It really never stops raining.

I used to be such a burning example,
I used to be so original.
I used to care, I was being cared for.
Made sure I showed it to those that I love.

I used to sleep without a single stir,
'Cause I was about my Father's work.

Well take me out tonight,
The ship of fools I'm on will sink.
I'm my own stone around my neck,
Be my breath, there's nothing I wouldn't give.

I used to pray when God was listening.
I used to make my parents proud.
I was the glue that kept my friends together,
Now they don't talk and we don't go out.
I used to know the name of every person I kissed.
Now I made this bed and I can't fall asleep in it.

Take me out tonight,
The ship of fools I'm on will sink.
I'm my own stone around my neck.
Be my breath, there's nothing I wouldn't give.

Throw me that lifeline,
The ship of fools I'm on will sink.
I'm my own stone around my neck.
Be my breath, there's nothing I wouldn't give.

.........

So last week I celebrated my 23rd birthday...wierd.
I'm not comfortable with getting older.
My parents got me this bad-ass pumpkin cheesecake ice cream cake.
Delicious.


My hubby got me this awesome Rosie The Riveter wallet and a pretty two-tone necklace with a dagger pendant on it. He also brought me flowers.


The Foundation/Have Heart show was the night of my actual birthday.
So much fun.
It was packed with out-of-towners, too.
Me, Stan, and Aaron headed up to Raleigh Friday around 1:00 to go to Foundation and Have Heart's show there.
Lots of yelling, lots of hitting, some crying...good times.



Drove to Richmond after the Raleigh show and stayed with my girl Natalie Friday night!
I wish she lived here so she could hang out with me all the time.
We need more cool girls in Atlanta.
Hung out all day Saturday in Richmond and did some shopping.
We went to Down To Nothing's show at Alley Katz Saturday night.
That was sick; kids were going nuts for them.



Stan picked up these vintage '82 Levis at a store in Careytown for $18 bucks that just HAPPENED to be his size. He was stoked.


And I was stoked about these Nikes I picked up for $30 at Need Supply Co.
So cute! I've never seen any like these before.

Been a while.

I've been slacking on this thing so bad.

Let's see...This Is Hardcore was the most fun I've had in a while. We spent some time in Richmond on our way up and our way back down so we got to hang out with the Richmond-heads as well.
We caught the Bracewar record release in Richmond on the way up. Fire and Ice, Swamp Thing, and Naysayer also played. I think Naysayer is one of my new favorite bands right now.


Philadelphia was so much fun. We had myself, Stan, Teddy, Aaron, Tim, and Champ all packed into our hotel room in Chinatown. Our hotel was on top of a WaWa so we were all pretty stoked.
Spent the majority of the weekend with Caitlin which was awesome; I forget how much I miss having females to talk to and hang out with.
Scored all this shit at TIH, not counting the shirts we bought.


Last weekend we went up to North Carolina for Stan's grandfather's wedding. We had a blast hanging out with Madison, our niece. Little kids are so much more fun than grown-ups.
Here's me doing a magic trick.


I also picked this up for myself...


And Stanley picked this up...


Been listening to the new Lewd Acts...shit is AWESOME. Listen to it if you haven't yet.

Fed Up.

I'm at my wits' end.
People are full of shit, that's the only thing that you can count on.
Fuck it.
All I need is my husband and my dragon.

Leaving for This Is Hardcore on Thursday with Stan and Aaron.
Couldn't be more stoked!

Sick of being sick.

The past weekend was an interesting one.
Friday night, the night before the 4th (the day the Peachtree Road Race is), as is tradition, my mom, myself, and my sister Hannah stayed the night at the Intercontinental in Buckhead.
We always go to the race expo during the day and get dinner before heading back to the hotel.

2009 was mine and my mom's fourth year running the Peachtree. Can't believe we've been doing it this long!

I pounded 6.2 miles of pavement in an hour and fifteen minutes. Not too shabby, I suppose.
There are always interesting characters cheering you on along the way, I only wish I could stop and take pictures of them while I was running. There were Chip n' Dales' guys dancing on the sidewalk, the Chik-Fil-A cows, a giant smoothie, Vikings, a giant hot dog...and then of course Ruby and Stan waiting with Susan right before the finish line.
The 4th of July is also my mom's birthday, so we always head back to my parents' house and have friends over for a cook-out before the fireworks.
I've been sick pretty much since we got back from the race, on top of barely being able to walk from my leg muscles being so stinkin' sore.
Today I can finally get around, and up and down the stairs, without looking like an arthritic grandma.
You know how people are always like, "Oh, I love that sore feeling after a good work-out, makes me feel like I really accomplished something." Man, FORGET THAT! I'll take a sore-free, pain-free run/work-out any day.

P.S. I'm so over Michael Jackson I could vomit.

-Rachel

Summer of Rain '09

So, Friday afternoon myself, Stan, Jo Jo, Aaron, and Narine all piled into my PT Bruiser and started the long, rainy trek down to Florida.
We left about 5:00 so traffic was an absolute nightmare.
The ride down included bad thunderstorms, delicious Cracker Barrel, raunchy farts, and entirely inappropriately-themed Mad Libs. Good times.
We crashed at Matt Gestapo's and Marty's for the weekend; they were awesome enough to let all five of us crash in their living room. We decided that Marty is a pretty bad-ass pit, and he'll fit in very well in Atlanta.

