Crabbing

Having not grown up in Maryland, I had never been crabbing. For the last two summers, I begged John to take me. I needed that experience (one he'd had many times). Well we would have gone last year in North Carolina, but I got sick and that never happened. So this year, we made it a plan. Of course, I still need to go crabbing in Maryland, but still...at least now I've done it. And loved it!

John and I bought some chicken necks and let them sit outside for a day. We found a great spot and were ready for a fun crab-filled evening. Then other people decided to join in, which was really nice. Of course, a wine festival (I know!) was going on in the park, so we had to venture off away from all the people (I cannot answer why i didn't first partake in the wine... now at least I know it's there for next year).

Anyway, we tied the chicken to some strings and threw them in the water. It wasn't long before we had crabs biting and they were being scooped up in our net. There were a lot of tiny crabs that we didn't keep. And then there was my Moby Dick. The giant crab that got onto my line and right as the net hit him, he let go, and somehow scurried away. I tried for the rest of the night to get him back, but had no success.




When the sun began to go down across the water, we packed up and headed home.


The crabs tried to organize an escape.


Ian was worried about these little worms that were all over the crabs, so he had to wash them. Here's where we found a few dead guys that we had to throw out.


Hi little crab, I'm going to eat you!


John was proud of his loot. And very glad he finally made his lady happy by teaching her to catch crabs... (wow that sounds awful!)


Mike helped us season with Old Bay.


They're ready for steaming!


Too hot to eat at first...


We only got about 4 crabs each, but they were so very satisfying.

Beer Post!

Dogfish Head Punkin Ale... I think I like it.

That is all.

Outer Banks Summary

Ok, let's see what's to be said of vacation this year (only a week after our return).

We again went with (mostly) people John went to college with. Mike and Marissa plan it every year, so we let them! We had one new couple this year and Dale had a new girl with him, but otherwise we all knew each other.

We went down to John's parents on Sat night to stay. Since most of the gang lives in Southern Maryland we all met down there, so it made more sense to drive down sat then to add 2 hour to the tip Sun morning.

We stayed in a great house this year (one we may return to in the future). John and I had our own bathroom, which was nice, as well as our own door that led to the deck. The house had a pool and a hot tub too, which was great when we couldn't swim in the ocean.





We spent a lot of time on the 4x4 beach, since many of the guys like driving on the sand, and it's usually less crowded. Because of Hurricane Bill (beginning of the week) and Danny (the end) there were a few days when we weren't supposed to swim in the water. This wasn't really too terrible for me, since I don't usually swim much in the ocean. I often get in deep enough that the waves won't kill me and I can cool off. (I did actually do a bunch of wave hopping one day.)



One day we saw a bunch of dolphins. At one point there were probably close to a dozen. Some were even jumping pretty high out of the water. It's pretty impossible to get a picture of them, but I swear, there're right under the surface in this one. I did take a video to prove their existence.



Other than sitting on the beach soaking in the rays (I have a crazy great tan!) we sat by the pool, drank beer, hung out at the house... you know, stuff.



We also ventured away from the house for a few activities. I came in 3rd (of 4) in mini golf. I started out so well, making par (2) on like the first 4 holes. Then it just went downhill. But I didn't do as bad as I usually do. And really, no one was spectacular.

One night, a group of us went go-karting. Actually, I did not, I watched, but still. It was really entertaining. Especially the last round, where the workers got in car and everyone was ramming one another. We were the last people there before close, so they let us have fun. It was pretty sweet for all.



On our last night, people played poker. I was in charge of shuffling. And I did some bar-tending. I did not put on my bikini and act like a Vegas waitress though.


I was determined to find some North Carolina wines in order to knock that of my list of states. The first place we went to had a tasting, but it was just the guy's selections of the day, nothing from NC. I did buy 3 bottles at that shop though. The second place we went, I tasted a few great NC wines, and bought 1 bottle.



