serve to retain moisture.
• In Canada the cake was a well-known dessert in the restaurants and bakeries of the Eaton's department store chain in the 1940s and 1950s. Promoted as an exclusive Eaton's recipe, with employees who knew the recipe sworn to silence, many mistakenly believed the cake to be the invention of the department store matriarch, Lady Eaton

Random Musings

• Cantaloupe and  Honeydew - Today at work there were some leftovers put out for anyone who wanted them. One of which was a fruit salad, but like every other fruit salad on earth it was a mess of green and orange. Why is Cantaloupe and Honeydew the babysbreath of fruit salad? It is really just there for filler, no one actually likes it. Then again, if it wasn't there then maybe another fruit would be the least favorite, so at least it isn't actually a good fruit as the worst.
• iphones with no headphones - On my flight to Orlando there was a dad and son sitting next to me. The son, maybe seven, was sitting and playing with his dad's iphone and playing games and watching movies. Typically this would be fine, except for the fact that there were no headphones on it. I had to hear every crash, splash, and laugh. Honestly, if you can afford an i phone then you should be able to afford the headphones too. Why so rude people? This also happens on my bus home a lot, kids play their music on their iphone for all the world to hear. Ever think that maybe I don't like Kanye?

Fashion....Turn to the left... FASHION....Turn to the right

Prada Prada Prada...I am going to the Prada outlet when I go to orlando! I can't wait! Granted...I might not be able to afford anything there still, but its still so cool to get to go!

• Started in 1913 by Mario Prada and his brother Martino as a leathergoods shop 
• Mario Prada did not believe that women should have a role in business, and so he prevented female family members from entering into his workshop
• Ironically, Mario's son harbored no interest in the business, so it was his daughter Luisa Prada who took the helm of Prada as his successor, and ran it for almost twenty years. Her own daughter, Miuccia Prada, is an Italian fashion designer and entrepreneur. 
• Prada launched its women's ready-to-wear collection in 1989, and the designs came to be known for their dropped waistlines and narrow belts. Prada's popularity skyrocketed when the fashion world took notice of its clean lines, opulent fabrics, and basic colors.
• The logo for the label was not as obvious a design element as those on bags from other prominent luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton
  Louis Vuitton
  

  Louis Vuitton Malletier — commonly referred to as Louis Vuitton , or shortened to LV — is a French fashion house founded in 1854. The label is well known for its LV monogram, which is featured on most products, ranging from luxury trunks and leather goods to ready-to-wear, shoes, watches,...
  . Its appeal, including the apparel, was its image of "anti-status" or "reverse snobbery."
• Prada manufactures its wares in Italy, apparently keeping labor costs down by using Chinese laborers at the plants.
• In May 2007, Prada joined forces with cell phone maker LG Electronics
  LG Electronics is the world's second-largest manufacturer of Television sets and third-largest producer of mobile phones...to produce the LG Prada KE850 phone. The retail price was $800.
   
  Okay so that wasn't all that interesting really, but whatever....at least I updated.

Something personal

Okay - I rarely post personal things on this blog, mainly because its not anyone's business and frankly I doubt you all care. But since I'm procrastinating at work and because I haven't done a post in a while I figured I'd do a stupid survey people send around, fill it out about yourself too and post in the comments section!


