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30 December 2010

My new calling

Maternity photographer. That's right, mulitple friends are preggers and they wanted me to take some pics of them, the pops, and the baby bump. You can see the best of the best here:

Photos

New Years 2011

New Years Eve is coming up and I decided to look back to the beginning of 2010 to see what I resolved to do. Here is a link to the post in it's entirety and here are my 2010 resolutions:

#1) Get back on the workout train
#2) Start eating healthy again
#3) Run the ING half marathon

Did I meet these goals? Um, sort of and not really. I definitely didn't complete number 3. Instead of running the half, I stood on the sidelines and cheered on the runners. From the wheelchairs competitors to the lazy walkers at the end who were barely moving faster than the cone pick up guy behind them Bella and I were there to scream, cajole, and clap for them. I also have running a half marathon on my 30 x 30 list, which may or may not actually happen. As you can see, I apparently don't keep promises to myself and if I don't keep promises to myself, I definitely wont keep them for you people.

As for my other resolutions, I sort of completed number one. I started working out about 3 times a week at a gym near work, had a personal trainer for a whole month (wowza), and did a 5 day/3 week bootcamp with Operation Bootcamp just a couple of weeks ago. Have I worked out since bootcamp finished? No, but I have been really busy. Maybe I should run today so I get one last workout in for the year. Then I can tell myself I completed something. Lastly my 2nd goal was not really met. I have begun to cook healthier, but I also eat out way too many meals a week and when I eat out, I certainly don't pick the healthy shite on the menu. Somethings gotta give.

So on to my new resolutions. What will they be?

#1) I will turn 30
#2) I will not eat beef or pork
#3) I will get lazy, stop blogging for a bit, and then start afresh, telling myself (and you) it will never happen again.

MMhhh, now there are some resolutions I will keep. I hope you like my list. If you get really excited, I hope you will comment with your own resolutions for the year ahead.

FYI- I am going to try and do ANOTHER flickr 365, but this time I will be doing a picture a day of anything, not of me. I think I might be better at that. We shall see.

29 December 2010

Best punctuation point ever?

I give you the Interrobang. You be the judge. Good, Bad, or Indifferent?

10 December 2010

So long..

Both Thanksgiving and Hanukkah have come and gone without mention on my blog. As a matter of fact, not a whole lot has been on the blog in the past month and for that I apologize. Here is a song that will make it up:



For a quick recap of the past 3 weeks:
-Friends potluck at my house rocked. Sadly, we didn't manage to finish the keg [hanging my head in shame], but we did eat a lot of good food and drink a lot of PBR. "Some" of us tried to work on the keg Sunday in the warm fall sun, but it was not meant to be.

-Thanksgiving: Ate lots of turkey, stuffing, mashed taters, and roasted winter vegetables (I made it and they were del-fucking-liscious) . I also worked my arse off, pet sitting like crazy. I had about 22 petsits on Saturday after T-day. It was cold, I was cold, but I made bank so all was worth it.

-Boot camp: Just started it up again 2 weeks ago. I have one five day week left. The first week was HARD. I did a cross fit workout on the first day and couldn't walk without major pain the rest of the week. It was so bad that I had to hold on to the toilet in order to sit down. TMI right? Second week has been cold as hell. standing around at 5:45 am in the 20 degree weather, waiting to workout is hard. I did it, but I didn't like it. I am getting some energy back which is awesome.

-Hanukkah: Lit the candles nightly and hosted a dinner for the fam on the 5th day. It went off without a hitch. I made chicken stuffed with arugula and goat cheese, quinoa with cherries and pistachios, sweet potato and regular latkes from SCRATCH, and roasted asparagus. I did flip my latkes in the air and say "Heyyyyyoooo, light the dreiiiiiiidel" and I think it might have made them taste even better than normal. Just in case you were wondering, Hanukkah Harry hooked me up with a yard package. The pops and I will be redoing the yard come spring. Yay! and my yuppified picket fence is up. It hasn't been painted white yet, but once the weather gets warm enough to fry eggs on the concrete it will be.

Have a great weekend!

19 November 2010

Giggity

Just wanted to let y'all know I didn't get taken by the mountain people. I have however, had a very long and busy week which is why I haven't been posting. I did get some cool shots which you can check out on Flickr. I am still busy so I will get back with ya on Monday. this weekend is a 30th birthday party and my annual Thanksgiving Potluck. Let the games begin!

Mountains Dairy Farm

Fall Colors

the Appalachian Mountains

10 November 2010

Off to VA

It's that time again. Time for this lady to mark another item off the 30 x 30 list. EEk! Technically I listed that I would take one random trip without knowing where I am going. Since my job might not exist in June and I'm already lacking the funds needed to survive, I am wrapping this item into my weekend trip to Virginia and slightly changing it to fit a broker girls needs. A good friend of mine is getting married on Saturday in Charlottesville. Despite all of my friends taking airplanes up there, I have decided to choose the route less traveled; the 8 1/2 hour car ride alone. I got lucky in that I don't have to be at work tomorrow (YAY Veterans!), which is Thursday, so I am leaving tomorrow on the longest route possible from here to Charlottesville. Did I say it took 8 1/2 hours? Well, I strategically planned out my route to be as long and remote as possible so the route planned is now 12 1/2 hours. I figured I could do this since I don't have to be in Charlottesville until Friday night. I am planning on packing my camera and taking in the sites. I also want to meet Jesco White, but somehow I don't think I have the balls to go hunt him down in West Virginia. So back to 30 x 30. My original plan was to not have a plan at all, as in take a weekend and just go somewhere last minute. Since I don't have the money for a solid weekend somewhere, unless sharing a room with multiple friends like this weekend, I have decided to change the list item to be just randomly picking a place. While I have a semi- decent itinerary, I have no plans nor have I researched anything about my 12 hour journey other than moving check point dots around on a google map, so my plan is to take my time checking out whatever sites and shit there are to see and stop when I feel like it. I am a pretty big planner so this in itself is going to be hard for me. Anyhoo, I will get back at ya on Tuesday, that is if I don't get taken by some Dew mouthed Appalachian folk.

