who still eats cracker jack?

today marks the unofficial first day of spring in baltimore, also known as opening day of baseball. too bad the weather is an absolutely disgusting mix of clouds, cold and perpetual drizzle, combined with an equally bad baseball team and fans that seem not to care after today. i generally like baseball season because it adds an interesting dynamic to my walks (i walk past the stadium), if not more people (usually coming in to support the visiting team, wearing obnoxious fan gear, taking up sidewalk space and generally being some of the most annoying tourists that could possibly visit a town). plus, i know that within a few short weeks, the weather will dramatically change from the freezing cold of today to crazy, climate change, hot and humid, which is always fun for the first few days; after that the walks can get really annoying and i long for the fall again (or at least some sort of misting/shower stations, but then you have to factor in the homeless/junkies that may choose to camp out there...).

furthermore, who still eats cracker jack? do they even make it anymore? during my formative years growing up in amish country, boscovs department store would have a yearly promotion with a discount stuffed inside cracker jack boxes, which i suppose they viewed as a win-win situation for the customer - a free snack and a chance to get up to 50% off the bill (everyone won some sort of discount, though). i hate the stuff, so after i redeemed the discount (it generally was really low), i would try to pawn the snack off on someone else.

on that note, here's to a not horrible spring/summer! go team!

missing a tooth

even minus a tooth, iris is still the best dog ever. today we took iris for her first dental. for those of you that hate the dentist be happy you're not a dog - their procedure involves bloodwork and anaesthesia! when we picked her up she seemed really groggy, but after the short car ride home she had way too much energy for someone that just had outpatient surgery! i think she thought we would feed her (no food since 24 hours ago and no more until tomorrow morning). this photo was taken when she finally got tired again.

just maybe the best foodstuff ever

god's gift to the brazilian people comes in the form of a small piece of cheesy dough, otherwise known as the pão de queijo (cheese bread). this snack is unavoidable in brasil and when i returned from a trip in 2006 i sort of developed withdrawal symptoms since i was used to eating it once a day, sometimes more. lucky for me, j and i kicked off our weekly dining out series today with a trip to the brazilian all-you-can-eat, fogo de chão. while my vegetarian friends may cringe, this non-stop eating bonanza consists of a superb salad bar, three side dishes ("brazilian" mashed potatoes, if there is such a thing, polenta and fried bananas), a zillion types of expertly prepared meat constantly brought to your plate until you yell uncle (or flip over your disc to red to signal stop), and lastly these little golden gems of goodness. now that i am stuffed beyond recognition and feel a bit like a pão de queijo myself, i bid adieu. until next time, my little friends, until next time.

now i've seen everything

(sorry for the guerrilla photo, but i was trying to be as inconspicuous as possible.)

this city never ceases to amaze me... mostly in a bad way. my walks around bmore tend to show off the finer points in life: drugs, fried chicken, and malt beverages. just outside my office this morning i noticed this gem: iced tea cocktail. who knew i could live more than twenty years on planet earth without knowing its existence?

if pets are this challenging...

since returning home from oregon, j and i have gotten serious about training zoe - once and for all. let me just say that teaching an approximately five year old chihuahua where and when to go to the bathroom seems to follow the old adage that you can't really teach an old dog new tricks. because we adopted her from a shelter later in life, we really have no idea about her past owner(s) and what kind of training she received, if at all. the only thing we know for sure is spaying and self-control were not at the top of the list. (as a side note, we are considering sharing with the world what we consider to be a real contender for the title of funniest pet video ever made.)

as we continue with the training (and she continues to learn and make the occasional mistake) it is hard to stay mad at her for long.

tea, oh how i love thee

friday night, j brought home a tin of loose tea (rooibos orange) and the "perfect tea maker" from teavana. being that i am a tea fanatic, i was slightly skeptical of what could come out of a tea chain based in the south.... not that i have a major grudge against atlanta (my dad was born there), but we are not talking about coca cola or soul food here.

well sweet georgia peaches i was wrong! i took to it like a chain smoker... finish a cup, make another. it consistantly delivered a great cup of tea. tonight i plan to try it with a non-teavana brand of loose tea to see if the results stand up.

a test of sorts

in attempts to test compatibility, my first post is via iphone. how exciting!