N.K.O.T.B.

Instead of blogging about life, I've been out living it. It's been nonstop here for a couple of days with concerts, work, friends, home remodeling, and birthdays. But a fun couple of days.

The other night I went to see the New Kids on the Block in concert, about 20 years too late. I was a fan around ages 9 or 10... I don't really remember because I've never been the obsessive type. But I was excited to go to the concert... I love live music. And the energy of shows.

It was raining with a chance of thunderstorms which isn't that big of deal except that we had LAWN seats at Lakewood. But we solidered on and were rewarded by the gods of ticketmaster: they upgraded us to covered seats when we walked in the arena.

Our seats were great and we were dry. Even a walk to the restrooms meant a walk through the rain so I made it through the entire concert without a bathroom break (that takes dedication). When they came out into the crowd and stood on the platforms, they ran right past us (we were 3 rows back from the divider fence) and John was right in front of us. That was the best part. Well, and the end of the show which featured the song "Hanging Tough" that somehow segued into "We Will Rock You" featuring all the teams of Boston. Some hometown pride was classic.

One thing I found funny was the back up dancers had more costume changes than the actual band... kind of unnecessary but I guess someone thought it was needed.

Crowds at concerts, especially boy band crowds are GREAT for people watching... when they were playing their new songs (which I didn't know), I was watching the people. My favorites were the girls who thought they needed to wear the clothes they were wearing the first time they saw the New Kids in concert (circa 1994). Neon pink and green hairbows with side ponytails were the winners.

And a major bad on my part... I didn't take my camera. I'm a little self-concious about my "big" camera and taking it places - mainly because I don't want to draw attention to myself. Which is fine but then I need to remember to charge my little camera and take it with me. It takes good pictures (as seen on this blog) and then I have pictures to play with.

But as for future plans, I just bought tickets for Sugarland this fall... I love them and I'm so excited to see them in concert (again).

Couldn't Have Said It Better Myself

"I'm supposed to have a devastatingly impressive life before I hit thirty (and it's always 'hit thirty,' as if it's this ghastly accident that leaves you disabled for life.) I'm supposed to marry and be the perfect match for that man in wits and success while also making sure that his socks match. I'm supposed to exceed what my mother achieved but not question or doubt her choices. I'm supposed to be my father's bright, accomplished young star. I'm supposed to be competitive and driven, yet soft and feminine. I"m supposed to be... everything."

- Christine Hassler, author of 20 Something, 20 Everything

Wish I had found this sooner but since my bruises from "hitting thirty" haven't healed yet then I'm sure I can still enjoy the read.

Welcome to the 21st Century

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity" - Albert Einstein

Out of the blue a friend of mine texted me. And you're thinking, why is that such a big deal? People text all the time. They've created a new way of talking because of IM and texting. It's taken over the world, they need to create laws to be texting while driving, etc.

Well, my friends this was unusual because this friend SWORE she would never text (And this is one of those stubborn people who generally don't go back on their stances). I'm not certain what provoked this response... probably the original cost of texting. Notice I said, "original" since unlimited texting plans have been around for a while. (sidenote: I personally love the efficiency of texting - as a person who's on the phone ALOT for business during the day, being able to text someone details instead of having to call is GREAT, eliminate some small talk.)

It took me a couple of days to ask when she started texting but when I did, her answer was (verbatim here, folks): "The same day B (her Hubby) signed up for facebook, we called it welcome to the 21st Century Day."

This comes to me on the same day that a friend of mine told me (in person) to check my facebook page for our plans for the following evening... I laughed and asked her if it was too much effort to talk to me in person since I was standing right in front of her.

And also on the day when a business colleague started a meeting by asking who around the table twitters? (Want to follow me?) I was the only one in a group of 6. I must add that I was the only one under the age of 45 as well. He wanted to tell us all about message streaming for healthcare... an idea that I've yet to buy into. Maybe in a couple of years...

This conversation segued into a conversation about how cell phones are starting to be used for traffic predictions and how soon when you walk into stores, they will know who you are and what you purchased the last time you were there. A little "1984" scary idea to me if you must know.

It was just interesting. How you can't avoid it, as my friends attempted, you have to join and give over your information to the Big Brother of Technology.

New Home Cards

"The ornament of a house is the friends who frequent it." - Ralph Waldo Emerson


I had so much fun making my new home cards... I hope everyone has received theirs. I took a picture of my house, uploaded it to flickr.com and then changed it into a pencil sketch using one of the editing tools.

Then I added the quote above, my details and I was done. I had been looking for new home cards since I knew I was going to buy the house and I hadn't found anything that I really liked. It was a little frustrating.

About the same time, I was really getting into flickr and all the fun little editing tools on that site. And viola, the idea for my new home cards was born.

I hope you can see the picture well - it printed better than it looks on here.

More House

"The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving" - Oliver Wendell Holmes



I spent the entire weekend working on my house. I sanded, primed, painted, cleaned, hung pictures, organized my closet, sanded, primed, painted and cleaned some more. It's a good feeling now but it was all I could do to make myself keep up the pace Saturday and Sunday. Especially when my friend Alyssa invited me over to layout at her pool.

But here's some of my progress:

These are the pictures hanging over my bed (a sleigh bed that I LOVE!!!). I took all of them so it adds a nice little personal touch to my room. They are black and white photos of places I've lived: Lincoln Park in Chicago, Music Row in Nashville, and the Tree that owns itself in Athens, GA. They probably wouldn't win any awards at but I love them and the look I've created over my bed.

Here's an example of the exposed brick I have through out my house. My house was originally built in 1928 and has been remodeled a couple of times (hence my 1970s blue bathroom). Fortunately, due to costs or effort, I have a couple of walls of exposed brick and I love them. This one is in my dressing room and that's the dreaded blue bathroom to the left. I hung a picture my sister Lauren painted for my brithday a couple of years ago. I love this picture.

Can you tell what it is? While it's so obvious to me, it's just abstract enough to confuse some people...

And here is what I fell in love with first... the molding over my front door. I love this detail work and the door itself. It was a total pain to paint but now it's done and I love it. The door is pretty awesome itself, heavy and solid. I'll have to take a picture of my doorknocker, it's pretty awesome.

Anyways, here's where I spent my weekend but I'm loving becoming a homebody. It's really becoming mine and I'm feeling more and more at home here.

Small Town Snapshot Sunday

"Within the South itself, no other form of cultural expression, not even music, is as distinctively characteristic of the region as the spreading of a feast of native food and drink before a gathering of kin and friends." - John Egerton

I found a new blog, On the Front Porch who does a photo every Sunday of a picture of small town {southern} life... and I can't wait to start participating. Here's my first offering:

It's my neighbor's front porch... it's a big, ole wrap around porch with an American flag flying proudly on a daily basis. There's a magnolia blossom in the top left corner and it's so familiar to me. It's a picture that could be one of so many different homes around my town.

Question

To my fellow bloggers who post pictures...

I always choose the large picture option but don't always get the large picture on my blog... How do you control the size of the picture while importing it into blogger? My never fill up my blog space as I've seen others do... Does it have to do with the size of the picture before I import it?

Suggestions? Comments? Or Rules to Blog By?

All are welcome