A Few of My Favorite Things....

I admit, I am a total sucker for commercials with cute kids or babies. I don't care what the commercial is about - shampoo, oven mits, car seats - if there is a cute kid, I will stop and say "awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww."

Here's my five favorite cute kid commercials/you tube videos right now:

1) Microsoft "I'm a PC" commercials. First, the little girl with her goldfish named Dorthy stole my heart. Today I saw a new commercial with an 8-year old boy making a home movie with toy tigers. His expressions combined with lines like "I wanna screen this puppy for you" seem so genuine and SO CUTE! I am going to go out and buy a PC tomorrow!

2) "There's no place like Target at Christmas to save." Yet another great commercial from Target. The kids look so cute at the end when they are taking a bow and clapping on stage.

3) AT&T commercial with the little girl and stuffed monkey. First, I like how each frame has something in the background that looks like the four rising bars....the stacked newspapers on the sidewalk, row of buildings, baguettes in the grocery bag, etc. Second, I think it is SO cute when the little girl hugs her dad at the end. It hasn't convinced me to use AT&T, but it has prompted me to blog about it.....

4) Nannerpuss commercial from Denny's. Okay, so there aren't actually any kids in this commercial and it isn't even targeting kids, but it is juvenile and I think it is SO FUNNY. Some people probably think this commercial is stupid but I am the type of person who makes up songs about empanadas so it is right up my alley. Have I gone to a Denny's because of it? Not yet (there isn't one nearby) but since I've seen the commercial I have probably thought about Denny's more often than I have in the past six years.

Also, the commercial has generated a lot of buzz...check out some of these spoofs I found on YouTube......

• Baby Nannerpuss (WARNING: the remixed song may induce seizures)
• Asian Nannerpuss
• Extended Nannerpuss song (teenage boy singing extended song...pretty funny)

Nannerpuss is even on Twitter. It's a shame Denny's didn't jump on that opportunity first.

5) Last but not least, Kittens Inspired by Kittens (I want pie! I want beef jerky!.....I'm her mom, nooo she's not....BRAINSTORM!). I know this isn't a commercial but it is the funniest thing ever, is super-cute, and makes me want to buy a kitten. I will probably write more about this video in the future.

back from the dead

I will be the first to admit that I have not been very good with updating my blog. There are a bunch of reasons for this - my aversion to thinking/my addition to playing solitaire and watching TV/not having a modem to connect to the internet at home, etc.

That said, I'm trying to get back into the habit of blogging. With daylight savings throwing off my circadian rhythm, I feel very awake despite it being 10:47 at night (usually I pass out by 10).

Right now I am watching "Real Housewives of New York City" which is soooooooooooo bad. I'm new to the whole "Real Housewives" thing (I started watching a couple months ago when it was the OC wives). I don't think these people actually hang out in real life but they're forced to hang out and be filmed together. I am getting stupider (is that even a word?) just blogging about it.

Check it out

http://adpharmblog.blogspot.com/

best masthead ever

Check out my awesome new masthead. I made it all by myself!

Motivated by Food

Although I don't have cable, I have still managed to watch a handful of new (to me) TV shows, such as The Wire, Freaks and Geeks, The Office, Extras, The (British) Office, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and last but certainly not least, Veronica Mars (thanks Laurie!).

Most recently, and much to my boyfriend's dismay, I started watching 30 Rock (he wants to watch this show with me and is disappointed that I rented it without him). Although I don't think this is the best comedy on TV today (sorry Emmys, that award goes to It's Always Sunny), it is a very good show and I'm glad I started watching it.

In particular, I really like Tina Fey's character, Liz Lemon. In an episode from the first season, she comes to the realization that the reason she likes her boyfriend so much is because he is always feeding her (for example, when she comes home from a long day at work he asks if she wants a cheesesteak).

Oftentimes I feel like I can really relate to Liz Lemon. Like Liz Lemon, I am motivated by food. Unlike her, I like my boyfriend for more than his ability to feed me - in fact I stay with him despite his ability to do just that (no offense jeff - I love you, but your culinary skills are limited to crepes, pancakes and frozen pizza, and besides the occasional pretzel and freeze-dried ice cream, your apartment is devoid of food).

The Million Calorie Smoothie

People always say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and I couldn't agree more. I love breakfast. It is what gives me the motivation to wake up every morning. In fact, sometimes I get SO excited about breakfast, I will wake up early and eat a pre-breakfast (currently 60 calorie blackberry sherbert pop from whole foods).

So when I was told by my hairstylist a month ago that Marathon Grill has the best smoothies in the world, I had to try them. Since I moved to the city, drinking a smoothie and listening to NPR on the ride to work has replaced my morning ritual of eating cereal and reading the newspaper (as I no longer get a newspaper or have a table to read it at). Discovering that there is a Marathon Grill only two blocks away and that their smoothie selection includes a cookies n' cream flavor made with nonfat vanilla yogurt (guilt-free and delicious!) only made me want it more.

Of course wanting something and actually making an effort to get it are two different things. I usually park in the opposite direction of Marathon Grill and therefore don't have time to go there AND be at work on time.

Yesterday however, I decided to throw caution to the wind and get a smoothie. Sure, I got up late, had to get gas, and would probably be a bit late for work but I decided a smoothie would be worth it. So I trucked over to Marathon, asked for a cookies n' cream smoothie only to find out they HAD NO YOGURT! But they could make it with vanilla ice cream. I couldn't resist. I said okay, but to make it a bit healthier (in my mind), I opted for the raspberry truffle chocolate smoothie and decided I'd only drink half.

Problem was, the smoothie was SO GOOD. Maybe it was the ice cream, maybe it was the magic of Marathon Grill. Whatever it was, I ended up slurping up 80% of this fruity, chocolate syrupy, ice creamy concoction before I even got to my car.

So even though my pants may feel tighter today, it was well worth it. I will definitely be making another trip back soon. I just hope this time they have non-fat yogurt because I don't want to be forced to buy new pants.

The Troll Den

So something else you may be wondering is - "What is the deal with this blog name? Does this girl have an obsession with trolls?"

The answer is no. I do not have an obsession with trolls. In fact, I have a habit of spelling the word "troll" wrong (I used to spell "trool" - which is why my blog name is such a risky choice). And although I used to like trolls when I was a kid, I haven't thought about these big-eared creatures since I was 8.

Until I moved into a Troll Den.

I refer to the style of house (or fraction of a house) I live in as a Troll Den.* It's not a basement even though it is dark and partially underground. Nor is it a dungeon even though it has a gate since I can escape if I so choose. Therefore, I call it a Troll Den.

I moved into my Troll Den a little over a year ago. Since I own this den, I have spent much time thinking about ways to improve it. Sometimes I actually do these things (like paint the walls and redo the floors), but mostly I just think about them.

Although I am not entirely sure what I will be writing about in this blog, I predict a lot of posts will revolve around my Troll Den and how I spend my time inside and outside of it. I might even write about ideas and inspiration for decorating my Troll Den. Another reason I gave my blog this name was that it has dual meanings. On a very deep and symbolic level, Inside the Troll's Den = inside my head.

So to sum it all up - I'm not obsessed with trolls, my blog name refers to the type of house I live in, and is also an analogy for what is going on in my brain.

*To my boyfriend's credit, he has played a major role in coming up with the term "Troll Den" (in the sense that he's the one who came up with it).