New Hobbies

Well I am one person who has a few hobbies. I read, write, draw, paint, shop, photography, blog, and now we add: quilting. Well at least it is definitely beginning quilting. It is fun though, thinking about fabrics, how the colors flow, much like painting. The big difference being that when I paint & misstep a line it can easily be painted over, well in quilting those irregular lines are going to have to add some character :)

There is nothing like enjoying a hobby. It releases you from the daily stress but can also add its own measure. I stressed last night over re-threading my bobbin. Yeah - Mom the "bobbin fairy" did not attend my home last night :( lol. But once everything got started it began to flow again. The fabric I chose is really pretty, shades of green squares interlocking with cream/pink/green patterned squares. I have always loved quilts and learning how to make them is important to me.

My heritage is peppered with people who enjoyed different methods of sewing. My mom's side of the family has a plethera of talents in this area, my mother being one of the best at anything sewing she touches. She might like to pretend that she is mediocre, but trust me she is so talented. My father's side does not lack for talent either. His mother made some of the most beautiful quilts. We are lucky to still have some of these heirlooms. That is something I want to create: heirlooms. Something like a quilt to keep my future family warm, to be able to look at and see a part of me. Now I hope that some of my artwork on canvas or paper is considered heirlooms to family one day, but a piece of fabric is like nothing else. It is okay to have the quilt in the corner that does not match all the decor, while a picture tends to need to meet with a room's flow. This first one might be one that says: Goodness she started rocky, but hopefully my progression will benefit not only my immediate creative needs but hold together for my family in the future. :)

Ahh relaxing!

Well this weekend Bama was off. WOOHOO! As much as our household loves to watch the games, sometimes the relief from stress is just exactly what we need. :)
Friday night we grilled fish & shrimp and watched some TIVO-d shows. Saturday morning was crazy. I woke up a good bit nauseated (after effects still lingering from anesthesia & surgery I am told)so I did not make it to one calendar event I had. Thankfully by around 11 a.m. I began to feel much better. Marcus & I got dressed to head into Birmingham.
The Birmingham Museum of Art is hosting an exhibition of da Vinci's Sketches from the Biblioteca in Turin, Italy. This is a collection of about 12 pages from his sketchbooks & codex. They are amazing! This particular collection is a real jewel for Birmingham to have been able to host. These items are insanely unique & special to the collection in Turin. There are thumbnail sketches of machinery he was inventing, studies of men & horses, use of metalpoint (which is a terribly difficult medium due to that you cannot erase or correct a mistake), red chalk, & pen/ink. He was truly a master. I mean the Mona Lisa - yeah, but these are those quick sketches done when he found a subject. These show the skill. It is worth seeing if you get the chance.
After the museum we headed to Columbiana. Okay Columbiana has a race track - go carts. Now this is no "beach" go cart track. These monster can run 45-60 miles per hour. You have a neck brace, helmet, etc. on your body for protection. It is INSANE! We met up with Marcus' best friend Kerry. After about 30 minutes it was our session (session = 20 minutes for 25$). Um after session number 1, we were done. Intense is not even the proper wording. We then headed to Paw Paw's for some lunch. Yummy! It is an old restaurant in downtown Columbiana. Then the boys headed to Kerry's to watch football & headed to the Summit to meet up with a girl, Betsy, that Kerry is seeing to shop. Well I shopped, found some great buys (White House Black Market was having a great sale 40% off of the REDLINE!!, then Betsy & I decided we needed pedicures & massages. OOOOHHHH YEAHHHH!!! It was so good. :) Once I met back up with Marcus around 9 p.m. we went to dinner then home. OH what a good day. :)
Today is jammy day. In other words - the pajamas are the only clothes we are putting on & we are vowing not to leave the house all day! I plan to cook some fried chicken, corn, potatoes, & some homemade banana pudding. I have never done the pudding/custard from scratch, should be interesting. :) I hope everyone has a great remainder of the weekend!

IT IS HERE! THE NEW TWILIGHT COMPLETE FINAL TRAILER! OME!

30 minutes of old friend bliss!

This afternoon around 5:01 p.m. my phone rings. I am always excited to see Joe (my best friend from New York/Florida/North Carolina) pop up on caller ID. He is & always will be my Damn Yankee - I am his Southern Belle. Anyway, when I answer to my surprise he begins with: I am in Birmingham right now. Okay so Joe works for Books A Million & their headquarters are in Birmingham, he had a 1 day conference at the BJCC & it was today, he only has 30 minutes between meetings & a required dinner. He got into town late last night & tried to call me but my phone was dead from the weekend. So of course what do I do? I immediately call my husband tell him we are going to Birmingham & get home to head out the door. I have not seen Joe in person in 6.5 years. 6.5 YEARS!!!! We talk around 4 times a month, text when we can, play on facebook & myspace but it has been 6.5 years since we have spoken in person. I almost burst into tears when he rounded the corner at the Sheraton, it was like Florida all over again. He has not changed a bit - which is perfect. I was blown away by how much I had missed him, even with all the correspondence we work to keep often it is not the same. The three of us went up to his room to catch up & so he could change for the next event on his agenda. Their schedule was crazy, you should have seen how there was hardly any time between meetings/lectures. The coolest part though is the books they get copies of (almost all are signed by the authors) to take home.
I was flooded with memories of nights out late, crazy roommates, new experiences, lots of laughter, and even more love. He is one of the most amazing people I know. I am blessed to have 4 true best friends. They are all so unique & just wonderful. His place in my life was not only perfectly timed, but an addition that took me by surprise and brought me closer to who I am. He met me during a real searching for yourself period & loved me for all the craziness, naivete, sheltered, Alabama blonde that I am. I will never forget so many things - dance clubs, cigarettes (never smoked them myself - but I did like to light them on fire while sitting outside & my roommates would smoke - yeah smokers don't like you to waste their cigs for your own pyro habits :), chik fil a all the time, wakie*wakie*eggs*&*bakie*, no cheese at the Waffle House, Pleasure Island, Islands of Adventure, RENT, teaching someone how to pump gas (yes truly how to PUMP gas), & learning how to just let go.
Thank you Joe. You took me under your wing from the first moment I said armadillo & have kept me there ever since - I LOVE YOU!!

