I have been updating my recipe pages to make them more user-friendly and to include some other recipes that I haven't posted before. I am uploading all of my favorite holiday recipes as well as some "standards" around our house.

If you're interested, check it out!

Last Friday, I drove down to Lakeland to visit with my parents and my grandmother while my sister and my nephews were also in town. Across the board, it was a really nice weekend!

As part of heading toward being fully retired, my father is starting to make smoked meat. While I was there, he smoked some pork shoulder roast. We used a rub on the outside of the meat (4 parts brown sugar, 2 parts chili powder, 1 part lemon pepper, 1 part garlic powder), and it really added a lot of flavor. After cooking it, we let the meat rest, and then we shredded it by hand (using two forks). It had a terrific flavor, and the rub made a big difference! My parents generously let me take a piece of the meat back home to Atlanta so that Dave could have some, as well, and it was delicious. When I got home Sunday evening, I reheated it in a covered dish in the oven, and then shredded it for sandwiches. It was great!

I really enjoyed getting to spend some time visiting with my family. Seth and James (my nephews) are growing up so fast, and they are such kind children. They are considerate, and they don't mind lots of hugs from crazy grown-ups that insist on ruffling their hair. They are absolute cutie-pies, and I really enjoy seeing them and spending time with them!

I was glad to visit a lot with my sister, too. She and I spent a lot of time talking after the kids had gone to sleep . . . it was good to talk to her, and she and I probably need to make more of an effort to really talk more often.

While I was in Lakeland, my nephews enjoyed watching Snow Buddies, a movie that I later found out is part of the Air Bud series. I'm admittedly a little ashamed that this association escaped me earlier. It was a cute movie, and our nephews enjoyed watching it. They were very interested in what was going on in the movie, and they enjoyed following the story. Anyway . . . I read the Wikipedia page for the movie, and I think it's quite sad that the making of this movie actually involved canine casualties. I mean, it's not front-page news, I guess, but what is actually an acceptable level of loss for something like this? Just seems like the acceptable level would be zero, since the loss was completely preventable. Hmph.

During the drive down and back up, I spent a lot of time listening to John Barrowman's CD, Another Side. I don't know how much of an American audience exists for two of my very favorite television shows, Torchwood and Doctor Who, so I am going under the assumption that American audiences really don't know who John Barrowman is. On seeing a video of him singing on YouTube, a friend of mine described him as "lounge act-y" . . . which I can totally see, but I like his voice. The cover image for the CD, though? Yipes!

So my friend made these brownies, and she brought some of them to Dave and me to try. Wow! If you are looking for a brownie alternative that doesn't incorporate processed sugars or processed flours, this one is certainly something to try. The coffee taste was interesting, too, and it made for a really rich, tasty brownie. Thumbs up from me!

In other news, we are still attending the weekly Financial Peace University, and last night's session was great. The DVD presentation was longer than others, and I thought it was pretty good. My entire attitude about credit cards, spending money, and saving money is evolving . . . and it will take time to get everything into practice, but I like the concept.

Back to foods . . . I am itching to try this Moroccan Spiced Chickpea Soup that we saw on the Food Network one morning . . . I hope to try to make it in the next few days.

If your childhood was anything like anyone else's, you had to remember countless lock combinations over the years . . . bike locks, gym lockers, any number of things that were secured with some kind of combination lock. A few of my combinations still ring clear in my mind . . . but of course, most of them are gone like so much other minutiae. You know . . . things like American history . . . or chemical equations . . . or capital cities around the globe.

Then, in adulthood, it's possible that you will come upon one of these locks . . . and you might think to yourself that you will most certainly be able to find the combination after a quick look around online . . . and while you will not actually find the combination, you will find directions for getting it. With a little practice and patience, those directions will totally work. And it will freak you out a little bit.

Let me go ahead and warn you . . . this post is going nowhere. It's a rather non-poetic soliloquy about my feelings toward cake.

I have a special love for cake. I adore it. Any time, day or night, I could always go for a piece of cake. At some point, I would love to learn to decorate cakes . . . and when I see those shows on the Food Network where they show people who decorate extravagant cakes for a living, well, I'm a little envious. These people get to work with cake!!!

Of course, the thought that follows that one is that there is no way I could work with cake on a regular basis . . . because I would weigh a ton.

It's too bad that I don't have much of a talent for making cakes from scratch. I like cake mixes, but I would like to be able to have more control over the consistency of the resulting cake . . . are there cake kits that contain all the pre-measured ingredients, but with instructions to use more or less of a particular ingredient if you would like a different texture or consistency? I suppose there isn't much call for something like that . . . because if you really cared about it, you would just make a cake from scratch.

Along that same line of thought . . . there is absolutely nothing wrong with canned frosting. I don't like to buy the whipped kind because I think you end up paying for air . . . and you can just buy the regular kind and whip it up to a fluffier consistency yourself. Another way you can modify store-bought frosting is to add a block of softened cream cheese. If you want to try this, keep in mind that you might need to add some powdered sugar, too, if you like a sweeter, thicker frosting.

On a related note, we made the most hilarious cake for a friend's birthday in February. I was pulling the cake rounds out of the oven . . . and when I went to invert them onto a rack, my fingers slipped, and I dropped one. It seemed that a one-layer cake would be sad, so we bought another cake mix and made two more rounds. So . . . in the end, we had three cake rounds . . . and we made a very, very tall cake. It was a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting on the outside and cream cheese filling between the layers . . . and it was ridiculously tall. But it was tasty. After all . . . tall or not, it was still cake.

