Louisville & Nashville: People

I like shooting candid shots. I've developed a skill for putting my camera on continuous shooting mode, holding my camera down low or up high and taking pictures without anyone knowing. You catch cool stuff that way.

I miss going on photo walks. I won't be doing that now, of course, because it's too damn hot. But now that I'm not locking myself up in the house anymore, I'll have to get back into it this fall. It feels good to have new pics to show people.



Actually, there's a lot I need to get back into. I'd like to be able to blame this on the heat, but I've pooped out on those lists I made at the beginning of the year. Day to day life and my tendency to tuck myself into my comfort zone have led to, well, basically the same ol' me.

The same old me isn't horrible, it's just not as cool and fun-loving and free and determined as I would like.



It has me wondering. Can anyone really change? We all have our wild hopes and dreams. When we don't reach them, it usually seems that the reason is us, ourselves, the person who wanted to change enough to hit a goal in the first place.

The what-ifs always bog me down. Maybe you're what-ifs are positive, but mine are always negative. Now I'm thinking What if trying harder isn't in my nature? What if my view of the future is so dim that I won't be able to really accomplish anything no matter what I do? What if I have so little faith in myself that I'll continue to stand in my way?









What if, what if...What are your what-ifs?

Happy Friday: The Consequences Of Cabin Fever

I'm pretty sure that my depressive episode this week was greatly fueled by cabin fever. For almost a full month we've had temperatures at 100 degrees or higher, and since I seem to be getting more and more sensitive to heat as I get older, I've been keeping my ass indoors.

Guess who's tired of it? Right, me! I'm a homebody from way back, so I never thought I'd get sick of sitting at home but OH MY GOD AM I EVER SICK OF SITTING AT HOME. I'm going to have to make a commitment to get out (without running errands the whole time) at least a few mornings a week. I felt so good yesterday just sitting at the library and reading for a while.

I also felt better for writing in the morning. I noticed this when I was working on that short story competition, but because I'm me and stubborn I refused to take note: I like writing in the morning. Or, at least, making notes on my stories and fleshing out details in the morning. I'll have to work that in, too. Preferably every day. It's Do My Opposite time again. When my body says, stay at home and lay around watching TV, I'll have to get my ass up, get out of the house and go write.

Enough about my discoveries! Here's something for you...

1) Entrepreneur might be able to help you fight fears and give good talk.

2) The University of Pennsylvania's Authentic Happiness website is filled with questionnaires to test your happiness level.

3) Apparently, blow jobs are good for women, too. Don't tell the menfolk!

4) Wanna see Brad Pitt's brother Doug in a goofy commercial? Sure you do!

5) I just found O*Net and My Next Move. Both sites are good for job seekers, especially anyone looking to change careers. You can take assessment tests, search for jobs based on what you like to do and look into over 900 careers. I plan to get into these this weekend. Fun times!

That's all for now. Since I skipped Music Monday this week, I'm gonna leave you with some tunes...





Have a magnificent weekend!

Happy Friday: Settling Into Summer

Heat wave and warm-weather storms aside, now that July 4 has come and gone you cannot deny that we are in the ferocious days of summer. Does anyone else feel like the outrageous temps are keeping them from enjoying things?

I know I do. HUBS and I have barely been able to move this week. St. Louisans are dealing with our second straight week of 100 degree or more (usually more) temperatures. While am I so, so grateful to have a home and working A/C, our house is still hot. Our air runs non-stop from about 9 a.m. to midnight, but we've been seeing 85 degrees inside the house daily.

The ceiling is hot (I don't believe we have adequate insulation up there at all.); trying to nap mid-day is a mostly lost cause because our bedroom is a hot box and the bed is hot when you get into it. This needs to end...SOON. When I think of all the people and animals who live outside. I simply cannot imagine how they make it through the long, sweltering days.

We have managed to do a few things other than sit at home and watch TV, though.

1) I met up with my buddies from Girlfriend Circles again on Saturday for tea. It's nice to have a reason to dress up and people to talk to. I like them, and we have a good amount of stuff in common, but I'm kinda anxious to get to the part where we're really friends instead of committed acquaintances.

2) On Tuesday HUBS and I had what would turn out to be our July 4 celebration. We drove over to Swansea, IL to eat at Big Mama's Barbeque. Then went on to Belleville, IL for dessert at The White Cottage. Expect reviews next week of the awesome foodstuffs we consumed!

3) Since we were already in town, we saw a double feature at what is the last drive-in theater in the area, The Skyview. We saw Spider-Man and Men in Black 3. I thought it had cooled off enough to sit with the windows down, but HUBS disagreed and we ended up running the air for most of each film. The movies themselves were meh and OK, but it was nice to do something different and get home past midnight for once!

