GONE WITH THE WIND

In honor of Pioneer Day, I trekked across the country last weekend to visit my friend, Kristan, in Atlanta. Oh, Atlanta!

We started the trip off right by going to the Margaret Mitchell House, which is the birthplace of "Gone With the Wind." Peggy wrote most of the novel in a small apartment on Peachtree Street, which has been converted to a museum dedicated to her and her wonderful novel. The tour guide told us that "Gone With the Wind" is the second best-selling work of all time, topped only by the Bible. Wow!

While at the MMH, we had made a vow to never be hungry again, so we decided it would be prudent to head to Mary Mac's Tea Room for some lunch. The place was hopping, the waitress was enthusiastic, and for the first time in my life, I was a minority in the room. I thought the restaurant was delightful, and it definitely satisfied my desire for some homemade Southern Cooking. The waitress made us try some sort of soup made out of turnip greens, which was surprisingly delicious, despite its putrid color. I also tried fried green tomatoes for the first time, which were surprisingly mediocre, despite their being fried. The dumplins were divine, though, as were the macaroni & cheese and sweet potato souffle. Maybe it wasn't the most balanced meal, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

After lunch, we made our first attempt at visiting the High Museum of Art. Our plan was foiled when we unexpectedly punctured a tire and had to wait for that to be repaired. This was for the best anyway, as we didn't really want to go anywhere that wasn't named after a lady with "M" alliteration in her name. So we drove back to Krissy's home in Roswell and decided to tell Atlanta Proper "Au Revoir" for the day. We went to dinner with Kristan's hilariously loud family, picked up ice cream at a place called Brewster's, then hunkered down to watch a James Bond flick.

Saturday we went to breakfast at the Flying Biscuit, which is a campy little joint with pretty good food. Kristan let me try her grits, and I think I ate more of them than she did, since they were a novelty to me. Naturally, we went to the pool after breakfast, where I got fried in a few random spots (clearly my sunscreen application wasn't quite consistent). The gals in Kristan's family are ridiculously tan, so I think they could have stayed there all day, but we were running out of time, so Kristan and I took off for our second (and more successful) attempt of visiting the High Museum of Art, which was a fairly nice museum. Kristan blogged about an exhibit called On the Beach which was fabulously interesting. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I think it is something you have to see to really appreciate why it is so great, but trust us, okay?

The Varsity is supposedly the world's largest drive-in restaurant, and I believe it. It was ginormous! We didn't dare really eat there, since we could smell the grease from about 3 miles away, but we tried the "F.O." beverages (Frozen Orange), which basically tasted like a slushified Dreamsicle. Yum!

Next we began our drive past millions of churches to the Disneyland of Georgia (which is not anything like Disneyland). Yes, that's right. Ever heard of Stone Mountain? Droves of Southerners go there nightly to watch the Laser Show Spectacular, which is pretty much weird. That's the only word that really comes to mind when I reflect upon my S.M. experience. It was definitely weird. And did I mention weird? They basically do a laser show on the side of a rock they affectionately call a mountain. Whoever "they" is. Anyway, here's a tidbit: the guy who sculpted Mount Rushmore began the etching on Stone Mountain but abandoned it when the Mount Rushmore commission was offered. Some other guy had to finish it. Anyway, we had fun sitting out on the grass and eating our picnic dinner whilst talking/playing cards/people watching prior to the show.

Sunday we went to church, then to see an antebellum (pre-Civil war) home called Bulloch Hall. The museum docent was very knowledgeable, and it turned out that we picked a great house to visit, as it is the location where Teddy Roosevelt's mother grew up, and thus where his parents were wed. I would love to own a house like that someday... so much character!

We ate dinner at Kristan's grandmother's home, then headed to the airport. It was a fabulously fun-filled weekend. Thanks for being such a great tour guide, Krissy!

CACTUS TREE

Last weekend I went to sunny Arizona to spend time with some of my all-time favorite friends, whom I know from the glory days otherwise known as college. Let's review the tapes, shall we?

1) FINALLY found a good definition of a cactus... such a relief! I've spent years wondering about these fascinating organisms, but thanks to this highly informative plaque at the Desert Botanical Garden, it seems there is no need for me to wonder any longer...

2) Relaxed/beautified our footsies. Thanks, Paige, for capturing the moment with this awesome photograph (which maybe should be my new facebook profile picture???).

3) Kristan inflated her air mattress in the middle of the night; Kate was convinced Krissy was shredding some documents. I have no photos of this incident because Kristan shredded them all.

4) Saw the beautiful Chihuly glass exhibit at the DBG.

5) Listened to Jimmy T. and Johnny M. whilst in the car. Belted out "ooh-ooh-ooh ooh-OOH-ooh" at the top of our lungs. Reminisced about the John Mayer concert in LV and the sketchy (to put it mildly) hotel we stayed at in 2004 because of our lack of moola.

6) Ate these delightful treats from Sprinkles:

7) Sat by the pool at 4 p.m. in FEBRUARY!!!!!!

8) Completed this crossword on the plane and accidentally knocked over Kate's apple juice in my glee (which if funny in hindsight):

9) Retained my title as "Take Two Queen." Clearly, the tiles below do not belong to me, as most of them are not being properly utilized in the formation of words.

10) Left wanting more. Can't wait until WHR 2010!!

BLUE SKIES...

Last weekend I went on holiday to the "land where little cable cars climb halfway to the stars." My friend Derek lives in San Fran, I was itching to get out of town, and I found an awesome deal on a flight. It was as if the stars aligned just for me, so I packed my bags for a mini-vacation....

