Last Evening Alone!

Hallelujah! After what seemed like the longest 10 weeks ever, Chris will be returning to Boston tomorrow afternoon! Tonight is my last night of living alone. I have to say that I have enjoyed some of the time that I have spent alone in our apartment reading or watching way too many episodes of Golden Girls, but I am looking forward to actually being able to have a face to face conversation with my husband. It has just been so weird. It is so hard to have a real conversation on the phone. I am happy to say that I have survived living in Boston for the summer and Chris survived a summer of consulting, but I know that we are both looking forward to our lives getting back to normal again!

I have to say a big THANK YOU to my friends who got me through the summer. I guess we all helped each other, since we all have significant others who were living in different cities. It was so much fun to have Monday night dinners and drinks on Thursday nights to look forward to. I know that I am going to miss hanging out with them as much as I have this summer, although Grey’s Nights will start back up soon, woohoo! Oh, did I mention that we decided to start our own section, Section P? P for Partners! We are also all considering forming a group off of Section P called SAPs, which means Stay-at-Home Partners. How sweet would that be! It's been a great summer with the girls! Thanks to Alisha, Erin, Ginny, Abbey, Lauren, and Mary for making this summer more than bearable! Below is a picture of a few of us out for drinks.

And the countdown begins.....as of this week, Chris and I have approximately 40 weeks until he graduates from HBS. Only 40! Can you believe it?!?! It is pretty crazy how time has flown by. It seems like yesterday that Chris and I were packing up to move from Florida and then packing up again to move to Boston. With so little time left, we have so much to check out in Boston and the surrounding area before we head south next year. I know it is going to be a very exciting year trying to fit everything in!

I'm a Sucker for a Love Story

It is official! Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams are back together! This is such exciting news! The two of them had AMAZING chemistry in the movie The Notebook and I wasn't too surprised when the two became a couple after the filming of the movie wrapped. After seeing the movie, they both became two of my favorite actors. Needless to say, it hit me hard last year when they broke up. I know, things like this shouldn't affect me, but I really wanted a happy ending for them. It appears that we might have one, at least for now. They were spotted out at lunch in Toronto, Canada kissing, feeding each other, etc. Aaaah! This is a great way to start the weekend! Noah and Allie, back together at last! Check out the picture on People's website to see the happy couple out at lunch.

Update: So Much TV, So Little Time

Thanks to Elizabeth for point out that I left Brothers and Sisters out of the mix of TV shows that I watch! I can't believe I forgot this one. It's a good one! Last season ended with a kiss between Justin and Rebecca, who thought for a while that they were brother and sister.

Update: I know, I know...this is ridiculous! I completely forgot about Nip/Tuck. This used to be an absolute must watch, but it is quickly falling off the radar.

So much TV, so little time

With the season premiere of The Hills tonight, my life outside of television is coming to an end. By the end of last season, I was so happy when each show had its season finale. I was getting my life back and that made me excited. It was so nice during the summer to only have one show that I would actually sit down and watch every week, So You Think You Can Dance. Other than that, I was free to spend my evenings reading, working out, hanging out with friends, etc. Unfortunately, that season of my life is over until next summer. I know, I could change this by watching less TV but I love it so much. I honestly get so wrapped up in the shows that I cannot stop watching.

I know that I probably shouldn’t tell the world (okay, maybe not the world, but the people who read the blog) exactly how much TV I watch. As you continue to read this blog, all your previous thoughts of my intelligence may start to disappear. I hope not though! Maybe I should try picking up a brain stimulating book to read during commercials this year. I’ll consider it. I mean, what could be more stimulating than considering the relationship of Dan and Serena and whether or not they will get back together. Or, who in the heck did Susan kiss on the season finale of Desperate Housewives or will Derek and Meredith really last this time?

Okay, so let’s get to it….my fall TV lineup. I considered listing them in order of importance to me but that turned out to be WAY too difficult. I then tried to determine which ones I could not live without and that was too hard as well. So hear you have it, the shows that I will be watching this fall, in random order. I hope I haven’t forgotten any!

