"The Terrible Two's" Meet Auntie Abbie & Uncle Matt

I took the photo myself. It's Jamie, Michael, and Me at Reelfoot Lake on the Boardwalk. YAY!

ok

So where to begin.

Jamie and Michael flew up to Atlanta to visit us. We had prepared by "baby proofing" the house as best we could, and borrowing car-seat for the boy (thank you Mina & Chris!). I ended up buying a pack-n-play-yard crib for him (since Jamie & I and the baby were travelling to my Grandpa's house also over the weekend). It was easily portable. We also got a portable booster seat (with straps), so he could eat at the table with us. and then lastly a "kid cage" as Matt calls it - an extra long accordian-like baby gate. You can enclose the baby inside of it, or you can stretch it out to cover doorways, stairs, bookcases, whatever you wanted to block him from getting into. It worked great, and was also portable for Grandpa's house. I didn't want anything that I had to "drill into the wall" to mount. Blah. Portable is best.
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Michael is a good little boy, he giggles, he laughs, he is independant and likes to run around by himself and wont' sit on your lap for very long, but is prone to occaisional temper tantrums and screaming (she says his terrible twos are starting early), and so we are now partly deaf, just fyi if you call me I may not hear the phone. Just kidding.
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Matthew even babysat one night for us, so Jamie & I could go out to dinner with Erika and Holly. Very cool!
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Aunt Julie travelled down from Iowa to meet us at Grandpa's, and we all had a blast. We dined on filet mignon with the Family Silver (which has been handed down for many years, and is now dad's), and the best part was that Grandpa got to meet his great-grandson. Hip-hip hooray!
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Links for Photos . Movies .

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I have to admit, the house is very very quiet now, and I miss the boy. Although, Sport is very glad that he is gone. He liked to chase the poor dog - pulling his tail and "patting" him (more like punching him with his toys) - and Sport was getting irritated. We mostly kept Sport out on the screen porch during Michael's visit. It was okay though.

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For such a GREAT visit (when she arrived, the plane was 30 mins EARLY - whoever heard of such a thin?), the last day was kind of a mess.

The FAA had a "software malfunction" and my poor sister was STRANDED at the damned ATL airport for over 8 hours. I dropped her off around 5pm, and told her to call me if she found out her plane was delayed (we had some storms the day before, so I was hoping the weather wasn't going to be a problem) - oh that wasn't the start of it.

I drove all the way home (the other side of town), and then she calls and says her flight was CANCELLED and the next one isn't leaving until 11:30pm! Her "prepaid phone" was almost out of minutes, and she wanted me to call her husband to let him know. I also offered to come back to the airport to have dinner with her (but she'd have to come outside of security and then go back thru later), she said nevermind she was going to take the baby to the "play area" in the airport and stick it out alone. I said ok. So we hung up. Then I called her hubby. No answer. I left a voicemail, but he normally never gets those.

Typical.

I wait about 15 mins and call him again.

No answer.

I know from experience, sometimes you just have to call him over and over and finally he realizes his phone is ringing. so I did that.

On the 7th call (after no answer), I was about to give up, and he finally called me back but he was really rude, he goes "WHY is my phone ringing off the hook? What the Fxxx is so important?" and I said "well! Jamie wanted me to let you know she is delayed at the airport and her phone is almost out of minutes", he yelled "ok how late?", and when I told him, he goes "That's just f-cking great!" and hangs up on me. He never let me tell him the new flight number or anything.

about 20 mins later, he calls back and says (in a very accusing tone) - "well why can't you get her on a flight for tomorrow? so I can pick her up at a reasonable hour?" I tried to explain to Mr. Dingleberry how unpredictable this would be due to the FAA having caused the mass confusion at the airport, and how ALL airlines were affected. What a prick!!! And finally he goes "so she's just stuck there?" and I said "I don't know what other options we have right now" and then he hung up again. JERK!

so, I'm livid at this point. I call Jamie back and leave her a short message, hoping she gets it and saves her minutes. No, she calls me back. We are midsentance as I explain about her *sshole of a husband, and click - her minutes run out. I have NO WAY to contact her over a phone. Even if I WAS to go down to the airport again, I do not know where she is, I can't go past security (because I do not have a flight to board), and how would I tell her where to meet me in this VAST/LARGE building?

It's nearly 6pm, and she's stuck there for at least 5.5 more hours, and there is NOTHING I can do about it.

