Wow

Any fears I had about not working enough are gone away. Looks like my problem will be saying no...
I've worked every day except yesterday for quite some time, and yesterday I was summoned to work...I just had an important meeting.

Today, high school, which is awesome.
My paycheck will be much more significant than originally thought.

I just joined the Marketing Committee for the Hickory Museum of Art, and I'm totally excited. I've been a busy bee since our meeting yesterday, and it feels oh so good.

And, just in time for the birthday of my blog, Jon is remodeling our other bathroom. Hopefully, the 1 year anniversary post can match the first post...a testament to how cool the bathroom and my husband are.

How to become a Google Master!

Google is very user friendly. Without a single tip, you’re likely to find what you need. This guide should help you become a super Google searcher.

First, I’ll cover the basics. If you want to know about the skeletal system, you can type in “skeletal system” or “bones” or “human skeleton”. Use your common sense. If you include more than one word, it automatically returns websites with all of the words in it. There is no need to use “and”. As a bonus, if you misspell a word, Google will ask you, “Did you mean______?” Click that, and you’re on the way. This is one reason I am in love with Google. Capitalization doesn’t matter at all. You can type “Skeleton”, “skeleton”, or “sKeLeToN”, and your results will be the same.

Google also automatically excludes common words, such as “where”, “how”, and some single digits and single letters. This is because they slow down the search and they don’t help. If it is important that one of these words be included in your search (it almost never is), put the phrase in quotation marks.

Now...some tricks are coming your way. You may know some of these, but I bet you haven't seen them all! Some of these come from Google's advice pages, and some are tricks I picked up over the years.


1: Exact Phrases:
Put quotation marks around your words if you need an exact phrase. For example “The land of the free” will return results for that phrase instead of the individual words.

2: Excluded Words:
Put a minus sign before words you do not want included. Let’s say you want to know about the musical instrument, the bass. You enter “bass” and get a great deal of results about fishing. You would type into the box “bass –fishing”, and you will get music results.

3: Similar Words:
You will use ~ to help you find similar words. If you type in “~computer” you will get not only results containing the word “computer”, but also “desktop”, “laptop”, “Mac”, “PC”, etc.

4: Multiple Words:
You want a website that includes the terms “Hickory” or “Catawba”. Use the word “or” in between the two words, and you will get results using either word.

5: Numerical Ranges:
Say you want to know about the history of North Carolina, but only for the years 1900-1950. You would enter “North Carolina 1900..1950”. Note the 2 periods between the years. You can also enter "DVD player $50..$100" to become a thrifty thrifty Googler.

6: Find Meanings:
Don’t want to get out the dictionary? Just type “define:” before your search term. This will also work for defining texting language (lol, bff, etc) or jargons.

7: Site Specific:
You want to know about the skeletal systems, but you only want your results to be from .edu websites. No problem. Type “Skeletal System site:edu”. You want to search for something on a specific website? “Skeletal System site: http://www.wikipedia.org”.

8: Linked Pages:
If you’re looking for pages that link to a certain website, you can use this: “link:www.catawba.k12.nc.us”.

9: Math Answers:
There is no need to get out your calculator. If you type “20^2”, it will give you the answer “400”. If you type “(30 * 70)/5” it will give you the answer “420”.

10: Conversions:
You can type “mph in speed of light” and get “670 616 629 mph” or you could type “$ in pounds” and get “0.543094553”.

11: World Wide Time:
You want to know what time it is in Hong Kong? Just type “what time is it” and the city, and it will tell you the time.

12: Find superior products:
Say that you like your ipod, but you think there is a better one out there. You can type “better than ipod”, and you will get results that point you in the right direction.

13: ID people, places, objects and foreign language words:
Let’s say you don’t know what a jicama is. You can go to the Google image search, or simply type “image jicama”.

14: Find music:
This is an obscure trick, and one you’ll never memorize. It’s an advanced series of search terms which you may copy and paste, replacing the band “Nirvana” for whatever band you would like. You type, or paste the following: “-inurl:(htmhtmlphp) intitle:"index of" +"last modified" +"parent directory" +description +size +(wmamp3) "Nirvana"”. You no longer need Napster!

15: Make Google recognize faces:
You need to see a picture of a girl named Rose? Even with an image search, you will get mostly pictures of the flower. We’re going to add a special search term at the end to help us out: “rose &imgtype=face”. This should return only faces in your result.

16: Find specific document types:
For instance, you need a PowerPoint presentation about the history of North Carolina. You would type (please note that you need quotation marks) “ “North Carolina History” filetype:ppt”. Your results will all be PowerPoint presentations. Also, try PDF, DOC, and any other file type.

17: This or That:
Google automatically finds pages that have all of your search words. Sometimes you would like an either/or situation. You are going to use the word “OR” (please capitalize). For example: “skeletal system OR skeleton”.

18: Area Code lookup:
All you need to do to find the location of an area code is type in the three numbers. Google will tell you where it it from. Example: “828”

19: Check your weather:
To check your weather, enter the word “weather” followed by your zip code. Example: “weather 28601”

20: Find recipes:
Just type in a few of the ingredients you have in your fridge. Google will find recipes that you can make.

21: Be really specific:
If you need to have the search term “skeleton” listed in the title, use “intitle: skeleton”. This will give you only webpages with skeleton in the title. If you need more than one word in the title, try “allintitle: skeleton human”. This will give you only pages with both words in the title.

22: Get a timeline:
Sometimes a timeline is wonderful to have. If you would like a time line with your search, add “view:timeline” after your search. For example: “theatre view:timeline”.

23: Want to seach for something local? The best way I've found is to go to Google Maps, then type in your city. Once you've done that, you can enter your search term and you'll be in business.

24: If I forgot to mention anything, you can try Google's advanced search. That should help you tremendously.

And I would be remiss if I didn't mention this free service: You can call 1-800-Goog-411 to get any business listing for free. It works just like information, only you don't have to pay for it. Yay Google! Am I the only one who'd like to give them a big hug?

Do you know any other great tips? Leave them in comments, please.

My Nana

When I turned 18, my Nana gave me the most wonderful present: A book, filled with her writing, and pictures of my family...really cool, old pictures, and at the end, a letter.

"Success, for you, would be hard to define, so my wish for you is that you would have some sunshine and rain, and for you to feel what others are feeling, and to be there for them."

I think that's really very awesome. At least once a month I take the book out and look over it. It reminds me where I came from, and where the people I come from came from.

I think I'll have to scan these pictures, and I'll share some when I do.

Woah

Isn't that crazy?

Shark Tooth Jen

Avast, me hearties!

My new pirate name for National Talk Like A Pirate Day is Shark Tooth Jen. Be dubbed yourself...click here.

Uggh

I've been teaching 2nd grade now for 4 days, and at this same school for 6. It's exhausting. Fun, and money making, but exhausting.

