i'm coming out!

she was strictly for the baby.

2008-06-20T03:43:00.000-07:00

I have been incredibly delinquent in blog posting. Mostly due to the fact that I can only truly get ONE thing done a day beyond nursing, changing and loving my child.
Yesterday was the first day I put on makeup and got 3 things done since she was born. It was earth shatteringly satisfying.
Yesterday was also the first time I left her with my parents so Aaron and I could go on a "date", which consisted of eating burritos in a movie theater while watching "Sex and the City", which sounds mundane but was actually incredibly exciting. And also nerve-wracking because all I could see was Winnie's face in my mind's-eye as I luxuriated in the over-the-top fashion up on the screen.
I am still debating as to whether I want to include anything about Winnie on my blog. I may need to just compartmentalize that part of my life and keep it private, but at the same time I fear I may not write about her if I do not do it here.

Strange this open/closed, anonymous cyberworld - whatever I post here will/can be seen by both people I know and love and people I do not know at all.

tiny victories.

2008-06-20T03:32:00.000-07:00

I saw Doug McAbee's work back in December '06 and became determined to get it installed somewhere in downtown. That was before I fully understood the bureaucracy of working for a municipality - which has its benefits and drawbacks. Spring forward to June '08 - past several disappointments of varying degrees - and here are two of Doug's wonderful sculptures being installed in downtown for all to see.

One tiny victory for contemporary art in downtown Spartanburg!

Downtown Artwork Designed to Keep You Guessing

By Lynne P. Shackleford
lynne.shackleford@shj.com

Published: Thursday, June 19, 2008 at 3:15 a.m.

Don't ask Spartanburg artist Doug McAbee about the concept behind "Herman" and "Elmer," the large yellow and blue sculptures on display in downtown Spartanburg.

It's his intention to keep you guessing.

McAbee is the first artist to temporarily install outdoor sculptures on the grassy parcel adjacent to the Herald-Journal parking lot, across from the Morgan Square clock tower. City Economic Development Coordinator Cate Ryba has envisioned public art being displayed in downtown for at least the past year-and-a-half and discussed it with McAbee, a 36-year-old graphic designer and Winthrop University instructor who's had his works displayed at Francis Marion University and the S.C. State Museum, among others.

McAbee was immediately on board, but identifying a suitable site and then waiting for site preparation took time. McAbee, his wife, Georgie, and his parents unloaded the two sculptures Wednesday afternoon, and McAbee secured them in the spot where they'll be displayed for the next three to six months.

The city, as part of the Creative Energy campaign, has partnered with Hub-Bub to identify Spartanburg artists to install sculptures or other pieces suitable for displaying outside. The artist is responsible for identifying places on the site to install the art, actual installation, insuring and maintaining the art and restoring the site after the art is removed.

"That site in particular lends itself to outdoor exhibits," said Susan Schneider, the director of strategic marketing and outreach for the city. "We are hoping this is the beginning of a public art program for local artists. The location is great, and until now, it really had become a doggie park, which is fine, but we thought that with the landscaping, sidewalks and trees, it would be a great location for this."

City staff must approve all art for the site.

McAbee said he's had requests to display "Herman" and "Elmer," but he didn't commit to those places because he knew the Spartanburg site was coming available.

Both sculptures are made of sheet metal that McAbee welded, sanded and painted. They each took three to four weeks to complete and were created in late 2003.

McAbee admits that he had a visual in mind when he created each sculpture, but he won't divulge what the images are.

"If I tell you, you will only see that image when you look at them, which sort of defeats my purpose," McAbee said. "I want people, when they're riding by, to scratch their heads and wonder what they're looking at, maybe even smile. If one person does it, that's good enough for me."

McAbee spent about two hours installing the sculptures and securing them with concrete. It was painstaking work for a hot summer afternoon, but McAbee contends that art is meant to be seen, not intended to "be stuck away in a closet somewhere."

"It's a heck of a lot of trouble and a heck of a lot of work, but it's worthwhile," McAbee said. "It's the whole reason why crazy artists like me do what we do."

dichotomy.

2008-06-09T20:39:00.000-07:00

Contingent, Eva Hesse

My baby is screaming whilst being changed by her dad in the other room.
I am thinking about the next time I might be in a museum in a large city.

i am a rock...i am an island.

2008-06-06T14:57:00.000-07:00

So, I leave the house 1 time a day. Usually to go for a walk in the neighborhood or to pick up food whilst Aaron watches Winnie. Since we live in SC, it is now 101 degrees with full humidity and I can no longer go for walks.
I feel like I am on an island...the island of our house. At least it is a pleasant island to live on/in and I get to share it with my beautiful daughter.

