MegBurns

We’re in Ohio! 10 hours in a car with three boys. 2 to...

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:29:58 -0400

We’re in Ohio!

10 hours in a car with three boys. 2 to go.

8.4 Million New Yorkers Suddenly Realize New York City A Horrible Place to Live

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 10:06:58 -0400

8.4 Million New Yorkers Suddenly Realize New York City A Horrible Place to Live:

This is hilarious.

(via efstein )

Daily Chris: jealous of a dog, edition

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:41:39 -0400

Chris: So how's your dog?
Me: Good...? I don't get him until Tuesday...
Chris: So, are you going to get me a present? Like how a mom gets a new big brother a present when he gets a new brother or sister?
Me: Are you for real? Am I your mom? Are you my child?
Chris: Well sort of, you watch over me. And you used to give me attention :(
Me: You are the only 24-year old human I know that feels threatened by a 9 lb dachshund.

Two days until we head to the Big House for Uconn vs. Michigan...

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:07:04 -0400

Two days until we head to the Big House for Uconn vs. Michigan on Saturday.

WOOO! GO HUSKIES!

Lessons Learned

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:19:00 -0400

SO. As ya’ll know, I’ve been looking for a doggy for awhile now and had 99% settled on a Cavalier King Charles. I did extensive (like REALLY extensive) research on the breed, and even with significant health issues, I was sure that it was the right decision for me.

Then I started looking into breeders, since it is nearly impossible to rescue a Cavalier, and I learned that they typically cost around $2,500.

Seriously.

After many more months, I found Batman’s breeder and was thrilled- she came from a genuine personal recommendation and her dogs seemed healthy in terms of pedigree. I won’t get into details, because in the end she was fair and refunded my deposit, but once I started digging for answers for a few key questions my experience took a turn for the worst. Let’s just say there is a reason for everything. It just didn’t feel right. So no more batman. I’m sad, but I feel confident I made the right choice. So many thanks to The Initials for all his help!

So, now for the good news! After watching every. single. episode. of Last Chance Highway on Animal Planet, and really thinking about what The Initials and Sooz have said since day one, I decided to rescue. And then, in the exact way that everyone says things are supposed to happen, the best opportunity in the WORLD fell in my lap. I’m fostering THIS GUY:

He’s a 9 lb. long hair daschund that was pulled from a high kill shelter- if he hadn’t been pulled he would have been put down, due to no fault of his own other then being owned by someone that didn’t care for him and left him to wander around and get captured by animal control. He has a GREAT temperament, is house and crate trained, is 4 years old, and ready for a second chance at life.

And funny enough, he’s coming directly from Shelly, the star of Last Chance Highway. I am SO excited to foster him! And if I fall in love, I am 100% committed to being his furever home. Win win.

Lesson of the day: trust your gut.

First Christmas gift of the season purchased today. I swear...

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 14:08:32 -0400

First Christmas gift of the season purchased today.

I swear I’m not rushing the season, I just get really overwhelmed if I don’t start in say, July or August. I like to buy gifts that I really think the recipient will enjoy- I find that last minute shopping tends to end in what I call “the buying of stuff.” Random junk you buy to have something to wrap instead of a gift you saw and thought “THAT reminds me of so-and-so!”

Don’t worry… I don’t wrap until December!

pièce de résistance

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 10:55:00 -0400

pièce de résistance

It was Sundae Sunday at the Hall house yesterday. Ice cream...

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 10:51:00 -0400

It was Sundae Sunday at the Hall house yesterday. Ice cream connoisseur Christopher Hall whipped up treats for all of us.

*Also, yes that is the Teen Mom Special US Weekly on the counter.

I had two cups of coffee for breakfast today. Sorry, coworkers.

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 09:41:47 -0400

I had two cups of coffee for breakfast today. Sorry, coworkers.

The Wine, The Beer & The Ugly: Friday Wine Tasting @ Harvest

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 15:50:42 -0400

The Wine, The Beer & The Ugly: Friday Wine Tasting @ Harvest:

Join us @ Harvest Wines Friday (Tonight!!!)

We’re Tasting from 5:30pm…

842 Farmington Ave., West Hartford, CT 06119

Nautique Esprit de Blanc

This wine possesses interesting aromatic qualities that are the result of judicious blending. Each of the three components lends individualistic…

We have a new local wine store in my ‘hood in West Hartford Center. The owner, Ian, is extremely friendly and helpful, and he ALWAYS has something for you to taste while you shop (bonus).

Not only does the shop have a serious selection of Connecticut wines (more rare then you’d think in Connecticut), he has a beer selection that rivals all package stores in the Hartford area (fondly named “The Beer Cave”). You can make your own six-pack and get 10% off! His shop has the whole area buzzing- we’ve been dying for a non-snooty package store that carries more than Stella Artois and J.Lohr.

And, they have a Tumblr!

