georgia

this is a list of my observations of things that are uniquely georgia. maybe uniquely southern, but i haven't explored enough of the south to be sure. and maybe to be completely fair this list is uniquely columbus and the chattahoochee valley area, since i have not spent much time in the other parts, except for atlanta which i adore.

•  slanted parking spaces. the worst. if you turn into a parking lot lane the "wrong" way you will have to turn into the next lane to park, except you will still be facing the wrong direction to pull into the slanted spaces that columbus insists on having almost everywhere.
• dead armadillos along the road. the only time i've ever wanted to examine roadkill more closely and maybe even take a picture. they're like little dinosaurs to me.
• it's a sauna. i read about someone in maine calling 95 degrees an incredibly hot summer, and thought, 'that's nothing.' even when it rains, which has been frequently this summer, it does not cool down at all and might even get hotter. i love summer nights in the north, in hawaii, everywhere i've ever been, but in georgia? no. it does not cool down even in the evenings. i have all the respect in the world for lance and everyone else who must work outside here - horrendous!
• grits, cornbread, BBQ, collard greens, boiled peanuts, fried everything. 
• the grocery store sells out of bacon.
• no one uses their turn signals. we feel we are surrounded by terrible drivers here. (plenty of examples but they are not worth listing or i'll get worked up just thinking about how ridiculous it is.)
• fantastic roads though, so smooth and well-designed to equip the population here. (unlike pennsylvania.)
• people are obsessed with college football.
• deer are skinny and look more like fawns.
• cute little lizards are all around. 
• so far only one snake sighting for me (phew) but lance sees lots at work.
• flimsy looking pine trees. looking even flimsier if you happen to follow a truck hauling a load of pine that looks like it could flop right off and smash your windshield.
• recycling isn't a priority. i have not seen signs of recycling anywhere actually.
• punctuality does not seem to be a priority either. every sunday church seems pretty empty but about 30 minutes into the service almost every seat is taken. at the eye doctor last week i waited more than an hour and today (i had to go back for followup) i waited more than an hour and a half. when i told the assistant i had another meeting i needed to get to, he asked what it was and what time, and then he said, "oh, okay yeah, if it's with the army then they mean 5 when they say 5!" i wanted to ask if when eye doctors in georgia say a time it actually means an hour and a half later but somehow i refrained.
• mulch is rare, people use pine needle bales to "mulch" instead.
• according to people from alabama, when it's raining and the sun i shining the "word" for that is: "the devil must be beating his wife." the people who told us this could not believe we didn't have a "word" for that. that's actually a phrase that makes no sense for that, but no, we do not have a word for that.
• if you want a nice lawn, or any semblance of grass, you'll pour a lot of money into special types of grass and an intense sprinkler system.
• tons of pollen, lots of allergies and itchy eyes in the spring and into summer.
• lots of fountains and pools.
• sweet tea everywhere. i'm not a fan. lance likes it occasionally.
• dodge chargers and ford mustangs = most popular cars. kias are close behind.
• crazy intense thunderstorms and lots of them.
• at a volunteer training today i was taken aback when security was being discussed and almost all of the women started talking about how they "always pack."
• georgia has 159 counties. compared to pennsylvania's 67ish, here it feels like you're always driving into a new county. 
• if southern hospitality exists, it has eluded us so far. people love to go out to eat here. and on any given day every restaurant parking lot you drive by is packed. even more surprising to me is how every fast food restaurant i pass ALWAYS has a line of cars stretching around the  building. blech.

recently read for july 12, 2013

Battlefield of the Mind

By Joyce Meyer

Fantastic book. I highly recommend it for anyone who wrestles with worry, overthinking, anxiety, etc. A very practical and Biblical resource for getting your thoughts where they need to be.

