The Vogels

This exhibit is currently being shown at the Bham museum of Art. Quite an interesting story and the exhibit is just as unique. I went last week as part of a joint event with Rotaract with the Junior Patrons. Check it out, and get your dose of culture this month Birminghamians.

Home away from Home

Have you ever dealt with a cat that swallowed a stool softener? That happened today. Both Jordan and I were about to leave the house and we see Spencer running by us, foaming at the mouth. We both looked at each other very confused. Last time Spencer foamed at the mouth was when he knocked over my shampoo in the bathtub, laid in it, and then licked his belly. Jordan took off after the cat, and I searched for what he got into. It didnt take long to find the pill he had been eating. Looks like we need to do some child cat proofing. Spence ran under our bed, and since we were both running late to our prospective sunday events, we had to leave and hope for the best. One can assume though, that anytime a stool softener is consumed, nothing will end well. Indeed, Jordan was the first home, and also the one who had to clean up the shit the followed. Happy sunday.

Saturday, however, was quite nice. I spent friday night at camp sumatanga, which is my home away from home. I posted around this time last year that the camp was in serious financial troubles. Since then a very very generous donor paid off the camp's debt, and because of which, it has been able to thrive again. After a long and exhausting week, it was awesome to get away. I was getting together with some people I have been volunteering with for over 10 years. Wes and I were even campers together back in Elementary School. I didnt take any pics of the group this trip, but we took some about two months ago when we went up there to visit:

me, pete, wes, holli, alison, little man noah

camp is beautiful in the winter

wes and noah

the camp hearth

We all stayed at the guest house this weekend. All the buildings have new shiny signs

The Sounds of Sumantanga festival was going on as we were leaving on saturday. There were Methodist groups from all over arriving at camp. 

Another long week coming up

Professional Non-Profit Partier

The night before the race, Jordan and I joined the g-crew for a night of drinking, bidding and celebrating at the Kid One Transport fundraising gala. My running buddy John invited us, and he was quite modest because I got there and realized he was chairing the whole event! Quite the V.I.P. Of course I couldn't partake much in the drinking part bc impending race, so I joined Ashley (6 months pregs) in watching the drinking boys be quite entertaining. I dont know how much money was raised, but the live auction raised at least $10k from my count. My AOPi sister and news anchor, Alexa Jones M.C.ed the event.

Alexa, John, me

Is there such a thing as a professional non-profit events attendee?  Because I want to be one. I feel like I already serve that roll part time as it is. Speaking of, this Thursday is the Rotaract social at the Bham Museum of Art celebrating the Vogel exhibit. 

Excerpt from the Rotaract website:  Think you need a money tree to start collecting art? Think again. The newly installed show, A Passion Shared: Works from the Dorothy and Herbert Vogel collection features a selection of one of the worlds most comprehensive contemporary art collections, amassed by the New York couple on Mr. Vogel’s postal clerk salary. The exhibit will be open after-hours for our viewing pleasure, and Curator Ron Platt will be on hand to offer further insight into this fascinating collection. Along with the exhibit, we’ll enjoy food, drinks, live music, and the return of warm weather in the Museum’s Sculpture Garden.

$10.00 for Junior Patrons

$15 for Non-members

Come out Thurs. and be my non-profit partier partners in crime!

Ladies and Gentlemen: Start your engines!

This morning was the Talladega Half Marathon. It was my second half to run, and was dramatically different from Chief Ladiga. First, it was a the Talladega Racetrack, which is awesome. I had never been before today. Second, there were alot more people. Around 800. The weather was gorgeous, and despite a beer and a glass of wine the night before at the Kid One Gala, I was raring to go. This time, i came prepared with my camera during the race, however that meant I had to sport an awesome fanny pack! See below:

please notice the guy in the middle. He had on a purple wig, and a speedo. Classic.

Thats right. How cool am i? My Miller light racing tank is a thrift store find, and so was the pack. The camo hat was just too heavy to wear for 13.1. This is Fergus and I moments before the big start. I would later find out that Ferg had to go to the hospital because of severe dehydration. He's totally ok now, but note to self, dont drink a pot of coffee, and then eat caffeinated running goo before a race...He did finish in an impressive 1hr 47mins time, while i was chugging across the finish at 2:31 (185 out of 270 overall, and 21 out of I have no clue, prob 21, in my age group) 

Anyways, so, after a short while of warming up on the track, we were off!

