On The Hunt
August 17th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
Day 229
I have this silly little hobby. It’s called sunset chasing. I totally made it up and it’s totally not a hobby, but let’s just say for the sake of fun that it is.
It’s pretty simple – all you need is a car, two legs, a camera and the ability to be patient until dusk. Plenty of nights you’ll find me racing through developments in my area, looking for that perfect spot from which to snap a shot. Texas is pretty flat, so oftentimes it’s difficult to capture a landscape without houses and buildings in the way. Every so often, though, I find one and deem my chase successful. For this photo, I was the recipient of many stares as I drove frantically through a neighborhood, looping not once, not twice, but three times around the same block to get the best view. What can I say? Sense of direction has never been a strong suit for me. Anyhow, stares, gawks and the like aside, it was well worth it. The skies here are so amazing, it almost makes the unbearable 104 degree days worth it.
Almost.
Right Turn
April 7th, 2011 § 5 Comments
Day Ninety-Seven
There is a main intersection not far from where I live that I pass through each day. For anywhere I ever need to go, I either turn left or go straight. What’s beyond the right turn signal always remained a mystery to me, but I was assured there really was no reason to ever venture in that direction.
As I was driving back from Saturday’s shoot, I happened upon that same intersection – although instead of sitting at it, I realized I was looking at it from one intersection away. Without knowing it, I had made that right hand turn and here I was in no man’s land where I’d always assumed there was nothing but houses and flat road. As I sat at the stop light, a blaze of blue caught my eye and I exclaimed how beautiful the flowers at the side of the road were.
Tristin and Teresa quickly exclaimed, “They’re Bluebonnets!” Being the State’s flower and all, I guess I should have known better.
After I got home, I couldn’t get them out of my mind. As I went about my afternoon, I thought to myself, I have to get a picture of them.
It was after 7:00 by the time I jumped in my car. I knew I was contending with the sunset, but secretly I’d hoped it would make for the best lighting. As I made that fated right hand turn, I glanced up at the sky and knew I’d be coming into a perfect moment.
I slammed my car into park, put on my four ways (or is it blinkers? I never know what to call them. Just know I made my car visible to passing vehicles.) and got down – literally – into a dirt ditch. Now, just imagine you’re driving along on your Saturday evening and all of a sudden you see a blond head peaking up from a ditch from behind a camera. Goodness, sometimes I imagine I must be a site.
Dirt and all, it was worth it.
Weird Weather
February 4th, 2011 § 3 Comments
Day Thirty-Five: Feb. 4, 2011
So, I’m a little late this morning – especially seeing that it’s now afternoon. I tried to resist every urge to snap a ridiculous amount of photos of the snow but when something so unbelievable like this happens, you just have to go with it.
While this certainly isn’t the first time the great state of Texas has been dusted in the white stuff, I find it ironic that I moved from a state known for this weather thinking I’d never see it again. Wrong, wrong, wrong.
As expected, schools were closed, government workers got the day off and people acted like general fools. It’s nearly melted now but freezing temperatures are sure to make this evening and tomorrow morning some interesting ones.
I did venture out my front door, but I liked this shot the best. Just a sliver of the chill, white and bundling. Perfect.
Since it’s Friday, I’m actually going to post three photos today. I know, how lucky can you get? Better go out and play the lottery tonight kids – just don’t forget the snowshoes.
Even Buddha thinks you’re all crazy. It’s just snow!
I’m off to continue doing some Behind the Blog (BTB) work. If you’re in Reader, click on over! All this snow has got me thinking clean and simple is the way to go. Special thanks to Alex for walking me through some technical issues this morning. I said I’m a writer, not Steve Jobs!
How’s the weather where you are? Stuck inside for days? Rocking the flip flops laughing at crazies trying to imagine what it’s like to be cold?
Snapshots
September 15th, 2010 § 6 Comments
Not much time for thoughts and words today so I leave you with a few photos and my new favorite quote I stumbled upon. I think as bloggers, you’ll all love it, too.
(In case you haven’t noticed, I really really love the sunsets here.)