Gossip Girl – Guilty pleasure….that’s all I can say.
Grey’s Anatomy – Oh Meredith and Derek, how I hope this season is a positive one for you two.
One Tree Hill – Who did Lucas ask to marry him?!?! Eeek!
Lost – The Oceanic 6 finally made it off the island right before it disappeared with a bloop in the ocean. This season should be a good one!
Samantha Who? – This is such a great show and the only comedy that I watch.
Entourage – Oh, how I’ve missed Vince, E, Turtle, Drama, and Ari!
The Hills – Drama, drama, drama.
Heroes – I don’t even remember what happened at the end of last season (it ended early because of the writer’s strike), but I am sure this season will be just as exciting as last.
Desperate Housewives – As I said before….who was Susan kissing at the end of last season?
Private Practice – I don’t love, love the show, but I will stick around to see if Addison will finally find love.
House - I want to see Chase and Cameron back with House this season, otherwise, I may have to drop it from the lineup.
Lipstick Jungle – Gotta love seeing Lindsay Price (formerly Janet Sanders, Steve’s wife on 90210) back on TV.
American Idol - I've been saying it should be the last season for the past two seasons, but I just keep watching.
Dirty Sexy Monday - I only watch if I am extremely bored between 10-11 on the particular night that it comes on…not a must watch, but definitely entertaining.
ER - I haven’t watched ER like I used to but this is the final season. What better time to start watching again??

There are a few new shows premiering this season that I want to check out. Who knows if they will be keepers, but I plan to give them a whirl.

90210 – Is there anything better than Kelly Taylor and Brenda Walsh returning to TV? I am not too thrilled with the rest of the cast, except for Lori Loughlin (love her!), but I hope it is successful. Maybe the old cast members will be more popular than the new ones and we can get a full return of the original 90210 story lines. How great would it be to see Kelly Taylor and Dylan McKay married? Aahh….I will keep dreaming.

Fringe – I have absolutely no idea what this show is about, but I will watch it because it stars Joshua Jackson. I am a sucker for Pacey. I couldn’t bring myself to see his movie Shutter, way too scary, but I think I can handle his TV show. I am so glad to see him back on TV! I will be able to get my Joshua Jackson fix from something other than Dawson’s Creek reruns, woohoo!

Kath & Kim – From what I have read, this is a remake of a popular Australian TV show. It stars Molly Shannon and Selma Blair. I saw a commercial for it the first time the other night and it looks like it could be funny. I will give it a whirl because I don't have enough TV to watch already.

Privileged – I just noticed this show on the fall TV lineup and I might have to check it out too. It stars the girl who played the daughter on the show Reba. I always liked her on the show, which I didn’t watch religiously if you were wondering. In this show, she plays a tutor to two wealthy twins. We shall see.

A few shows that I watched last season have gone to the TV graveyard…..

October Road - I loved, loved this show! It starred one of the guys who used to be on One Tree Hill and the red, now blonde, headed girl from That 70’s Show. I was completely shocked when it was cancelled. I keep checking the message boards hoping that all the dedicated fans will get it back on the air like fans did for Jericho. It isn’t looking good for its return, but the producers of the show are planning to include a 15 minute wrap-up of the show on the season’s DVD. These 15 minutes would conclude all the storylines and tell us….who really is Sam’s dad. This is the one thing I can’t live without knowing. It has to be Nick!

Cashmere Mafia – I thought this show was a lot of fun, but unfortunately it didn’t make it past season 1. I am not sure how Lipstick Jungle survived and this show didn’t. Oh well, I was completely annoyed by the way the red head talked.

There you have it, Brooke’s fall TV lineup. Let me know if you are excited about any of the new shows or old shows starting up soon or if you just want to tell me that you watch as much TV as I do or think I am crazy. Either way, I can’t help it, I love TV!

One Lazy Weekend

The next to last weekend that I have to spend without Chris in town was spent with good friends and Michael Phelps. I have been pretty much glued to my television from 8 pm to whenever I can stand it watching the Olympics. It was a great week with Phelpsie (my nickname for him) breaking the record with 8 Olympic gold medals. Alisha and Mary came over on Friday and Saturday evenings to help cheer Phelps on. I think it had everything to do with the three of us yelling "go, go, go" when Phelps won by a fingertip, lol!

Sunday came with another somewhat lazy. I met up with Laura and Robert Cross, who were in town for a wedding, and Lauren Ashman for lunch at Lucia Ristorante and dessert at Mike's Pastry. It was so great to catch up with Laura and Robert and to see Lauren! Below is a pic of Laura, Lauren, and I in Faneuil Hall. Robert, sorry that we didn't get a pic of you!

