feeling the burn

today is not my day. let me count the ways.

slept in too late to go running. i also didn't run yesterday. it's going to rain all day, which means no running today and no jackson trip with dad to see becca.

while making breakfast, i managed to burn black plastic into my palm. i left some tongs too close to a still-red stove eye and grabbed them without thinking.

then, i set the same tongs back onto the same eye and burned more black plastic onto the stove.

my coffee got cold during all of this. more proof that i should drink coffee before doing anything else, always. so i heated it up, apparently far too long, and coffee erupted all in my microwave.

i'm not sure i should get out of my pajamas, much less out of the house.

picture post

because i like you, i've posted pictures.

lots of pictures.

day 14

#14 - a picture i love

well, i don't have these pictures scanned in anywhere. but there are two pictures that i love.

one is a baby picture of me at my grandparents' house, i think. i'm about 2. i'm wearing a t-shirt, a diaper, my daddy's cowboy boots and his red state termite trucker hat, with my passy in my mouth. i was so cute.

the other is with my pa, my mom's dad. i'm in a dress (rare), standing on the hood of a car, and squeezing his neck for all i'm worth. i had never seen that picture before this year and it's the most precious thing i've ever seen. hopefully my mother will make me a copy of that picture and frame it for me for christmas. hint, hint.

day 8

#8 - a place i've traveled to

well, there's been a few. my blog, my rules

upstate new york and gloucester, massachussetts

grammi's house

gloucester fisherman's memorial

quechee gorge, vermont

saratoga race track (have i mentioned i love horses?)

new york city with my besties

baltimore with college friends for the preakness

talladega super speedway
(also known as redneck central)
chicago with dad and the law student

wrigley field

boston

fenway with the fam

los angeles and santa barbara wine country for vacation and our 3rd anniversary
santa ynez hills

brander vineyard, santa ynez


but my very favorite place ever was
costa rica
our fabulous honeymoon destination
san jose

guanacaste province on the pacific

rainforest in arenal

the arenal volcano

best. vacation. ever.
did you know the law student planned our entire honeymoon himself?
i want to go back.

day/item 4

well, i'm glad to see i can stick to something for at least 4 days...besides ice cream. i've worked out AND blogged for four days straight. this is good news for everyone involved. i'll consider you impressed.

#4 - the parents

my parents were married for 25 years, but now divorced. it makes for hectic holidays. but i love them all the same.

mama first. my doppleganger and wielder of undue influence over my neurotic tendencies and general life habits, much to my occasional chagrin. she's tiny and cute. she was a delta gamma, like me, but quit, also like me. she cheered in college (me again). so many things about her i either already do, or want to do, like not looking my age, grow huge bushes of basil (hey! new use for the glass jars!), decorate (and redecorate) homes, cook fabulous meals... mom, this is weird. stop it.

and then there is daddy - fun-loving, wise-cracking, stubborn and cynical daddy. he loves his lab rowena, back rubs, traveling with his daughters to see baseball parks, and is always up for a good time. he taught me to ride horses, wash cars, and work ethic.


wouldn't be here without ya, folks. love you very, very much individually, even though i wish things were different sometimes.

winding down and gearing up

well, summer is almost over. not that i get summer break or anything, and not as if mississippi weather recognizes the passing of months as incentive to adjust temperatures and humidity levels accordingly. it is so hot, and so humid you could drown outside if you break a sweat. hello, august.

the law graduate's social life has come to pretty much a screeching halt. at least while he was studying for the bar he got out of the house a little bit. okay, he only went to the library, but there were other people there. but now his routine is pretty low-key: running the trails with the roxy, job searching, reading sports chat forums, finding new low-budget historical drama series in the on demand, and completing lists of emailed househusband tasks from yours truly. that's. about. it. the couch is involved a good bit in this routine.

we are about to take our last vacation together before the new school year starts. oh wait, no one is in school this year. weird. anyway, we are headed to the hills of carolina to visit the brother-in-law and his family. our niece olivia is, in just the past few weeks, already crawling, teething and pulling up. she'll be in high school by the time we get there this weekend.

olivia

i've enjoyed the general laziness that comes with summer. it's actually too hot to do much anyway. but as it winds down, other things gear up. namely, SEC football (and in-town traffic.)

i'm so very excited. i'm throwing a shower for my friend kayla and her unnamed unborn son, and my very bestest friends, jules and mandi, are both coming to the first game the same weekend.

mandi and jules - party animals

i'm already on the hunt for the perfect game day attire, but there is a serious lack of cute maroon out there. i can't wait to see old friends, endlessly tailgate, cheer on the bulldogs and ring my cowbell illegally. and if you have anything to say opposing that, kindly skedaddle. go dawgs!!!


i've also managed to agree to teaching more pilates and/or cardio classes at the studio. why?? i taught my first cardio class last week. one girl left early, and another almost passed out at the end. fail.

speaking of gearing up, i sure hope the job market does soon. the law graduate would prefer to stay in mississippi (i'm a bit less than ambivalent), but is applying all across the lower portion of the country. right now we are waiting bar exam results (september 16), and will reevaluate after that. stay tuned for more updates.

and last but not least, today is my daddy's birthday! the big 5-5. happy birthday daddy, even though you don't read this blog. i'd love to be able to go to bristol with him this weekend to celebrate, but the niece is just too cute.

weekend redux

um, so after a blogging hiatus and general craziness, here is an update of sorts. (i'm drinking wine, and will try to correct as many errors as possible prior to posting, but no promises.)

