Old Blue

Before we jump right into more adventures in Thailand, I need to address an important issue that will no doubt become obvious to you as I share more photos from our trip.  Even to someone who doesn't pay a lot of attention to fashion, it is easy to see a certain theme emerging as the days roll on:

Did Sam not only inspire me to take a tiny backpack, but also somehow convince me that just one shirt would be necessary for this mission?  Friends, I may be growing as a person, but I'm not insane.  No one pushed me in this direction, it was actually a love affair.  

A long time ago, my dermatologist and I decided that I should go for that mysterious, pale girl look.

Unfortunately my look was last popular during the silent screen era

So  you can imagine to what degree of seriousness I took my guide books admonition that the sun in Thailand is much stronger, and you must be prepared.  I went straight online and found my blue shirt, which is just loaded with SPF and wicking and all manner of goodness.  When I put it on that first day in Thailand, I realized that it wasn't just a shirt, it was a miracle.  This shirt is so comfortable that (along with a 9 month stringent humidity training regimen here in the South) I hardly even knew it was blazing hot outside.   In some ways this shirt was so good it was dangerous because I didn't notice I was overheating until I was dizzy and about to pass out.  Every night when I washed it out, I considered the possibility that I wouldn't wear it again the next day.  But I just could not help my self.  The idea that I would want to voluntarily wear the same shirt day after day is staggering to me--and that it would be a functional shirt is even more mind blowing.  I still don't know what to make of it.

I didn't think this blog would be a commercial one, but I'm going to have to give you the information in case you need a shirt like this in your life (which you absolutely do).  It is a Columbia brand sun goddess shirt.  I got mine at Sierra Trading post, and when I got back I ordered what I believe was the last one of that style.  But they also have this one that looks like it could also spawn passionate responses from its wearers:

You can find it here

My efforts paid off in the end as you can see.

Pre-vacation palor

Three days at the beach with no perceptible difference

Our next post will take us back to Thailand, where we will head for the beautiful old city of Chiang Mai.  Hope you can join us!

Thailand

About a month ago, I interviewed for a job as a counselor in Chattanooga.  Things were looking really good and I began a background check process that would take a month to finish.  Sam reacted to this news by announcing that it was time for us to leave the country.  Some who don't know Sam might be surprised by this train of thought, but it didn't completely shock me.  Prior to me being around, Sam had a history of leaving the country and heading to exotic locations at the drop of a hat.  I was excited in a "hmm, that's fun to think about" kind of way.  When I have gone on big adventures in the past, I usually spent about a year planning them.  My husband is not so much a planner.  Sam suggested we go to Thailand.  The next day he booked our tickets and two frantic weeks later (during which time my travel guide actually mutated into a part of my hands) I was on the plane headed to Bangkok.  For those of you who think that I am maybe exaggerating my need to plan and suspect that actually I'm crazy adventuress at heart I give you exhibit A:

Nobody here is overwhelmed

This is me with no sleep, sitting at the airport in Atlanta after having spent a nauseous morning wondering if I really was ready to fly halfway around the world.  It always surprises me how many cool things I get to do considering that I am usually terrified before doing them.  In addition to my fears of what would be awaiting me on the other side of the world, I had the fear that comes when you take a person who normally packs a 70 pound suitcase roughly 4' long for a 2 week trip and you reduce her down to this:

Mom, believe what you are seeing.  That little black backpack on the right held all the clothes I took with me for two weeks.  Were it not for the Starbucks in my hand would we even recognize me at this point?

But a short twenty hour flight and seven in flight movies later, something incredible happened.  I woke up and found out I got to go to this place:

The Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand

This is the thing that makes a scared little me get brave again--the great privilege of getting see something completely exquisite.  Going to the Grand Palace was my first exposure to any type of Asian architecture, and it absolutely took my breath away.  Sam and I walked around in a daze (jet lag no doubt contributed) snapping pictures and grinning at each other.

We barely scratched the surface of Bangkok, but we had a lovely time there.  One of my favorite things about the city was that there are so many high rise buildings people have started getting really creative with their designs.  I liked the robot building in this picture from the rooftop of our hotel.

Hopefully you won't mind traveling with Sam and I for a couple of days as I review some of the highlights of Thailand.  Meanwhile, feel free to call us at 3:00 in the morning.  We're up.

Under-appreciated National Treasures: Balanced Rock

Today it is time to give a little shout out to Castleford, Idaho, home of the Balanced Rock.  I'm sick of all this blah blah blahing about the Grand Canyon and the Taj Mahal as if they are so great.  Anyone can go there and take the same picture as everyone else (Sam and I haven't yet, and maybe that is where this bitter attitude is coming from).  If you really want to be unique, you don't have to rediscover Vietnam, go to Castleford and see this...

