last snow February 12, 2010

The snow finally fell today after much anticipation!  I’ve been hearing buzz all week about this blanket of snow that was going to cover Georgia, but was feeling a little down today when I didn’t see anything fall from the sky.  After crossing my fingers a few times and thinking happy thoughts… the snow started to fall!  Not only did it fall, it came pouring from the sky like a prop bucket filled with shreds of white paper on center stage.  I welcome this snow with arms wide open mainly because it will probably be my last snow.  

In a few short months after my fiance and I get married, we will be packing up our lives and moving to Hawaii!  I’m so excited to start this new chapter of my life in paradise, but I get a little nostalgic thinking about the snow I’ll miss trying to catch with my hands or the biggest smile I get when I step outside to inhale that first breath of crisp fall air.  These are natures beautiful gifts that I will miss.  If only there were a magical jar I could put fall and winter in to take with me!

It’s funny how the things that became so common place to me and non-chalant growing up in Georgia are now the things I will only have as memories.  It’s pointless to wish I had saviored the moments better when I was younger, only becuase I don’t think I would’ve really appreicated them then.  It is only now that I can sit back and say, “Damn!  I love Georgia and it’s fluxuating seasons!”  If your from Georgia you know that one week you’ll  be bundled up to your head in layers, while the next week you’re wondering where the closest pool is so you can bronze all day in the sun!  These are the gifts I never thought of until recently..this is what I will miss!

The best thing for me to do is embrace this new part of my life and know that if ever I want to sip on a glass of homemade sweet tea or munch on a juicy Georgia peach I’m only a hop,skip, and plane ride away from coming back to the place I’ve called home for 18 years.  Whoa!  That makes me sound old!  Oh well…I am getting older and life is passing by faster, so they say. Who ‘they’  is I have no idea…I just know ‘they’ve’ been saying it for as long as I can remember and ‘they’ are right! 

My goal is to embrace part 2 of this amazing and beautiful life!  I’m going to accept all of the new things I will see:  without comparison of how things used to be back in Georgia.  This is part 2 of my life and I can’t wait to see what surprises it has in store for me 🙂

new year.new beginning February 9, 2010

I’m back! It’s been over a year since my last post, but a lot has happened since my adventures at ‘jot-em-down-joes bbq’!  I graduated from college, moved away from a city I was starting to fall in love with, got a job in one of the busiest cities in the country, and got engaged 🙂 While none of these things kept me away from blogging, it was actually I who kept myself from blogging.  Post-grad life has created a fat and lazy monster out of me and I can’t find the time, motivation, or passion for anything anymore. Why? I have no idea.  I spent the majority of 2009 complaining about how unhappy I was with my job, but failed to really do anything about it.  I moped around the house after work because I was bored and had nothing to do, but chose not to join a gym or get involved in some other activity.  With the turn of the new year, I told myself, this year is going to be different!  I’ll take on a new activity, make more time for friends, gain a little more independence and conficdence and things will be perfect!  I have to say it’s only Februaruy and my resolutions are already heading staright to you know where!  So I’ve decided to stop trying to change the things on the outside first, but start the change from within.  Instead of forcing myself to a gym where I would be mindlessy running on a treadmill watching the timer tick down to 0:00, I will start by just being happy with myself.  Instead of finding ‘stuff’ to make me happy I want to grab onto the things you can’t see with your eyes, but rather things you feel with your heart.

I want to start off by finding something to be grateful about everyday. Not just for the food in my stomach or the clothes on my back, but something that I can truely reflect upon and find gratitude to the good Lord above for blessing me with. I hope by finding one thing everyday, this eventually turns into hundreds to thousands of things in my everyday life.  Secondly, I want to replace my criticism with praise.  All too often I tend to  find and point out the negative in strangers and the people I love.  I’m in need of a cleansing of the soul and by eliminating negative thoughts about people and myself, I hope to find myself sitting in a genuine place with the universe.  Lastly, I yearn to love others wholeheartledly as I hope to be loved. Not just what I call ‘surface’ love, but true, selfless, deep-down to the core love!  Love for my family,fiance,friends,strangers, and humanity.  I hope to be love for this world, so that they can take the seed of love and plant it throughout the world!  I don’t imagine myself evolving overnight, but by putting my deepest desires out into the universe I hope this keeps me accountable for my acitons and to help motivate me on my journey!

