Veritablerika

Hiatus

2011-06-22T19:09:00.004-04:00

Check out www.WhereDemGirlsAt.wordpress.com to keep up with me, Lauren, and our crazy hijinks as we travel from the Atlantic to the Pacific and back again.

Obsessions

2011-03-09T20:23:00.004-05:00

Source

This woman had an irrational fear of getting on the highway. Not the type of fear most people have, where they want to avoid it because there might be traffic. She had a complete life inhibiting fear of getting onto the freeway- there was nothing free about it for her. The story was on an episode of Obsessions, which is one of those shows that's like a train wreck. You watch the entire episode thinking... how can she live like this? The answer, of course, is that she cant - which is why she's on the show in the first place.

I, by no means, have an obsessive compulsive disorder, or something that keeps me from living my life the way I want to live it. I don't have to check the alarm clock 50 times a night to make sure that it's set to the right time. What I do have, would widely be considered quirks. Strange little things that - to varying degrees- everyone has. I just have this sinking suspicion that mine are a weeeee bit quirkier than most peoples.

I'm in elementary school, I"m standing in my parents master bathroom and I don't remember why I went in there. What I do remember is that I'm about an inch away from the mirror and all the lights are on in the bathroom. I'm leaning over the sink and looking at myself wide eyed. I keep stretching my eyelids up as far as they will go and twisting my head back and forth trying to get a little circle of light - a reflection on my eye from the bulb above- to sit in the center of my pupil. What I wanted, needed, was for that little spot of light to go into the small black circle in the middle of my eye. I'm starting to get anxious, throwing my head way back while looking down at the mirror to see if that makes the light go where I want it; but it wont. No matter which way I turn my head, or which way I roll my eyes around the light refuses to go into my pupil. I start thinking, it's awfully black. it's very dark. It's like a little hole in my eye. Is it really a hole in my eye? I always thought it was a spot, but if no light will go there maybe it's because it's a hole. My thoughts are racing - what a tremendous discovery! I have a little hole in my eye! But how can I be sure? Well, if it's a hole, I should be able to stick something into it.

Like a pin.

Source

Something like a little pin. That's what I need.

I hunt around looking for one in my bathroom, but there just isn't one to be found.

I decide I'll just try to touch it with my finger and see if I can feel a little space, a gap where there isn't anything because there's really only a hole there. The problem is, my eye really doesn't want me to stick my finger on it. (Shocking, right?) But more than my eye doesn't want my finger in it, my brain NEEDS to know if that is a hole in my eye - So I force my finger onto my eye, not once, BUT TWICE. (Because, maybe I just didn't feel it right the first time and there really is a hole but it's just really small and my finger didn't feel it)

Finally, my eye stinging, but my brain finally satiated that the little dot in my eye is just that, a dot (not a hole) I leave the bathroom.

-end memory

That's weird right? I feel like most people don't have little kid memories like this. Am I totally wrong? Do you have crazy memories from when you were a child?

A little bit of pixie dust

2011-03-03T21:20:00.009-05:00

My best friend in the whole world had blonde hair and a scar on his chest that ran from his collar bone to his belly button. He lived two houses down from me and had parents that were always way more worried about him than I thought was necessary. The scar was from heart surgery that he had when he was a baby - maybe that's why his mom always seemed like she was hovering. Maybe it was because I seemed like a kid that would only get into trouble. He was 7, I was 8 and we both had vivid imaginations. We would parade around the basement making elaborate plans for puppet shows. He told me once that there was a prize for the cleanest street ( a thing that I still find myself believing when I see a particularly dirty street "man, this place will never win the cleanest street prize")we spent the afternoon sweeping the gutters and throwing away pile after pile of gravel.We made up wild games of fantasy; I have a vivid memory of playing Rapunzel in the back yard and pretending the long rope on the playground was golden hair and that the princess had to be protected from an awful troll who was keeping her captive. We even had an imaginary friend called Invisible Ghost. We spent afternoons trying to coax him out of cabinets where he was hiding because he was scared, or chasing him around because he was running away. Every-day-reality was so tightly interlaced with the imaginary that sometimes it got hard to tell where one started and the other stopped. Which is why looking back I"m not at all surprised that for years I was convinced I could fly.

I woke up with the sort of longing you might get when you dream about food. You know what I mean, like when you dream you're sucking down a huge milkshake and you wake up and that's the only thing that you want for breakfast. It was like that. I woke up and the sun was coming in the windows of my bedroom. I woke up with a start- like I knew that there was something awesome that I needed to get to doing. The smile on my face wouldn't stop because I knew as soon as I could get outside I was going flying - just like yesterday. Yesterday I was running up and down the yard and soaring into the air, and after all my practice yesterday today was going to be much better.

To really get a feel for this whole experience you need to have an idea of what yard behind my house looks like. My dad is a bit of a garden buff and had turned our long rectangular yard into three quarters plant bed. The edge of the L shaped flower bed is bordered by a stone wall, about a foot high at the far end. Prime running area started at the bottom of the L of the flower bed and was a thin stretch of grass that stretched up parallel to the stem part of the L.

This strip of grass was going to be the run way. The recipe for flight was absolutely clear in my mind. Start at the top section of grass.Run with every ounce of speed you could muster up; then, take a leap up onto the stone wall, turn around and launch yourself with a two foot jump as far and fast as possible into the air. If you were going fast enough, and if you pushed off the wall hard enough you would start to fly. So that's what I did. Over, and over, and over again. Run, jump, turn, leap. Repeat. Run, jump, turn, leap. Each time telling myself that I just didn't get quite fast enough; if I just pushed off the wall with a little more force I would definitely make it next time.The thing is, I never lost hope, or thought to myself "this is nuts, kids can't fly". The image was so clear in my mind. After all, I had just done it yesterday.

I spent the afternoon sprinting up and down that strip of grass and jumping into the air over and over. It wasn't until years later that I realized when I woke up that morning remembering flying in my back yard, that the memory wasn't from the day before, but the night before. Of course I had dreamt the whole thing - but at the time it didn't even seem like a possibility. It didn't even cross my mind. I though, oh, if the wind would just blow a little bit when I'm jumping that would probably help. Or, maybe I need to perfect my turning technique, I'm losing a lot of speed when I turn around the jump. Even though I'm an adult and I know I never actually soared around the trees in my back yard, I still have this crisp memory - it's so ingrained. Even though I know it never happened, I'm just as content to believe that it did. Right now I'm smiling because I can feel the air rushing past my face as I swoop in and out of the leaves, and the memory is as real and clear as if it was a memory of riding my bike. I must have revisited this memory a million times, but just recently I took away something more from it.

The wonderful thing about the whole memory obviously isn't that I started to fly around my back yard. The perfect part is that it never occurred to me that I couldn't.

Something that must be shared

2011-01-12T21:16:00.003-05:00

This amazing video somehow actually manages to capture the awe inspiring, breathtaking magnitude that is a redwood forest. If you've never been, and you live far away from the pacific ocean, this is the very best next thing.

Growing is Forever from Jesse Rosten on Vimeo.

It's officially on my list of things that help to bring me to a peaceful place.

a girl and her dog.

2010-10-20T11:43:00.000-04:00

This is how my dog sleeps. All the time.

except for when he sleep like this: with his legs straight up in the air.

and that's all I have to say about that.

Future scientist? Or maybe just a Harry Potter fan

2010-10-19T20:36:00.003-04:00

Student: what is that class in high school where you get to make potions?

me: ummmmmmm................ hmmmmm............chemistry?

Student: YES! I can't wait for chemistry!

A day in the life- 6th grade

2010-10-13T21:34:00.003-04:00

My job has its ups and downs just like anyones job, but friends, when my job is funny, it is really funny.

For instance:

Child I have never seen before in my life approaches me in the hallway and in all seriousness says:

"I hate this. Because I'm not wearing socks."

Then, completely walks away as if I just took a load off his shoulders. I have never seen him since.

A student in my class:

"she went and it was just really little..... but THEN she went again and it was waaaaaaaaay bigger" Said in the middle of the cafeteria in reference to her best friends first period

During a science movie about how atoms make up everything in the whole enitre world around us and how COOL it is:

"Ms. Redler. Don't you know this is boring?"

Random 5th grade girl walks up to my coworker, sits down next to her at a table and says:

"People think you can't survive a dog attack. But you can."

These are the first words my coworker has ever spoken to that student, though fortunately for us all, they are not the last because later in the week she blessed us with this little gem:

dog attack girl:"If you hug a unicorn does it turn into a fairy?"

To which the only appropriate response is:

Teacher: "I don't know, it's never happened to me before."

and finally:

Me: "Put your head down" (something we do every day before we start math, so that the class settles down for instructions)

Me: "Put your head down"(clearly some students aren't following directions- shocking. I know.)

Random student: "She doesn't mean THAT head"

Me: ..... jaw drops to the floor.... looks at the offending student who looks back at me very confused because I"m sure I'm staring him down with shock and he has no idea that I think he's just made a sexual reference.

Random student: looking extremely confused puts his head down

I still haven't figured that last one out.

I'll keep you updated; as more random 11 year oldness will surely be happening again soon.

a really big dog

2010-08-27T17:26:00.008-04:00

There were only a few days left before work officially started, so of course I was pitter pattering around the kitchen in nothing except my ladies intimates around dinner time. I'm all.. "hmmm, this left over stir fried rice looks really good"... when I have that unmistakable creepy feeling that someone is watching me. This feeling would have been completely irrational except for the fact that I'm just now noticing that my kitchen blinds are completely open.

So clearly, the creepy feeling is not as irrational as I had initially hoped; and sure enough there is a dude walking his really large dog right outside my window. You would think that the sight of a man with a really large dog outside my window would have sent some signal to my brain to MOVE. "Kindly get out of the plain view of the window" my modesty is trying to tell me, but it's having trouble being heard over my less reasonable panic mode which is saying much louder "That is a REALLY big dog" as if that information was pertinent to me standing in the second story window with no blinds.

All of this happened in what I would say was about... maaaaaaaaaaybe two tenths of a second? At which point I started smiling like an idiot and I RAN into my bedroom.....

... and grabbed my camera.

because that large dog?

It wasn't a dog at all.

But I was definitely being watched.

and by more than one!

So I got decent (please read as: threw on something that I would never actually go outside in if there weren't a herd of deer to be photographed)

and promptly startled them all.

(proof that it's not the camera that takes good pictures)

except I didn't; because in reality there weren't three deer outside my window... there were way more!

and with antlers!

Really big antlers

and can I just say, that deer don't look threatening usually, but when you're standing there in pajamas with crazy hair and there are about 10 of them all looking at you like you're completely nuts...

Well, at the very least, I felt judged.

And then they just left.

Maybe they were going to the farmers market, I dunno. There really wasn't any forest for them to meander off into. They kinda just disappeared into a sea of condos.

Welcome to the suburbs.

Grammy award winning: Scooting Matches

2010-07-09T11:43:00.002-04:00

If someone asked me how to best keep eight 12 year olds occupied for a week I would not have immediately chosen stop motion photography. Mostly because it requires that you stay in one place and take hundreds of photos. If you're ever met a 12 year, old patience isn't usually their strong suit... so I was reasonably surprised that after I introduced the concept to a summer camp I was running, that I couldn't get them to STOP making stop motion videos.

Since everyone was eerily silent and working well together I made my very own stop motion video too. Surprisingly it hasn't gone viral yet... any day now though, for sure. I mean, matches scooting around on a table with no background music is sure to appeal to a wide audience.

For your viewing pleasure:

SCOOTING MATCHES:

Hold your applause, really guys, you're making me blush.

Salon de apar tement

2010-07-06T13:46:00.010-04:00

What you're looking at is hair.

puppy hair, to be more specific.

All over my floor.

my bedroom floor more specifically.

The reason you are looking at hair is that I made a list of things to do this morning, and on that list was "haircut for Jackson". I was sort of dreading this whole haircut thing, thinking that I would be struggling with him in the bathroom. pinning him to the floor and trying to convince him that being able to see through his old man eye brows would be a positive thing. Evidence of his inability to see below:

So the haircut happened, and here is the after picture...

If you're thinking... awww, he looks cute! Then I thank you for your kindness

If you're thinking... he looks like his mom ambushed him on the bedroom floor while he was sleeping... then I want to know what you were doing looking in my bedroom window this afternoon.

Honestly I'm pretty proud of my amateur dog grooming. It felt really good to cross the haircut off the list. I was feeling very smug about saving $60 on a puppy cut, until I realised I had to put something new at the bottom of the TO DO list.....

ah well, you can't win them all.

Somebody has a case of the Mondays

2010-02-22T21:20:00.005-05:00

It was one of those days where you start out all.. Elton John's rose tinted glasses, and you end all.. will someone please put me out of my misery.

Mostly it was the fault of the copier. With a dash of office manager from hell thrown in.

I was really pushing the limits today, trying to get entire books copied for my whole class during my lunch break. It should have worked out. I was thinking, I'll just put my soup in the microwave and pop in make a copy and walk out (famous last words).

Of course because my entire lesson hinged on these books, the copier completely ran out of toner and refused to even make crappy low toner copies. So I dashed over to the office; where they keep the copier toner under lock and key like we would take off with it and sell it on e-bay;and I found the office manager who looked at me like I had asked her to stop writing the draft of the first declaration of independence in order to change a bed pan. "I'm in the middle of something" she said... as if whatever I was in the middle of was of no consequence at all. Taking no note of the fact that if what I needed didn't get done that there would be 24 students and 3 teachers twiddling their thumbs. BUT GOD FORBID she stop rewriting a memo.

ehem.

so.

The toner finally got replaced at the end of my lunch break. So my coworker graciously watched my students at recess while I ran back to make my copies. Then I found out that the copier was now out of paper; which wouldn't be a problem except they keep THAT under lock and key as if we would steal IT and sell it on e-bay.

So off I trudged to the office, once again, to talk to the office manager. Who now looked at me like I shat on her draft of the declaration of independence... and then she told me that I would have to wait. WELL GUESS WHAT!?!? I don't have time to wait because I"m in charge of oh... 25 students who will be coming in from recess in about 5 minutes and they will want to know what are we reading today Ms. Redler? And I will have to tell them, nothing, because I accidentally shat on the declaration on independence.

