Reality Resembling Fantasy Is Good For Cleveland

If you are anything like me, and luckily for you, you probably are not, then I know you are as excited as I am about the Cleveland Browns free agent signings and off-season trades. In the past, Browns fans have had very little to look forward to. When it came to free agents, we got the best of the washed up 30 something crowd that any fan could hope for. Not anymore. Apparently when you fail to make the playoffs on the last game of the season due to the lackluster play of Derek Anderson (who I really really really wish the team would trade for draft picks), the team thinks they should try to get better in the off-season. Low and behold, only two days into free-agency, the Browns have traded for two defensive lineman who are in their prime and yesterday they signed a wide receiver my dad and I have owned on one of our fantasy football teams in the past. This was a nice indication of how far management has come considering they are almost on par with The OC Herons when it comes to football drafts and free-agent pickups.

A Nice Leather Vase

Last week my co-worker asked me why my blog was titled: "So Now What". For those of you who never read my first post, I will tell you what I told her: These are the words I said after the Super Bowl ended in 2005. The day after the Super Bowl is a hard one for me. It means I will have to wait seven more months until I see another snap again. Hello my name is Michele and I am addicted to football. However today is also the three year anniversary of my blog. This anniversary is more like Thanksgiving than the Fourth of July. It doesn't always fall on the same date, but it is always the Monday after the Super Bowl. I was looking on-line to see what gift to give my blog for this three year anniversary. The traditional gift for three years is leather and the modern gift is crystal, so I am torn.

In other news, the Super Bowl last night was incredible, and I made the most of the event, which happens to be one of my favorite days of the year. We had my brother Mark over and the three of us all agreed the party was the perfect size. I found out last night that Mark and I have the same theories on Super Bowl party size, and creating the perfect environment in which to watch the game. Hello my name is Michele and I am addicted to football. If you saw the food we put out, you probably would have thought there were ten people there, not to mention the amount of beer that was consumed. We put out homemade spinach dip, a jalapeno cheese ball, shrimp cocktail, salsa and chips and this recipe for chicken legs, which turned out to be the perfect Super Bowl snack. The only problem with cooking these chicken legs is that they make the house really smokey, which obviously takes away from the perfect Super Bowl environment.

Free Stadium Mustard When You Meet Your Deductible

Two years ago my brother and I had a contest to see who could name the most sports stadiums that aren't named after corporations. (Yes we can make a competition out of anything.) The first stadium we both mentioned was Jacobs Field-the field our very own Cleveland Indians play on every summer. Next time we become sports dorks and decide to have this competition, Jacobs Field will no longer be on that list.

Sadly, Jacobs Field is now going to be called Progressive Field. When I first heard this I really hoped it had something to do with the changing political landscape in Cleveland. This was not the case. Peter Jacobs, Cleveland's richest man and the founder of Progressive Insurance, has bought the naming rights to Jacobs Field. Jacobs, who has his name on half the builings on the East side of the city, has now decided to move downtown. The whole thing is a little depressing like most sell-outs, and is enough to make me want to leave the country. Luckily, I got my passport yesterday, which makes that possible.

The Browns Score! CRASH!

Yesterday my brother Mark was the responsible one. You may want to read that last sentence again before I go on. Ok...now that you are all caught up, Mark is the responsible one. This is because he was the only one able to drive home yesterday after we spent four hours at the Blue Moose Eatery watching every football game possible on the NFL ticket. We left the bar before the Browns game was over even though it looked like they had the game won. However on the drive home and two onside kicks later by the Jets, the game was still not over. It was at this point that I got out of my car and watched Mark park my car ahead of his car on the street. Unfortunately, it was also at this point that Jamal Lewis scored the game-winning touchdown for the Browns. As my brother listened to Jim Donovan's excited voice do play-by-play on the score, he accidentally slammed his foot on the gas and backed up into his own car. At this point his alarm starts going off on his car. While there was very minimal damage for either car, it did create quite a commotion. I guess that was just Mark's way of celebrating. Let me reiterate, he is the responsible one in this story.

Dear Mom and Dad:

Greetings from Cleveland! I hope the weather is lovely for your month-long vacation in South Carolina. It's great that you have all this free time to travel now. However after sitting on the beach for almost a month, you need to come home and cheer on the Indians. Not sure if you have heard or not, but they are one game away from the World Series. I know you are having a great time as you never answer your phones anymore when I try to call you, but you are missing a lot of excitement back home in Cleveland! (You may not answer my calls, but I at least know you read my blog.)

