Three Days til Toledo - Eight Days til Ireland

Just a quick note regarding the fact that I’ve had the most beautiful few weeks ever - with lots of love, sunshine and long and giggly late night conversations. I feel perfectly in touch with most of my lifelong lovers thanks in part to long weekends and lazy phone calls and there has been a recent overflow of wondrous activities here in town that all seem to epitomize summer in the South. Late nights in the water, early mornings on the beach, mimosas for days, Art Walk Sushi Extravaganzas and all those glorious days in the sun.

I was floating about in the pool on Sunday afternoon and I glanced up at my motley crew of goof ball friends here in South Carolina and I realized that I am truly content. This is probably helped by the fact that I am heading home in three days and therefore have stopped being sad over missing all my beloveds from home and finally just get to feel the excited anticipation of seeing everyone so soon. Plus all the plans in the works for IU Homecoming helps relieve the never quite dissipated twinge of sorrow over the fact that college really is over. But, considering that my friends from home are the loves of my life and will always be so no matter where we live. And the fact that my friends from school are also heart and soul lovers but so scattered around the country at the moment we could never all be together anyhow. I feel really lucky to be so happy with my life. I love where I am, Love the people I've met, I love the journey I’ve been on so far and the one ahead and I know the people who really matter in my life will always be there.

This may also be stemming from the fact that I pulled all of my pictures off facebook with some handy dandy gadget and had a quick (1,800 pictures or so flickering past at high speeds) trip down memory lane – starting with Toledo, blurring through Bloomington and ending with yesterday. And it may be in part due to the fact that my little sister graduated from high school yesterday and it made me reflect on the journey I've taken since that day. It's gone by so fast, and every moment seems to slip by a little quicker than the last. It's nice to sit back and reflect now and again on the people who I've loved, still love and who helped make me into the person I am today.

So just a quick note reminding all of my friends that you are the butter to my biscuits, the jelly to my peanut butter and the bananas to my frozen banana stand.

Ocean Waves versus Lake Beach Days – the countdown to Ireland begins

Summer is officially here in Charleston. The dreaded humidity has yet to really set in, so for now it’s just sunny and hot days with cool [but getting buggier] nights. I finally understood the difference between the Ocean and my grandma’s lake last weekend. I’ve been arguing that they aren’t that different since the day I arrived, but last weekend I went to Folly Beach – beers and Bert’s .83 cent hotdogs in hand – and by 2p.m. I was spent. By 4 p.m. I absolutely had to leave. It is freaking hot out there! The sun is stronger, the water is warmer, and eventually – a girl just has to get some shade a cold drink.

Despite my unfortunate revelation that summer beach days will be shorter than I initially planned, I still got a better tan than I would’ve after a week at grandma’s lake and the waves of the ocean are significantly more fun to play in than the waves of Lake Erie. Although I must say, I do miss floating on a raft with Trellis and Ames while having my younger cousins deliver us beers all day long - there is little to no floating in the ocean.

I still feel as though I am constantly on vacation here. I’ve been trying to incorporate normal, human activities into my day to day life – working out, grocery shopping, laundry. But it’s hard when there is a beach or a pool and a sunny day in front of you. I’ve been wishing it would rain lately so that I could have a day to just do the boring stuff that life requires. Although I suppose requires is a strong word. I certainly did not do many of those things in college. And I do not in the least way suspect that I will perish if I continue to not do them now.

I’ve been trying to be good lately and actually purchase groceries so that I don’t have to run to Fuel or Black Bean every time I want to eat. So I went to Whole Foods the other day and got such an array of delicious summer treats that I now worry I will become a Whole Foods addict and still succeed at never actually cooking anything. I’ve got to go to the Farmer’s Market this weekend. The produce there is amazing and soooo cheap. It’s amazing how much actual organic and locally grown food costs versus “organic” and “local” food from grocery stores and restaurants. I can spend $15 at the Farmer’s Market and walk away with two weeks’ worth of produce. $15 won’t get me a two days worth of produce from Earth Fare or even Wal-Mart. But back to the point of Whole Foods. Such tasty treats and really not very expensive if you shop smart. Plus, best of all of course, I got a massive thing of mixed bottled beers for less than $10 – bomb diggity. I love good beer, and inexpensive good beer is best of all!

Memorial Day weekend was uneventful but fun. Nothing like the weekend prior that was a constant onslaught of parties and drunken foolishness. With a finale that involved tiki bars, rooftops and unexplained nudity. Not surprising considering it was Josh’s birthday and then the Knight family came into town.

