SFO

I know several of you are keeping up with this now that I've been posting a little more often, so my apologies for being incognito this week. I was in one of my favorite cities, San Francisco, for the NITLE Summit. It was a great trip. Since I still hang on to bits of my introvert self, it's nice to go to a conference and have some previous relationships to pick up from.

Maybe the highlight of the conference sessions was the keynote on Friday. Michael Wesch, an assistant professor of cultural anthropology at Kansas State is someone I've been watching for a while. He has a Digital Ethnography Working Group that has produced some interesting videos that explore the anthropological side of things I'm interested in-- the influence of technology on human interaction.

I of course love the city so any time we weren't doing conference things i was out exploring. I finally made it out to Alcatraz. It's one of those things I've wanted to do and haven't made the time or let the weather get in the way or waited too long to buy tickets. Not this time. I bought tickets on Wednesday after we arrived for Thursday and we lucked out with the weather. It was a beautiful day and the experience was great. I posted a few pictures in Flickr, but don't expect photo greatness; I took them with my iPhone. I posted my favorite here, and you can see the rest on your own.

gnu favorite snack

Since I've been changing my eating habits it's been important to find good things I can eat on the run, and I thought I'd share one of my new favorites. They're hard to find, but much better for me than a bag of cheetos or some other nonsense.

Gnu foods makes these flavor & fiber bars that are pretty yummy. Today I finished sampling all the flavors, and my favorite is the Banana Walnut. I think second favorite may be the orange cranberry. They are difficult to find; I was able to get chocolate and orange cranberry at a Trader Joe's but to get the others we went to The Vitamin Shoppe.

lunch

we've been taking pictures of our food lately. here's my lunch for today. i resisted other options and went for the big salad. lettuce, cherry tomatoes, fungus and a sprinkle of fat free cheese. i used the balsamic spritzer and a shake of Penzey's 4/S seasoning to top it off.

you're jealous right?

last weekend's project: build an ark

crazy rain. i thought it would never stop last weekend.

we went down to Delaware saturday to do a little shopping, and attend the friends and family opening of Ameritage Bistro in Wilmington. It's the vision of our friend Bethany's step-dad Henry. The food was great, and we had a great time seeing the final product we've heard about for a while now.

goal accomplished: -10%

for those of you following along at home, that's 10% of my start weight i've lost in 10 weeks. i'm pretty excited, and proud of my work. i've been going to they gym regularly at least 3 times a week, but usually 4. i finally decided this was going to be my year-- my year to take better care of myself, and i'm doing that. weight watchers is really helping. i like the group on wednesday nights, and it gives me the accountability i need and it allows me to be competitive which leads to motivation.

i was pretty excited last weekend. i went to the mall and for the first time in a while, i bought pants at a store and in a section that wasn't for "Women size 14-24"; thank you New York & Co for still being around and making pants for people who lack hips and tush.

Swell

Swell's a great word. I've tried recently to come up with something to say when people ask "how's it going?" Because we all know people ask just to be polite; they don't really care. I feel like swell is a way to reply in what others think is positive while meanwhile I think things are shitty. So it's like shitty + well = swell.

I should be more positive I know. I had a fun night last night with the ladies from sewing circle. We went to dinner at Ocean to hang out and finally reveal our secret Santa Cupid Leprechaun. Hedge, my secret whatever got me a cool book on bead making, some clay to try my own and a tool to help make them. I'm excited to play.

merry president's day

what a crazy day. we had the option this year of taking MLK or President's day-- just not both. i enjoyed my MLK day last month with kelvin in Lancaster and Newark, Delaware so today I was in the office. it's been quiet. it's pretty icky outside. it actually feels like louisiana winter so it doesn't bother me, but some people are disturbed by the warmish-wet weather. they don't have to be upset for long, i think snow is coming later this week.

i wish i had some funny stories to share or exciting things to report, but i don't really. it was a pretty uneventful weekend. we did our shopping, saw Jumper on Saturday with our friend Kelly who needed to get out of town for a few hours, fulfilled my bbq craving and cleaned up the house.

i have been pretty disappointed that it seems two of my favorite local restaurants have thrown in the towel. my favorite chinese place, Panda House has been dark for several weeks now; much longer than the new year's celebration. and we confirmed Hog Hollow in Phillipsburg is closed. i hate to see local places close. i guess it touches a little to close to home (RIP. the potato factory, my dad's restaurant in the '80's).

the tease is over

it's been a week of nasty weather and a nasty cold. i think both may be almost over. the sun's out again for the second day, melting the icy sludge. and i can breath and almost talk in a way that i don't sound like kermit the frog the entire time.

