Grey Street Girl

A Dark Post

Live:  I had an incredibly rough day.  Tough times at work.... A mild case of food poisoning.... A overwhelming feeling of inadequacy and helplessness.... That depression that just rushes up on you and takes you under.... The cynicism that eats away at every last bit of hope residing in your soul....  Yeah, one of those days.  Luckily, I pulled myself out of it.  I still feel a bit hopeless and inadequate, but it's not overwhelming at the moment.  So, that is good.  Very good.

Love:  One of my passions is helping the homeless.  We have a great rescue mission here in Nashville. They do a lot of great work, helping people get on their feet and get the medical care they need.  So, when I found Thomas Hawk's Flickr project called $2 Portraits, I was incredibly touched to see the beautiful faces and stories he is capturing.  It inspires me to help even more.  Please check it out.

Laugh:  Here's a dark laugh for the day - is it too soon for Michael Jackson jokes?  I have to guiltily confess, I rather like the shirt.  Poor Michael.

~and~

Gratus:  Today, I'm grateful for an encouraging phone call I got when I was really down and I am thankful for the pint of Guinness I enjoyed over dinner at my favorite pub, served by my favorite waiter who knows that during happy hour, I just want ONE pint of my favorite beer and not the TWO they normally serve.

Today my neighborhood is swarming with gnats.  I managed to capture some swirling around this lamp post today.  I hate bugs.  Have I mentioned that?  I really hate bugs.

Tuesday Blues

Live:  I guess I'm suffering from post-three-day-weekend blues.  I don't have much to say and just really want to sleep.  Nothing's really wrong; I just wish the good times could have lasted a bit longer.  Ya know what I mean?  Okay, I'll stop whining now....

Love:  As I've mentioned in previous posts, I love our new President.  I think he's one cool cat.  The Boston Globe's The Big Picture blog featured pictures from his first 167 days in office.  Check out picture #2 - that guy's getting inauguration sex.  Pictures #17 and #35 are clearly what I mean when I talk about one cool cat.  And, #30 is just too cute!

Laugh:  Over the weekend, I stumbled upon several new humor blogs.  One of these is called Historical Tweets.  It's fake tweets from historical figures - what they would have tweeted if they'd had Twitter accounts.  Since I'm a big fan of Twitter - it's where I get all my breaking news now - the blog particularly struck my funny bone with fake tweets like this one from Michael Jackson and this one from Joseph Stalin.

~and~

Gratus:  Today, I am grateful for the Pomm Stress Martini from the Acorn Restaurant.  Ahhhh yeah!

Best 4th Weekend Ever

Live:  I had THE best 4th of July weekend ever.  And, I spent it all by myself, which is one of my goals on my big list - to get out and live life even if I might have to go do things alone.  So, what did I do that was so fabulous?  In addition to finding that cool burned out piano and going to the Hot Chicken Festival and the Farmers' Market, I also went downtown to see the big fireworks show.  Now, there was a huge storm coming through Nashville.  So, they moved up the show by almost an hour.  By the time I got word of the time moving (via Twitter - thank you!), trucked down there, found a parking spot and set up my tripod, the show started.  And then about 15 minutes in, the storm arrived and drenched us all.  I'm talking more rain than I've seen in my entire life.  I was soaked through and through.  But, it was so much fun - I had an absolute blast and got some practice taking pictures of fireworks, which can be a bit tricky.  Luckily, I beat the traffic, got home, toweled off and had more fun editing pictures.

Love:  You know I love PostSecret's Sunday Secrets.  If you follow that link and scroll all the way down to the bottom, you'll see this picture.  I love that quote.  I think that's where I am right now.... ready to blossom.

Laugh:  I woke up this morning, made my coffee and flipped on the TV to see they were showing stand up comic Jim Gaffigan.  I LOVE JIM GAFFIGAN.  So, that just made my morning.  I especially love his bit on Hot Pockets.  Have you seen it?  Click here to see it.  I promise you won't regret it, unless you're still drinking your coffee because it will cause you to spew it on your computer screen you'll be laughing so hard.

~and~

Gratus:  I'm so glad the I not only had an umbrella, but I also have a waterproof camera bag after the torrential downpour last night at the Nashville fireworks.  See all the pics I got before the rain started by clicking here.

So, how was your weekend?  What did you end up doing?  I hope it was great!

Happy Fourth!

Just popping in quickly to post some links to two Flickr sets.  I had a lot of fun going to the Music City Hot Chicken Festival and to the Nashville Farmers' Market today.  Tonight, I'm braving the crowds and going downtown to see the fireworks at one of the nation's biggest Fourth of July productions, Let Freedom Sing.  Hopefully, I'll have pics of that, if any of them turn out, and will post them tomorrow.

Hope you're having a wonderful day celebrating with friends and family!

Click here to see all the shots from the Hot Chicken Festival.  For all y'all not from the South, hot chicken is super spicy fried chicken.  I actually didn't sample any because the wait was too long.  They were giving away free watermelon to those waiting in the super long lines for the chicken.

Click here to see all the shots from the Nashville Farmers' Market.  These peaches looked so good and I love those baskets too.

Charred remains

I'm not here.  Pay no attention to me.  I'm just popping in to show you what I stumbled upon today.... a burned down recording studio here in Nashville.  Click here to see the whole set.  In addition to the piano, there are several electric guitars, amps, drums, records and music.

Digital Underground

I'm going underground for the holiday weekend, starting tonight.  I need a break from all my internet activities and a long four day weekend sounds like the perfect opportunity.  So, unless I have something earth-shattering to say (do I ever???), I won't be blogging until Sunday night, when I will no doubt be whining about having to go back to work.

