smooshie has a new nose

I've only been gone for a week and it seems like an eternity. I've come to think that I don't consider Atlanta home anymore. a week is all I can take. The stress level there is beyond high. I can't even imagine how people live there anymore with all the smog, traffic, corruption and panic. My body and mind were screaming "get out of here!" and my ankle flared up along with my insomnia and indigestion. At one startling moment, I realized I was homesick, and I felt sad and insecure. I was drowning in sorrow with all of the rest of the city.

So, I couldn't take it anymore and posted an ad on craigslist in a moment of weakness; despite the obvious stupidity, and searched for a ride to savannah. To my surprise I got a reply the next day from a woman named Maureen telling me she was headed that way and if I could tell her who I was. I hitchhiked on the internet. So I replied back,

Hey Maureen,

I'm Heather, I went to SCAD and my fiance and I live in Beaufort (which is only 30 mins from SAV). I'm stuck in Atlanta with my parents cause I had to go to a funeral and they were supposed to bring me back to Savannah this weekend but then they had other plans they forgot they already made. I don't want to wait until next weekend so I thought I'd try to find someone heading my way. I can literally be dropped off anywhere in Savannah, I have friends and family all over the place. I just don't want them to waste gas coming to get me cause gas is so freakin expensive. I was hoping to get a ride with a female driver cause ya know.. parents would freak out if i told them i was hitching a ride with a strange man...not to mention fiance would probably not like that! Soooo glad you're a girl... or are you a guy with a girl's name? I'm betting you're a girl. Anyways, I'm not psycho, don't smoke, don't care if you do, and will listen to whatever you want to listen to as long as it isn't gospel music. I'm scad alum (masters in architecture) so I'm not some crazy college kid with pink hair and piercings everywhere. Pretty normal, relatively.

my cell phone # is ******** and I'm staying in Doraville, right by spaghetti junction. I can be up and ready at 7 am and I can even take turns driving if you want. Let me know what you decide and I will go ahead and tell my parents peace out!

So now we are friends on facebook. Maureen turned out to be a really cool chick with two beautiful kids, a 3 year old boy named Reed (a.k.a. Diego) and a 8 year old girl named Ridley. I watched cartoons and movies on the DVD player in the car with the kids and talked about homebirthing with Maureen (she did solo homebirths for her brood). It was actually a really pleasant drive and we enjoyed each other's company. Her kids were "in showbizness" cause they were going to savannah to be in a SCAD thesis film. The little boy was really happy go lucky and bright as a star. He liked to watch the cartoon Diego (like Dora the explorer, fyi) in spanish. The little girl was a bit ornary at being awakened on a saturday morning at 6 am to take a 4 hour car ride. Before even leaving atlanta she was asking if we were there yet. But she was adorable and sweet, too. She would touch the back of my elbow with her big toe from the backseat.

The whole thing just made my desire to have kids flare up and we even talked about that. Her advice was to "just do it". heh. alot easier to say than do. Anyways, we had lunch at sentient bean coffeeshop at forsyth park and then went our separate ways. I'll miss my 4 hour friend.

But once I got into the car with johnny, I felt 100% better. I realized that I felt more at home in savannah and beaufort than I did in atlanta, and how weird that was because I used to hate savannah. When we got home, the dogs were naturally really happy to see me and I got kisses all around. I noticed smooshie was not in the horde of dogs attacking me, so I called out for him and I heard him start his happy whining and crash through the doggie door, nails all slipping on the linoleum. I guess he was outside, but once he realized who was standing before him, he became frantic to find a toy to pick up and offer to me (he always greets bearing gifts). It was the best feeling in the world. I noticed immediatey that his nose had changed to a light pink color.

When I find my damn camera cord, I'll be uploading a ton of new pictures.

there... and back again.

we were gonna move. but at the last minute, we decided it wasn't the right time. so we just visited beaufort - again. and for just a week, but it feels like longer. it's hard to get on the internet out there! by now, the dogs are used to driving for hours, eating meals in the car, playing at rest stops and staying at their cousin's house. it's like a traumatic childhood, huh?

we are still moving, though. we just needed more time to see how things played out. living day-to-day. it's hard to make decisions when you have so many options but so very little resources. it's like the toughest game of chess you ever played - with your future at stake. what's ironic is that i feel more in my element now than i did when things were stable. i'm used to moving around, temporary living arrangements and traveling. it makes me wonder if i am even well-suited to the american dream lifestyle of living in a house with a new car, 2 kids and a dog. i think i might have been a nomadic mongoloid in a past life. i dont mind the idea of living in a yurt and living off the land actually. ok, snap back to reality.

