The Great Pumpkin

Well, well... It's Friday Fright time! Even though I have more important things to do today (and this week), I still took some time to carve some pumpkins and blog about it. You're welcome. Please appreciate the progression...

2 weeks ago = bat from a stencil

one week ago = aubie (from camera and freehand)

Saturday = Elmo for Seth (from a coloring book that told me steps of drawing Elmo)

yesterday = work party pumpkin. it was MJ's face (see the glasses) but then it didn't work and his face caved in (like in real life) and so we gave up. I wrote "your mom" on it because it looks like your mom (at Halloween or during the off-season). We didn't win, but I have included the winners' pumpkin:

So that's about all I have to offer for today. Just sad I won't be dressing up with baby doll hands in Chicago this year. I'm off to buy a car, so wish me luck, if you want good things for me. And in the words of Modest Mouse, "Happy Halloween!" B-dubs!

candy corn. extra corny, please.

got a great piece of mail today...enjoy.

xoxo,

mj

Cloudy With a Chance of Being Blown Off of the Sidewalk

So I'm in the midst of midterms, and can't write much, but I often say "oh the weather sucks today, it's rainy and windy." This, friends, is what I'm greeted with to walk Bella in the mornings on bad weather days.

So yeah, there's the wind...and the waves....and the spittle rain....heavy rain just makes things more exciting. Side note: the car that looks like it almost hit me was further away than it looks. no worries, I didn't have a brush with death.

I can only imagine what it's going to be like when there's a blizzard or something. yikes.

Moment of silence for Trout Scout....

Moment of jubilation for Amy Schell driving around in a new car!!!!! wooo!

Moment of sadness that I'm not there to carve pumpkins with y'all tonight.

Moment of happiness at how awesome the Office and Flash Forward episodes were that I caught up on with the help of RCN on demand :)

Moment of happiness that Clayton visited last weekend!

Can't get enough of this.

Oh, and I just listed my first item for sell on eBay. I'm only how many years behind on being cool for doing this?

Miss you! See you soon!

Why The (Sad) Face?

So today is yet another historical day for me. As Joshua Radin says, I’ve “got some growing up to do.” I found out yesterday that I have to “surrender” my car to the insurance company because we’ve decided to total it. WHAT? I started tearing up because I thought I had another week with Trout Scout. So I’ve started the process of cleaning out the car and saying my goodbyes. I’m pretty sad and we had a nice ride into work together today, rain and all. I’ll go get a rental car for the week, turn in my car and then start the process of buying a car, which means loans and signing and make real decisions.

This leads me to continue wondering when I can call myself a real adult. Now? After I get a car? When I get a house? I don’t know, but I feel grown-up a little more every day because of this. But just when I’m starting to feel older, I get reminded that I’m not. This is the bathroom I use at work:
Make sure you catch the “good hygiene” poster on the wall, the training toilet and the step stool if you’re too small to use the sink. That’s right… I feel like a big kid when I go in there every day. I kinda don’t want to explain it, but if you need it, you should know it’s the bathroom that the childcare uses. I'm a reeaaallll boooooy!

I don’t know what I’m getting myself into, but glad that I’m sort of being forced into this change. I’m really excited about getting a new car because I’ve had a really hard time with the jeep since I got it. I’ve never felt safe and it’s cost a lot of money. So I’m glad to let it go but as you know, I’m terribly sentimental, so I think I’m headed to an early afternoon breakdown. But these are the things I’m looking forward to about getting a new car:

1) brakes
2) windows that roll down = drive thrus!
3) a transmission that actually works
4) driving up hills with ease or just driving up hills, period.
5) gas pedal that doesn’t stick
6) heater that works within 30 minutes
7) driving home or wherever I want
8) starting my car in the rain
9) no oil leak puddles in front our our house

So it’s going to be awesome! Watch out world. I’m excited and maybe I’ll have a new car very soon. And maybe you'll see my car parts at Pull-A-Part soon. Don’t worry, I’d love to take you for a ride, you won’t even have to ask. I’d like to finish with a moment of silence for Trout Scout. It’s been good… RIP.

