Tossing Paper

Oh Happy Paris!

2011-06-08T11:33:00.002-04:00

I've been to Paris once. It was wonderful in the way that only Paris can be. And it was also kind of miserable.

It was February and it was freezing cold -- add to that the dinky, dark hotel that was nearly impossible to find (I spent a long time wandering the streets looking for it), and the fact that when I checked in, they informed me in broken English that the heat was broken. And so was the hot water.

So I slept in my sweatshirt and I didn't shower for four days (apparently I wasn't the only one -- the stench in those underground metros was intense).

But despite all of that, Paris still enchanted me. It really is a city of light and music and romance, full of warmth that the winter chill and gloomy sky can't touch. It was fast and exciting, and those four days were like riding a bright, sparkling (cold!) carousel, right down to the accordion music.

I'm posting this partly because I would love to win the 7-day trip to Paris contest that blogger Oh Happy Day is sponsoring. (I just discovered her blog and I'm going to have to spend more time there -- looks like lots of fun stuff!) If you'd like to enter too, click here for the contest rules and information.

But I'm also posting this because whether I win or not, it was nice to relive those memories for a few minutes.

Gorgeous photo from Mr. and Mrs. in Paris.
I forgot to mention that my photos of the sparkling Eiffel got erased.
That's another bad Paris memory.

You kids get off my lawn!

2011-05-03T15:43:00.002-04:00

I spoke with a woman earlier who needed her school records from the '70s. Requests for school records are supposed to be submitted online -- it's faster and easier both for the students and for us.

Instead of the usual response ("It's online now? Ok thanks!"), I received a torrent of shouting into the phone: "I don't use the internet, I won't use the internet, I resent being forced to use the internet for everything!"

When I could finally hang up, all I felt was pity. What must it be like to resist change with such vehemence? The world is passing her by and she's shaking her fist at it instead of hopping on for the ride. Ten or twenty years from now, she may just regret her attitude.

But more likely, she'll still be railing against the internet, crotchety and bitter, seeing herself as the last of a superior but dying breed.

Sad.

Twister

2011-04-28T22:05:00.001-04:00

(photo taken by Jeremy Mau)

It seems so unfair that the sun should be shining today, after such a terrible night.

I know that life still goes on, that there are worse terrors and disasters out there. I can't expect the whole world to stop for this. But it still feels as though it should, that even the sun and the sky should pause for just a moment to acknowledge the suffering.

I'm grateful to be safe, to have a roof over my head tonight, and electricity to power my computer. I'm thinking and praying for those who weren't so lucky.

This dress is perfect

2011-04-14T11:28:00.001-04:00

The shape. The bow in the back. The soft watercolor print.

(via BHLDN)

I love it. I think I will try to make it someday.

I love floral shoes

2011-03-03T10:25:00.002-05:00

They are like candy for your feet.

(via stevemadden.com)

(via kohls.com)

(via anthropologie.com)

I realize those last ones aren't strictly "floral." But still, what gorgeous colors! If I had a pair of these, I'd wear them all summer long.

My latest effort

2010-10-28T20:31:00.000-04:00

A friend of mine recently took a trip to Bali and brought me back one of those big rectangles of fabric that are used as wraparound skirts. Well, they're a bit impractical to wear on a regular basis, so I altered it a bit.

Introducing: the Bali Skirt.

It's the first time I've ever worked with a zipper. I thought it was going to be terrifyingly complicated. It was actually very simple.

I admit it's better suited for summer. It doesn't look quite right with booties and a sweater. But you can bet I'll be wearing it quite a bit when the weather warms up again.

Missed connections

2010-09-20T15:17:00.000-04:00

I got a call from someone today, a friend I went to high school with.

I had received faxed documents from him just a few minutes before, and I noticed his name written at the top. I had no intention of actively pursuing a conversation with him (we hadn’t been close friends), but I decided that if he called to confirm the fax, I would certainly reintroduce myself and we'd have a momentary reunion.

Shortly after the fax came, he did call to ask if it had been received. My voice was overly cheerful and a bit too loud as I answered that yes, we had. I smiled wide and paused, my lips on the cusp of forming themselves into the words. But then I couldn’t decide on which words to use. Hi, remember me? Hey, it’s Missy, your old high school chum? Should I say anything at all? Would it be awkward?

I paused, he paused, and the silence was like a canyon between us for five very long seconds, until he said thank you, and I said have a nice day, and we both said goodbye.

I hung up. I still don’t know why I choked.

A garden, a puppy, and some birds

2010-09-17T21:47:00.000-04:00

My summer, in photos:

Late, but fashionably so

2010-09-17T21:23:00.001-04:00

Remember that chair I was working on upholstering? The one that I started in January? At the time, I thought maybe I was in over my head. I probably was.

I finally finished it a couple of months ago, but I never posted pictures. Was I busy or just lazy? Probably some of both.

But eight months later, here it is:

See? Hard work does pay off. I love this chair.

Oh the irony

2010-08-31T21:36:00.001-04:00

I apologize for not writing since July. Remember I said I got that job? Yeah. It's been a little overwhelming. But I think I'm finally adjusting.

Anyway, we got a free sample of this Dentley's Rawhide Munchy Bone in the mail. It claims to have a "taste that dogs love" and to offer "hours of entertainment for your dog."

I would like to take this moment to observe what happened to the Munchy Bone.

Nothing. See it right there? It's still sitting there on the floor of my living room, untouched.

The box it came in, however, is shredded.

Pancakes in a can? Yes, please!

2010-07-01T22:32:00.004-04:00

We found this pancake-batter-in-a-can and we had to try it. I mean, aerosol pancakes. How cool is that?

We tested it out not long ago. So now, for your viewing pleasure, this is Pancake #1.

Notice how Andy reads every single ingredient. It's almost like having the can right in front of you!

Though Pancake #1 was a bit thin and sickly, Pancake #2 turned out much better.

We weren't paid to advertise, or anything. We just thought it was cool. Even the name is cool: Batter Blaster! It's like a breakfast superhero!

So does this make me an official adult now?

2010-06-28T22:39:00.002-04:00

I had been waiting to post this for the sake of some things to work out at my current job, but now that everything is in the open there....

I got a new job!!!!

A REAL job! Full-time! With benefits! And a bigger paycheck! In this economy!

I'll be the transcript manager at the university I graduated from a year ago. It involves not only sending and receiving transcripts, but also assigning academic advisors and working with professors to make sure final grades come in, and so on.

I think it will be a little strange to return to college not as a student but as administrative faculty. I'll have to call my former professors by their first names, and my relationship with them will be as an equal rather than a student.

My inner worrier and people-pleaser starts to surface with these thoughts. Will those former professors be disappointed somehow? Will they feel that I'm not living up to my potential because I haven't moved on to some successful big-city career? Am I just capitulating to my own expectations of whatever is supposed to happen after you graduate? But that's crazy anyway, because I've never been a stereotypical "ambitious career woman."

Maybe I'm disappointed because I haven't yet done what I originally set out do do -- become a writer.

But lots of people want to be writers. And the bills still have to be paid.

It seems that I will worry no matter what happens, so I intend to start my job with optimism and confidence, and awesome office supplies from Knock Knock, like these sticky notes.

Photo via Knock Knock

And who knows? Perhaps I will decide to pursue graduate school as well. With a full-time job. Now that's crazy.

Mango with Chilli

2010-06-22T22:23:00.000-04:00

I picked these up at an Indian store.

They were gross.

Illustration: Yelena Bryksenkova

2010-06-02T15:32:00.007-04:00

I found the most amazing artist -- a young Russian-born illustrator named Yelena Bryksenkova. Perhaps I'm a little biased, but I love both the style of her art as well as the subject matter. So many of her illustrations remind me of Prague. In fact, some of her pieces are based on scenes from the Czech Republic, as well as other places in Eastern Europe.

via yelenabryksenkova.com

Check out her website. Some of my favorites include "In the Flowers," "Elephant Dream," and "Ziegfeld Girls." Don't miss the Prague 2009 sketchbook.

You can buy prints at her Etsy shop. Check out this print I ordered spontaneously because I had a feeling it wouldn't be there long. It so reminds me of the kitchen in Prague.

"Kitchen" by Yelena Bryksenkova

I've been wanting to include more art in my home, but most of it is exorbitantly expensive. I really can't fork over hundreds or thousands of dollars for art. I can't really even spare $50 (but I might have to soon, because these Lost prints are amazing).

But for $10, I can put art like "Kitchen" on my walls.

I'm Listening To:

2010-05-27T15:21:00.002-04:00

Irish singer/songwriter Lisa Hannigan's debut album, Sea Sew.

She used to sing with Damien Rice, but he gave her the boot, for which I am actually thankful, because this album makes me happy.

Sea Sew sounds like summer to me. I listen to it and in my head, I see images of linen summer dresses, cool grass, lemonade, sunlight through the trees, and the ocean -- not necessarily because of the lyrics, but just the sound. The songs are sweet and poetic, and she has such a pretty voice.

I know it was released like two years ago, making this post a bit behind-the-times. I don't care. I'm listening to it right now and I wanted to recommend it.

Also, she really did sew her album jacket. That's a skill I admire.

The thought that crosses my mind today

2010-05-17T15:13:00.000-04:00

For quite a while now, I've been feeling a sort of professional malaise. I don't know if it's appropriate to describe my current job(s) as dead-end, but those are the first words to come to mind.

I know, I know -- I am supremely lucky that I'm able to make money and pay the bills in this economy, etc, etc. But at the same time, the jobs are lonely and not really what I set out to do. I came into these jobs expecting them to be temporary stepping stones to the places I wanted to go. But when does temporary end?

As time passes, and as job prospects are few and far between, I'm finding myself mildly considering graduate school.

Yes, I think I really did just say that.

It's not that I never considered it. It's just that it was always a "Maybe Possibly Someday" in my mind, rather than a "Perhaps This Fall."

There are some serious pros and cons to hash out. I don't really want to write more research papers -- or a thesis, for that matter. But I can't deny that having a goal to work toward would be a nice change from my current state of monotony, even if that goal is just getting another degree.

And I won't lie: the prospect of taking more literature classes does make my inner English minor feel giddy. She had really hoped to be an English major but never got the chance.