So the paper (begrudgingly) got put in the copier. Then a teacher commented on how she was in the copier room before me and "how did you jump in line if I was here first?" and I managed to not bite her head off and explain that I had to get the office manager to fix all manner of things and THAT is why I was in line first. I made my books while yet another teacher watched my class.

And I was feeling pretty okay. I had managed to get the best of the evil office manager, and got my copies done, and I didn't kill a first grade teacher and my lessons weren't completely blown, and the kids actually liked the book.

I went back to class.

And then my boss made a point of coming into my class and slapping me on the wrist for not posting my daily objective and I pretty much quit my job.

Anyone else have an unhappy crappy Monday? Or an office manager from hell?

Oh thank you, but I can't......

2010-02-16T09:50:00.000-05:00

You know those people who go to restaurants and order their meal special? I want the burger, NO TOMATO. Well, I"m one of those people, and I"m not ashamed to say it. I like it how I like it. Just like Sally Albreit

Sally Albright: But I'd like the pie heated and I don't want the ice cream on top, I want it on the side, and I'd like strawberry instead of vanilla if you have it, if not then no ice cream just whipped cream but only if it's real; if it's out of the can then nothing.
Waitress: Not even the pie?
Sally Albright: No, I want the pie, but then not heated.

(name that movie)

But there are those people who do seem a bit ashamed; or they just have had bad service in their lives. I only know because they want it how they want it, but they can't just say that. What they say is... " I'd like the BBQ sandwich, but I'm allergic to coleslaw so please make sure it comes out with NO coleslaw.

Now here's the thing....... nobody is allergic to coleslaw, at least not the whole thing. This is no secret. But you feel secure to order your meal behind the ruse that you're not picky, it's just that you have no choice... because you're allergic. And you know what, if that works for you, by all means, keep up the friendly facade. There are lots of things in life that I would like to choose to be allergic to, thus giving myself a medical reason to avoid them. A little Dr.'s note that says "Erica doesn't have to get anywhere nears this.... because she's allergic"

Things that I am allergic to this week (if I got to choose)

Meetings that are supposed to last 15 minutes but run an hour
People saying shut up - Yes I"m looking at you girl who thought what I said was unbelievable, and Dad, who said shut up at me at the dinner table for no discernible reason and then laughed.
Pictures of girls from presumably trendy angles that actually look up a girls skirt and thus the trendy angle is the last thing on your mind when looking at it.

Unfortunately I do in fact have the strangest of allergies. Very few of which pertain to food. So I am that girl at the meeting who says "Excuse me, can I unplug your air freshener, it's lovely, but it's making it hard for me to breath..... because I"m allergic"

Things I am actually allergic to this week:

Whatever scent the art teacher is wearing
Something on Alison's pants - presumably animal hair
Conditioner that I bought at the store thinking it was the SAME conditioner that I have been buying at the store, but isn't because this one makes me sneeze uncontrollably in the shower. Why would they call one Classic and one Original?

Anyone willing to fess up that they are the restaurant patron with an allergy to something like pickles? What would you be allergic to if you got to choose?

Not Censored

2010-02-09T10:34:00.000-05:00

source

I'm not the girl you invite to a tea party.

Some days I"m hardly the girl you invite to the bar.

It's not that I"m bad company, in fact someone once called me the life of the party. This may or may not have to do with my complete lack of inhibitions which is heightened with alcohol, but that is neither here nor there. The point is that I have an intermittently working filter between what I think and what actually comes out of my mouth. Which is to say, some days I don't have one at all. But, step one to recovering from word vomit is to realize you have word vomit. Step two takes waaaaaay longer. Lets review:

Me, filter free about 6 years ago:

Some poor unsuspecting girl: I hate these jeans, they make me look so fat

Me: Well, maybe if you weren't fat that wouldn't be a problem. (then I would walk off completely oblivious to what I just did/said)

(yikes - I know. Repeat word vomit pretty much every day, often times more than once a day.)

Me, gaining some semblance of what could be called a glimmer of hope for a filter:

Some poor unsuspecting girl (SPUG): Ugh, I really need to go to the gym

Me: ooooor you could try eating something besides 6 waffles for dinner.

everyone at the table: ::stares::

Me: What? Was that bad?

(Repeat word vomit several times a week, more when drunk)

Me, about a year and a half ago:

Me: I have no idea why anyone would ever drive an SUV, they use so much gas, and they don't drive well. I would never get one, what a waste.

SPUG: I drive an SUV

Me: No don't

SPUG: Yeah, I do, it's right there

Me: Oh my God I'm so sorry, I"m an idiot

(repeat word vomit at least once a week)

Me circa last night:

BFF: I'm going to the gym, I'm really trying to lose weight.

Drinking buddy: oh yeah? For the wedding?

Me: Yeah, she's going to be half the girl we know and love when she gets married

(Have a gross miscalculation as for what is considered an actual filter at least once a month, especially with best friends.... particularly when I feel that the comment is clearly not meant to harm)

But hey, it's a work in progress. Baby steps right? Right?

Lets just say that this type of personality defect doesn't come without it's down sides. It's part of who I am, but it's not the best part of who I am.

I told My friend he should read my blog, saying it would be just like when we hung out and I blabbered on and on and he could just nod. Hies response was:

I loved listening to you ramble but it would normally be ramble ramble inappropriate comment, ramble ramble inappropriate comment.

I had to assure him that it wouldn't be EXACTLY like that; because now, there is a filter. At least intermittently.

No Child left behind

2010-02-05T09:33:00.000-05:00

me: I have to tell you. I had fantastic blog fodder because a student spelled coach as cootch

but then -last second- he corrected it.

I was a little disappointed.

Domestic Empress: oh man

it's bad when you're hoping they make a mistake

me: well, yeah

And bonus points to those kids who make hilarious mistakes

Mild mannered me

2010-02-03T20:31:00.002-05:00

I secretly (probably not sooooo secretly) wish that I was a size zero girl with size zero boobs. And I know, that pretty much most everyone wants to be the size zero girl. With exception, perhaps to the girls who already are, and thus probably want something else. But I really want it. Being a rather small framed girl with a rather sizable set of ladies gets a little old. Mostly I think it has less to do with the actual physical aspect, and more to do with my mental picture of the perfect character/ parallel univers me. You know, the kind of girl you see on the street, know nothing about, but want to meet/ be? mhmmm. so...

My alter ego:

A very slight build city girl with a short bob haircut
witty without being offensive (something I strive for, but really stink at)
wears flats without looking frumpy ( I guess my Merrel clogs are out)
always looks fully accesorized, but has very few actual accessories.
is super laid back, could care less, and really doesn't even know how cool it is that she is super laid back and could care less.
listens to a supreme music set list, but nothing snotty
keeps a little notebook, just in case something comes up that's worth remembering

in conclusion:

somethings I love about my (non alter ego) self - because it's good to love who you are

I am a good story teller
I have a nice singing voice/ can whistle with the best of them - a talent that I"m not sure when or where I picked up.
I know my way around a camera, and can be proud of my work but am not letting it get to my head because I have sooo much to learn
I am willing to learn new things, enjoy them, and let them go. It's okay not to be the best at something.
I have started to find a wardrobe that I can look nice in and not look like I"m trying really hard - something that seemed impossible not too long ago.
I am becoming aware of how my words and actions affect others ( I have successfully moved out of the category where people at the party are slightly scared/offended/horrified by me and my brashness - at least I think I have)

So there you have it. If you see alter ego me on the street let me know, I'd love to meet her.

Do you have any alter ego attributes you sometimes dream about?

The one with the waggely tail.

2010-01-30T13:22:00.000-05:00

Dog owning has gained more and more of my day dreaming attention lately. My day dreaming self has become an evil villian trying to hijink my more sensible thoughts with ideas like "you know, snow days are wonderful, but wouldn't they be even better with a sweet puppy of your very own?" "Your bed is so cold you know what would make it warmer? A PUPPY!"

Even a passing conversation with the domestic empress about walking her dog in the weeeee hours of the morning, in the freezing cold; which you would think would DETRACT from the desire to have a dog.... made me want a dog. I was all "Well, then I would have someone to keep me company while I heat up my car in t

he morning! That sounds so nice!" mhmmm, it's bad.

In reality, I am about 5 months away from being able to get fluffy poodle mix of my very own (assuming that the breeders cooperate and actually have a litter around June). Because I wont be working in the summer time and that is the perfect time to get a puppy who needs attention every waking second. The timing with breeders is a problem because of my allergies and the fact that I can only get certain types of dogs that I already know I'm not allergic to. Aaaaaand the fact that the dog across the street has absolutely captivated my heart and I NEED ONE. plus he reminds me of the puppy I grew up with, only a little bigger which is exactly what I want. Unfortunately not very many people breed Whoodles ( a wheaten terrier and a poodle mix) so I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed.

I mean really, how can you say no to something this cute?

Well, in the mean time I'm cooking up a storm, trying to get myself in shape and attempting to get my sleep schedule in a place where I will not want to strangle a cute little fuzzy puppy when he decides he needs to pee at 5am in the morning.

Come June I might think that the doggy in the window is going to be a little too much trouble, but right it's all that's on my mind.

A look at the future in the history museum

2010-01-18T22:58:00.003-05:00

To celebrate my day off from school, I dumped out my purse of anything superfulous grabbed my girlfriend and headed off to the american history museum in the nations capital. I went because even though I frequent the mall I can't remember EVER going. The whole thing was rather unexceptional - the only thing I did remember was a giant pendulum which they took out in the renovation. I'll tell you what is still resonating with me though, something a 7 year old said.

Wandering through an entire section on american wars, at the very end is a small section dedicated to the war in Iraq. In the corner, at the beginning, is a picture of the twin towers being hit by the first plane, and next to that is steal beams from the 70th floor of the world trade center. The little boy walked up to the pictures and asked "What's that? It looks like someone is trying to break that building. It looks like a big hotel or something. How come it's on fire?"

Enter the next generation. Our kids wont know 9-11 like we do, they'll have no idea of the before and after of the whole thing. You can add it to the list of stuff they wont be able to comprehend, like life before the internet.

And they lived happily ever after.

2010-01-11T21:07:00.006-05:00

Once upon a time there was a lovely teacher. She was a beauty to behold, and all of her students loved her.

They loved her so much that they wrote similies about her.

They compared her beauty to that of a flower.

One particular student thought they would immortalize her stunning beauty in a portrait.

and he came up and read Ms. R his simlie, and she was flattered.

and he showed his illustration to Ms. R

and she nearly choked on her coffee.

and then he said "but I"m not a very good artist"

and she replied, "Max, it's awesome, I'm going to put it on my fridge at home."

and she did.

THE END

a-c-c-e-p-t-a-n-c-e : Acceptance

2009-12-16T22:10:00.005-05:00

Oh Hai!

I was totally having a down day today, and feeling like bitching, and then feeling crappy because I felt like bitching, and then feeling really down because even when I did bitch I didn't feel any better.

One of those days where something that shouldn't even bother you (okay, so maybe it should bother you but it shouldn't want to make you quit) makes you want to scream till you're blue in the face and ready to pass out and even then.... even after the screaming....and making a fool of yourself and stomping your foot.... things just aren't better? (funny how stomping your foot rarely fixes things)

Today has been a lesson in acceptance, and humility, and those lessons, well, sometimes they're big ones to swallow.

Everyone on my team got a Smartboard and I didn't, and there's a fairly decent reason (something about budgets, and my room not being a classroom next year- but an office instead)

When I list them out like that.... I feel a little like a twit. (alright, a lot like one)

I was having a really hard time just letting those things go. Just saying, "well Ms. R., those are the facts, make the best of it, think of it this way, now you have 4 smart boards instead of 1!" Instead I was getting all puffed up and big in the head like: "I DESERVED THOSE SMART BOARDS! THEY SHOULD GO TO ME! I"M THE BEST AT USING SMART BOARDS!"

Well, it might not be fair, and it might not be what I would have done, but guess what.... tomorrow the sun will rise, my kids will show up for class, and I get to choose if I want to be focusing on the cloud, or the sun coming through it. So It is what it is, and I am going to make the best of it that I can. Tomorrow I"m going to do my very best not to sulk (and if I do, just a little bit, it would be kind of you to pretend I'm not)

Have you had to let go and let God lately?

thus and such

2009-08-06T17:47:00.004-04:00

When I check out a library book it prints out a little receipt that says "Delinquint": I get a little kick out of this and feel like putting it as a post script in letters of interest for job applications.... ie- I'm excited about the opportunity to be a part of your school community, but you should know, the library has labeled me as a delinquint.

One of my campers tried to tell me about a show called Fresh Prince of Bel Aire today - have you heard of this new show?

I have crossed off almost all of my tasks on my larger than life to do list - it stands about 7 feet tall and three feet wide, which is appropriate. Mostly because sometiems I feel like my tasks are massive. It's exceedingly satisfying to take a big old marker and cross stuff off. I figure it's akin to that huge floor piano you get to walk on at fancy toy stores.

I've been cooking new stuff for dinner- it makes me feel official and in charge and like a total pro. "oh that? that's just salmon with lemon butter and fresh parsley with a side of fresh corn and a cucumber salad- I just threw it together"

I made a really spectacular friendship bracelet and not only did I get the satisfaction of working on it and feeling super accomplished, everyone who sees it comments on how pretty it is. It's the epitome of making something from nothing. love it

What's been putting a smile on your face lately?

feet sweets

2009-06-09T15:08:00.004-04:00

When I wake up I usually dread getting out of bed. I'm not a morning person, not in the least. But when I travel instead of opening my eyes and wishing I could roll over, pull the covers up and let my eyes rest for just a few minutes more I wake up with a new found invigoration. It's like that feeling when you were a kid and you realized that there was snow outside, or that you were going on a field trip.
Well, I had a little taste of that sweet wonderfulness this morning when I woke up and remembered that I had put henna on the night before. I had gone to bed and it was a nice orange color, and part of the surprise with henna is that you go to bed and it looks one way and you wake up and it looks totally different. So my alarm went off this morning, I was just about to roll over and beg the alarm for 5 more minutes when I recalled that I had henna on my feet. I threw those covers back, took a look at my fancy feet and had a brief moment of early morning bliss for my super sweet cinnamon brown colored awesomeness

What's been getting you out of bed lately?

In our hearts

2009-06-03T12:51:00.002-04:00

Sometimes saying goodbye means I'll see you later
and sometimes it means you'll be in my heart forever.
I love you so much Grandma.