And...my dog has the runs. Yesterday morning, I stepped right into a pile, then looked around and found 5 more piles. Then I got home from school, cleaned up a bunch more on the hardwood floor downstairs. When I went upstairs, oh, lots more on the carpet. Not as easy to clean up. She pooped outside a couple of times yesterday, but did it again on the living room floor in the middle of the night. I wasn't worried, because sometimes dogs get the trots, but it's lasted longer than I'm ok with.

Going to see Producers tonight. And when I get home, Jon will be home. Haven't mentioned it on my blog, because I don't like to announce that I'm home alone, but he's been gone since Sunday, and I miss him so bad I hurt. Tonight, he'll get home about the time the play is over. Oh dear Lord I'm excited.

Captain D's sent me a coupon for a free dinner for my birthday. Weird, yes, but I love that place, so I went there for my free dinner. They gave me the third degree like I was a criminal. But, they gave me my free food, so I'm over it.

I also went to see my mom for dinner to celebrate the B-day. That was lovely. Always very nice to be able to hang out with her. She's a very cool lady.

So glad it's Friday. Fridays haven't mattered to me much over the summer, but this one shall be celebrated.

The best thing SNL has done in years.

Hehehe.

Undecided?

If you can't figure out who to vote for, click here. It's a survey type thing, where you are given 2 choices on an issue, without knowing who it is...you go through lots of issues, then it tells you who you should vote for, based of course, on your answers. Thanks Mom!

For me, it still said Obama.

Hickory Community Theatre presents The Producers!

I'm going to see this Friday. I am so much more excited now that I've seen this video, and now that I'll be working with the theatre again. This video is well done, and gives a great little peak into the production process.

And, you can see the beautiful theatre that I'll be directing in. :) I can't wait.

Allison is awesome!

I was going to sum up my birthday celebrations, but Allison did a better job than I would have.

Voila!

Subbing

I still <3 subbing. Friday and Monday I was 3rd grade at my favorite school. Today, I'm 2nd. And at 8:00, before all the kids got to class, and in the rain, we had a fire drill. Highly unusual and difficult to manage. My guess: a sixth grader got a little alarm happy...maybe they had a test.

I will never miss teaching if I can do this from time to time. So much better suited for me!

Exactly 20 years ago...

From A Hurricane Called Carmen

I remember this day, and this party. Notice the computer printed banner in the background...pretty high tech for 1988. My mom always made such a big deal of our birthdays, and we looked forward to them so much. Thanks mom. I had a really good time 20 years ago today.

People invited...Chrissy, Katie, Mariah...that's all I can see. But I think also Nancy, Katie, and Kelly. Probably also Dana and Cassie. Also, people, I had an imaginary friend. His name was Tree Trunk. See, he was a tree trunk...somehow whichever one I was closest to. I don't remember him very well, but my last TT memory was making out an invitation for him for this party. And I'm sure he came, and stood right outside the window, disguised as the magnolia tree we liked to climb.

My favorite use of Facebook

My friend Doug happens to be almost exactly my age. Apparantly, he spent his childhood doing lots of the same things I did.

Behold. *****

I did a search, and Are You Afraid of the Dark is now on DVD. I smell an item for my Christmas with list.
*****Turns out, you must be logged into facebook before that link will work. So, if you're interested, get signed in, then click that link. Sorry non facebook folk.

2 Reasons I'll vote for Obama.

1: And I've said this from the beginning. He doesn't take money from oil companies. None. No money from oil companies. Gas is $5 a gallon. That makes a lot of people who can't afford to drive to work every day and also feed their families. What did we expect when we elected people whose oil ties go so very very deep? This is a major problem...and no politician who takes money from big oil can ever do anything to change it. And goodness, we need to get off the oil. I'm pretty sure that people who got rich from oil aren't going to want to make it obsolete. So, Obama's refusal to accept oil money is a big huge deal for me.

2: John McCain is dishonest. I can't abide dishonesty*. And I know that you have to lie sometimes if you're president, but there is no need to do it so blatantly while you're running for office. McCain has run at least 4 ads that I know of that say Obama's tax plan will "Painfully increase taxes for middle class Americans." It just isn't true. In fact, let's look at the two tax plans for families making $38,000-$66,000...McCain's plan will save them an average of $325 a year. OK-that's well and good. Those same people would save an average of $1,118 with Obama's plan. I really feel like those people...the ones that work hard, and have to shuffle and juggle to make all the ends meet...those are the people that need to save money on taxes. Not the billionaires. Part of my issue is the lie, but the real problem is that he would lie about something so easy to check on...which makes me think that he must think we're idiots. I'm not an idiot, and I know how to use Google.

There is a website, Factcheck.org, that is excellent. It isn't biased...it reports good and bath for Republicans and Democrats. I urge you to look at it when you aren't sure something is true. It's hard to get truth in media. Click here to read more about McCain's "pattern of deceit".

I also have this feeling...old, rich white men have been leading this country for a long time, and the rich get richer as the middle class disappears into poverty. Since I'm not an old, rich white man, that makes me pretty uncomfortable.

And I'm not saying that Obama is the best man for president...there are a lot of men. But I whole heartedly feel that he is our best choice right now. What we've done all this time...it isn't working now. We need change, and I'm not sure of all the changes we need. But certainly, we need change.

I know a lot of you will disagree with me. I've read your emails, and I've investigated. But, I'm sticking with this, I do believe.

On a side note, I love Obama's Internet campaign. He is on every social site I know of...he twitters to keep his friends updated, and he's made an effort to reach people that way. McCain on the other hand, has said that his goal is to "finally get on the Internet". This world has changed drastically, and the world now runs on the Internet. I don't want a president who doesn't understand how it affects our world.

And one more side note...Obama's medical plan is sorely misunderstood. Part of this misunderstanding comes from McCain ads. Click here to read a little about it, or Google it.

I think this may be my first ever political blog entry.

*Matt, if you're reading this, you're influencing my choice of words.

View from the stage at the 80's party:

Sorry it took so long...

My friend Liz took this at the 80's party. Check out that eye makeup. That was fun times.

This just in...

Me, directing The Best Christmas Pageant Ever at Hickory Community Theatre. This is good for lots of reasons, and I have a big smile on my face.

My cousin

My cousin Caroline is studying abroad in Copenhagen, and she started a blog. I've been working on it today, and you should check it out. Also feel free to follow her...I added that new thing blogger keeps talking about...list your followers, and it's just me now, which is sad. So...www.carolineincopenhagen.com.

Subbing

Subbing is good. Working is good. Especially when I know it won't be the same thing every day. Today, K-2 drama. Tomorrow, High School Science. That's different, huh? I did my student teaching in high school. I was 22. But I've not taught science. I'm sure I'll have very easy to follow lesson plans, and kids in anatomy will probably be smart and mostly well behaved. Probably.

