beach.

Hello Beautiful People!

So, long story short, I got myself a job and I love it but I also love writing this blog and am not yet willing to give it up. So, until I find a reason to stop, I'm still "unemployed K" for consistency's sake. Artistic licensing. Same game plan.

Jesse and I went to North Myrtle Beach last weekend. We stayed in the condo complex of a good friend of the family's and played tourists for a couple of days. We went out to eat a few times, but we primarily made our meals in-house which was one of my favorite bits of the trip. We like to
cook and we would sit out on the balcony and eat our meals--this is the balcony that overlooks a pond of ducks and a fountain. It was cozy.

We played putt putt, we went shopping at the Salvation Army, we tried to spy on old people doing "the shag" (if you're under the age of 50, it's not what you think...trust me.) Our efforts to master the nightlife were essentially defeated the night we went out and learned that weekend's bar festivities were governed by the purchase of a $20 wristband. We opted out. Maybe in a few years when we're loaded we can splurge. We did catch the Notre Dame football game in Flynn's, an Irish-themed bar that I not-so-accidentally persistently called Paddy O'Flynn's. I'm Irish, I'm allowed.

We also played some very competitive games of Scrabble. Jesse always wins. I think he's implanted some type of microchip into his brain with Scrabble strategies and acceptable Scrabble words. Next time you try to challenge the word "Xi", don't.

I had never seen November on the beach before. It was vibrant. I hope to make this a tradition because autumn in the south, on the water, is highly downplayed in my opinion. The beach in the summer is classic indeed. But this was something so new and so rejuvenating. It was really a beautiful weekend.

Another word of wisdom: when you get the chance to go somewhere different, even if it's only a little different, Go. Get. Don't let the grass grow too thick under those tootsies.


^ Our adventure at the old putt putt green. We tied the game.

How could I forget? This little guy I met in the restroom of the putt putt course. I personally told him he could save 15% or more on his car insurance if he switched to Geico. I don't think he got it.

books.

Three Cups of Tea.

I just finished the book. I've been reading it for three months now. I know, don't judge.

Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin tell the story of Mortenson's efforts to establish schools for boys and girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan's most remote and extremist-ridden areas. Much of the story takes place in the mountain regions of these countries, areas that have only in the last three decades or so been observed for their tendencies to produce extreme Islamists. Mortenson was turned on to the region as a young mountain climber trying to scale K2.

The book is a NY Times best-seller. But can I be honest? It's not written very well. Hence the three months it took me to read it.

Luckily, the actual story is so engaging it pushes you through the pages. I think the reason it took me such a long time to finish is because I got caught up in the telling of the story, not the story itself. A big mistake. I feel a little snooty but the amount of typos, both spelling and grammatical, was staggering to me, especially for a book published by Penguin. I don't know much about the company but I guess I expected better.

But, putting my complaints aside, never have I read of such a character as Greg Mortenson, a man so devoted to peace that he gave an immeasurable part of his life to serve the children of a distant land he now calls his home. His second home. He lives in Montana with his family. Granted, I haven't read Gandhi's bio (that's on my list) or Mother Teresa's, or those of any of the thousands of lives that have worked for the lives of others, but Mortenson is an impressive humanitarian. There's no disputing that.

I can't say this book jolted me into some supreme awareness or produced some momentous revelation. I started it in August and until November 6, today, I was really kind of putting it off. But what the story did give me is something I think is essential. It wasn't so startling to make me jump into immediate action but it produced what I think might be a more enduring lesson in humanitarianism. It made me realize that I am not Greg Mortenson, nor will I ever be. I do share many of the same goals as him, though. He worked to give young people an education, something my friends and I have attempted in a different capacity since 2005 by raising money for education in a small village in El Salvador. Mortenson's story reinforces that this stuff's hard work. And it takes time and failure and tears and uncomfortable, sometimes dangerous experiences to get you close to where you think you need to be to make things better. Then once you think you get to your goal, you actually have another thousand bigger goals to accomplish to make everything work. But that is SUCH an important thing to learn. It allows you to not get as discouraged, to have determinacion. Valor. Persistencia. Espíritu. Esperanza, hope.

