This is only the beginning.

Christmas was only the beginning to a month long Celebration Season!

12-25 Christmas
12-27 Abby was born
12-31 New Years Party
1-5 Estate Warming Party
1-6 They break ground on the Shrimp House
1-19 Ocean Springs Mardi Gras
1-22 My Birthday
1-25 to 1-27 My Birthday Shack Up

Books

Here are two quick book reviews of things i have read this week. I am not giving a synopsis of the books, you can get those on amazon. I would recommend both though. Highly.
On Chesil Beach, by Ian McEwan, proved to be a good choice. It was a beautifully written novel. Every paragraph was poetic, descriptive, and needed. It had the possibility to be a very typical book, but the way it was written created a special tension, that kept you with Edward and Florence, the characters in the book. That tension made this book was painful at times.

Look Me in the Eye, by John Elder Robinson was a great impulse buy for me! I am glad i did it. I guess the cover got me, or maybe it was my long standing, and unfulfilled curiosity about Aspergers and Autism, but when i started reading it, i was pleasantly surprised. I have also always been fascinated with how people work or think or make things, especially in the creative/design world, and this was a wonderful window into a new mind. He also has these hilarious stories of growing up.

It seems that memoirs are really getting to be popular these days. This one i would suggest.


Future books: I am still working on Miranda July's No One Belongs Here More than You. I started out of the gate real fast on that one, but i have slowed down. Maybe i will finish it this break. I have also started Atonement, by Ian McEwan. I want to see that movie but i cannot find a theater. Oh well. My brother gave me the book, Devil in the White City, which i have wanted to read for a while, and i want to read Running With Scissors, by John Elder Robinson's brother, Augustus Borroughs. I have actually wanted to read it for a long time, and i have been holding out on watching the movie so i could read the book first. So that is my future reading list. Maybe i can accomplish the book a month thing again.

Christmas at my uncle's house

Every year, my mom and i drive up to Lineville to see my uncle Jerry and his Family.
This is my Cousin's little girl Allie. She is super cute.

And you cannot go up to lineville without learning a new card game. THis is the board for the new one we learned. I dont remember what it was called, but this is the board, and i am going to reproduce it, and play it.

Baby Fun Time!

This past week has been a lot of fun. I have relaxed, and that has been real good.

First and most important, i got a little niece, Abby!
That is my big brother Johnny, the new Daddy! Abby is about 20 minutes old right there. She came out kickin. It was really funny. I guess she got tired of not being able to move her legs around, because for the 30 minutes i watched her, she was kicking her legs around. She weighed 7lbs 60z, and was 19.3" long. YEAH ABBY!

A good start to christmas, not over yet!

Wow, today has been a fun christmas.
A nice breakfast of eggs and grits with my mom.
opening my stocking
going to spend a little time with my dad,, and some more of the family.
saw my super prego sister in law(she is making a baby day after tomorrow) YEAH LITTLE ABBY
I went into nerf battle with my nephew.
cooked some more with my mom
had a dinner of steak, potato leek soup, corn on the cobb, and spinach salad.
watched a lot of dog whisperer
played with deloris...

Not over yet!!!

BUSY BUSY BUSY!

So the past few days have been a pretty amazing spread of time. Friday night Anne, Alan, Jody and Ben came into sweets. There was an arm wrasslin tournament, and a coaster war. It was probably the most fun i have had in a long time.

Yesterday, i woke up and continued to pack up my house. Dan pulled into town, and ate some la bakery, and walked through the Frank Gehry museum, and got yelled at when we walked around the Rosetti house. Dan went to mobile, I went home to pack more.

I ended up on face book for a while, which was no good. I canceled my face book. It was weird how much of a knot it was giving me in my stomach that quickly. ahhh... a relief it is gone. (i am sorry vincent!)

I got some more packed, and then Anne and Alan called, after getting some fresh ink done, and we went to mellow mushroom, and then to a movie. We watched Charlie Wilson's War. I would highly recommend it.

Well... today i have to actually do it. I have to pack all of my stuff, and get it to its storage area, and GO HOME! I cant wait to get home, i am not looking forward to the next 16 hours though. Packing is one of my least favorite jobs...Driving on that part of 65 is another one.

Oh well, they are playing christmas tunes on NPR, that will keep me company for a while.
have a good day!

Ahhh, i almost had a relapse

A friend of mine told me that i should be on face book, because it was cool. I decided to sign back up. I did, then i started adding friends, and started joining groups, and it started consuming my time... and eh. i decided that it was not a good idea
i deleted my account again.
i feel better.

I want a porch

I feel like the last several years, I have not really been thinking about what I want in life. I have been ignoring it, and listening to what others want or tell me I should want. It is kind of a depressing statement to make, that which I just said, but I think that it is really easy to do, especially with the perfect lives depicted for us, everywhere, in magazines, and tv, and movies. Over the past few months, I have been thinking a lot about this. I guess I have a friend who has forced me to think a lot about what I want in life. Unfortunately, I have never been able to answer him straightly, because I haven’t really known, I have just kind of guessed at the answers, only to be kind of upset with my self afterwards, because the answers that I gave were not right. I was not lying, I just did not know. I don’t know if he has heard any of what I have written below before, except for the part about having a porch. So, to my friend, and to everyone who reads my blog:

I thought I would tell you what I want in life.

I want a porch or a balcony, or a courtyard, some kind of outdoor space. I want a big kitchen. I want a library. I want kids and animals: dogs, cats, chickens, donkeys. I want to be married one day. I want a studio, I want to work. I want to have enough time in my life to bake, and cook. I want to be cozy. I want to have room enough to entertain my friends. I want to have Sundays to do nothing specific, and enjoy the people I love. I want to help people. I don’t want to make buildings that are ridiculous. I want a vegetable garden. I want a big dining table, and I want to have family dinners as often as possible where any of my friends can attend. I want to go on my morning runs. I want a big bed with nice sheets. I want a good sounding stereo. I want to be healthy. I want to have old mixing bowls, and nice pots, and pans, and knives. I want to be surrounded by art.