i had appointments at both of my doctor's offices on tuesday. my afternoon appointment was with a doctor i really like. he's an alum of the college where i work, and he was a non-traditional student when he went there. i have a lot of respect for someone who gets through college and med school with small children at home. he's a really nice guy, and he always starts the appoint off just talking. tuesday he looked at me and asked how i was doing. before i could answer he said "you look happy."

i guess i'm glad it's obvious. i was pretty cranky at the end of last year so i'm glad that's turned. i've been working on becoming a gym rat, and kelvin and i have been eating better. it makes such a difference.

such a tease

the weather here is such a tease. i heard on the news this morning that this is a record for the area that we haven't had any measurable snow fall in the month of January. but instead we've had beautiful days like today where the sky is blue, the sun is out and it's FREAKING freezing.

i'm excited though because I feel good and i'm ready to party this weekend with friends. we have over 30 people coming to our mardi gras party saturday. i have a few theories as to why it was a good weekend for people:
1. see the first paragraph. winter makes people feel like they're dating the pretty girl who won't put out so they are looking for things to do that gets them out of the house.
2. people think louisiana is a freak show so they are coming for the entertainment value of eating crawfish, pickled okra and king cake.
3. people just love us so much they want to hang out.

it's probably all three. and it doesn't matter, i'm just happy to have people over. but we do need to get a bigger house...

quick

a new semester started at work yesterday so it's been busy, busy. i've been needing to work on the blog, but haven't (obviously). here are a few random updates:

1. got to go to louisiana for the holiday. it was nice to see see everyone and hang out. wish we lived closer.

2. came back and joined weight watchers. i've lost 11.6 pounds since 1/3/08. pretty excited about that. we've been eating healthy and working out which i'm convinced is the key for me.

3. spent MLK weekend and day with kelvin. we went to lancaster and on to newark, de to hang out with the crew there. super enjoyable. a few pictures to post, but in a hurry now.

4. hosting a mardi gras party saturday. pretty excited about that. we have over 30 people who've said they're coming so the pressure is on. gumbo, rice, individual crawfish pies, king cake. can't wait. guess i should figure out the points value and save up my weekly flex for saturday.

That's it for now...

Baking club

Two of my friends and I try to get together every couple of weeks to hang out and bake something. We've done cookies, empanadas and last night we tried our hand at bread pudding. I forgot about taking pictures until we had already carved up the goodness into pieces to eat and some to take away. None of us had made bread pudding so it was fun uncharted territory.

Things otherwise are pretty quiet. It's finally gotten cold so there will be no more talk of garden veggies.

Election day

I hate when I feel like I have nothing to say. I did like this photo of Hairy that I took with my phone; she's so cute and fuzzy.

Today is election day. I'm struggling with wanting to vote but also not having a clear idea of who I should vote for. I have a few people in positions I know I want to vote for, but I haven't been very diligent at getting informed about judges and some of the other positions. I suppose I should vote for the ones I know and skip the ones I'm not sure about. Or is this like standardized tests; just pick C and move on? I don't know. That doesn't seem like a good idea.

I just wish there was a good way to feel informed. Although, the 2008 presidential election I feel like has already gained a ton of chatter, but much of it doesn't seem informative.

Cabbage patch kid

Maybe it was some flashback to my childhood love of cabbage patch kids that made me fall in love with these flowers, but whatever it was I loved these cabbage roses. There were several flower vendors at the Pike Market in Seattle that had these for sale and used them in arrangements that were beautiful and inexpensive-- my kind of object.

I got to enjoy a bouquet of flowers I bought kelvin for his birthday while we were there.

Dreaming of Seattle Latte

I've neglected a Seattle recap from our trip last week, and since I'm about to walk out the door tonight, I can't write much. I've just been thinking about all the latte I drank there. It was so wonderful.

My friend E, who is quite the coffee connoisseur sent me a list of the best and I got to try 2 of the 3. The morning I had to take Kelvin to the conference center to be there at 7, I found my way to Victrola after dropping him off. There was a parking spot directly in front of the place and only one other person who was leaving as I went in. After ordering my latte and a scone I retreated to the pew style bench that lines one wall. I played with my iPhone and watched as the addicted came in for their morning hit. The sun finally came up as I was finishing my drip refill. It was such a great way to start my morning.

Then the last day we were in Seattle I persuaded Kelvin to go with me to the REI store and to check out Vivace. It was close to our hotel and we stopped in for an after lunch caffeine and hot chocolate refueling. I had an amazing latte with white chocolate added in the milk. I will never be the same.

such a tweet

i finally embraced my geekiness and set up a twitter account. i figure it's just another way to fuel my iPhone addition by sending mobile tweets. now i'm searching for fellow twitter-ers and going to start campaigning that all my non-geeky girl friends join me. look for courtneyb on twitter...