1989-2009, 317,400+ miles. No survivors.

Raised on Rice and Gravy

I had a great time with Conlee, Frank and T-Frank this weekend. Hung out Saturday and Sunday with them, which means we were real fancy. Food, shopping, hitting the Birmingham tourist sites… the works. Here’s a restaurant review for you people who don’t have sisters to pay for your food:

Bottega Café for lunch = “Ham & Cheese” pizza (prosciutto with white cheeses)
Very good and quite salty, even for me, I know. Wish I had opted for the more complex chicken pizza, but I heard great things about their pizzas, so I got one. I give it 3 stars (minus points because they charged me $2.50 for each slice of the cake I brought in for my sister’s birthday, doubling the price. Geez).

Chez Fon Fon for dinner = Steak frites—grilled hanger steak with pommes frites, salsa verde and a small salad
Sooooo good. You’ll need to catch up on your French before you go, but it’s a great place. 4.5 stars and I could eat that meal every day of my life, if I could only afford it.

Little Savannah for lunch = Fried Pork Chop, White Cheddar Blue Corn Grits, Tatsoi, Redeye Gravy
I’ve wanted to go to this place since we went one night for Ashley’s birthday stop #1. But for some reason Ashley and Clayton didn’t take me there on their date. It was really great and like the previous restaurants, they do seasonal foods that feature the local organic farms. I’ve volunteered and gotten to know about the local Jones Valley Urban Farm (www.jvuf.org) and they had food from the Cullman one too. So that adds in some extra Birmingham-local-factor points. They get 4 stars because they did grits and something fried well.

My favorite part of these dining experiences was eating with T-Frank. He ordered Swordfish (because it’s his favorite, of course) and it was not as good as he was used to, so he was unable to finish his sandwich. Also, he uses tons of salt, and that’s meaningful if you have ever eaten with the Schell family. (No Family Song jokes needed here.) But heavy salt use is a genetic trait in our family, so it was good to see that it’s gotten into the fourth generation. We also went to Vulcan, Sloss (where dead bodies were left out from Fright Furnace), Reed Books. Frank was scared to go up to the top of Vulcan, but it was a pretty day, so we made him do it.


Going to AU game this weekend as they play Kentucky at home. We better win and let’s hope it doesn’t rain. Haven’t been to a game in 5 years, so it’ll be good. I was trying to meet up the Littlest Daughtry (don’t be jealous) to pass on the stuff I was making for Jamie, but it’s not going to work out. So looks like I’ll be finding one of her friends to pass that on… haha, I can’t wait. No really, that's what we're doing. I'll show you the picture when I'm done with the stuff. Thank you for being a friend.

Sammy's back!

I picked my car up yesterday from Wholesale Transmissions (AKA, that tranny place), and it was a pretty special moment to sit in Sammy again. it's crazy how much you miss having wheels after only one week. but, here's the problem: I get into my car, and they've moved the seat back. I understand. they're bigger guys, and I'm not 6' 2". however, when I pushed the switch to move it forward....it just sat there. I kept trying, and it wouldn't go forward. funnily enough, unlike my car last week, it will go in reverse. so I go back inside and ask the guy to come out and look at it. he pushed the switch back and forth and tried to manhandle my seat into scooching up a few more inches, but it didn't go forward. he said "yeah, you're just gonna have to take it somewhere." not the words you wanna hear after picking up your car from the shop.

I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled and thankful to have my car back. it's just a little frustrating to not really be able to reach the pedals. I think I'm just gonna continue to have a love/hate relationship with my car, because there are quite a few positive vs. negative points with this.

I have to stretch my right leg out pretty far if I want to continue moving.

negative: this kinda hurts my thigh, and the hypochondriac in me thinks I'll get a blood clot.
positive: I'm gonna have a rockin' hard thigh on my right let. get ready for competition, Beyonce.

my whole body looks pretty stretched out if my back is touching the seat.

negative: I look like I'm ridin' dirty.
positive: I look like I'm ridin' dirty.