The only 3 negatives:

We did an all-you-cat eat buffet, which was disastrous. I don't like buffets to start out. I just don't like having to get up and down and the food isn't always great. Well, we waited for like 2 hours for a table, that's where the bad started. Now, there were 13 of us, but we called ahead to see if that would be a problem and were told to give them 30 mins noticed, so we did. Still waited 2 hours.

Then, we were crammed at a table meant for 8-10ppl, max. And the food wasn't spectacular. The crab legs were good, which is what most people wanted.

The woman from the new couple was also the most annoying person ever. I had to leave the room a few times when she was in it, to keep from pulling my hair out. But really, with 13 ppl, if one is annoying, that's not bad. And it's easy to avoid her.

On Friday, a 12-yr-old boy went missing while body boarding, right from the beach in front of our house. We figured something was up when we saw a coast guard chopper patrolling. Then there was a guy on a jet ski, a coast guard boat, and a few lifeguards on ATVs, obviously not just the regular patrol. They found his body a few days later-super sad.

We also went crabbing! More on that in my next post.

So yeah, the week went by super fast, but it was so fantastic. I was really to the point of needing a vacation and this one was very relaxing. Though the discussions about buying a beach house really just made me want to move to NC and be close all the time. There has to be a publishing company somewhere down there, right? (Yeah, if only John could have as great a job there...)

Should I Just Find a New Country?

Dear Americans that do not want Obama talking to their children,

I recently discovered that you are in an uproar over the very idea of President Obama (note, I said president...not Hitler) speaking to your school-aged children. This, in my opinion, is completely ridiculous thing to be up in arms about.

First of all, I want to clarify that President Obama has a very important message for your child, and he is not trying to hide it. He wants to tell them that education is important. That they need to study hard and not complain about learning. To me, these are things children should hear on a daily basis from you. But we all know children sometimes block out such things. So maybe hearing it from someone else will do some good. Especially the President. Remember the days where every kid wanted to grow up to be the President of the United States? It was a high ambition. Perhaps you should be telling them again that it is something to strive for instead of shutting out the very idea of such a man talking to them.

Second of all, have a little faith in the teachers and principals who take care of your children (and their education) on a daily basis. They are not trying to brainwash your kid. If they decide a presidential address is worth spending class time on, then watch them.

You would not have an issue with a child watching a recording of JFK speak about (choose topic at random) in a history class because that's educational. You would trust the teacher to not pick a speech about something inappropriate but instead about something actually important to a well-rounded education. So why do you not trust them to show a speech, meant directly for your children, about the very education that they are there to receive?

Now, I have heard that some people are only upset because they merely want "the option." You want to be able to choose whether or not your child sees this Presidential speech. You don't want to be told "your child must watch this."

In one sense, I appreciate this idea. I don't want the government telling me what to do either. However, I think this is blowing things out of proportion. The government isn't mandating that every child in the country watch this speech or else they'll be hanged. It's simply happening.

Schools, however, are saying children will watch the speech in class. How is this different from a teacher saying a kid must read Romeo and Juliet or must complete x number of science experiments? That's what schools do. They teach and they give students things to do to further their education. Listening to a president speak fits in there, I think.

Of course there are some things that must be regulated. A 13-year-old cannot be forced to watch a rated-R movie for school. They aren't old enough. But this is not a rated-R film. It's a simple message about being the best person you can be.

I don't want to generalize, but I feel many of you are conservatives who for some reason have decided that since Obama is on the opposite side of the political spectrum, everything he has to say is dangerous.

Well, I was on the complete opposite spectrum as Bush, yet, if he wanted to come sit down with my child (even in person) and tell them that education was important, I would welcome it with open arms.

No, I don't want Bush sitting down with my child and talking about gay marriage, but that's not what he asked me to do. He just wants to talk about education. Obama isn't asking to talk to your child about controversial topics. He won't bring up healthcare or the war. He just wants to say "stay in school."

Perhaps if we were brave enough to let our children listen to our President's words directly from his mouth (rather than clips on a biased news program) they'd have a much better understanding of what he believes.

I hope to post about vacation this weekend, but for now a quick something.