That's it! On the 4th we stayed at home; I watered the garden right before it got dark and we watched various fireworks displays on TV from the darkness of our finally cooling off living room. I hope you all had fun and stayed cool this week, and that you've got more fun, cool-staying in store for the weekend. Now, here are some nice internet discoveries from this week.

1) Lifehacker has cool tips and tricks for all you cat people out there.

2) Fantasy/Sci-Fi readers or those interested in the genres should take a look at this list of The Greatest Female Sci-Fi/Fantasy Authors of All Time.

3) If you're feeling as though you look less than polished due to the heat, well maybe this will make you feel better. Some of these ladies are doing fine. Some of them, really are not.

4) Last, but not least, if you need a summer music playlist try this or this.

That's all folks!

How will you have fun and stay cool this weekend?

Happy Friday: That's How This Goes

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I don't know how many of you might be in the Midwest, but Mother Nature is no joke right now. Yesterday it got up to 108 degrees. Right now? It's 103 and looks like it'll get up to 106 before the sun goes down. Glory! I guess it's summer now, huh?

HUBS will be on vacation next week, and I am actually really glad we don't have a trip planned. I'm at the beginnings of trying to make some changes, and if we were going away next week it would be even harder to get a grip on some of my crap.

Well, that's all for now. Let's look around online and see what we can find, shall we?

1) Anyone dealing with depression or anxiety knows that it can be hard to talk yourself down in the midst of a bad spell. Here's some simple advice that might help if you're blue or mired in panic.

2) If I were the type to spend $95 on wall art, these '60s style James Bond inspired prints would fill my home.

3) I find string theory fascinating. Writer Rob Bryanton tries to explain a world of more than three and a 1/2 dimensions with some intriguing YouTube videos and a very well written blog. I got lost in them, even though I by no means understood all of it. It's nice to stretch your brain, isn't it?

4) Still getting used to Twitter, like me? You might find this Twitter Cheat Sheet helpful.

5) Chuck Wendig has the best list of 25 Things You Should Know About Writing Fantasy. Whether you write the stuff or read it you'll appreciate his thoughts.

That's all for me, lovelies! Peace out!

What cool things have you found online lately?

Tuesday Tipday: How To Stay Cool

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How To Stay Cool Outside When You'd Rather Be Riding Someone's A/C Unit

Now that we've had our unofficial start to summer it's time to consider summer's greatest challenge: enjoying our days without passing out from heat exhaustion.

I know what you're thinking, I've never gotten heat exhaustion, why would it hit me now. To that I say, you never know, friend. You just. Never. Know.

1) Nighttime is the right time: For that matter, so is the early morning. If you really must be outside, leave the comfort of your air conditioner as early or late as possible. Mornings around 5 or 6 am tend to be the coolest. An 102 degree night will still be unpleasant, but at least the blasted sun won't be slapping the shit out of you at the same time. This is why I'll spend the next few months watering and weeding my garden at increasing late hours. Citygirl ain't no fool.

2) You + Water = BFF: Even if you're not working outside (Hello, road crews!) you still need to stay hydrated. Unless you keep cool by panting like a dog, ingestible liquids are your best friend. Fill up a huge travel mug or thermos with ice and water, put it in the freezer a few minutes before take off and sip throughout your travels. Tired of water? Add lemon,limes or cucumber. Slip inside someplace cool and have a soda, Slurpee or Frosty. Just don't let yourself dry out. That's when things get dangerous.

3) Your car is an oven; don't stand for it: I don't have A/C in my car anymore. The single most important thing I've learned to do (other than bringing a frosty beverage)? Roll the windows down the morning I'm going somewhere. This will help even if you are blissfully supplied with cool, cool forced air to your vehicle. Letting air flow through your car will keep it cooler. Just roll the windows up and turn on the air when you're ready to roll. If you just can't bear the idea of leaving your unattended car with the windows open, I just read a cool tip on Lifehacker for getting the hot air outquickly.

4) The world is an oven; baste accordingly: I'm not talking about sunscreen, although applying a cooling one about 30 minutes before you head into the sun could certainly help. I'm talking about your choice of clothing. Please, for your own good, wear the lightest possible clothes you can. Light in weight and light in color. I've got some white linen pants that save my life every summer. And, don't be afraid to carry your own shade with you. Men! Get a lightly colored umbrella. Women! You have many parasol choices. Both! Wear an open weave hat already.

