Tall Painting

Pretty cool...

311 - All Mixed Up

Just bought tickets to see 311 and Sublime with Rome in July! Now if I only still had my Doc Martins, overalls, and flannel shirt.

Super Moon

This past Saturday there was a Super Moon. AKA- "perigee" moon-the closest approach to Earth. The moon was 14% larger and 30% brighter then an "apogee" moon-the furthest from the Earth. Biggest moon in more then 20 years.

My favorite shots found on the web from DC...

Just wanted to share. Happy "moon"ing!

Spring Is On It's Way!

This past weekend the house windows were open, the sunroof was open, car windows down, flip flops on and unstoppable sneezing.  Spring is almost here!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I have just a wee bit o' Irish in my blood. It's true. Does the red hair, freckles, and hazel eyes give it away? (I'm not Amy Adams-below)

Fun facts about redheads:

• Redheads account for 1-2% of the world population and 40-46% of the world population carry the recessive gene. 13% of the Scottish population and 10% of the Irish population have red hair. The US has the most redheads due to the large population (6-18 million).
• The most rare hair color in humans is red.
• Red hair doesn't gray as much as other hair colors. Red hair initially tends to turn blond and then white.
• People with red hair are often referred to as redheads, gingers, leprechauns, carrot top (which never made sense to me because carrot tops are green), and a few others that I'm not going to put on here since this is a family oriented blog.
• According to Wikipedia, redheads are often "fiery tempered and have sharp tongues." 
• The pigment pheomelanin gives red hair its color.
• 80% of redheads have freckles.
• There is such an event called Redheadday that is a 2 day festival in September in the city of Breda, the Netherlands.
• People with red hair have twice the risk of developing Parkinson's Disease. (AHHHH!!!)
• "While the rest of the species is descended from apes, redheads derive from cats." -Mark Twain
• Some scholars postulate that the same gene mutation that causes red hair also affects the way redheads respond to pain and anesthetics.
• "Gingerphopia" is a fear of redheads. "Gingerism" is the bullying or prejudice of redheads.

Fun facts about St. Patrick's Day:

• St. Patrick wasn't Irish...he was born in Scotland or Wales and brought to Ireland as a slave. His given name was Maewyn.
• In 1903, St. Patrick's Day was named a national holiday in Ireland and until 1970, Irish bars closed on St. Patrick's Day.  
• There are more than 35 million Americans with Irish ancestry. The population of Ireland is 4.2 million.
• 4 out of 5 Americans wear green today and 1 out 13 go to bar.
• 40 pounds of green vegetable dye is added to the Chicago River for St. Patrick's Day.
• The 4 leaves of a shamrock represent faith, love, hope, and luck.

There is an actual place called Mt. Gay-Shamrock, West Virginia. 

Go eat your bangers and mash and enjoy your green beer. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I Miss Buster

If you don't know who Buster is from Arrested Development (TV Show), well then...I can't help you. He's only one of the best characters in one of the best TV Comedies of all time. All time.

This isn't Buster but it is Tony Hale who played Buster.



Word on the street (from a random source on the internet) is that the script is currently being written for the Arrested Development movie which is supposed to come to theaters in 2012. Fingers crossed!

A Complimenting Attacker?

Yup, they exist.

I was just telling a coworker last week how safe I felt living in Gainesville. For the most part everyone is generally polite, kind, and easy to talk to. I have never felt threatened by someone's politeness...until yesterday morning.

Like millions of people, I am a contestant in the daily rat race.  I get up in the morning, shower, get dressed, feed the kitties, put my shoes on, get my Starbucks, get startled by a stranger approaching my car from the back and knocking on my driver's side window, wait...that doesn't happen daily. Or ever for that matter.

I rolled my window down probably a little further then I should have but not enough that he could stick his hand in the car. Not a bad looking man. Not a homeless looking man. Had all of his teeth. Dressed nicely but not in a suit or tie. Didn't smell (that I know of).

Stranger: "Ma'am.  Are you married?" He's bent over a little bit in order to see my face.  He was about 5'10 and I was in the Altima. I later realized that he was probably checking my door handle to see if it would open.

Me: "Yes."  What the hell would he say if I said no?

When he realized it was a failed attempt, he had to come up with something, so he came up with...                                                
Stranger: "Well, I just wanted to tell you that you are
very pretty."

Me: "Thanks." Then he turned and walked away. Harmless but I got out of the parking lot as soon as possible and went on with my morning as usual.

Posted the story on Facebook...like you do.

Before lunch I mentioned it to co-worker.  She said it was super creepy and I should report it since there was an attempted robbery last week at the nearby Target by a man with the same description (even though the description was probably 50% of the population).  But I'll tell you what, I'm not as observant as I should be.  When it comes to noticing the details (besides words), I only remember 4.  The guy's nose (because it was big), lips (because they were gigantic), the car he was possibly driving (it was bigger then his lips), and the colors of the license plate (normal sized license plate).  It wasn't a VA, MD, NC or any other license plate that tend to be local and the 1 time I should have read the plate, I didn't.

I called the non-emergency number for PWC police. Of course the lady asked for the plate number and my report was a little late (4 hours) to send a cop there. I filed my "suspicious activity" by a man who complimented my looks and did absolutely nothing to harm me, my car, or anyone in the immediate vicinity.

This would happen to me.

Marlboro Woman- No More

It's crazy to think that I smoked for so long. What a waste of money. Sometimes it's hard to be near it and I can smell it from a mile away. I don't frown upon anyone that smokes because I know how addictive it is and what it does to your mind and body. Nicotine is such a powerful drug in so many ways.

After having quit for about 6 months I was standing in a circle with a few co-workers in the hallway. One of the coworkers had just come inside from smoking and I could smell it. Within a few minutes I got a sharp headache and my vision went into tunnel vision. I almost passed out right there in the middle of a conversation. I had to get out of the situation. I made up an excuse and walked away. When I couldn't smell it anymore my brain went back to normal and I was fine. My brain wanted the nicotine so badly it freaked out on me. That moment really showed me how controlling nicotine and smoking is.

Benefits for quitting up to a year:
·        Risk of heart disease is decreased to half that of a smoker
·        I am one of 7% that are actually smoke free at the end of their first year
·        Any smoking related sinus congestions, fatigue or shortness of breath have decreased
·        Cilia have re-grown in my lungs thereby increasing their ability to handle mucus, keep my lungs clean, and reduce infections
·        Overall energy has increased
·        Blood circulation has substantially improved

If packs were $3.50 the entire time I smoked, I spent roughly $8,000 on cigarettes. I just threw up in my mouth a little.

I have been actively attending Zumba, TRX, and Yoga classes at Balans, a local studio. I did make myself present at the vending machine at work for a few months which caused me to gain a few pounds. Ok, 15. I haven't weighed this much since I put on the Freshman 15 in college. I've gotten Jason on board and we've been watching our consumption of calories (etc) taken in and burned through an app on our phones and online, MyFitnessPal. It's pretty cool. I recommend it, even if you are trying to gain weight. We've gotten the sessions of P90X and are going to start that once we get our basement back. So for now we are walking (we got new shoes at The Running Store) loop of Virginia Oaks which is 2 miles.

I am giving us a pat on the back, a high five, a standing ovation, and a beer. Cheers to our accomplishment!