In the Name of Procrastination

That's right, I'm stalling... I've been stalling for about 6 hours today. Stalling from what? My Marketing case study that's due by midnight tonight. Have I started it yet? Nope. Here's what I've done in the last 6 hours in order to push off this stupid case study as long as possible:

- Made home-made french fries for the engineers taking up my livingroom
- Folded several loads of laundry
- Researched possible vacation spots that we won't be taking
- Updated the look of my blog
- Picked my nail polish off my fingers
- Organized my purse
- Read 3 of Bobby's Men's Health Magazines
- Sorted my duvet cover so the insert isn't all the way at the foot of the duvet
- Discovered how to shoot photos in RAW (awesome!)
- Ordered pizza for the engineers taking up my livingroom
- Planned my recipes for the week
- Took pictures of the cat (I love Killian's spot on his nose!)


Yup... this case study will now be looming right over my head for the next 3 hours.

Happy {blogger} Anniversary!

...a day late! Yesterday marked the 1 year Anniversary of The Barrick Times!

Thanks to all you readers for your comments from time-to-time and especially for your encouragement on my photography!

10 Things that happened this year:

1) 21 credits closer to graduating
2) New-found sun screen allergy
3) 1 nephew and 1 cousin gained
4) Gained 10 pounds. Next year better say that I lost 10 pounds.
5) Went to see Martha
6) Became the Easter Bunny
7) Enjoyed some ball games
8) Celebrated 1 year with my main squeeze
9) Gained a guest blogger
10) Got a great camera and took a LOT of pictures!

Thanks for spending this year with me! Ya'll come back now, y'hear?!

The Barn

This is my favorite barn.

Bobby and I drive past that barn every Sunday on the way to church. Every time we pass it, I always tell myself I need to take a picture of it. It's got beautiful composition, not only for the position of the structure itself in the middle of the field, the colors of the day and of its surroundings, but because of what it represents. A lone barn in the middle of the field (Melissa's goin' sappy, look out!).

As I'm slowly being given my dose of rural America, I have so enjoyed watching the people around me thrive on what they've built. So many families down here still live on "the family farm" and even if it's not a working farm anymore, their great-grandparents still live in the original house and have slowly sold bits and pieces of land to their eight children. Those pieces of land are rarely sold to outsiders, as this land represents the sweat equity, the American Dream, the family history. The land will probably be passed down to their childrens children, and then to their children. The American Dream lives on and the roots of family grow deeper and deeper. I think that's one of the things that I love most about the South (Maryland? South, you say? Why, yes! We are south of the Mason-Dixon Line!)... people have roots. There's still history down here - pride - and while the landscape of Southern Maryland is rapidly changing along with the people in it, the Tree still stands tall and provides a shelter for those who remain. There are a lot of things that just haven't changed a bit (for instance, the grocery stores. Just kidding).

So I might be over-romanticizing just a little bit... the people down here probably don't even think about those things. And those "locals" I always talk about? They are what make up some of these families. Most of the engineers, rocket scientists, Navy pilots, future astronauts, and circus entertainers migrate down here. Just kidding about the circus entertainers. Although, have you been to the County Fair?!

So when you come down here to Cali to visit us, remember to take in the country scenery, but be sure to avoid being hit by the deer. They like to scare the tourists.

Birthday Boys

Last Wednesday was Bobby's birthday, as you saw in the previous posts. He's been wanting to learn how to play the guitar, so I bought him one to try things out. He's been trying desperately to play Dave Matthew's Band, but he just needs a little more practice :o) It's actually really nice to see him learn how to play! I'm sure we'll be the VonTrappe Family "players" in no time!

As another part of his birthday present, he wanted to get Killian groomed since the cat throws a mild temper tantrum anytime you put him near the bath tub. We took him to the local Petco to have him bathed, "blow-dryed," ears cleaned and nails trimmed. I dropped him off in the morning, felt terrible for leaving him there, got myself a Starbucks to make me feel better, bought the cat a new collar and some treats and picked him up 3 hours later. My poor baby was soaking wet because he was deathly afraid of the blow-dryer after his bath. I toted him home and he's been asleep ever since...

