Was I just in Utah?

Hello all! I just got back this afternoon from a very short trip for work. We went to Logan, Utah to visit one of our vendors. Our flight to Salt Lake City arrived at 10:30am Tuesday and we flew out at 10:06 am this morning, so I really didn't get to see much except during our drive up to Logan. The Rockies were certainly larger than our mountains here in PA, but they weren't as big as I thought they would be. I did think Logan was a cute little town and was certainly clean. It looked as if they had just swept all of the streets and sidewalks. But it was such a short trip (and I was sleepy half the day from getting up at 3am to go there) that I hardly feel like I was in Utah. But I did get a good dinner at Hamilton's, a lodgey type steak house in Logan. Very good service and beautiful decor as well.
In other news, I got my tickets for [title of show] !!!!! I could only afford balcony seats, but it's front row balcony, baby! I bought an extra ticket for whomever I can con into going with me. (And hopefully help defray the cost of the hotel) because it will be more fun if I've got someone along to discuss the show with. I hope I get a chance to chat with my cuz, but I'm sure he'll be busy with all the craziness of their FIRST BROADWAY PERFORMANCE. WOO-HOO!!!!

[something to shout about]

This is some very exciting news.....[title of show] is going to Broadway!!! "get outta here!" Yes, it's true. My uber-talented cousin Jeff and his three amigos will open at the Lyceum theatre in July. If you'd like to see their creative and hilarious announcement from the [title of show] website click here: http://www.titleofshow.com/blog/index.php?itemid=1085 It was also announced in the New York Times this past Thursday. I am definitely going to be there, hopefully for opening night! I didn't get the opportunity to see the show when it was off-broadway, but I did buy the CD. And even though I didn't get all the theatrical references (not being in the scene myself), I still laughed until I nearly peed my pants. And I really love the [title of show] Show installments on YouTube. If you haven't seen these, you need to!! I especially enjoyed the Christmas special. It captured the feeling of holiday specials of the late 70s/early 80s and family gatherings gone wild. LOVED IT!! So I am really looking forward to seeing the show on Broadway! (did I put enough exclamation points in this post?)

On the move

Right now I'm sitting in my new apartment enjoying some pizza. I am done unpacking for the day, but I think it's going to take the rest of the week to finish. I keep changing my mind where I want things! But I enjoy decorating, so it's not really a chore. And I'm excited that I'm allowed to paint here, so I'm sure I'll be adding some pizazz to the plain walls later on. The kitties adapted to their new surroundings rather quickly. They're already enjoying the views from the windows and sliding glass door.
I'll post some pics after I get a little more settled in.
I'm now a contributor for our blog at work. You can see my first entry at http://www.boscovs.blogspot.com/ . Of course it's work related, but I think it's pretty entertaining and informative as well.
Well, I'm going to finish my pizza and try to relax the rest of the evening. More on the unpacking progess next weekend!

BBQ or Bust!

Hello all! This month I traveled the furthest west I have even been in this country - the lovely city of Ft. Worth,TX. I wish I could say I was there for the fun of it, but I went for three days for a convention for work. When I wasn't hiking up and down the aisles of the Ft. Worth Convention Center looking at camping gear and camouflage, I was partaking of the excellent local cuisine. I've eaten plenty of barbecue in my time and I have to say Ft. Worth had some of the best. One of our vendors took us out to eat at The Railhead Smokehouse ( http://www.railheadonline.com/ ) where we had some great sammiches. I have never eaten barbecue in a sandwich quite like the way they serve it. Pickles, onion and mustard sounds like a strange combination, but it was fantastic. They also have a great Texas brew called Shiner Bock that was a great complement to the meal. It tasted a lot like PA's own Yeungling. And you can order from their website if you're getting hungry from reading this blog. I think that their claim of having the best barbecue in Texas just might be true!

I stayed in the Hilton Ft. Worth which used to be the old Hotel Texas where John F Kennedy stayed the night before he was assassinated. We had a cocktail reception in the ballroom where he gave a speech as well. Unfortunately I slept great - no ghosts! But it was a very nice corner room with a view of the courtyard across the street and the hotel is a couple minutes walk away from the convention center.

Other than that I've been slaving away at work. We're doing all of our last minute adjustments to our spring assortments while we're working on our fall plans. The fun never stops! Now I'm also starting to pack since I'm moving next month. The kitties are just thrilled. Well, they would be if they knew we were moving. They've been having fun playing with the stuffed armadillo toy I brought back for them from Texas. My new place is more modern and I'll have a dishwasher!! Now I can go crazy cooking up lots of good eats and not have to wash the $&*%$ dishes by hand.

Well, I'm going to sign off for now and I will try to write every week again like I started off!

I'm still here!

Hello again! I am still here, though for most of December I wasn't sure which way was up. It was the usual hectic month since I am still working in retail though in the buying office. I only had Sundays off the entire month and I had to get things done around the house then. So there's my excuse for not posting! I'll post something more interesting this weekend, I promise!

Fabulous Food!

Sorry it took so long to get a post up about this, but I have been working way too much!! The Fabulous Food Show lived up to its name. There were way too many vendors to sample everything in one day, but unfortunately that was all I could manage. I got in to Cleveland in the evening on Friday and checked into the Sheraton hotel a few miles from the airport. It was a nice room and the staff was very courteous. Sadly, I decided to have my dinner at the bar and grill attached to the hotel (it shall remain nameless) and ended up getting sick in the middle of the night from the undercooked cheesesteak sandwich. So I was a little late getting to the Food Show the next day, which meant I couldn't get into line to meet Alton Brown. There were at least 500 people already in line when I got there and he wasn't coming out for another hour yet! So I meandered around the show and bought a few things. A couple of AB books I didn't have yet and of course, FOOD. I stayed away from the wine tastings because I didn't want to upset my stomach again.

I watched Duff Goldman's show on a massive screen while he was on stage as watched the lucky people who had gotten in line early that morning to meet AB. I didn't get to see Giada DeLaurentiis though. Her schedule was running opposite of mine. And at about 4:30 I was able to get in line for the 5pm Alton Brown show. I had gotten pretty good seats, sixth row on the aisle and had a very good view from there. But since there were empty seats in the front row and Alton was rather hurt by this, I quickly ran up and grabbed a seat. Front row!! WOO-HOO!

Needless to say, the show was great. I could go on and on with the details and bore everyone to death, but I'll save the anecdotes for any true fans who want to hear about it. Just post a comment and I'll let you know some of the hilarious moments.

Some of it may end up on Food Network, but I don't know when or what the show will be called. I'll keep you posted when I find out!

Nature Girl

I have been lucky enough to spend some time in Nolde State Forest the last few weekends. I live next door to it since I moved to Berks County and the weather finally cooled off to the point that I can enjoy it. (I am a bug magnet and get eaten alive if I go into the woods in the summer) My favorite hike is along the Watershed Trail. I find the sounds of the stream to be soothing and conducive to meditation. I usually take along a notebook and do a bit of writing here and there along the way. The trail starts off realtively level at the bottom af the mountain and slowly works its way up over the ridge follwing the stream until you get to the actual watershed. Somethin interesting I discovered at the end of the trail is what looks like an old root cellar or storage room. I couldn't see too far back into the opening, but it looked like it was about 10 feet square with stacked stone walls. There was a mound over it that curved into a sort of crescent shape as well. I usually spend at least 3 hours wandering the trails and stopping to write now and then. And by the time I get home I am usually starving and I cook up a big batch of stew or soup or throw a roast into the oven. To me that is just about as perfect of a day as you can get.