I did it!

Tomorrow is September 1. That means today is the final day of the August blogger challenge, and I met the challenge. I blogged something (quality of varying degrees) every single day this month.

I'm actually quite proud of this accomplishment--I've never tried anything like it before. I had a rough spot there in the middle of the month where I had some writers block and it got so damn hot, the last thing I wanted to do was sit in front of the computer. Still, I pushed through and the pressure of having readers made me feel motivated to at least post something. (I can be a perfectionist at times.)

As a new contributer to the blog, I think this was a really good exercise for me. It made me write every day and feel as if it was okay to make posts that weren't necessarily revised and "publishable." It made me a little more carefree and willing to just commit to an idea and run with it.

I'd definitely do it again, but I can also pretty much guarantee I won't be posting tomorrow. And although I think the idea is intriguing, I don't think I'll be doing NaNoWriMo anytime soon.

Hugo's Birthday

Today is the one-year anniversary of the day we brought our dog Hugo home from the shelter. In his honor we had a few people over today to celebrate what we deemed as "Hugo's 5th birthday." Okay, maybe it was more of a housewarming party and we just used Hugo as an excuse, but there was definitely canine treats and a dog-shapped cake involved.

For someone who never had dogs or cats growing up and at one point would have been described as a "non-pet person," my first year as a Doggie Mom has been one of learning. Everyone had always told me about the awesome bond between a dog and its owner, but I don't think I ever quite understood how much I would grow to love that damn dog.

Tim and I had been talking about getting a dog for years. He's wanted one since I met him, and I really warmed to the idea and was excited about it too. It was over three years ago that we got our first dog book and started to decipher the recommendations for which breeds would be the best fit for us. When we were looking for a new apartment last summer, we knew we wanted an apartment that allowed pets. We found one and started searching Petfinder.com even before we had moved in. Fast-forward several weeks and we were on the real hunt for a dog. We read Cesar Millan's book and put his series The Dog Whisperer on our NetFlix. We were a little frustrated in the beginning because we found out a Petfinder dog that caught our eye had already been adopted once we arrived at the shelter (even after we called and they said he was still there). Then, we applied for a dog that was being fostered, and for reasons we will never know, we weren't chosen to be the new mom and dad. I can only assume urban-bias--perhaps they didn't think the dog should be in a city apartment with no yard. Hell, they let anyone have children. We just wanted to save a life, adopt a dog and live happily after.

Well, the last Wednesday in August Tim and I were in Rittenhouse Square Park for their "Concert in the Park" series and the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) was there with several volunteers and several pooches. We went over to say hello and immediately fell in love with one of the dogs. They told us he was a St. Bernard / collie mix (I think the collie part was just a guess)--he has the coloring and face of a St. Bernard without the size. After a nice long walk with the dog, a discussion with one of the volunteers, and a walk with another dog for good measure, we adopted him right there. They said he was about four years old, maybe a little older and a family surrender. Apparently, his old family gave him up because they couldn't afford to feed him. He was skinny and had hair loss on his lower back and tail due to malnutrition. They told us the hair would grow back, all we had to do was feed him. The shelter called him King, but said it hadn't been his name for long and we should feel free to change it. We did, and he's been our Hugo ever since.

I could go into detail about the kennel cough he had when we first adopted him and how it developed into pneumonia, his separation anxiety issues and Houdini-eque escape, our car trip to Florida and back last Christmas, but those are stories that will have to wait. It's been a long day. I have doggie treats and human food to put away. And, a dog to walk.

Happy Birthday, Hugo!

Philly Arts Get Some Press

Check out this "Art to Make You Laugh (and Cry)" article in The New York Times yesterday. It's about Philly's art scene, but mentions other aspects of the city as well. It's an interesting read.

Today is day 29 of the 31-day August blogger challenge. Only two more days of daily posts.

Photo: Fluxspace in Philadelphia taken by Steve Legato for The New York Times

Flower Boxes? Check.

For those who have been following along at home, you'll remember that I've been wanting to get flowers for the window boxes at my new rental. Well, this week I found a bunch of discounted plants at Lowes. They were half-dead, but they were marked down to only one and two dollars. I swept up several figuring the low investment would curtail my disappointment if they all died in a matter of weeks.

