No rest for the blogging

So today marks the end of the May blogging challenge.  I emailed my fellow bloggers in the contest to request "off" for Thursday and today because yesterday I was at a Career Center staff retreat at Wakulla Springs, and left for my weekend vacation immediately following.  But - Kelly over at Droplets and Adam over at Unhealthy Snack of the Day said NO.   So, here I am, in Pensacola, stealing wireless internet at Barrie's house, slaving away by the midnight oil.  Hope you guys are happy.

Heading to Tuscaloosa after the beach - ROLL TIDE!

Shall I keep up the blog even though the contest is gone? 

postscript: I get to meet this girl this weekend - Sara's little pup, Gracie

Not so guilty pleasures

• Listening to streaming radio from other cities (current favorite cities being Charleston, SC and London, England)
• Chickfila chicken biscuit with honey
• Stationary (specifically Papyrus and Gadabout)
• Ne-yo
• Real Housewives of OC, NYC, NJ

Puppy love in Target

Dear cutie in Target,

At first I didn't pay much attention to you (even though you were adorable) because I figured, like most guys in Tallahassee, you were between the ages of 19 and 22.  You were so super cute - you with your little blue shorts and guy harvey shirt - my heart could just melt.  Remember when I ran into you in the music section?  And then remember when we walked towards the card section?  Those were special times.  You walked by my aisle a few times when I was looking at birthday cards - you were looking for something, someone, perhaps.  We caught eyes at least 4 times, I know you remember that.  I heard a few aisles over when you found your mom and headed towards the checkout line.  We exchanged one last glance as I gave up all hopes - I mean you were with your mom, I was sure you were young.  I got over you.

I didn't mean to be in the checkout line behind you, but of the two lanes open I definitely wasn't going behind Octomom.  So sorry for seeming overbearing when I lined up behind you.  Your mom must have been  having some type of party with the paraphernalia she was buying.   Imagine my surprise and delight when I read that your shirt said Sigma Chi Homecoming, University of Florida 2002.  I became wary of you because of your alma mater, however, my hope was renewed when I realized you were at least my age.  I wondered who you were, what you were doing in Tallahassee, what was your story, and would you like to take me on a date?  I could have brought up so many things, such as making connections of friends who were in your fraternity at UF - I mean what an easy in!   But I choked.  I hung my head low as I exited the store, passing you by without even a hello.  I hope to see you again soon.  Target, same time, same place, next week?

Clues linking me to this individual are much appreciated.

World MS Day

May 27, 2009 marks the first ever World MS day.

I was 5 or 6 when my mom told me she was diagnosed with MS a year after I was born.  It's a degenerative disease so it's gotten worse (read: her mobility has decreased) over the years.  But you guys that know her know she's the jam.  I don't know how she stays so positive and truly doesn't let MS stop her.  She teaches, she cooks, she goes out (quite often actually) and travels.  That doesn't mean it's not super hard for her - but she doesn't let her limitations discourage her.   She has an aura of sweetness, femininity, and gentleness.  She is completely lovely.

I though this was a cool 4 minute video that the MS Society created for World MS day.  

My mom is one of 2 million people worldwide who live with MS.  Any day now, Congress will start making decisions about crucial funding for MS research.  The legislation would invest 15 million dollars in MS research which could hold the key to new treatments and cures.  HERE IS MY PLEA:  Won't you take 20 seconds to send a letter to your legislators supporting MS research?  The goal is 50,000 letters by midnight tonight.  All you have to do is input your info, your legislators will pop up, you click "send" and wah la - you've joined the global movement to bring attention to MS.  Click here to access the form.

Check them out:

Twitter

Facebook

MS World Day

Props to Michael @williamsmichael and Kristin Miller for writing their congresspeople already!  

Word cloud

I love cool things online.  Here's one.

Word cloud

I put my resume in to the word cloud and it is so fun - I printed it and hung it up in my office.  Click here if you want to see it!

Totally a case of the Mondays, even though it's Tuesday.  At least there's a Mexican Fiesta awaiting me at home tonight!

Old First Church steps into the 21 century

I've been going to First Presbyterian Church since I was born.  It's a small, plain, white sanctuary with a small, plain, white education building in the middle of downtown Tallahassee.  When I was young, I used to think it was incredibly boring  - not anything like the interior of St. John's Episcopal which had stained glass and golden crosses and candles and wood beams and embroidered cloth.  But now I have come to appreciate the no frills, simple message of First Presbyterian.   I love that through the 160 years we've been around (that is SO long in America time), we haven't changed too much.

First Pres. is actually the oldest building in Tallahassee still standing and in use for its original purpose.  Incredibly, it looks almost identical today as it did in 1838.  I love looking through old photos of Tallahassee because I can always point out my church.  Usually it's the only thing around.  Here's a picture of First Pres. back in the day:

1838, corner of Adams and Park

And some before and after shots of the sanctuary:

Sanctuary circa 1940

Sanctuary circa now

Those of you who are around town, you can recognize that not much has changed. I think that's awesome.

