oh, my achey breakey...

well, everything really.

i don't know why, but the morning after an event, my whole body hurts. it probably results from having all that nervous energy built up and having to be 'on' for a prolonged period of time.

and truth be told, given some uncomfortable side effects to antibiotics, the heartbreak diet, and various other maladies, my body has been through a lot in the last week, so it wasn't exactly in the best shape going in.

but the event, once again, was a sucess. though somewhat of a frustration in that i wasn't given the room for creativity i have had on other events, it still came off extremely well.

one of my favorite things about planning for this group is that they are not only appreciative, but they show me a lot of respect.

my favorite post-event conversation from last night...

vp: tara, i continue to be amazed by what an excellent job you always do.
me: (smiling and nodding)
vp: i mean it. it is always perfect, and i know how many details have to be attended to. it is always a well-oiled machine with you at the helm. it's very impressive.
me: thank you. this group is easy to plan for, and they take good care of me.
vp: that may be true, but that also does not affect talent, and you have real talent.
me: thank you, that's very kind of you to say.
vp: well, it's true. and beyond that, your composure and your class is extremely rare. and it's very apparent.
me: thank you.
vp: everything about you says class, tara.

so all in all, another success. but really i consider making it through 'the month that shall not be named' still standing to be the greatest succes of all.

is it just me?

or has the blog world gone on vacation as of late? everyone has stopped commenting. matt seems to have disappeared since he went to san francisco. tamara doesn't have time to blog while gallavanting the country. kelly doesn't think she has anything interesting to say.

and i have to admit, as of late, i'm feeling a bit of the blog burnout myself. it's not your fault. really. it's not you. it's me.

the truth of the matter is that i have always been someone for whom writing is cathartic. when i am frustrated with someone, i write them letters i never send. when i feel overwhelmed, i make lists i rarely follow. but something about putting a thought or a feeling into text helps me to process it. the blog has been much the same way, but a little while ago, after six years, i decided that it was time to begin keeping a journal again. a true journal, and not one that is published for the masses.

in the last six years i have tried a couple of times. usually in a digital format. this time i decided i was going back to the archaic way of writing, actually putting a pen to paper and letting the ink flow.

i'm afraid you've gotten the short end of that stick. while it has been doing wonders for me, in addition to being a little more time consuming, i also find that perhaps i am becoming less of an open book than i once was. it's not that i love you any less. really. i am just finally, after 29 years and 10 months, making small progress in the area of knowing when to keep my mouth shut. don't freak out, i said small. but it is something. i am learning better when i should listen instead of speak, and when i should journal instead of blog.

but never fear, though i may be becoming a bit less publicly prolific, i will still continue to do my best to entertain you with my antics.

case in point...when i die, can someone please make sure i end up with one of these?

Talking Tombstone, You Know, For Dead Jokesters

You may be dead, but that doesn’t mean the hijinks need to stop. The Talking Tombstone is quite possibly the most distasteful and tacky addition to any dead person’s repertoire, but, oh man, it could be funny.

Cheer up, you silly mourners, and listen to my deceased voice insult your mother from beyond the grave. This tombstone will set you—or your life insurance company—back $5,000. But that isn’t too bad considering you are getting the last word, for all eternity. Oh ho!– Travis Hudson

is this month over yet?

it's no secret to those who know me that june has been a tough month for me. between emergency tooth extractions, $350 car repair bills and a slew of other more personal items, it has been a doozy. but given the fact that on saturday i am heading up to new york for a few days with deb, july is already looking promising. after all, we've got five glorious days of leisure ahead.

on the schedule:

beach
pool
pool again
more beach
more pool
shopping
more pool
beach again

i'm also pretty sure we will eat, and eat well.

so i'm chocking june up as the 'month that shall not be named', and eagerly anticipating july.

the importance of puppy love

sometimes, when you are feeling a bit down, and the only thing that can make it right is out of reach, i think that quite possibly the next best thing is when after eight years of crawling into a closet at the first sound of thunder, your puppy love crawls under the covers and curls up next to you.

i know you don't believe me

but this really was my idea. i just got beaten to the punch.

