Naked Native American......Alligators........

Took the 'rents to the Philly Art Museum after work today. Mom found the statue of the naked Native American man posed with an alligator quite fascinating. Now this statue was located on the outskirts of another statue that was the main focus - George Washingon in all his glory, mounted on a horse. The naked Native American man was the garnish on the main attraction. But of course, mom had me take her picture while she chose to pose by the naked Native American with the alligator statue. I will not even attempt to figure that one out.

So tomorrow is our big trip up to the Big Apple. Tune in to hear more of my parents' adventures here in the east coast!

Mom and PineSol

Well, the 'rents are still here. They decided this morning that they were to tired from their exciting weekend gallavanting through Amish Country and Atlantic City, therefore they stayed in today to rest up for their big day in Philly tomorrow. Me? Well, I went on my merry way to work.

So I called mom and dad from work at around lunchtime, actually I ended up talking to mom. She decided that she was going to clean our kitchen floor and was in the midst of looking for some kitchen gloves. After explaining to her that the gloves were under the kitchen sink, she also found the bottle of PineSol. Of course, she noticed that we hadn't opened it yet and immediately assumes that we hardly clean. So I tell her that the bottle of PineSol was brand new, that's why it was still full. Heheheh.......little does she know that I bought the bottle about a month and a half ago. Anyways, she bought it and went on her way to clean our kitchen floor. So now, you can actually see the true color of our floor, not this grayish, murky color. The sad thing is, we just cleaned that same floor last Wednesday! Give it a day or two and it'll return to the same greyish, murky pigmentation on the floor. But of course, I won't let mom know that. ;)

Now if mom only knew how much we really cleaned here, I think she would keel over and have a heart attack. I wonder what her reaction would be if I told her that we actually had a cleaning lady coming in once a month to clean our place? Hmmm........I don't think it's worth the risk. It'll be my little secret.

Intercourse, Amish and No Tax

Okay so the title is somewhat risque, others may view it to be somewhat nefarious, but here's the thing: I am no perv. In my earlier entry, I to failed to mention that I took my parents to Lancaster, PA which is about an hour and a half away from where I live here in Camden. Mom and Dad wanted to see Amish Country and seeing the wonderful tour guide that I am, we headed west yesterday for the day. Of course, our trip was a little delayed resulting from my wonderful navigating skills - somehow, I managed to forget which exit to take to get us to our ultimate destination and so we ended up driving for an extra half hour on the freeway. I ultimately relented and humbled myself into stopping at the Lancaster Visitor's Center for directions. Let's just say that I was feeling a tad bit embarassed. The kind old man at the visitor's center then pointed us towards the correct direction and we were on our way. Finally upon our arrival to Amish country we stopped in the town of Bird In Hand at the farmer's market for some fruit and a light lunch. At the edge of the parking lot there was this huge advertisement for Intercourse, PA . I am sure that you can already see where I'm going with this. Ha! After mom and dad saw the ad, the conversation somehow went south. Mom and dad starting coming up with all these dumb jokes pertaining to the town's name - Intercourse. Of course, I was in the car just absolutely mortified with my parents' conversation. They thought it was halarious! Can you believe that??? Of course upon our arrival to the town of Intercourse, mom and dad had to get their picture taken with the "Welcome to Intercourse" sign which was situated on the side of the road. A few minutes later a couple who looked to be around my parents' age, parked their SUV in front of our vehicle, for what I assumed to have their picture taken with the sign as well. N ow you can imagine the jokes they exchanged with my parents. Now myself? All I could do was shake my head and roll my eyes at all four adults. ADULTS I TELL YA!

The excitement over Intercourse (no pun intended ;) ) was soon replaced with the horse-drawn buggies driven by the Amish people on the shoulder of the road. It was halarious watching dad trying to take a picture while I was driving by a horse-drawn carriage! And of course, you can also imagine my parents reaction to seeing real live Amish people walking around the town! Heheheheh! When we were in the farmer's market ordering soup from the Amish girl, my dad actually wanted to take a picture of her behind the counter! Can we say "ULTIMATE TOURIST"? It was nothing short of embarassing!