Yes, I am not kidding you, that rock is really balancing there.  I know it looks a little small in this photo, but (warning: obvious statement ahead) the closer you get to it, the bigger it is.  This bad boy is (I quote the indisputable Visit Idaho website) "over 48 feet tall and 40 tons, the wind-carved rock balances precariously on a pedestal only 3 feet by 17 inches."  So yeah, you're going to want to see it.

Sam, slightly concerned at the largeness of the rock as he gets closer

As if its natural wonder-ness wasn't enough, you can really get a good workout climbing up there to check it out.  Sam and I were huffing and puffing and mumbling under our breath by the time we made it close enough to touch the rock itself.

A smile hides the pain of too many Christmas cookies + exercise

One thing I love about life is that as you get up into the ancient thirties, you really start to appreciate all the things that are right in your own backyard.  If the budget doesn't have room for a trip to Castleford today, there is probably something within 10 miles of you that other people would travel to see.  Have fun out there!

Big Hair Heroes

Lately, repetitively cleaning every inch of my house, filling out job applications (alas, my Ten Thousand Villages job was only for the holidays!) and drinking a lot of coffee has given me an opportunity to muse about important subjects like my hair and the state of the baseboards around here.   Like many of you, I have an 8x10" black and white photograph of Dolly Parton in a polyester jumpsuit gracing the counter in my bathroom.

I like to imagine I can understand what Dolly would say as I'm getting ready for the day.  More makeup, Dolly? You'd be surprised how much it costs to look this cheap.*  Is this too much jewelry for this outfit? I modeled my looks on the town tramp.*   Is my hair to big?  Dolly doesn't even dignify that with an answer.

During the summer, being a Southern lady for me was characterized by the humidity dictating that my hair would frizz out to troll doll proportions.  I often got the feeling that Dolly would consider that (with a little hairspray) as an advantage.  

Much as I have always loved my In Style magazines, lately I've been thinking that life is too short to fight the larger than life things one sometimes encounters when they look in the mirror.  Maybe they aren't problems. Maybe one is just comparing oneself with the wrong people.  In that spirit, I am dedicating my bathroom (I mean this to be an honor) to my personal big hair heroes.  Women who not only have hair far larger than what I myself might be able to achieve, but who have also done cool things with their lives.

So far I'm a little heavy on country singers and Wonder Woman, but I know that with time this will be an incredibly inspirational collection, and yet another reason to come visit us at the Chalkboard House.

*actual quotes from Dolly Parton

Storm Watch 2011

Those of you who are watching the weather channel today know that we are having an apocalyptic winter episode here in Georgia.  We thought our Christmas snow fall was a big deal, but this is HUGE.  Sam and I (after a long search for the ruler) have confirmed that there are five inches of snow on the chair outside our window, and the feared frozen drizzle has started making a sheet of ice over everything.

For many people watching coverage of this nightmare, the storm is just temperatures and maps and cars sliding around the freeways.  It occurred to me that in this time of unusual weather, Sam and I could put a face to the madness that is happening in our corner of the world.  This is my up to the minute coverage of real live people in the midst of it all.

8:23 a.m.
I wake up.

(reenactment, in which I look angrier than I was in reality when I woke up)

I look out the window.

8:25
I decide to stay in bed and watch the snow.

9:03
It is snowing lightly.  I get up to make coffee and am happy to find that my I Love Lucy "Slave to Fashion" mug is clean.

Sam sits in the comfy chair, reads the news, and is concerned about what is going on outside.  There will be no going anywhere today.

                               

9:10-9:47
It stops snowing.  We continue to sit around doing nothing.  Both our moms call and we talk about the snow.  Sam's mom reports 8 inches of snow at the farm in North Georgia.

9:48
Freezing drizzle begins.  Sam votes for breakfast and thinks sausage and eggs would be good.  I begin to consider the possibility.

10:15
Sam decides to make a bold move and goes outside to brush the snow off the porch and our cars.  As he works, a fine layer of ice instantly forms on everything his broom has touched.  He decides the mission is fruitless and returns to the apartment where breakfast is ready.

10:17
We eat our sausage and eggs.  The drizzle continues.  We watch out our window as a guy prepares to go to work, and I feel sorry for him.

11:01
I remember that we found the remote control for our converter box and decide to end four months of procrastination and hook it up.

11:13
The weather becomes a cross between freezing drizzle and freezing rain.  We find a soap opera in Spanish and watch it, making up our own story based on the words we understand.

11:39-present
We get sick of making up our own story and turn off the t.v.  Sam does the dishes.  I think about cleaning out the closet and go look at it. The state of the closet inpsires me to begin blogging.  We hear spinning tires outside and I go out to look, but I don't see anything.

STAY TUNED.  This is severe weather and things could change at any moment.  I'll be here with your coverage throughout the day!

A Merry Little Christmas

When I pictured my first Christmas in the South, I thought about gracious Southern hospitality, amazing food, and beautifully decorated front porches.  The one thing I really didn't factor in...

