Dewey Beach, Delaware

Ahh, another weekend at the beach. I need to quit until June, all this vitamin D is getting me nice and crispy, even under my big hat and and umbrella. This weekend, the little brother, the boo and I took a road trip up to Dewey Beach. We stayed in an oceanfront beach townhouse, explored the streets, the beach, and the eats! (Wow, I am rhyming?)

Eating is always on the agenda. We walked over to Sunrise Restaurant where they serve breakfast ALL DAY (my kinda place). The service was friendly, the food came out fast, and it was delicious. An awesome way to start the day. We went back there the next morning as well. NOM NOM. I love food. Definitely will go back there for beach breakfasts!

After a yummy breakfast, we went to put in our flower petal order at Windsor’s and stopped by the arts festival by the bay. It featured local artist’s work, to include paintings, and sea glass and other beach-esque stuff. If you wanted to decorate your home a-la beach this was a good place to pick up stuff. There was a magician, pony rides and a moon bounce for kids, as well as hot dogs and hamburgers being grilled. It was small, so after making a quick loop, we headed back to our weekend home to get some beach time in.

(Vitacoco should pay me)

(Brother building a sand castle)

The water was FREEZING. Freezing enough for Sean to dare my brother to fully submerge himself for $7. He did it. Because he’s a bawse. After playing in the sun and sand, everyone was HULKSMASH hungry, so we got ready to head to The Rusty Rudder for some outside eats.

After getting stuffed, enjoying the weather and the ocean air, we took a walk back to the townhouse. We gathered our rose petals, our toasts and headed to the water’s edge.

The main event for this trip was to put flower petals out for our mom, for mothers day/one year anniversary of her death. It was a nice little ceremony in the sunset on the beach.

I had a great weekend, how about you?!

Dewey Beach on Dwellable

Posted on May 15, 2012 by miemo 0

RIP Maman, One Year Anniversary

It’s been exactly a year now since my mom was taken from us by cancer. As usual, I am in tears as I write this, but I want to share with you how great my mother was. This picture was taken Labor Day weekend 2005. I was 20 years old, in my third year of college and I chose to spend the weekend with my mom at the beach. She was funny, playful and loving. People that know both my mother and I, know how much of my personality was like her. However, since we were both the same in stubbornness and attitudes, there were times where we bumped heads a lot. She was strong, beautiful and outspoken. And I miss her. She wasn’t afraid of anything, not even death. The only thing she really was concerned about was the well being and future of her children. She did everything to make sure we turned out as decent human beings and not a menace to society, regardless of whether not we lived in the hood among the gangs and the drug dealers. I’d like to think we turned out alright.

My parents divorce ended pretty badly, but that doesn’t take away from a great childhood. A lot of you probably wonder what happened to my mom. When she got diagnosed, she kept it very private, only letting very few people know, and let alone see her sick. At the funeral a lot of people showed up, not knowing what happened or why. I explained it in the eulogy, and hoped that people took my words to heart. For those of you that want to know and read it, you can find it here.

I still can’t grasp that she’s physically gone. I still feel as if I can pick up the phone and call/text her. But I can’t. It will never stop hurting, but I will try to get the tears under control. However, today will not be one of those days. What hurts also, is that she passed the day after mother’s day last year. So I will continually be haunted by Mother’s day ads, and reminders that she is gone.

I hope you’re having fun up there, we miss you down here.

Vous me manquez Maman, dans mon coeur pour toujours.

Posted on May 9, 2012 by miemo 0

First Beach, First BURN!

It’s that time again, traveling season. And with the warm weather, you know what that means, BEACH. Due to last minute changes, I went from planning to spend Cinco De Mayo at the Kentucky Derby, to spending all day (and forgetting to reapply sunblock) at the beach in South Carolina. Lobster red is not a good look for me.

My ride or die chick, Vitya, and I got back to the root of our nicknames and had our first road trip of the summer! Picked up our Jeep after work Friday and hit the open road. Traffic wasn’t as bad as we thought it would be and made it to Monterey Bay in 8 hours!

