Five Guys

Burgers and Fries. So this no meat thing is hard! I keep forgetting
until I walk into a restaurant and then it hits me...the menu just got
smaller and suckier. This happened to me last nigt as Ben and I
walked into Five Guys Burgers and Fries. The menu had one veggie
option and that was a bun with cheese and veggies not in pretend
burger form. They just pile them on. I was concerned but it was
amazing! This picture isn't from last nights dinner but from
tonights. Mmmmmmmmm. I may be back tomorrow.

Peace

I saw this painting at work in our Dayton office. I love it! I may
use it for inspiration in a future painting.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Dojo Gelato is a new gelato shop opening Saturday, August 1st at Findlay Market. My friend Michael Christner is making this endeavor and I'm always excited about cold treats and supporting local business. They will offer a variety of products using local resources. They use hormone free dairy as well as offer vegan options. I can't wait to order an ice cream cake! You should check it out and spread the word.

See the Tiny Dot?

It's the space station. My personal tracker Rick called me to tell me to look outside but you can go here to find out when you can see it in a sky near you. Now I'm watching Battlestar Galactica.

This Was So Worth My Time Painting.

There Are A Bunch of People

Here to see Bad Veins.

You, You're Gorgeous

Or awesome.

Ha!

Today I was sitting in a meeting and I felt something between my
toes...it was a watermelon seed. I've been eating a lot of watermelon.

Chicks Dude

So I've done some thinking and I found myself at lunch today at First Watch avoiding ordering meat because I wasn't quite sure where it was from. I grew up on a farm and was quite accustomed to eating animals that I had seen as a baby. I'm fine with that. It's just the images of chickens not being able to walk because they've been given so much growth hormones that they can't walk or the cows standing in two feet of their own poop that has really gotten me to this point. I'm not becoming a vegetarian because I don't think it's wrong to eat animals but I do think it's wrong to mistreat them and then hid the gross truth from the public.

One of my favorite memories as a kid was going with my grandma to Cherry's Feed and Seed to pick out baby chicks. We would keep them on the porch until they were big enough for the chicken coop and then I would visit them often to get eggs or just watch their crazy chicken behavior. The coop often doubled as a playhouse for me. I think they were happy so the idea of eating chickens like that is fine to me but the idea of them not being able to walk or ever seeing sunlight during their short life span is gross.

This is my plan; I'm not going to eat meat that doesn't come from a free range farm which pretty much means that I can't eat meat in most chain restaurants and many other restaurants for that matter. I'm not going to pretend that I'll stick to this rigidly but I'm going to make my best efforts. I'm also going to buy more organic fruits and vegetables. Oh how I will miss McDonald's cheeseburgers and hot dogs from random gas stations. Those are my biggest worries sadly enough. I'm sort of depressed about this realization. Then I feel depressed about being depressed over the idea of no more cheeseburgers from crappy restaurants. Blah.

String Beans...

...smell like my childhood. Ben and I went to see the movie Food Inc.
and we where craving some fresh veggies for dinner. I feel like I
have some thinking to do about my eating habits.

Georgia on My Mind

I just returned from Albany, Georgia. My last living grandparent, Nanny, passed away early Tuesday morning. It's sort of lonely knowing that there is a generation of my immediate family that is gone. She was the oldest of 9 children so I got to see a lot of family that I either don't remember or have never met. It's interesting to see familiarity in their eyes because each one of them had some trait of Nanny, my mother, or aunt in them in some way. I was particularly sad to leave my sister and mom this morning because I realize that once day I will someday be the grieving daughter and sister. Watching my mom and aunt struggle this week was one of the more difficult things to experience. Though I live very far from both of my mom and sister I can't really imagine a world without them and hate to think of it but it's also times like these that make you want to hold them closer. We all left with promises to get together sooner and I will try to answer my phone more often when my mom calls. In my attempt to laugh in order not to cry I snapped this picture. Just say the first and last name aloud. Fanny Blewett. We had a good laugh at this one. No disrespect Fanny.

Yes!!!

Boiled peanuts and a giant watermelon. I'm homeward bound.

Brother and Sister

You Know You're in the South When...

...there are boiled peanut shells on the ground at the gas pump.

I Was Up Before You

RIP

4x6 painting number 60.

Happy Bloggerversary!

Flipflop brodeo. Kentucky!

Takin Picture...

...of three dudes takin pictures of Ben.

Bad Painting

I'm making a giant painting for the Bad Veins album release later this
month at Fountain Square. We're cutting the faces out so people can
take pictures as the band. I think it's going to be pretty funny.
This isn't really helping me get very many 4x6 inch paintings done but
this is 4x6 feet. Don't think that counts though.

Jellyfish

4x6 painting number 58. I'm way behind at this point but I have a lot of ideas that I just need to commit to paper.

Elvis Lives!

I Love Parades

And burritos.

Churros

Lauren's birthday churros. Nada is my favorite restaurant.

Pablove

I've been reading Pablo's blog for about a year now and on Saturday I checked in after a few days maybe a week and saw the terrible news. Pablo passed away 6 years and 6 days into his life. I've been wanting to write about him for days but I couldn't find the right words. I didn't know Pablo, but I have met his father a few times so I wasn't sure I had the right to even write about him but then again couldn't quit thinking about him and his family. I can't quit wondering why a little boy is taken away. I can't quit thinking about how strong his family has seemed and I can't quit thinking about how giving they are. Ben is in LA this week for a show and to visit their record label, the label that Pablo's father Jeff started. He sent me this picture tonight from Pablo's memorial and it brought tears to my eyes, one because he is so damned cute and two because in 6 years he has toughed the lives of so many people. I can't summarize quite yet what I'm learning from this but I think it has something to do with the strength of friendship, family, and even the love of strangers. I encourage you to visit the Pablove Foundation site and make a donation to spread the love around a little more. If you have a blog or a site please post the link or send it to your friends via email.