2/12 Poem

The first poem of the year wasn't worth posting, so I threw you a bone with the Halloween-esque poem. What follows is the official second poem of the year.

If you write, maybe you will understand what I'm feeling. Sometimes I sit down to write and I feel like every word is utter crap, and then other times I sit down and the words flow from me quickly, so quickly that it almost feels like the poem is using me as an outlet. I imagine my poem floating around in space,undulating among airwaves, waiting for a writer to sit down with a little confidence and ink.

Sometimes I start with a line and what follows comes as a total surprise to me, like tonight. I had a first line and nothing else. Perhaps a Field of Dreams reference is appropriate here.

“Lover Seeks Kiss”

One third of the photograph is bursting:
pink and green azalea bush in full bloom,
dainty stamen extending shyly,
like a lover seeking a first kiss.
Cheeks blushing as fingers creep
over dewy skin, goose bumps
spreading, exploding over timid flesh
covering the total topography of skin.
Connecting islands,
one freckle to another, quickly expanding
like diffusion in a controlled lab,
like the suddenness of spring.
Stolen kiss,
hands sneak around hips:
fire lit.

Joseph Cambell and 101 Ways to be Blissed Out

I graduated high school on a hot and humid Virginia evening. There was heat lightening outlining a silhouette of the mountain, and rain drops splattered onto the top of my maroon cap. In order to protect our diplomas from being ruined by rain, the school handed out fake scrolls on stage, and we received our actual diplomas on a table inside the gym. On each scroll was the follow quotation:

Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls. -Joseph Campbell

At the time, this quote meant very little to me. I slid the scroll into the side of my white Pontiac door, and drove off into my unknown future. Over the past year, this quotation has become a light with which I view my life. Maybe it is selfish, but I have come to the conclusion that I don't want to spend anymore time doing what I find unpleasant. I want to do only those things that fill my life with joy and make me content. We only get one go on this ride of life, afterall.

As you know, I started this blog to document my 101 things in 1001 days. Unfortunately, a lot of my 101 things had to do with someone who is no longer in my life, and so I stopped pursuing that list and instead pursued survival of the heart for awhile. Since the beginning of June, I've been considering what things would make my life full, and I started to write down all the things I'd like to experience and accomplish. I'm still working on it, but I have begun to establish a new 101 list. This time, each goal will be something for me because a person cannot base her life on making someone else happy. That's no way to live at all. I've found that making myself happy places people in my life who have the same interests and goals as I do, thus making my relationships with others more meaningful.

and isn't that what life is all about? Genuine connections and love for people on earth: Agape.

(101 List to follow. Stay tuned.)

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas and New Year celebration. I thoroughly enjoyed my time off from work, and I loved ringing in 2011 with some good friends. 2010 was such a good year, and I am optimistic that 2011 is going to be even better because I DON'T OWE SALLIE MAE ANYTHING! I'm sorry... I never get tired of saying that.

So what is on the menu this year? Well, I have updated my side bar to let you see what my goals are for 2011. I have to finish my 101 things by the middle of March in 2012, so these goals reflect the remaining thirty-ish from the original goal list.

I wish everyone a happy work week, and I will update as soon as I finish my first goal of 2011.

Bah Humbug Goals!

As the end of the year quickly approaches I've realized I am slackin' on the 25 goals I wanted to accomplish in 2010. I have nine goals that have yet to be completed, and still yet a ton on the original list that I have postponed until I'm debt free (THIS MONTH! WHAT WHAT!)

I could have accomplished watching a play at the Barter this weekend with some new friends, but unfortunately I had already commited this weekend to another friend's Christmas party (which I know is going to be epic and full of tacky Christmas sweaters. Huzzah!), so I had to decline the invite to see "It's a Wonderful Life." :(

I had planned to read "Gone with the Wind" this month, but I'm a little wrapped up in my first read through of Harry Potter. The little wizard boy has finally caught my attention, and Scarlet somehow pales in comparison right now. Plus I'm really into self-help books/blogs right now, and they are cutting into my extra reading time.

Alas, my sister and I have not had our toes painted mostly because I haven't had the cash flow. I'm hoping over Christmas break she can carve out a nice afternoon to go get her tootsies painted with me. (She deserves a relaxing afternoon without her five children!)

