Fair Dump

This title could have so many meanings. It's supposed to let you know that this post is about my visit to the Georgia National Fair yesterday and the photo dump you are about to see. My day started with a run and then a quick breakfast so my folks and I could hop in the car and drive on down to Perry. I didn't go to the fair last year so I was very excited to attend this year. My main goal of the day was to see the llama show which is a llama obstacle course. On the way to see them we stopped to look at the rabbits. We got to pet the velveteen rabbit (or as Joey on Friends called him, the Velveeta rabbit).

This little guy was super soft. We saw 9 and 11 day old bunnies, lop eared rabbits, albinos, and even the rare invisible rabbit.

We moved on to the llamas. My dad was not impressed but mom appreciated the humor of the simple obstacle course. Llamas are pretty docile creatures so no running or jumping was required, only walking through certain obstacles without falling or tripping.

 

This spotted llama was particularly pretty and I love their long lashes.

I didn't get close enough to take pictures of their eyes but I did get to pet one. We saw tons of cows as we were walking along (not sure why I didn't take any pictures) and we saw black and white ones, brown, grey, and tan. We also saw them getting pampered and fluffed for their big show. Next was the Jr. market hog show. It smelled really awful in that arena. The show didn't seem to make any sense. All these kids paraded in the arena with their hogs and walked around smacking them with a pole.

I'm not sure what they were trying to get them to do. The little girl in the purple shirt (in the middle of the picture) was the smallest kid in the arena and she smacked that hog multiple times on the face with the pole, smacked it with her hand on the face and also shoved her knee into its side to make it go a certain direction. Since I didn't understand the purpose of the show I felt that all the kids were meanies. The smell was getting to be too much so we moved on to find the draft horse show. We saw four Belgian horses

and five Clydesdale horses.

They were very pretty with all their hair bows and ribbons.

They are such huge animals. After the show we went in search of fine fair food. Ralph and I had corn dogs and onion rings while mom had some disgusting looking thing trying to pass as a gyro. I had to take this picture for Ralph.

Every kind of meat you could imagine was being smoked and you could hardly see as you passed because of all the smoke. The rest of the afternoon was devoted to looking at all of the art exhibits. On the way to one of the buildings we came across this tree man.

This was an amazing costume. It blended in so well that unless he moved you didn't really notice him (yes, even though he was standing in the middle of an asphalt walkway). Several people would scream every now and then as they were passing by because they didn't notice him at first. The tree man was probably one of the most interesting things I saw at the fair. We got to see some of the winners of school art projects, quilts, cakes, and woodworking creations. This included plants and flowers.

Aren't these gorgeous? I have a brown thumb so I can certainly appreciate the hard work it takes to grow something that beautiful. We made a brief stop at poultry world where I held a baby chick (I do this each time I visit the fair, everyone should, they are precious!). Finally we walked through the artwork building. There was some yarn art! This artist had three pieces but this one was the best.

Sold for $1,500! I used to do this in high school (nothing this professional looking or detailed). Who knows what I could have made if I'd kept practicing? It really does take forever to create something of this size. I am very jealous of this artist. I was also captivated by this first place winner in the watercolor category.

This artist's technique is unique and I can definitely picture an entire graphic novel done in this style. This one sold for $500. We saw dozens of photography entries and so many of them were really spectacular. We left shortly before 2pm so we had a fun filled day at the fair before all the massive crowds arrived. I did not get on any rides. If my sister had been there I might have considered it but neither of my parents would have gotten on a ride and I don't think I could handle one of them on my own. I hope I can go again next year!

Miserable Me

I thought I was in clear for September. If you'll recall I was sick for the majority of September last year. This Friday I woke up with a sore throat and was sneezing and sniffling most of the day. Now it's Sunday and I'm still sick but at least my throat isn't sore anymore. I've also been working on a paper and an infographic (yep, and I don't really understand what it is let alone how to make one) for school all weekend. Cough, type, blow my nose, type, have some soup, type, take some meds, type, sneeze, type. Oh, if I only had a team of minions to do my work for me!