Little pick me ups:

2009-06-01T14:33:00.003-04:00

Checking post secret twitters in the middle of the week to help keep the edge off of my new secret need.
mixing all sorts of teas, icing them, and taking them with me everywhere I go(latest favorite: berry blossom white and jasmine pearls)
bringing a book* in my AWESOME big girl purse and reading it in the sunshine (or coffee shop, or huge comfy chair, or in the shade of a tree) - *this, this, anything by this guy, orthis
Getting a 94% on a quiz that I totally forgot about and didn't even study for
Eating fresh corn on the cobb (*cough* 2 and half cobbs worth in one sitting *cough*) and feeling like summer has finally arrived
Wearing my fancy girly lacey bra that was altered to perfectly fit and lift my bosoms so that they don't hang out by my belly button

What's rockin' your world lately?

Fast easy delicious dinner

2009-05-27T14:32:00.002-04:00

I have felt lately that I have nothing of real interest going on in my life. Nothing that anyone would really care to read about... which is funny, because good lord, if you get me on the phone I will talk your little ear off about pretty much whatever enters my mind at that particular moment.

In reality I've pretty much just been spending the time that I COULD be writing in my blog watching rerunds of NCIS instead. Which is fine I guess... but like I said, not really anything worth blogging about.

So instead I'm going to give the recipe for my lettuce wraps so that you may enjoy them as much as I do.

Lettuce Wraps
(a free spirted cooks recipe - )

3 cans diced water chesnuts - if they're not diced you can dice them yourself
4 cloves of garlic
1 regular sized bundle of green onions
1 lb ground turkey
1/2 cup-ish soy sauce (I've never measured this. 1/2 cup is totally a gueses)
1/2 cup-ish teriaki sauce - I perfer one that is less sweet, more spicy (see above)
4 cups mung bean sprouts
1 head of iceberg lettuce

Put the turkey in a pan with a little olive oil and brown until the insides are still a tiiiiiiny bit pink

pull the turkey out and set aside in a serving bowl

Put all the chestnuts and the garlic (chopped) into the pan with enough soy sauce to make everything turn a nice brown color. (about 1/4 cup of soy sauce I'd say)

Get all that nice and hot and sizzling.

Chop the green onions. I just start at the end of the bundle and slice them thin. It makes a big pile of little green circles. add the green onions and put the cooked ground turkey back in the pan.

Add soy sauce and teriaki sauce to taste (it may or may not be 1/2 cup of teriaki, put some in and taste it then see if you need to add more)

chop up the bean sprouts a little bit and throw them in the pan.

Mix it all together until the sauce is covering everything, this should only take about a minute, you don't want to leave your bean sprouts in the pan or they'll lose their delicious crunchyness.

Pour the whole pan into the serving dish and add spoons for people to serve up the mix into the lettuce.

pull the core out of the bottom of the lettuce (like this), cut the head in half (top to bottom ways) and put both halves on the table.

ENJOY!

you could alos add finely diced fresh mushrooms - I recommend that you dince them fine and add them at about the same time as the green onions because if they're too big, or they stay in the pan too long then they get mushy and that's just undesireable in a curncy lettuce wrap

I've also thought about adding fried rice sticks, canned baby corn, or shaved carrot thingers, but I've never really gotten around to it since the original recipe is so darn good!

2009-04-29T21:44:00.002-04:00

Dear First Baptist Church,
I am not am member, nor do I intend to become a member but I am extremely thankful for your support. You guys know that the best way into a college students hearts is through their stomach and for the last 6 years of free hot dogs, hamburgers and finals week packages I am EXTREMELY thankful.

I was in serious project completion mode. Which most accurately means, freaking out and not making nearly as much progress as I would like to... but now... NOW I am actually getting work done. Lots of work done. Because I am so over school work. I would rather get it ALL done before Saturday and NOT have to worry about it all weekend then procrastinate for the next 3 days and then be angry when I'm trapped inside all weekend too.

So I turn in all my work on the 4th... which is exciting. Hopefully I'll know soon after that whether or not I got into the masters program. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Go now you are fogiven

2009-03-25T22:29:00.003-04:00

6:15 in the morning and we're flying down lawyers as if the speed limit doesn't apply - the love shack by the B-52s is the driving force behind our speed as well as Kate's enthusiasm at such an ungodly hour. None of us like the song much, but it happens to be one of Kate's favorites and since she drives the car and has the largest music selection she makes the mix tapes... so we all roll our eyes and sing along - besides, we all know that once we get past the essential B-52s there will be all sorts of wonderful music fabulousness.

And there is. of course there is. With Kate there is always a surprise (one might compare her to a broken faucet - you never know what is going to come out) and on this morning, as the track clicks over, I'm taken aback. What is this song? Why haven't I heard it before? How long has she been keeping this little gem from me? Hidden behind Madonna, ABBA and bad country juke box song is this perfect Erika song. You know them when you hear them because you don't have any trouble figuring out the lyrics the first time you hear them, they probably tell a story, and more likely than not they are slow. Slow is not something that usually happens on a Kate mix and as soon as this particular song finishes up I immediately say "AGAIN!"

It's against mix tap law to skip a song, but I have no idea what the rule is for repeating one. The mix gods must have been feeling gracious because just when I was thinking that Kates crinkled brow and dissaproving look meant "not a chance" she reached out and hit the button that brought the simple guitar riff of Dispatch's - The General, humming through the speakers.

Funny how a song can cement a memory in your mind, and every once in a while when that song comes around on shuffle the whole vivid mental clip comes flooding back. So if you're part of the orginal car pool, click, then kick back... I hope the song will bring a smile to your face, and maybe a memory to your mind - it always does to mine. And if you're not one of the few, the chosen, the Triad carpool - then give it a click any way, a jam like this never does any harm.

I for one am so glad it's all in the past.

2009-03-19T21:57:00.003-04:00

Do you remeber...

People prank AIMing? It was the new age wave for prank callers. So much more sneaky than trying to prank call someone because you didn't need to fake a voice and there was no call ID. A prank caller could call you up and make a fart noise and then hang up. The AIM prank was much much worse, more along the lines of the silent three way.Your anonymous AIMer could be ANYONE and they didn't have to risk the chance of your parents picking up the phone. Definitely less gutsy than the prank call, but the effects were more devastating. Anyone could get a screen name and AIM you pretending to be your crush and get you to say all sorts of embarrassing things.

Prank AIMers brought a whole new level of paranoia to internet conversations, particularly because whatever you said could be saved and printed out to show to anyone, not to mention you had NO idea who was sitting there next to the person you were talking to.

I was just thinking today how long it has been since any type of internet related drama has been in my life and for that I am so thankful. Anyone else who got AIM pranked and was jaded for quite some time?

Oh, today was a holiday? I musta missed the memo.

2009-03-17T22:34:00.004-04:00

Tonight I am putting on clothes that are only suitable for wearing in the house, cooking breakfast for dinner (omlette: extra onion, skinny on the cheese), watching Grey's Anatomy, crying (because I always do when I watch that show), taking a nice super hot bath and trying to pull shit together so that when people ask me "how's that teacher thing going? I don't have to say "pretty good" when I mean "it's kinda awful some days.. I've been thinking about taking up a different career, who would want to do this for the rest of their lives anyway?"

I am not: Drinking green beer, wearing green, getting any kind of drunk, grading papers, e-mailing my teacher like I told her I would, even touching that dirty plate that has been sitting in my bedroom.

that is all.

Things that have been rocking my world lately:

2009-03-02T16:49:00.004-05:00

Or..."sometimes it's about the little things"

Planet Earth puzzle pack. 8 puzzles, 2,900 pieces, hours of awesome.
home made lettuce wraps. If I get unbloglazy perhaps I will post the recipe here because it is certainly worth sharing. The secret is getting enough crunch in there, and then adding WAAAAAAAAAAY too much soy sauce.
weather cold enough to merit lots of layers - cold enough to create snow days!
$1.00 bulbs. Loving winter but also lusting after spring? go and get ya some grow for a buck. I got two bulbs and repotted them and now have two lovely desk plants for at school for 2.50 a pop! double bonus? Hyacinth and small daffodils are packed with scent so when t hey bloom you get a room deodorizer for free!
rediculously large, red, shiney stuffed dog from clearance at CVS. my lady knows how to treat me right.
rediculously hot showers. It's the time of year to crank that hot water heater up. We had our land lord turn the temp up on that baby and barely noticed a difference in the bill... but now we can practically make tea straight from the faucet. who can argue with something that awesome?

What's been rocking your world lately?

Cold Season

2009-02-22T16:16:00.000-05:00

Ways I ward off the nastyness this time of year.

Netti Pot - If you've never heard of it before educate yourself. it suits everyones idea of wellness because yogis and scientists alike sing its praises
Echenacia: I heart me some echenacia tea. It tastes fabulous and it's herbaly-goodness helps cut the life of your cold in half.
Gargling with salt water: same basic principal as the netti pot, the salt helps clear out gunk and heal sore spots
Zinc: go get you some zicam. it's my preferred method of getting zinc, but you can also get cough drops
vitamin C drops: taste like candy AND ward off colds? yes please.

Hydrogen Peroxide in your ears - I've read other peoples comments about using this. A couple drops, a couple times a day. It could be a load of crap. Certainly. But who couldn't benefit from having clean ears? I'm pretty sure that clean ears and feeling a little silly are the only two "down sides" to doing this. Give it a try, let me know.

Quotes and Captures 8

2009-02-18T09:02:00.000-05:00

Happiness is like a cat, If you try to coax it or call it, it will avoid you; it will never come. But if you pay not attention to it and go about your business, you'll find it rubbing against your legs and jumping into your lap.
William Bennett

Happy Belated Valentines day blog readers!

2009-02-15T20:12:00.003-05:00

I will hopefully get better at doing moderately frequent blog posts because
a) I have to write my feelings about my days every day for class
b) it's a great place to let off some steam
c) I'm always looking for peoples thoughts on how to teach because, hey, I'm totally new at this and every single one of you have been in elementary school and probably remember something cool that a teacher of yours did.

Moving right along...

Hormones are on the rise in rm 29 and all the fifth grade teachers are begrudingly admitting that this years hormone induced spring fever has come much earlier than usual. The usual doe eyes and giggles are slowly but surely stepping up into relationship status (which to the untrained eye looks exactly like the doe eyed and giggley stage, but upon closer inspection it is clear that there is a liberal dose of DRAMA that comes with the relationship status).

The early onset of boyfriends and girlfriends did nothing but heighten the excitement about Valentines day.

Valentines day is generally full of candy and emotions... and boy did we have plenty in Rm 29 on Friday. I mean... the end of the week is usually enough to put a bit of a strain on the daily classroom activities, but holidays bring an extra special dose of crazy.
and because hormones aren't enough to turn my kids/classroom upside down we added candy and sugar highs to the mix to stir things up a little.

By the days end we had...

22 valentines per person
1 food fight
1 new piece of gossip about who liked whom
1 boy who cried twice
3 girls that felt guilty
an innumerable amount of candy consumed
and 2 teachers pleased that Valentines Day had come to an end

I don't think there was five minutes peace all day really. It was nice to see the week come to and an end, especially knowing that there was NO class on Monday! yay presidents day! On Tuesday we're going to the symphony, wish me luck.

True Tales from Rm 29

2009-02-09T20:21:00.005-05:00

Pictured: Not I and Robin of Room 29

Ms. S: "Can I just say that I think it's hillarious that you're teaching your first lesson on a full moon? I mean, it's not funny, but it really is"

You know that feeling of relief, like when you almost fall but catch yourself at the last second? you know what I'm talking about... like when you run up the stairs with the lasts few things you need to put away before company arrives. You're adrenaline is already going a bit because you're having a party, and people are coming. You're running up the stairs and you misjudge a step... not a lot... just enough that you slip. And for an instant you're completely out of control, there's no doubt about it....you are definitely headed face first into those stairs, but somehow, without any direct cognition on your part, one of your feet finds bearing. Just as quickly as you were falling you are fine. The only sign left that it even happened is your racing heart and the disbelief/relief that you are not, in fact strewn across the stairs. That is what it was like to teach my first lesson. Like running up the stairs and everything seems like it's in order, then almost falling and being relived. Relieved in a way that makes you grin like an idiot and leaves you with a bit of a rush.

Quotes and Captures 7

2009-01-25T22:28:00.002-05:00

You can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friends nose - My grandfather, Robert Gray

Themed No-nos

2009-01-21T15:08:00.011-05:00

Student teaching is just around the corner. I finally got my class assignment (5th grade) and my school and teacher assignment and I'm due to start the first week in February! As student teaching time gets closer people are getting more and more excited and I have seen my fellow student teachers appear with teacher themed items. Because my peers are in the 20's crowd the teacher accessories have stayed just that; they can be found carrying mugs or totes (not horrendous)

Unfortunately there are many teacher items out there that are less than flattering... I would liken them to themed items from equestrian fanatics, or over the top cat lovers. You know what I mean... sweat shirts with horses on them. applique sweaters with kitty cat faces. They're great for the over 60 or under 10 crowd, but somehow teachers have found themselves in a strange place where it's considered okay to wear these things. and in public no less.

Since I'm about to be a lisenced teacher I would just like to let it be known that although I am proud of being a teacher, I have enough pride not to wear it plastered across my chest.

Let us play a quick game of good gift- Bad gift:

Good Gift- get your teachera mug
Bad Gift- get her the ugliest mug you can find
This is a mug that I have actually seen someone in my class carrying about. As THEMED items go I guess it's not bad. As mugs go it's pretty awful, but as teacher themed items go I suppose a mug is a pretty good choice. Who doesn't have a few ugly mugs in their kitchen?

But if you wanted to get your teacher a mug she might love why not get her something that she would enjoy looking at every morning? This lovely little hand made mug from Etsy is truely lovely. Something anyone would be glad to have on their desk. source

Good Gift- a necklace
Bad Gift-A Necklace with mini school supplies on it

Every teacher loves getting free school supplies, but they're generally more appreciated when they're not in miniature version to hang around your neck. These are a sampling of teacher themed crafts gone awry. They are actually large wooden beads with pencils and chalf boards on them. For those really commited to teacher wear, they all come with little teacher themed earrings as well. Nothing says teacher more than wooden buses on your ears.