09 November 2010

My pictures gonna be in a book

A picture I took is going to be in a book. Not because it's a fabulously well taken photograph that is so beautiful that it takes your breath away, but more for the sheer funniness value. I submitted it to the website awkwardfamilypetphotos.com and they liked it so much they put it up on their site. The comments about the picture are hilarious. Some people thought the picture was funny, others thought it was animal cruelty. Really?? It's not like the dogs are buried 10 feet under the sand. Besides the fact that they are Jack Russel's, which are excellent diggers, so if they wanted to get out of the shallow hole they were in it would take two cussing seconds. The website people sent me a request to see if it could go into a book they are making. While the photo doesn't really showcase my astounding photography skills, I do like that someone appreciates the humor behind it.

Click HERE to link to the website picture and the comments. Some of my favorite comments, which could also be titles are:

"now they know how the bones in the backyard feel" -RatTrap007
"a warning from the Chihuahua drug cartel" -R. Michael Bortman
"This is evil, it isn’t funny! Those dogs would have had to be held down, they don’t look relaxed, they look scared! and being buried in sand up to your neck, would be different to having washing thrown on you. Sand is constricting, they wouldn’t be able to move under that, this photo is animal cruelty and should never have been put on this website" - Tangle

Oh wait. That last one shouldn't be in my favorite comments. It should be in the most idiotic comment category.

Hope you like!

4 little jacks all in a row

05 November 2010

Happy Friday!

Tommy wishes you a happy friday! See y'all next week and don't forget to bundle up- it's gonna be cold out there.

Tommy


Here Kitty

02 November 2010

Krog Street Tunnel and BP

A friend of mine sent me the following video. It is a pretty cool time-lapse video that takes place at the Krog St Tunnel right around the corner from my house. I actually have a couple of pictures of Krog Tunnel with the graffiti pictured, but I had never seen the video of it being done. My favorite part of the video is when the cops roll by during the painting of the banner. Pretty funny! In case you don't know Krog St Tunnel connects Inman Park with Cabbagetown. It is a long tunnel chock full of graffiti. If you drive through the tunnel during the day you are destined to see lot of photographers and models, using the tunnel walls as a backdrop. The banner overhead at the end of each tunnel change continously based upon any new underground shows playing.


01 November 2010

Bye, Bye All Hallow's Eve

I'm sad to say that Halloween is donzo for this year. It had a good run and I am wiped out. I wanted to show y'all a couple of pics from the weekends festivities which lined up exactly as planned... other than the lack of motivation to move on Sunday. So if you click HERE you can see who I was modeling my costume on. I don't have a great full shot of me, but as you can see cuffs, mask, emblem, cape, and hair spray were all done in super cheap fashion to emulate the bad guy Red Mist. Here's me:





and here is the whole group of people at Village Theatre before we hit the bars. I didn't bring my large camera out so these pictures were taken from a friend. As you can see there are some TMNT's, a strawberry, the guys from dumb and dumber, a cat, an 80's beauty queen, a grenade, and Sid and Nancy. There was also a sexy prisoner, but she somehow got cut out of the picture.

I will post some 'burb party pics in the next couple of days. Oh can I please tell you that apparently my outfit was not well known. One guy put it at me being ahead of the curve. He said "that {you} can't bust out a costume from a movie that was released the same year- not enough people had seen it". You know what though? I didn't see a single other group busting out our outfits, which means next year when the costume is hot we will have already done it.

29 October 2010

Sweet Video and My Halloween Plans

I'm gonna be honest with y'all - I would never do nor accomplish any of the shit on the montage vid below. I'm just not that talented and/or cool and/or bad ass.





Also Halloween is this weekend. Hurray! Who's pumped up?? I am, I am. The weekend line up is a little pet sitting. Party tonight in the burbies. I'm going dressed as a sleepy person and I am busting out these beauties. I was going to wear them to the bar and thought better of it. They don't have a drop down bum hole (imperative, or so I have heard)which means you gotta strip them off to the bottoms when you want to take a wee. I am just not comfortable with doing that in a tiny bar bathroom with scum on the floor and who knows what on the walls. I mean what if some part of my outfit touched something like that? I would have to burn them, so instead I'm busting out the footies. A friend of mine thinks I should add a Care Bear and bow and arrow to my costume and be a Care Bear Hunter. I like the idea, but I don't have the time to hunt down my props. Maybe next year.

Saturday I am doing more pet sitting, a possible maternity shoot (we will discuss my feelings on this later), selling shit at a yard sale, and for the Halloween weekend finale I will be celebrating my friends 30th birthday by hitting up the comedy club and then the bars with most of my closest Atlanta friends. Oh and I got a Cabbagetown party to hit up post bars. Should make for a long and crazy night. I am dressing as Red Mist from Kick Ass. The whole gang will be there- Kick Ass, Hit Girl, and Big Daddy.



Sunday is the great day of rest so I will be doing more pet sitting, feeding candy to trick or treaters (I hope), and then going to a friends party in Grant Park. Gee Willikers, I am tired already.

Have a good weekend and don't eat any unopened candy; My bffs cousins, brothers, mothers, frenemy ate a piece of candy last Halloween from an open package and swallowed a razor blade. It too can happen to you. ;)

20 October 2010

Some shots of the best halloweenie parade

Back again and I come bearing photos. No Holga shots, since Wolf Camera didn't inform me that my roll came back empty. EMPTY! They couldn't have told me that over the phone. Grr... Guess I will have to try and play around again. So I will post a couple of pictures from the Halloween parade in Little 5, but to see more you can go here

Friends

Goat girl
Random woman dressed as a "sexy" ram?? I know she had to be hot.

Zombies
They're Alive!!!!!

zombie mom
Freakiest mother/daughter portrait!

Fu Manchu does tricks
Fu Manchu busting out a mini motorcycle trick

19 October 2010

Oh Em Geeeee!

Hello again! Yes, I am back so soon. Don't act so shocked. I had a hot moment and thought I would come visit. Not sure what I want to talk about, but I am feeling another free flow post.