I'm starting to clean up all the baby stuff (the booster seat, the crib, the baby gate), and washing laundry, and I'm feeling VERY badly. I start to cry. I cry for the stress she is having at the airport. I cry for missing them already, I cry for the life she is going back to and hope that her husband doesn't treat her like he just treated me, because if he does, she has a long hard road ahead of her. I cry for my nephew, who I love dearly, and hope his daddy just had a bad moment, because I don't want him to have that sort of role model 24/7. I cry because I feel so helpless, and moments before they were safely in my car and we could have driven anywhere we wanted. Matthew tries to console me, and eventually things calm down and we go to bed.

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But I wake up at 12:45am to call her husband to see if she has arrived safely. He's tired and less cranky thank goodness, but tells me she was delayed again and won't arrive until 2am. I ask him to call me back and let me know they are safe or if she needs me to come get her. And he says he will, but he never calls, and I wake up at 6am not knowing where they are.

And today I write this, hoping that they are fine at home, and catching up on their sleep today. I will have to wait until the hubby gets off work to call. he never answers the phone during the day. Sigh. Jamie's phone is still dead as a doornail, no luck there.

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I go back over the pics from our visit, and Baby Michael's smiling face remind me that we still had fun, and even if the plane was delayed, the overall visit was a good one. Grandpa is happy in the photos too.

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Well work is the same as ever - and I have a loving hubby at home, a loving doggie, and tonight a chiropractic adjustment and massage. Maybe things are on the upswing again.

The "Michael" Entry

I took the little sleepy photo, and
the other photo is from here.
Michael squared today. YAY!

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Well it's almost time. Jamie & my nephew are arriving tomorrow. We are going to have such a good time.

I can't wait until they get here. I have a carseat installed in my car (since she is flying here and will only have the diaper bag and stroller). We also have a booster seat, a baby gate, and baby yard (which Matt calls the "Kid Cage"). Marybeth visited this weekend, and she helped me pick out some toys for him too. He will have quite the surprise when he arrives. I'm also taking Jamie to get her hair done, but she doesn't know it yet, it will be a surprise.

I am becoming more and more of an Olympic fan. When I was younger, I could only watch the gymnastics and swimming and ice skating, since that is what interested me. Now, I am watching the beach volleyball, and all sorts of things. It is super sweet! Too bad the Olympics makes me tear up and cry a bit each time I hear the music. I'm such a sappy girl this month. Sniffle.

Anyhoo, is anybody as PUMPED as I am about Michael Phelps winning 8 gold medals? Holy CRAP that is insane!!!

ok well that's all for now - ask me in a week if I'm still in love with babies. I may be all "babied" out. LOL

What the Dulse?

Photography by Matthew Lane of Zazen Photo
Tonight I am attempting to recreate the delicious stew I had at R. Thomas. It is comprised of corn chowder, quinoa, red bliss potatoes, veggies, dulse, and nori garnish. What the heck is Dulse I wondered, but I was able to find out fairly easily doing a google search.
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I think I improved R Thomas' recipe though, I added garlic powder and some whipping cream in my version, and it's damn tasty if I do say so myself.
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I also discovered what lovely lunch/to-go options that Whole Foods has. Can someone pass some more "Meditarreanean Tuna" please? Delicious!!! And the sushi, the sashimi, it's so fresh, it puts my favorite restuarants to shame. I think I found my new lunch spot!
And don't EVEN get me started on the wine selection. holy mama!

The Return of Pinky & The Brain - yeah I wish.

Photo Credit I have decided that I TOTALLY Miss that hiliarious duo - "Pinky and the Brain" - ah yes Pinky and his "NARFing" and Brain with his witty quotes.
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Well here we go. August's rollercoaster of fun has begun.
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Matt and I watched "The Usual Suspects" last night. I hadn't seen it yet. Unbelievably, I took a wild guess as to what the ending twist is, and I was RIGHT! ha! I swear I don't remember ever watching it before now, and nobody told me the answer.
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I cannot believe how many people haven't seen "Super Troopers" or "Beer Fest" - so we are thinking of having a party so people can WATCH 'em already!
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The Hair Lounge is having it's Grand Opening on Sunday August 24th. I would totally go, but I will be in BFE Tennessee that day with my sister and nephew, so I will miss it. Darn! Ya'll enjoy and tell me how it is ok?
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Limes & Coconuts