Man, it is weird to write that.

Today she had her first doctor's appointment. She has gained almost 2 pounds from her birth weight and grown an inch and a half!

Just add milk and watch her grow!!

incredible edible...

2008-06-02T15:15:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know I am busy and all with nursing, diapers, and being totally in love with my daughter, but this cannot be ignored.

Not only can you purchase an incredible edible chocolate anus for your eating pleasure, you can also buy the same anus in solid silver:

"55 grams of hallmarked silver, cradled in a magnificent presentation box and exquisitely crafted into that most sensuous of body parts: a unique, elegant and thought-provoking gift.

People come and people go. Our solid silver anus is immune from the daily wear and tear that similar products experience. A quality product immortalised in silver…for the man who has everything."

Thanks to Rogers for the heads up...or should I say tails up?

My search for the perfect Father's Day gift for Aaron is over!!!

she is here!

2008-05-31T15:02:00.001-07:00

Welcome, Winifred Catherine Ryba!
May 18, 2008
6 lbs. 10 oz.
19.5 inches long

Definitely no time (and only one hand available) for writing.
Blogging will have to wait!

1:00 sounds good to me.

2008-05-17T11:05:00.000-07:00

mark + mr. sam = tlf.

2008-05-15T07:27:00.000-07:00

Mr. Sam, a recently aquired head from a pile of donated heads at Hub-Bub, captivated Mark on a recent night at the Ryba house. Mr. Sam's dreamy eyes, yellow lipgloss, and 70's shag are extremely hawt. He also fits perfectly in our new stroller.

whoooo. whoooo.

2008-05-14T06:08:00.000-07:00

Lately an owl or owls have been hanging around our backyard whoooing in the early morning hours. The cats get freaked out, and the whoooing is quite loud. The other morning it sounded as if one of them got into a fight with another bird, and jungle-like noises ensued. Before we heard the owls, we found other evidence of their presence: extraordinarily mutilated corpses of squirrels on the path from our front to back yard. At first I was infuriated with the cats, thinking they were sadistic monsters to inflict that kind of carnage. Then the whoooing started and it all made sense.

Last night, as Aaron and I slowly paced the neighborhood on a labor-inducing walk, we saw a giant pink bow attached to someone's house. My staunch, anti-traditionalist perspective inwardly cringed at the sight of the bow, knowing that soon one will undoubtedly appear on OUR porch. When I asked Aaron for an alternative idea, his brilliance impressed me for the millionth time:

"Why don't we just save the placenta, and hang it on the porch by the umbilical cord. Once the owls start circling and feasting, people will know it is okay for them to visit us and the baby."

I laughed so hard I nearly had the baby on the sidewalk. The mental image of hoards of owls swarming a dangling placenta on our porch remained with me for the rest of the walk.

smiling faces. beautiful places.

2008-05-12T06:04:00.001-07:00

media whorin'.

2008-05-08T07:01:00.000-07:00

Recently, The Link magazine published an article entitled, "Who's Next in 2008", which is intended to highlight young leaders in the Upstate. Somehow I am included in this list of people. I was also called "Spartanburg's Pusher" in the article, which is hilarious because

1) It makes me sound like a drug dealer
2) I am shortly about to learn a lot about pushing

Anyways, I sent the link to the article to Aaron, and here was his response:

You just can't keep your mug out of the papers huh!

By the way, thanks-be-to this article, I think I found the PERFECT name for BGR:

"Velverly"

An original hybrid between Velveeta cheese and someone named Beverly.
Or perhaps a voluptuous, elderly, Beverly.

I guess one of the Who's Next people is named Velverly. His comment caused me to nearly fall off the pink exercise ball I sit on at work, as I was laughing so hard. I hope BGR inherits some of her dad's humor. If so, there will never be a dull moment...

oh. my. god. becky.

2008-05-07T11:20:00.000-07:00

HAVING A BIG, DELICIOUS BACKSIDE IS GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH

Doctors have known for a while that people who gain weight in their belly are more likely to develop health problems like heart disease and diabetes than people who gain weight in their hips and backsides. They just didn't know WHY.

Well, now they do. Researchers at Harvard Medical School have found that the type of fat that collects around the hips and rear . . . called subcutaneous fat . . . actually helps regulate blood sugar and speeds up a person's metabolism. But visceral fat . . . the fat that collects around a person's stomach . . . doesn't create any of the same health benefits.