Weekend recap (pictures to follow): Fri night dinner and drinks with friends, as well a showing of the movie "Youth in Revolt". First of all 2 delicious beers were enjoyed during the movie.
  1. Southern Tier Creme Brulee Stout
  2. Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale

The Southern Tier beer is a supreme desert stout. I love my stouts and all and can generally drink multiples in one sitting, but one glass of this creme brulee was enough for me. There is never a bitter note in the beers taste and the end note is all vanilla. Delicious, but SWEET! The Imperial pumpkin has just enough pumpkin and spice and is slightly sweet. It isn't as good as the pumpkin ale I sampled at Hotoberfest, but it still gets me in the fall season.

Can I please mention how much I love Michael Cera? I can't think of a movie I have seen where I hadn't absolutely loved his character. I love how his lines are always witty and delivered with a sarcastic tone. I just wish the guy was a bit more to look at though if he were he wouldn't be near as funny. Am I the only one who likes him? I assume there are plenty of others since otherwise how would he get so many leads.

Went to the Halloween Parade in Little 5 Points. I haven't messed with any of my pictures, but when I do you will be the first ones to know about it. I am also getting my first Holga pictures developed so I might post a few of those as well. It's my first shot at shooting my new Holga and shooting multiple exposures per frame. Let's hope they turn out. I'm going to head on out, but when I get back I will post some pictures and stories.

Oh and I have a public service announcement. If you thank someone in an email can you please put an exclamation point after it. I can't stand when someone just puts a period after thanks. It's either an exclamation point or nothing bitches. See Example below. Now really, which one do you feel most makes you feel like you are actually being sincerely thanked.

Thanks!

Thanks.

Thanks

15 October 2010

Once again I am slacking

I have been a shitty blogger as of late. I have had a lot to say, but wasn't really in the modd to write. I am so sorry little blog. I got multiple things on the agenda. Firstly, the bachelorette party weekend in Destin. It was good times in Destin. 4 Beautiful days in sunny Destin and the only day it was rainy is the one day I happened to get a hangover. Perfection, I think so. Despite being 29 and typically going out once a week, I went all out 2 nights in a row, throwing down from 8 pm until 4 am without consequence that is until the 2nd nights next morning:( One of the bars we hit up in Destin was a sauasage fest packed with under 25s and some under 21s ready to try and take any lady home. If you are an older girl that wants to get with a young buck I've got 2 words for you- Electric Cowboy. Oh and Friday nights are $15 all you can drink. Don't say I didn't warn you.

I have been pet sitting a ton and have had a long lingering illness which is why I have been so slack on here. I just wanted to apologize once more.

Other than being a blog slacker I have also been a photog slacker. Boo! I did however snap loads of photos of an adults only food fight that I was invited to. When I say adults only, I don't mean that everyone was naked and sliding on jello or anything like that, but instead there were no children particpating. I will say that it was a fun, but short food fight. Some of the ammo food items were jello, whipped cream, soda, spaghetti, cheesecake filling, and garlic hummus. That's right people, some one brought garlic hummus to chuck at people. I don't think they played fair. The fight was pretty funny despite me only shooting it and not actually particiapting. It was what 8 year old dreams are made of and I seriously wished that there were about quadruple the number of people involved with way more ammo. To see pics click on this link.

Another thing that I did in the past couple of weeks which I have not written about is Hotoberfest with Old Unreliable. He just happened to know the right people which means we scored VIP tix to the beer fest which means instead of 130 beers we could have possibly tasted 170 beers which means had we done that we would have been way more fucked up than the average festival goer which means that we would have had way more fun which means that for next years Hotoberfest you should purchase VIP tix. Basically what my run-on sentence is saying is that you should get your ass in gear for next year and join us vippers. Another plus at VIP is that a huge TV is setup to show fall football along with some couches and chairs so while sampling 170 beers you can also watch some college gameday. I just sealed the deal right? Anyhoo, we had fun, the weather was perfect, the band was rocking, and boiled peanuts were cheap. Can't go wrong with that.

How do you like my content today? A little sporatic right? I am actually writing this just like it comes into my head, which is why shit probably doesn't make a lot of sense. Sorry 'bout that; it's just how I roll.

Did you get a chance to watch any portions of those miners coming up to the surface the other day? Can I please tell you that I had tears coming to my eyes. I also have had Ch! Chi! Chi! Le! Le! Le! stuck in my head. I heard something about some of the guys getting to the point, during the 17 days before they were discovered alive, of thinking that if they died the other guys would eat them to stay alive. This immediatley made me think about wanting to reread the book "Alive". Not sure, why since the book is rather dark, but that is how my mind works. If you have never read "Alive" you should. It's all about that rugby team who's plane went down in the Andes and they lived for 10 weeks before being discovered. They actually cannabalized some of the bodies to stay alive. It's a sad story that will make you cry, but I think the ending is good.

Okay, I think I have pretty much caught y'all up on my life until now. I am out this weekend, ready to tear it up. Wine and Dine tonight with the ladies, the always spectacular Halloween Parade and Festival in Little 5, and then I am going to shoot some Zombies with friends at Zombie Apocalypse. Have fun and stay safe this weekend.

05 October 2010

Happy Birfday!

This birthday shout out goes to my friend Old Unreliable who is 33 today. Happy birthday!! I am glad you were born:)


04 October 2010

McNuggets No More

I love McNuggets from McDonalds, but I think I might give them up after seeing this picture and reading this post. Goodbye McNuggets; you will be in my dreams:)

23 September 2010

A recipe and some pictures

I am heading to Destin in a couple of hours and I am pumped up. I have caught a bit of a cold in the last day, of course, and have been asked frequently by my cubicle mate turned illness monitor if I am getting sick. I am this close to yelling "Fuck You" at the top of my lungs. Luckily have a modicum of class. Anyhoo I feel the ocean air will be good for whatever I got. Plus I am looking forward to stretching out on the beach with nothing much to do for the next 4 days.

So who likes bananas out there in the blogosphere?? Here is a terrific and easy looking pie recipe that I found which melds the flavors of toffee and banana into a pie. Fabulousness in a pie tin. Recipe found here.

I am only going to post one photo since my internet connection is acting up. You might be wondering if I am taking the B dawg with me, but I have to sadly announce that I am not. However, she is going to her second favorite household in the world. The one that contains her 2 favorite mammals, David and Hobie. I know she will have her own little mini vacation there and maybe she will chill out with a bit since most of her life spent with me is worrisome.

Shake it lady

22 September 2010

#16 is now checked off.... sort of and a recipe!