I feel satisfied with my accomplishments for the year, and I still have 409 days left to go before my challenges expire, and I only have 32ish goals left to complete! If I fail, I can always make another list and try again! :)

Do Not Seek the Treasure

(of the Flea Market!!!)

One of my goals this year was to go to a flea market. Originally, I wanted to go to the Hillsville Flea Market because apparently it is epic. The town of Hillsville essentially shuts down for Labor Day weekend. People rent out their yards for parking spaces, and the public school closes for the Friday before in preparation for the massive traffic invasion on a two stop light town.

Unfortunately, I missed the Hillsville Flea Market and was reduced to going to the much smaller Dublin Flea Market, and just like that squirrly little guy in O! Brother Where Art Thou, I must reiterate: DO NOT SEEK THE TREASURE!

In layman's terms, the flea market SUCKED. I was expecting to find one of Madonna's rings or a signed copy of a Shakespeare play but no! Nothing! Instead, people were selling McDonald's Happy Meal toys for a dollar a piece. A dollar! And no meal? You've got to be kidding me... this frugalista is not buying a toy without a burger and fry.

Everything was so dirty too. I felt like I was scrounging through a dumpster. Not that everything in a flea market needs to be pristine. I just want it to be gently used and, you know, free from mold.

But hey, at least I completed another goal off my list. Until next time, kepp livin' vita abundantior!

Trip to the Farmer's Market: A Frugal Success!

Do you see that? Yeah, that's my forearm, and that my friend is a zucchini, just one of the amazing purchases I found at the Farmer's Market on Saturday morning. I spent a frugal $3 and bought enough veggies to last me for two weeks including three jumbo zucchinis, three squash, and a bag of potatoes. I also spent a dollar on some yummy chex mix

I will definitely be shopping at the market again, no questions asked. I couldn't believe the bargains! I think between cooking a whole chicken for four dollars and then three dollars in veggies, I could conceivably cut my grocery budget in half.

In other food related news, I made Baja Pie last night (or as Mr. Wookie and I like to call it "Badger Pie"). I think this is my new favorite recipe. The hubs really likes tacos, but I am not a fan. Tacos don't fill me up. They give me the allusion of being full, and then twenty minutes later I'm scrounging around for a second dinner. Badger Pie is a compromise piece. It has all the flavor of a delicious taco, but it leaves me feeling full like after I eat a Sonic cheeseburger (mmm Sonic).

I found the recipe from Betty Crocker Online, but here it is for you in a simple version:

Heat your oven to 325. In a glass dish, layer four or five tortillas (I used the ones by Mi Casa) and brush with a little melted butter. In a large bowl, mix two cups of cooked chicken (I got mine from the chicken I cooked last week), a can of black beans, a cup of salsa, two tablespoons of taco seasoning, and 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese. Spread the mixture over the tortillas and bake for 25ish minutes or until hot. Then sprinkle some more cheddar on top (about a cup, but I don't really measure...I just sprinkle until my heart is content) and then bake another minute or two until the cheese is melty and delicious. Serve on a plate with a wedge or two of tomato and avocado.

The recipe says it makes six servings, but I must be a heifer because I only got four servings.

Until next time, happy eating!

Fire On The Mountain! (and no, you don't have to run from it)

Let me introduce you to my new best friend, Fire on the Mountain, or, in some circles of acquaintance, Mountain Fire. Before this morning, I'd never seen this beauty. How is it then that I now have one achin' to take root in my flower bed? Welp, today I went to teach my summer school hooligans as I have been for the past week. When I walked into the office to make some copies, I noticed this little plant's brother sitting in a plastic bag on the floor. I was instantly enamored. I sought out the plant's owner and asked where I could find my own Mountain Fire.

I drove out to the nursery and knocked on the garage door of the store. From the outside, you couldn't even be sure anybody was working. There were no lights on, and no other vehicles in the parking lot. I timidly walked through the door and found an older couple sitting at a table. I explain that I had been sent by a friend to find a certain plant. He told me they had lots of them and then he graciously offered me a ride on his golf cart. The nursery had hundreds of beautiful plants, and I'm not sure if I liked the plants as much as I liked the sweet owner, but one thing is for sure:I will buy from them again in the future.