I want to cook for my friends, and make furniture, and art, and houses.

I want a partner in crime!

I want someone to go on adventures with. To sit around and be quiet with. I want someone to be busy with. I want someone to share joys and pains, excitement and frustration. I want someone to love. I want someone to bake for and to cook with. I want someone to smile at in the morning. I want someone to call. I want some one to hug. And someone to hold my hand. I want some one to learn with. I want someone to dream with. I want someone to kiss. I want someone to travel with. I want someone to touch my skin. I want someone to undress me. I want someone to kiss every inch of me. I want someone to rub my head while we lay on the couch together. I want someone to make a family with. I want someone to trust with all of my heart. I want someone I can tell anything to. I want someone to make me laugh, and who I can make smile.

I guess I picture this life some where rural, but I don’t think it has to be. This is based off of what I know now. I am certain most of my wants will stay the same, and that some will change, and I will add new ones to this as life goes on.

I have always dreamed of buying up a down town. Since I can remember. I have always dreamed of these big giant schemes. Not a big place but a small town’s down town, slowly, and using it to sell things, and bring life back into the cities, and spread the love of art, music, food, and community. I have wanted to encourage a certain love of education. I want to have an art gallery, and a restaurant, and a print shop, and a wood shop, a place for rock and roll shows and an architecture office but only to do little projects and competitions. I want to employ teenagers, and people who wouldn’t normally have jobs in these types of places. I want to make a place for elderly, who are usually home bound to be able to get out of the house, and socialize, and have purpose. I want to have an after school program that encourages a healthy life. I want to make a beautiful place. I want to help people, locally. I want to see community flourish where it has disintegrated.

And maybe one day it will happen. that is just one of my dreams.

What do you want?

Off to the big city

Well, i have made it through security and i am waiting in the terminal at the Gulfport Airport. My mom surprised me a few days ago with this trip to New York City, and i am about to fly out. I am not looking forward to the next 8 hours, i am not a fan of the aeroplane. But, i like going places, so i bite the bullet.

AND I AM GOING TO NEW YORK! I am going to see tall buildings, and going shopping, going eating.... i dunno.
Weeee!

Its a busy week for sure, and i want to take a bath!

The day before yesterday, my mom surprised me with a trip to New York City! Ahhh... Well, i kind of knew that it was a possibility, but i did not know for sure that i was going until day before yesterday! Obviously I am really looking forward to spending a few days in a big city with my momma! I leave in 2 days!

I will be getting there a day early, and i will be staying with a friend of a friend. I have met this man before, once, and he seemed like a fun person. I have since heard a lot about him, which makes me both more excited and a little nervous.

This is the guy i am staying with: Gio Gaynor, Batman Underpants, and Broken Hearts
I am actually not nervous at all. I am super excited. He reminds me of my friend Dan. Which means that there is probably some kind of trouble we are going to get into.

I talked to him on the phone last night to get his address. It was super awkward, in a very funny way. This should not be surprising, because i am pretty awkward in almost every way.

On another note... I want to take a shower. I would also like to wash my dishes, which are beginning to pile up. I can do neither, because i do not have a working hot water heater. I have not had one all week. The repair men came yesterday( they were supposed to come the day before) and they took this big piece of metal with pipes coming out of it, out of my hot water heater and told me that they would hopefully have it today, and to have a nice afternoon. I was sad, because that was a bunch of stuff to take out of a water heater it seemed, and i want to take a bath!!!! I took a shower at my neighbor's house yesterday, today i am going to skip it. hopefully i will have a water heater tonight. *tear running down my face*

alright, well in other news.... I am taking the shrimp house to permit tomorrow! that is pretty exciting. I also have two more houses in the line up, but i will write more about those in other posts, i was just giving you a heads up!

Off to take deloris on a bike ride!!!

The day after thanksgiving things i am thankful list

So, i know in one of my last posts i said i would make a extra special thanksgiving, things i am thankful for list. Well I was busy, so i will do it today.

I am thankful that it is getting cold outside, for the 3 turkeys i got to nibble off of yesterday, for Mary Poppins, for getting to see three of the people i love the most this week, Gabby, Abby and Dan.

I am thankful for getting to make 2 stupid short movies in Jackson, for grass angels, that the Jackson Museum of Art (or what ever they call that thing) has free admission, for Rainbow Supermarket, and for indian food. I am thankful that gas is still affordable, so i am able to go on adventures.

I am thankful that i have a really good friend on the coast. I am thankful for the camping trip, the shooting star, smores, conan, for ultimate frisbee, bad movies, for pomegranates, boiled peanuts, trips to alabama, and our trip to New Orleans. I am thankful for our study sessions, for watching judo, for watching the red sox win, James Bond and Midlake. I am thankful most of all that you are my friend.

I am thankful for the chicken shit contests. I am thankful for all of my neighbors, even though they might wake me up at 3 am singing at the top of their lungs (travis!). I am thankful that you tease me about not getting kissed in a long time, and that you have taught me to play pool. I am thankful that you will come running if something scares me, and that y'all root for auburn, even though you dont really care for them. War Eagle! I am thankful for my roast chicken crisps!

I am thankful for Sam in his desire to make his house perfect for when his wife gets out of the hospital. I am thankful for James for knowing what he wanted, and not being timid about making design decisions. I am thankful for Terry for not letting anybody tell him anything he did not want to hear. I am thankful for Mark, and that he is still trying, even though it seems like it is useless sometimes. I am thankful for Patience. I am thankful for Myra, for becoming such a good friend as well a fun client.

I am thankful that even though i was not able to see any of them, my family is healthy and for the most part all happy and in good places. I am thankful that my brother and his wife are having a little potato next month, who i cannot wait to meet. I am thankful that my other brother and his wife are trying to make a potato. I am thankful that my dad is healthy. I am thankful that my mom is healthy and that we are such good friends. I am thankful that i have family!

