holiday road trip

after the hustle and bustle of the holidays, aubrey and i snuck away for a road trip up to DC. we passed thru Asheville, NC, Skyline Drive, VA, DC, and Virginia Beach enjoying mountains and the seashore all in the same trip. we stayed with friends on capitol hill and hit the museums during crispy winter days and played marathon boggle by fireside on new year's eve. it was a great getaway, affordable, relaxing, and just long enough. plus it was gratifying to put the long holiday break from academia to good use.

frozen georgia pecans

2005 was an eventful year for me...
today we have an ice storm that freezes pecans and everything in its path...but last year started off with a huge snowfall...in Tahoe, where i was skiing over xmas break. it was perfectly timed with my arrival and allowed 5 great days of skiing with sean and visiting with boss. when i returned to athens i was recharged and ready to start looking for a house to buy in georgia. surprisingly, it only took 2 months with kim antrim's help to find my little bungalow on sunset drive. she showed it to me even thought i thought it was a dream i couldnt' afford. fancy numbering by a lender and as of march 25, i was a homeowner. my first time ever too! I closed on good friday and was able to start the weekend off with service men hooking up everything needed for my brother to do an extreme kitchen makeover. sold all the old kitchen crap online and brought shiny new stuff and voila! i had a home. my family made it all happen for me, as they all showed up to paint, clean, remodel, rake, etc.
i settled in quickly and filled it with family antiques since i basically only owned a futon, a bike, and a computer. spring was great b/c in athens it starts pretty much in march and this year lasted until june. the trees filled out and shaded my perfect backyard so that the kids could play frisbee for hours and it was clear that i would need a patio set for backyard dining as soon as money allowed. the heat/humiidy showed up around june, just as i returned from visiting grandmother and aunt kathy in mobile. i flipped on the a/c and ran it every minute thru september. a few guests came to visit athens once i secured a guest bed in the yoga room: mary, mom and connie, nick and madison, dawn, and the ole morton avenue gang for a wedding in october.
i biked to work everyday from march thru thanksgiving and recently i stopped b/c its quite frosty these winter mornings. in-town living is great in that i can bike most places quickly without even encountering hills...if you know the back streets.
work was a sea of changes this year, my second year on the job starts next week and we lost our director, our office manager, and changed our professors around. 3 friendly faces remained so it wasnt a total sinking ship and i made those 3 make a pact that no one else could leave. we eventually found a new office manager to hold us all together and the nation-wide director search is wrapping up this year so we should all have a boss by spring. the work is the same, but with all those shortages we all worked extra hard to cover the bases of those who were not here and keep the rest of the university from thinking we were falling apart. i skipped a much needed vacation in summer during all the transition and thus xmas break is looking pretty good right now, 10 days off! cant wait.
meanwhile, with job secured, home purchased, i turned my attention, as i always do to completing the big picture...finding a man. in june i decided to jump back in to online dating and be proactive in making some new friends. turns out the man for me wrote me on june 1 but it was to be september 1 before we connected. i didnt have to kiss any frogs, but i did have a few fun dates along the way. i finally met aubrey after labor day and the last quarter of the year has turned out to be the best!
there were a few other big events this year. saw almost the entire old college gang from athens in october at dewitt/jackie's wedding where REM played. it was a blast. my dad got married again, yep, number 6! the whole family now all sport bumper stickers that say "honk if youve been married to nolan sanchez". he's having a ball. my 82 year-old grandmother remarried for the 3rd time to a 3-star general and i danced at her wedding. mom has plans to go to spain with her best friend janice soon and mobile relatives are all getting the heck out of hurricane alley after the worst storm season on record in the gulf. so for once, im sitting still and y'all are all moving. hoping that next year i can settle into mortgage payments and figure out how to squeeze out some cash for travel b/c i've got the bug again. if you are making any BIG trips next year, gimme a holla b/c i might meet ya. happy holidays to all and hope your 2006 is a great one. enjoy our tree!
trace

where i've been

wow, its been a while since i posted. well i've been busy with a sweet man. forgot how all-consuming it is in the beginning. lets see, the update is, i got a break: won the court battle over the bicycling traffic ticket, lost the city battle to put bike lanes and 3-lane prince avenue. went out of town twice recently for my grandmother, who is 82, lives in AL, just got married in DC, and is moving to FL and thus handing out antiques to the grandchildren that dont fit in her new life. 3rd marriage, 3-star general, go grandmother! come to think of it, 3 is my lucky number.

