Winter walk

It kind of really snowed today in Atlanta, for the second time this week, no less! Lots of big fat flakes to catch on your tongue -- the city looked like a snow globe. I took a walk around the neighborhood and got a few decent shots. I was smiling nearly the whole time, and it seemed like everyone else was, too. Something about the snow down here makes you feel like a kid again.





I was glad to see no less than 4 large snowmen being made in the park! :) Plus this little guy that someone had stuck in the crook of a tree.

Happy snow!

Round two

I'm definitely liking this plan:

Little Kyle

I got to see my nephew a bunch over the holidays. A few of you have asked how he's doing, so I thought I'd post a few recent pics. He's doing great, and just turned one on New Year's Eve! Walking and babbling a lot, and looking a bit less like Conan these days. :) Such a cutie -- I was so glad to be able to hang with him!



Eating some birthday banana bread, looking dapper.

Testing out the new bomber jacket!

Satire of the day

Check out this site for a good laugh. Love this idea -- to "offset" the pain and heartbreak of cheating in relationships by paying other people not to cheat! Brilliant! I especially like the "projects" tab.


Its funny because its a great satire about carbon trading. Its scary because of what's underneath it: the fact that carbon trading is a real, multi-million dollar market that is essentially useless in reducing carbon emissions. (The "about" tab has some good info re: how the site relates to carbon trading.)

Flash Point

I guess it was a classic kitchen-rookie mistake. The other night, as I was trying to simultaneously saute greens and make pot-stickers in two different pans, I got a little lesson in the chemistry of oils.

Thinking I could multi-task, I started heating a little olive oil in both pans. I guess I must have gotten a little distracted with the pot-stickers, cause before I knew it, flames started licking up the sides of the other pot. I turned the heat off, but too late. Within seconds, the whole pot burst into flames! (Not my picture, but you get the idea.) I wish I had a video of what ensued, cause it was all very calm but also pretty dumb. I took the pot off the stove and looked around for something to do with it. (Looking back, I have no idea why I felt it wasn't a good idea to leave the pot on the stove -- maybe I was trying to get it away from the heat source?) Thankfully, I knew enough intuitively to not put water on the flame. So there I am, in the middle of my kitchen, with a pot full of flames that I'm holding at arm's length. I opened the window (one-handed) cause it was getting a little smokey. "Do I put the pot-o-fire on the windowsill, maybe? No, bad idea, it would probably char the windowsill and melt the screen. Hmmm, the flames seem to be only increasing. Maybe its time for the fire extinguisher..."

So I bust out my fire extinguisher from under the sink. I've never actually used it, so I'm a little hesitant. I pulled the pin, still eyeing the flames in my right hand, and then remembered that there are several kinds of fire extinguishers. Was this the right kind? Is it possible that, if it wasn't, it would exacerbate the fire, or maybe even spread it around the kitchen? I tried to read the label. It wasn't clear. Plus, did I really want to discharge this thing and make a huge mess? I looked back and forth, flames to extinguisher, considering. (At this point, think of the episode of the Simpsons when Homer is at the union meeting and the voices are going back and forth in his head: "Dental plan!" "Lisa needs braces!") Some small part of my mind that wasn't engaged in this conundrum of "Fire!" vs. "Fire extinguisher!" was fully realizing the absurdity of the situation.

Well, luckily, at that point (a few minutes post-ignition) the fire started burning itself out. I didn't end up spraying foam all over my kitchen, and I realized I could put the pot back on the stove and let the flames calmly subside. No harm done, except I think my pot is ruined. (I can't clean the black charred stuff off of it, after several tries.) First kitchen fire, check!

I do find it strange, and somewhat disconcerting, that at no point during the ordeal did I think of just putting a lid on the pot and smothering the fire, which I guess would have been the obvious response. D'oh!!

Wine and Roses (and Cookies)

I went to Trader Joe's the other day to pick up a few items. You know, milk, beans, and the obligatory 8 bottles of wine for under $20. God, I love Trader Joe's. Plus, they have all those wonderful (and affordable) flowers. So, feeling footloose and fancy-free, I picked up a small bouquet of mini roses for $3.99.

**Mental note: I need to make this a weekly purchase! These flowers have brought me so many smiles over the past few days. Every time I walk by them in my living room, they cheer my mood and I have to bend down and inhale their wonderful aroma. Such simple beauty!**

And then, as I was checking out (and commenting that I never win the raffle for bringing in re-usable bags, but I keep entering anyway), the guy starts madly ringing the bell! As an aside, I never understand what the "bells" are for at Trader Joe's... TWO BELLS! THREE BELLS! Anyway, I received MANY BELLS! and the guy was shouting, "We have a winner!" I looked at the guy with blinking doe-eyes, not understanding. He then explained that my total bill came to an even dollar amount, and that means I won a prize, to be selected by me "going fishing" on the wall. Behind me, on the front wall, were some laminated fish, each with a prize written on the back. How nice!

Blushing because of all the bell-ringing and congratulations-shouting and shoppers-staring, and feeling a little like I'd won the Publisher's Clearing House, I picked a fish. The prize was a "Classic Cookie Collection." When they brought it out, I couldn't believe how big the box was! It was almost as tall as me. The whole experience was surreal. When I left the store, the sales clerk was still clapping and shouting congratulations.

