30 things.

Yup. I did it again.

1. Visit the SC Confederate relic room and Military Museum.

2. Eat a cheeseburger atop a summit.

3. Make a coat.

4. Enjoy a rooftop bar.

5. See Iron and Wine live.

6. Eat seafood in Charleston.

7. Make out at the Monetta drive-in.

8. Read Moby Dick (again).

9. Memorize a poem.

10. Make an encouraging banner with Sarah.

11. Go camping.

12. Find a signature dish.

13. See Sewanee's Natural Bridge.

14. Take a night bike ride.

15. Scuba dive in Panama.

16. Make fortune cookies.

17. Run a 10k.

18. Travel by train.

19. Read three books of short stories.

20. Let Ashley give me BIG hair.

21. Hang a piece of art in every room in my new dwelling.

22. Start and finish a sewing project with Hannah.

23. Save money for a big purchase.

24. Write a short story.

25. Revisit my Spanish workbook.

26. Use up my old film stash.

27. Get up early one day and go out for breakfast before work.

28. Host a cocktail hour.

29. Re-upholster my kitchen chairs.

30. Look at the the sky through the telescope at the Melton Observatory.

And it's late so I'd better get crackin'.

And it all shook out someway.

Yes. I know. I've been away. But I have excellent excuses. Packing. The holidays. Moving. Being out of town. Spending time with someone I like a lot. Work. Unpacking.

But since I am now solidly into my thirtieth, or technically thirty-first, year I think it is time for a little update on how the list turned out. Be forewarned: this post is epic!

Make a seasonal clothing collection.

Nope. Didn't get there, but this was slightly ambitious. I did make a lot of things for myself and other people, so I practiced. Yay!

Run a road race.

My mom and I ran a 5k the day after Christmas. Go us!

Write, write, write (letters, stories, poems).

I wrote things, but could have done a lot more.

Use Crest white strips.

Never got to it. Sad. In a whole year my teeth were not whitened.

Finish a photo scavenger hunt.

This one should have been done. I even had people who wanted to do it with me, but I didn't remember where my camera was most days. If I were a believer in carrying over to a new list I'd carry this one. But I'm not. So I won't. But I want to get to this someday.

Throw a (real) dinner party.

Nope.

Pay off my car.

So close. It will happen soon enough.

Read War and Peace.

Check. What a good book! May I recommend it to all, boys and girls alike. It's got love and war and all the in between.

Go to Europe.

Oh yeah! Mo and I had an amazing time in Greece, on the islands of Mykonos and Santorini. We ate delicious food, saw incredible sunsets, imbibed expensive cocktails, lay on beautiful beaches, and danced to the Black Eyed Peas.

Bike the whole Palmetto trail (or as far as one can).

Ok, I biked portions. It's not the epic adventure I imagined, but the trail isn't even done yet.

Throw things away and whittle life down to the essentials.

This is still a work in progress, and should continue to be.

Get a growler from the HG.

The night I was all set to cross this one off the list was a bad night for the Hunter-Gatherer. I wasn't feeling it. None of the beers tasted as good as I remembered them. So I decided that I wasn't going to do it. Then Larry brought me a growler of Rye Hopper from the French Broad Brewing Co. and I decided then and there it was a fair switch. I had given the HG a chance, but a growler of delicious beer is a growler of delicious beer, and that is in keeping with my goal for this list item.

Tube down the Congaree.

Hannah and I did this not once but twice this summer. I think we may have given her raft (alas, not a real tube) a hole or two, but the adventure was grand. We dodged the shady hecklers, lamented not talking to the cute ones, ate soggy sandwiches, and downed some PBR along the route.

Make a quilt.

Not even close.

Find the secret place.

It's a secret.

Go on dates.

Yes. And some very interesting ones at that.

See Band of Horses in concert.

First time I'd seen a show in Charlotte. I love Band of Horses!

Get published.

Won't this be nice when it happens.

Open another savings account and put money in it.

I did. And there's money in it.

Eat dinner at Saluda's.

I don't know why, but no. Ok, I do know why. I don't know many people who think this place is great. So I lost interest. Who wants to eat somewhere not-so-great, when there are great places to eat?