Have you ever made out in a bathroom? nope
Do you think the last person you kissed is nice? lol. very!
Who was the last person to call you? Mei Mei
What is the last non-alcoholic beverage you had? Diet Pepsi (though I'm a coke girl)
When is the last time you cried? hm, I think I came pretty close when I stubbed my toe last week
Are you scared of spiders? YES. Even hearing that word makes me cringe
Would you go back in time if you were given the chance? Suuuuure why not
What are your plans for this weekend?  ORLANDO!!!!!!!!
Ever been swimming in a lake or river? Of course!
Last person you drove with in a car? Mike G.
What did you last buy? my breakfast
What’s irritating you right now? The fact that I'm at work and the rain make my hair afro
What radio stations do you listen to? 99.5 the buzz
Are you afraid of the dark? nope
Are you listening to music right now? yes. moodstation
Do you like Chinese food? uh yes! general tso's all the way
What is the last movie you saw in theaters? Water for Elephants
Is there anyone you wish was still in your life? definitely....Josh Rodrigz my boyf
Do you get distracted easily? what? huh?
First time you kissed the last person you kissed? In front of the foggy bottom metro stop. Then my roommate drove up and I was embaressed so I pushed him away like he was crazy for kissing me. lol. I know. I'm a weird one.
Was this the best year of your life? Senior Year in College
Is it easier to forgive or forget? forget. I have a very low tolerance for people once I feel they've been a bad friend. I don't forgive easily in those cases....
Are you jealous of someone? I am jealous of my friend Rachel, I admit it. She is so artistically talented. I wish I could be like that and be as good of a person as she is.
What last made you laugh the hardest? Convo with Sara this morning..."he was raised in a different family" wtf.
Do you flirt a lot? I don't think so. I used to be told I did all the time. maybe just with certain friends...I dunno....
Would you live with someone without marrying them? Yep. gotta figure out how gross their habits really are
Have you ever had a dream about people you love dying? Once I had a dream my family was in an oven. That was creepy.
Have you ever changed clothes in a vehicle? Who hasn't!
Have you ever broken someone’s heart? doubtful.
Do you believe that you are a good boyfriend or girlfriend? I would like to think so. If I care for someone I'd do anything for them.

the 9-5 happy rate

Most of us work a 9-5 job. Most of us work to pay our bills, but on the rare occasion, some of us actually like our jobs. At one point or another we are faced with issues of employee satisfaction and morale in the office. How does your work line up?

• According to David Sirota et al, companies considered as having ‘high morale’ outperformed their competitors by about 20%, whereas those having ‘moderate’ or ‘low morale’ performed about 5% lower than their industry counterparts.
• In a survey, when asked about how satisfied they were, 65% of respondents said they were “somewhat” satisfied, but less than 15% said they were “extremely” satisfied. Meanwhile, employers believe that 30% of their workers are “extremely” satisfied.
• The most satisfied workers are the Working Retirees and those in the Healthcare and Internet industries 
• The least satisfied workers are the Millenials (those under 30)
• Nearly 80% of responding managers do not believe that their employees will initiate a job search in the next three months.
• Those who plan to stay in their jobs will do so because of a best friend at work, a good paycheck, or an easy commute. It’s rather telling that none of these factors have anything to do with the work itself.
• 65% of employed survey respondents said they are looking around 
• Not surprisingly, the more money you make and the bigger the job title, the more likely you are to be happy at your job. 
• People leave because of low pay, limited career path and no recognition

SHARK ATTACK

Friday, oh friday...how I love you. I miss you when you are away.... okay okay, so its friday 3pm and I've really checked out. Its so hard to work when it is literally perfect outside.  I'm trying, nonetheless, to get some stuff done in advance for once.

So for the sake of random facts...

• SHARKS don't have any  bones, the skeleton is made up of cartilage
• Swell sharks can bark like dogs do
• Sharks can have from 6-12 babies at a time, but the hammerhead and tiger shark can do up to 40
• When it comes time to give birth, the female shark loses her appetite so she won’t be tempted to eat her own pups.
• They can swim from 20-40 mph
• The While shark is the biggest fish in the world
• Sharks have been around 450 million years. They lived before land vertebrates populated the earth
• As teeth are ground down or they fall out, new ones from the other rows come forward to fill the slot. This continues for their entire lives.
• The smallest shark is the Dwarf Lantern Shark - 7 inches long
• Sharks do sleep, but they do so with their eyes open. Only one side of the brain sleeps at a time so that they are able to continue the cycle of taking in air as they rest.
• Because sharks very rarely get cancer, scientists study their cartilage in the hopes of finding a cure for the disease
• Sharks can grow more than 20,000 teeth in a lifetime
• 90% of shark attacks have happened to men.
• For every human killed by a shark, humans kill two million sharks

BLOGS I LOVE

Due to the lack of time I have today, I thought I would do a show and tell with you of links I love. Let me know your favs!

• http://www.ustream.tv/sfshiba  (you might have to go to ustream.tv then search sfshiba
• www.foodgawker.com
• http://www.datemedc.com/
• www.thechive.com and conversly www.theberry.com 
• www.perezhilton.com
• http://abduzeedo.com/
• http://cuteroulette.com/#/videos/view/146
• http://imremembering.com/
• http://llamafont.com/

Happy Surfing

Random Today!

I don't really feel like blogging, but it has been a while and it seems like I should update this...I'm going to do lots of random facts today all of which are questions or topics that have come up recently.