Self-Service Wings

Let me just say before I begin this wing rating entry that the whole ranking thing is starting to catch on. The other day my sister and her Julie called me to tell me they had given a 4-wing rating to some bread pudding they ate at Sushi Rock. Feel free to use the rating system for any and all things.

On Monday we traveled to Bedford, Ohio to eat at the Wing House. A student of mine told me they were known for their wings. With a name like that, it's hard to believe, but I bought her story anyway. When we found the place on Miles Road we noticed it was right next to the Crazy Horse Strip Club, so automatically the ambiance of the place got 4 wings. Upon entering we were told everythng is self-serve, meaning that you walk up to the bar and order and you walk up to the window and order your food. When I first heard this, I was hoping we could also pour our own drinks, but that didn't seem like an option after I asked the bartender.

We walked up to the window and ordered: hot, hot garlic, cajun dry and kung fu, which was essentially teriyaki, but the name sold us. The wings came out quickly and they were hot and juicy. The hot and hot garlic werent very spicy, but they had a lot of flavor. The cajun dry were really good, though one of them did break in half, and Julie said that should be an automatic half wing deducation. I agree as well. The teriyaki was really good, but not the best I have had. There was plenty of celery, but the blue cheese had a mayonnaise taste to it, so I passed on that. Overall, with the ambiance, the ability to self-serv, the freshness of almost all the wings, along with the old married men dancing with the younger women at the pool table, I will have to give this experience a rating of three wings out of four and that includes the half wing deduction for the broken wing.

I know it's only Wednesday, but I hope everyone has a great weekend! I am off to go camping, biking and whitewater rafting in Southwestern Pennsylvania for three days. I will be back just in time for kickoff on Sunday.

Father Of The Year Award

The father of the year award goes to my brother David, who gave up his home opener Browns-Steelers tickets to go to his son's sporting event. His love for his son is my gain. I will be at the game instead of him. I am so excited for football season starting as you can tell from my picture, where I opened a bottle of champagne during the first game of the season last night.

Lieberth Go Fish

As I was going out tonight, I went down to Mark's apartment to check in with him. The following conversation took place:
Mark: "Do you have any toilet paper?"
Me: "Damn! I was hoping you did."
Mark: "Damn!"

After spending a couple hours out with Mindy, and then me chilling out at home, Mark and I had the following text messaging conversation, because apparently at this point, we are too lazy to actually walk stairs:
Me: "I've got beer, what do you have?"
Mark: "Booze and toilet paper."
Me: "Nice! Wanna share?"
Mark: "Sure."
Me: "Yay!"

Thats how you play Lieberth Go Fish.

From Richmond To Barberton

This post is dedicated to my Aunt Mary who is nice enough to check my blog all the way from Richomond Virginia. My dad relayed to me that my Aunt Mary will be coming into town to stay at a bed and breakfast in Barberton Ohio, or Cleveland+ as many people now refer to Barberton. If you know anything at all about this area you were probably as surprised as I was when I heard the words bed and breakfast and Barberton in the same sentence. I decided to do a little detective work because I don't actually believe there is a bed and breakfast in Barberton. Keep in mind when you click on Barberton attractions, the only two things listed are Charger Lanes and Magic City Lanes, the two bowling alleys in town. Quite simply, it's an older quiet city, except when my aunt comes into town because at that point it picks up, and the local Sokol Club (no website available) doubles its annual revenue. Actually there are three things to do in Barberton: bowl, drink and eat chicken. If you aren't familiar with Barberton Chicken, I advise you to read this link. While I found a lot on the chicken using my internet detective work, I am still unable to find a bed and breakfast in Barberton. Unless of course you count passing out in a booth at the Sokol Club and then walking to Hopocan Gardens for some chicken as a bed and breakfast. In that case, count me in and let them know I want extra hot sauce.

One Night In The City+One Night In The Country=Day Of Relaxation

This weekend had a little bit of everything. I spent Friday night in Cleveland enjoying the company of old friends while I spent Saturday night in the backwoods of Wooster enjoying the company of new friends. Sunday was spent recuperating from both these events.

On Friday we met friends at The Garage Bar. My friend Alison won a free happy hour, which entitled her to free drinks from 5 pm-9 pm, while her friends were allowed a free drink, though many of us had more than one drink. The Happy Hour lasted much longer than expected as Mindy came up and met us for more drinks after Happy Hour ended. We finished the evening off with dinner and drinks at the Old Angle. We got the wings, and because I was so hungry and a little intoxicated, I would have to rate the wings with five wings out of four, though they most likely should have a three-wing rating.

