gulp

so i started a new blog.

it took a lot to muster up and start. its transparent and awkward and a side of me that most probably don't know. but i did it. straight into the deep end.

check it out.

www.lovewithoutreligion.blogspot.com

word to the wise

when you've weaned off sweet tea, and make that one powerful decision to order it at lunch to fill that gap in your life where sweet tea used to be...always order a to-go cup. you can avoid that 2 o'clock sugar/caffeine crash, and since you're keeping the sugar/caffeine flowing through your veins all day, you can acheive some great results. say right now, for instance. its 5:24pm. i know i have a loonnnggg night ahead. but it feels like 3pm! i'm pumped! i'm ready to take on the night! and i'm doodling on my styrofoam cup!

awesome!

(yes i stole that ending from the book of awesome. and in case you're wondering, that empty bag of deliciousness is a bag of cheez itz from our 1983 vending machine at work. oh yeah.)

Power Tour 2010

this past saturday morning the feller and i (unbeknownst to me at about 45 minutes till departure) made our way to the mobile battleship park for the power tour 2010 awards. we made it there just as all the cars were pulling away. at first it was great because we just parked and watched them all drive by. but soon we started baking in the sun, and i couldn't get good camera angles, so we got out. of course this didn't help much because in addition to the 100 degree heat index, all the cars were running, so hot exhaust was mixing in with the heat. but we still had fun!

check out some of my favorites from the day. i am a big fan of old trucks and 67 camaros (well, 67-69, but 67's the most) so there are a lot of those in the mix. i'd like to have both one day.

less than 3 months away

and i CANNOT wait!



the longer you're away from it, the more it sounds like home.

listen up ladies

(disclaimer: this doesn't apply to gentlemen readers, but if you have girlfriends/wives, definitely pass it on)

growing up has its shares of ups and downs, but i'd have to say one of the most surprising downs is how quickly your body loses its tight teenage youth. i mean i'm 24 and already i have to exercise reguarly and eat lean cuisines at lunch to keep a somewhat decent figure. now. i'm aware this isn't the fate for all women. some just naturally have a fit figure, even if they never eat veggies and only run if they're being chased or trying to make it to the conference room before all the good food from the meeting is gone (skinny girls of the world: if you for one day take for granted your effortless perfect figure, i will cut you....just kidding...sort of).

all this being said, there is one very painful time of the year that one in florida (or the south in general) simply cannot escape: the time to buy a new swimsuit. usually i put this off until end of season for the discounts (and because my the end of these sweltering summers in a kung fu academy with no a/c, i've usually sweated off an extra 5 pounds). and let's face it. there's nothing exciting about covering a curvy adult body with a teenage looking 4 inch piece of nylon with a millimeter thick triangle of padding (this might be appealing to the rougher sex--here's a secret: most girls dread it!). and when you're 5' 2" there's no need to box up your short-enough torso in a one piece if you don't have to. you get the point.

however, this memorial day my step-aunt modeled a very supportive and youthful swimsuit from lands end. she's about my size, 2 kids, and she looked great. this sparked my curiosity, and along with the offer from my mom to buy me TWO new suits since they were on sale, i gave in. WITHOUT trying on, even. this could be dangerous, but for free, its worth it when you're poor. so i selected the following two swimsuits.




they arrived yesterday and reluctantly i tried them on. after properly adjusting the straps, i cautiously moved to the mirror. angels sang. an ocean breeze came out of nowhere and gave me windswept hair. it was by far the best swimsuit try-on experience ever. we're talking underwire, padding that feels like more than a piece of sandwich cheese--we're locked and loaded. give me 10 foot waves and a fierce game of beach volleyball (i don't do beach sports, but for the sake of the visual, let's pretend i do)--things are staying put, if you get what i'm saying.

now i can confidently say: grown-up, real-looking women of the world, its time to move to a full support swimsuit. put down the roxy swimsuit from dillards--it won't do anything for you, honey. you're better off going in your underwear. i would by experience recommend lands end for sure. they have this cool option that lets you shop by body type. plus the prices aren't that bad (right now most are half-off) and for the quality and fit you get--it sure is worth the money. every limp target swimsuit i've ever purchased has lasted 2 seasons at best. florida living deserves more.

give your body the respect and support it deserves. i'll never go back to an ordinary swimsuit.