To catch you up

So, right now, I'm sitting in the library, waiting for my classes to start. I have an hour to kill, but then I'll be subbing for the first time. I'm excited, especially since I'm in a drama class. But let's be clear: this does not mean I miss teaching, or am sad that I quit. As I was driving to school I thought, "I'm glad I don't do this every day".

My eighties party was awesome, folks. This evening, I'll post pictures of my own, and some of Chris' (the party's host). Until then, I can give you this link, which I haven't been able to look at because of the school's firewall. There may be some horrible pictures of me on there, and if there are, just pretend that I look like a goddess, if you don't mind. I know you don't. I got to sing Walk Like an Egyptian, and some others, but that was my favorite.

So, what else has been going on in my life? Not too terribly much...I may have a regular karaoke night in the works. That would be cool. My birthday is one week from today. That is cool, also. I will be 27.

Friday night I went out with some teacher friends...we went to Outback, where I haven't been in ages, so that was swell...but then we went to the Hickory Tavern. I've never been there. My impressions? Boo. Then we went to Iron Thunder. I've never been there. My impressions? Boo.
Oh well.

Yesterday I watched When Harry Met Sally for the first time, and loved it. I guess the advantage to never having seen most movies is that now I get to watch them all. Also yesterday, I watched Taking Lives, which was good, but seemed to have some false endings. And people, there isn't much that irritates me more than a movie that doesn't know when it's end is.

Oh-awesome news: My whole life, my blood pressure has been too high, or at the very least, the high end of normal. After 1 week of eating like a caveman, my blood pressure is normal, folks. 117/74. I can only imagine that if my blood pressure is normalizing, so are my cholesterol and sugar levels. So, yay for cavemen!

Remember all my stomach troubles? Last school year they were pretty debilitating at times...my doctor said I had irritable bowel syndrome. It's been fine all summer, but today, I've spent way too much time in the bathroom, and my stomach is kicking around like a mad man as I type this. So, perhaps it is the stress of looking after kids, or knowing that it is coming. Or, perhaps it is just getting up at 6 that does it, but I'm glad it is no longer a daily occurrence.

I'm starting to get into Facebook. It seems better than MySpace, but I'm still not sure about it. Last night, a very old friend of mine found me (we have no friends in common, and my last name is different, so I'm not sure how he found me) and left some comments. That's kind of thrilling. But, what about all the people in life that I'm glad I lost touch with? Do I have to respond when they contact me?

Last thing: all of my craziness from the pill seems to be subsiding. :) Yay. I feel mostly sane these days. Mostly.

Costume

This is my costume for the eighties party, Saturday night at 9 at Beefs. I will have better hair and purple/blue fingernails. What do you think?

New Happenings

Jon and I are exploring the realms of stock photography. We found one we liked, and we've started the long process.



More coming soon.

A book that will change my life

I've been reading this book called Protein Power Lifeplan. It's all about how ancient men ate, and how our bodies have developed to eat the way that man did for all that time. In the last few thousand years, the book says, our eating habits have drastically changed, and then over the last two hundred years, even more so. But, the book goes into how we should eat for the way our bodies developed.

Ancient man ate nothing except the very occasional honey that would raise his insulin. Most of what we eat does...most of what we eat is filled with sugar and carbs, which turn to sugar and raise our insulin levels. The average person eats half a cup of sugar a day. That's right, folks. A day. As a result, our insulin receptors desensitize themselves, much as you get used to a bad smell in a room, because there is so much insulin everywhere. So, the result ends up being high blood sugar, high bad cholesterol, low good cholesterol, high triglycerides...the main afflictions of our society.

Also, ancient man had a good calcium/magnesium balance. This is needed, along with Vitamin D, to build good bones. They got most of the magnesium from water...now we filter it out. So, we get tons more calcium than magnesium, which adds to the sugar/cholesterol problem.

This book isn't a diet book...it's a book about shifting how you think about food, and what is actually good for you and what isn't.

I thoughoughly recommend it, especially if you or your parents have any of the above mentioned problems. My dad does have all those, and the last time I went to the doctor, it looked like I was heading that way.

I feel better already.

Strangely, I haven't had a soda in 4 days and I don't miss it. That's right. I don't miss coke.

Happy Birthday

Happy birthday to the man who has made me such a happy happy girl. Jon, I love you, and I'm so happy to know we'll spend all our birthdays together!

Lately

Kermit and Christian Bale

Click here. You'll be glad you did.

Bliss

It is so peaceful being here at the beach. The dog is behaving herself very well around the other dog, Daisy, and things are copecetic.

Sitting in the sunroom, I can hear the crash of the waves, and the squawk of seagulls.
It's a little stormy now, but the good kind of beach stormy...the sky looks angry, and I can't wait for it to let loose a little more.

However....I've started taking the pill again...4 days now. And I feel insane...very emotional and weebly wobbly. I hope that passes soon, or these pills are going right in the garbage. I cried today without the faintest idea why. I hate that nonsense.

Bertha is pretty funny on the beach. She runs right up to the water, but when it comes in, she backs away. She will go in it, but not too far. The waves are pretty big, and they keep her from going out, really. But after she gets wet she insists on rolling in the sand. A big, healthy roll...she makes sure to get a nice even sand coating all over her body. Annoying to clean? Yes. But totally worth it, if only for the giggles it provides.

Coming home tomorrow. Meet me at Beefs, if you want some trivia action. We've moved it to Wednesday nights at 8:30. Further, Matt is here at the beach, and he's staying longer than us. That means he'll have to relinquish his 3 week first place run.

Beach!

We get to go to the beach! Out of the blue, we get a vacation. Beautiful. I'll be writing my next post from the porch of my beach front house...Wi-Fi, ocean, my man, my dog and some friends...This is going to be AWESOME.

I've done some research...

...and I've decided that the birds at Matt's house are brown headed cowbirds. I haven't actually gotten close enough to tell if I'm right-I'll look tonight perhaps, but it's the only thing that makes sense. Brown headed cowbirds don't make nests-they lay eggs in other nests and leave them for other birds to raise. Then, they all flock to bamboo groves at night.

Source

If you find this interesting, there is a more in depth article here.

Woah

Well now, this photo doesn't leave much to the imagination, now does it?

Pictures

These are just some random pictures from the last few weeks.