And now via Kelle Hampton, from Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones:
“A writer’s job is to make the ordinary come alive, to awaken ourselves to the specialness of simply being. A writer is a visitor from the Midwest to New York City for the first time, only she never leaves the Midwest; she sees her own town with the eyes of a tourist in New York City. And she begins to see her life this way too.”
What are your favorite quotes? I am a quote collector so bring it on!
Also, please remember update your readers and subscriptions – homegirl’s got her own domain! http://feeds.feedburner.com/twentyfifthyear/NwxV
Right in the Middle
July 7th, 2010 § 16 Comments
There are many changes to be accounted for…both in my life outside this blog and in what you see here on the page. It’s a work in progress – as am I – but I’d like to deeply thank Ashley over at The Edible Perspective for working with me to create my beautiful new header. Isn’t it fab?
Here we are. And by “we” I mean, well you and I, because dear reader don’t you know you are along on this crazy ride as well? Oh yes, I wouldn’t dare go at it alone!
So anyways, let’s see, moving on. Oh, where exactly are we, you ask? We are here, right in the middle.
Right in the middle of goodbyes. Knowing when I give some of my friends a hug when we part ways that it will be the last time, at least for awhile.
Right in the middle of using up every little thing this great house holds rather than rushing out to buy more because I’m “almost out.”
Right in the middle of posting and deleting ads boasting furniture for sale on Craig’s List.
Right in the middle of having chairs and, well, not having chairs.
Right in the middle of, “Will it really ever get cold enough for 34 sweaters in Texas? How about five winter jackets? Snow…? No….? Bueller?”
And, most importantly, right in the middle of make every minute count.
I already know some of the things I will miss the most. I’m not talking about the faces I see every day or the things that become so familiar – and let’s face it, mundane – I take them for granted.
I’m talking about the way my hair stylist has a card on file with my name on it, corners worn and folded down from seven years of experiments.
Or the one spot in my bed I can lay in at night and feel completely comfortable with the moon shining in on me, the city skyline in the background, peeking through my curtains.
It’s knowing at the end of the day, I have a straight shot 15-mile ride home that I use to unwind by belting out or mellowing out.
Or when I go to yoga, my instructor seems to read my mind and invites me to challenge myself in a tough pose.
Or the pure joy during church when, amongst a crowd of hundreds, the pastor is speaking directly to me.
It’s the little local coffee shops I have recently discovered a love for hanging out in on my days off.
It’s the odd places around town I have come to deem as “favorites.” Favorite place to run, favorite place to drive by, favorite ATM, favorite cheap sushi.
It’s in these things and so many more I am trying to remind myself to find a balance in. Where I need to be is right in the middle of holding on and letting go. As I wind down my last full month in Pittsburgh and the state where I have spent the overwhelming majority of my life, I plan to spend my time absorbing as much as possible. Here is a look at what I’ve done so far.
Experienced the zoo for the first time through 4-year-old eyes.
Been caught in a torrential downpour that brought forth some sunshine.
Pondered the life of a curious goose.
Got my sparkle on.
Loved me some city.
What little things in life could you stop to appreciate today? What are you right in the middle of? How do you focus on the bigger picture?
Round-up!
January 8th, 2010 § 9 Comments
Back in my writer days, every once and awhile I’d have to do a “round-up” story on a series of events pertaining to one topic or event. They could be a pain in the ass, but they could also mean less groundwork as I (or someone else) had already been reporting on it. Today, I am taking that route and giving you a few pictures to round-up my past few days. On Wednesday, I took my first snow run.
If anything can be said for this, it’s that I enjoyed the bundling and feeling like a general hardass, but my lungs were seriously FROZEN rock hard solid by the time I finished, and it wasn’t even a full two miles. The Stadium Loop and I reunited and embraced one another’s company as old friends do. That is, until I ran past half a dozen restaurants doing what I can only imagine to be schlepping out last night’s leftover dinners and making way for new, fresh produce. Why is this a bad thing you ask? The smell. Goodness if I got a whiff of one more random smell (garlic! onions! meat! sewage!) I thought homegirl was going to keel over and proceed to dry heave. Nice visual, I know.
Post-run and post-hack my lungs out 2010, roomie and I ventured out to do some shopping at the outlets. Like any woman, I love a good deal and my oh my, did I get me some. I think I heard Chase screaming from the freezer: “I want to score major deals and make you happy wahhhhh!!” Sorry dude, all cash up in hurrrr.