In honor of Pepper Pots Birthday (she's 3, because she needed an age), we finally ate the infamous Duck Sandwich at Tattooed Moose. Nick and I split it because it is ginormous and I do have to say it is quite delicious. Grease drenched bread that still held its texture like a champ – shaved duck with a sweet sauce over top and three layers of delicious toppings and condiments. Paired with a side of duck fat fries and a PBR pounder – I’d say it was well worth the $8. I don’t think I’d go in it on my own for $15+, that is a bit high even for a super taste-o-licious sandwich. But then again I am not a dude, and I do believe that many a dude would eat that big boy on their own and feel just fine about it.

Easter Dinner in the South

Had a wonderful week of family visitors for my birthday. That was nice. I’ve missed the fam. We went to Poogan’s Porch on Thursday and it was AMAZING. Duck breast with collard greens and cheese grits. So good I almost died. It literally melted in my mouth. Nick had bbq hanger steak, mother dearest had shrimp and grits and Annie and Trellis had various forms of fried chicken. It was all tasty – but nothing compared to the duck breast. It was, in a word – DaBomb.

I really want to learn to cook grits and collards. They are two of my favorite things here but I cannot fathom how they are prepared. I’ll have to look it up I suppose, and then probably give up on the idea entirely because there will be so much butter involved in the recipe that I’ll never be able to bring myself to actually cook them so they taste half as good as they do in restaurants. I tried to make gumbo once without making a roué. It was terrible.

Easter was the day after my birthday and consisted of early morning bloody mary's, pool parties, fried chicken (great success), cheese balls, colored eggs (some cooked and some not) and an easter egg hunt with mini bottles of booze. It was easily one of the most laid back and drunken easter's in the history of my easter extravaganzas to date. I think I will repeat the experience every year for the rest of time.

High Winds on the Ravenel Bridge

Winds were blowing hard last night, and still at it when I woke up this morning. I got to Starbuck’s in North Charleston just before the storm blew in. One thing is for sure – storms in the south do not mess around. This thing was crazy. The doors to the building flew open and rain streamed inside as if the clouds were purposely tilting at an obscure angle to ensure proper water flow into the building.

The drive up to North Charleston was eerie enough, with high winds and random flashes of lightening in the darker than usual sky. I’m just glad I didn’t have to drive in that rain.

One thing that is good about southern storms though, that I’ve experienced to date, is that they don’t seem to last long. I mean – yes it is still rainy outside. But the vicious power of this morning’s downpour is long over. Not that I would mind a repeat now that I am safely inside. I love thunderstorms. Something about the rumbling and clashing of things you can’t control. Especially when you’re safe and cozy in your house. But things seem to have settled down for the time being. We’ll see how the rest of the day goes.

If I haven't said it before I'll say it now. PBR and Plantain Fritters and Fuel. Delicious. Satisfying. $4.75. What else could you ask for on a warm day with high winds?

Rainy days and comfort foods

So I failed, once again, at not using my credit card. But to be fair – I lost my debit card during the St. Patty’s disaster of 2011, and have absolutely no way to access cash because Bank of America is insane and charges a monthly fee if you use the tellers. Seems ridiculous and a little evil because I feel like they are trying to phase out the tellers completely and replace them with robots..but that’s another issue.

So I HAD to use the credit card! If for no other reason but to fight against the oncoming threat of robot bank attendants!

Friday was a wine soaked celebration for Petra’s new job! Yay! And a great night at Blind Tiger and The Rooftop. For those who have never been, both of these places are wonderful in their own right, but the Rooftop is a MUST SEE for people visiting Charleston. Especially if you can make it there to watch the sun go down. It illuminates the Charleston skyline and is absolutely beautiful. Not that we necessarily appreciated that fact on Friday, but I have in the past and I surely will again. But Friday was about celebrating! And celebrate we did. We actually celebrated right into Saturday which led to mass amounts of heavy foods and yummy mimosas to ward off the late night demons.