List of Talents

1: I am wonderful with children.
2: I'm very personable, and get along easily with people.
3: I love to entertain a crowd.
4: I am a decent actor, with lots of training.
5: I am a better director, with lots more training.
6: I can sing.
7: I know my way around a computer very well.
8: I have a firm grasp of the internet, and how to use it as a tool.
9: I can cook up a storm.
10: I am very creative.
11: I can design websites, and keep them updated. This is not to say that I am a web designer...it has been a hobby since college.
12: I think very quickly on my feet, which makes me great at improvising, or stalling for time in front of a crowd.
13: I'm pretty durned book smart.
14: I have HUGE stores of patience.
15: I am very confident and self assured. I'm not sure that is a talent, but I think it is important.
16: I'm a great motivator.
17: I can design sets and lights for plays or shows.
18: I can build sets, and hang and focus lights for plays or shows.
19: I can run sound, and I have some of my own equipment to do so.
20: I'm learning how to make videos-I can edit video and I have an HD video camera.
21: Years of stage managing has made me great at keeping people on track and organized.
22: I'm not a photographer, but I take pretty decent pictures, and I'm married to a photographer, which gives me a steady stream of good pictures.
23: I'm good at expressing myself through writing.
24: I have a really good understanding of how to best use all the free Google products, and I'm good at explaining them to other folks.


Cool Accomplishments:
1: I was the first person at my college to get perfect scores on all 3 parts of the Praxis 1.
2: I was voted most creative in my high school class.
3: I organized, directed, produced and performed in a Variety Show to raise money for Hurricane Katrina victims. It raised $3,500.
4: My trivia game is one of the more happening things to do in Hickory.


I'm sure that there are more things I can add, but it is hard to think of everything at once. Is there something you can think of?

I'm back

I hope no one thought I was dead. I was just uninspired. I've been in a bit of a funk. I think this is because I'm not really doing anything for me right now. I mean, I'm not using my talents, and that's a waste, and it makes me sad. So, how do I fix that? Well, I don't really know, but it seems like I have a good idea on how to start.

I'm going to gather proof of my talents. And also, a list. I'm going to create a list of everything I think I'm good at. I'm going to get my resume back in fighting order. I'm going to record a couple of songs. I'm going to make sure all of my directed plays that are on video are in a nice, easy to view folder somewhere. Then, perhaps I will have a better idea. And perhaps, I can do some of that right here for you to see. But, I'll need some help along the way. Any suggestions would be most helpful...

To catch you up on my life...same old things for the most part. I went to see my mom, which was lovely. Greensboro has a Harris Teeter that is the biggest grocery store I've ever seen. This excited me more than it should have. And I spent some time over the weekend with Jon in Sylva with his friend Terry. He took some great pictures of her, and then she took some portraits of us. I'll show you some later, when Jon gets home with the files. Trivia at Beefs is going well. Trivia at Drips is not. I've missed Allison lately...haven't seen quite enough of her.

Last night, I locked my keys in my house. After I'd already loaded the car with all the trivia stuff...dog inside, me outside. Jon was out of town with the other key...to make a long story short, Allison's man Jared climbed my house monkey style and got in an upstairs window. Yay for Jared!!

So, I'm off to clean and make some lists.

Sorry about the no blogging

It's been a while since I sat down to talk to all you folks. Now this is for several reasons, but mainly this one: I have been feeling completely uninspired. I've been tired, cranky, and kind of depressed. I'm feeling like I'm on an upswing, though, so I'll get back to this baby soon.

I like big butts.

Photo by Allygirl520.

Jon loves my butt-says it is his favorite one of all time. Allison took a picture of my arse in jeans a long time ago, and apparently, other people like it too. This amuses me:

1: Arse.Com It's a butt rating site. You must click on my behind to get into the site. And I found my butt in the rating part-1 is tiny, 10 is huge...my butt is 5.04, which is nice and balanced. Yay for my butt!
2: As part of a father's day gift giving guide. I know. Weird.
3: And in Spanish.

And, I noticed that 5 people marked this photo as a favorite in flickr. I had no idea my butt would be so well loved by the internet. I'm so flattered.

And this one has nothing to do with my butt, but I've always loved this picture of Allison's, and I think this is quite a funny use for it.

A distinct advantage to my marraige...

My in-laws are the distinct advantage of which I speak. They are very wonderful people, who have been nothing but precious to me since the day they met me. They embraced me as part of their family, and trusted that we knew what we were doing when we got married so quickly. I could go on and on about them, but I'll just offer an example. I present, my breakfast:

That's Activia yogurt in there, which is good stuff. It has my recommendation. Now, for the other ingredients...

The figs are picked off Jon's granddad's fig tree, and his mom picks them a lot, so we have yummy figs the whole time they're in season.

The blueberries, off a bush in the in-laws back yard.
The raspberries, again, picked by Jon's mom.
The peaches-this is my favorite part: The folks went to South Carolina and picked a bushel of peaches and brought them home. Then, we spent the morning peeling and soaking and otherwise preparing the endless peaches. And, in my freezer, I have a whole year's worth! A whole year of delicious peaches. That's a lot of cobbler, folks. And that freezer, they got it for my birthday last year, because my freezer in my fridge is tiny and non functional.

I never thought peeling and cutting peaches would be fun, but it was. They really feel like family now, which is nice.

People!

Help save Mr. Rogers! PBS has decided to stop showing it every day, and I think that show is important.

Birds!

There is always a lot of noise in Matt's back yard-at the back of his lot, there is a bamboo grove that is always full of chippery...but people-I think every bird in Hickory lives in Matt's back yard. I am not kidding. I will photograph another night, but as night falls, literally thousands of birds pour into this tiny little space, from all around. Thousands. Proof another night, but seriously. I think it is every flocking bird in Hickory.

Sad Night, well kind of

Last night was the first night of Trivia at Drips. No one showed up. Except my dearest friend Allison (thank you thank you). Oddly, I wasn't that disappointed, or even discouraged.

Some reasons:
-Downtown was dead. We stepped across the street to McGuires, where the only people in the place were the bartenders parents. There were Crickets.
-July and August are the slowest months of the year. Drips is brand new, but it's a weird situation. Drips closed a year or two ago, and something else went in. They closed, and new people opened Drips back up. They are fighting, and sometime gaining advantage from people's preconceived notions of what Drips is. It's actually very cool but some people don't know that yet. It's a hard time of year to be starting out, though.
-They're getting beer soon, and it will be oh so much easier to draw a crowd.
-We haven't properly gotten the word out.
-The owner seemed less discouraged than I did.

But, it is possible I may gain access to a projection screen, which would let me show videos during the game. That would open up a whole new world. A whole new world, where I am a very happy girl.

So, we'll try again next week. If any of you readers know anyone who would enjoy a smoke free evening of trivia, please tell them about Drips.

The evening was fun anyway, hanging out with Jon and Allison at Drips and McGuires. Not a bad night, really.

As we were leaving, Allison and my old neighbor walked out the door. Allison really dodged a bullet because this happened about 15 second after he drove off. He was our next door neighbor in college and he was so nuts that we used the word crazy every time we said his name. He was a nice guy. Sometimes. Other times, he would cuss you out at the top of his lungs in front of people, for no apparent reason. Or go out of town for the weekend, leaving his door wide open with his wallet and keys on the table. I'm so thrilled he lives in Hickory now.

