Gertrude Maxwell

I'm helping my mom put together a brochure for Save-A-Pet's Guardian Angel program and I stumbled across an awesome video of Save-A-Pet's founder, Gertrude Maxwell. Here she is:



She's 98 years old now and is still fighting for animal rights, God love her. She just had a bill passed in Florida (the Gertrude Maxwell Save A Pet Act) that will provide funding to small shelters throughout Florida for the purpose of spaying & neutering.

Anywho, you MUST watch this video. She's absolutely fantastic.



PS - If anyone reading this works in printing, we're making tri-fold full-color brochures and will be looking for a good deal on printing. E-mail me if you think you can help! Thank you!

Working Out

I gotta tell you... I usually hate working out, but these aerobics classes I've been taking have really been making a difference!

First, I feel them so. much. more.

45 minutes on a treadmill vs. a 45-minute aerobic class... even though I sweat like crazy on the treadmill, I don't feel anything the next day. The aerobics classes on the other hand... I hurt the next day (in a good way), but not so much that I don't want to go back. Going back actually eases any pain I may have because I'm forced to stretch and use my muscles again.

And second, the biggest thing for me... I took a class Saturday and didn't take one Sunday. I should've taken one yesterday but I didn't and I'm angry at myself today because I feel like I missed out. But I don't just feel guilty—I feel kind of gross. Like, I must take one tonight because I know it will make me feel better.

You know how people always say the more you work out the more you'll want to? Well, I've been working out for over two months now and that hasn't happened to me yet. (Well, at least it didn't before I started taking the classes.) I think it's because I was bored with the treadmill, elliptical, etc. With the classes, the more I take the more I want to go back. And not just because I'm losing weight and my clothes fit better—I want to go back because I feel stronger.

Anywho, I haven't weighed myself in a while. I lost 15 pounds initially and then plateaued, which I think happened because I gained muscle. Since I'm pretty sure I'm going to gain some more muscle, I'm not going to weigh or measure myself until Labor Day.

My point in telling you all this is TAKE CLASSES!

Working Out

I took a Pilates lesson about a month ago and, in the middle of it, the instructor was like, "You're funny!"

"Um, I didn't say anything," I said, because I hadn't.

She kept saying it throughout the entire lesson... "You're funny."

"Still didn't say anything..."

Anywho, I've been trying out different classes this week and I'm starting to realize that I look funny when I work out. I'm not very coordninated, definitely ungraceful, and I close my left eye a lot when I'm straining to do something. I kind of look like Popeye.




This morning during another class the instructor was like, "Are you having fun?" No one said anything because she was kicking our butts, so she pointed to me and goes, "She's having fun in the back!"

Penis Maracas

Earlier today:




And now, a conversation from a few minutes ago:

--- Start conversation ---

"I don't understand."

"Don't understand what?"

"The penis maracas. I don't get how they work."

"You hold them by the shaft and shake the testes—what's there to get?"

"Oh, now I see..."

--- End conversation ---

Beverly Fell Off The Bed

Beverly rolled onto her back to stretch today and rolled right off the edge of the bed. I tweeted about it (I twatted it up!) and a lot of people expressed their concern for her well-being. She's okay and wanted to make this video to let everyone know.

Beverly Says Thank You from Karyn Bosnak on Vimeo.

UPDATE: Elvis' Thoughts on Beverly's Video

Elvis' Thoughts On Beverly's Video from Karyn Bosnak on Vimeo.

"Elvis wants everyone to know that he did not fall off the bed today.

In fact, he's never fallen off the bed because he's not an uncoordinated canine with a belly the size of Buddah.

Whenever he wants to lie on his back to stretch, he first examines his surroundings -- carefully noting his proximity to the edge of things -- and then only if there's enough room to do so, will he attempt to roll over.

Elvis thinks that Beverly is trying to win you over by looking cute in her video and said that if you fall for her ruse, you're probably just as feeble-minded as she is."

Born To Love Gap - Part 3

Yay! Free jeans! Yay!

So anyway, after being chosen to be a Gap Brand Enthusiast, I planned my "Born To Fit" party to take place last Thursday evening. I was supposed to invite about fifteen people, and while I can fit fifteen people in my apartment, I wasn't sure how comfortable we'd all be. And also, even though I'm less than three miles from Manhattan, the thought of going to Brooklyn frightens people. Because of these two things, I asked my friend Cristin if I could have the party at her apartment. Not only is her place larger than mine, but she lives in the West Village right by the West 4th stop, so it's much easier for everyone to get to. She said yes. With the date and location finally picked, I sent out these super-cute evites:




As the day of the party grew near, Justine sent me two big boxes of goodies. In addition to a gazillion pairs of 1969 jeans, she sent me snacks, including little bags of M&M's that said, "Born To Indulge" and "Born To Love"...




Microwave popcorn that said, "Born To Pop"...




And a super-cute snack bowl to hold it all that said, "Born To Snack."




She also sent a camera that said "Born To Smile"...






And my favorite. thing. ever... a Flip Video Mino HD video camera with the 1969 Gap logo emblazoned across the front and "What were you born to do?" printed at the top.










