Dear Mom

Dear Mom,

2010-03-09T16:41:47Z

I opened a window (all morning long) in our house for the first time this year! Oh my! it feels and smells so refreshing! I thought of not telling you why I openened the wondow but it's too funny to keep it to myself...Chap celebrated his birthday all night at Macho Monday and his breath smelled so bad I was unable to sleep. The cure to many bad smells is an open window.

Dear Mom,

2010-03-09T02:02:49Z

Today is Chap's official 26th Birthday! I am so so so happy he was born! We celebrated as a group yesterday at Arnold's Family Fun Center. It was actually a joint party because Nate Kula turned 26 last Wednesday. There was eleven of us total and we ate horrible food and had amazing fun! We raced go carts, played lazar tag, bumper cars, and crazy cars. We all had so much fun together, like always, but mine and Chap's favorite part was the bumper cars because all of us turned it into a game of "get the hat". Our friends never fail when it comes to playing around there is always some game invented on the fly that has the whole group laughing and having the best of times. We really do have the greatest friends ever, and when I am around them I feel that the experience of heaven on earth is real!

Dear Mom,

2010-03-05T15:12:22Z

I updated my bio under the "about me" tab on my website. You should take a look, I think you'll like it.

I enjoyed writing it because it gave me a chance to reflect on my childhood. I know I have told you this before but I had so much fun growing up in Florida! It was a perfect playground all year long. Some of my favorite memories were out-fishing Dad a few times, our family jumping in the swimming pool after church with all of our church cloths on, taking that black cat home from the barn and watching it have babies, catching butterflies to bring into our screened porch, finding tree frogs and throwing them in the swimming pool, finding those lizard eggs and picking them up and they hatch in my hands, watching the sea otter do tricks in the pond, finding really gnarly soft shell turtles, pulling Buffy around in the wagon hitched to my bike, learning how to jog and golf with Dad, having my big sister lead the Halloween parade on her horse, and going on a three feet deep mud walk!

I'm not sure how much trouble it was to switch our pool water from chlorine to fresh water or salt water (i forget exactly) but I thank you so much! I couldn't have done half the things I did if we had chlorine in the pool. Like those tree frogs would have died and our eyes, hair, and skin would have suffered big time. To this day I have a hard time with chlorine pools because you spoiled me so!

Dear Mom,

2010-03-04T19:02:58Z

You always said I had the ability to manipulate any system, and we both know that can be good and bad.

Well I have a small confession. First I want to say, as I continue to mature I leave my bad manners at home but I still have a tendency to test "the system" whatever it may be, and then leave it alone even if I figured out a loop hole. For example, yesterday I was driving home from work and had to stop in center city to pick something up at Chestnut and 15th st. The parking is awful at 6:45pm on a weekday and it's all meter parking. The only parking spot available was for motorcycles and skooters... It was raining and freezing cold I didn't feel any motorcycles would be crusing around in this weather so I parked. There was plenty of room for my car and I had an idea. I knew I would get a ticket even if I paid the meter because the sign specified "for motorcycles" So I remembered that I had an old ticket in the car from months previous so I placed my old ticket in my windshield wipper and went shopping. I came back and the other cars around me all had tickets and I took my decoy ticket from my windshield and checked to make sure it wasn't a new one and it was not! The metermaid over looked my car thinking it was already ticketed for the violation. I felt a bit sleezy but also cleaver. I don't plan on doing it again because I think it's too risky but I thought it was worthy for a short story.

Dear Mom,

2010-02-24T18:28:02Z

These past few weeks I have been making myself luch at home and when I do I sit at the table and read the "1003 Household Hints" book you gave me for Christmas. It is so old I feel like I am breaking it with each page I turn but it's really great info like:

#113 Keep lemons fresh longer in a tightly closed jar of water in the refridgerator.

and I especially love this one because it dates the book pretty well

#124 Picnic sandwitches will stay fresh twice as long if, after wrapping them, you seal the edges of the wax paper with a hot iron.

