late bloomer

I am late for everything. Not just late to appointments or meetings -- but late to new technology, fashion trends, you name it. That's where this story starts. I finally bought an iPod about a year ago and got around to actually putting music on it a few months later (thanks Josh!) Frequent trips to Clearwater and Jacksonville (not to mention the demise of "The Dan Patrick Show" on ESPN Radio) encouraged me to actually listen to music on my iPod. It's really helped bring my attention back to older albums I haven't bothered to pull out in years. One such album has really caught my ear in the last few months despite me virtually ignoring it when it first came out.

At least one song from Neutral Milk Hotel's "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea" has been in my head daily for the last five or six months. I was vaguely interested in NMH in the height of their popularity (mid- to late-90s.) I tried to like the music of the Elephant 6 Collective because it was so prevalent in the indie music scene at the time (I'll admit to liking several songs off of NMH's "On Avery Island" and some Of Montreal), but my overall opinion was it was mostly just noise. When I re-listened to "In the Aeroplane..." I was blown away by the beauty of the album. The album flows together in such an effortless, unusual way. Jeff Mangum has a truly innovative musical vision.

So why am I bothering to post about it now? Well the album came out ten years ago this month. I encourage you to pull out your copy and re-listen to it now, or click below to hear my favorite song off the album, "Holland, 1945":



The combination of his voice and the energy of the music is ... amazing. Have you ever found yourself a late bloomer to such an album?

neighborhood beautification

Every morning I run through my neighborhood. I used to like the track at the nearby middle school but I find that I like checking out my neighbors' yards more than counting laps. This morning my nosey-ness paid off. Halfway down the first street on my normal route I saw some small, wavy elephant ears peeking out of a yard waste bag. Being a gardener with no shame, I opened the bag and pulled out a good-sized cluster. I decided they would be kind of hard to hold while running, so I doubled back to drop them off at the house. While walking down the sidewalk I noticed the sad state of the drainage ditch located on the side of my house. I live on the corner of a relatively busy Gainesville street, and the drainage ditch was full of garbage and fallen tree limbs. Knowing the city was unlikely to clean it up anytime soon I decided to make it my project for the day (after my run, of course.)

After breakfast I spent an hour or so filling a kitchen garbage bag and my recycle bin with garbage and glass bottles. Then came the hard work. It took five wheelbarrow loads to get all the limbs out of the ditch. This is what I ended up with:
I had some neighbor's children offer to help me with the last few loads, which made it feel more like a neighborhood project. Many neighbors who walked or drove by made positive comments about our work. That certainly made me feel good. I hope our work encourages nearby streets to follow suit!

total happiness continues

I caught the last two games in UF's opening series against New York's Siena College this weekend. I was happy to see last year's core line-up mostly intact. New coach Kevin O'Sullivan has made a few changes -- some good, some strange. My thoughts:

It took me a couple of at-bats, but I quickly realized O'Sullivan instituted walk-up music (music that's played just before a batter goes up to the plate) for his players. The first thought in my head was, "I wonder who will choose 'Crazy Train'?" the ubiquitous Ozzy song used by many major leaguers including the Braves' Chipper Jones. I was rewarded just a few at-bats later by my new favorite player Jonathan Pigott (you made me laugh out loud Jonathan -- thanks!) I thought Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus" was an odd choice for Brandon McArthur's walk-up music (seeing as how the song is almost as old as he is) until I sat on the third base line today and watched him make the sign of the cross before stepping into the batter's box. That actually confused me further since that song is more about false idolatry, but I digress.


O'Sullivan kept Figueroa at shortstop. Last year he had a terrible hesitation problem before throwing the most common in-field play, shortstop to first (6-3 for you scoring fans.) That cost the Gators several valuable outs too regularly, especially in close SEC matches. I'm sure it's fixable in the long run, but there has got to be someone else who can cover that position until he figures it out. Figueroa is an amazing hitter who is partial to stealing bases. Find a spot he can shine somewhere else in the in-field.