we are also still getting married. neither one of us has chickened out yet, so that must mean something! Except now we have to pay for everything ourselves and the theme of my wedding went from beach to bohemian over the course of the last couple weeks. i found a dress to wear for $49 from a store in the mall. i'm going to keep it a surprise from johnny but i can tell you that it's a cute dress. not a wedding dress in the slightest, though. kim was dissappointed - she wants there to be more lace and silk and ruffles. she wants shoe-dress-hair coordination going on and i don't even plan on bothering with shoes. like i said before, i just want my guests to be there, food and drink, and someplace for us to sleep (even if it's under the stars in the sand). i'm pretty excited, i think it's going to be the best day of my life.

johnny's dad is doing much better. he's got his own room on the 7th floor and he can talk. maybe he'll be well enough to come to the wedding, but i'm not going to count on it. i'm just happy he's still with us.

beaufort & savannah

i swear i took this picture with my own camera. isn't beaufort picturesque? i love the lowcountry.

i just wanted to hop onto this porch and pretend to be scarlett o'hara for a while...


look at this big old canon. it's old. really old.

downtown beaufort. in its entirety.

a quick snapshot of savannah river as i fly past on talmadge bridge. nice shot, eh?

wtf kind of caterpillar is this? johnny claims that it is covered in poisonous thorns that hurt really bad if you touch it. he thinks that about all bugs, though...

a better shot of downtown savannah from the bridge. i can photograph at high speeds, woo hoo!

talmadge bridge. gateway to south carolina.

the wheels on the bus go 'round and 'round!

the dogs have gotten quite used to riding in the car. actually, they kinda love it. all of them like to stick their heads out the window. bibi likes to sit up front, lean her right arm out of the window and rest her paw on the side mirror (which she ended up breaking off). syrus balances himself by propping up a back leg against the seat. louie just sits like a little kid and stares out of the window.

syrus is very alert in the car. he can recognize where he is going when he sees the following landmarks: McDonald's = cheeseburger. winding road through neighborhood = lake. horse farm = uncle jimmy's house in beaufort. short drive through beaufort = beach. speed humps = home. talmadge bridge = auntie kim's in savannah. he gets all excited and starts whining and jumping all over the place. it's really entertaining.

the wrath of nature

johnny and i drove back to atlanta from beaufort today and of course we picked the shittiest weather to drive in. it's been raining cats and dogs on the coast and the it cleared up once we got west of swainsboro. then....

what's that up ahead?

uh-oh!


what a storm!

at this point we were waiting to see a funnel forming but none did. whew!

sin in a box

this is quite possibly the worst food you can put in your mouth, but every once in a blue moon you gotta have it. southern fried chicken wings and livers! mmm mmm...

ok, so the chicken wings were for me and johnny and the dogs got the livers. i always think livers will taste good and then i find out i don't really like them once i take a bite. i should go sign up for a bypass now. ugh... roadtrip diets are disgusting.

bittersweet vacation

it's been really quiet around my blog lately and that's because a lot has happened. our dear friends have packed up and moved back to the west coast. we've been spending every spare moment hanging out with them and their baby. they wanted to see the sunrise over the atlantic and visit savannah before leaving the east coast. so we all drove down to savannah and beaufort, which is only 40 minutes from savannah. johnny and i brought all of our dogs with us and stayed at his old house in beaufort. as soon as we got into town around 7 pm, we went straight to the beach to let the dogs run around. our friends arrived much later, and stayed in a motel near us. at 5 am the next morning we all drove to the beach (only 2 miles from motel) and watched the sun rise. we collected shells and shark's teeth and did a little bit of yoga. it was nice, and we enjoyed each other's company.

we then drove to savannah and spent the entire day walking around forsyth park and hanging out with my best buddy, kim. they got to see all the big old oak trees with moss hanging, had a light lunch at the coffee house sentient bean and hung out with some interesting roommates that i didn't know kim had. it was a blast. we had a lot of fun but at the same time it was a little sad. we made some really great last minute memories and i'll cherish them. we then walked around city market and had some of the best gelato ever. they had a fig and ricotta flavor that was to die for. i bought myself an art print of a painting called "the invitation" by grant nelson who does really beautiful tesselated paintings. i've wanted one for a long time...