smugmugginess

what does one do when they are doped up on drugs and can't muster the energy to leave the house? well, in my case, among other things, one modifies and plays with various features on their photo hosting site.

i've added the google maps feature which pinpoints the locations of photos you identify. since you can't do this in bulk, i've only done it for those in my 'favorites' album. i've also added the 'friends' section which, right now just includes corey. if any of the rest of you are closet smugmug users, let me know. also thought it was time to try a new color scheme for the summer, so i hope you enjoy.

to see all the changes (and all the albums), go to http://tva.smugmug.com/

belated birthday wishes

on a quiet thursday evening in northern virginia, two masked men entered the home of our beloved martha. a hood was placed over her head and she was dragged from her refuge, her sanctuary, if you will, uncertain what fate was to befall her.

she was put in a vehicle and driven to a warehouse type location nearby, where her hood was removed and she found herself surrounded by friends whose sole purpose was to wish her a happy birthday in style. yes that's right, a bunch of semi-grown-up-adults met at the place where a kid can be a kid--chuck e. cheese.

it was there that my former skee ball addiction reared it's ugly head, and i learned that i would be a terrible truck driver. but despite those two snafus, we all enjoyed our childhood regression.

after giving our love to martha, and our money to snowmobile video games, corey and i headed around the corner to take advantage of the gym before calling it a night.


friday morning i went to the dentist for my tooth extraction. my 'normal' dentist is out of town but the tooth needed to be pulled before he would be returning, so i found myself in an unfamiliar office, where i began to get a bit nervous. dental assistants kept speaking of 'recovery' and people were being rolled out in wheelchairs. what kind of little shop of horrors was this?!

eventually, 45 minutes late, my name was called and i was beckoned into the 'shop'. after that my nerves began to settle. i was given a local anesthetic and the tooth was pulled. it came out easily and shortly thereafter, i was on my way. i stopped in at work to take care of a couple of things, then headed home to get my prescription filled.

the rest of the afternoon was spent sleeping. on tap for friday night was corey's mini-golf birthday party. unfortunately, i was so hopped up on drugs that i had to miss it, but fortunately, corey, jill, and anne brought the party to me after their atypical mini-golf outing.

today has me still feeling a bit out of it, but the painkillers have kicked in again, so i'm doin' alright.

happy birthday corey!!

corey and i celebrated his birthday tonight by first, joining gold's gym, and second, enjoying a rich and delish dinner.

happy birthday to one of my favorite men!

sonic. not the hedgehog.

colby made it out of the grocery store, and grilled us up some awesome steaks. of course, much of anne's ended up on her clothing, but the rest of us enjoyed actually eating them, while enjoying the weather on the deck. saturday evening was topped off by more downtime, and a screening of 'casanova'.

after the movie, we made our first sonic attempt. for those in the northern virginia area, you know that the fast food chain 'sonic' is advertised all the time. the commercials tempt us with tasty drink concoctions, among other things, yet there is no sonic nearby.

clearly a misue of marketing dollars. however, upon learning that there was a sonic very close to julie and colby's, it was not a question about whether or not we would go. i had called to see how late they were open, and was told midnight. so imagine our shock and dismay when anne, colby, and i pulled up to the joint at 11, only to have all the lights shut off on us. attempt thwarted.

sunday morning we got up and got ready for church, and anne and i made a mad dash to the sonic. they were open. we both at strawberry limeade and brownie blasts, and it was sheer yumminess.

after arriving back at julie and colby's, we headed over to church. anne and i stayed for sacrament meeting, then got on the road. we made it back in record time. that was the last best thing about the evening, however.

i called it a night at a reasonable hour, but woke in the middle of the evening to the most horrible pain i have ever experienced. it was my problem tooth. the one i have been trying to avoid fixing until next year. i knew it would likely have to be pulled and an implant put in. and implants are expensive.

i got to work late, and my co-worker suggested that i might have an abscess. i called my dentist and they were able to squeeze me in. he confirmed that it was indeed an abscess and that it would need to be pulled.

at this point, the swelling was fairly minor, but by the time i woke up this morning, i looked as though i were sucking on a couple of golfballs. and again i was still in a lot of pain. i was able to schedule an early morning appointment with the specialist to extract my tooth, but when i arrived he told me that he could not pull it until the swelling had gone down, and the infection localized once again, to the tooth.