it's getting harder and harder

to bike in this town. oh, I'm committed, but I could use a break. 2 weeks ago I got a ticket from a bored, power-tripping cop for "rolled thru stop sign, will do again"; fucking right i will if it keeps me safe and ahead of the yahoos. and yesterday I was attacked by 3 vicious dogs...for the 3rd time this summer...reported them finally after a personal appeal to the owner. and all the while athens-clarke county is holding forums to decide WHETHER to put bike lanes in on prince avenue or NOT. its a no brainer, its a main artery into town thru a quaint old neighborhood trying to preserve its pedestrian/bike friendly feel. let me tell you, the sharrows and lil yellow 'share the road' signs alone are not working! bubba in his big ass diesel truck and plethora of soccer moms who think they need a frickin suburban to haul kids around DO NOT CARE about sharing the road with me. they wonder how they can edge over to go around me with out sideswiping their precious metal tanks and well, they just don't, they barrel right on through. yeah, I could use a break and so could all of them, get out of your frickin trucks, SUVs, cars and walk the few blocks it takes to run an errand in this town of 35,000 students and in what is in fact, the smallest county in the entire state of georgia; yeah, smallest of 159 flippin counties. get out of my way people, I'm mad and I'm not gonna take it anymore!

stellar night in athens

a dear, old friend got married last night to his match. people came out of 3 decades of woodwork to be a part of the special night. the reception was held at kingpins bowl and brew with all the trimmings minus maybe john turturro. the faces and music that came out of the night just touched my heart. my facial muscles still hurt from perma-smile; not the kind that's plastered on and has no feeling behind it, but the real deal that you cant suppress and you have to go out and get fresh air just to continue. REM played a sweet wedding treat set with original drummer bill berry and rocked us back thru to the mid 80s heydey that we all love 'em for. clay leverett and the chasers and other clay configurations entertained several times during the night amidst bowling on the 6 lanes which were fully occupied at all times during the night. jot 'em down served up the best que in town with sides of mac cheese, slaw, white bread and sweet tea. the whole night was delicious.

biorhythm-bungled birthday

ever mapped yours? biorhythm? theres a vicious curve to 3 components: intellectual, emotional, and physical. google it, they're as pervasive as horoscope sites. anyway my chart was "right on" this past month in terms of the downward plunges of the chart matching my monthly cycle, my occasional depression, my loss of vocabulary...still waiting to assess the synchronicity of the upward swing but i'm in it right now and feelin much better. thing is, its based solely on a date...as in anyone using that date of birth is on that rhythm, hard to believe but it has mirrored me so far...or have i mirrored it? hmmm. in any case, it made this the hardest birthday ever. half-full glass girl crashed. yeah, it wasnt fun. writing this now i see that my one strength was in feelin it, or just riding it out, and not trying to dodge it b/c it was unpleasant. therapist taught me that years ago. so i hit the bottom on my birthday, which the chart predicted as 2-3 days prior...close enough if the chart rules everyone ever born on 9/30/62...and then i just let it all out and friends rallied round, coworkers, family, and yes, my reluctant lover. reluctant only in the sense that he just wasnt ready for the pressures of a social engagement with a new lover and her posse where drinking and all sorts of elements change the dynamic. in the end, my sadness was lifted by that very lover, in the sweetest and most heartfelt and selfless way, and it didnt hurt that the evening became a bbq in my own backyard with just a few of my closest and favorite peeps.
a baby, thanks for giving me my smile back, and k,g,k,l,m,g,& g, thanks for bein my peeps, i love ya'll. now i'm off to sunday dinner at moms tomorrow...