“Hi my name is Caitlin and I love neutrals.”
My loot from left – sweater from Gap, three Artist T-shirts from J. Crew (I love these shirts, like I would marry them and make sweet cotton love to them) fancy button-up from J. Crew, black thermal from Aerie, planner pages from Kate Spade, cutest little Carrie Bradshaw tank from Gap (which was a whopping $3.69) This whole shopping spree cost what two of the shirts would have retailed at. Man I love a good deal.
Yesterday, I had lunch with two fabulous ex-coworkers at the Cafe at the Lofts. I met them at the job I returned to Pittsburgh for and they are the only good thing to come out of the six months I spent there. True, great friends whom I am so glad to have stayed in touch with. We just crack each other up – an hour is not enough time. Plus, who doesn’t love some office gossip, especially when you aren’t working there anymore!
They are readers and finally made their appearance on the blog!
I wish I could say that I stayed up and watched my favorite college team (if only by force) play last night, but I was nowhere near a TV when it was on. I still rocked out, though.
Alright kids, off to the grindstone I go. Happy Friday!!
The Heritage Tree
December 25th, 2009 § 5 Comments
Hi y’all! Merry Christmas to you! First, let me just thank you for visiting my site today whether you’re a regular reader or just happened to find me by chance or circumstance. If you celebrate Christmas, I hope it is/was a wonderful one for you and yours. If you are a regular reader, you know I celebrated the holiday earlier in the week, check out the previous post if you want to check out my loot. I have more of a recap to give you of the rest of my trip, but that will be for a different day.
This gorgeous timber lives in Cedar Park, TX and is the largest Live Oak in the area, also known as The Heritage Tree. Over 50,000 lights set this beauty twinkling every night and it is truly a sight to see. As we drove away last night, I couldn’t help but wonder how many rings circled the inside of its core – a telltale sign of its age. Just how many Christmases has The Heritage Tree seen? If it’s as old as I imagine, I’m sure it’s seen Christmases in happy times and hardship. Christmases with plenty and Christmases without. It’s seen people come and go and times change and still it stands.
What about you? What kind of Christmases have you seen? Have you had Decembers that filled your memory for years to come with wonderful times and moments? Or have you been less fortunate and experienced a loss of a loved one or a dwindling bank account that didn’t let you give your loved ones that special holiday? Have you woken up in tears dreaming that your beloved soldier would make it back from war in time to open gifts, only to realize that was only just that – a dream? Have you traveled somewhere far to be with the ones you love, or simply to spend the holiday in an nontraditional way on a beach or in another country?
I have been abnormally blessed with wonderful holidays with the exception of eight years ago when my grandfather ended his battle with cancer just two days before Christmas. As you can imagine, that was an extremely tough holiday season. I’ve had family and friends overseas fighting for our country, too, but I can’t imagine if it were a parent, sibling or significant other. Most of us would rather turn our attention to something else than think of those hardships, but today I challenge you to count your blessings. Say more than one prayer for our troops, thank the next man or woman you see in uniform, pray for those who aren’t having a Merry Christmas, and if you celebrate and you are religious, don’t forget the true reason for the season.
In recent years, I’ve had to let go of many traditions and hold on to the simple, yet sometimes difficult truth of growing up. Just like The Heritage Tree, I’ve seen people come and go and I’ve “grown” new branches that extend and open up to change. Although I have run the gamut on my feelings circling all of this change every year I’ve had to endure it – from sadness to anger and frustration – eventually I come around and I’m OK with it. Well, as OK as I can be. This year, I’ve gone through the stages and am about to embark on another “new” - flying on Christmas. I’ve had to return on the holiday before – for work just like today – but it was only a two-hour drive that I could hold off until the evening. Today, I’ll be departing sunny skies in Texas to head back to the blustery cold of Pennsylvania. I can’t promise how merry I’ll be. While you’re stuffing your face with ham and pie and relishing in your gifts and family, I will be 35,000 feet above you breathing in recycled air crunched in seat 25C watching “Sex and the City” on my Mac desperately trying to forget what everyone below me is doing. That may make me a bit selfish, and I’m OK with that. Don’t we all want the world to be perfect on Christmas?