i have an appointment friday morning and am praying that the swelling goes down and that the painkillers keep working.

compare and contrast the pics below. the first was taken by anne at duke gardens on saturday, the second, only moments ago. i told corey i wasn't confident enough to post it, but who was i kidding, of course i am! needless to say, i will never be ungrateful for my 'normal' smile again.

indigo girls: the road trip

i don't know why i was so looking forward to a weekend away, it's not as if i haven't been 'away' recently, but my guilt in being a poor pet owner was overridden by my excitement in going back to north carolina--a place that will always own a piece of me--and in seeing julie and the fam...not the least of which is riggins, the pit bull i lived with for two years, and perhaps the sweetest dog i have ever known.

after work on friday i headed over to anne's to pick her up for the ride.

she was up for a road trip, and i was up for some company during the 5 1/2 hour drive. i was tired and anne was giddy, and that made for a quick and extremely entertaining journey, including exchanging of secrets, singing of songs, eating of waffle house, and frantically searching for my registration at the dwi checkpoint.

yes that's right, i said dwi checkpoint. and not just any checkpoint. this was an all out full scale assault on the irresponsible and thoughtless drunks of the world (or apex, nc). we were notified of this checkpoint via signage that was about 30 minutes into our stop and go traffic nightmare. fortunately, there was still plenty of time for us to throw out the case of beer we had in the car before the coppers saw us. okay, just kidding, but apparently someone else thought that was a good idea...and they were probably right.

i have never seen anything like it. the construction lights, the rv sized police vehicles. they take their dwi's very seriously in this neck of the woods. but apparently two giggly girls who wanted nothing more than to be stopped by one of the bazillions of uniformed men, were not enough of a threat to warrant a 'search and seizure', or for that matter a second glance. we were waved through with no additional holdups.

we made our way to julie's and amused ourselves with the random street signage we passed. our personal favorite; stickleback.

not to be confused with nickelback.

the drive ultimately ended up being over 6 hours, and we crashed on julie and colby's doorstep after midnight. we called it a night quickly, and i attempted to sleep with anne, the cover stealer. other than that, i have no complaints about my evening.

this morning, anne, julie, madison, and i headed over to duke gardens. it was a beautiful day, (albeit a little warm and humid) and we wandered around the expansive grounds, taking advantage of the photo opps the surroundings afforded.

after the gardens, we headed to the mall, where i had the score of the century. many moons ago, bath & bodyworks introduced my favorite smelling lotion of all time. it was available for one summer only, and i have often longed for the days of smelling like strawberry lemonade. and in a bizarre and twisted turn of events, bath & bodyworks has brought back some of the favorites of the past, for a limited time only, and a seriously discounted price. i bought three lotions and three shower gels. does that seem dramatic?

we also found a cute little store with a variety of products, not the least of which was the letter keychains i have become obsessed with, ever since seeing anne's. so i picked up a couple. she picked up a ton, and we were on our way home.

we've spent the last couple of hours doing nothing, and it has been glorious! nothing is my favorite thing to do right now.

the evening promises grilled steak--that is if colby makes it out of the grocery store alive, and some quality down time.

for more pics (and there are even more to come), click here.

what i'm learning about my feet

the contents of this post may seem a bit trite, but today, i bought a new pair of shoes--as i often do on payday. and i couldn't help contemplate what i have been learning about my feet as of late.

for example, i learned that i am actually a size 11, and it was my sheer vanity that has made me buy and wear (often painfully) size 10s for the last 15 odd years.

i have also realized that i have virtually no arches. that makes wearing spiky heels difficult for more than ten minutes at a time. give me a flip-flop, or a mule, or a wedge (thank heavens for the comeback of the wedge!!) and i am good to go, but try and put me in one of those stiletto numbers and i will be sitting a lot.

mostly i am learning that there is virtually nothing a new pair of shoes can't solve, whether it's just a little pick-me-up or as a cure to the 'i'm heading out of town and don't want to be sitting in my office' doldrums.

