fun

Ocean Spray All In On The Dreams Challenge

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Ocean Spray Dreams Challenge

By now you’ve probably seen the viral video by @Doggface208, where he peacefully glides along on his longboard, singing Dreams by Fleetwood Mac, while joyfully chugging down a big jug of Ocean Spray Cran·Raspberry juice.

What’s not to love? Great song. Happy guy. Delicious and healthy juice. Plus I love the local connection with Ocean Spray. Their corporate headquarters are in southeastern Massachusetts, fairly close to where I grew up. I remember visiting cranberry bogs as a kid. But I digress.

So anyway, sales and streams of the song skyrocket. Fleetwood Mac gives their nod of approval on Twitter. Then Mick Fleetwood makes his own video doing the same.  A new meme is born – Cranberry Dreams or Dreams Challenge.

The man behind @Doggface208 is named Nathan Apodaca. A recent profile of him in the Los Angeles Times shares that he buys the large jugs of juice to save money and drinks about one a day. “The colder, the better.” According to the article, his car battery had died the day he recorded the now famous video and he was on his way to work.

Since he was having problems with his car, Ocean Spray surprised him with a brand new truck! A video was posted a couple of hours ago on their Instagram feed. Of course the truck is filled with more than enough juice to last for a little bit. Ocean Spray CEO, Tom Hayes even did his own version of the Dreams Challenge.

I wonder who’s next!? Does this thing have momentum? Stay tuned.

*Updated 10/8/2020* The answer to the question about momentum is absolutely yes! Have you seen the fly from Pence’s head during the debate? Take a look at this hilarious video with the sound on.

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Screenshot: Ocean Spray Instagram

Massachusetts License Plate MV 1

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Massachusetts License Plate MV 1

If you’re driving around on the roads of New England, you might want to lookout for Massachusetts license plate MV 1.

What is it about us in the Bay State, that makes us obsessed with low number license plates? I’ve never had one, but always notice them and wonder about the owners. These plates are prized family heirlooms passed from one generation to the next.

Well, apparently the generation passing didn’t happen for the MV 1 license plate. Because this past Sunday, some lucky person bought it. The Vineyard Gazette reports that it was purchased via live auction for $46,500.00.

Celebrities are no strangers to the Vineyard and Seth Meyers, who was visiting with family, hosted the Zoom event. He joked that the winner of the plate would still need to make a ferry reservation and that motorists should acknowledge them.

Be sure to say thank you — maybe two polite honks. But this is New England . . . so if they cut you off, feel free to give them the middle finger.

Most of the proceeds go to Martha’s Vineyard Community Services, so the money raised will do a lot of good, which I had no idea until now. It’s nice to know that these vanity plates benefit people in need.

So if you play the license plate game, you might want to add a twist and focus on low number plates.

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Image: Possible Dreams 2020

The Dinner Club Is Back!

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Back in 2010, a small group of my friends started a dinner club. I’m so glad that I was already blogging at that point, so I can look back at the history of our gatherings.

Below is a quick summary for me, but also so our current group can look back at what we did before. If you’re interested in putting together your own dinner club, this post might be a guideline for you as well. For the last iteration of the dinner club, we picked a celebrity chef and cooked their recipes.

It’s also interesting to see what we planned for each dinner versus what actually happened. Which you can see if you click on the links and read the posts.

November 9, 2010 – Paula Deen

December 28, 2010 – Rachel Ray

March 22, 2011 – Ina Garten aka Barefoot Contessa

February 9, 2011 – Wolfgang Puck

May 19, 2011 – Ming Tsai

June 25, 2011 – Marcus Samuelsson

August 31, 2011 – Jamie Oliver

March 1, 2012 – Bobby Flay

March 17, 2012 – Emeril Lagasse

May 3, 2012 – B. Smith

November 2, 2013 – Dinner Club 2.0

The dates are the dates of the blog posts, not the actual days of the dinners. But they give an idea of the frequency of the dinners. Looking back, I can see how life got in the way. But we still had a great time and all of us who were part of the original group look back fondly at those gatherings. Such fun times!