I am thankful for long baths in the morning, that my foot doesnt hurt too bad when i run, that i can take deloris on bike rides, even though i get scraped up some times. I am thankful that there are sweet potatoes, and greens, and pecan pies. I am thankful that daylight savings time has ended, and I am still thankful for that bridge.

James's Porch

Yes, i am partially responsible for this. I got this assignment, that started out like most other projects.... Design a porch for James's house. His home was moved to this site, and had to be turned sideways to fit on the site....so his house needed a new front. I made a simple gable roof coming off of the front, making a nice little porch.
well that did not sit well with James. He needed something funky, much like his awesome wardrobe. So, he drew me a picture in Microsoft Paint of what he wanted. I was at first not sure if he had gotten the perspective wrong, but no... he wanted a porch roof to go up higher than the roof of his house.
He had a vision, and no one was going to stop him. He needed help on how to build it.
So, I drew him up step by step construction instructions, and here it is!!!

I will post his drawings soon!

link

http://www.neighborhoodstoryproject.org
http://foundvspostsecret.com/

Good Bye Mr. Toe-Joe!

Mr. Toe-Joe, one of the old men from sweets passed away this week.

I don't know how old he was, but he was old. He would ride from the Villa Maria, the retirement home up the street, down to sweets on his hover round. He would have his awesome little dog, in his lap, i think it was a mix between a jack russel and a wiener dog. he would come in there every morning i think(i only saw him on the weekends, but i think it was a daily activity) and have a coke, and remove his oxygen tubes, and smoke a cigarette. He would have a beer every once in a while, but usually it was a coke. I would see him all over town. He was about as independant as one could be.

I saw him last saturday morning. He came in right when i got to work, which was later than usual, because i had a race that morning. I was wearing my running shorts and my sweaty ass tshirt. He said something to the effect of Hey there... i like your shorts...i like your legs better...
He was a funny man, always real sweet, and never afraid to hit on you . He reminded me of my grandpa a bit. My grandpa never hit on me, dont worry, but he did hit on all of our waitresses. He was also full of piss and vinegar like my grandpa.

Anyway, i will miss seeing ol' Mr. Toe-Joe every week. He always managed to make me smile and Sweets will not be the same without him.

A House, 2 races, 2 movies, and camping!

This is going to be a real quick overview of the last few weeks, because i have pretty much sucked at documenting my life lately.

First and the coolest: Myra's house is out of the ground!!!
It was a blitz framing with hope force, hands on, habitat for humanity north virgina, and the center. It went up so quick, in only 2 days it went from just the floor decking to having a roof, windows and doors. It was a good 2 days and it was super neat to see myra's kids in their new rooms for the first time. Tyrique, her youngest son who is about 2 (he was born just before the hurricane i believe) his eyes got so big. I dont think he knew what to think at first, when he came up to the house with all of the hammers going, but when he found out that he was standing in his new room, he got this big smile on his face. Frederick, her oldest son even got to pitch in a little by helping to pick up some of the building trash after day 1.

The next big thing happening is that i have run in 2 5K races over the past 2 weeks. The first was the Scottish festival north of Gulfport. That one was fun, because it was my first race since junior high. I used to really suck at running then. Now i kind of like it, and i am doing well. I came in 3rd in my age group, and no, there were more than three of us running.

The one i ran yesterday, The Biloxi Mayor's Cup, well it about killed me for some unknown reason. I still feel a bit drained. I may still be fighting this cold a little. But i did manage to cut about a minute and a half off of my time (no trophy this time). I have one more next weekend at Stennis Space Center then i have a week off in my racing.

I also went camping for an evening last weekend which was most enjoyable. I managed to con a friend of mine into meeting me there. It was a super enjoyable night, including a shooting star and s'mores.

This past week was good for movies as well. I watched Mary Poppins for the first time in years, and if you haven't seen it in years, you should revisit it as well. I even went so far as downloading the sound track from I tunes. Highly recommended!!!!
I also watched the Casino Royale, my first bond movie i believe (this may be inaccurate, but i dont recall specifically watching another one, it could have happened and i could just not remember it was a bond movie) This was a fun movie to watch.

I guess those are the highlights, for now. I might give you some more later if i feel like it.

Well, i promise to have a big thanksgiving things i am thankful for list later this week!

Things I am thankful for.

I have been doing this list every once in a while for a few months now. I can get so busy sometimes and I think it is important to take the time to remind myself of all of the great things that happen in my life. This list is in no particular order.

Chili Lunch from the Red Cross Fundraiser.
Doris’ Tamales
The many movie nights over the last few weeks.
The Bridge Opening
Myra’s House underway
Getting to work on Myra’s house on Thursday
Being able to run again
Frisbee
My long bike ride to the Gulf Islands National Sea Shore
Dressing my cat up like a chicken
Cooking dinner, and being able to share it with a friend.
I am not putting watching Decoys II on this list! (just kidding)
Higher Ground Coffee Roasters (God Bless Alabama)
Deloris, running around in circles
The Deep Fried Turkey at Sweets last weekend
My new sewing machine.
The new Robert Plant and Allison Krauss album
Newcastle Beer

I think i am going to end it here for today. I have a chicken shit contest to get ready for. Yeah!!!!

Wetlands - They are supposed to be wet!

Can i please go back to my happy sunday, of the woods, cooking, naps, baseball and hour long baths? please? can i?

broken lip and broken foot!