Basically, that means that if you collect fat in your butt, your candy-coated backside is actually helping you stay thin in every other part of your body.

It also makes you less likely to develop diabetes than someone who collects fat in their stomach.

In other words, having a big, delicious backside is actually GOOD for your health. Scientists are now trying to figure out which specific substances make subcutaneous fat healthy so that they can develop a drug to copy the effect. (Yahoo News)

Thanks to Rogers for this. Suddenly, I am not feeling as sinful as I sit at my desk inhaling Peanut Butter Puddle ice cream.

belated fer-grats and back fat!

2008-05-05T18:17:00.000-07:00

This is an extremely belated post to congratulate the fabulous, talented and burgeoning Kerry Ferguson on the impending arrival of BabyFer. Kerry's insights and friendship have been invaluable to me over this crazy baby journey, and going through it with her has been such an amazing experience.

Some ladies and I threw her a little shindig last month to celebrate BabyFer #2. We had our toes painted, we gorged on Pizza Inn (Kerry's pregs-craving) and then wrapped it all up with an ice cream cake emblazoned with the thick pink words "BACK FAT!" and numerous types of cookies and chocolates.Our non-cliched, back-fat-themed baby shower activity was decorating onesies for BabyFer. Some of us took...ahem...EXTREMELY creative liberties with the project...

All in all it was a great time.

Thus, in the immortal words of Gretchen Maultsby,

***HAVE A GREAT BABY, KERRY!***

tunisian rocks.

2008-05-04T12:15:00.000-07:00

This guy, Anouar Brahem (and his trio) is my new favorite musician.

Definitely makes the cut for the birthing playlist.

Thanks to Frank for this, and the other 5GB of music he gave us over Thanksgiving last year (which we only recently discovered!).

saturday night sugar fever.

2008-05-04T08:23:00.000-07:00

Homemade split pea and ham soup, cupcakes from Sugar Bakery in Charleston and enjoying new lanterns on the porch with Jeff and Danielle. A perfect May evening in the Spiz...

welcome to the world.

2008-05-03T08:51:00.000-07:00

Aaron's sister Carrie had a baby yesterday!

Lucien Henry Morris
8 lbs 3 oz
20 inches

I am now officially Auntie Cate!

haven't i got a nice...?

2008-05-02T06:07:00.000-07:00

I can't even begin to comment on how amazing this product is. Medical contraption? No. Think again. It is THE WINE RACK. A special patented bladder that allows you to enjoy your fave Pinot Grigio or Cab directly from your own breasteses. This brings a whole new meaning to the concept of nursing. Breast enhancement and wine, what could be better???

Thanks to Rogers for this gem!

bru-birth.

2008-04-30T13:34:00.001-07:00

HAWT Bru.

baby bru.

Today is my fabulous friend Jeannette Brugger's birthday. The first pic above is from her bad-ass 2006 birthday bash in Phila, complete with church rollerskating and "the special" (shot of Beam & a Pabst) at Bob and Barbara's at the end of the night. The second pic is one I made using this freaky website that allows you to import an image of a person's face and make them look like a baby. Awesome.

Jeannette is the reason I didn't tear my hair out slowly and eat it, or drown myself in the Schuylkill River, when we working together after grad school. Bru, as she is affectionately referred to, inspired me to begin running competitively. She and I developed a mutual understanding that we could share the love of Johnny Goodtimes and perhaps Bobby Badtimes as well. Our endless gmail chats revolved around calling each other horrid names and baby Jesus. Our love of millet muffins, Tria winebar and unproductive Fridays led to so many good times way back when. I really miss her and wish I could meet her doggie and do the Broad Street Run with her this coming weekend.

Alas. Maybe next year. Until then...

***Happy Birthday, JBru!***

hi-ho silver!

2008-04-28T08:21:00.000-07:00

http://greenville.craigslist.org/bab/657990839.html

nicholas: po-knee! thats so good. I don't know why but I find that thing really creepy.

me: it is totally creepy b/c IT HAS NO BACK LEGS. plus, it assumes your child lacks the imagination necessary to just pretend your knee is a horse...and you lack the skills to make horsey noises.

late night snack time.

2008-04-23T06:06:00.000-07:00

Woman finds 8-foot alligator in her Florida kitchen

The Associated Press
Published: Tuesday, April 22, 2008

And some people get jittery about mice in the kitchen. Authorities say 69-year-old central Florida woman found an 8-foot long alligator prowling in her kitchen late Monday night.