So I am back, better than ever, though I will soon be leaving you again to go on a bachelorette filled weekend of debauchery and gumbo in Destin. "Gumbo" you ask? I will be hitting up The Boathouse multiple times to get my fill of oysters and gumbo in a super scenic environment.

Crawdady Boil

This past weekend's festivities weren't all that exciting. A couple of friends and I got together for a lazy (i.e. cheap) night of potluck food and a movie. For dinner I threw together a delicious Mexican casserole (See bottom of this post for the recipe). Later that night I met a college friend out for some drinks and a close up look at how the melting pot of Atlanta melds. That pot was seen at the Majestic at around 2:30 in the am.

I had to wake up early in the morning so that I could have time to pick up my nephew and get my biscuit on before Synagogue. Oh yes, getting my biscuit on at the Red Barn could mean other things, but in this case it means I didn't fast for the holiest of Jewish holidays, Yom Kippur. Despite the fantastically huge biscuit that I downed that morning I hope I get back in the good book.

So back to the Saturday morning at hand. This is the first time I have sat for my nephew since he started eating solid food- He's now 3. Obviously it's been awhile. When I told my brother that babysitting Ben is one of the things on my list of 30 x 30, he immediately jumped on the offer so that he could go to the UGA game unhindered by a 3 year old with a very short attention span. After I picked him up, he kept chattering away in the back seat about going to Synagogue. He was pumped. Little did he know what was ahead. We made it to the 'gogue late because I had to pick my mother up. I went to sit with the boy at the children's service while my mom headed to the adult service. Ben stayed fairly quiet for 10 minutes before he informed me he had to use the restroom. We went to the bathroom and he used it. Back out to the children's service. I gave him his toy cars to keep him quiet. He did well other than the slight kablooms and kablams he whispered when crashing his toy truck into my hand or the chair in front of us. 15 minutes later he has to go the bathroom again. I thought this kid was lying, but took him any way. Dude dropped an adult sized deuce in the toilet and then wanted me to wipe his ass and flush for him. It made me gag a bit. I don't think I am cut out for this mothering business. Second time out of the bathroom we went back to the service but i could tell the boy was getting restless. I decided to forgo the rest of the service and get him out to the playground stat. We played for a bit then my mom took over. I went back in the 'gogue and suffered through about 20 minutes of service before my mom was back asking me to take Ben home. I was pumped. I didn't get chewed out for telling my mom I didn't want to go to services this year, but I also didn't really spend that much time in services. It made me happy.

The rest of the day went along well. Ben and I played. I watched Sixteen Candles while Ben took a nap. I ate dinner with my brother. All in all a good day with only one ass wiping and I can now scratch one thing off my list. Only 29 more to go. I didn't want to tell my brother, but I do plan on offering up my services a couple more times this year. Unfortunately now is the time I would typical show you some pictures I snapped of Ben, but I forgot to bring my camera. I guess you will have to amuse yourself with a couple of old photos of the boy.

Cubbie cutie

Happy

Unhappy toddler

Mexican Casserole:
Ingredients or whatever you have in your pantry that is fairly mexican or tex mexie:
-Corn tortillas
-Can of black beans
-Cooked, shredded chicken
-Jar of salsa
-Cheese
-Can of Rotel

Method:
Make sure you lightly cover the bottom of the casserole dish with salsa before you start. Layer items starting and ending with corn tortillas. Throw a bit of salsa in the middle of the layers and on the top of the tortillas. Top with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or so. Enjoy!

16 September 2010

Blah

I have a major case of the blahs. I have been in a bitchy mood for days now and all I feel like doing is hiding out under my duvet. Is that bad? My incessant mouth diarrhea has kicked in to high gear and I have been feeling guiltier than usual on the seemingly bitchy things that stream out of my mouth when surrounded by friends. I hope they all realize that the way I word sentences has a tendency to be a bit harsh when I really don't mean it like that. I think I need to take a long vacation alone, without animals or work, to do nothing at all, and relish in the solitude. I think it would probably do me and my psyche a whole lot of good.

07 September 2010

30 by 30

I am now 29. My birthday went over without a hitch and with a lot of beer. There were some good times that were had at the saloon/dance club/sports bar known as The Palace Saloon in Fernandina Beach. I even got to dance to my favorite song of 2010.. I'm on a boat. Love it. The weekend at the beach with my friends was one of the better times I have had in the past couple of years so I am glad everyone made it. This wasn't why I brought you here though. Actually you brought you here so ignore that. The reason for this post is to come up with a list of 30 things to do before I turn 30 years old next September 3, 2011. So my list is below.

30 by 30

Health and Fitness
1. Lose 20 lbs. I would prefer to lose 30, but we shall see - I've lost 15. Does that count?
2. Hike a piece of the Appalachian Trail
3. Work out on a regular basis
4. Run two 10Ks
5. Run the ING half again **This is out- missed the race:( **
6. Spend a day biking



Travel and Home:
7. Take a road trip with no destination in mind
8. Go camping
9. Go to South Africa
10. Have a “just the girls” weekend - semi-did.. I was supposed to do this on my 30th birthday, but that got "rained" out. Instead I had a staycation with some girlfriends.
11. Spend a day taking pictures of Atlanta
12. Go to the Cotton Picking Festival- it’s been a couple of years


Relationships with Family, Friends, and Others:
13. Visit a nursing home
14. Volunteer at the food kitchen
15. Have a “theme” party at my house
16. Babysit Ben
17. Pay for someone behind me in the drive through line
18. Don’t say anything negative all day



Be Selfish/ Finish Things That Need to be Done:
19. Buy all new underwear - just because
20. Get fitted at Saks and buy new bras
21. Write a will
22. Paint my kitchen **Painted the cabinets and stuck on new hardware**
23. Redo my front yard

24. Finish putting my house in order- there is still no art on the walls of the bedrooms.
25. Stain the back deck


Other:
26. Give away something I own
27. Take a cooking class
28. Try baking something complicated
29. Try making a pizza from scratch
30. Learn how to can

01 September 2010

The Good "Shit"

So as many of you know, or none of you, I do not have cable. I would rather spend money on pointless shit like expensive food or lottery tickets. I never buy lottery tickets, but I figured I was bound to be lucky if I purchased some during my birthday week. Sadly enough $5 just went down the drain...And now I remember why I don't buy lottery tickets. The main reason is that I went through a brief period of scratch off purchasing after hearing a friend say his friend won $500 off of those $20 scratch offs that you can then mail in and possibly win by a drawing. I spent $140 on 7 scratch offs within one months time and didn't win a damn thing. Perhaps I shouldn't gamble.