i'm in love

coldplay...wow i'm in love. saw coldplay tonight at philips arena with my good friend dan who knew enough of my passion for music to take me even tho i didnt really know their music. the ipod/gap ad style backlit stage graphics were cool but the showmanship is what was awesome as are their politics and the whole vibe of the show. chris is a bono/stipe/sting composite and he has truly made piano music sensual and evoking, more than ben folds five, sarah, tori, or others before him. my favorite moment was during yellow when giant yellow balloons fell from the ceiling and were bounced about the crowd only to be popped and explode with millions of shiny gold confetti pieces which rained down on everyone in a warm enveloping feeling...and i looked down to catch one and realized that i was wearing my new ochre yellow cords. feelin very good here. then there was the stunning encore by stipe and chris playing while michael sang night swimming.
fix you was especially touching as i thought about a friend who had just told me he loved the song...yeah i'm in love.

venus and mars we are...

FEMALE PRAYER
Before I lay me down to sleep,
I pray for a man, who's not a creep,
One who's handsome, smart and strong.
One who loves to listen long,
One who thinks before he speaks,
One who'll call, not wait for weeks.
I pray he's gainfully employed,
When I spend his money won't be annoyed.
Pulls out my chair and opens my door
Massages my back and begs to do more.
Oh! Send me a man who'll make love to my mind,
Knows what to answer to "how big is my behind?"
I pray that this man will love me to no end,
And always be my very best friend.
Amen.

------------------------------------------------

MALE PRAYER
I pray for a deaf-mute nymphomaniac with big tits
who owns a liquor store and a bass boat.
This doesn't rhyme and I don't give a shit
Amen.

birthday week

my dad started it off last weekend when he blared some led zepplin song into my voice mail and wished me a jolly unbirthday. i fully support the maximizing of the celebration, that is if you like the occasion. and i do. so it has begun, birthday week. treated myself to some shopping today, catching a flick tomorrow night. catching coldplay the following night. getting pampered by my hair stylist the following night; cant show up for the big day with a head fulla grey! then on the big day i'm sharing some good ole southern bbq with some friends (north carolina style vinergarey sauce for those of you who care) and we'll be serenaded by greg reece aka redneck greece delux who plays every friday happy hour at the jot'em down country stoe and bbq shack. then we'll all mosey on over to our friend's new bowling alley lounge/bar combo, Kingpins. cant say as i'd have it any other way...well i could hit the lottery and treat everyone, but i'm pretty sure you cant win that game...especially if you never even buy a ticket. so that's all followed up by the local folk festival at sandy creek park the next day. should be a fabuolous fall weekend. happy b to you if its yours too.

insect-ival

today i volunteered at the botanic garden's annual insect-ival. i staffed the migration station for the monarch butterfly. the volunteer coordinator whom i met 2 years ago when i moved home said i think you'd be good at the game where kids learn about the world's only butterfly that migrates from north of california to georgia. he he he! and indeed it was fun. this year, there's even some scientists in an ultralight that are tracking the annual migration to mexico. so here's what i learned, they only eat 1 plant on the planet, milkweed, they dont fly at night or in rain/clouds/snow, and they head south every year for winter. tons of kids came out for the day and i even talked madison and nicholas into lunch at the Insect Cafe, where Chef Kudon prepared tandoori crickets, hexapizza, chocolate chirpers, mealworm stew, and honey bee tea. no one really went for the mealworms...just too whole. eck!