When I got home, I had some of the cookies for dessert, and I didn't like them much. Too bad, cause I have a pound of them! Fortunately, my co-workers seem to be enjoying them. :)

Three cheers for Trader Joe's!

Tour of NJ, in pictures

I was home in NJ for Christmas, and I did a lot of driving around between my mom's, my brother's and my friend's houses. This took me through a large portion of the middle of the state, called the Pine Barrens. And, because I used to frequent these roads in my youth to get from our house to the beach, it also took me down memory lane. I felt bombarded with memories around every turn, and was also struck by the differences, in many cases, between my memory of a place (from 15-20 years ago), and its current state. Here's a patchy tour through my thoughts as I drove.


Most of central New Jersey looks like this. Despite the state's reputation of being a general cesspool, its actually mostly agricultural, and the back roads are all lined with fields and farms. I love the expansiveness... it reminds me that much of the US is still quite rural.


On the side of one of the roads, there's an orchard -- I'm not sure what kind of trees they are. In my memory, the trees are just saplings, and I was suprised to see how big they've grown. As a kid, in the car on the way to the beach, I used to love it when we drove by this particular field, because the trees were all planted in rows, and it looked so cool as you passed, with the swishing of the lines that form in your vision. Also, at right about this point, there's a slight bump in the road, followed by a dip, and if you gun the car from the stop sign, you might be able to catch some air. Very fun in high school.


Around the next bend sits this land. Its the main part of Dey Farms (a central NJ historical institution, the family has been around since the 1800's). In the front of this field, which sits next to the main house, used to be a sand volleyball court, complete with lights for night games (much coveted by my ex-husband). I guess the kids grew up eventually, and I remember when they re-sodded the court. It seemed wrong, somehow.


I realize that this is just pictures of one farm after another, but I was getting sentimenal. Apologies if it means more to me than it does to you (which I'm sure is true)! This house is just up the road from Dey Farms, and right where the truck is parked used to be a great half-pipe for skating. My brother always wanted to build a half-pipe in our back yard, and got excited whenever we'd drive by this place. It also was the landmark that meant "turn right here" to get to the beach. It looks a lot shabbier than I remember.


Getting really close to my old house, now. This is the east entrance to Mercer County Park, which was essentially right through the woods behind my house. There's a playground here made of wood, and somewhere on there is an engaving that my first boyfriend and I did. It was of this cheesy symbol we came up with that incorporated both of our sets of initials. Ha -- 14-year old love! :)


Ah... the old neighborhood!


I was glad to see this up the street from my old house. These people have used the SAME Christmas decorations since I was born, and probably before. They're all faded and discolored these days, and they're tacky as hell, but its still comforting that some things will never change.


This is the house I grew up in; I lived there till I went to college, and then my mom moved that next summer, in 1994. It looks funny now that I look at a picture... there's way too much garage! My dad added the third garage because he's a total gear-head, and there were always 5 or 6 cars around. The house is also blue in my memory, even though we added the cream siding before we moved -- but it was blue shingles for most of my life. The trees and shrubs are a lot bigger than they used to be as well, and there are three pine trees missing from the front yard. Obviously, the memories associated with this house are WAY too many to discuss here, but suffice to say, most of them are good memories. :)


I about died when I rounded the corner at the end of my street and saw this horse! I think I even did one of those slack-jawed, blink-your-eyes moves to make sure I wasn't seeing things. How long are horses supposed to live? This horse has definitely been alive for as long as I can remember, which makes it 30 or more years old! I remember walking up the street with my family, bringing carrots and feeding this guy... I must have been 5 years old, maybe younger. Seeing him was like seeing a really old friend.

I continued on into Princeton that night, and traveled to many more old places in my mind, but I stopped taking pictures. I know this was probably boring for most of you to read (thanks for slogging through), but I'm glad I wrote it. Its important to remember where you come from.

Before New Hampshire

Did you ever have a feeling where you just KNOW something is true? Its not at all like thinking, "Yes, that's correct," or analyzing something and determining the most likely or best course of action. There's a qualitative difference between thinking/believing and KNOWING. Knowing doesn't happen in your head, its more like in your bones, or your soul. It a resonance.

I rarely have this feeling, and when I do, its usually in regard to something about myself (eg: like a realization about my true nature) or sometimes about what is the right thing to do. And also when I heard the Dalai Lama speak recently. But I don't think I've ever had it before about some future event, like a premonition. But the strangest thing happened to me last January, when I was in my room just getting ready for work or something, and the news was on and I heard Obama's speech when he announced that he was running for president. All of a sudden, I felt -- this man is going to be the next president. It wasn't even like I wanted it or thought it to be true, I just had this weird sense of knowing. Something about his energy.

Since then, I've watched the campaigns with waxing and waning interest, but I've always kind of stuck this idea in the back of my head, mostly with a sense of curiosity. What a strange thing to feel, and was the experience valid? Or maybe I just made it up or something.

Somewhat beside the point is that I DO want Obama to win, and needless to say, I was pleased with the results of the Iowa caucuses. Anyway, I wanted to get all this down before the New Hampshire primaries on Tuesday, lest I get accused of the "yeah, I knew it all along" thing if he does win. :) Cause let's be honest, if he wins in New Hampshire, considering what the media has already done with his Iowa victory, its going to be nearly impossible for anyone else to overcome his momentum.

Holidays

I hope everyone was able to catch a few breaths this holiday season! I'm back from a massive road trip, and there's much to catch up on. Stay tuned...