I’m Like a Mother Hen December 4, 2006

My brother Garrett, who is 18, played in the Alabama Independent Schools Association’s All-State Football game this weekend.  Basically, that means that out of all of the football players in the state of Alabama that go to private school, my brother was chosen to play right offensive tackle.  He is THE BEST right offensive tackle in the state.  That goes to private school.

His team (East) won the game and Garrett played every offensive play.  The way it works is that everyone chosen for the teams will play, but how hard you work in practice and how awesome you are determines how much you get to play.  So Garrett-very hard worker, very awesome.

I am so proud of my bro.  He is 11 years younger than me, so we always had a weird kind of relationship.  When he was little, I was yet another authority figure to him.  And he was a very bad kid.  We all thought he was going to end up as a juvenile delinquent, if he lived that long.

But he has grown up into a generous, loyal, strong young man.  Not only physically strong, but strong in spirit as well.  I went down in October to see him play football.  I haven’t gotten to see him play, since I have lived in VA the entire time he’s been in high school.  I was astonished at his leadership, his caring and his ability on the field.  Any time anyone made a great play, Garrett was the first to congratulate him.  And any time someone messed up, Garrett was the first one saying “It’s ok, you’ll get it next time(actually what he said was “It’s aaaight, you’ll git it the next taame” but I don’t know how many of you speak Lower Alabamian).  It was apparent how much the younger kids looked up to him and how much his encouragement meant to them.

Garrett is a killa awesome football player, and a killa awesome person.  I’m proud to know him and even prouder to be his sister.   

And did I mention that he’s being recruited by AUBURN FOOTBALL??  Did I mention that?  Cause he is.  WAR EAGLE, BABY.

Holiday Shindig December 3, 2006

We had a kick off the holidays party last night and there were a lot of people in my house. I’m always nervous about throwing parties b/c what if no body comes??!? But lots of folks did come and they were all standing around the food table and would not sit. I had all the candles lit in the living room, comfy couches, plenty of seating. But no one would leave the dining room which had 4 chairs in it. So everyone stood up and seemed to have a great time.

The food was fabulous, if I do say so myself. Of course, everyone’s favourite were the spinach artichoke crescent rolls-store bought crescent rolls with spinach artichoke dip from the Fresh Market in them. Isn’t that always the way….the easiest is the best? They were killa good, though. We also had cranberry orange spread with ginger snaps, meatballs with cranberry bbq sauce, this torte with sundried tomatoes and pesto, and mini cheesecakes and creme de menthe brownies. About 20 minutes before the party was supposed to start, I cut the brownies and discovered that they had stuck. I salvaged them, but it was not pretty. People ate them anyway.

Two or three people commented on my lack of Baby Jesuses (Jesusi?) in my nativity scenes. In my family, crazy Episcopalians that we are, we don’t put out the Baby Jesus until Christmas, b/c that’s when he was born. Also, none of the wise men are looking at Mary and Joseph, b/c the Wise Men aren’t there yet either. They get there Jan. 6. My mom used to start the Wise Men across the room from the nativity scene and as Epiphany neared, they would get closer and closer. Yes, I know that Jesus was not literally born on Dec. 25, and the Wise Men did not literally come on Jan. 6, but it’s our way of reminding ourselves that we are still in the season of Advent, the season of waiting and anticipation. I like it that way. Plus Christmas seems so much better, and seems to last longer, cause we haven’t been full throttle celebrating it since Halloween.

That’s all for now. More reports on Christmas shenanigans as the kittens discover decorations. OOoooo. Shinny bows and tempting garland. I don’t want to even think about what’s going to happen when the tree goes up.

Dogs and Depression December 3, 2006

I have “Chronic Atypical Depression” (so not only do I have a mental disorder, I have an atypical one. Figures) and I have been having depressive episodes since I was 13. I’m 29 now, and I finally have my depression relatively under control.

I have been reading lately about Psychiatric Service Dogs. I love dogs and the more I read about Psychiatric Service Dogs (PSD) the more fascinated I become with this whole subject. PSDs are trained to help people with severe mental illness get through their day. The dogs can be trained to remind their human to take medicine, wake their human up at a certain time so they don’t sleep to much, recognize when their human going to have a panic/anxiety attack, recognize the onset of a manic phase, provide comfort when their human is crying, the list goes on and on. The dog is a true service dog and goes everywhere with their human. The dog actually senses the chemical changes in their human that indicated a psychotic episode, depressive episode, manic episode, whatever their particular human experiences.

I don’t have a service dog and I don’t belong to any of the organizations (yet), but I can see how one would have been amazing during the times I was so depressed I couldn’t get out of bed. One handler tells the story of how she locked herself in the bathroom, thinking about killing herself, and her dog would not quit scratching at the door, scratched for hours until she let him in. Now, her dog won’t let her shut the bathroom door at all if he’s not in there with her. There is another man who talks about how during a business meeting he began to get really nervous and anxious and was talking all the time and the dog came over and leaned against him to get him to calm down. There are so many people who say that they are able to function as “normal” human beings b/c of their PSDs.