Anyways, back to the set up at hand. So I don't have cable which means I miss a lot of horrible TV and some really good "shit"- like The Jersey Shore (yeah right) or Tosh.0. Since I miss a lot of good "shit" I have to live vicariously through friends and hope that they share good "shit" with me. That good "shit" can either be told, which is never as funny, since it is really a time and place type thing, or the good "shit" needs to be forwarded to me so that I can get my fill of good "shit" in person without needing to pay $30 to watch. Luckily some of my friends come through, which is how I got to view some good "shit".

Tosh.0Weds 10:30pm / 9:30c
Video Breakdown - Wig Dive
www.comedycentral.com
Tosh.0 VideosDaniel ToshWeb Redemption

30 August 2010

Pity Party

I was hanging with some friends the other day when a friend who happens to be 33 and single told me and another girl that she had been throwing a pity party for herself. The main reason, amongst others, stems from her gyno informing her at her yearly visit that now is the time to start thinking about freezing her eggs. My friend, who happens to be in the health care profession and knows that your egg "health" goes down at age 35, was freaked out to say the least. She, like most women, had planned on getting married and having a child naturally. She didn't want to be brought down by the fact that if she is not married and trying for babies in the next 2 years, that shit is gonna get a lot tougher for her.

While I don't want kids and I don't really care to be married anytime soon it sort of got me thinking too. Then two more blows hit.. my 29th birthday is in 5 days and I happened to be going to spend it with a bunch of my friends on the beach. The thing about this trip to the beach is that every single one of my friends is now bringing a significant other. Two of them are married- cool. One of them happens to own the place we are staying at- that's obviously fine. The other 4 people have no fucking excuse. Why this bothers me so much I don't know. Maybe because it's automatic pairings; after all 3 is a crowd. Maybe it is because I always thought I would at least have someone special by now. Maybe it's because I want to hang out with my friends and not have some weird couple dynamic kicking in the group.

I was never the girl who had to have a boyfriend. If anything, I like being independent. I can go where I want, when I want, with whom I want any time I want. I can buy whatever and decorate my house without judgement. Still though, 29 means that I am a year away from 30. It also means that more and more of my friends are pairing up and I will be left behind. Despite some friends thinking that nothing will ever change, I know what happens when people get married. They start having to split time between groups and friends and between themselves which means less friend time. Then they start having children. They might go out here and there for a chance to get away, but the more likely scenario is that they want to hang out with like minded couples who have children so they can bring about what great children they have and they can discuss developmental issues with like minded individuals. They can't go out that much due to said children, and their partner thinks that if they do go out they might get in to trouble. Marrieds with children always seem to look down upon us singles. It pisses me off and while I never plan on being in their boat since I sure as hell don't want a Stephanie Junior running around I would love to find that perfect guy who is my best friend so that I don't care so much when friends start spending all the time with their guy and kid and none of their time with me.

On to guys; one of my friends made the comment the other day that sort of pissed me off. When I told her I had gone on a couple of dates with a new guy and wasn't really feeling it, she said "what else is new?". It angered me. While again not looking for a husband, I would like the guy I am interested in to meet all physical and mental needs. I am not just gonna date somebody to say I have somebody. If I am not feeling it, I'm not feeling it. The friend, who shall remain nameless, tends to constantly be in relationships and honestly, the guys she dates aren't attractive- to me anyway. Maybe she tends to be more open or maybe I am just picky. Whatever it is I am sick of the assumption I don't try. I do.. I go to bars. I try and always make it to different friends gatherings so that I can meet new people. I have even tried online dating. It is just hard. It always seems like whenever I meet a guy I connect with they are married, dating, or don't get my number. The online people, while nice on paper and screen, never seem to spark anything in me. I'm gonna keep on keeping on, but damn it gets harder every day and this impending birthday soon to be shared with a whole bunch of couples is really not helping anything.

So anyone out there want to join in on my mini pity party? I promise that good food and lots of alcohol will be served.

At least Bella won't leave me:
38/365

18 August 2010

Wednesday Wednesday

I'm back, large and in charge. Tubing never went down last weekend so we are starting afresh this Saturday. Let's pray for NO RAIN!. The Hollidays rocked the house Friday night. The whole joint was jumping and this super cute old dude asked me to dance. If he wasn't 60+ I might have gone home with him. Dude had moves. I think he danced with every lady there so I don't feel too special. :(

Tonight is potluck and despite my tendency to cook food for this thang, I am grilling up some pre-marinated Korean BBQ boneless chicken thighs. They will be delicious! The dog isn't making shit. Shocker. Damn dog, doesn't ever provide to the household, other than a growl or bark here and there.

So I was discussing guns with a co-worker at work. He feels that everyone should have guns in there homes which deter burglars. I feel that why have a gun when you could have a big dog. My feeling is that the people robbing places aren't going to necessarily know that a person has a gun when robbing the joint, which means they would be more likely to rob a place with no dog. However, if the person had a loud dog, hopefully large, the robber would rather pick a house with no apparent dog which means the robbery will never happen to begin with. Who feels me??? It's hard to argue with my co-workers though because they grew up with a different upbringing. I grew up in a middle class family that doesn't believe in guns, hunting, etc. They grew up where all this shit was the norm. There are things that come out of their mouths that amaze me like me asking if they knew what the statistics are on people who own guns and how many accidents there are with them either shooting themselves or kids/friends shooting one another accidentally. He says it doesn't matter because he puts it up when people come over and his 4 year olds know not to touch the gun in his nightstand. Yeah...okay. I love playing devils advocate though. They get so flustered. It's fun. However I am not a fan of people who pull that shit on me.