intoxicated

i'm having some new thoughts on onine dating...its been a few months now that i've been trying it and dedicating some time to the keyboard. and, well, i've actually met quite a few men that were interesting and even had dinner/drinks with a few. observations so far: much older hasnt worked at all; same age is often sweet but sad, they're usually divorced and wounded. i'm not really wounded, not that i havent ever been, but i'm not these days, so i cant bring myself to suggest a fling with ones so vulnerable and still pining away for ms. right. so that leaves the young ones...it worked once before...in italy...a while ago...and i still daydream about him, especially when he STILL emails years later. so i went that route and the first was fun...for about a minute...and easily rid of thankfully. now, the second, wow, the second, he was and still is intoxicating. he does it for me on so many levels and we've only just begun. he is a person, so i will cease referring to him as one of the young ones, since that no longer has any bearing on what we are undertaking. suffice to say, that i have taken my profiles down.

avatars

she's the one entertaining the contenders these days. if you know me, do ya think this is me? thanks for the comments, i recently changed it to a d.o.g. with glasses but she's still around for the right audience. creating an avatar is fun, its like your own personal barbie doll, er uh, tracie doll. i mean at some point we all want our own action figure right?

longing for italia

the porcinis were in season and my friends in riomaggiore took me and a group to alto palatto to have them every way you can imagine them prepared. we drove over the mountain from the seaside town down dark winding roads to find the restaurant. we had fresh sliced porcinis drizzled with olive oil and shaved parmesan, porcinis stuffed with herbs, deep fried porcini bombs, risotto with porcinis, and somehow i think they were in the dessert too. we finished off the meal with an espresso and rolled home. it was but one of many great meals i shared with simone and his crew. ooooo, i just remembered the summer meals at la lanterna, pomodoro fresca, pan fried sardines, langostones...i still crave proscuitto and melone every day of summer, fresh salty, olive focaccia bread, and the delicious green figs y'all introduced me to. those were the days.

no red & black here...

unless you count this, which is my alma mater from high school and thereby allows me to come by the red/black naturally. had my 25th reunion this weekend...just as i suspected...life is what you make it. peace.

hey big kid

further proof that this site does not bleed red and black. buzz buzz buzz

ready for a companion

not sure which one of these guys it'll be, but i'm headed to the shelter. gotta rescue some little guy and bring him home to this big ole yard i got and this big ole heart. i guess this is why single girls get dogs. oh well, i love dogs and i know they're gonna love me, unconditionally. :-)

i dont wanna be right

but the statistics are bearing down on this 40 something single woman. i feel like goldilocks stuck in some eternal bed-sampling fairytale. of course i'm sampling who's in the bed moreso than the tempu-pedic memory foam. one guy's older and wont make the move, lest he look lecherous, but i've given all the signals that i want him to MAKE THAT MOVE; the young guy flirts so well and lures me in with his clever, refreshing, straight-forward words and then develops a conscience...fear of god even. then there are the cyclists, the ones i could get out and about with and be physical without being 'physical' with...but they really dont want a riding partner, they just want women to think they are hot b/c they ride. so none of them have showed up yet. i think they are hot, but i'd think they were hotter if they actually wanted to come ride with me. that leaves 'fudgy the whale', a brilliant wit hiding in atlanta who knows i get him...when others dont. he pictures me a hot latina in a flamenco dress, hey we all like to play dress up right. come on, just step up and see for pete's sake. i'm here, i'm real, and i'm great...for someone.

1st broken arm

well it was bound to happen to an 8-year old boy. school starts monday and in order to impress the girls of 3rd grade, nick did a monkey bar trick on the playground last night at open house...and now he has a cool red accessory for school! get out your markers. i'd carry his books, wouldn't you?

longest yard sale in america

yep, 450 miles long. starts in alabama and ends in kentucky and i'll be there, shopping for treasures amongst the doilies, thimbles, hubcaps, candles, and fiesta ware. mom, my aunt and i are heading up to the family farm in tennessee which we will use as base camp for daily jaunts out into the madness. personally, i'm taking my bike along and plan to sneak away for a few side road country rides. apparently this is the 19th annual event and guests come from all over, yes even canada and mexico! check it out here, it starts today and goes thru sunday. jealous aren't ya?