Take a trip, tell him I sent you.

Smile Friday: I am looking forward to fall, but I will miss...

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 10:16:00 -0400

Smile Friday: I am looking forward to fall, but I will miss nights like last night where the weather’s perfect for wining and dining with friends out on the front porch.

Be polite and put your smartphone down

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 16:10:00 -0400

Be polite and put your smartphone down:

I am well aware that my aversion to obsessive smartphone use in public stems from growing up in a household where a) we were NOT permitted to answer the phone during dinner, or movies, or any other family time and b) we had one computer, with dial-up internet (since we didn’t have TV), so “connection time” was limited and allocated for the family so we all had a fair share.

HOWEVER.

I cannot stand overuse of cell phones in public. Unless someone is calling you or you are answering an important text/bbm, I find it horribly rude of people to play away on their phone while at the movie theater, while in the car with other people, at dinner, on the bus/train, and generally whenever hanging out with a group of people or your significant other.

Please note that professionally, I work in social media. I have a blog, a Twitter account, a Facebook, and a LinkedIn that I update frequently. I get it. I get the value of connecting, the benefits of updates and check-ins and statuses. But there is a limit!

My view is that social media is only beneficial if it enhances true human engagement and interaction - it doesn’t replace it.

I know my opinion has legs - there is a reason that books are “en vogue” again and people jump for joy when they get *real* mail and handwritten thank you cards- we all still crave that true human element. Social media and electronic communication is not going anwhere, and it’s a tremendous tool that’s added a whole new element to the way we live. I just think we could all use a boundary check.

(edit: a few comments on the train/bus being an appropriate place for cell phone use- I should have clarified! I meant it’s not an appropriate place to TALK on the phone! I would die on public transpo without email/bbm/internet!)

Three weeks. Till this guy joins me in West Hartford, for an...

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 11:42:00 -0400

Three weeks. Till this guy joins me in West Hartford, for an autumn full of puppy kisses and playtime in the leaves.

And potty training, but I digress.

Many thanks to Casey for encouraging a speedy commitment.

Also, I want to name him Batman. Everyone else says that’s mean.

“BATMAN! Sit!”

I think it’s awesome. Any more appropriate name ideas?

Le Fenway.

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 11:50:22 -0400

Le Fenway.

We headed to Boston yesterday to meet up with friends for a...

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 11:39:22 -0400

We headed to Boston yesterday to meet up with friends for a quick lunch and a long Red Sox game, but it ended up being a long lunch and a quick game since it rained and rained and rained.

I’d be lying if I said I was devastated- I love going to sporting events for the sole purpose of seeing friends and having fun and going new places- but I’m not all that concerned with what’s going on on the field (I’m that girl, and I’m fine with it). I’ve never been to a game at Fenway, and I was super excited just to go inside the stadium. So, after a grilled cheese with tomato, a few Magner’s ciders, and 3 hours of game delays and downpours, I was happy to head home.

Great day.

"It is the mechanism of “use it or lose it”: the brains we have are shaped largely in response to the..."

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 13:55:00 -0400

“It is the mechanism of “use it or lose it”: the brains we have are shaped largely in response to the demands made of them.”

- (via the NYTimes)

I found this article, “What Is It About 20-Somethings?” to be so interesting. This quote stood out to me- I get so frustrated by my peers that coast along, living off their parents, while they “get established.” But as much as I want to blame my generation, you have to stop and look at how we’ve been raised. If we aren’t being told “no, you can’t move home,” like our parents were at 18, why would we feel the pressure to get on our own two feet at a young age?

I understand why a lot of people found the article offensive- “we aren’t lazy!” “what are they saying?! I work!” but I think it provides a really awesome perspective into our society’s shift toward “starting life later.”

1,000 posts

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 09:11:26 -0400

In case anyone was wondering, my 1,000th post was of a dancing baby.

trisomethingnew: the . MOST . amazing . thing . I . have . seen...

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 23:16:38 -0400

trisomethingnew:

the . MOST . amazing . thing . I . have . seen . in . years !

How this is the first time I’ve seen this is beyond me. Should be titled “man dancing in baby’s body.”

American’s Got Talent- WATCH OUT.

Home Design Blogs

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 11:51:00 -0400

Does anyone else look at these sometimes and wonder, “Where is their stuff?? Do they have clothes? Dish soap? Shampoo? Is their dining room table always set?? Doesn’t it get dusty? Do any of these people have a tv? Does their dog always lie calmly, perfectly groomed, on a dog-hair free couch?”

"Conveyor Belt" Sushi Restaurant Opens Tuesday in Blue Back Square

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 14:46:32 -0400

"Conveyor Belt" Sushi Restaurant Opens Tuesday in Blue Back Square:

I don’t even like sushi, but I’m pumped! So cool. Maybe I’d try a bubble tea, delivered via conveyor belt?