Instilling these three components into my life will hopefully change myself, which will change those closest to me, and those clsoest to them, and so on.  I want to be an influence for someone out there, but I’ve got to change myself first.

This life is so beautiful and precious, but we miss it everyday with things that have to be done for our livilihood. In the midst of “real-world” agendas I want to be grateful for the opportunity to contribute to society and make a name for myself on this earth. I want to make sure I instill constant praise into my relationships even if it isn’t returned, and I want to show unconditional love to myself and those around me.   That is my wish and hope for this brand new year!

Jot to Jot em’ Downs! April 17, 2008

My last stop on my restaraunt food finding quest was at Jot em’ Downs on Barnett Shoals Rd.  This hot spot features classic bar-b-que at it’s finest!  This place is different from all of the other restaraunts in that it doubles as a convenient store for passer byers and eatery.  I know how this sounds..convienent store/restaraunt, but you would be shocked at the amazing food that comes out of this place.  Jot em’ Downs feature a plethera of barbeque plates from pulled pork, chicken, and beef that they smoke and grill right in the back of the store.   They also have porkribs, beef ribs, and delectable sides to top it all of (Mac n’ cheese, cabbage, green beans,pork and beans, etc).  The technique they use to cook the meat is unlike anything I have ever seen.  You won’t catch a little charcoal grill or gas grill here. Instead, they use a huge smoke house in the back that slow cooks and smokes the meat to perfection!  If this place doesn’t qunech your southern taste buds then I don’t know what will.  The meals range from $6-$9 and the individual sides range in price from $3-$5.   If barbeque is not your thing then step inside the convenient store for something that suits your tastebuds a bit more.  Jot em’ Downs was the ultimate hometown country bar-be-que experience I have been looking for.  Paper plates, messy fingers, and a huge smile are what you can expect after eating at Jot em’ Downs!

The Real Chow Baby April 11, 2008

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Want to be the chef and the guest at a restaraunt all at the same time?  Well listen here to find out what trendy eatery is buzzing in Atlanta!

East West Bistro is what’s right! April 8, 2008

Moving along through my journey through food heaven I stumbled upon this ridicuously fun restaraunt on Friday night called East West Bistro.  It’s a fusion restaraunt that plays upon Asian inspired foods combined with good ol’ classic American dining.  Not only that, but they’ve got a tapas menu that is out of this world! Here’s a brief run-down of what had to eat Friday night.  My friends and I started with two tapas- the sweet potato chips that were cooked so perfectly and served with a side of cool blue cheese truffle dressing.  Can you say yum! Along side the chips we had a delectible Bruschetta (about 6 pieces) that were topped off perfectly with tomatoes,fetta cheese,and a piece of basil. Once I finished devouring my tapas we moved our attention towards the dinner menu which has so many options to choose from.  If you are a seafood lover than this place has got more options than you can imagine.  For my choice though I chose the grilled Porterhouse porkchop that came slightly infused with lime juice,cilantro, and a sweet chili sauce.  Ok is your mouth watering yet?  As a side dish I got some crispy green beans and purple potato cake.  This place was hands down one of my absolute favorite places to go.  Everything from the atmosphere to the service made my trip to East West Bistro unforgettable.  Although the actual dinner menu may be intimidating it is posible to eat there on a low budget.  Just grab a few good friends and order 5-6 tapas and you’ve instantly created a meal for yourself! 