I had no idea what I was doing, so I just started scooping in soil and placing plants and moving them around to spread out the varying heights and colors. Some of them still look pretty wilty, but I think today's rain helped. When viewed as a group, they look pretty snazy. Plus, while putting them together I got to overhear a very colorful argument between my neighbor across the street and her grown daughter. I'm planting roots, indeed.

Consumerism!

Rarely is it that I see a commercial on television that literally makes my jaw drop. Tonight I saw a commercial for this:

It's paint that's supposed to eliminate household odors. After squeaking a high-pitched "What?" I sat starring at the tv with my mouth open. The paint also comes with a limited lifetime warranty. "Limited" and "lifetime" seem like a contradiction, but even so it's kind of nice to know there are still things that can surprise me. Do you think it actually works?

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More Body Image and Swimsuits

In response to Planet Caroline's post last week about body image and swimsuits, I was thinking about my own swim suit issues.

Three summers ago a couple of my now husband's female friends from high school came up from NYC to spend the weekend with us in Providence. We went to the beach and to Waterfire, and they spent their evenings looking at old yearbooks and reminiscing about the past. A few weeks later one of the friends posted photos from her trip on Flickr and linked to them from her blog. This normally would not have been a problem. However, some of the photos were of me. At the beach. In my bikini.

They were very unflattering photos, and they triggered what felt like an involuntary, biologic reaction. Knowing that her blog readers, many of whom I knew personally, were viewing them literally brought me to tears. Tim assured me they were fine, and said that if they really bothered me that much I should just ask her to take them down. I felt too embarrassed to have her remove the photos. I'm a confident woman. I should be comfortable in my own skin. My husband loves all my soft spots, why can't I?

Time went by, and I eventually forgot about the photos. Then just a few weeks ago, this friend posted the same group of beach photos on Facebook. She tagged me in the pictures, so I was notified immediately after they went up. I was at work when I saw them, and I had that same gut-wrenching reaction. This time though, I just couldn't take it. I un-tagged myself and asked her to remove one photo in particular. I just couldn't be crying over my poochy tummy at work. She responded promptly, was sweetly understanding and didn't make me feel bitchy or pathetic.

When I read Planet Caroline's post it reminded me of this story. Then, Monday morning on the Today show, Matt Lauer interviewed a "plus-size" model and an editor at Glamour magazine concerning a paticular photo that has been getting a lot of positive attention.

You can read the Glamour article here and see a young woman apparently confident revealing her body. Little belly roll and all.


Photo: Model Lizzi Miller photographed by Glamour magazine. Photo credit: Glamour.com

Friendship & Time

I love unplanned visits with old friends. While I assume it wasn't unplanned for him, last Friday my friend Chris told me he was going to be in Philly this week for a conference. Chris is a friend from my college days in Southern Indiana, and he now lives with his wife in Austin, Texas.

Tonight I had the pleasure of bringing him along to the First Person Arts Story Slam (where Pop Culture Casualty served as the guest judge). I was thrilled to show him a window into my Philadelphia life.

Chris and I met during a semester in England, but since we went to the same school back in the States, we were easily able to remain friends upon our return. The following summer we shared a house with several other roommates. The White House, so called because it was the only non-white house on the block, was the first time I had lived on my own away from university housing. That summer, on my 21st birthday, Chris took the day off from work and cooked me a Vietnamese feast.

After graduation, I moved to Portland, Oregon and Chris went to Colorado to be an Americorps VISTA volunteer. We wrote each other real letters. Like Griffin & Sabine. Chris moved back home to Texas and then to NYC to attend Columbia for grad school. When I moved to Boston for my graduate program, Chris had already been living there for several months. Once again, we were in the same city.

Since then, I've moved to Providence and now Philly; Chris went back to NYC and has now made Austin his home. We don't see each other very often. I was a photographer at his wedding three years ago. He was the videographer at mine. I saw him in Austin when I was down there for a conference in February. He is in Philadelphia for a conference now. I love how there are characters in the story of our lives that continuously make entrances and exits. They have an impact on the way the story unfolds, sometimes subtle, but poetic.

I love that I can sit down for a cup of coffee with someone that I have only seen three times in as many years and we can talk about love and education and art and family, and although time has clearly passed, it feels as if we were never apart.

