So last night we watched the American Music Awards, it wasn't as exciting as the Country Music Awards but there were a few highlights worth mentioning. The whole extravaganza kicked off with Janet Jackson's painfully long 8 minute performance, showcasing the greatest hits album she is releasing probably just in time for Christmas. She looked fat and her outfit was horrible.

Lady Gaga and Carrie Underwood gave great performances and Kelly Clarkson's voice gave me goose bumps. As did seeing Jason Aldean presenting an award. Shakira's performance was rather odd, nothing like her usual stuff although she looked flawless as always. Usually I cannot stand either Jay Z or Alicia Keys but their new duet is AMAZING and as far as I am concerned they stole the show.

Of course the show was not without its cringe worthy moments, like Jemaine Jackson receiving an award on behalf of his brother with his kids in tow. Jermichael, Jermagisty and Jer-ugly or whatever the last one was called. Seriously, wtf are those names about?

While we are on the subject of wtf... what was Rhianna wearing? She looked like a badly embalmed Egyptian mummy. Plus Jennifer Lopez's comeback was a joke, as far as I could tell she was the only one lip syncing. The biggest joke was Adam Lambert's finale performance, ugh his voice is like nails on a chalk board and his desperate attempt at being edgy and shocking left me nothing short of embarrassed. His song was shit too.

The biggest highlight? Taylor Swift outselling Michael Jackson and graciously accepting the award at 4 am from London. I love that chick!

About a year ago we bought a piggy bank from Ikea and have dropped odd bits of small change into it ever since. Yesterday I emptied it and we took a bag of change to Walmart because we like to save money and live better and it totaled almost $50. Which was just enough for us to get all the goodies we need for an amazing thanksgiving feast next Thursday. Which I will be cooking. Yikes

I have never baked a turkey before so this should be interesting. I plan on making candied yams, green bean casserole and mashed potatoes to go with it. Smothered in turkey gravy and cranberry sauce with a delicious side of stuffing. To finish we shall have a home baked pumpkin pie. Heaven knows how people manage to get all these things to be ready at the same time. Personally I shall be grateful if I just manage not to poison us.

Today we had lunch at Denny's which was much fancier than I remembered it being in Seattle. I am sure going to miss a good old American breakfast when we return to Amsterdam in a couple of weeks. Naturally I will be taking a suitcase full of corn syrupy goodness back with me to see us through the winter months.

( Because I am a photo whore and without them it didn't really happen )

Every time we have been to Walmart here in Atlanta I have been amazed by the escalator to take shopping karts down to the subterranean parking lot. Yesterday I finally made a video of it...

( Why don't we have cool things like this in Europe? )

Amazing how some of the most mundane things in America are the most exciting to me!

I just made Kevin his very first soft boiled egg with soldiers! Nom nom nom...

It must be 15 years since I have eaten this and totally took me back to the days when my Mum cooked them for us during the school holidays.



YUM!

"Pop star Janet Jackson holds Michael Jackson's personal doctor responsible for her brother's sudden death and has told ABC News that a day does not go by when she doesn't think about her late sibling."

Well you and me both Janet (Ms. Jackson if you're nasty)!

Aside from the fact he only died a few months ago he has been in the news EVERY DAY since so it would be pretty hard for anyone to forget. Not to mention all your attention whoring family showing up in as many media outlets as they can. Like class act Latoya in the Dancing with the Stars audience week after week.

Of course this wont stop you from riding his dead coat tales all the way to the American Music Awards for your 8 minute intro performance will it? Plus where were you when your brother was lying in bed with an I.V stuck in his hand due to prescription drug addictions?

You wouldn't have even had an interview with ABC if MJ was still with us. So quit your bitchin' and enjoy the fact that you are managing to stay relevant when your career is as dead as your brother! It's all so tacky and tasteless. /rant

Another awesome top-down weather weekend in Atlanta. I even wore short pants which must be the first time I have been able to do this in November in my life.

On Saturday we drove to "The Flying Biscuit" for breakfast and I swear it must have been the most delicious breakfast I have ever had. I want to eat there every day although the place is so popular we had to wait almost an hour to be seated. It was worth it!



I had something called "Southern Scramble" which was 3 farm fresh eggs, scrambled with bacon and spicy collard greens, served with home fries and the fluffiest biscuit I have ever eaten. All dipped into the most heavenly, creamy grits in the entire world. YUM!

After that we drove about a half a mile further to ( Little Five Points )

Last night we went to the Regal 24 to see the film 2012. The Movie Theater is an amazing building, just one exit away on the interstate here in Atlanta. It has been built to replicate movie theaters of times gone by and it impresses me every time I see it.



Unfortunately the movie was considerably less impressive. Don't get me wrong, it isn't a complete waste of time, I just thought it could have been better. The special effects were great although there were really just too many of them. The story was good although rather inappropriately comedic and frankly the whole thing was about 30 minutes too long.

Damn I needed a beer after watching that long and costly mayhem.

So that's exactly what we did! We went to our local the Wooden Nickel and drank pitchers, played trivia games and watched the live band who were actually pretty damn good! After the pub we went home and cuddled up on the sofa with a cocktail and watched Friday 13th. Because that's what it was.

Hahahahaha.

Britney Spears concert tickets are selling for a buck a piece on ebay down under, people are outraged that the performance was lip synced. Wait... Australians were actually surprised?

I have seen clips of the Circus Tour and it looks like a pile of crap. I would be a lot more sympathetic to her lip syncing if she had some awesome kick-ass dance routines, however she just walks up and down the stage doing absolutely nothing.