came for oil, left with a storm

friday morning the weather channel was on pensacola beach with reports of tar balls. by the afternoon, cnn was reporting tar patties the size of frisbees. at that point my heart was hurting so much that i just couldn't not go to the beach after work. so i grabbed the feller, my camera, and away we went. as soon as we got to the beach we could see a storm coming our way and rushed down the boardwalk to view the damage for ourselves. immediate reaction? not as bad as we thought at all. next reaction? we need to get back to the car! (see picture above, taken from the tide line).

this was by far the angriest looking storm i've ever witnessed. a shelf cloud, which i mistook as a wall cloud, was slowly making its way toward us, with low, quick, rolling clouds. i was sure a tornado was coming. i have a deep respect and reverence for tornados and have always wanted to see one in person. however, this proximity was not exactly what i had in mind. however, from our race back to the car, i managed to snap several really cool shots.

at this point we pretty much decided to head out...with the rest of pensacola beach. needless to say we did not beat the storm. taking refuge in a parking deck (because we drove the currently-in-restoration trans am with no windsheild wipers), we emerged 15 minutes later after the storm had passed. par for the course in florida.

then we returned to the beach and began our tar ball search. yes, they are everywhere--mixed in with seaweed and shells. most are about 2-3 inches in diameter. some are larger, and i suspect they will continue to grow larger. it really just makes me ill. my own personal paradise--God's creation--slowly being destroyed.

(heart-shaped tar ball. ironic i know)

the rest of our venture (after collecting a small bag of tar balls) consisted of what turned into a photo shoot. i mean hey, you're on a beach, with a camera--why not? check out some of my favorites of the evening.

after this we enjoyed some delicious seafood on the beach. so amidst the sadness of the oil and the scare of the monster storm, we made out pretty alright for the evening.

there's a family living on my porch

no, not a human family (although with the high number of homeless in pensacola its not un-likely). i've got a bird family! and it is just about the cutest thing. my sofa is in very close proximity to my back porch and with my oh-so-lovely vertical blinds pushed back, i have a clear view of their activities. so i decided to take up a small bird-watching hobby on the side.



first i noticed that as soon as i put out my geraniums, a little house finch took home to them and built a nest. pretty soon there were three eggs, and then there were five.



unlike some species, daddy bird is very involved with his family. while mama sat on the eggs, he would bring her food and check up on her (he's the red one below on top of the begonias).

now they have just one little baby (whom i have yet to get a picture of for fear that they will see me and abandon the nest). now that he is here, mama and daddy usually are off getting food, but i can always see them watching. i've seen them on the roof and heard them carrying on to each other. who knows what about. sometimes when i sit on my porch they really make a fuss--probably worrying about the baby. this morning he was sitting on top of the nest stretching his wings--looks like he's about to take off!

its kind of cheesy, i know, but i've always been interested in aminals. and i got a fancy new camera for christmas so i've been dying to try it out. i put on the zoom and got some really great shots (like the one above of mama watching me from the stairs). its amazing how quick of a process its been. the eggs were laid about a month ago, baby was born a little over a week ago and now he's getting ready to be on his own. crazy, huh?

like i said

she's mine! (see fairhope blog post) i kicked myself for not scooping her up every day for the 2 weeks after i laid eyes on her. i finally broke down and tracked down the fairhope antique store, asked if she was still there, and gave them my credit card over the phone. she had to sit in the front seat to make it home in my 2-door. she's in my room right now (covered in clean laundry, waiting until i have a real residence where i can put her somewhere sophisticated). my weiner dog, tilly, loves to sleep on her at night...which i'm not totally ok with, but she is so cute up there and it matches her auburn collar.

i don't know anything about her except that she's french, circa 1880, and has been reupholstered. i can't decide if i'm going to change that or not...i don't have much use for orange in my apartment (go figure). i don't think she's been repainted, from what i can tell its original.

oh, and i named her charlotte ;)

southern lights

pottery barn has come out with some new pendants in recent months that, to me, are very reminiscent of the south. i'm in love with them. my favorite is the mason jar pendant. why didn't anyone think of that before? it makes me think of when i went to my grandmother's when i was little. she used to help us catch lighting bugs in mason jars and then we'd set them on our night stands--natural night lights. its getting about that season!

ok so the wine bottles aren't quite as southern as the others...but still. i'll take one of each! check out pottery barn's pendant collection here.