I played frisbee last night, as i do most tuesdays these days, and it started off nice it was cool outside, the first time i did not feel i was dieing of dehydration within the first 15 minutes... it was so perfect... until... UNTIL Will threw the frisbee to me, and it was a bullet. It was coming at me faster than i could tell, and I cought it,but i think i was trying to catch it with my face as well, because it was stopped by both my hands and my lip. I turned around and threw the frisbee real fast, and grabbed my lip and it was bleeding, and if you have ever had a busted lip, you know it bleeds, and bleeds. I got blood all down the sleeve of my sweatshirt, and ran inside Salvo, and got a paper towel. I bled all over that, and it was not a bad cut, it just bled and bled.
I sat out for the rest of that game, until the water break, and i joined in on the next one, because my lip had finally stopped its gushing.
I was playing hard again, my lip felt funny because it was swollen, but it did not hurt. It was not 10 minutes of hard playing until i was chasing the frisbee, and i felt it. I had stepped funny, and it felt like a bunch of stuff moving around inside of my foot. I stopped dead in my tracks. It hurt. Bad. But i wanted to play, and I had just got back in the game after my recovery of my lip, and i did not want to seem like a wimp, or that i was trying to get attention.

This was super stupid of me, but i kept playing, mostly out of pride. But, i just did not want this bad attention of sitting out. And i could not really just go home, because i had already made plans to watch a movie with folks. So i would have had to sit there, or go home and miss the movie. So i played... With my hurt foot, but i did expect it to work its way out. And it actually felt better, as i played. I guess it stayed warm and stretched out.

It started really getting sore after the movie, and by the time i woke up i could not put any weight on it. It hurt really bad. I started worrying that it could be broken.
I called a coworker and got him to send me a file i was working on, and waited till 8 to call the doctor to make an appointment. I got the appointment at 10:30 am, and between the doctor's and the hospital, i did not get home until 2:30.

Thank goodness it was not broken. and at this hour, it is feeling sore, but better than this morning. eh.

Worries: my training for the half marathon is messed up, deloris is going to drive me nuts because she is not getting her exercise, and i am going to drive my self nuts because i am not getting my exercise.

Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

havin fun, staying busy, vacation coming soon! a captains log of good things.

So, The past several weeks, i have been having a lot of fun.
Captains log of good things:
1) the shrimp house is almost done
2) they started digging the foundations at Myra's yesterday
3) i ran 4 miles comfortably
4) i have been swimming
5) riding my bike with deloris is fun.
6)I see why people like Ultimate Frisbee



I have also been making a few custom tshirts for friends. That has been a lot of fun, because it gets my hands into the making, which i miss a lot.

Some Diggin Happening at Myra's

So, today's big news is that they are starting on Myra's house. I drove by there, and they were digging the foundations!!!!!!! HORAYYYYY!!!!!

Now off to play frizbee! Yeah!

Astral Factor makes Astral Will

So, Saturday night my friend Will and I chose to watch another ridiculous movie, something that i feel is going to become a bit of a tradition between the two of us. Anyway, we watched this movie called ASTRAL FACTOR which is also know as the INVISIBLE STRANGLER.

Anway this movie was incredible. It inspired Will to become Astral. Here is Will astral!

Miss Patience's Fence haulted again, and stuff to do today!

I was really hoping that we were going to be able to work on Miss Patience's Fence this weekend, but since it rained yesterday, the power company was unable to remove the power pole. I guess it will have to wait until the weekend after i get home from my vacation.

Speaking of vacation, well i have 2 little trips to alabama planned. Next friday i will be going to Rural Studio for the Alumni Weekend. I will be back in Mississippi Monday and Tuesday. Then i head out for Auburn for Dad's award ceremony! I am pretty excited about going home.

Today, well, since i am not going to be doing the fence today, i have a busy schedule.

I am going to be working on la maison de la crevette aka the shrimp house. Oooohh.. i am so close to the finish of it, I probably will not finish it today, because of the other things i want to get done.

Those things being:
clean up my home
clean up my yard
clean up my car
take pictures of my new shirt
update my store
take deloris on a bike ride
Take care of my laundry

So, i plan on working on la maison de la crevette, just not to completion.

I have a bunch on my plate today, so i had better get moving, especially since i plan on watching a little of the Auburn game, and going to Gautier to the Mullet Festival.
bye bye for now!

coffee and potatoes and a brand new house!

So, I could not find any good coffee down here, and i was starting to miss it. I have been drinking Cafe' Bustelo, but i have kind of gotten tired of it. It is alright coffee, but you know, sometimes you just want a good cup of coffee. I was going to buy some on my way through Alabama, but i just could not wait. So i went to Higher Ground on the internet, a fair trade/organic coffee company from Leeds, Alabama, and ordered me 3 bags of coffee. I think next month i am going to subscribe to their coffee subscription. Anyway, i ordered it tuesday morning, and it was waiting on my door step yesterday(wednesday) after work. Oh my goodness. I cannot tell you how excited i was. When i opened the box, a strong smell of fresh good coffee came rushing out of the box!!!! Ahhhhh! yeah! Even though it was in the evening i made a pot right then of one of my favorites... the Magic City Blend. ahhh heaven!

Yesterday was also a pretty damn awesome day at work. the thing that made it most awesome was the dedication of the Parker House, which was our blitz build house. We started it 2 weeks ago, on September 19, and dedicated it yesterday. It was a great project because it brought a bunch of groups together, which normally do not work together too much. more pictures can be seen here. I will be posting the link to the GCCDS website as soon as i get that one ready!


Oh and one last thing before i head out on my run!

Check out this great new series the folks at The Big Things are putting out. Oh lordy, this is where i am getting my news now! I present the TUBER REPORT!!! (that link links to wednesday's report) Brian Z.... not only does your last name start with a Z, which is amazing, you have made me laugh a few good times. And i guess to give the whole Big Things Update... There is a new Batman, Broken Hearts and Underpants

Alright, Deloris is officially ready to go, so i must head out! have a good day!

Frizbee tonight!

So, tonight is frizbee at Yankie Stadium in Biloxi! aka the Salvation Army. I am pretty excited. I am also hopefully posting the Rosetti Street house on the GCCDS website. This is the house that was started by the Design Corps group that came down this summer.

