julia child night

So usually our experimental dinner nights inspire a photo, but not last night. You know how food is first said to be "eaten with your eyes"? Well this dish looked like it had been eaten by a whole lot more than eyes (once or twice maybe) before we even touched it. But it tasted delicious! In the end I suppose that's the most important thing. Last night Jacob had the wonderful idea to make Julia Child recipes for dinner and watch the movie as we enjoy the fruits of our labor. We were ambitious. We picked "Julia Child's Puree of Rice and Turnips With Herbs and Garlic" and "Julia Child's Ragout of Chicken Thighs 'a la Nicoise". It's important to add "Julia Child's" to the beginning. We started the night at 6 with a trip to Ingles to pick up a few ingredients, and then to his apartment to start slicing, dicing, simmering, browning, melting, reducing, thickening, tasting and finally eating shortly after nine. We anticipated it being a late dinner so we ate bruschetta on yummy toasted bread throughout the cooking process to carry us through. The Rice and Turnip puree was really interesting. It was sort of like mashed potatoes, but with a very distinct flavor and almost with the texture of grits. And the chicken... oh the chicken. Jacob did a fantastic job with this dish. It was juicy and full of flavor. The part that wasn't aesthetically pleasing was the yummy sauce for the chicken. As dinner prep went on and on, we started the movie at eight and listened as we cooked. It was inspirational. Julia Child said to make dinner the event and last night that's just what we did. What a blessing to enjoy such a yummy hobby. Bon appetite!

the gift

The hammock swing project is complete! Ha-lle-lu-jah! I took matters into my own hands. Yesterday I recruited the assistance of Mike Signorini, our assistant food service manager and my neighbor, to help me drill a hole in the top beam of the swing structure. Right after work he brought over a ladder, drill and drill bit. Three items plus five minutes and the project was complete. As soon as the parts were assembled, I lowered myself into the fabric swing. I misjudged the span of the fabric. The result was me spinning 360 degrees with the hammock in the clutches of my fists as the swing flipped over itself. It was a whirlwind! In a matter of seconds I was laying on my back in the mud. I'm still not really sure what caused this precisely, but Mike thought it was hilarious. I'm okay, no worries though my shoulder is pretty sore today. I came home right after work today to enjoy the swing once again. It was awesome. I had music from my computer, a book, water and wheat thins. The weather was cool, crisp and breezy. It was the perfect fall day. Occasionally a leaf from the backyard would fly up and stick to the rope strands of the swing. Every time this happened I was startled because I thought it was some sort of rodent or bird attacking me. But every time it was only a leaf.

It occurred to me while I was hanging in the hammock swing that I was in fact hanging there. I thought of how much trust I had at some point decided, subconsciously of course, to put in this structure. I looked at the tethered rope, carabiner, bolt/screw thingy and wooden structure. All of it working together allowed me to hang there without a care in the world. I also thought about how this had cost me nothing and I'll probably have it my whole life. I hope I do. The whole thing was a gift from people that I love. Thank you all for making this possible... you know who you are...

my feet hurt

I went to a concert last night which required me to stand on a concrete floor for 3 hours. The concert was terrific and I wasn't concerned about the amount of standing until about 12:30 pm today because I had been standing at work for another 5 hours. Now my feet, ankles and calf muscles ache. On a positive note, I made lots of delicious goodies for private school kids today including lemon bars, chocolate chip cookies, french toast bread, hamburger buns, focaccia bread and biscuits. It was a busy day and now I'm sitting at home with my feet up watching NCIS with Michele. I'm feeling slightly better by the minute...

sweet treat

Yummy, right? Cinnamon pecan pancakes. Fancy sour cream sauce. Fresh fruit. Warm maple syrup (not pictured). Caramelized fruit in a reduction sauce. Delicious chicken sausages (also not pictured). Jacob made me breakfast yesterday! It was an awesome treat and he created all of it without looking at a single recipe. What a man! Techie, musician, wood craftsman, chef, mechanic, decorator and connoisseur of many things. I'm a lucky woman!

Bigfoot

Its okay. No need to adjust your screen resolution or glasses prescription. Take a close look. Just what is this picture of? Some sort of optical illusion? Okay, okay I'll tell you. Its my tiny, delicate foot in Jacob's large and in charge flip flop. My foot is swallowed by his shoe like a child's in a "normal" size adult shoe. Half of my foot fills the toe section of this shoe. It amazes me every time I slip it on my foot. That's one big foot... well technically two big feet.

Update: it is raining outside again and our road is flooding. I went to the dentist this morning to have two cavities filled, I got drenched in the process and now my face has been numb since 9 am preventing me from eating anything. On the upside, I'm off work today and am home watching Gilmore Girls. Copper Boom!

sports opera

I love the fall. I love the weather. I love dressing for fall weather. I love pumpkins and seasonal foods. I love the smells associated with the fall: cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin spice, roasted turkey and baked apple. I love fall foliage and fall festivals. Its a wonderful time of year. I suppose another reason to love the fall is college football. I'm not an avid football fan meaning that I haven't memorized any team rosters. But I do enjoy the spirit of college football. I like the idea of family and friends gathering on Saturdays to cheer on their teams and either grieve or rejoice with them. And I also enjoy the sounds of football. There's something familiar and comforting about the sound of college football playing lightly on the television on a Saturday afternoon.