I've been swamped at work. But I'm officially moving to the Adult Ed department and have taken over as content lead on my two books. So it's a good busy. Things are delayed but none of it was my fault, so it just meant I didn't need to stay late.

I get really annoyed when I give someone a task that would take me X about of time and they take twice as long. But I shouldn't get annoyed because there's actually no time for me to do it myself, so it's good it's in someone else's court.

Back to school means back to super awful traffic. Seriously, it's been a nightmare. I just have no patience for stop-and-go. Especially when I see people rubber-necking over a fender-bender. It's just not that excited people! Or when people are not courteous. When a long line of cars is trying to merge into stop-and-go traffic, each car lets in one car, then life is happy. Also, if your lane is ending, do not speed up, drive along the shoulder, then cut off multiple people in order to get as far as you possibly can. Just wait your turn and merge politely. Seriously, my week traffic-wise has been unpleasant. 1.5 hours to get home last night. Thank god I'm at home today.

My garden became a jungle while we were on vacation. I was worried it wouldn't rain enough and something would die (well, a lily did, but it was already on its way out). The backyard garden is nuts. I need to get back there and trim some stuff. If you want a pepper plant, strawberry plant, or basil/oregano, please come take some. I think everyone is going to get dried herbs for Christmas :)

While on vacation a group of us had a discussion about a woman's cycle. (turn away now if you don't want to hear this) Some complaining was done about changes (apparently every 5 (or was it 8?) years you change and new symptoms come and go. For example, you may have never had cramps before, then suddenly you hit 30 and you have them. I appear to have inherited period headaches with turning 25. (along with caffeine and thunderstorm headaches-though I've had those before. I should get my head checked).

Note, this was in a conversation about getting pregnant. Who will be the first in our Outer Banks family to get pregnant? John and I were not voted as number one, I'm too young! haha.

I've been posting random things to my new Wine Blog. I don't know what I want this to be yet. I don't want to seem to be on the Julie and Julia bandwagon too much, but I would like this to be a book of some kind. My life around the wines is not too exciting and I have no 365 day goal. So I was thinking of just writing microfiction around each wine, though so far I have not been inspired. And that brings about the issue of-do I post the pieces on the blog or just collect them for a book. And, do I want it to be about the same character (road tripping?) or will each state/wine have a new character?

I read two books on vacation. The Glassblower of Murano and The Lost Hours. I recommend both.

Also, our 3rd anniversary is fast approaching. I need to come up with something fun to do (though we will likely just end up going out to dinner) and a good gift. I feel way behind as these are usually August tasks-Sept has always been too full of school. But I guess I have the time.

Post Vacation Blues

I'm currently in that sad state that comes when you return from a spectacular vacation. I'm home safe and sound, I'm sort of unpacked and caught up with the internet world, and facing work tomorrow. John and I have spent a lot of time decompressing but that just leads to sadness as there is no beach within walking distance any more.

It was a great trip, more details to come later, but here's a bit of a tease. The Sound, at sunset.

North Carolina Here We Come!

Agenda: Sat-Kohls, drive to "in-laws", pick up diploma (which was being framed), play with Caroline, sleep, Sun-head to Mike's, pack up the trucks, jump on the highway and head south.

So yeah, it's vacation time! As we've done the last two years, we're going to the Outer Banks, NC. There's currently a high surf advisory (thanks Hurricane Bill!) but it should be over by tomorrow night. Here's hoping for lots of sun, beer, and shenanigans. (and no trips to the E.R.)

Depressed

This may get way to personal and be deleted tomorrow when I actually realize that...but I'm feeling blah.

My dysfunctional family is wearing me down. Somehow, from miles away they still get to me. Mainly, life is wearing my mom down and said dysfunctional family is so dysfunctional that she has no support. She pretty much has me, who's across the country, and her best friend, who has a baby and is in grad school. Which doesn't leave a whole lot of love for the mom. And it's just really depressing. Because there's really nothing I can do.