Catty Crafts

For the first time all summer, this past weekend I skipped dancing. Instead I went to brunch, BBQ and a craft fair at the Rotunda, which was raising money for abused and neglected animals in Philly. Sponsored by Citizens for a No-Kill Philadelphia, 30 vendors assembled to display their handmade wares and support a good cause. I visited two of my friends of catFlowers, who design amazing pieces to wear. In addition, they have the cutest pillows. Check out the catFlowers etsy site and see for yourself.

Really?

After writing this post last night, I went to Google images to find an appropriate picture to accompany it. I typed in "garbage cans" and "South Philly." Just for fun I typed in "dog poop." While I was amused by the "I heart U" written in dog poo and the multiple photos of dogs in squat position, THIS PHOTO of a dog poop catcher absolutely blew my mind.

Of course, I had to click on the image, read the accompanying "The Strangest Pet Gadgets" article and post about it the following day.

I thought sure the photo would link to a story on the Onion. But no. Although it seems the perfect Saturday Night Live sketch, apparently this product is real.
I'll let you sleep on that.
Sweet dreams.

Some Observations on South Philly Living

We moved to South Philly about 3 1/2 weeks ago, and although we're not completely unpacked and definitely not settled, things are beginning to feel a little more like home.

Here are a few observations about my new neighborhood:

Cons:

1. Dog poop. It's everywhere. The sidewalks show a blatent disregard for cleaning up after one's pooch.
2. Garbage cans. This may directly correlate to point number one, but there are very few city garbage cans on the street corners. As a responsible pet owner I find this very annoying when trying to dispose of certain products. This may also explain why many South Philly streets are sprinkled with trash.
3. Beer. I can't seem to find a close-by take-out beer place near my new place. In West Philly I had at least three corner stores within walking distance that sold six packs of beer. Here not so much. Or at least I haven't found them yet.
4. Street cleaning parking signs. The streets in my neighborhood are lined with signs saying parking is not allowed on a certain day of the week because of street cleaning. One block is Tuesdays between March and January. Another is Wednesdays. I have to carefully read the signs on each block to make sure I don't mistakenly overstay on the cleaning day. This would not be nearly as annoying if cleaning actually happened on those days. I have never seen street cleaning and suspect it is just a way for the city to make money on parking tickets.
5. Lack of green. My new neighborhood desperately lacks in trees, grass and public spaces to enjoy both of these things. The side of TD Bank has a little bit of grass and a couple of trees. There is some grass in front of the South Philadelphia High School. I'm making due, but I do not find these particularly suitable alternatives to my options in West Philly.

Pros:

1. Faster commute to work. I'm loving the Broad Street subway line. I'm not riding it late at night, but as a commute to and from work, it's been reliable, air conditioned and speedy.
2. Living space. My husband and I adore our new apartment and all the additional space it provides. Our new neighborhood definitely provides more bang for your buck.
3. Bakeries. Although we have yet to take advantage of them, there seems to be a bakery on every other corner.
4. The South Philly Review. Owned by the same company that publishes the Philadelphia Weekly, the SPR arrives on my doorstep free every Thursday. Reading about things happening in my neighborhood helps me feel as if I'm part of a community.
   
5. Our neighbors. We have had the pleasure of meeting several of our neighbors and so far everyone has been very hospitable and welcoming to a couple of outsiders. Yesterday morning our next door neighbor even offered me some Rosemary from her garden.

I'm still feeling out the area, but I think it's interesting to record my first-month observations. We shall see how they compare to my observations a few months down the road.

Day #22 and holding strong

Today is #22 of the August Blogger Challenge, and I haven't missed a day yet. I have however, been drinking since 2pm today--a joint birthday party for me and a friend whose birthday is tomorrow. When people are out for drinks or dinner in a large group why can't they seem to figure out how much they owe? Even when gratuity is automatically added and everyone swears they tipped or overtipped appropriately, we still come out way under and someone gets screwed. I guess it's just the nature of the beast. Still, why is 20% so hard to figure out?

Well, the week of birthday activities is now officially over. I'm tired and I have to be up at 5am to walk a 5K for the Livestrong Challenge. Hope we don't get soaked. If so, maybe the scene will provide for some entertaining wet t-shirt-like-photos and my post #23 will be a little less lame.

You know it's hot when...

You know it's hot when...

• You are allowed to leave work at 4 o'clock, but stay just a little longer because your office is air conditioned and your home is not.
• Your Friday night plans include dinner and a movie not because you can't wait to see the latest blockbuster, but because you know you will at least be cool for a couple of hours.
• You check out which movies have the longest running times and consider your second or even third choice in order to escape the heat for as long as possible.