People love football. I'm amazed by how much people know about athletes both in their professional and personal lives. I have thought for years that the world of sports is very much the equivalent to soap operas for sports fans. When I was a little girl, my mom and her mom would talk about soap stars as if they were their friends and as if the events on the show were actual reality. Hearing people talk about athletes and sports teams often feels similar to that. Sometimes I wish I knew more about the sports opera. As I type this I am watching "First Take" on ESPN. I'm challenging myself to follow college football more closely this fall. I have cable and internet this year so I have more advantages than the last couple of years. I can do it and I am excited about it. My roots make me a Tennessee Volunteer fan, but this weekend I have been invited to a Georgia Bulldog game and I think I'm going to go. This is a break through. The Bulldogs aren't playing the Vols so I think its okay that I cheer for the Dawgs. GO DAWGS!?

black bear

The bears are alive. They are alive and viciously devouring candy at SharpTop Cove. This picture shows the remains of a package that was delivered by FedEx and left on the front porch of the office. Apparently it had some chocolate candy inside which enticed the bear and caused him to destroy the package. Nice work, Bear. I hope it was dark chocolate full of antioxidants that your body craves.

date night

I am getting ready for date night. Woot! I think we're going to a movie which poses the classic conundrum: do I dress for the hot and humid out of doors or for the inevitably freezing movie theater? I've chosen a skirt and tank with an optional sweater. This is also "Friday night" in my world, but Saturday night to most everyone else. I think Jacob and I are going to visit a new church in Ellijay tomorrow morning. I'm pretty excited to see what its like. I hope we can find a community there separate from our Sharp Top community. I'll be sure to blog about what we find in the morning. Welp, see ya later.

footloose and fancy free

Jacob and I attended his brother's wedding weekend six days ago. It's crazy to think that Zach and Tamara have been husband and wife for nearly one week. The wedding was beautiful and the reception was chocked full of delicious food and dynamite dancing. The picture to the left is a candid shot snapped by Cecile as Jacob attempted to create a new dance step... pretty successfully, I might add. He's a great dancer and it was really fun to dance the night away. Well, it may not have been the whole night. We may have only danced about thirty minutes away, but it was incredible! And isn't my dress great?

good in theory; poor in actuality

I like new things.  I like adventures.  However I also like knowing what to expect, which can throw some wrenches in the new things category.  "Midnight movie premieres" sound really exciting and exclusive, right?  I thought so until last night.  Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince premiered all over the world last night at midnight.  I thought it would be really fun to go with friends to see it.  I really didn't think this idea through very carefully.  There are very few things about the reality of this event that I really enjoy.  Long lines.  Waiting.  Hundreds of obnoxious people.  Staying up until 4 am and sleep deprivation.  Frigid movie theaters.  Man, what was I thinking?  There were a few things I did enjoy.  I spent four hours waiting , watching and driving with Jacob.  I can think of no one else I would rather share that experience with.  The premiere fell on Stimulus Tuesday which means $1 popcorn and soft drinks.  Holla.  People applauded at the beginning and the end of the movie.  I took several very short naps through out the movie, but I'm pretty sure I liked it.  This was a once in a lifetime opportunity.  I don't think I'd ever like to go again.  But it was definitely a new experience that left with me a new, funny anecdote. 

Birthday extravaganza

Today is my twenty-sixth birthday.  Yesterday Jacob and I celebrated by spending the whole day together.  It was very thoughtful.  We took a train ride from Blue Ridge, GA to McCaysville, GA which was right on the Tennessee border.  The train ride lasted an hour.  We enjoyed a two hour lay over on the border and then rode the train back for an hour.  The sign to the left shows the TN/GA stateline.  There was a man on the corner with a camera on a tripod.  I believe he was there to take pictures of people if they like.  The trip was really fun, planned and thoughtful.  I loved all of it.

Inspired by kittens

This video is very funny. Please enjoy.

trekkie

I'm watching Season 1, Episode 1 of Star Trek.  I think there were several different attempts at the Star Trek story while on TV.  This one stars William Shatner.  Maybe that narrows it down for some of you.  Whatever the series, it is very old and funny... slightly ridiculous and yet, I can not stop watching.  What is happening?  What is causing all the people to die?  Why do they need salt tablets?  Why are there red dots on the victims faces?  Stay tuned.  I'll let you know what I think.  Oh, one more thing.  All the men on Enterprise wear belly shirts with really high pants.  The women wear pieces of clothing that are really too long to be a shirts, but too short to be a dresses.  They all wear panty hose with their "dresses" so I guess that makes it appropriate.  Tonight is just a relaxing night.  I'm hanging out with Jacob.  He made us delicious nachos and we are chilling because work week starts tomorrow.  Summer is just around the corner!  We're very excited.  I also cleaned and packed a little after work today because I'm moving soon!  Holla!

long time, no blog

Perspective: • true understanding of the relative importance of things; a sense of proportion.