Belgian sandwich heaven! April 3, 2008

Continuing my journey through the plethera of eateries Athens has to offer I have to stop and tell everyone about this cozy little nook called “Uncle Otto’s European Eatery” nesstled in the busy yet exciting downtown Athens area. Uncle Otto’s is not your average run of the mill sandwich shop it specializes in Kebaps, which is a distant cousin to the Greek’s gyro.  The warm and “towney” atmosphere reminds you that while the food is not familiar you are still in wonderful Athens.  The menu features a sandwich with either grilled beef or chicken( or tofu for the veggie lovers), a side of fries, and either a soft drink or draft Belgian beers! The sandwich is delightfulyy stuffed with  cool cucumbers, sweet tomatoes,crispy lettuce, tasty onions and your choice of feta cheese! All of these ingredients are fresh and prepared upon order. Not only that but the fries are to die for.  They are also made fresh with non-frozen potatos.  Did I forget to mention the bread? That is the absolute best part of all! The bread is a round Eurpoean style bread that is crusty and toasted on the outside and flaky on the inside.  The combination of the fresh veggies, grilled meat, delicious bread make this one of my new favorite sandwich shops!

My heart is in Hawaii… March 26, 2008

My boyfriend and I stopped to take a picture near these beautiful rocks near the edge of Hawaii’s famous North shore in Oahu.  The waves were really high that day so we had to take our pictures quickly so we didn’t get carried off into the water.  Something interesting about the rock behind us is that there’s a little space in between the rocks that the water gets trapped under and with enough pressure the water gets pushed out through the whole creating a water show for people passing by.  Our friend who brought us here told us that the pressure is so strong that it could push a person out of the whole and into the air if they were to get stuck underneath the rock…Idon’t advise anyone trying it though!  This place is so special to me and I’m looking foward to moving there after I graduate from college.  Everything about Hawaii is perfect.  The weather is always nice, there’s alwasy a cool breeze, and the people treat strangers like family.  This place is my home and I can’t wait to go back.

Dance Evolution March 19, 2008

This video sums up all the greatest dance moves throughout history! If you don’t know how to dance check this guy out and he’ll teach you every style you’ve ever heard of! If you’re not convinced by the end that dancing is for you then it’s still awesome to watch this comedian take dancing to a new level.  Although it is clear he may not have had proper training as a dancer I can definitely say that I appreciate his moves and the dedication he puts into each style of dance he presents! He gets an A+ in my book!

Food finding quest.

Over the weekend I decided to venture off into another restaraunt hunt so I could contribute more thoughts about good places to eat in Athens.  I went to a little tiny restaraunt called ‘eat hibachi’ in the downtown area which specializes in Korean and Japanese food.  It’s kind of a fast food restaraunt except the food is made fresh and not prepackaged.  I decided to try some Korean beef ribs (galbi) with a side of white rice and steamed veggies.  All I have to say is that they were delicious! The beef was infused with garlic, onion, soysauce, and other herbs then grilled to perfection.  It was such a simple dish, but packed with outrageous flavor.  The tiny restaraunt has a wide variety of authentic korean and Japanese dishes.  It’s very affordable to eat there and the atmosphere is quaint and cozy.  I will definitley be heading back over  there in the near future!

Bootcamp was enlightening March 5, 2008

This past saturday I participated in a social media boot camp with my WOM class.  I have to say that I had social media anxiety prior to attending the event.  As soon as I got there I was assigned the task of taking videos of educators, students, and Edelman faculty.  Doing this wasn’t so bad.  It wasn’t unitl I was notified that I would have to upload the videos onto Youtube that I started feeling my heart race.  Once I got some instructions on exactly what to do I felt like I could sit there and do it all day.  Not only did I have a chance to upload videos, but I also got to post the links onto twitter.  Attending the bootcamp was an awesome experince for a person like me who doesn’t really get into technology.  I found that getting my hands dirty and jumping right into it is the best form of education.  I really enjoy social media now and don’t mind throwing out a few tweets every now and then.  Who knows maybe one day i’ll turn into a social media junkie…