promotions, patrick & poop

hello all. i realized it has been awhile since i've actually posted or talked to any of you significantly so i have a minute or two at work this morning and thought i'd post.

i think mom told a couple of you but susan (my boss) asked me a couple weeks ago to be store manager so now i am doing that as well as helping her buy for the store so this job has really become a great experience. i committed to staying in charlottesville for awhile in taking the position so looks like i will be here for awhile. this is probably the first job that i have really consistently liked (i loved timberwood but you can only like serving food night after night for so long) so it's definitely fun to do something i enjoy so much. the buying trip to nyc in february was crazy but i think i could stay in this industry for awhile.

patrick (the red-headed irishman pictured a few posts below) and i have been together almost two months now and things are going really well. this is my first normal, mature, not-drug-riddled relationship that's lasted longer than the usual month so there have been definite growing pains but i really love spending time with him. to paraphrase something abbi said last week, he challenges me in the right ways which is a breath of fresh air compared to my last relationship.

lola is doing well. she is still getting bigger i think but she's skinny and lanky as always. we are still working on house-training but i think i just need to really focus on that again for awhile. we've already accepted that we are losing our security deposit in the townhouse for the carpets :(

alright, i think that's it. lola and i are heading up to state college this weekend with mom and dad so that should be fun! love you all.

little zach's

Dan and Anna welcomed Noah Edward into the family on Thursday. Here is a picture of our growing group of nephews and niece. Jack, Ava and Noah.

Happy Birthday Elizabeth!

Hope you have a wonderful day!

patrick

this is patrick. sorry it took me so long to put up a picture!

hopefully you guys can all meet him soon :)

Happy Valentine's Day

Beagle - best in show

lindsay and i watched the best in show competition on tv last night. this little beagle won. i was actually hoping for the boston terrier but it went out early on.

Recipe

Aunt Margaret made this Shepherds Pie recipe from Rachel Ray and it was so tasty. I'm not usually a big fan and i loved it so give it a try. She also added a bag of frozen peas that made it even better.

Alabama

I had a great week-end in Birmingham. I spent Sat. night with Chuck and Margaret and Sunday night with Mike and Jeanne. We had great weather so we spent a lot of time outside taking walks. Timothy is a very happy little boy and I had a great time getting to know him.

studio

I'm in the studio today with Paul while he works on the new album. tomorrow i head down to b'ham to visit all the Clarke clan down there. will post on my visit when i get back. hope everyone has a great week-end.

Goosebumps!

This made me cry the first time I watched it. It's from last summer so maybe you've already seen it.

If anyone knows how to load YouTube videos, I'd love to learn.

Jamie's work of late

Here are a few examples of what Jamie has been doing lately. This first piece is hanging in my office now. This actually isn't part of the newest stuff that he's been doing but I really like it -- the colors are so striking in person. He makes these pieces with oil pastels. It takes a lot of time to build the layers since you have to wait for them to dry in between. But the colors end up being so saturated and rich. And he's on an orange and blue kick right now.

This next piece was inspired by the West Highland Way.
Variations on a theme of blue. Unfortunately the picture makes it look more "muddy" than it actually is.







He's got several more pieces at various stages of completion. I'll post pictures of those when he finishes.

Is anyone working on anything creative and new this winter? I'm thinking about picking up crocheting again. We'll see how it goes. :)

Random post

Hey everyone, since there is not a lot of new and exciting news in State College either, I thought I'd post a really random entry about a new deodorant that I've been using. Yup, pretty random, I know. :)

My anatomy/physiology teacher at school, a former nurse, told us about this product when we were studying the lymphatic system of the body. It is basically a mineral salt that kills any bacteria on your skin that might cause odors. It is not an anti-perspirant, so that takes a little getting used to, but on the other hand it lets your body sweat which it is meant to do.

Here's the one that I've been using, with good results. I haven't had anyone complain yet. :)

Anyways, in case they ever do prove that aluminum chlorhydrate does indeed contribute to breast cancer or Alzheimers, I thought I'd go ahead and switch to something a little bit more natural.

Next week's post: Darcy tries a Neti-pot. Stay tuned.