Lost and Found

Oh my gosh - this is the funniest thing I have seen in a LONG time. Especially if you love Growing Pains like I do, I mean, DID. Watch, NOW!

http://www.thisjustin.com/2007/05/24/the-plot-gets-thicke-on-abcs-lost/

My 5 Favorite Atlanta Restaurants

I got tagged by a fellow blogger to do this, so here goes nothing. By the way, this is my first tag - thanks Jenny! I feel like I'm in the cool crowd of bloggers or something. Anyways, I'm supposed to list my top 5 favorite restaurants in the A-T-L. This is hard, because I love food and I have lots of favorite things to eat at lots of different places. But here is what I've come up with. PS - I have no idea who the man in this picture is, but boy does he look like he's having fun with that ladle.

1.) MF Sushi - don't laugh. It stands for Magic Fingers, though my always amusing husband likes think the MF stands for something else. I think you can guess what. Anyway, I love this restaurant for personal and gastronomic reasons. This is the restaurant my husband and I ate at the night he proposed to me. Awww. And also, the sushi is MF'ing good! We just went back again this past Saturday and again, were not disappointed. If you like sushi (or even if you don't - this is an excellent place to try it for the first time) - there is nothing better, fresher or prettier in Atlanta.

2.) U.S. Cafe - Now on the complete opposite end of the spectrum, this place has AWESOME burgers. Best one I've had in Atlanta. And I get the turkey burger a lot too, which is equally as delicious as the regular burgers. There is also "U.S. Cafe Express" if you're interested in crinkle fries (and I am). It's a little place in a strip mall, but do not be fooled by the appearance. Inside lurk delicious hamburgers!

3.) Pano's and Paul's - this is one swanky, fancy place (surprisingly also located in a strip mall) that you should definitely go to on a special occasion. My husband and I went there on our anniversary and not only did we have a delicious meal, but they also gave us free dessert with "Happy Anniversary" spelled out in chocolate. Sweet! It's fancy traditional American food and the service there is also great without making you feel uncomfortable. Try the creme brulee.

4.) Bob's Kabob's - Awesome name, right? This place used to be off Paces Ferry Road in the Kroger shopping center, but has now moved up to Barrett Parkway, so we don't get up there as much. But it is so delicious and the owner makes me laugh. He serves exactly what the name of the restaurant says - kabobs! Steak kabobs, chicken kabobs, swordfish kabobs - now I sound like Bubba from Forrest Gump. The chicken kabobs with the tzatziki sauce are great!

5.) Mediterranean Cafe - holy cow, this place is SO GOOD. I just recently found out about it, though I know it's been around for awhile. It's in Midtown, kind of where 10th and Monroe meet. But there are other locations too - one in Decatur too I think. Anyway - get the vegetarian plate - best hummus I've ever had. Also comes with falafel, baba ganouj, tabouli and a little salad. Oh, and the gyro's are also delicious as are the greek potatoes you can get on the side - don't miss those.

There are so many more restaurants in Atlanta that I love, but those will be my top 5 for now. If anyone else would like to post their faves, do it! I love to hear about restaurants in other cities, in case I visit one day.

A Walk to Forget...err Remember.

In October I'll be participating in the Atlanta 3 Day Breast Cancer Walk and so I've been training for the past oh, 3 weeks I would say. So far it's all been roses and sunshine, minus the getting up early every morning, but the roses and sunshine went out the window this Saturday. I don't know if it's because I'm old or my body's getting used to it, I'm walking incorrectly, or d.) all of the above. But, I am currently experiencing what I will call a "belt of pain" that is aptly named because it sits pretty much where a belt would. My abdomen and lower back are not friends of mine right now. This could be due to the fact that I walked 5 miles on Saturday and then went to a wedding where I danced, in HEELS, for about 2 hours. It's like I was asking for muscle pain. But I think it's my body getting used to walking/cross-training everyday, so I'm hoping that eventually this will get better. I've also considered that I might need to do additional stretching or perhaps crunches/back exercises and perhaps that will help. I love crunches about as much as I love the CW though, which if you know me, is not very much (darn you CW for canceling Veronica Mars! A plague on your network!!).