okay i went and i scored! coffee table, old wooden desk chair, wrought iron shelf stand, 2 wall mirrors, orange tea towels, and yes, 2 token ceramic thimbles with cherubs on them. all for $150 smackers. wow.

rewind

last weekend, all of the relics from the 80s music scene in athens turned out for a flashback, reunion, rewind weekend. people watching was at a premium and performances by bands of old were staged over the 2 days. pylon, oh ok, and timetoy played, former fabulous djs spun records, yes vinyl, and lots of teenagers with access passes watched from the 40 watt. it was fun to see all the faces that havent really changed, just a little thicker thru the middle, and meet the kids. many old photos and videos were dug up and shown about town to recharge the memories of those of us who just cant recall it all. all it takes is song or a photo though and it all comes rushing back. a great nostalgic weekend. and don't worry kim, i kissed everyone you would have wanted to...in your honor!

east v. west

so my dear friend and cohort, gabriel, is doing some online dating of his own on the west coast. he and i have had a few contests over the years of our friendship: betting on braves v. yankees, seeing who succumbs to valentine's day pressures first, who can best who on discovering new music, and well you get the idea. so i'm now considering throwing down the gauntlet on who can meet a 'keeper' first, through online dating. he hasn't kissed anyone in a while (unless you count the woman he met at a wedding recently) so he's practicing...on the salt flats?!? it's been a while for me too, man dating rituals sure have changed.

on the inside

julie inspired me to put up interior shots of my house since only mary is close enough to come see it. i love finally being able to paint a wall a color and not have a landlord make me paint it back white when i move out. its just a 2BR bungalow nestled under pecan, sweetgum, and water oak trees but i love it. top row from L to R is living area, kitchen (gas stove), yoga room & spare bed, bottom row L to R is my BR, Bath, Office. the 2 greens are different and the 2 terra cotta oranges are different but hard to tell here. can you say earth tones? most all the furnishings are my great aunt's that i inherited when i moved here from Tahoe with my humble futon, bike, and computer. ahhh, home sweet home. i'm there now.

hooking up!

now dont get excited, b/c i havent yet. but ABC has a new show to let those of us obsessed with online dating know that the world is watching; its called Hooking Up and it debuted last week. http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/HookingUp/
i did find comfort in the fact that, even in manhattan, it was hard to find a match and the pickins were slim. since that time i've had a dialogue going with 2 or 3 interesting guys: a hydrologist who loves and plays music and broke his toe last week, a geneticist who cycles and canoes but just met someone and signed off, a record producer who longs for a visit to italy, an artisan woodcrafter who introduced me to a new smell: green hickory nuts and a software developer who posed as an archaeologist until i busted him. i've only met 1 guy in person so far, but am more willing now that i've gotten my feet wet. oh and julie, the smoker was considerate and i didnt have to deal with it really since we were in a skiboat riding across the waves.

giddy first date

so yesterday i summoned my courage and met an online pursuer for lunch and boating. he had written for over a month and survived all my sarcastic attacks on his nasty smoking habit and still intrigued me and made me laugh. (yes he's the guy i wrote about below). life is funny isn't it?

anyway, it was such a gorgeous break in the hurricane season weather that i played hooky from work. the day was a fabulous success. what a relief! we met at a deli, had some lemonade and quickly agreed to head out for the boat and a day on the lake. with only the 2 of us, it didn't make sense to waterski and other solitary things so we chatted and swam and later ended up grilling out for dinner. when i drove home later, i was all abuzz with the giddiness one feels after a successful first date.