So I have upgraded my phone to Windows Mobile 6. I managed to back up my contacts and such, and it works fine as a phone. But everything else that I am trying to do, like synchronizing my calendar and installing various programs? Not so much. It's miserable. This is why I hate upgrading things. HATE. I've been tearing my hair out for three days, gradually giving up on one thing after another, wildly celebrating any small victory toward getting my phone to be the way I want it. Miserable!!!

Okay. So when I'm driving around various places in Cobb County, I pass by the Cobb County Transit (CCT) bus stops, and they have those little covered areas with advertisements posted on the side. For a couple of months, there has been this same ad where there is a picture of a side view of a heavier woman's thigh, and she appears to be wearing perhaps some kind of reddish-colored swim trunks. The image covers from about her hip to her upper thigh, and there is no large text. The text on the ad is small, so those driving by can't really read it. The lines of text are written in curved lines, perhaps in an attempt to show how the woman's hip area could be reduced in size.

I never get stuck in traffic next to one of these ads, and we were making a side trip that would get me parked next to one of them last Friday. I have been trying to stave off my curiosity, but this opportunity was too much to resist. So, when we parked, I walked over to the ad. The text is in Spanish! What a rip! Had I wanted to take more time, I'd have taken a picture of it . . . I still might. I want to know what this sign is advertising!!!

Travelling in a fried-out combie,
On a hippie trail, head full of zombie,
I met a strange lady, she made me nervous,
She took me in and gave me breakfast,
And she said . . .

This weekend, Dave and I stopped by Borders. I received a generous gift card for my birthday, and I wanted to spend a little of it. Not really seeing any books that I had to have right away, we took a look at the CDs. One of the ones we bought was the "Business As Usual" album by Men At Work. Awesome! I got that record as a gift when I was a kid, and I used to listen to it all the time. That album is full of terrific songs. Love!

If you spend the rest of the day with Down Under in your head, you are welcome!

We tried to go to Park Grounds on Sunday, but it didn't really work out . . . it was very crowded (possibly due in part to a craft meeting of some kind), and the dogs that were there didn't seem to be closely supervised. I would be willing to give it another shot because the coffee smelled good, and the food looked appetizing.

Instead, the four of us took the dogs (our two beagles and our friends' two pugs) to the off-leash park at Piedmont Park. Phoebe felt more at ease in the area for small dogs . . . but neither Beau nor Phoebe seem to be really getting everything out of the dog park experience yet. They still seem mostly overwhelmed by the whole idea . . . which is probably why Phoebe seemed to enjoy the area for smaller dogs more. The main area is huge, and it really gives big dogs a lot of room to run. Another visitor to the park told us that he had seen someone walking a pig in there! Wild . . . I wish I could've seen that.

In other news, I found a great bra on Saturday. The search is over!

Awesome! So the two bottles of perfume I purchased through specialistauctions.com arrived yesterday. I love being able to wear this perfume again! I love it! I won't shut up about it!

The plan for this weekend is to visit Park Grounds, a restaurant with a dog park. It should be fun! We are looking forward to getting our pups a little more socialized . . .

Completely unrelated and random! Okay. Around Atlanta (and anywhere with a large Latin American immigrant population), it's not uncommon to hear Latino-type music coming from cars now and then. It's often that sort of music that sounds like it's not too far removed from polka music . . . lots of accordion, but with a Latin beat and Spanish lyrics. So . . . Dave and I were at the bank a month or so ago, and we heard some of this music from a nearby vehicle. We looked over (as people do whenever there's loud music around), and much to our surprise, the car was occupied by two decidedly NOT Latin American females. Odd in and of itself . . . but the real kicker came when we drove out of the parking lot behind this car . . . the back window of the Chevy Avalanche in question had a very large Batman type symbol . . . and the word "BATMOTRUCK" emblazoned on it. What? I don't know.

Ever dream about other places where you would live and what you would do to earn a living and make your way there? I often get that way when traveling . . . if I like a place, I get to thinking about how I would live if I lived there. Mostly, it's just dreaming . . . but there's an element inside of me that always asks, "Why not?"

Anyway. So we have started doing the bulk of our grocery shopping at Aldi. It's relatively small, the selection is limited because they don't carry lots of different brands (mostly just "house brands," aka store brands), and you have to make sure you have a quarter with you for the shopping cart deposit. If you've ever spent time in European grocery stores, that part might feel familiar . . . kind of like the part where you bring your own bags, as well. I have come to really look forward to our grocery shopping trips. (Weird! I know, right?) Also? They carry some wonderful chocolates and other candies. Yum!

Now, if they would just start carrying some fresh chicken (instead of the frozen bagged stuff) . . .

Tonight will be our first class for Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. Before hearing about this class, I hadn't heard of Dave Ramsey before, but it seems that a lot of people have. From what I have read, a lot of people admire him and his way of thinking about money, and I am really looking forward to taking part in this class. It's thirteen weeks, and I hope it will give us some new ideas.

In other news, my cube-neighbor at my office seems not to understand that computer sounds aren't all that welcome in the workplace. But I digress.

One other tidbit, and I hope I haven't mentioned this before. When I was about three years old, it snowed in central Florida. Never having seen snow before, I thought it was milk. True story.

We've been having a nice storm today . . . it seems like it'll be one of those that makes the air smell really clean afterward. Patches of blue sky are already showing through.