Please feel free to add your own.

I will be attending District 9 tonight, or for an additional 40 minutes of cool time, may opt for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Confession: I Want to Hide in the Summer

I'm interested in hitting a pool/dance party in Atlantic City tonight, but my body image issues are giving me pause. I struggle with the idea of dancing with women in bikinis while I flop a bit in my slightly matronly one piece. I tried to find a lovely photo of a woman who was at least a size 14 in a bathing to suit to add to this little blog post. But I couldn't find any. Search "plus size" in Google yielded women who looked waifish to me. No wonder, I have body dysmorphia - not enough pictures of regular women out there.

Thursday Night at Home

It's so hot in my apartment that I can barely make complete sentences. Making it somewhat sufferable is the following combination:

window a.c. unit in my bedroom
+
Whole Foods flourless chocolate cake
+

...leftovers from the birthday that keeps on giving.

Party like it's Junior High!

Here's a hot tip for fun this Sunday, August 23. DIY divas extraordinaire, Make Philly are hosting a BBQ and homemade rocket launch at 12 noon at Lemon Hill in Fairmount Park. Event runs till 3 pm.

Bring your own everything - food, beverages and tricked out water rocket made from a plastic water bottle, water, and air that you install through a bicycle pump. Instructions to make a water rocket are right here. They say it takes 30 minutes....umm...yeah right. For the mechanically inept (like me) it might take longer.

Decorate your rocket and, viola, you have awesomeness.

This brings back Junior High memories of Andy Hermann (now in Lala land reveling in career covering music beat at Metromix) and me building and shooting off a rocket we dubbed affectionately, FUBAR.

Geek chic. Family friendly. Fairmount Park. BBQ.

Go.

Do they not know we're in a recession?

Today I had a consumer reality check. Several months ago I bought a poster that is an original, numbered print. I didn't spend an arm and a leg, but I feel confident that it will appreciate greatly over time. I've been meaning to get it framed, but wasn't sure where to take it and just too lazy to take it in.

As a South Philly resident, I now receive weekly sales circulars stuffed in a white plastic bag on my doorstep each Thursday. In them I noticed that A.C. Moore had a coupon for 50% off custom framing. Since I am about to start actually putting things on the walls of my new apartment, I thought now would be a good time to get the print framed.

I arrive at A.C. Moore with the artist husband in tow for aesthetic feedback prepared to drop some money. It turns out, I also needed him there for moral support. My jaw must have dropped when I heard that my total came to $404. And that was after the 50% discount! The sales associate down-graded my glass to one that while still archival, was not glare resistant. That brought my discounted total down to $283. That was a little more reasonable, or at least seemed so after the sticker shock of the first quote. So with tax, the total was over $300 for glass, matte and custom frame. It was a very large piece, and I do hope to have it for a lifetime. Let's also hope I can ward off floods, fires and any other natural or man-made disasters. Oh my!

South Philadelphia Tap Room

Last night I had the pleasure of trying out a neighborhood bar that I had been hearing a lot about. The South Philadelphia Tap Room is about a 15 minute walk from our new apartment, and to quote the Husband, "I think this is my new favorite bar." They had a wide variety of beer on draft, and it was delicious and inexpensive. I started with the Porterhouse Raspberry Reserve. The server kindly pointed out that it wasn't a sweet beer. I reassured her that that would be fine. The pink tinted beer had berry undertones, but it was not sweet, only light and refreshing.

Tim's first beer and my "dessert" beer was the Founders Maple Mountain Brown. To me it tasted chocolatey with a hint of coffee. I could definitely taste the maple, but it wasn't a thick dark beer like a stout. Served over ice, I would have thought it to be an espresso martini.

The food was what put us over the top. While the menu didn't dramatically depart from your typical bar grub, the housemade preparation made it anything but typical. I had a grilled three-cheese sandwich with tomato soup. The toasted bread was thick and buttery, and the cheese oozed over the edges. The soup was flavorful with chunks of yellow and red tomatoes (although I couldn't be certain as it was VERY dark at our table.) My meal came with a choice of pasta salad, green salad or fries. I had the green salad and it was more than just plain greens and a vinagrette--it came tossed with cucumbers, onions, olives and tomatoes.