I'm further away from my iPod and the a/c and heat.

negative: sometimes I have to continue listening to Scars if it comes on.
positive: at least I'm not fooling with my iPod as much and can instead look at the car in front of me.

a guy I work with just looked at it and thinks that it's the track that's messed up. he suggested a place called Pull-A-Part, but you have to bring tools and take the part you need out of the cars they have. I don't know...seems like a good option...mainly because it'd be a lot cheaper than taking it to Ford. so I may do that....or I may just keep ridin' dirty.

I hope all is well with everyone. Ash, I hope you and Claytong enjoy his Chi-town visit. I know he'd rather have me and Amy there, but y'all try and have fun anyway.

and I'm closing with this video. watch it. it's a song called Passerby. it's awesome. and beautiful. I love Allie Moss.

love, love, love you,
mj

whaaaaaaa haaaaaappen??

happy October 15th, 2009, folks. it is currently a tad chilly in the office, but it's more than a tad drizzly outside, so I'm gonna try to tough it out in here. speaking of drizzly, Finn (football jock/Glee member) on Glee last night suggested that he and his cheerleader girlfriend name their daughter Drizzle. awesome. I absolutely love that show. this preview has probably one of my favorite lines ever: "I'm about to vomit down your back." yeah, she said it.

so a few things:

-I'm hopefully getting my car back today. keep your fingers crossed that Brandon wasn't lying to me about that. I've missed Sammy. I'm probably gonna take her for some ice cream on Saturday. and by ice cream, I mean oil change.
-umm, the 6-year-old boy who is flying over Colorado in the homemade flying saucer/air balloon/really great idea.....whaaaaaaat? crazy, funny, sad, bizzare, entertaining, frightening...it's all of these things. hopefully he'll get back to the ground safely and have the mother of all "I walked on the moon" stories to tell at parties.
-Mama Jordan is in Pell City right now. this is good news, cause I'll hopefully get to see her, but bad news cause she's there because Weea isn't doing too great. she's fallen twice in the past week and has bronchitis. so keep ol' Weea in your prayers!
-I forget how much I love bagels and how much eating breakfast really helps your day. I know, who woulda thought? kudos to the chocolate chip, asiago cheese and everything bagels at Panera.
-I still haven't called the maintenance crew about my disposal not working, but the disgusting bits and "vomit down your back" smell that is coming from my sink is forcing me to finally call. seriously, it's bad. no, seriously. I kind of dislike myself a lot for putting this one off.
-the Cooley pumpkin carving/movie watching extravaganza is next Friday. I'm excited.
-OK, we just watched the footage of the balloon landing....where is the boy? what's going on? I'm sure this will all be resolved once you read this, but right now I'm just confused and worried.


that's gonna be it for now. enjoy your Thursday!

holla back,
mj

Winterizing My Life

First I want to have a moment of silence for Trout/Scout......

I literally gasped when I read Amy's post. Glad you're OK Schell. MJ, I'm holding my mourning to see if I should be sad for the transmission or the car. You and Clayton could get together and talk about how bad it sucks to have your transmission die in your car though. He just went through it.

In case you were worried that I might freeze to death this winter (as the rest of Chicago, Alabama, and I were.) Here is what I hope to be a bit of encouragement...the gradual building of my winter wardrobe! :)

First: coats.

Parka? check.

3/4 length down sleeping bag with arms. mmmm toasty.

Next: rainproof/warm coat...check!

check it! a 2 for one deal. Coat on the left fits inside the outer coat for extra warmth if needed. YES PLEASE!

Next: footwear. oh, but first, Bella. She wanted her pic taken to tell y'all hello!

My new boots arrived in the mail today! I kind of love online shopping.

London Fog suede waterproof fur lined boots on the left and some super sweet rain boots on the right.