I have been taking breaks from my school work. Saturday morning I participated in the inaugural Book it to the Finish 5k. I made sure I had plenty of tissues in the car for after the race. I did my second worst race time ever; not my worst but damn near close. The thing about a 5k is I need to have enough people to compete against but not so many that I'm afraid of getting trampled. I think there were about 40 people in that race. The fast people were at least an 8th of a mile ahead of me and the slower people were at least an 8th of a mile behind me. I ran by myself for the. entire. race. I like to pick a person slightly ahead of me and try to pass them, pick another person after that, and so on, and so on. So, I didn't do so well but the proceeds from the race benefit childhood literacy and I'm all about that. I also took a break to look at this gigantic praying mantis on our porch.

 

Sorry about the blurry pictures but this thing was so big and I really didn't want to get close. It kept judging me with it's huge green eyes. Here is a picture of my key for scale. I should have held it next to it but I couldn't get any closer without throwing up.

The praying mantis was bigger than my key. Gross, gross. The good news is my paper is done. It's not due until tomorrow so I will hold off on turning it in to allow for last minute editing. More good news just arrived about my infographic project. The due date was originally given as the 4th. Earlier this week it changed to the 2nd. It's now the 4th again. Phew! Jeff has been smart and stayed away from the house this weekend. This has allowed me plenty of quiet time to work on school stuff and blow my nose with abandon. Remy and Sandi just mope about while he's gone. This is how Remy stayed for a several hours.

In Her Jewelry

Do you remember that book In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner and the movie of the same name starring Cameron Diaz and Toni Collette? It's a good book and a good movie. There's a scene where Toni Collette's character says no matter what size she was (with her weight) shoes always seemed to fit. I've experienced some weight gain in the last few years. My wardrobe has gone from cute and sophisticated to bland and frumpy. My determination to lose weight comes and goes and I don't want to buy new clothes because I always tell myself that I'll lose the weight eventually. However, shoes and jewelry are two things that seem to fit regardless of weight. I've been a little dissatisfied with my jewelry lately and I think it's because my wardrobe is so boring that I need to add a little pizazz somewhere. My philosophy with clothes has always been that if I don't love it then I don't need to buy it. There's no point in buying a garment I feel lukewarm about just to supplement my wardrobe. Lately I've abandoned that theory because I don't really love many clothes at my current size. I got on a jewelry kick yesterday. Usually I search eBay for J Jill, Ann Taylor, and Banana Republic earrings and necklaces. I'm not big on bracelets and I'm not as gaga about rings as I once was. I also went to Etsy. Big mistake. I stepped away from the computer for a little bit because the urge to purchase immediately was pretty strong. I loved just about everything I saw and the prices were about 20% to 40% more than my eBay finds. Call it retail therapy or a way to avoid working on school but I've been online shopping for several hours since yesterday. I've already purchased these lovelies...

I don't usually gravitate toward gold jewelry but I really love each of these. I don't want to say how much I spent but let's just say I better LOVE these when they arrive in the mail. I probably also shouldn't mention that I'm watching several necklaces on Etsy as well...

  

I also ran across designer Marlyn Schiff and I love most of her items there as well. The sale prices are actually very good so I'll be sure to check back regularly for a steal. I can easily determine whether a top or pants will fit (pun intended) into my wardrobe. It's harder for me to visualize jewelry with my outfits and ordering online can be a challenge. Sometimes when things arrive I immediately know I just threw my money away. I'm watching 22 items on eBay. I'll be working on my paper the rest of this weekend so hopefully I'll get distracted and not buy anything else!

Packing Skills

I worked as a bagger at the Commissary on the Robins Air Force Base the last few months my senior year of high school. It was strictly tips only. I earned enough to pay for my week long trip to New York but the pay got worse once Publix opened on 96. Aside from earning money for my trip I learned a valuable skill: how to pack as much as possible into whatever container you have. This skill is transferable to loading a dishwasher. I pride myself on my ability to fully load a dishwasher leaving nothing left in the sink. Jeff loads the dishwasher a little differently. Allow me to demonstrate. Here is the bottom rack.

Nothing unusual. But here's the top rack.

Um..? I usually rearrange the dishwasher about twice a week. He is sweet enough to load it in the first place but I just can't handle the illogical arrangement. He never says anything about my rearranging. I don't think he looks in the dishwasher, he just opens the door and throws stuff in the general direction of the top rack. This kind of stuff drives me crazy and makes me laugh at the same time.

