Peppered Thought – The Spice of Life

July 9, 2010

My Summer Soundtrack of Happiness

This Friday, I would like to Take Five minutes to be grateful for this new and old music that puts me in a summery mood. This weekend there is a 30% chance of rain, which will make for some amazing photos, to say the least. But summers here and more than complaining about needing rain. Summer can be full of no pants (i.e. dresses, I suppose), floating in the pool, watching pine trees, early morning napping (I call it a gradual wake-up) on the hammock, an icebox full – no, really, FULL – of popsicles and bike rides through some beautifully colorful neighborhoods.

Bluesy blues perfect for a muggy, sweltering monsoon night, fanning myself on the hammock, eating a popsicle. Seriously, I should be doing everything with a popsicle in tow-the freezer is full!

If you click through on this video, it should play all the songs, as a playlist. If you don’t want to click through, it will just play Blondie’s “Heart of Glass” sung by the awe-inspiring Puppini Sisters. NOTE: “Thursday Night” by Honey Honey and “You Can’t Stop Me Now” by RZA are a tad NSFW, but the rest are all fine.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Musical Endeavors, Things to Do

July 8, 2010

Thursday, In Which My Fourth of July Holiday Ends Four Days Later

on the road again…

Wow. My weekend lasted for 4.5 days. It was glorious while it lasted. I packed a lot into some seemingly relaxing days:

-went to the gym

-watched two amazing World Cup matches

-partied with family on Whiskey Row in Prescott

-got a fisheye lens and used it enough already for people to get sick of me behind the camera

-creating one of the better care packages I have made, complete with homemade Surprise Ball!

-getting to scour the internet for acrhitecture pictures for my brother. He is moving back to Chicago at the end of the summer and wants his room to be real classy. I am incredibly touched he asked me for help, but, in typical brother fashion he just said he wanted “black and white architectural pictures,” and left it up to me to find out what that meant.

-in the above search, finding this astounding book. MUST HAVE.

-I also did a lot of bike riding, sleeping in my hammock, and losing a couple pounds, despite eating fry bread, multiple tecates, and a HUGE family breakfast.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Food and Drink, Ideas and Innovations, Lists, Physical Health and Beauty, The Library, Things to Do

July 2, 2010

Take Five Friday: 4-day Independence Weekend

It wouldn’t be a picnic without a slight rainstorm and consequent dam-builidng.

Okay, everyone in my family who reads this blog. This is my top 5 list of things I would like to see this weekend:

5. water balloons. They may have shut down the water war cruises (I did that back in the early 90′s, before it got out of hand), but that doesn’t mean we as a family can’t get soaked.

4. Sparklers. Everyone bring their lighters, because we are spelling out some letters!!

3. BBQ. Since The Beau introduced me to Jack Daniels BBQ burgers (homemade), I have become obsessed with BBQ. Please someone, save me some BBQ.

2. Huge family breakfast. I don’t care if it’s at our favorite come-together restaurant, or at my na-na’s with people piled everywhere in chairs or sitting on stoops. I would prefer chorizo and waffles at na-na’s - I will even repay you by doing yardwork, nana!!!

Every family has an endless supply of spy glasses, right?

1. Just being together. Our family is finally in a 2-state radius again, so we can get together like this more often, with everyone truly being together. I feel very lucky that my family is so close, and we love each other so much we are willing to camp out it in each others back yards and under tables just to be able to spend as much time as possible with each other. Thanks, Fourth of July Weekend!

Leave a Comment

Filed under Uncategorized

July 1, 2010

Etymology Day, Part Nine

Oh sports. There are so many different slang terms for each sport, I don’t know if I will ever understand them all. But watching the World Cup, I have found a fascinating new phrase that I want to work into my own vernacular: to be at sixes and sevens.

Unfortunately the only way I could work it in is if bad things are happening, so maybe it’s a good thing I had no idea what it meant.

“At Sixes and Sevens (“at 6′s and 7′s”) is an English phrase, describing a state of confusion or disarray. The origins of the word are a bit muddled, but the funniest one is the quarrel between the Merchant Taylors’ and the Skinners’ Livery companies. They have fought and been in a dissarray about who comes sixth in the order of precedence. I will give you a minute to click through that link, read all the awesome names in the order (HABERDASHERY FTW!)

Ahh, you’re back! Okay. So, as with quite a few crazy phrases, no one is for certained who coined the phrase as a phrase, but I like ridiculous quarrel stories.

p.s. Going back to the World Cup, haven’t the commentators been AMAZING? I want Ian Darke and Ally McCoist to commentate on everything!

Leave a Comment

Filed under The Library, Tips + Tricks

June 29, 2010

27 Before 27

My glass is always half full.

So, with my love of lists and extreme optimism on my part, I have started thinking about things I have wanted to do. I decided that some of these things would never be done if I didn’t have a deadline, so i decided to make a list of things I have want to do before I turn 27. I have started a little late, considering I only have about 9 months left of being 26, but I am a sucker for procrastinating and working well under pressure. Without further ado, the LIST:

1. another tattoo, or a beautiful touch-up of my existing ones

2. get down to ideal weight (including some killer muscles!)

3. Make a vlog

4. Start a photo-folio

5. begin writing my screenplay

6. Help out at a women’s shelter

7. Successfully grow a garden

8. Sew my own dress

9. Babysit

10.Take pictures in photobooths with all my closest friends (though maybe not all at once)

11.Do something for my mom she has been putting off doing herself

12. Having a significant amount of clutter released from my house and into the wild

13. Stay in a historic hotel

14. Have a girls night out

15. Road trip!

16. Have written a short story everyday for at least 3 months

17. Get all my craft hurricanes sorted and organized

18. Bake at least 3 new desserts and 3 new dinners

19. photograph lightning

20. Watch a meteor shower

21. Bike to a destination (work, gym, store)

22.Not get into debt over Christmas

23. Visit friends in another city.

24. Visit and help my grandma with yardwork and cleaning

25. Get my car running in tip-top shape (mostly) by myself

26. Shoot a short movie

27. Read a classic I have never read before

Leave a Comment

Filed under Film Discussion, Food and Drink, Guy-con, Ideas and Innovations, Ladies, Letters, Lists, Manners, Musical Endeavors, Physical Health and Beauty, Q + A, The Library, Things to Do, fashion

June 28, 2010

Tortilla the Birthday Dog

Today is my little Chihuahuas birthday. Tortilla is a lover if there ever was one. I hope he turns into a Robodog so he can stay with me forever, even if he can no longer go swimming. I love him with all my heart.

tortilla loves the interwebs. Especially Warming Glow, where he gets his fill of dogs in costumes. He really enjoys doggie schaudenfraude.