By the time I land tonight, all will be well in my world. I’ll schlep home, unpack and head back to normalcy tomorrow. After work, I’ll be heading back to my hometown to see my lovely and wonderful friends and also visit for the first time since my parents moved away. Time will continue moving forward and things will slow down for a while after the holiday rush. Life will bring its blessings, hardships and changes. I’ll return next year – if not sooner – to see The Heritage Tree and marvel in another 365 days of living. See you then, friend.
Again, Merry Christmas. I am so thankful for each and every one of you. Every comment, email and tweet brings a smile and makes my heart warm. Thank you.
Crunch Time
December 21st, 2009 § 9 Comments
Hi y’all!!! Greetings from Texas. I am back to the South and L.O.V.I.N.G. this weather – 60s today! Quite a change from the several inches in Pittsburgh. I came into San Antonio last night and we got to go to Riverwalk which was Fab-u-lous!!
It’s a shopping and dining area Downtown along the San Antonio River, which, of course was decorated for the holidays, complete with BOAT CAROLERS!
I was the biggest tourist taking pictures on the edge of the sidewalk whilst my family was freaking out someone was going to push me in – wouldn’t that have made a great post? Good Lawdy. We ate Mexican at Cafe Au Lait and had a great view of the hustle and bustle below.
It’s supposed to be a gorgeous week – right now we have all the windows in the house open. I just can’t get over it.
The men of my family and I are going to tackle last-minute Christmas shopping today. I’m sure this is going to be real fun. I actually have just about everything done, there were just a few things I couldn’t order or successfully carry on. If nothing else, I am a pretty good organizer and planner so I’m not really someone who freaks out at the last minute. I also have a knack for gifting if I do say so myself. Are you feeling the crunch right now? Last year I didn’t have much money to spend on anyone so I did something unique. For my Mum, Dad and brother, I found an old picture of me and that person, blew it up to a 5×7 black and white and gave it in a simple black frame with white matting. For two of my other friends, I did the same thing for a recent picture. The kicker though was the card that went with it. It, too, was white with a black border I etched on the front with a single word written across it. On the inside, I wrote a letter with the significance of the word to the photo and my relationship with that person. Y’all, this is a shoo-in gift. Every. Single. Recipient. Got choked up. This was not my goal (OK maybe it was) but that’s how I knew it hit the spot. It’s cost-efficient and touching. In this life, people aren’t going to remember what you did for them, but how you made them feel. Here’s my Mum’s:
Yup, that’s me, circa 1985 in Baltimore with my Mum. Awww. I have a few surprises this year, too, but I can’t tell them yet for obvious reasons. We are doing Christmas tomorrow because my brother and sister-in-law are spending time with her family this week, too. I’m off to shop, wrap, frost and enjoy my day!!!
Are you feeling the crunch or do you have everything done? Anyone ever tried the homemade gifts? I love new ideas!
Varying Views
November 30th, 2009 § 9 Comments
Happy Monday! How was the rest of your holiday weekend? I got a little too wrapped up in my time and didn’t get to post – sorry! Here’s what the rest of my time down South looked like.
Saturday night we went to dinner at The Oasis on Lake Travis. The story behind this place is that it was struck by lightning in 2005, completely destroying 80 percent of the decks. They immediately started rebuilding and now the restaurant can seat over 2,000 people and it serves as a great venue for parties, events and even weddings (there was one on Saturday – awww.)
The menu is mostly Mexican and American fare, but many people travel to this destination place for the views and the sunset. I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.
The homes on the shores of Lake Travis are like something you’d see in California – huge just absolutely huge. It’s the same area where Sandra Bullock and Matthew McConaughey live. I don’t know who lives in the above pictured, but I would like to be their friend. 
As Sarah said, “You know you’ve made it when you live in Lake Travis.”
As I Tweeted Saturday, it’s views like these that make me grateful for my life.
If you ever visit Austin, make this a must on your list of places to see – at sunset obviously!
For dinner, I had chicken fajitas, which I could not finish because my appetite had ceased since my race – does this happen to anyone else?