Dear College Degree,

2010-05-11T14:45:00.000-04:00

You are no help at all.

I'll let you make it up to me: you help me get full-time employment, and I will conclude that I haven't wasted my time with you.

Sincerely,
Missy

Water, water

2010-05-05T15:19:00.000-04:00

I try to drink lots of water, but I don't always succeed. In fact, I don't usually succeed, because most of the time, I don't think about it. Hydration doesn't cross my mind until I get super thirsty, which is usually late in the evening after a day of not drinking enough. Those days usually end with headaches.

Actually, I get headaches a lot. They're never far away, so drinking plenty of water is one of the ways I can stave them off. It's one of the variables I can control.

Just a few days ago, a friend gave me one of these stainless steel water bottles from Vessel Drinkware.

Besides the fact that it's cute, it's also very personal. For many years, I used to draw a penguin/owl/bird thing, with big eyes and little feet. It was sort of my signature or trademark, if you will, and I drew it on everything. This little penguin is reminiscent of that.

It doesn't make water taste plasticky or metallic, and it's easy to drink from. Maybe it's just because it's new, or because the penguin is cute, but I have been drinking bottle after bottle of water the last few days, effortlessly.

I do really hate having to use the bathroom a lot, though.

New purse

2010-04-29T20:53:00.000-04:00

I made a purse. I think it turned out pretty nicely.

I used a bag pattern from tiny happy and a flower pin pattern from wise craft.

Now I can't stop making these flower pins.

Tasty spices

2010-04-27T08:28:00.000-04:00

This is my favorite spice company. I think it's easy to see why at first glance. Look how full that jar is!

Alchemy Spice Company is run by a young guy here in Chattanooga (it was started by someone else, but he runs it now). I did a story on the company for the magazine, and I learned about how he and a couple of his friends roast and grind their own spices, label the bottles, and then sell them locally.

These spices taste incredible because they are so fresh. I just bought this jar of Indian spices the other day and haven't used it yet, but I know from experience that the Italian spice blend is delicious. I don't think I can ever go back to any other grocery-story brand of Italian spice again.

Does that make me sound pretentious? I certainly don't mean to be. I just love food that tastes good.

My latest book

2010-04-20T09:36:00.000-04:00

I just finished reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

Apparently I've been living under a rock because I hadn't heard anything about it until a friend recommended it. I was a bit put off by the title. I shy away from titles like this because to me it feels staged, as though the publishers are trying too hard. "Hey read our book! Look how quirky it is! It's quirky, isn't it? Everyone loves quirky!"

But despite my misgivings, I will always give books a chance regardless of their titles, especially if they come with a strong recommendation.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. It's written entirely in letters (epistles, not letters versus numbers or binary code), which is probably difficult to pull off successfully, but this book succeeds. I loved the characters as well as the story, and the book made me want to go to Guernsey, which is an island in the English channel. (I did not know this before. That fact makes me feel uneducated.)

The woman who wrote it, Mary Ann Shaffer, became ill and couldn't finish the book. I think it was her niece who took over the writing so it could be published, and Mary Ann passed away shortly after. The death of the author doesn't necessarily make a book good, but it did make this book feel special, knowing that a woman who had always wanted to write a book finally did before she died.

So now I'm recommending this book highly, and I'm joining the ranks of all the other people who recommend it.

Crazy Critters: Not so much

2010-04-19T14:02:00.000-04:00

I've seen these Crazy Critters things everywhere. They're supposed to be perfect for the dogs who tear up toys and leave stuffing all over the floor. Like my dog.

My carpet is always covered in great gobs of white stuffing, so I looked into these toys. They're touted as "Super strong and durable!"

A fluffy toy that is also strong? I've been dreaming about a dog toy like this!

I haven't bought any, but after looking at them, I can say one thing with certainty: Miles would rip through a Crazy Critter in 10 minutes flat. Sure, there wouldn't be any stuffing. I'll give them that.

Instead, there would be little bits of fur all over the floor. He also eats those little bits of fur.

He is like the Tasmanian devil, a little tornado with teeth. And if there does exist an indestructible toy (some say the Kong fits the bill), he isn't interested. See, the irony is, Miles will only play with toys he can destroy.

This is why I buy him cheap pillows. And give him cardboard boxes. And why my floor is messy 98% of the time.

Books: Quickly disappearing

2010-04-19T12:00:00.000-04:00

Remember when I posted about these gorgeous Penguin books designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith?

And when I posted about having gotten my first two?

And when I said my favorite cover was Crime and Punishment?

Amazon has all the books, except for Crime and Punishment and Madame Bovary. Those ones are apparently very difficult to find. Madame Bovary is now up to $55 on eBay (as opposed to $13.60 for the other ones on Amazon). A copy of Crime and Punishment sold on eBay recently for $106.

I am starting to feel desperate.

My favorite album right now

2010-04-15T21:55:00.000-04:00

Actor, by St. Vincent (aka Annie Clark).

She's like a grown-up Eisley, a band I used to really love. Both the lyrics and the music have same whimsical, ecclectic quality, but her music isn't cutesy, and it has a dissonant edge. It feels like the musical equivalent of Alice in Wonderland (the book, that is) or The Wizard of Oz -- trippy, but in a good way.

The song "The Neighbors" sounds so similar to songs on Eisley's first album, Room Noises. I never liked Eisley's second album (I don't even remember what it was called), precisely because it distanced itself from the qualities I loved most to begin with. At the time, reviewers loved it and said the band sounded so much more grown up, but I just thought they sounded less unique.

I've heard they're coming out with a new album soon, which I will certainly listen to, but no matter what it sounds like, I have found a new favorite artist: St. Vincent.

Here's her song "The Strangers."

A book-lover's dream tutorial

2010-04-14T16:43:00.001-04:00

I posted about this before, but I couldn't remember when or what I titled it (so much for organizing by useless titles), so I had to go through every one of my past posts one by one, starting from the beginning. Fortunately, it was only a couple months after I started my blog so it didn't take long to find it. Lucky me.

Anyway, I love books, especially pretty ones, which I'm sure is no secret. I posted about these gorgeous book purses from Rebound Designs a year ago. (You can find the post here.) At the time, I lamented about how expensive they were ($125, $150, etc). I'm sure they were lots of work to make, but I couldn't afford them, no matter how hard I whined.

Well, let me introduce you to Remodelaholic. She made one of these purses (possibly without even knowing about Rebound Designs, which just goes to show that great minds think alike) and posted a tutorial on her blog with clear, detailed instructions.

via Remodelaholic

It looks super easy and the results are beautiful. It is now going into my mental filing cabinet under Stuff I Will Make As Soon As I Am Able, Which Is Hopefully Soon.

A fine beginning

2010-04-13T20:21:00.002-04:00

My collection has officially begun. I couldn't help starting it. Just the fear that the books could go out of print at any moment has spurred me on.

Jane Austen seemed the perfect place to start, especially considering that I read Pride and Prejudice for the first time about a month ago. I know, I know, Gasp, How could you? etc, etc. And I haven't read Emma (though I did try when I was younger).

My justification for waiting so long? I wanted to read a version with a cover that would enhance and reflect the beautiful story inside. I just didn't know that at the time.

Beautiful design

2010-04-12T16:55:00.000-04:00

I recently discovered a wonderful shopping experience right in my backyard. Well, not literally, but here in Chattanooga, some great shopping has popped up in one cool place called Warehouse Row. I went there just the other day to shop at a new cosmetics store and it was perfect and I intend to visit again soon.

I probably wouldn't have blogged about this had I not seen some of these photos that I just HAD to share. I love clean, white design and lots of, well, white space and white colors and white textures (though I also enjoy other colors). I'm posting these because they made me swoon. They're from Revival Uncommon Goods and Amanda Pinson Jewelry.

Revival Uncommon Goods, via Warehouse Row

Amanda Pinson Jewelry, via Warehouse Row

Unfortunately, I can't afford much of anything offered in these boutiques, but the design is inspiring nonetheless. I want to live right there in the store.

Salt, Cooking, and a long treatise about Time

2010-03-30T11:53:00.003-04:00

I love to cook because I love to eat. I love food that is fresh and flavorful, and the canned/packaged/prepared stuff just doesn't cut it. Call me spoiled.

I grew up with a stay-at-home mom who cooked nearly every day. Our one-income family of four didn't have the funds to eat out very often, so eating out was for special occasions. I probably took for granted the wonderful meals that Mom prepared day in and day out.

Photo from stock.xchng

I recently heard a statistic that Americans consume on average more than twice the daily recommended amount of sodium. The maximum should be 2300 mg a day, which is about a teaspoon, but 1500 mg is better. The majority of that sodium comes from prepared foods. (Is it bad that a maximum of a teaspoon of salt a day seems like an impossibly small amount?)

Sometimes I think my lifestyle is a bit boring and it feels as though I'm not living up to my potential, but from another perspective, I am fortunate. I have time to go home and make lunch every day. I have time to cook decent meals every evening, even if they aren't always exotic and complicated.

Many, many other people do not have time for that. They regularly eat prepared foods from grocery stores or restaurants because they have to, yet there are aisles of cookbooks promising meals that are Easy, Fast, Delicious! and plenty of cooking shows on TV, and cooking programs available for Wii and DS, etc, etc. But how often are meals really cooked at home? There seems to be a disconnect between our desired lifestyles and our actual ones. I know a lady that orders food from Schwan's, and that's pretty much the only "cooking" she does. Ever. That makes me feel a bit sad.

Cooking on a regular basis is still new and fun for me, but I don't always want to spend my free time cooking. I'm guessing it will only get easier to shove cooking to the back burner.

But see, I don't want that to happen. I don't want to feel like I don't have time for things like cooking.

Maybe that's not a cooking philosophy. Maybe it's a time philosophy.

I never want to be so busy, so weighted down by obligations, that I don't even have time to think about cooking, or reading, or taking a slow evening walk with Andy and the dog.

Right now we don't have kids, or stressful jobs, or meetings for organizations, or any of the other things that demand precious minutes from the day. I used to be concerned when people asked me what I did in my free time, and I had to respond, "Nothing, really."

