in the works...

i'm telling you about this so i'll commit myself to it and actually follow through. this is stuff i've been meaning to blog about for a little while now, and just haven't gotten it done. now that you know about it, hold me accountable.

future blog topics (in the NEAR future, i promise) will be:

1. the cheesecake corner

2. ghost river brewery

3. sean's birthday dinner (julia!!)

4. shopping report

5. november painting show

thanks for listening, we'll talk soon. :)

running in the rain

... is something i am not yet prepared to do. we have had a plethora of storms lately, and one came again last night. 3am. room-filling lightning and constant thunder. i was planning on running this morning, but as i lay in bed listening to the storm and trying to go back to sleep, i realized it was unlikely i would have the motivation to get out of bed when the time came.

many times i use the rain as an excuse not to exercise, which is probably fine if you're living in memphis. BUT if sean and i end up in seattle, which i am hoping for, decisions will have to be made. either 1. i buy a treadmill, but i hate treadmills so i hate that idea 2. i join a gym, but that seems like kind of a waste when you're in the midst of such beautiful, natural, active surroundings or 3. suck it up and become one of those hard core people who runs rain or shine, and maybe even barefoot in the snow just for fun. yeah, that sounds good.

wardrobe woes

i wish it was fall so that i could wear my pashminas.

they're calling to me.

yeah, i'm still here

my sincerest apologies for the lack of posting lately. there's lots going on. including, but not limited to, painting for the show, boyfriend back in town, holiday celebrations, ribs at the parent's house, cleaning the house... and it has all swallowed me whole. but i will do my best to get back on track.

tonight, sean and i resume our pre-chattanooga workout regimen with a few games of racquetball. looking forward to that. then i'll probably make this new shrimp dish i've been eyeing for about a month.

for now, though, i'm just tryin to give myself a pep-talk for the week ahead. i love 3 day weekends. not 5 day work-weeks. and now it's time to leave... meeting the boss and the client for a site visit. i know you're jealous.

happy monday!!

the run-down

my boss brought his dog to work today and she sat in my lap while i worked. finally finished getting the house clean over lunch. it's been a weeklong endeavor. kept getting distracted at work by the fun that shall inevitably ensue this weekend- sarah is in town and our usual routine includes lots of delicious food and wine, sandwiched by fantastic conversation. the bldg super came in to warn of the massive and violent storm headed our way. "might be good to get outta here" so we did. spent 45 minutes sitting in a friend's basement waiting for the tornado sirens to STOP. stayed on the phone with susan and we weathered the storm together. trees down on the way home. crap alllll over the streets. luckily no lights were out so the drive was easy. zoe sleeping next to me. her little leg draped over my arm. i wish ppl could see this side of her. not the side where she attacks your face at full force. waiting for sarah to arrive at mi casa. starving... constantly thinking "what will we have to eat"... looking forward to a girly night with my bestie, wine, and sex and the city.

s t r e s s

i have so much to do this week i can't even fathom it. last night i made a task list for the next 4-5 days, and it's quite daunting. painting, cleaning, housesitting, exercising, grocery shopping, working, laundry.... i'm starting to become overwhelmed. and it's even more overwhelming to me that it's taken THIS long to get overwhelmed. i should have been more prepared.

i wish i had one of those remote controls like zack morris in saved by the bell. i'd love to pause the world around me and keep on working. or offer a genius commentary on life and the people around me without anyone noticing. that kid had it MADE.

another vacation!! so soon!!

so on friday, i'm leaving work early to head south with the fam... seagrove beach, here we come!! this has been our beach vacation spot for many years now, and we thought it was about time to revisit and reconnect. we'll be spending friday night in birmingham and then driving the rest of the way on saturday morning. we'll be there for ONE WHOLE WEEK!!! YAY!!!! here are just a few of the things i am looking forward to:

pool-side afternoons

shell gazing

walks along the beach

swimming in the gulf

the red bar

fried shrimp and hush puppies

a whole bunch of things

a lot went on today, and i'm here to give you the exclusive scoop!! i bet you feel lucky...

work went well- we're staying busy and i'm learning lots. i get to do a larger variety of stuff at this new office. and it's refreshing to have something different to do everyday. after work i went down to mud island for an evening run with rachel. things have been busy lately and we haven't had much hang out time, so it was fun to get together for a bit. the run was nice, too. the weather has been perfect for the past couple of days and that helped a lot with my endurance since i haven't been training as methodically as i should have been. the zoom through the zoo race is on thursday. it's a 4-miler. i know i can do it, i just hope it's not so hot that it's unenjoyable.

zoe has been grooming herself for the past 45 minutes. after talking with sean on the phone tonight, i noticed zoe has a bit of a stench to her... just a little accident... ew. so i had to give her a bath. yes, i gave my cat a bath.