The last two things were sent so I could record the party and blog about it. When you think about it, it's kind of a brilliant marketing campaign by Gap, don't you think? Send a bunch of awesome things to 150 bloggers across the country and let them run wild with it. Loves it.

In addition to the jeans and goodies, also in the box were two $50 gift cards that I could either give away at the party or on my blog (I chose my blog because I love you!) and a bunch of gift certificates for free jeans redeemable at any Gap store for people who couldn't find the right size/style jeans at the party.

Part 4 coming soon: My "Born To Fit" party... with pictures!

Daily Tweet Roundup

Me, today:

• Procrastinating going to the gym. Someone, quick--please tell me how fat I am. #
• If you took video of me in an aerobics class and released it as a feature film, you'd have a summer comedy blockbuster on your hands. #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter.

United Breaks Guitars

How did I miss this? United Airlines broke this man's guitar and wouldn't pay for it, so he told them he was going to write three songs about them.

Here's the first. It's so funny.




HuffPo said it could be "the single most famous act of customer frustration in YouTube history."

After the song began racking up YouTube views -- it's been seen more than 5 million times by now - United caved and offered to pay up. Carroll declined and suggested that United give the money to charity.

And now here's the second song:




He hasn't made the third yet.

I'm going to make one of these about United Airline's pet policy. They charge $175 EACH WAY to fly with Beverly. That's $350 and she doesn't even get a seat. It's ridiculous and I will never fly their airline because of it. I'm going to call it "What do you have against the animals?" And it's going to be a montage of Beverly and Elvis giving them the finger and sh*tting on pictures of their airplanes.

United sucks.

Daily Tweet Roundup

Me, today:

• Finally watching the season premiere of Mad Men from last night! (Was forced to wait 24+ hours! A travesty!) Don't tell me what happens! #
• Sharing my Pirate's Booty with Elvis. He always begs for it, so I share it with him. He eats it and then barfs it up. #
• 4 x 3 = 12 Wynonna Judd is so dumb. #millionaire #
• This man doesn't look healthy; perhaps he should've kept his kidney. tinyurl.com/qpfjyd #
• Watching the season premiere of Flipping Out! Yay! #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter.

Daily Tweet Roundup

Me, today:

• Margarita ice cream recipe from Nigella Lawson. tinyurl.com/qcrp63 I want to have a dinner party. #
• RT @RandyHaddock CNBC reports Twitter is 40% 'Pointless Babble.' And here I thought my tweet about ginormous dog balls was meaningful. #
• Finally watching the season premiere of Mad Men from last night! (Was forced to wait 24+ hours! A travesty!) Don't tell me what happens! #
• Sharing my Pirate's Booty with Elvis. He always begs for it, so I share it with him. Then he eats it and barfs it up. #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter.

What I'm Reading Now

I added two new sidebar boxes... "What I'm Reading Now" and "What I Just Read."



Check them out!

Born To Love Gap - Part 2

Yay! Free jeans! Yay!

Okay, so a few weeks after having coffee with Justine my sugarmama, a UPS man brought me a big box from Gap.




I was super-excited to receive it because I knew that I had either been chosen to become a Gap Brand Enthusiast or I was about to read the longest "We regret to inform you..." letter ever written. After quickly tearing it open, I opened it up and found a lovely orange bag, a bottle of Gap's new perfume Close, a bunch of lip gloss, and a cute tee that says "Born to Blog" on it.

Here's everything minus the tee (which you'll see later!):




There was also a letter from Justine inside that said, "It didn't take long after meeting you for the team to decide that you would make a perfect Brand Enthusiast for Gap..."




The letter went on to explain that Justine was going to send me a big box of Gap goodies—including a bunch of new 1969 jeans in different styles and a run of sizes—so I should invite all my friends over to try them on. Everyone would then get to go home with a free pair. Free stuff is great, but when you get to share it with your friends, it's even better!

The next step was planning my party. For that, you are going to have to wait for Part 3!

PS - Part 5 is where I tell you about the FREE Gap jeans & gift card giveaway!

Gross Lady On The Train

So I'm on the train going to Connecticut. It's crowded and I'm looking for a seat. A totally disgusting woman is taking up 4 seats--there are two seats facing two seats and she's sitting in the middle on one side and has one of her feet up on the other side. She's not wearing any shoes and her dirty-ass socks are out for everyone to see.

Now, even though I'm not sure if I can muster up the courage to sit next to THE FOOT, I start looking around for a place to put my bags anyway because, again, the train is crowded. As I do, she starts chiming in, giving her opinion on everything I'm doing because she's one of those people who needs to TALK TALK TALK and make sure everyone can hear... "That bag ain't gonna fit there," she says, and "You gonna need to put that one on it's side..." Did I mention she has horrendous grammar? She does.

So anyway, I ignore what she's saying and quickly realize that there's no way I can sit near her because I now know THE FOOT SMELLS, so I put my bags near the door of the car and plop down on top of one of them. My head disappears when I do, so naturally she starts asking everyone, "Where'd she go?" because up until now she thought I was going to sit next to her. I don't answer because I don't need to explain myself to a complete stranger. When it suddenly dawns on her that I'm not actually sitting in a seat, she yells, "Oh, tell me she ain't sitting on the floor!" I wasn't, but she didn't know that. Then she goes, "That just ain't sanitary...."