Photo Credit
So "you put a lime in dee co-co-nut" and then what? hee hee. I prefer to put rum and cream and shaved ice into the co-co-nut with a straw, and then drink it. Screw the lime unless you are also bringing me a Corona. LOL
Ahh "Rum Runners" in Freeport, Bahamas. I miss thee!
Link to Lime & Coconut Lyrics. Interesting.
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oh yeah - funny story. So, we went to Freeport, Bahamas for Erika's Birthday earlier this year. We go to "Rum Runners" because it was recommended by a friend who had been there. I have a thing for Pina Colada's served STRAIGHT from the coconut - it's awesome! Ok so I digress. Anyhoo, Erika, Holly, Matt, and I are sitting at Rum Runners one night - drinking of course. And we see this older dude (maybe late 40s-early 50s) who we recognized from the resort swimming area earlier that day. He was hard to miss because his face was BURNT RED. Turns out he's a nice guy from Davenport, IA in Insurance or something or other, and so he buys us a drink. We chat with him for a bit. he takes a quick photo with his digital camera of me, Erika, and Holly. We barely got the guy's first name, but he seemed harmless. Fast-forward to a week later. I'm back at work, bored, missing the Bahamas, and I get an email from a friend. This friend had put us up at the Resort for a cheaper than normal rate, and had gotten a call from the Resort's front desk. The Burnt-face insurance guy had tried to find us, but since the hotel (thank goodness) doesn't give out information on guests to weird burnt-faced dudes, they got HIS info and called us. So, my friend passes this along. The message was something like "I have something for you girls" and I had a moment of panic that we'd forgotten something at the hotel. Also I did not remember the guys name or anything, so I hadn't made the connection yet. Ok - SO being the smart girl I am, I decided I would call him, BUT I would use my un-traceable work phone, versus my personal cell. I left him a very brisk business-like message about "I'm calling to find out more information on what you have for us, and how we can retrieve it, etc" - and leave him my work phone. He calls me back in about 1 hr, and THAT's when I realize who it is. He wanted to send us the photo he had taken on his camera and he wanted our mailing address. I asked if he couldn't just email it, after all it was digital. He said he preferred to mail it. I didn't want to give some potential creep my home address, so I gave him my work address.
----6 months go by---
A box is hand-delivered to my desk by the mail guy. He wants me to sign for it. I am like "I didn't order anything this size" and then I open it. It was very sweet actually. The Insurance Burnt-faced guy had printed Three 4x6 sized images of the photo he took. He framed each in real cherry-wood frames - and he had a brass metal engraved label attached to each frame reading "Rum Runners" Freeport, Bahamas. I forget if it had the date or not. Three framed photos, one for each of us. WOW! I was really surprised. The return address on the box was a UPS store in Davenport, so I have no way of tracking down this dude. However, that's fine. It was a nice gift, a nice moment, and that's sufficient. cool beans.

You're "JOKING" right?

Photo Source Review: We finally saw "The Dark Knight" Batman Movie on Friday night. Heath Ledger was phenomenal! WOW he stole every scene. He was pretty damn scary too!

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I could pass on Maggie Gyllenhaal. She's a good actress, but I just didn't think she fit the part as well as Katie Holmes did in the first movie. Yes, I know, Katie isn't as great of an actress, but she's much better looking. I think a lot of it was the lighting. Maggie has these crazy large bags under her eyes and in a dark/shadow-filled movie like this, it really does NOT flatter her. Sorry if I'm being a b*tch that's my opinion on the Rachel character. Maggie was awesome in "Stranger than Fiction" though. I guess it depends on the movie.

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New obsession: Peppercorn dressing from my company cafeteria. I can't explain why but it's SO damn tasty with carrots. Of course it has little nutritional value. Figures that's probably WHY I LIKE IT! blah. Here's a low-fat recipe version.
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Warning: I'm on-call this week AND I'm majorly PMSing. Cross me at your own risk.

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Discovered: I love red wines. I love dark chocolate. I do NOT like red/violet dessert wines (aka Muscat wine). Why? I don't know. I just can't drink the stuff. I feel badly for whomever brought it to our house "re-warming" party, but I think I will have to dump it out. Matt can't even take a taste of it. I can suffer through a glass, but it's not my favorite thing. Weird. I almost WISH I could like it, it would make sense if I did. Oh well.

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ok gotta get back to work, write more later.