BEFORE

AFTER

she didn't really want anything to do with me since then, although she made sure to stay within my line of sight so i could see what i'd done to her. i think she has finally forgiven me and is laying with me in bed. cuddles.

but before all this craziness, i had a fabulous dinner. SIMPLE, SUMMERY AND SAVORY. i shall share :)

BLACK BEAN, CORN, AND AVOCADO SALAD

serves 6

1 (30-oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained

2 cups corn kernels

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

1 avocado, chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

2 tsp grated lime zest

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 tsp salt

combine all ingredients in a bowl. serve at once.

i put the mixture on a bed of lettuce, along with some baked tortilla chips.

another fabulous weight watcher's recipe: 283 cal per serving

you can also make your own tortilla chips... cut reduced fat flour tortillas into strips or triangles and arrange on a sheet of foil. bake on the middle of a pre-heated oven at 375, until toasted. about 5 minutes.

that's a good note to end on. so i will.

martha, martha, martha

there's a new addition to my family of kitchen tools.

a martha stewart collection salad spinner.

one of my childhood friends, clay, got married this past weekend. another one of my friends, eric, and his fabulous girlfriend, suzanne, were in town for the blessed event and needed to go to macy's to buy a gift. eric kept raving about his salad spinner back in new york, and insisted that i needed one. so he bought me one!! i'm sure it was a thank you for putting them up for the weekend, but i also think he is just THAT excited about salad spinners. which i find fantastic. so thanks, eric, for the wonderful gift!! i have no lettuce right now, but i'm going shopping soon and am really looking forward to some legit salads.

(plus, look how pretty it is.)

while searching for the perfect gift (which, by the way, is EVERYTHING MARTHA STEWART) i fell in love with the following products and want to own them as soon as humanly possible.

Martha Stewart Collection

Multi-Color Prep Bowls

i don't actually know what i would do with these bowls. i know they're for "prepping" but i think it's really just a fancy way to say you have more dishes to wash when dinner is over. maybe i could use them to hold little snacks: teddy grahams, a bit of ice cream... yes. that sounds good.

Martha Stewart Collection

Mouse Novelty Cutting Board

it's just SO precious!! just look at his little tail. at the store, some of the novelty animal cutting boards were being displayed as "plates" and i wondered how realistic that is. do people serve meals on little individual cutting boards? maybe rich people. though if i had this little mouse cutting board i would find a way to eat off of it everyday.

Martha Stewart Collection

Over-the-Sink Cutting Board w/ Colander

this is just c o o l. the colander is collapsable so it's easy to store. you can rinse and drain your veggies in the colander, over the sink, and then chop them right there. genius!! my friend, jessi, has one of these and i remember the first time i saw it... like i was hearing music for the first time. and i'll never be the same.

nuestras vacaciones perfectas

just wanted to provide y'all with a couple of stories and photos of our mexican vacation.

first and foremost, i will let you know

that we escaped without the H1N1 flu strain.

(do not call it swine flu... read this)

after starting our trip with a 2-hour flight delay, we finally made it to cancun international airport, jumped in a shuttle and headed to our hotel. pepe, our driver, let us know that if we wanted to stop at a store and get some beers to drink on the way that would be ok. good to know. we had out first encounter with mexican speedbumps, which are literally in the middle of the highway and will tear the shit out of your car. traffic slows down to about 5 mph to avoid total vehicular destruction.

our resort was perfect for us. comfortable and beautiful. with unlimited drinks.

one day we took a long walk...

another day we went snorkeling and to playa del carmen...

and on the last day we went to tulum.

we almost couldn't come home because sean didn't have his tourist card that we had filled out on our arrival (and which they DIDN'T tell us you had to have to leave the country). he basically paid a security guard "under the table" to expedite the process of getting a new one filled out in time to make our flight. the security guard sneakily got the paperwork stamped and signed, pushed us to the front of the line, and then sean paid him $30 USD in the men's bathroom. muchos gracias senor :)

ultimately, it was a absolute perfect vacation. mexico is beautiful and the people are so friendly. i think americans have a certain view of mexico (myself included) that is not really accurate. i hope to go back again someday, stay longer, and see more!!