• Feta VS Goat Cheese? The Same or Different? Feta cheese is actually not goat cheese, goat cheese is made from goats milk, while feta cheese is made up of a combination of goat and sheep milk, only 30% or less of it can be from goats milk to be called feta cheese. So while these two are definitely related, there is a difference!
• Artichokes are prepared by cutting the tips off the leaves. This actually serves no real purpose, its just done for aesthetics. Though I'm sure people wouldn't mind lessening the chance of getting a leaf tip to the mouth.
• The creation of the Hang (drum) was the result of many years of research on the steelpan as well as the study of a diverse collection of instruments from around the world. (sounds like I was doing this research when I was a toddler with pots and pans). There are only two people who make these and not all requests for Hang drums are filled as production has reduced, but demand has gone up due to viral you tube videos.
• Spam is legally permissible according to the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 provided it follows certain criteria: a "truthful" subject line, no forged information in the technical headers or sender address, and other minor requirements. If the spam fails to comply with any of these requirements it is illegal. Aggravated or accelerated penalties apply if the spammer harvested the e-mail addresses using methods described earlier.
•  A new study has found that when it comes to confessions of love, men often are the first to declare their feelings. The study found that while men consider saying “I love you” a full six weeks before their partners.
• Tornado - states in first place for.... Total number of tornados (Texas), Deaths per 10,000 sq ft (Massachusetts), Number of Killer Tornados (Texas), Longest Tornado Path (Mississippi), Highest percent of torandos that are killer (Tennessee), Most Annual Torandos per 10,000 sq miles (Florida)

mmmm steak!

I don't really eat steak that much at all, its expensive and honestly I don't trust myself to cook it properly, it always turns out pretty medium to well done because there is no way I am going to chance getting food poisoning from eating undercooked meat. However let me just say...delicious on the grill...mmmmmm

• Most steaks are cut perpendicular to the muscle fibres, improving the perceived tenderness of the meat
• A Chicago
  Chicago
  

  Chicago is the largest city in the state of Illinois. With over 2.8 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous city in the country. Its metropolitan area, commonly named "Chicagoland," is the 26th most populous in the world,...
  -style steak is cooked to the desired level and then quickly charred
• A well-done steak, especially if it has “charred” portions, contains much higher levels of carcinogens than a medium-done or rare steak. 
• In Italy, steak was not widely eaten until after World War II because the relatively rugged countryside does not readily accommodate the space and resource demands of large herds of cattle. 
  
• Steak knives usually have wooden handles
• Filet Mignon. Usually wrapped in bacon to enhance flavor.
• Grain-fed beef usually comes from a more industrialized method of raising and feeding cattle, resulting in a product richer in fat and slower to cook. Most Argentinian beef is of the grass-fed variant and has a quite different taste.
• Kobe beef is a special grade of beef from (Wagyu) cattle raised in Kobe, Japan. These cattle are massaged with sake and are fed a daily diet that includes large amounts of beer. This produces meat that is extraordinarily tender, finely marbled, and full-flavored.
• Beer is fed to the cattle during summer months when the interaction of fat cover, temperature and humidity depresses feed intake. Beer seems to stimulate their appetite. It's merely part of the overall management program designed to keep the cattle on feed in the heat of the summer. The massaging is done to relieve stress and muscle stiffness. It's believed that the eating quality of the meat is affected positively by keeping the cattle calm and content.

Hot as Sh$T out!

Holy moly it is hot outside in DC. Just yesterday I went to Eastern Market and got the crap burned out of me. I know I should have worn sunscreen, but really, I didn't think it was THAT hot out there. So stupid. Now that it looks like the heat is in full swing for the spring and summer, I think I should give you all this powerful warning to WEAR SUNSCREEN!

PLEASE NOTE - I DID GET THESE OFF A DOCTORS WEBSITE, BUT ALWAYS READ THE SUNSCREEN BOTTLE OR CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN IF YOU HAVE SUNBURN QUESTIONS. I take no responsibility for any of you silly kids going out with minimal sunscreen coverage!