last, we had sushi dinner at our old favorite japanese restaurant on broughton st. called sakura. we had excellent meals and good service (our waitstaff was hot!). then we drove back to beaufort and said goodbye to our friends who were leaving early in the morning. i really really miss them. they are such awesome people.

i spent the next day hanging out with my homefry kim, who i haven't hung out with in a while. i realized how much i missed her, too. johnny fixed her car (he's always got work to do with me around!) and at the same time recieved some really good news! he is now gainfully employed and landed the competitive position of regional sales manager for a multinational printing franchise. it's a great job with excellent benefits but he'll be travelling all over the southeast and has to go to new york on the 28th for 2 1/2 weeks! he's all professional businessman now, so we have to go out and get him some new clothes and travel stuff. i am so proud and happy for him! i'm going to miss him when he goes to new york, but we plan to spend the time apart to concentrate on improving our health by sticking to a strict regimen of diet and exercise. i want to lose as much weight as possible for when he gets back.

so yeah, i'm cramming in 2 weeks worth of blogging in one day but hey, it's better than nothing! i have tons more pictures but i still have to upload them. i'll come back and insert pictures as i get them, so come back again in a few days. glad to be home, excited for what's coming next and can't wait to see my friends again :)

doggies in paradise

while johnny and i were saying farewell to our good friends and having reunions with other friends and family, the dogs were on vacation. they got to hang out with three other dogs and go to the beach all week. johnny's brother jimmy adopted a german shepherd mix named jake and of course took darla when we needed to find a new home for her. he also took on an aging family member's dog - a 10 year old female mutt named shadow. at first the dogs were standoffish but they became pretty good friends soon enough. jake is very timid and shy and darla is still that annoyingly excited non-stop licking jumpy pup. shadow is the older, slower, less amused one who just sort of lays around the house.

when we arrived into beaufort, we went straight to the sands, our favorite beach spot. we let the dogs out and luckily it was high tide. bibi was beside herself with excitement and syrus went straight into the marsh looking for goodies. louie was blissfully unaware of the difference between beach (ocean) and park (lake). he jumped right into the water, not expecting it to be very deep or salty or have a current. but he took to it right away.

it was so beautiful. i truly love the sands at port royal. it's like your backyard beach where you can go anytime for some fresh air, softly crashing waves and the sharp cries of seagulls. the sand is a powdery white and the water is a clear blue. the marsh grasses are a brilliant bright green and it's all layered in a soothing pattern - the white fluffy sky, the clear blue sky, the deep blue water, the bright green grass, and the white sandy shore. during the day you can see for miles all around and at night the sky surrounds you like a black blanket with twinkling stars. it's heaven.

well, now the dogs are thoroughly depressed to be back home. all they do is sulk and mope around the house, thinking about how boring it is around here...

princess pei pei

sweet pink baby toes and soft juicy baby cheeks. om nom nom nom... i stocked up on nibbling the baby the last few days before her family packed up the vw and drove across the country back to the west coast. penelope has grown into a happy chubby little baby that you just want to squeeze and nibble all over. she has the cutest toothless grin that lights up her face and makes her cute little dimples show. it takes incredible self-constraint not to just grab the baby and lick her from head to toe like a mama cat. everyone took about a million pictures of this baby in the last couple of weeks and now i just have to show them off. my friend kim is a total paparazzi and took some awesome pictures that she IS going to upload soon. it's sad but exciting to think that the next time i see princess pei pei she will be so much bigger. this kid is so loved and is going to have such a wonderful life. she got to see the sunrise on the east coast with us. it was a beautiful morning on the beach in beaufort and we found all kinds of sharks teeth. the very first tooth i found was an inch long! i should have taken a picture but i gave it to penelope because she needs a bad ass shark's tooth necklace to go with her spear. i'm going to miss her!

syrus to the rescue!

today we took the dogs to the lake - again. those dogs really are spoiled. but the lake is gorgeous and peaceful so we enjoy it very much too. B and i went first with louie cause johnny was at the vet with syrus and bibi getting shots. afterwards, they met us at our favorite spot on the lake. when B and i strolled up to the spot, johnny was standing on the edge of the lake with his wallet, keys, cellphone, and cigarettes on the ground beside him. he was about to jump into the lake!

we arrived just as syrus was saving bibi's life. johnny had thrown the ball out onto the lake and bibi got caught up on a branch and couldn't escape. she would have drowned if left alone - but syrus dove in and swam to her! he swam right up and bumped into her so that she could break free of the branch and swim back. johnny was getting ready to rescue bibi but decided to see what syrus would do first. i am very proud and impressed with syrus because he always acted like bibi was a pain in his ass. now if that had been louie drowning out there, syrus would have pushed him under himself!