Quiet

By Susan Cain

Incredibly intriguing read! If you love sociology or consider yourself an introvert (or know and love one) this is an EXCELLENT read. She details several fascinating studies and as an introvert, I learned so much about myself, and even about some of the ways I'm extroverted too. The history of how the west has come to a place of revering extroversion (in the workplace and socially) is compelling, and the positive contributions that introverts have made in the past and will continue to make are thought provoking and reassuring. I could write an entire post on the many interesting points in this book, because I highlighted and starred oh so many things.

Two Kisses For Maddy

By Matthew Logelin

I was sucked in by the cute cover and the fact that I adore memoirs. The author lost his wife less than a day after she gave birth to their daughter, Madeline. It was totally unexpected. His story is heavy and incredible. I couldn't help thinking how proud his wife must be of him, because he seemed to really grow up in light of her death. Not the greatest writing, and he resorts to swearing a lot to express emotion. (I consider that in itself a huge sign of weak writing since the point of writing is to be able to express yourself, and while occasional swears at the right moment can do that and be comical, in general they are an injustice to the reader and a copout for the writer.) He is an awesome dad and this story is a sweet read and reminder of what is important.

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

By Stephen King

I've never read anything else by Stephen King and probably wouldn't have even picked this up except for the fact that it came highly recommended by a friend. By no means is it a dull grammar reader. King shares his own life story in the first portion of the book, and more on his life at the end - all very fascinating stories and insights, to say the least. His thoughts on writing are moving and convicting, and this is now one of my favorite non-fiction books. If you are a writer or artist, this book is for you. Also great if you enjoy reading memoirs of people who worked hard to go from having practically nothing to having their dreams fulfilled because they never gave up.

The Language of Flowers
By Vanessa Diffenbaugh
This novel is completely wonderful. It was actually in the young adult section at my library. It's an easy read but full of depth. The story flashes back and forth between the present, as Victoria is emancipated from the state foster care system at age 18 and finds her way, and her younger years traveling from home to home. It is such a beautiful and incredibly written story. When I finished I almost wished there was a sequel. Good books always leave you wishing there was more, and authors are so wise to quit while leaving you with that appetite.

The Fault in our Stars
By John Green
I read this book in a day. I am hesitant to start another novel because this was the kind of novel that is SO GOOD you don't know if anything else will be able to hold your interest quite as well. Hazel has lung cancer and meets Isaac, who goes blind from cancer, at a horrible cancer support group they both hate going to. Isaac's best friend is Augustus, who falls in love with Hazel and she slowly falls in love with him too. They are smart, witty teenagers and their love story is beautiful and sob-worthy. Green's writing is brilliant and I might check out more of his books. Definitely a great summer or anytime read! And apparently I'm on a teen fiction kick.

What about you? Any great fiction or nonfiction recommendations or ones to stay away from? Happy reading! 

"The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read." [Mark Twain] 

happy 4th of july

we had a lovely day celebrating the fourth of july. it's been rainy here for days upon days, but frankly i love it because it's better to have the sauna that is Georgia tempered with some rain than to just melt.

we went to friends for a BBQ and had a great time. some of our friends parents were there and one mom said to me, "oh you're the one who cooks! i've heard about you!" ha. such a compliment and never something i thought anyone would say to me. i only really started cooking since we got married but i really like it now. my bacon horseradish potato salad was a hit. (even though our burner started shooting out flames while i was making it, eek.)

i love this man. sometimes i cry happy tears for how happy he makes me and how thankful i am for such a good husband. this was taken along the river waiting for the fireworks to start, but they got canceled because of the weather. 

so then we hopped on to a party at another friend's house and i met some great new people. we always have a comical time finding our way to friend's houses in alabama (we're only 15 minutes from the border and the time difference, which can be confusing) because for whatever reason, our gps can never find the places we need to go there. lots of new houses i guess? and for all the times i've stopped to ask for directions down here, i don't know if i've talked to one person who has ever been able to give me directions. especially if i'm trying to find something on fort benning. it's crazy.