On Saturday we got up and went canoeing down in Canal Fulton and became one with nature, or at least ran into a lot of nature with our poor rowing. After canoeing we headed to a country home located on 27 acres out in Wooster. We spent the night cooking out, drinking beer out of a can and sitting around a bonfire. It was a true country night.

On Sunday I walked into my house and vegged out on my couch for most of the day. In the apartment below me, my brother was doing the same thing. Now that we are all rested up, I am taking Mark to his first Taco Tuesday tonight at Lincoln Park Pub. It is a rite of passage if you live on the west side of town. After tonight his life will no longer be the same, or at least he will now know where to get cheap tacos and drink cheap mexican beer. Same difference.

Two Weeks Is Too Long

The past two weeks have flown by full of events and failed thoughts of blogging. To catch everyone up I got a new car, though it will never take the place of Ruby. I have to give a lot of thanks to my parents for their incredible bargaining ways as I am now driving a 2007 Hyundai Sonata. I also had to go to North Carolina for family business this past week. If only I had enough words and space to blog about the family events and craziness. Unfortunately you will have to wait to read Julie's book entitled: Does Crazy Sleep? which is sure to be made into a major motion picture or at least a Lifetime movie of the week sometime soon. I hear Meredith Baxter Birney is already auditioning for the part of crazy.

As for the next two weeks-I can't be more excited! This is my favorite time of year because of the NCAA basketball tournament (Selection Sunday is only two days away or 56 hours from now) and the Cleveland International Film Festival , which will also be going on over the next two weeks. This year I am actually lucky enough to have someone in my life to pull me away from basketball to see some movies and get me out of the house, or bar as the case may be. Do not fear, I have already taken March 15th and 16th off of work for the first two days of the tournament like I do every year. I am just glad those games don't fall on St. Patricks Day like they did the past two years. My boss always thought I was taking the days off to drink beer and go to the parade. When any normal person would know I was taking the days off to drink beer and watch basketball. I am obviously working with amateurs here.

CARma

I had to take my car, Ruby, to the mechanic yesterday. Now that she has turned ten, she seems to be having more and more problems. While my car is being looked at, my father is letting me borrow his car that seems to also have some problems, which can best be described from our phone conversation yesterday:

Dad: Ok the keys will be in the car
Me: Great. Thanks! Anything I should know?
Dad: Well don't worry about all the weird alarms as you drive.
Me: Ok
Dad: There is actually nothing wrong with the airbags or brakes, so don't worry when the car tries to tell you there is something wrong with those.
Me: Ok
Dad: Oh and also, there is no cruise control.
Me: Ok
Dad: Also if you want to move the mirrors, you have to do it manually.
Me (At this point laughing): Dad, after we get my car back, you may want to take yours in to get looked at as well.

Why We REALLY Got The Internet

I walked into the annex today and saw my computer was on a page with a history of NBA basketball MVPS. If you were to flash back three hours earlier at The Old Angle, my brother and I got into a small argument about how many MVP awards Larry Bird won in a row. I swore he didn't win three in a row and my brother swore otherwise. He did win three in a row. This is why the page was still up for me to see as I walked in the door, and this is the real reason we got internet access at the annex. Is there anything more satisfying than settling sports debates? I think not.

Even In Loss, We Still Have Fun

This picture was taken right before kickoff, which is why we are both still smiling. Can you tell we are related? Our mother has been dressing us alike for years.

I'm Still Alive: The Holiday Version

It has been way too long since my last post, but there has been so much going on in such a short time. The holidays are so distracting, or perhaps I am just easily distracted. If you know me personally you can answer that last one on your own.

As always, Christmas was incredible thanks to my parents. The time and effort they put into that one day never ceases to amaze me. (The amount of champagne we drink on that morning also never really ceases to amaze me as well.) What I noticed this year is the amount of trash talking that goes on around the holiday season. While it is the season to be giving and jolly we tend to cut one another down in the process so that our new gifts seem better. For example, my brother got my mom a new throw blanket for her couch. The night before Christmas he went off about how her old throw blanket isn't big enough anymore and then he went on to point out it doesn't look that warm. All of this to make the new blanket seem that much better. Another example was the day before Christmas my father, my brother and I got into a little debate regarding football history. At the end of the debate, my father, in a tone I have never heard from him before said: "What? You think you know NFL trivia or something?" I couldn't believe the trash talk until the next day when I opened my new game of NFL trivia. Next year keep an ear out for the Christmas trash talk. I promise you, it's there.