Our local news on WSB (Channel 2) did a story about cosmetics. They went over some ladies' cosmetic products in the Skin Deep Cosmetics Database to see how harmful they were. I checked mine . . . mine are mostly in the 4 to 5 (out of 10) range of how "toxic" they are . . . I wonder how true that is. As in . . . so there's some toxin, but is it harmful if used on the skin? Or would I need to drink 3 gallons of foundation before it would be considered harmful? I just wonder how much of it is actual and how much of it is just scare tactics.

In other news, I'm on the quest for a new bra. I have no idea what size I wear these days, and measuring has only confused the issue more. I have had moderate success in trying on bras, but . . . I guess I'm a weird shape right now. Nothing seems to fit just right. The quest continues.

This weekend, we took Phoebe and Beau (our beagles) to the off-leash dog area at Lake Court Park in Smyrna. This was only their second trip to a dog park, so it's still a rather new experience . . . both for them and for us. We met up with some friends there who brought their dogs, as well. Our friends tell us that their dogs didn't used to be that social when they first started going to dog parks, so we hope that ours will warm up and be more social as time goes on. I enjoyed seeing our dogs interact with other dogs, including another adorable beagle. So cute!

The Jeep was fun this weekend . . . we fixed up a way to hook the dogs in so they can't jump or fall out of the car, and we took out the windows and top parts of the doors . . . we left the overhead part of the top on just to get them used to it . . . but the weather was so great, and the dogs seemed to enjoy the ride.

So . . . back in 1992, I had just graduated from high school. It was my last year with the church handbell group, and the group went to Europe for a long trip during the summer. We spent much of our time in England, Scotland, and Germany, but I'll probably write more about that another time.

Anyway, one of the souvenirs I bought for myself was a small bottle of perfume. I purchased it at a museum gift shop. It was £1.99 (according to the price tag on the back), which would've been about $3.00 at the time. It was cheap perfume, but I really liked the scent. Most floral perfumes are far too sweet-smelling . . . nothing like actual flowers. This one was a bit different . . . it smelled like actual roses. I liked the perfume, and I wore it nearly every day. It lasted a few years, but it eventually ran out. I figured I would be able to replace it sometime because there was an address and phone number on the back.

As we were cleaning out the garage, I came across the bottle in its original box. I still love the scent! I went looking online, and it seems that they just don't make this perfume any longer . . . and the manufacturer may actually no longer exist. I can't tell for certain. However, I did find a bottle of it on an auction site . . . it's being sold as "vintage" perfume! Interesting! My tattered box looks so old and sad . . . but I've got a replacement on the way. I bought another scent from the same line, as well, since the seller offered to combine shipping . . . from the UK. Awesome!

The most interesting bits lately have been boarding documents and other such paperwork for my first cruise. It was in the summer of 1989, and I was 15. I was in the Ringers & Singers group at First UMC in Lakeland, FL, and the group went on a cruise. We played several handbell concerts on the ship . . . and it's weird, but handbell sounds are just cut short by waves. In interior spaces, handbell sound can resonate . . . but ocean sounds just diminish any resonance.

Anyway, it's been fascinating to read about the ship we were on. I believe all the boarding documents called it the SS Britanis, but it seems that it might have been the MS Britanis. I had no idea that ship had so much history! Having been on two cruises since then, I knew that the Britanis (operated by Chandris Lines at the time) had to have been much older. It didn't have the same sort of "extravagant" feel as newer ships.

There are a surprising number of online resources for information about the ship, but here are are few links.

Pictures!
This page has some pictures of the interior of the ship. About halfway down, there are three pictures side by side. The leftmost picture ("Left: Triple/Twin") is the type of room I shared with two other girls (Holly and Angela). The left wall contains two fold-down beds (which the steward would fold out for you prior to bedtime), and the right side has a fold-down bed (upper) and a fold-down couch (lower). When you're 15, being crammed into small spaces with other kids is sort of the norm . . . because at this point, I don't think I could possibly go an entire week sharing that small of a space with two other women.

History!
The Wikipedia page for the ship has so much interesting information! Other online resources have more information about past passengers (Clark Gable!), but the Wiki page has a nice summary of how the ship changed hands and how its function changed to meet various needs.

Odd Demise!
This page provides a brief narrative about how the ship met its ultimate demise. Again, I had no idea! Wow!

• The people at Stoney Creek Legendary Steaks are cool with people who want to split entrees. I don't eat that much meat, so I have zero use for my very own 12 ounce steak. It's nice that they brought me a separate plate and everything.


• We are going to see a monster truck show in April. It is going to RULE.


• We are watching The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and I enjoy it quite a bit.


• Brian Austin Green's initials are BAG. If you're wondering why I mention Brian Austin Green, please see the previous line item. Also, this post is certainly the only time I have ever typed Brian Austin Green's name this many times. Ever.

So it's February. Here's a rundown of things from the last few months . . .

• Halloween (Party):
  We had a Halloween party the Saturday before Halloween, and it was nice. We had all kinds of costumes, and I promise I will upload pictures. No, really. I promise. Really.


• Halloween (Actual Halloween):
  Some friends of ours expressed an interest in going out somewhere on Halloween night . . . a school night! Can you believe it? Anyway, so we went to the Dark Horse and 10High (underneath the Dark Horse) for their Halloween festivities. The price was right, and they had "Metalsome" karaoke that night . . . live band karaoke, y'all. SO COOL. It was a lot more crowded than I would have anticipated for a school night. So fun!