Experience Columbia's public transit system.

This one is also without excuse. I had many a volunteer. The perfect moment did not present itself and therefore this one was another fail.

Get involved at CoTA.

I think this is a yes. I've been a whole lot better about being seen and doing and giving to this church that I like. I've met some great people and even started going to Sunday School. I've started to put down some roots in a place I want to be.

Enroll in the linguistics program at USC for a TESOL certificate.

No, but this one I am unapolagetic about. It just seems that my plans changed and that this is less interesting than it was when I thought of it. It's not the direction I see myself growing into right now, even though dropping it all to teach English in a foreign country is never out of the question.

Have a foreign film marathon.

Oh my, the plans were big, but in the end it was just an intimate little thing with a big projector and three delightful movies. Turtles Can Fly, The Lives Of Others and Red Beard. And we had to do it in two parts because we started so late at night.

See a play/show at one of the local theaters.

Watched USC students perform a little thing called The Book of Liz, written by those crazy Sedaris people. Enjoyable.

Go to the zoo.

My date just never could get it together. Granted he is a toddler, but still. We made some attempts, but to no avail. Another year, as the zoo is always fun with younguns.

Print my own fabric at Spoonflower.

This I still plan on doing at some point, when I have access to the proper tools, like Adobe Illustrator. Because this idea is awesome.

Plant a garden.

It was a beautiful garden, however I am no gardener. I had to leave it behind when I moved, which is probably just as well. I hope I have other talents, since loving plants is hard for me.

Make ice cream.

I had in mind the kick-the-can variety. And despite numerous opportunities couldn't make it happen.

So there you have the rundown. The facts. The truth of the matter.

A Preview

So a roommate date that was a visit to the Dollar Tree and Wal-Mart yielded this.

It's nearly party time.

Where does the time go?

Wow.

Yep, it's been awhile, and I wish I could say I'm more prepared than I was when I last wrote here (ages ago) and that the momentum carried me away into full Christmas purchasing realization. Alas. And I am now convinced that I must convince my family to go the way of so many other families and resort to drawing names. That is to be done after the season, however, so press on I will.

In other news, unrelated to the holiday season, I am moving out of my current lovely residence and into a new, smaller, though maybe just as lovely, one. It will be just me by my lonesome, and I welcome this change. I will miss dear Erica, and the built-in entertainment that is sitting on our giant sectional sofa and talking, talking, talking, but I look forward to having complete reign of my domain. I'm walking through today and I hope to snap a pic or two, so more to come.

And, in addition to the holiday and moving, I am planning on throwing myself a fabulous 30th birthday party, complete with a rainbow cake, a mini bonfire, and over the top decorations.

So there it is. The haps. I've left that cusp and am in full swing.

On the cusp.

On the brink of the holidays and I am feeling pretty good about where I sit. I've actually started thing about Christmas, which is revolutionary if you're me and always, consistently late for everything. Last year I was still finishing up my sewing projects on Christmas day. This year I will be ready with packaged gifts before I even arrive at my parents' house and that feels good.

But we're not there yet. Phew, I'm not quite ready.

I am ready, beyond ready, for Thanksgiving, my most favorite holiday. A long weekend of being around loads of people with no agenda except eating.

I went to a poetry/fiction/non-fiction reading by MFA students last night and it made me wish I could write like that. That stories flowed out of me and onto paper in coherent and logical ways; that I was able to string together words in pleasing fashion, and conjure up vivid images in the minds of readers or listeners. I suppose I should try. For how far can anyone get without trying? And I live in the best place to start trying. I've got good company.

Friday stuff.

It's Friday, yay! And I've already thought of so many good ways to spend my pay check. I managed to stop short of spending it all so that my friends coming in this weekend and I can enjoy ourselves, but man, if only there were more of it. I'd get all the stuff you see below and more.I'm craving a satchel, some sweet everyday booties, a couple chain scarves like this, a rockin' dress, a comfy striped sweater, and since I just today discovered the true power of bobby pins (after years of assuming my mop was too thick), I'd like a glammed up set of bobbies.

Hope your weekend is great! I'll be eating s'mores and drinking beers and riding bikes with people I like.

