Pink Biker Woman

I'm just going to start out by admitting that the activities I describe in this post are completely stalkerish and, no, I'm not necessarily proud of them. But I'm not ashamed either. I mean how often do you come across "Pink Biker Woman" (as I'm calling her) on your Friday evening commute home from work.

So first let me describe the setting. It's last Friday and I'm in the good ole camry driving home from a long day at the office. I'm taking the route by Ramsey High School and St. Mary's that skirts Five Points, which I sometimes take to avoid traffic and just mix life up a little. By now I'm on that road between Legacy Credit Union and J Clyde/Cobb Lane waiting to turn right onto 20th Street when Pink Biker Woman drives past me on her breast-cancer-awareness pink scooter. (I think I'm going to submit that to Crayola as a crayon color name.) I immediately smile and dig my camera from my purse. This is just too good to pass up.

As the light turns green, I'm already gaining speed to try and catch up with this woman to get a better look. I'm thinking I have a pretty good chance of passing her on the climb up Red Mountain toward Vulcan. I mean, she's just on a scooter. Surly my four-cylinder can beat that, right?

Apparently not since Pink Biker Woman is still far ahead and I'm no where close enough to get the pics I want. I for the millionth time long for my old six-cylinder camry, thinking I'm defeated, but somehow get lucky as the light at the intersection of Valley/Richard Arrington Blvd catches her and allows me to catch up. With revived hope, I logically decide to change my normal route home to get close enough to check her out further.



At this point, I'm beginning to think she's about the coolest woman in the world. I mean look at her. She's confident, independent, feminine, stylish, trendy, bold...need I go on? So let me just clarify that the stalking is primarily out of admiration than weirdness. Who could argue that this woman is not cool. She's awesome. I seriously want her to be my new best friend. But I can't tell her that from three cars behind as I sheepishly try to hide my camera just above the steering wheel while I take this pic.

Check out all those patches on her pink leather biker jacket. Her matching pink satchel bag is even secured on the back. I was trying to get a closer pic so I could read the patches but traffic wasn't cooperating, and I think she spotted me and the camera in her side view mirrors when we were stopped at the light by Dorthy Daniels Flower Market heading into downtown Homewood, so I lost a little courage, quickly took the pic below, and changed by game plan in a desperate attempt to satisfy my curiosity.



Realizing the only way I was going to get a picture of her face was to take one through my side view mirror, I snapped this beauty and avoided the fifth near collision in as many minutes. But it was completely worth it. The front side of Pink Biker Woman did not disappoint. Check out those shades, white leather gloves, and the white little girl woven bike basket on the front of her scooter! She's a fashionista.



Back at home with the help of the zoom feature on Picasa I was able to read her tag ("Prettyn" - not sure what that means but I like it) and some of the other stickers on her scooter and patches on her jacket.

Apparently she's both fully pink and fully green. Check these out.

"One Less SUV" (with a cartoon image of a woman on a pink scooter)
"100 MPG"
"Barbers Motorsports"
"Scoot Q"
"Southern Comfort" (I think - but not sure)

and about six others with images of scooters on them.

If you know this woman please tell her I think she's awesome...and maybe mention I'm not really a stalker and she made my day last Friday. I'm completely filled with admiration for her, probably because I'm not, and probably never will be, that confident and comfortable with who I am.

Which got me to thinking which of my best girlfriends would be closest to Pink Biker Woman thirty years down the road. It's J-Go. Hands down. No contest. So, Ben, when you come home from a long day at the hospital thirty years from now and see a pink scooter in the driveway don't be surprised. It's your wife's latest purchase. And she probably got it off Craigslist.

The Blackwell Beauties

Saturday we were able to head out to my cousin Kristi's house to see our nieces. It just so happened the girls had just finished up a photo shoot that afternoon for Presley's newborn pics. Big Sister Victoria was able to get in a few pics too!

Kristi's photographer, Melissa Wells, had the photos posted in a few hours, so we were able to see them. She let Kristi post some to facebook, so I posted those select few here too. As you can see, they really turned out great!






I can't believe Presley is already five weeks old. She looks so much like Victoria did at her age. Both girls just have the loveliest complexion - but so do Mom and Dad so that's no surprise.

Warning: photography becomes very amateur at this point - but I had to post this pic I took because we actually captured Presley smiling!



And yawning. She was such a cutie in her little summer sailor outfit.

Fruit of the Vine

Believe it or not, my tomato plants actually have tomatoes growing on them. This is a good sign.

