The lovely library

There is a public library .7 miles away from where I live in west Little Rock. I absolutely love living so close to such a fine institution of all things literary. At this point, I vow never to buy a Kindle or any other electronic reading device. When it comes to reading, I must be able to turn the pages and smell the history of the book. It’s just one of those things. In the same breath, I’m mildly addicted to my BlackBerry, so I’m all for modern inventions. Just don’t mess with my books!

OK, I think I’ve made my point. In the past year that I’ve lived at Turtle Creek Apartments, I’ve walked to the library about 15 or 20 times. Here’s my routine: I put the book I need on reserve, then the library sends me an email when it’s ready and then I grab my tennis shoes. It’s about a mile and half round trip. Sometimes I add a few steps by turning the corner at Hinson Road, but usually I’m on a mission to fetch my latest must-read.

During a recent trip to my library, I noticed the DVD section while I was retrieving my reserved book from the shelf. I walked over to the colorful rows of movies and started to remove them, one by one, from the shelf. Most of movies were a few years old (or more), but I did see some more recent ones as well. I selected four and made my way to the librarian. When I asked about the DVD rental limit, she told me I could check out five movies at a time. What a bargain!

In my excited state, I forgot that I had to carry four plastic sleeves and one book home with me. It was a balance act for sure. Because I still had my iPod, keys and phone to hold on to. It’s probably safe that the library has a limit, because I could see myself trying to carry 15 movies home and dropping half of them all over the sidewalk. No, four was more than enough.

On this first outing, I checked out the following movies: “Broken Flowers,” “Margot at the Wedding,” “The Bucket List,” and “The Family Stone.”

The first two movies were Sundance Film Festival type of movies, not too mainstream, but very good. Bill Murray and Sharon Stone played old flames in “Broken Flowers.” It was an odd flick, but the soundtrack was amazing, I’m on the search for it. The second movie featured Nicole Kidman, Jack Black and Jennifer Jason Leigh. I enjoyed seeing Kidman in this indie film – she is one talented lady. Funny-man Jack played a struggling musician/critic. He is always fun to watch, so unpredictable and outrageous.

Parish and I watched “The Bucket List” together and I cried at the end, of course. Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman were great together and actually looked like they could be good friends in real life. The last movie, “The Family Stone,” featured an ensemble cast including Sarah Jessica Parker, Diane Keaton, Luke Wilson, Rachel McAdams and Claire Danes. It’s a cute movie. It won’t change your life, but it’s fun to watch. I cried at the end of that one too. Now it’s back to the library for more movies and a book or two.

Scaling back

Is there such a thing as friendly competition? I’m not so sure. Let me explain. A couple of weeks ago, Parish and I decided to wager a friendly bet after working out one day. The deal was this – whoever lost the most weight in a week would win $20. We weighed in on a Sunday and agreed to weigh in the following Sunday to crown the winner. I wrote our starting weights on a memo pad on the fridge and we both put a $10 bill on it. It was official. I Googled “how to lose five pounds in a week,” and Parish started running around the apartment complex. I never really considered myself to be really competitive – I think my wonderful partner has a way of bringing it out of me.

My Google search suggested eating 1,500 calories a day and burning 1,000 calories at the gym. I didn’t know how difficult it was to burn 1,000 calories until I tried it the following day. At Snap Fitness they have this machine called the Cybex Arc Trainer. It is a beast of a work out and I love it. I can burn about 300 calories in 30 minutes, which is pretty awesome. During the first day of my workout, I jumped on the Cybex and typed in 45 minutes. I burned about 400 calories and then proceeded to get on a treadmill. I stayed on the treadmill for an hour and burned a little less than 400 calories. I was on my way to my Google goal!

I performed the same workout for the next two days and felt good. On day two and three, I add in a little weightlifting and abs exercises. By the fourth day, I’m pooped. I have no desire to go to the gym or burn even 10 calories. I think I might have blown out too fast. Parish exercised a lot during the week also, although, every day he goes to work he does a full body workout. He does concrete work and it’s better than any piece of cardio equipment. He slings sledge hammers, moves mud (concrete), carries heavy pieces of wood and is basically on the move from four to nine hours a day. I love my job, but I must admit, I’m a little jealous of the workout he gets – especially with $20 on the line!

We make it to Saturday night and after working out, Parish jumped on the scale. We agreed to wait until Sunday, but Parish cheated. So then I had to get on the scale too. That is when the competition heated up.