Mortenson's goal was to educate children in these regions of little opportunity, to give them a chance at a brighter future. In doing this, he launched a battle against terror, arguably more effective than the one waged with guns because one of the byproducts of his work has been an eradication of extremism at its roots. The lesson in this book is that there are alternatives to war, there are peaceful means out there. And yes, they are hard options. But they are present and, whether it's in Pakistan, El Salvador, or right here in the United States, peace can be used to solve problems.

If you can sift through the "blehh" writing and see the forest for the trees, you can love this book like I do.


Check out Three Cups of Tea's Web site. There are donation opportunities and more information about the organization Mortenson helped start.

hair care.

If you can't make it out too clearly, that right there (above) is my greasy, funky hair. And it's greasy on purpose. See, I'm trying to grow my hair reeeeal long but I have this problem in that my darling mother and father gave me rather fragile locks. The strands break at the ends constantly and I have a field day sitting at traffic lights picking at the splits in my mane, making people angry when I forget to notice the light change to green. So, to alleviate this little hair issue, I have tried so many ridiculous remedies that I almost know too much about putting various substances in hair for restorative purposes. Way too much. Aside from the old avocado and honey hair mask, I've tried a slew of products for deep conditioning.

My roommates from college used to tease me because of my curiosity for the ethnic hair section of the drugstore. I would come home with olive cholesterol, and other various hair masks. Because my hair is so fine, I had to give up some of my more intense hair care purchases. This white girl's hair doesn't work too well with cholesterol.

I did find these two oils at CVS (above) that are really nice for the scalp and the shaft of the hair. If I have time, which I DO have a lot of right now, I put the Tea Tree Oil on my scalp and the Carrot Oil on my ends about an hour or so before I shower. And I look like a greasy fool. The best part is going out in public--you get great non-verbal responses. But your locks will love you for it. The tea tree oil makes you feel all tingly, and the carrot makes you feel super moisturized. If you're hair is in need of a "facial", or may I say a "haircial", give this stuff a try.

Once you let it marinate for however long you've got, get in the shower (or bath) and just let the warm water pulse through your hair for a while. My theory (no science involved whatsoever) is that the warmth from the water opens the pores in your scalp and softens the hair strands. Maybe the oil does something to help with strength, too. Who knows? I just think it's great stuff and if you've got hair like me, it might be worth your time and dollar bills. The oil is really reasonable, by the way. Probably like $3 a bottle.

Also, don't let anybody tell you putting banana in your hair is weird. Just do your thing. :)

fall.

Lily and her lentils. What a lovely chef.

















Recovering from the annual Halloween hangover has never been so easy as it was this year. Our good friend, Miss Lily Herman, hosted an Autumnal Feast on All Saints Day that blew my socks off, vegan-style.

We started with lentil vegetable soup, followed by roasted apples, roasted butternut squash, and delicious guacamole with jalapenos, which was made by Lily's longtime friend and roommate Miss Chelsea Brown. (Though Chels claims her mom made it, I'm going to go ahead and give her the credit ;) ). Lily also made some amazing flax seed cookies for dessert. I think I had five.

Talk about a lovely meal. I believe when something is made by caring and deliberate hands, it just tastes better. You taste it in your soul. Yeah, that's cheesy but that's how I feel and oh boy, did I feel that way yesterday. It was cool out, typical for the season, nip in the air. The apartment was warm and smelled like earthy things. And I doubt very much that I'll forget that evening spent with friends and good food.

Thanks, Lil.

sew.

Burke making her Halloween costume: the Tin Man


I thought I'd try to expand my creative side by trying to learn the rudiments of sewing. So last Friday, I spent the day with one of my best friends Burke, my colleague in unemployment, and I took a sewing lesson. Burke's mother, who ranks in the top five of "Coolest Moms I Know" is a master seamstress, along with being, oh, you know, a lawyer. She is, most significantly, an amazing, wonderful mom of four. And she is also my adopted aunt, in case you were wondering. She's the one who gave the lesson.