But of course I saved room for some dessert – peppermint ice cream and cookies! Sarah and I split this.
Mmmmm peppy-mint! I must find some of this ice cream!
We spent the rest of the evening and yesterday just relaxing. I did attempt a run on Saturday and got very, very lost in my parents’ development. Cursing may or may not have ensued. I was also pretty sore, so more walking than running occurred.
I had minimal time between flights yesterday so the traveling went quick. I flew down on a different carrier where I could leave my larger suitcase plane side. On the way home – not so much. Homegirl held up the aisle ripping the bulge of workout clothes from suitcase to carry on in an effort to stuff it in the overhead bin. That left me in an even more panicked state trying to rummage through an already full bag to get out my book, iPod, laptop, etc. Oh, excuse me young teenage boy, that’s just my sports bra I flung across the aisle. Yep, I am pretty much that person who can’t keep their shit together on the flight.
And speaking of flying, does it completely drain anyone else? I mean it’s hard enough trying to lug 40 pounds of luggage across a tram and two terminals looking cute for my imaginary future husband, but daaaang some people are so rude. We all have to get somewhere, right? And technically it’s not my fault if you’re running late, right?!? OK then, glad we cleared that up – because you rammed past me like you were in the last stretch of the running of the bulls. Oh, and hey, just because the plane stops taxiing, doesn’t mean you have to leap out of your seat and park your toosh and over-sized manpurse in my face because guess what? sister’s gotta lug down her big blue suitcase and I really don’t think you want to get in the way of that, mmmmK?
Can you tell I was glad to be home?
If nothing else, my experiences flying will surely give me great material for my book.
Now – back to the grind!
Fruity Girl
November 28th, 2009 § 10 Comments
Happy Saturday friends! You don’t usually see a weekend post from me but I’m on vacation!! Yee Haw!!
As I said in my last post, I am not a Black Friday shopper. However, I have been contemplating a major purchase for several months now and knowing yesterday might be a great day to find a good deal, I took my Geek Squad (aka my brother) and went to do some research at the Apple store.
Currently, I have a Dell desktop. It still works just fine, but I can tell it’s starting to slow down. With the recent uptake of blogging, using it has limited me in when and where I can write. So I began researching several laptops. I looked into the one Verizon offers, as well as some from Dell and Sony. All along, though, I knew my gut was whispering, “Mac. You’re a Mac..Just do it, stupid.”
Cory, Sarah and I ventured down to the Domain, a very lush outdoor shopping area/mall? I don’t know, we have nothing of the sort in PA and spent some time in the Apple store, looking at different models and talking to the specialists. We decided to walk around a bit and think about it.
Of course a huge factor into this was the financial aspect of it. I knew I would have to finance the purchase but my family also offered to put some money toward it for Christmas. I crunched the numbers over and over again, and realized, yes I can afford this (and not be paying it off for the rest of my life.)
As we walked, I frantically emailed Happy Go Lucky Alex for some “machine advice.” She is a Mac user and said something very poignant:
Nevermind. Screw being realistic. You are a writer, you need a good machine. Scratch that. You deserve a good machine, Caitlin! Macs are the best hands down, stop walking, start buying.
I read that and said, “She’s right, I’m a writer, dammit. Let’s do this.”
So with that, a Mac user was born.
Alex congratulated me.
Thanks, girl!! So here I am, coming to you live from my new MacBook. I have to admit, it’s pretty nice to just chill on the couch or hang out in the kitchen and blog. Hello Bliss, I have arrived. Boy, a lot of changes already in this Twenty-Fifth Year! Thanks for joining me on the ride!!
The rest of the day was pretty low key. I had Cory and Sarah try Green Monsters:
Verdict? They liked it! Hey Mikey! (They both licked the little shot glass – so yeah, it was goooood.)
And me? Well c’mon..
Last night we had some Texas BBQ
Followed by Breakfast Tacos this morning both from Smokey Mos.
Mine was egg, cheese and potato with some piquante sauce. Mmmmm!
We I also put up the Christmas tree. It’s a tradition in my house that I always do this solo. Mum put up the rest – and always does – so I am happy to do the tree. I’ll post pics after tonight – it’s prettier with the lights! I’m off to go “window shop” accessories for my new baby – I think I need to name her! Any suggestions?