My other baby is now sick and has been sleeping almost all weekend. To give them their "space" and to not make any noise while they are trying to recover, I went to Starbucks to make myself feel better.

Hello, my name is Melissa, and I have a Starbucks problem.

Photoshop!

I've been trying to (unsuccessfully) play around with Photoshop since I started really getting into photography early this summer. I can't seem to do anything except for crop. I've been using another application to edit and enhance my pictures thus far. Thanks to The Pioneer Woman and her wonderful tutorials on different tools in Photoshop, I've since been able to really get some of the results I've been wanting in my pictures. With her action sets, I'm able to change the picture to how I actually see it in my mind. If you have Photoship CS2 or higher, you can download her handy action set for free! So I went to work on some of my previous photos and here are some of the results!

One of the actions has a "vintage" feel to it... I really like it, can you tell?!

(Color Boost, Vintage Action, Texturized Action)

(Vintage with Slight Edge Burn)

(Vintage)
("Troy" action from Totally Rad! and Texturized Action)

'Tis the Season

It's here. I'm sitting here typing in my UMD Football Jersey with a game on in the other room. The windows are open and a cool breeze is flowing through. The faint smell of tired, old leaves fills the air. Jackson Browne is on my ipod and I got my first hot grande non-fat Caramel Macchiato from Starbucks this morning. 'Tis is season... for FALL!

Oh, how I love this season. I don't think I've ever loved Fall this much since I moved down to SOMD. You really feel the change in seasons down here as you drive along the country roads. The corn fields suddenly change from vibrant green to a dry, amber yellow. The leaves are beginning to freckle with colors or oranges and reds that make a beautiful landscape for the big, bright, red barns (pictures to come). The St. Mary's County Fair has now come and gone, ushering in the season for numerous fall festivals, hay rides, apple picking and pumpkin farming. I have my 'Macintosh' Yankee Candle burning... it just makes me want to bake!

Ok, so enough with the fall romance. Mom and Dad Wise came down to visit me and Bobby on Saturday and to go see my "exhibit" at the county fair! No, I didn't win... or place for that matter. But that's ok. Bobby said I'm still a winner in his mind. Thank you, B. I could have really put that $6 grand prize to use. Anyway, the animals are my favorite part. I wore my cowgirl boots this year... and a dress. I felt like Reese Witherspoon in "Sweet Home Alabama;" that's what I was going for and Bobby totally called me out on it. Thank you, B. We had to convince my Dad NOT to join in the Pig auction held at the fair. What would he do with a 200-pound pig, after all? Regardless, it was a great time had by all.

Here are some pictures of the adorable (and smelly) animals that we saw:

Baby Cow... so cute!
Check out those eyes... cows have some crazy eyes!

Hey Ladies... sweet PJ's.This one kind of looked like a dog.
This horse was HUGE...and smelly... hence the ghastly look on my face.

Happy Birthday, Hubby!

September 17, 1982

Today marks 26 years of one man's life. One man who plays so many roles: husband, son, brother, friend, leader, colleague, confidant, provider, encourager.

When you first meet someone, do you evaluate all of the roles they play in life before you develop a relationship? Probably not. I was an 18-year-old girl, a new freshman at the local community college when I went out to dinner one night. Confused about the world and where I fit in it, I drove the long car ride from Severna Park up to Towson to meet my older sister, Christina, thinking the whole way about where I was headed. Perplexed and undecided, I fumbled out of my car carelessly, not realizing the fate that would meet me at 7:30 p.m. that October night inside a Bill Bateman's Bistro. I looked over the vast sea of people, all swimming in their own personalities and dramas. I found my sister at a table with this guy in a chunky winter sweater, heavy silver glasses, dark, curley hair and a smile that instantly melted my cold and tired heart. There was a genuine air about this guy that made me like him right away. As he lead my sister and me in conversation, I stared intently at him thinking of what more made up this person. Where was his heart? Where was he going in this life? Is this just a front?