It's true. I do whatever I want to do, which is usually nothing exciting. I cook. I watch movies. I play with the dog. My lifestyle doesn't lend itself to exciting stories told to family and friends. It used to make me feel boring.

But when it comes down to it, that's ok, because I know what I don't want: stress. I have been stressed to the point of nervous breakdown and panic attacks. I am prone to stressing about insignificant things.

While having this free time may not be much of a choice right now, I suspect that one day it will be. I'll have to say No to things that I'll feel obligated to say Yes to, so that I can come home and cook, and do nothing and be boring. And it might be difficult, but for reasons beyond sodium, it will be necessary.

S is for Seedlings

2010-03-25T21:55:00.000-04:00

I am determined to grow some herbs and vegetables, so a couple weekends ago I started some seeds. I am very optimistic about their chances this season. I am more knowledgeable than I was a year ago, and I can say with confidence that the Great Plant Massacre won't happen again.

Also this year, I'm getting involved in a CSA share program (Community Supported Agriculture). There are a number of farms around here that do it. Basically, a local farm delivers a certain share of its produce every week or every other week. It feels kind of expensive, because you do have to pay up front, but when I calculate it, it's not really much more than I would be spending at the grocery store. Plus, I get local farm-fresh produce from the end of April until November. There is more information about CSA programs here.

Any of you Chattanoogans interested in getting involved, check out the Rise N Shine Farm out of Calhoun. They'll be delivering to Greenlife Grocery, as well as a few other places in the area. And they're needing more people to sign up in order to meet their operating expenses. This is my first time trying a CSA program, so I can't speak from experience, but I'm really excited about it.

The Makeover: Chair Edition

2010-03-25T21:34:00.000-04:00

Guess what I did this week? I finally reupholstered a chair!

I expected it would be a lot of work, and believe me, it was. It was my first chair -- my first upholstery, ever -- and it's got some glaring flaws if you know where to look. But I know most people won't notice.

I've spent the past couple days gazing happily at the chair while nursing my sore arm (using a staple gun is a real workout).

The fabric is by Jessica Jones, and it was on sale for $6.98 a yard (Remember me talking about the price of that beautiful Mod Green Pod fabric?). I spent a long time searching the internet and my local fabric store, filtering through swatches and samples looking for the perfect design. It had to match, it had to be a fun pattern but not too in-your-face, it had to match the feel and style of the chair, and it had to be affordable. That's not easy to find, and even when the fabric is in your hands, it's hard to tell if it will be a success ON the chair.

But I am very happy with the results.

One more chair to go...

Books: The cover matters

2010-03-16T09:43:00.001-04:00

Gorgeous.

I have seen these clothbound books before, but I didn't know who had designed them until just today (thanks, Robbie!). Her name is Coralie Bickford-Smith, and you can see her website here, which features her many beautiful designs.

The magic of these books is that even though I haven't read Crime and Punishment, and even though it always seemed so intimidating, you can bet I would read it if I had this copy.

I also have a special place in my heart for Gothic horror novels, so I want to collect all of these, in addition to the clothbounds.

All of these books are, I think, limited editions, and some of them are going to be hard to find. And collecting them will set me back a pretty big chunk of money. But I can dream anyway -- dream of collecting gorgeous bookcovers, as well as the novels inside them. I love a good classic, and I am an advocate for judging books by their covers. Art is important, and these books are art both inside and out.

Thank you, Coralie, for making classic books deliciously readable.

The State of the Living Room

2010-03-11T22:24:00.001-05:00

So far, here is what it looks like -- with the new couch!

Now, it may not be the skinniest of couches, but it's not the fattest either. I'd call this Average Couch, gotten for a very average price (or probably below average -- it was on sale, and we're poor). After looking at many, many furniture stores in town, we finally found this at the last place we looked (isn't that how it always goes?). For now, it's the right couch at the right price. Maybe someday I'll be able to shop at Room & Board...

To the left of the couch you can see a chair skeleton. Here's the other one:

It's a bit sad in my living room at the moment.

But on the bright side, here's a pillow that I made (albeit a few days before Design*Sponge's wonderful tutorial on making zippered throw pillows came out, so it doesn't have a zipper). It's the green one.

And for your viewing pleasure, here's Andy and Miles hanging out on the new couch.

Because he is cute

2010-03-08T22:31:00.001-05:00

This is probably going to be a future project

2010-03-04T11:33:00.000-05:00

I love this alphabet art from Room & Board. I love it a lot.

Room & Board probably won't be happy to hear this, but give me a couple of hours and I could make this myself (for less than $200, which is pretty much a fortune to me).

Given that I CAN make this, it follows that I probably will, knowing me.

I totally have gray hairs

2010-03-04T09:40:00.001-05:00

At 24. Ugh.

I love weekends. And sewing machines.

2010-02-27T10:02:00.004-05:00

My mom bought me a sewing machine. Out of the blue (well, not entirely. I know I've been talking about sewing a lot.).

It came last weekend, and I've been contemplating what I should sew first. The chair fabric? A pillow cover? I found some cheap remnant burlap at the fabric store, and decided to christen the sewing machine with some lined bags. I would have made another one, but I didn't get that much burlap.

The sewing machine works great! Very smooth. And it threads the needle itself.

I think that sentence deserves an exclamation point. I don't know if a period carries the depth of significance and excitement I feel. And it threads the needle itself! or even And it threads the needle itself!

The bags are now in my kitchen. They take up some of my limited counter space, but they do it with such style.

I love weekends because I have time to make breakfast, and I love breakfast. Moments after posing sweetly for my pictures, those oranges became juice.

And I also made banana nut muffins.

That's Miles in the background, staring intently out the window. That's one of his favorite hobbies these days.

Fat vs. Skinny

2010-02-19T10:33:00.000-05:00

I'm talking about couches.

Andy and I are thinking about getting a couch. I have wanted to post about this for a long time, even though it's really pointless. But there's probably no better time to write a pointless post about sofas, right?

I'm picky about sofa styles. My preference typically trends towards mid-century modern.

Why? It's the Fat vs. Skinny debate. Example:

Fat Couch

Photo from Ashley Furniture. I am trying to avoid copyright infringement here.

Skinny Couch

Photo from Room and Board.

The first couch, from Ashley Furniture, looks fat to me. Just blobby, shapeless, fat. The skinny couch, a Murray sofa from Room and Board, looks sleek, thin, structured. I do not like fat couches, no matter how comfortable they may be. The ideal, I suppose, is a couch that is both skinny and comfortable. And affordable.

Andy doesn't think we need a couch to begin with, which is a totally separate question. I don't really have an answer, other than aesthetics. That seems incredibly shallow. But then I guess, so does the Fat vs. Skinny couch debate. But it's just a couch, so it doesn't matter if I discriminate based on looks. Nobody's feelings get hurt.

Except for Fat Couch. Sorry, Fat Couch. You just didn't make the cut.

On the cottage

2010-02-17T21:16:00.003-05:00

While I was in Prague, I didn't get to participate in one of the quintessential Czech weekend activities: the cottage. It seemed like every Monday, when I would come into class and ask my students what they did over the weekend, they would say something to the effect of "I was on the cottage." (Multiple lessons on prepositions stemmed from this phrase.)

But despite the 10 months I spent in Prague, I never got to experience this. It's been a Czech tradition for decades to go to a cottage during the weekends. (I think this is also traditional in other European countries, but I can only speak for Czechs.) Many Czechs own little cottages in quaint villages not far from the city. I think I got stuck in one of those cottage villages once and had to sleep outside. But that's another story.

I had to spend most of my weekends in Prague, but I wish I had gotten the chance to head to a real weekend cottage, because it always sounded like so much fun -- just hanging out with friends and family, surrounded by trees and hills, grilling fresh vegetables, getting away from the city and relaxing, spending the evening by the fire.

When I saw this Croatian cottage renovation at Design*Sponge, I fell in love. It's so simple and relaxing.

Someday, I'd like to buy a few acres of land in the mountains, not too far away, and build a cottage. Just a small one, something simple and rustic, where I could spend weekends Czech-style.

These amazing photos are by Damir Zizic. You can see more at the cottage's website, Kucica.

I have added it to my list of life goals. It's right up there with things like traveling the world and renovating an old house, things that require lots of time and money. But I can dream, anyway. If it ever happens, you can bet it's going to look a lot like this cottage. And yes, you can come spend weekends there with me.

Fabric!

2010-02-11T12:06:00.000-05:00

I think I have fallen in love with fabric, and not just for reupholstery. Now that I've borrowed my mom's sewing machine, I want to make everything I can possibly make out of fabric.

Because how could you NOT fall in love with Birch Forest by Ink & Spindle? (Or really, any of their fabrics. I love them all.)

Or Grass Green by Cicada Studio?

How about Miki by Maramiki?

And there's always Mod Green Pod, where I got my chair fabric.

Stop me before I go crazy. It might already be too late.

So I did it

2010-02-08T20:09:00.002-05:00

I got chair number 2. This one is from the office, and I've been obsessing over it. I love it. I told them I'd get them another chair if I could have it, and they agreed!

I'm not going to do anything to the finish. I just have to change out the fabric. You may not be able to tell in this light, but the fabric is purplish. The chair is also pretty wobbly, so I'll need to fix that.

The dog took to it immediately, which gave me the opportunity for some pet portraits.

He looks so properly posed in that first one. It's like a school yearbook portrait.

Excellent

2010-02-07T09:23:00.000-05:00

I can post from my iPod. Cool.

See? Here's the little tag that says so. Sort of. No iPhone, but it's the same app.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Six years of devotion

2010-02-02T11:08:00.004-05:00

I'm gonna geek out a little here and express my intense joy and elation (and sadness) at the start of the new season of Lost.

I've been a devoted fan since 2004, when it started. It was more than just a show to me. It coincided with the start of my freshman year in college, and a tradition was born, as well as some close friendships. Our group would get together and watch it every week, sometimes with a lot of us and sometimes with just a few, sometimes with snacks, sometimes with homework on our laps. (We stopped bringing the homework after a while, because that just doesn't work.)

We did this every year, every season. During commercial breaks we'd hash out Lost theories, or talk about school and work, or sit in stunned silence.

When I went away to Prague for a year, I could only afford to download one TV show from iTunes, and of course, it was Lost.

