Sue Bird is a Rockstar and so is her Girlfriend

This essay, written by the legendary Sue Bird, for the Player's Tribune dropped today.  If you do one thing today, take the five minutes to read it.  You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll go "awwww"and you'll be reminded just how dangerous a certain someone's Tweets are.

"O.K. so now that that’s out of the way, I’ll answer The Question. The one that’s probably most on your mind. And by that I mean: What’s it like to have the literal President of the literal United States (of literal America) go Full Adolescent Boy on your girlfriend? Hmm. Well… it’s WEIRD. And I’d say I actually had a pretty standard reaction to it: which was to freak out a little." 

I've been a huge fan of Sue's since her days at UConn.  I'm pretty sure she literally bleeds ice cold Husky blue!  Husky fans adore her.  Even now, if you talk with a UConn fan and the topic turns to Sue it's all accolades, swoons, and smiles.  When her relationship with Megan Rapinoe, soccer's superstar, was revealed right before the All Star game a few years ago everyone was so happy.  Husky fans knew Sue to be a very private person.  It was so amazing to see Sue so happy and to be so proud of who she was.  Megan and Sue have since become Seattle's ultimate power couple, and the most dominate sports couple ever.  

The closing of the article says it all:

"But on Friday? It was like for this one, perfect, fleeting, uncomplicated day….. I was everyone.I was happy.
I was crazy.
I was PROUD.
I was pretending to know about soccer.
I was a little overwhelmed.
I was pretty damn American.
And I was in love with Megan Rapinoe."

We should all celebrate the amaziness of Sue and Megan and we should all be so lucky to find a partner that loves you as much as the love between Sue and Megan that this article lets us see.  I spend a lot of time on social media reading comments after games and some of them are just so horrible.  If you're giving up watching soccer because you can't stand that Rapinoe knelt for the anthem or doesn't sing the words, you were never a real fan to begin with.  But if you love a good love story, read this article.  You'll feel better about the world!

Mixtape Tour

Who doesn't love a healthy dose of childhood nostalgia???  The New Kids on the Block Mixtape Tour did not disappoint.  Not only did I get to see NKOTB, but they were joined by Tiffany, Debbie Gibson, Salt N Peppa, and Naughty by Nature.  NKOTB always put on a good show, but Tiffany and Debbie were surprisingly very good!  (I certainly didn't download the Debbie Gibson greatest hits album or anything.)

The NKOTB shows are always so fun to go to because there is never any drama.  I didn't once worry about what clothes to wear, bathroom lines were pleasant experiences, no one spilled their drinks, and the mass of people outside the Garden when the show was over was so relaxed and happy.  There was no pushing, no shouting, no out of control messes just thousands of happy adults reminiscing about being young!

Weekends are for Hiking

Yosemite is just a few weeks away so we decided we needed to do a tough hike as our last prep.  We decided on Mt. Lincoln and Mr. Lafayette via the Franconia Ridge because it's nine miles, 3,000+ vertical, and the trail quality is challenging to say the least.  It's a pretty long hike so we headed up the night before and got up early.  It was pretty fun to be on a "mission" and I hope I feel that way when we get up at 4:00 am in Yosemite.

We did this hike once before and I was pretty much miserable for the entire thing.  The trail quality sucks.  There's no good way to say it.  You will be climbing up and over rocks for most of the ascent and descent.  The ridge is pretty good but last time I was so wiped from the trip up that I couldn't enjoy any of the views.  This time was much, much different.  I always do better when I know what to expect from a hike. We also had stunning weather for this kind of hike.

We started by hiking the 2.9 miles up to the Greenleaf Hut run by the AMC.  It's a beautiful hut where you can use clean facilities and get snacks and hot drinks.  Their peanut butter chocolate bars are insanely good and I'm still sad that the extra one we bought melted in my bag (even though it really wasn't hot.) 

Then it's another section of going straight up until you reach the summit of Mt. Lafayette.  The winds were pretty strong up here and for the rest of the ridge trail but that made it kind of even more of an adventure so I didn't mind at all.  

The ridge hiking is my favorite part of this trail.  I love being above tree line and the views were just lovely.