Dance Off

One of the best things to come about as a result of all the rain we've been having lately...

Dance Off: USF vs. UConn 2009 Big East Baseball Tournament

As seen on PTI. The 2009 Dance off between USF and UCONN which took place at bright house field May 21st, 2009. Filmed by the staff at Bright House Field. This dance off was a result of the two teams waiting though a 5 hour rain delay. ...

100 Days and Counting…

In recognition of today marking the official countdown to college football, I’ve decided to list my predictions for the SEC here. See below for how I voted in the Bham News’ poll. If I’ve offended anyone, I’m sorry. I just call them like I see them.

My predictions in summary: Tennessee and Auburn are going to struggle, Ole Miss will be a contender, and somebody (please, anybody) better beat Tim Tebow and knock Florida off their high horse. Their time’s up. (Though I don't think it's going to happen - at least not in the East.)

Season Finales

Now that school's out for the summer (at least for me), I have to confess that I've turned into somewhat of a TV junkie. It actually probably started with the advent of Direct TV into our lives (which we claimed we needed for football season) and the wonderful capacity to DVR shows. I typically haven't been a huge TV watcher. Generally I'm more consumed with cleaning or yard work or school or some random project I've taken on. But DVR has allowed us to actually have favorite shows and follow them.


So this spring semester we've been huge fans of Chuck (Yes, NBC, I'm still mad at you for almost canceling it and only committing to start it mid-season in 2010. That's just lame. But the season finale was pretty awesome.)


How I Met Your Mother (which I am convinced is the new Friends. They hang out in the pub below their new york apartment and talk about life, and it's hilarious.)

30Rock (Which is also just hilarious. Who doesn't love Alec Baldwin? Kenneth and Tracy are definitely my favorites through.)


And, of course, The Amazing Race. (No surprise here for regular blog readers. By the way, I'm so glad Tammy and Victor won. Luke turned out to truly be the "sinister deaf kid." I was not a fan.)


We even managed to catch the season finale of Grey's Anatomy, which I must say was the only episode we saw all year and the first I've seen in several years. We had no clue about the back story on any of the characters and didn't even know who some of the new folks were, but five minutes from the end when Robert said, "It's O'Malley!" we were just as shocked and devastated as those who tuned in faithfully each week. What a gut wrencher!


Lately with all the rain, zero school responsibilities, and having hit a serious roadblock in selecting a fabric for the headboard I plan to upholster for the guest room, I've had a chance to watch more shows I haven't watched in years, namely The Bachelorette. Seriously, it's probably been since junior year of college that I sat with my roommates faithfully each week to watch this show or its predecessor, The Bachelor. I know, I know, it's just not that great of a show, but there's nothing else on TV during the summer, so what's a girl to do?


So last night Robert is slaving away on his paper after a long day of work and class and I'm talking to Jullian on the TV about how cheesy or trashy so-and-so guy is and that she better be smart enough to not even give him a chance, much less a rose. But who are we kidding? She's on the show to begin with, which puts her aptitude seriously in question. (At least I'm ironing some of Robert's dress shirts while I'm doing this, so my time wasn't completely wasted.)

GLS BBQ

Yesterday, my dad hosted his company's annual BBQ, and I think every plumber in Birmingham was in attendance. They had a huge crowd! But who wouldn't be attracted by the allure of free, lip-smacking-good BBQ. They had quite the spread of ribs and Boston Butt pulled-pork, along with all the fixins. So Robert and I, being the supportive (and hungry) daughter and son-in-law we are, dropped by to join in on the festivities.

This is dad's purchasing manager, Matt, working the grill. (Which you should note is made out of bathtubs! I'd say GLS is going green with that bit of recycling.) I had to stop and tell Matt congratulations because his wife just had a beautiful baby girl. They are quite the Alabama fans, and he was telling me about his new daughter's houndstooth burp cloth with "I drool Crimson" monogrammed on the front. Love it!

My brother Kyle was fresh off his plane trip home from Ireland (landed in Bham at 6:30 p.m. the day before after an all-day flight) after a 9-day hiatus that involved lots of pub hopping and eating of potatoes, among other things I haven't yet heard about. I can't wait to see his pics this weekend. He traveled with my Canadian cousin Lydia and her friend, and it sounds like they had a blast.



More pics of the crowd chowing down. Mom, David, and Ryan pulled up just as we were heading back for meetings so I didn't get a chance to grab a pic with them, but everyone had a great time. Thanks, dad!