You know you're a food fanatic when...

...you call the cable guy to come out because the Food Network channel isn’t working.

Ahem, I cannot confirm nor deny that I did this.

But let’s just say that, if I did, my friends will be very glad to know that the channel is now working, and I will no longer have to hijack their TV on Saturday mornings to watch the Pioneer Woman cooking show.

P.S. Has anyone else been watching the PW cooking show? I'm definitely a fan!

What I'm loving this week

1) Yoga class

Earlier this week, I went to yoga class with a friend. It had been years since I last went to one. I loved the class, and I had almost forgotten how great it feels to stretch. I’m hoping to make this a weekly thing.

2) Bakery boxes

For Christmas, my mom gave me a set of these cute boxes for baked goods. I used them for the first time this week to give some cupcakes to a friend I hadn’t seen in a while. I loved that the boxes made my baked-at-home-from-a-box cupcakes look like bakery material. (Let’s just hope that she’s not disappointed when she realizes that they’re not actually from a bakery!) I did end up using the Peeps to top the cupcakes.

3) The Office

Yesterday I saw a preview for an episode of the Office that will feature a guest appearance from Will Ferrell, and I think I shrieked with excitement. Steve Carell and Will Ferrell are probably our two favorite comedy actors – I can’t wait to see them together again.

What are you loving this week?

As the World Turns

I found myself with an unusual item on my to-do list last Friday. Underneath the list of normal chores (laundry, grocery shopping), I wrote “As the World Turns.” I had talked to my grandma the day before, and she lamented how her soap (or her “story,” as she calls it) was having its final episode on Friday and she wouldn’t be able to watch it. She said, “I’ve been watching this show for over 50 years and I won’t get to see how it ends!” She already had an event planned with family on Friday, and she thought it would be silly to cancel because of a TV show. So I added it to my to-do list, and I watched it for her. Well, truthfully, I was working at home that afternoon, so I got to see only bits and pieces of it. I had never seen the show before, so I had no idea what the characters’ names were, or what was going on. But I tried my best to memorize what was happening. I finally got the chance to talk to my grandma today. I’m sure if anyone overheard our conversation, they would have laughed. I’d try to tell her something that happened – something like, “there was this girl that got engaged” – and she’d ask a question that I could not answer. “Was it Katie?” she asked. “I have no idea,” I’d reply. Our conversation continued like that. I tried to at least describe the characters – “you know, the dark-haired girl” – and that helped a bit. Finally, I think I’ve managed to convince her to go to my aunt’s house (who lives near her) and watch the full episode on cbs.com. I hate that she’s invested so much time in the show never to see the ending. (And my poor recap definitely doesn’t count.) And for proof that the world – and TV – still turns, I already gave her a recap of another show she likes: Dancing with the Stars. Thankfully, I already know all the characters on that show.

Picking a Winner

Well, I can add “owning a NASCAR hat” to my list of things that I thought I’d never do, but now have.

A couple weeks ago, I watched my first, full NASCAR race on TV with Husband. At the start of the race, he explained how difficult it is to predict who might win based on the car itself, weather conditions, the driver, etc. I happened to see that there was a car sponsored by “M&Ms,” and I told him that I’d be rooting for that car. (As a chocolate fan, it was an easy decision.)

“You can’t just pick a car because of that,” he said, once again explaining the intricacies of racing.

But I did. And a couple hours later, the M&M car happened to win first place in the race. We both laughed in disbelief.

On a recent military trip, Husband saw this hat and brought it home for me as a souvenir.

So now I’m the proud owner of a NASCAR hat. I don’t know what this means exactly, but I’m hoping maybe it involves eating more M&Ms.

Farewell, Lost!