Now I know some of you are thinking, the mug is cute Erika but I really had my heart set on something teacher themed for my new teacher friend. Thus I bring you a tastefully done apple necklace! Teacher themed jewlery that you can actually wear out of the classroom! This lovely little gem was found over at Room 6, an internet store that even seems to have a teacher themed name!

So by now I'm pretty sure you get the idea. Teachers are people too. Real people with lives that live outside of their classrooms. People that would be pleased to recieve a nice normal non apple themed gift. Just in case you are still a little shakey on the no-nos I've put a few other examples below to clarify.
NO. This is not cute.

absolutely not. I don't care if it has a water bottle holder and looks practical.

It's not too late to get this beauty on e-bay for an ugly sweater party. But if you were thinking about getting it for a teacher-friend please spare yourself, and them, the embarrassment.

oh technology

2009-01-15T01:44:00.002-05:00

So the plan was to post up some of my SOOC pictures today, but because things rarely go as planned...
I have no program that decently downloads my RAW files so they are all grey and gross looking. So instead here is an edited picture I took of Jack this morning. There are more and they should look fabulous. At least they look that way on the camera... and if I can ever get them off of it (still looking good) then you will see the fabulousness too.

I've been doing other blogs behind your back

2009-01-12T23:21:00.005-05:00

So lately Veritablerika has gotten laid a little bit to the wayside because I've been helping my Pops work on a blog for his fishing group. The site is officially up and running and the news for the Coastal Conservation Association of Northern Virginia can be shared every month!

Go and take a look, i'm pretty proud of how it turned out :)

www.novacca.blogspot.com

____________________________________________________________________

In other news Jack is officially on his way to being successfully potty trained. He had what I will consider a successful first day even if he did accidentally pee his pants right onto the sidewalk outside. The point is not that we left a puddle in public, the point is that he willingly put on underware!
_____________________________________________________________________

I've been working on my photoshop skills since I recently aquired the program for a reasonable price. Here are a few successful edits.

The Empress and her brother whose nickname I cannot remember right now during a photoshoot at a local elementary school

Queen Rogue, author of Nothing a Little Wine and Cheese Wont Fix with her mom from a photoshoot I did of their family right after Christmas.

And of course Mr. Jack, in the tub because it was just too cold outside to go for a walk and we had to do something. Tubs are always fun right?

These are (as usual) teasers for a more lengthy post later. _____________________________________________________________________

In the world of weddings there are always dresses that are simply variations on a theme. The sleeveless, small train, tasteful beading one is particularly popular right now; so I was thrilled when I went over to Sloan photographers and found something completely different. If I thought I could pull it off for a second I would rock Da Dress .
_____________________________________________________________________

In the world of Photoshop there are just too many pictures that are seriously fooled around with. (she says right after she gave you examples of her photoshopped work) So my new goal is to bring you some Straight Out of Camera (SOOC) photographs in the near future. Truely this little idea came to me when it came to my attention that some of my RAW photographs just don't measure up to my strict standards. I would rather do very few edits on great pictures and keep them real looking then a lot of edits on so-so pictures to make them look artsy. So stay tuned for that friends.

_____________________________________________________________________
and finally I went to Teavanna this week and was absolutely stunned to silence. If you dig tea you should go too.

A plauge on Picasa*

2008-12-24T20:01:00.005-05:00

It's probably in bad form to not post for about a month and then go back in with a post that bitches about stuff.... but i was never really an 4.0 gpa charm school kinda girl.

So tell me....

tell me why in gods name, WHY when I edit a picture in Photoshop it looks fabulous and then when I open it in Picasa it looks all washed out and not so fabulous.

Below I have put the exact same picture, edited the exact same way next to... itself. On the left is the screen shot from photoshop, on the right is the screen shot of the same picture, opened from the same file, saved in the exact same place, so it should be the EXACT SAME THING, as it is viewed in Picasa or online in my Picasa web albumns.

I don't get it. not one bit. And if someone would be so kind as to explain it to me I would be grateful. I can only assume that it's because photoshop allows a better color range to be viewed than Picasa? but why then when I do the screen shot from photoshop and view THAT in Picasa does it still look stellar?

oh bother.

*not really Picasa, I love you, don't be mad.

Quotes and Captures 6

2008-12-11T02:35:00.001-05:00

Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough. -Oprah

Finals week what?

2008-12-09T22:31:00.003-05:00

You know that it's finals week when you go into the campus convenience store and they are fully stocked up on deodorant, toothpaste and shampoo but their snack section has been pwned so bad that there is only some Starbursts and gum left.

It's illegal people

2008-12-04T19:18:00.003-05:00

The air is heavy with discomfort, nobody sitting in the benches wants to be here today, least of all the guy who just came in. As the door opened everyone’s attention was drawn to the man wearing the blue jump suit with shackles around his legs and arms. All of these people sitting in the benches, separated from the man in blue, forget for a moment what they are worried about and they are thankful. Thankful they got to pick out their own outfit this morning, thankful they aren’t the ones being escorted through the doors of the court room by two large police officers.
Everyone has their own interpretation of appropriate court attire; none of them have chosen the blue jumpsuit. One man wears an old fashioned khaki suit and brown leather dress shoes, two teenage boys wear cargo pants two sizes too big and polo shirts whose sleeves come down over their elbows, and there is a lady one row over from me who is wearing acid wash jeans, sneakers and an old faded t-shirt. These are the outfits of people how have been brought together by chance. Lined up on the benches some people are white knuckled wringing their hands, others are simply bored, and without their cell phones to occupy them they have taken to just staring off into space. I sit with sweaty palms despite the air being dumped into the court room from industrial vents. The judge started as I can only assume he does every day, saying words, scary intimidating words like plea, guilty, counsel, Federal, state, misdemeanor, felony. Words that didn’t faze him at all but that made me flinch.
I’m the one sitting in the first seat in the first row completely still. I am frozen not only because this room is kept absurdly cold, but because I am straining to hear every word of what is being said. My attention is rapt, trying to memorize every step in the conversational dance happening in front of me. I need to know every step so that I’m not taken by surprise when it’s my turn. People who are caught by surprise say the wrong thing and it’s important not to step on feet during this conversation. People who step on feet are punished and I’m worried since the last guy was sent to jail. An irrational part of me is scared of being issued a blue jumpsuit, even if it’s unlikely since the last guy arrived from jail in the first place and I arrived from my apartment. Regardless of the probability of my incarceration I’m nervous.
I’m not even sure how I should begin. After taking mental notes on several conversations I decide I should call him judge. “Your honor” seems too personal and I’m still shaky on the use of “the court” as in “if it pleases the court”. At least the judge-his honor-the courts, face is kind, though it makes the stream of legal jargon coming from his mouth seem harsh in contrast.
Looking around at the crowd I wonder if anyone has the same feelings as I do. “WHAT IS GOING ON” my brain is screaming, will I plead guilty or not guilty or contest? Do I need an attorney secured for me from the court? NO BODY TOLD ME I NEEDED AN ATTORNEY and more importantly why were all these women without their purses?
I have come with my usual onslaught of bags. My large “class purse” and my small clutch, (I’d left my lunch bag in the car) I had thought I was carrying “the essentials”. Yet, as I look around, not a single purse can be seen. Where did the ladies put them? I wondered. What am I supposed to do with mine? Everyone else had a little folder. Why did everyone else know to bring a neat little folder? I certainly didn’t have a folder. I was lawyer-less and folder-less and scared.
FIVE MINUTE RECESS. The judge announced. He had already sent two people back to jail, and two brothers accused of felony attacks on police officers were escorted out the side door.
Oh that side door, who even knew what was behind there. It certainly didn’t look welcoming, not at all. People who talked to the judge were escorted to “the bench” and the door would buzz and click echoing a sound that seems out of place in the refined mahogany court room. The door buzzes and the security officer escorts people out, and all you can see is a stark white hallway with fluorescent lights. Flashes of science fiction movies flickered into my brain, what were they doing back there? Where did those doors lead?
Then suddenly, when the five minute recess is almost over… I have to pee. I have to pee!?! Right now? The five minutes recess is probably almost over, not that I would know, since they made me check all of my electronic items at the door. I was lawyer-less and folder-less and clock-less and scared. I certainly couldn’t pee now, what if I missed the judge calling my name? Would he move silently on, not knowing I had been patiently waiting all morning for him to call my turn? When I came back, my bladder would be relieved but my brain would be under intense pressure. I would be worried about being charged with not showing up to my court date. I’ll just have to stay put. Everyone said this would be easy, just go in there all dressed up and they’ll dismiss the ticket. Nobody helped prepare me for all of this; nobody prepared me for having to pee, or worrying about dismissal to the brightly lit locked fluorescent hallway. In the midst of all my worry the judge had returned.

“Officer Adams?” The judge ran out, in a deeply official tone…the officer who issued me the ticket
The judge said it like a question, making sure that officer Adams was actually here. I held my breath for a second. I didn’t know much about court but I did know that if the officer didn’t appear you were completely off the hook. Officer Adams stood up. Damn.
“Abigail Brent? Adam Brash? John Camry?” The Judge was calling the names of people who had been issued tickets. He went through several names without anyone standing up. I wondered what had happened to them; maybe they were smart and prepaid their tickets.
“Aaron Carson? David Fairmen?”
Finally A man in the back stood up, but another man closer to the front also stood up and both walked to the front.
“Good afternoon Mr. Fairmen, is this man a witness?”
“No, uhhhh, actually, I’m Aaron Carson.”
“Son, you need to stand up quickly to be recognized.” He sighed, shaking his head. “Take a seat Mr. Fairmen we’ll be with you in a moment”
Right now, I am so glad I chose the seat in the front.
The judge passes through several more names
“Ericka Readler?”
Ericka Readler, that’s me! I jump up and leave my purses sitting on the bench, which seemed the most logical thing. Who in the world would steal a purse in a court room?
“Good morning Judge, Good morning Officer Adams” I was surprised by how calm I sounded.
“Ms. Readler, you have been charged with going 80 in a 65, is that correct?”
“Yes Sir”
Then the judge smiled, which made me smile… what was going on? He turned away from me and addressed Officer Adams.
“Was she respectful at the time you pulled her over?”
“Yes Judge she was very respectful and apologetic”
“Does she have any prior tickets?”
“I’m not sure, I never pulled her record”
Then the judge turned and addressed me, what was going on? This wasn’t what happened with everyone else.
“Do you have any other tickets?”
I told him about the other ticket I had received about 8 months ago. He nodded and Stamped some paperwork with red ink, signed it. “I’m going to drop the fine and issue you driving improvement school.” He paused.
Oh, it’s my turn to talk again… what do I need to say? “Sir, I’d like to present you with my certificate of completion for driving school.”
He smiled “Oh, so you’ve already done that huh?” He turned to the clerk; "give me that back." he chuckled. He scratched through some things and said “your ticket is dismissed.”
As for the scary fluorescent lit hallway behind the locked door? Turns out the only thing behind it is Beverly, an incredibly pleasant plump woman who took my check for court fees with a smile and wished me well. And although the judge was kind, and Beverly was just as nice as can be; here’s hoping there is no future visit to traffic court.

I've been doing a lot of writing lately, most of it for class, most of it not worth sharing, but this little piece I was proud of :)

Hope you enjoyed it. Finals begin on Monday and then I'll be homework less! (and hopefully more writing will ensue)

Holla back. Boo!

2008-11-19T15:05:00.002-05:00

So I've been having the strangest dreams lately and I attribute it directly to the fact that I've been waking up to Tommy and Rumble. Mostly because my strange dreams feature around bizarre conversations that I would never have. I stumbled across their amazing morning show by accident and never looked back. Most of my small talk is derived directly from their morning banter; between stupid news, and the regular chit-chat there is always something worth bringing up later. This morning they featured clips from the Martha Stewart show. I know.. woooo Martha Stewart, right? So here's the thing, her guest was Snoop Dogg. It is absoultely hillarious. I pulled two clips from youtube but you should definately go check it out yourself because there is much more hillarity to be had.

My favorite part? Martha reading an e-mail sent by Snoop. His closing is Holla back boo. and she reads it as... "Holla back. Boo!"

Either that or the bit about the potato. but enough talk, check it out for yourself. It's amazing. Fo rizzle.

Quotes and Captures 5

2008-11-18T01:18:00.000-05:00

In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.
Kahlil Gibran

Quotes and Captures 4

2008-11-12T13:00:00.002-05:00

"All we want to achieve in our lives is to be who we are. True freedom is the freedom to be true to ourselves. - Rabbi David Aaron

No, it's definately a carb

2008-11-12T00:14:00.003-05:00

My friend Sarah just introduced me to the most fabulous blog. It's pure genius, nothing better than this blog could come from public transit.

So basically the blog is completely dedicated to putting overheard snippits of conversation from the DC area onto the internet where we can all get a laugh out of them. What a fabulous idea. Pleas go and check it out. I'm sure it will be fabulous even if you've never had the pleasure of visiting the district.

Example:

Cupcakes are delicious. And that is all.

Girl 1: Are cupcakes carbs?
Girl 2: I don't know. They have flour, and flour's a carb right?
Girl 1: I don't know. It has butter. Is butter a carb?
Girl 3: I thought only bread was a carb.
Girl 2: No. So are things like pasta and rice.
Girl 3: Rice is a carb? I thought rice was a vegetable.
Girl 1: Are you serious?
Girl 3: I've never really thought about it, but if you asked, I would say a vegetable.
Girl 2: No it's definitely a carb.

BWHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHHA. Oh god.

dont waste another minute

Chivalry rode in on a lawn mower

2008-11-11T23:42:00.006-05:00

From a fantastic impromptu photo shoot this afternoon on the great lawn.
I just met Emily this afternoon and she never blinked once when I started firing away. I wish I had half of her lovely cheek bones and perfect smile, she's a total natural in front of the camera and a dream to work with. I plan on posting these on WhatevertheWeather as well so if you really are just dying to see them all full sized, you can check 'em out over there.

The whole thing could not have been made possible without the support of the CNU grounds crew. In an unpresidented token of awsomeness, the guy who was mowing the lawn and sucking up all the leaves stopped, simply because I asked him to nicely. He mowed all over the place except where I wanted to take pictures. Then when his supervisor came by, he explained the situation ; I thought all the fun was about to come to an end. We were on borrowed time, trying to take pictures of leaves while the ground crew was hurridly mowing them up... BUT THEN... the two guys rode up to us on their mowers and asked us if we would like for them to use their leaf blowers to make the leaves into a big pile. A BIG PILE PEOPLE! We, of course, acted like the girls we are and jumped up and down with glee. "Enjoy, because they wont be here tomorrow, we have to pick 'em up", said the grounds crew guy, who looked a bit taken aback (All this girly appreciation might soften his gruff exterior facade if he's not careful) . It probably only took them 3 minutes to blow the leaves into a pile but it made my day, and it certainly made for some awsome shots.