...was snow!  You can imagine how excited Sam and I were to wake up at the farm to find a winter wonderland.  

This is the acceptable version of Sam and I enjoying the snow.  We had to have many tries because one of us wasn't cooperating with my vision for Christmas morning joy:

Sam's mom is known for spoiling us with ridiculously lovely breakfasts, but for Christmas she outdid herself.

We had a lovely time together.

Growing up, I always thought I was a little too cool for Christmas morning pictures.  My mom wanted to capture every present that I opened for posterity, and I thought that wasn't totally necessary.  I think history will show that my mom has documented our Christmas mornings with such an outstanding level of excellence that were we to view those pictures quickly it would be a stilted video of the actual day.  But in this as in many other things, it turns out that I am (proudly) my mother's daughter.  So when Sam and I opened our presents, I was all over it.  

Not to be too braggy, but I thought I really caught the energy of that paper ripping

For our first Christmas together, Sam and I pretended we were snowed in and made a gorgeous dinner of steak, lobster, and of course, Fanta (who could get by without their Christmas Fanta)?  

  

It was a very, very  happy day.  Hope everyone else had a wonderful Christmas!

New York

Sam and I recently went for a weekend in New York City as a Christmas present to ourselves.  As always when you travel, you learn a few things.  Along with this picture of the Hershey store in Times Square, here's what I got out of it.

1.  The Flavored Americano
This may be the most important thing I learned, and I believe it is absolutely crucial to impart it to you.  How many of us (and by us, I mean coffee addicts), when we go to Starbucks (if we drink corporate coffee), really want the Pumpkin Spice Latte, but feel like we are getting a punch in the wallet every time we cave in and order it instead of something more responsible?  When I was in line at the airport, the man in front of me ordered a Gingerbread Americano with room for cream.  Call me shallow, but my world exploded.  How could I not have thought of this before?  It saves you over a dollar a cup, and it tastes really good.  I don't know if I can make a case for it being significantly less calories, but in my heart I tell myself there are less.  Seriously, try it.


2.  Tourists are crazy...

This is a picture of me being superior to tourists

...and we are tourists.

Sam pointing out the Statue of Liberty

Me with the Statue of Liberty in my mouth

3.  Guidebooks are back
I have always liked guidebooks, but in my twenties I tried to hide it.  All the cool kids were going places flying by the seat of their pants, just experiencing life.  Lately I have come to accept about myself that it scares me half to death to fly by the seat of my pants, and that I'd rather just have the guidebook.  For me, just getting there is the adventurous part, and at last I'm okay with it.

Thanks to our NYC guidebook we found this little gem--the Hotel 17.  Not only did Woody Allen make a horror movie there (which is something I always look for in a hotel), but it is really cheap for New York--under $200.  It was clean, we didn't get bed bugs, and we even had a flat screen t.v. with 15 channels.

As an extra bonus, it was the narrowest hotel room I ever stayed in.

4.  Go with your gut
Have you ever walked into a restaurant and thought to yourself, this just isn't a good idea.  Sam and I experienced that sensation on our honeymoon when we went into a restaurant we just didn't have a great feeling about.  Things were moving VERY slowly, and yet we plowed on.  Three hours later, we had finally received our overpriced dinner.  It wasn't some European leisure thing with it taking three hours for us to eat, it was more that no one cared whether or not we starved or died of boredom.  Since that experience, we now just leave if things aren't going well.  So in the big city, when we had sat at our table for twenty minutes in an almost empty restaurant and no one had taken our order, we left for greener pastures.  It is such a good feeling!

Anyway, there is really too much good food and not enough time in New York City.  For instance, there are places like the Mac Bar, which serves twelve different kinds of macaroni and cheese and is shaped like a macaroni noodle to boot.

Lobster Macaroni and Chipotle Macaroni

Here we are trying to blend as world weary New Yorkers

5.  Stay street smart
Since I lived adjacent to Boston for a couple of years and I live in Atlanta now, I like to think that I am an aware person who approaches the big city with a good balance of caution and hipness.  This image of myself was a little battered, however, when I went out one morning while Sam was still sleeping to get us some coffee by myself.  My wallet was in my coat pocket, which really didn't seem like a safety first option for me, so I decided that I was probably going to get mugged.  I made it successfully to the coffee shop and because of a slight debacle with making our drinks I left carrying two cups of a coffee and an open cup of cream.  A man who looked a little sketchy began to approach and immediately I shifted into being hyper alert, like the city girl I am.  He suddenly stepped a little too far into my personal bubble and I jumped, completely covering myself in cream.  Because I'm always cool under pressure, I left my cup on the sidewalk (please don't tell, I usually never littler!) and ran away.  What I learned from this was that doing harm to yourself may startle your would be bubble burster, but it doesn't really seem like a good form of self defense.  In the event of a real emergency, I would try to throw the cream at him.

Briefly achieving my hip and cautious stance