• Thanksgiving:
  Dave and I headed up to Maine to visit my sister, brother-in-law, and nephews. It was so fun! And . . . I must tell you that travelling at Thanksgiving is painless if you do your travelling on Monday and Friday. We were able to use frequent flyer miles, and the airports and other transportation hubs were relatively uncrowded. Enough about the travelling. We had such a fun time visiting for Thanksgiving! We have always enjoyed spending time with my sister and brother-in-law, and the kids were so delightful! I enjoyed playing with their toys with them and watching the Thanksgiving Day parade with them.


• Christmas:
  Dave and I hosted the family Christmas at our home this year. My parents and my grandmother drove up from Lakeland, and my mother-in-law and Dave's cousin spent time with us over during Christmas week, as well. It was a fun visit, and I really enjoyed spending time with our family. As a side note, I will totally brine the turkey(s) again next time. It was absolutely worth it. Let me know if you want the recipe!!!


• New Year's Eve:
  We spent New Year's Eve at our friends' house. They were gracious enough to host several of us in their home. It was a lot of fun! We had some food and drinks, played video games, and set off fireworks at midnight. Lots of fun, and a great way to ring in the New Year!


• New Year's Day:
  My mother-in-law fixed lunch for us on New Year's Day. We had some of the traditional fare to help ring in the new year, and everything was tasty.


• My Birthday:
  I was in the mood for some tasty Chinese food, and I hadn't been to PF Chang's before. We went to the location at Cumberland Mall, and the atmosphere was nice. Our waiter was a complete goon, but the food was tasty! We each ordered a chicken dish, and everything was good. The next day, a friend took me to see The Drowsy Chaperone at the Fox Theater. What a terrific show! It was really a well-done show, and the cast did a great job. So often, the touring cast of a show seems a little . . . less than stellar . . . but this troupe did a wonderful job!

In other news, I wrecked my car last October. I was in a stupid collision, and I wasn't terribly pleased with myself. The insurance company totalled my Beetle, so now I am driving a 1997 Jeep Wrangler. I have really enjoyed driving it! It's a rugged ride, but I am looking forward to the early spring. Right now, I am not looking forward to summer . . . I should mention that AC isn't standard on the 1997 Jeep Wrangler . . . and yeah, mine doesn't have it. There's a kit we can buy to install it, and that might happen a little bit later on.

Last weekend, we dealt with our water heater. Sometime Sunday afternoon (sometime between 2:00 pm and 6:00 pm, we believe), our water heater gave out. In the grand scheme of things, we were living on borrowed time with that water heater anyway, given that it was about 17 years old. We took time on Tuesday to replace it ourselves. Our new one has been working well, and now we know that we can replace a water heater if we need to do so.

One side effect of the death of the water heater is the necessary cleaning of the area around the water heater . . . most notably, some parts of the garage. We have so much junk that needs to be sorted or thrown away . . . we started some of it last night. There's something very cathartic about burning things . . . in this case, old mail that would've taken days to shred.

Anyway . . . the reason I needed to update this page is that my attempt to shed pounds is still progressing. In December 2000, my weight was at an all-time high. As of this morning, I weigh 100 pounds less than I did then. (For those wondering, this means I have lost 57 pounds since the beginning of June 2007.) This particular weight has been a goal for me for quite some time, and it makes subsequent goals seem more attainable to me.

There are a couple of things that I really loved about our cruise.

• Balcony: We had a balcony stateroom, and I would absolutely love to have one again. I truly enjoyed taking a break to sit on the balcony (and read!) from time to time . . . I would love to do that again.
• Tiaras: Sheila, Suzanne, and I wore tiaras for several of the occasions on the ship, including the formal dinners and the "bathrobe party." It was fun to wear a tiara, and I would love to have an excuse to wear one more often.

Until then, have a lovely week!

Apart from that, not much is new. Have a nice week!

At the end of April, Dave and I went with some friends to the Dixie Speedway to see something I'd never seen before . . . a monster truck show and demolition derby. This monster truck show featured, among others, the truck called Grave Digger, a long-time fan favorite. I was pretty apprehensive about the whole thing beforehand, but we ended up having a really good time! After the car-smashing, we went down into the pit area to see the trucks up close . . . and the tires alone are as tall as a person. How badly did I want to drive one? Very. Very badly indeed. (Don't ask me. I DON'T KNOW.)

Also, note to self. If you ever have a running car that's worth less than $1,000, look into entering it in the demolition derby.

In the grand scheme of things, this May has kind of sucked. What was probably the lowest point of this month came over a week ago on May 19. Dave and I were enjoying a nice day out with our friends on their boat, but we had to leave rather quickly when Dave ended up with a broken toe. He's on the road to recovery, but it will certainly take time. We will be heading back to the ER on Saturday to get the stitches out. (I know! Stitches!)

In spite of that, we did manage to have a nice time this past weekend. Some friends came over for the day on Sunday, and we grabbed some lunch at Atkin's Park, played Kubb, and watched The Descent . . . and had a few drinks, of course.

Y'all be sure to watch the Scripps National Spelling Bee this week!

(Nerd!)

(I know, right?)

When I was in my teens, I decided that I was tired of shaving. Not wanting to embrace a European lifestyle, I made up my mind to try waxing my legs. I bought some Zip wax, and I dutifully began going through the directions. I ruined one of my mother's pots while melting the wax on the stove top, but I persevered. I spread the warm, melted wax all over my calves, and I attached strips of fabric that I meticulously tore from an old sheet.

