Rock City

That, my friend, it $20 worth of rock watching.

I love visiting Don. Its the leaving part that I find to be the hardest.

Finding Myself Again.

Its hard to believe sometimes isn't it? I really have to say that I am glad I started this blog o' mine. I started to read through some of the first entries I had. There were few, but they had so much meaning and so much happiness. If I hadn't written them, would I have remembered those feelings I had? Would I have remembered the journey from there to here?

Having gone down memory lane, I realize now just how unhappy I've been. I notice as the blog goes on that I bitch more and write about the joys of life and captured memories less. Which was the purpose of starting this blog. It was my own self discovery. I wrote about photographs and what they meant to me. I wrote about happy days and the pride I felt for who I knew and where I lived. Then I started to talk about books. Which is another great joy in my life. Reading has always brought joy to my heart. Its the thrill of falling without the fear, its the feeling you have during your first kiss, its the magic of being young again. Both photography and books give me this feeling. I think I need to take a lesson from myself and learn to write like that again. Remember who I am.

Here goes.

I finished a novel by Lisa See titled Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. I really am a fan of stories like this. Its set in China during the 1800's and is an easy story to relate to. Who hasn't had a deep friendship torn apart by a misunderstanding? They use a secret writing caledl Nu Shu, a language based phonetically created by a lonely young girl. It was a language known and taught only to women so that they may send messages and letters to sworn sisters, their natal families, and their "Old-Sames" without the prying eyes of men.

An old woman tells of her relationship with her "old-same," their arranged marriages, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood—until a terrible misunderstanding written on their secret fan threatens to tear them apart. With the detail and emotional resonance of Memoirs of a Geisha , Snow Flower and the Secret Fan delves into one of the most mysterious and treasured relationships of all time—female friendship.

Of course, this is coming from the girl who enjoyed Memoirs of a Geisha despite its "Factual inaccuracies". I , as I have mentioned before, look more at the entertainment aspect of a story not how accurate it is. If it is believable and a good story, it is enjoyable. So, If you enjoyed Memoirs I highly recommend this book to you. Its an emotional ride.

July Celebrations

I traveled to New York for the 4th of July. I had to take my driver's test the day before to do this, but it was a success! The drive was uneventful, but we did snicker at a few signs along the way. Once we got there Dad met us at his place and we went over to my Step-Mom's brother's house for food, explosives, and drink. It was something else, let me tell you.

First, They threw Uncle Brad into the pool. Mommy Lisa got a little drunk and sat in my lap at one point (Haha, I love my family.) and Aiden got to have his first sparkler. I video taped that and snapped a few pictures. Only 2 years old and already a pyro. We let him have a few more on the 5th for his birthday party after everyone left. He tried more than once to take out Sissy's eye (me being the poor soul holding him) and trying to put it closer to his face to watch it burn. But, more of that later. Aiden didn't like the fire works very much though. I think it was the noise that scared him. He liked the colors and the sparks, but eventually he had to be taken inside. Good thing too, but I'm not to sure that it was too safe there either.
Once it was dark (and everyone was well drunk) they started to set off fireworks. I've never dodged so much fire in my life. One of the larger fireworks tipped over and actually hit the house. It was like mission impossible! All you see are silhouetted figures running and grabbing children and then BOOM! The firework explodes in an array of beautiful and dangerous sparks behind them all. I didn't think to snap a picture because I myself was hiding behind my father. (Poor Daddy.) Though, from what I understand, this year they did well. Last year they had 3 hit the house and several hit the roof. Despite the fact that they showered us with sparks on more than one occasion. I'm glad I wasn't there last year. Holy Smokes! Its no wonder even sparklers are illegal in New York. (lol)

The next day everyone came over to my Dad's house for Aiden's Birthday Party. He opened gifts, got wet, played with a ball and got himself a turtle cake. The Cake was so cute! Lisa used a soccer ball cake pan to make the shell and used green ice cream cones for the feet. Then she made several different colors of icing to decorate the shell. She made a head and tail out of more cake then made a licorice mouth and chocolate chip eyes. The licorice wouldn't stay in a smiling position, so he had a grumpy turtle. A grumpy and delicious turtle. When it came to cutting the cake, he was decapitated and quickly consumed.
Mmm...turtle.

There are more photos to be seen on flickr!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/untitledography/

Of course, on the way back home we got lost. Then (as luck would have it) hit construction, but at least I got to see the Don for a little bit. He even bought Jack an Ice cream!

The Don, Rodeo Burgers, and Barnes & Noble

The day finally came where something Don and I had planned actually fell through. Had to happen sooner or later, right?

Originally we had planned on going to State College to check out his old haunts while getting the chance for me to go to a Barnes & Noble for the first time. However, he suggested meeting in Warren instead then driving to Erie to shop.

After Driving about 2 hours I met him in a Perkins parking lot and followed him to the motel. After checking in and taking our things inside, we hopped into the "short bus" and headed to Erie. Along the way, I talked Don into stopping for fresh strawberries from a Farmer's Market (Which he doesn't eat. What's wrong with him?) while he continued to ask me if we made the right turn or how many exits it was until our exit (I had no clue where I was or where I was going).

All and all though, the trip went smooth.Despite the fact that I didn't bring my camera and had to take photos with my cell phone. There were a great number of things I could have taken photos of, but was too caught up in conversation or enjoying myself to really stop and take them. I bought four books, while Don had and entire series of books been bought out from under his nose. (Only Don.) Then we went to Red Lobster for Dinner. I'm not that into sea food. In fact for the most part I don't like it, but the crab was good and the lobster was alright. And so, a good time was had by all.

We headed back the way we came and tried to find a music store only to find that the mall had 2 stores and 2 salons. Where the stores went no one knows, but Wal-Mart was a dud too. As Don like music by artist that no one has EVER heard of. We thought of seeing a movie, but went back to watch T.v. instead. We got ourselves some Ranch Doritos and Sour Cream and tried to get comfy. I could complain a great deal about the night the two of us had, but why ruin things? We just decided that we'd go the the hotel across the street next time. =]

Since neither of us slept so well, he got up and got himself some coffee while he left me sleep until about 10:30 or so. Once I had gotten up, we got ready to leave and went to have lunch before going home. This is the part of the trip I think I loved the most. The Plaza Restaurant. This place had such a comfortable atmosphere, great service, great food and plenty of it. I would Highly recommend this little Greek restaurant to anyone passing through Warren. That glorious thing to the left is a Rodeo Burger. BBQ sauce, onion rings, and American cheese on a toasted bun. It was AMAZING! Don had himself his usual(as it is his "favorite little place" in Warren) meatloaf and gravy with a side of mashed taters. It was in this pleasant little eatery that I snapped the photo at the beginning of this long and drawn out entry. What a smile, eh? He's so "Fuckin' cute". *Bats eyelashes*

There are more photos for the trip on my flickr page.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/untitledography/

Check it out!