Operation Salsa Drop

"Operation Salsa Drop has been formed by Jay and Amy Muxworthy, owners of Flaming Amy's Burrito Barn and Flaming Amy's Bowl of Wilmington, North Carolina. They intend to sell retail shelf stable versions of their salsas in order to send the same salsas to the troops in Afghanistan and Iraq free of charge."

Please check out their website for more information. Soldiers like salsa too!

Banzai the traveling feline

I dragged my suitcase out of the storage closet the other day to pack for my vacation. Banzai decided that I didn't need to take clothes; all I need is a feline.

rats with wings

My best friend Megan lovingly refers to seagulls (or any type of bird for that matter) as "rats with wings." I must say that after years of thought, I thoroughly agree with that statement. Not only do they look dirty, but I think that they really are dirty. They rummage around in trashcans, eat food out of stupid tourists' hands, and squawk like a dying beast.

For some reason, tourists at the beach are fascinated by these birds. (I am not amused. I am also deathly afraid that one will poop on my head.) Tourists cheerily feed seagulls Cheetos from their fingers and take pictures of these dirty things swarming around their children. I'm waiting for one of these birds to fly away with someone's finger as their snack. That'll teach em!

No matter where I am on the beach, these guys always seem to find me. Case in point... my view today:

Seagulls are really just of no benefit to society. And it is illegal to intentionally murder a seagull... so I get really excited when I see one as road kill :)

My Current [Food] Obsession

I present to you my current food obsession.

I often get in moods where all I want to eat are a few certain foods for months at a time. Kristi often does this with sammiches; I do this with candy.

My Milk Dud kick has lasted all summer and it shows no signs of letting up any time soon.

We went to Costco the other day in search of items for our vacation. Milk Duds were on the shopping list. Did we find them? No, of course not! Because that was the one item I wanted (aside from Sugar Free Red Bull, which we did find in large quantities).

Now I must brave the insanity that is WalMart and purchase large quantities of Milk Duds. Because you know, they don't sell them in Key West.

Eat, Pray, Love - Part 1 (India)

Over the Labor Day holiday (read: when procrastination set in), I was finally able to pick up one of the books that I've been itching to read for years: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. As I'm sure you are all aware, this book has recently been made into a movie starring Julia Roberts. You should all also be aware of my refusal to see a movie before I read the book. I do believe that this movie was released well over a month ago, and to my knowledge it's still showing in theaters. At the rate I'm going with this novel, I may just be able to catch Julia on the big screen (although I don't feel as though it is mandatory for this novel).

This book is split into three sections based on the author's travels to Italy, India, and Indonesia. She writes of her revelations and experiences during her journeys. I knew from the get-go that I would adore this book because not only do I adore traveling, but all I do while I'm traveling is immerse myself in the culture and meditate about my life. (You know, exactly the same thing Elizabeth Gilbert does! Only she's much better at verbalizing it.)

Of course, reading this book was kind of like reading the writing on my soul and mind. I've expressed some of these thoughts before, but they are listed again based on some quotes that I've found in this novel. Please read below and laugh, cry, argue, and enjoy!

This is probably my favorite quote thus far in the book, and is stated before Elizabeth leaves for her trip to Italy: "Having a baby is like getting a tattoo on your face. You really need to be certain it's what you want before you commit." She was very unhappy in her marriage and felt that society (and her husband) were pressuring her into something that she didn't want - a baby. I, of course, can relate. Everyone is settling down, getting married, and having kids. While this isn't direct pressure, it is indirectly saying to single people everywhere: reproduce and follow others' examples. I want to do none of that. Everyone says I'll change my mind. I won't. I don't want to. Don't force me.

Speaking of "examples," EG quoted The Bhagavad Gita, an ancient Indian yogic text: "It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of someone else's life with perfection." Now who nailed that one on the head!? (That quote also reminds me of another one of my favorites from Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.") If I need to explain that quote to y'all based on what I said in the paragraph above, then you have issues...

...which leads me to another revelation EG had in her book. When discussing marriage and life with her mother, EG realized that she did not have to be "stuck" in her marriage, or anything else in her life for that matter. She asked herself, "...What are my choices to be? What do I believe that I deserve in this life? Where can I accept sacrifice, and where can I not?" (I really do think that EG and I were friends in a past life, although I, of course, was the more mature friend. I say this only because it took her to the age of 31 to ask herself these questions; I've been asking myself these questions since I was 13.) If you haven't pondered these questions for a few minutes and you're over the age of 25, I highly suggest that you do. You'll be a stronger person because of it.

So, as you lay in bed tonight and think about absolutely nothing but how wise I am and how my blog just completely changes your life, also think about this: What do I deserve in this life?

Scientific "theories"

I saw a bumper sticker on student's car today that read: Evolution is a theory, just like relativity.

I literally said, "REALLY!?!" aloud for all to hear.

One would think that since this bumper sticker owner is in college that they are somewhat educated, albeit probably liberal. But being the scientist that I am, I must argue with this bumper sticker and its owner. Not only is evolution a proven scientific "theory," but so is relativity. These two confirmed events were only coined as theories because at the time of discovery (you know, before TV and the internet, which I'm sure kids these days couldn't even fathom), they could not be proven. Through many experiments and much research across many decades, both evolution and relativity were confirmed. I do believe that folks even won Nobel Prizes for some of their discoveries. Imagine that!

FYI - all scientific discoveries are considered theories until they are proven facts. Sometimes, the "theory" part of a statement/discovery sticks because the ideas spread so rapidly.

If you don't believe me, then head on down to the library and do some research. Like, using books. And another FYI - google.com is not a book.