New Trivia Game

OK-here we go again! I'm so very excited to start a new trivia game tonight at Drips. I love Drips, and I'm hoping it will attract a different crowd, it not being a bar and all. I hope some of you will come...it should be fun!

Up on the rooftops

Being up on the rooftop where Jon and I got married was a really, truly wonderful experience. I took a bunch of pictures on the roof, and stitched them together for your viewing pleasure. I won't go into the roof top details, but it was exactly what we needed. Click on the picture for a bigger view.

Not Moving :)

I haven't talked about this on my blog, because it wasn't set in stone, and my mom hadn't told people yet. But, there has been major discussion of my family moving to Nebraska, and I put on my happy face and pretended that was OK. For the last month of so, I've been assuming that my mom, stepdad, 2 step brothers, my sister and my 4 nieces and nephews were headed that way.

AND THEY AREN'T! Word is in today, and it is final.

My mom will not live across the country from me. I like it when she is a simple hour and a half away.

And a brief overview of my weekend...and no pictures right now either. Sorry. I'll add pics later.

Went to Bele Chere, where we met up with some friends, walked around, and listened to the Wailers. Now, Jon wasn't thrilled about that, because he isn't a reggae fan, but I was in heaven. They sang all my favorites as fireworks went off in the background.

Saturday we spent the evening on the rooftop where we got married. That was lovely, oh so lovely. And private. And as the sun set, all these birds came out. It was very very cool. We spent the night there, but not on the roof, and just really had an excellent time.

This whole time, my dog was with the inlaws, so Sunday we went to get her. I thought she would have a heart attack when she saw us. It's always thrilling when we're reunited.

Yesterday, I made a lasagna. I made a really good lasagna, if you wondered. Next time I make one, I'll take pictures and explain my process.

I'm feeling very ho hum right now, but I think it is only because I didn't sleep enough this weekend. I'm perhaps going to nap now.

Something Good

The last couple of days, and the ones coming up.

Yesterday was a whirlwind of a day. My mother in law called me from the dentist at 8:30, saying an appointment opened up, so I was at the dentist by 9. I'm fast. And now, my teeth are squeaky clean.

Then, I went to Winston Salem and met my mom for lunch at Cracker Barrel. That was wonderful. We both needed to see each other, I think. We had a lot of wonderful talk time, and I feel a lot better.

On the way home I stopped at the store to get food for dinner. We had our friend for dinner...she's never been here before, and it was wonderful. We ate good food, talked forever, and looked at pictures of our wedding and honeymoon. We got married on her roof right in downtown Hickory. I'll get back to that shortly.

Today we had lunch with the in-laws and met with a client. Now we get to hang out together all night. Tomorrow, Bele Chere! I'm so excited.

And Saturday, back to our friend...she's invited us to spend the evening on her roof! That will be so sweet, us up there, for as long as we want, right where we got married!

My life is really good. Really good. I am very thankful.

On a side note...just watched a special about the year 2012 that freaked me out. All these different cultures, ancient and modern, and even Nostradamus point to that year as something major. Major and end of the world bad. The stars and the earth will be aligned in some crazy way. A lot of things in Revelations have happened, and there isn't much more that needs to happen for Biblical prophecies to say the end of the world is here. And with the human race marching so steadily in a bad direction, things could be very bad by then anyway. I'm totally freaked out. I should not have watched that. Read above...my life is good, and I would prefer it go on a little longer than 4 more years.

Why I am in Love-Part I

1: Jon is deeply and wonderfully creative.

2: Jon listens to me, especially when I'm ready to discuss anything logically.

3: Jon is terribly handy: he remodeled the bathroom, the back porch, and countless other little things that I didn't even know needed fixing.

4: Jon sees me as so beautiful.

5: I read this book about the Languages of Love. It was all about how there are several different ways that people show love and feel loved. But most people are only into 2 or 3 of the 4 or 5 ways. So, you get the wife who doesn't feel loved, because she needs a man to touch her and buy her things, while he shows his love by spending time and complimenting her. Anyway-we show and feel loved in very compatible ways, so it is very easy to love each other.

6: Jon loves my dog so much that she is in every way Our dog now. I know it is probably silly to say, based only on a dog, but I think he'll be a very good daddy. And Bertha-sometimes she even says hi to him first when we come home! That's never happened with anyone before. She loves him.

7: Jon takes care of me. Even when I'm falling apart, and I'm sure I'm pretty irritating...Jon takes care of me.

8: He's dead sexy.

9: He's more domestic than me...he cleans and does laundry much better than I do. And he can bake! He made a cake last week. And, even though he is a great cook, he lets me do all the cooking, because he knows how much I love to feed him.

10: He is so sensible. And sometimes it drives me mad, because I'm so the opposite of that, but I need a sensible person with me. He calmly explains why I shouldn't do something I was going to do, and then I avoid the horrible consequences that could have followed.

11: He loves me so much that he couldn't hide it if he tried.

12: He doesn't mind me blogging.

That's enough for now.

Repost, with pictures (Thanks Mom!)

I was born, a month early, on September 15, 1981. That makes me a Virgo if you keep up with that sort of thing. I don't really, and I'm certainly not neat and orderly like Virgos are supposed to be. Anyway, I digress. I was born in Sanford, NC, where my mom and dad had grown up All of my grandparents lived right there in town, and I was the first grandchild for all of them. I was doted on. I loved it. I'm told that I was pretty cranky when my mom wasn't around. I've been a mama's girl from the start. I weighed 6 pounds, 6 ounces, but I was a chubby little thing that first year. I landed in the hospital for a while early on because of a bad case of jaundice. My weight dropped to something like 5 pounds while there, before I got chubby, especially my knees and my chubby little feet. They had to make special shoes to fit my almost square shaped feet. And I had the blonde curly hair even then. My mom has this picture of me laying on her stomach, and her on the couch...I love that picture, and I suppose it sums up my first year pretty well. Mom said all she wanted to do was hold me. I think that's sweet.

Obviously, I don't remember those days. But it was really the only time my mom and dad lived together. Knowing them both as I do, I can't imagine what that would have been like...but they were both so young! I was so immature when I was 20, but my mom raised a kid! So she was 21, and my dad 26, and me crawling around on the floor. We had a dog-Harry. He was an Airedale, I think my dad's first of many.

Based on pictures, and stories told, I figure this is how I spent my days:

Hanging out with my mom or grandma. Figuring out how the world works. Learning to walk. Learning to talk. Going to church every Sunday. Spending lots of time with grandparents, great grandparents, aunts and uncles. Also, by the end of that first year, I had developed a love of pickles. There are a lot of pictures of me toddling around eating a pickle, so I must have had a lot of them. Raisins too. And, at my house, there was a bathroom that had a mirrored wall. I think I can remember staring into that mirror. Last time I was in Sanford, my mom and I rode around and looked at our old houses, because we're sentimental like that, and I took a picture:

A lot has changed since that year, but some things have blessedly stayed the same:

My grandparents are all still living in the same houses.
I still go to the same church when I'm in town.
My dad still has a dog.
I still get cranky if I have to go too long without my mom.
I still like pickles.
My hair is still curly.
I still have chubby little knees and feet.
And I still love a mirror, God help me.