Tim ordered the cheeseburger, and he was especially impressed with the handcut fries. The pickles were thickly sliced and obviously made in-house as well. For desert we shared the pot brownie. Sans marajuana, the brownie was served warm and topped with chocolate chips, walnuts, vanilla ice cream and caramel syrup.

It was a Monday night, so it's hard to say how crowded it might be on other nights, but we had no problem finding a quiet table in the corner. Our server was kind and attentive without being overbearing.

If I can ever get off work in a timely manner, I'd love to try out their Happy Hour. Monday through Friday from 4 - 6pm, local drafts and appetizers are half price. The South Philadelphia Tap Room did a fantastic job of welcoming us to the neighborhood. We will definitely be back.

Photo credit: Southphiladelphiataproom.com

Today's My Birthday

Each year on my birthday, I seem to spend a lot of time reminiscing. What was I doing this time last year? Two years ago? Ten?

Ten years ago I was turning 22. I had just graduated from college and was about to move from Southern Indiana to Portland, Oregon with one of my college friends. I was young and naive and unsure about where I wanted to go with my life and exactly who I wanted to be.

If you had told me back in 1999 as I rode my bike to work in the rain every day to wait tables, that ten years later I would be married, have graduated with an MFA in creative writing and be living in Philadelphia, I would have been surprised. I think I would have been happy to hear I was happy, but I would have wondered how I got from there to here.

Looking forward, I wonder if I will be equally surprised where the next ten years take me. You can have a plan, but it's usually the seredipidity that keeps things exciting. Not that my life has been all leaps of faith and chance. I got to where I am today because that 22-year-old-me made certain choices. She decided to volunteer in an after school program and learned she wanted to teach. She enrolled in a creative writing course at a private studio and decided to focus on memoir writing instead of photography or journalism. She decided to apply to graduate schools only on the East Coast to get a change of scenery. She decided to go out with the cute boy from the party and let someone new in. Each decision I've made has lead me here. It wasn't all chance, but I feel proud to be in this place and hope that I keep making the decisions that keep the 32-year-old-me pleasantly surprised when the 42-year-old-me looks back.

Speed Dating is a Good Way to Waste an Evening

A friend of mine has been hitting the speed dating circuit for awhile now and summed it up as this, "there's always the creepy guy and the hot, but unfortunately drunk girl ." I haven't tried speed dating as of yet because it usually costs $30 and online dating is free and I don't have to leave the apartment to do it.

However, I do have an interest in off-the-beaten-track speed dating events. A few months ago, I attend a "speed friending" event at Mugshots in Fairmount sponsored by Meetin.org, Philadelphia chapter. Meet in (not to be mixed up with meetup.org) specializes in social events to make friends. On the other hand, Meetup is organized around special interest areas, rather than random people going an event. But they both have the same social purpose, I suppose. Anyway, "speed friending" was enjoyable and we got to ask each other off the wall questions, which led to lively conversation. Didn't exchange numbers with anybody, but it was worthwhile all the same.

My favorite dating blog Shmitten Kitten is hosting 4 "Mix Tape" speed dating events in Philadelphia on four Thursdays in September and October organized around the theme of 90's music. Venues are across the city including the Khyber (Sept. 10), Dos Segundos (Sept. 24), the Cantina (Oct 8), and Royal Tavern (Oct 22). Each night hosts a specific genre of music and participants are invited to suggest songs. Those of us at One Fine Philly have been talking about going. Personally, I've registered for the indie music event at the Cantina and emo/pop punk at Dos Segundos. Here is the link to register for Shmitten Kitten Mix Tape speed dating.

The nice part about these Shmitten Kitten events are if the company is not interesting, you can zone out and focus on the music instead. See you there.

Heat Wave

I'm ready for this 90-degree weather to be over. I realize it's the middle of August and these temperatures are normal for this time of year, but that's not going to stop me from complaining. I went tubing here today and got some relief, but man oh man if my apartment isn't 88 degrees at 9:30 pm. I'm feeling pretty miserable sitting here with my mini fan blowing on my half-naked body, but the window a.c. unit is now cooling down the bedroom, so hopefully I'll still be able to get a decent night's sleep.

I'm going to think happy thoughts of cooler days. I'm sure I'll be complaining about the cold weather when we get to it, but for now playing in the snow sounds pretty nice. My doggie likes it, too.