Seeing the world one jigg at a time

2008-11-11T13:36:00.005-05:00

Sometimes I think I live my life in a social hole. One would think that with all the time that I spend on the internet I would not get by without hearing about things like twitter, or genius (which evidentally has been known about for a while now) or just about anything on youtube. AND YET....

I had never heard of Wherethehellismatt.com

so evidently (for those of you who have also been under an interweb rock) this man quit his job to go all over the world and video tape himself doing this crazy little dance. Seriously. And somehow, he got sponsorship for this crazy/awsome idea and so he did it on someone elses dime. Friggin sweet. This video makes me smile for reasons I cannot really explain. Maybe it's because his little dance is like an international smile, or that he got to go to all of these places and he's truely happy. who knows. I hope you enjoy the video as much as I already do.

and in case you were wondering, this is Matts THIRD trip around the world. here is a little video clip that covers how he got all those people to dance with him.

Einsteins got nothing on this guy

2008-11-10T12:56:00.003-05:00

If you're anything like me you always ignore those little pop-ups from your computer. You know the ones... "Mcafee: Your computer is not fully protected" or "Adobe has a new update". I don't even glance at them anymore, as soon as they pop up I send them back where they came from.

I would have continued on my merry way, not updating, except my ipod got a little glitch, and usually the way to fix said glitches is by updating the software. So I plugged the little lady in (she's titled Erika's Happy Box) and proceeded to the update, and since I was already there and I had to reboot anyway I updated my iTunes as well.

Friends, if you have not updated your iTunes yet, DO SO. The new iTunes has this nifty little thing called genius-and really... it is. This thing looks at your library and thinks about it, and then when you pick a song and click the genius symbol IT MAKES YOU A PLAYLIST. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!? How flipping fabulous is that? All those songs that you've been overlooking, all those little diddies you would never have thought to put together? All those sad lonely songs just waiting to be put in a play list? Don't worry, Genius has you covered.

Now, I do have one qualm with the whole thing. Hopefully people will not see fit to let genius make their mix CD gifts for them. That is not okay. The whole point of a mix CD is to put a little love into it. Genius is smart, but it isn't a stand in for a mix CD.

So go forth and revel in the awewsomeness that is a new playlist from the music you already love.

I wish this were a post about mountains with pictures in it

2008-11-09T19:15:00.002-05:00

So I have all of these wonderful photos from when me and the little one visited the mountains, but they're stuck on my camera until I can find the cable to get them onto my computer. Which is lame.

In other news, I made some bang-alangin chicken last night. the recipe you ask? It's so simple!

2 chicken breasts
a 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
2 sprigs of rosemary
4 cloves of fresh garlic

Throw the garlic in a frying pan with some olive oil, then put the chicken in and put the rosemary on top. Pour the balsamic vinegar over everything and cook for about 20 minutes on medium heat. viola! It's fabulous, easy, and fast. Can't beat that.

b-a-ooo-tiful

2008-11-09T01:06:00.001-05:00

It kinda makes me want to get my friends in harnesses and get a little photoshoot going on. (That is not as kinky as it sounds I swear)

Keeping in mind that I already have strict orders that my bridesmaids wont go spelunking, not even for my wedding

Quotes and Captures 3

2008-11-05T11:06:00.002-05:00

Each friend represents a world in us; a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only in meeting them that a new world is born."-Anais Nin

Bob likes hookers! - a lesson in grammar

2008-11-04T18:19:00.000-05:00

In English 570 we are covering grammar, because "we have to cover grammar in case you didn't get it anywhere else"- Dr. Mulligan

The lesson has reduced us to covering very basic principals such as compound sentences. "write two simple main clauses. Make your two simple main clauses into a compound sentence". admittedly this is pretty dry subject matter, but I feel like it doesn't have to be. It was made worse by the fact that nobody wanted to have any fun with it. It went like this...

Dr. M: Michelle, can you share your compound sentence?
S: Jane caught the ball, but then she dropped it.
Dr. M: good, right, so Jane caught the ball is connected to the other main clause with the conjunction but.

I of course was giggling to myself in the back of the room because this is where my brain was:
Jane shouldn't have passed the class, but she gave the professor a blow job - CONJUNCTION

Write a sentence that has a comma after a beginning element and before one main clause:
classmate: Although she had ice cream, Susan still wanted a cookie. (one of the better answers)
me: Although she wasn't supposed to, Jane smoked the doobie and got high.

Write two simple main clauses with no capitals or punctuation:
Classmate: bob likes apples sue reads books
Me: jane got high bob likes hookers

Turn one clause into a declarative sentence:
Jane got high.

an interrogative sentence
Did Jane get high?

an exclamatory sentence
Bob likes hookers!

An imperative sentence
Go get high.

and on and on and on. See kids, grammar can be fun! Too bad my classmates don't feel the same way. I have, in the past, tried to include more humorous subject matter into these type of lessons but it usually results in everyone scooting a little farther away and whispering to each other while glancing at me over their shoulder. It is times like this that I would kill to be in a program like engineering where my classes would be all guys instead of being populated entirely by stuffy female teachers.

get your mind out of the gutter

2008-11-03T10:00:00.000-05:00

8 characters or less

2008-11-01T14:00:00.000-04:00

You know all those creepy, lame, hillarious, liscense plates you see while you sitting in traffic, going to the grocery store, trying to get that last spot in the parking lot?

Here in Bad Newz VA there are tons, tons of them. So much so that I considered making my own blog just to share the rediculousness, but as it so often goes here on the interweb, someone has beaten me to the punch. Let me first show you the list of plates I found in ONE TRIP less than a mile away from the house to Costco.

'ehem....

PAT IT
ADORA
BORYQWA ( I really hope this is the drivers name)
C BLUE
5PERRYS
KUMAR 1
P1CK
2 FNGRS
MMPRSS
JMPOPE

(and these are only the ones that made sense to me there are 11 others that seemed bland)

And now you know the reason behind my momentary insanity of thinking I could do yet another blog. BUT, now I know where I can get the insanity out in small bursts of 8 characters or less

whoopsie

2008-10-30T10:30:00.000-04:00

Black what?

bwahahahahhahahah. oh geez.

Home is...

2008-10-28T23:19:00.004-04:00

I love autumn. I love it so much that I still pick up colorful leaves when they fall and admire them, Sometimes I put them in my pocket and pull them out when I'm stressed out later that day.

Lately two of my friends have bought houses, which got me thinking about house hunting and I think that finding a place to live is going to take me a lot of time. For instance I am going to have to buy a house that has more than one tree which turns firey reds and oranges around october, because it's important to me.

I'm vary particular. Partially attributed to the fact that I've lived in the same house for as long as I can remember, and all the other places I have lived had their own temporary charm, some attributed to the structure, and some to the roomies, or both.

There was Barclay - where me and 3 other girls were packed in like sardines. Horomonal, sexed up, drunk sardines with attitude. half of our kitchen counter space was our hot water heater, the pipes burst in the wall and flooded our kitchen and you could hear the people upstairs having loud sex all the time. But it was still home people, the type of home you still look back at fondly. Because it was also where we had our first home made fondue, where we gained our love of Ani D's both hands, where my very first ever nude photoshoot with mulitple girls happened. It's where I learned to rock what ya got, and clip those who stood in your way.

There was the village- where me and the same 3 girls had TONS of room. lots and lots of room. There were 4 bathrooms, all of them accessed via someones bedroom. There was ONE drawer in the kitchen. One teeny-tiny little drawer. The smoke alarm was wired through the whole building and it was a buildling full of college kids, so honest to blog, that alarm went off twice a week. On a good week. And this particular fire alarm? It could probably make you infertile, and lose braincells. Mostely living conditions were great here, so we created our own drama. But I loved it there. It's where I had my frist 5 person shower, where I lost myself and clawed my way back till I found myself again, it's where I learned the importance of chicks before dicks, it's where I learned to be alone and not lonely, and it's where my friendships grew stronger (even though at the time it felt like the opposite)

The Harbors or The base or the bachelor pad - Where I lived after graduation. When everyone else seemed to be moving on. Going to NYC, or to ODU, or getting married, or having a baby, or getting a job. This is the first time I lived with guys, something I always wanted to do. I still stand by my decision, living with those two guys was fabulous. It wasn't girl time, there was no settling in to watch Sex in the City, there was no pep talks or birthday cakes. But friends, there was not a drop of drama, there was no mess, I had the whole kitchen completely to myself. The boys brought a huge ass TV and the boys set up the parties. All I had to do was cover up a bit more between shower and bedroom and put up with loud first person shooter games in the early evening. I would do it again in a heart beat. This is where I felt comfortable bringing my girlfriend, where I learned to support myself and give my own pep talks, it's where video game posters in the family room met throw pillows on the couch. It's where I was actually one of the boys for a while which is something I had always wanted.

And now Port - Oh port. It is where I learned that your super wont always look out for you, where I realized where you live is only as important as you let it be, where I realized I am actually getting old, because I live in THE party place and have not yet, not even one time, gone out to drink. It is where I realized I need a home, and a first floor bedroom with grey carpet just aint gonna cut it. It's where I realized I might actually be able to do this photography thing. It's where I am, but not where I want to stay.

So in reguards to house hunting? ummm, I have this very Richmond loft type idea in my head. Old wood floors(that's very important), brick walls, a bitchin kitchin with a bar where people can sit and chat while I cook. A place where I can walk to a grocery store or a bar or a famers market. And maybe there's a dog. I know that dog's dont really come with houses, but in this day dream they do. Maybe there's a dog, and he likes to sit with me while I drink hot lemon water. or edit the pictures that I just took of someones beautiful new baby girl. And of course where you can see some fall color, even if you do have to go to the park for it.

The sprinkles atop my blog world

2008-10-28T08:00:00.000-04:00

There are those blogs out there that you come across and never stop reading. The type that as soon as the page loads you are a bit smitten and then suddenly sucked into the wonderfulness.

YesandYes, "because yes is more fun than no" by the lovely, witty, Sarah Von has become the sprinkles atop my little blog world. If you haven't stopped by before please do you will not be let down. You might want to make it a point to read this particular post which makes me laugh out loud. I've read it more than once now because it's a nice little pick me up when you're feeling blah. You know,the same kinda of pick me up you need when you're feelin' down so you look at this on youtube. yeah, like that.

well anywho I just thought I'd share the love, especially since my life has been so unimaginabley busy lately. I have thought of several things and wanted to blog about them and haven't found the time, but now you have a reliable blog to go to when I haven't updated. ENJOY!

sophie's warm glow

2008-10-27T11:00:00.000-04:00

My life is like this right now people. Dimly lit by the glow of a laptop computer and surrounded by a pile of crap. My pile of crap is not quite as neatly arranged and has less of an actually phsyically stacked around me quality to it, but I think you get the picture.

I'm about at the point of starting a check list to make sure I get the day-to-day stuff done. Also, I'm thinking about logging my internet time because I feel like as much bitching as I do about not being able to blog, I spend an appalling amount of time sitting in front of my laptop (Sophie - she actually got a name when my lady became jealous).

Do you have any suggestions for getting my shit in order- short of hiring a personal assistant to do it for me?

one drink, one friend, and 45 minutes

2008-10-26T21:33:00.003-04:00

I'm kinda a Greys Anatomy addict, the fact that you can watch online is both my happiness and my downfall. watching online is kinda like my own little tivo on my laptop, which I love because lets face it, I don't have the money for Tivo. Plus, if I did have the money I would deny myself the pleasure because the last thing I need is more of my time consumed in front of a TV/laptop screen, which is precisely what would happen if I could record and watch whatever I wanted when I wanted to instead of sitting and watching SVU reruns.

But I digress.... what I wanted to do was pose a question.

The closing of Grey's anatomy always closes with a characters monologue, and I'm usually really impressed. basically this one said that: The things people want to hear about ...given a friend a little time.... is the calamities in life. Smooth sailing makes for boring stories type thing. But I don't necessarily agree, I was a bit disappointed with the ending quote this week; so the question I pose to you is

what would you do if if you had one drink and one friend and 45 minutes?

would you talk?
would you play darts?
would you watch your favorite episode of scrubs?
maybe you would get in the car and just drive with the windows down and the music blaring.

I would definitely find myself on the streets of New York City, perhaps going to a cupcake shoppe, or a bakery, to indulge in whatever sinfully decadent treat The NYC Empress has lately discovered. I would want to hear about the good things, the way baby L is settling in, how the new house calendar is shaping up, if she found a great new museum, or spot in the park, or superb photo shoot area. Those are the things I would want to hear about, given 45 minutes I would want to walk away a little lighter, with a smile on my face.

Fuck calamity folks, there is enough calamity in daily life. Give me the sweet stuff any time.

*and please, do post, I turned my posting protections down so if you have a g-mail account, you too can put your two cents in! :)

sweet deliciousness

2008-10-26T19:22:00.002-04:00

Why not try a pomegranate? They're finally in season and delicious. If you don't try them before December you'll pretty much have to wait till next autumn, and friends, although it is worth the wait you'll be kicking yourself later.

I just got my first two this week over at the local grocery store and me and the little one devoured on right away. I mean, really, pomegranate has already gone mainstream so if you still haven't caught on you're way behind the curve.

A little cinderella happenin 'round here.

2008-10-26T16:48:00.003-04:00

Lookit what I have

It's a plant

I've been keeping my eye on it for about 2 months now

and now it has a weeeee pumpkin type thing growin' on it!

please disregaurd the ciggarette butt, it comes with the territory.