Slacker:
Water safety is always my first priority

The one who lived with me for awhile:
Goofy Dane

13 August 2010

Friday the 13th... bum bum bum

Hey yo!! I know you are shocked that I am checking in for the 3rd time in a week. I gotta be honest, I'm shocked too. So the weekend is here, finally, and I got plans.. big plans, fun plans. We are looking a schedule that consists of watching the Hollidays playing at Northside Tavern tonight, shooting the 'hooch Saturday, and a date Sunday. That's right- a date. We shall see how that turns out. To all my friends who are skipping our tubing sesh tomorrow- FU! LOL

I think I forgot to share in my high school reunion experience. It was rather fun and quite a bit like high school only with real IDs. I walk in at 8ish pm and i see multiple people... some who look the same, some who I wouldn't have known them if i sat next to them on the bus. I chatted with some friends that I hadn't seen since our crazy high school graduation party, where I got extremely fucked up and never slept. At the reunion I drank heavily throughout to kill the slight panic attack that was brewing as well as to have a little more social lubrication. I love that alcohol helps with nerves. Anyhoo most of the people I was "more" friends with in high school didn't come. There were however, thank GOD, some of the guys I was friends with back then so we all hung out. Some random girl I don't really remember told me I intimidated her in high school. I wanted to say "get in line bitch" since I have heard that from numerous people throughout my life. It's odd too since I think I am one of the nicest people, despite my prevalence to talk about people behind their backs. I really do do that, but it's more so I don't hurt that persons feelings. I don't talk shit about friends and the people who I say shit about are people I dislike anyways, but I still have a little southern sweetness in me and don't want to hurt them despite my dislike. Anyhoo let me get off that tangent. So I took numerous shots with these guys and then Gordon Biersch cut one of them off. Who knows why since he didn't appear all that drunk to me. Time to take the party elsewhere. We then went, caravan style, to the Cheetah, which in case you couldn't tell by the name is a strip club. It was the nicest strip club I have ever been too, but weird because there were loads of tables and women dancing on the banquets above. I didn't see lots of girls walking around and the room was so large it reminded me of a work conference. We stayed here for a beer and then went to CosmoLava, where some of our other friends had ended up. Let me just tell y'all that CosmoLava blows ass. I refused to pay to get in since who wants to pay for shitty drinks and a DJ, but a friend paid my way so that I could come hang. The night went on and on and I got no nookie. The end. Let's see what happens in 10 years.

I am tired of writing now, but did want to say that I picked one of the better wines for wine night last night. I love bringing the good wine.

Oh and here is my best 365 from the last month or so. I only took 5 pictures in the last month. EEK! Better get on it.
36/365

12 August 2010

A healthy recipe just for you- Mediterranean Eggplant and Barley Salad


So Potluck at the river was yesterday and I made some kick ass salad for it. I thought it was delicious with a nice spicy, sweet, roasty taste. Yum!! I think some people loved it and others were anti-olive. Crazy bitches! I LOVE olives! The recipe is below with my notes to the ingredients in italics. The actual method of cooking really didn't need any changing, but please note that you should make sure your veggies are well salted and oiled when they go on the pans, other wise they will stick as mine did. Oh well. The salad still taste delicious and makes a TON! Hope you like it.

Mediterranean Eggplant and Barley Salad
Adapted from Gourmet, September 2006

It says it makes 4 main course dishes, but I think it makes more than that

1 1/2 lb eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (Use 2 eggplant)
3/4 lb zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (Use 2 or 3 Zucchini)
10 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup chopped scallion
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon cayenne (I used a full tsp which gave it a lot of bite)
1 1/4 cups pearl barley (8 oz) (I used fine barley, don't use the regular Quaker barley)
1 (14-oz) can reduced-sodium vegetable or chicken broth (1 3/4 cups)
3/4 cup water( I had to use about 1/4 cup more water because the liquid was almost gone and the barley wasn't soft enough)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (1 juicy lemon)
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2 lb cherry tomatoes, quartered (I used 1/2 a can of drained, diced tomatoes)
1/3 cup Kalamata, pitted and halved
1/2 cup thinly sliced red or white onion
1 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (I omitted)
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
Optional - Feta

Roast eggplant and zucchini: Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 425°F.

Toss eggplant and zucchini with 5 tablespoons oil, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 3/4 teaspoon pepper in a bowl, then spread in 2 oiled large shallow (1-inch-deep) baking pans. Roast vegetables in oven, stirring occasionally and switching position of pans halfway through baking, until vegetables are golden brown and tender, 20 to 25 minutes total. Combine vegetables in 1 pan and cool, reserving other pan for cooling barley.

Cook barley: Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 3- to 4-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then cook scallion, cumin, coriander, and cayenne, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add barley and cook, stirring until well coated with oil, 2 minutes more. Add broth and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until all of liquid is absorbed and barley is tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Transfer to reserved shallow baking pan and spread to quickly cool, uncovered, to room temperature, about 20 minutes.

Make dressing and assemble salad: Whisk together lemon juice, garlic, sugar, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 3 tablespoons oil in a large bowl. Add barley, roasted vegetables, and remaining ingredients to bowl with dressing and toss until combined well. Serve with cheese slices.

Do ahead: Salad can be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Return to room temperature before serving.

11 August 2010

My Parents stuff

Found a new blog today called "Crap at My Parents House". I bet you can figure out what it's about. Let me just say that this is a site I will defintley try and contribute to. Do you think anyone thinks that 60+ year old people who still have 2 water turtles living under their roof is wierd? What about a multimedia picture in the bathroom that is all about Elvis- there are pink clothes attached along with barbie shit? MMHH. I think I am gonna have to come up with something really good to get my parents on that site. Something that will beat out a statue of Jesus playing statue. Damn, why can't we believe in Jesus.

05 August 2010

Bad Girl

On July 26th I mentioned that I would update the blog in "a day or two". It is now August 5th and I am updating this bitch. Damn, do I keep my word or what??? Don't answer that. So my life is going. I am still alive, going out, having fun, exercising, and eating like complete and total shit. Yay! Can you hear the sarcasm dripping from every letter of that Yay, because I meant for the sarcasm to flow like lava over rocks.

