Why? My 7 Links!

There’s a meme making it’s way around blogger land these days called “My 7 Links.” The idea is that you dig up posts from your blog in each of seven categories and share those links. You give air time to posts that may have been hidden for awhile. It gives your readers a chance to see what you think about what you write. It’s cheesy and fun and I was very excited when Poise in Parma tagged me yesterday to carry on the My 7 Links meme.

1. Most Popular

I just went according to the WordPress stats on this one. My three most popular posts (all very close in hits):

1. The Why CLE Challenge!

2. Why? Painesville!

3. Why? Washington Place!

2. Most Beautiful

Now I can be subjective! First, I think “Why? Jamaica!” was a beautiful post.

Not just because Jamaica itself is beautiful, but because I feel the sense of relaxation and happiness that I brought back from that trip came through in the post. I was calmer, more centered, and reinvigorated for everything from work to blogging. I think that feeling came through in the post.

My other most beautiful post has to be “Why? The Love of My Life!” There’s something about writing a post less than 12 hours after you got engaged that makes it impossible not to be happy and bubbly. I’m so glad I wrote that post as part of the memories that surround our engagement.

3. Most Controversial

There hasn’t been a whole lot of controversy here on Why CLE?, which is OK with me. If I had to pick one, I’d say “Why? Deciding to Move Past the Decision!” was the most controversial. I was certainly more nervous about posting that than I usually am about posting. The Decision and its aftermath still sparks strong and passionate discussion, so wading into that fray was a bit intimidating. Even so, I stand by my opinions on the subject!

4. Most Helpful

“Why? 31 Days of Loving CLE!” was the wrap-up to the Why CLE? Challenge. I took answers that I heard over the month of the challenge, as well as my own answers, and compiled a list of 31 things to love about CLE. It was a great reminder for me of all the fantastic things going on in Cleveland. And hopefully it opened your eyes to some new or neglected reasons to love living in CLE.

5. Surprise Success

The response to the Why CLE Challenge blew me away. It’s not just that the post got a lot of views and comments. It’s more that the people who took the challenge of finding one thing you love about CLE every day for a month really took it. People wrote daily tweets and weekly blog posts about the challenge. You all really embraced the spirit of the Why CLE Challenge and made that month such a fun one for me (from the blogging perspective).

6. Not Enough Attention

This is a tough one. I’m still wowed by the fact that someone other than CLEmom and CLEguy read this. So, any attention is fine with me. But, if I have to pick I’ll say “Why? Blog-olutions” didn’t get enough attention – from me! I had this great list of things I wanted to do this year and I definitely haven’t made as much progress as I hoped. But, the year’s not over right?! Maybe you guys can pick your favorite blog-olution and get me back on task!

7. Most Proud

Without question: “Why? Home (My Story)!” is the post of which I’m most proud. Not only did I open up in a way I hadn’t before on the blog, but my story resonated with a lot of you. The feedback from that post was truly heartening. To be able to not only share myself, but to share something that touched others is something I truly cherish.

So, now I’m supposed to tag 5 other bloggers to share their 7 Links. So, here we go:

1. Stephanie from Hungry in Cleveland

2. Amanda from Clue Into Cleveland

3. Moja from MojaMala2

4. Jen from No Day is So Bad…

5. ClevelandChick from Happiness is a Hot Pierogi

Have fun!

Why? Wahoo Women!

It was a beautiful night for baseball in CLE! Last night, I was lucky enough to attend an Indians game in the fabulous Social Suite to get a preview of the Indians’ upcoming Wahoo Women event.

Before the game, Poise in Parma and I grabbed a drink at Wonder Bar and watched the crowds on East 4th Street. It was a busy night in Cleveland, with multiple concerts and the Indians game all bringing people downtown. We saw every kind of Britney Spears outfit, from “Baby One More Times” chaperoned by one of their moms to “Slave(s) for You.” It made pre-game happy hour quite entertaining!

