yakkity yak

free tickets to a magic show, a town full of bass fishing rednecks, rain, and last minute plans...tell me how does this boil down to a cherry vanilla ice cream cone?

my sister called me last night and said she was given two free tickets to the illusion show last night at the new venue in town. montgomery's downtown area is undergoing a 're-vitalization' that includes a few new bars, some upgraded old buildings, and this fancy hotel with a concert hall. it was raining, i was bored, so i thought 'why not'. zipped in the shower and we headed out...to downtown montgomery (slightly better than downtown mayberry on a saturday night). and of course it started pouring for the bazillionth time this week.

cars were everywhere - what i didn't pay attention to - the bass fisherman's tournament also had a concert at the river with the zack brown band last night - so there were a lot of young rednecks covering up the area. yeah - i said it. stereotypes become stereotypes for a reason. couple that with the families trying to get to the hotel. in downtown montgomery. land of no parking - ever. none. and rain. again.

and...don't forget those lovely new bars. because montgomery also has a number of college students that come in from troy and auburn. you know. to the big city? *snicker*

talk about traffic jam. my sister dropped me at the door because, well she's kinda sweet like that. or she wanted to torture me with dozens of children flying around while parents milled like sheep following the leader of the moment. i even had a kid try to wrestle me for my chair in the lobby. anyway i - what's my favorite word? diagress.

as we are finally seated in the nosebleed seats (the seats were free - who's complaining?) the show started, 'are y'all ready for this....' words cannot describe - they can't really. how, uhmmmm, dated this show was - straight from the 80's along with the assistant's acid washed jumpsuit, tri-toned hair and fake bosums. and the illusions weren't that bad (maybe it was the ability to see them from above maybe?) but the crowd around us got us so tickled with the "wow", "this guy is sooooo amazing", "how did he do that" (grand flourish) combined with the ushers continuously escorting people in with flashlights and standing in front so you couldn't see the end of the tricks/illusions. suffice to say, it was no chris angell or david blaine....or even david copperfield.

at intermission we left, negioated the concert goers leaving in the rain and the college students arriving at the bars. i got a scoop of cherry vanilla and my sister got strawberry cheesecake - that was worth the shower.

oh, for the record - my sister said i needed to use the word 'jankity' in the blog when i wrote it. that was a very jankity illusion act (the spencer theater of illusion)....my rating? thumbs down.

shhhhh (she said "just one")

this is my sister. she's shy like me...not really, but we're both shy about photographs. i think we get it from our mom - she hated photographs too. my sister is so much my mom made over, it's really funny. but, she's also very saucy and sassy. and has the most gorgeous eyes. honest. she does.

saturday doings

i took some photographs yesterday of my pretty, pretty sister - with a couple, we squealed like little girls because we were happy. we learned the trick to portraits is to let the personality shine through. she's rather sassy and saucy that girl. i'm not sharing yet because she hasn't given me permission. and believe me, i don't want my sissy mad at me.

so, i will instead leave you with some shots of the gorgeous property she manages. i think i'm going back today so i can focus on the flowers. yum.

the whole earth was brimming with sunshine that morning. she tripped along the clear blue sky pouring liquid blue into her soul.

there have been many posts about make-up today in my blog world so i will share with you my sister's secret. she's addicted to wet and wild's mega plump. it costs $2 and she goes through tubes like a maniac - to quote her, "i love it." so there you have my wild make-up tip. the good thing about not having a job - you save money on make-up. i rarely wear more than powder and mascara these days. yeah - i can hear the excitement of any male readers left out there.

to tell you how very bored i've been, i organized my computer cookbooks and have consolidated them into one. i noticed the following about that

:: though i dislike baking with a passion, there are a very high number of cake recipes in the cookbooks. i love cake - i am intimidated of cakes. it's all so exact and delicate. pies are easier.
:: i have at least five different recipes for shrimp and grits. i only use one. maybe it's time to let go of a couple.
:: i put overly ambitious recipes in the cookbook in hopes that i will be inspired - turns out they make me lazy and bring on unbridled use of cream of mushroom soup. i swear i'm going to make those empanadas from userealbutter one of these days.

i didn't do all of my errands yesterday but i did pick up chinese food. since moving home there has been a serious lack of chinese food in my diet. maybe that is the root cause in so many allergy attacks this year - the lack of eggrolls and steamed dumplings. i will investigate that possibility more.

clothes are washed (not yet folded), i need to pay bills (don't want to) and groceries need to be purchased. boredom has moved into the food area (part of the reason for the cookbook consolidation). did you know that 2% milk is named that because it only has 2% less fat than whole milk and not because it has 2% total fat? yeah, neither did i. now i know why there is such a drastic difference between that and skim milk. boo.

this morning i read a blog and was suddenly transported back to my childhood. something about summer does that to me and i think it's universal. summer is the time screams childhood, isn't it? the memory in particular is sitting on the steps of the front porch with the light off. soft murmurings of voices with the adults sitting in in the kitchen playing cards. running after fireflies and making wishes on dandelions. playing 'mother may i' in the dusky light and swinging until my lungs felt as if they would burst.

last night i saw fireflies as i took out the garbage. this morning i watched a bright red cardinal play among the leaves of the chinaberry tree. he hopped from branch to branch. i swear i heard him laugh, so i laughed with him. he flew way - but, i know he'll be back around. i think maybe i will too...some day...hopefully soon. i miss me.

giving into the wave

Life has an ebb and flow much like the ocean. Ups and downs much like the tidal pull of the moon. I've been thinking a lot of things I need to let go - things that I may never see an end to or know why it works that way. Things that drag me down like the mariner's albatross. Why I chain myself when I could be free.

Instead of sending messages in a bottle. What if I put in worries and woes and let them go. Without guilt. Without worry. Maybe with a smidgen of love and a sigh of release? If I could envision letting these things go, maybe I would feel more at ease with myself. I know the person that burdens herself the most is, well....me. I wrap myself in chains and as the Eagles say, "never know I have the key."

Well, actually I do know that I have the key. But, I'm afraid of using it at times. I've grown so used to the weight of the chains that I'm scared to know what it's like to feel "light." Funny word "light." You can feel light, meaning you don't weigh as much or....you can have "light". Light illumination in the darkness.

So....I digress as I often do. Taking the sidecar to other places in my thoughts. Opening this door and that one, just to remember what I put there. Another way of avoiding letting go. So...what will I put in the bottle today? What will I let go of - releasing it so I no longer have to carry it around?

Today I'm going to work on false guilt. It's a big burden. I put on myself the burden of things that I think others expect of me. I hold on so tight that I beat myself with it. Things I thought I should have done when there was no other alternative. Things I wish I had done when there was no way to to them. A lot of things. Guilt, as Sister aptly pointed out, is admission of a crime. We think we're more criminal than we truly are usually. Well...some of us do anyway. But that's another blog.