Other than that, not much is going on. Swimming yesterday was alright, i think i could have gone harder, and running this morning was a little tough. I could have pushed it a little harder this morning but i did not want to because of frizbee tonight.

I ALMOST FORGOT!!! THE NEW SHIRTS ARE IN!!! I need to take pictures of them today, and they will be online!!!! Weeee!!!!!

Whaoo... new sneakers!

Once again... WAR EAGLE!!! Ok I got this out of the way

Well... i am pretty excited. I just got a new pair of running shoes. In my new running world, i have worn out a pair of running kicks just from running. I think i have worn them 3 or 4 times other than running, and they are officially worn out!!!!! This might not seem like a big deal, but i am pretty excited to have a second pair.

I went on my first run in my new shoes this afternoon, about 3 miles, and it was alright! I am going swimming tomorrow morning, so i will have to wait until Tuesday morning to try them out again.
Kind of excited!

So here is my play time schedule for the next week:
Monday: swim am
Tuesday : 3 mile run am, Ultimate Frizbee pm
Wednesday: Swim am
Thursday: 3 Mile Run am
Friday: swim am, 1.5 mile run pm
Saturday: 5 mile Run am
Sunday: off!

war eagle!

War Eagle! War Damn Eagle!

So the auburn tigers kicked ass tonight, and it was a great game.

I have been ragged by all of the lovely folks at sweets about auburn's performance this year and tonight made it all worth it. We kicked Florida's ass! Not by much but we did it! We won a major game! Hells yeah! And a final war eagle for the night!

Captains log of good things

This captains log is going to be a bit far reaching in the past(a few weeks,) because i have not written down what i am thankful for in a while.

1) my zeta hat that my friend danger made for me, and shipped to me in a beautiful package
2) my cd that my friend keefe sent me of his band's last show, which included pages from the onion calendar.
3) my run yesterday where i did 3 miles pretty well.
4) we got all of the money to build patience a fence
5) i have the new tshirt printed, the white trailer shirt.
6) the natatorium, a great place to swim
7) I watched Lone Wolf McQuade with some friends
8) Learning to play ultimate frizbee
9) making some good catches, and a good throw or two in Ultimate.
10) My study sessions and my study partner
11) I got my guitar
12) Gabby got a promotion
13) I got to work on the Blitz build, which led to a bunch of things that were good:
14) i was on the rafters putting in blocking
15) i learned how to hang drywall
16) I can hammer in a 16 penny nail in 4 hits (after it is set)
17) I helped build a ramp
18) i can kind of install that laminate flooring.
19) i learned i can do a bunch of other stuff on a house
20) Patience is getting the power pole removed from her front yard.
21) I had Pho 777 yesterday
22) I cleaned out my front closet
23) i got a new dining table (not new, but new to me)
24) I have the high score on tri towers at sweets
25) today is my 10th day without a cigarette, so i guess that means i have quit
26) my friends dan and alex came to visit
27) dan did not get killed when he was playing homeless in New Orleans
28) Will joined Alex, Dan, and I, and we went to daulphin Island and met up with Abby and Gabby at the beach
29) Alex, Dan, and Will danced for a beer.
30) my dad won a teaching excellence award from Auburn University
31) I am going home in october for a few days
32) there was an honesty shared between a friend an i, and it did not mess up our friendship, which it easily could have, i think this is one of the things i am most thankful for at the moment.
33) I have decided to run a half marathon in January
34) the rats are gone from my house
35) i am making a shirt by hand for a friend, and will be starting another one this weekend. (it is good to be making stuff by hand again, something i have strayed away from for the most part for the last year or so.


There are a bunch of things in life right now that are happy, and as much as i wish i could write all of the good down, but i have to get ready for work at sweets, and i think that task would take all day.

What? Katrina money being waisted? NO WAY!?!?!?

Alright well, here is a new article from the NYTimes exposing the mismanagment of money in mississippi... go figure

More Housing Woes in Mississippi

Published: September 27, 2007

The Department of Housing and Urban Development needs to take a close look at how Mississippi is spending its emergency federal aid.

read and enjoy!

In Gio's Kitchen

Another great film from the big things. This one made me laugh so hard. Oh my goodness. I am still laughing! Gio, i think this is in my top 5.
here is the link to this one!!!

here is the link again if you missed the first one.

Dinner Impossible

Update on the Fence for Patience

So, we have raised all of the money for Miss Patience's Fence. I told her that she was getting her white picket fence and she was so excited, she had to take a seat. So Thank you to everyone who bought a shirt or donated to the fund!

As an update to this we are working to get it all moving. There are a few things that need to happen for the fence building to start.

First, Miss Patience has an old power pole right in the middle of her front yard. Why they put it there, i do not know, but we are getting that removed. Mississippi Power has agreed to come take it down, but there is a cable line and a phone line that are still attached to it, and those need to be moved, so we are trying to get the phone company and the cable company to come move those.

Once that is done, hopefully this week, Miss Patience needs a walk way. This can be done in a day. Maybe saturday, while the posts for the fence are being set. Sunday, if all goes to plan, we can build her a fence. Oh i cannot wait to actually get working on this thing. So thank you to everyone!!!! Biloxi Hearts You!

I will announce the next I heart Biloxi Project soon!

Congradulations Papa Bear!

I would like to announce that my dad has won one of this year's
Auburn Alumni Association Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Awards. Yeah DAD!

OH MY GOODNESS!!!! IT WORKED!

So, i might have either done the smartest thing i have ever done or the stupidest. Or atleast i should have had a helmet on. But. i am still alive. What did i do? Well, for a while now, i have not been able to physically wear out my dog, and today i think i have, if not i am close!

I am not going to say what i did yet.... i am going to tell you more about my dog and her massive amounts of energy!