Overall it's really great hints to help beat the high cost of living (copywright 1948). I imagine what was common sence at one time is now sorta lost information, and with that said I am getting alot out of it. I keep visualizing Grandma in the kitchen using the leftover mashed potatos and frying them up into patties or storing the bacon grease like it was gold.

Dear Mom and Dad,

2010-02-19T15:12:13Z

Thank you for keeping a great garden going all the years I lived with you because it has really shaped me into who I am today. Last night I had the privlage to attend a potluck in West Philly for Phildadelphia's Urban Farm Network (pufn). My farm boss Liv invited me and it was such an eye opener to me that there is a real movement happening in Urban Farming here in Philly and other cities in America. The turn out was pretty huge and I am such a new-bee to the scene and all night I was just soaking up all of the information flying around the room and feeling so grateful that Liv has given me the chance to be a farmer. Many things I felt about farming was confirmed like it being hard to make a living doing, but more than that I was introduced to the heart and soul of the community at large and everyone has projects big and small that mattered equally in the sence that farming is valuable work that is a chioce and privlage to work for and not just a job you get to pay the bills. I meet some great people that have inspired me to think about farming more seriously and maybe even doing it in Austin, TX when we move. Who knows? but I defenatly related to everyone that I spoke to last night especially a girl named Amanda Staples who is about the same age as I am and lives with her husband in Philly and farms on a small plot in German Town area. Amanda's husband is a web developer (and farmer) maybe that's the first thing that I related to her about, but it turns out she has been farming for a while now in different degree's starting out here in the urban Kensington/Fishtown area and moving to rual area like Lancaster,PA. I enjoyed meeting her and making a new friend! Today I feel happy to be living in a city and am glad to not be living in the counry but the struggle continues. I also felt humbled by the people around me having many skills and the abondance of knowlege to live sustainably, I got the feeling that if you droped last nights group off in the middle of the woods it would be capable of surviving because of the skill set that most everyone had for farming and living a homestead lifestyle despite them being city dwellers.

(image is complements of www.bigstoneswcd.org/.../Beautiful_Farmstead.htm)

Dear Mom,

2010-02-18T10:24:42Z

Before Valentines Day gets too far away, here are photo's of last years!

Ryan, Katie, Adam, Hallie, Chap and I went camping in the Pocono's last year, we all stayed in a trailer and took a nature walk around a frozen lake...we knew it was completely frozen because there was ice fishermen on it, but it still makes me scared thinking back on it, we were crazy! Kinda like when I went swimming with roller skates on. The cool thing about THIS years Valentine's Day is the six of us united again and had dinner togeather at our house in Philly. The guys cooked us lobster tails and steak, delecious! Chap and I have the bestest friends ever! We are like family! I wish for the tradion of Valentines Day with friends to live on forever.

Dear Mom,

2010-02-16T00:47:19Z

I got Chap voice lessons for Valentines day, he was really surprised and happy!

Dear Mom,

2010-02-10T10:48:53Z

It's great to be living in Philly at a time like this because we are witnessing breaking records of snow fall for this area. The funny thing is I don't feel as if it's that crazy I mean it's alot of snow but it seems like this is what a winter in Pennsylvania should be. Josh took a couple of photos of me this past weekend.

and by the way I am Subaru for life! Our car rules in the snow! four-wheel drive is the only way to drive!

Dear Mom and Dad,

2010-02-10T10:36:44Z

I am really pround of you both. I was thinking about all the things you have been doing like driving down to Florida and going to a Rodeo in NC and taking little trips to the moutains and visiting so many National Parks, plus many more to come! You both have really been taking advantage of Dad's retirement and it makes me happy for you. Dad's reading new books and your sharing the house chores, I think you all are a cute couple and I enjoy being surprised when Dad answers the phone in the middle of the afternoon because it's so different than I remember. I just wanded you to know your happiness brings me happiness!