At the bottom of Turn 1, mile 1

This is at about mile 2.5ish, we, are now opposite the starting line, and running above the track.

and then we ran out on the grounds for about 5 miles. This was the best part of the race for me. I felt good, it wasnt too hot yet, and it was cool scenery. All the grass is pretty well manicured for the race coming up in two weeks.

Mile 6.5, heading back into the stadium

Im in the grandstands at this point, working on mile 7, and I dont think you can see it, but the winner is about to cross the finish line....My 11 min pace was fine with me!

Somehow at mile 11, i managed to muster the strength to take another picture. This is where the race got brutal. 2 miles left, and there was hardly anything left in me. My legs, ankles, calves, and back were all hurting. Between mile 12-13, I managed to run through the pain, pick up the pace and finish strong. Mainly because I wanted to beat a few older people in front of me. Whatever motivates u, right?

I dont have any after pictures bc fergus was gone, i was exhausted, and they wouldnt have been super pretty anyways. I was with Fergus' brother in law and his kids while his sister went to the hospital with him. We stayed around for a while, ate bbq in the pit area, and then headed back to the ham.

Today's playlist: I tried to make it mostly country, but there is still some randomness

1. Cowboy Cassanova- carrie underwood

2. 22- Lily Allen

3. Precious Love- James Morrison

4. The only night- James Morrison

5. Bad Romance- Gaga (my powersong)

6. American Honey- Lady Antebellum

7. Outside my Window- Sarah Buxton

8. Alcohol- Brad Paisley

9. Havent met you yet- michael bubble

10. Different Kind of Fine- Zac Brown Band

11. Sick em on a chicken- Zac Brown Band

12. Highway 20 Ride- Zac Brown Band

13. Heads Carolina, Tails California- Jo Dee Messina

14. I can still make Cheyenne- George Straight

15. Amarillo by Morning- George Straight

16. Love's Looking Good on you- Lady Antebellum

17. Home is where the heart is- Lady Antebellum

I didnt have enough songs, but by mile 9.5, i took it off for a while and chatted with some people around me while i ran. It went back on at mile 11 to get me through to the end. I dont know what my next race will be. I'm thinking a little 5k will suite me for now...bedtime.

Thursday Thoughts

Ive had alot of different thoughts today, so i thought i'd share.

First: I went to a luncheon today called Purse and Passion. It is the Bham YWCA's biggest fundraiser of the year. In that room at the Sheraton were 1,000 women, most of which were armed to write serious sized donation checks to the YW. It was a fantastic event. I sat next to David Pollick's wife, and several other BSC ladies (purley by coincidence). We talked alot about BSC, and the changes going on there. I am actually speaking back at the hilltop on saturday to some prospective students regarding how the college shaped where I am now. (I guesss i'll leave out that the liberal arts education left me completely clueless regarding future employement, resulting in a life hiatus to Ireland, before returning to jump into finance after studying history and women's studies for five years...) However, I feel like now, that i have figured out my place, it is beneficial on a daily basis with understanding different worldviews. But, i digress. Back to the luncheon. It really helped me put things in perspective when. They had two women whom have benefitted from the YWCA's services. Domestic voilence, homelessness, and nearly poverty stricken, these women were able to rise above and make lives for themselves today with the help of the YW. Wow, and I thought my life was tough sometimes. Its a cakewalk compared to these women's stories. Its theraputic and healthy to keep life in perspective on a daily basis.

Second: my momma had surgery today on her neck. Spinal fusion i think they called it. She broke her neck 30 year ago doing a back handspring (if im "blessed" enough to have girls, this is why they wont be cheerleaders, not bc im a feminist.) So, after years of wear and tear, she needed it done again bc the spine had compressed. They had put her off for weeks bc they thought she had a rare blood condition, but it turns out she was clear, so they did the surgery early this morning. Mom's doing great, and she will stay at St. Vincent's overnight. It will be about a 6 week plus recovery, so I just hope its not painful, bc she was in alot of pain before surgery.