so, we realized that syrus's grumpy disposition is really just a facade because deep down inside, he truly loves his little sister....awwww....

this is one of the first photos of bibi and syrus, right after we adopted bibi and brought her home. syrus was moping. he's like, "is she seriously staying here?"

atlanta botanical garden

last weekend a good friend and i visited the gorgeous atlanta botanical garden and took these marvelous pictures... i really can't add much commentary to these pictures so i'll let them speak for themselves... enjoy! :)

i do have to say this little guy is so green and cute! i love lizards. he almost looks like a baby iguana but he's just a little garden lizard. he sat there for a second eyeing me but let me take his picture before scampering off!

there were a bunch of moving sculptures around the botanical garden, this being one of them. we didn't take a whole bunch of pictures for some reason, but i really love the look of rock gardens...

isn't this orchid gorgeous? the orchid display was my second favorite - right behind the rainforest exhibit. you'll see why...

isn't this just breathtaking? well, i guess you'd have to be there in person to really appreciate it. those are roots hanging down from the really high ceiling above in this rainforest greenhouse. the roots hung almost to the ground, you have to walk through them and it's fantastic!

and finally, the piece de resistance! this absolutely gorgeous blown glass sculpture by artist Dale Chihuly is on display in the green house, and it's truly magnificent. this guy is awesome.

pictures of paradise

well, the fence didn't last long as an effective barrier. the chickens have decided that the grass is far better on the other side. B and i must have chased the chickens from going into the street 3 times. once they were actually all hanging out right in the front lawn! the chickens can literally walk right through the fence. so a new project for this weekend will be reinforcing the chicken barrier.

we also realized that 9 chickens should not go through 40 lbs. of feed in one week. they are getting really big fast and eating a LOT. i'm afraid jerky is going to be sunday roast pretty soon. i liked the little guy - he follows me around the most. maybe we'll eat one of the smaller ones instead...

From SPRING 2008

it's been a long time since johnny and i were up at dry pond. it's a little piece of paradise with all the plants and ponds. the dogs just love running at top speed in the fields and lounging in the lush grass under the pecan tree. even the weeds at dry pond are awesome and beautiful. my mom's koi fish are friendly - they will eat pellets out of your hand. you can actually pet them. my friend was just fascinated with the koi so she wanted to bring her new baby and i wanted to show off my mom's crazy landscaping obsession to B. we also planned to fish in my mom's lake not far from dry pond. as soon as we got there, the dogs were out running and me, johnny, and B walked to the far edge of the property picking wildflowers and watching the dogs play.

From SPRING 2008

it wasn't long before we heard the splash. bibi found the spring and soon all three of them were splashing around in the stinky mud. i was busy snapping pictures of weeds. we came back to the lawn and played in the pecan tree. syrus had to prune it, first. B had to climb up and syrus even climbed up the tree! bibi wanted too, but she can't. ahhh... fresh air. sun. birds chirping. trees.





i have no clue what's in this bouquet, but it's pretty and i gave it to my mom :)



look at the size of this weed! it's huge! it had big, fat, furry leaves.



the berries on this bush look delicious. i wonder if they are edible?



according to johnny, they are not.



let's go bananas!



water lillies are so photogenic, aren't they?



B is practising cartwheels. you just can't resist doing a cartwheel on a lawn like this.



syrus went right to work. look at him in the tree!





B monkeyin' around...

now we come to the lake adventure. my mom had a bunch of her korean friends and their families over for a picnic and some fishing. the funny thing is, the only one who caught fish (besides my mom of course) was V's vegetarian husband, who promptly threw his fish back into the lake. Kiera (pictured below with my momma) almost jumped into the lake after the fish. she just couldn't believe why he would do something like that. so, to make up for it, he caught her a bigger fish.





did you notice that my mom is wearing two sun visors? she is ALWAYS wearing a visor, making her look like a perpetual tourist. the worst thing is, they are never plain visors. no, hers are always sparkly.

when we first arrived at the lake, i almost got the mazda stuck on a hill and almost tipped it into the lake. that was a little scary cause i don't think mazda mpv's were meant for bush hogging through thistle. the guys went through shoulder-high grass to try and find a suitable path to drive my mpv through but the weeds and grass were too thick. the dogs followed the guys and i guess louie didn't see the barbed wire fence and ran right into it....