Anyway, I'll be sure to keep you updated on the state of my "belt of pain". I know you are dying to know. So far, Myoflex and Aleve have been my BFF's. Oh, and if you, my faithful readers, know of anyone who would like to donate to my walk in October, consider this a shameless plug for that because I'm including the link to my website below. I'll be walking 60 miles in 3 days, in honor of my grandmother.

http://www.the3day.org/atlanta07/jburns

PS - I particularly enjoyed this picture because of the lightning bolts. I think it really captures the pain this woman must be enduring. And because maybe it will make you think I'm as muscular as she is.

108

So, I started reading a new book this morning at the gym. Eat, Pray, Love - which 22 pages in, is excellent so far. However, the most delightful thing I discovered upon starting the book this morning is that in the first 2 pages, it references the number 108. Now, for all my fellow Lost fans out there, you know why this was exciting to me. Apparently, in India, they use something called a "japa mala" - which is similar to a Catholic rosary, in that it is a strand of beads and with each bead, you recite your mantra. The interesting thing about it is that there are exactly 108 beads on a japa mala. And here is the reason - because they view 108 as a perfect number, divisible by 3, and the numbers in 108 add up to 9, which is three 3's. And, 3 is a very important number in religion, i.e., the Holy Trinity. Anyway, I was just very interested to read about it and to discover a little bit more behind the mythology on "Lost". Yes, I'm a tv dork, but you, my dear readers, already knew that!

Maybe the next thing my book will reveal is who the heck Jacob is.

Crazy for Swayze!

Tonight I am going to see one of my all-time favorite movies - Dirty Dancing. They are re-releasing it for the 20th Anniversary. Side note: it's been 20 years since this movie came out? Yipes. How old am I? Anyway - big plans to go see it tonight with a friend of mine and I'm totally geeking out, I'm so excited. I watched the horribly cheesy Patrick Swayze "She's Like the Wind" video in preparation. My favorite part is that the entire video is done as if you're looking into a puddle. Brilliant, really. If you haven't seen it, do take a look. You won't be disappointed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1tLvbyy7AM

I can't wait to see Baby and Johnny do "The Lift" on the big screen. I hope it's everything I ever dreamed it would be. I also wonder if there will be a steady murmur in the theater of people quoting every single line. I know I will. Maybe it will be interactive like The Rocky Horror Picture Show and people will dance in the aisles at the end like they do in the final scene of the movie. That would be sweet.

Other movies that should be re-released that I didn't get a chance to see at the theater: Adventures in Babysitting, The Goonies, The Princess Bride. When are their 20th anniversaries? Wouldn't it be great if there was a theater that just showed awesome movies like this all the time? Has anyone thought of this? Maybe I should keep my trap shut so no one steals this brilliant idea.

Mr. Clean

The Mr. Clean Magic Eraser might be the coolest thing I've discovered lately. Goodbye scuff marks on my baseboards! Goodbye scuff marks on my tile! Hello to my new favorite cleaning product. Yours for only $2.99 at Walgreens. In a pack of 2. Good things do come in pairs.

The World Is Not Your Ashtray

I need a bumper sticker that says this. One of the things in life that makes me angry and flushed as soon as I witness it is someone throwing a cigarette out of their car while driving down the road. Really? You don't have an ashtray in there that you can use?? Because I really think you do. Every time I see it, it just makes me upset. You don't want to leave cigarette butts in your car, but you will throw them out of your window and litter the streets with them? That's awesome. Really. Maybe there's some other reason that makes more sense as to why people do this, but if there is, I'm not aware of it. Please enlighten me if so.

Along those same lines - I was in line at the drive-thru the other day and witnessed a lady get her drink, open her straw and promptly toss the straw paper out of her window. In addition to the world not being your ashtray, it is also not your trashcan! What the heck? Are you that lazy? Didn't you learn when you were like 3, to pick up after yourself? That's just lazy and irresponsible. It's like people are living in their own little world with no regard for what goes on around them. It's very disconcerting.

Aren't we all supposed to be good stewards of the earth? Am I making that up? I think at the very least, not littering the streets with trash and cigarette butts is a step in the right direction.

End ranting diatribe.