There was a fire at home recently. Everyone was fine, even the dog, but the stove was ruined. It was engulfed in flames one morning. It wasn't even on, it just went wild. The firemen threw it on the back patio, actually. Aside from the microwave, though, nothing else was damaged. It was lucky that the house wasn't at all burnt. But the house was a mess. Mom's health was wonky due to smoke. Smoke also filled the entire house, so the air ducts had to be cleaned. And there was toxic ash got blown like everywhere since the AC had been on, so my family couldn't live there for a week and a half until it was appropriately cleaned.

And none of my family have been there to help.

Some have their opinions, though. Like, they criticize mom since she hasn't bought a new stove yet. I don't know, I wouldn't be buying a new stove is my kitchen was still covered in ash.

Due to their own problems, of course. All of which I am somehow in the middle of, even when I try not to be.

I just got this in an email:
"You have always been opinionated, and while I commend most of them, you have become quite bitter and judgemental toward many things and perhaps being so far away allows you to keep that emotional distance from us all."

Which may be partially true. I am insanely opinionated and I don't think a lot of my family realized this until the last few years, when I grew up and left home, and finally wasn't scared of their approval. So sometimes, when I speak out, I think they're still surprised. I think I probably am bitter to some extent, but to say I have an emotional distance is ridiculous, since all of this drama eats me up constantly. Eh, way to complicated to dissect these remarks.

I forgot

Yesterday I forgot a few things that were annoying me... and still are.

Healthcare reform. Mainly those opposed to it. I decided today that "Republicans should listen to NPR instead of Fox news. The world would be a happier place." I can't begin to say how annoyed I am with this entire situation. I finally figured out my superhero power though, I would like to have the power to kick people out of the country.

NPR's odd necessity to tell me the weather forecast every 10 minutes. In my 1 hour commute I get a weather updates. Totally not necessary.

There was something else but I forgot it again. In new annoyances:

I wrote my aunt an email. My aunt did something like "Mom, Melissa was mean to me." So my grandmother wrote me and email that basically said "Please don't talk to your aunt until you get facts from me first." My aunt pissed me off, I told her she pissed me off. Really not sure why I have to run that past my grandma first. My family is ridiculously childish.

Clients going on vacation. 3 files I was scheduled to receive next week and could have gotten done before I left on vacation are now coming the next week. Well the next week I will be gone and the files will therefore have to be late...the question is how late, since I will have other work ready for me when I get back.

I would really like it if my two best friends were in the country right now. A non-bloggable issue has come up and I need to talk! But one's in Israel and one's in Japan. Why?!

Annoyed

I was really annoyed earlier. I feel better now, after my work out, but still.

Grr to people bitching and being sneaky and annoying (long story)
to it being hot
to fruit flies
to pages that are 400 words too long
to Word 2007 and its non-compatible files
to people putting things in 4 docs instead of 1
to those nagging thoughts about wedding dresses
to back pain

I think I let it all get to me at once.

Anyways, I finished Julie and Julia last night. Although I'm not a foodie, I did enjoy this book. It's pretty cute and I could actually picture me and John if I tried such a project. ha! Anyway, there's a lot in it about food, obviously, and sometimes I was kind of "yawn" about that, I'll admit. But the concept of the Project as well as getting into the lives of these characters was fun and entertaining.

I'm still thinking I should wait to see the movie though. I imagine both will be their own thing, but I can't just jump right from one to another.

I've had a hard time figuring out what to read next. I have a pile of books (yay gift cards!) but I keep going "oh, save that for vacation." Not that I'll ever get through the now large vacation pile in one week, but still, I keep doing it. I think I'm going to read Firefly Lane.

In other book news, I discovered something I would probably find interesting, Offbeat Bride. (Don't get any ideas, there are no plans for a wedding around here.) I figure I won't probably be a bride, but if I were, I'm sure things would not be ordinary. And I like when others don't follow the norm either, so this would probably at least entertain me, if not give me unnecessary ideas for my fictional dream wedding.

In other news, John was 5 years old the other day with a new Nerf dart gun. He shot me with it and I was not pleased. It now resides at work, where John and his boss (who has his own gun) somehow get work done whist fighting a Nerf war.