In other news: I am going to class. They are going OK so far. I sometimes feel totally over my head in finance. Surprisingly, I'm following really well in Statistics and Market Research...go figure. Everyone around here is getting ready for Halloween. Better start thinking of a costume idea.

One of the men that teaches in our program writes this blog - Damn, I wish I'd Thought of That. Pretty cool stuff.

One of the dog owners that comes to the park Bella and I visit brews beer. He invited some of us over to brew some one day. I'm pretty excited about that. Should be fun.

Clayton visits next week. YAY!!

My radiator heaters are already on and running - high today was 50 degrees. The radiators sometimes make funny noises at me. Almost like they're complaining at me or something...What's it called when you give human characteristics to inanimate objects?? I do it too much.

that's all I got. I had Chicken Panang curry for lunch...think I need to sleep some of the rice off.

SIDE NOTE: If you're not familiar with Owl City - do yourself a favor and become familiar. me gusta. start with the song Fireflies.

Happy October!

Ashley

and

Bella

What we gonna have-- dessert or disaster?

Let’s start with the good. So, at Artwalk a director of Moss Rock Festival came by (the 5 minutes I wasn’t there) and asked me to apply for the art show. I thought it was a great opportunity to continue doing art stuff, so I applied. This came in the mail a few days ago…

Yeah, and the big font was in bright green. Sorry you’re getting the gray scale version. I would also like to congratulate Jill, whoever she is. Way to go, girl! But Moss Rock is November 7-8th so be there.

Also, some of you may already know about this, but it’ll be a treat if you don’t. I should start from the beginning. I work in a warehouse where there are big gym-like lights with giant 2000-watt light bulbs. I like to collect industrial things and scraps of old stuff. So of course when I found out that we recycle (and keep) these at work, they were immediately appealing. I wanted to do something with them for a little project. So I thought of 1) hanging them from the ceiling, 2) using them as table decorations, 3) making a non-functioning light fixture out of them and maybe illuminating it somehow, or 4) this:

I’m pretty excited about it. It’s a tad heavy would make a great table center thing or something to put on the wall if you’re feeling crazy. But I’ll just keep it for my future home.

Dessert:
I’m excited about Conlee coming to town this weekend. I see her about once a year, so this is a treat. Today is her birthday so we are going to get her a little cake when we meet her for lunch tomorrow. She is all fancy-like, so we are going to Bottega Café and then she wants for me to tour her around Birmingham. Then off to Chez Fon Fon for dinner because she loves Frank Stitt and I’ve never been to one of his restaurants. And then we’ll do Sunday brunch at Little Savannah. Three great places in two days…so I’m pretty excited about all of that and hanging out with T-Frank and BUI.

Disaster:
There is no way to break the news softly. Little Trout/Scout was in an accident yesterday. Don't worry, I'm okay... just a little sore and beat up. Some guy rear-ended me on Lakeshore and pushed in my bumper and thus my hatch won’t open. I need my hatch, it’s the most important part of the car for me, well other than the wheels. So the guy gave me his info and left. The police came almost an hour later and filed a report and may or may not have put a warrant out for him. As for the damage, I thought it wasn’t a big deal until I took it into the collision center. When she gave me quote for almost 3x what my car is worth, I got a little sad because that means the Jeep will be totaled. Really? I regret ever getting into that lane, geeeeeeez! I can’t afford a car. So me and Melissa are thinking about getting a van together… you know, something that will hold all my art show supplies and our kids. But really, I might have to get a car and while that sounds awesome, I don’t know how to do that, if I can, and how I’ll live without Trout/Scout.

And to end on a positive note, I’ll give you my favorite quote from yesterday:
Eron came by my office with stiff legs and asked, “What if we didn’t have knees?” I laughed a lot as she proceeded to try to run with straight legs and arms. Thank you, God, for giving us knees and friends that are completely ridiculous. I'm done. I can't offer anymore.