As for New Years...you may want to sit down for this one. I just wasn't in the mood to deal with all the crazy people, so I stayed in and watched Seinfeld until 1 am. It was a great night. I could hear all the people yellling outside, but I didn't have to see them. I did go to The Old Angle at 1 am to meet some people, but I was glad to be back home soon after that. People make such a big deal out of New Years, but as I watched the ball drop that night during a commercial break, I thought to myself: What the hell is the big deal? Chances are I am going to have more fun going out any other night of the year, though I guess unlike most people, I do go out almost every other night of the year. Have a Happy New Year!

Wedding Party Professional

Last week it became official: My sister asked me to serve as her "best man" for her ceremony in June when she marries her girlfriend of nine years. This is such an honor, and I am so proud to have been chosen. On top of that, I don't know of anyone else who has gotten to serve as both a maid of honor and best man in the span of eighteen months. If you want to go back ever further, I was a flower girl twenty-five years ago for my aunt's wedding. If you, or anyone you know have gaps in your wedding party, I can obviously fill almost any of them.

Holiday Greetings From The Annex

Posted on msnbc.com this week:
“Are you really spreading holiday cheer with the annual letters?”

Then it got me thinking…

Holiday (censored) Letter From The Annex

Holiday Greetings from the Annex! It has been quite a year for us! In January we will be celebrating one year of existence, so I guess you could say it has been our best year yet.

Mark moved in at the beginning of January and things have been entertaining ever since. From xxxxxxxxxxxx to xxxxxxxxxxx, things have been a little wild at times, but we have all grown from our experiences. There were the times this year when xxxxxxxx happened, but thankfully everyone is still in one piece. It wouldn’t be a holiday letter if I didn’t mention xxxxxxxxxxx, so for those of you that remember that evening, thanks for the memories. Nonetheless, we have had a great time and we have grown a lot in the past year. We just wanted to wish everyone a happy holiday season.

Happy Holidays,
The Annex

My Hero

My brother is my hero. While he may not have rescued a kitten out of tree or saved small children from a burning building, he did do the following this weekend: Started partying in Columbus at 8 am and made it all the way through the game and then got up at 7:45 yesterday morning to drive back to Cleveland so he could start tailgating at 10:30 am and then came home and hung out with me after the game. Maybe he isn't your typical hero but he definitely deserves a shout-out for the work he did this weekend. The picture is a little fuzzy because the photographer had a lack of focus at the time.

For Your Viewing Pleasure

I have done some maintenance on the old blog and added some fun new features. If you scroll down on the right side of the page you will see a new category called "labels". I have categorized all of my entries so that you can look through particular categories. This is really more for my benefit, but I thought I would let you know.

On to the weekend...
Tomorrow is the Ohio State-Michigan game. It is the one day of the year when everyone in Ohio thinks they graduated from Ohio State and it cracks me up. My brother is going to Columbus for the game and I think he is crazy for doing that. You could not pay me enough to be south of Mansfield this weekend. On top of that I am looking forward to a fun weekend with family and friends and parties with both.

Why We Call It The Annex

According to Wikipedia, Annex is defined as: a building that is in addition to another building. When I was in college, the word was also used to define the smaller fraternity house, which housed all the people who couldn’t fit into the main house. As you know, my brother, who has the other apartment in my house, and I also call our house “The Annex.” Part of this definition comes from the fact that it is a building that is in addition to another building-that’s Camp Lieberth-but part of it comes from the fact that it does indeed seem like a fraternity house at times. Take this weekend for example.

I walked (stumbled) in on Friday night/Saturday morning and called my brother’s name out when I walked into the door, as we usually do when one of us is walking in that late. He was still up, and even though he said he was getting ready for bed, I got him to go back out and get more beer. After all it was only 2 am. Soon I was making homemade beef chow mein (I like to cook late at night) and we played Monopoly until 4am as we talked about sports, work, girls and other unrecognizable conversation pieces all while making up some weird dance. Are you starting to see the frat house correlation yet? It was such a blast that we spent most of the day Sunday drinking beers, watching football and talking about many of the same topics as I made a big Italian feast. I think we should re-name our house: Kappa Lambda Alpha for Kamp Lieberth Annex.

The best part about this fraternity is that we go on field trips: free hot dogs tonight at the Old Angle for Monday Night Football. I certainly can’t cook every night, or people might start to think I am the house mom.