Pop a la Mode

I have to admit that now I have officially seen everything.

Last night, I was channeling surfing and stumbled on a show called “Science of Love” on NBC. The whole purpose of the show was to have a guy choose a girl on instinct alone and then have science pick one for him based on compatability.

At this point Robyn and I just looked at each other and said, “I hope this isn’t some fancy infomercial for eHarmony.” On a side note, please, don’t ask me if I’ve tried online dating. I haven’t and I won’t. That’s not going to change.

So the dude for the experiment is some football player (Adam) that neither of us knew. He was cute at first, then he opened his mouth. Also he walked around with his hands stuffed in his pockets, wore white tennis shoes with everything and his pants were too short. But whatever, it’s not like I’m critical or anything.

So first, the host had him choose a date based on instinct alone. His criteria: no tattoos, she has to cook and she has to be committed to her family. Dude, I don’t think Mrs. Cleaver is available.

So out of 5 million (!) single girls, he is left with one short, brunette girl that is “spunky” - his quote not mine. He takes her on a date to play football at the Rose Bowl which is the coolest thing ever and she is a total witch about. She wanted to dress up and look pretty. So she complains that this may be why he doesn’t have a serious girlfriend.

I would kill to play around on the field of the Rose Bowl. That’s awesome. Robyn agreed - we think this girl is nuts.

The rest of the date includes dinner and dancing and is actually quite uneventful.

So next is science: Adam goes through rounds and rounds of testing that judge his reactions to different looks, intellect, height and whatever else turns a guy on. Out of another 5 million (!) single girls, they choose a blond with a very masculine voice. No kidding - it totally threw me off.

Science plans their date to engineer them to fall in love. They go to the beach where the increased oxygen levels increase their attraction to each other. Then there is a hike up a very steep cliff because by releasing sweat in each person, they will become more physically attracted to each other. This included a shot of a bead of sweat on the girl’s forehead. I’m sure she really appreciated that.

Later they bungee jumped to increase the adrenaline rush so their attraction was higher and then had a dinner with herbs that increased attraction too.

And the weirdest part of the night is when they were instructed to gaze into each other’s eyes for five minutes. Huh? That is so creepy. It’s like the adult version of a staring contest. If I had do that, I would bust out laughing. I don’t care how romantic it’s supposed to be - still creepy.

In the end, Adam chooses the girl of science and we are totally left without an update or anything. Did it work out? Are they still together? Was it a bust? I was completely unsatisfied.

So what did I learn from this show? Let’s see: I love the Rose Bowl, I sweat too much for it to be attractive and I’m not going to do any online dating. Case closed.

I don’t exactly know why I’m regressing back to my childhood today but this made me smile. I miss the days when Sesame Street was the most important part of my day.

It is officially summer in Alabama and it is blazing hot. The kind of hot that takes your breath away the minute you walk outside. Of course there are still those days of joy when the humidity is so high that you’re dripping wet after walking from your car into a building. I really wonder what on God’s green earth made me stay down here sometimes.

But back to my window pain (and yes p-a-i-n). Week before last my passenger side window broke. It wouldn’t go up or down and of course it got stuck halfway down. I took it to Roger, my mechanic, and the motor had died and the electricity had shorted out. They had to replace the whole mechanism including the master control switch on the driver’s side door. It won’t cheap.

So today, I’m running errands and notice that the back passenger window is down and I don’t remember leaving it down. I push the button and nothing happens. Fantastic.

Thank goodness at least it isn’t down that much. I don’t have to worry about someone sticking their entire upper body through the window to take my Whole Foods grocery bag. Honestly, there is nothing of value in my car unless you really covet my collection of drive-thru napkins.

So I guess I’ll take my car back to Roger. Except this time, I’m totally having them just prop the thing up with a piece of wood and leave it be. I can do without.

Isaiah was baptized this weekend in Oxford. Mom, Dad, Nanny and Papa all made the trip down to celebrate as well as Corrie’s parents. Click below for pictures.

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I love Food Network. Anybody that knows me, knows this. Except for a few personalities (I’m looking at you Sandra Lee), I enjoy all the talent on the network and have attempted to make at least one of their recipes. That is if it doesn’t involve me spending $100 on groceries and using a meat grinder.

Paula Deen is one of my family’s favorites. Maybe it’s because she takes so much pleasure in eating the food she cooks or the amount of butter and mayonnaise she uses. Whatever it is - we love her. D. and Corrie even stood in line in the fall to get her autograph in a cookbook for Nanny for Christmas. I’m convinced it was Nanny’s favorite Christmas present ever.

So this weekend, I was doing my normal laying on the couch, eating a bowl of cereal and watching Food Network Saturday morning. Paula was making breakfast stuff which I have to admit, is one of my favorite meals. Not necessarily for breakfast but for anytime.

She pulled out this recipe that had me mesmerized. Omelettes for a Crowd. I love omelettes but have never really perfected the art of making them. It’s the procedure and the doneness that always allude me. But this, this was ingenious! Using plastic bags to cook eggs and then they even come out in the shape of an omelette. Awesome.

So I’m telling Robyn about this and we decide that we should try it. So Sunday for lunch, I cooked up some bacon and shredded some cheese and we proceeded to make omelettes. We even took pictures for documentation.

This is the egg in the bag.

This is Robyn realizing that mine had more cheese in it than hers. Unacceptable.

And ta da! The finished product! And that green stuff is basil from my very own pot on the patio. We had to garnish.

They were very tasty and very easy. We will be doing this again.

Although I did read after we did it that ziploc does not condone the boiling of their bags for a bunch of scientific reasons. So if you’re going to do it, make sure and use something safe for high temperatures.

But still - the easiest way to make eggs that I’ve found. And clean-up was awesome. We threw the bags away and rinsed out the boiling pot. Done!

Robyn and I went to Wal-Mart Friday night where we decided that we would like to make milkshakes for our dinner. Don’t judge us - you would do the same thing if you could get away with it.

I saw this in the ice cream freezer section and had to record it for posterity.

First of all, who needs four gallons of ice cream a week? Second, who carries around a yellow legal pad and red Sharpie at all times? And third, do you think the Blue Bell man is really going to care? Highly doubtful.

Save your money and buy a treadmill. You’ll probably need it worse.