There are two scales at the gym and I got on both of them and got two different results. Naturally, I decided to use the one that showed the greater weight loss. Parish announced that that wasn’t the scale we used and I had to take the number from the “broken” one. I didn’t take this piece of advice too well. I hastily put on my shoes and walked out of the gym in a huff.

When Parish caught up with me outside, he suggested extending the challenge for another week and we agreed to use the scale I liked. I guess there is such a thing as friendly competition – you just have to find someone who knows you really well and likes to see you happy.

Lacey comes to town. Part uno.

In high school, I couldn’t have enough friends. I was what you call, a “social butterfly.” I enjoyed being the center of attention and I liked when lots of people liked me. Now that I’m a little older (and wiser?) I’ve learned that true friends are treasures and rare treasures at that.

My subject matter hits close to home because my best friend, Lacey B., came to visit me last weekend. We met in college, during our freshman year and hit it off instantly. She is my female soul mate, no doubt.

We both have the same kind of silly, random humor. In college, we could look at a tortilla chip and start laughing. It really doesn’t take much for us to “lose it.” That is one of the things I like about Lacey. It’s so unusual to find a friend who understands you before you’ve said anything out loud.

We were roommates in college for almost four years. Once during our sophomore year we were having a small gathering. The quaint group turned into about 150 when a huge mob of people stormed through our door. It was quite a site and thankfully we were able to keep control and got the crowd to leave. There were also the all nighters we were fond of freshman year. We would study until 2 or 3 in the morning and then decide to walk to 7-11 (a gas station chain) and buy Slurpees, chips and dip. Then we would walk back to the dorms and entertain ourselves until our first class. The entertainment included simple things, like talking about roommate problems, playing pool, baking cookies or running through the halls dodging our RA. Those were the days!

We went to Mexico our senior year and had a blast. We danced, partied and swam for four days straight. I have the underwater camera pictures to prove it. We made friends with our tour guide Miguel and line danced on a party boat.

Now Lacey and I are both in our mid (late)-20s. I’m married and live 1,000 miles away. Naturally, we don’t get to see one another as often as we like. But thank goodness for cell phones, we talk regularly and stay connected via email, Facebook and texts. But nothing is better than being in the same room, laughing and carrying on like old times.

She has been through a lot both personally and professionally this past year. We’ve cried over the phone so many times, so it was so nice to finally express care and concern in person.

I know that we will be friends for a very long time. Sometimes when I see little old ladies with white hair shopping or eating at a bistro, I think of Lacey and me. I also know life will take us on a lot more adventures together. I’m looking forward to the day she gets married and I can throw her an amazing shower like she did for me.

It meant the world to me that she came to Little Rock to visit. This was her second time in the Natural State and I know it won’t be the last.

One milestone

What do you get for someone turning 1-years old? That was the topic of conversation and shopping adventures recently. My nephew, J, turned one on Sept. 20. The first birthday is a special occasion and must be celebrated. It must be said, I’m simply in love with this little guy.

Parish and I saw him when he was only about an hour old. We were the first ones at the hospital and stayed with my SIL (sister-in-law) as she recovered from the c-section. Twelve months later, our little guy is growing and developing on schedule. Since he had such a tough go at the beginning, this birthday is indeed a milestone.

We went to a family birthday celebration on Sunday and spoiled our little nephew. In order for the spoiling to take place, we had to go shopping to find the perfect gift. Which brings me back to the question I asked at the beginning of my column – what do you get someone who is turning 12 months old? We visited a couple retailers, although Target seemed to have the best selection of age-appropriate toys.

Parish and I perused up and down all of the toy aisles – every, single one. We wandered around hopelessly until we located the protruding signs that read 3 to 6 years old, 1 to 2 years old, 12 to 48 months and the aisle we needed: 6 to 12 months. That aisle turned out to be very entertaining. Most of the toys had lights and sound features with fun buttons and knobs. I think I played with every toy from an eating bird to a steering wheel that sang the ABCs. The toys were educational, but after pushing the umpteenth button, grew annoying. I thought of my SIL. What if my nephew really liked this toy and played with all day? His momma would go mad! I almost did and I only had to put up with it for 10 minutes. Parish and I looked at each other and after some discussion, decided to get her a gift card instead. I’m usually anti-gift card when it comes to giving them, especially for family members. But in this case, it made the most sense.

