home videos

In addition to the things listed in the last post, I'd like everyone to try and bring back their old home videos. Priceless hours of entertainment are sure to follow. Today I watched my parent's wedding video and I was cracking up the whole time. After they joined me, they mentioned how sad it was to see the tape and know how many people had passed away. This is totally not the point. I was watching to see not only those people in a happy light, but everyone I know now, before they knew me. If your parents have one, whip it out, I guarantee some laughs.

Later in the afternoon, my sister, brother, and I watched tapes from Christmas in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005. We nearly got stomach cramps from laughing so hard. Between how high pitched and squeaky my brother's voice was, and how bizarre my sister was (and still is - now we know why) we thoroughly enjoyed the hours spent watching Christmases past. We've never watched these tapes before and it is hilarious to see things you never knew, or never realized were happening while paper was thrown around the room.

One year, Shauna, my sister, snuck up behind the camera and flashed every single one of the Beanie Babies she got right in front of the camera lens. No one else in the room noticed but on film it was priceless.

As much as they are funny, I really appreciated the chance to hear some of my loved ones voices again. I love the pictures I have of my grandparents, and my uncle from some of the good times we had but I promise you nothing compares to hearing their voices again. It's a very sentimental, if bittersweet treat. Watching my Uncle Mike talk to me about our favorite movies is a moment I'll cherish forever, now that I've seen it on tape.

So, I strongly suggest, as the holidays come upon us and families are gathering, screening your home movies as entertainment. Your cousins, grandparents, and whole family will enjoy them and then no one will fight over which football game to watch.

P.S. Speaking of football... GO GIANTS!! 41-7

Let's Bring Back

I heard about this book, "Let's Bring Back" a few weeks ago and it immediately went on my Christmas list. I'm fascinated by things from an earlier time, as evidenced by my Emily Post encyclopedia and the Pen Pal relationships I formed this summer with some far away friends.

In an ironic twist, as I was catching up on my Twitter feed (@erinbridget88) today I found a link to this article which has excerpts from the book. Little did I know that it was a Huffington Post columnist, Lesley M. Blume who penned my latest Must Read.

I highly recommend at least reading the article. Huffington Post does a fantastic job of breaking everything down into slide shows with pictures so even those with the shortest of attention spans can follow through.

My favorite "Bring Backs" from her article are:
Hats on Men
Manners (obviously)
Hand Written Thank You Notes (again, obviously)
Roadtrips
Libraries - both public and private
Luncheon
Good Posture
Sunday Roasts
Supper Clubs
Dancing
Lockets
Picnics
Game Nights

facebook movie

finally saw the facebook movie - The Social Network. I really enjoyed it and I personally feel that it was made for me and anyone who went to college 2 years before and 2 years after me. We KNOW facebook and this was like a friend telling us the gossipy secrets.

A+ in my book. (plus my future husband was in it, so that didn't hurt either)
photo credit here

South Beach Diet

I have bad news.

I have to stop eating potatoes :(

I'll be starting the South Beach Diet ... soon.

I'm having a hard time picking a day to give up all of the best things to eat.

I know I'll still be able to eat SOME yummy things but I think the biggest thing I'm afraid of is trying and failing.

So my friends, be prepared for some complaining, some self deprecation and maybe even a little gloating (IF there is success).

I'll try to be as personal as possible but I don't want this to become a diet diary, so I'll still be talking about other things, I promise.

Good night then, I'll be dreaming about potatoes - mashed, fried, baked, scalloped, shredded...

And please feel free to post advice, experience and and words of encouragement. I'm sure I'll need all the help I can get

voting

Also!!!


I hope everyone voted today because you should all be taking advantage of this incredibly rare freedom that Americans have.

USA!

How to stay smart after college ... or at least feel like it.

When I got to college, for some strange reason, I felt like I was getting dumber. I had really good grades in high school, I was in the top 10% of my class, I considered myself smart. But once I met all of those new people and their smart brains I began to doubt myself. I couldn't remember trivial facts about history and grammar. And math? Forget it. I was still getting good grades at Quinnipiac, I just felt less smart for some reason.

So, I did something about it. In all reality, I can't tell you that this will really make you smarter but it definitely helped me feel like I was being more proactive about my knowledge power. I signed up for daily emails from the dictonary.com word of the day and the Official SAT question of the day.

Simple as pie, you sign up for the emails and you get brand new knowledge in your inbox every day - and let's be honest - we all check our emails multiple times a day.

Eventually I gave up on the SAT prep questions because 3/4 of the time they would be about math and frankly I didn't care. But, I always answered the grammar and language ones. I still get a dictionary word every day, and if I'm really ambitious I try to use it at some point during the day. (that rarely happens) Sometimes, I recognize the word from a vocabulary lesson in high school and it surges my brain confidence again.

All kidding aside, I think a desire to improve general knowledge after school is a really important thing. As I'm applying to jobs I realize that training will be my best friend in a new work environment, not my knowledge of the industry, or of any subject I studied. So, just as we work to improve ourselves within our job field, wouldn't it make us feel more intelligent and well rounded overall, to learn something new each day? Our self confidence and conversational abilities would definitely surge, that's for sure.

Obviously I'm not tooting my own horn here as I recognize that there's probably a few grammatical errors in this post as well as my others but it's the thought, the desire for more learning that counts right?

Meghan's Halloween Party

"Thank God the week is done, I feel like a zombie come back to life... back, back to life."
(thanks Usher)

Here are a few pictures from my fabulous cousin Meghan's annual Halloween Party...

I dressed as a Peacock.

Meghan did my makeup. Isn't it just perfect?

Her friend Lorraine did my hair and I thought it looked amazing.

Here's one of me and my beautiful cousin Meghan. She's dressed as Sookie from True Blood.

This is my bcfl Chelsea. She was a bank robber for the night.

Adele as a banana, Kevin as TinkerBelly, and Chris as Robert Goulet.

My favorite costume of the night... Lego!

The bank robbing crew. Sarah, Chelsea, and Bethany.

Maura as Snooki.

Snooki and Sookie!

Leo as a general from Sparta.

I iced these brownies! How cute?