Cinnabon=Love

I have to admit, I wasn't really in the mood to celebrate Valentine's Day this year. I didn't bake any cupcakes, I didn't buy any conversation hearts, and I didn't eat a pound of See's Candy chocolates. The inhalation of one pound of See's chocolate will come later, thanks to the gift certificate from my mom. Despite my lack of enthusiasm, Valentine's Day still turned out pretty sweet.

To put my Valentine's Day in context, there is something you should know about me: My grandpa on my dad's side was a baker, and my grandma on my mom's side would climb Mount Everest if she knew there was a sweet roll with pecans waiting for her at the summit. Basically, I am genetically doomed to be a sucker for anything that combines sugar, dough, and butter. Actually... let's be serious. They don't have to be combined.

And so, Marc, knowing full well my affinity to all things doughy, had a "Cinna-Gram" delivered to my workplace last Friday. Besides being pure genius, a "Cinna-Gram" is this: two ginormous gooey Cinnabon cinnamon rolls, a mug with coffee, and a piece of fudge. Oh. My. Goodness. I was in hog heaven!!! Plus, all the proceeds from "Cinna-Grams" this year went to Meals On Wheels. Eating Cinnabons for charity would be a death trap. For my sake, I'm glad it only happens once a year.


cinnabon cinnamon roll

To celebrate the actual day, Marc and I had Rhodes Orange Rolls (cinnamon rolls with orange cream cheese frosting) for breakfast. I wasn't kidding when I said I was doomed to LOVE dough! Yummmmm!
Later, my hot date and I ventured downtown for dinner at Twigs. Twigs might be the most unoriginal place for a Valentine's date, but I don't care. My stomach had been begging me for a Teriyaki Chicken Pita and Twigs Fries for quite some time. And it did not disappoint! The food was delicious, as always. Unfortunately, I forgot my ID, and our waitress wasn't nice enough to let it slide. Apparently, I still look like I'm 20. :( No wine with my meal. Oh well.

To top it all off, Marc bought us tickets for a George Strait concert in Tacoma! I think George Strait is country music's Artist of the Century, so I'm thrilled that we get to see the old guy on tour before he decides to call it quits.

Moral of the story: whether you love Valentine's Day or absolutely hate Valentine's Day, eat a Cinnabon. It will make you smile.

p1

My Claim to Fame

If you've ever heard me sing... you'd wish you hadn't. I'm that bad. But being tone deaf feeds my appreciation for the people who were actually blessed with a voice. My cousin Matthew David is one of those people. I always knew Matthew had musical ability; he used to serenade all of the cousins by playing one recorder out of each nostril. Impressive, I know.

Now, Matthew David has the opportunity to showcase his talent on a much bigger stage--The Olympics. Unfortunately, he won't be playing dueling recorders out his nose. He'll be singing. Because the 2010 Winter Olympics are just around the corner, Matthew partnered with the city of Richmond to film a music video as a warm welcome to Olympics guests and spectators from around the world. Just so you know, Richmond is the city hosting all of the speed skating events.

Here is his amazing video! WATCH IT!!!
(It might take a few seconds to download/buffer, but I promise it's worth it!)




From what I understand, Matthew's video will be displayed at all the Olympic event sites on JumboTrons, and he is also performing in a concert at the Ozone, the Olympic outdoor entertainment venue! How sweet is that?!

I am so proud of Matthew!!! And I am so glad that someone in my family can sing! :)

If you like his song, click here to buy it on iTunes!

p1

Lost in the Shuffle

FACT: Before last week, I had not updated my iPod since August 2007.

I am proud to say that I have rejoined the world of music. Helloooooooooo, iTunes! It feels so good to be back. For Christmas, I got an iPod shuffle instead of the lump of coal I deserved (thanks, Janet), and Marc somehow managed to convince everyone he knows into buying him BestBuy gift cards to put towards a new iMac. Yay for new toys!

Let me just say, this whole iPod, iTunes, iMac synergism blows my mind, and has literally changed my life: I work out in the mornings now. Who am I?!?! I truly believe that one of the reasons I can actually get out of bed and go to the gym (gross!) instead of powering through ten pushes of the snooze button, is that I don't have to listen to my workout playlist from 2007 anymore! It is no wonder I have loathed the gym SO much. I can't even explain how excited I am for new music. Bye, bye "Ay Bay Bay!" :)

Feel free to tell me your favorite workout song(s), so I can pump it up like Arnold and use my muscles as a conversation piece, like someone walking a cheetah down 42nd Street.

p1