Nothing but Trouble and Desire…

Posted by Stacey on Friday May 4, 2007 Under Film, Friends, Music, heroes, video

I am in debt to Gary Shipes for the rest of my life. He introduced me to Hal Hartley’s work back in the early 90s and to this day, Simple Men is, hands down, my all-time favorite film, ever. I love all of Hartley’s work but this one still stands above all. When Gary handed me that glorious dubbed copy, labeled ever so neatly in his flawless, block handwriting, he told me that this would be a film by which I would judge all future films… he was absolutely correct.

I lost contact with Gary after Tim and I moved to Texas and became tangled up in life & school. If you ever run into him, please tell him “Thank You” for me- his suggestions in film and music changed my life…my perceptions of all forms of art altered forever…in a very, very good way. :)

Looking forward to May 22: Fay Grim

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Gina Thorsen on Good Morning Texas…

Posted by Stacey on Friday Apr 13, 2007 Under Friends, heroes

Did everyone get a chance to see Gina Thorsen on GMT last month??! http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/VideoPlayer/videoPlayer.php?vidId=128604
I was going through my email, ran across this link again, and thought it would be good to share. We’re so proud of her- she’s totally worked her butt off for this grant and for the program. I’m in awe of her here- she’s so dang calm through the interview- I’d be such a nervous wreck! Gina- you’re my she-ro!! ;D

gina thorsen

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San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park

Posted by Stacey on Monday Apr 9, 2007 Under Family, Friends, outdoors

We hiked 3.5 miles of San Felasco Hammock Preserve Stae Park on Saturday. It was a GORGEOUS day out- 68 degrees cool, spring-green leaves everywhere, birds chattering away. SO wonderful!

happy pack mule... Tim

Why You Don't Eat Unidentified Mushrooms #1 Why You Don't Eat Unidentified Mushrooms #2 Why You Don't Eat Unidentified Mushrooms #3

Saturday was so much fun that we decided to go out there again and drag our friend Melissa and her two dogs along with us. It was a little more overcast that day but the weather was still very nice. We hiked a different part that was about 6.5 miles long. It was so much fun hanging with Melissa, Shelia, and Shelby! We’re gonna have to do it again soon before it starts getting hot.

Melissa, Shelia, Tim and Shelby...

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Springtime Tallahassee…

Posted by Stacey on Sunday Apr 1, 2007 Under Family, Friends

We took a quick day-trip to Tally to see the Austins. We met at the Spring Festival in downtown, goofed off, sight-saw, and then met back up at the Austin casa to hang out and enjoy each other’s company. It was a refreshing trip and it was really hard having to come back to Gainesville after such a nice day.

Stacey, Tim, John, Asher, Alison, and Lydia

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Fun Weekend…

Posted by Stacey on Monday Mar 26, 2007 Under Family, Friends

I had a fun weekend. I took a quick trip down to Stuart to visit the crew. Rachel’s birthday was on Wednesday so it was a good excuse to get down there. Aaron & Janelle were also visiting from Texas so we planned a get-together BBQ at Aaron’s parents’ house.

It was a great time- Aaron’s mom set out so much food- I think everyone literally rolled out at the end of the night! :) Aaron’s brother Matthew, Rachel and her daughter Sammi, Wes, and Court joined us. Big hit were the 5 rescued kittens- they’re getting older now and are so much fun. Rachel’s daughter had a fantastic time following them around and petting them. Matthew also pulled out his latest toy- an old 3-wheeler- and let everyone take turns driving it around the yard.

Kitties!/></a> <a href=Sammi & Peanut...

Serious Off-roading... Court & Wes...

I stayed the night with my brother Jay and we had a nice visit. I got to catch up on a few episodes of Eureka that night. I sometimes miss having tv but a couple cute shows still isn’t worth the brain drain. We had a nice breakfast the next morning and we watched a terrible Stan Lee movie, The Condor. It was totally laughable- talk about stereotyping the hispanic culture- it was terrible- embarrassing really! We started to watch a little bit of Appleseed (Appurushîdo) but then he had to get ready for work so he let me borrow it. I haven’t watched it yet but prolly will soon.

I left around 12:30 to meet Aaron, Janelle, & his parents at Shrimper’s for lunch. Aaron asked for seating near the water and they sat us right next to the water in the middle of the sun. Not quite what he had in mind but the hostess must’ve been having a “literal day.” :) The mgmt. wouldn’t put up the umbrella because it was too windy, so we sat out there and kinda fried- well, at least I did (y’all know how chalkasian I am!). The waitress wasn’t very nice- the wind kept blowing the nachos off Janelle’s plate which made the seagulls swarm. She came over and yelled at us several times for feeding the birds and didn’t believe us when we told her it was the wind. When she cleared Janelle’s plate, three chips flew off the plate and onto the ground- starting yet another seagull swarm. Surprised, she said, “Oh!” and then walked away. She came back later with the bill and told Janelle she’d deducted her drink from the total and apologized.

As we left the restaurant, I grabbed Janelle and told the fam that I was kidnapping her for a little ‘girl-time.’ We drove out to Shadowood Farm to see Sarah, Bob, and Emma. Bob was busy so we only got to say a quick “hello” but we had a little time to visit with Sarah and after awhile, Courtney dropped by and ate her lunch while we all got a chance to catch up. It was great!

After dropping Janelle back at the West Compound, I headed to PSL so I could shower and change- Rach & Glenn had invited Wes & I to Benihana’s. It was such a trip- I hadn’t been there since 1990 and let me tell ya- it hasn’t changed a bit (except that there weren’t any Japanese chefs). We had a really fun time!

After dinner, we met Aaron & Janelle back at Wes’ house and played with Wes’ wii and PS2. It was great. The only bummer was an absent Courtney and Tim (who were both away visiting their famlies).