the hardest i laughed all night was when we were telling another couple about the great restaurants in atlanta, and they were asking for some specifics and lance goes: "well the last time we were there we ate at this awesome seafood place, it's called That Fish Place-"

he said it so seriously that at first i thought he was joking but when i realized he wasn't, he got cut off by my hysterical laughter and finally when i could talk i said, "That Fish Place is a pet store in Pennsylvania ... the restaurant we ate at was the Atlanta Fish Market." then we were both laughing but the other people could not fully appreciate the hilarity of the mixup as they had never been to the pet store - or the fancy restaurant.

hope you had a wonderful holiday! here's a sweet video...

free running clinic

i went to a free running clinic last week and they might as well start calling them free humiliation clinics. the clinics are through an awesome locally-owned running store downtown and they fill up months in advance. having waited awhile to "get in" and having never had formal instruction in running, i thought it would be a great opportunity.

i assumed my form was way off and would need correcting, but how bad could it be? it's running - can you really mess up one of your body's natural movements that much? so when the clinic started and we were told we'd have to run for a bit and be filmed running so they could critique our form, i was ready to roll with it. of the 15 people in attendance, no one wanted to go first so i stepped up and went first and just did my thing.

after everyone finished and the instructor had all the footage (pun intended) he needed, we went back inside and he discussed proper running form. he estimates that with all of the marathons and 50 and 100 milers he has done in his 30 years of running, that he has run around planet earth more than three times. whoa.

i took notes, like i always do. i couldn't believe how much the girl beside me, who looked incredibly athletic, was sweating it out about the video clips of us running and kept whispering that she didn't want anyone to see it. i wasn't worried, because again - how bad could it be? and they'll throw in something positive to balance out all the negative, so just focus on that.

as it turns out, really bad. and i forgot that sports people are not all about throwing in a positive to balance out all the negative. that's only in sports movies and that's why i have always liked sports movies much more than actual team sports.

the lecture ended and he started to roll the clips. mine was first and he started chuckling and asked the group to point out things that were wrong. only one chump was ticking off problem after problem with my form, before turning around and saying to me, "well at least you give us a really good picture of everything we shouldn't do!" to which i oh-so-maturely rolled my eyes and glared. (that had not been the one positive thrown into the negative that i was hoping for.)

the instructor continued to critique everything about my form ... and the video was still paused in the first frame. before i had even covered any ground. sheesh. "now it's not that i'm picking on you chelsea," he said. "it's just that you went first." 

well, what the hell. apparently everyone else knew that was the way this clinic worked and that's why they refused to go first.

as he played the rest of the clips, instead of pausing and dissecting every last detail he'd just say, "okay yeah, same things ..." 

the nervous girl next to me changed her whispering tune to, "i'm so glad i didn't go first."

maybe everyone else had already bought shoes from his store, so the instructor didn't feel the need to throw in a smart comment about their shoes - just mine. (although i doubt it because one woman was in heels and some others had underarmour sneakers, which i know his shop doesn't sell.)

"now the shoes chelsea's wearing, they're very  stylish, probably why they were chosen, but they're not good because ..." blah blah blah, i am on criticism overload and don't even hear you anymore, mister. i chose them because they are designed for crossfit. and they work great for crossfit. and yes i chose the pink ones because i like the color pink - so sue me.

when i asked him a few questions afterward, he was perfectly kind to me. he did not, however, have answers for my questions, which was redeeming. (when i had bad/mean teachers in school i thrived on asking questions they couldn't answer. i'm sure all of my elaborate "why"s and creative-right-brained-base questions to my high school math teachers were always much appreciated.)

the handout he gave us is one of the first things to come up on a google search of "good running form" ... feel free to learn from it and from my mistakes, and be prepared to not go first if you find yourself at a running clinic in the future.

in spite of the humiliation factor, the clinic was super helpful and i learned a ton. he said it will take months and months to apply everything that we learned. for now i'm trying to concentrate on working from my midfoot (instead of coming down on my heels), not locking my knees, and watching how i swing my arms.