we all got some minor boo-boos from being out in the wilderness (i found a tick on my thigh later that night!!) but poor louie got the biggest boo-boo of all - on his face, too. he heals fast, thankfully.



syrus and my mom look back at our camp from the boat on the lake.

so that was memorial day monday. it was a nice holiday and we remembered to thank the men and women who sacrificed their lives protecting our freedoms.



oh, i almost forgot - i joined blogcatalog and NaBloPoMo with the username seagrass. i still don't know how the hell to use twitter.

bloody monday

**warning, this content may not be suitable for the squeamish** (no chickens were involved)

oh, it was an eventful weekend. well, eventful for me - other "normal" people might consider it boring.... anyways, things were going great once friday was over. it was a long weekend ahead of us and everyone was happy. we decided to go visit dry pond for some fresh air and beautiful scenery and fishing. we wanted to spend the night but that didn't work out so we spent all of monday at dry pond and my mom's lake (unnamed so far...). we made it a priority this weekend to clean the house. in an effort to run a more effecient household, we have all agreed on setting some goals for the house, and ourselves. i obviously need help in this department cause it's hard for only one person to organize and keep up what's going on. so i started a fridge inventory to keep a running tab on its contents and monitor spending and waste. i will be coming up with a cleaning schedule to help keep my very messy house somewhat under control. and B and V and i are resolving to lose some weight with exercise and diet - all of us together. i really really hope it works. unfortunately, it may mean i have to wear a bathing suit. ugh.

anyways, back to bloody monday. i guess you could also call it... yesterday. i woke up around 6:45 and let the chickens out and fed and watered them. i let the dogs out and sat outside a little bit. nobody else was awake. so i went back to bed and must have fell asleep because i missed the commotion. when i woke back up about 9:30, B was in the kitchen cleaning. i was impressed that she woke up and cleaned and she informed me that the dogs caught a possum and ate it in the kitchen (or dining room, depending on what side of the fridge you are standing). she spared me the anguish of cleaning up blood and guts and threw what remained of the poor creature on the bramble pile to be picked up by refuse. i felt so bad for the thing - it was just eating my chicken feed! somehow it must have wandered into the backyard right into the waiting jaws of three large dogs. B was right, there's no way i could have cleaned up that mess without losing my cookies.



then i remembered that earlier that morning i saw choco in the side yard carrying a rather large (dead) frog in his little mouth and eating it by the curb. i watched him chew off a leg and bite the frog several times. it didn't bother me, but when i went back to that spot i noticed the frog was still alive! and minus two back legs! it was a sad, sad, situation. i felt horrible for this pretty frog but i can hardly scold my cat for being a cat.



so, i made johnny move the frog from the curb over to my mother's backyard where hopefully some frog deity will have mercy on it and let him re-grow his legs. more than likely it will die, but i chose to believe there are frog deities. fairies, even. so that was bloody monday (morning). a lot more happened that day which i will probably have to continue in another post later. it was a beautiful weekend, hanging out with awesome people and animals. we put up a small wire fence to help keep the chickens from wandering onto the street. it's working so far. i am amazed that they seem to know where their home is. they stay close, so i let them roam all day. they mostly peck and scratch around or sit in the monkey grass or the straw pile. last night they even tucked themselves in bed! i was being lazy and didn't herd them into their coop and when i finally went out, they were already inside, sleeping! awesome!

i told you guys i was going to be the next georgia o'keefe! the magnolia tree in front of my porch is blooming! you can sit there and smell the scent of magnolia perfume the air - and enjoy the beautiful view as well!



our weekend was fun and productive! like i said, we resolved to gain control over the household so we busted ass and did a lot of cleaning. johnny did a lion's share of the landscaping, but look at the beautiousness of the porch now!!!

From SPRING 2008

we mulched the hibiscus with this really dark bark-y mulch, and put down a weed cloth under the pea gravel. we edged along both sides and johnny re-wired the landscape lights. B and i planted the marigolds and the lilies are growing happily. i moved all my herbs over to the greenhouse roof so we can still enjoy them from the porch but they are out of the way.

i also tackled the gargantuan task of cleaning out my closet. i thinned out my wardrobe and gave away a whole bunch of clothes i don't wear (or fit into) anymore. i made enough room for johnny's clothes by packing away our winter clothes under the bed. now we can share a closet! now all we have to do is organize and sort the sheets and blankets. since louie decided to take a shit in the bathtub the other night, B also scrubbed the bathroom down with some brand-new environmentally conscious cleaning products from target called "le scrub" by method. i like it.