People can see or hear the same thing, but experience completely different "realities".  Have you ever heard some one tell a story and in the next moment someone else retells the same story only to hear that their interpretation was completely different from your own?  We hear different things because certain things are important to each of us that may not be significant to others.  This is a big obstacle in effective communication.

Ladies, hear me out on this.  You know how something can bother you in the moment and it seems like the issue, but its not?  The issue only causes this small incident to seem like a big deal because you're stressed about the real issue, you know?  Well, men don't view things like this.  As far as I can tell, men isolate the problem to either fix it if possible or compartmentalize it to forget it until it can be fixed.  I do not work like that.  I can think about fifty things at once.  So if I'm stressed about something I have been known to "take it out" on those closest to me by overreacting about insignificant things.  Unfortunately this can be very frustrating to those closest to me.  I think its part of life.  It seems like one of those innate differences between men and women.

crazy road trips

I tend to be pretty impulsive.  On Tuesday night, I decided to go with Jacob to Birmingham on Wednesday to see Wilco in concert.  We both had to work on Thursday, but it seemed worth it.  The concert was scheduled to start at 8 PM so i figured we'd get back late, but I was not prepared for what actually happened.  After we'd driven through Atlanta, the question dawns on me, "is Birmingham in a different time zone"?  So I pose the question and the results show that Birmingham is indeed in Central Time Zone, which of course means that the show starts at nine!  Whatever, we go and it was an amazing trip, dinner and show.  What wasn't amazing was leaving the venue at 12:30 EST and arriving in Jasper at 4:15 EST to wake at 7:30 for a wonderful day of work... all times given are AM, of course.  I felt nauseated most of the day.  Finally at about 2 PM my body started to acclimate to the conditions and for that I was very thankful.  That was definitely a time when I will look back and be thankful for the experience, but at the time it was dreaded!  But what else would we have done on a Wednesday night?  Watched a movie, made dinner and gone to bed at a decent hour?  Lame!  j/k.

the way we were

Romance.  Communism.  Heartbreak.  Barbara Streisand.  Robert Redford.  And quite possibly the saddest movie I've ever watched.  This 1973 movie depicts the story of Katie Morosky and Hubbell Gardner.  I won't ruin the ending for those who haven't seen the movie.  The story definitely makes me think.  Its very sad that two people can love each other so much and not find a way to make each other happy.  It doesn't seem fair that it can happen, but I suppose it does.  Last night I introduced two friends to this tragic story and they loved it.  We had a slumber party and it made for a great girl's night.  I would like to thank Target for the suggestion.

'cause lime green looks great on anyone...

Last night I attended the most giant birthday party of any one year old I've ever known!  It was awesome.  Adults, kids, babies, barbecue and presents.  The whole thing was very chaotic... and entertaining!  I watched the parents of the birthday girl open their child's presents because she was very busy chewing on the paper that once enclosed the first opened gift.  While juggling their own child and the presents, they also had to fight off everyone else's kids who were anxious to "help".  Then I watched two kids break one of the new toys.  It was tragic, but hilarious.  Sort of Shakespearian.  Later in the evening I tried to spark conversation with a new friend.  She was probably eight years old.  Her t shirt had an embroidered ballerina on the front so I asked her if she could do a little dance for us.  She said, "Oh.  No.  We're not too good."  It was really, really funny.  I appreciate her family's honesty to her about her skills.  Hopefully she will never be one of those types of people who perform on "American Idol" or "America's Got Talent" who clearly have no talent at all.  I always think to myself when I watch those people, "where are their families?  Why haven't they been honest with them?"  Tough love, people.  Your kids will thank you.  The bigger and more important theme of the evening however was that my friends made it through one blessed and miraculous year with their daughter.  I'm sure there were many times when they wondered if they would get to celebrate that day at all.  Thanks be to God.

this old house

Fun date idea #1: just drive.  Get in the car, pick some tunes and try to get lost!  Tonight after dinner, Jacob suggested that we go for a drive just to get out of the house for a bit.  He likes old white churches.  A few months back he discovered an unassuming white church, but while peeking through the windows he saw that inside it was hardwood floor to ceiling.  He hadn't been back in a long time and wasn't even sure that it could be found again.  On our journey to the old hidden church, we discovered this beautiful white house.  The bottom picture was our first peek at it from the road.  The sun was setting and the mountains were beautiful in the background.  The house was surrounded by a black wooden fence and acres of rolling green fields.  I want to live there some day or maybe just some place with a similar essence.  We discovered lots of cool things: some baby goats, a running dog that looked like a bunny, an old bridge that should maybe be retired soon, and we did find that old church.  We sort of stumbled upon it and it was just as Jacob said: totally unassuming, but beautiful on the inside.  I wondered if people meet there or how you get inside.  We weren't sure, but I hope that its used.  Driving is fun and educational:)  

birthday notice

Also, as a little side note, today marks the three month countdown until my 26th birthday.  Yeesh.  So, start planning people because I'm excited!  Ha ha.