This, coming from a woman with no shoes, dirty socks and smelly feet on the train.

I hate her.


Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Born To Love Gap - Part 1

Yay! Free jeans! Yay!

Okay, so here's how it all began...

So a couple of months ago a nice girl named Justine sent me an email asking if I'd be interested in becoming a Gap Brand Enthusiast. Gap has just redesigned their denim line for the first time in 25 years or something and they were going to chose about 150 bloggers from around the country to help launch it. The line is called 1969 Jeans.




Of course I said yes because I love Gap. I mean, who doesn't love Gap? I've been wearing Gap for years, back when all they had were jeans and sweatpants in every color folded nice and neatly in the wall. (Remember that?) I also worked at Gap during college and was even once employee of the month. (I was really good in the fitting rooms, and, if I had enough caffeine in me, folding the denim wall. I was also a good greeter, but sometimes my abundance of energy frightened the customers so they didn't let me do that too often.)

Anywho, a few days later I met Justine for coffee and had a little interview. After chatting about the new denim line and the "Born To Fit" campaign, she took me shopping and bought me a whole new outfit. For reals. I got a cute white tee, a pair of lovely gray linen pants, and a purple scarf. I now like to refer to Justine as my sugar mama.



She was really such a nice person. And how fun does her job sound? She got to travel around and meet bloggers from all over the country.

Anywho, after thanking Justine I went home and waited on pins and needles to find out if I was going to be chosen to be a Gap Brand Enthusiast.

To be continued...

PS - We don't get to Part 2 and, more importantly, to the FREE JEANS GIVEAWAY unless 20 people comment on this post. (Gap gave me free jeans, people! I need to show them I have readers...) (Oops! Did I just spoil the story?)

Free Giveaways from Gap!

I have so much to tell you—SO MUCH TO TELL YOU!

And I have tons of FREE JEANS from Gap's new denim line, 1969, to give away! And a couple of gift cards, too!



My posts about it are going to come in parts... Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, etc.

In order to get Part 1, which explains why I have so many free pairs of jeans in the first place, I need 10 people to comment on this post!

Oh, Anne Is So Good...

Anne Good from the blog A.G. Out Loud (Anne Good's Daily Dog Blog, for all you puppy lovers!) was interviewed for Silicon Prairie News and she mentions me in her video answer. Thank you, Anne!

Here's the video:



And here's a picture of Anne and her three adorable puppers, Zoey, Leroy and Stella.




Visit Anne at A.G. Out Loud here.
Follow her on Twitter here.
And friend her on Facebook here.

She's swell people!

Yorkie Gym

I'm going to get one of these and set it up in the apartment for Beverly.

Ed Helms and The Jonas Brothers

This is so funny... Ed Helms skats to a Jonas Brothers song. It's toward the end of the clip, during the last minute.

Favorite Line from a John Hughes Film

Oh, this is so sad... writer/director/producer John Hughes died today. I could probably recite half his movies by heart. Without a doubt, they influenced my life and helped shape the kind of person I've become. ("Pear-shaped?" someone would ask, if this were one of his films.)

Anyway, when I was younger—before I ever even thought about becoming a writer—I would watch his movies and write down my favorite lines and dialog passages from them in a notebook; I think it was blue. (Dork, I know.)

So this will be fun... What are some your favorite lines from his movies? Leave them in the comments section of this post.

Here's a list of my favorite movies that he's written, directed, and/or produced:

Mr. Mom

Vacation

Sixteen Candles

The Breakfast Club

Weird Science

Pretty in Pink

Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Some Kind of Wonderful

Planes, Trains & Automobiles

She's Having a Baby

Uncle Buck

Christmas Vacation

Home Alone

Career Opportunities

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York


And now, to start things, here's one of my favorite lines from Vacation:

"I don't know why they call this stuff Hamburger Helper. It does just fine by itself."

Eat, Pray, Love in Brooklyn!

They're filming "Eat, Pray, Love" on my street today. Like, right in front of my apartment. Right now they're filming at the laundry mat on Smith between Dean and Bergen—my laundry mat—which means that Julia Roberts is now once removed from my underwear.

Later they're moving down the street to Robin Des Bois. I chatted with the owner and some crew dudes and they said she's filming a scene there with James Franco, Javier Bardem, and Billy Crudup.

So exciting!

UPDATE: Pictures of Julia Roberts and Javier Bardem!














PS - Pics are copyrighted and gossip blogs may not use them. (I'm not a paparazzo, just a chick who was excited to have two Academy Award winners in her 'hood.) My blogging friends and Brooklyn neighborhood blogs may use them, but please email me first at mail (at) prettyinthecity.com.

PPS - I know it's "laundromat" but I've been saying "laundry mat" since I was a little girl and I'm not stopping now.

Corn

I probably shouldn't encourage her to show me the food in her mouth.