O'Sullivan perked up Sunday's traditionally lackluster pitching lineup with promising freshman pitcher Tommy Toledo. He pitched five complete innings today with two earned runs and five strike outs -- impressive in his first outing in a Gator uniform. O'Sullivan also moved senior pitcher Josh Edmondson from closer to late-inning relief pitcher. It's a much better fit and certainly takes the stress off Edmondson, who gave up too many saves last year as his confidence deteriorated. I'm curious to see what O'Sullivan will do with his pitchers given the new five game weekly schedule the NCAA instituted this year along with the later start date.


Other observations:

• What's up with the new italicized F on the caps? I suppose I'll get used to it, but why?
  
• They got rid of my favorite silly promotion (the one where some random fan gets to choose between 5 frozen pizzas and a mystery prize hidden in a box -- always choose the box!) and replaced it with two lame ones: Albert's noise meter (a plywood box that Albert opens once fans scream loud enough, prompting the staff to start throwing free T-shirts) and Fan Juke Box (the announcers name three songs and whichever gets crowd approval is played during the next inning break.)
• The music selection has gone from old, comfortable mainstays to a more hard-edged sound. There's nothing wrong with adding a few new songs, but it's not quite family friendly anymore. Maybe I'm just grousing because I actually like baseball-themed music at the ballpark.

The start of Gator baseball is also the start of spring -- this weekend left no doubt. I soaked up the sun during the wonderfully comfortable temperatures in the mid-to-upper 70s, and despite the use of sunscreen I am a light shade of pink from head to toe. I better get a decent base tan (and stronger sunscreen!) before hitting Spring Training in a few weeks or I'll really be hurting!

total happiness, shown here in photo form

New season thoughts and observations coming up after opening series' completion tomorrow.

the new venture

One of my friends and I have joked for years about traveling the country helping people organize their retail stores -- mostly after leaving particularly haphazard thrifts. I decided to take that idea and actually help people organize their lives. I took on my first client this week, a university professor who does a lot of consulting work. In addition to helping her organize her office space, I am also doing light bookkeeping work to help her stay on top of her clients' needs.

Helping someone bring order to her life has been gratifying in so many different ways. I like the feeling of accomplishment that comes at the end of each day as we work toward our goal. I'm happy that I'm helping to make a difference in someone's life. But I really love knowing I'm doing something I'm good at and enjoy wholeheartedly. I'm considering taking on a couple more clients in the weeks to come, which will mean less posting for a while. I'm really hoping all this organization work spurs me to finally finish off that craft room. Wish me luck!

garden recovery

I posted a while back about the hard freezes that killed a large part of the plants in my yard. I say killed, but most plants will just need a trim this spring. I'm finally beginning to see growth on many of those plants, and my pruning shears are eager to get to work. I've vowed to leave everything until March though, since we always seem to get one last freeze that undoes all the work I put into the yard up until that point. But spring is beginning to peek its head out, most noticeably the azaleas. The pink, purple, and white flowers are providing a burst of color everywhere around town right now. I happen to really not like azaleas because they only bloom once and then sit there, green and dormant, for the rest of the year. They are lazy plants that constantly need trimming. But the native azaleas are completely different. Those beautiful, delicate flowers are actually worth the year-long wait. I'm sad that I can't enjoy their beauty for longer than a few weeks.

There are other signs of life in the garden as well: the Gerber daisies have popped up for a nice splash of color, the lantana is sprouting new growth, and a couple of hibiscus are starting to show new leaves. There are buds on the gardenia bushes and new growth on both bleeding heart vines too! Unfortunately the oleander are showing no signs of life, even though their branches are solid. My favorite hibiscus plants look like they'll have to be pruned heavily, as will the once-gorgeous orchid tree. And I'm pretty sure the angel trumpet is dead. Two more weeks and the gardening will begin in earnest. I can't wait.

i can't believe i forgot

Yesterday's best valentine: First date injured players, pitchers and catchers may report to Spring Training. *swoon* Also picked this up at the grocery store yesterday. Happy Valentine's Day to me!

adding improvement

When I drove up to my house for the first time three years ago, there was one thing I hated about it right away. The house announced itself with small brass numbers nailed to the roof line above the front door. They were difficult to find even in the day time and nearly impossible to see at night. It's the first thing I vowed to change. It's an easy enough fix that I never got around to due to never finding house numbers in quite the right style, not knowing where I wanted to put them, as well as outright laziness. Now that I've spent a lot of time landscaping the yard, I feel that the house has found its identity. I decided to attach numbers to my front door, a classic six-panel with just enough space between the middle and bottom panels to fit numbers attractively. While browsing through Lowe's the other day I finally found the perfect numbers in a serif font with a brushed nickel finish.

