Honey Boo Boo Child

For those of you who may be avid Toddlers & Tiaras fans on TLC, you may already know this. I, however, was just made aware that the Honey Boo Boo child is coming back... with her own television show. Revel in this piece of American reality tv greatness:

I literally have tears in my eyes from laughing so hard at this kid. She is completely out of her mind. Granted, many of the children on this show are a bit... odd... but this one takes the cake with her outrageous comments. The honey boo boo child, also known as Alana, showed up on Toddlers & Tiaras a while ago and became one of the girls to make it to national stardom via youtube and talk shows. While this little one was the spark for her upcoming series because of her antics on her episode, the show is going to star her family as well. What do we know so far about her family? Her mother is a "Coupon Queen" and belongs on the show Extreme Couponing, her dad is referred to as "Sugar Bear", and before pageants Alana drinks her special juice, Red Bull + Mountain Dew. This is surely going to be a riot and fabulous trash tv.

PS. I won't judge you for watching this video more than once... or whenever you need a laugh.... 

Beantown

I've been to Boston a handful of times but yet I couldn't have told you one thing about this city until this past weekend. As a child I can tell you I went on a field trip to the science museum there, but I don't remember anything about the trip. As a college student, I drove into the city once to meet a friend for lunch at BU; the only thing I remember is the drive was a nightmare and I was lost 90% of the time. I also took an impromptu drive from Philadelphia to Boston during the NCAA basketball championship to cheer on the Villanova Wildcats in a crazy run to the Final Four. This trip was of course a there-and-back trip in which we drove 12 hours and were in Boston for about 3 hours.

This time would be different. This time I would be old enough to pay attention and have enough time to explore. The trip was planned around visiting friends. Our drive got us off on a bit of the wrong foot; driving from the NYC region to Boston is long and traffic-filled. It took us a bit over 4 hours and we hit mild traffic in every major city in Connecticut. We arrived late afternoon and had dinner scheduled on the waterfront.

If you're in Beantown, we'd recommend Joe's American Grill. They have more than one location: Newbury Street and Atlantic Avenue. The latter is located on the waterfront near the wharf. They have a beautiful, large outdoor patio and the weather was perfect for outdoor dining. Their cocktail menu is extensive for "girly drinks" and the dinner menu is quite varied. I had a fabulous tuna burger with wasabi aoili (sounds adventurous, but it wasn't spicy at all) and sweet potato fries. It was delicious and definitely hit the spot.

The next day we explored the famed Quincy Market, also referred to as Faneuil Hall. In the heart of downtown, this local has always been a market place and meeting hall for the city of Boston since the 1700s. Unfortunately we neglected to go inside of the Faneuil Hall, but Howie tells me there is a huge sweets shop in there. On the first floor of the Quincy Market building is the largest cafeteria I've ever seen. Outside surrounding the cafeteria building are additional restaurants, bars, and trinket shops with carts selling all sorts of souvenirs and goodies. 

The thing to do at Quincy Market is of course eat! But more importantly, if you want the Boston experience, you need to eat certain things: Lobster Roll, Clam Chowder, or another seafood variety. Despite the fact that this is what you are supposed to do, the cafeteria has any food you could imagine: "philly" cheesesteaks, "NY" pizza, bagels, gelato, gyros, paninis, cookies, thai, everything. In addition to the food, there is also entertainment. We ran into a living statue and a duo performing magic tricks. I could have easily spent an entire afternoon or even the majority of a day hanging out here. However, my biggest recommendation would be to go during a cooler time of the year one a weekday. It was extremely hot, and being a main attraction, it was very crowded. All in all - this market is definitely an excellent thing to do and see if you are visiting Boston.

What's in a vitamin? (Vitamin D)

During my clinical rotations I had a preceptor who recommended over the counter (OTC) vitamins to almost every patient at each routine physical. At first, I followed blindly, but I decided I would do my due diligence and investigate some commonly recommended vitamins to see if there is actually any evidence that it is worth it to be taking them. I'm going to do this intermittently since it will entirely depend on my mood towards research when I sit down to write. Today, lets talk vitamin D.

Vitamin D:

This one is getting a lot of attention lately among health professionals. A significant portion of the American population is vitamin D deficient, and those with darker skin tones are more likely to be deficient. Vitamin D is naturally obtained through exposure to sunlight or in fatty fish, or egg yolks. Very few foods naturally contain vitamin D, and therefore, here in the USA many foods are fortified with vitamin D such as milk, yogurt, orange juice, and some cereals. 


The primary function of vitamin D is to help absorb calcium from the GI tract. Without vitamin D, we cannot absorb calcium, which affects bone growth and muscle function. Therefore, obvious reason to take vitamin D, if you are deficient, is to keep your bones and muscles function properly.  