The forecast was kind of iffy, but thanks to Mom, the weather was PERFECT all day and we woke up to amazing sunshine and the beach waves crashing. An awesome sight to wake up to, not to mention free continental breakfast with our suite. YESSSSS. Breakfast by palm trees is definitely a win! How could you not have a good day with that kind of start?

We spent all day, reading, wading in the somewhat warm water, spotting jellyfish and fish, collecting seashells, exploring random pools of water, trying to figure out which bugs bit me and enjoying the breezy sunshine.

The rest of the day pretty much went like this…

(Hey Napoloen gimme your tots!)

Then ending the night with… a hotel fort!!!

The trip had to come to an end. So after another good, free breakfast (waffles, grits, bacon, eggs, potato wedges and juice!) we hit the open road again. And oh yeah. I got burned.

…yeah I am going to sit under an umbrella for the rest of summer. No skin cancer for me please. Where’s the SPF 110?

Thanks to the mini vacay, I am back to work, refreshed and excited for the rest of summer. Hope ya’ll had a great weekend!!!

Posted on May 7, 2012 by miemo 0

I miss you Maman

I can’t believe its been almost a year since I lost my mom to cancer. What’s worse is when I go to sleep and I have dreams about her. Dreams are magical when you are still in it. Everything feels so real. My mom came to visit me in a dream. We were at the beach, on a balcony, just talking, catching up. It felt so real. She was asking me about my new motorcycle, and how things were going. I asked her how she was doing. In my mind, she was still alive. I even said how glad I was she was still alive and how I had a nightmare that she passed. She just smiled and played with my hair.

When she was alive, she lived with my aunt and uncle. They recently moved, so when I asked her (in my dream) how she liked her new place, in my mind I was talking about Woodbridge, not heaven. She told me she was happy, but she missed us. And I told her that great that she’s happy, and that I wanted to come by and visit her. She looked at me puzzled, and walked away.

I woke up. And my heart broke all over again.

Posted on April 26, 2012 by miemo 0

Butchering a Whole chicken

Yep. I did it. Just because I wanted to see what it was like. Armed with very sharp knives, I broke down a chicken into 8 pieces. However, due to Shoppers’ cheap chicken prices, I don’t know how much I really saved, since that was a lot of work. There are a lot of squishy things in the middle of a whole chicken. Keep that in mind. This is going to get messy.

The opponent? A 4 lb young chicken. Inside? Gizzard, guts, and the neck. Take those out.

Slice through the breast bone and you have got it open perfectly down the middle. Then feel your way around where things will naturally come apart. It was easier than I expected. You get two breasts, two thighs, two drumsticks, and two wings. I saved the carcass in the freezer, in case I need to make chicken stock later in life. SO USEFUL!

After rinsing the bone shards and blood off the pieces of chicken. I followed the Neely’s oven fried chicken recipe. Of course I didn’t measure anything. And I added lots of love, but if you want the recipe…check the link!

Spicy, crunchy, delicious! 😀 And super healthy, because it was skinless and oven baked. Who woulda thought!?

Posted on April 20, 2012 by miemo 0

Cars for Cause: April 22

April 22, 2012: George Mason University, 4500 Patriot Circle Lot K Fairfax, VA
11AM-5PM

Cancer sucks. They say 1 in 3 people will be affected by cancer. For those of you that followed me through last year, know I lost my mother to cancer last year, the day after mother’s day from a STAGE 4 diagnosis. Sadly, it took losing our mother, to make us open our eyes to grab the bull by the horns and live life.

After our mother’s death, my brother looked at what we had to go through, and decided that other people shouldn’t have to suffer the hard times as we did. He wanted to make a difference. So he took his passion, cars, and tried to make something of it. Starting an unclassified car club (meaning, any type, any mods can join as long as you had the love for it) and making it official, naming it Team Unclassified and then building an event (to be held annually) supporting, you guessed it, the fight against cancer.

