Have you been to a British Beer Company yet? They just opened one in Manchester, NH! I’ve been to the one in Westford many times, and it’s wonderful. They have live entertainment, TV’s, and great pub food. A fun menu with Guinness Steak Pie, Bangers & Mash, Bubble & Squeak Potatoes, The Mahi Burger, and Bourbon & Stout Ribs. How can you go wrong cooking with Guinness and Jim Beam? Like an English pub, it’s a great place to meet friends, watch the game, and relax. It’s pub life in America.
I’ll be going to the Cape this summer, and will be meeting friends at the Falmouth location.
Check out their website http://www.britishbeer.com/local/falmouth/

Believe it or not It could be an option in the future! Not only will your tattoo vibrate, but it activates when your cell phone rings or you recieve a text message.
While I was researching fun facts for a blog, I came across an article on omg-facts.com that it was reported by the Wall Street Journal that Nokia has applied for a patent to design tattoo ink that would vibrate when your cell phone rings. The patent describes ‘a material attachable to skin, which is capable of detecting a magnetic field and transferring a perceivable stimulus to the skin.’ The practical use of this, is a removable vibrating tattoo.

While the technology isn’t specific and could be used in many different ways, the patent makes it clear that embedding the material is the main use. It talks about using ‘ink enriched by ferromagnetic or paramagnetic compounds.The patent application was first discovered by the blog Unwired View’s Vlad Bobleanta, who said, “The tattoo would be applied using ferromagnetic inks. The ink material would first be exposed to high temperatures to demagnetize it. Then the tattoo would be applied. You’ll apparently be able to choose the actual image you want as the tattoo. The procedure is identical to that of getting a ‘normal’ tattoo—only the ink is special.”

So you tell me…..would you get a vibrating tattoo?

I met a recent college graduate who spends two hours commuting to and from work each day. That’s four hours a day. In the car. Just trying to get somewhere! Ok, I’ll admit he’s pretty lucky to be fresh out of school and already employed. And yeah, he <em>is</em> looking for an apartment closer to work. But I couldn’t stop obsessing over all that time spent in the car!

And then repressed memories about my own previous commutes flew back into my consciousness: Two days after graduating college, I began working quite close to downtown Boston; to get there, I got a ride to the commuter rail station, jumped on the train, switched to the subway, dragged myself onto a bus, then walked 5 minutes down the street. Later, after buying a car of my own and moving to an even more suburban area, I eventually spent an hour or more in gridlock traffic – each way! – on the Pike. No matter how often I tried to remind myself that there were real problems in the world and people whose suffering was far greater than mine, I still found myself a cranky, whining beast. After chatting with this four-hour-a-day warrior and reminiscing about my own experiences, I realized that commuting is something most people are affected by and almost everybody wants to talk about. It’s plastered all over my friends’ Facebook pages, Tweeted about at lightning speed, and discussed ad nauseum almost any time a group of people comes together. So if it makes us so miserable, why do we do it?

I started researching commuting/traffic, even though I sort of assumed nothing would come up… and was slightly shocked to find article after article about why people commute (apparently we prefer a large house and a yard in a suburb to a cramped studio apartment down the street from the office in the city) and just what it does to us (“It correlates with an increased risk of obesity, divorce, neck pain, stress, worry, and sleeplessness. It makes us eat worse and exercise less.” – according to <a href=”http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2011/05/your_commute_is_killing_you.html”>this</a> interesting article). <a href=”http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/04/16/070416fa_fact_paumgarten?currentPage=all”>This</a> article from The New Yorker is pretty long at seven pages but is absolutely worth the time it’ll take you to get through.

So what’s <em>your</em> story? Are you one of the lucky/smart ones that made it a point to find a home as close to work as possible? Do you have to sit in stopped traffic for an ungodly amount of time each day? Do you look at your commute as precious time to yourself or do you find your blood pressure rising with every passing minute? (In case you’re wondering what my deal is, I now commute 17 minutes each way and get stuck in almost no traffic… and my life is noticeably happier each morning and evening. Just sayin’.)

Well it looks like summer arrived right on schedule this week. Looking for a fun alternative to a traditional summer slaw or salad? Try this:

Lobster and Grilled Fennel Salad
1 Fennel Bulb, grilled, cut into ¼ julienne cut
½ cup Dried Cranberries
1 T Sugar
4 T Rice Wine Vinegar
¼ Sweet Onion, cut into 1/8” julienne cut
1 ½ cup Picked Lobster Meat, chopped
2 T Basil (Chiffonade cut)
Salt
Pepper

Remove stalk of Fennel, cut bulb in half the long way, add a touch of salt, pepper and oil and grill over high heat until fennel is charred but not burnt. Remove from grill and let stand until cool. Once cooled, cut the fennel bulb against the grain to create julienne strips about ¼” wide.
Mix fennel, dried cranberries, sugar, rice wine vinegar, onion, basil, salt, and pepper together until uniform. Gently fold in lobster meat, chill for 30 minutes, serve cold.
Enjoy!