From there, we headed to the sweet views of the Indians’ Social Suite for the Wahoo Women preview.

Wahoo Women is a Ladies’ Night Out-themed Tribe game, happening Tuesday, August 9. Before the Indians take on the Detroit Tigers, you can stroll around vendors from salons, fitness centers, and more. Ticket packages start at just $18 for mezzanine-level seats. Your ticket package includes a Wahoo Women t-shirt, access to the vendors and pre-game fun, and a $3 donation to Go Red for Women, helping to raise awareness and find a cure for women’s heart disease.

The Wahoo Women who attended last night’s preview all had a wonderful time watching the game, chatting, eating, admiring our adorable Wahoo Women t-shirts and more. I think this tweet pretty much sums it up:

It was so fun to be at the ballpark with a bunch of fun, CLE-loving, Tribe-cheering ladies!

Last night’s Wahoo Women:

@poiseinparma

@april_ingle

@BriLutz

@SAJansky

@Shoesalwaysfit

@LaVieBoheme73

@ClevelandChick

@KaseyCrabtree

And while the Tribe didn’t bring home a win, they brought home a fun and exciting game. The crowd was as loud as if it had been a sell-out! You can tell Tribe fans are fired up this season!

Much thanks to @tribetalk and @lzone for organizing this preview event. Wahoo Women is sure to be a fun night at the ballpark for a great cause. Get your tickets today!

***Disclosure: My ticket to watch the game in the Social Suite was complimentary, along with the Wahoo Women t-shirt. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.***

Why? Weekends!

***A bit of blogkeeping: I had to redraw a winner for one set of the Vintage Ohio tickets. The new winner is Tracy! Congratulations! Please email me at whycleblog@gmail.com with your address and I will mail the tickets to you.***

Friday night, I got home from work to discover we had no power. Not being patient and craving pizza anyway, I convinced CLEguy to abandon our hopes for a homecooked dinner. We headed to Mama Roberto’s instead.

This is such a great little neighborhood Italian restaurant, with checkered tablecloths, a Chianti bottle on each table, and warm friendly service. We started our meal with some fabulous, buttery, pull-apart garlic bread. I also had a cup of the Italian wedding soup, which was traditional and delicious. CLEguy started with a side salad, which was heavy on the cheese, but unfortunately light on the olives and tomatoes (only one of each in the whole salad!).

For our entree, we decided to split the Rocco pizza, which features stuffed peppers as the topping. The sauce was delicious – hearty and slightly sweet. The crust was not too heavy, but still stood up to the toppings. The peppers were some of the hottest we have ever eaten. I highly recommend removing the seeds and making sure you have plenty of water nearby when eating this pizza. While the Rocco pizza was good, more even distribution of the peppers and a bit more cheese might have helped moderate some of the heat. We forgot to order some of Mama Roberto’s amazing cannoli before we left, so I see another visit in our future soon.

On Saturday, CLEguy and I spent the day at Cedar Point.

We’re pretty lucky to have one of the world’s top amusement parks so close to home! But even better than the fun and thrills that Cedar Point offers are the memories it evokes. For those of us who grew up around the Cleveland area, we inevitably have memories of family trips or excursions with friends to Cedar Point. I tweeted the question of “what’s your favorite ride at Cedar Point?” Most of the answers were the older roller coasters – from Blue Streak to Gemini to Iron Dragon. These are the first roller coasters we ever rode and while the adrenaline rush might not compare with Millenium’s, they still hold favorite status.

What’s great is being able to go back year after year and not only relive those memories, but also make new ones, like hiding from the rain or eating the world’s largest ice cream cone from Toft’s.

Sunday morning, we made a quick stop by Poise in Parma HQ. What ensued was nothing short of golden fuzz craziness, as the CLEpups and the VP of Fuzz got acquainted:

After our stop to visit the PIP folks, we headed to Secor’s Nursery and Farm Market.