Bring in countless numbers of car enthusiasts, Team Unclassified, along with George Mason’s Patriot Motorsports, and you have Cars for a Cause, to be held this weekend at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. Profits from the event will support The Children’s Hospital and 4 year old Isabel “Warrior Princess” who is diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma and is receiving treatment at the Children’s National Medical Center in D.C.

There will plenty to do at the event if drooling over shiny cars isn’t going to cut it for you. Bring your kids! Bring your dogs. There will be a children activities booth, food vendors, a raffle, industry vendors as well as the SHOW part of event, where cars compete for best in a multitude of categories. Dyno will also be available for RWD, AWD and FWD!! See what your car is capable of!

I will be there, and I hope you will be too! Details on flyer and as follows :

SOME VENDORS AND SUPPORTERS OF THE EVENT:

Insane Stance & Offset (ISO)
Canibeat
Mischief.TV
PTUNING
D&V Autobody
Xclusiv: Alliance
National G Club
Dyno on the go
ASSASSIN INDUSTRIES
LOW STANDARDS MINI TRUCK CLUB
Zen Bistro
& MANY MORE…

***ENTRANCE FEES***
$5 PER CAR (driver will get a free raffle ticket at the door)
$1 PER Passenger/Walk-ins
RAFFLE TICKETS -$1.00 per extra raffle ticket OR $5.00 for 7 tickets

***CAR SHOW***
There will be six classes for this show. There is a minimum of ten entries per class for validation of class. Maximum is 20 cars per class, first come first serve. Due to limited space.
Best of:
Import
Euro
Domestic
Tuner
Stance
Truck
Judging will be made by ISO (Insane Stance and Offset), Canibeat, and Mischief.tv.
Trophies will be awarded.

***CAR SHOW ENTRY***
Deadline to pre-register is March 24, 2012 @$15, day of show is $20.
For show entry please email show entry coordinators
Enter Subject line: CFC Show entry.
JoJo.UNclassified@gmail.com
For these following car classes: Import, Stance, Tuner

Pastor.UNclassified@gmail.com
For these following classes: Domestic, Euro, Truck

Send Full name, phone number, picture of your ride, details of modifications and our coordinators will respond with info on how to reserve your entry. If there are not enough entries at day of show, you will be refunded.

Fees for pre-registration: $15
Late registration at the door: $20

Posted on April 18, 2012 by miemo 0

Burgers, Burgers, Burgers

(From Cheeburger Cheeburger)

Bacon cheeseburgers. Because really, it’s not really a burger with out cheese and bacon…amirite? Yes I am reading a book about healthy detoxing, and why our bodies aren’t meant to break down large quantities of meat or consume the milk of a cow as an adult. I get it. But. I. Can’t. Stop. Eating. What is it about a juicy hunk of meat covered in cheese and bacon and pickles and mushrooms that make me throw all my new disturbing knowledge to the wind?

The world may never know.

In the past 4 months I’ve been to about 5 different burger places (maybe more, some multiple times).

(From BGR Joint)
(From 5Guys)
(From In & OUT)(From Umami)

You know what I just realized? I don’t make burgers at home. Yeah, they are on the grill when we have cookouts, but I don’t really eat them at home. I’ve never tried to gather up the fixin’s and made my own burger. HM. I think I prefer to go to burger joints. Have you ever seen the episode of HIMYM when Marshal was looking for the burger place, and would not let Robin eat a burger unless it was THE BURGER? Yes I am still searching for that burger. But these do the job, for now.

