Un buen taco, por fin!

Took me nearly six months, but I finally found a decent taco. I've been craving one so badly and starting to feel desperate with nothing but Americanized chains and really horrid Mexican
restaurants.

But tonight I discovered where the taco trucks hang out and had myself the perfect meal. Two corn tortillas, grilled meat, cilantro, salsa and a squeeze of lime - caido del cielo!

I know plenty of people (yes, I mean YOU Mom!) turn up their noses at taco trucks. But I'm hear to tell you they are just as clean as any restaurant - and often held to even higher standards of health inspection and food safety. And you really can't beat the price or the authentic taste of a taqueria-style taco eaten on the curb in a bustling, diverse part of town on a hot summer night.

Gracias Charlotte!

Sweating Like a Native

We're having the first heat wave of the season here in Charlotte and today I learned a new term:

Heat Index.

The weather reports here give the temperature and the heat index. According to the all-knowing internet, heat index is the temperature your body feels when heat and humidity are combined. So on a day like today when it's 90 degrees and 70% humidity, it feels like 105 degrees. But if you're not used to humid heat - say because you're from a desert - the heat index doesn't get it quite right. There should be a special index for people like me and it adds another 10 degrees to the "actual temperature your body feels." Call it the "Julie's Melting in Charlotte" Heat Index.

It's going to be a long summer.

Cookies and a Glass of Zen

Had a rough night. Couldn’t seem to turn off my brain. Tossed and turned. Woke up dead tired and depressed.

So I sat on the back step in my pajamas with my medusa hair standing on end and ate cookies and milk while watching the squirrels run around the yard. And you know what? The day turned out great.

A Must See

My movie-viewing has dropped off steeply since moving to Charlotte. Not sure why, really. But there is one little indie theater that I finally visited tonight and saw this thoroughly charming film. See if it you can! You'll laugh, you'll cry. You'll remember your nerdy high school friends making their own camcorder movies for English class projects. I did, anyway.

SPAM Lovers Unite

Hormel is having a banner year, thanks to strong sales of SPAM. It seems a tough economy makes people eat stuff they usually make fun of - including spiced mystery meats sold in aluminum blocks with pop-tops.


When my dad heard the news, he said "I'd eat SPAM, even if I were a millionaire. "

It's true. I think he learned to like it as a young Air Force recruit, but he perfected his taste as a young father of five. On Sunday nights Mom would flee the kitchen in culinary horror as Dad whipped up his famous SPAM and cheese pancakes doused in maple syrup. We kids were skeptical at first, but I learned to love the salty, gooey, sweetness that made Mom gag. If it weren't for her gross-outs, I doubt I'd have known SPAM was something to be avoided at all costs. I still secretly crave it.

Several years ago Dad suffered a traumatic brain injury that changed a lot of things about him: his personality; his dexterity, his ability to communicate his feelings; his short and long-term memory. But his love for Mom and us is just as strong, despite the jumbled synapses of his injured brain. And so is his love of SPAM.

I mentioned the latest surge in SPAM sales to Dad on the phone last night and he confided that he keeps a few cans stashed in his desk drawer "for emergencies."

"Exactly what kind of emergency would call for SPAM?" I chided.

"Waking up. Getting ready for bed at night. Minor emergencies qualify," he deadpanned.

I'm not sure if he was trying to be funny. . . it's hard to tell sometimes when the brain injury is talking and when it's not. But I must say that a SPAM-loving father with a rattled brain and an odd sense of humor is better than a lot of alternatives I can imagine.

And you know what's almost as good? SPAM and cheese pancakes with syrup.

P.S. Visit the official SPAM website. It's marketing perfection!

Big Day for Addison Jane!

Sweet little AJ got her baby blessing in church today. I missed it. Seems I'm not doing too well on the favorite aunt front where she's concerned. So far I've missed all her major milestones, starting with her big debut, which happened two days after I left town. Not to get all gloomy, but I predict I'll miss her first birthday too - and probably her first steps and first tooth. This is the worst thing about living in another state from the nieces and nephews that light up my life. Hopefully I'll get my act together in time to see her graduate from high school. She'll be the tall, redheaded beauty in the cap and gown. I'll be the proud, nutty aunt taking too many pictures.

A Pretty Good State

Two good reasons to visit South Carolina:

1. You might see a giant peach on a giant golf tee, giving you a glimpse of rural America's fascination with giant roadside oddities.




















2. Gas is 30 cents cheaper than in Charlotte.