Birthday Time

It's my 32nd birthday today. When your birthday falls on a weekend you should celebrate the entire weekend and that's what I've done. My mother-in-law came down on Friday to take me and Jeff to dinner. We went to Longhorn's in town, which opened just this past Monday. The food was fantastic, the service was a little slow but that's to be expected the first weekend a restaurant opens. On Saturday I did some reading, TV watching, napping, and playing with my new birthday present from Jeff. My new toy is shared with famous characters Legolas Greenleaf, Emma Woodhouse, Robin Hood, Merida, and Katniss Everdeen.

Yep, I finally got a long bow. It's also called a recurve bow. Jeff gave it to me a few weeks ago and I've been practicing every few days. My aim is extremely inconsistent but I'm so happy to finally have my very own long bow.

 

 

I've wanted one ever since I saw Gwyneth Paltrow play Emma Woodhouse in Emma (I very much dislike the character Emma Woodhouse and I'm no Gwyneth fan but I love Jane Austen and Regency era history). Archery is something every accomplished woman should be skilled at and since I can't play the piano, sing, cross-stitch, ride a horse, or draw, archery seemed like the natural choice.

The hardest thing about using my bow is stringing the freakin', damn thing. I tried for about 15 minutes on my own this morning and it just wasn't happening. Jeff always has to string it for me. I can unstring it on my own but I'll need to get a bow stringer to help me. I also had a chance to visit my family on my birthday so that was nice. My folks got me this beauty from Z Gallerie.

Yes, it's the same one from Young House Love and I've also seen it in about 4 different design magazines in the last month.

This was my ice cream birthday cake and it was delicious. Both slices. I haven't had an ice cream cake in years. I think the last one I had was when Frances had her first baby Lilian and came to Warner Robins for a visit, maybe 7 years ago. Anyway, it's been a great day and a great relaxed weekend and I hope this is a good year for me.

No iPhone for You!

And by you I mean me. I got an email earlier this week that made my heart go pitter-patter.

My thoughts have been periodically interrupted with anticipation about the release of the new iPhone 5 since last week. I've said for many, many months that I do not want a smart phone. Well, it turns out that I do. I want an iPhone, today. I went online today to pre-order my very own and guess what?

I can't get one until almost the end of November. I can wait, really I can but I'm still disappointed. I've grown increasingly dissatisfied with my current phone (the piece of junk pictured above) but it still works so I'll just have to be patient.

Sarah Richardson

She is without a doubt my favorite interior designer. I first ran across Sarah Richardson's shows on HGTV some time last year. Since then I try to DVR anything and everything she does. She has different shows: Sarah's House, Sarah's Summer House, Sarah's Cottage, Design, inc., and Sarah 101. I have not seen any episodes of Room Service but hopefully it will re-air on a design network. Her shows document the stages of designing a room, or a few rooms that connect. My favorite part about her shows is the fabric selection. She picks the most beautiful fabrics in florals, patterns, geometrics, stripes; anything you can imagine all within a certain color scheme. Well, I also love the reveal at the end of the show where you can see the completed room. My least favorite part about her design style is wall art. I find it to be very boring and impersonal. She usually just goes to an art store and picks a few prints to have professionally framed. Not only are they boring but they are uber expensive. Actually, everything she does is uber expensive which is probably why everything looks so lovely. She does make some custom art work and those are the ones that work best in the rooms. She selects pieces of furniture and accent pieces (like table lamps and rugs) that don't seem to go together at all but at the reveal you see why she is a highly respected designer.

If I could afford it I would hire her to decorate my entire house. She even makes entryways and laundry rooms look fabulous. On Saturday HGTV aired 6 shows in a row of new Sarah's House episodes and I DVR'd them all and enjoyed them Sunday morning with my coffee; it's the simple pleasures in life that you have to appreciate.

