I'd Hit That

Gabourey Sidibe and Joel McHale, my two favorite people ever right now:

In like a lamb...

So of course the old saying about March goes "In like a lion, out like a lamb", but....

For the first time in a very long time, I'm not complaining about Philadelphia's weather. Last summer was cold and rainy, January and February were just absolutely brutal, but March has been quite wonderful.

Last week we had temperatures in the 50's and 60's all week, and although we're enduring a bit of a Nor'easter right now, I can't even bring myself to complain. Sure, it's raining hard and really, really windy this weekend, but the temperatures are quite warm and hey, it's not snow. And they're forecasting another beautiful week of weather ahead of us, once this storm passes.

So I am enjoying hearing birdsong in the mornings, seeing the first shoots of grass and the first crocus buds and the general feeling of spring tip-toeing around the corner.

Perhaps all too fittingly for the season, I'm working on something really, really major. Huge life changes are coming. It's still in the embryonic stages currently, but as soon as I can share it here, I surely will.

Stay tuned! It's going to be a beautiful year....

...and another one gone, and another one gone...

From the HuffPo today:

Early Wednesday morning, State Sen. Roy Ashburn (R-Calif.) was pulled over and arrested for drunk driving. Sources report that Ashburn -- a fierce opponent of gay rights -- was driving drunk after leaving a gay nightclub; when the officer stopped the state-issued vehicle, there was an unidentified man in the passenger seat of the car.

I'll say it again: it's cool to be gay, it's even to cool to keep your sexuality private. But it's really not cool to be closeted and use your political power to hurt and take away the rights of people just like you.

In honor of Senator Ashburn, I'd like to roll out a little Queen (pun intended!). Plus I'm sure that the Senator would be really into Freddie Mercury's booty shorts in this video. This one's for you, Roy:

Birthday.Dip.Friends.Pretzels.

You know why I love my friends? Because they never cease to amaze and amuse with their fantastic party ideas.

Like my friend Steve. Every year he has a "Pretzel Party" for his birthday, where he buys 100 of Philadelphia's finest soft pretzels and invites his friends to bring their own innovative pretzel dips.

Some stand-outs from this pic: (starting at the bottom right hand corner and moving counter-clockwise around) Wendy's Frosty (shockingly delicious with a soft pretzel!), beer (more on that one later), cheesesteak "whiz wit" dip, peanut butter fluff with marshmallows, spinach artichoke dip, herbed goat cheese and of course, my contribution, sweet potato dip.

A close-up of my contribution. I won the Most Original category-- woot! I'm pretty pleased with my dip-- and hey, kids, now YOU can make it at home! I posted the recipe over on my other blog, The Cozy Herbivore.

Naturally this party was about more than just carb-loading. Steve also organized a raffle and when he drew a name, he challenged his friends to "Experience Prizes". My name was drawn for the pretzel eating contest. (So, okay, I guess my "Experience Prize" WAS about carb-loading...) Steve and I face off to see who could eat a soft pretzel the fastest:

This was my first experience with competitive eating. We got to chose our own dip, and Steve made the bold choice of Rachel's Cinnabon Frosting, while I chose just plain beer, thinking it would help the pretzel slide down a little easier. Steve defeated me quite easily, but now that I'm aware of this competition, I might start practicing now for next year.

Ugh. Or maybe not. That pretzel sat like a stone in my stomach for the rest of the night, but hey, I had a lot of fun getting it there.

My camera was on some sort of weird setting all night, which just sort of illustrated how perfectly drunk and fuzzy we got. At some point in the evening we decided that we were going to pretend that we were being hounded by the paparazzi, a la Lady Gaga.

That's Steve's awesome girlfriend Sara Nye, showing off her best paparazzi blocker, while my apprentice (and awesome lady herself!) Lauren Tracy looks at her skeptically.

Me and Amanda McKenna show off our own "Please don't take my picture, you BEASTS!" pose:

There was even some very romantic slow dancing! (Face licking optional):
I left the party like a good girl around 1am, but Deb stumbled home at 6am!!!!!

Just goes to show, with friends like these, it's easy to lose track of time in the middle of the fun and the pretzels.