1. the law graduate was approved to take the bar! yeah, that's right. they don't tell you you've been approved to take the bar until about a month before you actually take it. nice of them, huh?

2. i invented a new game with the apples to apples card game. never heard of it? it's so fun. but my way is better. it is best played late at night with dear friends and plenty of beer.

3. the law graduate cannot hang. over 4th of july weekend at the lake, he went to bed at 10:30. twice.

4. why is it that whenever i post an "update," i number it?

5. my hairdresser is back in business!!! i'm a smidge thrilled. i have only just recently found a place in oxford worth paying money to for a haircut. but now angie's back and my hair has never looked better.

6. reason #32 i have a walmart nokia go phone that only makes phone calls and texts, and only costs $30: last night's late night text from baby sister. "i just shattered my iphone. $700. $500 deposit. fml." sorry, baby.

7. finally watched the movie waitress with mama this weekend. it's pretty cute. mama hasn't stopped singing that song for the past month. "baby don't cry..." check it out, it's super cute.

and last, but not least. i may or may not have accidentally almost given my mother a mild concussion. really. i was packing up to leave to meet daddy for lunch and had loaded everything in the back of my car and was saying goodbye to mama. i tell her to move because i'm closing the door. i guess she didn't really believe me, or moved out of my line of vision and i thought she was safe, i don't really know, but i slammed that door down on her poor little head. and it was scary. especially when she was stumbling around, holding back tears, trying not to pass out or cry and telling me her face felt numb. so then i had to call a friend from whose baby shower we had just come from (she's a nurse) and tell her i had just injured my mother and did i need to call 911? (it would have been my third time ever. the first time, i was 6 years old and made rebecca do it before school. they don't like that and chewed rebecca out. mama didn't like that and chewed the operator out for terrifying a 4-year-old. the second time i saw a guy wreck in front of me when i was 16 in alabama.) i felt (and still feel) so awful about almost taking mama out. but all's well that ends well. mom did not have a concussion and did not require medical care and did make it through the night alive. for which i am very thankful. glad to still have you with us, mama! sorry about that knot on your head. but maybe your hair will have some volume this week.

"mama con't cry, gonna make a pie, gonna make a pie with a heart in the middle."

"almost-gave-mama-a-concussion pie: cherry pie with a blackberry center."

i think i'll go to boston

so, we went to boston this past weekend. dad's on a kick to see all the old ball fields before they are inevitably torn down in the name of progess, or modernization, or some crap like that. he took anna to yankee and shea in 2008, the law graduate and i to wrigley field last year (sadly, the cubs and white sox alternate home weekends), and this year was supposed to be rebecca's trip to fenway. however, it was tragically imposed upon by the other two sisters (and hubs) but the more, the merrier! and boy howdy did we have a bang-up good time! photo evidence is forthcoming.

friday, we took a trolley ride around town (which i actually don't recommend, but dad's knee was hurting him), had lunch at cheers, saw paul revere's house and other historical landmarks, and tried unsuccessfully to tour the u.s.s. constitution and the boston harbor. saturday morning we tried unsuccessfully (again) to tour the sam adams brewery. i wish we had a photo (or better yet, video with audio!) of the woman on our subway ride screaming obscenties on the phone. and then it was off to fenway to see the red sox vs. the dodgers: manny's return. i'm a dodger fan by marriage, but i definitely cheered when former bulldog jonathan papelbon pitched! we also managed to marry rebecca off to one of the guys sitting in front of us.

my camera is still having grand mal seizures, so i have been harassing the sisters to get their photos. a quote from rebecca, in response to my request:

im sorry....i've been a worthless slug this week. boston wore my arse out. ill get them up soon. its hot in my house :( anna and dad, love the one of you and norm!!!!!!!!!!!

pretty in pink*,

rebecca

ps-i need to do some serious repenting after the debauchery of boston. i think we all could benefit from a little "i shouldn't have acted like that" prayer.... seriously. i bet the people around us wanted to kill us (maybe it was just me).