I put my thing down, flipped it but couldn't reverse it

I was really, really pumped to eat at Saw's BBQ today.  I had heard good things about it, and I was going to get to dine with good ol' Kimberly Holland.  so I thought Wednesday was shaping up to be pretty fine and fabulous.  and from a dining perspective, it absolutely was.  my pork "stuffed tater" was one of the best taters I've ever put in my mouth.  as you may remember, I spent the majority of my food court money at SU on BBQ pork potatoes and ICEEs, so I'm no stranger to the stuffed tater.  this one was loaded with BBQ pork, sauce, cheese, bacon, green onions and a super delectable glob of butter.  AND they have amazing banana pudding, which they call banana ana pudding.  sure, why not?  I would highly recommend that you make your way to Edgewood and, yes, get you some.  (Ash, we'll take you there over the holidays...cause I'm sure you're not getting any good food up there in Chi-town).  

anyway, onto what this world really needs more of....complaining.  so, we're finished eating, and I think "oh, I'll get in my car and head back to work."  little did I know that my car was thinking "oh, I'll let you get in and turn me on (rawr), but I won't let you go anywhere."  I cranked her up, took off the emergency brake, put it in reverse and heard "vrrrrooooooooooooom" but the car did not move.  not good.  so I tried a few more times.  and a few more times.  I believe the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.  well, I didn't reach insanity, but I did receive some looks from people standing on the sidewalk.  the lady who brought us our food was outside on her phone.  she looks at me and says "is something wrong with your car?"  yes, ma'am...I believe there's something wrong with my car.  

long story short, I realize that there's probably something wrong with my transmission.  I'd like to give a shout-out to the mechanic at the Edgewood service station.  he was really helpful and came over and took a look at Sammy.  the owner of Saw's was also really helpful and friendly.  it's always nice to be reminded of strangers' kindness.  

but the best person I met today was Chris from Herbert's Towing.  I've been told that it's pronounced "eeeybear," and I'm really excited about that fact.  Chris was rockin' some sweet flowing locks, a backwards hat, some sweet tats and ended up blocking the entire street in order to get my car on the tow truck.  and he didn't do this slowly or safely.  Chris just pulled right across the lanes as cars were still driving; earning him some choice words from a particular driver.  Chris replied with "I've been cussed out plenty of times...and I've heard a lot worse."  he and I also discussed the other options besides the inevitable ones of replacing the transmission or buying a new car.  I strongly considered letting him release my car as it was being pulled up, but in the end I had to go with a "thanks, but no thanks."  seriously though, he was a really nice guy and made this annoying situation a little less annoying. 

so the folks over at Wholesale Transmission are going to take a look at it in the morning.  I'm really, really hoping that it will be something other than the transmission and will cost me only, I don't know, let's go with $37.  but, realistically this could really suck.  I really don't know what I'm gonna do if it is the transmission.  it's really not worth it to spend that much on my car at this point, but I don't think I could swing a car payment right now either.  it's actually pretty scary to think about, but we'll just have to wait and see how things go tomorrow.  MAJOR sigh.....

so let's hope for the best, eh?  but if not, yes, I would love a ride. 

and I'll try to list some positives to keep things in perspective:

- I've got awesome people in my life who help me out in tough spots. (Kimbholl, you're awesome...thanks for the rides and the laughs)!

- my parents are always there to help, and just knowing that helps a lot. 

- Glee and Modern Family are two fine new shows, and they made me laugh tonight. 

- if Brandi Carlile were a food, she would probably be a stuffed tater.  I still can't quit listening to the new album, and I get to see her live in four days.  well, as long as the Max bus goes to WorkPlay.  I'll have to check its route. 

- Halloween is not too far away, and we all know how much I love candy and all things scary.  but not creepy...I think we all know where being creepy leads you.  right, Dave?  you know what though, I think people care way too much about David Letterman's personal life.  I care way more about Paul Shaffer's life. he's bald and always wears sunglasses, but what do we really know about him?  but I digress.  

thanks for letting me vent, blog.  and thanks for reading.  hope y'all are having a good week!

high fives and awkward side hugs, 

mj

so I wake up, and I'm in this dumpster in Connecticut...

so I woke up yesterday and felt like I had dislocated my shoulder. have no fear, I think it's located in the correct spot, but it hurt like no other. I was pretty proud of myself for doing a one-handed hair washing. drying the hair is another story. I borrowed a heating pad from someone at work, which helped a lot throughout the day. however, I'm pretty sure I looked a bit of a fool trying to keep the heating pad between my low back chair and my banged up shoulder blade. good times. I also took a muscle relaxer, and I am not gonna lie to you....good times there too.