My one fear was that it might rain the entire time, but it turned out that luck was on my side; on Saturday the sun was shining and the sky was blue. Derek & I took advantage of this wonderful fact. We walked across the Golden Gate Bridge, up to a little lookout point over by Sausalito (where there was a fantastic view of the bridge) and then back. We figured that round-trip, this was almost a 6 mile walk, which I LOVED... it made me feel so energized and alive! Derek had a brilliant idea to take a photo every other lamp post on the way back across the bridge, so I have posted a few for your viewing enjoyment. There were about 5 million to choose from (mostly quasi-semi-pseudo crappy), so I limited it to my 3 favorites:

Lamp Post #1: "This is going to be fun(ny)!"

Lamp Post #17: "Do you think the camera is working?"

Lamp Post # 1,031,319: "We should probably spice these photos up."

After the photo shoot, we ate lunch at this lovely little place: http://www.cafegratitude.com/, where I was fulfilled and Derek was refreshed. Then we headed to Chinatown to take a "tour" of an antiquated fortune cookie factory, which was apropos since I have consumed roughly 150 fortune cookies this month (this is not hyperbole...more on that another day): http://www.sanfranciscochinatown.com/attractions/ggfortunecookie.html.

We then met up with some of Derek's SF pals and participated in a Chinese New Year Treasure Hunt, which was an interesting and clever event. The following link will show you some sample clues: http://www.sftreasurehunts.com/hunts/sample_clues.html. After over 3 hours of hunting, we decided to throw in the towel and nourish our bodies at the House of Nan King, which is a ghettrofied (word is made up, but I think you get it) yet delicious Chinese food establishment in Chinatown.

The weekend was enriching for me, and I was grateful to get away from the doldrums to spend high-quality time in good company in an invigorating city. As with every other time I've been to San Francisco, I left my heart there...

TIME-OUT

For the record, it looks like this score was actually higher....

FRESH

Oh, how I love New Year's Day, and all the self-reflection related thereto... Life is so busy that sometimes it's not easy to take the time to contemplate the bigger picture and correct your life's course... but it is so important! 2008 was, indeed, an eventful year.

I traveled...

Two trips to The Happiest Place on Earth, two trips to Beantown, one trip to Kiwi Land, one trip to the Adirondacks, one trip to the City of Brotherly Love, one trip to St. George... and I feel like I'm even forgetting one more trip I took. Maybe it will come to me...

I read...

The Many Lives & Secret Sorrow of Josephine B. (and the rest of the trilogy) by Sandra Gulland, Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, 1/2 of Stiff by Mary Roach (which I will finish soon, I'm sure), Winter Wheat by Mildred Walker. I'm sure I read more books than that, but those were the most noteworthy.

I ate...

Lots of popcorn, hot chocolate, 730 pieces of toast, and thousands of Peanut M&M's.

I welcomed...

Another nephew into the world, the opportunity to go to various plays and concerts, darker hair, rekindled friendships, the summer, the opportunity to meet one of my idols, tulip blooms, growth in my position at work, the opportunity to work in a brand new office building that smells divine, the chance to spend time with my family and friends, the end of an extremely negative relationship, the potential to love someone better, the time I was able to spend at the temple, Friday afternoons, new earrings from Tiffany & Co. that I've wanted for ages, my sister's recently discovered sense of humor and the corresponding laughter, and on and on and on.

Yes, 2008 was a good year, but I'm pretty darn sure 2009 is going to be even better. Bring on the good times!!

P.S. I apologize about the formatting issues in this blog; I cannot, for the life of me, figure out what is causing the problems...

BEAUTIFUL MESS

The past week of my life has been one big beautiful mess.

1) Visited Philly for the first time... beautiful.

Highlights: quality time with my sisters, Betsy Ross' home, the tour guide at Independence Hall, meeting Will Shortz (my idol), wearing matching t-shirts to a sudoku competition, having our photo with WS in the Philadelphia Inquirer, running up the "Rocky" steps, spending a lovely autumnal Sunday outside the city with our friend, Brian.

2) Learning that I have a minor case of shingles... mess.

Thought I was the victim of some crazy spider or allergy, but nope... the real deal shingles. It will be a dream when they go away, eh?

3) Jason Mraz concert... beautiful.

I wasn't incredibly familiar with Jason prior to the concert, but was invited by my friend, Kristan. We all fell in love with the man. Let's face it... he plays the guitar, has curly hair, and has some pretty sweet dance moves. The concert exceeded my expectations, to say the least!

4) Joshua Radin/Missy Higgins concert... beautiful.

I loved (and still DO love) Joshua even more than Jason. My friend, Kristan, encouraged me to throw all caution to the wind and attend this concert... a) having never once heard any of the songs prior & b) having just been to Jason Mraz the night before. I was SOOOOO glad I opted in, as I now have a new favorite musician. Check out Joshua's song "Closer" if all you want to do is cry.... SO good! "I'd Rather Be With You" and "Brand New Day" also became fast favorites. Thanks, K!

5) Car accident... mess.

A sweet middle-aged lady forgot to check her blind-spot before changing lanes and ran into my car, thus denting/scraping the entire driver's side. I am grateful no one was injured, but obviously wish she had taken the brief moment to survey the scene before maneuvering her car my direction. I hope the repairs don't take long.

6) Halloween... beautiful.

I have the cutest nieces and nephews in the entire world!!!

7) Various conversations/correspondence with good friends... beautiful.

Need I say more? I feel fortunate to know so many stellar individuals!

8) Official expansion of my cereal repertoire... beautiful.

Move over, Grape-Nut Flakes. I still love you, but you've got a rival now....

9) Blogging twice in one day... mess.

Who does that?!? Please don't neglect the post below, though.... those pumpkin waffles would be on the beautiful list if they were from this past week.

10) Looking forward to a good night's sleep (which has been messily lacking this week)... beautiful.

Can't wait for my head to hit the pillow. I think I'm going to sleep tight tonight.