Meh?

I find that the things I'm most attracted to in life are things I either don't have or don't understand. I don't think this is all that unusual, except maybe for the things I'm drawn to.

For example, I LOVE music, but don't have any talent when it comes to singing, or playing an instrument, or heck, even keeping beat. I'm not just being modest either.. I was literally born without any of that ability (DAD).

Also? Beards. Lurve me some beard. I'm not sure I actually want to grow one myself (although I AM noticing more fuzz on my lip as 30 draws nearer), I just find them fascinating.

Tattoos. Yeah, I've got some, but not nearly as many as I'd probably have if I didn't have to worry about staying employed. Ergo - something I don't have.

But back to my point. When I find a song or a band I love, I love them for life. Their music never gets old, their songs never cease to bring emotion out in me, and I'll always remember every word to every song. Which brings me to the point of this post. I have found something I don't have (musical ability) and something I don't understand (the song "Jars" by Chevelle (who I will always, always love)). Subsequently, I have become a woman obsessed. I'm up to 78 plays on my Itunes library at work alone. I've posted the lyrics below for you to sort through. The best I can figure by reading and listening and searching online is that they're kind of making fun of environmentalists by saying everyone should put a little earth in some jars to save for later. And if I'm right, quite frankly, it makes me love them even more.

Hold onto chance
Lest we bleed ourselves
Save for the pets
They're the loneliest

Put into jars
We'll save this earth
Put into jars
We'll save this earth

We can't both become the same pawn that's made to fall
Oil that tastes like blood stole the summer scent
From me to you you're stabbing me through you
You're stabbing you through him and betting most of this world
We'll add enough of the world

Steal from yourselves
It never felt so good
And feed from their hands
Confuse the opposites

Put into jars
We'll save this earth
Put into jars
Keep safe this earth

(CHORUS)

Feeling manic for a day
Depends on the trends
Depends on the surface
If the sun never sets

(CHORUS)

Is the main thing you'll shout
Till the bitter end into jars

Rowhouse

I had another big event to celebrate this week - Dallas turned 29! So in honor of the birthday boy, we went to The Rowhouse for dinner. It's the coolest place!



The menu changes weekly, and since Wednesday nights are "preview" nights, we got to sample everything on the menu. (Yum!)



It was deeeeeelish! Dallas wasn't so sure about the vegetarian plate (or the blood oranges on his salad, or the cous cous, or the brussels sprouts), but tried it all and ended up liking everything and made happy plates!

(sidenote: D has this weird thing about green beans. He thinks the frozen ones taste "hairy", so therefore all greenbeans are suspect. There were two floating in his Rustic Winter Veggie and Tomato Soup, but he tackled them like a champ.)



It's just a cool atmosphere, with neat local art on the walls, and some historic pictures of the place and Topeka, and WONDERFUL food.

We'll definitely be back!!



http://rowhouserestaurant.net/index.html

El Dorado

So I really like my job. A lot. I do something different every day, I make my own schedule, I always have a new project to start, I'm out of the office a lot, the perks are awesome, I like my co-workers, and to tell you the truth, it's just good all the way around!

A big part of what I do involves travelling (driving). I just have the eastern half of the state, but doing this has allowed me to see lots of cool places I just wouldn't have gone to otherwise. I'm kind of a sucker for old buildings, cool architecture, and just the random anomalies you see when you're off the beaten path.



Yesterday, I was in El Dorado and their courthouse struck me. Here's what I know about that part of my world:

Eldorado, the county seat and largest city of Butler county, is beautifully situated on the Walnut river, a short distance northwest of the center of the county. The first known settler in the locality was William Hildebrand, who built a cabin there in the late '50s. His house became a rendezvous for men believed to be horse thieves, and in 1859 the place was raided by the settlers. Hildebrand was given a severe flogging and ordered to leave the neighborhood within 24 hours. He did not wait for a second notice.



Two houses were built where the city now stands in 1867, but the history of Eldorado begins with the year 1868. On March 23 of that year B. F. Gordy entered the land, and a little later sold Byron O. Carr, Samuel Langdon and Henry Martin each one-fifth of his claim, retaining two-fifths for himself. These four men formed a town company and the first lots were sold at $10 each. Several houses were erected before the close of the year. Elias Main established a sawmill on the Walnut river, and Henry Martin built the first frame house in the town. As soon as it was completed he put in a stock of goods—the first store in Eldorado. Town companies were common in those days, but Eldorado being situated at the crossing of the Fayetteville emigrant trail (sometimes called the California road), it soon outstripped its competitors. In 1869 Bronson & Sallee published the "Emigrant's Guide," calling attention to the advantages of Butler county, and to Eldorado in particular. In 1870 there was an influx of settlers and the town was enlarged by several "additions." On March 4, 1870, the first number of the Walnut Valley Times was issued, a flour mill was established, and the town began to assume an appearance of permanency. The growth continued and on Sept. 12, 1871, Eldorado was incorporated as a city of the third class, J. C. Lambdin, who had been chairman of the board of trustees, acting as mayor until the election of Henry Falls. It was not many years before Eldorado became a city of the second class.