beef its what's for dinner

It was for dinner.  Beef that is.  Tonight Jacob and I grilled indoors on the brand new Emeril All Clad Cast Iron Grill/Griddle!  It was very successful.  The grill made beautiful grill marks on our veggies and steakies.  See the picture to the left.  Notice the exquisitely charred lines on the meat.  Jacob was in charge of grilling because he's a man.  I did, however, prepare the steaks yesterday with olive oil and Emeril's Essense.  They refrigerated overnight and turned out deliciously!  We will use this new grilling toy as often as possible because it was enjoyable.  Bam!

not-so-speed scrabble

Jacob and his mom just played a five hour game of "speed" scrabble.  It took a long time for a couple of reasons.  The primary reason being that the game consisted of two people playing with two sets of scrabble tiles... that's 200 tiles, folks.  The second reason being that the game was broken up by showers, grocery store visits, and frisbee golf games.  This is a picture, well four pictures, of Jacob with his winning scrabble spread totaling 302 points!  The crazy thing is that he and his mom, Cheri, used the exact same number of scrabble pieces.  Kind of crazy, huh?  Way to go, babe.

in the dark

Yesterday it stormed in Jasper, GA.  I'm talking hail, extreme winds, torrential rains, fallen trees and power outages.  I'm staying the weekend at Sharptop with Jacob's family.  After chain-sawing a fallen tree on the driveway, collecting lanterns and generators, and cooking dinner campfire style in a gas grill we watched "Bedtime Stories" together.  Then we all went to bed.  As I laid in bed it dawned on me that it was Good Friday... not for the first time, but for the first time in hours.  Maybe it was semi symbolic that I lived in darkness for a few hours last night on the day Christ died.  Sure, it would have been more symbolic if I'd recognized it in the midst of the darkness, but meaningful just the same.  Before I fell asleep, I thought of how church families all of the world had gathered together to reverently  remember and reflect on the sacrifice God made on that day many years ago so that his people might be reconciled to Himself.  Death to life.  Darkness to light.  This morning I woke to light and life.  I am truly thankful.

that old dog

A few months ago I blogged about a dog that I saw on the way home from work.  Remember it?  It had one of those medical cones around its neck.  Yesterday as I was driving home from work I saw it again.  This time is was in even worse shape than the first.  It was dead beside the road.  It appeared to have been hit by a car.  Way to go Georgia.  Another one bites the dust.  Rest in peace, dog.

crazy 'bout ya

Do you ever feel crazy?  A definition of crazy (well technically insanity, but it works here too) that I've heard over the years is continuing the same course of action while expecting different results.  Crazy.  That seems to be sort of be the theme of my week.  Why do we continue on crazy cycles (we'll call them)?  Well, sometimes we get stuck and we don't know how to escape.  Sometimes we haven't identified the problem specifically enough to change the reaction, in short, we probably don't know ourselves well enough to change.  Sometimes the thought of trying a new course of action is scary because its different and not what we know.  Whatever the reason, its not good enough to continue on a "crazy cycle".  Please, stop the insanity.  

The title of this blog is a Dave Barnes' song.  I googled "crazy" but didn't like any of the things that it popped.  I like this song a lot.  Its definitely a different take on the word crazy from the topic above, but good just the same... better even.  Its a love song.  And love can drive you crazy... The people we love the most are the people who make you feel the craziest!

cougars...funny

i'm real lucky

Jacob gave up meat for Lent... in addition to a few other things.  So last night I suggested that he make us eggplant parmesan for dinner!  He did some great research and found a wonderful recipe on the World Wide Web for a lasagna style dish.  Thanks Bobby Flay.  We went to Ingles and collected the ingredients we needed.  He made a delicious roasted red pepper marinara sauce.  He sliced, breaded and fried the eggplant.  The final step required him to layer the ingredients: sauce, eggplant, cheese, sauce, eggplant and cheese to top.  The dish he used was the perfect size for the ingredients and the result was perfect!  The picture to the left was a portion that I ate for dinner.  It was beautifully garnished with fresh parsley.  Mmmm.  It was sooo good.  I'm real lucky to have him in my life.  I'll toot my own horn a little and say that last night I prepped a dough to make homemade strawberry shortcakes today for Jacob.  In addition to meat, he also sacrificed sweets so I thought it would be a treat.  They were very tasty.  And he was very appreciative.  I think we're lucky to have each other.  Toot, toot!

outlaw pete

Today was fun.  Here's the play by play.  I stayed in bed until 10:30, made coffee, washed laundry, watched House on dvd, shopped at Ingles, made roasted tomato soup, folded laundry, talked to Kristin, went to Target, ate a burrito at Moe's, and watched "Friends" on dvd.  Wooh.  That's a busy, fun and productive day.  The Target we visited was brand-spankin' new!  It still had that new Target smell, which is kind of like new car smell, but bigger and better.  It concluded at Pete's apartment watching the "Friends"' dvds.  I took this picture of Pete because he looked like a grandpa in his leather chair: feet up in boat shoes.  All he needed was a "Mr. Roger's" sweater and a leather bound book in place of his Ipod Touch.  "Friends" is such a funny show!  I really enjoyed watching and laughing with my friends tonight.  

