Prince Books

Lately I've been going on a book buying binge. If reading wasn't such a widely acclaimed and universally accepted "good hobby" I would say that my purchases have gotten a little out of control. I'm a possessive DOB so the library system doesn't suit me very well. I just have to have it (the one trait I got from my mother was the ability to hoard trinkets like nobody's business).

Anyways, I accompanied Maddie to the mall the other day and bought the book Suburban Nation. Which on second thought was completely hypocritical. I love to profess to my family how buying local is the way to go and Walmart is the devil- both undeniable truths- but here I am egging it on by buying from one of the largest book corporations in the U.S. of A.

The solution? Prince Books. Made the trek over there today (for the first time in way, way, way too long) to find a chapter book that I could read to the girls during my days with them. PB was wonderful. There was just enough selection to quench all my literary desires but not so many books that I didn't know where to begin. Plus, there was a neat little cafe connected to the store- a perfect little place to hang out for a while and delve into a book.

What did I find? A books of short stories by the incredibly talented Shaun Tan entitled Tales From Outer Suburbia. It is so beautifully illustrated and has such quaint stories. I bought it selfishly, for it isn't really a children's book but it was in the picture book section so I figured it was good enough. So far I'm two stories into the book... and it's marvelous. What else is to be expected?

p.s.- if you're ever in the mood for a place that smells like old books (one of my favorite smells) be sure to check out Beacon Books of Ghent. It's a personal fave.

Happiest of Happies

One of my favorite ladies, one of my coolest sisters, my Punkin is turning 2-4. Hey Girl Hey! It's celebration time :)

Weekend with Maddie

What an amazing weekend with my lady... and it's not even over. Tits and kittens!
Although I'm super sad I missed Scott's rockin' 80's show I'm totally glad I went on this road trip.
Saturday:
After a hearty Green Onion brunch with some of the fine Naro ladies, Maddie and I headed to the Briar to watch kids. Okay, okay... I'll admit that most of the time watching kids is not my most favorite activity but these two little ladies were incredibly cute and were fast asleep by 7:30. Double score! Let me back up- Madeline and I also went for a bike ride through Sweet Briar and did a little hiking action prior to the sitting. Later I found not one, but TWO ticks on me. Safe to say I had the creepy crawlies all weekend. Ew. Still do a little. The rest of the night was spent catching up, learning to crochet (cool! and totally not just for your grandma), listening to Chip Radio, and seeing a couple episodes of Undeclared. Oh, and watching a drunk SBC hubby, aka Pink Lightning, bike through the halls (and pretty much everywhere else on campus) on the Sweet Pink cruisers.
Sunday:
Shipped out to C-Ville. Grabbed a couple bagels at Bodos. Guess who was sitting right outside of the bagel shop? Samuel Beam. I nearly flipped my lid- but I kept it cool. Went to the outdoor mall to check out this one pawn shop for cameras. But, alas, it was closed on Sundays. No worries, got some really cool books, a BA bracelet, and a new skirt. Sidenote: I loved how dog-friendly it was up there. Really made me miss having a dog around.
Spent the rest of the cloudy afternoon underneath a tree on the Grounds of UVa taking a little pre-concert snooze. (This was a highlight of my trip due to my love of sleep) Mads and I got a slice of pizza from Mellow and guess who I saw, AGAIN? Sam Beam. I guess all I have to do is eat somewhere in Charlottesville and he will appear.
Pinnacle of the trip. Bonnie Prince Billy. (Oh yea, got to the venue a little early so M and I took a walk around the neighborhood... found a tick crawling on me post walk. Bugs love me!) BPB played for over two hours. Will Oldham is so fun to watch. He's really animated and passionate, the time flew by. Until I realized it was midnight and had been standing for five hours. If you ever get the chance to see a band you really love at Fry's Spring Beach Club I highly reccomend it. There was no barrier between the crowd and the stage, it was super personal. It also looked like it was stuck in the mid fifties with the seafoam green couches lined up against the wall and using Christmas lights and sparkly stars as decoration. Too cute!
Drove home, I'm beat. Time to sleep.
Monday: Alien Trespass, can't wait!
PS- pictures to come as soon as I create another Flickr. My forgetfulness allowed me to forget how to login to my first Flickr account. Whoops.

Henna

What a pain in the patootie. Yes, yes, yes- it makes for beautiful body art.... but that's about it. Trying to use it as an eco-friendly alternative to hair dye is a completely different story. It looks like a put a mud pie in my hair, killed someone in my shower that had brown blood, and I smell like pea soup.

Biking instead of driving, that I can do. Bringing a reusable back to the grocery store, check! But henna versus Loreal Perfect Ten? Think I'll be going back to blonde in a matter of months.

Man from Plains

My parents recently got home from a roadtrip with some friends to Atlanta, GA. Every year the Carter Center participates in an open house. People can come meet Jimmy Carter and hear about all the amazing things the Carter Center is involved in. My parents met Jimmy Carter and my mom even square danced with him- how cool!! They do some truly amazing things at the Carter Center. It makes me wonder why such an innovative person, a guy who won the frickin' Nobel Peace Prize, couldn't get reelected. Stupid Politics.

Anyways, my mom was telling me that at the end of the night restaurants in Atlanta will bag up all of their non-meat food items and send them off to (basically) a large compost pile at the city limits. Additionally, the school buses in Atlanta run on biofuel. Can Norfolk please jump on this bandwagon?

Reppin' the Drrty South well. Happy mothaluvin Earth Day.

Why So Angry?

Gmail reads my mail. This is creepy enough. But then it has the nerve to tell me I have anger issues? Check out the link it wants me to visit.
Apparently I am sending out some pretty negative e-mails.

Super Delicious

T-Mobile version of Amanda- the little girl with glasses. Anyone else agree with David on the similarity?