Fun things I did this last weekend included vegging out, going out on the town with some of my ladies, and hanging out with an old Savannah friend who I dearly miss and meeting his new lady. Damn, if only I were Eritrean and Catholic. I also watched the band, The Hollidays- they rock, and I kayaked it up on the Broad River outside of Athens with some other friends. BRO is goooood. After kayaking I ate fried chicken, mac n cheese, mashed potatoes, and a piece of cornbread along with a piece of cobbler. You know how many calories that is.. roughly 1000! But I burned about 9 hundred calories kayacking. Whew!

Okay so enough about the overindulgent puff muffin that is me. Did you hear about this dumbass who robbed a Wendy's in the A and then called back to complain twice about his meager take. Really fucker, you just got away with a crime and then you want to complain about it? Take your money and run.. and leave $100 bill for me under my mat. Gracias!

Oh, one last and uber important thing to tell y'all. My 10 year high school reunion is this Saturday night. I am freaked the FUCK out. I wasn't going to go at first. I was super nervous, still am, and was thinking about the fact that I am larger than I want to be when these people who haven't seen me in 10 years see me. I have come to terms with the fact that I am slightly larger than I once was, okay 25 lbs heavier, when some of these peeps saw me at my most fit when in D's wedding 2 years ago and 45 lbs heavier than my high school weight. However I am excited that I can finally bust out my true 'do, since back in my high school days I didn't know jack shit how to fix curly hair unfro-like so I just wore it up every day. Now I have some great long curly locks and I will be busting them out in all their jewish glory. I will also be busting out some heavy duty makeup, a suck-me-in, and a hot dress annnnnnddd I will be lying about what I do and say that I invented "post-its". Nah, just kidding. I won't lie since I do have a badass job of sitting on my ass all day mapping it up. ;) The main reason I decided to go to the reunion though is that the party takes place 5 minutes away from my hizzle at Gordon Biersch. Worst thing that happens is that all the people blow and I leave. the best thing that happens is that I have a one night stand with some random dude who I don't remember from high school. OOOH I hope he's not a party crasher.

A pretty picture from me to you:
Taking a break

26 July 2010

sup sup

Holla mi amigo! Was ist das? Comment était ton week-end? My weekend was good and these past weeks have been zehr gut other than my car trying to make life miserable. I mean damn Highlander thinks that after 100,000 miles it can get all slappy happy and punch drunk on me. No, you can not dear Highlander. You must continue to run your heart out for Miss Stephie. Damn, I make my car sound like an indentured servant. Well, maybe if it worked a little harder and stopped guzzling so much gas I would give it a day off or two.

So I watched one of my friends preform with her band, Lindsey Rakers Band, at Smiths. It was loads o' fun and the night culminated in a preformance by Chris Knight, whomever he is, and a dude macking on a speaker. My friend sat on said speaker later in the night and got a bit of previous dude's love juice on her dress. She's such a slunt. SLUNT = word of the day. Have fun with that kiddies and I'll be back tomorrow or the next depending upon if I recieve a bunny filled with money or not. I am holding out hope.

23 July 2010

The last of Chicago

Tanning it up

Action Jackson:
Jumping Bean

Millenium ParK:
Millenium Park

Blue Skyline

For more Chicago photos taken by moi, go to my Chicago Flickr Set.

For my Yelp Chicago reviews, go to my Yelp list.

20 July 2010

Chicago Pics Part Dos

Sunset

My Fave:
Honeycomb

This is how Chicagoans lay out:
Sun and Concrete = Good Time

Out of the Water

Chi-town Hotel

08 July 2010

Chicago in Pictures Part 1

I'm on a Plane
Flying In

Dancing Queens
My gracious Hosts

From the Locks
A skyline water view





Some of Castaways characters



................More on Chicago later

29 June 2010

So close

Sorry that it has been so long. Boo! I have been crazy busy doing nothing and everything. Yeah, I know...excuses, excuses. So my 365 project has once again come to a screeching halt. I forgot a couple last week and I decided to take a break starting last Friday. Hopefully I can pull my ass out of the gutter and start again in a day or so. I am going to keep up with the number count starting on the new days.. no restarting or endings here.

So this weekend is 4th of July weekend. What does that mean? It means that I am going to Chicago. Whoop, whoop!! I have never been nor have I taken a vacation from work since last summer, so as you can tell I am pretty darn psyched. I am heading off to the Windy City on Thursday morning and coming back Monday afternoon. I have no clue what's in the plans since I am going with my good friend Easy E. I know we are staying in the 'burbs, Arlington Heights, the first night so she can see her fam, but after that the city is our oyster and OMJoe will be our "Pearl". Taste of Chicago is going on this weekend and Steve Miller Band is playing so we might take that in. I will be sure to post some fat daddy pics on here next week so be on the lookout.

I wanted to make y'all aware of a new website I have found; new to me that is. Shit as funny as hell, but apparently the writer is on hiatus so who knows how long we will wait to get another issue. The Plug is the name of the site and to find stories, you click on an issue, and then hover over one of the icons. There are multiple stories per issue. Some of these are pretty damn funny like this one and this one.

And finally, a picture of 365 from the past week. They mainly sucked so this is the semi-best of the bunch.
34/365

Oh and I wanted to post a couple of random new pictures that I feel like posting.



24 June 2010

Sets of 3s

They say things happen in threes right?? I have always wondered who the they is in this. Who was the first person to come up with the word trifecta? Who was the first person to realize that shitty things happen in threes, or so I hope that's the case. I have had a string of crappy luck as of late.

It all started with the damn AC a couple of weeks ago. I finally have central heat and air, which I am pumped about; no more U shaped house with the lone window unit blowing only into the living room. I am a bit of a cheapskate, at least when it comes to things like this, so I waited awhile to turn on my air. When I finally did nothing happened.. that's right, nothing. It was blazing hot in my house - I think it was in upper 80's that week. Let me preface by saying that when I purchased the house last November the AC worked. Anyhoo, I called out the repairman and $440 later my AC was blowing hard.

The 2nd thing to topple in my house was my bed, literally, and not in a good way either. Nothing sweaty about this bed breaking session. I was having people over and I happened to go into my bedroom and lie on the bed, I also just happened to have had a bit to drink so I needed a soft place to lie. A friend came and sat on my chair to talk with me. Another friend decided that we looked entertaining so he came and leapt upon the bed. Most beds would hold up under this; mine unfortunately is not one of those beds. The one peg holding up all of the slats popped off leaving a mattress, sans bed spring, floating precariously. I brought this bed, this awesome mid-century teak piece of furniture art, to a local antique "fixer" and the bed still lies there. My wallet has since been relieved of $460 for the work.

