Dogs Like New Years, too.

Perhaps you are tired of me posting pictures of my dog but he's just so darn cute (sans cone) I can't help myself! New Year's Eve he was in rare form so we snapped a few photos adding even more adorableness to the Tal family photo album. Ch-check it out.

We decided to take a little stroll NYE day at Sweetwater Creek. I had heard from a co-worker that it's beautiful and a great place for a leisurely hike. Here's Tal in action.
And here is the beautiful "creek". Still in a massive drought, maybe yes? Yeesh. I feel like we should have been in a protective radioactive suit or something.


At night we headed over to the Hannah's to hang with the god-child, among other coolish people we know. You can't tell so much from this photo but Tal is actually about a foot or two off the ground. He climbed onto about a 6 inch wide ledge and sat there staring at us all night. If he could talk he was saying "Um, guys....can you please let me inside? It's a little chilly out here. Besides, I'm totally the life of the party..."


He begged us to wear a Happy New Year party hat so, being the good, loving parents that we are, we obliged. He loved every second of it.


And, done. I promise. No more Tal. He's really not THAT cute anyway, right? I promise, no more. Really. Except this one....

Yeah!!!!

OK, now done. For real.

Hope Floats

For those of us that need a little positivity in our lives and assurance that others out there have great hopes for each of us...head on over to Tammy O.'s newest blogging endeavor: fresh hope for 2008. Basically she is collecting wishes from all over the world for 2008 and posting one wish each day. So far, they've ranged from:

"I hope that our presidential election runs smoothly, follows the rule of law without significant controversy, and results in a president that a clear majority of the nation endorses."

to:

"I hope everyone I know has way more sex in 2008. Okay, I’m mostly talking about me. But I figure all boats rise with the tide."

All wishes are welcome. She has collected 63 wishes so far, only 302 to go! I just sent her two this morning so it's not too late to get yours in. I have linked her page over on the right so check it out. I promise looking at it each morning is a great way to start your day!

Save Scrabulous!

Oh no! I just read this! I see their point I guess but dang!

High-Tech Granny: Momma Dot Does Facebook

I hate to disappoint all you suckers that think your grandmothers are pretty cool and hip with the times. I'm pretty sure my grandmother takes the cake. She has always been fairly "with it" I guess, always watching the cool tv shows, playing Nintendo with us when we were little (and wii bowling over new year's....she totally kicked ass!), getting a Myspace page last year, checking my blog, etc (yea, I'm totally sucking up right now hoping she's adding my name to more stuff at her house - i kid!!). Her newest online adventure is Facebook where she and I stay in touch via Scrabulous. My sis and I showed her how to add it to her page and the three of us have been playing ever since. As we speak, Momma Dot and I are in a head-to-head match-up that, until recently, was very close. I whizzed past her a couple days ago with the most inappropriate 27 point word you should ever use when playing Scrabulous with your grandmother but, hey, I'm not ashamed to say I'm competitive and have no problem kicking some granny butt. Believe me, she has killed me countless times in our years and years of fierce Monte Carlo and Russian Bank tourneys. She beat me twice over Christmas!

So, the word? L-A-B-I-A. 27 points.

As of today, the score is: Momma Dot 132, Cami 165.

SNOW!

Lo and behold, it does snow in Atlanta! Yipee is all I have to say. This is the first time it has snowed in Atlanta since we moved back from Denver almost three years ago...I can't believe it has been that long. You'd think I would have gotten all the snow out of my system dealing with the Colorado winters but I'm just as giddy right this second as I was on the rare occasion it snowed here when I was little. I'm a big fat ball of excitement waiting to see if the roads freeze over so maybe we won't be able to get to work tomorrow. THAT is what is fun about snow in Atlanta. Of the three years we were in Denver there was only one time work closed down due to snow and that was because it snowed about 4 feet and my snow angel looked like this...

Needless to say, Atlanta doesn't tend to have huge stores of mag-chloride on hand making a morning commute bearable...in fact, I don't think we have much of anything on hand to deal with icy roads. People make fun of the way we southerners react to snow and ice but the truth of the matter is we don't have the resources to deal with the roads and none of us have any business trying to navigate snow and ice, trust me. Just like I had no business driving my Hotlanta butt around Denver on snowy roads. They really should make southerners that transplant to snowy locales take some type of winter driving course before they are allowed on the roads. I still remember the countless terrifying drives to work where I would white-knuckle the steering wheel, close my eyes & say a prayer then see my life flash before my eyes when I had to make a lane change. I still say that is hands down the scariest part of driving in snow....having to cross over that treacherous no-mans-land between the nice, wet tire tracks in each lane. It gives me the willies just thinking about it.

