What's the Story, Morning Glory?

Anyone and everyone who knows me one little bit knows that I have sleep issues. First of all, I love it, but my sleep schedule is erratic at best. Because of the nature of my job, I do not have a set schedule - I may need to be at work at 4am one day and the next day I may not be able to leave until 12:45am. These are extreme circumstances, but you can see that it's hard to get into a regular sleeping pattern when you do not have a set schedule. It hurts me to say this but it sort of makes me miss college! At least when you are in a semester you have a routine that you can follow, even if it is hard to stick to.

Today is Saturday, and I have the weekend off. I love my weekends off because I generally do not make any plans and just lounge about. Well, thanks to my lovely sleep schedule, I woke up at 5am this morning. I willed myself to go back to sleep, but I woke up again at 6:30, and there was no hope of going back to sleep, so I threw in the towel and decided to get up and walk to my favorite local coffee shop. Little did I know, there was a race this morning! I was so confused and kept crossing paths with the runners. It was a perfect morning for a run, too: it was cool & cloudy and not humid, which is a miracle for the South in May!

Here is a little picture timeline of my morning walk. Once I started, I just kept going and walked for about two hours!

The view from my window as the sun rises. I know, I know, you can go ahead and hate me because it's beautiful.

My almond mocha. I usually don't drink "fancy" coffee, but it has been about 6 months since I have had one so I decided today was a good day to splurge. I love the artwork they have on the cups!

I live really close to this elementary school and drive by it at least once a day. It was built in 1938, and although you can't really tell from this picture, it has a really neat Art Deco feel to it. The city is planning on shutting it down because of low attendance, which really saddens me. I hope that they don't tear down this awesomely historic building.

Some lilies on their way to blooming. I really hope they are tiger lilies because those are my favorite, but I couldn't tell just yet.

More pretty flowers! The whole town is blooming this time of year.

Local street art.

KITTY IN THE WINDOW! I am such a cat lady. This cutie caught me off guard because I was not expecting an animal in the business district. It kind of warms my heart to think of a lawyers' office having an office cat. I would like to work at a place like that.

Many, many koi fish.

This is billed as the first canal in Alabama, incorporated in 1820. That has always cracked me up, because I'm pretty sure that canal has been there long before 1820 and besides, how do they know it was the FIRST canal in Alabama? It mystifies me.

Mama duck and her ducklings at the park.

It's Canadian Geese time.

Empty lot near my house.

Where my favorite piece of graffiti used to be located. Now it is just a grey splotch.

I have a graffiti-related rant about my town. I love my town and there are so many great things about it, but graffiti tolerance is not one of them. This town has some truly talented street artists, and I have seen some really cool graffiti around time. The problem is, it never stays around for long. The city paints over it before it has a chance to be appreciated. I realize that some people think that graffiti is degrading to the community and a way for gangs to flourish, etc etc. I also don't approve of obscene graffiti that drags the community down. However, graffiti gives a town character and makes it unique and is a form of expression, just like painting or writing or making music. There used to be an old water tower that was located in town and I passed by it most days, and someone had spray painted "Tim the Tre[e?] Man" on it. I thought that was so nifty and wondered about the person who had done it for so long. Did (s)he climb up there at night? Was that person scared to get caught or fall? Why did they do it? It sparked my imagination and I'm sure it did to others as well, because it was unique. Big surprise, the city has since repainted the water tower and now it just says Lincoln Mills. Not cool. Maybe I'm just being a "radical", but I don't see the harm in graffiti. If I owned a building downtown, I wouldn't mind it. This is not an invitation to paint a giant swastika on my building or something equally inappropriate, but a display of artwork wouldn't be shunned.

I think I feel so strongly about this after visiting Berlin and seeing all the amazing graffiti in the town. Some people think it is a dirty town because of it, but really, it's one of the most clean cities I have ever visited. Graffiti has just become part of the cities' culture, dating back to the end of WWII.

See what I mean?

I was in Berlin this time last year, so I think I am nostalgic. Also the weather here has been "Berlin Weather" as of late, so I am really feeling that, too. The street art is just so cool, though! It's not just graffiti, there is just street art EVERYWHERE. And of course, there is the Berlin Wall!