I'm going to keep you posted on my little guy. If no drunk people get their hands on it, and it stays kinda warm maybe I"ll have a big pumpkin. I get very protective of the little live things around my house. There is also a toad that is pretty fond of chillin on my porch. I may be tiny but I like to think I strike some fear into the drunk party people next door when I say "Leave him alone, that's my toad"

Anyway, as long as no drunk people pick it or squish it maybe it will turn into a pumpkin (I think hoping it will turn into a horse drawn carraige is a bit of a reach); and then again maybe it's "just a squash" as TOE is so steadfast in saying and in that case it will never turn into a pumpkin. Reguardless I'll keep you posted :)

I want something with a little more umph

2008-10-23T16:00:00.000-04:00

I am so glad I have male friends that read this blog. I'm totally sexist and sometimes I think that mainly women partake in the blogging world. As it turns out (As far as I know) there is an equal ratio of male to female readers. 6 total that I know of. Anyway, I love my guy readers immensely and because I do I am giving you a heads up. Sometimes a girl needs to have a entirely girly blog entry.

and THUS...

Though you are more than welcome to..... If you don't want to know about my undergarments please do not continue any further. (or, if you want you could just scroll down to the video portion, there isn't anything there you wouldn't want to see.)

last chance.

The actual bra I bought

You don't buy black lingerie unless you want someone to see it. -Bianca, 10 Things I Hate About You

When bras started costing $60 I began to wear old lady bras.

This is not something I am proud of, or something I planned on.

It wasn't a sudden change, it must have happened slowly because I swear to you that I used to have sexy underthings. Not only did I have them but I had lots and I could get them in abundance and on clearance. I would wear them and prance about like a scene from a movie made entirely for the boyfriends that are dragged to chick flicks...

(see, it doesn't even need to be in English because nobody cares what she's saying)

but somewhere along the way bras in my size became very hard to find, and when they were found they were expensive.

The Pragmatist in me decided that I certainly couldn't have an abundance at that price so what I needed was a few practical plain bras that I could wear with everything. But here's the thing, I didn't ever want to stop checking myself out in the mirror and somewhere along the line... that totally happened. I wonder if I ever would have noticed if I hadn't by chance come across a BLACK bra. I know, I know... A black bra does not really count as sexy lingerie, it doesn't even have lace. And yet, this morning when I put it on, I found myself passing the mirror and checking myself out. This isn't a crazy concept; people check themselves out all the time, but I took a couple extra looks. A couple extra looks because at some point when I started wearing hard to find bra sizes I also started to hate the things that the bras held up. As it turns out everything looks better in some new clothes, boobs included.
Perhaps, with this new found feeling of sexy, I will go and buy something naughty. I do want someone to see me in my black panties, but it's nice to know that now I want to see me in them too.

A good question is never answered. - J. Ciardi

2008-10-23T12:22:00.002-04:00

My cell phone is always second guessing me.

I text : "I'm sure"

the phone suggests I say: "I'm sure?"

I keep visualizing some little cell phone voice that's like... "well, are you?"

when did question marks become the fall back texting punctuation hmmmm. (question mark omitted in sheer protest)

mmmmm delicious.

2008-10-16T16:42:00.002-04:00

I feel like an old woman, I dig into my purse and pull out crumpled wrappers and sometimes half melted candy. The half melted candy still looks fabulous. This is because I have recently acquired an obsession with York Peppermint Patties. The problem of course is that to me PP are so "light", it's not as if you are eating a bunch of Snickers bars. Peppermint Patties are mostly air right? I can sit down and eat 6 PP without feeling guilty until I have to clean up the wrappers. I am eating them right now because in a moment of weakness I went and bought them at the college bookstore.

The best part about Peppermint Patties is that when you lift a peppermint patty up to your ear and break it in half, it makes a wonderful sound, just as if you were walking on snow. I think it's because of this phenomenon that I think of PP as a winter candy (probably in conjunction with the fact that Candy canes are THE candy of winter and they are also minty?)

So with all these peppermint patties in my life I'm starting to get geared up for winter, but the thing is, fall comes first. I LOVE fall. I think all the winter wishing is directly related for my desire for autumn to hurry up and get here. I'm ready for fall people. Super ready, and Newport News doesn't even have the stirrings of a cool brisk breeze.

Jack Attack

2008-10-15T18:13:00.006-04:00

I had the most wonderful day with Jack. He helps me remeber that there are more important things in life than studying for a math test or getting my laundry done. His latest new word is "Funny" which is so perfect for him.
I can't think of a better way to spend an afternoon than with a happy two year old.

Enjoy.

Wuh-nin: (v) the act of moving your legs quickly, as "the man in the marathon was wuhnin"
This is something that Jack says when he gets excited and he's about to take off at full speed. Just that one word. WUHNIN! and off he goes.

Duchs: (n) - an animal that says quack. Jack loves to go and see the ducks, we walk to the pond by his house every time I'm there. He's particularly fond of a little female with a lame foot...mostely because she can't run away very fast, but he slows down and talks quieter when I tell him that duck is shy and gets scared. He always gasps in amazement when the ducks land in the water, he reminds me to appreciate the little things. :)

Here jack is most likely saying (perfect and clear) the word "up".
Jack is a climber, I've seen the child do a one arm pull up to see over top of things. He hasn't figured out how to climb poles yet (thank G0d) but he always wants to get up them to have a better view. He'll run to the bottom, look at me and say "UP!". To which I reply, "Jack, that's a lampost, there is no "up" for a lampost *"

Jack is playing a game I tought him so that he would understand when he wasn't holding my hand he couldn't just run and take off. It all started because he said "Bench" but he was holding my hand and since he was doing so well holding my hand i let go and said, okay, you can go sit on the bench. which would have been fine if he had acctually gone to sit on the bench instead of running immediately for the pond. (I think the he thought he could float on the pond like ducks, because when we first started walking outside he would try to walk right out there and get them.) Anyway, to get him to understand that he had to go where he asked to go we played a game that I can only call "Go touch". It goes like this...
E:"Jack, go touch the flag pole."
J: (runs and touches the flag pole)
E:"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY jack! Good listening buddy! High five."
He loves this game because a) he love whunin b) he loves to explore new things c)he doesn't have to hold my hand.
The only rule is that he has to go and touch the item or I pick him up and carry him (which clearly is worse than holding my hand)
We don't play much anymore now that he understands the rules, but today he really wanted to run, so there you are.

"Wait-in": (v) most accurately meaning chill out for a second, sit still, and certainly dont tak off at run.
Jack doesn't understand "later". You can't say "We'll go to the park later Jack" because he'll be all geared up to go now. To Jack, later might as well mean no because you say later and then dont let him do what he wants. But because I tell him to wait for things all the time (his juice cup, seasame street) and it's so short term he's begun to realize "wait" means if you sit quiet you'll have what you want in a second. The word "wait" has made life as a nany MUCH easier.

"Wad-gon": (n) the most amazing thing on earth

He likes to pull his little wagon. He'll ride IN the wagon really well, but if you stop for too long he'll say "out" and then ask to pull. Also, just because YOU are the one pulling HIM doesn't mean that he won't still say "Wuhnin!" with great expectation.

He's gotten really good at steering but turning around always makes him so frusterated. Which results in this face:

which is adorable. When he gets really frusterated he actually clentches his fists and.. the only word for it is... vibrates. His little body actually shakes with frusteration. this only happens when he can't physically do something, like lift a fire hydrant.

this picture makes my heart soar because what I said was "come and catch me Jack, come give me a hug!" and his face lit up... this is what I saw charging at me and what makes any bad days I have with him unimportant.

I am not actually this far away froma child on a pier, this is my wide angle at work... although this is the most kid friendly pier in existance. The railings are low and thus the gaps between the beams is very small making it near impossible for a child to slip through.

Of course it wont stop them from climbing UP.

his tough little man hands are impenitrable to splinters. I tried to run my hand along the banister like that and stopped beceause I was scared I was going to get jabbed.

He does this all the time. He sets his cup down and sits on it. I dont get it at all but it makes him laugh like crazy. This particular time he asked for his "juice"...."pweassse" (I had him the cup) "teh-teh", he took a sip and then sat on it. ::shakes head::

Pwease:(adverb) most directly translates as "I really want that"
Teh-teh: this is a two word combination that is adorable. It is of course "Thank you" and I can't take an ounce of credit for it, he already had them mastered by the time I got in the picture.

hanging out. I just lifted him up and he latched on. No problem.

see?

He was laughing so hard, he loooooved the swing. when he slowed down he looked right at me and said "Funny." (with a huge grin on his face)

I love what this picture captures, I feel like the shot actually says a lot. It's not aesthetically perfect, but I can't look at it without smiling.

This picture is untouched with editing. I think it came out amazing if I do say so myself

playing music. Sometimes he sings to me and it's adorable.

These are just twisty pipes anchored into the ground but they were his favorite thing to do. Mostly, I think, because I just let him climb around like a crazy person. I had to chill out because I kept thinking what if he hits his face on that metal pole... and then i realized the child can hold himself up with one arm.. he'll be fine. (plus there was a mother there that told her daughter that she could NOT play "Rescue/distress" because "when you say "help" you scare me, and other people are going to think you're in trouble" and I am NOT that type of nanny)

My death defying Jack.

"teh-teh" Jack for an amazing day full of smiles

*or a stop sign, or a flag pole, or an enourmous tree

I would be happy if you did

2008-10-15T16:32:00.003-04:00

If you do not know what to get me..... get me this

Thank you.

i got robbed but dont want to talk about it.

2008-10-14T19:49:00.006-04:00

I had a crazy busy life lately. I kid you not. Unfortunately my camera was absent for most of the festivities but here's a little recap:

Someone stole a bunch of stuff out of my trunk (including my camera bag which had my external hard drive and memory card but NOT my camera or lenses thank god) I wish there was pictures of this so we could take them to the police. As it is, I have to file a report and my insurance wont cover any of the lost items because they don't amount over $1000. Really if I had to get robbed at least there wasn't anything super non replaceable in there, the one thing they left was a hand carved wooden frame I bought in Peru so that's lucky I guess; especially since they went so far as to steal the laundry detergent
I savored my time in NOVA by going to stores that exist there and not in the Newz

Lord and Taylor - shoes
REI - awsome green shirt(this pictures honestly doesn't do it any justice because in real life it is REALLY CUTE on me.)
Chipotle - rediculously large burrito
Wegmans - stuff to make lots of gluten free baked goods

I made pumpkin bread without using wheat flour, eggs, or any dairy at all. It was absoultely fabulous. You only wish you had this bread. I was so surprised.
I made home made gluten free pie crust and it seriously knocked the shorts off of any other type of pie crust I've ever had. Me and my lady made pumpkin pie out of it for a dinner party and it was a humongous hit. Not a single piece came home.
I carved a pumpkin (see other post) something I actually got pictures of!
I got to hang out with my fabulous girlfriend. My favorite little one

and in upcoming news...

This is my last week of nannying twice a week with Jack. His moms classes are finishing up and they dont need me to sit him durring that time. Thankfully Jacks mom has asked me to come and watchin him once a week for the next 5 weeks or so because we get along so well together :)
Fall break starts this weekend and so I'm headed off to the beach to hang out with all the ladies in my family for the annual ladies weekend.

I feel like I had some really good stuff to blog about but so much happened that it all had to be condensed into a list. Hopefully this wont become a habit.

Jack-o-lanterns!

2008-10-14T19:46:00.003-04:00

I told you there would be pictures of pumpkins, and I'm a gal of my word... so here they are:

Lauren's pumpkin was so cute. He even had little pop out ears:

I thought mine was the girly one but when it was finished it kinda looks gender neutral when lit up. This is a picture of it with some light so you can see the "girly" eyelashes:

Then I made them kiss. I'm not sure what possessed me but it made the little one laugh so it was good idea in my book:

Then I stacked 'em up and made the little one all nervous and protective of our jack-o-lanterns, here she looks at ease because she's "holding them up":

Tons of fun was had by all. Our friend even came over and did one but she carried hers off long before the pictures were taken.
After all the carving was said and done we roasted the pumpkin seeds and had a feast. It was a very themed weekend what with the pumpkin carving, pumpkin seed roasting, pumpkin bread, and pumpkin pie, but everything was fabulous.

I never leave the house without putting my face on.

2008-10-14T00:27:00.001-04:00

Lookit what I can do with my new blog layout...

I can post monstrously big pictures.

The world is now as it should be.

That is all.

I'm completely dependant.

2008-10-13T22:30:00.002-04:00

My google reader has failed me.

Without google reader I would not be the blogger that I am and so I am greatly disturbed by the fact that it is not working how I want it to. Mainly that one of my friends blogs doesn't pop up on my reader at all even though she is dutifully posting.

I would not have even been alerted to my readers remissness in updating if it weren't for the fact that my friend made a comment along the lines of ... are you avoiding the topic of my blog on purpose? to which I replied... YOU BLOGGED!?!

The loophole lies in the fact that she recently locked her blog. I am perfectly within my blogger limits to read it if I go to her site, but google reader doesn't pick up her new posts at all even though the reader and blogger are supposed to be all linked up and intertwined.

Whatever Google, this is the first time you've ever let me down and I'm just feeling a little bit stung right now. I'll get over it. we're cool right?

disapointing cop out post

2008-10-13T00:12:00.002-04:00

I'm absurdly beyond behind in my blogging.

There is so much to catch you up on but it's already 12:15 and I have to wake up to nanny at 6:15 tomorrow which means that the blog will just have to wait. (I have this new idea that although the blog is important it wont pass out while it's in charge of a 2 year old who is capable of climbing anything within his grasp, sheer vertical walls and cabinets not excluded, so the blog must come second to my shut eye)

Hopefully I will have time tomorrow but Mondays are crazy days so don't expect too much.

I've got some festive pictures from this weekend to make up for it. :)

searching for a dream dress half naked amongst a mob of other half naked women also looking for a dream dress? that's my type of wedding planning.

2008-10-08T20:49:00.003-04:00

Some little girls grow up dreaming about their wedding and wearing the perfect dress and looking like a princess and being pampered like one too. I was never that girl. But I have recently found something wedding dress related that really appeals to me.

This is completely how I am buying my wedding dress*. Absoultely.
Now all I have to do is talk my two best friends into going along for the ride.

*never mind that I'm not getting married or anything.

Can you spot the Erika?

2008-10-08T11:00:00.000-04:00

So i've been going through all of the pictures from Britt and Dans wedding and it occured to me that there is only one of me in the batch so far, and that's because my dad wanted to show me how goofy I look when i smile big.

This is the actual conversation:
Dad: You just need to smile less
Me: what do you mean?
Dad: You show too many teeth, it's too big.
Me: So..... what.....
Dad: try smiling with your mouth closed
Me: (smiles with mouth closed)
Dad: a little less
Me: (smiles less)
Dad: a little less
Me: (feeling like I'm practically frowning)
Dad: that's better. I'll take another picture so you can see.