We went blueberry picking, which is much easier than strawberry picking! The blueberry bushes were close to six-feet tall and had plenty of delicious berries to grab. In about an hour, the two of us picked nine pounds of blueberries, which will make for tasty snacks, a delicious pie or two, and some blueberry smoothies. For a great smoothie, just take orange juice, plain yogurt, fresh blueberries, and honey and blend. Yum!

While at Secor’s, we also stocked up on summer squash, zucchini, and new potatoes. I see some good dinners in our future!

All in all, another fun and fabulous CLE weekend! What new answers to Why CLE? did you discover this weekend?

Why? Friday Inspiration!

I know I’ve told you what inspired me to start this blog: loving CLE and being profoundly happy and grateful to be living here. Lately, I’ve been thinking about what keeps me inspired. There have been a few CLEbloggers expressing fatigue or lack of direction or just general unhappiness with blogging. Certainly, we can all feel that way at times. But, for me, the things that keep me inspired on this blogging journey are what truly make it worthwhile.

I’m inspired by my readers. When I started this blog, I thought I’d talk about CLE in general, but leave a lot of myself at the door. It amazes me how much of myself I’ve shared on this blog – from my story of returning to Cleveland to writing about my Mom and Dad to telling you about moving in with and getting engaged to my fiance. I use perhaps cheesy names to refer to these people, but the stories and the sentiment are no less real than if I used their names. There’s a tremendous amount of personal good that comes from sharing real pieces of yourself with people. And I am profoundly grateful that you, dear readers, have made me feel comfortable enough to keep doing that.

I’m inspired by learning new things about my city. Through blogging, I’ve gotten to see more of CLE than I even knew existed and I’ve pushed myself to try new things, go new places, and experience more. It’s deepened my love for and understanding of this city. There are more cool events going on in this town than I even have time to write about. I’ve gotten to meet amazing, talented Clevelanders who do things every day to better their city. I got to stand on the field after an Indians game. I am at once excited, honored and humbled by the opportunities to experience this city in a deeper way, to give back, and to share that with others.

I’m inspired by the friends I’ve made. Finding true friends – not just acquaintances – isn’t always the easiest thing. I never imagined the new friends I’d gain from blogging and the existing friendships I’d deepen.

Thanks for enriching my life so much, dear readers! Have a great weekend! Do something inspiring!

Why? Jimmy Buffett!

***First, a bit of blog-keeping: The winners of the tickets to Vintage Ohio have been chosen via random.org. Congrats to Lola Hu and Melange! Please email me at whycleblog@gmail.com with your addresses and I will mail you the tickets. Thanks to the Lake County Ohio Visitor’s Bureau for sponsoring this giveaway!***

Last night, I got to cross something off my “bucket list.” And I don’t mean my blog-olutions list. I mean my real-life, always-wanted-to-do-this bucket list. Yup, attending a Jimmy Buffett concert was on my bucket list. Go ahead, I’ll give you a minute to judge that however you want. OK, moving on… The last time Jimmy Buffett played in Cleveland was 2004. That summer, I wasn’t living in Cleveland and I’ve been keeping my fingers crossed for Buffett’s return to Blossom for a long time now.

Our evening started with tacos and margaritas at Johnny Mango World Cafe.

It was Taco Tuesday, which meant $1 beef or bean tacos. The tacos were basic (beef or beans, lettuce, tomato, and cheese), but good. They came up fast and provided a cheap, quick bite before the concert. We spent as much on drinks as on tacos, but who can resist watermelon margaritas?! These were the special of the day and I highly recommend them – sweet, summery, and refreshing!

After dinner, CLEguy and I trekked down to Blossom to meet up with a whole group of CLEfriends. We got to take in some of the all-day tailgaters while walking into the concert.

Car Surfing Tailgater

 From grass skirts and coconut bras (on the men) to hats with stuffed sharks and margarita glasses, the people watching at the concert was one of the best parts of the evening!

