Just added the photos from our memorial day weekend in Atlanta.
Not much else to report. We actually went to Hooters last night because they were having a special on boneless wings and beer. I think I was one of like 3 female patrons in the entire place. Reminded me of my RPI days!! haha.
I’ve finally uploaded our pictures from our trip to the Midwest last March. I know my galleries have come in many formats and flavors, but I still feel like keeping all of ‘em on my site is much more centralized than trying to post them on limited space storage sites like Picasa or flickr. Besides, I’m not going to pay for those when I already have unlimited space here. So there! How do you like my new “collage” format? I’m giving it a try – I’m realizing when I look at other people’s photos, I really just want the highlights, not every photo they took. So, let me know if you like ‘em!
Another totally random gallery addition is of our visit to the Raleigh children’s museum last January. We had a tad too much fun there… probably more fun than most of the kiddies! haha.
More photo updates will be coming soon… though, I might wait on uploading my Project 365 (though, at the rate I forget to take pictures, it might be more like Project 300) until the end of the year. We’ll see 
A few weekends ago, we went to the NC Hot Sauce Contest in Oxford, NC. It seems they have a festival for just about anything here, huh? Well, this one did not disappoint! There were a bunch of little tents set up by the different hot sauce companies with samples of their sauces. Yuuum! They were all pretty good except some Caribbean one that was definitely going for the heat factor – we were burning pretty good for about 15 minutes
after that.
After the pain wore off (thanks to some beer), we were able to taste the
remaining sauces. Because the votes are controlled by who sells the most hot sauce at Stovalls, we headed over there and bought our bottle of the John Boy and Billy hot pepper sauce, our personal favorite!
We also checked out the hot pepper eating contest. After experiencing that crazy Caribbean sauce, all I can say is NO THANKS! The contestants all ended up giving up on eating 5 different chile peppers and split the prize money ($300)! My mouth hurts just thinking about it!
Did you know, instead of going to craigslist every day and typing in the same query, you can subscribe to a RSS feed? Just go to your local craigslist, type in your query and view the search results. At the lower right hand corner of the search results, you’ll see the RSS link. Click that sucker and you’ll be on your way to craigslist trolling masta. As soon as an item that matches your query is posted, the feed refreshes and you’re the very first to know!
If you don’t already have a feed reader that you use, I recommend Google reader. While you’re at it, you can add carrievision.com to your feed list!! Just sayin’.
Here’s what I’m trolling for so far… though I am sure there will be many, many more… 
Groovy, eh?
So, we’ve been living “off the grid” for a few months now. I’ve been restraining myself from complaining endlessly about it on the blog, lucky you. Well, it’s surely an interesting experience. One definite downer (of which – there are several, #1 being lack of a couch! Who knew that was such a luxury?) is no full sized kitchen. We’ve got a “kitchenette” which includes a 2-burner electric stove with questionable controls, a mini microwave, a dorm fridge that freezes everything in sight, and a small sink.
Luckily we did have enough foresight to pack some essential cooking tools. Sure, the “hotel” (if you call it that) provides some cooking implements, but they are seriously so low quality they’re almost not worth using at all. Here’s what we packed and have been using the most:
- Our treasured lemongrass colored Le Creuset (the smaller 5 qt pot)
- Our second-most treasured Jamie Oliver nonstick skillet
- All the Henckels knives and their holder thingy
- A few utensils – most used is a wooden spoon
- Dish drainer, soap, and sponges
- A box of spices from our pantry
- A box of dried goods (pasta, rices, etc.)
So, yes, while you definitely COULD cook a gourmet meal in this set-up, it’s definitely not an inspiring environment. The fact that the fridge is so small and freezes everything in sight doesn’t help. Yes, we tried turning the fridge temp down a notch, and everything got warm. Apparently the settings include FROZEN or OFF. Here are some of the lovely dishes we have prepared in our kitchenette:
- Grilled cheese sandwiches with pimento cheese. Did you know you can buy pimento cheese spread in the grocery store?
- Pasta, pasta, pasta pasta. (We did actually have some really good pasta dishes when we were being given tomatoes every 2 days)
- Macaroni and cheese from a box.
- Asian inspiration meal including frozen vegetables.
- Sandwiches (cold cuts, peanut butter, etc.)
- Sloppy joes
Needless to say, there haven’t been many leftovers so I’ve adapted to bringing those healthy choice meals that don’t need refrigeration for lunch. Nom nom!
We are definitely eating out more often. It’s surely not very healthy. I even ordered a SALAD with my Wendy’s sandwich on Friday because I was actually CRAVING VEGETABLES! (Yes, I know, what is that??) We eat food of the Mexican persuasion because it’s so cheap. Hello Taco Bell and $1.25 beer night at El Dorado (a recent discovery!). That El Dorado tradition might just have to continue even after we move…
I’ve become pretty lax about the administrative aspects of this site (could it be because of all the sites I have to manage at work?? hm, perhaps). My domain name expired, even though it was set to renew automatically, because my credit card expired. Apparently the registrar I use also is interpreted as spam by my email accounts, so I missed all their “your registration failed” and “you’re screwed” emails. Haha.