I began running, because she needed an outlet for all of that energy, but i have yet to be able to wear her out. She gets bored, and destructive. She also can get very annoying. I have been reading this book by the dog whisperer, and although it is amazingly insightful, i was always stuck, because it said that you need to exercise your dog until they are pooped. Well, i haven't been able to do that. So i have not been able to have my dog in a calm, exhausted state. The book even suggests getting a treadmill for your dog?!?!?! I can understand the frustration, but who can afford a tread mill for a dog? wha?!?!?!?

So, over the past few weeks, i have been thinking. i have been pondering. i have been scheming. Throwing a little doubt that i would live through the thought, i delayed my action until this morning. You see... I went out drinking last night because my friend sam was leaving. I dont really like run after i have been drinking. so i looked over this morning while i was reading the news online... i looked over to my left.. to the front of my living room, and i thought. I thought hard. Should i do it? Deloris is super hyper today. should i? is this a good day to try this? should i try taking her on a run first? NO! I AM GOING TO DO THIS.... i put my bicycle out side, grabbed deloris and her leash, and walked out side. with her leash in my hand, i walked my bike to the road, and got on. She was about a foot away from me. I began to pedal... she looked a little afraid of my front wheel. I was glad, i was a little worried she was going to try to bite it. Any way, we picked up speed... my mind was running through plans of what i would do if she tried to take off. We picked up speed more, she was there by my side, not focusing on anything else but where my bike was, she did not pull, she did not look around, she did not try to mark the territory that is not hers.
IT WAS WORKING! I was wearing her out... quickly and completely. She was having a great time... and i was not dying due to my debauchery last night.

We went around the loop that we usually run, we got home, i gave her some water. and we went back out again. we went down town, i was trying to be careful not to over do it, but i think we could have made that loop twice. but, tomorrow, we will make the loop on the bike, and then maybe a little more, then we can run it. that way i still get my run in, and Deloris, well she gets worn out!!!! AWESOME!!!!!

So, this was just the first time.... it could turn bad, the second she thinks she should chase after a squirrel. But right now... she is laying on the ground next to my feet, panting, and relaxed, and happy! And me... well, i dont feel like i am going to die... i could use going back to bed... but this is not a big deal!!!! DELORIS IS TIRED!!!!!

Spam Poetry

Taking a nod from the guys at thebigthings.com, i decided to write my own spam poetry

I call it...


Tigers!



This was the room where she had died.
300,000 satisfied men
Smiling to you, dear;
Arlene turned to me,
raising her brows like a pair of question marks.
Would you try anything once?

Its subtle, whatever it is.

Ooh-la-la

Everything becomes peaceful after this stuff

I never joined up to ride on tigers

Soggy otters bat man!

The Caves of Lascaux video by the BIG Films group

Alright everyone... here is another beautiful video by the Big Film folks

The Caves of Lascaux

An Article from the New York Times about New Oleans

I'm in the news paper!

Yeah, just picked up the Ocean Springs Record, and who do i see in there? Me! yep!
Anyways, its a real nice article, and i will scan it eventually and put it on line for all to see!

soccer and a few videos everyone should check out!

Last night, i played soccer with a bunch of my buddies from hands on. I am not that good, but man it was so much fun... and now i am a little sore. I hope to play every monday. also starting next week, i am going to start playing ultimate frisbee. with the hands on crew. i have never played that, but it is every tuesday, so i will see if i can get my monday and tuesday nights off every week so i can participate in some activities that will make me sweat, and get out a bunch of energy.

also, a friend of mine has a friend that makes these great videos. (i know how dorky that sounds) the maker of these videos visited sweets lounge a few months ago... here he is, his name is Gio, and as i recall, he was a very nice man:
I dont remember his lady friend's name... sorry?!?! but she was really nice as well, and wearing a great dress with this awesome cut out ring... you can see it on the hand holding the corona.

anyway... he and a few of his friends are making a series of videos called "whats the big idea?"
Every week, the group of short movie makers(that is not referring to their height but to the length of their movies) takes suggestions from their viewers for the subject of their film. they are doing this for a year.....to learn more about the premis of this series go here:

http://www.thebigthings.com/films.php?film_id=13

alright so here are a few of my favorites that i have wached so far:

Big Idea #19: Batman, Underpants, and Broken Hearts
This is probably my favorite one i have watched so far. It is so sad. but very well thought out.

Big Idea #14: Spam Poetry
(Featuring my friend Will) This is the funniest idea ever. and also very well executed.


The Great Race
This is the newest of the "whats the big idea" series, and it is pretty hilarious as well.


alright... enjoy!
I will be putting a link to their website on my website this week.... so if you loose this post, just remember you can go to my website and find the glory again.

crazy good weekend so far

I have had a great weekend... so far... and it is not over yet!

Friday, my weekend started with me going to get drinks and dinner with my office mates at los tres amigos, which was much better than El Raunchy(el ranchero) , then i went shopping a little bit, then i went home, and took deloris down to the beach. I let her off of the leash, which i usually do not do, and it was the funniest thing i think i have seen in a long time. She just ran back and forth full speed. It was great! then we ran back home(that is once i finally ccaught her again) She was worn out, and it was awesome!

I spent some time updating my website, then went to bed.

Yesterday, i woke up raring to go! I got so much stuff done yesterday! i packaged up some orders, went grocery shoping, cleaned out my car really well... you know, the basics. Then i took a nap. It was glorious. I love naps.

I headed for Bay St. Louis and ate lunch at the Mockingbird cafe. I had the scout sandwich which was turkey and avacado, and a good sauce.

I walked around BSL for a while then went to look at a few houses in Biloxi. I found 2 houses that i liked, now i just need a roommate!

That afternoon I picked up W. and we headed west to New Orleans to see Two Gallants. We were starving when we got there but it was almost time for the show to start, so, we had to get quick food. W got red beans, and i got a veggie muffalata which was pretty much just an olive sandwich. We were going to eat while we were walking back to the House of Blues, but it prooved its self to be a bit difficult. So, we found a stoop and ate our dinner.