The Eldorado of the present day has 4 banks, an electric lighting plant, waterworks, a fire department, fine public school buildings, 2 daily and 3 weekly newpsapers, good hotels, well kept streets, a number of first class mercantile houses, a telephone exchange, some manufacturing interests, an international money order postoffice with four rural routes, telegraph and express service, a number of fine church edifices, and in 1910 reported a population of 3,129. (Looks like it's about 12,000 today).

What You Never Knew About Mike N Ike's

Three things I love: a good book, a hot bath, and a tasty glass of wine. Combine the three? Heaven.

NASCAR was on yesterday so I didn't really have much to do with myself. A bath was just the ticket! I gathered Kindle, my suds, and oh no.. I'm all out of wine! It was snowing and I was much too lazy to get out and get myself some more, so I dug around and found a box of Mike N Ike's leftover from my Christmas stocking. Voila! We got ourselves a rockin good bath time.

I'm neck deep in suds, totally enthralled with Pretty in Plaid (Jen Lancaster - LOVE her) and munching on Mike N Ike's. The box is set up in the perfect spot so I don't really have to look away from my book to find the tasty treats.. I just gnaw away.

Munch, munch, munch, plop.

Wait. Plop?

I fish around, but don't find any rogue Ike's taking a swim so I get back to the business at hand.

Munch, munch, plop.

Dang it! Where are those little suckers going? Don't they know they dont have arms and will certainly drown? Whatever. I'm too busy to be concerned with their lack of buoyancy.

I decide it's time to throw in the towel (bwaha) when I knock the whole box off the tub and they go rolling all around the bathroom floor. Eww. (I do, however, salvage the ones only partly out of the box and later feed them to Dallas.)

WOOOOOWWWWWW.... I dropped more candy in the tub than I realized. And as the water drained they kinda stuck to the bottom of the tub, and their color bled off them all the way down all streaky-like. It's beeeautiful! A virtual kaleidoscope of colors and flavors. If only I could keep it this way forever! I'd show all my friends and guests. "Won't you accompany me to the upstairs bath?" I'd get a patent and sell my idea to Home Depot and be a guest on HGTV's Design Star. Light bulbs were flashing all over the place. That is, until I had to pick them out of the tub and they were all gooey and slimey and it took several rinse-and-repeats to get the streaks out.

Maybe this light bulb should never have been screwed in.

Note to self: Pick up a bottle of wine.

Lunchie Lunch

For years now, my mom and I have had "lunchie lunch" together on Fridays. This started way back when I was in college and worked at the hospital the first time. It continued through my years at the DA's office and while in grad school. After I finally got my masters and a real full time job, she even came and sat with me in the cafeteria the second time I worked at the hospital and listened to me complain for an entire hour for a whole year. Now that I just work a few streets over and couple blocks down from her (and am infinitely happier with my employment) the routine has become such that she'll pick me up, we eat, then she drops me off. It's more driving for her, but to me it's just that much more time I get to spend with Mom, Mama, Mommers Pants, Mommapalooza, Meeeooommmm, maaaam, and when she's being naughty, Barb.

I really look forward to Fridays for several reasons. Obviously, because it's Friday and I know I get to turn my alarm clock off tonight. It's casual day at work and I get to wear jeans and my sweet new boots with straps and buckles. And because I know I get to have lunch with Mom. And that lady makes me laugh whether she means to or not.

Y'all know that we now have matching Hummers and Mom LOVES hers. She likes to drive it fast, and make it splash up puddles, and fly through potholes like they're not even there. (She's got it all tricked out with skulls and layers of floor mats.) You also know that she is THE sweetest, most helpful and uber protective lady alive today. And since she is such a thoughtful little lass, she pulls me riiiiiight up to the curb when she drops me off at work. Unfortunately, today, we weren't quite to the sidewalk yet when she sidled up to the curb. We were at the flower beds. That Hummer has what seems like an 8 foot drop when you're in heels. So I do my best to use the ice encrusted nerf bars to step down onto the curb while trying to avoid the mushy muddy mulch on the other side. I manage to get the door closed while trying to balance on the tight rope of curb, but fail and get road grime all down the left side of me. By this time Mom's already got Nicole C. Mullins blasting "MY REDEEEEEEMER LIIIIIIVES" and she's too busy keeping beat on the steering wheel to notice I'm holding onto the door handle for dear life. She takes off like a bat out of hades, kicking up puddle slush in her wake. That tips me the other way and my super cute boot eats mulch.

*sigh*... She does try though.