I’m so happy that we’ve resumed the dinners to start the new decade. The first dinner was in January. Unfortunately I was really sick, so I missed it.

The second dinner was this past Saturday, on leap day. Since it was Black History Month, we picked soul food as a theme. The food was so good and I’m still enjoying the leftovers!

For dessert, I made banana pudding. It was my first time making it and I really enjoyed the process. It was delicious too!

My aunt, who passed away a few years ago, was the one in our family who always made banana pudding and introduced me to the dessert. I thought a lot about her as I was making it. My mom was the one who suggested that I make it and I’m so glad that she did.

For our next dinner club, we decided to pay tribute to B. Smith, who just passed away, by cooking her recipes. Looking back at the old dinner club posts, I saw that she was also our last celebrity chef. We’ve come full circle.

At dinner this Saturday, one of the new members mentioned that she had heard that one of the reasons that we started the club was because regular gatherings make people happier. I had forgotten, but said it sounded like something that I said.

In the Wolfgang Puck dinner post, I found that I had written about gatherings and happiness. Author Dan Buettner had said that being part of a once a month club where you must show up in person, has the same happiness impact as doubling your income. Life experiences and social interaction increase happiness.

I wrote about it back then and believe it even more years later. Here’s hoping that the gatherings continue!

Starbucks Juniper Latte Schooled Me About Gin

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You may have heard all the fuss about Starbucks new holiday drink — the Juniper Latte.

Our signature espresso and steamed milk mingle beautifully with juniper syrup. This beverage has a light, pine-like flavor with delightful citrus undertones. We cap this latte with velvety foam and accentuate the remarkable flavor with a dusting of pine-citrus sugar.

As soon as I read the description, I wanted to try it. Then I started looking for reviews on Twitter to get an idea of how people liked it.

Opinions were all over the place and frankly I was confused. So many of  comments were about it tasting like gin. Gin?! What?! What did juniper flavor have to do with gin?

Let me tell you. I was today years old when I learned that juniper berries are used to make gin. Learn something new everyday! Researching this post is how I found out! I’ve never been a fan of gin. I’ve had it in a few cocktails, but never go out of my way to drink it. I’ve never bought it and probably never will.

From what I could differentiate of the flavor in mixed drinks, gin seems to bring the flavor of what it’s mixed with down a notch and make it more dry. Why would I want to do that? I prefer the opposite. More flavor and sweeter!

Luckily, I didn’t learn about the gin connection until after I had already tried the drink. Otherwise I might have opted out.

So what did I think? I liked it! It was sweeter than I thought it would be. The flavor was understated. Think about the smell of a pine tree and the sap that you see dripping down the tree. Imagine what that would taste like. Then take it down a notch. That’s the flavor. Just the right amount of Christmas tree. I’ll definitely buy it again.

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*Updated 12/12/2019* Sadly, Starbucks didn’t bring back the Juniper Latte this year.

Brazen Boston Bird Tries To Bogart B.Good Bag

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bird

The weather was perfect today. Sunny with a bright blue sky. Dry and in the upper 70s. So I decided to grab a very late lunch (or early dinner) and sit outside for a bit. 

Since I brought a salad from home every day this week, today I decided to go to B.Good. I still love their Power Bowl, but switched things up with a veggie burger and vanilla milkshake. I’ve gone years without having a milkshake and this is my third in a month! What is happening?!?!

Anyway, I sat outside enjoying the weather and sipped my milkshake. The veggie burger was in a bag on a table. As I sat there, I noticed a seagull. It kept trying to pull a bag of food out of the trash, but without any luck. I took this picture above.

bird walking

Then the bird noticed me my bag of food on the table. This bird strutted right on over with no fear. So I took another picture.

Then, this sly seagull walked right on over to me. Jumped up onto the table. In my face. Then tried to snatch my B.Good bag! I had to grab it away first!

bird on table

Then this brazen bird had the nerve to stay there on the table. Looking at me defiantly. Like it was thinking, “Really. You couldn’t just give me your food.”

I took another picture. Then decided it was time to head back to the office. Maybe the universe was sending me a sign.