• One blistering sunburn in childhood or adolescence more than doubles a person's chances of developing melanoma later in life
• A person's risk for melanoma doubles if he or she has had five or more sunburns at any age
• Sunburn, also called erythema, is one of the most obvious signs of UV exposure and skin damage.
• The Skin Cancer Foundation learned that 42 percent of people polled get a sunburn at least once a year.
• If you have sunburn, then it most certainly means that your skin has become dehydrated
• UV-A rays are the primary offenders in sunburn.
• What is the SPF value on sunscreen? This is defined by a ratio of energy that is required to produce minimal redness of the skin penetrating the sunscreen, compared to the amount of energy required to produce the same reaction with the absence of sunscreen.
• An example as provided by Dr. McKay, if one would normally burn in 10 minutes without sunscreen, applying a 15 SPF would provide you approximately 150 minutes in the sun before burning, approximately 15 times the protection.
• Sunscreen needs to be applied one half hour before exposure for full skin absorption.
• Waterproof type sunscreen should be applied at least once an hour before going out into the sun.
• Sweating, swimming, and exposure to rain decrease the effect of SPF.
• The FDA recommends reapplying sunscreen every 40-80 minutes.
• Insect repellents containing Deet will decrease a product’s SPF by anywhere from 15-30%.
• Lycra nearly blocks 100% of all UV radiation, but only 2% when maximally stretched out.  
• The typical white cotton shirt has an SPF of 5-9.

A day in the life of Zoey and MG

Let me bring you all up to speed...MG is at my place thinking he is some f-ing cat whisperer, we all know Zoey is a beast and would never be nice to anyone. Well one little wag of the tail and he thinks he can just do whatever he wants to her...haha she gets him her evil claws and he runs like hell...
 

MG:
    scratches (what zoey did)

    one on my middle finger (fittingly) that was bleeding like crazy
    other one at the base of the palm of my hand
LH:
    oh wow
    damn
MG:
    luckily it's my right hand...

    oh wait, I'm right handed
    I'm calling your cat Manson from now on
LH:
    but that's not her name
    so mean
    she'll hate you even more if you call her manson
    i thought you wanted to be the cat whisperer
MG:
    I give up with her
LH:
    that was a fast surrender
MG:
    well, when you're Polish and you're staring at the Nazi army, you know the inevitable outcome

    getting clawed to death
LH:
    she isn't a nazi! she's jewish!
    she just has good self defense
    you can't hate her for that

MG:
    self defense?

    I had food in my hand

    I was making a peace offering
    way to bite the hand that feeds you Manson
LH:
    haha nooo she isn't manson!
    all i have to say is this... she doesn't like rich, but he  has lived with me 8 months and never has been scratched
MG:
    Catler
LH:
    LOL
    wow you went there
MG:
    Zoe DeShitnel
LH:
    hahahaha
    i have a feeling you could go on for a while with these names
MG:
    Cat Bundy

    Zoe Dahmer
    Holocats
    ethnic catsing

    zoecide
LH:
    zoecide seems like what she is doing
    getting rid of anyone not zoey
    at least zoey deshanel will survive
MG:
    lol
    zoey buatafuco
LH:
    you are a little too good at this
MG:
    it's just cat-thartic to make fun of her

 

 

hahah yea I found that funny, hope you all did too...

Random Questions and Musings - please reply with answers

So I've been day dreaming a lot lately. On the bus, before bed, etc. I realized that I come up with some really random thoughts and questions about life, so I am going to pose these questions to you and see if anyone has some answers.....

• How come everyone has a favorite colored M&M when they all taste the same?
• What is the difference between being ticked, miffed or pissed and someone?
• How come the guys on my bus have good manners but terrible hygiene?
• Why do RSVPs ask if you have a plus one to bring if the invite doesn't say plus one?
• Why do bowls never quite fit right in the dishwasher?
• Why is everything in llama font automatically amazing?
• When do parents stop treating us like kids?
• How come I can't seem to get off the family plan on verizon?
• At what age should you not have a roommate anymore if you don't live with a significant other?
• McDonalds or Wendy's Fries?
• Why do we try harder to impress strangers than our best friends?
• How come everything has more calories at fastfood places? Normal bagel 250 cal vs mcdonald's bagel 500 cal (not actual numbers).

lightening Round!

Facts about Lightening...You never know...

