Hi guys. I am back from the beach - great as usual. It was definitely different not having everyone around, it was pretty sad. Anyways... here are some pictures from the trip to browse over until the next post!

(This is what happens when you leave the Olive Cheese Bread alone to go get your camera)

(Ashley- Bryan is trying to get all tan and buff for you. Here's the proof)

(For my mom's 50th birthday celebration my aunt put 50 pinwheels from the end of the stairs to the tent. My mom loved it)

More later!

Ok, ok. I know I said I wasn't going to post, BUT the coolest thing just happened. We are sitting out on the porch watching the rain and what happens? A waterspout! I have never seen a water spout so this was really cool...

This is what it looked liek from the porch. No zoom. Notice how big it is compared to the oil rigs next to it.

With zoom. It's still forming I think...

Bam. How cool???

Beach, Eat, Sleep

Greetings from the beach!

We have wireless internet at the beach, but who wants to be on the computer when you are at the beach? Well, I have to be on it a little for work... Anyways, here is a sampling of what has been going on at the beach. It's been a good time so far but we miss all of the people that aren't there: My dad, Ivy, Patrick, Joe, and Ashley. I hope you guys know we miss you and are thinking of you! Here is a little taste of what has been going on!

(Note: Aunt Jan said I must tell you that the angle in which I took this picture makes the fish look big but indeed, they were very small)

More later!

In about 36 hours, my family and I will be headed here to Fort Morgan, AL. Ashley, I am so sad that you do not get to go. I keep thinking of things that we need to do and then I realize you don't get to go and I feel sad. (Sigh) I will send you some sand and nose rings and maybe you can feel you have a little bit of the beach with you!

This may be my last post til I get back on the 28th, so don't be suprised.

Did you know that we have a cat named Angel? Well, sometimes I forget we have her too.

She's a sweet blue point siamese cat but she is what you call... eh... a scaredy cat. She basically lives under my parent's bed.

I used to be mean to her and I am terribly sorry for doing it. Now we are in the process of "conditioning" her. I sit with her and pet her for a few minutes every day. I guess... I am saying sorry.

As you can see, we have a long way to go....

Tira-ME-su

Do you love tiramisu? I absolutely love tiramisu. I'm a coffee drinker to the core. But, when you can soak something in coffee and make it into a dessert and serve it with white and dark chocolate sauce on the side, you've got me. I first fell in love with it at Amerigo's and I've pretty much been scared to try it anywhere else. I can't help that they make it just the way I like it.

The other night, my mom brought it home for me since I was working when they went to Amerigo's. Oh goodness was I glad to be home!

Don't you hate it when you don't have time to update your blog and you take all of these pictures and your stories begin to back up? I know, I do too. For example, I saw this GORGEOUS rainbow the other day while it was storming. This rainbow was not just a half, it was complete and HUGE. (When I went wide, hardly any of the rainbow fit in at all, this was the best I could get.)
My sister found a huge snail the other day when she was coming home. This is the only good picture of it because it would not stay still at all! It had so many feelers (six total!!!). Did you know snails grow their own shells? It's true. See those rings on this shell, that's like rings inside a tree. I guess you could say it's a little bit like growing hair.


Last night, Amanda and I went over to Sital's to help her pack for her two month adventure to Beloit in Wisconsin to study intensive Chinese. While we were there, she pulled out all the letters we had sent each other since beginning college. It was fun to get to look back at how I felt and thought about things back then and how things I hoped for came true, didn't come true, and exceeding my expections. It was really fun.


I am sorry, I know this is the worst, off-center picture ever taken. This is what the picture turned earring holder looks like. I am pretty proud of it and it is actually quite useful. Yay for projects.

Alright, that's enough to digest.
G'night!

What a burger!

Up until the other day, I had never before had food from the fast food restaurant "Whataburger." I had heard of its "magical burgers," "chicken biscuits," and 24 hour service. Well, I had an interview downtown and decided on my way I would go grab something really quick I could eat in my car.

Driving down High Street, everything was packed at 12:30... except for Whataburger. Having heard of its awesome-ness, I pull in.

"I'll have a number 5 with a Diet Coke, please."
I pull around. They hand me my bag and I pull away, hoping for a quick bite as I drive.

Then, I pull out the hamburger... or atleast try to.

This ginormous burger comes out of the wrapper and nearly takes me off the road. It's bigger than my head!!!

So, I pull into the parking lot of the New Capital Building (where I am conducting my interview) and proceed to eat this crazy, large hamburger. Legislators are walking by (A special session is under way so they are there around the clock), a man is there changing out water cooler jugs, and numerous other people, I am sure, are gazing into my car wondering WHAT in the world am I doing.

Needless to say, don't try Whataburger if you are looking for a small, quick bite.

For my sake.

The Good Goowill

Have I already expressed to you how much I love the new Goodwill? Well, I do. We are in love.

Yesterday I went in there on my way home from work and I found a lovely picture frame.

