supahfluff

05:11 pm: happy bday
happy birthday deadmoviestar! hope you're having a great day.

10:47 am: a long long weekend
it was supposed to be a three day wkend. labor day off. but then we got friday off for hurricane prep. now we have today off because there's no power at the office. well, except for the coffee maker, the microwave and the back light. and i guess flintridge has power at his office. he left home an hour ago and hasn't returned. good sign. he has painting class this morning. it's pretty funny to see just how much paint that guy can get on himself in one class. it's usually on his head, all over his hands and on his clothes. oh, and on his car door handle, seat, etc. we don't call him pigpen for nothing. but his paintings are quite something. anyhow, we got power back at home yesterday afternoon. i used to think i'd like to live with the amish but have learned how much i love my power. i like my drinking water cold and my lights on. was listening to the news and some folks shouldn't expect to get power back before saturday night. damn. we were among the last to get it back last time and it really blows. so, what to do with this unexpected day off. hmmm. think i'm going to finish painting the tiles in our kitchen. started it during the last hurricane but got so damn hot and humid that the paint wouldn't dry.

02:16 pm: War Target!
We decided to spend the weekend after all. So we went out this morning to see if we could scavenge any supplies from local stores. Lowes, as we expected, was insane. One guy started yelling at a clerk about something at the top of his lungs. No fisticuffs though. Cop calmed him down.

So we went to Target, and they had batteries, flashlights, water, all the crap we needed. muy coolio.

now we'll just wait to see what happens. currently it's sunny and hot as hell. the cane is supposed to arrive saturday night. i hear it's weakening a bit, so that's good news. but it's supposed to be a very long storm. so even if the winds are not so strong, they're predicting up to 20 inches of rain in parts of central florida. hopefully we don't get flooded. we got no stinkin' sand bags.

08:32 pm: home sweet home
after a full week without power, flintridge and i were happy to leave town for vaca. our 4 days in nyc rocked. the 1 day with my mother-in-law kinda sucked. yes, it only took 1 day for me to reach the point where i wanted to rip the hair out of my head. at one point i asked her if it bothered her that her family wasn't closer. she said something about how her daughter did finally call her back after two weeks. so, i'm thinking she thinks her family is close or at least close enough. i figured it'd just be wasting my breath to point out the fact that they barely communicate on birthdays and major holidays, and that even though flintridge's brother and sister-in-law had a baby one full fucking year ago, they've yet to tell us. poor flintridge, he's come down with a cold so is having to deal with family plus a stuffy nose and cough. but if he's reading this, he'll be happy to know that we do indeed finallly have power. wooohooo, lights, ac, tv, fridge!

11:34 pm: skeet?
i just got home. i flip on the tube. it's almost 11:30. Figure I can catch some highlights on ESPN. But they "The Outdoor Games" on. Competitive skeet shooting, log sawing, tree climbing etc. The shite ABC used to run in the 1970s once or twice a year on Wide World of Sports. Now ESPN has packaged it with slick advertising, gorgeous hostess, and presented it as, what? a sport? Diversion? To wrap it up, Espn really blows now.

05:25 pm: took the day off so i could be in tampa for a dr. appt. had to have a 20-minute meet the dr. appt. before i could schedule a colonoscopy for next month. hadn't ever been to his office before but he comes highly recommended, both my sisters and some friends go to him. he was very cool. reminded me of our dr. in atlanta. both are people who obviously take care of themselves, believe and practice in the powers of eating right and exercise. basically told me that nearly no one should be dying of colon cancer because the test for it is so good. it catches it before it's even cancer, at the point where it's easily removable. said there's a bill in front of congress now, has been there for nearly 2 years, that would make healthcare providers pick up the tab for one such test every 10 years. he said you really need to have it done every 5 years but these guys care more about money than people. it's just like the bill that made them pick up the tab for mammograms every other year. after a little while they changed that so now they've got to pay every year, the way they should. the only way they pay know is if you already have the signs of the cancer. nice. or, in my case, if your dr. tells them to fuck off as he lies and writes down that yes, i am complaining of all those pretty horrible symptoms. makes me think about my mom's dr. who never even suggested she should have this test though everyone, family history or not, should have at 50. and at 68 when my dad asked about it, told him it wasn't necessary.