We ended our day shopping at the outlet centers in Lancaster, which is obviously antithetical to the Amish way of life. After mom purchased a pair of running shoes at the Nike outlet, she discovered that PA does not charge sales tax in shoes and clothing. And so of course, with her halarious experience with Intercourse, the Amish and no tax, PA went up a notch in her books. Go figure.

Saturday Blah.

It's a Saturday and I'm at home working. Damn. Mom and dad arrived last Thursday evening and they are at this moment visiting Atlantic City with friends. I am actually quite happy for this short respite because right now I amn super exhausted. The crazy thing is, this is only their second full day out here on the East Coast. Damn. Actually, it's not so bad. Mom and dad are great and I love them alot. However, as an astute friend said to me the other day:

"Let mom be mom and remember you only need be their child for a week, then you can return to adulthood"

Hmm......wise words.

Three More Days

The parental countdown continues. Three more days until mom and dad arrive. Our place is a mess and my room? Words cannot even begin to describe it's state at the minute. Thank God our cleaning lady is coming out this Wednesday! I think my parents are fairly excited for this holiday, however tonight while I was on the phone with mom, she started her dramatics over the fact that we have a pitt bull as our house pet - she thinks that Chubbs will attack or bite her, or something like that. What I didn't tell her is, that Chubbs does have this fierce protective streak when it comes to me and my roomates in this house. Go figure!

Sunday

It was a perfect spring day today, the weather was around the 70's, the sky was a perfect blue, the sun was out, the cherry blossom trees in ful bloom and people starting to crawl out of the woodwork! Driving into church this morning there was a myriad of activities taking place in center city Philly, especially around the art museum area. I'd say that spring is definitely in full bloom (pardon the pun ) ;)

During the worship service at church, I was very antsy and distracted. However, it wasn't until a friend of mine whom I was sitting beside pointed out the obvious. I was sitting in the midst of a freakin' nursery! I was surrounded by infants, babies, and toddlers! Over this past year there has been an enormous baby boom at my church and what's even more insane is that I know at least three other women at the same church who are expecting this year. *Sigh* My biological time-clock has been going in overdrive lately and so it's difficult when I'm at church surrounded by young families and babies. Sometimes I wonder if it will ever happen. *Sigh* At times I feel like my worth is measured by my singleness. Yes, it's a silly notion, however there are many times when I feel that this external factor - being single - is a measure of my worth as a person. Why am I still single? Am I not lovable, attractive, intelligent, witty or charming enough? Do I have to be perfect? As I contemplate all these thoughts, I am reminded of the sermon today at church which was based on Galatians 1:10 - 2:10. Our Pastor, Steve, talked about how Paul devestates and exposes two of the false gospels that we all fall for:

• We are the product of external forces.

• We determine our fate

Convicting huh? Steve went on to talk about the gospel of Jesus Christ and the fact that our identity is determined by God. So in my case, not in the fact that I'm still single. I was once again reminded in today's sermon that I am more sinful and more wicked and more wretched than I would every admit to anyone else. But because of Christ, I am far more loved, cherished and forgiven than I could ever imagine. So at this point, all I can do is ask God for a transformation of my heart and to embrace the fact that God has already forgiven me, and most importantly, loves and cherishes me more than any individual on the planet, especially that of the male species.

Parental countdown: 4 more days until my parents arrive! I await with great trepidation! ;)

That's Amore!

"In Napoli,

Where love is king,

When boy meets girl,

Here's what they say...

When the moon hits your eye

Like a big Pizza pie

That's amore

When the world seems to shine

Like you've had too much wine

That's Amore"

That song has been playing over and over again in my head all evening! Tonight my roomate (who also works in the same office as me), and I went out to celebrate three co-worker's birthdays at Buca di Beppo which specializes in immigrant southern italian dishes served family style. Can I just say YUM??? Anyway this particular song was playing in the background, which was befitting to the restaurant's atmosphere. The food was delectable and the shared company? Priceless.