Eventually, we made our way across the ridge to Mt. Lincoln before heading down the Falling Waters Trail.  There really isn't anything fun about this trail.  It's steep, it's challenging, and you have to cross the water at least four times (I'm not a fan of water crossings at all.)  That being said, when we did eventually make it down I felt great!

If you Live in Cambridge, Sometimes you Run into a Presidential Candidate (or How I Met Elizabeth Warren)

Last Tuesday I was in a bit of a grumpy mood.  I felt like I'd been running around like crazy since school got out.  I had four doctors appointments, needed to run a bunch of errands for our trip, met with the three cat sitters we booked to take care of the kittens while we are away, and had twirling practice.  On top of that we are one window away from getting some normalcy back in our life (the bathroom will be officially done when we get that window and we can move everything back to where it needs to go) but it got delayed.  The prospect of continuing to sit on folding chairs, surrounded by the contents of what used to be our stock room, was getting old real fast.  JO suggested we go out to Sugar and Spice and enjoy some quality patio time.  Of course, when we got there, it appeared that all of Porter Square was also there so we were stuck finding another place.  Thankfully, there are lots of options in Porter so we settled on Christopher's Restaurant. 

We had just ordered our meals when a couple was seated at the table behind us.  They had a big, beautiful dog and I noticed that the hostess seemed a little enamored by the dog, which I thought was a little strange, but maybe she really liked dogs (and this dog was super adorable.)   Within a minute a couple walked over to that table, bent down like they were going take a picture of the dog, and said to the woman, "We never do this but we are huge fans of yours, could we get a picture."  JO was blissfully unaware but I immediately recognized just who was sitting at that table~ the one and only Senator Elizabeth Warren.  I tried to remain cool and quietly passed this information on to JO.  I thought about asking for a picture but I really didn't want to interrupt her meal (I mean, I know how much I appreciate my patio time.)

Over the next thirty minutes several people approached Elizabeth and her husband asking for pictures or to just talk with her.  I was so impressed with how she handled herself.  She was gracious and didn't refuse, even after her food had been served.  She even redid a picture because in her words "that's not the best light for a selfie."  The waiter waited until after they had paid and had this heart to heart with her.  She was so nice to him and she even gave him a hug.  On our way out we wished Senator Warren luck in the debate and she told us to keep fighting.  I'm proud to say that Elizabeth and I are from the same great city and that we have the same great taste in patios 😉.  But in all seriousness, I'm proud that she is running for president with such progressive ideas and backing them all up with a plan! 

And yes, Bailey is as adorable as he appears online.

Vinal Bakery~ If you Love English Muffins go Here Now!

By now I'm sure you know I love Parlor Sports.  It's the Cheers of Inman Square, complete with delicious nachos, bartenders who put the UConn game on before you even get there, check in on your health, and congratulate you on your big hike last weekend.  Said bartenders will even come in five hours before normal opening to make sure us US Soccer fans have a place to cheer on the "gals" during the World Cup!  (I promise, I'm getting to the English Muffins.)   I'm very loyal to Parlor Sports so when my favorite bartender's girlfriend opened up Vinal Bakery in Union Square I had to head over and support the shop.

Vinal is located on the other side of Union, near the "secret" Target (hands down the most pleasant Target experience you will have, it's never crowded, ever!)  It's a small shop, but I think about 15-20 people can find seats.  There's white subway tile, a chalkboard, and some fabulous mint green accent paint.  Right now they can offer you views of a cement truck, a backhoe, or a crane at any given time because all of Union is under construction and it's kind of a mess.  (There's been a great Instagram story back and forth between Vinal and Parlor Sports trying to one up the other with the construction vehicles outside of their places.)

Vinal specializes in all things English Muffins.  There are five main varieties and one special version each day and many options for dressing up your muffin.  I opted with the traditional bacon, egg, and cheese but there were plenty of sweet and savory options.  They also serve a full line of coffee drinks.  The sandwich did not disappoint....

and neither did the view of the crane 😜

If you like English Muffins and/or construction views, I highly recommend this place.  I'm already looking forward to going back!