*("pretty in pink" refers to a statement made by the law graduate regarding a man from natchez, ms, of all places, that was staying in our hotel. dad told him we went to mississippi state. he responded with, "oh, they're pretty and dumb." effer.)

i'm in love with boston. it's true. i've never fallen for a city before. i'm a southern girl through and through, impervious to heat and humidity (except for my hair) and averse to snow and temperatures below 40. and i. love. that. city. i truly (foolishly) believe i could survive a nor'easter just to live there. the culture, character, history and prestige, not to mention the professional sports teams (i can only root for two, though, or more like one and a half). and the food--oh my gosh, the food! irish, italian and seafood--all the good ones. and since there are no law schools anywhere nearby, i'm sure we'd have no problem relocating immediately. i mean, who wouldn't want to come visit us in boston?

photos this weekend! or maybe sooner, if you're lucky.

facelift and a recipe

a new look for my blog! you like?

i still need a cute header that matches, maybe with a photo. and for the life of me, i cannot figure out how to add a photo under the "about me" section. help, please. thanks!

let's do a diet and exercise update, shall we? where did i leave off? saturday? boy, do we have some catching up to do! i did not work out at all saturday and ate leftovers for lunch, followed by dinner out with dad at boure. sunday, after church, we had salad and macaroni and cheese, then i taught pilates, went to the gym for over an hour (yay me!), and cooked steaks with veggies for dinner while the law student slept through most of the super bowl. we're miami dolphins fans.

monday, i blew it. yogurt, coffee, and peanut butter crackers at work, and then--kaboom. no exercise. for dinner: raisins, fritos and french onion dip, and a bowl of cereal. after a nap, i had fritos and french onion dip again, followed by a bunch of raisins. yesterday was better. an apple, 2 fun size candy bars at work, then dinner: beef, cheddar and potato pie (and a twix ice cream bar. shut up). i walked roxy in the freezing cold and went to the gym too. i have high hopes for today too. i'm down one pound already. i know it could be anything--water retention, scale, empty stomach vs. full--but i'll take it.

i know you're still interested in that beef, cheddar and potato pie--it's the law student's new favorite dish. i came home one afternoon to find it already placed in the cookbook stand next to the stove. so here's the recipe! you can look it up on rachelraymag.com, but i had adjust the amounts because i use a small pie pan or something. it's super, super easy and very tasty.

you'll need: 1 lb. ground beef, 1 carrot or a few baby carrots, 1 stalk of celery, 1 clove of garlic, a few small new or red potatoes, cheddar cheese (about 6 ounces, give or take), salt & pepper, 1 egg beaten with water, 1 dark beer (like samuel adams winter lager) and 2 cold puff pastry sheets (i used pepperidge farm--2 sheets to a pack) and a little flour.

first, preheat your oven to 375. heat a pan or skillet on medium high heat. chop your veggies and garlic and toss in. add the beef, breaking it up, and cook for about 10 minutes. lower the heat just a bit and add about half a cup of your beer (and drink the rest). add the cheddar cheese and stir. meanwhile, flour a surface and roll out one puff pastry sheet to a 12-inch round. i personally can never get mine round, but it still tastes the same. place this in a pie pan. roll out the other sheet in flour to an 11-inch round. toss your beef mixture into the pie pan. brush the egg wash onto the edges of the first pastry sheet. place the second sheet on top and crimp the edges together to seal. brush egg wash all over the top and sprinkle with salt and pepper. bake for 45 minutes, tenting with foil if the pastry crust darkens quickly.

"where are the light switches, and where are the liquor stores?"

that was anna's complaint about coming home for christmas this year. and it was funny. let me explain.

all the kids are out of the house and on our own, anna in texas particularly. and ever since i was old enough to drink, my parents just absolutely quit caring if my underage sisters drank. they also stopped censoring themselves as well. mom came home from italy carrying cases of wine, and that christmas, or maybe the one after it, i got 2 wine bottle openers, a wine carrying box with wine in it, and a cocktails recipe book. so when we come home from our various new towns to visit, alcohol invariably plays a part in the reunion. but we no longer remember how to easily get to a convenient liquor store. well, one without bars on it anyway.

speaking of "home," mom has a new one. really cute, close to downtown, but not completely familiar. we're still not sure where everything is, even if it's in plain sight, whereas we could cook a meal, shower, and retire to bed upstairs in the dark in our old house. this house also has an alarm system, thankfully. sort of. it's great for when people try to break into your mother's house in the wee morning hours, but not so great when you fail to remember the alarm code and have the police show up. twice. (it was twice, wasn't it, becca?) or on christmas morning at 7 am letting your dog out (or was it 6, anna?). like i said, a bit unfamiliar, hence the hunt for light switches in the middle of the night. because, according to anna, they are never in the right place. if you were a light switch, where would you be? right next to the door? well--light switch FAIL.

so, we're at dinner on the 23rd, and becca is leaving for a party and has to bring a bottle of wine. mom refuses to give her red and offers up white, which she refuses, saying she'll just go to the liquor store. and then the confusion ensues about where to go. so anna, at the height of the discussion (that didn't even involve her), announces, "that's what i hate about coming home now! i don't know where the liquor stores are! where are the light switches, and where are the liquor stores?!" and that's all about that.

home is a funny thing. we've only really lived in one house growing up. we all went to the same university, right down the road. that's where "home" really is for us girls. but now dad lives in that house, and it's just...different. and mom lives in another house, and even though it's less familiar, i feel more at home there now. weird.