With the success of the NBC TV show American Ninja Warrior, complexes called indoor adventure/trampoline parks have been popping up across the country. I’m a big fan of things like this, and have been for years. When I was younger we would go to Bonkers, which was kind of like Chuck E. Cheese but for slightly older kids. It had arcade games, rides and a giant maze you could crawl and climb through, which was by far my favorite part. Continue reading
I adored Jojo Moyes’ Me Before You. When I read it, it was the first time in recent history that I actually went back and reread specific passages after I finished the book—for those of you familiar with the story, it was the “dancing” scene at the wedding. Sure, I understood why certain people thought that the outcome of the story was problematic, but I took it for what it was: an incredibly romantic, incredibly tragic, dynamically written story. Continue reading
When it came to reading, I used to be all fiction, all the time. I loved (and still do love) the escapism, the imagination and the different writing styles that are all part of the genre. But a couple years ago I picked up my first memoir, Ruth Reichl’s Tender at the Bone, the first of her three memoirs chronicling her food-influenced childhood up through her years as the NYT Restaurant Critic, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. These days, I think what pulls me into memoirs is that there must be an aspect that I can relate to or am interested in, Continue reading
Growing up, one of my favorite restaurants was the Ninety-Nine. I loved the jingle: “The 99 restaurant has 99 reasons you’ll always come back for more!” I loved the chicken broccoli ziti, which is probably all I ate for about four years. I loved the restaurant itself; it was warm and comfortable, and had some of those 99 reasons written on the walls. But here’s the kicker: the Ninety-Nine is a chain, Continue reading
I love the zoo. We went to the Bronx Zoo quite a few times while we were living in Hoboken, enough times that I knew where all my favorite animals lived. For anyone who has something against zoos, I urge you to do a little research: the work that they do in conservation, protecting endangered species and researching illnesses and health issues that different animals deal with is quite remarkable. Continue reading
I pride myself on my ability, despite being on the computer all day, to avoid spoilers for TV shows that I’m watching after they’ve already aired. It took me around two years to watch all of Mad Men, between late 2015 and 2017, and I successfully avoided every possible spoiler, even though the show ended in early 2015. That said, I really enjoy reading criticism and reviews of the shows I am watching, so when I do finish a show after it’s ended I eagerly rush to the internet to see what people are saying about it and if they share my opinions or not. Continue reading
The last time I had an actual “Christmas vacation” was my last year of college, in 2012. Since then, I’ve learned that when you’re working full time it can be tough to truly enjoy the holidays. You can carefully lay out travel plans that seem like they’ll work in theory, but you can never truly account for weather, crowds and the like. A couple years ago I tried flying on Christmas Eve, and I was in the airport for around 6 hours, in a terminal with no heat, before I even got on the plane. So needless to say, I was looking forward to this year Continue reading
One of the things I’m going to do consistently here is post about the books I’m reading after I’ve finished them. When we moved to Bethesda, we decided to only get a cable box for the living room, so we don’t have live TV in the bedroom. I was pretty excited about this, because it meant more reading before bed, and for years I felt like I didn’t have enough time to read. Continue reading
We moved here on November 18, and over the weekend I made my first trip into downtown DC. I know it seems overdue, but when you factor in Thanksgiving and the number of times we’ve had to go to Bed, Bath and Beyond, this was the first weekend we had time to go on an adventure. Continue reading
I used to love the CBS show NCIS—it’s the perfect bingeable show. The case-per-episode format grabs your attention, while the fun banter between the characters and their underlying personal relationships keep you glued to your seat. So over Thanksgiving, I was home with my family and we had the idea to come up with a drinking game for NCIS. Continue reading
Lyss on Life 