In keeping with the directions, I waited for the wax to cool and harden. I was already feeling a little discomfort, but I was interested in seeing how smooth and hairless my waxed legs would be. I braced myself, and I pulled up one of the strips.

Right about then, I discovered the biggest problem with my procedure. There would be no way to get this evil concoction off of my legs without putting myself in excruciating pain. I was going to have to suck it up and deal with the pain . . . because that wax wasn't coming off of my legs without it. I hold firm in my belief that companies making products like these are successful because many women will try things like this . . . even if it's just the one time.

I haven't waxed my legs since. I tried that "Nad's" product a few years ago, but I found I didn't think it worked that well anyway. Plus, contrary to what the advertising would have had you believe, there was still pain.

Never underestimate the value of really good razor.

Anyway. On a happier note, I'm looking forward to the True Colors Tour in June. So fun!

• We went on a week-long vacation in the Dominican Republic. We stayed at the Sunscape (The Beach) Resort in Punta Cana. Most of our time was spent relaxing and enjoying the resort, but we did take a day to drive our rental car (a little Aveo wagon) all over the Dominican Republic. As a side note, I cannot windsurf. I tried . . . but I failed. If I could have done it, I'm betting it would've been really fun.
  

• For Thanksgiving, we took the dogs and headed for the hills. We spent the week in Tennessee at a cabin. During the week, we visited the Biltmore (where we sampled and then bought some wonderful wine) and Dollywood. We also did some hiking, and we had a terrific Thanksgiving meal, complete with all the trimmings. We even let the dogs have a Thanksgiving meal . . . though the jellied cranberry sauce was apparently not entirely to their liking.

• For Christmas, my parents hosted the whole family. It was a full house, but we had a lot of fun. Dave got me a karaoke machine for Christmas, so you can probably guess how it went on Christmas evening. Karaoke machine + wine + festive atmosphere = a good time.

• My birthday (in January) was nice. No curse this year, apparently. I'm keeping my fingers crossed . . .

We bought an Xbox 360. For quite some time now, we have been enjoying Gears of War. That game manages to be fun, no matter how many times we play through it. Also, we recently bought Dance Dance Revolution for the Xbox 360. Love! I have really enjoyed playing it. It's become the primary part of my workout routine . . .

I am (once again) trying to lose some weight. We're going on a cruise this fall, and I'd like to be able to wear a bathing suit without frightening the other passengers. So far, the scale is moving in the right direction. Wish me luck . . .

The air conditioner in my car had stopped working . . . and the starter had begun making a funny noise when I'd crank the car. I took it into the shop, and the repair is, well, expensive.

My VW New Beetle is 7 years old now. I bought it used in 2001, and I've put about 100,000 miles on it. The repairs seem to be getting more expensive. I can deal with paying for maintenance-type work . . . brakes, tires, and such. But the compressor? And the starter? I realize that none of these things are meant to last forever . . . but it would have been nice if they'd lasted through the summer.

We're getting the repairs done, but it's about to be time to think about getting another car. It's starting to get too expensive to keep this one.

And so . . . I arrive at this juncture. What kind of car should I buy? Dave and I are not "practical sedan" people, by any means. I suppose I'll just have to start poking through the used car ads to see what looks interesting. It's been so nice not to have a car payment. I'm not looking forward to that.

Okay. I'm done with my unabashed testimonial.

*Sigh* . . . I need to do some cleaning. As in, it would probably just be easier to move.

. . . was employed at America.net.

. . . was about 20 pounds lighter than I am now.

. . . woke up with a terrible hangover for the first few hours of the day.

. . . should have had my hair and make-up done by a professional.

. . . tried a Bloody Mary for the first time, and I couldn't take it.

. . . spent the morning with friends and family.

. . . had lived in Atlanta for about 2 years.

. . . held a beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers.

. . . was visiting Lakeland, FL, for a few days.

. . . had the most surreal day of my life.

. . . spent the afternoon drinking, dancing, and having a great time.

. . . wore a beautiful white dress.

. . . walked down the aisle, figuratively and literally, at the Polk Theater.

So to be honest, I haven't gotten any better about going through my things. I guess I haven't felt terribly motivated, what with how it gets me in a funk and all. Maybe I'll have better luck with it this summer.

Dave and I have taken up roller skating . . . somewhat. We bought some skates this weekend and went for a spin on Sunday morning. Fun! We'll need some new wheels, though. The skates came with indoor wheels . . . which means that we feel every little variation in the pavement of any outdoor area. Still, it's fun.

My mother is retiring . . . it's odd to hear your parents talk about retirement.

We went to Disney World in February with our friends Will and Traci. We had a great time . . . perhaps I'll write up a full commentary sometime.

At some point, I'll have to post a few recipes that Dave had conjured up. He's been cooking on Tuesday nights (when I have a dance class . . . which goes on summer hiatus after this week), and he's made some really delicious shrimp dishes. Most aren't exactly healthy . . . but we're making new strides toward eating better, so we'll be modifying them into lower-fat dishes in the future.

Have a great week, y'all.

I started going through some of my clutter. I'm on a kick to get my surroundings cleaned up a bit, and it's gotten off to a pretty good start. However, I think that I've finally figured out why I've been procratinating for so long. I think it makes me sad . . . I think that the remembering is what makes me sad. To put it into words, I'll again post my favorite quote from Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.

When you're young, your potential is infinite. You might do anything, really. You might be great. You might be Einstein. You might be Goethe. Then you get to an age where what you might be gives way to what you have been. You weren't Einstein. You weren't anything. That's a bad moment.