the incredible, edible egg

This is Emma the dog.  While on vacation, Jacob and I stayed one night with his college pal Tyler.  Tyler is married to Lauren and together they have Emma.  Emma is a chocolate lab and she is really the most beautiful dog I've ever seen.  While watching Duke play on Saturday night, we also watched another fun event.  Emma ate a raw egg.  She ate the whole thing, shell and all.  Tyler and Lauren give them to her occasionally to keep her fur shiny.  I was a little confused at first.  I thought surely the egg was cooked.  Apparently I missed the first bit of the conversation.  Emma carried the egg with her delicately for a few minutes.  Even after dropping it once, she picked it back up softly to hold it a little longer.  Watching the egg hit the floor only confirmed my original belief that the egg was boiled because it didn't crack or leak on the floor at all.  Eventually, Emma decided that enough was enough because the egg hit the floor one last time and she began to eat the entire thing!  It was incredible.  I believe she made Rocky Balboa proud that night.

slurpees are cool

Today we went to the beach.  It was awesome.  There are a few things in my life that have historically deemed days as beach days: sunshine, an occasional slight breeze, a frisbee, and a slurpee!  Today really did make for the quintessential 'beach day'.  It was warm, but not too warm.  It was breezy, but not too breezy.  And it started with a cherry Slurpee from the local 7-11.  Also today (well technically yesterday, but officially today), I started book one of the Twilight series.  I am hooked and I don't know what took me so long to discover my love of these books.  Well, the important thing is that it has finally happened.  Another important thing is that tomorrow these two loves of mine, sun and Twilight (ironically), will merge again for the whole day.  I plan to wake up and immediately move poolside with Bella and Edward.  I plan to stay there until sunset.  Wish me luck.

woazers

I can't believe I did it.  On Monday, as Jacob and I drove to Tampa, we passed this car on the side of the road.  When I saw it, the first thought to go through my mind was, "wow, I can blog about that later."  And then I shamelessly (well Jacob and I both) proceeded to reach for my phone and snap a picture as we slowly passed this car.  The people standing by the car totally saw me acting as the worst sort of 'rubber-necker'.  The accident had just occurred.  There were no emergency vehicles on the scene yet and my concern was to share this story on my blog and not for the survival and health of the occupants.  I am not proud of my actions, but I am still posting the picture.  

is that chocolate or poop?

I am a baker.  We make a lot of things from scratch at work.  Last week I tried to make Oreos from scratch.  Well, not exactly the whole cookie, only the chocolate part because we use Oreo crumbs in a dessert.  The cookie dough looked like poop.  Seriously.  And the result was less than satisfactory.  It kind of tasted like chocolate animal crackers, you know?  The good people at Oreo make a good cookie and I have yet to duplicate their recipe.  I will try again.  

Last Saturday afternoon I drove to Tennessee to attend Addyson's second birthday party.  The thoughts, "I can't believe she's only two" and "I can't believe she's already two" rival for most unbelievable in my head.  She's a little person.  She can walk and talk.  She feeds herself.  She has an incredible ability to make people laugh.  She is compassionate and comforting.  During the last few months, when my mom or sister have shown sadness because of my grandpa, she has been known to come along side them and say "You okay?  It's okay."  Kids learn that, I think.  She's learned it from watching people care for each other.  And like me and so many people I know, she has learned to really 'dig her heels in'.  She is stubborn.  Saturday night she wanted to come upstairs to my room because Sydney, her older sister, and I were watching a movie.  I consented so my mom sent her up the stairs to watch.  I know she can understand reason, sometimes, so I said to her, "Addy you can sit with the big girls if you act like a big girl.  We're sitting still and watching the movie, okay?"  "Okay," she said.  So I thanked her for listening.  "Welcome," she responded (a precious expression I must say).  And she did sit with us quietly.  I was astounded.  My sister came to pick her up a little later, but she became distracted by the stairs.  Toddlers love stairs which is pretty scary because they're capable of handling them, but sometimes they wobble like little drunken people.  From my room I heard her pitch the biggest fit!  Then silence.  Three minutes later I hear my mom with her on the stairs.  Addy won that fight.  I played on the stairs with her for a few minutes then I told her that she could play for two more minutes.  Two minutes later she quietly agreed to go home.

We all choose our battles I suppose, but when you're two the battles consist of playing on steps and not pulling the cat's tail.  We want what we want sometimes no matter the cost.  God is the parent, I'm the kid and no matter how many times I throw a tantrum and try to play on the stairs without him, he still loves me.  Addy is learning about grace and love through her family when we cover her with hugs and kisses only minutes after she's been disobedient.  Thanks be to God.  I loved being home.  And I think Addy really enjoyed her birthday.

i can't understand

Last night Jacob and I went to a concert in Atlanta.  The show was fun and good, but half way through I realized something.  I can never understand what the names are of the band members when they are introduced.  Annunciate please!  I have two theories for this conundrum.  The first is that the lead man or woman is eager to claim the spotlight so he or she cleverly sabotages the names during introductions.  The second is maybe more realistic.  When I was a little kid I always had trouble comprehending stories or books when they were read aloud to me.  Sometimes without seeing the words, my mind would connect the sounds together incorrectly.  This has improved and corrected over the years, but I think this may play into my little problem.  Without seeing the name "Jon Black", I may hear "Don Block".  However, if I know the name in advance it is completely coherent to me when I hear it announced.  Yea... it is a little tricky.  