I really liked the detail in corners. Plus, it was $1.25. It has since been painted white and glossed (Not too glossy, just enough that it didn't look flat). Once I get it finished I will take pictures. What I am going to do is fill the empty middle space with wire mesh and create a ear ring holder. I have so many ear rings and I really would like to be able to "see all of my options" in the morning. I am not sure yet where I will get the wire (for cheap atleast...) but I think it is going to turn out well!

Union Jack

Have I told you about my friend Katherine? Well... Katherine has been at the University of Essex all semester and got home a few hours ago. We went to the airport and all was fine. What did she want to do first when she got back home? Go to Taco Bell. Apparently, the UK just hasn't heard about the wonderful delicacies of Mexican cuisine.

While waiting at baggage claim, Katherine also showed us one of the funniest things I have seen in a while.
Here is a ten pence piece from 1992...
Here is a ten pence piece from 2007...


They made the queen older! If I were the queen, I would demand that I look young and pretty on all coins. I mean, I am the grand mum for Pete's sake!

Summer days drifting away

One thing I love about summer is the availability of fruits and veggies that you just can't get fresh in the winter. I also love how their are smells and tastes that I associate that let me know it is summer. Peaches (which remind me of Beach Week), Coppertone, chlorine, grilling... Today I went to Fresh Way, a farmer's market, that always has some great stuff. We got all kinds of things: lemons, limes, tomatoes, squash, cantaloupe, speckled lima "butter" beans, boiled peanuts, cucumber, and most importantly- peaches.


Did you know that peaches are actually native to China?

Did you also know that California is the principal peach-growing state in the U.S., not Georgia? I thought that was interesting.

There are over 300 types of peaches and five races. Yes, peaches have races too.

The other day I also went to a new Goodwill that they opened up where a lighting shop used to be near County Line Road. I was amazed at how clean and nice it was. I found two pairs of jeans and a small paper holder for 9 bucks. I was pretty pleased. What I really really liked was the furniture they had their. Really cute and vintage stuff that made me wish I had a place to put it all. Here are few things I really liked:


Brown chair. The picture doesn't do it justice but I am pretty sure that someone did their own upholstery job on it. I saw a few pieces of furniture donated by the Orange Peel, a vintage consignment store, and I wondered if this was from their.

Nonetheless, I thought it was pretty cool but $20 was a little pricey for me.

This candelabra (would this be considered that?). I would have painted it but I thought it would be really nifty.
Alright guys, more later!

In the Madison County Herald, a small publication that accompanies the Clarion Ledger on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, there is a section they features animals from across the county. This comes out in their Saturday issue and my family enjoys it very much. The other day, I submitted Spike in hopes that one day he might be in the paper. Who knows!

Go Green

EDIT: For those of you who care, here is my latest article that came out today in the JFP.

I am not a big eco-centric person by any means. But, I like to do my part and the other day when I was in Hudson's, I stumbled onto something cool.

My new camera case:
It's made by a brand called EcoClick and 75% of the camera case is made out of recycled plastic. After doing some searching, I found that this brand is made my WalMart and the bag is made from recycled plastic bottles that are converted into flakes and made into yarn to create PET (polyethylene terephthalate) fabric. As a result, 11 empty 16-plastic bottles are saved from landfills. I was confused about the "16" part but I believe that is the "grade" of plastic. Correct me if I am wrong.

I really really like that it is sustainable. I also like my Patagonia Synchilla Marsupial jacket which is the same way. My jacket is 85% PCF (poly-carbonate fiber) made from recycled bottles and materials.

I've always had that "Life is Good" side and I think that is a really great thing that people are doing for our world.

I have alot of pictures to show you of things going on lately. Here it goes!

It is officially summer time, which means turtle mating season. Every summer these poor little turtle scuttle their ways across streets and high traffic areas.

Yesterday, we encountered a LARGE one of these creatures doing just that...
Ok, mom, sorry, bad picture. If you can't see, this thing was massive. Mom wanted to take it to the lake and drop him off. We decided he was going to be mean and hiss and do something else that rhymes with hiss all over my car (Sorry, Mom, for the reference)(My mom reads my blog now).

My second story was in the JFP this past week. That's always really exciting and encouraging.

I went to my grandmother's last Tuesday (a week ago) and she was talking about her hydrangeas. She talked about how pretty they were and how they were purple. You don't see too many purple, either pink or blue. So, I go around to the side of the house to cut some for myself. They were huge and gorgeous! Here is the one I got for myself:How gorgeous is that?
On another note, see the color in the background? I repainted my room this past weekend and I think it turned out really well. It's so much brighter now.

Hope you enjoy! More later!

Do you remember in the movie Just Married when Brittany Murphy and Ashton Kutcher get married and they show their horrible honeymoon?
Do you remember the scene when they are picking up their rental car and they pull up in a small "smart car" and Ashton Kutcher freaks out?

That, my friends, was me when they pulled my lovely rental car around to the front.

Yeah... that was my rental car. And I was so fly in it.