Engulfed in Flames

How fitting is it that I attended a David Sedaris reading on his new book titled, "When You Are Engulfed In Flames" while standing in direct sunlight on asphalt at noon during a hundred degree heat wave? It was so worth it though. I've read all of his books, but have never heard him read aloud. He was hilarious, slightly awkward and quite endearing. He even requested to see Lisa's knitting!



The crocheted Frankenblanket is coming along nicely. I cannot get over how fast crochet is, or addicting. I found it hard to put it down even when the air conditioner was broken. We're okay now though, and at least we have one to begin with!



I was tagged my Miss Hexagon Blanket herself, the lovely Dulle Griet. Since I am a co-founder of her blog-stalking fan club, I must play along.

1) What was I doing 10 years ago?

1998. I had just wrapped up my first year of college, a year of varsity water polo, and was living at home and waitressing. Heaven. My friend, Jay was still alive, and our old gang would spend every night playing Manhunt in the 5th street park, going to the beach, or sneaking into the pool at the Hall of Fame and diving off of the platforms. Awww. I miss living at my parent's house!

2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order)?

Find my dress and finish packing for my trip.
Fly to Chicago tonight.
Finish floorplans in CAD for work.
Finally update my blog.
Charge my phone. STAT!

3) Snacks I enjoy:

Key Lime Pie
Peanut butter ice cream on a sugar cone with chocolate sprinkles
Mango
Pineapple
Funnel cake

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

I'd like to think that my goals wouldn't change too much if I had that much loot. But let's play along for a bit, shall we?

After taking friends and family on a trip around the world for a year (totally stealing my best friend Trey's lottery winning idea here), I would buy a house. A house on a bit of land but with neighbors nearby. We could have a barn in the back for Mike's studio, and a woodshop for us to share. I would build and re-furbish furniture as a hobby, and do interior design. I would have (and/or) adopt the grandchildren my mom is jonesing for. I'd buy a letterpress, some new clothes and a hybrid car. Oh, and perhaps I would build a waterslide park a mile from my house for people to use. I would hire a tutor and travel to Spanish speaking countries and learn the language. I would find an inventor or invent a machine that could launch people from far-away places through a chute into my new home. Each of my friends and family would have one in their house, so we could see one another whenever we wanted. Yes, it would be just like at the drive-through teller machine at the bank. And lastly, I'd put aside money for my brother's scholarship, and donate to other causes I support like Heifer.

5) Places I’ve lived:
Philadelphia, PA (almost 4 years)
Bloomington, IN (7 years)
Plantation, FL (18 years + summers)
Las Vegas, NV (a summer)

6) Six people I would like to tag are:
anyone who wants to play!

Philadelphia Cares

I'm volunteering for Philadelphia Cares this Saturday, with my friend, Debbie. We'll be helping out with (hopefully thousands!) of others to paint schools and repair playgrounds. It's a great cause, and who doesn't want to help children, especially the ones in Philly? If anyone wants to come out, let me know! (It's over by 2:30PM, you can't beat that...)

Below is a favorite old photo from a spring break service trip for Habitat for Humanity. We went to Jacksonville, Florida and helped build houses for a week. I'm so glad I did this. You really bond with people on those types of trips. My favorite was a girl who looked like Punky Brewster, if she took up smoking and wore a tool belt. Faux Punky, Anne (who was 4'-10" in high heels), and I were the tomboys of the group. We wanted the 'cool jobs'. We were on roofs, the tops of ladders, using table saws and nail guns, and taking discreet pictures of the hotties in AmeriCorps.



On the last day of working, us girls were laying down roofing tiles. We only had one nail gun, so two of us we were using hammers. Three Mormon missionaries came along to assist us. (Mind you, we had been doing this half the day already, and were getting quite good with whacking the nail in the first try). They came in and tried to take over, implying that they were more skilled as men. I remember telling them that they could hold the shingles in place for us. The boys ended up being very nice, and we had a nice discussion with them about their trip, their experiences, and how bad ass they thought we were! (wink)

It can be overwhelming at times to think of all of the injustice in the world. But we can't let it make us shut down and become apathetic. I'm no saint by any means, and have had troubles in the past spreading myself too thin. So on the other hand, we have to say 'no' sometimes.

The biggest thing I do regularly is donate blood for the American Red Cross. It's easy, quick, relatively painless, free, and it is always needed. You can save up to three lives with one pint. We started doing it in high school to get out of class, and it kind of stuck with me. (Ha ha...)

I must say, I'm truly inspired by my friends, family and people in this design community. Lisa is knitting for Afghans for Afghans, Sherry is supporting Hats for Alex. Magda was in the Peace Corps. Olivia's mom helped out at an orphanage in Africa this year. Tracy used to help children at the Middle Way House. My mom and dad set up a scholarship in my brother, Andrew's memory. There are scholarships on Design*Sponge and Ashley Goldberg's monthly charity for her "Hello" Series. Not to mention my favorite overachievers, Oprah and Angelina Jolie!

Rock on, people.