no fireworks in the city

i just watched back-to-back episodes of sex in the city for a little morale boost. so here's my update the online dating scene, i chased off the smoker with brutal sarcasm and ran some other witty chump off b/c he wanted mae west and I wasnt exactly ready to ask him to come up and see me sometime. actually he took me off his hot list, as he explained twice. then i wink, tease, flirt, whatever you wanna call it with a few others only to find out they are 260 lbs. despite their photos, or have kids at home, overly religious, and other criteria i specifically try to weed out. one nice kid keeps flattering me and he's 13 years younger and if anything i wanna date older men for a change but he wont give up. i ignore him. the last nice guy that i got a nibble from seemed promising, of course i had to pursue him a bit. he plays and loves music and we connected there; plus he's a mountain dweller...we'll see if he writes back. he's the only one i entertained meeting in person so far, well him and the smoker...before i knew he was a smoker, with horns. by the way, he's popped back in, just to see if i can be nice and refrain from calling him black lung. hey, if the shoe fits...but i can be nice. see this is nice. short, simple, boring, milk toast.

thai peanut burgers

dinner with friends is what i do these days, and i just found a recipe for thai peanut burgers. i'm gonna call kim and see if she's interested in grilling. here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Jif® Extra Crunchy Peanut Butter
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1/2 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (more or less to taste)
1 pound lean ground beef or turkey
4 hamburger buns
Directions:1. In a large bowl, whisk together the Jif Extra Crunchy Peanut Butter, lime juice and soy sauce.2. Add the ginger, cilantro and cayenne pepper; blend well. Add the ground meat and mix well.3. Form into 4 patties. Grill, broil or pan-fry.4. Serve on buns with your favorite Thai hot sauce and your choice of condiments.

music scene

a friend is coming down from DC tomorrow for Athfest, Athens' music and art festival. we're planning to hit it friday and sunday and see reunions of pylon, love tractor, and more. saturday we're heading out the annual broad river party for a day of swimming, bocce ball, and bbq followed by sleeping on the sand bar. one of the guys who comes always brings this tantalizing bbq sauce thats part curry, part bbq, part mystery. i'm going to see if i cant get the recipe this year. www.athfest.com

cool redhead

this is my hot-tempered little 4-year old niece who comes by all the emotion naturally as she is a redhead. i finally found something that soothes her. she lazed about on the front of this ski boat on Father's Day and didnt seem to need anything once she had all her pink accessories about her. wind in her hair, cool blue waters, and daddy at the wheel. thank goodness for small victories. hope your summer starts off as cool as it has here in athens.

hey, watchu doin wit dat hammer?

so i'm trying a dating website again. last time was 4-5 years ago in bezerkeley and it was of no help but made for a good story. anyway, i've sent out my info and theres a few matches in my area so i wrote a few of them. only 1 has checked in recently and replied. he's cute, single, and i was intrigued so we talked about seeing music soon, water skiing, and used lots of sarcasm. then i learn he's a sober alcoholic, chain smoker, and all he says is 'i smoke, i dont have horns'. let me tell you, if you smoke and you think its a small thing, its not. you wreak of stale odor, your hair, your couch, your clothes, your house, and everything about you. you taste like an ashtray when we kiss and you poison the lungs of all those around you. why dont people get it? ugh. so anyway, mark him off the list. now its on to the restaurateur who travels the globe. nice smile. oh, and i made the mistake of putting the word 'older' in my ad and, taken out of context, it has generated matches for me of men that are 60+ years old. careful what you type. there was one dufus who just wrote, hey what you doing with that hammer? wish me luck, i'm gonna need it here in the south.

swimming hulk

Nick swims like a fish and at 8 years old, just discovered girls at the pool. not suprising with this look! he made friends with alexis, fallon, ramsey and other girls; oh and there was 1 boy, ross. figures, ross always tags along with the friends. too bad we had to come home and he'll never see them again. imagine his dreams this week...

humidity arrives

its early june in georgia and certainly time for the heat and humidity to be here but a lovely spring lasting from february til last week delayed it this year. i hate the heat so i loved the delay. last week, i ducked down to mobile, AL to visit family at the beach and had to adjust to the already moist air down there. i came home to learn that it had also finally arrived here and that my a/c unit in my new house, bought in march, wasnt working. so crippled by the heat, i dialed a serviceman who surprisingly came right away and $50 later, i am cool as a cucumber. now if only i didnt have to leave the house for 3 months...