Before the show, Jacob and I sat outside at a drive-thru/walk-up only Chick-Fil-A in Atlanta.  It was beautiful outside.  I ate a chicken salad sandwich and waffle fries while Jacob had a mexican salad that he picked up from the Qdoba next door.  We shared a lemonade also.  It was very romantic.  After dinner, we went to the mall across the street to pick up some flip flops for Jacob.  He left his Rainbows in a cab in the Dominican Republic so he needed some new ones for our beach trip.  He thought he bought an XL last time, but his "big" toe didn't quite fit on the sole of the shoe.  Seriously, his right foot is a full shoe size bigger than the left.  Luckily they had an XXL in stock so he was good to go.  After a quick stop at Sam Ash to look at guitars, we went to Caribou coffee so I could get a last minute jolt before the show.  We also hacked into their free wifi to double check the show time.  Ha.  It was a really fun night.  I'm excited for spring to arrive and stick around for a while.

snoozy

When I was a little girl I owned a doll whose eyes closed when I laid her down.  She was similar to the doll on the left.  Creepy, I know.  Sometimes I remind myself of this doll.  Last night was one of those times.  I visited a friend's house last night to watch the newly released "Australia".  I successfully stayed awake during the first forty minutes of the movie and thoroughly enjoyed it.  It was a lot funnier than I expected.  However, after about forty minutes, I allowed myself to get a little too comfortable.  I laid down and fell asleep for the remainder of the movie.  I slept through all of it!  After a certain point in the evening, I pretty much need to lay on a bed of nails to stay awake during movies.  Of course then after my movie snooze I had a little trouble dozing off last night.  All in all it was a great night!

alrighty then

"If I'm not back in five minutes... just wait longer."  - Mr. Ace Ventura

My friend Pete bought "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" and "Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls" yesterday at Best Buy.  Its a two disc set.  Today at work we started laughing about how random that movie purchase seemed to be.  The more I thought about that movie, the more I remembered how funny it was the first time I saw it.  Pete's random purchase turned into a really fun movie night.  (Side note) Before the movie started I drove to Kroger to fill the car up and then picked up some Taco Bell because I'd been craving a bean burrito for two days.  I'd planned to go straight to Pete's, but he wasn't home so I drove to Main Street.  I sat in my car in downtown Jasper right in front of the Court House, ate my burrito and chased it with a Dr. Pepper. (End side note)  I think what I may have enjoyed more than the movie was the laughter of my friends around me.  Some people have contagious laughter.  I appreciate that.  I sat next to a friend tonight and whenever she laughed, it caused me to laugh.  Have you ever played the "Ha" game?  Its the one where one person lays on the floor and another person lays their head on the first person's stomach, then another and another.  Each person, starting with the first, laughs once "HA".  The "laugh" passes on, stomachs are contracting and eventually everyone is laughing uncontrollably in a big heap on the floor.  You should try it; its pretty entertaining, as was this evening. 

eye candy

That title might be a little confusing.  It is actually a salad, but I call it "eye candy" because its so nice to look at.  On Tuesday night I wasn't feeling well.   I'm okay now, but on that particular night I had a stomach ache.  I took a little nap and when I woke up, my stomach still hurt a little, but the nausea had subsided.  Jacob offered to make me a stomach friendly dinner and I accepted.  This is what he made!  It is a bed of delicious salad greens topped with sliced apples, ripe strawberries, tomato, seasoned chicken, walnuts and cranberry dressing.  Yum!  I have quite the reputation for not finishing my meals, but I ate every bite of this concoction.  Tummy likey.  What a caring boyfriend I have.

a "vein" to pick

So you know the old expression "I've got a bone to pick with you"? Well I altered it a little. What the heck is wrong with the Red Cross? I went to a blood drive today to donate a pint of my hard-earned blood and I had rude interactions with 2 Red Cross employees before feeling remotely welcomed or appreciated. The first interaction was with the "I'm going to prick your finger and ask you forty personal questions" employee. She didn't communicate with me. If she wanted me to move my arm, she would man-handle me rather than using her words. She asked me to remove my long sleeve sweater so she could examine my veins. Her reaction to my arms was very discouraging. "You've donated blood before?" She asked this in such a way as to imply that this was preposterous ... "with those veins?" Yes, I know my veins are small, but they are pumping O negative blood people so get to work! I then moved to the navy blue lawn chair where I sat for 20 minutes before being addressed. Then the "vampire" said hello, poked around on my arms while mumbling something and called for a vein check. I had to ask him repeat everything he said to me. That's really a trait that you want in the person sticking a large, sharp metallic tube in your arm. Finally, the head lady who did the vein check came over and was very nice to me. She drew some dots with a blue felt-tip marker on my arm. I asked her if she thought it would work and she said the outside veins are more difficult. Great, I had been there an hour already. I really wanted this to work. The vampire came back around and hit the vein on the first try. It didn't hurt at all. I snapped some pics, ten minutes later my bag was full and I was sitting at a table sipping orange pineapple juice and eating nutter butter cookies. Thanks for the snack... and for the sticker "Be nice to me. I gave blood today."