Ugh.

There is an affliction in my family from my mother's side of wet eyes. Basically, we cry too easily. This happens when we get nervous or laugh too hard or get mad. The floodgates open up and there is no stopping the tears. Generally I have this incredibly annoying bane under control. Sometimes, and usually at the most inopportune time, this trait finds its way into the open, resisting all my attempts to keep it under control, and breaks free to leave me absolutely mortified. I once cried during a job interview, for crying out loud! Thankfully I got the job, but of course, then had to work with the people who witnessed that humiliating event.

These tearful episodes almost always cause people to immediately worry about me. Oh no! You're crying! What in the world is wrong? They look at me sympathetically and I feel patronized and more tears flow.

Anyway, all this is to say that last night I had a flare up. And around people I was just beginning to know and like. And I saw their faces change in front of me. And now I feel I won't ever be seen with the thick skin I like to think I have. The tough gal persona is lost forever on that crowd. And last night I saw that as a terrible thing, a life changing thing. I was ready to pack my bags and move to a new city where no one had yet been exposed to that side of me, somewhere where no one knows I'm a stinkin' pansy who cries at the drop of a hat.

But now that seems overly dramatic. Another of my propensities.

Days like to today make me envy the countless lunatics who go on American Idol without the slightest ability to sing, are told that their performance is AWFUL, and still leave holding firm to their belief that they are the next Britany Spears.

life or something like it.

I got a fortune once that I now have prominently displayed in my car: Life is a series of choices. Today yours are good ones.

I think it's a nice little reminder. Especially when I've veered off-track and am in bad-decision-making-world making one bad choice after another. It's never too late to get back to the good ones, I suppose.

Like deciding to make the bread pudding you planned on another day because when you think back on your meals for the day all you can remember is the bread. Breakfast: bagel. Lunch: pizza. Snack: peanut butter on bread. So, yeah, you can eat more bread tomorrow.

Or, even though the only machine available at the gym is the one you hate, the stair stepper kind that makes butts bigger, not smaller, you climb on anyway because an elevated heart rate is more important than the junk in the trunk.

Or, how about when you're pulled over to receive a fast driving award for going just a tad too fast in a school zone and you find some time on your hands while Mr. Cop takes his sweet time writing you that ticket. So you choose to use this time, confined in a dirty vehicle, to pick up the trashy receipts and parking garage stubs that have been bugging you.

Fall days.

1. Corduroy pants. I'll be eternally at home on a college campus.
2. Squash. Try the butternut squash soup at the Gourmet Shop and you will not be disappointed.
4. Leather bomber jacket. Makes me look tough.
5. Crunchy leaves. In piles for jumping.
6. A backyard, rudimentary fire pit. S'mores are delicious.
7. Hot toddies!
8. Iron and Wine's The Shepherd's Dog album. On perpetual repeat.

Happy Halloween

I love Halloween. Maybe it's because I feel I am just now truly arriving to the scene. I mean, we never celebrated the holiday as a child. I never experienced the thrill of yelling "trick or treat" and having strangers unload sweet treats on me. I never knew the joy of coming home after a series of such moments, laden with a brimming bag of candies, to inventory what was received and make piles of the quality keepers and the disappointments. I have no idea what it must have been like to have whole heaps of candy to feast on in the month or months to come. But that's ok. It's not the candy I'm concerned about. My dental issues have been sufficient without the added sugars. The deprivation I feel in missing all those moments lies largely in my evidently stunted creativity, my inability to come up with great costumes. Sure, I've been participating in Halloween since moving out of my parents house and into a college dorm, but only now do I feel like I'm getting the hang of it and feeling the joy of getting it right.


In case it's hard to tell, I am a featured person of the wonderful website PeopleofWalmart(dot)com. I am accompanied by Lady Gaga and the guy with a baby from The Hangover. I am disappointed that there is no picture of my gloriously large behind, which was the best part. Later when we went out dancing my costume proved irresistible and was thoroughly poked and squeezed and even slapped by the curious as I passed by. It's as though they were uncertain as to whether I might really be the bearer of such a large derriere. Many thanks to an impossibly patient roommate for seeing me to completion.