Now my SIL can get him an outfit, or maybe some diapers. Now she can discover the crazy aisle of baby toys and decide, firsthand, how insane she wants to go. In addition to the gift card, we found the cutest Razorback bibs. One is white with a bright red hog and the second is the same colors, reversed. He is going to look so cute wearing those little bibs as he slurps on his squash.

Celebrating his first birthday with family made me realize that it’s not the amount you spend or the flashiest toy, it’s about being together and honoring this little soul’s life.

I’m looking forward to a lot more birthday parties with this kid. I think it will be easier to find a gift for him next year. I did notice a shiny drum set while were shopping…maybe I will get him that for his 10^th or 30^th birthday. I have a good relationship with his mom; I don’t want it to hit a sour note.

Mr. C and me

There is something about a cup ‘o joe that just makes me feel so good. I don’t just drink coffee to wake me up, although that is a main component; I actually really enjoy the taste. I was raised in house full of coffee drinkers. In high school, I started hanging out in coffee houses to be cool. I don’t know if I was part of the in crowd, but I was always really hyper.

My college had a Starbucks in the student union building. I passed the famous chain every day, sometimes numerous times a day and resisted the best I could. Money was in short supply, so I had to make good choices about what I spent my moola on. I knew my dad would catch on if I kept calling and asking for money to support my caffeine habit. He would see through the 100^th “I need more cash to buy books, calculators and pencils for test taking,” conversation.

Now that I’m older, I still have to be resourceful with my money. Unfortunately, I drive by a Starbucks every day to work. They continue to tempt me! And I still have an infatuation with everything coffee.

I try to avoid stopping there every day and make it a special treat. For the past couple of months, I swing by there at the end of the week for ‘latte Friday,’ that is the official name that I gave it. Now, due to a recent purchase, I might be making even less stops by ‘bucks. As hard as it is to imagine, I have never owned a coffee maker. My roommate and best friend in college didn’t drink it and now my permanent roomie, Parish, won’t touch it with a 20-foot pole. Who wants to make coffee for one person? It’s like cooking for one – no fun.

During the weekends, my body craves the stuff and I usually end up you know where or grabbing anything that resembles it a nearby gas station. That is why I decided to go ahead and buy a machine already. Last week, I went to Target and to my amazement, found the cutest little four-cup coffee maker. It was love at first sight. He, my new maker, has the most stout glass decanter that you have ever seen. It is also programmable and I’m able to delay the start time. Now, the best part, he was on sale. I found him on the bottle shelf for $16.99. He was originally $19.99, but it was my lucky day. I picked him up, cradled him in my arms and told him about all the fun we would have together.

Then I picked up some of the most adorable coffee filters. They are just the cutest. I almost left the store without the most important ingredient – coffee. After standing in the coffee and tea aisle for a good 15 minutes, I selected a hazelnut bag and headed out. I felt on top of the world. The following morning, Mr. C made a great cup of joe and it cost me about a dime. Being resourceful tastes good, right to very last drop.

Being Aunt Becky

There are certain combinations of words that make my heart smile. Hearing “I love you,” from my husband of three years is of course one of those combos. I also like hearing, “Let’s get take out,” “Tomorrow’s Saturday,” and “This is 50 percent off the sale price.” Another phrase that just makes me smile from within is “Auntie Becky.” As an only child, I knew I would have to marry someone with siblings if I ever wanted to hear those words. Thankfully, Parish has an older brother and a younger sister. For the past three years, I’ve been an auntie and I love it.

Currently, I have two nieces and two nephews. Three of them live in Colorado, so seeing them more than twice a year is tricky. Thank goodness my sister-in-law only lives about seven minutes away, so seeing my newest nephew is much more convenient. I might be a bit biased, but he is one special little dude. He was born about four months early and weighed a little over a pound at birth. It was very touch and go at the beginning. He is a miracle. It has been so neat to watch this little guy grow from a preemie to a healthy 11-month old.

A couple weekends ago, we had my SIL and nephew over for Sunday dinner. I was so excited to see him. Have I told you how cute he is?

I grabbed him the moment he got in the door and we spent the rest of the afternoon together. We were inseparable as we walked around the apartment, played on the floor and made funny sounds. I hadn’t been around a baby in a really long time, so I forgot how much attention they needed. And he is one energetic little guy so I had to be ready for a lunge, kick and little fingers trying to get tangled in my hair.