Alabama 17 - Kentucky 14

Okay so this weekend was not so pretty for Bama. Well I guess everyone has bad hair - stuck in traffic - static cling - gum on your shoe days. They just had to have theirs in front of the Bamanation. We did beat Kentucky, though there were a few heart wrenching moments before the clock hit 00:00 in the fourth, but again, bad days happen. Either way we enter an off week and then we see Ole Miss - a team like Kentucky (strong, ready & wanting to win and prove their worth).

Roll Tide - No Ducks!

ROLL TIDE ROLL: BAMA 41-Georgia 30

WOWSERS! This weekend was insanely wonderful. Though my body has decided to revolt - I had to spend Thursday afternoon at the DR. and half of Friday at home due to a bout with Bronchitis. Yeah - surgery definitely breaks down the immune system - I never get colds in the summer - January sure, September No.

Anyway, If you haven't heard Bama whooped Georgia Saturday night making a beautiful point in that we are not some fluke team but a force to be wary of. My house was fairly quiet even with the big win. Due to my unfortunate illness only Rob & Marcus were here to watch. Poor Marcus had to do all the cooking & preparing. He played hostess. I must say he did a great job - Rob & I both survived :)

Today we just chilled out & rested. My body, I think is getting better, though I did pull a muscle yesterday while coughing up a lung. No pain no gain, right? :)We caught up on some TiVo items & just enjoyed how pretty the weather was today. There are not enough lazy Sundays in a month are there?

Meet Me In St. Louis....

OME! This past weekend was wonderful. I flew up to St. Louis to visit one of my 'sisters', Tracy. Tracy has been through more than any person should ever have to experience yet when I saw her as I stepped out of the airport my breath left my chest and a huge smile spread over my face. She is as she always will be, an exuberant, shining star. I wanted to cry when I saw the crimson BAMA on her t-shirt and the smile on her face. I did not realize how much I had truly missed her. Before I knew it we were whisking to her new house - which is fabulous - eating a quick breakfast, see Izzy in a hilariously cute elephant Halloween costume, seeing her sister Leslie off to the airport, then getting ready to go Apple picking in Belleville, Illinois. Yeah in a span of approximately 3 hours I was on a plane leaving Birmingham, landing in St. Louis, then heading to Illinois. It was a whirlwind, but a fun one. Apple picking was fun, we wandered the orchards & visited the country store. It is a place called Eckert's, definitely appears to be something that is pretty popular in the area. Tracy & I gabbed the entire time (while also getting updates via my phone of the Bama/Arkansas game) and when Bama beat the mess out of Arkansas we proudly sang the fight song for anyone around us to hear!

Once we got home that evening we were tired but not ready for the day to end. I had promised Tracy that I would make my homemade fried chicken while I was visiting and it seemed we needed to head to the grocery store. Well, St. Charles (the area they live in) just happened to be having an Irish Festival & Arts Festival on Main Street.

Main Street St. Charles is adorable. It is a piece of Americana that is an architectural mixture that evokes New England streets while also paying homage to European roots. I was impressed. We of course shopped, but it was more than just hanging out & looking at items to purchase. Tracy was relaxed & able to just be. There was a moment in our discussions where I really believe she just let out a breath of air and sighed. It was a little bit of freedom & stress relief while not leaving reality behind. The best kind of relaxation. Escape can be wonderful, but sometimes staying in the moments and being able to appreciate where we are is a very special kind of escape. I so hope that I was able to help, to bring a little craziness with a spark of fun to a stressful month.

After the festival 'tour' we headed to the grocery store & back home. A wonderful boysenberry & blackberry pie was on the menu for Sunday dinner so we had to get it mixed together. Then there was the famous Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake, which we had no crust for so we had to eat it by the spoon out of the bowl. I know such torture, huh? :):):):)

Sunday was a full day as well with Church, the famous Courtney fried chicken extravaganza & an amazing 3 cheese mac&cheese by Tracy afternoon. Tracy shared a box of all of Brooklyn's belongings with me that evening. That little girl is so loved!! She is so beautiful - I cannot imagine the perfection that she is as the brightest of God's angels. Isabel of course made us laugh hysterically (see Tracy's blog for the story). Isabel is adorable. There is just nothing like hearing her repeat EVERYTHING you say. I don't think I kept the grins hidden enough when she was getting lightly scolded for a few things, but I mean - she is too darn cute.

For example we were at breakfast one morning and Isabel began saying "Mike, Mike, come here. Mike, Mike come here please!" Tracy tried not to laugh and told her to say Daddy come here, well that lasted a minute then she even switched to "Tracy, Tracy, come here." it was hilarious! She has really got such a personality, she talks and talks, and is super smart. Though she does think when she sees a koala bear she calls it Dad... yeah. :) Her little 'roar' for lion is just too much - though during church it is priceless :)

(Oh yeah - Aunt Leslie - ROLL TIDE - NO DUCKS!)

Monday, Tracy & I wandered around St. Charles again and really just relaxed, shopped, acted all girly, and just had a girl’s day. It was perfect. Saying goodbye was not easy. I really did not want to leave her, but I know that Jose & Juannanita will need a job so Mike, just make sure Jose trims the edges around the sidewalk & know that little Juannanita has small hands (use her only for tight spaces & small jobs :) Don't worry the pool boy will have his hands full....