We were cleaning up Sunday afternoon after doing random outdoor chores when I remembered the house numbers. It probably took us -- okay, Tim -- only 15 minutes to measure, level, and screw in the new numbers (it was actually harder to get the old numbers off the house than to put the new ones up!) The difference was instantaneous. It catches my eye every time I leave the house or come back home. Neighbors and visitors have already commented on the switch. Unfortunately, now I'm starting to see other things that need changing -- porch lights, front door color, trim work... If there's one thing I've learned about home ownership, it's that you're never done improving!

I took a picture of the whole door, but decided against putting my address out there for the whole internet world to see. Maybe once I finish sprucing up the porch area I'll show a picture with the numbers fuzzed out.

more valentine love

I made a quick trip to the grocery today and couldn't believe all the craziness! Maybe I've avoided big stores on Valentine's Day in the past (after an exhausting day in a classroom full of sugared-up eight year olds, shopping is not usually in the picture), but today seemed worse than Thanksgiving or Christmas prep. Flowers and chocolates were everywhere -- including a giant flower display next to the beer section that made me laugh. The place was packed. I gave in and bought some heart-shaped sugar cookies, which was funny in that I used to force these upon people just to get all the sugar out of my classroom.

Anyway, I promised more valentines. This is one of the little pillows I made as part of a set. It's just heart-shaped pieces of felt embroidered and sewn together. Each heart is sewn in a different way. I realized too late that I didn't have batting at the house so I just used cotton balls, which turned out great. Apparently the cheap cotton balls I use are just pieces of cotton rolled up into a ball. When you undo them they are a lot like rolled batting. Perfect for this project.

I also promised I'd share some of my favorites from elsewhere in blog-land. If I had thought ahead I might have been passing these ideas along sooner -- sorry. I love this message in a bottle idea from Derek & Lauren's DIY Wednesdays at Design*Sponge -- I'll definitely use this for something in the future. These mitten cards over at Two Straight Lines are adorable -- the perfect teacher valentine. Orange Beautiful's valentine boxes are great for candy or other tiny treats. They remind me of something similar I used to make with the kiddos. But it's the Glittergoods post about gocco valentines that was my favorite. I'd love to start working with printing, but I promised myself I'd finish several other projects before diving into something new. *sigh* Maybe this summer?

Happy Heart Day everyone!

in love with valentines

Happy Valentine's Day! This has always been one of my favorite holidays. I am always at my most creative when designing something for a significant other (aren't we all?) Most of those creations are for personal encouragement, milestones, or private jokes. I love that this holiday inspires me to bring the creative part of that significant-other energy to all my friends and family.

These are the valentines I whipped up yesterday. They're just traced hearts made of wax paper sewn together on my machine. About three quarters of the way through sewing I added the red hots. On the back I added a small label with a quick V-Day note. I saw something similar on one of my favorite inspiration websites, but I've forgotten which one. I made a bunch of small ones and a few large ones for my family and Tim. I'll say it took a few samples before I got the curve of the heart just right while machine sewing. Some ended up a bit wavy! They took hardly any time at all using minimal supplies -- they'd be perfect to whip up for a classroom of kids.

Check back for more valentine action later today, including a round-up of some of my favorites from blog-land.

fat tuesday food

My community is lucky enough to have a wonderful family-owned grocery. Like most local stores, it serves different niche markets. Ward's is the best place in town to go for fresh, locally grown veggies and plants. Their meat department is amazing -- they cut thick steaks fresh every day and have yummy homemade sausage you can buy by the pound. It's also the best natural foods store in town with an impressive bulk section filled with hard-to-find ingredients. But they also sell pig's feet and other classic southern food fixings. Add in the largest chocolate selection I have ever seen in any grocery store and an impressive beer collection, and what's not to love?

