Summer wish list

- Large hat (the one at left fell apart after a summer of heavy use)
- Multiple kinds of Coppertone Sport (spray, liquid, 45 SPF, 15 SpF)
- New swimsuit
- Large beach bag
- Sunglasses that are huge but do not suction to my face
- 2 new pairs of sandles, one flip flop casual, one nicer but flat
- swimsuit cover up
- map of public beaches in NH and a guide to the best ones

April Showers

A few notes:

- We've sent off the lease for the place in New Hampshire, so that's a relief. I'm really looking forward to this summer.

- It's freaking cold, but you already knew that.

- After watching all the BnL Bathroom Sessions, I'm having to fight hard not to put up a "video response" of myself doing one. I'm not one of those kids, am I? Maybe Blame it on Me? Maybe Conventioneers? I want to do it, it just feels so lame. Of course, I'm pretty lame :)

- Graduate school is full of work. This work, however, happens to be enjoyable. I'm really thankful for that.

New Hampshire and small spaces

The votes haven't been completely tallied, but we may have found a place to live this summer in a great location and within our budget. The condo is small, about 800 sq. feet, but I believe there is something to be said for small spaces. Being spread out decreases conversations and path crossing. I'm looking forward to spending quality time with my husband and pugs in a small space. Plus, if we get tired of bumping up against one another in the hallway kitchen, we will certainly enjoy moving outdoors to stroll the nearby park and downtown area.

Opening Day

It's one of the best sports days of the year. A perfect time for some predictions that I can laugh about in October. Or June.

AL West: Anaheim
AL Central: Detroit
AL East: Yankees
AL Wild Card: Boston
AL MVP: Vlad G.
AL Cy: Johan Santana (I don't want to pick him to win again, but if he healthy, no one's better.)

AL Division series: Yankees over Tigers, Red Sox over Angels
ALCS: Red Sox over Yankees

NL West: Arizona
NL Central: Milwaukee?
NL East: Mets
NL Wild Card: Phillies
NL MVP: Albert Pujols
NL Cy: Randy Johnson (Comeback year?) No, Carlos Zambrano.

NL Division series: Mets over D-Backs, Phillies over Brewers
NLCS: Phillies over Mets

Worls Series: Red Sox over Phillies

Some of these are gut feelings, others are stretches, some are just things I think would be fun. I'd love to see the A's win it, but yeah. About that whole "offense" thing. Also healthy pitching.

If these are really wrong I'm claiming they were someone else's.

Italian-American

Amanda: Our dinner tonight was so good. We used the Better Homes and Gardens new Grilling Cookbook.

Jon: We made "Grilled Potato Salad" and "Italian-American Cheeseburgers." Basically the salad was potato salad with eggs and bacon and dressing made from vinegar and maple syrup and mustard. The burgers had gorgonzola and sun-dried tomatoes in the meat. Good, tasty times.

Amanda: The Italian-American burgers were especially good because the cheese melted inside them while they were cooking. We topped the burgers with a slice of tomato, more gorgonzola, and a toasted onion roll.

Jon: Grilling is fun.

Amanda: Jon concluded that the grill was a little hotter than he would have liked when we put the burgers on. But the burgers were very juicy and delicious so I think it was fine.

Jon: Then we had cupcakes.

Amanda: Strawberry with vanilla frosting. I really like the whipped frosting because it doesn't take over the flavor.