The concert was sold-out and I honestly don’t think I’ve ever seen such a sea of people at Blossom. Before the concert started, there was plenty of fun with beach balls, Landshark beer, and Bob Marley music. The entire lawn was covered with people by the time Jimmy Buffett took the stage. Buffett told the crowd that Blossom was the first venue of that size that he and the Coral Reefer Band sold out in the U.S.

I think we can be so sun-deprived in CLE that any beach and vacation-themed music is even more popular here!

Toward the end of the concert, Buffett covered a Mac McAnally song called “Back Where I Come From.” This has been a favorite song of mine for a long time. And when the song was mixed with images of CLE on the big screens…wow! It was such a great reminder of how happy I am to be in CLE and to be crossing something off my bucket list surrounded by CLEguy and my amazing CLEfriends.

I make it a point to say, that’s where I come from. Back where I come from, where I’ll be when it’s said and done. I’m proud as anyone, that’s where I come from. ~Mac McAnally

Why? Veggie U Food and Wine Celebration!

***Have you entered  to win tickets to Vintage Ohio yet? I’m giving away two sets of two tickets to this great event, courtesy of the Lake County Ohio Visitor’s Bureau. You have until 11:50pm on Tuesday, July 19 to enter, so get to it! Click here to enter.***

Instead of the usual weekend recap, I simply have to devote an entire post to the amazing event that CLEguy and I attended on Saturday night: the 9th annual Veggie U Food and Wine Celebration. We were lucky enough to receive tickets to this incredible event while attending the opening party for the Washington Place patio. And since then, I have literally been counting the days until we could head out the the Culinary Vegetable Institute for an evening of food, wine, and philanthropy.

Veggie U is a curriculum-based program, implemented in fourth-grade classrooms across the country to teach children where our food comes from and the importance of healthy eating. This food and wine celebration isn’t just about delicious eats and drinks, but about raising money and awareness of this amazing program. Aside from ticket sales, there were live and silent auctions, t-shirt sales, “sponsor a classroom” donations, and more.

The focus of the activity Saturday evening was the “tasting tent.” Here, various restaurants and wineries offered delicious small bites and pours to satisfy even the most ardent foodie. I told CLEguy I felt like I was on an episode of “Top Chef!” Rather than tell you bite by bite about all the yummyness, I’ll give you a list of my Top 10 Moments at Veggie U…

1. Our very first stop inside the tasting tent was at Gruppo Mezzacorona, where splits of sparkling wine were served with twisty straws. This is clearly the best way ever to enjoy sparkling wine.

2. Sweets by Maggie! Turtle cake balls! Salted caramel cake balls! Port wine brownies! Lavendar cupcakes! Grand Marnier cherry cupcakes! Yum!

3. Mackenzie Creamery featured three different flavors of Ohio goat cheese: pesto, pimento, and honey and fig. The pesto was amazing and I probably could have eaten the entire tray.

4. CLEguy’s favorite dish of the night: Cayman-style fish tea from The Brasserie in the Cayman Islands. This slightly creamy soup featured conch, red snapper, and Chef’s Garden vegetables.

5. Seeing restaurants from CLE and all over (Cayman Islands, Utah, Florida, South Carolina) using Chef’s Garden vegtables to present amazing, tasty treats.

6. Running into foodie friends, such as Poise in Parma and Chef Chris Quinn.

7. The offerings from Deagan’s Kitchen, The Greenhouse Taven, Three Birds, and AMP 150. Deagan’s lobster nachos, with avocado, corn and sweet soy glaze were delicious (and not just because I got the last one). The Greenhouse Tavern’s provencal broth with fresh Chef’s Garden vegetable and rabbit ravioli was fresh and savory. Three Birds put smoked duck over a vanilla and orange pound cake, with peach and cherry sauces, blending savory and sweet perfectly. AMP 150′s chilled duck breast makes me even more determined to get back to the restaurant to see what Chef Jarrett is cooking up.