After beating him in a wing-eating contest that night (it was Monday night - all you can eat wings), I left feeling overly stuffed, intrigued and discontented at the same time. Overly stuffed because I had eaten a ridiculous amount of chicken wings. Intrigued that I had met and (what I thought) dissected this man's personality. Discontented that I had to return to my reality after my 45-minute car ride home.

Over two months later, I was headed up to UMBC to study for my final exams. I called Christina to have her meet me for dinner, but she was busy. "Call Bob," she said. "Who?" I got an intense feeling in my stomach almost instantly, but why? "Ok, fine," I thought, "I haven't talked to the guy in a few months, but whatever. We had a good time then." Christina called him and told him to meet me at the library that afternoon. After about 30 minutes of severe procrastination, someone tapped me on the shoulder and did that lame joke where they pretend not to be there. It was Bobby. He sat down and was so comfortable, which put me at ease, after all, he still was almost a stranger. After about an hour of childish school-kid flirting in the library, we both realized we weren't getting any work done! I was floating about a mile-high from all the butterflies in my stomach when he finally said, "Wanna get out of here?" All of a sudden the scene from Top Gun started playing in my head where Maverick and "Charlie" ride off into the sunset on his morotcycle and the song "Highway to the danger zone" starts blasting. Not really, but I did feel like we were in a movie right then. I was whisked off to the local Olive Garden in a little, silver Ford Echo to have the conversation of my life with my future husband, although I didn't know it at the time.

It's been almost 3 years since that night. We've had countless conversations since and I'm still just getting to know this 26-year old man. However, what I see of him so far makes me the proudest "18-year-old girl," girlfriend, wife, best-friend, work-out buddy, kitchen-stadium competitor and companion. Happy Birthday, B, my studly compliment.

My cute Eagle Scout doing push-ups on top of the mountain.
First dating... headed to a friends' wedding.
Practicing for our wedding kiss - this is how he kissed me on the day!The most handsome guy at my cousin's wedding a month before we got hitched.
The happiest day of my life.

Honeymooning in Mexico... and the smile that melted my heart.

Readers: I need your help!

Thanks to all you voters!!! I chose picture # 1 as that got the most votes! Check in later as a new photography website is on the horizon!

Thanks to all of your encouragement with my photography, I got the craziest idea to submit one of my pictures into the St. Mary's County Fair! However, I can't decide which picture I would like to submit, so that's where YOU come in! Please using the voting tool to choose your favorite shot! I will be closing the poll tomorrow (Tuesday) morning at 7am, so please have your vote in by then!

Photo names/titles are also welcome as they are required for each picture submission! You can leave those in the comments section.

Thanks ya'll!

Picture #1: (Below)
Picture #2:
Picture #3:
Picture #4:

Boat Drinks

I woke up (very early) this morning and attempted to roll myself out of bed. Much to my dismay, however, I felt like a stiff board, completely sore. Why, you ask? Apart from the fact I haven't made it to the gym in about a month, I spent all day yesterday frolicking in the water with some fellow gal-pals!

A girl from work is headed to "hang with the Germans" (as one of the Jessica's puts it) so before we ship her off, we decided to have one last Maryland hoo-rah for her with us girls. Thanks to Kelly and Carl (K?) for taking us on your boat and serving us some...coca-cola...all day! It was so much fun, but my body is not so happy right now.

Kelly's Dog, Zoe joined us for the first part of the trip... she has her own life preserver!
Kelly and Jess F.
Floating!
Hey Carl!
Jess F. and me in the tube...screaming for our lives...
Killer moves, Jess M!
This one was a show-off... Jess F (just kidding, you were totally awesome)
...and the lame one. And no, I'm not doing the butterfly in the last one. It was more like a face-plant in the water.
Cheers! How do you say that in German?
The one picture where I'm not being launched into the water at top speed!
The Jessica's.
All of the girls... such a fun day!!