However, vitamin D does more than just absorb calcium. Vitamin D has been shown to have effects on the immune system, particularly in regulating the inflammatory response. White blood cells (helper T cells) have vitamin D receptors which allows vitamin D to have an influence on their response to an immune threat. Vitamin D is thought to play a role specifically in respiratory infections - head colds, chest colds, flu, asthma attacks, etc. Several studies have been performed, especially in children and asthmatic patients, showing the positive effects vitamin D has on regulating immune system response and how deficiency can lead to poorer overall health.

Whats even better is that because of the research that has already been performed, more evidence is surfacing about the many roles vitamin D plays in decreased inflammation and increasing regulation of the immune system. It may even play a role in reducing risk of colon, prostate and breast cancer.

With that said, don't go crazy and overdo it. The benefits of vitamin D come only from having a normal level. Excessive levels of vitamin D can cause problems of its own, as with anything. Vitamin D deficiency should be treated, but if your levels are normal, you eat vitamin D fortified foods, and get some exposure to sunlight, there is no need to worry.

Where this info is coming from: 

Vitamin D Fact Sheet

The Vitamin D Connection to Pediatric Infections and Immune Function

Vitamin D and Mucosal Immune Function

Getting the party started - Music

Time for a wedding planning update! I know some of my dedicated readers already know a bit about what has been going on, but its time to fill everyone else in with sprinkled tidbits for anyone currently or future planning. 

We recently hit the 14 months-to-go mark and decided lets get our music and photography out of the way now at the same time. Well folks, its really hard to knock out two things at once when you also are a full time student and your fiance is doing an internship. The good news: we've booked our music! 

So here's the lowdown: The decision between band versus DJ will come down to mainly two issues: personal preferences versus budget. In the area we are looking to hire from bands - true bands with a minimum of 4 people, start at about $3,000 and can go upwards of $10,000. DJs, on the other hand, can start at about $500-$700 and go up to about $2,000. So if you knock out the high-ballers and low-ballers, you get a comparison of about $5,000-$6,000 to $1,500. Big difference. Given that our venue is a bit of a splurge, the music had to fall into a certain budget to remain acceptable to the paying parties. Hence, we chose to go DJ. 

A word of advice: Prices and quotes are often not online for bands or DJs. Don't be afraid to send emails to whoever seems interesting to you. Then create a folder/label in your inbox for wedding, and maybe even a sub-folder for music if you anticipate having to sort through many emails. 

During our search, we always received prompt email responses, whether it was band or DJ. This was great because we did not have to worry about scheduling time to speak over the phone. It also made it easier to schedule a day to go visit the area and make it a productive trip by seeing several entertainers in one day. (Remember, this advice is coming from someone planning a wedding over 2 hours away from where I live). At one point we questioned whether we would need to meet the DJs in person... after all, its not like they are playing music themselves. With bands, you would want to know if you like the singing voice, the style of their covers, etc. From the little research I did, sometimes bands will have a showcase, a non-wedding event that you can listen in on, or demos to show you in person. That's as far as my knowledge goes with regards to researching/choosing a band. It's true, DJs are different. However, Don't be fooled - meet with DJs before making a decision. We met three in one day, and each one was extremely different. You'll want to see the personality of the individual DJ in addition to hearing what they have to say about how their business works and how they present the information. We learned more by meeting these DJs in person than we ever would had we just picked someone online. By the time we got home, we had one definite rule-out and were very torn between the other two DJs - in a good way. We knew both would be great, we had no worries about that. But each had something a little different to offer that we really had to sit down and weigh out which DJ felt like a better fit for the type of event we want to have. We had to take into account our venue setting, and our guests' styles. Ultimately, I think and hope we made the right choice!

Here are some closing tidbits that may be useful:

• WeddingWire and theKnot both have ratings that can be very useful as an initial guide. This was the first experience I've really delved into WeddingWire's website and actually found it very helpful. It will get posted to the wedding links page. 
• We found out "booking time" for DJs is within the 9-12 month window; we happened to be a bit ahead of the game. 
• Questions to ask: 
• Do they MC? Do they bring an assistant?
• How far in advance do they arrive? Is there a fee associated with that?
• Do they cover cocktail hour?
• Do they offer lighting?
• Are they required a hot meal/vendor meal? 
• Where is their back-up equipment kept on the day of the wedding? 
• What happens if they die on the day of your wedding?
• How flexible are they with "must play" and "do not play" lists?
• How do they handle song requests by guests that are on your "do not play" list?
• If the crowd needs some encouragement, how do they get the party started?
• Do they tend to be more hands on, or more hands off?
• How long have they been in the business?
• Do they coordinate with the venue/maitre'd with regards to "special moments" during the reception?
• And of course: cost, payment schedule, overtime fees, etc...