Here are some pictures of Atlanta snow from my front porch. I hope we can all be kids again for a minute or two...how many flakes can you catch on your tongue? How many snowballs can you throw at your dogs face before he realizes he can try and dodge or eat them? SNOW!!!!

"This is for my pal Cleetus"

clee-tus [clee-tuh s]
-noun
1. Another word for a redneck or hick. Derived from the popular TV series The Simpsons, a cleetus or cleet is a country bumpkin who is below average intelligence. Can be recognized wearing armless t-shirts and possibly sporting a mullet.
Put your top back on, you look like a right cleet.

2. Slang term for Britney Spears' ex-husband, Kevin Federline.
"I heard Britney was divorcing Cleetus!"

Source: urbandictionary.com

Last night I went to my first ever Rockabilly show. It was a bit of an accident, I suppose. We were meeting my bro-in-law for a few farewell drinks before he heads down to the sea breezes and salty air of Daytona Beach where, Lord willing, he can start a new, healthy life for himself. Unbeknown to the group, the chosen bar happened to be showcasing a delightfully fun rockabilly band called the Blacktop Rockets. Unfortunately we had just missed the Psycho Devilles and the Twistin' Tarantulas. Charles hated every second of it so, sadly, we didn't get to stay too long but I was there long enough to absorb the scene so next time I will show up prepared.

Checklist before heading out to the next rockabilly show sans husband:
* plenty of cash for plenty of pbr...i guess that should always be the case no matter where i'm headed but i figure i better go ahead and get it down so i don't forget
* brush up on my knowledge of roy orbison songs
* wear chaps
* if my chaps happen to be at the cleaners, wear plaid snap-button shirt
* if my chaps happen to be at the cleaners & my plaid shirts are all dirty (maybe from too much spooge cake at new year's?), a good pair of fishnets will work just fine
* trim bangs so they hang approximately a half an inch below my hairline
* show up with a guy either sporting a fierce, eye-gouging mohawk OR a snazzy fedora
* figure out which move in my extensive arsenal of kickass dance moves goes best with "Awop-bop-a-loo-mop"
* do one of the following to my hair: bleach it, dye it black, dye it red....the jennifer aniston dark blond/light brown shade i'm currently sporting won't quite pull off the look
* perfect my speed bopping technique
* liberally tattoo arms, neck, legs

I was genuinely enjoying myself and a little bummed we left so soon. Fantastic people-watching, good music you can't help but bounce along with....what's not to love? I'm still trying to decide if last night was better than the surreal night we spent at Trader Vic's tiki bar watching a tiki band play as a bikini-clad chick with a monkey mask danced around provocatively/primate-ively while shoving bananas down her throat. Hmmm.

Please, call me Martha

I have been oddly domestic over the last couple of weeks. Maybe due to the season, maybe because the book I just finished (Julie & Julia...it was an okay read) inspired me to not be afraid of my kitchen, maybe because I was desperate for some delicious gingerbread...who knows. All I know is, I've thoroughly enjoyed my escapades in the kitchen lately and, by George, I do believe I can actually cook if I put my mind to it. I even debuted my fried egg sandwich for Charles this morning....something I haven't made since my dad taught me many, many years ago. I feel like a whole new world of cooking & baking might be opening before my eyes as I grow more comfortable in the kitchen. As proof of this new-found talent ability, I share with you my foray into the wonderful world of gingerbread cookies and a sinfully delicious, super-easy to make blackberry & pear cobbler. I don't know if I've ever been more proud of myself than when, yesterday, my grandmother tried the cobbler and told me it was wonderful...if she says it's good than it must be the case, she's not one to be biased just because we're blood. She would tell me straight up if it sucked. Which, thankfully, it didn't. Yay for dessert!