• Lightning is one of the leading weather-related causes of death and injury in the United States
• You can be struck by lightning even when the center of a thunderstorm is 10 miles (16 kilometers) away 
• The spark can reach over five miles (eight kilometers) in length, raise the temperature of the air by as much as 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit (27,700 degrees Celsius), and contain a hundred million electrical volts
• It is estimated that Earth as a whole is struck by an average of more than a hundred lightning bolts every second
• The odds of becoming a lightning victim in the U.S. in any one year is 1 in 700,000. The odds of being struck in your lifetime is 1 in 3,000.
• Lightning can kill people (3,696 deaths were recorded in the U.S. between 1959 and 2003)
• About 10 percent of lightning-stroke victims are killed, and 70 percent suffer serious long-term effects. About 400 people survive lightning strokes in the U.S. each year.
•  If your hair stands up in a storm, it could be a bad sign that positive charges are rising through you, reaching toward the negatively charged part of the storm
• The rapid expansion of heated air causes the thunder.
• If you see lightning and hear thunder at the same time, that lightning is in your neighborhood. If you see successive strokes of lightning in the same place on the horizon then you are in line with the storm, and it may be moving toward you.
• When you see lightning, count the time until you hear thunder. If that time is 30 seconds or less, the thunderstorm is within six miles (ten kilometers) of you and is dangerous. 
• Rubber shoes will not give you any meaningful protection from lightning.
  Taken from: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/06/0623_040623_lightningfacts_2.html
  
  

What do Jelly Beans and Ronald Reagan Have in Common?

So I was reading this page about random facts, and I saw some Jelly bean facts on there that were quite interesting and felt compelled to do a post about it. I'm not big into the jelly bean scene myself, though if I were to eat some I'd go with watermelon, peach, cherry, orange, fruity ones like those. What I won't touch is the popcorn one. What were they thinking?

These are from http://www.jellybelly.com/fun_stuff/fun_facts.aspx

• Very Cherry remained the most popular flavor of Jelly Belly beans for two decades until 1998, when Buttered Popcorn moved into first place. In 2003 Very Cherry moved back into top position by a mere 8 million beans.
• Blueberry flavor was created for Ronald Reagan's presidential inauguration in 1981 when over three tons of Jelly Belly beans were consumed during the festivities
• A portrait of President Ronald Reagan made from 10,000 Jelly Belly beans hangs in the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif.
• During the presidency of Ronald Reagan, Jelly Belly beans were served in the Oval Office and on Air Force One. A holder was designed for the plane so the jar of Jelly Belly beans would not spill during turbulence.
• Jelly Belly beans were invented in 1976. They were the first jelly beans to be sold in single flavors and to come with a menu of flavors.
• It takes 7 to 21 days to make a single Jelly Belly jelly bean.
• The first jelly bean was created by an unknown American candy maker in the 1800s. An 1861 advertisement recommended sending jelly beans to soldiers fighting in the Civil War.
• Enough Jelly Belly beans were eaten in the last year to circle the earth more than five times.
• The original eight flavors of Jelly Belly beans introduced in 1976 were Very Cherry, Root Beer, Cream Soda, Tangerine, Green Apple, Lemon, Licorice and Grape.
• The name Jelly Belly was inspired by the rhyme with Leadbelly, a 1920s blues singer.
• Jelly Belly beans were the first jelly beans in outer space when President Reagan sent them on the 1983 flight of the space shuttle Challenger. (really reagan....why?!!)

Nationals Stadium

I'm supposed to go to my first baseball game of the season tonight, sadly it is a hot mess of rain out there. I'm hoping it stops so we can go to the game, but right now it isn't looking all that promising. I guess we'll have to see what's going on with it around 5pm. I definitely don't need to get sick again due to sitting in the rain all night. Either way, great topic for today is Nationals Stadium.

• It is the first LEED-certified green major professional sports stadium in the United States
• Designed by Populous (formerly HOK Sport) and Devrouax & Purnell Architects and Planners, cost $611 million to build
• The stadium originally seated 41,888 fans, but some seats from various parts of the stadium have been removed since its opening to reduce the capacity to 41,546
• The stadium has 23 seating/pricing zones. 3,300 seats are available for $10 or less.
• The infield dirt comes from Maryland and is topped off with Turface that is a shade of deep red.
• The warning track is a clean, crushed aggregate stone that comes from Culpepper, Virginia.
• Inspiration for the look of the ballpark is taken from the East Wing of the National Gallery of Art, by architect I.M. Pei.
• More than half the crowd will walk straight off of the street into their seats, without ever climbing elevators, escalators, ramps or stairs because the field is 24 feet below street level and the main concourse is at the same height as the sidewalk.
• The ballpark has approximately 3,500 pieces of steel in the bowl structure, equaling 7,800 tons.