No Tiffany's for Me

I thought it would be most beneficial to me to get this off my chest while the wound is fresh. You may be wondering what happened that could be so bad? What devastating happening could be cause for posting a Tiffany's box on the blog? Don't Tiffany's boxes equal happiness? I guess they do if you are receiving one instead of your husband. Aaahhh! At present, I do not own a single thing from Tiffany's, I have never had the priveleged of opening one of those beautiful blue boxes, nor do I foresee getting to in the near future. Last night, Chris, CHRIS, CHRIS, was graced with a gift of personalized cuff links from Tiffany's. I mean, come one, what is he going to do with those?!?! Wouldn't it be so nice if we could return them and get me something? LOL! I do have to give Chris credit for having the exact same thought that I had about me being upset that he got something from Tiffany's before me. He even said this morning that he felt like he needed to buy me something from there now! I told him that would be okay with me, but I guess I will just have to admire the box from afar and hope that the future brings me lots of little blue boxes to open!

Another fun weekend in Georgia

I decided to take another short trip down to Georgia this past weekend to visit with Chris and our families prior to Chris moving back up to Boston. I flew into Atlanta on Friday night and Chris and I met up with Adam and Elizabeth Cowart at Fuego Spanish Grill for dinner. The food was excellent but the company was even better. It has been way too long since Chris and I have had the chance to hang out with them. The countdown begins for our return to Atlanta and hanging out with the Cowarts on a more regular basis.

We made our way up to Summerville on Saturday to spend some quality time at the pool and with our families. After this weekend, I have spent a total of 3 days in the sun this summer. Needless to say, I am quite white. It was nice just to lay by the pool and relax. Aaaah! I want to be back there!

Saturday night we went to Sushi Nabe in Chattanooga, TN to eat sushi and celebrate my brother Marc's birthday. He will be turning 24 on Tuesday. My how they grow up so fast. The group consisted of my parents, me and Chris, Marc and his girlfriend Angela, and Daniel Stewart and his girlfriend Emily. We had a great time and the food was excellent! We ended up heading home right after dinner because several people had TOO many sake bombs. Not to worry, I drove home, so no sake bombs for me.

Sunday was spent lounging at the pool and then catching my 9:30pm flight back to Boston. I ended up getting to bed around 1am, which made for a very long day today. I made up for the loss of sleep by taking an almost 2 hour nap after work. I love naps! The weekend was fun and somewhat uneventful aside from the fact that I think I might have broken my little toe and there was some extreme "unexpected rough air" on the flight back to Boston. No complaints here though, I arrived in Boston safely and can still walk somewhat normally on my potentially broken toe.

Enjoy the pictures below!

Chris and I at Sushi Nabe

Marc and Angela

I should have taken a picture of the food....we ordered entirely too much!

Chris and Gavin jumping into the pool together.

Gavin

Gavin again

And again....he seemed to be the only one that cooperated with my picture taking this weekend.

Christopher

Griffin

Karlie....it is very rare to get her to smile at the camera. This was the best I could do.

Congratulations to Us (or maybe it should be just me)!

Regardless who deserves the credit, our blog has gone over the 1,000 visitor mark. Woohoo!! Thanks to all our devoted readers! No comment is necessary on how many of those visitors are actually Elizabeth Cowart or myself, lol!

No More Solo Weekends

After spending one lonely weekend in Boston by myself a few weekends ago, I decided that I would need to make plans for this past weekend. And make plans, I did. As I mentioned in my previous post, I spent Friday night at the movie with Alisha and Abbey watching Mamma Mia. Again, go see this movie.

Saturday was just as exciting as I attended a Sara Bareilles/Counting Crow/Maroon 5 concert at the Comcast Center in Mansfield, MA with Lauren (thanks for organizing), Alisha, and Abbey. It was a great time! Sara Bareilles started off the evening. She sings Love Song and yes, she is just as good of a singer in person as she is on the radio. I was definitely impressed by her and hope she is in the business for years to come. My favorite song of hers is Gravity. It is a beautiful song that I was introduced to by Pandora, a great website to checkout.

The second act of the evening was Counting Crows. I had extremely high hopes for this group. I love three of their songs, Mr. Jones, Round Here, and Long December. I remembered them being a very good band, unfortunately, they aren’t very good any longer. Or, maybe I should say that their lead singer isn’t good anymore. We couldn’t even sing along with Mr. Jones because the lead singer, Adam Duritz, was so spastic. He definitely wasn’t singing with the music. It was so disappointing. : ( I am not sure if he is just tired of singing the same songs or if his brain is just so fried that he can’t sing the words with the music anymore. Who knows?!?! He did somewhat redeem himself when they came out for an encore, when everyone was really thinking please go away, they played Long December and it was amazing. Exactly what I was expecting from them….it’s too bad the entire concert from them wasn’t the same. Maybe that is why they keep them on the road. They sing one really good song and everyone forgets the ridiculousness that happened before.