Come to think of it, I think that first year did a pretty good job of setting up who I turned into.

I'm Jealous

My mom just got home from here.

Thank you Lovey

Thank you, LoveyH, for noticing my beautiful porch.

I want to take a minute to explain one of the many ways my husband has enriched my life. Because he is oh so wonderful.

When I met Jon my patio was in this state:
My old refrigerator was out here, because I'd gotten a new one, and hadn't figured out what to do with it.
There was a horribly crappy old style cheap K-mart outdoor table.
There was a huge, ugly storage unit that the old guy I bought the house left. And he left it full of crap.
Much as he did the laundry room, which is adjacent.
My grill was out here, but it was surrounded by too much assorted crap to use.
Several old stools and ugly chairs.
No plants.
My old aquarium, which was partially full of disgusting water, and I was horribly avoiding.
The back door was falling apart like mad.

And then Jon came into my life. He sold the fridge in the Iwanna. He took all the crap to the dump. He cleaned out the storage unit and took it somewhere else. Then, slowly but surely, the beautifying began.

He built a new door. From scratch, and then stained it blue. I love that it is stained blue. The outside is stained black to conform.

My mom bought me awesome furniture for my birthday, and then we bought another piece to go with it. We found a great umbrella. The plants-he keeps them all alive, and we've gotten them from all over the place. One is a bougainvillea, which also covered our porch on our honeymoon. It is healthy, and should have beautiful blooms that I will share with you all right here. My other favorite is a little tiny garden of carnivorous plants. There are 6 or so different kinds, including a couple of venus fly traps. Those are nifty.

My patio is now a place of peace and loveliness. I love to sit out here with Jon, or Bertha, or my computer, or Allison. We have coffee out here, and eat sometimes. I love it, and everytime I am out there, I think "Ah-Jon is good."



Recently the peace has been disturbed. We have new neighbors-5 people in a tiny condo, and there are 3 boys-2 younger, and they are all the time coming to talk to me. Or just hanging out in the back yelling a lot. The youngest one is oh so very precious, though, so it's not too bad.

Look what my friend made me!

My friend Crawford Downs, who is a great musician from Hickory, made me this.

Wise words from Barbara Bush

"War is not nice."

My favorite thing to cook.

I love to cook. While making lunch today, I thought-I'll blog my recipe! So, coming up, Pimento Cheese burgers with zucchini. But first you have to pinkie swear that you won't use icky store bought pimento cheese. I mean it. Pinkie swear. Pimento cheese is easy to make and so so delicious. I'll start with how to make that.

Get a big block of extra sharp cheddar cheese. Extra sharp. Repeat that part. Grate it up.
Get mayo. Real mayo. Put about 3 Tablespoons in a bowl with your grated cheese.
Get your diced, drained pimentos (Near mushrooms and olives at the grocery store-you need the small jar) and toss it in the bowl.
Throw in some pepper and garlic to taste. I use garlic paste, but whatever kind of garlic you have is fine.

Mix. See, easy. If it is too cheesy, add mayo. When I've got mine made, I always microwave it for 25 seconds and then put it in the fridge. It seems to make it taste better.

Ingredients you will need for this grill meal:

A big zucchini
An onion
2 Hamburger Buns
Pimento Cheese
Hamburger Meat
Salt
Garlic
Pepper
Olive Oil

So, first you're going to cut up that zucchini:

Light your grill. Now, you're going to mix some salt, pepper, garlic and olive oil like so:

You're going to get that mixture all over those zucchini slices, however you see fit. I kind of roll them around on the plate. If you start running low, just add more olive oil. Lightly coat the insides of your buns with the extra. Then make your meat into patties. Make them flat and big enough to fill up the whole bun:


Now, bring your stuff outside and know you're done with the hard part.

Now, grill away. Hamburgers first for a couple minutes, then add the zucchini.

Flip your burgers when they're ready. Then, flip zucchini. Put the pimento cheese on top of the burger, and don't be afraid to put a lot. Put your buns on the grill.

When the zucchini looks delicious, take it off.

Put those hamburger patties on the buns, toss on some red onion, and you have yourself a meal.


Jon's reaction today? "Oh my God I love you so much."

A great example of how the world has changed...

Who doesn't love the Smurfs? My very favorite glasses are my Smurf glasses-a whole set that I'm sure were originally sold at Hardees or something. Below, Jokey Smurf:



And what joke could be funny enough to put on Jokey Smurf's glass? Oh, it's a riot:


That's right kids- sending explosives through the postal service is HILARIOUS!

Fun Things to Do in Hickory

I'm sick to death of hearing people talk about how much Hickory sucks. I really like it here. So, in protest of all of those people, I give you a partial list of fun things to do here. I hold, the problem is that those people just aren't creative enough, or they have a very narrow idea of "fun". I may add to this list in the future.

1: Disc Golf at Glenn Hilton Park. It's fun-the course is pretty, and sort of secluded at times too. And, there are swings! I love swings! Not many towns have such a thorough disc golf course. But, once you get your discs, it's free fun!

2: Trivia night at Beef's on Mondays. Because, of course I have to mention it. And it really is fun.

3: The SALT block. Very cool little place. It includes the library, the Science Center (with a planetarium and an aquarium), and the Art Museum. The library is nice, and convenient, but the real fun lies in the Science Center. It's a fun way to spend an afternoon. And when you're done, you hop over the the Art Museum, which is free. They change the exhibits a lot, and it is better than you expect.

4: The Carolina: Hickory's $2 theatre, with comfortable seats and cheap popcorn. And coke icees. Rock on.

5: Hickory Alive. Sometimes, honestly, it isn't the coolest. But it is a free gathering of a bunch of people, where you get to listen to music, eat hotdogs, and drink beer. And (!) your dog can come.

6: Drips. Remember how you used to say "Near where Drips used to be". Well, Drips is back, so now you can go back to saying just "Near Drips." But, if you're from Hickory, you might be more comfortable saying "The Place where Funky Night Owls used to be". Back to my point, though...Drips is a chill little place. It's artistically decorated, quiet, and has free Internet. I love free Internet. They have open night mic on Tuesdays, a movie on Wednesday, and coming soon...trivia on Thursdays.

7: Lots of bars. I'm not much of a drinker, but I still know the good ones. I used to love McGuires, but the service has steadily slid downhill for quite some time now. The Tap Room is alright, although it can be pretentious. I like Beef 'O' Brady's, but it's pretty sportsy. People to to Sundries and the Tavern, and seem to enjoy themselves.