do not fear

I followed a couple of links from a blog this morning and discovered a sermon about relationships and sex. The pastor is pretty hip, pretty trendy, but as far as I can tell his teaching is Biblical. He started the sermon by talking about man's responsibility to lead and women's desire for men to lead. He referenced Song of Solomon. In chapter 2 Solomon says to his beloved, "Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me." Come with me! Solomon has a plan. He is inviting this woman to come with him. Solomon can do this only because he knows where he's going. Masculine initiative is the foundation for Godly relationship? I don't know if that's entirely true, it seems like there are more important things that come first, but I definitely think its near the bottom of the foundation. "A man with a plan" which is the title of this sermon. This is contradictory to man's current role in the dating scene. This is something a man would say today, "hey girl, what are you doing? I don't know what I'm going to be doing, but you can come with me if you want. Only if you want, its your decision because I don't want the responsibility of leading." Pastor Tim Lucas says that men are taught to treat relationships like a game. "'Play it cool. Gotta keep her guessing. Don't commit to anything cause I gotta keep my options open.' Instead of being clear and communicative about our intentions, we're coy." That sounds familiar. But to be fair, women play games too and lots of women don't have any idea what they want either. In general people don't usually know what they want, but Solomon knew what he wanted. But as a woman, I have a responsibility to respond well to man's initiative. I should honor his willingness to take a risk. Have you seen the movie "He's Just Not That Into You"? Its a whole movie about men without Godly initiative and women who don't respect their men. Movies like that sell because we relate to them and think they're funny. "Its funny cause its true." I think this blog is coming off as a little "man-hater" but that's not my intention. I'm in a relationship with a wonderful man, we both love the Lord and I see these things play out in our relationship daily. I'm not a cynic, I'm a realist.

live music

Tonight I went to Atlanta with friends to see Dave Barnes play at Smith's Olde Bar.  Drew and Ellie Holcomb opened the show.  All the performances were top notch.  I really love live music.  I like music with great lyrics.  I like lyrics that tell stories.  The artists we heard tonight tell great stories with their music.  Some of the stories are about love.  Those are good.  I enjoy sharing glances with friends when meaningful lyrics are being sung out over us.  Its cool to know that I will probably never be in that venue listening to this musician with these friends ever again.  "This is a once in a lifetime night" crossed through my mind tonight.  I just love all the parts of a great, small scale, live show.  Dave (yeah we're on a first name basis) performed a song tonight and he asked for the crowd to sing along.  Last time I saw him perform he asked for a similar interaction.  Both times the result gave me chills.  Seriously, both times I've heard crowds sing this song it has been beautiful!  Also before the show, we went to The Highlander which was featured on the Food Networks "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives".  It was not disappointing.  Thank you Guy for the suggestion.

hiking season

Today, Michele and I drove to Dillon, GA to hike a section of Bartram trail which leads to Rabun Bald.  We read about it on the internet.   It is apparently the second highest peak in Georgia.  The day started beautifully with a cup of Irish breakfast tea at Michele's.  We departed Jasper at 8:30 a.m. and drove northeast toward Ellijay, Blue Ridge, Young Harris, Clayton and finally, Dillon.  We quickly ducked in and out of North Carolina for a few miles too.  Our directions were flawless until the final leg of the trip.  The website directed us to turn onto Hale Ridge Road, but it was nowhere to be found.  We turned around (the first of many) and visited a local gas station/ trout steamer place.  Inside the station, we met "Squeakie".  That is seriously what her name tag read.  Squeakie told us to turn onto Bald - something, I can't remember the name - but that was the name of the second turn we were hunting.  We trusted Squeakie.  She seemed pretty reliable.  I should probably also mention that while walking into the station we noticed a golf cart parked outside with a rifle on the seat, thus reminding us that even though the towns grew increasingly "cool" the further we drove from Jasper, we were in fact still in the North Georgia hills.  Eventually, after about an hour of hunting "Park Service Road #7", we found what we were looking for.  The trail was 4.2 miles from trailhead to summit.  The first 2.7 miles were pretty boring, but the last 1.5 miles were beautiful and challenging.  The top had a cool, but weird wooden structure.  It looked like a deck on stilts.  We climbed to the top, snapped some pics and dined on the best trail food I've ever had.  It was a perfect day for a hike - cool and sunny.  And now my body is rejecting the simple task of walking...

sleeping in

Does this mean I'm an adult?  Normally, my biological clock is cursed to wake me up at eight o'clock on my days off.  Today was an exception.  Today I slept until 1:40 pm.  I know, its very slothful of me.  Of course, I woke up a few times before finally getting out of bed, but I never looked at the clock until 1:40.  Here's another key piece of information that makes this feat even more amazing.  I don't currently have a bed.  The picture on the left shows my "bed".  It looks pretty comfortable, but is really most suitable for a hobbit or "little person".  The "bed" consists of an oversized chair, a mismatched ottoman and a queen size mattress pad.  Together, they are not terribly uncomfortable, but they require me to sleep mostly in the fetal position, otherwise subjecting my feet to the nighttime chill of my basement abode.  