Anyway, on to the best part of the evening…..I really and truly do like Maroon 5. I don’t think they have a song that I don’t like. However, I was somewhat skeptical going into the concert. I really fell in love with their song She Will Be Loved when I saw the video for the song on MTV a few years ago. I also formed somewhat of a crush on the lead singer, Adam Levine, as well. I would literally sit down and watch it every time it was on TV. To make a long story short, Chris and I watched them on one of the morning shows, or maybe it was MTV, perform the song live and it was terrible. He was off key and we both thought that they must do a lot of work in the studio to make them sound so good. Needless to say, I was expecting an evening of off-key singing by a HOT lead singer. LOVE YOU CHRIS! Well, to my surprise, he was an amazing singer, which made him even more attractive. We had a great time singing along with all of their hits, and I would definitely recommend everyone seeing Maroon 5 in concert! Below are a few pics and a few videos from the evening.

Lauren, Abbey, Alisha, and I before the concert started.

Lauren and Abbey and their matching hats!

Alisha and I

All of us before Maroon 5 came onstage.

Mr. Levine!

Lauren dancing the night away!

Counting Crows singing Long December

Maroon 5 singing Won't Go Home Without You

On Sunday, I made my way out to Waltham with Lauren Ashman to attend a Georgia Tech Send-Off Ice Cream Social for upcoming freshman from the Boston area. There were 8 students from the area who will be moving to Atlanta at the end of this week to embark on 4, probably 5, years at Georgia Tech. We tried to impart some wisdom on them and ease their parents’ worries of sending their children so far from home. I really enjoyed hanging out with some fellow Tech graduates and future Tech graduates. Chris and I really should try to be more involved with GT. That was the first thing Tech related that I have done as an alumni. How crazy is that?!?! I vow to get more involved!

Well, that was my weekend in a nutshell. It was a great one! Much better than sitting at home alone like the other weekend. Oh, I also finished a book that a friend let me borrow the week before, Love the One You’re With by Emily Giffin. Pick it up if you are looking for a quick and fun read.

Everyone must see Mamma Mia!

Last night Abbey, Alisha, and I went to the movies to see Mamma Mia. The movie was absolutely wonderful! I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a fun, light-hearted movie that will make you want to get up and sing and dance. I think Abbey, Alisha, and I are contemplating adding ABBA songs, the songs used throughout the movie, to our conversations, because it just makes everything so much more exciting. This movie can put you in an instant good mood with all the fun songs as well as the awkwardly singing Pierce Brosnan. He is mighty handsome when he talks, but singing is a different story. It will make you laugh the instant he opens his mouth to sing. Colin Firth, of Bridget Jones' Diary, is also in the movie and I absolutely love him. I can't say enough good things about this movie. It is just so much fun! Now, I must drag my husband to see the broadway show that the movie is based on. I am sure that it will be great as well! I recommend that everyone go see the movie NOW! Below is a trailer to get you excited to go see the movie!

Brooke As My Middle Name, Not So Bad After All.......

So, I often complain about the fact that my parents decided to call me by middle name. It causes lots of problems, starting with the first day of every school year while growing up. The teachers would get to the H's and call out "Miranda", for which I would have to reply "I actually go by Brooke". I am not going to run through all the problems it has caused, just take my word for it. Miranda is my legal name, so that is who I am, at least to the IRS and the US government. Maybe my mom did it on purpose because her parents did it to her. I am not sure, lol! Only kidding! I know exactly why they did it.....Brooke Miranda Hardeman just doesn't have the same ring to it. Anywho, after doing my best procrastination today at work, I came upon a very interesting article regarding unusual names on CNN.

The article told of a 9 year old little girl in New Zealand who had been made a ward of the court so that she could be able to change her name. You must be thinking, what name could be so bad that a judge would allow a child to be a ward of the court in order to change it? Well, my friends, there is a name bad enough and that name is Talula Does the Hula From Hawaii. I mean, seriously. What did this poor girl's parents have against her? Is there a last name in there anywhere? This is just totally over the top and unacceptable. I have to say that I pat my parents on the back for doing such a great job picking out the name Miranda Brooke. I don't think I will EVER complain about my name again. If you are interested in reading the article, click here. Also mentioned in the article are two siblings, one named Dow and the other Indiana. Guess what their last name is? You got it, Jones. The mother said the dad picked out the name Dow as a joke while she was asleep after childbirth. Such cruel, cruel people.