8: Hickory Community Theatre. If that's your thing. It is my thing, and it's my list, so there.

9: Go to a Crawdad's game! Especially on Thursdays. They have "Thirsty Thursday", where beer is cheap. Now, I don't like beer, and I especially don't like Baseball Stadium beer, but it means a big, rowdy crowd. That's fun times.

10: My favorite thing to do in Hickory, honestly, is to grill on my back porch, with my best friends around me. I'm extremely fortunate that I have 2 best friends and a husband who love to eat what I cook.

11: There is an Ostrich Ranch! I've never been, but Allison, could we get on that?

12: Hickory Dickory Dock, where you can play laser tag!

So people, stop telling me how boring Hickory is. If you hate it that much, move. I bet $20 you'd be just as unhappy somewhere else. Probably because you're a big fat whiner.

Dark Knight

Let me by preface this by saying that I have never been a big fan of the comic book movie-Superman, Batman, X-Men-whatever...not normally my bag. And I have to admit that I had never seen Batman Begins until last night. But I watched it last night, and loved it. I was riveted, and so I was quite excited to only have to wait one day for the sequel.

I don't know any Batman background-I've never picked up a comic book in my life, and I've never seen any Batman movies ever until last night-but the movie was complete unto itself. It told an incredibly exciting story in a visually stunning way. Heath Ledger reminded me of what attracted me to the stage to begin with-he was what an actor should be in every way. He was freaking committed. He was living in the moment-he was the Joker. Stankislovski would have been proud. And that kind of acting takes a toll on a person for sure-I had a friend in college who played Hamlet, so well and so completely that it took over his life-he failed every class, broke up with his girlfriend, and stopped talking to his friends.

Had Heath Ledger not died...this movie still would have been incredible. It would have launched his career to a totally new level.

It's for sure worth a trip to your local cinema.

Interesting.

I got this from Dlisted.

Great Picture

Katie Bonk had a thirtieth birthday party last weekend where this fabulous, most wonderful picture was taken. Please click, it will be worth it.

Fuzzy Thing #14 and #15

14: When I read in someone else's blog comments how awesome my hubby is!

15: Blog entries entitled "Carmen Rules".

Proof that sometimes people read my blog.

I don't really know what this blog is, but this is a nice list to be included on. I'm #23.

Sounds like a nice way to spend the summer.

My Story, 1981

I was born, a month early, on September 15, 1981. That makes me a Virgo if you keep up with that sort of thing. I don't really, and I'm certainly not neat and orderly like Virgos are supposed to be. Anyway, I digress. I was born in Sanford, NC, where my mom and dad had grown up All of my grandparents lived right there in town, and I was the first grandchild for all of them. I was doted on. I loved it. I'm told that I was pretty cranky when my mom wasn't around. I've been a mama's girl from the start. I don't remember what I weighed when I was born, but I was a chubby little thing that first year.Especially my knees and my chubby little feet. They had to make special shoes to fit my almost square shaped feet. And I had the blonde curly hair even then. My mom has this picture of me laying on her stomach, and her on the couch...I love that picture, and I suppose it sums up my first year pretty well. Mom said all she wanted to do was hold me. I think that's sweet.

Obviously, I don't remember those days. But it was really the only time my mom and dad lived together. Knowing them both as I do, I can't imagine what that would have been like...but they were both so young! I was so immature when I was 20, but my mom raised a kid! So she was 21, and my dad 26, and me crawling around on the floor. We had a dog-Harry. He was an Airedale, I think my dad's first of many.

Based on pictures, and stories told, I figure this is how I spent my days:

Hanging out with my mom or grandma. Figuring out how the world works. Learning to walk. Learning to talk. Going to church every Sunday. Spending lots of time with grandparents, great grandparents, aunts and uncles. Also, by the end of that first year, I had developed a love of pickles. There are a lot of pictures of me toddling around eating a pickle, so I must have had a lot of them. Raisins too. And, at my house, there was a bathroom that had a mirrored wall. I think I can remember staring into that mirror. Last time I was in Sanford, my mom and I rode around and looked at our old houses, because we're sentimental like that, and I took a picture:

A lot has changed since that year, but some things have blessedly stayed the same:

My grandparents are all still living in the same houses.
I still go to the same church when I'm in town.
My dad still has a dog.
I still get cranky if I have to go too long without my mom.
I still like pickles.
My hair is still curly.
I still have chubby little knees and feet.
And I still love a mirror, God help me.

Come to think of it, I think that first year did a pretty good job of setting up who I turned into.

I was feeling uninspired...

I was feeling uninspired, and I wanted to blog, but I couldn't even really do that. No ideas...nothing new to talk about. Just blah. So, because I have a little too much time on my hands, I'm going to write my autobiography. I can't really even promise that it will be an entertaining read, but I'm excited about it. I've giving myself no real deadline, so I can take my time. I may spend too much time on some parts, and I may lightly tiptoe over parts that I don't want to be general knowledge. I think I'll try to write a one year chapter at a time...so they'll be shorter in the beginning...my memory isn't so good. That's one of the reasons I want to do this...I know my memory isn't so good, and writing it down will help me remember.

So...coming soon.

My Story
September 15, 1981-September 15, 1982

Fuzzy Thing #13

Waking up morning after morning when I am ready instead of when my alarm clock goes off. I think an alarm clock may be my least favorite thing in the world. I actually prefer spiders.

My best friend

Sometimes I get a little overwhelmed with stress. I tend to work myself into mini-frenzies on a pretty regular basis (part of my hurricane nature). I'm a cool girl, don't get me wrong, but I'm pretty sure I'm a high maintenance kind of friend/wife/daughter/etc. But, I am so blessed to have a wonderful husband that lives with me and a best friend who lives next door.

I talk about Jon all the time, though, so this post is for Allison.




Allison is and has been since the day I met her, 12 years ago, a person with whom I am totally comfortable. Allison knows the real me, and she still loves me. She has seen me at my very worst, and at my very best. She has been a wonderful, supportive, awesome best friend. There isn't a thing in the world I wouldn't do for her, and it makes me want to cry when I think that someday we won't live next door to each other anymore. I mean, just imagine living next door to your best friend. Yeah, it's that cool.

Allison is the coolest and funniest person I know. It boggles my mind to think of all of times we've laughed together. And laughing, I think, is my favorite thing. And not only is she funny, but she thinks I'm funny too, which is conducive to us always having fun. And she is the best Taboo partner in the world. Seriously, we are unstoppable.

And you guys know me...I'm fiery. I'm quick to argue. Allison and I have never, ever fought. That is a real testament to something in her character. She is incredibly level headed, and so freaking peaceful that you would never want to pick a fight with her. The other day I witnessed a drunk acquaintance really piss her off. I've never seen her mad. I've seen her irritated plenty, but never visibly shaken by anger like she was. I was so proud of her restraint. I would have handled the situation horribly, and I'm sure I would have made it worse. But, she was graceful, even when dealing with such a schmuck.