A Bubbalicious Christmas

Once a year, we purchase stuff for our beloved animal that we know he will immediately destroy. I enjoy buying him his Christmas gifts, though, and it is truly like he knows Christmas morning that he is going to get stuff. We give him his toys before we open our presents thus keeping him out of our hair while we enjoy our Christmas morning. Oh, it's also the only time of year that Charles allows "squeaky toys" in the house. Tal likes squeakers. As soon as he discovers a toy squeaks, he squeaks it over and over and over....and over. Here are the before and after photos of Tal's Christmas (click for bigger versions):

Before...nice shiny new toys. The little animal he's attacking in the second photo is his stuffed chipmunk, he freakin' loves that thing!

After...stuffing everywhere! After the squeak, squeak, squeaking he decides at some point that the squeaker needs to be destroyed and attacks the stuffed thing at full force pulling out its innards until squeaker is out, chewed to bits and the whole thing is ultimately unrecognizable.

24 Hours in NYC

• learned that my plastic life doesn't work everywhere. when in new york, have cash
• visited the highest attended movie theatre in the country
• with friends, had three drinks (total)....threw up a little when we paid the $50 tab
• stayed in the tiniest non-japanese hotel room i've ever seen...150 sq. ft at the hudson hotel
• waited for a cab with the highest volume of uber-hipster twenty-somethings i've ever encountered in one spot and felt extremely out of place with *gasp* my jeans not suction-cupped to my body and, heaven forbid, worn outside my boots
• walked from lincoln center to empire theatre stopping almost every block to do a 360 degree turn & soak in all the sights
• ate delicious malaysian at penang
• ate not-so-delicious tasty delight. ok, so it's "tasty" i guess but just for a split second then it totally disappears in your mouth leaving no hint of taste at all. bizarre actually. what did taste very delicious were the crushed up andes mint she rolled my cone in. yummy!
• saw tavern on the green lit up beautifully for christmas
• hung out with a new yorker in her 800 sq. ft. apartment that was purchased 15 years ago for $160k and is now worth over $1MM. fascinating and it was everything i hoped a nyc apartment would be
• did not pass a single h&m
• did pass about 50 hotdog stands, 500 starbucks, 382 theatres, 47 "new york style" stores whatever they are, 89 europan deli's, 12,000 mommies pushing babies in plastic-shielded strollers
• ate a bagel. it was the best damn bagel i have ever put in my mouth and i have no idea why
• by accident, saw yankee stadium, giants stadium and shea statium
• got totally screwed by a cabbie who charged us $20 more for the cab ride back to the airport than the one that took us from the airport to our hotel. doh! what can one do about that?
• did not see shannon, keeva, tammy o., heidi, mike, joanna or any other friend/acquaintance in the area
• did see a car with "happy hanukkah" flags and a massive menorah adhered to the roof
• learned from a jewish friend (with the $1MM apartment) that one should never call said car a "jew mobile" as that is highly offensive
• shopped in a cute little make-shift market on the edge of central park
• squealed in times square
• squealed again at what i called "the center of the universe"... i have no idea where i was but i'm pretty sure the earth revolves around that very spot
• learned that gloves & comfy shoes are essential when hoofing it mid-december
• altered my ability to call myself a "city girl"...we have a yard and a car and 1,200 massive sqare feet of living space, who am i kidding? we might as well be bumpin' in the burbs!
• fell in love with an amazing city

obviously i didn't even scratch the surface...didn't have a new york hotdog, didn't take the subway, didn't stroll thru central park, didn't catch a show....but still, what an incredible city.

Catch up

She's alive!!! Needless to say, it's been a crazy month. A couple new posts on the way, stay tuned.

Tryptophantastic!

Well, folks....believe it or not, Mr.Simmons and I pulled off Thanksgiving dinner at our house for 12, count it, t-w-e-l-v-e of our nearest and dearest (including us, of course). Choosing to host Thanksgiving, I've learned, is a pretty big deal. I didn't realize the full weight of what I had done to myself until about 2:00 yesterday afternoon with a 3:00 meal time looming ahead of me.

I went through my usual pre-party panic cleaning frenzy only to discover with 1 hour before our first guests were expected to arrive (at 1:00) that our vacuum had decided to omit an intensely foul smell...close your eyes and imagine singed hair and burning tires. Yum, eh? Especially right before you are hosting your first ever Thanksgiving dinner for TWELVE people. So, I borrow a vacuum from a neighbor that works exceptionally well on the 1/3 of Tal that is laying on the living room and dining room rugs. Vacuum, check! Now I just have 2 pumpkin pies, roasted vegetables, stuffing, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, crescent rolls and cranberry sauce to get on the table by 3:00.