So yeah, I'm wet and dirty. My left side is covered in white-ish dust and my right foot leaves prints all through the entryway. Yet I can't stop giggling at my silly mother! THIS, folks, is why I love my Friday lunchie lunches so much. :)

Please Don't Feed The Animals

This is my precious little Sophie doggins after her bath last night. I think she celebrated Dad's birthday a little harder than she should have, and between the taco meat, cheese and red velvet cake, her tummy was more than a little upset!

Without giving too many of the gory details, I WILL tell you that olive oil and a pediatric enema were involved. Her fur just couldn't stay out of the way of the poo, so she had to take a much hated bath. And a second one is scheduled for this evening.

She'll be upset with me, and she'll sit up, and beg, and whine, and scratch at my legs, but I think I'm going to have to cut people food out of her diet.

(Ahem, Grandmama and Grandpapa.)

Sorry Sophie...

The Big 55

Yesterday was kind of a big day for my dad. He was born on 2/15/55. For those of you that aren't so hot with the math (Tanner), it was his 55th birthday. And for him, the number 55 has always had special meaning. It's in his email address, it's on the backs of his personalized jerzies, and one time mom told me he actually wanted to name Tanner Fiftyfive, but she put her foot down.

Since dad is one of my very favorite people in the whole world, and he's my "go to" guy whenever I need words of wisdom or just some encouragement, I thought I'd share some of his most famous "dadisms".

"Use wisely your power of choice."

"Choose your friends wisely."

"I believe in you."

"It's gonna be OK!"

"You really should be a Republican."

"Because Abraham Lincoln said so."

"Because Jesus said so."

I might be a little off on the last two, but you get my point. I am who I am because my uber-conservative, super Nazarene, republican loving, belly-button ring hating, very silly Dad taught me lessons his dad taught him, and the church taught them, and Lincoln left in print.

Thanks, Dad. I love you!

Bright Ideas

Back in my younger years I worked during the summers as a life guard, and life was grand! I got to sit down for most of my working hours, I had a sweet tan, and every concession treat you could imagine was at my fingertips for half price. Sure, I had to blow my trusty whistle at naughty kids horsing around in the deep end every now and then, but the benefits far outweighed the cons of bratty kids and the occasional eyeball full of a woman with hairy armpits doing the back stroke...

That is, until the end of that last fateful summer. Those of you that know me know I have a rather fair complexion. Fair girls + lots of sun - any sunscreen = lots of freckles and a new crop of moles. One mole in between my shoulder blades decided it was particularly displeased with it's lack of UV protection and it tried to kill itself. (True story! That's how the doctor described it to me.) Basically, my body tried to do away with the problematic mole and it created a perfectly round white spot all the way around the stinking thing.

Now, those of you that know me also know that I have light bulbs with bright ideas go off all the time. DING! I'll just tattoo over it! Brilliant! First, I got the pink heart, but everyone thought it was a balloon so I added the cross. But it's just to the left of my spine so I felt lop-sided and added the bird to even out. So technically it's 3 tattoos... but really, who's keeping track of my light bulbs?

Fast forward 10 years. I hate the placement of the trash ball tattoo more than I hated the suicidal mole. Above, you'll see the tattoo after 5 removal treatments, and then directly after the 6th this past Saturday.

Moral of this story? Don't get lame tattoos.

How To Make Cheddar Selling Unwanted Goodies on Ebay

First - One must realize that it is a far, far better thing to get dollars for unwanted clothing items than it is to simply give them away to someone who won't appreciate them in all their skull and crossbones glory. (I shop at TARGET, ok? Mossimo brand is nothing to scoff at.)

Second - Take schnazzy photos of oneself in the mirror in said clothing (several dresses, skirts, tops and pants. I like to give the people options).

Third - Spend afternoon uploading 33 photos wondering if you really can stand to part with skull and crossbones PJ bottoms with red satin drawstring.

Fourth - Download Ebay app to Iphone to keep watchful eye on all progress.

Fifth - Remind yourself that those skull and crossbones PJ bottoms with red satin drawstring really are too short.

Sixth - Correct spelling of "sharp" from "shart".

Seventh - Answer 7 trillion questions about bust, waist, hip, and armpit to hemline measurements. (And note to self that at next listing, one should have probably included these things initially.)

Eighth - WATCH THE CHEDDAR ROLL IN!!!

Final Talley? $100.09

Boo-yah!

PS - The Skull and Crossbone PJ's went for $11.16. HA!

Ahhhh, that new blog smell...

So here it is.. My newest creative outlet. Or should I say my only creative outlet? Maybe my Facebook page and sassy descriptions of old clothes on Ebay don't quite count as "creative". I have grand aspirations of carving those cool bowls out of a solid chunk of wood, or learning to play the bass to toughen up my image, yet here I sit with a blog I have no idea what to do with.

I think I shall dub it "randomness", cause I'm pretty sure that's what you're going to get. Enjoy!