I never intended to watch the show, Lost. Husband convinced me when we were dating that I had to watch it. I watched the first episode of season 1 on DVD and declared that it was a dumb show and I wasn’t interested. But here I am years later, and I’m somehow addicted to the show. We even made a pilgrimage to the "set" in Hawaii two years ago. (Well, we were already in Hawaii to see friends, and it was fun to see the beach where they film.) I have mixed feelings about the series finale on Sunday. On one hand, I’m dying to see how everything turns out. On the other, I’m a little bummed to think that Husband and I will no longer rush to the couch to watch another episode of the show together. And I will miss all the e-mails exchanged with our friends saying, “Did you see Lost last night? What did you think??” Husband and I are having our own Lost-themed dinner on Sunday to celebrate. There’s a chicken place in town that looks almost exactly like Hurley’s “Mr. Cluck’s Chicken,” so we’re going to get take-out from there. (This might just be my ploy to have an excuse to eat greasy-fried chicken.) We’ll drink some sort of island-themed drink, too. Yes, this dinner is random, but then again, so is the show. So maybe it all works. Farewell, Lost. We will miss you!

Happy Valentine's Day

I think I got the best Valentine’s Day gift of all. I got to come home early from my work trip, so we get to spend the day together! We plan to catch up on our favorite show, Lost. Neither of us saw the first two new episodes, and I’m excited to watch the shows together. After all, nothing says romance like a TV drama with a complicated plot line, right? Hope you all have a happy Valentine’s Day, too!

Our 1.2 Seconds of Fame

(Alternately titled: How We Became Best Friends with Jay Leno)

Husband and I love to watch Jay Leno. So, I couldn’t have visited L.A. without at least trying to see the Tonight Show.

I knew our chances were slim. We hadn’t requested the tickets in advance, and we knew that demand was high because it’s Jay Leno’s last few weeks on the Tonight Show.

But I was hopeful anyway. I dragged Husband out of bed at 7AM (sorry again, Husband!), so we could make it to the studio by 8AM when the office opened to give away the remaining tickets. We ended up getting stand-by tickets, which the lady said would give us a “50-50 chance” of seeing the show.

We returned that afternoon, waiting for an hour in a long line. There, I annoyed Husband with the exact same questions every few minutes: “Do you think we’ll get in??” or “Do you think our chances are increasing or decreasing??”

I was ready to give a sob story to the workers there about how far we traveled and how much we wanted to see the show. I would have even used the military card (“But we’re military! Please!”), which I realize is desperate and sad.

But, to our surprise, they ushered us into the studio right before the show started. We couldn’t believe we were getting in, and I was happy to take what I assumed would be our seats in the back row. Except that our seats were in the second row!* They had been roped off, apparently saved for VIPs that didn’t show up.

I had an enormous grin on my face the entire time. We even got to shake hands** with him before the monologue, and my parents saw us later on TV! (By the way, if it had occurred to me that I might actually be visible on TV, I might have toned down my grin a notch so I didn’t look like a total crazy grinning idiot.)

The show itself was awesome, and we laughed loudly because it truly was funny. We didn’t even need the “applause” sign.

The whole experience was incredibly fun and entertaining, and I’m happy to give the minute-by-minute account to anyone that will listen. But first, I try to say in my best casual tone, “Oh, you didn’t hear that we were on Jay Leno?”

*Note: If you hear me tell the story in person, I will say that our seats were in the front row. It’s only because I get really excited when I tell the story, and I can no longer be held accountable for precise facts.

**Note: Again, if I tell the story in person, I will say that Jay Leno shook my hand because it makes for a better story than “he reached his hand in my general direction.” Husband, however, did actually get to touch his hand. I’m jealous.