30 day song challenge

So there are all these facebook challenges going on lately...honestly, I don't really care to go find a link to every single you tube video to do the challenges, but its fun to think about so I'll just answer them all at once...

day 01 - your favorite song - too hard to decide! What a Wonderful World or Anyone At All
day 02 - your least favorite song - mmm bop.
day 03 - a song that makes you happy  - Bright Eyes
day 04 - a song that makes you sad - When the Day Met the Night
day 05 - a song that reminds you of someone - this applies to everyone, so I am skipping. I think of lots of people when I hear different songs, its too mood dependent.
day 06 - a song that reminds you of somewhere - GUCI camp song!
day 07 - a song that reminds you of a certain event - American Boy -Reminds me of driving with laura G
day 08 - a song that you know all the words to - um a million of them!
day 09 - a song that you can dance to - JUST DANCE! BAD ROMANCE! and all of ABBA
day 10 - a song that makes you fall asleep  - enya..who can say......blah blah - blah-blah...
day 11 - a song from your favorite band - Perpetum Mobile
day 12 - a song from a band you hate - again, mmm bop
day 13 - a song that is a guilty pleasure - I can't get no satisfaction
day 14 - a song that no one would expect you to love - this is a hard choice, most people know me pretty well, so surprising them is hard...maybe.... Solitary Shell
day 15 - a song that describes you - tough call on this one... no idea so I'll go with Stars in the Sky or You Don't Stop
day 16 - a song that you used to love but now hate - Lucky Star
day 17 - a song that you hear often on the radio - any from the black eyed peas
day 18 - a song that you wish you heard on the radio - Sound of Sunshine
day 19 - a song from your favorite album - Speechless
day 20 - a song that you listen to when you’re angry - I don't really get angry often...
day 21 - a song that you listen to when you’re happy  - any
day 22 - a song that you listen to when you’re sad - do you hear the people sing
day 23 - a song that you want to play at your wedding - daddy/daughter dance, what a wonderful world
day 24 - a song that you want to play at your funeral - I will Remember you... too cheesy? lol. I don't know.
day 25 - a song that makes you laugh - Anything by justin beiber, its all so ridiculous
day 26 - a song that you can play on an instrument - I don't play anything!
day 27 - a song that you wish you could play -any
day 28 - a song that makes you feel guilty - none
day 29 - a song from your childhood - um, I listened to musicals, probably something from Phantom
day 30 - your favorite song at this time last year - Just Dance

Everyone should be able to wed

Yes, that is my opinion. Equality for all! Seriously, its about LOVE. I never heard of a marriage where they got together because someone was the right gender. pshhhh

• In the United States, there is no law or religious dictate that says the bride must take the groom’s last name. However, approximately 70% of Americans agree that a bride should change her last name.
• The Penan nomads who live on the island Borneo (southwest of the Philippines) maintain that women do not have a soul until their wedding day
•  Early Roman brides carried a bunch of herbs, such as garlic and rosemary, under their veils to symbolize fidelity and fertility and to ward off evil. These herbs served as a precursor to the modern bridal bouquet
• Because white is the color of mourning in Eastern cultures, white wedding dresses are uncommon
• Las Vegas is the top wedding destination with over 100,000 weddings a year, followed by Hawaii at 25,000 weddings a year.
• Wedding rings are often placed on the third finger of the left hand because ancient Egyptians believed the vein in that hand (which the Romans called the “vein of love”) ran directly to the heart
• The bride’s veil traditionally symbolized her youth and virginity
• Throwing rice at weddings symbolizes fertility, prosperity, and bounty
• Guests in ancient times would tear off part of the bride’s gown as tokens of good luck, leading to the tradition of the bride throwing both her garter and her bouquet
• The phrase “tying the knot” initially came from an ancient Babylonian custom in which threads from the clothes of both the bride and bridegroom were tied in a knot to symbolize the couple’s union
• A bride is traditionally carried over the threshold either to symbolize her reluctance to leave her father’s home
•  A morganatic marriage is a union of a person of royal blood with one of inferior rank
• To ensure fertility, the Irish would take a hen that was about to lay an egg and tie it to the wedding bed
• In Ethiopia, women from certain tribes place plates in their lower lip in order to entice a rich groom. The larger the protruding lip, the more a groom will pay
• Some scholars claim the word “honeymoon” comes from the Teutonic custom when newlyweds would hide out and drink hydromel (a fermented honey and water mixture) for 30 days until the moon waned
• The top 10 “First Dance” songs in the U.S. include “The Way You Look Tonight,” “Just the Way You Are,” “Come Away with Me,” Unforgettable,” “Wonderful Tonight,” “From This Moment On,” “This I Promise You,” “Thank You For Loving Me,” “Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” and “All I Ask of You.”
• Queen Victoria’s wedding cake was three yards wide and weighed 300 pounds
• Queen Elizabeth II had 12 wedding cakes. The one she cut at her wedding was nine feet tall and weighed 500 pounds
• In the United States, June is the most popular month for weddings, followed by August.^h
• Nearly $72 billion is spent on weddings every year in the United States