Summer is officially here and that mean all pools are open! As you are splashing away, you are actually burning calories. In fact, swimming is one of the best ways to workout. Here is a great article with some helpful workouts to do while you’re hanging in the pool this summer.

http://www.shape.com/fitness/workouts/swim-your-way-slim

Helpful tips for your dog during hot weather

Dogs do not sweat except through the pads of their feet and their noses. To cool themselves, they pant. It’s important to first recognize when your dog is experiencing heat stress, and how to prevent it during hot weather. Some symptoms are vigorous panting, red gums, and dizziness. Should you find your dog showing some or all of these symptoms, remove her immediately from heat and sunlight. Place cold washcloths on the ears, neck, chest and feet pads. This will slowly assist your pet to an acceptable body temperature. It’s important to always offer fresh, cool water throughout the day. Should they be outdoors for the day, some dogs enjoy a shallow pool or if indoors, especially for older dogs, a cooling bed can offer some comfort.

Please remember to never leave a dog inside a car at anytime during hot weather. All it takes is just a few minutes for the car to reach extreme temperatures. This is life threatening and/or will gravely affect your pets’ health.

Eight weeks ago, the karate studio down the street from my house sent out an email offering the INSANITY workout in a class atmosphere. My initial reaction was, “this is exactly what I need to do”… and I signed up. Prior to the 1st class, I started talking to people about it and kept getting the same response: “That is really hard, you know!” Were they telling me this because it is hard if you are overweight and out of shape or just simply because it is hard for everyone?

You may have seen the infomercials on P90X and INSANITY – the ones with all these fit men and women telling you, “You can look like this!” And you chuckle and say back to the TV, “Sure I can.” It is hard to believe that in 60 days, you can go from couch-potato abs to six-pack abs – or even half a six pack, for that matter. Watching this, I wanted to cancel my enrollment and find something easier. How will I ever do this? I am 40 lbs overweight and haven’t attempted any form of exercise in about 20 years, but if I even want a chance to look close to that, hard is exactly what I need. So off to class I go…

I have one week left of INSANITY and let me tell you, it has lived up to its name for sure! The program offers cardio, plyo-metrics, circuit training, and abdominal & core strengthening and conditioning, all combined to give your body a chance at looking good. The nice thing is that you can go at your own pace and modify certain exercises until you get stronger. When I first started, I couldn’t do a single push up – not even the “girly” one. Now I can do them and other push up-inspired exercises. As for measureable results, I took measurements and weighed myself before the class started; I am, however, waiting until the final class to see my true results. People say they can see a difference, but the true test will be when I get on the scale.

Now that I have done this, I will continue to work hard with the next class offered – or even do this program again.

If you have thought about doing it – DO IT!!! It may be insane, but your body will thank you!

Getting a bite to eat at <a href=”http://www.deepellum-boston.com/#topOfPage”>Deep Ellum</a> in Allston this weekend, I stumbled upon what may be my new favorite food. Moules Frites!!!

To start, I must admit that Deep Ellum’s large selection of Belgium and Farmhouse beers was the original attraction for me but wow, the food turned out to be fantastic and so complimentary to the craft beers. What is a <a href=”http://m.saveur.com/article/Travels/A-National-Obsession-Moules-Frites-Belgium”>Moules Frites</a> you might be asking right about now……it is a big bowl of steaming hot mussels and crisp fries. Evidently in Belgium, steamed mussels and fried potatoes go together as naturally as fish and chips in England, and burgers and fries in the States. The combination was marinating in a broth of shallots, garlic and white wine then drizzled with a lemon garlic aioli sauce. Yum! Mussels and fries are a fantastic food pairings that I never would have imagined. The juicy, sweet mussels play off perfectly with the starchy earthiness of the fries. Want to try something new?? Add Moules Frites to your must sample list!

Beverly has a great hot dog stand located right on Rantoul St. The stand is called The Scotty Dog and I am in love with their Vienna Beef dogs! My personal favorite is the Scotty Chicago Dog which includes toppings of mustard, onion, homemade relish, tomato, sport peppers, pickle spear and celery salt. This hot dog requires two hands to eat! A side of fries goes great with it. The fries here are delicious as well, seasoned with just the right mix of salt and pepper. If you are still hungry after your delicious dog, they serve Richie’s Italian Ice for desert!

When visiting, one can take advantage of the 10 spot car hop or outdoor seating is available. This is a must place visit if you are ever out in Beverly!!
Check out their website at www.thescottydog.com

Are you trying to come up with that “Must Have” recipe for your next BBQ? Would you really like to “Wow” your family and friends with a must have treat? Well my Aunt Celia’s Wicked Good Salad is a Must try! Have fun with the dish, and get creative by adding your own ingredients and creating your “Own Wicked Good Salad”! It’s quick and easy to throw together, and light and refreshing to go with those chicken and burgers! Enjoy!

Aunt Celia’s Wicked Good Salad!

1 1/2 bags of mixed greens
1 large sweet onion chopped
2 Kirby cucumbers sliced, then cut in quarters
1/2 bag of dried cranberries
1/4 cup of walnuts chopped
4 bacon strips crumbled
1 basket of cherry tomatoes cut in half
4 oz. goat cheese
Top it off with chinese noodles

Dressing:

1 bottle of Kraft Italian Dressing

Use the same bottle and add:
1/2 bottle of balsamic dressing
1/2 bottle of olive oil