How’s your weekend shaping up? Any fun plans? Tonight we’re going to dinner and out in Austin – I can’t wait!!
A new challenge
October 5th, 2009 § 2 Comments
Well something else I have learned since turning 25? I am still a pretty big procrastinator. While I would love to write every day, I find myself not jumping into the habit right off the bat. That being said, please bear with my spontaneity as we go!
So I left off with the event that sparred all of this. Let me continue!
Over the last few years, I have drifted in and out of having an interest in fitness. When I was living outside Philadelphia working as a writer/server I didn’t exactly have ample time to hit the gym. But there was one golden month or so that I did, religiously, following a work out plan my cousin constructed for me. Paired with a diet change to clean food and mostly natural and organic, I shed 10 pounds. I was ecstatic. Then I went on a little vacation to Nashville and when I came back I lost most of that motivation. I can’t point my finger at a good reason why, I just stopped caring so much (and um, socializing more).
Fast forward about a year, and I got into it again. I wasn’t super serious, though. I switched jobs and my mind was everywhere with adjustments. I tried the old plan that was successful before and it just didn’t pan out the way I wanted to. At that point, I was doing 20 minutes of the Galloway method on the treadmill, barely able to run for more than a minute at a time.
I can’t exactly pinpoint when or why, but all of a sudden something changed. I decided to run and make it mean something. I got serious again. For the next 7 weeks I trained hard. I ran four or more days a week, I hit the outdoor trails, I pushed myself.
Then I made a profound statement.
“I really need to go to the dentist soon. Yeah, I need to get on that.”
Enter excruciating tooth pain. On Labor Day weekend. When my parents were packing up my childhood home and moving 1,000 miles south to Texas.
To make a long, long story short, I ended up spending my last day in my hometown in the Emergency Room for three hours. I was completely drugged up when I said my goodbyes (had a DD!) and ended up back in the ER two nights later with swelling up my whole face that belongs in some medical journal. What I was suffering from was an abscessed tooth that infected me up to my sinuses and took nearly everything out of me and shaved 10 days off my training.
When I got back to it, I was hesitant about running. While I was upset I had missed out on precious time, I was scared I was going to do something to hurt myself even more. It took a couple of easy paced work outs, but when I started running again, I did the unthinkable – I ran a whole mile without stopping. I had never, not once in my life, done that. I just kept setting a goal with time, then once I surpassed it, I thought, “well, why stop there? Now I’ll shoot for this..” By the time I knew it, 1.0 miles was behind me and I had done something I never could have imagined.
For about three days prior to the race while I rested my legs and body, my nerves kicked in. It rained. I worried. When Sunday rolled around, I rushed to get ready and we headed down to the start. The rain continued and we stretched and waited, stretched and waited.
Finally, we lined up and the gun went off. We weaved our way from the back of the pack and ran the first mile strong downhill through University of Pittsburgh and Carlow College’s campuses. We stopped once between each mile and pulled each other through when the other was struggling. As soon as we turned the corner to Point State Park, I hit my wall. I felt like throwing up. I didn’t care that there were people everywhere. I ripped off my headphones – the music was making me sick. Carrie looked back, grabbed my arm and said, “No!” Thank goodness for that pull. We neared the finish line, passing her family and as we crossed, she grabbed my hand and we finished with our arms up high. It was quite a moment.
I was pretty bummed when I saw the clock as we finished at 41 minutes. I totally forgot that our chip time would be different coming from the back of the pack. When we got the heads up the times were posted and that we came in under 40 minutes, I was back on cloud nine – a runner’s high second wind if you will. The rest of the day consisted of sleeping and eating.
Since then, I have given myself a bit of a break and only run twice – just this Saturday I ran through Center City Philadelphia – what a great morning – and found myself easily tired and winded.
The solution to my sluggishness lies in me signing up for another race, which I plan to do this week. The 5 mile Turkey Trot in Austin, TX is on Thanksgiving morning around the University of Texas campus. This is definitely a step up for me, and I am once again nervous, but the nerves are a good thing! I’m starting to get serious…..tomorrow morning! For real, there will be no procrastinating when it comes to this!