It was about 1:00 by this time and my brother arrived dutifully on time with mac 'n cheese and sweet tea in tow. Surprising quickly I was able to whip up the pumpkin pies and get them into the 425 degree oven. Now, food prep and timing are things I have absolutely no experience with at all. In fact, most meals that I am in charge of tend to be eaten in rounds as things always end up taking me off guard by cooking either much faster or much slower than I expect. I had given a little thought to the fact that I had four things that require the oven at three different temperatures and cooking times, but the reality of the organization and maneuvering didn't really hit me until that 2:00 mark. I have never moved so quickly and expertly in my kitchen. With a flushed face and dish towel thrown over my shoulder like a pro, I was shifting pies, setting timers, chopping veggies and rolling delicious crescent rolls out of a can like I had entertained for TWELVE people a thousand times before.

Miraculously, at precisely 3:00pm TWELVE Simmons' & Tarr's squeezed themselves into our cozy (read: freakin' tiny) dining room and feasted on:

• fried turkey courtesy of Papa Tarr
• ham courtesy of Mama Simmons
• roasted garlic mashed potatoes - a Martha Stewart recipe via Charles
• mac & cheese from my brother
• apple salad thanks to my sis
• roasted vegetables a la me...this was a truly gorgeous dish of acorn & yellow squash and radishes & carrots from Wendy's hippie farm coalition all simply seasoned with salt & pepper and lightly drizzled with olive oil
• pan-fried brussel sprouts from charles and his mama
• stuffing from a bag but gussied-up with fresh celery & onion
• glory collard greens
• cranberry sauce
• turkey gravy
• and crescent rolls.

Delicious! Somehow earlier in the day I had a panic that we weren't going to have enough food. Luckily, I was WAY wrong. Our fridge is now bursting with post-Thanksgiving grub and I have no idea how we are going to get rid of it. We already utilized some of it with a hearty ploughman's lunch this afternoon of leftover turkey & ham, crescent rolls, branston pickle and mac 'n cheese.

Oh right...forgot to mention the SEVEN dessert options available including: pumpkin pie, pumpkin spice cake, pumpkin ooey gooey cake, pumpkin bread, mince pie, pecan pie and vanilla ice cream!!! I like pumpkin a lot.

Aside from the success of the meal, it was so wonderful to have both of our families with us yesterday. I think both sets of parents were proud that their kids are finally grown up enough to host Thanksgiving and attempt to begin making up for the years and years and years they have taken on the responsibility with very little thanks from the kids. I also think they were a little excited not to have to cook themselves this year. Sitting at our make-shift twelve-seater dining room table and watching our families enjoying an enormous meal in our house and interacting like one big unified family was better than anything I could have asked for and for that, I am so thankful.


Right, so now I'm an expert and all, feel free to hire me next year for all your Thanksgiving needs. Ha!

'Tis the season.....

for pumpkin flavored EVERYTHING and I love it! Last night after a delicious Rusan's date night with Charles, we happened upon a Coldstone...curious. Actually, I planned the whole night around Coldstone, Charles just doesn't know it. Anyhow, I had all intention of getting my standard cheesecake ice cream with graham crackers and oreos but when I looked in the case, a bright light shone down from the heavens and a holy host of angels sang out "pumpkin ice cream is glorious!". Upon further review, I noticed the pumpkin pie combination recommendation of pumpkin ice cream, graham crackers, caramel and whipped cream....appropriately named "Pumpkin Pie in the Sky". Needless to say, it was freakin' delicious.

I have a cute little pumpkin on my front porch and I'm contemplating whether or not I should attempt to prepare the meat to make a pumpkin pie from scratch. My spidey senses tell me it will be a disaster given my previous records in the kitchen. We'll see.


'Tis also the season for morning tea in bed. When I am being a sweet wife, I sneak out of bed before Charles wakes up and make us both our morning tea. It is so much more delicious when it's cold outside.

I've definitely been enjoying the amazing weather and cooler temperatures but we need rain so desperately. We were watching the best show on tv last night and it was raining in a couple of scenes...I realized I can't remember the last time I have heard rain, one of my favorite sounds. But how can you complain about day after day of gorgeous blue, cloudless skies? I feel like I am living in Denver again. Drought in the fall is weird.