Playing with Potatoes

Martha Stewart got the best of me tonight...

Back in January, my sister-in-law and I got tickets to go see Martha in New York City. Trying to get myself excited (like I needed any help), I fervently watched any and all episodes of Martha I could. One of the episodes had these stay-at-home-Mom's as guests who had their own business. The business was called "Sweet Potato Prints" and they made baby and children clothes using potato cut-outs and fabric paint to make the CUTEST little prints.

I quickly went online to see if I could order some of their items for the plethora of nieces and nephews I have only to find out how much they were charging... $20 for a stinkin' onsie!!!! I'm no mother or anything, but I'm pretty sure plain white onsies are some of the cheapest baby items you can buy (hey, isn't there a band called Plain White Onsies? Tees? Oh, ok... The Plain White Tees)! Anyway, in an effort to create my own crafty concoctions for less, I decided to do it myself.

$20 TOTAL in supplies later (yes, that includes the 10 Plain White Onsies), I have, well only 6 (I got tired and Bobby started yelling at me to come to bed) some very cute baby products to show for it. Now if only I could get my hands on some babies... Just kidding.

But seriously. They are totally fun to make!


...and you better not call my "Fish" design a Pac-man.

Back to School

This evening, Bobby asked me why I was mumbling the Billy Madison song "Back to School." Tomorrow officially starts the beginning of the LAST semester of my college career. Can I get an AMEN?!

Here's the line-up for the semester:

Marketing 412 - Market Research Applications: writing-intensive and research-heavy. Several "critical thinking" assignments are on the agenda.

Marketing 495 - Strategic Marketing: Focus on case studies to present current issues that other companies face in terms of marketing strategy.

Statistics 230 - Business Statistics: I have been putting this one off for my entire college career. Actually, I took it once and failed (I'm just being honest, ok?!). I swore it off for 2 years and I'm now faced with it again. It is the bane of my existence and I refuse to acknowledge its usefulness for these next 14 weeks. Thankfully, Hubby happens to do statistics all day at work (poor fool), so he should prove to be a great tutor...and a cute one at that!

So there we have it. I'm sure I will be writing a post every time I need to do homework. If there was a class called "Procrastination," I could teach the darn thing. That is one thing that I have mastered... However, it's only the beginning of the semester. Come December 7th, it's party time. But for now, let the academic woes begin. To commemorate, here's a picture from my UMD days about 2 years ago:

Sightings from the Jeep

Last weekend, Joey (Bobby's kid brother) came to visit us in Cali! J-Bug is about 17, so it was so fun to have him down here! He's in the midst of college-shopping, so in an effort to get him to come down here, we took him for a drive to see Saint Mary's College of Maryland. The drive from Cali to SMCM is only about 20 minutes, but it's a beautiful drive, nonetheless.

Lucky me, the one with the longest hair, I got to sit in the back seat - the windiest seat Grace has to offer. However, I was able to capture some of the sights on the drive to the college. More of what SOMD has to offer (what the locals refer to as "Southern Maryland," kind of like LOL, or JK, or other net-speak)... I swear, no matter how much exploring we do, there's always much, much more to this county!

Hey J-Dawg. That's a great face you're making there. Just kidding. Be nice to Grace.


J-Money was wishing he was here... The Green Door. Ask any graduate of SMCM and I promise they've heard of this place. Please note that this bar is in the middle of a corn field and the only business between the college and Cali - in about 20 minutes (not really, but pretty much). Oh, and they also JUST put in a wood floor.


The buildings of SMCM overlook the river. I would never be able to pay attention in class.


This is the view from the building above...


Cool barn. We have lots of these outside Cali.


Old church in St. Mary's City (which consists of about 4 or 5 other old barns and buildings).


Pretty flower!