Am I Bored?

I really need to get out more.........

1). YOUR PORN STAR NAME - (NAME OF FIRST PET + STREET YOU LIVE ON):
Dakota Linden
2). YOUR MOVIE STAR NAME - (GRANDMOTHER'S FIRST NAME + FAVORITE SNACK FOOD):
LEONORA CHIPS
3). YOUR FASHION DESIGNER NAME - (FIRST WORD YOU SEE ON YOUR LEFT + FAVORITE RESTAURANT):
MEMORY SERENDIPITY3
5). YOUR SOCIALITE NAME - (SILLIEST CHILDHOOD NICKNAME + FIRST TOWN WHERE YOU PARTIED):
JOYCEY VANCOUVER
6). YOUR "FLY GIRL/GUY" NAME - (FIRST INITIAL + FIRST THREE LETTERS OF YOUR LAST NAME):
J JOP
7). YOUR DETECTIVE NAME - (FAVORITE ANIMAL + NAME OF HIGH SCHOOL):
DOG NORTH SURREY
8). YOUR BARFLY NAME - (LAST SNACK FOOD YOU ATE + YOUR FAVORITE ALCOHOLIC DRINK)
COOKIE CHARDONNAY
9). YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME - (MIDDLE NAME + STREET WHERE YOU FIRST LIVED):
LONZON DUMFRIES

10). YOUR ROCK STAR NAME - (FAVORITE CANDY + FAVORITE MUSICIAN'S LAST NAME):

SKITTLE GROBAN

11). YOUR "POPULAR" NAME - (FAVORITE CELEBRITY'S FIRST NAME + BEST FRIEND'S CITY NAME):
MEG LANGLEY
12). YOUR OPPOSITE SEX NAME - (NAME OF [OPPOSITE SEX] FRIEND + CELL PHONE COMPANY YOU USE):

JONNY SPRINT

I suppose I ought to post something with more substance, especially since I've been sporadic with my posts, but to be honest, I really don't feel like it. The better part of today was spent sitting in front of the computer typing out an assessment for a family I'm working with and my eyes are practically bugging out of their sockets. After work I decided to do some pilates, which I haven't done in almost a month. Of course, I struggled since I haven't kept it up. I run 3-4 miles every second day and on the weekends I run about 5-6 miles. You'd think that I was in pretty good shape. YEAH RIGHT! After today's pilates session, I'm not so sure. BRING ON THE PILATES MAT!!! I'M TAKING YOU ON!

Friday

It's been one of those weeks.

Hmm.....where to start? The week started out okay but then eventually started to go south.

• Missing out on an all staff retreat Wednesday because I had to attend a meeting at the Department of Human Services, which by the way, ended about 3 hours later.
  
• Thursday, I had to endure a foster mother yelling at me on the phone for about 15 minutes. (Didn't y'all know? Social Workers are the most loved beings in this city! *rolls eyes*)
• Today I put on my blue jeans and guess what? The were tight! Plus, given the fact that I felt greasy all day because I haven't washed my hair since Tuesday.
  
• I've got this huge zit on my chin
• And of course, the best thing to end the week with? Auntie Flo from the Red Sea has decided to visit me for the next few days. Bring on the bullets!

Now, I suppose I shouldn't end this entry on a negative note and so I will share my highlight of the day. As I walked through Center City Philly this afternoon, I ran into an old co-worker who is doing an internship at the DA's office. She's working with the homocide unit, supporting families in court and putting into place support services for families who've experienced having a family member murdered. In the elevator, on our way up to her office, there was this guy with two detectives on handcuffs. Made me wonder.........

Anyways, I just got back from a run with my room and her pitt bull (Chubbs) and so my endorphins have kicked in and I'm feeling pretty happy - inspite of this insane week.

Thank God it's Friday.