Really, it's anything to show off some Berlin pictures :-)

Ah, enough. I want to return to Berlin so bad! It's one of my favorite cities for sure. I miss the feeling I had in Berlin: I was completely out of my comfort zone (in a good way), I was learning new and interesting things and for some of it, I was completely on my own. It felt good to be able to rely on only myself. I did not have an international cell phone, so I had no way of getting in contact with anyone! If I got lost, it was all just part of the wonderful journey.

I'm hoping today will hold as much allure for my hometown as Berlin did. It's BREWFEST! The only thing I love as much as traveling is fancy beers. I plan on sampling as much as is reasonable!

-B

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I Wanna Be Sedated

Things have been INSANE lately.

Firstly, a wave of intense severe weather hit my area, complete with many tornados, vast destruction, and a massive power outage for the entire northern half of my state. I was at work when it happened and thankfully, I was okay as well as all of my friends (although two friends had extensive damage to their house, they made it through unscathed - and so did their beautiful kitty!). The next few days were surreal and crazy and I ended up evacuating to my grandparents house in South Alabama with my family in order to have a hot shower and some sanity. Because of that, life has taken on an element of odd. Also, I have worked insanely long days - 12, 14, 16 hour days. Thankfully, the company that I work for took really good care of us - they provided food and clothing and gas, and provided assistance to those of us that lost all of our cold food. It was great to see the community truly pull together and help each other in this time of disaster. Of course, there were a few crazies and rude people, but as a whole the entire community was really appreciative and willing to help each other out. It's nice to know that humanity isn't all rotten apples, right?

One of my favorite things to do at my grandparents house: have a big meal outside on the porch with a Miller High Life (my grandfather's favorite beer) and chat with all the members of my family (or those important people who feel like family).

Beautiful lilies growing at my grandparents old house. Lilies are my favorite flower because they remind me of my great-grandmother, who had a big impact on my life. Every time I see a lily, I think of her and it makes me smile.

A dead tree at my grandparents old house. The kids decided to push it over, until they realized it was infested with ants and ran away screaming. This is right after we encountered a HUGE rattlesnake in the yard!

The beginnings of chicken marsala. I have been trying all kinds of chicken marsala recipes lately, trying to find the right one. Unfortunately, none have been on par with the chicken marsala that my paternal grandmother made, and I cannot ask her about it since she passed away. This rendition was the closest, though. I'm getting closer!

This picture was taken the night of the storm, before we realized the extent of destruction and damage. Work was slow (which rapidly changed), so we were playing hacky sack next to the pineapple!

WATCHING: The 10th season of "Friends"! I love "Friends". It is my favorite show, ever ever ever and I never get tired of watching it.

READING: "Flapper" by Joshua Zeitz. It's a really great book, especially since I am currently enthralled with all things flapper at the moment.

WEARING: Pajamas. Again. Later I will be wearing my classy work outfit. But I have this new cotton dress that I can't wait to debut!

WANTING: to hang out with a few dear friends that are going to be in town for the next few weeks. I can't wait to see them!

LISTENING: James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Prince.

-B

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The Gruesome Twosome.

Just two quick pictures to sum up my Saturday:

David starring as Ray Charles.

Two of my favorite things: PBR and a little snake named Monty. He is making me seriously consider buying a snake!

Today my parents are having a little dinner party for a long-time group of friends and I am trying out two new things: my hand at a dip and wavy hair.

I'm making Buffalo Chicken dip, which I hear is ridiculously easy to make and tasty. If it turns out well, I will include it in a later post! The recipe sounds good (albeit nutritional suicide) and I think it is within my skill level to make, so we shall see.

Also on the list of trying out new things is wavy hair. If you have noticed, in most of my pictures my hair is straight or pulled back. That's because those are the two functions that my hair does well! I work in food, so my hair has to be restrained at all times while I'm working. I'm also a very low maintenance girl when it comes to hair. However, since coloring my hair again, it has started to take on some texture and a little bit of wave. Combined with the mousse that I bought yesterday (which was surprisingly hard to find. I know it's not 1994 anymore, but I know there have got to be people out there that still use mousse!), I'm going to see if I can coax my hair into something other than stick straightness. As a side note, this is one of 5 hair products that I currently own, besides shampoo and conditioner. I have: mousse, a sample size hairspray bottle, deep conditioner, and two bottles of ambiguously labeled "leave-in conditioner". 3 of the 5 bottles have not been touched since I moved into my apartment, haha.