Here comes the third, and hopefully final, piece to the story. Yesterday I came home from work and went to take a sip of water. The water from the fridge was not near as cold as usual. I didn't think much about it since the light in the fridge came on. I made food for potluck, went to potluck, and went to take another drink of water from the pitcher in the fridge. The water still wasn't cold. It got me thinking that maybe something was wrong. None of the other food in there felt all that cold either. I opened the freezer and saw the ice glistening wetly despite the fridge light and obvious fan noise sounding from the back of the fridge. No price yet on how much this shit is going to cost, but I will say that I hope this stops the bullshit problems that are floating around the house just waiting to pick a moment in order for something else to fuck up.

22 June 2010

Scorned Lovers

Brought to you by the good folks at list of the day

18 June 2010

Bleh

Nothing like a super heavy meal in the middle of the day to make a person feel good. I went and ate some delicious roast duck and Singapore noodles at Hong Kong BBQ in the food court by Dinho (off of New Peachtree Road). While this random food court isn't really attached to anything other than an outdoor strip mall, it has some of the cheapest and mighty tasty Asian around. Hong Kong BBQ is down at the end of the food court to the far right - look for the dead animals hanging in their window. Another delicious place in the food court is Chong Quing Hot Pot. $8 will get you a massive hot pot filled with your choice of meat, veggies, noodles, and broth. It is by far enough for 2 meals. The Szechuan Fish in Spicy Chili Oil is amazing and they have all you can eat rice...just walk behind the counter and to the left to get it out of the gigantic rice cooker. Another popular place in this eatery is the chinese joint next to Chong Quing- it has some pork soup buns that people go mad for.. get 10 for $6. You can find all this awesomeness here:

View Larger Map


Okay one of the better 365s of the week is me all Suzie Q. Homemaker like with my banana-black bean empanadas:
29/365

I hope everyone has a delightful weekend.

16 June 2010

Recap and a Recipe

Hello, hello. How's everybody today??? Good? Good! So I think I am still recovering from a whirlwind of a weekend. I had a semi-house party Saturday in between watching the USA vs England game, which was equal parts exciting and hot, and drinking at the hiz.


It felt like an international festival at my house since we had been taken over by Hungarians and a Frenchy. Out of the 4 cases of beer we consumed, there are 2 lonely singles left in the fridge and the 7 layer dip left us somewhere around 4 pm. Sad. Cabbagetown Park's soccer event was a lot of fun, what with the lack of breeze, 100 degree weather, and loads of soccer fans rooting on the US. We will just forget about those limey Brits sitting a row or 2 up from us. Really though, I had loads of fun hanging with old friends and gaining some new ones. Oh and Yay USA!!!

Sunday Funday was actually Sunday Cookday. I took my mom to a wine tasting/cooking class for a late Mom's day gift. On the menu was chicken in a pomegranate reduction, asparagus risotto (better than mine but more fatty), shrimp with feta and 'maters, and a flourless bittersweet chocolate cake. Yum!!!. I might have to hook y'all up with the recipes at some point. Maybe baby.


Lastly, Sunday night led me to a cookout at a friends house. Good times, tired times. Friend grilled it up and we all did a little trampoline jumping. I brought Cheetos's. I am such a thoughtful guest.

Recipe from Last weeks potluck:
Smoked Salmon and Apple Carpaccio
adapted from Giada De Laurentiis
(Makes 3 Servings, if you are serving hungry people)

Sliced French Bread, toasted
6 ounces Smoked Salmon
1 green apple, cut into very thin slices
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed and drained
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the sliced bread on a baking sheet in a single layer. Lightly coat with olive oil. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes than flip to the other side for a couple of minutes. Let cool.

Arrange the smoked salmon in a single layer on a serving platter. Lay the apple slices on top. Sprinkle the capers over the salmon and apple slices. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve with the toasted bread.

Let me just forewarn you... this got eaten up extremely quickly, like only a couple of people made it to potluck on time and it was gone way before the rest of the people showed up. If you or your friends are fans of smoked salmon y'all will kill this quick, so you might want to up the recipe. Look at the beautiful Droid picture I took. Awwww- it's like a flying heart!

Smoked Salmon and Apple Carpaccio


Oh and my ah-ree-ble (pronounce like the British) 365 picture of last week is.... dun, dun, dun
22/365
I'm so domestic

09 June 2010

Recipe- Asparagus, Goat Cheese, and Lemon Pasta

Honestly, I copied this recipe from Smitten Kitchen, whom I adore. She adapted it from Bon Appetit, whom I don't adore or give 2 shits about. Basically this makes a load o' pasta, enough for 6 or 7 at least. I wasn't the biggest fan of this recipe because I thought it was a bit on the bland side. Perhaps if I had used Sweetgrass Dairys fresh chevre then all would have been good, but I didn't so it seemed to be a bit goat cheesy bland. Whatevs... just telling it like it is. Anyhoo recipe below:

Ingredients
1 pkg spiral pasta
1 pound asparagus spears, trimmed and cut into 1- to 1 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tbsp finely grated lemon peel
2 tsp chopped fresh tarragon (FYI has a licorice type taste, substitute basil if you don't like tarragon)
1 5- to 5 1/2-ounce log soft fresh goat cheese (the pre-crumbled stuff will not melt as well)
1 - 2 tbsp Fresh lemon juice to taste


Cook your pasta in a large pot of well-salted water until it is almost tender, or about three minutes less than what the package suggests. Add asparagus and cook until firm-tender, another two to three minutes. Drain both pasta and asparagus together, reserving one cup of pasta water.

Meanwhile, combine olive oil, lemon peel, lemon juice, tarragon and cheese in a large bowl, breaking up the goat cheese as you put it in. Add hot pasta and asparagus to bowl, along with a couple splashes of the pasta water. Toss until smoothly combined, adding more pasta water if needed. Season genersously with salt and pepper. Throw in some fresh spinach at the end if you want a bit more veggie in this dish.

Photo below was taken with Droid phone on the way to the weekly potluck.