one day to raleigh

in january, julie (aka my soul-sister) and colby moved down to raleigh. in theory i was going to visit them much sooner than this, but apparently the life of a (now) stay at home mom requires even more cross-country gallavanting than the life of a single girl! this gives me great hope.

but i digress.

we have finally made it through our various travel plans and now i get to spend 10 hours in a car to spend maybe 20 with her. and it is totally worth it to me.

anne and i are headed out tomorrow and i can't wait. i love raleigh. i love north carolina in general. and i love julie and colby. my vacation mindset has not entirely gone away yet, so i am especially appreciative that i won't be sitting around here on my duff this weekend.

songs of the south

as a college freshman in north carolina i took a class in southern literature. i was on my second major, english, and the idea of a class that graded me on reading was appealing. what i didn't expect was how much i would come to love that particular genre.

the likes of whitney otto and zora neale hurston entranced me. in their words exists a richness, a warmth and a sagacity that is incomparable in my reading experience . i could feel them. i could relate to them in an inexplicable way. the life i have lived gives me no claim to the connection i feel with these stories. i have no roots in the south, nor have i spent much time there, truth be told. and yet there is something familiar about the emotion they evoke.

for the past few years, the bulk of my reading materials have consisted of biographies and historical fiction. it has been some time since i read a piece of southern lit. but before leaving for the duck, i randomly picked up a book i thought might be a quick beach read.

i never got to it. but fortunately for me, my commute into the city over the last several days has given me an opportunity to play catch up. and i am once again astounded by the beautiful prose that exists when a southern writer puts pen to paper, or finger to keyboard.

'you don't know the south if you don't know it's summers. damp and slow, rich with the textures of life simmered down to its essence and haunted by the memories of every season past.

and hot? hell yes it's hot, but that's not the whole of it. from may to september the south takes on both a veneer and a depth you don't find in any other season, any other region. it's hopscotching over a tar road to keep from burning bare feet and the slap of ice-box cold rushing out of a grocery store door on a sweltering afternoon.

to know the south is to know the smell of all things fertile and growing. of earth and leaves. of honeysuckle and lilac. and the sweet, sticky stench of rotting fruit. if you don't know that, then you don't know the south.'

what's in a name

well the day finally came. yesterday, my niece finally said my name. apparently, she yelled it out as i was passing by her in the car (she was on a walk), but mom and i were able to elicit a repeat performance. it was said under her breath the second time, but still unmistakable; "hi tara".

yay!

the truth of the matter

i guess i don't really know where to start with the duck beach travel log, which is a large reason i haven't attempted to blog about it yet--that and i'm working on getting all the photos labeled and edited.

it was an amazing vacation, but a completely different one then i expected, and perhaps the best way to cover it is to do so with snapshots and snippets.

though the 'plan' went through various iterations, i picked nathan up from the airport on friday night and headed to get anne. then we were on our way. as we were passing by richmond, jeremy called and said he was just leaving, so we arranged to meet up with him at a rest stop, where we could also grab a bite.

needless to say, i was excited to see him!

we grabbed a quick bite, and headed out for newport news where we would be spending the night. but before we made it out of the parking lot, jer called and told me that i had a flat tire (which i could not feel), so i turned around and hit the air pump. as jeremy filled my tire, the air was coming out nearly as fast as it was going in. and then the culprit was found. a screw. after having just had to replace a flat tire the week before, and given the fact that i was now officially on vacation, i was upset. but suddenly before my eyes, jeremy turned into a knight in shining armor, quickly going to his truck, grabbing some 'tools' and patching the tire. ah, my hero.

with a patched tire, we continued our journey southward. we checked in at the hotel in newport news, and setlled in for a bit, before jeremy and i decided to ditch anne and nathan (thanks for understanding!) and went to see x-men 3. we drove around for a bit following the movie, then headed back to the hotel to find anne and nate fast asleep. eventually we called it a night ourselves.

saturday morning we were up early. jeremy headed off for a family wedding nearby, and anne, nate, and i headed to duck. we found the house and near panic set in. the picture of the house looked nothing like the actual house. we couldn't get in quite yet, and i was praying that the interior would match the pictures we had seen.

fortunately, they did, and the house was perfect. we spent much of the day getting settled in and getting familiar with the fellow house guests.