07:34 pm: misc boring stuff
yeah, it's friday. anyone have any tips for letting crap roll off your back instead of getting frustrated to the point where you stew about it your whole drive home from work and well into the evening? mostly i love my job but once in a while someone does something that really ticks me off. i'd think that because it really only does happen once in a while and not every day, that i'd be able to just let it go but i don't. a drink would probably help but i've got one more month of being alcohol free.

i want to catch a movie this weekend. anyone seen anything good lately? think the last thing i saw was eternal sunshine. so dug that. wouldn't even mind just seeing it again.

not to jinx it but looks like we might have a new neighbor for hyacinth. believe it or not, olive will not be in need of our place after next month. she's been renting it since we left, it'll be a total of 26 months.

getting in some really good runs lately. going to try to make it to a yoga class this weekend. been doing that bikram yoga where the room is heated to 90 plus degrees and dig it so much more than regular hatha yoga.

a book you should NOT read (not that anyone reading this probably would) is the 5 people you meet in heaven by mitch albom. he's the guy who wrote tuesdays with morrie, which i read when our friend at workman publishing included it in a care package of books she sent us (she does that every so often and i really love getting this big box of mostly great books in the mail) and actually thought it was fine. but someone at work gave me his new book when my mom died and i felt like i had to actually read it before writing him a thank you note so i forced myself to read the entire thing. it's only about 200 very small pages but it was torture.

09:31 pm: misc. stuff
am kinda tired. feels good to be home after being away for 4 days.

did manage to unpack and do my laundry. made stacks of clean, folded laundry but couldn't make myself put it back in the closet, as closet is giant mess of stuff falling off hangers and shelf. though does now have this very handy dual-headed, flexible flashlight that wraps around bar. makes easy to see clothes on shelf and elsewhere. much, much better than those crappy push lights.

jc and i did get ourselves up and out (unshowered and i looking rather horrible and wearing shorts, giant size catfish t-shirt and clogs with snowflakes on them) to library and grocery store. got travel guide to new orleans (fly out saturday morning). "our" publix has closed. it was a good one. wide aisles, 80s music and rainman-like cashier who figured your total in his head and alerted you to every penny you'd save if you swapped out chosen items for like sale items. in its place, they opened brand new, supersize publix just a few blocks away. it's in one of those disney-like, pleasantville sort of prefab towns. couldn't bear going there so went to the one that's an eqaual distance away in opposite direction. smaller, too narrow aisles, but fine.

missing my mom. 4 months this past thursday. bites without her. wish she could be here. healthy. do feel her with me though. swear she came to baltimore with me.

happy that dad is doing okay. there were times (years) when i was much younger when i couldn't stand him. we didn't get along at all. mostly my doing. has been better for years and move to fla really helped as we spend lots more time together. he's a really good person. hate that he's without her.

torn between wanting to stay near family and moving to orcas/seattle, though am happy staying put for now.

this week...our 3rd anniversary, 2-years at my job, jc's 38th bday.

11:53 am: iacp
just got back from 4 days in baltimore. it's a city that i've never thought much about but it was the location for this year's iacp (international assoc. of culinary professionals) conference. was kind of surprised, not that i'd want to live there or anything, but it has some fun neighborhoods and some pretty good food. the crab, of course, was sooooo good. but also had excellent indian food and the best collards i've ever eaten. plus the conference was fantastic. everything from general food writing, photo and styling workshops to stuff about trends, sessions on jewish, asian, latin american, etc etc etc cuisines, really cool new stuff in home kitchen technologies and the science behind how food memory works. was also a session about obesity, after which i caught a story on the news about how taret is coming out with a line of plus size clothes for kids. so sad. along those lines, was nice to be surrounded by 1200 other people who realize that all this low-carb crap is just logical progession of hype after low-sugar, low-cholesterol, low-fat and that there is no magic "cure" and that if you want to lose weight it's simply a matter of eating in moderation and exercise. saw lots of friends i haven't seen since my birmingham days and found some more good freelance recipe developers/testers, writers and photographers for the ton of stuff i continue to outsource. was thinking while i was there, about how it's a conference that everyone loves to go to. it's a field of work where everyone in it loves what they do. next year is dallas. year after that seattle.

only thing that sucked was all the rain friday night, the night i was going to camden yards. well, that and the 10 zillion very loud kids on the flight back to orlando/disney.

04:24 pm: business schmisness
i had an off property company meeting today. my company is still very small and growing very fast so it was kind of cool to have everyone in the same place at the same time to catch up on projects etc. but then we broke into groups to do this problem solving, business strategizing type exercise (myself and my boss are the only 2 people from the creative department present). everyone is gushing with their brilliant ideas and then each group presents their solution. each group's solution, including that of my own group, sounds like a ton of disjointed, meaningless rambling, so i'm thinking when all is said and done the powers that be are going to stand up and explain how all have missed the boat etc. etc. instead, they congratulate, say a pizza party is in order and suggest a round of applause. i just sit there thinking what the fuck. oh yeh, i also think how happy i am that i don't have hepatitis. tested negative for a, b, and c today. still have some weird liver thing going on though so no happy hour for 3 more months.

10:56 pm: supper club
hosted supper club tonight. group of 7 of us from work plus spouses. was kind of dreading it because it meant i needed to clean the house, go to the grocery store, etc. but was lots of fun.

went to winter park art festival today. saw this one painter that did stuff i loved. wish i could afford to spend $4500 on a painting.

though i talk about going all the time and hardly ever actually do, i'm going to the movies tomorrow. lots in the theater that i want to see.

never knew until the other day that if you toss an orange or lemon down the garbage disposal that it gives your kitchen a great citrus scent instead of a dirty dishwasher smell.

