Josh Lucas is just as cute in person.

I saw him while I was working at the Tropfest Short Film Festival where he was a judge. But you know, I would not have recognized him if I didn't know he was present. But I think that is a good thing.

Andrea and me standing outside a little place we like to call candy heaven


Andrea really liked her Sassy Red Velvet Cupcake

Angie, like me chose pumpkin. Or Pummmmmmpkin

Pacing myself

God save the Queen...and fish and chips

Still ready for more foods dieticians warn us about

I will never make fun of anyone who orders this stuff at a state fair ever again.

For the Love of Refined Carbohydrates

Remember when you were a kid and your mom wouldn't let you have any cookies because she said it would spoil your dinner? Remember how you thought dinner was already spoiled because of a certain fungi that would be present in the casserole? Then, do you recall that you told yourself that when you were a grown-up you would eat all the cookies and candy you wanted and that would be your dinner? OK maybe that's just my memories I am projecting on the masses, but I must say as a grown-up I haven't really lived up to that little promise I made to myself when I was six. Somehow Heavenly Father saw fit to bless me with a few body image issues that keep me headed for the produce section instead of the bakery when I make my weekly grocery purchases. I guess I should be grateful, but a few weeks ago I had to break free--flabby arms be damned--and I joined some friends on a little junk food excursion.

My roommate Angie claims to be a junk food junkie. That's probably true because she knows all the really good bakeries in the city, eats chips and always seems to have a good stash of candy in her room. A few months ago she bonded with a girl named Andrea at church that has an even larger junk food addiction than my roommate. Andrea stated that in high school, her brown bag lunch of choice was three Snickers bars and an RC Cola. Wow. I was impressed. However, Andrea was not familiar with all the cupcake places in town. I informed her of a little place that is number one in my heart--Sugar Sweet Sunshine--and she, Angie and I decided that we would have to take a trip down there to try it out. I then said that we could stop by Economy Candy and get some other goodies as well. Thus Junk Food Saturday was born.

We decided to get our junk food fix during Labor Day weekend. That Saturday Angie and I met Andrea on the A train, and after switching to a D, and then an F, we arrived in the Lower East Side. We decided to start our fun at Economy Candy, where my other roommate Lacey joined us. Economy Candy is a fun store. Although they don't carry everything there is a fabulous selection of European, novelty, M&Ms, Jelly Bellys and nostalgic treats. I normally don't buy a lot of candy. When I want sugar I usually reach for a cookie, cupcake or pie. But that day I felt like a 13-year- old girl with babysitting money and decided to indulge. I bought a Picnic bar (British-and delish), Haribo Gummi Bears, Jelly Bellys, a Charleston Chew, a little box of Baci and sour cherry balls. I remember that I liked sour cherry balls as a kid, but I had forgotten about them. Let me tell you, I renewed my love for that confection. I kind of can't wait to get some more.

The next stop was Sugar Sweet Sunshine (SSS), which is just a half a short block away from the candy store. SSS is the best cupcake place in NYC. A friend referred me to this place, and once while wandering around the Lower East Side I found it and decided to see if the cupcakes were indeed as good as I was told. At that time I was pretty much pro-Magnolia, despite the tourist-filled line. Things changed when I sunk my teeth into a moist pistachio-flavored cupcake. And since that wonderful day in August, I haven't had a better cupcake. On Junk Food Saturday I finally decided to try the pumpkin flavored cupcake. It was divine, but not as good as their other flavors. Still, I licked the wrapper and debated eating another one. Andrea dived right into her second cupcake. I thought long and hard, and since I knew our day was not done, I just took a good, long whiff of my remaining cupcakes and had a few sour cherry balls instead.

Our next stop on our junk food adventure was for something salty to balance all the sweet. One would think that our next stop would be for a pickle considering that particular neighborhood is home to all the big pickle vendors. However, all the big pickle vendors are Jewish, and their establishments are closed on Saturdays. (Good for them for observing their Sabbath.) Instead we decided to mix our salt with a little trans fat and headed to Brooklyn for the Atlantic Chip Shop, a little restaurant that serves traditional British fare like crispy, greasy, salty fish and chips. In a word, YUM. I really like fish and chips, and this was the best fish and chips I have ever eaten. The only way they could be better was if I was actually eating them in London. I ate every last bit, and it was a large piece of fish. But we didn't just stop there.

You are probably amazed that we weren't wanting to hurl at this moment. Let me warn you, Junk Food Days are not for the weak of stomach. And you have to pace yourself. Andrea did regret her second cupcake. But we still ordered dessert.