I'm thrilled to start another season with those same friends, but I'm saddened that every new episode is one closer to the end. It will (hopefully) answer all the questions we've had since season one, but will also bring a close to many good memories.

I'd like to say we can just find another show to watch together after this one ends, but I know won't be the same.

Regardless, I am so excited I can hardly sit still. I'm posting this at about 11:30. Eight and a half more hours to go!

Elbow grease

2010-02-01T20:20:00.006-05:00

This weekend I busted out the sandpaper and attacked the chair, because I'm going to remove the old stain, with its cheesy black spots, and re-stain it.

I got this far, and let me just say, it was like trying to break up concrete with a pencil.

I was sanding and sanding and sanding but not getting very far. And I was choking on sawdust, which is like glitter, in that it gets everywhere and will always turn up even after you've scrubbed the house.

And after all that work, I remembered that my mom has a power sander. So I think I'll be borrowing that for a while. Along with her her sewing machine, because guess what came today?

Fabric!

This has got to be some kind of fallacy

2010-01-29T10:30:00.003-05:00

I don't know what kind. Hasty generalization? Appeal to emotion? Affirming the consequent?

Fallacies aside, this poster makes me so happy.

Probably a lot happier than it should. I giggle every time I look at it. I think I want to hang it in my house.

Coolest shoes ever

2010-01-28T11:49:00.002-05:00

This comes from Vibram FiveFingers.

I want them.

Gutted, like a fish

2010-01-26T20:39:00.003-05:00

Well, there it is. I have removed the layers of fabric, including the bits of hideous yellow green that were clinging to ancient staples. I have yanked and bent and pulled out those staples, hundreds of them. Staples stapled over staples. And one of my fingers is even splinted! It's hard work to grip pliers and a staple remover when you can't bend one of your fingers.

I gutted the chair while Andy watched the Colts game, and I occasionally glanced at the TV for crucial plays. And Miles spent most of his time attempting to get under the chair while I worked.

I have no idea what percentage of my work is done, but I have a feeling the staples are going to be much easier to put in than they were to get out.

A Sweet Favorite

2010-01-26T11:21:00.004-05:00

The other night Andy and I ate at what is probably our favorite restaurant in all of Chattanooga. Maybe favorite of all time.

This might come as a surprise, because the restaurant doesn't stand out in terms of decor or location. The interior is clean but lacking in atmosphere, with a few authentic pieces on the wall but little else.

I love atmosphere and decor in restaurants, but I don't care when it comes to this one. What Andy and I go for (on a regular basis) is the food. The restaurant is Sweet Basil, and the food is fragrant, flavorful Thai, with its coconut curries and hot chilis. As a vegetarian, I can get just about anything on the menu with a tofu substitution. My favorite dish is a sweet, slightly spicy curry with tofu on a bed of spinach.

Andy loves the restaurant because he can get his food "Thai hot." He's never been satisfied with other Thai restaurants that seem to skimp on even the spiciest dishes (I can't tell a difference though - it's all too spicy for me!). Whenever he asks for his dishes "Thai hot," the servers get this huge smile on their faces. They probably don't get that request very often. And even though Andy sweats and cries over his curry, he says it's wonderful, and he keeps coming back for more.

I haven't asked to find out if the servers are all from Thailand, but I would bet that many of them are. They are certainly among the friendliest and attentive servers I have ever met.

Whenever we get a craving for Thai food, that's where we go. If you're a Thai-curry fan, I recommend Sweet Basil highly. I don't have any photos of it because I didn't think to bring my camera. But next time you come to my place, let's go out to Sweet Basil, because I can't seem to make my own homemade Thai taste so good.

But make sure you come on Tuesday, because you can get two entrees and an appetizer for $19.95. Hmmm...today is Tuesday!

It sounds cool, but it's not

2010-01-22T10:25:00.002-05:00

I suspect I have something called "trigger finger," which makes it sound like, well, like I have a .45 in my belt and I'm itching to fire it.

But really, it's more like carpal tunnel for your finger. My finger gets stuck halfway between straight and bent, and if I continue bending it, the tendon snaps and causes all kinds of pain.

I am wearing a finger splint. Do you know how hard it is to type (or tie your shoes, or hold a mascara wand) with a finger that doesn't bend? I think I am now faster at texting with my thumbs than I am at typing with my fingers.

A revelation

2010-01-15T09:01:00.004-05:00

I just went to a fabric store. I learned something. Apparently, $40 a yard is not an unheard-of price for good upholstery fabric (who knew?). In fact, it's pretty common for the price to be more. Twice as much, even.

So since I know the orange flower fabric will make me happy, and since I know I can't get much better for much cheaper, I'll just save my money and whine.

And hope I don't mess it up, because that's definitely money down the drain. And hope my dog doesn't chew it, because I can't be mad at my dog no matter how hard I try, and I will try very hard if he ruins my chair.

I also learned that I probably shouldn't go into a fabric store without money to spend, because being there makes my head want to explode with all the creative fabric-based things I could make (bags! quilts! dresses! pillows! chairs! curtains!).

A chair obsession explained

2010-01-13T15:17:00.003-05:00

You're probably sick of hearing about chairs, but I'm sure this isn't my last post about them, which is why I propose to explain why I've found a sudden interest in furniture.

For most people, a chair is just a chair. Its purpose is twofold: it is a place to sit, and it is an object with which to decorate, but when it comes to buying a chair, chances are that you won't buy a chair you don't like. You'll continue looking until you find a chair you do like.

Well imagine only needing to like a chair for its shape. Beyond that, it's fully customizable! Don't like the fabric? Switch it with one of the millions of other cool fabrics out there! Don't like the color of the frame? Paint it any color you please!

A whole new world of options has exploded onto my senses. It's like my brief foray into eating meat. After a lifetime of being vegetarian, suddenly I could enter a restaurant and actually get whatever was on the menu. I remember walking into all my favorite restaurants as though it were the first time, staring at the options like a blind person who could suddenly see. You mean I can get ANY of this stuff? I'm not limited? No more frustration at finding slim pickings on the menu? No more asking for subsitutions, like "I'll have the burger please, but, uh, without the actual burger. Can you do that?" (That is the rebellion of a vegetarian, ladies and gentlemen. If only I could travel into the past to my teenage years and tell my parents that the extent of my recalcitrance is a chicken sandwich. I probably could save them a few years of stress.)

Anyway, when it comes to chairs, I have discovered that I have the freedom to make them into whatever color or texture I desire. I can now have one-of-a-kind chairs that no one else in the world will have. There are probably hundreds--thousands--of chairs (or sofas, or other pieces of furniture) languishing away in forgotten corners of offices, homes and flea markets, waiting to be revived by a new coat of paint and a vivid fabric. Suddenly, I'm looking at chairs with new eyes, seeing their potential and itching to unleash my creativity, which has been bottled up for far too long (I'm convinced college is a creativity-quasher).

But knowing me, it's probably just a phase. Which is why I need to get on with the reupholstering, quickly, before I'm onto the next thing, so at least I can get some good chairs out of the deal.

I couldn't possibly have known that

2010-01-13T11:56:00.004-05:00

I have been hunting for fabrics for my newly found chair, spending countless hours slogging through Google pages. The vast majority of upholstery fabrics out there are really boring. I even searched "modern upholstery fabric" but came up short.

Silly me. I should have just typed "modern fabrics" and it would have solved my problem, but I thought (quite logically, in my opinion) that I would need to include the word "upholstery" in there somewhere, since that's what I was after.

Well a roundabout search through scads of other sites let me to Modern Fabrics. Tada! Just exactly the kind of modern upholstery fabric I was looking for! It's a bit late, unfortunately. I already have my heart set on Mod Green Pod. BUT there are lots of other amazing and retro fabrics there, and cheap too, since they're reclaimed from fabric factories and stores.

So basically, all it has done is made me want to reupholster MORE chairs. Is it bad for me to be searching for another project when I haven't even finished this one?

The Chair, aka I'm Probably In Over My Head

2010-01-09T17:09:00.005-05:00

I haven't written a blog post since October. Sorry.

There, now that that's over with, I'd like to share my latest project. I have been following the Before & After section of the site Design*Sponge for a while now, and let's just say I've been inspired (because "obsessed" sounds bad).

It's full of fun DIY projects, like refinished furniture and reupholstered chairs and even renovated rooms. People find old stuff and fix it up, and it looks incredible. My fingers have been itching to do something crafty, so here goes. My very first reupholstery project.

I found this chair for $20 on Craigslist. Isn't it cool? Well, not yet it's not. But it will be (hopefully) when (if) I finish it!

I really don't think this will be difficult. I've been Googling "How to reupholster a chair," and I even found video! No problem, right?

Just gotta find some fabric. Don't want something too traditional. It's gotta be modern and a little retro, but not too over the top. When I ran across Mod Green Pod's Bloom fabric, I fell in love. And it's even organic! (Their other fabrics are also pretty rad.)

It's also very expensive, at least for my budget. A couple yards of this stuff will turn this $20 chair into a $100 chair, and if I were going to spend $100, why would I even bother with reupholstering? I could have found something great for way less trouble. So I'm not sure this fabric is worth it, but after seeing it, nothing else measures up.

Anyway, I'm apparently too impatient to wait for fabric, or even proper tools, because I've started tearing the thing apart already. I've learned some things in a very short time, too. Like that this chair was once bright blue, and before that, something yellow-green and very '70s. And that my dog finds its musty smell irresistible.

And that this might get a bit nasty.

Luckily, I had (pretty) good hair

2009-10-26T13:40:00.006-04:00

My last-minute assignment today: go to prestigious hair salon, watch demonstration to staff by world-renowned Belgian hairstylist, ask questions.

I had never been to this salon before today; it's too high-end for my budget. Part of me would love to have one of the stylists tell me how to solve my hair malaise and help me achieve perfect hair. But since I don't have pocketfuls of money to throw at a hairstylist, I have stayed away from this particular salon.

Thankfully, I curled my hair today. But I still felt self-conscious in a room full of stylists, and I wanted to apologize and explain how difficult it is, you see, to curl the back of my hair, and even more difficult to make it stay curled.