8. The line for Jeni’s Ice Cream was about as long as it is on a Saturday night at their Chagrin Falls shop, but it was worth the wait. The black raspberry and sweet corn ice cream was inspired!

9. The bumper crop of veggies displayed during the event, which people could take home at the end. And the fact that there was a mad rush to take home bags of vegetables!

10. Getting a chance to chat with Farmer Lee Jones, the man behind the Culinary Vegetable Institute, Chef’s Garden, and Veggie U, and getting to meet his lovely wife. These are two people who are genuinely committed to what they do and who are incredibly gracious and welcoming hosts. Thanks for a wonderful evening, Farmer Lee!

Hopefully you’ll put the Veggie U Food and Wine Celebration on your calendar for next year – I know it will be on ours!  A couple tips if you do go: It was HOT in the tents and a few extra fans probably would have helped to keep the melting (of people) to a minimum. Find a spot by a fan and camp out for a bit. Also, a lot of restaurants were running out of food around 8pm and some were less than gracious when they did, so if you go next year, go early!

The Culinary Vegetable Institute and Veggie U are doing amazing things to promote healthy, locally-grown, sustainable eating. Support the restaurants that use their products and donate to Veggie U – you’ll be glad you did!

***Disclosure: While attending the Washington Place patio opening party, we heard a presentation from Farmer Lee Jones about the Veggie U Food and Wine Celebration. All in attendance at the patio party received a ticket to attend the Veggie U event. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.***

Why? Vintage Ohio Ticket Giveaway!

Happy Friday, dear readers! As we head into another great CLE weekend full of things to do, I find I’m excited not just for this weekend, but for some other great upcoming events. One of those is Vintage Ohio.

Image source - http://www.visitvintageohio.com

This is a two-day wine fest at Lake Metroparks Farmpark in Kirtland happening August 5 and 6. So what’s at Vintage Ohio?

Wineries from all over the state – including Debonne Vineyards, Ferrante Winery, Paper Moon Vineyards and more – will be in attendance.

Fantastic food to purchase, from Jibaro World Eats, Stancato’s, StrEat Mobile Bistro, Umami Moto, Sue’s Pierogies (Pierogies and wine? I’ve gone to heaven!) and many more.

Crafters and gourmet take-home food products.

Live music, from jazz to rock to acoustic.

Cheese making and ice cream making demonstrations, a wine store, kid’s activities, and much more!

So, of course you want to go, right? Tickets are on sale now for $25 for one-day “adult taster” admission (only $10 for designated drivers). But, you can also enter to win tickets right here!

The Lake County Ohio Visitor’s Bureau, one of the Vintage Ohio sponsors, has generously donated 4 tickets to Vintage Ohio to be given away to 2 lucky Why CLE? readers!

The tickets are good for either day of Vintage Ohio. Each winner will receive 2 tickets. The giveaway closes at 11:59pm on Tuesday, July 19 and the winner will be announced on Why CLE? on Wednesday, July 20.

Here’s how you enter:

1. Check out the list of wineries at Vintage Ohio and leave a comment telling me which you most want to try.

2. Check out the Lake County Ohio Visitor’s Bureau blog and leave a comment here telling me which upcoming event (other than Vintage Ohio) sounds cool to you.

3. Follow me (@WhyCLE) AND the Lake County Visitor’s Bureau (@lakecountyoh) on Twitter and tweet the following:

I want to win Vintage Ohio tickets from @WhyCLE and @lakecountyoh! http://wp.me/p1fb9r-hC 

Leave a comment letting me know you did. Twitter users can enter once every day, just be sure to leave a comment each time you tweet.

4. Follow Why CLE? on Networked Blogs and leave a comment letting me know you did.

Good luck, wine lovers!

***Disclosure: The Lake County Ohio Visitor’s Bureau donated 4 Vintage Ohio tickets to be used as a reader giveaway. The contest rules are my own. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.***

Why? Washington Place!