So first she taught me to hem a shirt I've been meaning to fix for months. It looks great (it's sort of summery but I'm just so excited it's fixed, I might have to whip it out this fall. Can't help myself.)

Second, I began the process of making a dress. Burke and I went to the fabric store and picked out material, patterns, and other necessary odds and ends. The dress (to come) will be a cranberry color made from very soft jersey material with a champagne colored satin sash around the waste. It's either going to look like a million bucks or like Jo-Ann Fabrics threw up on me. I'll be sure to post some pictures when it's done.

Burke and her mom showed me how to cut out the pattern, pin the pattern to the material, then cut out the material properly so that, when sewn, all the pieces match. The next step will be the sewing process and that will hopefully happen next week.

Yet another adventure in the life of unemployed K (and B). Not too shabby.

kids. aka where the wild things are.

In my spare time, currently in abundant supply, I've been babysitting. A lot. "It's a little gas money," one of the mothers of my employer families said. Yeah, something like that.

Here's the thing. Kids go from possessed screaming little creatures to lumps of snuggly warmth asleep in your arms in the amount of time it takes to heat a cup of tea in the microwave. It's staggering. It's sort of like Grendel's mother--one minute lovely, the next, Jesus H. Hold on to your gonads. Monster city.

Babysitting sure has taught me what kind of mother I think I want to be, not that I'm even thinking about that yet, but when the time comes there will be no tantrums lasting over 45 minutes. If there are, just commit me now.

Getting a little more poignant though, the other day I saw Where the Wild Things Are. Go see it. I don't care what excuse you've got. Take two hours and just give your brain over, especially if you've got young kids. Not that I consider myself an adult (not that I ever will) but I forget what it's like to experience "grown up" problems when your little. When mom and dad have a fight or worse, get divorced, adults forget that for kids, their world crumbles. Every thread of security that makes each day work suddenly snaps. This movie made me cry. Not necessarily a hard thing to do but it reached me on a very personal and timely level. It helped me see the world through a different set of spectacles. And it made me more sympathetic to the kids I spend time with, it awakened a different wave of excitement as I wait for my niece to be born. It reminded how precious children are. Not to get all goopy on you, but for a children's book/movie/tale, it had some big things to say.

So the moral of my story is to remember kids see things differently and sometimes maybe we should try harder to see life like they do, not take things so seriously.

Oh yeah, and LET THE WILD RUMPUS START! ROooooooooooAR!


photo courtesy of videogum.com

boo!

I got this illustration in an e-mail forward from my Mom.

God, I love Halloween.


If you're unemployed (or if you like to think outside the box) and you're in the market for a Halloween costume, obviously check out your local thrift stores. If you're like me and you already tried this with little luck, don't surrender! Thrift stores are notoriously hit or miss (though while looking for a costume, I did score two killer blazers, one from J. Crew that fits like a tailored glove, mmhm). Either try again at another time, or maybe try some different techniques:

- Buy one or two small, more expensive pieces that define your costume idea. Then, create the rest with things you already have or things that can be bought super cheap. For instance, buy a tail and a set of ears to be a cheetah, cat, whatever. Then use all black clothing and makeup to complete it. This trick works well for a lot of animal costumes. Hello, Cat Woman!

- Share with friends! My girlfriends happen to be killer Halloween costumers. In the past, some of my friends have been things like Marilyn Monroe, Tinker Bell, Brit Spears, The Little Mermaid, the list goes on. Tap into the resource and ask a friend who has a similar build as you. That way, you can save on the cost and you can still put your own spin on the costume by tweaking the details.

- Wrap yourself in aluminum foil and go as leftovers! (I think I stole that idea from the movie Casper, sorry. It's still good, right?!)


Anyone have good ideas?