after a dip in the pool and a laid back dinner, jeremy stopped by with his friend patrick and katrina. they got a tour of the house and chilled out for awhile, before heading back to his aunt and uncle's.

then deb, nate, georgina, and i headed to the party at the new york house. there were a couple of particularly interesting things about that evening. not even 36 hours before i had commented that i was going to freak out if i ever met anyone who read my blog whom i didn't know. ironically enough, while at the party i was approached by a guy who said 'tara, you don't know me, but i read your blog.' and so i met justin. i admit, i freaked out a little bit. i realize there are lots of people who read that i don't know, but to be face to face with one of them, suddenly had me trying to recall previous posts. 'is there anything i need to be embarrassed about?' i wondered. and the answer was yes, but oh well.

the other interesting thing about the party was that i ran into people from various times and segments of my life, and in some cases they had strange connections to each other or to friends of friends. it felt in many ways like my worlds colliding, which, though odd, was also very cool.

eventually it was time to call it a night, and we headed home.

then came sunday. sunday was one of those 'perfect days'. you know, one of those days where you look around, and you are just grateful. i sat on the beach all day with my girl deb on one side of me, and my boy having the time of his life in the water with his good friend patrick. there were many moments that i just had to pause to recognize the beauty of the surroundings and the circumstances.



after enjoying the day on the beach, patrick, katrina, anne, scott, jeremy and i headed out for ice cream and mini golf. we stopped at a roadside stand for ice cream, then headed over to jeremy's aunt and uncle's so katrina could pick up a sweater. the house was amazing, and had a virtual petting zoo inside. ferret, dog, kitten...we amused ourselves quite happily, then visited pirate's cove mini golf.

it was a fun course, but the best thing about it was the little train you had to get on to get to the first hole. almost as cool, was me ending up with the high score for the evening. high score wins, right?

before parting ways with patrick and katrina for the evening, there was a quick mcd's stop. they headed back to jer's house, and he came back with anne, scott and i.

the rest of the evening was relaxing and chill. we watched a movie and enjoyed the company of friends and housemates. around 3am, i finally drove jeremy home and called it a night.

monday was a little gray. the terrible trio (jeremy, patrick, and katrina)came back over and we spent a little time on the beach before pat and katrina headed home.



then deb, nate, jer, and i decided that it was high time for some bbq. we went in search and were quite successful. after a quick stop at the next door surf shop, we headed over to the kitty hawk monument, where we broke in to the park and had ourselves a really good time.





that evening was another laid back one. deb went to the new york house, and jeremy and i spent some time in the hot tub. we spent more time waiting for the hot tub to get hot then we did actually in it, but nonetheless, it was a perfect way to cap off the evening. he opted to crash on the couch, and we called it a night.

tuesday was another beautiful day. we spent the large majority of it at the beach, and then decided to go get more bbq before deb had to leave.


this time, we stayed a little bit closer to home, and ate outside on picnic tables.



after lunch, deb said farewell, and corey, nate, maya, jeremy and i headed back to the house. jeremy and i headed down to the beach again upon our return, where we joined up with erin.

the waves were poor, so jeremy was unable to get any more boogie boarding in, but we enjoyed the peace and quiet of the day.

eventually, it was time for him to leave. and after getting to spend five awesome and unexpected days with him, i was extremely sad to say goodbye. but alas, it was that time, so i sucked it up and sent him on his way. i really did consider tying him up to keep him there, but eventually decided against it. i couldn't find any rope or duct tape.

after his departure, and with most of the housemates gone, the few of us left relaxed and enjoyed the quiet. we watched another movie and after hearing from jeremy a couple of times on his way home, it was bedtime.

wednesday morning we (me, corey, maya, erin, jill, steph, rae, nate) decided to go try and find wild horses. we were unsuccessful, but it was another gorgeous day, and it was anjoyable just to be walking in the sunshine.

we got back to the house, packed up, and nate and i were on our way. i dropped him off in va beach to visit with a friend, and made the rest of the drive solo.

this trip didn't provide quite the relaxation i had thought it would, yet it exceeded all expectations.

for the zillions, not millions or billions, of pictures, many of which have been stolen from other people, click here.