tis the season

so i've got a couple of weddings coming up... and i'm already thinking "what to wear?" i bought one dress at old navy a couple weeks ago,

and i'm trying to decide which dress to recycle from my closet for the other wedding. i'm leaning towards this one although i'm afraid that my lady curves don't agree with it as much as they did six years ago when i bought it. i suppose that i could use it for the may wedding, which would give me some extra time to trim some select areas :) yeah, that's probably a good plan. and some spanks.

anyway... so i bought this belt at New York & Company to add some definition to the dress. but the color is slightly off, and it just doesn't quite mesh well enough.

so then i thought maybe i should use a belt that would offset the dress, bring it down a notch... you know. eh. even i don't know.

any advice would be great. oh, and shoes. suggestions, please.

i love obama

so i got a $44 check from the government... and my weekly check was supposed to be, well, MORE than that... so i went to my local unemployment office to inquire about the check and i discover that this money is from president obama's stimulus package!! i don't know if this is a weekly check or not, but it makes me smile to know that my president is thinking about me :)

AND here's my order from j.crew!! i've finally purchased my bathing suits for this summer- YAY!

and for a little variety...

and for those of you thinking "so, uh, she's buying j.crew swimwear and collecting unemployment??"... i have two words for you:

GIFT CARDS.

i love it.

wait... what!?

i'm hawkin the tube this morning... enjoying meredith and matt on the today show. our friendly local weatherman just came on to let me know that even though it is 24 degrees outside right now (with a wind chill of 15) and there's still snow on the ground, not to worry because by friday we're into the low 70s.

welcome to memphis :)

a couple of things

1. i am a bad memphian. at the gas station, a man from out of town asked me how to get to graceland. i threw a couple of blank stares his way, then said "um" about five times before giving him C-grade directions. and i think i said something stupid like, "you can probably just follow the signs." and here's the thing- i KNOW how to get there. i think i just crumbled under the pressure. it's a good thing i'm not a doctor.

2. in a move that i can only assume is to save money, the semi-decent paper towels at work have been replaced by these  t h i n g s  that are SO un-absorbent that it they can best be described as tree bark. i'm concerned about the future of the toilet paper.

it's been a g o o d day.

1. got 8+ hours of sleep last night

2. came home for lunch and got quiet time with sean

3. finished my 'assignment' at work - proud of what i did and ahead of schedule

4. did 40 minutes of cardio - my power song: "let it happen" jimmy eat world

5. cooked new recipe - delicious, reduced-fat mac and cheese

6. visited with roommates and friends

7. watched PRESIDENT Obama's oath of office and inauguration speech. tears came. the good tears.

the good ol' days

while cleaning out my inbox today, i ran across this article my mom sent me a while back. it's an excerpt from Transportation Magazine in 1943 - a guide to hiring women. it is equally hilarious and ridiculous. it reminds me of watching Mad Men with rachel. i will say no more... just read and enjoy.

Eleven tips on getting more efficiency out of women employees. There's no longer any question whether transit companies should hire women for jobs formally held by men. The draft and manpower shortage has settled that point. The important things now are to select the most efficient women available and how to use them to the best advantage.

Here are eleven helpful tips on the subject from Western Properties.

1. Pick young married women. They usually have more of a sense of responsibility than their unmarried sisters, they're less likely to be flirtatious, they need the work or they wouldn't be doing it, they still have the pep and interest to work hard and deal with the public efficiently.

2. When you have to use older women, try to get ones who have worked outside the home at some time in their lives. Older women who have never contacted the public have a hard time adapting themselves and are inclined to be cantankerous and fussy. It's always well to impress upon older women the importance of friendliness and courtesy.

3. General experience indicates that "husky" girls - those who are just a little on the heavy side - are more even-tempered and efficient than their underweight sisters. 

4. Retain a physician to give each woman you hire a special examination - one covering female conditions. This step not only protects the property against the possibilities of lawsuit but reveals whether the employee-to-be has any female weaknesses which would make her mentally or physically unfit for the job.