I sat next to a guy who commented on my face shape and my best features, and how all women should have a hair consultation and a good stylist (and, I felt, coming just short of saying "You probably should re-think your hair," but maybe that was just my self-consciousness talking).

I should have said what I was really thinking: When you wake up the morning after getting your hair styled, and you shower and your hair is back to square one, how do you then make it look as spectacular as it did when you walked out of the salon? And is it even possible to achieve picture-perfect hair every day? And how much does it matter?

There are lots of magazines and sites out there devoted to the subject of perfect hair, and how it is critical you achieve that look.

But I don't think it's possible to make your own hair look salon-style perfect, simply from a logistical standpoint. I can't style the back of my head in the same way a hairstylist can because my arms don't bend in the right places, and I can't see it properly.

That's not even accounting for my lack of education. If all women are supposed to have that kind of hair, we need more than just good stylists, or magazines with great before-and-after makeover photos. We need to take our own hairstyling classes from master European stylists. (But then, hairstylists would probably be out of a job.)

And this is assuming it really is critical to have perfect hair. Watch this piece on hair ads from a TV show that examines the lengths advertisers will go to reach the female demographic. (I've just discovered this show and I really like it.)

We want our hair to look good, but is it worth the hundreds or thousands of dollars some people spend? And do regular people take notice and appreciate the time, effort and dollars that go into just attempting to make our hair perfect?

In conclusion (as though this long blog had a point), I may never have incredible hair, but if I just stay out of prestigious salons, then at least I won't notice.

Dear New York Fashion Show,

2009-09-16T10:27:00.003-04:00

I have a suggestion: Why not use girls from Third World countries for your runway shows? You wouldn't have to feed them any more than you do the current models, and you'd be giving them a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You'd be helping impoverished girls, highlighting the troubles of their native countries, and holding an exciting, new kind of fashion show at the same time!

But maybe I just don't understand you and the position of utmost importance you hold in society, and your impressive dedication to fashion, culture and the body as art, and your benevolence to the fashion-ignorant among us, who can't grasp the subtle differences between a delicate, ethereal runway model and a gaunt, starving inhabitant of one of those poor countries over there.

Photo by Getty Images, in case someone gets mad at me for using it

A lesson relearned

2009-09-01T09:40:00.003-04:00

I learned today why reporters shouldn’t send articles to the subjects of those articles for review.

Of course, I knew that already. I learned it years ago during that naïve, post-high-school summer when I wrote articles for a newspaper for the first time.

No matter how much they beg, if your first instinct says “No,” don’t send it to them. They will want to rewrite your article and change everything they said.

My editor wanted me to send a particular article to a particular subject, so despite my misgivings, I did it.

Big mistake. She’s that Type-A, do-it-herself, in-control type of person. Those are the dangerous ones, because they want to reword the entire piece in their favor.

I am a writer, not an advertiser. My job is to write a coherent, consistent story, a whole that is made up of its parts. I leave out what doesn’t fit, I include what is necessary for my angle, and I do it within the word count I have been given. That is my job. (And incidentally, the article is a profile! It is a favorable article! But she wanted more.)

Fortunately, my editor understands; she’s good like that. She’s a writer, too.

But unfortunately, now I have to deal with the consequences. Do I write her back and tell her “I’ll see what I can do?” Do I just ignore it and wait for the fallout when the article comes out and she sees that her changes have not been made? Do I tell her that her suggested changes don’t really fit the tone of our magazine?

The best thing may be to defer to the editor, because a good editor has your back. I can tell the lady to take it up with the editor, and then it’s out of my hands. Sweet relief.

It almost makes me rethink my dreams of becoming a book editor.

Friday's post

2009-08-28T12:07:00.002-04:00

I didn't have time on Thursday, but here is today's prompt.

Prompt: The word "saturnine," which means gloomy, sullen, and sluggish, or sardonic and bitter.

I realize a couple of these pieces have been rather dark and gloomy, you could say saturnine (ha ha). I'll try to find a happier prompt next week. And I also realize I haven't named any of these people. It just happened that way. I'm really just freewriting, and I guess I can't think of names while I'm doing that.

-----

The man’s face is stone. Hauling a girl into the cell by her upper arm, he is unaffected by her screams. He releases his icy grip and she falls to the stone floor, sobbing. The door shuts with a screech and a slam. The hint of a bitter smile creases his hard lips as he turns and walks away, the girl’s moans echoing off the walls.

She lies on the ground for a long time, willing herself to get up, but her will isn’t strong enough. Instead, she feels the cold from the floor seeping into her back and chilling her bones. From the grate in the ceiling, light streams down from the sun that had been hidden by cloud. It falls on her face, and she blinks in the brightness, tears in her eyes. It feels warm, and she doesn’t move for fear she will scare away the beautiful light. Then the moment passes as a cloud covers the sun again, and now she is blinking in the dimness.

She finally gets up, but painfully; the bruises on her body are tender, and she winces at the pain in her knees. Pulling herself to a sitting position, she brings her knees to her chest, draws her veil over her head, and huddles for warmth under the patch of light, where she waits. And waits. And waits.

The girl doesn’t move. It is futile to try; this cell seems built to hold her forever. She has stopped shivering from cold and fear; it seems the cell has numbed her body and her mind.

After many days - she never counted them - of waiting in the patch of light, the cell door opens, and she is dragged once again, out into blinding sunlight and heat that could bake a loaf of bread. An instant later, a blindfold is placed over her eyes, but she is too exhausted to be afraid, too parched to cry.

She is hauled, dragged, then carried across the dry ground for an age, and is finally dropped to her knees into a bank of sand. She waits for the shot to come, for the pain and the blood. Will it come from the front or the back? she wonders. It seems a strange thing to wonder at this moment, but she stopped thinking rationally a long time ago.

She waits, seeing nothing, hearing nothing.

Finally, she feels brave enough to peel the blindfold off her eyes. When she can see in the bright sunlight, she is all alone in a vast sea of sand.

Wednesday's prompt

2009-08-28T12:02:00.002-04:00

I wrote this on the 26th, but forgot to put it up.

Prompt: write from the point of view of a woman (actually 3, but I ran out of time) from Marmora.

I had to look up Marmora. There's one in Ontario, one in New Jersey, and one in Greece. Greece sounded so much more interesting.

----

I could hear Papa’s voice on the balcony, loud and booming through the blue-framed windows. From the kitchen, I couldn’t tell what he was saying, but I knew he was telling one of his funny stories – probably one he had told a hundred times already. His voice crescendoed, and then he paused, and it seemed as though the whole house held its breath.

In my mind’s eye, I could see him quietly uttering the next words with a nonchalant wave of his hand the way he always did, as though the punch line was nothing. Suddenly, all the friends and family crowded onto our tiny balcony burst into guffaws, and I smiled.

I placed the last of the hot keftedes and spanakopita triangles onto platters. They steamed and filled the kitchen with the savory scent of mint, paprika, and feta. My mouth watered, and I couldn’t help snatching one of the little meatballs for myself.

I carried the platters out to the balcony, still loud with the sound of laughter and chatter. The warm, salty evening air mingled with the rich spices; it was the smell of every summer I had ever known. One of my uncles stood so I could sit in his chair. I thanked him with a kiss, then popped another meatball in my mouth and settled in to listen to another of Papa’s stories.

A mid-year's resolution

2009-08-25T11:28:00.003-04:00

I want to write fiction very badly, but I've been having a lot of trouble with commitment and ideas. I've expressed before that I think I have writer's ADD. Anyway, I found this site that gives writing prompts, and I'm going to try (repeat, TRY) to use them to write for a few minutes every day, like 500 words or less.

So with this photograph prompt (that came from Flickr's le vent le cri), here is my little piece.

(Keep in mind, it's very rough)

She kicked off her little yellow flats and leaped into the snow, squealing and throwing the little flakes into the air.

“Isn’t it cold?” he asked her.

She turned to him. “The snow?”

“Yes, of course the snow. You’re barefoot.”

She giggled, her cheeks and nose pink by now, her breath coming in little rhythmic puffs of steam. Snowflakes dotted her wild hair like stars, melting and dying only to be replaced by twenty more. Ducking her head and shoulders, she bolted for him, and in shock, he didn’t move, didn’t even take his hands from his pockets. He fell to the cold ground with a thud, and she just laughed.

But instead of laughing along, he kicked and struggled to get free.

“Ow!” he wailed, pushing her off him. He frowned and got up, brushing the snow off his jeans. “You got snow in my shoes.”

He hobbled on one foot while taking off his other shoe and beating the melting slush out of it. She was still sitting, only this time she was glaring at the white field, which was edged by gray spindle trees. It was still and quiet, with no birds tweeting in the trees. The snowflakes were falling harder now. It was hard to tell the difference between the white-gray sky and the white-gray snow. Her toes were pink, and she wiggled them to chase away the cold that had finally numbed them.

He was now standing above her, his hands back in his pockets and his shoulders drawn up tight.

“You used to like playing in the snow with me.”

He didn’t say anything.

With a deep sigh that came from some inner source of regret and sorrow, she heaved herself off the ground. He didn’t extend his hand to help her.

She slipped her cold, wet feet back into the flats, hardly remembering why she had chosen to wear them on such an icky day to begin with. They were pretty, but he hadn’t noticed.

Stuffing her hands in her jacket pockets and mimicking the stiff, hunched-shoulder pose that he was holding, she trudged up the white road. The footsteps they had made on the way down were already nearly invisible, buried by the new flakes that fell fast as she walked away, leaving him standing alone, gazing at the gray spindle trees, and wondering where was the fun in all this cold.

If it's not one thing, it's another

2009-08-13T09:10:00.002-04:00

I'm so frustrated at all these "healthcare plan opponents" who are just inciting fear and spreading rumors. Everything has been blown wildly out of proportion, and people are protesting things that aren't even factual anymore. "It's going to be FASCISM!!! Or SOCIALISM!!! They'll kill old people!!! The government is taking over our lives!!! It's just like 1984!!!!!!"

I want to slap them, tell them to wake up, chill out, take a breather, and look at the facts. You know why? Because I really want this public option insurance. I am a hard-working, college educated, legal American, who doesn't pop out kids to get welfare, who lives within her means, but still can't afford health insurance.

