Entertaining Family at the South Carolina Botanical Gardens & Geology Museum

Anthony, Shastya, and I met Anthony's brother, sister-in-law and their two kids at our local popular South Carolina Botanical Gardens and the Bob Campbell Geology Museum for some family fun today. Because Anthony and I enjoy nature and being active, we thought meandering through the colorful gardens would be a fun activity that would be representative of our lifestyle, to do with our visiting relatives. 

New Garden Art Sculpture

Yellow Swallowtail Butterfly

Shastya playing with her giraffe from Ivory Coast

Unusual Gourds

Looking For Turtles

Scary Insect

Mini Black-Eyed Susans

Cantaloupe

Cleome

Cosmos

Zinnia

Yellow Queen Anne's Lace

Dusty Miller

Eucalyptus

Pumpkin-On-A-Stick 

Looking at the Bee Boxes

Bob Campbell Geology Museum

Japanese Biwa Pearls

Brazilian Amethyst Quartz 

Why I Got A Nose Ring

My husband thought it would look cute. Not your typical reason to get a nose ring, huh? Seriously, one day my innovative husband and I just had a dialogue that went something like this:

"Hey, you should get a nose ring!" 

"Really?" 

"Yeah, nose rings are really pretty."

"Uh, sure." I thought, "Why not? Why pass up a perfectly good opportunity to get a nose ring?" 

Of course, I did have a few more questions . . . . 

Would getting a nose piercing be culturally acceptable? I had two thoughts as far as culture . . . First, was a nose ring going to be socially acceptable in American mainstream culture, i.e. business attire? Second, what would fellow Christians' thoughts be on the matter? Would such a face decoration be socially awkward at church? I googled nose ring and found a very well researched article on Wikipedia. And I quote, "nose piercing is the second most common varieties of piercing after earlobe piercing." The article included many types of professionals that had nose piercings. Besides, I could always let my nose piercing close up if I wanted too. As to what people at church would think . . . I figured they couldn't be too offended since ladies wore nose rings in the Old Testament.

Would a nose ring look right on me personally? I saw a bunch of different styles of nose piercings on Google images. I figured I would just get a classy one.

Where would I go to get my nose pierced? I asked my friends/family on Facebook if anyone knew of a good place in Clemson to get a nose ring. One friend recommended going to a tattoo shop because they are certified in piercings. I ended up going to Artistic Ink in Pendleton, SC. There we waited in an entry way painted burgundy, in a large black leather couch over a massive gray leather shag carpet. A police show could be heard on the TV above us. I felt slightly on edge, like there was going to be an adrenaline rush. Once we were called on, Jason told me his life stories for over half an hour trying to get me to calm down so he could pierce my nose! Shastya and Anthony were both there with me for the event! With all my fidgeting over a little nose piercing, Jason could hardly believe that I had birthed Shastya! He did a great job piercing my nose so Anthony tipped him for doing so, and for putting up with me! Anthony got me a gleaming diamond/ rhinestone nose stud for my 30th birthday present! I was elated. Anthony continuously tells me how much he enjoys looking at my beautiful nose ring.

The Custom Clemson Collection

  

Hey friends, I just made these this evening. Let me know what you think . . . 

(Update: This entire collection has sold.)

I Just Made My Own Earrings!

Baby Shastya and the Baby Tiger

 

 

(Photos: Courtesy of Daddy/Anthony)

Food Writing: Comparing Edibles With Non-edibles

Will Write For Food by Dianne Jacob, Chp. 1, Ex. 2

Objectives:

-"compare the following foods to non-edible objects

-write a long sentence"

(A) "The cheese was as ripe as . . ."

the smelly shoe of a long-distance runner who had trekked sock-less.



(B) "The donut smelled stale, like a . . ."

 used aged set of Dutch Blitz cards shelved in an arid basement.



(C) "The roast beef sandwich tasted as though . . ."

it were a dried-up bath towel, that had been manipulated to clean five rooms of hardwood floors with vinegar and water, and then hung out to dry.

All-American

I'm not sure what got into me, but tonight when I pulled out the ingredients for our evening meal, I reached for butter, cheese, and more cheeses! "This is going to be good," I thought. Although you can hardly go wrong with the taste buds with these All-American artery-cloggin' ingredients, I rarely cook with them, much less all at once. Tonight, I put Mexican cheeses and butter in my fresh cooked spinach. I added yellow American cheese to my rice. I cooked my cod in butter and garlic.

A Writing Exercise

Will Write For Food by Dianne Jacob, Chp. 1 Ex. 1

Objectives:

"-write a long paragraph about eating your favorite fruit

-use the 5 senses, simile, metaphor

-sub generic nouns for concrete nouns

- include both short and long sentences"

A Chocolate Covered Strawberry

Picking out a favorite fruit is a steep order when you're in the throes of cravings and loathings. In the past I have enjoyed apples: crisp honey sweet ones. Since marriage, my husband Anthony has gotten me quite fond of bright navel oranges bursting with flavor which are his favorite fruit. Perhaps, I do not have a favorite fruit at the moment because fruit is not my favorite at this very minute . . . alas, if I must complete this exercise since I do want to . . .what sort of fruit shall I write about? A chocolate covered strawberry because it is chocolaty like a delicious snack I just ate this very afternoon, a Magnum Belgian double chocolate ice cream bar. I rather like a good chocolate covered strawberry, for when I bite into a perfect one, it is altogether sweet, tart, beautiful, and velvety smooth to the touch. However, it does crunch menacingly, precariously, as if it were a mini avalanche planning to explode and plunge onto my outfit beneath my bite. A chocolate covered strawberry is such an experience. If you happen to be an inexperienced chocolate covered strawberry eater, let me give you a few tips. You don't want to eat the strawberry leaves at the top of the chocolate covered strawberry because doing so will leave a bitter taste in your mouth. Further, don't eat a funny looking chocolate covered strawberry. Yes, the chocolate will still look good, but check the top of the strawberry that is sticking out of the chocolate to make sure it is not a discolored pinkish, or grayish color. Also, be sure to smell your chocolate covered strawberry before you bite into it. If it is bad, and you do not realize it, then your mouth will be filled with a horrible rank disgustingly sweet and sour stinging mildewy flavor that is hard to get rid of.