It was cold and rainy all weekend so we fought back with chili and fried chicken, and topped it all off with the most amazing macaroni and cheese known to man. I don’t know how he did it, but Mike managed to fit 87 pounds of cheddar, pepper jack, gouda with heavy cream, butter and bacon all in one measly baking dish to produce the most glorious cheesy goodness of all time. It was the comfort food of champions and the recipe (that I am improvising on because he cooked while the rest of us laid around the house) is listed below

1. Box of fun shaped noodles
2. 1 pound of bacon – cooked and diced
3. 1 pound of cheddar cheese – shredded
4. 16 ounces of gouda cheese – shredded
5. 8 ounces of pepper jack cheese – shredded
6. Heavy cream – lots
7. Butter – 2 sticks
8. Flour – to make a roué – look it up because I don’t know how it’s done
9. Milk – dash and a sprinkle
10. Bread crumbs

From what I could tell – he cooked the noodles as you normally would and then placed them in a large baking dish.

Then you make a roué using the butter and flour, like I said, look it up because every time I’ve tried to make a roué I’ve failed miserably because I’m never willing to use the appropriate amount of butter.

After the roué was finished there was heavy cream, milk and some of the cheese mixed in and stirred until it was uber creamy. And then in went the bacon. I know right. Wow.

This creamy cheesy bacony awesome mixture was dumped on top of the noodles and mixed. THEN the rest of the cheeses went on top and some sort of spicy yumminess that I don’t know what it was. I’m guessing some sort of cajun seasoning or red pepper.

Then some sliced tomatoes went on top and bread crumbs to finish it off.

The whole thing went into the oven without a timer and apparently he smelled its readiness because when it came out it was the most awesome meal of all time.

It is still raining and cold here, a disgusting 45 degrees. So I think I will rationalize eating the leftovers of this cheesy wonder tonight with a glass of wine or two. Then tomorrow it will be back to carrot sticks and salads. But there is just something about a rainy day with good friends, bad movies and delicious food that makes life great.

Life and Times of Three Young Professionals, Part 2

From: Emily Gibbons
Sent: Tuesday, February 08, 2011 1:09 PM
To: 'Tara.Garrett'
Subject: Question about excel

Hi TG,

Will you help me with something.

I want to repeat the same formula in different lines of an excel spreadsheet. Is there a way to copy and paste the formula even though the cell blocks are changing?

For example – one formula is (I26+I27)*(I28+I29)

So I want to transfer that same formula to rows A – H….make sense?

Can you help? Do you have any idea what I’m talking about :)

Xoxoxo Em


From: Emily Gibbons
Sent: Tuesday, February 08, 2011 12:11 PM
To: Tara.Garrett
Subject: FW: Question about excel

This is the actual formula… =SUM(H14+I14)*(J14+K14)

So what I actually want to do is just change the 14 so it works for rows 1 – 13…

From: Tara.Garrett
Sent: Tuesday, February 08, 2011 1:50 PM
To: Emily Gibbons
Subject: RE: Question about excel

Yea all you have to do is drag the bottom right box across the cells you want the formula copied to

Tara Garrett | Business Analyst | Seasonal and Stationery | Target.com | 612.304.5571

From: Emily Gibbons
Sent: Tuesday, February 08, 2011 1:48 PM
To: Tara.Garrett
Subject: RE: Question about excel

I don’t get it…

From: Tara.Garrett
Sent: Tuesday, February 08, 2011 2:53 PM
To: Emily Gibbons
Subject: RE: Question about excel

Click on the cell with the formula you want copied. On the bottom right of the box there is a black box that you can click on and drag across other cells…




From: Emily Gibbons
Sent: Tuesday, February 08, 2011 1:48 PM
To: Tara.Garrett
Subject: RE: Question about excel

Omg you are a genius.

A Plane Moment

“Are you from San Diego?” Her chin wobbled as she spoke.

“Originally.” He wasn’t interested in small talk with this woman whose body was a bit too large for her seat.

“I couldn’t be more excited,” she went on without encouragement. “I’ve never been past Arizona.”

He looked at her trying to hide his disgust. He could smell hotdogs and cigarettes on her breath. There was a blotch of dried mustard on her chest.

“It’s quite a sight,” he said.

“You been gone long?” Clearly she was not getting the hint. He grunted in response.

“My name’s Kristi.” She offered with a too wide grin.

“Of course it is.” He muttered at her and turned to the window.

“Don’t you love the runway?” She said.

“Sometimes I wish the whole plane could be made of glass so we could really see everything.” She offered again when he didn’t reply.

“It’s alright.” She said after a moment. “I agree with you really. A plane is the one place in the world you can think anymore. No phones ringing, no e-mails to be answered, televisions to watch. Just you with your thoughts for the whole flight. It’s something to be treasured really.”

At that moment the flip screen televisions came to life in front of them and he grinned as she groaned to herself and shut her eyes.