I know You're Jealous You're not a Kansan

Everyone knows I'm from Kansas. I find it really hard not to meet someone new without getting the standard wizard of oz and dorothy jokes, not to mention "Have you seen a tornado?" So it is time to do some educating....

Kansas was the 34^th state in the USA; it became a state on January 29, 1861.

State Abbreviation - KS
State Capital - Topeka
Largest City - Wichita
Area - 82,282 square miles [Kansas is the 15th biggest state in the USA]
Name for Residents - Kansans
Major Industries - agriculture (wheat and other grains), aircraft manufacturing, automobile manufacturing
Origin of the Name Kansas - Kansas was named for Konza (also called Kansa or Kaw) Indians who lived in the area.
State Nickname - Sunflower State
State Motto - "Ad astra per aspera" - To the stars through difficulties
State Song - Home on the Range

State Bird - Western Medowlark

State Animal - Buffalo 

State Insect - The Honey Bee

Random Kansas Facts

• A ball of twine in Cawker City measures over 38' in circumference and weighs more than 16,750 pounds and is still growing. 
• A grain elevator in Hutchinson is 1/2 mile long and holds 46 million bushels in its 1,000 bins. 
• Kansas won the award for most beautiful license plate for the wheat plate design issued in 1981. 
• At one time it was against the law to serve ice cream on cherry pie in Kansas.  <- absurd! 
• Cedar Crest is the name of the governor's mansion in Topeka, the state capital. 
• Fire Station No. 4 in Lawrence, originally a stone barn constructed in 1858, was a station site on the Underground Railroad.  
• In 1990 Kansas wheat farmers produced enough wheat to make 33 billion loaves of bread, or enough to provide each person on earth with 6 loaves. 
• The American Institute of Baking is located in Manhattan.  
• The rocks at Rock City are huge sandstone concretions. In an area about the size of two football fields, 200 rocks, some as large as houses, dot the landscape. There is no other place in the world where there are so many concretions of such giant size. 
• The world famous fast-food chain of Pizza Hut restaurants opened its first store in Wichita. 
• For more go to: http://www.50states.com/facts/kansas.htm

grapes

Grapes are one of my favorite fruits, they are definitely up there was strawberries, apples, pinnapple, and blackberries. My favorites are the ones that are really crisp and of course No Seeds!

• There are more than 60 species and 8000 varieties of grapes all over the world. Some common varieties of grapes are blue, black, green, red, golden, blue-black, white and purple.
• The main two types of grapes are European and American. They come in seedless and seeded varieties.
• American grapes are available in September and October, while European grapes are available round the year.
• The Thompson Seedless is the best selling grape in the USA. Golden raisins are prepared from these types of grapes.
• The production of grapes is more than 72 million tons all over the world. There are approximately 25 million acres of grapes throughout the world.
• It takes about 2½ pounds of grapes to produce a bottle of wine.
• Grapes consist of about 80% of water, which make them a low-calorie snack or dessert. Raisins or dried grapes consist of about 15% of water.
• Grapes contain flavonoids that give vibrant purple color to grapes, red wine and grape juice.
• One grape cluster has on an average 75 grapes.
• One grape vine can grow up to 50 feet long and can have about 40 clusters of grapes.
• Eating too many grapes can give a laxative effect.
• Fresh grapes can be stored in the refrigerator for about 2-3 days, when kept in a plastic bag or a covered container.
• Grapes are rich in vitamin C and vitamin K. They contain low levels of cholesterol, fat and sodium. Grapes are known for containing proteins, carbohydrates, dietary fibers, vitamins, minerals, calcium, iron, sodium, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, riboflavin, thiamin, folic acid and amino acids. They contain high amounts of caffeic acid, which is a strong cancer-fighting substance. Grapes contain flavonoids, which are powerful antioxidants.  
• Grape juice replenishes iron content of the body and prevents fatigue.
• Grapes can be used to cure various health problems such as asthma, heart diseases, constipation, indigestion, migraine, kidney diseases, Alzheimer’s disease and fatigue. Grapes increase the levels of nitric acid in the blood and prevent the development of blood clots. It minimizes the risk of heart attacks. Grapes play an important role in curing dyspepsia. Grape juice replenishes iron content of the body and prevents fatigue. According to the latest study, purple-colored Concord grape juice is effective in preventing the breast cancer. Grapes also can prevent muscular degeneration and cataract, associated with aging. Grapes consist of a compound namely pterostilbene, which can reduce the levels of cholesterol. Grapes also have anticancer properties and antibacterial activity.