Dinner was so good, but it was messy!!!! here is some of my sandwich on the ground!

We finally made it to the show, only to find out that they were just finishing W's favorite song. :(
But the Two Gallants definately were awesome. I would recomend them any time. (they are playing in ATL at the Unicorn on October 8. go see them!)

They played with Against Me! And i will have a post about that later on. I as not a big fan of them, and they definitely had that Florida Sound.

Captains log of good things during the past week

So i am going to try to write an end of the week review of only the good things that have happened.
1) even though i knwo it was exactly a week ago, but i found out that i have a little niece on the way.... glorious
2) I got my clothes line up and working again, and i have actually used it quite a bit. I have done a few loads of laundry, and i have taken pictures of my baby shirts.
3) I got my pictures of my baby shirts loaded on Etsy.com and i have actually sold a few, already
4) I watched deloris eat t-rex
5) I almost beat travis at pool last night
6) my house is impeccably clean.
7) I have heard from several old friends
8) i was given some flounder
9) I cooked some flounder
10) i ate 2 meals of flounder
11) I had avacado bubble tea at lunch today
12) I finished harry potter(bitter sweet,but i guess still good)
13) I have revamped my website
14) got to go to a beach party with a bon fire
15) we are half way to building the white picket fence (more info)
16) My dad sent me the recipe for his pancakes, which are the best in the whole world.
17) There is a Kangaroo jumping around Bay St. Louis
18) I am going to see Two Gallants tomorrow night in New Orleans
19) My house is very very very clean
20) my landlord is finally getting rid of the squirrels running around in my attic and walls
21) Deloris is not going to be scratching at the walls any more trying to get to the squirrels in the walls.
22) i painted my toe nails.
23) My Darondo CD came in! he is bad ass.
24) I have finished the graham street house
25) Deloris is getting good at heeling, and sitting, and laying down. I am trying to teach her to shake...and she seems really confused... which is really cute.
26) I hung out with a friend on Monday Night and had good discussions about life.
27) the article about zenorschnitzel was not published this week, but will be next week, because they have decided to run it in color.
28) I found a neat chair on the side of the road.

Things i am looking forward to in the next week:
1) Packaging tshirts to ship out
2) working on my webpage some more
3) finishing myra's house... again(probably tomorrow or sunday)
4) riding to New Orleans with a friend and seeing two gallants, and against me in New Orleans.
5) working on my next tshirt
6) working on a secret project that i should have done a year ago. sorry SOA?!?!
7) working on gccds.org again.
8) making something tasty
9) sending out postcards to buddies
10) altering a chair or two that i found.

Baby shirts are finally up

So, i've finally gotten my baby shirts up online... go check them out!!!

Kangaroo in Bay St. Louis??!!??!!??

http://www.wdsu.com/news/13848477/detail.html

So there is a 4 foot tall kangaroo bouncing around Bay St. Louis Mississippi! Whaaaaa?

I am at a loss

I just woke up, and i am doing things out of my normal order. I will see what happens... But ultimately, the biggest change is that i am not sitting on my couch reading Harry Potter.( i promise this is my last post about harry potter until i see the movies) I feel a bit strange. All of my free time has been revolving around HP, and although this is good, because it is getting me back into the habit of reading, my life also has an air of shock around it from being cut of from something that was occupying my life so much, almost like breaking up with a boyfriend or something. but it is not as negative as that. I dont know....
So, i have two books in the line up... One is the dog whisperer book(because i have to get my dominating little pooch under control) and the other is Dr. Gilbert mason's book. I also have a stack of magazines from this month and last that have just been piling up lately. So, what i think i will do, is go walk my little pup, and then sit and read my dog book. Then go to work. I like that i have time to read... ah.
thanks harry potter, and good bye.

DONE

I feel like i can return to my life now! Thanks Harry Potter for several days of good reading! I am off to the beach now to go enjoy a bonfire and to wish my friend shana off!

Amen Darondo!

TRY ONE TIME!!! TREAT OUR AMERICAN WOMEN RIGHT!!!

A Classic Debonair

New Website!!! Wahoo!

I have updated the zenorschnitzel.com look. I will be working on it pretty hard core over the next week or so!!!

Harry Potter update: it is getting scarry... I am pretty engrossed in the story. I only have 125 pages left or so. It is really difficult to make my self put it down. Ahhh... I really just need to finish it, then my life can return to normal!

Clothes line is back in working order!

So yesterday morning i made my clothsline tougher. I pulled out the existing clothes line poles, and dug about a foot and a half deeper... filled it up with concrete, reset the poles and now i have a clothes line again. YEAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So i was going to hang some clothes out this morning, and test it out... well.. i thought it would be wise to check the weather... and this is what i saw:




By the way... what is the difference between isolated and scattered when you are discussing thunderstorms and showers?

Oh... geeze it is late!

That is relative i should note. I was just sitting here, making a to do list for the day... drinking my coffee... looking around the internet a little... and i was like i will surf around till 7am... that is my usual cut off in the morning, before i get up an start really moving.. then i looked down at my clock.. and it is 8:47!!! What???? i guess i got up later than i thought! eh... well, i had better get at it then. lots to do today!

Deloris vs. T-Rex

i had the night off from sweets, which is probably my first Friday night off. It was Eddie's birthday, so they had this big cook out for him last night. Those cook outs at Eddie's House are always a lot of fun. I get to see a lot of people, and it is relaxing, and pleasant.... Thank you Eddie, Sue, and Amy for having a cook out, and a great gathering spot! Well... That is not what i really wanted to blog about at the moment.

Deloris, my sweet little angel puppy, got a nice present yesterday! I went and got her a few toys, one being a T-Rex toy. Besides being suprised that they had a T-Rex toy for dogs instead of the normal fire hydrant or cat, i was pretty excited about it, because, most people who know me, know i like dinosaurs. I get dinosaur toys and books for nephew and neice every gift giving occasion. So now i got to give one to Deloris. I think she liked it as well. Here is the proof:





Victory is Deloris's!!!!