Not only does the Chip Shop have great fish and chips, they also serve up some fried treats for dessert. It was hard to decide which treat to get so we decided to split a fried Twinkie, Mars bar, and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. I have always been a Twinkie fan, but they are so good deep fried; I enjoyed it over the other two candies, but they did not disappoint either. The Mars bar was perfectly gooey, and the Reese's cups tasted even richer. The Twinkie with its tart raspberry sauce just surpassed the warm, melted chocolate of the candy bars. Plus I liked the combination of the crisp outer shell with the soft, creamy filling. Double YUM.

And then we were done. Well, we still had candy to munch on later, but as far as the adventure goes, we were done. I patted my happy tummy and said good-bye to five years of my life. But those were the Depends years anyway. Since we had so much fun, we decided that we were going to make it a recurring activity to try out all the great bakeries, candy stores, and sundry junk food places this great city has to offer. Six-year-old me is very excited about that.

Can I Keep Him?

While wandering around Philadelphia, I saw this very adorable Neopolitan Mastiff. You can't see it, but he has the prettiest blue eyes. (The lady holding him is a breeder. I also caught a glimpse of his sisters.) I really wanted to take him home with me. I refrained because 1) he is going to grow up to be bigger than my living room (Fang in the Harry Potter movies is the same breed) and 2) I do not want to have to pick up those poohs.

But he's sweet, huh?

I went to Philadelphia. I was just there for a couple of hours when I visited a roommate's home in south Jersey. We saw several historical things like Betsey Ross' house. Sadly, tickets to Independence Hall were sold out. Maybe next time.


The Liberty Bell. You know what: it's just a bell.


I love streets with old buildings.

A kitty door knocker

A lion door knocker

The first post office

George Washington is my neighbor; maybe I should have Ben Franklin be my next landlord.

You would think that with a sign like that, the Brooklyn Bridge wouldn't be any big deal.



I finally decided to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. It is probably the most fun tourist activity in the city.


The view of Manhattan coming from the bridge.

When someone comes to visit me we will walk the bridge--provided that it is not 90+ degrees or 45 minus degrees. What we will not do is eat at that one pizza place that everyone seems to like. No one should have to wait 45 minutes to get into a pizza restaurant when there are thousands of places in the city. Plus, my tummy doesn't like dairy anymore, so no pizza for me anyway.

Dealbreakers

Some people have said that since I am getting older (though I don't look it...) that I shouldn't be so picky about boys. No way! All it means is that I have less time to work through the quirks. So there are things that I take issue with. Therefore, in case you feel some strange, idiotic desire to set me up, please keep these in mind:

1. I don't do weird, rambling emails with bad punctuation.
2. I don't do twisted emails in foreign tongues.
3. I want to be asked on a date, not axed on a date.
4. emo-skinny jeans on boys leave nothing to the imagination. I would rather not know his legs are skinnier than my arms until after the wedding.
5. video game fanatics
6. self-righteous
7. the obvious, alcohol, cigarettes, drugs issues...
8. listening to music that I abhor.

I'm sure I could add to the list, but I don't want to look like a total snot. So tell me, what are your dealbreakers?

Who else gets to take the Amtrak to Girl's Camp?


The first night we had foil dinners. I was one of the lucky ones who ate dinner after letting it cook for 20 minutes. Some dinners took over two hours.



I felt that Juhly and I needed to document our time lost in the woods. We look happy despite the fact we had no clue where we were.

Backpacks are better!!!

A rare smile during an otherwise frustrating teaching moment.

This particular certification lesson was about nutrition. No Tita, Big Macs are not nutritious.

L-R: Dariana, Me, Aimee, and Jennifer. No clue who the girl in front was.

Hermana Soriano--a camp veteran. She goes every year.

My Girls L-R: Tita, Natasha, Caroline (in the sweatshirt)

L-R: Caroline (again), Lizzie (blond), Juhly, Vanessa, Aimee

L-R: Aimee, Jennifer, Dariana. In the background: Andrea, the Stake Camp Director

Very tired girls at the train station

Waiting for the train home.

Try to picture this:

There was one moment when I wished I had my camera ready. The girls found a bat hanging on the window frame of the lodge. One girl thought it would be fun to poke at it with a stick. The bat didn't enjoy it too much and took off. The girls screamed, but Tita, with a look of absolute horror on her face, took off running as fast as she could. I laughed. I couldn't help it. Was that mean?