While I enjoy spending time roaming through the aisles looking at all the new products they have on the shelves, the store's smaller size means I can't guarantee that any preferred pantry staple will be there. This means that I swing by the neighboring Publix afterwards to stock up on cheaper staples and favored brands (I know I'm not the only one who does this because I always see at least one person at Publix who I saw at Ward's just minutes earlier.) Since my budget requires me to be an organized shopper, I usually try to plan a week's worth of meals before going grocery shopping but I always leave wiggle room just in case. It's a good thing I do otherwise I never would have come up with tonight's dinner.

Ward's had a great sale on large shrimp for the Super Bowl, so I decided to buy a pound. Limes were also on sale so I threw a couple of those in my basket. Fresh garlic and scallions were on my list already, and as I left Ward's a plan for dinner began to emerge. As you can tell from earlier food posts, most of my creations have a Latin flair. This one is no different. At Publix I bought my favorite canned black beans that already include some spices, as well as some basic white rice and whole-wheat tortillas. This is what I ended up making:


pen loves paper's Garlic-Lime Shrimp with Herbed Black Beans and Rice

1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined
Zest of 2 limes (retain limes for juicing)
salt and pepper to taste
5 scallions, chopped
1/4-1/2 teasp. red pepper flakes
4 cloves of garlic, minced
olive oil
1 cup rice, cooked
1 can black beans
1/2 tblsp. cumin
cilantro
parsley
tortillas

Add shrimp, lime zest, 3 cloves minced garlic, 3 chopped scallions, salt and pepper, and red pepper flakes to a non-reactive (glass) dish. Add enough olive oil to coat the shrimp and mix until shrimp is covered. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

In the meantime, cook the rice according to package directions. Chop up a handful of cilantro and parsley. Add the black beans into a saucepan and set on the stove at low heat. Add half of the cilantro and parsley, the remaining chopped garlic clove, cumin, and one chopped scallion to the black beans. Squeeze in the juice of half of a lime. Stir to combine, then occasionally until warm. Once the rice is cooked, add the remaining cilantro, parsley, and scallion. Squeeze some of the remaining lime juice into the rice. Stir to combine.

Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add shrimp mixture to pan and cook 3-4 minutes or until shrimp are cooked through. Layer some rice, beans, and shrimp onto a tortilla. Squeeze some more lime juice over the mixture. Enjoy!


Of course it would be a waste of limes not to make a Cuba Libre to go with dinner:

Shot of your favorite rum
Juice of half a lime
Coke

Add the rum and lime to a glass. Top with Coke. Stir. Add ice to taste. Fiddle with proportions to your liking. I tend to like less alcohol in my drinks, so you may wish to add two shots for a stiffer Cuba Libre.

Happy Fat Tuesday! (If you live in one of the 24 Super Tuesday states I hope you remembered to vote!)

organize!

By nature, I am an organized person (check out all 200 skeins of embroidery floss!) I love being able to find things quickly and knowing whether or not I have what I need to complete a project before I start it. I hate stopping mid-stream to go pick up a 59-cent item across town. It disrupts my creative flow.

I knew when I started to avoid the craft room after the holiday season that something was up. The space had been bothering me for a while as it was. Fabric was overflowing in giant plastic tubs, stuff was cluttering every flat surface, and I was having a hard time finding what I needed. When my grandmother passed and my grandfather was moved into a smaller space, I was gifted a beautiful 1940s-era armoire in need of some TLC. Having nowhere else to put it, I placed it in front of my idea wall in the craft room figuring I could always stand for some extra storage where crafts are concerned. However, the armoire was too big for the space and needed some major cleaning. It overwhelmed the room and sat empty. This weekend I broke down and decided to re-organize the craft room so I could finally go in there and not be frustrated and bothered by the mess. I cleaned out the armoire, papered the drawers, and moved it to the closet (which had to be cleared of its contents first.)

Now I've decided to re-purpose most of the room. The good news is I'm finally getting things organized again. The bad news is it's taking me forever since I'm really going through everything trying to decide if I still need it. Lots of purging going on. This is what it looks like now:


I've had to keep the door shut when I'm not in there working on it. So that's the long answer on why I haven't been posting about crafting lately. That should change by the end of this week. I'll share some photos when I finish up. I've been tossing valentine ideas around in my head and I need to get those started pronto!