Sunday Addendum

My Dad shared a story with me today:

There was a newspaper journalist on the west coast who decided to do a human interest series on churches as he traveled to the east coast. Along the way he encountered a number of churches in which the sanctuary contained a golden telephone with the sign "Calls to Heaven $10,000." He found this a curiosity but when he arrived at a church in Chapel Hill, like the other churches there was a golden telephone in the sanctuary but the sign said "Calls to Heaven 25 cents." He immediately sought out the pastor to ask why the price for calls to heaven was so much lower in his church. The pastor replied, "Oh you see, here in Chapel Hill, it's a local call.

Post secret Sunday

"Sometimes I think that this is heaven and we just haven't realized it yet."

Sorry post secret, you're wrong. You put the wrong picture on that post. And yes, we already realize it's heaven.

New2Lou

I ran into the founders of New2Lou at Vint last night. They made the formation of a bar night that has hundreds of followers sound so simple to contrive. And when they heard about my blog and the idea behind being a "local townie" they were so excited because they've been looking for more newcomer bloggers.

It's important to have a list of "must haves" for transplants that are starting fresh without knowing anyone in town. I'm definitely one of those people and while I'm still exploring the city, I've come up with a few superlatives that are essential for any new Louisvillian.

Best areas to live (based on wanting to live where you're social, minimizing car transportation, and having a young, hip vibe with unique homes/apartments/businesses):

-Frankfort Ave (Crescent Hill/Clifton)

-The Highlands

-St Matthews

-Downtown

-Old Louisville

-Germantown

Best radio stations:

-91.9 My favorite with lots of up-and-coming artists and old favorites. Wagon Wheel was playing when I first turned to it so I knew it had to be a good station. You'll hear lots of VH1 You Oughta Know artists, jazz night, and bluegrass day.

-102.3 The 90's and today. Hearing an old GooGoo Doll's song or Blues Traveler come on after Beyonce or Lady Gaga is so refreshing and fun. I'm always a fan of the Top 40 from previous decades because pop culture is timeless and the nostalgia pulls you back to a time when you were more naive, life was less complicated, and your fashion sense was disastrous.

-98.9 Top 40 will never steer you wrong... errr... not too wrong at least.

-107.7 Classic Rock, because without Journey, I might have stopped believing. Rock fist.

Best Outdoor Seating:

-Vint (Frankfort Ave)

-Grape Leaf (Frankfort Ave)

-Meridian Cafe (St Matthews)

-Molly Malone's (The Highlands)

-Ramsi's Cafe on the World (The Highlands)

Best Southern Food:

-Frankfort Ave Beer Depot (I mean, they have corn hole in the back yard and you can get PBR by the pitcher. No contest.)

-Mark's Feed Store

-Homemade Ice-Cream & Pie Kitchen

Best Parks/Outdoor fun:

-Cherokee Park

-Seneca Park

-Waterfront Park

-Louisville Zoo

-The Red River Gorge

-Mammoth Caves

That's just a sip of the flavor of Lou; there's so much more! I hope that all of the New2Lou townies find this blog and that it helps guide them in their first experiences in town. I have only been here for two months so I'm still uncovering tons of awesome things every day.

Stay tuned-- there's lots more from this new local townie!

Re:Post

Reposting for relevancy sake.

Upcycled to Smile

My ever-so-talented and entrepreneurial-minded cousin, Katherine, has yet again used her skill and savvy to make the world a better place. She has opened an Etsy shop named after her popular blog: Rhymes With Smile. You can visit the Etsy Shop RWS by clicking here.

With respect to blogs/shops/websites/etc, you have to have a schtick. RWS is all about upcycling: Recycling - and upcycling - means keeping materials in use and saving the planet instead of consuming and tossing. This strategy keeps her shop sustainable and committed to zero waste.

What's more is that she's offering a Grand Opening giveaway... Check out the blog or Etsy shop and "like" or comment on the shop and you'll get a chance to win a gift card and upcycled prize from her new shop!

Kentucky State Fair

Whitney and I hit up the Kentucky State Fair last weekend. While most go for the rides, games, and livestock, we were going for a different kind of entertainment... people watching.

The Kentucky State Fair in review:

Traffic time to park: 45 minutes

Walk to the stadium from parking spot: 0.75 miles

Adult admission: $8

Calories in my deep fried Derby pie: 5,000

Satisfaction of my deep fried Derby pie on a scale of 1 to 10: 9.3 (subtracted points for not enough powdered sugar dumped on top)

Percentage of games where the carny folk sucker the locals into dumping their cash on useless games of chance: 100

Ratio of real freaks to cheesy illusions in the sideshow: 8 to 1 (the tiny woman is REALLY small)

Number of Boys II Men on stage: 3 (they were missing a member)

The last year that the rides were inspected for safety: 1992

Likelihood that I will return to the state fair next year: 0. (North Carolina's is WAY better)

House guests

Lucky me I've had some wonderful house guests lately. It's been a busy summer, but there's nothing like family coming to visit to make your feel like home. Between company and skype I really feel in touch with my loved ones.

Salem was my inspiration to finally take the plunge and get a pup. It's hard to believe how big my little Ellis Ann is getting. Next time she comes I'll have to baby proof!