Anatomy of a Pedi

I've been getting pedicures on a regular basis since my mid-twenties. I'd say I get one about every 3 to 4 weeks depending on my schedule and finances. I'm always so excited to get one but after the one I had this morning I realized I don't really enjoy the process much, just the result. Allow me to break it down for you. You arrive at the nail salon and pick your color. This is a pretty fun part of the process because of the clever names. A great red color for Christmas is OPI's I'm not really a waitress. Today I picked a pretty purple named spontaneous. If there is no one waiting then a employee will start the water and bubble stuff in the pedicure massage chair. You take your shoes off, role your pants up and sit in the chair and put your legs in the water. Sometimes the water is so hot you can't keep your feet in for more than a few seconds. After some cold water is mixed in you can finally rest your feet in the water. The first thing they do is remove your polish if you have any and then they start trimming your nails and cuticles. This is usually my favorite part because they do such a better job than I could myself. Except when they cut me, make me bleed, and then spray alcohol on my feet which makes me clench my teeth in pain. Also, my legs are kind of short. The chair can be adjusted so the seat moves forward. They never seem to move it far enough and I have to position my leg and foot in such a way that causes my hamstrings to spasm and then cramp. Oh, and the "message" chair is anything but.

I usually like the pulsing at first but again I'm short and the pulsing becomes and intense jabbing behind my head and I think it's supposed to be my upper back. Then the chair starts to shake violently and every bit of fat and loose skin on my body jiggles alarmingly. I've even been in some chairs where the seat squeezed my thighs so tightly I almost cried and then had to pee. Once your toes are trimmed they start on the bottom of your feet. This may include using a scrub sponge with some goo squeezed on it or a cheese grater (no joke). If they even come close to the arch of my foot I die in a fit of giggles and my face gets super red.  Next, they attack your legs. They smear on huge amounts of sea salt scrub, rub it in fiercely, wash it off, and rub on some smelly oil. After the oil is rubbed all over your calves they then proceed to punch the crap out of your calves. After the boxing match they rub thick globs of pink lotion all over your legs and feet. The lotion is hard to get off. I hopped in the shower one time after a pedi and they put so much oil and crap on my feet that I slipped in the tub and did a semi-split. You know it's almost over once they start applying actual polish. I always wear flip-flops when I get a pedi so I don't have to hang around for my toes to dry. I usually sit at the drying table, flip through back issues of Essence magazine, and pay and leave within about 3 minutes. So, I guess my pedi excitement is a little misleading. I do love how my feet look afterwards though.

Pretty, pretty, pretty! I need to get some sun.

Super September!

The new seasons of my TV shows start this month! What? You thought I was excited about September because my birthday is in September? I'm going to be 32 this year, which is exciting but September is super because my favorite shows will have new episodes. I already watch more than the recommended amount of TV but I'm super excited about watching Once Upon A Time (Sept. 30th)

Parks and Recreation (Sept. 20th)

Modern Family (Sept. 26th)

and Switched at Birth (Sept. 3rd)

Some of my other favorites, like American Horror Story

and Last Man Standing

don't start until October but I'm eagerly awaiting those premiers as well. I've already spouted words of love about my DVR but you can see why it comes in handy. I don't stay up late (and I can't watch American Horror Story at night anyway) so recording my shows is a wonderful way to enjoy them when I have the time. Are there any shows you're excited about?

Back in the Swing of Things

After an entire summer of little to no activity at work (I did work on projects but we didn't have much traffic in the building) things are really taking off. My classes at Georgia Southern started during Myrtle Beach week and the homework is picking up. I have 20 classes already scheduled for my job and I'm revamping my entire library orientation. This will be my rebuilding year (kind of the like Chevy). Our current library orientation is a mess; it's overwhelming for the students and a big bore all around. This quarter will be a test phase and I have high hopes. I did get a lot of reading done this summer during the down time. I finished A Stolen Life last week.

I'm glad I finally read it. It was disturbing and very upsetting. My mom says she wouldn't be able to read it and could barely sit through the Diane Sawyer interview. Jaycee Dugard is my age and that kept running through my mind as I was reading it. I wouldn't say it was fantastically written but Dugard did a good job explaining what happened and then following the passage with a reflection. The reflection passages reiterated the fact that she did get out, she is with her mother, and she is getting therapy. I read Room by Emma Donoghue and there were similarities, except Room was fiction (Whitney would add many !!!! after 'fiction' for emphasis). I'm currently reading the Zomnibus graphic novels and I have Divergent on my desk to read next. I read Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake at the beach and it was really great, scary, spooky fun.

I'm trying to listen to the sequel in audio but I think I had some downloading issues. I also read 10 Beach Road by Wendy Wax at the beach. It was an easy beach read but I've always wanted to read her book Leave it to Cleavage but never got around to it. My days of leisure reading are coming to an end and now it's all about school articles and text books.