Right before we got ready to eat, I gave my nephew a bottle and he fell asleep. His timing couldn’t have been more perfect. The ‘grownups’ were able to eat, talk and catch up while he slept. When we had had our fill of fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, corn, rolls and farm fresh tomatoes, the little guy woke up. He had great timing!

I ran to pick him up from the bed and patted his back as we took laps around the living room. After doing that for about 10 minutes, we settled back on the floor and I did everything in my power to make him happy and content. For some reason, he responded well to loud noises. He especially liked when I pumped my fist in the air and shouted, “Yeah, yeah, yeah!” The giggles that came from his little mouth made me melt. Pretty soon we became the main attraction. His mom and Parish muted the TV to hear this little chuckle. The louder I got, the more he grinned. We had so much fun together.

Around 8 p.m., he started getting sleepy and honestly, I did too. After they left that night, I looked at Parish and gave him a, “are you ready for that?” kind of look. He read my mind and said, “babies are a lot of work. I’m tired. I’m going to bed.”

I silently agreed and added, “It’s bedtime,” to my list of phrases I adore.

Knee-deep in summer

Here it is the end of June and I'm finally getting around to write about the summer. I must begin by saying this has been the HOTTEST summer we've experienced here in Little Rock. The temps have been creeping into the 100s and the humidity is like an invisible brick wall you run into every three seconds. I'm glad that I don't have a problem with heat. If I did, I would have a BIG problem living here. OK - with that out of the way, I will share our summer highlights.

June - Parish's best friend (Anu) got married on June 12 and he asked Parish to be his best man. Of course! We rented a car and drove (I know, we are nuts) to Colorado. The weather was surprisingly cool and we enjoyed catching up with my parents and family in Denver. The wedding was absolutely amazing. Since Anu is India and Ashley is American, they combined their cultures and had two weddings. The Indian ceremony was traditional, unique and like nothing I've witnessed before. The colors, costumes, fire, chants and atmosphere were mesmerizing. The second wedding was lovely too. We had an awesome time with Anu, Ashley and their families. Indian people know how to party! All the best to you both, we love you.

Towards the end of the month, we headed to Tunica, Mississippi. Oh yeah, I said Mississippi! The drive down was interesting - it's a blog entry in itself. Parish and I finally made it to Tunica, which is kind of like a mini-Vegas, Southern style. It's a fun place, if you like buffets and gambling. And who doesn't like gluttony?! The whole point of the trip was to attend the Arkansas Press Association's annual convention. We stayed at Harrah's and really had a great time. I'm really glad we really don't get into the whole gambling scene, but I don't mind playing video black jack and getting complimentary drinks. The convention was educational too - I attended a couple sessions and received an honorable mention at the award's ceremony. Clearly, June has been a busy month for the Brockmans, but we are thankful for the opportunity to travel, see family and spend time together. You learn a lot about a person during a 15-hour car ride! Good thing I love him so much.
July looks like a slow ride compared to June, but you never know.