I'm feeling much better today. I got a lot of sleep, took some legal drugs, actually ate breakfast and took my one-a-day energy vitamin. this Tuesday could be pretty historic.

SUBJECT CHANGE: I finally used some of the painting supplies I bought, oh, about a year ago. I painted on a small canvas--an 8 1/2 x 11, I believe. I'll be straight with y'all--it's by no means good. it shows no true artistic talent. the drawing isn't even remotely original or creative. and it may look like something a 12-year-old would have done. but, I genuinely like it a lot, and I really enjoyed the time working on it. I want to keep playing around with painting and other artistic whatnots. maybe I'll take a picture of it and share it on this fine blog. I wrote a line from a new BC song on it.....I know, I would.

speaking of 'ol Brandi Carlile, the new album is so insanely good. it's been playing non-stop on the record player since last Tuesday. it definitely has a different feel than her others. I don't know that I like it better than her previous stuff, but it's absolutely just as good. Give Up the Ghost just feels a little more raw and vulnerable, and I appreciate that. the WorkPlay concert is this Sunday.....oooooooo OOOOOOO! i. am. ready.

alright, I'm gonna wrap it up. but I will close saying that, aside from the obvious trip to Chicago next spring, I really want to take a trip to California. and I want to pronounce that the way Arnold Schwarzenegger says it. AND, by going to Google to make sure I spelled his name correctly just now, I found this little treat:

http://www.crocopuffs.com/soundboard/arnold.html

my favorite is the teenage pregnancy sound clip.

I really have to go now. enjoy the week.

one love,
mj

From Soapy Hill...

In chronological order, I will attempt to recap the last week. Ingrid was awesome. Check. I ran to the Greek Fest in the rain twice this weekend for some pites (Peteys) and Andy Baklava. $15 later, I was feeling great and sick, all at the same time. There, I said it, I felt sick. Let me set the scene for this with a picture or two. You’re welcome in advance… First, you should know we ate in Melissa’s crazy car.
Things I’ll point out: Notice the slim area that was left for me to cram into the front seat, all the bottles that aren’t mine, my food spread, messed up armband, heavy rain, and my bib. But it was SO good.

Then there was Sidewalk. Saw a lot of documentaries this year, one actual movie and a few shorts. My faves were Forgetting Dad and Best Worst Movie. The first reminded me that I need to buy Dear Zachary and so I did that yesterday. It’s the best documentary I’ve ever seen. Check it out.

And, possibly my favorite part of the weekend was that I got to tour the old Lyric Theater. I’ve wanted to see it every since Joseph told me about it and some pictures he saw. I didn’t tell y’all but I was hoping to plan a fun little tour before Ashley left and had been talking back and forth with a lady at the Alabama who said she would open it up for us. Well, I walked by it on Sunday and to my surprise, they were having an open house. It was really cool to see inside but it’s kind of depressing to see it in its current condition. It closed in 1958 and has fallen from hand to hand, but now the Alabama Theater group owns it as is planning on restoring it to the tune of $20 million. I didn't donate anything. Here are some pictures from inside.

So, yeah, that’s kinda it for me. Donna’s in town so I’ve been yelling “DDOONNNNNNNAAA” a lot. It’s been good to see some old college friends lately. And Saturday is NeedToBreathe and that should be a great show. Missed them last time they were in town so I’m proud to be ticket owner this time around. I have more to share, but I'll save it until next time. Today is Football Friday at work. If you wear a team shirt, then you are entered to win a giftcard/prize. Wish me luck and War Eagle!