I don't think I would even pay that much to see her, let's be honest she barely sings on her records anymore.

This probably shouldn't amuse me as much as it does, ah well.

12/50



create your own personalized map of the USA

Although to be fair, I only smoked a cigarette in Minneapolis.

We made it to Alabama and back in one piece and had the time of our lives. I had no idea what to expect from the place and everyone I mentioned we were going there to, had their own negative feedback to share with me on experiences with the State. Well they were wrong...

Alabama was gorgeous!



( The Heart of Dixie )

This is just what I have always wanted, a tray that offers FREEDOM!

Who knows, here in the land of the free (tray) I may be able to marry my fiance... wait...

"Hypocrisy = Prejudice with a halo" - Ambrose Bierce.

About 4 days ago I pulled or strained a muscle in my neck and have been in a lot of pain, today the pain is excruciating and I actually needed help to get out of bed.

We are supposed to be going away this weekend to spend a romantic night at a truck stop motel in Talladega, yet here I am laid up on the couch like a NASCAR whiplash victim with a heated pad wrapped tightly around my neck.

I've pulled muscles before and of course it hurts however I had no idea how much I actually use my neck until it hurts every time I try to move it. I cannot turn my head to the left at all and putting a baseball cap on so I could walk to CVS without bed-hair was almost impossible.

I know these things usually just take time to get better but if anyone has any suggestions to help ease the pain in the meantime they would be gladly appreciated.

At very least so that Kevin and I can get lucky in Alabama for our anniversary.

FUCK YOU, MAINE!

If I was American, I would be ashamed of the laws that legislate morality. The End.

Piedmont Park, Atlanta, with the midtown skyline in the background.

What an awesome weekend!

It began at the IHOP with breakfast and pancakes. It was absolutely delicious.

To be fair, Halloween was a complete anti-climax. Considering the hype surrounding it over here I was really expecting something rather spectacular. Talk about a complete non event, we didn't even get a single Trick or Treater. Not that this affected the weekend at all and a couple of the Drag Queens at the Stage Door Bar did incorporate a vaguely spooky theme into their act.

Sunday began at the Waffle House which seemed considerably more ghetto having sampled the Mom 'n Pop sphere over at the IHOP the previous day. After breakfast we took our hangovers downtown to Piedmont Park to sample Atlanta's Gay Pride. We had missed the parade but spent a lovely afternoon wandering around the booths and food stalls with all the other queens.

In between eating, drinking and being proud we have watched some Movies and become addicted to a new Monopoly card game we picked up at Target. Over the course of the weekend we must have played for hours, like we need anything new to be addicted to considering the amount of time we have both spent harvesting imaginary crops on FarmVille!

( Because without pictures it didn't really happen )

Can a 1 hour 43 minute drive be considered a road trip?

Well if so then that is exactly what we will be doing the weekend after next. To celebrate our one year anniversary we are heading to Alabama!



We are going to Cheaha Mountain National Park, just for an over nighter and hopefully to enjoy some spectacular views of the fall leaves changing color in the Talladega National Forest. I have never been to Alabama so that is exciting in itself. Not to mention that Kevin and I will have been together for 12 months that weekend.

I can't wait.

So this weekend will be a "holiday" weekend. I use this term loosely because where I come from this day will be more commonly referred to as Saturday. People here in the USA seem to take Halloween very seriously indeed.

I saw this yard the other day and was so gob smacked I walked over this afternoon to take a photograph...



WTF?

Now I have never found Halloween scary but that is frightening! I am apparently missing the point, assuming of course that there is one. However I am determined to get into the (ghostly) spirit of things and fully intend to carve my own Jack O lantern before the week is out. This will be my second attempt at this seasonal art, lets see if I can out do my last effort.

( BOO! )

I've been in a strange funk the last couple of days for no particular reason. Little things that ordinarily wouldn't bother me have been pissing me off and I have had trouble shaking the strange mood I am in.

Regardless today has been nice and relaxing. We went for a walk at a local park and did some shopping at Target and Publix (Did you see that CATIE?).

We also had a wander around a party store to take a look at all the Halloween costumes...

( 'Ello ello ello! what 'ave we 'ere then? )

I gave in. I am now officially one of the people I hate. A person that plays FarmVille on Facebook and spams other people's facebook pages with mundane crap like "Mark just bought a green bail of hay".



As you can see my farm is more of an allotment than a mighty plantation but once I harvest my strawberries I will be ready to kick some farmer ass!

It's finally finished. The old place is emptied, painted, cleaned and listed! The decorators and handy men did all the finishing touches to the house last week and on Saturday Kevin and I had a yard sale to shift the last of the stuff. We made $540, not too shabby!

Obviously all we have to do now is sell the place but that is really up to the realtor, our work is done.

The house looks amazing, not as funky as it did when we lived in it but from a buyers point of view it is looking ship shape and ready to go.

( Before and After )

One thing is for sure, whoever buys the house will be moving into a truly handsome looking home.

There sure are a lot of "Cowboys" here in the South. Although I'm not talking about the stetson wearing, horse riding type...

Take it away Urban Dictionary...

Cowboy
(UK slang)

- A tradesperson, normally a builder, plumber, roofer etc who performs shoddy work at an inflated price.

- Person who does a half job and pretends that he does the job properly.

- Someone who believes/percieves that are doing something correctly but in reality they have no clue what they are doing and they are just making themselves look like a wanker.

- A unskilled person who pretends to be a professional trades person.

Hopefully the kitchen floors, bathroom floors and plumbing will be fixed eventually. Yee-Ha!