If you’re interested in more info, the best place to start is the Psychiatric Service Dog Society (www.psychdog.com). It’s pretty cool stuff.  Sorry it’s not an actual link, I haven’t figured this all out yet.  I’m new at this, alright!?

Giving Thanks November 22, 2006

We are traveling to Roanoke to see Jamie’s family for Thanksgiving.  It’s interesting that we have a holiday that is essentially about food.  I am all for a holiday about food, I think we should have more of them. 

Jamie’s family does a good meal for Thanksgiving, but for me Thanksgiving just isn’t the same without my family and our food.  Food is central to my family.  We cook to show people that we love them.  We cook to comfort people.  I learned my family history through the recipes that have been passed down, and I learned to cook by simply being in the kitchen with my mom.  Everything we eat is made from scratch.  I didn’t know that dinner could come from a box until my second year of college.  I certainly didn’t know that you could buy pie crust at the store.  I’m not a snob about it or anything, I just didn’t know because we always made everything in the house.  Prepared foods were a complete novelty to me and my brothers.

There are several dishes that we don’t get at any other time of the year but Thanksgiving.  A sampling:

Bourbon Sweet Potato Souffle with Brown Sugar and Pecan Topping-it is as amazing as it sounds.  The brown sugar gets all crusty and the pecans all toasty.  And I come from the Deep South (Clarkesdale, MS) where you have to have at least one dish that contains bourbon.

Asparagus Casserole-Asparagus in a bechamel cream sauce with boiled eggs and cheddar cheese.  It’s only good if you like asparagus and me?  I love asparagus.

Dressing-We call it dressing, not stuffing.  We eat it on the side.  We make it with cornbread and sage and onions and celery and chicken stock.  I don’t know what this chewy white bread with raisins stuff is, but it’s not dressing.

Dessert varies in our family.  We don’t really go in for pumpkin pie, we just don’t like it too much.  Mom usually makes a chocolate meringue pie, from scratch, naturally.  And we might have Chery O’Cream Cheese pie, which is a sort of bakeless cheesecake with cherry topping that my dad goes crazy over.

I am missing my family a lot this year.  They’re in Alabama, a 14 hour drive, and I probably won’t get to see them for Thanksgiving or Christmas (the Christmas menu is completely different from the Thanksgiving menu, I’ll tell you about it closer to Christmas), and I am really sad about that.  We’re a little bit dysfunctional, but we love to be around each other. 

I love Jamie’s family, and they love me, and have done nothing but welcome me into their brood.  Still, Thanksgiving just isn’t the same with them.  I will enjoy my Thanksgiving, we’ll have fun and laugh and eat too much.  But secretly, deep inside, I’ll be wishing I was in Alabama, with cornbread dressing, my brother kicking me under the table, and my mom making us take turns saying what we’re thankful for. 

This year, I’m thankful for Jamie, my cats and my dog.   I’m thankful for Jamie’s family, who loves me.  And I’m thankful for my family, who just might set a place for me at the table, just in case.

Penguins and Why I Love Them November 22, 2006

So I think penguins are perhaps the most awesome creatures on earth.  There are 17 species of penguin, and less than half of them actually live in Antarctica.  Some of them are actually tropical.  Which means I could conceviably have one in my back yard.

One of my goals in life is to get to Antarctica and check out the Adelie penguins.  They are my favs, the classic tuxedo guys (and gals).   Yes, I have seen March of the Penguins and Happy Feet (as well as many documentaries) and I think the Emperors get WAY to much attention.  They’re hardy, we get it.  I need more Adelies.

I relate to penguins.  Penguins, when on land, are awkward, clumsy and oddly cute.  When they are in the water, i.e. their element, they are the most beautiful creatures.  They are graceful and stunning.  I’ve got the awkward clumsy down.  I’m still looking for my element.

Look for a new penguin theme to the website here soon.  AND if you ever see a penguin wandering around, snag it and call me.

Favourite Stuff November 22, 2006

This first post is the hardest.  Do I introduce myself?  Jump right in like you know me?  So I’ve decided to share some of my favourite things……

My favourite books….

• The Once and Future King  T.H. White
• The Little Prince  Antoine de Saint-Exupery
  
• The Solitaire Mystery  Jostein Gaarder
  
• Tuesday  David Weisner
• Morning in the Burned House  Margaret Atwood

My favourite albums

• Time (the Revelator)  Gillian Welch
• Way to Blue: The Best of Nick Drake
• Will the Circle Be Unbroken vol. II  The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
• Do the Collapse  Guided By Voices
• Graceland  Paul Simon

My favourite movies

• The Color Purple
• The Legend of 1900
• Happy Feet
  

My favourite food

• Shrimp
• Charlotte Russe
• Chili
• Anything Mexican

My favourite TV shows

• Bones
• House
• The West Wing

Ok, so I’ve gotten the first post out of the way.  I promise more interesting stuff in the future.  By the way, penguins rule.

Hello world! November 20, 2006

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