Sandra Frosti says the gator must have pushed through the back porch screen door and then went inside through an open sliding glass door at her home in Oldsmar, just north of Tampa. It then apparently strolled through the living room, down a hall and into the kitchen.

A trapper with Animal Capture of Florida removed the alligator, which was cut by a plate that was knocked to the ground during the chaos. But no one inside the house was injured.

peekaboo.

2008-04-22T18:27:00.001-07:00

35 weeks.

i lurve jeff and danielle.

2008-04-21T20:08:00.000-07:00

Because they made this for dessert for me tonight: a Nutella & strawberry croissant sandwich.

And they left the jar at our house.

Pure. Tastebud-tingling. Joy.

last tango.

2008-04-21T09:35:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Aaron and I headed to the lakehouse for our LAST WEEKEND AWAY FROM HOME ALONE FOR A VERY LONG TIME.

Yes, that does require capital letters.

While there we ate (gourmet, grown-up food), slept (sans yowling cats), read (non-baby-related magazines), we watched this movie:

It reminded us of what day-to-day life is like in Paris. In the opening scene in Gare de Lyon you hear the intense pre-annoucement noise for all French train stations. DOOOM. DABOO, DABOO! It sounds like the beginning of some scandalous French soap opera, but in fact is the noise played right before any annoucements are made in any French train station. On our first morning in Paris, in Gare de Lyon, when we heard this noise, we looked all around for a giant TV screen or something showing a commercial. It took us some time to realize this was a state-mandated standard alert. For some reason, it still cracks us up.

Anyway, the rest of the movie is wonderful - Julie Delpy's sense of humor (she wrote and directed) must be very much in keeping with ours. We were literally in tears at times from laughing. I have loved Adam Goldberg since his "Dazed and Confused" days, and the opportunity to see him naked with balloons tied to his privates (and to view his many tatoos!) is not to be missed. Check this one out!

We cooked some yummy food (sesame-glazed salmon, broccolini, beets) and I ate my requisite allotment of organic dark chocolate (1 bar). The weather variably cooperated - we ate dinner outside, spent some time on the dock and using the outdoor shower.

Luckily, the vegetation is growing in to conceal the ASS CASTLE that was built next door last year. I've been going to the lakehouse for my entire life. Up until 4 years ago it was on a dirt road. It now looks like a cookie cutter subdivision, complete with a heinous and pointless giant stone entrance sign and dotted with McMansions without a tree in sight. Last year a couple built a 10,000 square foot home next door, complete with 5 car garage (to house their Hummers) and 2 yipping white lapdogs. So they each get 5,000 square feet. Or you could divide it 4 ways to include the dogs, so they each get 2,500 square feet. Either way, it is disgusting and regularly contributes to a rise in my blood pressure. When I say that it is next door, it literally LOOMS over our property. Luckily, our brown corrugated metal toolshed partially ruins their pristine view from one of the 5 porches. The plastic pink flamingos we installed near the property line probably don't add much to their view either. It doesn't help that the design kind of looks like a circa 1970's Playboy Mansion, complete with turrets and wrought iron flourishes.

Moving on from that nastiness...

Sunday evening we attended Arielle's Passover Seder. It was definitely one of the coolest (and tastiest!) things we've done since moving to Spartanburg. We all got to read the Haggadah and participate in the rituals. I really enjoyed the story, as well as the discourse prompted by the readings. We also got to meet Arielle's supercool NYC buddies Alice and Cliff. Aaron had a great time and especially enjoyed the Manischewitz. Although, he was feeling it this morning.

All in all, it was a great LAST WEEKEND.

(NB - check out the Jonathan Franzen piece in the April 21 New Yorker...he incredibly combines the joy of birding with Chinese factories and a puffin-head golf club cover.)

wishin' and hopin' and lovin' and prayin'

2008-04-18T05:43:00.000-07:00

So, I bought this white dress the other day online. It was designed for the Gap by threeASFOUR, some fashion designers that my friend Marie works for in NYC. Their stuff is super bad-ass (see top pic): asymmetrical and using great fabrics...and way out of my price range. This design for the Gap makes their stuff accessible to a wider audience. My hope is to fit into this for a beach trip in August...

who's bad?

2008-04-16T10:47:00.001-07:00

Baby Girl Ryba received these yesterday, along with some amazing Trumpette's baby socks from Auntie Ginny in LA . She is going to be the fashionista of the Spiz!