Golf Demo... Guitar Hero?

Friday Night at Wes' House

The next morning, Rachel and I had a nice breakfast at a great new bagel shop out in Tradition near her home in PSL. We then went to Jensen Beach to leisurely shop for a couple of hours- just like old times. We stopped at Jay’s place before heading back to her house, so I could drop off a few things I found for him. We got to chat with his girl, Lorraine, and meet her new dog, Rascal. After that, it was time for me to go home. :(

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Birthday Bash 2007!

Posted by Stacey on Wednesday Mar 7, 2007 Under Friends

Saturday night we had a party to celebrate the ‘birf-days’ of Tim, John, Melissa, and Alison. We got a 1/2-keg of Blue Moon and a bunch of food and cake. We had a special guest DJ all the way from South Beach Miami… DJ Andrew West…and lemme tell ya….Andrew brought the POWER!!!

Happy Birthday!!

The stream of guests started around 3pm- with Ally, Asher & Lydia stopping by to drop off margarita mixers and food and to hang out for a bit before the kids were scheduled to hang at grandma & grandpa’s house. Ali and Gosia stopped by right as the Austins were leaving and we had some tea and enjoyed some yummy bread pudding they brought with them. They had to leave for a gig and as we were walking them out to their car, Andrew and Katie arrived from their trip to Gainesville from South Beach! Good timing!!

Aw Yeah!!

We had just about enough time to pour some drinks and chat with them right before the Westfall family showed up. Chase and Amber brought their three little ones, Charlie, Ivy, and baby Reese. We started pulling out food and then the night took off after that!

Tim and Baby Reese... Chase and Charlie Ivy Amber, Ivy, Reese, Chase, Charlie & Tim

John and Alison showed up and Melissa shortly after. The Westfalls left around 7:30ish (Amber had a baby shower to go to). Then Alison’s little brother Drew arrived with Mike from Alta following right behind him.

John and Alison... Drew and Ally... Melissa and Alison

Little later after that, Carrie (from my library) and her boyfriend, Sergio, dropped in and then Julie, Adam and Buju showed up.

Sergio and Carrie Jules, Adam, and Buju...

It was a wonderful time spent with people we love. We were honored that Andrew and Katie came all the way from Miami and John and Ally drove all the way over from Tally.

Alison cuts the cake (not the cheese)Party on the Porch... Mike from Alta... Julie and Adam!! Tim and John

We shut the night down with Andrew and Katie at about 4:30am……….

Andrew and Katie...Quiet end...

The next morning, Tim and I woke up around 11am and were bummed to find that A & K had split sometime around 9am! They left us a note on the kitchen table saying they were headed back to Miami. So we still owe them a special home-cooked breakfast of Egg McMurrays and French Toast! ;)

More pictures here: http://flickr.com/photos/staceyewing/sets/72157594576384017

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Reunion for the Reunion…

Posted by Stacey on Thursday Mar 1, 2007 Under Friends, Music

Well, one arm of the gang is reuniting to attend THE POLICE concert in Dallas!! (**We’re all goin’ to Dallas! We’re all goin’ to Dallas** – Joel C. that one was for you!) Yep, we’ll be going back to Texass with Rach, Glenn, Wes, and Court to attend the concert with Aaron and Janelle. We even managed to get seats together in the same section, albeit three rows apart. We decided it would be best to bite the bullet and go see them on the first part of the tour in case they break-up halfway through all the scheduled dates. The tension is already apparent during the most recent interviews. ugh. Fingers crossed here for a successful event! :D


ThePoliceThen


Police III
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Threeee Beeyoooteeefulll Ladieeezz…

Posted by Stacey on Monday Feb 26, 2007 Under Family, Friends

Look at these three lovely ladies- aren’t they just too dang pretty and cute??! :D
From left to right: Ma, Rachel and Sammi Rae… Despite the unfortunate circumstances, it was SO good to see everyone and I already miss them dearly. :(
Three Beautiful Young Ladies!

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Barrel Racing…

Posted by Stacey on Monday Feb 12, 2007 Under Date Night, Friends

This weekend, Tim and I drove up to the Union County Riding Club (near Lake Butler) to watch our friend Buffy compete in a Barrel Racing Competition. It turned out to be a REALLY fun night. There were guys and gals of all ages and skill levels competing. Buffy has an amazing horse named Stanley who is a real sweetheart. He follows her around, off-lead, like a big dog. Kids were climbing all over him and he didn’t even bat an eye. :) When it was time for them to race, Buffy and Stanley were fantastic- you could tell they’d been a team for a very long time.

It was such a cool hang- everyone walked around anD chatted with one another. Buffy, of course, knew absolutely everyone there, so she stopped every coupla steps to say a few words to each person she passed. Kids of all ages were riding horses around the perimiter of the complex. We even saw a THREE-year old riding a horse all by herself- the two of them just plodded on past us as we watched. :)

It was in the mid-30s that night so my poor husband (who is the the polar-opposite of myself- lacking any kind of bodily insulation) ’bout froze his little tookus off and ended up spending alot of time standing by one of the fire-barrels trying to stay warm. He was such a good sport- I was having such a wonderful time that he stayed alot longer than he normally would’ve. :)

An excellent “date-night” event= cheap (free) and fun. ;)

Barrel Racing

Just a stock photo from the net. I’ll be sure to bring my camera next time- these events are ripe with photo ops. :)

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Get Baker-Acted!

Posted by Stacey on Saturday Feb 10, 2007 Under Friends, heroes

It was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO effen good to hang with Jules and Bu tonight! We miss those two frooty lil’ freaks! :D

Jules_sm Buju_sm

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