I can't go to the doctor. Not if I need to, not if I want to. Not if I get swine flu this fall, or bronchitis, or even strep throat. Not if I need a prescription. Not even if I can pay with cash! So many clinics won't even let me talk to a doctor without insurance.

It feels like all these protesters are just selfish. If it works for them, it works for everyone else too, right? Maybe I'm totally wrong on this, and maybe I'm the one with all my facts screwed up, but all I know is that the current system is not working for ME.

I wish I could say this somewhere where it would get some attention. I'm afraid the six of you who follow my blog don't have much say in the matter either:(

Maybe I should write my representative in Congress.

It's not exactly a collection

2009-07-30T10:03:00.004-04:00

Some people collect stamps or coins. I used to collect banana stickers (those ones that come on bananas, like Dole and Chiquita), and old calendars. But I was young and weird.

Anyway, I have recently (and I don't even know how this happened) developed an interest in Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture. I think I would like to make it a goal to visit his houses and structures, at least the ones that are available to tour, sometime in my life (there are about 400 total, but most of them are private and you can't tour them).

I really can't explain why I want this. I have some friends who like to visit lighthouses, and have visited as many as possible. It's like collecting themed experiences rather than little objects.

It's just a thought I've been formulating for a little while.

I don't understand

2009-07-21T09:57:00.006-04:00

Businesses that don't have websites. They seem upscale and popular, but they don't have websites.

It's appalling and, to me anyway, the equivalent of a shocking faux pas at a party. "You don't have a website?! Oh dear me!" And then I proceed to slink away, aghast, in search of other conversation.

Ok, I've never actually had that conversation, but that's how I envision it in my head. I want to take the owners by the shoulders and shake while saying loudly, "Idiot! You have a good business here! Don't ruin it by neglecting your online presence!"

I see this all the time at the magazine. Businesses will run print ads, but either don't have a website or don't include it in the ad. They must seriously underestimate the importance and the impact of the internet. Truth be told, if a business doesn't have a website, it makes me much less inclined to shop there. Ever.

This is 2009, not 1999! Websites are not optional anymore!

I just don't understand.

New puppy!

2009-07-12T15:10:00.003-04:00

We finally got a puppy! No, not an expensive Australian Terrier, but a perfectly good (and much cheaper) substitute. He's an 11-week-old Chihuahua/Jack Russell mix. We named him Miles, after putting it to a vote on Facebook. (We had a hard time agreeing on names).

I'm taking this opportunity to write while he's napping. I try to exhaust him as often as possible, so I can have a few minutes of free time. Ugh. It's like having a child. (I'm seriously rethinking any aspirations to have actual children one day.)

We've officially had him for two whole days. And he's a total mess. Potty training is not a quick process. We're also trying to teach him not to bite and chew people, but toys instead. Thankfully my learning curve is just about as quick as his, and I think I'm finding more effective ways of teaching him. For example, stuffing his mouth with chew toys when it opens and not giving him the opportunity to get his teeth on my fingers. That works pretty well.

More puppy disappointment

2009-07-09T20:18:00.003-04:00

So I found some really cute puppies on Petfinder. Adorable. They were going to be available in Nashville this weekend!

I thought about them all day long, intending to talk tonight with Andy about whether we should get a puppy right now. I emailed the place just to make sure they'd be there.

I get home, I go exercise, I have dinner, I check my email.

They're not available. People have been applying for them all week. I just missed it.

I think my standards are lowering. I wanted an Australian Terrier, but when that fell through, I wanted one of the adorable puppies. Now, I just want a puppy at all.

I should just be patient. So with a sigh, I'll wait until tomorrow and check the postings again. If there's a cute puppy out there, I'm not gonna be the last to know about it this time.

Puppy disappointment

2009-07-08T18:55:00.002-04:00

I went yesterday to see the women who breed the Australian Terriers, and we had a great visit. The dogs are adorable! I love them, which makes this even harder.

I figured they might be expensive, seeing as how they come from breeders who primarily show their dogs rather than breed them for sale. And since they are an uncommon breed.

But I didn't expect this.

$1,500? Really?

I didn't say anything when they told me. I think I was too shocked to really let it sink it. But now, as I think about it, I don't know how I'll ever afford that much for a puppy - or if I should even try.

It seems exorbitant. Is that the normal cost? Does anyone know a good Australian Terrier breeder who will sell them for less? I'm not exactly rolling in dough here. I want a puppy, but I don't want to sell my kidney to get one.

Recipe time!

2009-07-07T19:40:00.003-04:00

Every now and then, I cook something good. Occasionally, I feel like sharing it. No pictures today though. I don't feel like getting the camera out.

Barbecue Pizza (based on a Pampered Chef recipe)

1. Roll out refrigerated pizza dough on a pan. I say this because I am too impatient to make my own, but I prefer homemade.

2. Spread barbecue sauce on the dough instead of pizza sauce. Sweet Baby Ray's is great BBQ sauce.

3. Sprinkle with chopped pineapple, diced fri-chik (for the vegetarians. I suppose chicken or beef or something would work great too) and sliced green onions. You could also add things like spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms, or whatever else you enjoy, but the three main toppings of pineapple, chicken, and green onions are great.

4. Top with mozzarella cheese.

5. Bake until it's done. Sorry, no temperature or time recommendations. Consult the pizza dough packaging or just guess.

6. Eat. Yum. You could serve with some kind of summery drink like pina coladas.

I know, I know

2009-07-06T18:09:00.003-04:00

*sigh* I haven't written in a long time.

I blame it on school. Suddenly school got out, and I discovered there was actually time to do other things I want to do, like reading, cooking, exercising, being crafty, shopping, sleeping, watching movies, etc., etc.

So the blog has taken a back seat and has not been given the option of expressing its opinion on the matter.

Maybe one of these days, I'll put things into balance and start getting on the computer more often. For the past few weeks, I've hardly touched it. This is really a good problem to be having, I'm sure, of all the problems I could possibly have.

Here's a fun picture:

They're Australian Terriers, and I'm going to see a lady tomorrow about getting one in the fall. I can't wait!

Not such a great idea

2009-06-17T10:39:00.006-04:00

This is yet another ad by that Dr. Oz "forever young" magical cure guy.

Forgive me if I don't understand the appeal of this.

A teenager? Again? Really?

It was great to be a teenager once, but I wouldn't want to be that way now. Pimples, awkward body, flat chest, bad haircut. I do not associate my teenage years with the word "gorgeous." And judging by the other photos in my yearbook, I'm pretty sure nobody else does either.

Maybe this guy's ads work for some people, but every ad so far has just been a turn-off for me. His marketing people should probably try a different approach if they want to get my seal of approval.

Because that's what they're going for. Right.

It's beyond me

2009-06-12T20:55:00.004-04:00

I find it amusing to point out stores with names that were probably thought to be clever puns at the time, but are really not because they're cheesy, or they don't make sense, or both.

I've found two of them in Atlanta.

"Lettuce Souprise You" is a restaurant with just too many food allusions that don't really make sense, because when you say it out loud, "Let Us Surprise You" is simply not a good name for a restaurant. It does not make me want to eat there.

Or how about the sex shop named "Inserection." It makes me think that the creators of the store just wanted the name because they just wanted to somehow "cleverly" use the word "erection." They make some sort of link to a "sexual revolution" or something on their website, but it's a stretch.

There's another crafty store some where in North Carolina called "4 Seasons 4 U." Or maybe it's "Four Seasons 4 U." It really doesn't matter. It's heinous either way.

Maybe I'm just anal about these things, when other people think they don't matter. In the long run, I'm sure they don't, but they provide me with a momentary wry laugh and a sigh for the plight of our culture and creativity.

I probably shouldn't even get going on badly designed websites, misspelled and mispunctuated signs, eggcorns, and the nonsensical common use of the word "literally" in place of "figuratively." Like, "I literally laughed my head off" or something. Fortunately, there are lots of people who agree with me, and there's even a blog devoted to the many abuses of the word.

A plant story

2009-06-02T20:43:00.005-04:00

Remember those pretty plant seedlings from a few months back?

Well here's the tomato.

Home Depot killed my plants. Sort of.

For a while, my plants have had these little bug things crawling in the soil and flying around. I learned from the internet that these were called fungus gnats. I went to Home Depot to find a solution to my problem.

After examining various ominous and deadly pesticide concoctions, she handed me a bottle and said "Let the soil dry out, then spray this on it."

"Thanks!" I said with glee and clutched the poison tight. I was going to rid my plants of these bugs forever.

I didn't wait for the soil to dry out. It was going to take too long, and those bugs were everywhere. So I squirted and sprayed the white pesticide with abandon.

Well, a few hours later, my plants drooped and choked for breath. The spinach died. The tomatoes died. It was a plant massacre. The larger plants, like the cilantro and the zucchini, are slowly suffocating, gasping, and turning yellow. It's too bad, because both of those plants were blooming.

It was then that I picked up the bottle and examined it myself. Nothing on the bottle says it's acceptable for plants. It's the kind of poison you spray directly on spiders and ants and wasps and stuff. And now I can say with certainty that it also kills plants.

It's true

2009-05-28T16:00:00.003-04:00

After much cartoon zombie-slaughtering, I have decided this is one of my favorite games.

It's definitely the opposite of spooky. In this game, the zombies are called the fun-dead.

Here's the site.

Tell us please - how?

2009-05-28T15:58:00.002-04:00

One word: Photoshop.

Do people believe this?

For Freedom and DIY Projects!

2009-05-17T14:24:00.005-04:00

While looking for ideas on decorating the apartment, I ran across these pretty pictures on the Pier 1 website:

But they're $30 a piece, and I just can't afford those on my budget, but I still want them, so I spent Saturday afternoon painting my own. (Excuse the wrinkly futon cover/sheet. I plan to hang them as soon as I decide where.)

Does this make me a plagiarist? A cheap-skate? A crafty genius? I'm not really a painter - I just wanted to test myself and see if I could do it, and show up one of my favorite stores by ripping it off.

I'm not sure what to call it, but I have an individualist, self-sufficient, John-Locke-ish-Don't-tell-me-what-I-can-and-cannot-do, do-it-yourself attitude streak. I think I get it from my mom and Grandpa Wallace, who have been known to build/craft/design just about anything in a defiant effort to outwit the system. Mom says I can thank the rebellious Wallace influence.