Wish me success!

-B

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Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn.

WATCHING: "Gone With the Wind". One of my favorite movies of all time and also one of my favorite books, I am so glad that it is now on Netflix!

READING: "J.D. Salinger, a Life" by Kenneth Slawenski. Still. This book is slow going for me; the author is a little dry.

WEARING: Suede loafers, a striped cotton skirt from Target, my "Boys Don't Cry" The Cure shirt that I got at a concert years ago, black cardigan. Also, I did a cute side braid with my hair today and I love it.

WANTING: a few spare dollars so I can go shopping, an opportunity to clear out my closets of things I don't wear anymore.

LISTENING: Adele, "21", Modest Mouse, Amos Lee.

My look today for lunch. I was going to have a quick Bandito lunch date with Heather, but it expanded into a lunch gathering after a surprise encounter with some friends! I throughly enjoyed myself and ate a tasty lunch.

Amazing ginger molasses cookies that I made with Megan yesterday! It makes me miss wintertime.

My lunch yesterday: asparagus with parmesan, sweet tea, and jalepeno cheddar cornbread. It was delicious.

This was the view from my apartment two mornings ago: rainy and dreary. I have nicknamed it "Berlin Weather", because it feels like when I visited Berlin last year around this time - I'm in love with this weather, even if it is a little bleak!

A fortune I got a few weeks ago. I hope that it's true :-)

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The Sweeping Insensitivity of This Still Life

WATCHING: Multiple seasons of "American Dad." Also, I have "Nowhere Boy" in the mail from Netflix and I can't wait until it gets here!

READING: "J.D. Salinger, a Life" by Kenneth Slawenski.

WEARING: Maroon fake snakeskin platform heels, skinny jeans, black studded tank top, silver dangly earrings.

WANTING: a little guidance and direction. I also need to buy toilet paper; it's getting desperate around here.

LISTENING: "Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack, totally.

Perfection.

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'Laughter Through Tears'

This is a terrible cell phone picture of my new haircut. It's not too different from the old one, but I have a lot more highlights now - enough that I'm considered a blonde in most circles (I have mixed feelings about this!). It's nice to have a change, especially with summer coming. I always opt to go darker with my color, but maybe having some sunkissed fringe will make me more of an optimist.

Today I don't have to be to work until 4pm. This is bad for my health, because while drinking my morning cup of tea, I realized that I wanted to bake brownies. So it looks like brownies with a side of ice cream is my potential breakfast. I love the smell of baking brownies more than actual brownies, however, so I may have to take these with me to work so that I don't consume them all.

I've had a lot going on in the past few months and eventually, I think I will be making a post about it. However, until that post arrives, let me just say that I am in a very indecisive area of my life. I'm thinking about culinary school. Who would have thought that after 4.5 years of a traditional university education I would want to throw my hands up and say, "Y'know, I really just want to cook stuff"? Not I. Things are mysterious, however.

Snapshot!

WATCHING: Last night I watched "Easy A", which was a surprising viewpoint for a typical teen movie. I also watched part of "Scott Pilgram vs. the World", but I have a horrible habit of sleeping during movies and this poor movie fell victim to my habits. Also a lot of Futurama.

READING: "Gypsy" by Gypsy Lee Rose, "The Unlikely Disciple" by Kevin Roose, "The Beautiful and the Damned" by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the new Vanity Fair, and I just started "American Rose" by Karen Abbott.

WEARING: ugh, right now pajamas so I will talk about yesterdays outfit which consisted of my Jesus sandals from last year, my Amsterdam tshirt that make my chest look nice (yes, I'm vain) and my million year old brown skirt from Target, because I always feel good when I wear it. Oh, and these cute little lotus flower earrings I got on clearance a few weeks ago at World Market.

WANTING: more aloe juice! I drank all of mine yesterday. Actually, I really just want to go grocery shopping, however, I am going to be housesitting for a week starting tomorrow. It seems pointless to go buy a weeks' worth of groceries if I am going to be gone for a week. Therefore, my kitchen is very bare and this probably has something to do with why I am baking brownies at noon.

LISTENING: Mumford & Sons, lots of country music (I know, right? it's weird to me too), Radiohead's new album, Stevie Ray Vaughn.

Much love,

-B