Before:

and After:

the after picture here was still deemed to be smiling a bit too much. Thanks dad.

The only other picture of me that I know exists as of right now is this one.

it's kinda like a where's ~~waldo~~ Erika type thing for beginners.
I know for a fact though that the other photographer got at least a few pictures of me, so whenever those surface I'll post them here. :)

French words like Chapeau and Tete

2008-10-06T15:50:00.002-04:00

Today was a good freakin' nannying day....

until about 11:15 when sesame street finished.

I"m always with jack on Mondays and Wednesdays and since he's two (terrible or otherwise this is a rough age) he has good days and bad days. Mostly we have good days with a few bad spells here and there.

Today He pitched a total hissy fit when he had to take a nap. We finished watching Abby Cadaby which he loves to sing, and then I took him upstairs to his crib. He climbed out. I put him back... he climbed out.... I put him back and told him it was nap time... he was having none of that so he climbed out and took off at a run (repeat about 20 times).
Then he said the magic word. He didn't know it was the magic word at the time, but Jack is starting to potty train and it's just in the begining phase.... so when he said "POTTY" I was weak and took him out of his crib and downstairs to the bathroom. When he finished... "ahhh dun" I brought him BACK upstairs and put him in his crib. He freaked out. He definately thought he had found the magic password to get out of nap time.
The next 10 minutes were exactly as before except he would say "POTTY" before he climbed out of his crib and I would say naptime. Well, he got tired of this and decided that the best way to get his point across was to rip his diaper off and pee in his bed.

Oh my god, friends... two year olds are seriously resilient and hard headed. The little fire cracker squeezed what little pee he had out onto his matress(there wasn't much in there i had already changed his diaper and he'd had a trip to the potty, this was sheer spiteful pee I assure you). Thankfully the plastic lining saved the day so I pulled his sheet off and stuck his little but back in there with his diaper on. For the subsequent peeings (yes, there were more) I just got a wipe, swiped it up and layed him back down. after a few more times of pulling his diaper off and squeezign just enough pee out to get me frusterated I left his little butt back in the crib naked with no sheet and he finally realized that I was pretty serious abou this nap time thing. He passed out for an hour and a half.

If ever there was a case of winning the battle but losing the war this is it. I mean, I feel like if you're trying to get under someones skin to get your way and you end up peeing on stuff, you at least get some points for gusto. In the end, Nanny-me was mildly flustered but the victory was glorious.

Hopefully there will be no world war two.

Bloglettes - from the greek Blogatitikus meaning short quips or commentary

2008-10-03T13:30:00.000-04:00

lately I have been posting a lot about random stuff, so for those of you who read my blog because you care to know the day to day happenings of my life I apologize (Though if you read between the lines I'm sure the got the gist of what's been goin' on)

Here's the quick and dirty version of what I've been up to lately:

Two weddings in less than two weeks (I did one saturday and then the next one the very next saturday!) So it makes sense that the other thing I've been doing is
Editing wedding pictures like mad
preparing to visit elementary schools as -a math tutor -a reading tutor
Attending Unitraian Universalist club on campus in an attempt to find a community and not hole up in my appartment for days on end (I'm part of forming a brand new club! More on this in a later post I'm sure)
Writing a personal narrative about going to traffic court (Did I mention I went to traffic court?) Perhaps I'll post that little gem here later as well
Nannying Jack- which includes perpetually putting his diaper on, over and over again, since he has recently decided that pants and diapers are the mans attempt to get him down. Did you know you can't reason with a 2 year old?(for some reason the shirt is never a problem).
Buying a domain name - very very exciting. I'm starting to feel all profesh, and just this week I got another e-mail from a woman who want's me to shoot her wedding on the 10th. I'm debating on whether or not I should take that on.
Working on my other blog (Dr. Mulligan : "So you have two blogs then... neat!" -I love that man.)
Eating lots and lots of homemade stove top popcorn with real butter. Fuck microwave popcorn guys, this stuff is where it's at.

So now you're pretty much caught up. I promise to post more than my witty commentary on Ramen and wine in the future. (that is not to say that I dont already have a ton of little bloglettes sitting and waiting in cue)

Quotes and Captures 2

2008-10-02T22:55:00.003-04:00

Without music, life would be a mistake.
-Friedrich Nietzsche

Don't Vote.

2008-10-02T15:03:00.002-04:00

I'm supposed to send this to 5 people, so maybe I'm being a bit ambitious by posting it here to my blog :)

Deadlines coming people. Only a couple more days left.

One of life's big questions

2008-10-01T20:14:00.000-04:00

If you eat Beef Ramen with Chicken nuggets...
do you have white wine to compliment the chicken or red wine to compliment the beef?

Discuss.

Before the wedding

2008-10-01T19:35:00.001-04:00

Click on the lovely couple to see the first set of photos

So what, I'm still a rock star 2

2008-09-30T22:38:00.004-04:00

They're all rock stars to me

So what, I'm still a rock star

2008-09-29T23:12:00.000-04:00

I present to you a good way to showcase a song/lyrics in your blog...

where.

There is a back story, it's not just... here are some lyrics because I feel like I have to post and I like this song
There is something to accompany the lyrics (a video) because without music, song lyrics are usually just poorly written poems.
The post exudes some emotion in the reader because it is written using the emotion that motivated the writer to do the post in the first place

ENJOY.

Make Face time.

2008-09-29T16:14:00.002-04:00

Recently the comments on my blog posts have begun to dwindle. the most likely culprit is probably due to the fact that my main commenter over at The Pink Pen is most likely finishing up her personal mission to comment on every single blog she reads. There is a small suspicion that I haven't been writing anything that is particularly comment worthy. Regardless, what I discovered was that the reason I was happy about seeing comments was less because it was a physical sign that someone was reading my blog, and more because my social interaction with friends has become rather lacking.

Don't get me wrong, I haven't hermited up in a hole. well, not specifically a hole. I have been spending more time that I would like sitting in my room though.

I am on a mission to avoid the dreaded winter onset gloomies. I am being proactive this year. Just the other day I had a movie date with The Frog and Eve and The Little One was over this weekend too which was fabulous. I went for walks and found gluten free bread mix and gluten free "Oreos".

I'm making a determined effort to Make face time.
Yep, that's a gum website. Check out the ads section and the videos. I would post it here from youtube but nobody has taken it upon themselves to get it on youtube yet.

Firstly I dig these commercials, and the idea of the webpage only being able to be viewed for 3 minutes a day is a clever way of taking care of what could have been a rediculous contrast to their facetime suggestion. Secondly my fondness of this commercial speaks to my need for more face time because when i saw this ad it was the day it premiered and when I went to blog about it even the interweb hadn't caught up enough to have anything for me to post about.

So I'm currently sitting the library where even if I am sitting with my computer I am surrounded by other people. :) A good first step in my goal of keeping the winter gloomies at bay if I do say so myself.

Nice things make a big difference

2008-09-28T19:06:00.004-04:00

Be the change you want to see in the world.

You can get started by checking out this list I totally ganked from Operation NICE, which I love. I've parred it down to a few of my favorites. :)

If you buy something from a vending machine, leave the change in the change thingy for the next person. It's funny how someone finding an unexpected quarter makes their day.
If you pack lunches for your loved one, stick a small note telling them to have a great day. Similarly, hide small love letters in your significant others pockets/bags/jackets.
Clear the snow off a neighbor's car after a big snowfall.
Send a random e-Card to someone you haven't talked to in a while for no special reason.
Wave when someone lets you merge on the road.
Let someone who has five items at the grocery store go in front of you and your cart full of items.
Pay the toll of the car driving behind you.
When a waitress or other service person has been exceptional, let their manager know.
If you take walks around the neighborhood, bring along a bag and pick up trash as you go.
Let someone pregnant or older sit in your seat when none are available.
Thank your spouse, significant other, roommate, mom, etc. whenever they prepare a meal for you. It shows great appreciation.
When making dinner, double the recipe and deliver dinner to a neighbor.
Offer your mail carrier, trash man or anyone else working out side on a hot day a bottle of water.

A teaser...

2008-09-28T15:03:00.002-04:00

Oh yes, it will be good.

As soon as homework is completed actual work will be done on the photography front.
I hope you're as excited as I am.

can I get an Amen for some intellectual property*

2008-09-28T13:15:00.006-04:00

Oh people. I have so many pictures to go through. The wedding was really beautiful. (This time my favorite part wasn't the food)Just you wait friends, I have a feeling you will be really impressed. :)

There were actually two photographers and I'm super interested to see her shots as well. She had the honor of photographing the couple during their after ceremony quiet couple time. But I don't have those pictures so you'll see 'em when I see 'em.

ummm, what I do have though are all the wedding CD's (5) which I totally ganked right off of the entertainment system and then in a moment of guilt asked the bride if I could have. They are fabulous and full of songs that I would never buy because they aren't what I consider "staple" songs. Stay tuned for a list of songs (But not lyrics per say, kate)that made the reception rock out. probably to be accompanied by said rocking out pictures. bwahahahaha.

*I took pictures of you dancing and now I can do whatever I want to them including post them all over the interweb!

AKA - whatever I feel like calling you to protect your anonymity

2008-09-25T23:00:00.008-04:00

I've been inspired by my friends who may or may not have been inspired by me.
Here's a little 411 on the people in my life.

Kate:
Kate is my person. Kate was there in middle school sitting next to me in science class, Kate was standing next to me in prom photos when given the circumstances it was less than expected of her,She has been my room mate only once but has helped me move more than once over the years. I've officially decided to call her Kate in this blog because that is what she has chosen to call herself(for the time being..*keep me posted Kate*). You may know Kate as the author of The Pink Pen She is also one third of what we(the triad) call "The triad" If I'm with Kate I know I'm likely to be there a while. Even when I go over with the pretense of just dropping something off I always end up staying and talking till my little hearts content. I always have something to talk about with Kate. She is also my fabulous web designer (hint hint?)

Queen Rogue:
QR is another member of the triad. The triad which officially formed in Highschool (Go Cougars) and is still going strong years later. QR is also going to be refered to as QR since that is what her blog says. Check her out at Nothing A Little Wine and Cheese Can't Fix QE was standing next to me in choir in elementary school, middle school AND high school. She was and still is my book buddy. She is the friend I can always count on to put a gathering together, and the one I always call when I want to do some whining and wine-ing. Her curly hair and sparkly eyes suit her bubbly personality. If I've got an idea, QR has a way of making it happen.
**Note to Queen Rogue, as a policy I try to avoid abreviations of names but I'm not feelin' typing Queen Rogue every time I want to mention you, I was gonna go to something like Queenie, but I figured that wouldn't fly. Unless you got someting better I'll stick with QR for now I figure it's better than WAC - Wine and cheese)

Little one:
this is my lady. She'll be referred to as little on, my lady, and perhaps baby girl, as context permits. We've been together a little over a year and she is another person I don't think I could live without. She's the person who takes care of my emotions and my heart, hugs and kisses me, and goes to paint pottery with me even though her idea of a good time usually involves rocks and climbing, scrambling, hoping on them. If I'm out with my lady I know that I should bring trinkets for her to fiddle with unless we'll be moving about. She is usually found drumming on something and like me, has love for all things outdoors.

Port Mama -
This is one of my roommates. I adore her and her resilientness to all things school related. She is the President of a club, a FDA (front desk assistant), and a member of CAB (Campus ... social comittee, yeah, I dont know what CAB stands for)She is forever running around doing something amazingly above and beyond. Hopefully she doesn't die early from her hectic lifestyle because I'm pretty sure the world wouldn't run smoothly without her here to monitor it all.

TOE-
The other Erika, my other roommate who uncerimoneously booted me from my room, rearraged all of my kitchen appliances and uses my name. We dont like her, but she's growing on us. She is quirky for sure, and she reminds me of a younger version of one of my old roommates from days of yore when I was an undergrad. She makes some kickin' food which she always offers me and thus she is winning herself into my good graces.

Mobot -
Or Mo. My little sister who conveniently goes to the same school that I do. I adore Mo, she is the ultra religious balance to my searching for something spiritual, and the ultra emotional balance to my super analytical mind. She both puts up with me and kicks my ass as needed.

Bud -
My little brother, who also conveniently goes to the same school as me. It's just a little family par-tah in Bad newz. He's an instrumental genius (though he seems to have no idea of his stellar talent, insisting that given enough time/interest anyone could do it)He's a Bio major and totally into that as well. we hang out with a bunch of the same people which is both odd and cool at the same time.

speaking of people me and my brother hang out with....

Frog and Eve -
I hate to introduce people as couples when they're not married or anything but Frog and Eve kinda come together as a package. They're adorable and their love is beautiful. They are two true friends who I know will love me for whatever I am and support me in whatever I do. They make me feel that I can do anything I aspire to and they light my artistic side up like crazy.

Eve -
soft spoken and musically as well as artistically inclined. Eve reminds me of a forest fairy or something of the like. Her curly auburn hair and kind eyes compliment her eclectic style choices of burks, linen and all sorts of accessories, including a pair of stellar glasses I wish I had.

Frog -
or G-man. A live wire, just as likely to look at a tree as to climb it. He is enthusiastic and fun spirited. Often times I find him dancing around to his own tune, or singing a song made up on the spot. If I'm near Frog I know I'm not far away from a hug at any moment.

I'm sure that's more than enough people to keep tabs on. Other people will be introduced on a per post appearance basis. :)

please note- I get that it's strange to post people with anonymous names and then put their pictures up. These are pictures that the aforementioned people have chosen to put online as profile pictures and thus I consider them fair game. I figure if the public can access them without knowing the person I'm within my rights to post them here. Also... I took Kate, QR, Mo, and the little ones pictures :)

Transition to disorder

2008-09-25T16:19:00.002-04:00

I can actually physically see my transition into stressed out Masters student.

I wanted to use a witty quote here from the Sex and the City episode where Samantha finds a white pubic hair. Unfortunately since the Sex and the City movie came out the only thing that comes up when pubic hair and "Sex and the City" is searched is that bit from the movie with Miranda. Ceste la vie.