Don't we look alike?!

Staying true to our traveling habits, Katherine and I had to have some "by air" shots of Churchill Downs.

There's plenty of room, you're always welcome to visit!

Lulu

Meet Lulu, the newest member of my family! I have been wanting a dog for a while but never had the lifestyle to accommodate taking care of another living being (honestly, sometimes I couldn't take care of myself... read: shower < sleep < bowl of cereal > real grownup dinner). But life here is getting settled and late summer is the perfect time to get my pup ready for a fall in Kentucky!

I got Lulu from Metro Animal Services and cannot say enough about how wonderful they were while I was deciding to adopt. I went to see a different dog, but when I saw Lulu I knew that she was perfect for me: cute, curly hair, just my size, and a personality to match.

Lulu is the perfect running partner in Cherokee park and loves to play fetch with a tennis ball. She's not all dog because she's not interested in other chew toys or stuffed squeeky playmates. She's generally pretty docile in the house (not even a fan of furniture or my shoes!) and just follows me from room to room to watch what I'm doing and put a head on my knee, hoping for a quick pet. Outside is another issue-- she's a wild woman and is so interested in other people and dogs that it's sometimes hard to contain all the excitement. So we started obedience classes last night and are learning to socialize and sit this week. My trainer, Brittany, swears that there's smart dog in there somewhere. I'm afraid that the laws of nature are relevant here and she's have to pick one: cute or smart... I mean just look at the choice I had to make!

We got the "all-clear" from the vet, except for a snotty nose, which she'll take a round of antibiotics for.

Here's everything I know about her:

Name: Lulu (named after the town of Louisville, where I am working very hard at being a townie and loving this place)

Age: ~2 years

Breed: golden retriever mix

Weight: (you're not supposed to ask a lady how much she weighs, but in this case, I'll allow it) ~35 pounds

History: No clue. Previous owners? Not sure.

Crate trained: Wellllll.... she stays in it pretty well during the day but we've had some issues here recently. I'll give her a little bit of time to adjust and realize that she lives here now.

Favorite love: the tennis ball < walks < loving

Keep a look out for our continued adventures as we discover a much dog friendlier side of Louisville!

Meetup

Hi! My name is: Becky

I relocated from: Chapel Hill, NC

Been here for: 2 months

Last night was my first New2Lou event for recent transplants. Louisville is notoriously a "clique-y" town and can be hard to infiltrate. I met a number of Louisvillians who were at their first meetup as well and we all commiserated on how hard it can be to be a Yo-Po (young professional) trying to meet people in your free time.

The Happy hour was at Proof On Main and is the bar to the 21c Museum Hotel which houses an art gallery in the lobby. After touring the art gallery (which stretched all the way to the bathroom), we fb'd one another and headed off for the night.

With locals enjoying happy hours great locales, I might stay a "newbie" for a while.

iPhone magic

Dear Mom & Dad,

This iPhone was the best present ever. You already knew that I would have died in Louisville without it, but seriously, it's fantastic. You're the best!

Here's the apps I could not live without:

Maps: utterly vital during my first weeks in town when I had to search for a grocery store. Turns out that it's 0.1 miles from my house.

Map my run: So that I can "count it" when I go the 0.1 miles to Kroger in my daily exercise.

Instagram: to make all of my photos look way cooler and more hipster

TWC: because Kentucky's weather is not too different from NC's... if you don't like the weather, just wait 5 minutes.

facebook: I'm a child of the wifi generation and need to stay connected

tumblr: I look at it more often than the news... oops.

foursquare: For coupons and social status when I go out

skype: could not live without skype. I miss home.

yelp: to find out where the good eats are! Great recommendation for F.A.B.D.-- great ribs and Southern style cooking!

Words with friends: currently 7 games running

Meetup: I just joined the New2Lou group and my first meeting is next week!

Climbfind/ParkFinder/ClimbWeather: for all my climbing needs

UrbanBRBN: for journeys on the Urban Bourbon trail here in Louisville, I can collect stamps and get free stuff.

UNC/CNN/ESPN: news that I don't really keep up with

FlyDelta/Southwest/GasBuddy: for exploring and coming home

MonthlyPrescribingReference/ICD9/STATGrowthCharts/BMItool/Documents2: For all of my medicine notes and references to use daily at work

iHeartRadio/Pandora: to fill the house with music instead of the TV

TalkingTom: for the kids at work

BettyCrocker'sCookbook: yea right, I stink at recipes. Pour it all in a skillet, add some salt, bon appetit!

Dictionary: For cheating when I play Bert in Words with Friends

Scan: The most mind-boggling app ever! Try this!

Or this:

Mint: to tell me that I'm still broke

Shopkick: my newest and most profitable free app. Get points for doing nothing and get free stuff. I'm working towards a restaurant.com gift certificate. Use my promocode when you join (shark8859) and we both get 100 points.

Seriously, thank you!

Love,

Your local townie daughter

I clearly get it honest

...Being a sciencey nerd and total baller that is. My Dad is superman: smart, saves the world, wears glasses.

Check out the article that proves he's got brains to go along with those dashing good looks.

Congrats Daddy!

Today is an eek face kind of day

Just hoping that I eek through to make it to another.