I picked out my specimen from about a dozen others and made my long commute home while periodically glancing over my shoulder to make sure my plant was still upright. If you know me, you know I hate a bloomin' bush. Most of them look cruel. They have scratchy briars and are no friend if you have to weed around them. This bush, however, is stunning. Let me show you a close up.

What I love is the variety of color. The new lengths are such a lovely red color, the old parts are a light green (almost lime) color, and the oldest parts are a rich green. The bush will be my last addition to this year's flower bed. Next year, I am planning on expanding the bed in a circle like shape to distract from the hard line of my house. Here are some pictures of my completed flower bed.

I think the shepherd's hooks are just darlin', and I plan to switch out the plants in the fall and winter (I'm thinking about hanging ghosts for Halloween and wreaths for Christmas). I bought these little plants at Walmart because they were on clearance for $3 a piece. I may move them inside and hang ferns on the hooks next summer.

Blue Ridge Parkway

I am in lust with South West Virginia. No, we don't have a plethora of shopping centers or places to eat, but I've never seen the appeal of owning a lot of stuff. I'm a self-proclaimed frugalista, and I love all the free outdoor activities SWVA has to offer.

Today I took my summer enrichment students on a field trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway. We visited Mabry Mill and the Music Center. I have been to Mabry Mill many times because my dad is a fan of the Sunday drive. Mabry Mill is one of his favorite places to visit. When I was little, I loved to go there because there were ducks around the pond. Luckily, the mill hasn't changed much. The ducks were still around the pond. For those of you who don't know, the mill was a grist mill, and it still runs today (although what you buy there is actually produced in NC now). The park also has a late 1800's cabin on site AND a corn liquor distillery (read: moonshine).

Even though I've been to Mabry Mill twenty times in my life, I'd never been to the Music Center until today. I am in L-O-V-E with the music center. First of all, our ranger was a fantastic speaker. You could tell he is passionate about Old Time music and instruments. I appreciate people with a little passion. Second, the views are spectacular! We sat in rocking chairs on a porch that overlooked the mountains while an Old Time band played. I felt like I had died and gone to heaven.

We also stopped at Groundhog Mtn. for a picnic lunch. Without planning, I ended up completing one of my 25 goals for the year. I hope to get back to the Music Center sometime this summer to hear one of their weekend concerts. If you live in the area, I highly suggest making use of the Blue Ridge Parkway. It really is a gem.

Completed One of my Original 101 Goals

When I bought my house, the builder had landscaped with bushes and mulched with white decorative rocks. I am not a bush person nor a rock person, so a few months ago my mother in law came over and helped me thin out the rocks and pull out the bushes. All that remained in my front flower garden were three azalea bushes and, of course, a flower bed full of red clay.

Fast forward to this weekend when I decided enough was enough! I was tired of looking at my bare flower beds (and I'm sure my neighbors were tired of looking at them as well), so I weeded them and then took a trip to Lowe's where I finally managed to buy some perennials. Those of you that know me know that I'm pretty indecisive. I've been to Lowe's forty times in the past two months to "browse" the flower selections. I've never planted anything before in my life, and I didn't want to make a mistake. This time, after reading a Southern Living article on choosing plants for you garden, I decided I was going to buy whatever looked pretty to me. I ended up with four Zagreb Coreopsis and two Prairie Splendor Coneflowers. (I will show you a picture of one of my Zagrebs, but the Coneflowers haven't bloomed yet and still kinda look like a weed, so I won't show you a picture of that one just yet!)

This is a picture of my front flower bed. As you can see, I planted the four Zagrebs directly under my front porch because they are supposed to be mounding perennials. Once they fill out, they should curve just under the bottom part of the railing. There is a space of about two feet between the last Zagreb and the first Coneflower. My plan is to put a trellis in that space and get a climbing plant. Next summer, I'm going to curve the flower garden out in front of the three windows to diminish the hard line of the house. I'm also going to put window boxes on the railing to make the porch pop out. (Don't worry, I'll post pictures again when I finish my landscaping project!)

Here is a closeup of my Zagreb. Currently, each plant is about 8 inches tall (I took this picture from the top so you could see all the pretty little yellow flowers).

All in all, I've spent less than $50 so far. The two coneflowers were a little more expensive, but the Zagrebs were about $4 a piece. I also bought a bag of soil and a hand spade. I am going to buy mulch pretty soon because I don't want to be weeding every weekend, so my cost will go up when I make that purchase this weekend.