Yesterday I got out of the shower and was brushing my hair when I noticed a white hair stuck in my brush this is neither uncommon, nor that unsettling.
The unsettling part is that when I pulled it out of the brush I noticed that one half of the hair was brown, and the other half was white. This would be reassuring if the half of the hair that was brown was the half that was closest to my head, representing healing and sanity. Unfortunately this was not the case.
I wish I could take a picture of it to show you, but you'll just have to take my word for it.

my favorite part - THE TRUTH

2008-09-23T14:00:00.000-04:00

Okay, so in a moment of true honesty about the wedding I just did*

My absolute favorite part was the cranberry apple chicken breast with this fabulous gravy. DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEElicious. I want more of it right now. If anyone out there has a fabulous cranberry apple chicken type receipe WITHOUT CHEESE (for some reason there are tons of recipes out there topped with montery jack cheese which I'm pretty sure the wedding one didn't have, but that's not to say that it would be delicious) I would loooove to have it.

*please note, I am very honest in my blog. I've come to a point though were I feel that I must maintain a bit of professionalism. I plan on making a wedding blog and there I will post the wedding stuff officially for the whole world to see and I will say all nice things or nothing at all. Truely, I'm worried I'll say something not nice and get caught. I'm already worried about this post and I haven't even said anything in it. also, it would help if I had a seperate photography e-mail. I'll get right on that.

2008-09-21T14:48:00.002-04:00

Roxy and Will married Sept. 20th 2008

The Albumn
*to view larger, click the link to the albumn and select view in slideshow

Too tired to think

2008-09-21T01:39:00.002-04:00

I did the wedding. I'm exhausted and I'm not sure how I feel about the results right now... but stay tuned because in a short time you can make your own decision on how the shots turned out.

The way I figure it is every single wedding is a learning curve. I've gotten better every time, and that certainly counts for something. I can't become a world famous wedding photographer in one day, no matter how hard I wish for it

clip art is so gay

2008-09-20T01:48:00.008-04:00

You may have noticed that I have a propensity for putting little images at the top of my blog posts, or including them embedded in the text when applicable. This all started because when reading my friends blogs I found I was much more likely to come away with a feeling of "ooh, that was a good post" when there were little pictures. (Kindergartener picture book style)

SO. I set out to find pictures for my posts. I'd like to clue you in on a little secret of mine. Microsoft word has some ballin' pictures in their clip art section. It's just true. I've found several that have worked for my needs and it's super easy to use them because they're already in your computer and sorted with (what up until now I considered...) applicable key terms searchable via your clip art library thinger.

What prompts me to write about all this NOW is the fact that while I was writing my coming out of the closet on blogging post I was motivated to find a comical picture of someone literally peeking out of a closet, which lead my mind to gay and lesbian search topics. Clearly I found nothing that would work for me. (Evidently the only thing that peeks or peers from closets are small children and animals.) BUT what I did find is hilarious.

I'd like you to meet Gay A and Gay B - Microsoft’s poster children for the gay world.

This picture will also come up under keyword search:
• park benches
• smiling
• pride month
• couples and
• affections
But, if you prefer a more reserved less outdoorsy gay couple, Microsoft can provide you with that as well. :

don’t even get me started on the cartoon gay images...

Gay:

Gay:

SOoooooo GAY:

This particular one can be found under keywords : -emotions -gay - hugging

Lesbian: There aren't nearly so many options available for lesbian clip art. There is really only one couple... because the first picture show below doesn't come up under gay and it's the only one that comes up under friends that ALSO comes up under lesbians, so I'm guessing that they're like those women the PTA moms gossip about but can't prove a damn thing.

This picture will come up if you search female or friends or lesbians... I guess they decided it was kind of an ambiguous photo, maybe their friends, maybe their lovers,

because the next photo is brought up under the search terms
emotions, gay, lesbian, and love but females and friends will NOT bring this photo up at all. Clearly these ladies are more lesbian-y than the pair above. And they're not friends guys, really, I'm surprised you would suggest it.

(I'm not even going to talk about the fact that this picture looks like this poor woman has a disembodied head on her shoulder)

interestingly enough... these are the ONLY TWO lesbian couples featured on Microsoft word, but there are five different gay (male) couples and a few of them have more than one pose. (For time and laziness sake I'm not posting all the couples here, you'll have to look them up on your own time.

Some lesbian cartoons are also available:

this comes up under - babies, gay, (but not gay babies) lesbian, persons and pride month but not under mother or daughter which seems very likely in this photo. I mean, is it just me, or is the lady to the left older and more motherly looking?

And I must have missed the boat on this one; did anyone else know that the lambda is a lesbian symbol?

AND finally...

There is only ONE...

count em... "1"

picture that comes up when the search term homosexual is used.....

This picture can also be found by searching
• arm around
• cares
• casual clothing
• dating
• flirting
• friendship
• gay rights
• loyalty
• and togetherness

That concludes my rather long and drawn out post on gay clip art. I hope you enjoyed it.

Please come back for the much shorter post on Microsoft’s take on S-E-X.

(Yes, this is the only picture and it can be found under "reproduction".)

public announcement

2008-09-18T17:47:00.008-04:00

I'm so glad that I came to terms with my blogness.

Today something unexpected happened in my English class. I had an assignment in the form of a presentation. I was instructed to find a website that a teacher could use to help aid with writing, and chose to do my presentation on classroom friendly blogs because a) it was the first thing that came to mind and b) I was actually interested. - more on that later

so... there I was, giving my blog presentation and it went really well. I finished, everyone clapped and I was home free, about to head to my desk when Dr. Roark asked

"So, how do you know so much about blogging?"

....."I actually have a blog."

and nobody gasped, or gave me pitying looks, or scooted a little further away either.

Little surprises around every corner, but nothing dangerous.

2008-09-18T15:00:00.004-04:00

Since I have recently stepped out of the closet and declared myself a blogger I've begun to wonder just how serious I am about this whole thing.

Here's the deal... I started this blog thinking that nobody at all would read it, but then, it occurred to me, that my two closest friends had blogs. So, I clued them into my online existence and they promised to read every single thing I posted. Suddenly I had an audience. neat, but not mind blowing. It was essentially a passive means of updating my friends on my thoughts about random crap and events in my life I wouldn't otherwise note via phone conversation. My online life continued like this for some time.

Then I started to read other peoples blogs, which got me to thinking... they have no idea I read their blog, I dont comment on it, I dont know them... but I DO read. hmmmmmm. I definitely didn't let this idea go to my head. So far my known readership amounted to.. uh... two. But what if... just what if.... someone else was out there (yes, I could be talking about you, random blog visitor who secretly reads my blog).

My writing style up to this point has focused mainly on the assumption that the people reading my blog already know me. my family, my school, and my two best friends were not secrets to my readers. Therefore there is no reason to come up with little nicknames for people that I"m talking about, because the people I'm talking about are probably the only ones reading. (hi guys)

But now.... NOW... I've decided to let my imagination go. what if some day I have a billion readers and they want to track me down because they think I'm cool and we should have coffee... well, that would be cool the first time... pretty creepy, but kinda cool... BUT just in case something like this MIGHT happen, I do value the privacy of my friends and family etc who have not signed consent or release forms and need to be protected.

really, I've just been reading blogs and have fallen in love with the little names everyones uses. some of them are very simple. Badger meets world uses "theboy" for her son, "the girl" for her daughter, and DH for her husband. Weddingbee has an object that is associated with every bride to be... some of which are endearing "miss martini" "miss pomegranete" and others which are not "miss meatball".

So basically I've decided to create little code names for the people I will talk about most. THUS you can look forward to a few blogs explaining the people in my life and revealing their new cool internet nicknames to protect their privacy.

Contain yourselves, the excitement is just beginning.

(extra points to the people who know what movie the titles comes from)

modern day mary poppins

2008-09-18T13:58:00.001-04:00

I'm too young to have kids*, but I'm the perfect age to love somebody elses.

I'd like you to meet Jack, he's almost 2 and full of energy and do it himself attitude. I adore him. I adore him so much that his mom said me and Jack had "a special connection" and dumped the nanny she had already hired.

We spent our day on Wednesday together from 7am to 4pm. It was fabulous.

We: had bagels for breakfast, read the bus book, took a two hour nap, went for a walk with the red wagon, went to the pond and saw the ducks, watched sesame street, had grill cheese for lunch, took a bath and built things with blocks

Jack: swiffered the entire downstairs, hid in the cabinet, ate lunch in a big boy chair, ran to the window every time he heard a school bus, fell asleep durring sesame street, tried to walk on water to get to the ducks.

camrah. Pit-suur. ::climbs on couch::

"pit-suur"

The bus book

I can't wait till Monday.

*disclaimer - this is my opinion only, I'm sure other people think 23 is a great age for kids

Big fat cheater

2008-09-18T13:04:00.004-04:00

I do not intend to shamelessly take material from other blogs and post that material here on my blog with my own commentary. THIS IS NOT WHAT I SET OUT TO DO.... but (timidly) I kinda have done it before, and as I find myself trying to do it again I have stopped to reflect.

LET ME PLEAD MY CASE:

there is an entire blog about rediculous school related news articles
almost everything on this blog makes me angry
my anger immediately fuels a blog post
I know i really really really should give credit to the blog but them I feel all lame, like if I showed you the blog you would never read MY blog.
he does actually say in his blog title that it's a cheat sheet, which makes me feel a little better.

But I'm going to be a teacher and I'm supposed to be instilling values so i'm coming clean.....
Here's the blog

Also, in my defense ('cause I'm clearly feeling guilty) I'm not a fan of his commentary, I generally skip right over whatever he says and go straight to the articles because I don't like his attitude.

mmm, I feel better.

tired of spam in your mailbox?

2008-09-17T01:07:00.001-04:00

This is something I recently came upon and find hilarious.

There is a little loop hole in prepaid envelopes. you know.. those little envelopes you get from credit card companies with the already addressed envelope and prepaid stamp? Well you can use them to send back anything... anything at all, as long as it is under 72 pounds. I kid you not. you can tape your envelope to any package and it will be mailed back to the sender (the junk mailer)at their cost. Evidently it is completely legal.

give those junk mailers what they deserve

the idea of attaching an envelope to anything reminded me of this... thanks random postsecreter for putting into my mind a picture of a yam with stamps on it. that's really useful.

It's official people, I'm a blog-aholic.

2008-09-16T10:30:00.000-04:00

There was a point in my life, not too long ago, that I belonged to the group of people that scoffed at bloggers who lived in their own little blog world and kept up with the lives of people that they didn't even know and probably would never meet... and then....

Then lots of things happened at once.

My good friend started blogging
My other good friend started blogging
I got a laptop
I was introduced to google reader.
.. in that order.

had these things not happened in close succession, and also simultaneously with my desire to avoid all things MAT, perhaps this blog would not exist at all. But my friends... it does indeed exist. Not only that, but I have been toying with the idea that as my photography business blooms and grows (as it obviously will) perhaps I will start ANOTHER blog entirely dedicated to my art. So, I have officially come out of the blogger closet. I've even gone so far as to tell people that I have a blog, and to send the link to people (something I never thought that I would do beceause of my own previous negative stigma)

I am officially a blogger, AND one that follows the life of other bloggers of whom I know nothing about except what they write on the interweb.

Something I find hillarious?... My blog choices. I mean, I have the obvious blogs that pertain to my interests.
-photography
-food

And the less obvious interest related blogs
-weddings.... as they pertain to photography and food (and unfortunately tend to have interesting posts, thus I know more about die cuts and DIY projects and MOHs and mantillas than I ever really cared to know before I started reading)

and the blogs that I would have never thought in a million years that I would be interested in:
-middle aged stay at home mom blogs.
... friends, I wish I was telling you a lie, but I am not. These blogs are my secret happiness on the internet. These blogs are hillarious. and about home schooling, and great recipies, and stories of childhood from the late 60's.
There are not many (only 3 that have become permanet assests to my google reader) as I tend to pick them up and let them go if they bore me within a few days... but I do read them, and enjoy them immensly.

also - I've started to listen to NPR, but that is a blog for another day.

does anyone else have secret blog habits nobody else knows?

clip art is so gay

2008-09-15T22:50:00.023-04:00

park benches
smiling
pride month
couples and
affections

but, if you prefer a more reserved less outdoorsy gay couple, Microsoft can provide you with that as well. :
don't even get me started on the cartoon gay images...

Gay:Gay:SOoooooo GAY: This particular one can be found under keywords : -emotions -gay - hugging

Lesbian: There aren't nearly so many options available for lesbian clip art. There is really only one couple... because the first picture show below doesn't come up under gay and it's the only one that comes up under friends that ALSO comes up under lesbians, so I'm guessing that they're like those women the PTA moms gossip about but can't prove a damn thing.

This picture will come up if you search female or friends or lesbians... I guess they decided it was kind of an ambiguous photo, maybe their friends, maybe their lovers,

because the next photo is brought up under the search terms
emotions, gay, lesbian, and love but females and friends will NOT bring this photo up at all. Clearly these ladies are more lesbian-y than the pair above. And they're not friends guys, really, I'm surprised you would suggest it.

(I'm not even going to talk about the fact that this picture looks like this poor woman has a disembodied head on her shoulder)

interestingly enough... these are the ONLY TWO lesbian couples featured on Microsoft word, but there are five different gay (male) couples and a few of them have more than one pose. (For time and laziness sake I'm not posting all the couples here, you'll have to look them up on your own time.

Some lesbian cartoons are also available:
this comes up under - babies, gay, (but not gay babies) lesbian, persons and pride month but not under mother or daughter which seems very likely in this photo. I mean, is it just me, or is the lady to the left older and more motherly looking?

and I must have missed the boat on this one, did anyone else know that the lambda is a lesbian symbol?

AND finally...

There is only ONE...

count em... "1"

picture that comes up when the search term homosexual is used.....

this picture can also be found by searching

arm around
cares
casual clothing
dating
flirting
friendship
gay rights
loyalty
and togetherness

That concludes my rather long and drawn out post on gay clip art. i hope you enjoyed it.

Please come back for the much shorter post on microsofts take on S-E-X.

(yes, this is the only picture and it can be found under "reproduction".)

zero tolerance for zero tolerance

2008-09-15T10:28:00.000-04:00

Thank god our school system is looking out for the students in their classrooms. One bad egg is all it takes. really. kids are so dangerous

source

are you there god?

2008-09-14T18:51:00.002-04:00

It's me, Fido.

bwahahahahahhahahha. that is all.