Oh, but what has changed?  Since we are awesome, today marked the dedication of our SOLAR PANELS.  That's right - staying true to our hippie and liberal Presbyterian Church USA roots, First Presbyterian Church of Tallahassee has officially gone green for the glory of God as a congregation.  It stems from a response from the General Assembly calling all Presbyterians to go carbon neutral. On the First Pres Church Tallahassee website, there is a link that tells us what energy we've used and what pollutants we have not emitted into our environment, and also what sort of power we collect hour by hour. It's so cool. Here's a pic and some fun facts:

As of right this second, we've stored up enough energy to run a TV for 65,858 hours and to power 72 computers for an entire year - and that is after the panels have only been operating for two months!

Here's what we haven't contributed to our environment because of the panels:

• 21,989 lbs of CO2
• 46 lbs of nitrous oxide
• 84 lbs of SO2

I love that my church made this a serious priority and is dedicated to making a difference in the environment.  

Postscript: When Gamma chapter of Chi O was founded at FSU in 1905, many founding members and members thereafter were in the First Presbyterian congregation - I read their accounts in the archives. That makes me happy indeed.

Activity that cannot be done in flip flops and therefore not worth doing

Rock Climbing.  They say the view is great - and call me no expert - but if you are rock climbing, you are staring at the sheet rock in front of your face, not the panoramic behind you.

Calluses, sweat, potentially falling to your death - call it my fear of heights, call it whatever you want, but I'll pass.

Happy Memorial Day

Today
May 21

Rain / Thunder

75°
67°

100%

75°F

Fri
May 22

Scattered T-Storms

77°
67°

60%

77°F

Sat
May 23

T-Storms

79°
68°

70%

79°F

Sun
May 24

Scattered T-Storms

82°
68°

40%

82°F

Mon
May 25

Scattered T-Storms

83°
67°

40%

83°F

Tue
May 26

Scattered T-Storms

83°
67°

40%

83°F

Wed
May 27

Scattered T-Storms

84°
67°

40%

84°F

Words I do not like

• Abreast
  
• Touch
  
• Words spelled incorrectly, e.g. Quik Time Auto Wash, Krazy Klown entertainment
  
• Unnecessary contractions, e.g. chillaxin
  
• Clotted Cream
  
• most legal jargon, e.g. forthcoming, inasmuch, per se
  
• jargon
  
• "I'm the type of person who...." - yes this is more of a phrase but I still don't like when someone says that. You are not a type of person, you are an individual.
  
• slacks
  
• uber
• technical vernacular contractions, e.g. webinar, technosavvy,  interweb.  Thank you Apple for simply putting an 'i' in front of words instead of making up nonsense yuppie contractions.  Let's hope they patent iSeminars, I could live with that.

And my least favorite word of ALL TIME that gives me shivers to even write it:

Rural

Learn how to speak Dog

Gotta credit the genius's (what is the plural of genius?) at Purina for creating this:

Learn how to speak Dog!

Just put an adjective in the blank and learn how to speak dog!

I tried: happy, silly, smart, mad, sad, excited, tired, strong, hungry, loving (my favorite), sick, cute, dead (second favorite), dirty, cold, hot, bad (third favorite).

My Oldest Friend

I am pretty good at keeping friends.  Who knows why, but somehow I force people to stay my friend for extended periods of time. My oldest friend I've known since September 24th, 1984.  We lived across from each other in the "old neighborhood".  Our moms were friends since they were pregnant with us at the same time (I was born June 13, 1984 and Brittany was born Sept 24, 1984).  We really had no choice but to be friends.  Here we are hangin out in Meadowbrook:

B on the left, me on the right

This was part of our ad in our HS yearbook - a repeat of the pic above on the left, and makin mad

 $$$$ at our lemonade stand on the right. Sweet bangs, right?

I believe this was taken right before a big fight that left me running home crying b/c Brittany called me a name.  She was kinda mean to me back then and I was super sensitive (not much has changed on my behalf).  Apparently we got over it.  This also was after I decided I should give myself a haircut, hence the strange bowl cut.

I probably forced Brittany into playing dress up

Skip ahead 25 years....and wa lah!  Here we are at happy hour @ Chez last weekend.  

We've survived moving apart, fights about all sorts of things (stuffed animals, dresses, Brittany always dissing me to hang out with other people are a few that come to mind), being at different schools, our crazy parents, home videos, and who whatever else someone can go through in 25 years.  Her family is truly my second family.

Fun Fact: Brittany pledged Chi O a year after me at another university - now we are for sure sisters from another mother!

B: UMD4E!

I don't get this

This morning on  my way into work I saw a bumper sticker and I don't understand it.  It said:

As you can see I've googled this and still don't know what it means.  Feedback, please. 