Oh...Geeze! How could i forget? A potato!

So, i am going to be an aunt, again. My big brother Johnny(the youngest, besides me) and his wife Rosie, are going to be having a baby. I have known this for a little while... but i found out yesterday that it is going to be a little girl! i am pretty excited about this. Ohhh.. that little thing is going to be so spoiled by her aunt jessie. I am going to be getting a picture in the mail of the little potato and i will put it online as soon as i get it. They have not decided on a name yet, but i like the ideas they have been tossing around. I will leave that to another post when i find out what the name is. Due date is December 30! weeee....

Wahoo.... Myra's House is Saved!

So, i thought i had finished Myra's house before i left, but when i returned, i found out that it was bigger than funding would allow, and i admit, it was a bit generous in size, but still modest. I have taken away 200sq/ft and now, myra gets her awesome roof back, and the clerestories. Yeah!!!! I will be posting images of the new and improved Myra house soon! just wanted everyone to know how excited i am.

Harry Potter... I am coming.... I promise!!!

I just finished reading the 6th book, and i think i am going to get the seventh tomorrow. I just cant wait. Eh..... So, harry, hermione, ron, ginny and all of the rest of you... just wait.. we will be reunited for the final book tomorrow.
I feel a bit lost at the moment. I guess i will just start reading something as i fall asleep.
so good night, be well, and do good works!

My Heart Goes Out!

Many of the people i love and work with are from Minneapolis, and it has been a stressful several hours for them. As far as we know, everyone here and their families are safe, i just hope that we continue to have the same fate. My heart goes out to everyone who is affected by this tragedy. I will keep you in my thoughts.

Harry Potter has a hold on me! And a lot of people heart Biloxi

The new I heart Biloxi shirts are selling really quickly! Thanks everyone... I might have to get a reprint soon! Biloxi Hearts all of you as well! We might be able to start on the first project next weekend if it keeps going like this! You all are awesome! and I am running out of Stamps! but that is a problem i am happy with!

I am still feeling the happy affects of seeing my friends and i have learned that i need to do that more often.

Harry Potter has got a hold of me once more. I am on the 6th book right now, and in my usual Harry Potter style, it will not last me more than a week. Hell, it might not make it past tonight.

I have very happy memories of these books in general.... The first four held my attention every morning and evening for about 2 or 3 weeks on the front porch of the Morrisette House in Greensboro Alabama when i was a second year student.

The 5th book was given to me by my mom, for thanksgiving or something like that, anyway.... i spent a lot of time sitting on the back porch of her apartment in rocking chairs, and laying on the couch that i grew up on with my nose in the book. That lasted about 3 days.

So, now i am reading the Half-Blood Prince. It is feeling good. I started it in Auburn, on my mom's front porch, and i have been reading pretty religiously here at my house, and at the bar. It feels even better because this is the first book that i will finish since i have been on the coast, which is pretty horrible.

Hopefully between this book and the final book, i will be back in the swing of reading. I have a lot of things to read that are backing up on me.

Oh well, time for me to go take a cold shower (my hot water heater is messed up) sad!

Alright, well, have a good day all who read this!

I heart biloxi tshirt is out!!!!

So, this is the new zenorschnitzel tshirt. Fresh off of the presses.
The print on the front is a picture of a beautiful house in East Biloxi that was damaged by Katrina, and still stands abandoned.
The print on the back is an outline of Mississippi with a heart on Biloxi. It is subtle and nice, but it is a bit hard to see in the picture

These shirts are a bit more pricey than the others, but that is because $10 from every shirt is going to a special project in Biloxi that the folks in my office choose. These are projects that make people happy that volunteer groups probably wont do. For example: one of our clients, she has a new house but she has always wanted a white picket fence. So the folks from our office are going to use this money to but the materials for the fence and then go out and build it. i will post online what projects we do so everyone who buys one will see where their money went. I will post that website soon.

these are available at my etsy store!

back

i have returned from vacation and i am back in the office.

more people i love

I have just gotten back to auburn from atlanta. oh what a fun trip that was. Man. Probably not the best on my liver, but you know.... So here are the people i went to see in Atlanta. I heart them so much and miss them dearly.

My Sweet Gabby! This is her at El Myr for lunch yesterday! mmmm... burritos. I stayed with her and her boyfriend Armando who was sick and their 3 kitties, Ashford, Cleo, and Hyka. Gabby was the best of hosts as always, and she showed me a freakin great time, as always. I miss my gabby!


This is Miss Abby! She is another love of my life. Hell, all of these people here are loves of my life. Abby is awesome. We talked about cooking, and puppies, and tshirts, and photographs.

This is Keefe. He is my official Cobra Cupcake. I am so thankful for having him as a friend. He helps keep me sane for sure.

And finally an old friend Jamie. It was really good to see him. He was as sweet as i remembered. I have not seen jamie for probably 5 years or so. He even offered to make me cinnamon toast today. I should have taken him up on it!

24 hours of old friends and counting

momma walking smudge


I have had a wonderful last 24 hours. I have printed an order of banana bread shirts and got those out which always feels wonderful. But it gets better than that.

I have spent the last few days livin up the auburn crowd. I have seen a lot of people that i love, that i miss.
I went by school and saw a professor of mine who i hold very dear to my heart.

momma and smudge junior

momma's front porch

eric


matt


and of course the ink...
and then i hung out with my friend Bliar. He lives in Japan. He is just here right now visiting his family, and he happened to be in auburn!!!!


so... i am at the printshop right now, waiting for my screens to dry, and i will be printing. Once i print all of my shirts, i will be heading to Atlanta to see my friends Abby, Gabby, and Keefe!
then i come back here and i am hanging out with my friend Brian, who i just happened to run into at the post office!!!!!! yeah! good times!