5) Stay out of the sun; that is all: If you don't know by now, keep to the shade and shadows when walking around on a hellishly hot day. I go out of my way on a regular basis to stay away from direct sunlight. This includes staying in the house when it's too hot for my delicate sensibilities. Whatever works, people!

There, now you're fully prepared for the summer. I'm going to continue sitting inside my A/C filled house. How about you?

Citygirl Bites! Philly Road Trip Edition, #1

I haven't done a Citygirl Bites in ages, so, what better way to wrap up our Philly road trip story than to spotlight all the straight-awesome food we had while we were away. Mmmmm...Food porn!



On our way into Philly we stopped in Pittsburgh to eat dinner at Primanti Bros. Restaurant. They're known for their huge sandwiches with fries and cole slaw on the sandwiches. This is my fish sandwich. HUBS got a root beer float and some giant red meat sammy, plus we shared an amazing order of chili cheese fries. (That's right, we got fries even though each sandwich had fries on it. We are special.) If you're ever in the area you need to eat this food. Really.

Our next meal was a hotel-delivered one from Romano's on Sunday (our travel recovery day). Of course, I forgot to photograph a single item we ordered, but everything was good. We ordered a pizza (great crust, sauce and toppings), chili (filled with sweet peppers and meat and giant beans), a crab cake sandwich (yum) and a stromboli (HUBS ate this one by himself, but he loved it.) There were a ton of leftovers. Thank God we got a kitchenette in our room!



On Monday we stopped at Moshulu. It's an early 1900's sailing ship that's been turned into a restaurant. HUBS and I had been walking around all day and were tired, sweaty and sticky. We were also starving and my feet were aching. I was so glad that this place didn't have a dress code, we would not have gotten in with our tennis shoes and shorts otherwise.



This is my pulled pork sandwich. Um...You will not have a better pulled pork sammy, people. I swear. It was served with homemade chips and a little salad. Both very, very good as well.



HUBS ordered this. I think it's pork with some rice. Now, it was really tasty. But, you see how little is on that plate, right? Does anyone think that HUBS, who routinely eats two Bic Mac's, fries and a giant soda in one sitting, could be even close to full by eating this? No? Wow, you guys get smarter every day. Again, glad we had those leftovers!



We also shared dessert. Do you see this beauty? It's the Mosulu Coupe and it includes: banana fritters, dulche de leche ice cream, caramel peanuts, flourless chocolate cake, vanilla ice cream, fresh chantilly cream, chocolate sauce and wet pecans. Dammit! It was good! God!

I'll be back tomorrow with the rest of our eats. But, in the meantime, I'm working on ideas for my Tuesday Tipday series. I need to know: What kind of tips would be helpful to you? Let me know in the comments!

Philly Philly Bo Billy...

Banana fanna fo filly
Fee fi mo milly...
Philly!

We spent Thursday and Friday of our Pennsylvania vacation packing in as much museum-going/site-seeing as possible. We hit The Franklin Institute, Adventure Aquarium and the Academy of Natural Sciences. We also traveled back to the waterfront for The Independence Seaport Museum and got caught in a torrential downpour on our way to see a couple of submarine/navy ships. We took the ferry. We hung out at Gettysburg. We walked until I thought my feet were going to fall off. We drove a long, dark, twisty road until we thought we were going to pass out. We had fun. Isn't that all that matters?

Yes, I'm Still Talking About Philly

As of today we've been back from our vacation for exactly a month. What's happened in this past month? Well, we've:

-Gotten sick and gotten better
-Buried a cat
-Picked up a stray kitten
-Bought all our Christmas presents
-Switched to cheaper cell phone plans with spiffy new smart phones
-Run out of money
-Then, within a week, had an unexpected period of financial security



Plus, I've:

-Impressed a new editor at work with my story ideas
-Written lists of employment and networking goals
-Reached out to some folks who could help me toward those ends (it's been over a week, haven't heard from any of them)

Not a bad list of things done, though of course I'd planned to get more accomplished immediately post vacay.

My biggest issue for the past few weeks has been getting enough rest. I keep saying I'm going to get ready for bed by 10:30 and then be in the bed trying to sleep an hour later. You know what I've actually been doing? Going to bed past 1 a.m. then getting up by nine the next morning, staying up all day and being exhausted but still not going to bed at night. I was up until three this morning! Then got up at nine! I'm silly with sleepless irresponsibility! But the nice thing is that I saw two shooting stars that made me feel really happy!!

Alright, I still have pictures to share, so here we go!






Delaware River


Ben Franklin Bridge






Joan of Arc


Schuylkill River


Tiger fight!


Prairie dog fight!


Hippo eyes!