Sometimes I get my mind set on something...Allison is very good at helping me think it through more logically...she's all the time asking questions I haven't thought of.

So much, so very very much, of my personality has been influenced by her. We were friends/roommates throughout all of those years where you figure out who you are, not that I think those years are over. The biggest thing she taught me? To be whatever I want to be. Allison has never been the type to get wrapped up in other people's opinions. Even in high school, she let herself be different from other people...just let herself shine though. I've never known her to make any decision based on someone else's opinions, and there have been times when that would have been easier.

And she is such a loyal, supportive person. She goes to all of my stuff...and I tend to have a lot of stuff. She is there playing my trivia game every Monday. She always comes when I do karaoke, or when I have a play. I really appreciate that, and I don't tell her enough.

Basically, there is no way that I would be as happy or as cool if I hadn't known her.

Allison, I am so thankful that our paths crossed again in college.
I am so thankful that we are friends.
I am so thankful that we will be friends.
I am so thankful I get to see you everyday.
I think you're cool.

Wow, and a Special

Jon took this. Is it my imagination, or is that just really really spectacular? If you, like me, are overwhelmed with the beauty, spread the word! www.jeckard.com.

And, we're running a special-if you read my blog, you can get 15% off a sitting fee for any portrait session. Just say...I need a codeword...how about...BERTHA BOO! Perfect-just say "Bertha Boo" to get 15% off.

Even better-if you send 2 friends our way who become customers, we'll wave the sitting fee one time for you...just pay for prints!

A word on Footcandle

Footcandle is a film society in town. You join, and then you get to watch a cool movie each month, and discuss. The selections have been fabulous, and the dudes that run it are really neat blokes. They also happen to be my Twitter buddies, which is cool. I haven't been able to stay for the discussion until this week, because I was a little Cinderella who had to get to bed early, but I don't anymore. The discussion is now my favorite part.

So...to join, you can go to the website www.footcandle.org, or you can come to the Carolina Theatre, the 2nd Thursday of a month at 7 and watch the movie. You can come watch one to see if you like it, and enjoy a free evening of entertainment. There are forms to join there if you like it as much as we do.

It's very nice to talk to intelligent people about interesting things...karaoke/trivia has meant that I've associated mostly with bar regulars, and let's face it...bar flies aren't known for being great conversationalists...at least not most that I know. What a long run on sentence, but I'm leaving it because it's 1 am. Did I mention our discussion was at Drips, where I had much coffee?

So, coming soon, Trivia on Thursdays at Drips, except on Footcandle nights. I'm going to attempt sleep. Ha.

Awesome

Know how last post I said "I need to find something to do on Tuesdays and Thursdays"? Well, I just happened into something, which is a perfect example of positive thoughts bringing positive things. I went to the Footcandle movie, which was awesome-The Apartment. Then we went to Drips to discuss the movie. One of the owners looked at me and said "You're the karaoke girl". I said, "Yup". He asked me to run a trivia game on Thursdays. It will be a totally different crowd, and I'm stoked.

If you'll recall, I've said that trivia is my favorite thing I do each week. Now, I get to do it twice! Yipee!

And, Shirley McLaine was hot when she was younger.

The Farmer's Market

The Farmer's Market rocks my socks off. And Bertha's too-she loves to go with me. There are usually about 15-20 different booths, including organic produce, regular produce, fresh goat cheese, locally raised beef, herbs and flowers. It's a little bit like heaven. I don't know why, but I feel much better about my life when I eat local or organic food.

I think it is because it feels more real-more authentic-more like what humans were designed to do. I mean, were we really meant to cram our bodies full of fake crap, or produce that is shipped from half way across the world? I don't think so. And I'm not opposed at all to the occasional mango or banana, but I don't see why I should go to the grocery store to buy tomatoes that were grown in another country. The tomatoes grown right here in Catawba county-they are great. Not pink, or infected with salmonella-just delicious and juicy and bright red.

And going to the Farmer's Market means that Bertha gets to walk around amidst all of the people and the other dogs. She loves it, because she likes meeting new people as much as I do. Although sometimes the asphault gets a little hot under her little feet.

In other news-I'm learning how to play chess. I never cared before, and I guess I should learn how to play sometime.

Also, my arm is so very very achy from my tetanus shot. I stuck myself with the quill Sunday, and got the tetanus shot Monday. The internet says it might hurt this bad for a whole week-but seriously, my arm hurts more than my leg. Why would the cure hurt worse than the injury?

I need something to do on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I'm feeling a wee bit trapped in my house.

Fourth of July

Last weekend was awesome. We went to Boone for a little bit, and hung out with Matt and Josh, then we went to the cabin. I love going there. 14 acres, completely secluded, and beautiful. The kind of place where you walk around outside naked just because you can. The perfect cure for living in a condo. We played outside a lot, and just spent some excellent time with each other.

Trivia last night...only 8 people came. On the one hand, that is pitiful. On the other hand, it was the Monday after July 4, which is a very slow time for bars. Still...I'm hoping more people show up next time.

Know what I did?

So, Jon's mom and dad go to Africa from time to time, and in their travels they have collected lots of African porcupine quills. I don't know if you've seen them, but they're very cool-about the sizes of different knitting needles. So, I got 2 to use in my hair:

Which, I think is darling. For safekeeping on the way home from the mountains, I stuck them in my bookbag, but they were sticking out pretty far. My bookbag was sitting on the floor next to the couch, where I'd dropped it when we got back. I walked by, quickly, I guess, and managed to impale myself with the quill. So, in great pain, I tried to pull it out. But the sucker was stuck in there pretty good. I had to call Jon, and he pulled it out. His estimation was about 1 and a half inches, at an upward angle into my calf. Wowser. I've always been clumsy, but extra so lately. I cut my thumb a few weeks back, and my finger on some quartz this weekend...now this. It hurts, and I'm thinking it will probably hurt more tomorrow.

On a different subject-Trivia tomorrow! Mondays are my busiest days by far. So, I promise to do a proper blog entry, but it might be Tuesday or so.

If you live in Hickory, please oh please come to Beef 'O'Brady's tomorrow night. I'm excited as all get out, but nervous too.

Papa Johns

Yesterday I hung out with Allison for a bit, then we both retired to watch TV on the couch. I ordered pizza, and when they came, they went to Allison's door instead, so I went outside to say "Hey-it was me!" But, Allison had ordered pizza from the same place at the same time as me, and he was delivering both. I thought it was a weird enough coincidence to share with the group.

Taboo

Last night I played taboo, which is only my very favorite game since childhood, with Allison, Jon and Matt. Fun times.