Last week, CLEmom and I went out to dinner. When deciding on where to go, we had three requirements: (1) good food, (2) good drinks, (3) a nice patio. We ended up at Washington Place Bistro and Inn in Little Italy. I had been to Washington Place for the opening of their new patio, so I knew it was a fabulous spot to spend a summer evening. But, at the patio party, we didn’t eat food off the menu and I was dying to try some of the things I had heard about.

We caught the end of Washington Place’s happy hour, which runs until 6pm on the patio, 7pm inside. Certain drinks and appetizers are all just $5. From the happy hour menu, I chose the white sangria, a refreshing summer cocktail. We also ordered the goat cheese and chorizo strudel and the oxtail pierogies (not on the happy hour menu).

The strudel was out of this world. The phyllo dough was light and flaky. The filling blended creamy Mackenzie Creamery goat cheese and mildly spicy chroizo perfectly. Add in fresh thyme and micro greens and you have one amazing appetizer. And for only $5!

The pierogies lived up to my very high expectations. Ohio City Pasta truffled potato pierogies were topped with oxtail and mushroom ragout, onion, and horseradish creme fraiche. The pierogies were perfect – slightly crisp on the outside with a nice, firm dough and creamy filling. The oxtail and mushroom ragout was hearty, without overpowering the taste of the pierogi. We definitely cleaned our plates on the appetizer course!

CLEmom and I took an inordinately long time deciding on dinner, because everything sounded so good! For our entrees, I chose the dayboat scallops and CLEmom chose the hanger steak.

The scallops were seared and served with a carrot and pea risotto, covered with a citrus “lacquer.” The scallops were perfectly cooked and delicious. The risotto and lacquer are what really took this dish to the next level. The citrus and fresh vegetable flavors added a wonderful brightness to the dish. The sauce was light, but the citrus tang still came through and stood up to the risotto. One of my CLEtweeps, nicolekusold, went to Washington Place the next night and confirmed that the scallops are “sooo delish!”

CLEmom’s hanger steak was cooked exactly to her liking and was tender and flavorful. The asparagus and fries were the perfect accompaniments. On the side is a bleu cheese butter sauce – CLEmom feels the same way about bleu cheese that I do!

Despite being stuffed, we couldn’t pass up dessert! I had the Graeter’s Ice Cream trio and CLEmom had the lemon blueberry tart.

First, I loved the presentation of the ice cream, even though on a hot CLE day, I had to eat them rather quickly. The trio included chocolate chip, mint chocolate chip, and blackberry chocolate chip. Graeter’s blackberry chocolate chip is one of my all-time favorite ice cream flavors, so I was quite happy. The mini waffle cones are made at Washington Place and are light and sweet and delicious! This is a perfect fun summer dessert!

The lemon blueberry tart was also a great summer choice, with fresh flavors and a gorgeous and delicious creme anglaise on the plate.

One of the best things about the menu at Washington Place is the amount of local food – from Mackenzie Creamery goat cheese to Chef’s Garden vegetables to Graeter’s ice cream. Washington Place doesn’t just talk the talk. Their menu details the great local spots your food is coming from. And, at the end of your meal, there’s a place on your check to make a donation to Veggie U to help educate the next generation about the importance of local, healthy food.

Overall, Washington Place exceeded our requirements for good food, good drinks, and a nice patio. I will certainly be back to try one of the many things on the menu that tempted me!

Why? Weekends!

Hope everyone enjoyed their Hot in CLE weekend! CLEguy and I started off our weekend at the St. John Vianney parish festival. I love all the local festivals this time of year around CLE. St. John Vianney’s festival had games for kids and adults, bounce houses (sadly only for kids), live music, good food, wine tasting and more. My favorite part of the festival was the duck races. Seriously, they had little ducks running from one end of a cage to another. Ducks apparently have difficulty going in straight lines though or not getting distracted and just stopping or turning back around.