Its a marathon!

So this weekend the one and only, Rich is competing in a marathon and raising money for the Hemophilia Foundation. Please help him out and donate to this cause: http://www.crowdrise.com/RichPezzillo

• A marathon is 26.2 miles long, the length wasn't standardized until 1921
• Marathons are one of the original olympic events starting in 1896
• The name Marathon comes from the legend of Pheidippides, a Greek messenger
•  The winner of the first Olympic Marathon, on April 10, 1896 (a male-only race), was Spiridon "Spiros" Louis, a Greek water-carrier. He won at the Olympics in 2 hours 58 minutes and 50 seconds.
• The women's marathon was introduced at the 1984 Summer Olympics (Los Angeles, USA) and was won by Joan Benoit of the United States with a time of 2 hours 24 minutes and 52 seconds
• ollowing the 1908 Olympics, the first five amateur marathons in New York City were held on days that held special meanings to ethnic communities: Thanksgiving Day, the day after Christmas, New Year's Day, Washington's Birthday, and Lincoln's Birthday
• By 2009, an estimated 467,000 runners completed a marathon within the United States
• In 2006, the editors of Runner's World selected a "World's Top 10 Marathons",^[40] in which the Amsterdam, Honolulu,Paris, Rotterdam, and Stockholm marathons were featured along with the five mentioned above. Other notable large marathons include United States Marine Corps Marathon, Los Angeles, and Rome. 
• Typically, the fastest times are set over relatively flat courses near sea level, during good weather conditions and with the assistance of pacesetters.

Men

Time	Athlete	Country	Date	Place
2h03:59	Haile Gebrselassie	Ethiopia	28 September 2008	Berlin
2h04:27	Duncan Kibet	Kenya	5 April 2009	Rotterdam
2h04:27	James Kwambai	Kenya	5 April 2009	Rotterdam
2h04:48	Patrick Makau	Kenya	11 April 2010	Rotterdam
2h04:55	Paul Tergat	Kenya	28 September 2003	Berlin
2h04:55	Geoffrey Mutai	Kenya	11 April 2010	Rotterdam
2h04:56	Sammy Korir	Kenya	28 September 2003	Berlin
2h04:57	Wilson Kipsang	Kenya	31 October 2010	Frankfurt
2h05:04	Abel Kirui	Kenya	5 April 2009	Rotterdam
2h05:10	Samuel Wanjiru	Kenya	26 April 2009	London

Women

Time	Athlete	Country	Date	Place
2h15:25	Paula Radcliffe	Great Britain	13 April 2003	London
2h18:47	Catherine Ndereba	Kenya	7 October 2001	Chicago
2h19:12	Mizuki Noguchi	Japan	25 September 2005	Berlin
2h19:19	Irina Mikitenko	Germany	28 September 2008	Berlin
2h19:36	Deena Kastor	United States	23 April 2006	London
2h19:39	Sun Yingjie	China	19 October 2003	Beijing
2h19:41	Yoko Shibui	Japan	26 September 2004	Berlin
2h19:46	Naoko Takahashi	Japan	30 September 2001	Berlin
2h19:51	Zhou Chunxiu	China	12 March 2006	Seoul
2h20:25	Liliya Shobukhova	Russia	10 October 2010	Chicago