Of Vino & Skittles

I like my vino, and I like it on SUNDAYS too!
Georgians cannot buy Alcohol on Sundays from a store.
but
We can buy it after 12 noon at a restaurant.
WTF?
CLICK HERE to help reverse this ridiculous law.
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In other news, I overdosed on too many Skittles today. Why, you ask, did I "taste the rainbow" in such a fashion?
Well it started like this.
~got a phone call asking if I wanted to get paid $100 to do a "Candy Study" - I agreed
~was required by said study, to go out and buy candy - any kind I liked - it would be reimbursed so no worries.
~I like Skittles - so I bought some.
~Study is over, but Skittles are still at my house
~Served Skittles at Mikamy Meadows Party hoping guests would eat lots of Skittles. They didn't eat much.
~Skittles still not gone.
~Tried to only eat 1 or 2 handfuls a day for 2 weeks.
~Skittles still not gone.
~Took Skittles to work today and put on my desk. Bad idea.
~"grazed" on Skittles all day at work. ug.
~came home from work, had sugar crash
~took long nap
~dreading another day of Skittles at work (yeah they STILL aren't gone yet!!!)
~Skittles = addicting and evil!

Mad Men & Passionate Causes

Mad Men Season 2 Premiere was absolutely everything I expected, and more. Damn! Everything, down to the lighting is just superb! Don is just gorgeous, and I just love Joan's red hair, and Betty's outfits, etc. Ah yes, we missed this show! It's been TOO long between seasons!

Now if only Heroes would come back on for Season 3 (and be as good as Season 1 - season 2 was definitely not on par with Season 1).

All righty, so Passionate Causes time. I've got 3 issues I wanted to discuss in my blog today:

1) The FDA Globalization Act of 2008 - and how it hurts small business owners from the beauty industry - See link for info - "This video summarizes the Indie Beauty Network's position against the Discussion Draft of the FDA Globalization Act of 2008, the legislation that would put thousands of Indies out of business by forcing them to pay outrageous registration fees and comply with burdensome paperwork. If passed, this law would drive consumers back to the days when they could only choose between a few huge, faceless, nameless big box stores and brands for their cosmetics and personal care products. And fewer consumer choices always leads to higher prices."
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2) The Digital Millenium Copyright Act or "DMCA" - what is it, and how it is impacting YouTube subscribers, etc. I found out about this from Paul Robinett's Renetto You Tube Channel. Paul Robinett started out as my favorite Candle Guy, and he's since grown in fame and business size, etc. Another good link is for the EFF. This is especially important for the BLOGGERS & VLOGGERS of this world. One example was a mother who took a digital movie of her small child playing. In the background she had the radio on, playing a Prince song. Universal filed a DMCA against her for this. WTF? What a bunch of crap, she was in no way saying she had WRITTEN the song, she just was taking a movie of her baby. Stupid corporations.

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3) Orphan Works issue -Definition from Wikipedia "An orphan work is a copyrighted work where it is difficult or impossible to contact the copyright holder. "

The American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) - of which we are members - have been fighting the 2006 bill, and here is their Stance on this issue.

The big debate is how much responsibility is on the Copyright holder (aka Photographer for example) versus the person wishing to use the image (or whatever copyrighted item). The best solution (other than duking out the details of the bill), is to include copyright information in the Metadata of each image, as well as put a line of credit - meaning mentioning the photographer's name or url - next to each image used - to assist with the "I couldn't find out who's work this is" excuse. The problem is people COULD use another person's work, but say "oh I tried to find out who owns the copyright but I couldn't find it" and then use it anyway. How do we know if they "really tried?" Copyright is the visual artist (Photographer or otherwise)'s BREAD AND BUTTER. You take that away, and then what do you have?

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ok this is all I have on these topics for now.

Tubbin' & Rollin' the Dice

YAY, we finally finished the Mikamy Meadows photo shoot. Amy had requested that we use more body parts (aka Abbie's hands/feet/etc) in the photos. We did the best we could in the studio, but there were 2 products that we felt needed a "tub" in the background, with a tastefully blurred out body in it. Thus, we trekked over to Erika & Holly's to borrow their bathtub. They have one of those fabulously old, standalone claw-footed bathtubs - perfect for a photoshoot!
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In other news, we went to a "car club party" way the hell out in BFE Marietta (geez why do people live so damn FAR away?) on Saturday night. It was a fun party though for shizzle. I had almost an entire bottle of Red wine to myself, but split it out over several several hours though. We also shared a nice Monte Cristo Cigar, and had some lovely chats with old friends we hadn't seen in forever. It was a nice evening.
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Sunday, I was invited to a "Pure Romance" Party - which just happened to be in Canton (an even FARTHER drive than Marietta). Oh well. What's another tank of gas for a friend? We did have a great time. I won one of the games, and got the sex-dice. woo hoo! But then I had to leave early to get home in time for the Tubbin' shoot. Goodness the day flies by faster as you get older!
I did order me a little somethin' but then I found out later that the saleslady charged me $5 for shipping (even though the item was There at the party and I didn't have to have it shipped to me). I do not appreciate that kinda thing! I even wrote the saleslady an email to ask about it and if she could refund me the $5, but she wrote back that it was her "standard practice" to charge that fee to everyone regardless of if the product was shipped or not. I think it's crap. Oh well it's $5. I will let this go - for now.
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Mad Men Season 2 started last night. We haven't had a chance to watch it, but it's probably the first thing we'll do after dinner. WOO HOO!
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No Mas & Sangrita

