Guilt can screw…especially guilt that supposedly ruins delicious pleasures for some people. Luckily, I suffer from bouts of real guilt from actual bad acts, so I’m impervious to feeling bad about eating embarrassing food.  Because really, that’s all a guilty food pleasure is…something you don’t want someone catching you eating.  I don’t mind getting caught eating a double can of Campbell’s Beef and Barley soup or having footage of me ordering my fourth Meximelt.  These aren’t guilty pleasures…they’re just pleasures.

1. McDonald’s Steak Bagel- I’m in love with this breakfast sandwich and it’s criminal that the good folks at this Irish burger joint don’t offer it all day.  As anybody who has devoured this while nursing a hangover knows, there is clearly vast medicinal value to this thing as well.  The actual bagel on its own is pedestrian and the steak would definitely  get sent back to the kitchen if ordered out. But I love the way the egg is cooked lightly, that there are two pieces of American cheese, and that there is no skimping on that miraculous sauce (which tastes like a holy mix of Hollandaise sauce , mayonnaise, and bacon fat) that anchors the whole damn thing.

2. Off- Brand Frozen French Fries- I’m always( I mean always) looking for an excuse to include these in dinners at my house.   “I’ll just pick up an extra bag of fries to go with our Pasta Bolognese tonight, O.K.?”  We rarely get a luxury brand like Ore Ida(what are we, millionaires?)because the cheapest ones I like better.  My favorites are the fries that aren’t actually cut up potatoes…they’re more like deep fried , formed mashed potatoes…I bake them about 5 minutes longer than the bag says so that they’re extra crispy and hold up better to the piles of ketchup and mayonnaise that they’re responsible for carting to my mouth.

3.  Gas Station Hot Dogs-I’m always pissed when I see that wiener rotisserie vacant at a Wilson Farms or Citgo.  That tells me they’re great but the kid behind the counter is lazy.  Too bad for Citgo because I definitely would’ve gotten one (or three), with everything on it that they had to offer…bad mustard, brown-ish, old pickle relish, and whatever is getting pedalled as cheese sauce in the crock pot.  I can’t not get one. Roll cameras if you’d like…

So… I don’t like to hike.  When I was growing up we used to call it walking in the woods.   We’d pack a lunch, build a fort, and then talk about the girls in our class. I used to say, “yeah, I guess she’s hot.  but she’s so funny. That’s my favorite thing about her.”

I haven’t hiked anywhere around here in quite some time.  My brother, Steven, and his wife, Melissa, are here for the week on vacation and they were asking me where they should go hiking.

I was like, “um, I have no clue.  I think Albany High has a decent outdoor track.”

But I guess they want real out doorsy hiking.  So I figured I’d ask all you active blog readers out there.

Melissa said she…. sorry… they are looking for a hike that is roughly 3 to 4 hours long, relatively scenic, moderate to challenging (with no gear required) and dog friendly (I am trying to convince them to bring my dog, Niko.)  But they probably won’t, so that’s not that important of a requirement.

Any ideas?  Please post for her to read.

Thanks so much.

I received the following email today:

Hi Matt

My cousin Melina Breig from East Greenbush referred me to you and your website.

Our beloved boxer named Kobey disappeared on us this morning at 2am.  My husband was preparing to leave for work and he snuck out in the back woods off where we live on Hanley Lane, off Church Road, in Guilderland.  We are a family that revolves around our pets and truly treat them as one of the family.

If there is any way you could post his picture or if anyone has seen him we are trying to get the word out there.  All our contact information and our issue has been listed with the Guilderland and Bethlehem Police and both animal control offices as well.  Please help Kobey find his way home.

My cell is 518-456-0390.

Thanks,

Debbie

Good luck, Debbie.  We hope you find him.  :(

If you care to skip the introduction and go straight to the cause… CLICK HERE.

A local girl from Clifton Park needs our VOTE.

Hannah is currently seated #4 out of 1,000 entries in the Pepsi Refresh Challenge.  If she makes it to the top 2, then her organization will win $250,000!!!

When Hannah was diagnosed with GAN,  there was no existing organization to help her fight her disease.  So her family has started one called Hanna’s Hope Fund.

Let’s help this little girl win some big money.  Voting ends August 31st (2 days!!!), so please forward this to people.

Take 2 seconds please and CLICK HERE TO VOTE!

Good luck, Hanna.

UPDATE: LAST DAY TO VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE BELOW…

Please take a second and watch the following short videos and vote for the person you feel should win the FridayPuppy.com trip to Panama.

The voting for this contest will end August 31st at midnight.  Thank you for participating!

UPDATE:  I’m noticing that some people are repeat voting from the same IP address…. so the numbers are a little skewed at the moment.  I will be fixing that (i.e. deleting the votes from the multiple IP address.  If that is you doing it, please stop. Your vote won’t be counted if you do it.)  But if you haven’t voted, please vote for your favorite video.

Video 1:  Wendy Horn

Video 2:  Mike Foley

Video 3:  Jeffrey Beal

Attention beer lovers and  wurstoholics.

Okotberfest 2010 in North Albany (in front of Wolff’s Biergarten) has been scheduled for Saturday, October 2nd.   (originally, we were going to have it on September 18th, but we changed so as not compete with Irish Fest and the Warrior Dash.  You’re welcome, Irish Fest.)  And YES, I realize we had a billboard up advertising September 18th.  We had to take it down, and pay a small fortune to have them change the sign.

Anyway, the plan this year is similar to last year’s Oktoberfest, only bigger.

This year, the first 2,000 people who show up will receive a complimentary 1.0 liter Wolff’s beer stein.  If you already have one (or 8) from one of the World Cup Block parties, bring it with you and you will get a $2 discount at the door for recycling. (thank you.)

There will be a kids section, like last year, but sans the pony.  Turns out, ponies don’t love driveways.  Instead, we’re going to have a bunch of carnival games and face painters and root beer keg stands for the kids.  (not really).

This year, Oktoberfest 2010 will be featuring a Miss Oktoberfest competition.   (details to be anounced.  And it’s not your typical “beauty” contest.  We prefer a lady who can tap a keg.)

Live music, tons of german food, delicious German beers on draft, pouring out of 2 huge beer trucks.

Tickets are $7 at the door, or $5 in advance at Wolff’s Biergarten.   OR… $5 if you bring your Wolff’s Biergarten 1.0 liter mug from the World Cup Block Party.

(If you would like to volunteer for this event (and receive a $50 Wolff’s Gift Certificate, a T-shirt, and one of those uncomfortable hugs from me), please send an email to WolffsBiergarten@gmail.com We could use volunteers for positions such as bartenders, security, site maintenance, general set up / breakdown, etc.  However, please keep in mind that if you would like to bartend, you will be required to wear your own dirndl or lederhosen.)

More details to follow, I just wanted to give you all a heads up so you can RSVP: NO to any weddings you might have been invited to on that date.