Comments:

Cheeburger Cheeburger: Love the angus beef, not too fond of the bun, like the zesty seasoning, and the sweet potato fries. Like drinking out of a jar, and all you can imagine toppings included, (bacon and sauteed mushrooms extra)
Five Guys: Gets the job done when I really want a burger. Bun gets soggy, cajun fries are awesome, but nothing to write home about.
BGR Joint: Love the bun. Love the sauce. Thick bacon, all around good choice. Super messy, the way I like it.
In & Out Burger: super messy. NO BACON?!?! ‘nuf said.
Umami: Not your traditional burger joint but amazing tastes all around…too bad its on the west coast only 🙁

Know of anymore DC/Northern VA burger places I need to sink my teeth into? Please let me know.

Posted on April 13, 2012 by miemo 0

Brunch: Fireflies in Del Ray

YES! I found a brunch place who’s eggs benedict doesn’t taste like vinegar. HAPPY FACE. However, they don’t have a classic benedict, and I don’t like the texture of prosciutto (under eggs, I enjoy duck prosciutto and regular prosciutto atop my rustic pizza). But all in all the food was delicious. And the service was awesome. They have outdoor seating and Del Ray is just a cute neighborhood to be in! I will definitely want to go back to Fireflies again for brunch, to try out other things, since their eggs benedict did so well. OH and I want more belgian waffles. NOM NOM.

However, brunch hopping I will go, because food makes me happy! Any more brunch suggestions? I will be going back to Birch and Barley this weekend. So excited!

Posted on April 12, 2012 by miemo 0

Jo Koy LIVE!

I love comedy. Seeing a stand up comic live is even better. Especially when you are close enough to heckle. And I’m a heck of a heckler. Jo Koy is one of my (many) favorite comedians. I first watched him on Chelsea Lately (my favorite late night talk show). For the longest time I thought he was gay, because Chelsea always makes fun of him for being gay and asian…Which he’s not, and he’s only half. Half Asian, not half gay. I love Chelsea, but she makes fun of tattooed people, and Asians a lot…. both of which I am.

Any hoooo. JO KOY was in DC last week. I tweet him and follow his instagram and this cool guy actually tweets back. *swooon. For Vitya’s birthday, we went to see him for his first show…and I went to see him again SATURDAY for his last show.

He.Is.Awesome.

I was laughing so hard, and well worth seeing him twice, on the same tour. The main jokes were the same, but because he can hear us yelling random things, sometimes he’d steer his jokes that way, so both him and Orlando Baxter (his opening act) had a couple jokes here and there that made me laugh even harder because I was hearing it for the first time.

I got to meet him twice last week, since he holds meet and greets after his show. They didn’t let us take ANY pictures ourselves, so I have to wait for his people to upload them from their camera.

He is definitely a fun guy. I hope to be friends with him in real life. Harhar. Actually I should give him a break. He knows I exist. That’s all that matters to me.

Definitely check his comedy specials if you can, one of them is on netflix, and Lights Out just came out last week.

Posted on April 10, 2012 by miemo 0

Louisiana in Virginia: CRAWFISH

Since my oldest brother and my dad moved up to Virginia, I haven’t been “home” to Baton Rouge in a long time. (But I’ll be going to New Orleans with the ladies soon!) My favorite thing about Louisiana is FOOD. All the holidays I spent there were.. Thanksgiving (food!) and Memorial day weekends (prime crawfish time) were based on food. Last year, I had an independence day weekend crawfish boil at Vitya’s house. And it was awesome! Grilling, boiling and just getting down and dirty with food and friends. There were also cigars and red wine for those that chose to partake. Pure summer bliss. In preparation of making that an annual thing, my brother ordered a real Louisiana crawfish pot and gas tank and this weekend I sent 30lbs of live crawifish to his house to do a trial run. OMG. YES. This is pretty much how it went down, in pictures :

Live Crawfish

Butter and secret ingredient that makes it burn your mouth but not your butt.

Never enough butter in southern cooking.

Stir enthusiastically.

Taste.

Enjoy!

Ugggh. The weather has been cold and yucky this week, which is a shock from that nice warm weather we were having before. I can’t wait until its steady with the warm temps and have cookouts and boils EVERY weekend.

Posted on March 28, 2012 by miemo 0

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