I love the 4th Friday of the month.
that means it's time for the Castleberry Hill Art Stroll.
and
dinner at "No Mas Cantina" - mmm mmm amazing!
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What is Sangrita?
hint - goes with your Tequila
Adios Amigos!

Ready for CHANGE!

Oh boy oh boy. I'm SO ready for a change.
ironic since I am a "Change Manager" ha!
and I could use some spare "change".
but I digress. Photo Credit
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Just getting fed up with the jobbie job, the co-worker who does the bare minimum, and who's *ss I keep having to cover for, to keep the business going.
The buggy tool I have to use every day, that nobody seems to be able to fix - and I manually have to "cover it's *ss" too - in a way of thinking - to keep the business going.
I'm just very tired.
Ready for a change.
bring it on! :-D

August is A "Gust" of activity no doubt!

Oh lawd! I am in for a crazy month, or should I say FALL. Geez - allow me a moment to PANIC! inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, "breathe with me" <--that always reminds me of the Prodigy Song "Breathe". Photo Credit
Week One - Dr's appt, Hair Appt with Debi Blair,
Week Two - Dr appt, Chiropractor, Dreama & Jim in town, Marybeth & David visit so she can move him into his dorm for the next year of GA Tech school! yay! Go David Go!
Week Three - Marybeth flies back, David in school, Jamie & Baby Michael come to visit, Hair appt for Jamie, Drive to Grandpa's, visit with Auntie Julie too (yay!)
Week Four - drive back from Grandpa's, Jamie & Michael fly back, Chiropractor
Week Five - breathe with me - exhale exhale!
then September starts - KY in town, travel to NYC for wedding, keep Matt from spending too much at BNH store? LOL.
October - Trip to Orlando, then Miami, get on Cruise, get off Cruise, drive back to Orlando, Drive back home, etc.
then I get a blessed 2 weeks to relax before my AGE kicks in. I'm going to be 30 this year.
The Dir-Tay, Thir-Tay. The year when single women of this age start their sexual revolution (or so I am told), but what happens to the married ones? I am certainly looking forward to spicing up the bedroom some more in lieu of the single-woman's fun. LOL.
OMG I'm so old, I'm so old!
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Yeah I wish the "get on cruise" part was Tom Cruise too . . . you read my mind.
ha!
just kidding Matt!!! hee hee.
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In other news, Matt's getting ready to put out the "Two Point Oh" version of his Zazen Photo website. He's got new images, a writeup on the portfolio, adding client links, and perhaps even a "testimonials" section (we were talking about that last night). Check out his Kudzu profile for the current info, he has already had SIX 5-star nominations!!! GO MATT!
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Uplifting Song for the Day

"New Day" by Sounds From The Ground
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my favorite part goes:
"If you want a new day,
It's only a choice away
It's not the falling down that hurts, no
It's the getting up again . . ."
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My new fave substitute for Rice & Pasta = Quinoa!
Wikipedia on Quinoa
Quinoa Pasta (for spaghetti without the Wheat!)
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The new fave dish at our house, is to make a pot of red or regular Quinoa, then I make Curry Paste/Coconut Milk mixture with meat (can use tuna or chicken, or whatever you want), and then add veggies (any frozen veggies, or canned veggies, your choice). Put the veggie/meat/curry mixture over the Quinoa, and VOILA there ya go.
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Last night I did Quinoa Indian - with Indian sauce/veggies/chicken on top. Very tasty!
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BTW this is the ONLY "leftover" dish that Matt has actually eaten for 3 straight days. He usually has an aversion to anything that has been in the fridge more than 2 days. WOW!
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Idiotic Lawsuits - rant