Saturday, September 10, 2005
We flew from Atlanta to Seattle, WA, and we spent over an hour waiting for our luggage. Apparently, the trolley carrying our luggage from point A to point B got in a wreck. We stayed at the Marriott SEA-TAC . . . nothing fancy or anything, but it was a comfortable place to sleep.

Sunday, September 11, 2005
The next morning, we headed over to Mount St. Helens. We toured the visitors' centers on the West side, and we took plenty of stunning pictures. The day started off quite cloudy (to the point that we actually couldn't find the mountain since we didn't know where on the horizon to look), but the clouds cleared up and gave us a fantastic view in the afternoon. We headed back toward I-5, and we stayed in Vancouver, WA, at a Sleep Inn. We had an interesting and tasty dinner at the nearby Hudson's Bar & Grill . . . which is a lot more well-heeled than it sounds.

Monday, September 12, 2005
On Monday morning, we headed over to the South side of Mount St. Helens. As a general rule, this side is much less populated. There were very few other people around . . . for a time, we had the Ape Cave completely to ourselves. We actually had to go back to the town of Cougar to buy flashlights . . . we hadn't brought any, and there are no tour guides or anything of the sort to show you the way. (The "Ape's Headquarters" weren't open . . . but then, a lot of things weren't open. After Labor Day, the crowds fall off to almost nothing.)

I believe that this side of the mountain is the more haunting side. This is the side with the standing dead forests, the hillsides full of fallen trees that look like matchsticks, and the lahar. What I found fascinating time and again was that after 25 years, all this dead wood is still there . . . in the South, wood rots when it's been dead for a while.

I believe we also ventured up Insanity Mountain (not its actual name, but it fits) on this day. We were going in search of Layser Cave, and the steep, narrow road that leads to it becomes quite difficult to navigate after a certain point . . . after the place where most people would stop to go and visit Layser Cave. However, the trail to Layser Cave was poorly marked, so we missed it the first time we drove by. I can't really put into words how completely dangerous this road was . . . the lower portion of the road (before Layser Cave) was okay, but the upper portion of the road? Well, I've travelled a lot of treacherous roadways . . . but this one takes the cake. It wasn't a complete waste, though. We got to see a spectacular view that few people get to see, and we took some great pictures.

After a long day of hiking the Ape Cave, Lava Canyon, and other such sites, we drove up to Mount Rainier on the complete off-chance that the Paradise Inn might be able to accomodate us. We got there around 7:30 at night, and we were glad to find that they could. We were even able to get a room with a private bathroom. (See, normally, I wouldn't think that was such a big deal . . . but at this beautiful old hotel, it's just not standard.)

The Paradise Inn is a big, warm, cozy, and quaint place. I don't have a lot of personal frame of reference, but Dave likened it to a ski lodge. Our (private) bathroom had a clawfoot tub . . . you just don't really get that anymore. Also, it's worth noting that the guest rooms do not have telephones . . . or televisions. There was a TV in the bar, and the payphones in the lobby seemed to see pretty consistent use. (Side note -- there's no cell signal out there, either.)

Tuesday, September 13
We really hadn't actually seen Mount Rainier yet . . . even though we were staying on it. The clouds and settling night had prevented us from being able to see it on the way in. So, we spent some time driving all over it the next day, and we were able to capture some wonderful pictures of it on our way down.

From there, we headed over to the coast. We drove down the Columbia River to Long Beach Peninsula, a place that is clearly a summertime destination. There was no hustle-and-bustle, and the whole place seemed to miss it. There was a weird unspoken sadness there . . . as if the whole place recognized that it was about to go into hibernation for the winter. Be that as it may, there was a nice boardwalk from which we enjoyed a gorgeous Pacific sunset. I also thought it was really neat that fires on the beach are perfectly normal and legal . . . though we didn't build one ourselves.

Wednesday, September 14
We headed back toward the Olympic Peninsula, and we began heading north to go around the outside edge along the coast. We stopped at several of the beaches, including Rialto Beach and Ruby Beach. Along the way, we stopped in the town of Forks for lunch, and we also stopped to see a "Big Cedar Tree" (exactly as indicated on the NPS directional sign). After lunch, we drove along the edge of beautiful Lake Crescent. I didn't take that picture, and I didn't see that view, but Lake Crescent is a beautiful place. The water is a gorgeous deep blue, and the sides of the mountains just seem to dive right into the water. It was such a wonderful place . . . I wanted to take it home with me. Toward the end of the day, we drove into Port Angeles, a city along the Strait of Juan De Fuca. It was a nice town, and we stayed right on the water at the Red Lion.

Thursday, September 15
From Port Angeles, we continued around the Olympic Peninsula and made our way into Seattle in the afternoon. We booked a room for two nights at the Renaissance Madison in downtown Seattle. We had a great view of downtown Seattle and the surrounding water.

Friday, September 16
In the morning, we headed over to the monorail station to visit the Space Needle. Yes, our waiter at the Renaissance lobby bar was correct -- it's a bit overrated, but I still think it's one of those things that we felt we needed to do as tourists in Seattle. The gift shop was a bit much, but there was a less-obvious repesentation of the icon in the form of a pepper grinder. Had it not been fitted with a $110 price tag, I might have bought one.

We wandered around the City Center grounds and found a welcome surprise -- the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame. I'm going to let my true inner geek shine when I say this, but that was really one of the coolest places. They've clearly put a lot of thought and effort into creating a place that sci-fi fans will truly enjoy. It was opened in June 2004, and I hope they continue to keep it as up-to-date and current as it is now.