Oh Beautiful, for Spacious Skies

For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties,
Above the fruited plain.
America, America
God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood,
From sea to shining sea! 

Happy Birthday America, or as the many Facebook goers spell it: 'Merica, Amurica, and 'Murica. Gotta love pop culture's influence on everyday pronunciation. Anyway, today is a day of care free enjoyment. Fortunately, its hot and sunny. People will travel in droves to the beaches, crack open beers in backyards, eat hamburgers and hot-dogs to their hearts content, and patiently wait for nightfall to watch fireworks rain through the skies. Other than wishing you all a Happy 4th of July, there's not much more to say on this patriotic occasion. 

I'll leave you with some fun facts about the Fourth: 

• The legal separation of the colonies from Great Britain actually occurred on July the 2nd, 1776, not the 4th.
• July 4th was the day the revised version of the Declaration of Independence was approved.
• There is debate among historians that the Declaration of Independence was actually signed in August of 1776
• John Adams (2nd president of the USA), Thomas Jefferson (3rd president), and James Monroe (4th president) all died on the 4th of July, the first two in 1826 and the latter in 1831

*Info taken from my best internet friend, wikipedia. 

The Street Fair

Every June my town has a street fair. Street fairs are one of my favorite things to visit, mostly because they only come around every now and then and you can always find something cool to add to your life, whether its home decor, jewelry, clothing, etc.

The one in our town is said to draw thousands out of the woodwork to hang out in the sun for the day. The main street is lined with over a hundred vendors selling arts, crafts, clothes, jewelry, trinkets and treasures. Oh, and food... street food. This year's fair was at the end of June and Howie and I were up and ready to roll at the start - we had been looking forward to it the whole month.

This fair always has a car show (the only thing worthy of picture taking... sorry this is all I have for your viewing enjoyment). The cars are varied, old, new, and unique. In addition to the ones pictured, there was an old fashion L.A.P.D. vehicle, a brand new flashy pick-up truck, and a pale yellow convertible that could have come out of the movie Grease complete with props mimicking a picnic at the drive-in.
  

From way back in the day

I imagine this to be a mobster car.

We took our time meandering from vendor to vendor. Of course, Howie had his eye out for the gyro truck, which happened to be all the way at the other end of the line from where we started. However, we did run into several other food stands that we considered choosing from. There were beverage vendors selling bubble tea, lemonade, and even Dunkin Donuts came through with frozen treats off their menu. The local pizzeria was selling zeppoli's, sausage and peppers, and Italian ice. Rita's made an appearance. Restaurants along the main strip were outside their front doors with buffet meals, including the Thai place, an American market, and a Caribbean-Southern American fusion barbecue joint. We'd actually never heard of this barbecue place, so we decided to give it a try. They had a huge smoker out in the street and a passerby noted to us she saw it out in the parking lot smoking last night while walking her dog. This was enough to convince Howard the this barbecue might be "legit." He had brisket, I had chicken, we both got mac & cheese - it was pretty good and absolutely satisfying comfort food.

After purchasing a few trinkets for ourselves, our day was complete. We retired home to nap for 2 hours with our full bellies. Not bad for a lazy Sunday.

Buy me some peanuts and cracker jacks...

Our most recent sporting event took place last week: a very belated birthday trip to Citi Field for Howie. If you live in New York, like baseball, or are passing through and wouldn't mind stopping off for something fun to do, I recommend visiting this ballpark. Its got a very cozy, intimate feel, which makes me favor it over the ostentatious Yankee Stadium.

Our seats in left field

Back to the story: As usual when traveling to Citi Field, we went separately - he took the subways from the city and I drove from north of the Bronx. This ended up being a fiasco filled with traffic, bridges, construction, and generalized game-day confusion in Queens. By the time I made it to the parking lot, I was quite agitated, worsened only by a poor cell phone connection trying to coordinate our respective locations. Eventually I was able to hear Howie well enough to make out a "WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM SHAKE SHACK - TEXT ME!" before loosing each other again. Finally having gained some useful information, I went directly to Shake Shack to order my delicious burger. 


This was actually the highlight of my trip, as I previously had no idea that there was a Shake Shack at Citi Field, and Shake Shack happens to be one of my favorite "fast food" burgers (Five Guys is second and last on the list of fast food burgers I will eat). 

Shake Shack - Yum

After the chaos of our arrival, we sat down with our dinner just as batting practice was wrapping up (much to Howie's dismay). We had a very nice time watching a laid back game between the Mets and the Orioles on a humid hot summer's night. The game wasn't the most thrilling I've ever seen, but it was nice to sit back, be outside, and not be studying or stressing for a couple of hours. We did have a bit of excitement after the 6th inning when there was a very mini fireworks display that coincided with a Verizon commercial. Overall, it was a great time-out for us to have a little date.