Saturday we met up with Foundation and went to the best damn flea market I've ever been to.
There were Pro-American t-shirts, knives, peanuts, and video games purchased.
From there we destroyed some Tijuana Flats tex-mex and headed to the beach for a few before the show.
As you can see the weather was gorgeous and sunny.

These sexy guys played some frisbee, and we all tried to stay out of the water which was ICE cold.
From there we headed to the show which ended up being a church with a HUGE painting of a black Jesus on the back wall of the room.
Matt Smith, Narine, and myself missed Learn Nothing because what should have been a quick Starbucks trip took forever because this little Hispanic guy kept stealing everyone drinks off the counter.
The Tramps played their tightest set yet.
Atlanta Lifer All-Stars/The Holy Crows also played their tightest set ever including a Cold As Life intro, and two Madball covers: "It's My Life" and "Get Out"
Meantime was sick and got an awesome response. I love seeing bands play their own cities and people tearing it up for them.
Foundation was intense, as always. It was awesome having a huge group of people to represent Atlanta.
Scored an awesome Straight Edge hoodie from Ghetto Josh.
Steak n' Shake followed, where we snapped this group pic.

I consider myself so lucky to know these dudes.

Once again Matt hooked us up at the Vans store and me and Stan blew all of our money. I'm so happy they're making the girly LoPros now.




We went to visit my Aunt and Uncle for a while Sunday during the day and then later on that night we hit up Del Taco with Matt G and Chris. God damn amazing. Best fish tacos ever, and yes I mean the food. Even though I look pissed as hell in this picture.

And here's the crew right before we embarked on our long journey back to Atlanta, through yet another awful thunderstorm.

Best weekend of the summer so far.

-Rachel

Here's lookin' at you, kid.

So, first time using a charcoal grill and I am OFFICIALLY on my way to becoming the GrillMaster.
I got a package of NY strip steaks from Costco, rubbed 'em down with a Southwestern dry-rub, and grilled them to a medium-rare to medium perfection.
Just beautiful.
Obviously I'm still basking in my own glory.
Then Stan roasted white corn on the cob in the oven.
It was a perfect meal.

Tonight is the Gaslight Anthem show. Very excited, since Stan and I aren't always able to afford or attend non-hardcore shows. It's nice to just be sappy and hold hands while listening to music every once and a while.

This coming weekend is not only Mother's Day, but my mom is graduation from college this Saturday! I'm so proud of her.
The graduation is in Chattanooga since she's getting her degree from Covenant College. They offered this great program for her to get her teaching degree while STILL working full-time as a para-pro (teacher's assistant) at Liberty Elementary School.
She has busted her ass for the past three years and I couldn't be more excited for her.
She successfully runs a house of four teenagers with my dad, works full time, goes to the gym to stay in bangin' shape, and THEN was going to school up until last November.
She is Supermom.

-Rachel

Bla bla bla.

Signs That I Am A Dude in a Woman's Body:

1. I do manual labor, and I love it. Hanging off of ladders, rolling walls, sanding cabinets, painting trim...I do it all.

2. I love going to the gym. Granted I'm not grunting while doing bicep curls or entering Ms. Universe competitions, but I do love working out.

3. I take half of the time my husband does to get ready. I hate primping, hate doing my make-up, and HATE HATE HATE fixing my hair.

4. I love to eat meat. I'm talking grilling out, barbecue, steaks...you name it.

5. I would rather be at a good hardcore show than anywhere else.

6. I would take all of my guy friends (and Kelly) over any other girl friend any day. Bros before hos.

7. I like checking out girls. No not in a sexual "I want to make out with her" kind of way, I just know how to appreciate different kinds of beauty.

8. I have a VERY healthy appetite, and I'm never "watching my weight". I eat what I want, when I want it.



If you think of some others that I've forgotten...feel free to send them my way.
I'm off to the gym.

-Rachel

Love to hate.

I am definitely looking forward to a chill weekend.
The following must be included:

Banana pancakes with fresh whipped cream - Original Pancake House
Sleeping in until at least 9 a.m. on Saturday AND Sunday
Grilling out on our new charcoal grill
Watching MonsterQuest on the History Channel
And of course...being an All-American Bad-Ass

Ok, so I'm going to be trying this personal attitude adjustment.
I thrive off of way too much negativity.
So, I'm going to be introducing a new positive outlook.
We'll see...I'm definitely not making any promises.
My husband is the only person who can bring me back to reality sometimes.
He's what keeps me sane.

And yes, he is also my mom's #1 pick for shucking corn...he's all ears.



I recently got the fronts of my ankles tattooed by Chris Howell - a tribute to the late, great Townes Van Zandt.



I don't think you've been introduced to the other member of our family, yet.
Meet Loretta...our bearded dragon.
She can gobble up forty crickets in less than eight minutes. That has to be some sort of record.


In other news:

Champ is out on tour until June...very sad for Atlantans everywhere.
Kelly is now eating blue cheese dressing and grilled cheese sandwiches, rumor has it she was also seen attending early morning Mass last Sunday at a Catholic church in Atlanta.
It is Stan's turn to get tattooed since we are no longer flat broke (and I got tattooed twice in a row)...what a bummer.
My little brother graduates high school in less than a month. Scary.
Listen to the Bukkake Boys, Foundation, and The Tramps.


-Rachel

A picture's worth a thousand words.

This band Faggot who played with The Tramps at The Hangar in Athens...Insane.

Battle wounds from United Blood (hand modeling by Hank Pratt).

Best city, best scene...no matter where we go.

Happiest when he's eating BBQ.

Fried pickles = Heaven on earth



-Rachel