After spending quite some time in the Science Fiction Museum, we took the monorail back to the downtown area and headed to Pike Place Market. I really enjoyed milling around the market and taking in all the sights and sounds. The smells, well, there's a lot of fish . . . so, you know. I did, however, truly adore the flowers. There were several different flower sellers, and all of their arrangements were absolutely beautiful. If we'd been staying in town longer, I'd have bought a bouquet to dress up the room . . . but I bought an apron instead. I've been wanting an apron for ages, and I've had most of the materials to make one . . . but I just haven't gotten around to it. Now I don't have to.

Saturday, September 17
We headed to the airport on Saturday morning (after running the car through a car wash and giving the interior a good once-over with a vacuum). We had yet another negative experience with the Seattle airport in that the ticketing counter had lines a mile long, and the security wait was even longer. The nasty TSA guy decided to have an attitude with me about my shoes, even though the woman in front of me didn't have to take off hers. WhatEVER. I was a less-than-happy customer . . . even though we weren't in a big hurry or anything. We actually enjoyed a leisurely lunch at a place near the gate, so really, no harm done.

The flight was decent because there just weren't many people on it. We got to move to a 3-seat area and spread out a bit, so at least that was nice. The plane landed a few minutes early, and my mother-in-law drove us home from the airport. It's really nice not to have to fuss with parking and driving and such when you're really, really tired.

I just loved this vacation. We didn't go out there with any kind of concrete plan or itinerary. The only thing we set out in advance was our plane fare and our first night's stay. Otherwise, we just wandered around looking for interesting things to see and do, and we found plenty of both. I wouldn't change a thing.

On a more significant note, we had a terrific time in Niagara Falls this weekend. We were able to get some really amazing pictures, and I'll post a couple of them soon.
 

I have a string of these lights around the interior of my cube. I don't turn them on because I fear retribution from the Reich building security people.

 

Okay . . . I totally didn't. But Dave and I did watch a lot of Sliders episodes this past weekend. I absolutely loved that show.

They've been showing them in the afternoons on Sci-Fi, so I finally gave in and bought the Season 1 & 2 DVDs. Yes, I agree with everyone else . . . the packaging is completely terrible . . . really just awful. I'm willing to deal with it, though, because the show was so great.

I watched the first couple of seasons religiously . . . but then, I think I lost track of what was happening. I remember the first episode with the KroMaggs . . . and I thought it was an interesting concept. Then, the characters started slipping off and being replaced, one by one . . . did anyone realize that Rembrandt was the only original character left by the time the show ended? Did anyone realize that the semi-regulars they'd been slipping in from time to time to play different versions of themselves had essentially disappeared?

Yes, the show took a few turns, each stranger than the last. I know I missed key episodes that would help me understand the series as a whole . . . and I'm kinda hoping they release the remaining seasons on DVD.

And I hope they do it soon.
 

When we moved into our house three and a half years ago, the outside water spigot in the back of the house was shut off because there was a large hole in the pipe. A few months after we moved in, a hard freeze caused the outside water spigot in the front of the house to burst. We have been completely without outside water ever since . . .

. . . Until this weekend. On Saturday morning, we got to thinking about our (potential) springtime lawn treatments . . . and about how the company (potentially) administering them is probably going to need outside water. So, we took a look at our options for repairing the outside water lines. We knew where the problems were, but we weren't sure how to fix them. In the backyard, a previous owner had split off the water from the faucet under the deck to another faucet at the top of the deck. The problematic hole was right in the middle of this pipe. We couldn't really see the purpose of this second faucet, so we cut off the pipe above the first faucet and capped it. One faucet down, one to go.

The outside water at the front of the yard is more of a mystery. One pipe came from the wall and then to a T-junction. Where the T-junction went down was one faucet. Where the T-junction went up was a right-turn elbow which led to four more faucets. Four! Why in the world . . . ? I've always been at a loss to understand why this was set up this way. It isn't as if there's a larger pipe than anywhere else on the house, so it isn't as if there's an abnormal volume of water piped here. Why five faucets? Why, why, why? Our solution was to hack off the whole thing and put a new single faucet right next to the wall . . . where it belongs.

During our various trips to home improvement stores to handle the plumbing, we decided to take a look at outdoor lighting for our front door. All of the hardware on and around our front door has been ratty since we moved in. The brass light fixtures were covered with paint splotches and tarnish, and the lockset and door knocker were in similar shape. So, we shopped around and decided on a new set of "antique nickel" lights (which are brighter than the break of dawn when lit), a new "antique pewter" lockset, and a new door knocker (which is the same darker silvery color as everything else). Perhaps I'll take pictures of our new entryway soon . . . but I will say that all these new fixtures look pretty sharp with our dark purple (plum-ish) door.

Okay. Home improvement, blah blah blah. Enough about that.

We went to Denny's for dinner last night, and we had the unmistakable pleasure of sitting next to a table of three unusual people. They were two 20-something guys and one 20-something girl, and they were planning some kind of event. I really wish I could have heard them more clearly, but it sounded like they were planning it for (perhaps) the Cobb County Civic Center. The point is . . . these three were complete geeks. Dave and I agreed that had we been in the year 1995, we would have thought it was a BBS meeting. (Note: If you're not sure what a BBS is, well, read this page. It's not attractive, but it is functional.) I know they were discussing where to rent costumes . . . and at one point, the girl made it quite clear that there should be a sign stating, "NO MASKS BEYOND THIS POINT" . . . though I have no idea why. The conversation still leads me to believe that they may have been planning the very first (Cobb County) Bi-Mon Sci-Fi Con . . . but what in the world would a Storm Trooper be without headgear? And do Klingon cranial ridges count as a mask? So many questions . . . but so few answers.