10:27 pm: vaca
after taking monday off and working only a 4-day week, i've decided i'm taking more vacation time. i've got a bunch that i use or lose in the next month. plus i really just want a 4-day a week schedule anyhow. i'm lucky in that i really dig my job and i get a nice big check for doing it, so i don't like to complain. but i really would love to only work 4 days a week. the 5 and 2 schedule is really out of balance. i need an extra day off to do yard work, read, do my nails, relax, see movies, etc. don't know how you folks with kids do it. i feel like i don't have enough down time as it is and i have no kids and as few responsibilities as i can get away with.

09:39 pm: oj
i kind of remember jacob (the guy we bought our house from) saying something about an annual orange juice squeezing party but didn't realize that that meant that when we bought the house we also assumed responsibility for hosting said party. not until this past week when our neighbors started asking and even went so far as to set date and time, provide ladder and industrial strength juicer, and save all empty plastic jugs for past 12 months. so starting at noon (we were able to push off original start time 1 hour) on sunday, flintridge, jacob and his boyfriend wade, neighbors randy and becky and glorianna, and i are doing as they've done for the past 7 years or so. we're going to pick ALL the oranges off the 4 trees in our backyard, wash, slice and juice. am told this takes all day and results in a bazillion gallons of oj.

06:56 pm: 36 years ago today
almost forgot it was my bday today as i was so focused and overjoyed about my day off tomorrow. day has been good, everyone is especially nice when they know. plus work with lots of cool people (surprising to me considering where we are) who are lots of fun. my husband, who pretty much rocks on any given day, is in the kitchen now creating me a masterpiece of a bday cake. my 3rd of the day but no doubt going to be the best. it's kind of a tradition for him to bake me cake. last year was banana cake with lemon frosting and swedish fish (pisces). when he's done we're heading out to some fairly new tapas place. crossing my fingers it's good but not letting hopes get too high. sooooo miss all my favorite restaurants in atlanta. taqueria del sol, watershed, biscuit, and about 50 others. dad and sister heather are coming for the weekend and we'll do the family celebration. sister kim can't make it. has a bazillion kid soccer, baseball and basketball games. (still don't know how all those parents do that. or why.) as far as my big day off tomorrow...my dream is to finally take care of getting my passport, do yardwork/get a tan, get my toenails done, and meet friends for the one drink i'm allowing myself at happy hour.
cake baker done. got to go eat.

10:00 pm: woooohooo, it's the weekend
every friday it's the same thing—am soooooo excited that the weekend is here. not that the weeks are bad but i love having zero responsibility from friday night till monday morning. down side is we're pretty hard pressed to find stuff to do around here. there's the beach of course but i mean cool stuff that's like right around the corner. plus there's the liver no alcohol thing that's putting a damper on my fun. weather is supposed to be sunny and between 76 and 80 this weekend and we've got nothing planned but working in the yard and going to a big antiques market. bring it on.

05:19 pm: where the hell is home
i've got a call with katie workman from workman publishing in about 10 minutes. about a job. one that i think might be very cool. one that would involve moving to nyc. part of me is interested but mostly i can't even begin to think about packing and unpacking and actually moving. again. i've never really minded moving, i've liked it, but am getting to the point where i'd like to just pick a place (almost any place) and call it home. cabbagetown? thornton park (notice i avoid saying orlando)? feeling like maybe i should just pick out of a hat. or make my husband decide. god help her if she asks me where i see myself in five years. she'll get an earfull.

08:08 pm: sleep
ever since my mom passed away (december 22), i find it really hard to sleep. while i know part of it's the fact that she died, i think it's a million other things too. my very stressful job (or my somewhat stressful job plus my lack of being able to handle stress) and the need to make all sorts of decisions from should i have a kid to should i sell my car also play a part in my insomnia. while i do have dr. prescribed sleeping pills, that faux sleep is nowhere near as gratifying as the real thing. and i don't think i really need something to make me sleep as much as i need something to make me relax so i can fall asleep. oh yeah, dr. says no alcohol for six weeks. i had an annual physical (was amazed that they really do still check reflexes by tapping knees with little hammer thing). i was all concerned about my cholesterol which was high when last tested a year or so ago, it looked fab (guess that proves how much doing a big fat nothing can help). this time it was some enzyme in the liver that was too high. so she prescribed an alcohol-free existence for six weeks. i told her i really don't drink that much and could not imagine that it'd be a problem if i just continued. am sure i'll get alcohol counseling brochure in the mail any day now. my drug-free attempt at sleep tonight will start with viewing the history of tupperware movie on pbs. i dig tupperware.

07:53 pm: Supahfluff In the Motherfuckin' House!
Yo, all my C-Town homies, what up?