One, Two, Three...TV

I knew it was inevitable. It was over a year ago that I found Husband drooling over new TVs in the electronics section of a store. I protested at that time because we hadn’t moved into our house yet and we had no space for a new TV. “Just let me dream a little bit,” he said. And I did. Then, a few months ago, a military buddy of his was moving, and he offered to sell us his TV. Husband e-mailed me with “TV” in the subject line, and then explained in the e-mail what a good deal it was. “It’s an $1800 TV for only $300!” I asked why they were selling it. “Oh, because it’s old and it takes up too much space, and they want a sleeker, new TV.” And then he told me how they had to send it back to the manufacturer at one point because of a “blue line” that would appear on the screen. Still, Husband couldn’t understand why I wasn’t excited about this good deal. I told him that I’d rather put the money towards a new TV that we were sure would work. Recently he’s spent time researching TVs: the best types, brands, and prices. He finally has it narrowed down to the exact TV he wants. And I finally have run out of excuses why we shouldn’t get a new TV. Last night the debate turned to exactly where the new TV will go. I voted for putting it in the family room, where we do the majority of our TV-watching. Husband voted for putting it in his den (affectionately called the “game room”), where he plays video games. We decided to settle the debate like the mature adults that we are: by playing rock, paper, scissors. I suggested the idea as a joke. Husband said, “Great idea!” I asked him if he was sure that this was how he wanted to seal of the fate of the TV’s location. He responded with an enthusiastic yes. We spent a few minutes going over the rules. We’d only play only a single game. We’d count, “one, two,” and you must show your hand on “three.” So we counted, "one, two, three," and we tied with scissors. Then we each took a minute to silently plan our strategy for the next game. We said, “one, two, three,” and I won with paper against his rock. We simultaneously shouted. I said, “YES!” and put my arms up in the air victoriously. Husband shouted, “Noooo!” Still, Husband has respected the results of the game. I, however, wonder maybe if it should go in the den after all, since Husband is obviously much more excited about the TV than I am. So I guess the TV’s location is still mostly undecided. I’m sure we’ll find a better way to make our decision than playing rock, paper, scissors. Like maybe a coin toss.

We Found "Lost!"

Of all our Hawaii adventures, I know I should write first about something important, like the baptism. But, I just have to share this exciting story - we found the set of the TV show Lost!

The way we found it went something like this… Our friends’ cousin’s husband’s neighbor’s friend (no joke!) knew of the beach where it was. We drove to the north part of the island, passed through a very nice neighborhood, parked our car on the street, and then walked for about 15 minutes until we got to the beach where it was.

The set was roped off, but we still got to see a lot of it. Only a lone security guard was there, making sure that crazy fans (like us) didn’t storm onto the set and touch everything. He was very nice, though, and he patiently answered all of our questions. Including important ones like, “Are they filming later today??” (unfortunately, no) and “Will Jack and Kate be our friends?” (probably not).

We probably exceeded the allotted excitement levels for seeing the set. In fact, our giddiness for seeing it probably puts us in the same category as the beloved Trekkies who religiously attend Star Trek Conventions. But, we’ll gladly accept our geek status because look at these great pictures!

One of the tents, complete with a very realistic-looking piece of an airplane.



A view of the camp site. If you look closely in the background, you’ll see the familiar black and white Dharma Initiative logo on the cans of food.

Another view of the camp.

It’s Mr. Eko’s Chapel!



Here is the gorgeous beach right by the set. If you watch the show regularly, it might look familiar to you.

The only celebrity we managed to see was this old (but very cute) sea turtle. I tried, but he wouldn’t give me his autograph. Instead, he blinked a few times and very slowly made his way back to the water.

The beach was so beautiful, and we spent a few hours there relaxing on the beach and playing in the waves. What can I say? It’s tough living the TV life, but we managed to survive – and get a tan in the process.

It's a Deal

I’ve learned lots of new things about Husband since we got married. But, the most recent thing I’ve learned is courtesy of NBC’s Deal or No Deal.

We sat down to watch it, and, like most couples, debated whether the contestant should take the deal. But that’s where the similarities end.

Husband then morphs into a human computer, calculating out loud a stream of probabilities, percentages, and ratios. He scribbles dollar amounts and occasionally uses a calculator for a more precise calculation. I could go on about how I think that any activity that requires a calculator nullifies the activity as “fun,” but for now, I’ll focus on Husband’s newly introduced talent.

He’s usually pretty accurate (almost frighteningly so) at predicting the banker’s offer. If I didn’t know he was a pilot, I would guess that he was a mathematician – or maybe even a fortune teller.

So, now when I watch the show, I have double the entertainment: the drama of the show itself and the antics of my husband turned human calculator.

Plus, I have the confidence of knowing that if I’m ever a contestant on the show, my husband will be there standing by - calculator in hand. Sounds like a good deal!