Just in case you're curious, this is what the inside of a movie theater looks like on a Tuesday night at 10 pm in Canton, GA.  Last night I saw "He's Just Not That Into You" by myself, which I'm fine with.  I actually enjoy an occasionally movie solo.  Last night, however, "solo" took on a whole new meaning.  I was in the theater by myself the ENTIRE time!  It was weird, but totally cool.

relationships need verbs... and mallomars.

Have you ever tasted a Mallomar?  They're delicious and have no nutritional value.  I discovered them while watching a favorite TV show "Gilmore Girls".  It is actually quite difficult to find Mallomars in many stores.  But I have succeeded on many occasions.  Some days can just be deemed "Mallomar Days".  What defines a Mallomar day?  Its not easily defined.  Today I was in the mood to watch sad movies (Steel Magnolias and Step Mom) and eat unhealthy, but meaningful food.  I felt a need for sentiment and Mallomars hold a lot of sentimental value in my heart.  A previous roommate and I would munch on them and watch hours of Gilmore Girls together in college.  Today, I couldn't be with her (or anyone else, really) so I wanted a cookie.  It worked.  I actually felt a little better while eating them... perhaps it was the sugar.

"fresh" pressed coffee

Yesterday, a good friend of mine gave me some yummy whole bean coffee from a roastery in Athens, GA called Jittery Joes.  A few weeks ago, I splurged and finally purchased my own french press coffee maker.  Tonight, these two wonderful items met for the first time and the product is divine.  It's better than chocolate.

i like free stuff

I'm excited.  Micah Dalton is in town.  Almost every weekend there's a person that provides "special music" who comes to Sharp Top to perform for campers and leaders. I know, the title "special music" is kind of funny and nondescript.  What is "special" about it?  I think it's one of those things that someone said once and it caught on... and on and on. Whatever the reason, it's a good system.  Their time is usually volunteered in hope that they will sell lots of cds when people hear their music.  Also, I think they're promised all the free water they can stomach during performances.  This weekend Micah is at Sharp Top.  This is one of the many unwritten benefits of working at Sharp Top or most Young Life properties, along with unlimited bad coffee 24 hours/day, free lunches, unlabeled, mysterious beef from local cattle and free trash disposal.  I love my job.  You can check out Micah's music on his myspace page.  The link is added below.  I hope you like it.  

http://www.myspace.com/micahdalton

leashes are for pets

Today I drove home from work  and I met this dog.  I called him Ron.  He ran across the road in front of me which I found ironic because clearly something already happened to injure Ron at least once before because he's wearing a "I can't bite my stitches" cone around his neck.  He was very friendly.  But here's my question.  Where is his owner?  Obviously he has an owner and he/she must care for the dog enough to pay for that white cone so why let Ron roam freely into traffic?  Come on Georgia!  Let's enforce some leash laws, ya?  Ron needs our help.

barack obama has this phone. not really.

I got a new phone today.  I think my smart phone may be smarter than me.  I want to fully harness the power of the Blackberry.  I have subscribed to internet for the first month, but I don't think I really need it.  It has been a lot of fun.  I didn't intend to get a new phone but they practically gave it to me.  Thanks Verizon.  

baby teena

This is a picture of me when I was Addyson's age.  See the family resemblance?   Man, I was cute.

i am the cool aunt

This is Addyson.  She's almost 2 years old.  She's my youngest niece.  Her older sister, Sydney, and I were playing with Garage Band last night.  We were recording ourselves saying funny things using the helium voice setting.  Addyson thought this was the funniest thing!  She would cover her mouth with both hands and laugh dramatically.  She is stubborn and willful.  She's nothing like me really...  Kids are interesting.  I watch her develop bad habits to achieve her own goals.  I just want to scream and say to her, "Addy don't do that!  Save yourself the time of unlearning that later in life."  But I choose not to scream.  I resort to hugging, loving, kissing... and correcting when necessary.  Its necessary a lot.  I want her to know she is loved and cherished so that she will know how to love others.  I want to teach her how to make good choices.  I want her to respect herself and others.  When she's older I'll tell her about Jesus.  Maybe she'll be more inclined to follow and trust Jesus if she can learn these things early.  That's my prayer for her and her sister.  

2.3.09

So this is my first blog entry. I'm officially a blogger. I started this because I'm at my parents house for an unfortunate purpose and I need an escape. I drove to Lenoir City, TN this morning to spend 3 days at my parents house. The reason? My grandfather's life is slowly ending. In December Claudie was diagnosed with stomach cancer and its been a quick progression to our family's current reality. We're all just hanging out and waiting. Sometimes we talk about it, but most of the time things feel pretty normal. I cried for the first hour that I was home today. The house felt very dark and sad. I felt very overwhelmed by the circumstances. I kept praying, "Lord, I don't think I can handle all of this". And then a wise man said, "of course you can't because we're not supposed to be able to handle these things on our own". I started thinking about that. God hasn't required me to walk through all of this with my own strength. "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." But His strength is of no value to me if I don't trust that He is enough and that He is near. So I will try to trust in the Lord during this difficult time. May Christ be glorified during all of this.