But, I did want to pop in now and wish you all a happy, fun and safe 4th of July weekend.  Anyone have big plans?  I'm going to put my GPS to good use and I'm going to watch a bunch of TV series on DVD.  Very exciting stuff!

Get Lost

Live:  I bought a GPS unit today.  I'm SO thrilled because it means I can go wandering around in the country with my camera in tow, get completely lost, then just hit "home" and get back safely to civilization.  I even programmed it to speak to me in this sexy Australian voice.  So, I imagine Hugh Jackman whispering sweet directions in my ear whilst I'm driving.  Yum!

Love:  One of the things I love driving by is Alan Jackson's house here in Nashville.  It's actually not far from where I live, but it's quite a different neighborhood than mine, that is for sure!  Well, I found out today that he's put the house on the market for a mere $38 million dollars.  Have some spare change laying around?  All this could be yours.  What in the heck do you do with over 17,000 square feet of house???  I'd need my GPS unit to find the bathroom!

Laugh:  This picture really cracked me up today.  Wait.... why does my head hurt????

~and~

Gratus:  After another rough day at work and a tough drive home in traffic, I just wanted some comfort food.  I am so glad I had some fat-free muffin mix on hand.  I made these cranberry orange muffins and soothed my weary soul.

Happy Tuesday to you!  What soothes your soul?  Do tell!

Please pass the Frosty Paws....

Live:  I'm officially on a diet today.  Quite unfortunately, I have to lose 25 pounds.  I've decided to use Weight Watchers online to help me out.  Of course, I'm completely ravenous on day one.  I purposefully have no real food in my house except for those little 100 calorie bags of popcorn.  After having popcorn for dinner (I'm out of pickles!), I seriously contemplated eating one or all of the following: (1) the four Arby's barbecue sauce packets in the fridge; (2) a jar of capers and a jar of pesto, both over a year old; AND, last but certainly not least (3) the dogs' Frosty Paws ice cream.  I didn't - I was good though.  It's going to be hard to form new habits after eating whatever I wanted over the last 6 months.  But I'm determined.  Wish me luck!  Oh, and in case you're worried, I did have a real breakfast and a real lunch.  I just skimped on dinner.

Love:  I love the pure joy on this dog's face.  I bet he got Frosty Paws for dessert!  And, I loved making shrinky dinks as a kid - do you remember those?  Well, apparently, you can still do it AND with your own photos!  See here.

Laugh:  I really liked this Hooter's fail. And, this Vegan fail was also on the Passive-Aggressive Notes blog not too long ago - hilarious!  Finally, this LOLdog reminds me of how I feel about the 25 extra pounds on my ass right now.

~and~

Gratus:  I had a very emotional day at work.  I can't really get into it here, but it was nice to see this bit of whimsy and mystery when I got home today.  Balloons stuck in a tree.... Where did they come from?  Whose were they?  How high did they fly and what did they see?

Waldorf Revisited

Live:  Well, now that I know I'm not allergic to pickles, I decided to have them for dinner again.  I finished off the jar I opened the other night, but this time, I did add some fat-free popcorn as a side dish though.  Tres haute cuisine!  My weekend has been rather blah.  I didn't even do any real shooting.  I went for a long drive today around in the country, but didn't find anything inspiring.  I think it's just my mood.  This infernal summer heat is getting to me.  It's making me ramble... and do stupid things like eating pickles and popcorn for dinner.

Love:  If you want to take another mental vacation, hop on over to the Slices of Beauty blog and see this and this.  Stunning.  If I believed in heaven, that's what it would look like, except there would be dog hair everywhere because all my dogs would be with me in my heaven.

Laugh:  You gotta give this guy kudos for putting on the tights and striking the pose.  Funny stuff.  And, if you haven't heard of World of Warcraft yet, watch this video and see why you don't need it in your life.  That kid's brother is evil.  I like his style!  Hilarious stuff!

~and~

Gratus:  On Sundays, I thought I'd give you an update on my little revolution I started a couple weeks ago.  In my mind, I created this big list of changes I wanted to happen... a list of all the things I was unhappy with in my life and I planned on writing out a plan to fix them all.  I've been working on the little things, like everyone suggested.  But, I did an important thing today.... I crossed some things off the list.  I've decided to be happy with these things the way they are, to be grateful for them and to be content with what I have.  I think we live in a world where everything has to be perfect, to be like a storybook romance movie, but we all know it's not reality.  I think it's important to be happy with the things we have an not always looking to the next bigger better thing to make us happier.  So, I marked a couple things off, and I feel so much better about my list now.  And, for that, I am grateful.

 

Make a Wish

Live:  Oh, I wish I were at the beach today.  This week was supposed to be my summer vacation trip, but I had to cancel it because of a super big project at work.  I ended up working my ass off this week instead of relaxing.  It felt good to work hard and do a good job on my projects, but I REALLY need a break soon.  SOON!

Love:  I love this picture of our President - he is one cool dude.  And, this memorial picture is so good.  And, I know they're stinky, but what a pair of cuties!

Laugh:  Have I pimped the Passive Aggressive Notes blog?  This Make a Wish entry is priceless!

~and~

Gratus:  I know this sounds still, but after such a tough week, I am so glad they're showing Borat on TV tonight.  I really need the comedy relief.

This is one of the shots from my April vacation to Lido Key.  I had to look at my pictures of the trip today for a mental vacation.  Hope you have a great weekend!!!