SoCo Apple Pie

Last Thursday I went after work to Phillips Farms to pick apples with J&C. It's something C and I have been discussing since last fall, and we finally did it. So what do you do with 10 lbs of apples? Why, you bake a homemade apple pie. The recipe I used calls for Southern Comfort so you know it's going to be great.

As I was making it I realized why I never make fruit pie from scratch; it's a pain. Peeling apples, stirring and stirring some more waiting for it to thicken. Then of course there was more than would actually fit in the pan so it was bubbling out over the sides.

So we'll see what the final verdict is once it sets up completely.

Apple store and Celtic Classic

Saturday was fun filled. Kelvin and I ventured to the lehigh valley mall and stood in line to get into the new Apple store. We got a free shirt out of the deal so we weren't disappointed. We did some other shopping and relaxed at the house most of the afternoon.

I persuaded kelvin to go with us to the Celtic Classic in Bethlehem. It was one of the highlights of my fall last year so i couldn't pass it up. It was such a good time J ended up in a shower!? Seriously, why was there a shower there? I'll never know, but it made for a funny photo op.

I was disappointed that the Welsh cookie guy was not back this year. I tried to fill the disappointment with kettle corn, and it mostly worked. Of course enough Cider out of the side of a semi-truck makes anything better.

wasting away in delaware

mid-week of our vacation and i'm thrilled to report i didn't respond to more than four or five of the 85+ emails i've received.

we've had a relaxing time just cooking, eating, drinking, playing wii, watching ridiculous tv shows and exploring this area of coastal delaware. it's quite lovely.

our first adventure yesterday was to find and visit the only winery in Delaware. we did the self-guided tour and then a quick tasting. we spent most of yesterday at two of the three outlet malls and then we came back to the house where i fixed enchiladas. kelvin and bethany fixed me a margarita that i sipped the entire time i cooked. by the time i put everything in the oven the four of them looked comatose. i had to liven the party up and after we ate we drove down to the boardwalk at rehoboth.

on Monday Kelvin and I rode our bikes to the state park and through the bike path loop there. kelvin touched a horseshoe crab at the nature center; it was nice to see a live one after all the ones that we've seen washed up on the beach.

today bethany went to the beach while the guys and i took the breakwater trail from lewes to rehoboth. it was such a great ride. the trail is nice and varied and we were able to see some different landscapes including a field that had just been fertilized with some manure. i think we all held our breath the whole way around.

i guess tomorrow we're headed for pedicures and more shopping in lewes and at the third outlet. i can't believe it's almost thursday. i'm not going to want to go back to work.

Puppy in a gym bag

My friend Kelly came to visit a few weeks ago and brought my birthday present with her. Part of it was the way cool bag you see Braut sitting in. It's the perfect length for him and while he didn't really appreciate it, we thought it was hilarious.

It's been a busy start to a Fall semester. Two years ago I was still working from home and felt slighted by not having the energy of a new semester as inspiration. This year I would just like to sleep more than 5 hours and not be in the office 10 hours a day.

What else can I tell you? I've been growing okra. It seemed the right thing for a good southern girl to do with her fertile pennsylvania soil. The yellow squash and bell pepper have done alright too, but the okra is crazy. It looks like I'm growing six foot marijuana plants, but I'm not; it's just green slimy goodness.

I also managed to find a pantry cabinet to give us a little more space to house all the good grub we tend to buy. I think it's cute. And mom's not allowed to say anything about the junk on the counter.... ;)

how a good plan goes bad

can't tell you how many posts i've written... in my head. one day when i'm in charge we'll have cameras built into our eyes so we can blink and take a photo, and we'll also be able to think and have thoughts typed up for us. of course, we'll need a on/off button with high reliability. until then i should update this.

it's been a wild month. where has july gone? we've been frantically working to get moodle completely ready for the semester including training and assistance for faculty. that's really the fun part. it gives me these moments that just remind me how much i enjoy what i'm doing.

the weekends seem to have blended together. i know we did fun stuff though. one weekend we spent in Delaware hanging out with R & B. we got to see the house we're staying in for a week in september, and i had my first taste of east coast fried oysters.

the next weekend i got to spend with my family and three of my favorite women (really, it's hard to use that term for me and my three college roommates--we're all grown up though), and their three babies. there is really nothing like picking up with friends like there hasn't been such vast time between being in the same room. it was a quick trip, but it felt like home.

last weekend we shared meals with two sets of friends and kelvin tried to kill me by taking me on a bike ride that included a few too many hills for me. i sat on the steps in front of a friends house and was so glad they weren't home to see my die on their stoop.

we're headed to detroit and on to niagra falls this coming week. i don't really have the time to take off a week of work, but i suppose it will be good to get away.