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.

Re-Route

For those of you checking my blog for the re-cap of Tim's party, I realized I could not top the synopsis that had already been sent out by my favorite event planner. If you are curious, you can get all the juicy details on Tim's blog. Pictured at Right (courtesy of Tim): Mindy and I during the festivities.

Choose Your Own Blog Adventure Part I

I wonder how many times I have started my blog with the following: I planned on making it an early night last night. As a matter of fact, Tim and I specifically talked about leaving after the opening act at the Beachland Ballroom and calling it a night around ten or so. Flash forward to Mindy and I posing in front of a convertible cabriolet outside of Cocktails and Tim and I splitting a City Place 21-piece shrimp basket dinner (with soup and salad included) and a chicken wrap at 1 am.

Apparently our communication was off on more than one occasion. We talked about meeting at my place between 6:30 and 7 so we could grab a bite before the show started at 9. As 7 came and went, I assumed Tim was just running late. Perhaps to put this into better perspective, it is important to note that Tim has no cell phone right now and I have no door bell on the front door of my apartment where I live on the second floor. At about 7:20 I hear a loud knock on the downstairs door. Finally! Tim has arrived. The following conversation then took place:
Me: How long have you been standing down here?
Tim: Oh maybe 15 minutes
Me: 15 minutes! I am so sorry
Tim: Yeah, I got here around 6:15…what time is it now?
Me: Uh…you have been standing out here for an hour?
Tim: I guess so. Does your landlord live across the street?
Me: No that is her sister…why?
Tim: Well she has been staring at me.
Me: You have been standing out here for an hour on my porch, I am glad she has been staring at you. Ah well…ready for dinner?
Tim: Sure

Off to the Old Angle we went where my palate was quenched with the incomparable flank steak (a slight difference from the evening’s next meal at a 24-hour diner). From the Old Angle, we headed to the Beachland Ballroom. Even though we asked for directions at the Angle, we still managed to get lost on our way, which has become our pattern. The last time we went together we got lost as well. We always seem to have the same conversation as soon as we realize we are lost.
Me: Well you know I am not really from Cleveland. I grew up almost 30 minutes from here.
Tim: Oh I know. You know I am not really from Cleveland and I have only lived here for five years.
Me: See? It isn’t such a big deal that we get lost every time we come to this venue that we have probably been to 20 times combined.
Tim: Definitely.
I still don’t think I know the right way to get there. If I was giving someone directions, I would tell them to skip the actual exit, get off at the next exit, get back on the highway, get back off at the original exit and take a right.

To find out more about the show and the rest of the evening’s activities, you need to check out Tim's blog followed by a quick stop at Mindy's blog to see how the evening ended. If you feel comfortable only knowing this much about my evening, you will want to stop here.

Have You Read The Latest Tim?

At the risk of giving one of my friends a huge ego, I must indeed stroke his ego for just one moment. When I get to work, I have a system of doing things. Upon my arrival, I: log on, check personal e-mail, read ESPN.com, check myspace.com, get on instant messenger, talk to co-workers, log on to work databases and read work-related e-mail. Sure my priorities are a little off, but we are slow this time of year so I have time to catch up with friends and personal interests on the internet. I must now add a new activity in between ESPN.com and myspace.com. I now check Tim’s blog each and every morning.

Tim started his blog only a couple weeks ago but it has quickly become one of my favorite reads in the morning. I am not alone. Brewed Fresh Daily, the who’s who of Cleveland blogs has also picked him up on several occasions. This morning after reading his latest post and feeling just a little smarter for doing so, I called Mindy and said: “Have you read the latest Tim?” She replied with: “A little but I will call you back to discuss when I get more time.”

I feel as if his blog has replaced the op-ed pieces I encounter but don’t feel connected to. I am grateful he has found the time to actually put his name and effort into this new creative vehicle. By writing this piece I feel like a stuffy old aristocrat discussing a piece of art but his work is that good. If you haven’t had the chance to read the latest Tim, you simply must find the time dahlings!

She's Back

After months and months, Aquamego has gotten her act together and has started updating her blog again. Oh how I have missed the windy city stories from my old roomie. This is one of my favorite blogs in the world because she is such an incredible writer and her perspective is so unique. Welcome back, I missed you!

What Was I Thinking?

Rosie O'Donnell's blog is not the weirdest blog I have ever read. When I say read, I mean I have gone to it more than once. There are a lot of crazies out there that I have happened upon, but to me "read" means more than once. Anyway, I digress. The weirdest blog I have ever read has got to be that of Tucker Max. Tucker Max is a professional partygoer and ladies man. His stories are out of this world--most of them crude and sexist-yet I can't help but read them at times. Anyway for the weirdest blog, check out Mr. Max: www.tuckermax.com

The Weirdest Blog I Have Read

I found this blogsite by chance, and from the research I have done, it is real. They actually did a bit about it in People magazine last week. Does that really count? I say it does. Anyway, check out Rosie O’Donnell’s blog. When I say weird, I mean in the sense where you are sitting there asking yourself if this is really real. She seems jaded, yet incredibly real and at peace these days. I must say, it is fun to see the former diva of daytime talk reciting Eminem lines and relating to them: http://onceadored.blogspot.com

Go Cougars!

I think it is so cool a friend of mine, who also happens to be Mormon, just called me a Godsend. I must admit it gave me a short-lived Brigham Young complex. Of course I had to call my very very good friend Mindy right away. This is the stuff I bother her with on a daily basis as she tries to work. I am sure her boss thinks she is crazy when she is on the phone with me because he is usually hearing one of two things: her boisterous laughter or her asking me when I am going to counseling again because whatever I am talking to her about is just that absurd. Thanks for letting me interrupt your workload for my silliness Mindy. For those of you reading my blog, I should direct you to hers because I have mentioned it as one of my guilty pleasures--and its not just because she talks about me--her writing is incredible and thought provoking:
http://www.mindychildress.com/blog/