I'm not really a descendant of Mel Gibson, but his picture looked so much more interesting than the real dude.

Green thoughts

2009-05-13T18:43:00.003-04:00

I just interviewed an architect for my job at the magazine. He calls himself a naturalist, and tries to be as non-invasive and sustainable with his designs as possible. His opinion is that this “green wave” isn’t new, but is part of humanity’s oldest instincts to work with nature.

I re-watched The Matrix the other day (can you believe that movie is already 10 years old?) and I was struck by how relevant the film is even today. At one point, Agent Smith gives his famous tirade about how humanity is like a virus, consuming all the resources in one area before moving on to another area, rather than living responsibly as the animals do. It struck a chord because this idea is now a major discussion point, and we’re changing – we’re finally thinking responsibly.

But while it’s good that we’re aware of our impact on the Earth, personally, I'm not sure I can afford to act on that awareness. As a recent college graduate still trying to learn how to balance my budget, I have learned that the green, organic products at the grocery stores are often more expensive than the mass-produced or processed ones. Do I choose the organic, expensive option, or the processed, cheaper option? I’ll admit that often, my wallet takes precedence over my conscience.

Is this green wave a new trend? A return to humanity’s roots? Will it stick around? And will the prices come down?

Finally

2009-05-08T19:54:00.003-04:00

I just moved. And graduated. Last week.

I've been exhausted. Hence, no new posts. I wanted to take a picture of the messy, box-filled apartment for your enjoyment, but I'm not entirely sure where my camera is.

In the mean time, I have been dreaming about having a "tea corner" ever since Prague. There was an amazing place on Vaclavske namesti called Dobra Cajovna, which means "Good Tea Room." It's a Czech chain that has a number of tea rooms throughout the country. Anyway, it's got this great middle eastern flavor and serves every kind of tea you can imagine. The place in Prague had a number of low tables with cushions on the floor, where you would remove your shoes, sit and drink freshly brewed tea from pots sitting above candles to keep them warm. Andy and I went there all the time.

I couldn't find a good picture of the place in Prague, but here's a picture of one in Brno. You can see the low tables with the cushions. The place in Prague looked similar, though there were tapestries on the wall.

Anyway, I've been dying to find an exotic-looking low table and cushions so I can make my own tea place in my house. The cushions are pretty easy to find. The tables, not so much. I found this cool thing in World Market today, but it's way above my budget.

I guess I'll keep looking. Not like I have any place to put a tea corner anyway with all these boxes in the way.

It's finally cool to be a veggie

2009-04-22T12:59:00.005-04:00

I've spent most of my life as a vegetarian (not counting about two years there when I ate meat).

When I was little, it was weird to be a vegetarian. The kids at school didn't really get it when I refused their offers to share their Lunchables (remember those?)

Not only has vegetarianism finally become cool from a health standpoint, but you can also be a veggie and save the earth! Livestock farming accounts for an awful lot of the gasses and pollution in the world today. There's a new movement called "Meatless Mondays" that encourages everyone to stop eating meat once a week.

Get this: "Scientists estimate that if every American lowered meat consumption by just 20%, it would lower greenhouse gasses as much as if everyone in the country switched to driving Toyota Priuses" (that's from this website right here).

How cool is that? I've been saving the earth all my life and I didn't even know it.

My new obsession

2009-04-21T19:07:00.005-04:00

I love books. And I love arts and crafts. And I love just doing things for yourself.

I fallen in love with Rebound Designs. The creator, Caitlin Phillips, makes purses out of old books that would have been thrown out. What an idea! Why didn't anyone think of this before?

If you're confused, take a look at these photos from the website:

There are books for everyone - classic literature, obscure titles, retro school textbooks. My personal favorite:

Unfortunately, a lot of the good ones are already sold. And at $125 and up, they're a bit pricey for my budget. So I can only daydream.

Seriously, check them out.

Snack time

2009-04-19T21:24:00.002-04:00

We found some ripe avocados at Sam's Club today, and we got a great idea.

Fresh guacamole, homemade with cilantro from my little plants.

Yum.

Graduation

2009-04-16T10:19:00.000-04:00

It's just 17 glorious days away...

Maybe this will be easier to remember than canvas grocery bags

2009-04-15T22:11:00.004-04:00

FreeRice is fun, but impractical (other than expanding your vocabulary).

Reusable canvas grocery bags are fantastic, but I forget to bring them with me to the store (I'm trying to remind myself more, especially now that I have a really cool looking one from Publix).

But now, all you have to do is search the internet and save the world!

Hoongle is a search engine powered by Google. Every time you search a term, they donate 20 grains of rice to the UN food program. Now, 20 grains of rice doesn't seem like much to me, but I guess it adds up. Every little bit counts, right?

Now let's see if I can remember to use it...

Ugh.

2009-04-13T22:47:00.004-04:00

Big story due tomorrow. Big research paper due Wednesday. Big photo project due Thursday.

"Stressful" is an understatement.

On a lighter note, here's a cute picture.

It's the Obamas' new puppy. So adorable.

Moving!

2009-04-08T19:07:00.003-04:00

Yes, we are moving! For sure and certain. Definitely.

They approved our application today. They say we can officially move in on the 25th, though we probably won't until like the 29th or 30th, because we figure it's wiser to wait until exams are over.

It's super nice, with two nice bedrooms. A dishwasher (no more doing stacks of dishes by hand!). Bigger (no more stuffing everything into this little place - did I mention it's only like 450 sq feet here?). Pest control (no more big, nasty, hairy spiders creeping in through the cracks). Better reception (no more dropped calls every few minutes). And a pool, fitness center, tennis courts, and we can have pets (I can't wait to get a dog!). And it's a total of 5 minutes from there to where I work. No more driving half an hour there and half an hour back! It's closer to Andy's school too.

That picture is from the site. Hamilton Pointe. Check it out.

I'm super excited about it. I actually haven't been inside, but Andy has, and he says it's perfect.

So...anyone have a truck we can borrow?

Moving?

2009-04-05T22:08:00.003-04:00

We've been following the available apartments at this one place for the last few weeks. In those last few weeks, the prices on apartments have been cut, and cut, and cut again, to where now a 2 bedroom, 1016 sq foot apartment costs $625 a month. Super good deal. Well, sort of.

There's only one of those apartments, and it opens up April 21.

Andy and I have been going back and forth as to whether we should jump on that now, before it's gone, or wait until we know what the finances are for sure. I'm pretty sure I'll be getting at least a part time job. And he can work during the summer.

But that means spending the next couple of weeks packing in addition to finishing up research papers and final projects. If everything goes well, we could move in the 30th, after my exams are over. That would be cool.

So I'm praying hard that everything will work out, that they will accept our application, that it won't be crazy stressful, and that we're making the right decision.

We put in a request tonight to hold the apartment, and Andy's going to talk to them tomorrow.

Victory garden

2009-04-04T18:19:00.004-04:00

I have plants - and they're actually growing. Here's proof:

Cilantro, spinach, tomatoes, zucchini, jalapenos, and basil. They had a nice time today on my back porch in the 70+ degree weather. I'll admit, some of the cilantro is very wilty, and the basil is struggling. But the zucchini is doing well. In fact, the two zucchini plants seem to be struggling for domination. Natural selection in action. They've been brawling for the past few days. I'm going to have to do something about that. I think a transplant is in order for one of them. Either that or a termination. But which one?

And here's a nice shot of some of the stronger cilantro. My cilantro seedlings are practically dead, so I bought a couple of little plants, which is why the cilantro is so much bigger than the other plants (other than the zucchini). I'm thinking something Thai or something Mexican is in order...

Job status, part 2

2009-04-01T07:25:00.002-04:00

The phone call came early; they didn't get the bid. My editor thinks it was probably decided long ago, and a bid was just a formality to give the appearance of more choice.

I know she was feeling really bad and stressed about it, so I didn't feel like going up to her and saying "So, what's my job status?" I'm sure it's on her mind.

They're going to start another similar project on their own, as competition with the other project, and as a way to fill gaps that the other project has. I'm hoping that they'll need my help and want to keep me on.

Actually, at this point, I'm pretty sure I'll have some kind of job there. Just how many hours is up in the air. Will I have to find another part-time job? We'll see. I'm just waiting...

Punch

2009-03-31T18:41:00.007-04:00

Tuesday night. Another class, another blog.

Last night Andy and I went to see the Punch Brothers in concert. This bluegrass/jazz/classical band was formed by Chris Thile, member of Nickel Creek and widely seen as a prodigy. He's not only skilled at all kinds of instruments, but he's a composer as well, and that was obvious on the latest album, Punch.

Thile wrote an incredible, 40-minute, four-movement piece called "The Blind Leaving the Blind." It's about his recent divorce. Now, divorce is a terrible thing and I wouldn't wish it on anyone, but I do think that the pain from that divorce led him to write one of the most beautiful, powerful, haunting, emotional pieces of music I have ever heard. It was good on the CD, but they played the whole thing last night, and it was perfect.

And they were really cool and funny, and we got their autographs.

Anyway, Andy and I had a great time. Amazing music and talent. Check them out.

Yesterday

2009-03-29T21:06:00.002-04:00

Drove 6 hours in windy weather to Memphis.

Saw Andy's brother, wife and cute little baby (who also drove 6 hours to Memphis from OK).

Drove back 6 hours to Chattanooga, the last two hours of which were spent in torrential rains that followed us from Nashville.

Slept really well.

Job status, part 1

2009-03-25T17:56:00.002-04:00

I worked up the courage to talk to my boss today. I shouldn't have been nervous, though - she's really cool. Anyway, I wanted to ask her what I could expect after graduation as far as the job goes.

She said she likes the work I do, and she would be willing to increase my hours to four days a week (though they can't put me on full-time). There's a hitch, though. The magazine is having to bid right now for a project, and if they lose the bid, they'll have a tough year as far as finances go. So if the bid goes through, my job goes through. If not, well, no one knows yet.

They'll know the bid status next Friday.

Stay tuned.