Oh, so the girl who loathes entertaining (that would be me) has decided that she should host Thanksgiving for BOTH families this year. The decision was mostly selfish as Charles and I don't necessarily enjoy driving all over Atlanta Thanksgiving day. I thought buying the November issue of Martha Stewart Living would be the perfect answer to all my decorating/cooking/preparation needs but by the third page I realized she is way out of my league. I think I'll stick with Real Simple...or is there "Thanksgiving Dinner for Dummies"? Luckily my dad's bringing the fried turkey, the mom-in-law's bringing ham so if I can just whip up some sides and desserts and manage to set the table, I'll be a-okay. I actually think it'll be fun. If any of you Atlanta transplants find yourself with nowhere to go that day, feel free to join the Simmons/Tarr clan, the more the merrier...I think.

I don't know if you are experiencing the same, but work continues to get more and more unbelievably busy. Just when I think I can't take another project or task, 5 more are piled on. The only thing getting me through at the moment is the thought that this is that last minute pre-Thanksgiving push when everyone is attempting to get as much done as they possibly can because they know they won't be able to in that odd time at the office between Thanksgiving and the new year. So, good luck to everyone this last week and a half of insanity before the festivities begin.

Bye bye. Go dawgs.

Dumbass Strikes Again

I love Charles' dog*. I really do. Most of the time his dog is so cute and so cuddly and all I want to do is give Charles' dog lots of hugs and kisses. Then there are other times....times I like to get sleep and times I realize maybe I'm not ready for children, when I would like to put a gun to Charles' dog's head and pull the trigger or drive to the middle of nowhere, drop-kick him out of the car and speed off without ever looking back. I kid, I kid, I joke....ahem.

I will be civilized and not post the disgusting pictures of what Charles' dog did to himself, but I will post these super-embarrassing, tal's-never-making-it-to-cuteroverload.com pictures for you to enjoy. When your husband's dog likes the taste of his own flesh and blood, you might want to have an appropriate sized "i can no longer chew my ass" collar on hand. And about $300. Dang!

*of course, he's "Charles' dog" when he does stupid stuff, he's 100% my dog, or maybe "our dog", when he's doing all the cute stuff.

taliesin patrick (aka "Dumbass") - rear view

taliesin patrick (aka "Dumbass") - front view

taliesin patrick (aka "Dumbass") - side view

Go: Into the Wild

I'm not a movie critic so, instead, I will share my reaction to the film....

As the movie ended:
"That was really good."

As we were riding down the escalator to the parking deck:
"That was really well done."

As we were getting in the car:
"That was really heavy."

Then I silently cried all the way home.

Sean Penn did a beautiful job adapting John Krakauer's book to the big screen. It was lovely. It was heartbreaking. It moved me. Go see it if you have time.

Deliciousness

That sounds even better live. What a way to spend a Tuesday night with your husband.

I Wish I Could Blog Like This Guy

Thanks to Chris, this guys blog* was introduced into my life today. His post is genius on a thousand levels. I loved every second of it and would be a bad blogger if I didn't share with my throngs of readers. The 1962 Atlanta Daily World newspapers we found in our attic weren't nearly this hysterical.

Oh, and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

*Momma Dot....WARNING - his post contains the "f" word on at least one occasion so be prepared. Also, I love you!

Waffles! Ya hoo!

This morning, in appreciation of 52 years of partnership with my company, Waffle House came into our office and gave everyone a free waffle. What a way to start a day, right? I love Waffle House waffles....and hash browns and raisin toast, too. So, I grab my waffle and speed up to my office to enjoy my delicious morning treat. I spread a thin layer of butter on top then gently lifted one little corner of the syrup container so I could carefully drip the syrup evenly over my waffle. It was coming out a bit too slowly so I applied a little more pressure on the container and BOOM! Syrup explosion!!! All over my desk, all over my precious waffle and all over me! My customer is coming into the office today so I am all dressed up in a suit and even curled my hair and now I am covered in syrup. The inner thigh area of my pants is completely stuck to my leg. Dang! At least I smell delicious.

England in Photos

No write-up yet....maybe it will happen, maybe it won't. For now, please enjoy some of the photos from our trip. I will try and provide the link to the remaining pictures soon.

grandma & me

the pirate club - camden canal

side street in bath

charles & a pint at our favorite pub in primrose hill

4 burns road, charles' childhood home

bath abbey relief

delicious food offerings at the camden lock market

ceiling of the bath abbey

light fixture outside the national gallery

Dreams really do come true.....

....and check THIS out.