5. Stress at the outset the importance of time the fact that a minute or two lost here and there makes serious inroads on schedules. Until this point is gotten across, service is likely to be slowed up.

6. Give the female employee a definite day long schedule of duties so that they'll keep busy without bothering the management for instruction every few minutes. Numerous properties say that women make excellent workers when they have their jobs cut out for them, but they lack the initiative in finding work for themselves.

7. Whenever possible, let the inside employee change from one job to another at some time during the day. Women are inclined to be less nervous and happier with change. 

8. Give every girl and adequate number of rest periods during the day. You have to make some allowances for feminine psychology. A girl has more confidence and is more efficient if she can keep her hair tidied, apply fresh lipstick, and wash her hands several times a day.

9. Be tactful when issuing instruction or making criticisms. Women are often sensitive; they can't shrug off harsh words the way men do. Never ridicule a woman - it breaks her spirit and cuts off her efficiency.

10. Be reasonably considerate about using strong language around women. Even though a girl's husband or father may swear vociferously, she'll grow to dislike a place of business where she hear too much of this.

11. Get enough size variety in operator's uniforms so that each girl can have a proper fit. This point can't be stressed too much in keeping women happy.

just a few thoughts.

i love my job. like any job, it has it's good days and bad days, but ultimately the firm is wonderful and i feel lucky to be a part of it. i work in the multi-family studio, where our work consists of urban infill apartments/condos and mixed use projects. i always saw myself in residential architecture- i love the idea of being able to directly influence (hopefully for the better- haha) the way people live. the built environment impacts every aspect of everyone's lives. rich or poor, that is one of the things we all have in common- and one thing i believe we all deserve. and organizations like Architecture for Humanity have made in incredible difference in struggling communities all over the world. and their belief is simple- good design is not a luxury. it doesn't have to be fancy, but it needs to work for the person using it. they deserve nothing less.

how we live, how we use space, how we shape space, how space shapes us; the challenge is to use architecture to respond in a way that not only meet our current needs but is adaptable for the future. as architects, i believe we have a great opportunity. along with our clients, we can shape our built environment in an efficient, beautiful, and responsible manner- hopefully to improve quality of place, quality of community, and quality of life.

and it only took six months

i've just finished a project that's been in the works for almost six months. 

after we returned from europe last summer, sean had a wonderful idea for displaying our photographs. a photo collage of all the places we have been. between the two of us, we've been blessed to travel to greece, italy, spain, france, the netherlands, tanzania, egypt, india, thailand, and throughout the u.s. those are the memories and experiences that have helped us at least try to begin to understand the world around us, and we both feel as though our opportunity is something we should be thankful for and reminded of every now and again. so we went through a few thousand pictures - seriously - and picked our favorites to display above our bed. 

below is the end result, followed by some of my personal favorites.

_________________________

piazza san marco, venice

candlelight at the duomo, florence

graffiti, barcelona

look ma no hands, egypt

sweet children, tanzania

let it happen

i had a great workout, for the second night in a row. last night was 30 minutes on the elliptical, tonight was a 2.5 mile run. i felt great until about mile 2. at that point i just kept trying to figure out how long i could last. the most frustrating thing is that i was running at a slightly slower pace than i normally do, but feeling more exhausted. i blame this (mostly) on the treadmill. 

when i run outside, even when i become fatigued, i at least feel as though i am going somewhere. there's a physical destination. a motivation. if i get tired, i slow down. but i'm always moving forward. on a treadmill, i feel like a damn hamster that never goes anywhere- no matter how hard i try. 

in my relationship with running, i have figured out one truth: ultimately, it's a mental exercise. one of the things i love most about running is how you can get lost in your thoughts. since it's a pretty basic movement, you can think about things other than your stride. sometimes the thoughts influence your pace. and sometimes you can think about absolutely NOTHING. running is the only way i can accomplish that. 

the treadmill doesn't allow my thoughts to flow as freely as the road does. in fact, i find that my thoughts greatly mirror the concept of the treadmill. completely repetitive with no real progression whatsoever. the thoughts actually start to work against me. all i can think about is how tired i am, i'm not actually going anywhere, why am i doing this? at this point i'm at 2.2 miles and... like magic... kanye + ipod saves the day: Stronger. and for the last 0.3 miles i actually am. 

and when it's over i'm glad it's over. and i'll do it again tomorrow.