Tuesday night blues

2009-03-24T18:16:00.010-04:00

I'm in an evening class tonight. Every Tuesday night, I attend this class. It has a mouthful of a name: Mass Media Law & Ethics. It's taught by this old guy who likes to spend the two-and-a-half-hour-or-so class going off on tangents. He's not a full-time professor; I think he's an editor of some kind at the newspaper. Whoever he is, he's interminably boring, especially considering that he doesn't actually test us over any of the things we discuss in class. Tests consist of opinion-type essays, so there is no real incentive to pay attention. Needless to say, I spend the majority of the class surfing the internet or doing homework on my laptop. I come to class early so I can get one of the coveted back-row seats, so as to better surf/study. It's boring, it's a waste of my time, and worse still, it's a waste of my money.

Since I'm a senior and I'm graduating in a total of 40 days, I don't really even want to complain. I don't care enough.

But what's worse is that most of the other students in this class are from the current senior class. They all know each other and hang out all the time. They have inside jokes. They love having this class together. And I am not a part of that.

My class graduated a year ago. I got to have those classes with all of us together, where we laughed and talked and loved class. But at that time, I was a junior and they were seniors. Spending a year away from college is, I have come to discover, bittersweet.

So these are my Tuesday night blues. I'm bored and alone, and I can't wait for class to end.

That's not a picture of my dog or anything. I didn't even take it. It just looks sad, so I thought it was appropriate.

My first wedding

2009-03-23T08:39:00.005-04:00

Ok, it's not my first wedding. It's just the first wedding I've ever shot.

I was asked by a friend to help her take pictures of this wedding. I am very amateur and I am a terrible novice, so my ratio of good pictures to total pictures was pretty low. And just before the reception, my (slow) camera got itself all twisted up and started corrupting the pictures, so I had to turn it off and spend the evening waiting for Tanya to finish shooting the reception. I was so scared I had lost the pictures, but when I got them home, I happily discovered I had only lost four.

Here are some of the good ones.

About robots

2009-03-22T20:34:00.003-04:00

I have been tempted to think that there are no more inventions to be invented. Could there possibly be more, other than better spaceships? Maybe I'm just distracted by my ideas of the hundreds or even thousands of inventions that were being created back in the day. Now, it seems as though the inventions have slowed.

Well, now I realize the problem is that I just haven't been to Japan.

I'm amazed.

A train story

2009-03-19T11:06:00.004-04:00

For those of you who don't know, I live next to some very active train tracks, by which I mean there are trains coming and going at all hours of the day and night.

The road I take to go to school/work/anywhere parallels those tracks, and at the very end, it curves around and I have to cross those tracks to continue my journey. I can go around, but it takes a lot longer.

So this morning, I come out of my driveway and the front engine of the train is right next to me, barreling down the tracks in the direction that I also need to go.

I think I can beat it. I have about 3 miles between me and the crossing.

The train is going about 50 mph, so I go like 60 (in a 30) but lucky me! There are no slow cars in front of me to block the way! The road is clear and the train is in my dust.

About half a mile before that final crossing is a smaller crossing. I'm almost to that first one, and I am so excited that I am going to beat this train.

Uh oh. Just ahead are two cars going very slowly, and in front of them is a big tractor, holding up the line. I can't pass.

I'm not stressed at this point. I actually think it's kind of funny that the one day I can beat the train is the one day I get stuck behind the tractor at the last minute. I'm just about at that first crossing, and I think maybe I can ditch this tractor and make it across, but the bells start dinging and the beams start lowering.

Oh well. Nice try, anyway. But then again, now we're on the straight part of the road and I can pass the tractor!

I step on the gas. I'm almost at the crossing. The tractor is way behind, but the two or three drivers in front of me do not seem to understand the urgency of the situation. Every second feels like an hour.

Finally, I make it to the crossing. I'm clear. I bump over it. Just behind me the beams lower and the bells ring and the train honks.

Yeah.

Interesting...

2009-03-17T18:17:00.004-04:00

Normally I'm not a proponent of any kind of diet plans/pills/substances or anything related to those. Especially the ones that claim you can "Eat anything you want and still lose weight!!!"

And I'm also not a fan of the kinds of diets that try to deprive you of things like, say, grains or vegetables or something. Fresh nutrients are important, as is a balanced diet. Granted, I'm not the example of perfection on this issue, but that's what my ideals are, anyway.

So it was a surprise to me when I found an article on something called Sensa Tastants, and actually thought it sounded plausible. Basically, these are some sort of compounds (not sure yet what exactly) that you sprinkle on food and then you can eat anything you want and still lose weight!!!

No really, they work by stimulating your sense of taste and acting on the part of the brain that makes you feel full. So you can eat anything you want (though you should eat healthier things, of course), and your weight will improve because you'll naturally eat less. You'll eat less because you'll feel full faster because these little sprinkles made your brain think you were full. The scientist who developed them supposedly spent 25 years researching this.

My first thought was: really? And my second thought was: hmm, interesting. And my third thought was: well, I guess that makes sense, right?

I'm not touting this as a miracle diet. I'm sure it doesn't work on everyone all the time as well as they claim, but still, it's interesting to think about.

But it costs money, so I suppose the best alternative would just be to eat less of everything naturally without little sprinkles.

49 days

2009-03-15T11:46:00.004-04:00

Just 49 days until graduation (not counting today). I am having such a hard time concentrating or feeling motivated to do any kind of school work at all. It sucks because I have a lot to do, and I really need to do it well. I just don't want to do any of it. And as each day goes by, I feel less and less concerned about that. At first I was upset and confused to find myself so unmotivated. Now, I've come to terms with it, and I just don't care. I'll be honest, I'm usually a driven, motivated A student. This semester, I'm not doing A work, and I can't seem to get myself to want to.

I want to do anything else.

I baked bread last night. I should have taken pictures of it, but I forgot. Cinnamon raisin bread.

Andy and I are looking for a decent place to move into. We're too far away from my job and his school. Plus this house is really small. And I would really like a dishwasher. And two bedrooms would be nice, because having all this office and computer stuff right in the living room is a pain.

I picked up an apartment guide the other day and have been flipping through it. I told Andy to hide it from me because I keep looking at it, trying to pry apart the curtain of time just a little and peer into the future. I really, really want to know right now where we're going to move. I want to go apartment shopping today, this minute, and tour apartments and neighborhoods. I'm shaking with anticipation but I'm paralyzed by my current situation.

You see, the way it stands now, we can't afford any of the apartments in that apartment guide. However, if I get hired full time at the magazine after I graduate, my income will expand significantly, and we'll be able to afford a relatively nice apartment - maybe even one with a pool and tennis courts! But I can't know right now whether I'll get hired full time or part time, or even if I'll get hired at all. And it's too soon to ask. I need to wait a couple more weeks to talk to them about it.

So we can't know my income, which means we can't budget, which means we can't look for a suitable apartment to fit that budget, which means that I'm sitting here impatiently, desperately wanting to know the future.

This sucks. I should go do some homework.

Yeah, right.

Love in one season?

2009-03-04T19:06:00.007-05:00

I have never understood the popularity of The Bachelor.

That's not really the point of this blog, for those I may have just offended. I understand that people out there like The Bachelor. Obviously, people like it. After all, it's on its 13th season, and has an audience of about 10 million.

I have lots of reasons for not liking it but I won't go into them here.

I was just interested to see the status of all those couples brought together by this wildly popular TV show. Everyone wants to believe that love can happen like this, but the stats aren't too good. Only two out of twelve bachelor's have stayed with the woman they were engaged to at the end of the show. This thirteenth one remains to be seen. You can find this information on Us Magazine and on Wikipedia.

I don't know the stats of The Bachelorette but I imagine they're pretty much along the same lines.

Why does this show keep running when the concept is so obviously unsuccessful?

Maybe we want to believe anyway. Maybe we just like to watch attractive people be attracted to other attractive people, like a modern form of romance novel or something. Everyone loves a good love story.

Thing is, it's not a love story. It's a tragedy. These are relationships of real people on the line, emotions and feelings and real people. And they're failing.

But you won't see that on The Bachelor. They only go to the "Happily Ever After" ending, but no further.

Incidentally, that couple up there, that's one of the couples who broke up. Too bad.

I respect this guy for not choosing anyone.

Chewy Chocolate-chunk Cookies

2009-03-04T08:58:00.006-05:00

I found this recipe in Cook's Illustrated and decided I had to try it. So last night I slipped on my apron and busted out the flour, sugar, and cocoa. Here are some pictures of the finished product.

They turned out perfectly. They're just a little crispy on the outside, but soft and warm and chocolatey on the inside, with melted chocolate chunks in the center. Delicious.

Weekend getaway II: For Robbie

2009-03-01T22:07:00.006-05:00

We found a cool retro coke machine in the B&B (along with lots of other cool antiques). $.75 a bottle.

Weekend getaway

2009-03-01T21:58:00.008-05:00

Well, it was sort of a weekend getaway. I wanted to get far, far away, but that wasn't really possible, so I opted for the next best thing: a weekend in any location other than the house. That left downtown Chattanooga. I really wanted to stay in a B&B, but they are more expensive than your standard Super 8, so we only stayed there Saturday night.
Here are a few pictures from our room at the Stone Fort Inn downtown.

The bed was super-squishy and nice; Andy seems to be enjoying his nap.
We also had dinner at a very busy Genghis Grill, and an amazing breakfast the next morning of scones, quiche, french toast and fruit in the B&B cafe. I didn't get pictures of those.

Seedling

2009-02-24T16:36:00.004-05:00

My new plant!

It's either cilantro or basil. I can't remember.

My life, in poetry

2009-02-19T12:01:00.001-05:00

Piles,
piles and piles.
My house is full of them.
Dishes piled in the sink, caked
with food and dried rice, the cheap
sustenance of newlywed students on
a budget. Piles of clothes on the couch, on
the floor, in the laundry basket. The washer is
too small, so the clothes pile up. Piles of books on
the floor that never seem to get put away because they
will only be used the very next day. Seems like the work
just piles up, and the week piles up until the days slow down
on the weekend, when my body flops down onto the couch like
so much spaghetti, trying to muster the energy it takes to clean up
the piles, to put them away, only to watch them pile up again Monday.

I Still Miss You

2009-02-07T18:29:00.002-05:00