After watching the duck races, we grabbed some BBQ chicken and ribs and listened to the band cover all the hair band 80′s hits you could possibly want to hear.

CLEguy nomming on some ribs

A nice, relaxing start to the weekend and a reminder that I need to get to more festivals before the summer is up!

Saturday morning, we got up bright and early for the Ohio Blogging Association meet-up at the Run for the Pierogies. This 5K around Tri-C’s Western Campus in Parma benefitted the American Cancer Society.

Quite the group of CLEbloggers/runners showed up.

Me, Becoming Rooks, Hip & Healthy, Poise in Parma, MojaMala2, Finishing Firsts, & Hungry in Cleveland

In attendance were bloggers from:

Poise in Parma (read her recap here)

Clue Into Cleveland (read her recap here)

Hip and Healthy

Waiting for Next Year

MojaMala2 (read her recap here)

Finishing Firsts (read her recap here)

Mollyberries’ Hodge Podge (read her recap here)

Becoming Rooks (read her recap here)

@CLECraftBeerRun

Hungry in Cleveland (read her recap here)

It was a hot day and around the halfway mark of the race, I really just got in my head about how I didn’t feel good, I wasn’t running well, and so on. I ended up dropping out at the turn and needing some serious comforting from CLEguy. I’m telling you this because I learned two very important things from Saturday’s race:

1. If you don’t prepare, you won’t do well. I know I didn’t run nearly enough leading up to Saturday and the combination of physically not being in the best place to run and mentally beating myself up for not preparing ended up spelling out an early end to my race.

2. Trust your friends to be understanding and empathetic. I was so embarrassed that I didn’t finish the race, but no one seemed to care or make a big deal out of it. As CLEguy pointed out, I can expect more of myself (in terms of finishing the race), but I shouldn’t expect less of them (in terms of being understanding). I’m pretty lucky that in such a short time, these fab blogger folks have become such good friends!

I bucked up enough to enjoy post-race pierogies with the lovely Poise in Parma. That lady can always make me smile! Plus, win lose or draw, we all contributed to the American Cancer Society by running, which is a great thing!

I also have to give a huge shout-out to Clue Into Cleveland, who ran her first 5K in some brutal weather!

After the race, we headed to Luna’s Deli for breakfast and chit-chat about everything from the race to CLE to food. It was especially great to catch up with Becoming Rooks: she and I went to high school together and hadn’t seen each other since then!

The rest of our weekend was pretty low key – a BBQ with CLEfriends on Saturday evening and some shopping with CLEmom on Sunday. Hope you’re all staying cool! What new answers to Why CLE? did you discover this weekend?

Why? Deciding to Move Past the Decision!

So, yesterday was the one-year anniversary of “The Decision.” I must confess, I never would have known that but for Twitter and news media and all sorts of reminders popping up in my social media feeds and even on the MSN homepage. There are a lot of “Where were you?” “What were you doing?” questions. And there is a lot of anger still out there for LeBron and the way he handled himself. At the opposite end of the spectrum, there are a lot of people exhorting CLE-ers to let it go already.

“The Decision” was a break-up: a nationally-televised, horribly-embarrassing break-up. Like most break-ups, it wasn’t totally unexpected. And like most break-ups, it takes time to heal. But, collectively, maybe it’s time to stop being LeBron’s crazy ex-girlfriend.

We’ve come along way since The Decision: our Cavs got some amazing draft picks, one of our Browns snagged the Madden cover and the team is already generating buzz for the season, and our Indians are in first place in their division. We’ve got a lot going for us. To continue the break-up metaphor, we’ve got some hot dates. So, it’s time to start acting like it.

Maybe we won’t ever forget (or forgive) The Decision. Maybe there will always be stories and commentators who bring it up (such as this). But we can start by giving the appearance of moving on. We can focus on what we didn’t lose and, by doing that, the appearance of moving on may become the actuality. Need some help? Read this awesome article that still brings tears to my eyes. Hold your head high, CLE!