So, now, at least everything is operational. I upgraded Wordpress like 6 times (I had some super back level version). I didn’t realize how awesome the bluehost Wordpress upgrade tool is. Man, remember when it took like 4 hours to upgrade Movable Type? That’s when it took real technical saavy (or at least tolerance) to have a blog. Those days are over! Which is good, because I don’t have the energy to mess with it anymore either! haha. Well, now that I’m all upgraded maybe I won’t get as many spam comments now. We can pretend.
I also changed the theme, even though that other one is still pretty hot in my opinion. I’m hoping switching it to one I enjoy less will motivate me to actually make my own theme. Yes, I believe this is something I’m still capable of! I need to get my CSS skillz back in gear yo.
In other news from this week, we saw Cirque Dreams: Illumination at the Durham Performing Arts center this past week! I got a great deal because it was “kids night” (even though there weren’t that many kids there). It was enjoyable, but nowhere near the quality of Cirque Du Soleil. The major difference, I would say, is that the theme of the show was much less abstract and whimsical than your average Cirque Du Soleil show. There was a narrator who sang songs to “tell the story”, and all of the routines were built around the idea of characters at a train station. I have to say though, the vaudeville/clown character was HILARIOUS and definitely the highlight of the show. He took people from out of the audience and made them act through a silent film production. One of the guys really didn’t want to be up there, and it made it all the funnier.
Question of this post: If you were invited on stage in the theater….. would you go??
I’ve been a fan of Samantha Thompson Smith from the News and Observer for awhile now – even when she did the retail section, back in the days before Sue Stock and her coupons galore! In the past few years, Samantha has been doing the fashion section of the paper and has a blog called the Fashion Plate. A few weeks ago there was a giveaway, and lo and behold, I somehow won!
My goods arrived in the mail today. Muy exciting! I got this Clinique tiger lily eye shadow from the Spring 09 collection, which is “shades of pinkish brown.” Well, so far in my ventures in wearing eye makeup, I’ve only enjoyed brown/beige shades. So, perhaps “pinkish brown” will be the next shade I enjoy. I preliminarily tried it on, but I can’t say for sure if I like it until I wear it a few times. The shades have definite promise though! Look at me with “fancy department store makeup.” haha. Worst part is, if I actually decide this is the eye makeup I Must Have, I’ve discovered that it’s already DISCONTINUED!! Ugh! Why do makeup companies do that????
Speaking of discontinued makeup, I was recently trying to buy some more of that Carmindy fast fix concealer I was all excited about a few months ago. Don’t I (finally) figure out, after visiting like 3 different stores that the shade of it I was using was DISCONTINUED!! Ugh! They still have the crappy lavender stuff, but not the yellowish shade for covering up dark circles. I gave up and got the light version of the skin-tone fast fix, and so far it seems pretty good. It might actually be better than the yellowish shade. With that purchase I could get another Carmindy product for 50% off, so I decided to try the mascara because I needed some. So far, I am not impressed. The brush is super tiny and the mascara is all gloppy on the brush when you take it out. Time will tell. The only mascaras I consistently like are Maybelline, but, 50% off! I can’t help myself. I still want to try her primer, which is supposed to make your skin super smooth, or something. It’s almost ALWAYS sold out at the store, which tells me its awesomeness is unbounded. However, be warned: the Carmindy stuff is NOT at Target or Wal-mart. I’ve only seen the line at Ulta, though, maybe they might also have it at drug stores (but seriously, who shops at drug stores???).
I’m determined to have this eye makeup crap figured out in the next few years (when I hit that scary birthday that ends in 0), at which point, I’m sure a whole new host of problems will show up that completely defile whatever makeup routine I’ve developed. Why is it so difficult!!? Any tips are appreciated!
While visiting the rents over the weekend, there were several opportunities to soak up the Southern. For the most part, life in Raleigh-Durham is Yankee-fied (plus Sweet tea), so we kind of realize how un-Southern we are after we leave the metro area… haha
We had an evening at Lake Lynn Lodge, where a musical group called the “Old Toots” were playing. The lead singer hand long hair and wore a golf cap and overalls. It was a pretty stylish look. The bar area was festooned with sides of former NASCAR vehicles, and two empty phone booths. (When you reach Alamance county on I-85, consider yourself officially in NASCAR country..) There were a few toothless dancing people. Overall, it was a highly enjoyable experience… lol
We also went to Webb Rd flea market, which is like an overgrown shanty town. What I was amazed about were the overly large numbers of things you could buy at Walmart that people were trying to sell — like shampoo and cleaning products. For not much less than Walmart. Uumm – huh?? We tried getting a corn dog at like 3 different food outlets, and none of them had corn dogs. Apparently this is a popular food item. So, we stopped at the taco truck across the street instead. Tasty!
In Wal-mart, there were almost no Slim Jims to be found. Imagine that one! Apparently Charlottians enjoy their encased meat products..