I usually try to use my blog for positive things with positive energy. Or just giving updates. Photo Credit
but today I have a rant about idiotic lawsuits (or just plain UNFAIR ones ...)
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ONE:
This one really "grinds my gears" http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/ar...TICLE_ID=51417
2 Border Patrol agents face 20 years in prison - Officers prosecuted – wounded drug trafficker given full immunity in exchange for testimony
ok let me get this straight, an illegal alien/drug trafficker - with 800 lbs of Marijuana in his van, is running away from the authorities - with something shiny in his hand, and he gets shot in the *ss (which is not a fatal wound), and the AGENTS get arrested and face 20 yrs in prison?!?!?!?!?!?-oh yeah we are REALLY supporting our border patrol. Nice.
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TWO:
The Victoria's Secret Thong Lawsuit (gimme a break):
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25258522/ (notice her lawyer can't keep from cracking up during the video) http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive...1secrets1.html
http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=5195818
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THREE:
Gay Man Offended by Bible - so he sues the publisher. SERIOUSLY? Nuff said I think I covered that one in a previous blog entry.
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ok in other news, I thought of some GOOD things about the house not selling:
+ I can still keep my YMCA membership, and do my 5:30am workouts safely
+ It's safe to walk the dog a night by myself (downtown isn't quite so safe)
+ I don't have to re-pack all my crap again
+ We don't have to sell 1/2 our stuff again (believe me we could still sell more, we are such packrats)
+I don't have a terrible commute (if we lived downtown my drive to work would be suxors!)
+The 24 hr Emergency Vet is around the corner if we need them
+I know where all the stores/pharmacies/restaurants are if I need them
+We have 2 guest rooms and an office (a loft may not have these things)
+We have a yard (althought I detest yard work and mosquitos)
+We have a deck
+We have a full basement with bar, good for parties, etc.
+I get to keep my kitchen! yay!
+We have Equity (well sort of, depends on the market now)
-----BUT on the downside:-----
-Matt doesn't have a LOFT for his Photography biz.
-We still have debt to pay off (selling the house could REALLY help that situation)
-We don't have a rooftop deck with skyline views (some of the lofts we liked had that)
-We still have to do yardwork
-We still have to keep the big house clean (hard work)
-We still have to do repairs on the big house (it's old people, and old stuff needs fixing/replacing)
-I don't get to decorate the new place. I love decorating.
-We didn't lower our cost of living yet (selling the house will do that)
-We are still stuck in Suburbia instead of "in town"
-We are still 30 mins away from most of our social activities and weekend events.
ok well that's all for now, let me NOODLE on that some more . . .

The House Drama

I don't think my nerves can take this anymore.
We had our house on the market listed for sale from September to April this year. No offers, so we took it off the market (it's a crappy market anyhoo). We had put about 1/2 or stuff into storage during this timeframe, because we had "Staged" the house professionally.
when we "unlisted" the house, I moved all that stuff back IN and then unpacked. We figured we'd be stuck there a while. and we did love our house so it wasn't a bad situation.
HOWEVER
during this last Thursday daytime - (our realtor), called me at work. She said there was a couple who was house-hunting in our neighborhood. They said they loved the neighborhood but were not liking the houses they saw so far. Their realtor (another lady) pulled up our old listing, and they were wanting to know if Matt & I were interested in selling again - and that is why they had contacted our realtor to call us.
I was very much in shock, we couldn't just answer that, we needed to think about it and discuss it first. I was at WORK for heaven's sake. I said we needed to discuss it, could we tell them tomorrow or something?
Then my realtor called me later and said the couple's realtor asked if they could "show" the house to her clients today.
I figured it could not hurt, but only if it was later in the evening, like 6pm. I wanted to get the house cleaned up. I went home by 4pm, and cleaned like a madwoman, and then they came by to see the house promptly at 6pm. They were there for almost 1 hour - and they loved the house!
Matt came home shortly thereafter, and we had a big discussion about it. We do still want to live in-town, and cut our cost of living, but it would all depend on how much the offer was. We finally decided that we would listen to whatever offer they could come up with, but we weren't going to "relist" the house on the market. Our Realtor said if they had a good offer, we could just go straight to contract and not have to relist it. If the offer was crap then we didn't have to sell did we? no.
so …
Friday our realtor calls, she says the couple's realtor informed her that they LOVED our house, and they were scripting the offer right then. We should know something by that evening.
but
we didn't hear ANYTHING all day Friday, all day Saturday, etc.
So, Matt and I basically proceeded as normal . . .
then
Sunday - in the middle of the MikamyMeadows Party, our realtor calls me.
She says the couple had narrowed their choices down to 2 houses, and ours was one of the 2. BUT
they put an offer on the OTHER house, and it was immediately accepted.
so
all of that drama for nothing.
sigh.
I hate getting my hopes up and then BLAH.
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In other news, the MikamyMeadows Party, was a success! It wasn't quite the turnout I was expecting - but we still had about 10 people show up over the day. Also, our dear friend Erika was offering free foot massages - using the Mikamy Meadows Foot products. Everybody partook(is that a word?), and it was a relaxing party. Everybody had a good time!
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Busy Bee

