Donations accepted here

Grandpa and me, originally uploaded by hakeber

I don’t usually do fundraiser stuff. It’s a pain. I sold Girl Scout cookies in elementary school. I sold Indian River fruit in high school band. I skipped last year’s fundraising efforts by my company because ALS (aka Lou Gehrig’s Disease) hadn’t affected any of my friends or family. But this year they picked LLS, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

If you would like to make a donation to help me meet my fundraising goal, you can visit my website at http://pages.lightthenight.org/ga/Atlanta09/RArnson. This is why I’m walking…

My grandpa was diagnosed with acute leukemia when I was really little. My mom and grandma would spend days at MCG while I would spend multiple nights at friends’ houses so I wouldn’t have to miss school. He went into remission (for a few years I believe), but that was only temporary. It did come back and in a few months he was gone. I remember getting the call from my mom when he died. It was the summer after 5th grade and I was at a friend’s house. Patty asked me if I was ok and I said yeah and that was that. I guess I wasn’t one to wear my heart on my sleeve even at age 11. Cancer’s a bitch… and that’s all I have to say about that.

Yelp

Instead of blogging, lately I’ve been Yelping…

My visits to Trader Joe’s weren’t as great as I expected them to be.

One star for the bananas and one star for the wine…

I fell in love with World Market (and stroopwafels) again.

this place is dangerous…

And we had a great early Valentine’s Day dinner at Anis. I’m totally ready to go back for lunch for the mussels and to try their croque monsieur.

Disclaimer: My husband knows the Executive Chef and we only paid for our wine and a generous tip…

Christmas!

Christmas dinner, originally uploaded by hakeber

Another successful Christmas holiday in the books. A few firsts this year… it was Barley’s first Christmas, we had our first overnight house guest, and it was the first time our awesome roasting pan was used. If you’re keeping track at home, this was our 4th year hosting and cooking Christmas dinner.

Christmas Day Feast
Baked Spinach and Artichoke Dip w/ pita chips
Amy Sedaris’ Cheese Ball w/ crackers
Veggie Tray (carrots, broccoli, and radishes) w/ ranch dressing
Roasted Turkey w/ Barry’s special rub
Ham (from Barry’s parents)
Squash Casserole
Sautéed Spinach
New Potatoes
Thyme Bread
Green Slime (from Barry’s mom, I think it’s basically this w/o the nuts)
Cranberry sauce (from Barry’s aunt)
Cookies and Ice Cream for dessert… but most of us were too full to eat any more

Christmas Past

Went to my mom’s house this weekend and came back with a few goodies: food, quilts (that’ll have to be another post), and pictures. I’m (slowly) scanning the pictures and putting them on Flickr. Yesterday, I pulled out the photos taken at Christmas. Wasn’t – I – cute? What happened?

Also, mom put up my DecemBear advent calendar. I should have taken a photo of it, but this photo will have to do. (Can’t find it anywhere else online!) You move the Bear around on the calendar… he’s trying to find “Christmas”. I was kinda sad that I didn’t get to move him, as he was already in the right spot for the day.

Update: Wow, someone is selling a DecemBear advent calendar for $55 on eBay.

Gobble gobble

The rain is still coming down, my husband is at the Jason Mraz concert tonight, and I am on the couch with Barley’s head on my lap (and Kozmo just on the other side of him). The Thanksgiving break has been a pretty great one so far.

Had a fantastic Thanksgiving Day feast at Kurt’s/Vreny’s in Duluth with Barry’s parents. Yes, I did have 4 plates of food and a half a liter of beer. (salad plate, entrée plate, seafood/fruit plate, and dessert plate)

Yesterday, Barry and I went to get our Christmas tree (a Leyland Cypress) in nearby Fairburn at Ed’s Christmas Trees. It’s our third Christmas in the house and also the third year going to Ed’s to chop down our own tree. This time we finally picked out a tree that fit perfectly in the dining room. The previous two had to be trimmed at the top in order to fit. It’s amazing what a little pre-planning and a tape measure can do.

Today, after a few morning errands, we had a great brunch at Thumbs Up. For some reason they were playing non-stop Michael Jackson… Barry was pretty happy with that. Got back to the house in time to catch the kickoff of the GT/UGA game. In case you live under a rock or don’t care about college football, Georgia Tech won (!) 45-42… the game, specifically the 3rd quarter, was fantastic although nerve-wracking. I was in Athens for our two wins in 1998 and 2000, but have not been back to Athens for gameday since then. Maybe Paul Johnson can change my mind about that… especially if Barry is going to have his baby.

And… tomorrow looks like a great day for more relaxation and Christmas tree decorating!

Sidenote… I was going through some of the movie trailers OnDemand and came across Sunshine Cleaning with Amy Adams and Emily Blunt. It looks great and I hope it comes to Atlanta next year. Also looking forward to another Amy Adams movie in 2009, Julie & Julia.

Weekend* Update

Like Barry did a few months ago, I updated my “About” page today. I think it’s a pretty accurate representation of me… at least it’s a lot better than what was up there before. =)

*Yes, it’s Friday and it’s my weekend already.

Long time…

… no blog. Here’s what I’ve been up to since my last (real) post back in May. Discuss amongst yourselves.

- Late May vacation to Orlando and Universal Studios
- Began attending regular Foodie Club outings
- Went to our once a year Braves game
- Wedding #1 of 2008, Brandon and Lisa Phillips
- Celebrated our 2nd anniversary
- Finally went to the GA Aquarium and received Annual Passes from the in-laws
- Took the husband to the Metalocalypse/Dethklok concert for his birthday
- Junior’s dinner turned out to be a bust, but Rocky Mountain was a good alternative
- Adopted Barley
- Celebrated the return of Frank Ma
- Wedding #2 of 2008, BJ and Ashley Burris
- Celebrated the return of Georgia Tech football
- Supervised (supervising? … it’s ongoing work) some fence building
- and very recently… celebrated the return of water to our house (after realizing our water line broke between the house and the street and being without water for 3 days).

Like I didn’t see this one coming…

Your result for The Neurotic Test…

The Dork

Once upon a time

Program, page 1, originally uploaded by hakeber

10 years ago I was still in high school. In a few more days, I won’t be able to say that.

I grew up in a small town outside of Augusta, Georgia, and graduated valedictorian of Jefferson County High School in 1998. Like Dooce, I really didn’t get much out of being valedictorian, other than being able to say that I was… and I rarely even do that. I think I’ve gotten progressively dumber ever since then.

There were a few high points of high school: being valedictorian would be one I guess, band would be another one, and I got to be a French exchange student. I’ll have to post my picture from my passport for that trip. I was wearing flannel I think. Crazy.

So here’s to high school and to blowing the curve on tests. Ahh, memories!

Out with the old…

in with the surface lots and the as-yet-to-be-determined Tech Square development addition? I kind of thought Georgia Tech knew better. But in the end, I guess money might be the deciding factor.

No need to sacrifice 4 historic buildings – Maria Saporta