 

Post script: I know you all are wondering whatever happened with White Odyssey.  I have yet to see White Odyssey on my drive to work since my blog post.  However, my co-worker was at Panera the other day when a lady came in and shouted "THERE IS ONE FOUR CHEESE SOUFFLE LEFT!" and shoved her way to the front of the line (who cuts lines these days? Are we in 4th grade?).  I can only assume this is White Odyssey without the camouflage of her vehicle.  Thus she will be also known from here on as Panera Cutter.

Post post script:  My co-worker spitefully ordered the last Four Cheese Souffle before Panera Cutter was able to finish her order (she allegedly had 4 kids in tow).  Well played, Candace. Well played.

Bo is always worth a second daily posting

The White house released new pictures on its Flickr stream, and below are my two top favorites!

What I wouldn't give to romp around the south lawn with Bo!

Three Wolf Moon T-Shirt

The internet does a lot of great things, and one of the things I love and appreciate about the internet is how it facilitates user reviews for products, services, and companies.  Like the Target reviews that tell you the shoes run a half size small so be sure to get a larger size - how helpful!

I also found the following review to be extremely helpful regarding this beautiful 3 Wolf Moon T-shirt.  I hope you will find it helpful as well.  Click here for user reviews.

New wheels for Winky

Meet Winky, a 50 year old tortoise who lives in England. He lost a leg in a tragic accident, but thanks to the kind folks at the Longleat Safari Park, he now is able to scoot around on his new wheels with ease!

If It Can't be Done in Flop Flops, it's Probably Not Worth Doing

Here's your Friday edition of an activity that cannot be done in flip flops, and therefore not worth doing.

Bull Riding: Totally not worth doing.

Oh, you say that bull has been in a dark, narrow pen all day?  And you've been pestering and agitating it?  Perfect.  Let me just jump on top of this one ton enraged animal named Lynch Mob and see what happens.  I'll try to break the world record of staying on for 8 seconds before it throws me off and I try not to fall under one of its thundering, skull crushing hooves.  If that goes well, I'll try to run away and hope he doesn't gore my kidneys out.  I think my chances are pretty good, I mean I feel pretty safe with this rodeo clown running around.  I'm sure the bull will go after him and not me - and hey man that's his problem, not mine.

Dear readers, are you not convinced? Do you need another reason why bull riding is not worth doing?  Ok.

Not classy.

Things I'm into right now

1. Crystal Light Rasberry Lemonade
2. Mrs-O.org
3. Coffee ice cream
4. ruelala.com
5. happy hour with mojitos on the patio
6. Real Housewives of New Jersey (this is also a guilty pleasure)
7. Billy Joel
8. Super bright colors
9. unpainted nails

Write me a letter

Remember back in 2nd grade when your teacher or sunday school teacher gave you a pen pal?

I'm 24 years old and I have a pen pal.  A real, legitimate pen pal.  When we first started writing, I had just started grad school at Carolina and my pen pal was in seminary in Louisville, KY, with a friend of mine from college - that's how we got to being pen pals.  Josh (friend) gave Jeff (pen pal) my address, and we've been going strong since October 2006!  We've been through graduations, moves, weddings (he's been in 9, I'm going on 5), and a lot of growing up.  He went to Texas Tech and loves it there as much as I love FSU, so we like to talk college football and hate on the Gators.  He's finishing up seminary from Covington, GA, where he works now.  

The coolest thing about being pen pals:  We have met...and met more than once!  And every time it seems to be a random "you're in (name a city)? Me too!".  We first met when we both were going to Manhattan at the same time, then again when FSU played UK in the Music City Bowl in Nashville, then in Athens, GA, and once more at the coolest coffee shop Java Monkey in Decatur, GA.

Hey Pen Pal - you're awesome!  Expect a letter back next week!

Watching the Central Park Dance Skaters Association in Central Park, August 2007

Rouge Cow: Go Molly Go!

Runaway Cow Escapes Burger Mill, Finds Love

In Life by Jeffery , on Monday, May 11, 2009, 5:00 AM (PDT)

Smoooch.

.

 

She's gone rogue.

Molly the cow has a second chance at life. Instead of finding herself between the buns of a Long Island cheeseburger, the 400 pound steer is relaxing on a farm with a new mate.

The fairytale story began on Wednesday when Molly was shipped off to a slaughterhouse in New York. Things looked dire, until the one year-old Angus cow somehow managed to escape before being turned into ground beef.

Apparently she wandered around Queens for nearly an hour, avoiding cops and cars, until police were finally able to corral her and take her into custody.

For a moment there Molly was just going to be returned to the butchers. But the owners, perhaps because of her new world-wide celebrity fame, decided to sign her over to animal-care workers.

Now Molly the cow has reached sanctuary, and she's got a new pal to go with it. Wexley, a teenage steer who's been waiting for a companion, can finally say he's met the woman of his dreams.

Let's just hope he can handle the pepper heifer.

Reason #371463254 why I love London