Third: Work is so overwhelming, but in the best way possible. The influx of activitity and responsibility from D leaving has been intense but compelling at the same time. I have been going non stop for two weeks straight. I love working. I cant imagine my life without it. Especially now that its just me and Dave running the show. It's like we are the CEO's of our own little world. Plus, my control freak side really gets to spread its wings, sooooo great, and also a little theraputic.

Tiger Woods: lets shift gears. I cant stand him. I know its bc of this scandel, but the more i think about it, i really didnt care for the guy before this stuff broke. My Oxford ladies, do yall remember when we took the train to sandwich and watched the British Open? hard to forget actually. Well, seeing Tiger there, so focussed and steadfast, it was impressive, but also gave me a bad feeling. Ive just never liked the guy really. What ive realized though, it that those that did like him before, are the ones that are still liking him now. Jordan cant get enough. He's been giddy for a week about the Masters, and was like a kid in a candy store when woods teed off today. I dont get it. He's a power hungry, money obssessed douche bad that thought he was God. Sure, he's a great golfer, but i think he's a jerk. (welcome back feminist side....)

And for some light entertaingment, I bring you Kitten Mittons. Thanks Sunny crew (and Hulu).

Adventures in Tattooing: Part II

Happy Easter by the way. We had a fun day of family, food, easter eggs hunts for adults, gin rummy and yes, more tattooing. I ate too much (as usual) and was able to enjoy the outdoors with Jordan while playing cards on our new table out back. For some reason, his new favorite game is gin rummy, so we play for a dollar a game. Even though we dont actually give each other a dollar. What's with men and needing to put a dollar value on everything? degenerates. So, after i kicked some ass in cards, I made a huge pot of potato soup, then headed back to tattoo jungle for round two of Wes gets a tattoo.

 

This time went much smoother. First, oddly enough, we were the only patrons of the establishment on Easter sunday (shocking). We had to wait a small while for the dude to draw up his design, during which I had a fantastic discussion with the other artist about Kat von Deese being a complete sellout. Finally, it was tattoo time. I still cant find my camera charger (im thinking mardi gras is to blame for that one), but luckily I had Wes' iphone to photo document the experience.

 

The design is ready to go

 

 

getting to work

 

It only took this guy like 20 mins, and he did a great job.

 

 

Finished! Ok, let me explain. The script stands for Proverbs 24:16, which states "for though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity." So, the seven arrows on top depict "falling down" 7 times, and the there are 8 arrows going up, suggesting rising up again. I thought this was a very pointant tattoo to get on Easter sunday actually. Hopefully Wes is happy with it, bc i think it turned out really cool.

By the way, I hit up CVS early this morning, and def made off with some loot for SUPER cheap. I wish I had my camera to show the pile, but i'll run in by ya:

-2 head & shoulder shampoos

-1 Panteen shampoo, 1 Panteen conditioner

-1, 38 count box of Tampax

-1, 18 count box of Tampax 

-2 Pedialytes

-1 box of Colgate toothpaste

-1 pack of gummbi bears (Jordan's easter present)

-2 packs of Twizlers (my easter present)

Total before coupons: $55.30

Total Spent: $6.35

Total saved: $48.95, I feel pretty good about that!

Adventures in Tattooing: Part I

Last night I got together with two of my camp sumatanga buds for some pre-easter festivities. Mainly, wes wanted a tattoo, and has been talking about it for ages, so we all loaded up and headed to Cloud Nine in 5 points.

Wes at Cloud Nine (i cant fix the rotation) he was not on cloud nine about this place though.

It was around 9:30, and they wanted us to wait until midnight, and they wanted to charge Wes $200 to do his all black, non complicated, 4 inch tattoo. No thanks. Peace 5 points. So, we headed back to my house (so Holli could get her wallet, she wanted one too by this point), and we scooted over to Tatoo Jungle in Pelham (yes cristin, we should have heeded your advise the first time) The guy that was helping us there was a bit all over the place. That worried us. He also wanted us to wait an hour and a half. 

We actually did wait for about 30 mins, and took notice of the locals. However, the tattoo artist that was going to do his tat came out for a smoke break and said it would prob be two hours from then. Why cant you just make appointments to get tattoos done? At 11:30, we called it a night. No tattoos were given. However, guess who is open on easter??? Tattoo Jungle is. Going back tonight for round two. stay tuned.