Yesterday was an insanely productive day.
-worked out 30 mins
-assisted drafting contract for new client
-created new reporting template for work
-finished Candy Study homework
-shopped at Publix for necessities
-ordered sweater & pants from VS Catalog online
-ordered sweaters from Alloy online/then over phone since online isn't working right
-emptied dishwasher
-made dinner (hamburgers (no-bun) & salad)
-emailed friends in Norway
-called Airtran to check on my refund
-walked dog for 30 mins
-watched Iceland episode of "No Reservations/Anthony Bourdain"
-helped Matt rate/select photos for project submission
-put away laundry
-organized papers for office
-emailed magazine editor about project
-fixed inaccuracies on a major report for a co-worker
-called Grandpa to arrange visit with Jamie & Baby Michael
-Emailed Aunt Julie to coordinate visit
-updated facebook status
-fell asleep exhausted
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I don't know why I'm telling you this, but I'm very tired. Will blog more later when energy levels return to normal.
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Interesting Article Stop Setting Alarms on My Biological Clock. Good read.
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Geez they do NOT make it easy to be Green - When Building Green can harm the environment.
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Of White Russians and Sirloin . . .

Well you know you're doing well fitness-wise when you have a fun/wine-induced weekend like I did, with hardly any sleep on Saturday night, and the Wii-Fit tells you you haven't gained ANY weight from it! I mean I usually go up and down 2 lbs over the weekend on a light-non-party weekend. But I MAINTAINED! woo hoo!
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now, if I can only start the numbers going DOWN . . .
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Last night, our "white-russian" James came over for a photoshoot and dinner. Bless his heart, I will miss him dearly. He's moving to Las Vegas for Medical School, next week. Sigh. Not only is he one of those wonderfully zen, calm, and philisophical folks, but he's very GQ too. One of those really good friends to sit on the porch and puff on a stogie or sip red wine with, and talk about anything, or philosophize (is that a word?) with. Matt took some fabulous portraits of him. I am not sure if they will be posted or not, but I really enjoyed them. Go James Bond! We dined on Sirloin Steaks, Green Beans, and Au Gratin Potato Balls. Thank Goodness for Omaha Steaks! Of course, I don't buy from Omaha Steaks unless they are having one of those $60 specials.
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Sunday is the Mikamy Meadows Party! YAY! I bought all the party supplies/food last night.
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Funny news about Matt - he's suddenly into Pellegrino. I think it's adorable.
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Disturbing news: Gay Man Offended by Bible - did he JUST NOW read it? Is he going to sue the Koran publishers too? We all know what the Bible says on that topic. WTF - are we supposed to censor the bible now? Idiotic lawsuits. And supposedly the man is representing himself too. Gee that's a great idea. ***In a recently released statement, a Zondervan spokesperson wrote: "Zondervan doesn't translate the Bible or own the copyright for any of the translations. Instead [our] company relies on the scholarly judgment of credible translation committees."***
I have nothing personally against Gay people - don't misunderstand me, but my goodness this is ridiculous! This case holds about as much water as the Victoria Secret Thong lawsuit. Gimme a break!
I "get offended" at the Bible too, but usually because it's putting my dumb*ss back in line and I don't want to be corrected, etc. and for gosh sakes, I get offended by lots of things I read, but that doesn't mean I go around suing every newspaper, magazine, or book publisher out there. geez louise. blahg!
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Ooh Matt may have a new client. See their blog = Zularis Naturals Blog or Zularis Naturals.com

Weekend Update - this is Abbie Lane filling in for Amy Poehler. Just kidding.