I didn't think I'd get to this 101 goal before next year, but I'm glad that I did! I enjoy the calming effects of gardening. I just hope my plants live!

The List

I started composing my list at 12 o'clock last night and created 65 things before falling asleep. I completed my list during my two morning classes (I know, I'm such a slacker. I graduate in two weeks, so I feel justified in moving on with my life. Creating a list of goals is a healthy endeavor!)
The hardest thing about composing the list was being realistic. There are so many places I want to visit around the world, but I know that I won't have the money in the next 2.75 years to take trips to Italy and Greece, so I came up with cheaper, but still fullfilling goals.
So here it is. My list. I've broken it up into seven categories based on common themes.

Key:
Things I've Yet To Do
Things in Progress
Things I've Done

Take a drive on the Blue Ridge parkway
Visit my brother in KY
Go to a flea market
Go to a local festival
Document my 101 things in Scrapbook or blog form
Go to the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra
Update my recipe book
Participate in Nano Wrimo
Apply to an MFA Program
Send poetry to lit magazines
Setup a Netflix account
Setup my magazine subscriptions
Get a library card
Donate to the college
Try something new on the Kabuki menu
Write often
Visit the new art museum in Roanoke
Join a club or take a class (pottery, cooking, whatevs)
Watch AFI’s 10 Top 10 (Snow White (Best animation), City Lights (Romantic Comedy), The Searchers (Western), Raging Bull (Sports), Vertigo (Mystery), The Wizard of Oz (Fantasy) , A Space Odyssey (Sci-Fi), The Godfather (Gangster) , To Kill a Mockingbird (Courtroom Drama), Lawrence of Arabia (Epic))
Read 60 books in 2009 (60/60)
Earn 100 points for the Nest’s Spring Book Challenge (currently at 270 points!)
Have a girl’s day out once a month
Spend 30 minutes each day with J man once we're married
Send out Christmas cards to friends
Go see a concert with Mr. J
Spend the day with a friend
Go to a sporting event with dad
Play a board game or cards with Mr. J once a week
Make a new friend
Take my niece on a girl’s day out
Visit my grandmother
Decorate a real tree for Christmas with Mr. J
Shop at the farmer’s market
Have a cookout
Try 10 new recipes from either from a cookbook, online, or from a family member (10/10)
Try 10 new recipes from the Pioneer Woman’s website (6/10)
Go on a picnic
Eat in for a whole month
Host a dinner party
Eat at a new restaurant
Make a traditional Thanksgiving dinner
Have a yard sale
Donate yard sale leftovers
Send out wedding thank you notes
Buy a washer and dryer
Create a “nest egg” (original goal was $5,000, currently at $7,100!)
Pay off ¼ of student loans (have since paid off waaaay more than 1/4!)
Pay off living room furniture
Organize my books
Use reusable bags at the grocery store at least twice a month
Make the extra bedroom into a guest room/office
Buy a new entertainment center
Walk somewhere instead of driving
Legally change my name and address
Get artwork for the living room, bedroom, and kitchen
Throw out superfluous papers
Spend gift cards
Plant a flower garden
Update my wardrobe
Find a job with benefits
Get a new dwelling (house, apartment)
Take a walk three times a week
Participate in Relay for Life
Get a new hair style
Gain 5-10 lbs
Get a massage
Replace judging thoughts with positive thoughts
Change a tire
Visit the Grand Canyon
Take Jeff to D.C.
Create a 1000 item gratitude list
Visit 3 new states
Go camping away from home
Join a small group at church
Visit Amy and Tony in Kansas
Volunteer at the Christmas Store
Paint the extra room
Open a Roth IRA
Read 25 books in 2011
Take a romantic weekend getaway
Witness the Chincoteague pony swim
Watch the sun rise on the beach
Go to the Barter Theater
Visit a Writer's house
Buy Christmas for an angel tree child
Make a college scrapbook
Read Gone with the Wind
Complete a wedding scrapbook
Get a pedicure with my sister
Babysit my sister's twins
Eat dinner at The Homestead
Bake a pie
Put in a fence
Update Passport
Start a baby fund ($5000)
Get a full set of china (4/8)
Run a 5k
Expand the deck
Take a bike ride
Attempt to ski
Write twelve poems