Domestic Diva in training

My mom’s generation had Betty Crocker and Julia Child for culinary guidance. I have Martha Stewart and Rachel Ray. I can’t afford to make the kind of food Martha does and Rachel, for some reason, really annoys me. Therefore, I’m left alone in my small kitchen to sort out recipes, measurements and find my inner domestic diva. Yikes!
Usually, I consider cooking making a grilled cheese sandwich or scrambled eggs. But, let’s be honest, even a cave man could make those things. Sorry, to my cave men readers, but you know it’s true.
Even though I lack in the cooking guru department, I thought I would try my best to prepare some homemade meals this past weekend. I chose to make a bacon and spinach quiche and lasagna. Parish’s dad, God love him, supplies us with farm fresh eggs by the 18-pack. Which is the main reason I decided to make a quiche, we have over 40 eggs in our fridge and Easter is a month away. I lugged out my cookbook, dusted it off and found a recipe for “quick quiche.” Perfect!
Although eggs are the main ingredient for the popular breakfast dish, I had to drop by the supermarket and get bacon, spinach and hash browns for the crust. You can use a pie crust, but I’m not a fan. I prefer to make a crust using hash browns – it makes the quiche less heavy and I think, a little healthier.
I find fresh baby spinach on sale and after a 12-minute search, semi-lean bacon. While at Kroger’s, I pick up the ingredients for lasagna-ground turkey, two jars of spaghetti sauce, cottage cheese and a box of wide, flat noodles. For the first time, in a long time, I was actually excited about cooking. Parish should have taken a picture, because my domesticity comes in waves – the kind of waves that are very few and far between.
I successfully chopped my spinach and bacon, then gingerly added the ingredients to my whisked eggs. Before that step, I baked the hash browns in a pie dish. I finally set my precious little egg dish in the oven. Less than an hour later, I pulled the quiche out and did a knife check in the middle to make sure it was completely cooked. The knife came out clean and I smiled. Parish had the first bite and said it was great. I smiled again. I rewarded myself with a nap.
After getting my beauty rest, I walked straight to the kitchen and prepared the lasagna. Again, I followed the recipe, well most of the recipe. In the past, I’ve never cooked the noodles first. This method has always worked for me, so I made layers with the uncooked noodles, sauce, cottage cheese and repeated this step until the dish was full. My creation had all the signs of a good meal; it looked and smelled so good. Well, looks can be deceiving, when I took the dish out, some of the noodles were not cooked all the way through. I was very upset! I put the lasagna back into the oven for an additional 20 minutes. In the end, we did eat it, but there were some noodles we couldn’t fight our way through. My lovely husband put his arm around me and said, “You know I didn’t marry you for your cooking skills, right?” Thanks.
Obviously, this domestic diva in training still has a lot to learn.

Kick ball in the dirty

I had never heard of a kickball association until I moved here. Of course, the game was a hoot when I was in grade school, but when I found out that there was a league for grownups I couldn’t believe it. Further investigation revealed four different leagues of competition within the association. First, there is a laid back league which is just about having fun and playing kickball. Then there is the novice league, which is one step up from laid back. Next in line are the intermediate league and finally, the competitive league. Fellow employee, Misty Brown, AKA “The Gadget Girl” is a kick ball player. She currently plays in the novice league. We were talking about the game recently and she asked if I was interested in playing. I froze. Me - play kick ball? My mind traveled back to 1992, when I was 10-years old playing in grade school.

I could hear the shouts from my friends, feel the perspiration gather on my forehead as I approached the kicking mound. I remembered the whoosh of the ball as it traveled my way and the thump of my foot making contact. The ball rolled a whole five feet and I sprinted like the dickens. Within seconds I was whacked with the ball – out.

Misty asked again, “So, do you want to play?” Since it had only been 17 years since I last played, I hesitated and finally said, “Yes.”

After giving my verbal confirmation, it was too late to back out. I was going to join the world famous Little Rock Kick Ball Association. The following day Misty gave me a waiver to fill out, which certified that I was healthy enough to play and was capable of taking myself to the ER if I broke my leg. Additionally, Misty than told me I needed to come up with a fun name for my jersey. She said I could also use my last name, but I wanted my fans to be cheering something crazy and silly when I came into home plate. I told Misty I had to think about it and would get back to her.

Over the weekend I came up with ‘Bizzie B.’ For most of my life, I’ve gone by Becky, so that is where the ‘B’ part comes from. I also don’t like to sit still for too long and like to keep busy. Do you see where I am going with this? Well, the more I thought about this name, the more I liked it. Then I watched that commercial with the famous quote from Muhammad Ali, “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” That is exactly what I am going to do on the kick ball field – ‘Bizzie B’ is here to send the ball soaring into the air and sting the home plate!

Unfortunately, my confidence waned when I went to practice. Kicking a big, red bouncy ball was not quite as easy as I recalled. Most of the people had played before and were strategizing about how and where to kick it. I was just happy to make contact with the ball.

My side gig

In addition to writing for The Daily Record, I also freelance for Women's Inc. Here is my latest article: http://www.womensinc.net/node/667.
Thanks for reading.

Happy (belated) New Year

Y'all, I cannot believe that I haven't updated my blog in FOR-EV-VERR. It's not because nothing cool has been going. No, it's quite the opposite. I've been one busy lady. Work is going well and keeps me hopping from story lead to another. I'm taking pictures and writing stories and everything in between.

Since it's technically not the new year anymore, I will keep this update brief. I guess one of my resolutions should have been to devote more time to my blog. :( The leaf is turned over and I will be better.

I'm attaching a photo I took of a lion drinking milk at the zoo. Can you tell I don't have kids? Ha.