Weekend Update - this is Abbie Lane filling in for Amy Poehler. Just kidding.
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Thursday - worked all day, crappy day at work, then Aunt Susan & Uncle Tom met us for Dinner at Carrabba's and we caught up on family news. There are 2 weddings coming up in October in Florida. WOO HOO!
Unfortunately, Matt and I are going on a cruise and will miss them both. Bummer. But at least we are missing them due to a cruise, not work or something boring. YAY!
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Friday was a spontaneous adventure. Driving home after work's worst week ever (I do not believe I'm exaggerating here), my stressed out-self resolved to meet the hubby at Tijuana Joe's for a nip of something potent and a bite of chips and salsa/queso.
To my pleasant surprise, my dear friend Kat was there with the rest of the RBS crew. Girl-talk commenced, and then an invitation to join them for dinner at Rumi's Kitchen - a delightful Persian restaurant. We dined on some fabulous food (Rumi's Dip, Roasted Salmon, Jekyl Wine) - oh it was divine!
Then home to hang out with my sweetie pie!
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Saturday AM - I was oncall, and work woke me up with a page at 8:50am. arggg!!!! but it was all right by 9:30am. sigh.
Matt got a nice massage from our fave massage therapist, and then we went to the mall. Matt wanted to get an iPhone, but the line was insane. We went to Home Depot instead to get a present for a friend's Birthday.
Then the Birthday Party was AWESOME!
This party had grandparents, parents, singles, kids, and babies, and EVERYBODY got along and had a blast. Yes there was alcohol at the party, but that wasn't the reason. It was just that magical kind of day where the sun shines down and everybody is in a good mood.
Somehow, quite by accident, I was the one who made the crying babies or kiddies start laughing again. My babysitter instincts kicked in and it was so much fun. Oh yeah and although I didn't drink one (I'm low-carbing it), I learned how to make a Mojito in a hurry (they make theirs with spiced dark rum, ginger ale, lime juice, and mint), very very tasty supposedly.
I had to leave the party early (8pm), the kids begged me to stay but I couldn't. Since it was my week to work the Sunday Maintenance Window, and as fate would have it, it was FOUR hour window. I woke up at 1:30am with a nasty headache from the party (no not hangover headache, more like a back-out-of-alignment-from-lifting-50lb kids all night headeache). I suffered through until about 6:30am then I got back to sleep until 10:30am.
On the upside, I DID get some homework done for a project, and fixed that stupid Denon UD-m50 CD player that was stuck. I figured out that I was the one who broke it by putting 2 cd's into a 1cd slot I fixed it, tested it, then put it back together, and plugged it in to all the speakers/wires. then it decided not to work. So I took it apart again, then it worked. I put the cover back on, it was broken. I loosened the last 2 screws and WHAT THE HECK - it worked. I'll be darned why 2 loose screws a good cdplayer makes, but yippee!
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Sunday - we stayed home while I tried to recover from the night before, and then we did a small photoshoot for a project, and then went to bed very early.

Rate Zazen Photo on Kudzu.com!!!

Please drop by and write a kind word for Zazen Photo the Photography of Matthew Lane, Atlanta Photographer, on Kudzu.com.
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Thank you so much!
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In other news, I went to Wine Club last night. Normally, there are only 4-5 girls who show up, and that means 4-5 bottles of wine to taste. So we taste a bit liberally of course, but you aren't trashed when you finally leave.
but last night was different.
Thank goodness Mina was my surprise designated driver. She called me about 10 mins before I was going to leave, and offered to drive us. I am so glad I took her up on that offer.
the wine was "Chianti"
and somehow
this time
there were TEN women there - which means TEN bottles of CHIANTI to taste.
One of the ladies seemed hell-bent on getting them all done in a hurry. We passed around 8 bottles of wine in 38 minutes. I swear that has to be a record.
True we had to get them all done, but tasting 8 wines in 38 minutes is another way to get Abbie toasty in a hurry!
damn!
Thankfully, I had the foresight to pack myself a little bottle of Crystal Lite HYDRATION!
ahh yes.
Mina dropped me off at home, and then I almost immediately went to bed.
I do have a headache today. but it is okay. I am surviving. I am not hungover, my tummy is fine, just have headache.
Tried a new cheese last night. Cotswold. that is some GOOD STUFF! and it goes well with Chianti - of course.

SOLD!

Matthew Lane of Zazen Photo sold his first Framed Photograph today!

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The "Final Approach" photo of the white bird coming down to land in the water SOLD today!

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This particular image was hanging in "The Hair Lounge" - so now we have to get another image printed and framed to replace it. I'm so excited. GO HONEY GO!