As we were leaving, the girl made an emphatic suggestion to the two guys . . . it was something to do with brown paper lunchbags from the grocery store. I can tell that this is certainly going to be an affair to remember . . .
 

• I really love Sirius satellite radio. Commercial-free music is absolutely fantastic.


• Last week, I had a dream in which Dave and I had invited someone over for dinner. In itself, that's not odd. What was odd was that our dinner guest was Henry Winkler. I don't know what it means.


• My car is evil and rotten. It costs too much money to maintain.


• I absolutely adore my weekly dance classes, and I've gotten to know the other gals in my class pretty well.

The Bernes' Wedding (where "The Bernes" = "Keith and Suzanne") was October 23, 2004, at Lucille's Mountain Top Inn in Helen, GA. The ceremony was just beautiful in every way . . . hardly a dry eye in the house. Dave and I had gone up a day early to relax and do some exploring. I was glad we did . . . it was nice to have a little period of respite before the wedding festivities began. All in all, it was a terrific weekend. With beer. Lots and lots of beer.

Thanksgiving this year was spent in Maine with my sister, brother-in-law, and nephews . . . plural. James, the younger of my two nephews, was born in October (as mentioned in a previous post), so we got to spend some time with him over Thanksgiving. Both Dave and I got to feed and hold him, and he took frequent naps on me while we all watched some movies. (Side note: There's something that feels really wrong with having a beer while your infant nephew sleeps on your chest. I know there's nothing technically wrong, but it's an odd vibe, just the same.) Seth (the older of my two nephews) is just over 2 years old now, and he was a complete joy to be around. He's a big fan of "puppy", and he likes a little bit of cheese on his crackers. Who doesn't? It was also a complete joy to spend the holiday with my sister and brother-in-law. We had a lot of fun spending time with them cooking, watching movies, shopping for (and decorating) the Christmas tree . . . the list goes on!

For Halloween this year, we went to The Lava Lounge with the Bernes (Keith and Suzanne) and the Phillipses (Will and Traci). I'm glad we all wore costumes . . . since I don't think I saw a single person there without one. I recycled my favorite costume . . . the Mad Hatter. Seriously. Great costume, and load of fun to wear. It was a fun evening . . . except that one member of our group (not me) later found out what it's like to be a victim of identity theft in the form of credit card fraud. Neat-o.

The Bernes' Christmas Party was a lot of fun. There were a lot of folks there that were also at the Bernes' wedding in October, so it was fun to visit and reminisce about that weekend's festivities. In addition to my usual cheese dip, Dave and I brought the most wonderful peanut butter fudge. We used a recipe that we found online, and we modified it a little to suit our tastes. It was really fantastic. Just delicious. I'll have to post the recipe sometime soon.

Our Christmas Day was spent in Lakeland this year with my folks, my mother-in-law (who came down with us), and Dave's cousins (who came from Orlando on Christmas Day). On our first evening there, both Jonathan (whom I haven't seen in ages) and Austin (whom I see, like, once a week or more) came over to my parents' house, and we sat out on the screen porch and drank beer. Wow -- that sounds more redneck than it actually was. Anyway. We had a nice time catching up, being rowdy . . . just having fun. It was a nice start to our Christmas holiday. We spent Christmas Day opening presents, having a wonderful Christmas dinner, cutting our thumbs open . . . well, to be fair, that last one was just me. It was a pretty awful cut. It was deep enough that there was some debate over whether or not I needed to go to the hospital and get stitches. I didn't . . . but I did bleed a lot. This is why I shouldn't be allowed to handle knives when tricky cutting maneuvers (such as those required to remove a toy from its packaging) are involved. With the exception of the thumb-cutting stupidity, it was an absolutely great Christmas.

For New Year's Eve, we went out to dinner with Will and Traci, and then the four of us gathered at our house for an evening of games -- Taboo and Jenga, I believe -- and we watched the ball drop and sipped our champagne (Dom Perignon, which is not as tasty and wonderful as one would hope). It was a good New Year's Eve.

On New Year's Day, Diane (my mother-in-law) cooked lunch for us. I believe we ate all of our proper New Year's Day foods, so (in theory) we should have a good year.

So that covers the more notable social and family events.

For work? Well, we're going through a lot of management changes. Oh, and I've worked two extra weeks' worth of hours in the last six weeks. And subtract two weeks from that where I was "on vacation" . . . which means that I was spending vacation days and working overtime. So . . . the bottom line is that I've been working a lot of long days. And I'm very, very tired. All the time.

But on a much sadder note, we suffered a great loss at work at New Year's . . . and it's still breaking my heart to think about it now. He will be sorely missed by all who knew him.

Per the usual, I'll just roll with it and do what I can to make it the best it can be.

In the meantime, think about this. My idiot co-worker (who I mentioned a while back in a previous post) spent about 30 minutes singing this morning. Singing! In his cubicle! He was singing something that might have been some kind of spiritual thing . . . but since his talents are clearly not vocal, I can't be certain.

Freak.

Their second child, James Logan Tedder, was born yesterday at 8:10 pm.

Yay! New nephew!